Application of a dynamic model for regulating the hydrothermal regime in early potato cultivation in the Volgograd region

The article presents the results of research on the dynamics of development and water consumption of early potatoes, obtained from field observations in a multi-factor experiment, which formed the basis of the initial database of water adaptive regulation, temperature and food regimes based on simulation. The dynamic simulation model “POTATO” developed on this basis is aimed at displaying the processes of phenological development of potatoes and predicting crop yields during irrigation and fertigation. The model provides a forecast of the timing of the early potato development phenological phases, its yield depending on specific soil and weather conditions, as well as irrigation modes (sprinkling, drip and combined ones) and the level of mineral nutrition. The forecast of the dynamics of the culture phenological development allows to adjust the schedule of reclamation measures to regulate water and temperature regimes, taking into account current and forecast meteorological information. The simulation model allows to perform operational management of the hydrothermal and food regime of the agrocoenosis in order to obtain the planned yields. The developed method of regulating the hydrothermal regime based on the “POTATO” simulation model makes it possible to implement operational irrigation management and choose the optimal and cost-effective irrigation strategy.

Recampesinizando los usi civici: Estrategias socioecológicas tradicionales de manejo del territorio entre pastores en Baunei (Cerdeña)

Agrarian industrialization and new food regimes have radically changed socioecologies of local and global agrarian structures displacing traditional socioecological strategies of land use and management. This paper analyses this transformation from an agroecological perspective by raising the question of how the agrarian activities and the uses of commons have changed in the municipality of Baunei (Sardinia, Italy) with a special focus on livestock farming. Ethnographic research –through participant observation methods and open and semi-structured in-depth interviews– has enabled to reconstruct the traditional use of land and the strategies of its socioecological management as well as the changes produced by agricultural modernization and modernity at large, and finally, to unveil new perspectives of re-peasantization among Baunei’s shepherds to obtain more feasible and sustainable farms. This study highlights tendencies of re-peasantization in land management strategies and the seek for cooperative answers, including an internal reflection on the socioecological meaning of traditional strategies for managing the commons (in usi cicivi) and provides insights to the new potentials of such management and social cooperation practices together with new agricultural techniques and organizational structures in building more sustainable and just food and agricultural systems.

Boreal Agriculture Cannot Be Sustainable Without Food Sovereignty

Food sovereignty encompasses the right of humans to have access to, and to produce, healthy and culturally appropriate food. Food sovereignty exists within the “social” pillar of sustainability and sustainable food production. Over time, and as a result of colonialism and neo-liberal food regimes, Indigenous food system patterns in boreal regions have been disrupted. Imports make local food production economically infeasible. The intersection of food sovereignty and international trade is understudied. Food insecurity cycles are likely to perpetuate without deliberate action and government intervention. Policies that facilitate local access, and ownership, of agriculture and food processing facilities may foster food sovereignty. Indigenous community governance, and agricultural practices, are critical to restoring environmental and social sustainability.