Adoption of Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) in Aquaculture: Evidence From Small-Scale Shrimp Farming

The increasing demand by international customers for high-quality shrimp products has led to the introduction of various certificates of traceability intended to validate quality products in Vietnam. The Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP), better known in aquaculture as the Vietnamese good aquaculture practices, has emerged as a reliable certificate for small-scale farmers and a prerequisite for international certification. This study investigates factors affecting applications for VietGAP by small-scale shrimp farmers in Vietnam. Cost-benefit analysis and binary logistic regression approaches were used to categorise shrimp farms with and without VietGAP certification. Findings indicated that while the adoption of VietGAP raised production costs by 14.5 %, it could increase net profit by up to 22 %. The increase in net profit is from increased productivity and antibiotics and chemical-free products in shrimp farming, helped fetch better prices. The results also revealed three factors that positively influenced the farmers’ decision to acquire VietGAP; education, farm size, and production system. Shrimp farmers with longer schooling years, larger farms, and those who possess cooperative/farming cluster membership are more likely to acquire VietGAP certification. The results imply that the VietGAP certification should be better promoted to cooperative production forms of farming, by strengthening the schooling year of farmers and increasing awareness of VietGAP certification to farmers who operate shrimp farms of 5,000–9,000 m2.

Penerapan Kaidah Gap pada Budidaya Jeruk Tumpangsari Dengan Sayuran dalam Era Perubahan Iklim di Kelompok Tani Bina Usaha Pekon Giham Sukamaju Kecamatan Sekincau Lampung Barat

Pekon Giham termasuk dalam Kecamatan Sekincau Lampung Barat yang wilayahnya dataran tinggi yang cocok untuk usaha pertanian dengan hasil utamanya kopi dan sayuran. Saat ini ada salah satu kelompok tani di Pekon Giham mulai tertarik menanam jeruk untuk ditumpangsarikan dengan sayuran. Kendalanya pemahaman petani dalam budidaya jeruk masih minim dan belum sesuai dengan kaidah GAP (good agricultural practices) untuk dapat menghasilkan produk panen yang sehat dan bermutu tinggi, sehingga mampu meningkatkan pendapatan petani dalam lingkungan budidaya yang ramah lingkungan dan berkelanjutan. Pengamatan di lapang menunjukkan bahwa petani menanam jeruk seadanya baik dari segi pemilihan bibit, pemeliharaan tanaman, dan sangat tergantung pada pupuk kimia dan pestisida. Petani belum memahami pertanian yang ramah lingkungan dan menyehatkan tanah. Tujuan kegiatan ini adalah untuk, (1) memberikan pengetahuan teoritis tentang teknik budidaya jeruk di dataran tinggi menurut kaidah GAP, (2) memberikan pengetahuan praktis serta ketrampilan petani jeruk tumpangsari dengan tanaman sayuran dengan penggunaan pupuk hayati. Setelah dilakukan kegiatan sejak awal Februari hingga pertengahan September 2020, Tim PKMU yang telah turun lapang sebanyak empat kali, memahami kendala yang dihadapi petani jeruk. Secara umum pengetahuan petani khususnya dalam budidaya tanaman jeruk sangat minim (26,7%). Petani hanya mengenal dua jenis jeruk yang sebenarnya untuk ditanam di dataran rendah, (2) petani tidak memahami cara pemangkasan tanaman jeruk yang tepat, (3) petani selalu menggunakan pupuk kimia, kurang mengenal pupuk hayati yang lebih aman untuk pertanian berkelanjutan. Kegiatan ini membuat petani jeruk dapat meningkatkan ketrampilan teknis, khususnya budidaya tanaman jeruk yang tepat sehingga dapat memberikan keuntungan ekonomi serta mampu menjaga kelestarian lingkungan melalui aplikasi pupuk hayati. Pada kegiatan ini petani diberi wawasan tentang jenis jeruk yang cocok untuk dataran tinggi dan teknik budidaya yang benar. Ketrampilan yang diberikan pada kegiatan ini adalah pemilihan bibit jeruk dataran tinggi, cara pemangkasan, pembuatan POC dan trichoderma serta aplikasinya. Hasil akhir kegiatan menunjukkan adanya peningkatan pengetahuan petani dari semula 26,7% menjadi 80,0% sehingan meningkat sebesar 53,3 poit.

Implementación de una estrategia de comunicación para posicionar las buenas prácticas agrícolas (BPA): el caso de los productores de piña de la zona norte de Costa Rica/ Implementation of a communication strategy to adopt good agricultural practices (GAP)

