The ridge-to-reef approach on Cicia Island, Fiji

Many Pacific countries and territories embrace an officially recognized ‘ridge-to-reef’ approach to environmental management. This is the case of Fiji, where the Lau Seascape Strategy 2018–2030, led by Conservation International, aims for integrated natural resource management across 335 895 km2. This area includes Cicia Island, which deserves particular attention since, years before the design of the Lau Seascape Strategy, its population developed its own informal ridge-to-reef scheme, involving a combination of certified organic agriculture and locally managed marine closures. Based on 1 month of ethnographic fieldwork, this paper presents this scheme and highlights local perception and conceptualization of its positive effects on both the land and the sea. These reflect the iTaukei (Indigenous Fijian) concept of vanua, which intrinsically connects the health of the land, the sea, and their (human and non-human) dwellers, while stressing the importance of addressing land-sea processes and management efforts beyond an ecological perspective, i.e. through an engagement with the iTaukei relational ontology.

Performance of organic farming in developing countries: a case of organic tomato value chain in Lebanon

The future of food value chains has increasingly been reliant on the wider adoption of sustainable farming practices that include organic agriculture. Organic farming in developed countries is standardized and occupies a niche in agro-food systems. However, such a standard model, when transferred to developing countries, faces difficulty in implementation. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting the expansion of organic agriculture in Lebanon, a Middle Eastern context, and analyzes the economic performance of organic tomato among smallholder farmers. Accordingly, the study was able to determine the production costs, map the organic value chain and assess the profitability of organic tomato by comparing it with the conventional tomato in the same value chain. The study finds organic farming being increasingly expensive primarily due to the inherently high cost of production in Lebanon and the inefficient organization of the organic value chain. As a result, we suggest a blended approach of organic farming with other models, in particular agro-tourism, as a local solution to the sustainability of organic farming in developing countries with limited resources (land and labor) and characterized by long marketing channels. In countries such as Lebanon, a country endowed with rich cultural heritage and natural and beautiful landscapes, the agro-tourism model can harness organic farming and tourism activities. We also propose the adoption of local collective guarantee systems for organic production as a way to alleviate the costs of third-party auditing in Lebanon.

Analysis of Determinants Affecting Organic Production: State Evidence from the United States

As the demand for organic products quickly grows in the U.S., the domestic supply of organic commodities has stagnated and failed to meet the increasing needs. To expand the organic supply capacity in the country, it is crucial to identify the key factors that could effectively promote the scale of organic farming in the U.S. Using a multivariate analytic model and state level data from multiple sources and years, this study examines a wide range of determinants that could affect organic agriculture. The results show that research funding would significantly increase organic vegetable production and the number of organic farms. The development of organic farming could be greatly encouraged by the support of research institutions. In addition, the evidence shows that abundant farm workers are essential for the organic farming sector, which is labor-intensive. Finally, a large population base could create a more stable consumer group that would promote the development of organic agriculture. These results suggest the importance of exploring and expanding consumer groups for organic commodities. These findings provide insightful implications that research support, labor availability, and a solid consumer base are crucial to boost the organic sector in the U.S. and other countries.

The Role of Polyculture in Sustainable Agricultural Development and Prevention of Land Degradation

The aim of the chapter is to show the possible impact of policulture farming on some determinants of sustainable agricultural development, especially from the point of view of economic viability, biodiversity, and land degradation. Increasing the area under polyculture is one of the main solutions to the present environmental problems. The key constraints are economic pressures due to the question of the cost-effectiveness of such a mode of production and the need to provide sufficient food for a growing population, especially in developing countries. The results of the research show that policulture (organic agriculture) should be favored, while monoculture farming must be adequately directed and put in the function of achieving ecological goals of sustainable development as much as possible. In addition, on the example of European countries, it was assessed that there are good conditions for further “greening” of agriculture, bearing in mind the movement of the analyzed indicators.

Factors associated with the purchase of family farming products for national school feeding program in Minas Gerais in 2017, Brazil

ABSTRACT: The National School Feeding Program (in abbreviated Portuguese: PNAE) states that ≥30% of the amount transferred by the National Fund for Education Development (in abbreviated Portuguese: FNDE) to the executing entities should be used to purchase products made from Family Farming (FF). This study aimed to identify the municipal characteristics associated with the compliance of the municipalities of Minas Gerais (MG) to this target in 2017. For this, data on municipal purchases of FF for the PNAE were obtained from the FNDE’s website. Sociodemographic, economic, and agricultural characteristics of the municipalities were associated with compliance to the PNAE’s goal. Approximately half (55.07%) of the municipalities complied with the FF purchase target, wherein carrying out programs or actions to encourage organic agriculture (29.8% vs. 22.6%, p=0.018) were associated with a greater compliance to this target, presenting the official rural union registration (76.4% vs. 68.8%, p=0.026) and the Municipal Inspection Service: (35.6% vs. 29.1%, p=0.048). Overall, a low compliance to the goal was observed in MG municipalities, and associations between certain agricultural management characteristics and goal fulfillment were evidenced.

