Chapter 2: Russia’s Development as a Top Player in World Grain Trade

During the late Soviet period, Russia (along with the Soviet Union as a whole) was a major importer of grain, as well as soybeans and soybean meal, which were used to help feed the country’s growing livestock sector. The substantial reform-driven contraction in the livestock sector during the 1990s largely eliminated the need for grain imports. Beginning around 2000, Russia began to export grain, and into the 2010s it became major supplier on the world market. During 2016–2019, Russia exported on average 44 million metric tonnes a year, 10–14 percent of total world grain exports. The country’s dominant grain export is wheat, with Russia providing in the late 2010s around 20 percent of world market sales, thereby supplanting the United States as the world’s top wheat supplier. This chapter examines how Russia has developed into a major grain exporter, with the focus on how growing grain production since 2000 has generated surpluses for foreign sale.

Water management in crop cultivation

In mediterranean countries, water is considered as the most basic assets for economic sustainability growth. For cultivation, water is not only essential but also essential in different sectors such as in industries and economic growth. It is considered as also an important component of the environment with significant impact on natural conservation and health. Around 70% of fresh water withdrawals goes to agriculture. The use of water within the sectors are very diverse and included mainly for irrigation pesticides and fertilizers application and sustain livestock. In India, agriculture is an important sector for sustenance and growth of Indian economy. Today, in the whole world, India is one of the largest producers of agricultural products. Several agricultural commodities like tea, coffee, oil seeds, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, rice, wheat, spices etc. are considered as the major supplier from India. For crop and yards water, irrigation management involves the monitoring of water applications. It is especially important to monitor soil moisture in order to promote optimise crop yields without runoff percolated loss.

Monthly resolved modelled oceanic emissions of carbonyl sulphide and carbon disulphide for the period 2000–2019

Carbonyl sulphide (OCS) is the most abundant, long-lived sulphur gas in the atmosphere and a major supplier of sulphur to the stratospheric sulphate aerosol layer. The short-lived gas carbon disulphide (CS2) is oxidized to OCS and constitutes a major indirect source to the atmospheric OCS budget. The atmospheric budget of OCS is not well constrained due to a large missing source needed to compensate for substantial evidence that was provided for significantly higher sinks. Oceanic emissions are associated with major uncertainties. Here we provide a first, monthly resolved ocean emission inventory of both gases for the period 2000–2019 (available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4297010) (Lennartz et al., 2020a). Emissions are calculated with a numerical box model (2.8∘×2.8∘ resolution at the Equator, T42 grid) for the oceanic surface mixed layer, driven by ERA5 data from ECMWF and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) from Aqua MODIS. We find that interannual variability in OCS emissions is smaller than seasonal variability and is mainly driven by variations in CDOM, which influences both photochemical and light-independent production. A comparison with a global database of more than 2500 measurements reveals overall good agreement. Emissions of CS2 constitute a larger sulphur source to the atmosphere than OCS and equally show interannual variability connected to variability in CDOM. The emission estimate of CS2 is associated with higher uncertainties as process understanding of the marine cycling of CS2 is incomplete. We encourage the use of the data provided here as input for atmospheric modelling studies to further assess the atmospheric OCS budget and the role of OCS in climate.

Editorial: Focus on Indian migrations

In this issue, we have brought together articles focusing on Indian and South Asian migration experiences and patterns. India has been a major player in international migration, including remittances flows, but also a major scene of internal migrations. This is to an extent perhaps expected as the second largest population in the world residing across a vast geography rich with ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity. The 2018 United Nations World Migration Report states that the Indian diaspora is the largest in the world, with over 15.6 million people living outside the Sub-continent. International migration from India can be traced back even before indentured labour flows initiated under the British colonialism. India is a leading country of origin and a major supplier of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled work force. These migration flows from India has attracted significant interest among scholars of migration studies. In this editorial, we are offering some insights and an overview of Indian migrations since the British era.

citation_32_130218007_Christin Fellicia

Developments in the fruit and vegetable sector play an important role in Indonesia's economic growth, one of which is in the East Java region. With this development it helps create jobs. East Java has great potential and is a major supplier of food crops, animal and horticultural needs compared to other regions in Indonesia. Therefore East Java has a higher comparative advantage because the area of East Java has adaptive climatic, soil, and topophographical conditions. For example, in Malang, Pacet, Pasuruan, Probolinggo, Kediri, and Lumajang, which have areas suitable for the development of fruits and vegetables. Supply Chain is a further integration of logistics management between the companies involved which has the aim of increasing the flow of goods, increasing the accuracy of demand forecasts, increasing the efficiency of the use of space, vehicles and other facilities, reducing inventory levels, reducing costs, and improving other services. Supply Chain also involves an ongoing relationship regarding existing goods, money and information. Horizontally there are 5 components or main actors in the Supply Chain, namely suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and customers. Apart from horizontally, as for vertically, namely the maker, buyer,carrier, storage and seller.