Based on the high use of agrochemicals and pressure on ecosystems from agricultural production, as well as complaints and social movements against pineapple crop in the northern region of Costa Rica, a communication strategy was articulated within the framework of the project “Characterization of agricultural practices and the use and management of agrochemicals in pineapple crop, for implementing good agricultural practices (GAP)”. The strategy focused on promoting agricultural and environmental education to help farmers in the implementation of GAPs in the northern region of Costa Rica. There are not many public relations studies about agriculture and rural areas in Latin America. However, public relations can contribute to community development, based on the search for relationships based on trust, mutual understanding, cooperation and a sense of belonging that could lay the foundations for promoting sustainable development. The methodology was carried out in three main stages: diagnosis, approach and execution, and evaluation of the strategy. In the initial stage, one of the main findings was the outstanding negativity in local and national media coverage of pineapple production. Based on the results of the diagnosis, four main problems to be addressed during the implementation stage were identified: 1) overdose of pesticides; 2) bad stubble management; 3) poor soil management; 4) disrespect for aquifer protection zones. For the second stage, we applied two tactics consisting of a set of tasks intended to target audiences identified as main or primary. Also, a training program and crisis management activities were executed. The final stage consisted of the application of an evaluation questionnaire to 25 farmers participating in the training program. The results were several activities developed in the communities, including a series of informative and educational products (videos, key messages through WhatsApp, newsletters, infographics, a guide for the identification of pests and diseases in the pineapple crop); press management; workshops at local schools; and a GAPs Fair to promote the sustainable production of pineapple. The strategy promoted a training program, consisting of 34 talks, which was attended by 240 people: farmers, university students, agricultural products and tools sales personnel, people from cooperatives and interested members of the public. According to the final evaluation, 68 % of the training participants stated that their ability to produce pineapple using GAP improved during the last years; 40 % stated that environmental balance was the main benefit of implementing GAPs in pineapple crop, followed by economic savings (24 %). This shows that the message related to the environment was the prevailing one, consistent with the environmental and educational communication proposed by the strategy. As a conclusion, of the three most implemented agricultural practices by pineapple farmers, we identified that two were part of those promoted by the communication campaign. Thus, the project’s communication strategy had a strong incidence in the improvement of agricultural practices in the area and increased the number of positive notes related to the pineapple crop, before the crisis. We were able to impact the local production of pineapple through a clearly established strategy. Also, this allowed us to face the different phases of the crisis situation.

Determinants of Awareness of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Among Vegetable Growers in Punjab, India

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) is a new idea for Punjab farmers. Most vegetable growers are unaware of it and have not implemented the practices. The study aimed to establish the factors that influence the awareness of GAP among vegetable growers in Punjab, India. Consequently, 100 vegetable growers were selected by purposive sampling and simple random sampling techniques. Multiple regression was used to analyze the effect of the variables on the awareness of GAP among the vegetable growers. Results showed that education, operational land, land leased, training, and income had a significant effect on the awareness of GAP. Based on the results, emphasis on training and capacity building of vegetable growers regarding GAP is suggested as a way of increasing awareness.

Review of good agricultural practices for smallholder maize farmers to minimise aflatoxin contamination

Maize is consumed world-wide as staple food, livestock feed, and industrial raw material. However, it is susceptible to fungal attack and at risk of aflatoxin contamination under certain conditions. Such contamination is a serious threat to human and animal health. Ensuring that the maize used by food industry meets standards for aflatoxin levels requires significant investment across the supply chain. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) form a critical part of a broader, integrated strategy for reduction of aflatoxin contamination. We reviewed and summarised the GAP of maize that would be effective and practicable for aflatoxin control within high-risk regions for smallholder farmers. The suggested practicable GAP for smallholder farmers were: use of drought-tolerant varieties; timely harvesting before physiological maturity; sorting to remove damaged ears and those having poor husk covering; drying properly to 13% moisture content; storage in suitable conditions to keep the crop clean and under condition with minimally proper aeration, or ideally under hermetic conditions. This information is intended to provide guidance for maize growers that will help reduce aflatoxin in high-risk regions, with a specific focus on smallholder farmers. Following the proposed guidelines would contribute to the reduction of aflatoxin contamination during pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest stages of the maize value chain.

Water Quality Monitoring in Inle Lake, Myanmar from the Floating Garden Activity

Inle Lake is the second largest inland lake in Myanmar. Floating gardens, mostly for tomato cultivation, are a unique and profitable method of agriculture used by people living on and around the lake. This study investigated the water quality of Inle Lake and how it has been affected by the different agricultural practices used in tomato cultivation on floating garden beds, by measuring pollution levels. Water samples were collected from the sites representing two types of agricultural practice from four villages. The first was designated as being grown under good agricultural practices (GAP), and the other as under non-good agricultural practices (non-GAP), with this study undertaken during wet season, 2019 and dry season, 2020. Two additional sets of water samples were collected as references. One of these sets was from the center of the lake and the other from an inlet stream to the lake. All water samples were analyzed for physical and chemical properties. The results found that Ca2+, Mg2+ and HCO3- were dominant in the lake surface water. The results showed significant differences in the mean values for some water quality parameters between the GAP and non-GAP of each study sites in both seasons. In particular, nutrient pollution from chemicals such as nitrogen and phosphorus from the non-GAP were significantly higher than those from GAP. Water quality index was calculated to describe the overall quality of lake surface water. It was observed that the water quality was almost threatened in the floating garden areas. In comparison between two practices, the non-GAP gave the higher water quality index value than the GAP. This investigated that poor management of fertilizers usage has had a negative effect on the water quality of the lake. The differences seen in water quality from the GAP and non-GAP areas, point to ways to successfully manage sources of water pollution in order to better conserve the lake by sustainable agricultural production.

Good Agricultural Practices Followed by Awardee Farmers of Department of Agriculture Development and Farmers Welfare in Southern Kerala

This research study aimed to identify good agricultural practices followed by the awardee farmers of Thiruvananthapuram and Pathanamthitta districts of Kerala. Altogether, 70 awardee farmers, 35 each from the two districts constituted the sample. This research was to analyze the main good agricultural practices followed by awardee farmers in major crops of Kerala viz. coconut, rice, banana and vegetables. The major constraints faced by these farmers and the strategies to overcome it were also studied in this work. The results showed that majority of the awardee farmers followed good agricultural practices like application of a mixture of sand, salt and ash in the pit before transplanting of coconut, soaking of seeds in fresh water in jute sacks for one day and keeping wet seeds for three days for germination in the case of rice, covering of banana bunches with dried banana leaves to increase bunch size and spraying neem oil -garlic emulsion (2%) to control aphids of chilli. The main constraint faced by the awardee farmers was pest and wild animals attack.