Organic agriculture as a factor in the development of rural tourism in the Sverdlovsk region

The authors in the article consider sectoral changes and structural transformations in the field of agriculture associated with the influence of global trends and growth factors in agricultural productivity. One of these trends, the authors identify rural tourism (ecotourism), the development of which increases the socio-cultural, financial and economic level of agricultural areas. The factors of development and implementation of agricultural technologies of organic agriculture, which have a positive effect on the development of rural tourism and form the demand for tourism products, have been identified. The ways of improving the organization and implementation of event and tourist activities as effective tools for attracting attention and popularizing rural areas have been identified, which in the context of the prevention of coronavirus infection around the world is an urgent factor for many categories of the population. In the context of the prevention of coronavirus, infection in many countries, domestic tourism is becoming a priority area for the development of the tourism industry, focusing, among other things, on the development of new products for rural and agro-industrial tourism.

Investigating the leading drivers of organic farming: A survival analysis

ABSTRACT: This research evaluated farmers’ decisions to adopt organic farming. It was first introduced by developed countries to minimize environmental impacts originated by intensive use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to enhance production yield. Although, organic farming offers environmentally sound methodologies for crop production, but Asian farmers are reluctant to adopt organic farming. In this study, a survival analysis (SA) was employed to determine the reasons for and the time is taken by farmers to adopt organic agriculture. This research studied the farmers’ goals, agricultural policies, and attitude towards risk, as covariates in the survival analysis. A multiple criteria decision-making method based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process was used to evaluate the farmers’ goals. Data were collected from agricultural farms located in three districts in Punjab, Pakistan. A questionnaire was used to collect empirical evidence. This study reported that the farmers’ goals were crucial to their acceptance of organic farming; furthermore, young farmers and farmers with risk-inclined attitudes were more prone to adopting organic farming. The study also determined that change in policy and introduce special package for organic agriculture can encouraged the adoption of organic methods.

Effect of Seaweed Extracts on Ornamental Plants: Article Review

Seaweed extracts have been used in organic agriculture to encourage the development and strengthen the quality performance of floricultural crops. The effectiveness of the seaweed extract is built entirely on hormone levels of plants or otherwise micro nutrients in the crude extract (primarily cytokines). A review of the use of seaweed on ornamental plants is carried out in the most modern research. Concerning their growth and flowering possibilities, the effectiveness of algae in ornamental plants has been validated. The purpose of this systematic review was to illustrate progress throughout the treatment of seaweeds for growth regulators to summarize the organic compounds of seaweeds as well as to investigate the challenges that encourage the application of macroalgae to manipulate various biotic and abiotic stress of crops. Seaweeds are still completely unaffected internationally; we emphasize several of the subsequent preferences for research and innovation. This whole review aims to facilitate the reader’s attention to utilize various seaweeds to increase the features and yield of ornamental crops.

Pelatihan dan ToT Ekologi Tanah untuk Penguatan Pertanian Organik pada Kelompok Tani Al-Barokah dan Walisongo di Desa Ketapang

<p><em><strong>Soil Ecology Training and ToT for Strengthening Organic Agriculture in Al-Barokah and Walisongo Farmer Groups in Ketapang Village</strong>. </em>In sustainable integrated agriculture, farmers are expected to be experts in managing agricultural ecosystems. To support this, training and empowerment of sustainable agricultural management can be carried out for farmers. The process of soil ecology training and training of trainers (ToT) is directed at strengthening organic farming and it is hoped that farmers can play a role as a farm manager, able to stand parallel and have an active relationship with the community and have a role in the system built by the community. Therefore, it is proposed the title of PKM-Training and ToT of Ecology Soil for Strengthening Organic Agriculture. The purpose of training and soil ecology ToT for strengthening organic agriculture is to increase farmers' understanding of the importance of ecology in soil management that has been applied so that there is renewal in soil management and building farmer knowledge. Through the Participatory Action Program approach, the Al-Barokah and Walisongo Farmer Groups farmers are very enthusiastic, which is indicated by an increase in understanding of soil ecology. Training and soil ecology ToT for farmers is very important so that soil management is in harmony with nature and increase the understood that soil ecology is part of the global ecosystem, and soil ecology is a process of interaction between ecological components on the level of fertility and crop production.</p>