Greater Mekong subregion should become a green farm in Asia: prerequisites, plans, implementation

The agriculture remains a strategic sector of the economy, despite the widespread decline in its share in GDP production and employment. Its development is observed as a key factor in maintaining food security, as well as reducing poverty. That is why various farming methods are subject of particular interest, including organic production, which can maintain the ecological balance, preserve and increase the productivity of the main and most valuable resource of this sector — land, thus providing a longterm sustainable model of agricultural development. In addition, organic products are in great demand in the world market, which certainly makes impressive prospects for export development. "Green products" have a higher value added, which contributes to labor productivity increase and enhance the profi ts of farms. As a result, the development of organic production is a direct path to increase exports in monetary terms and to raise the living standards of the rural population, which is especially important in the GMS countries.The article highlights the advantages of organic farming, considers the stages of the emergence of "green agriculture", shows its dynamics in the GMS countries, the sectoral structure, and their export potential in the world and the region. The author concludes that GMS countries have great potential to become a major supplier of safe and environmentally friendly agricultural products, having already earned trust in premium markets and built up a reputation. However, despite all the advantages described and the gradual increase in the number of lands transferred to organic "rails", the current share of organic farms in the total lands does not exceed 0.5 %. In addition, the development of organic production is faced with a number of problems and contradictions. The key factor restraining the transition to "green production" is the duration of its conversion, causing the risks of farms falling into the "poverty trap".

Designing Rental Business Based on Mobile Application

With the decline of the Indonesian motorcycle market in recent years, there is a declining performance of primary motorcycle dealers in general. The chapter proposes the mobile business model that enables to the assistance of enhancing the traditional business of PT Sejahtera Rental Utama (PT SRU), a major supplier of a two-wheel and three-wheel that supports the wide SME business in Indonesia. With wide coverage of the market owned by PT SRU, there are urgent needs to embrace mobile strategy and introduce innovative leasing strategy to strengthen its current marketing strategy. The chapter examines the use of Business Model Canvas (BMC) and Balanced Scorecard to assist the app development by providing a comprehensive overview to address the needs of customers, introducing financial measurement, comprehensive design of internal business process, and introducing innovative strategy through leasing business. The outcome of the chapter is expected to increase the company performance, enlarge market coverage, and an aggressive strategy to reach SMEs.

Masdar City: A Study of Energy, Infrastructure, and Technological Hope Hope

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been a major supplier of fossil fuel for the world economy for decades, which has allowed the country to thrive economically. But global concerns over ecological destruction and climate change is prompting the UAE’s leaders to pursue alternative sources of energy. From this ecological fear, Masdar City was born, an ambitious project that hopes to create the world’s first “zero-carbon” emission city. The project’s goal is to utilize energy in a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable system without sacrificing modern lifestyles. This case study will utilize theory on energy and infrastructures to analyze the implications of the project’s innovations, as well as to explore the rising intersection of neoliberalism and environmentalism to understand how a project like Masdar came to be. In 2016, ten years after its initial construction, the city still had not achieved net zero-carbon emissions, but a mere 50%. The project’s ambitions included the creation of a new energy-based currency to account for consumption, and the integration of a massive data vault that stores all consumption of energy.What is found is a complex and highly integrated information system that could lead to the selling of information and the corporate/governmental manipulation of data for control over populations.

Monthly resolved modelled oceanic emissions of carbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide for the period 2000–2019

Carbonyl sulfide (OCS) is the most abundant, long-lived sulphur gas in the atmosphere and a major supplier of sulfur to the stratospheric sulfate aerosol layer. The short-lived gas carbon disulfide (CS2) is oxidized to OCS and constitutes a major indirect source to the atmospheric OCS budget. The atmospheric budget of OCS is not well constrained due to a large missing source needed to compensate for substantial evidence that was provided for significantly higher sinks. Oceanic emissions are associated with major uncertainties. Here we provide a first, monthly resolved ocean emission inventory of both gases for the period 2000–2019 (available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4297010) (Lennartz et al., 2020a). Emissions are calculated with a numerical box model (resolution 2.8° × 2.8° at equator, T42 grid) for the surface mixed layer. We find that interannual variability in OCS emissions is smaller than seasonal variability, and is mainly driven by variations in chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), which influences both photochemical and light-independent production. A comparison with a global database of more than 2500 measurements reveals overall good agreement. Emissions of CS2 constitute a larger sulfur source to the atmosphere than OCS, and equally show interannual variability connected to variability of CDOM. The emission estimate of CS2 is associated with higher uncertainties, as process understanding of the marine cycling of CS2 is incomplete. We encourage the use of the data provided here as input for atmospheric modelling studies to further assess the atmospheric OCS budget and the role of OCS in climate.

Inhibitors and enablers of supply chain integration across multiple supply chain tiers: evidence from Malawi

PurposeThis paper investigates the inhibitors and enablers of supply chain integration (SCI) across multiple tiers in the supply chains of manufacturing-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malawi.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a qualitative approach, data were collected through face-to-face interviews across three supply chains, each consisting of a focal manufacturer, a major supplier and a retailer.FindingsThe research identified interpersonal relationships, supplier cost transparency and joint supply chain management (SCM) investments as key enablers of SCI. Concerning the inhibitors of SCI, the study found that a lack of external integration inhibited internal integration by acting as a source of disruption to intra-firm processes and relationships. Further, the research found weaker links between manufacturer–-retailer dyads than in manufacturer–supplier dyads, which constrained the ability to achieve multi-tier supplier–manufacture–retailer integration. The study also revealed that resource and infrastructural deficiencies, a culture of fear and intimidation within and between firms, corruption in sourcing transactions and a lack of inter-firm trust inhibited SCI.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper extends earlier evidence that internal integration is a prerequisite for external integration demonstrating that a basic level of external integration is necessary to prevent disruptions to internal integration.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few to go beyond the focal firm perspective and explore the inhibitors and enablers of SCI across multiple supply chain positions, and provides new evidence on the role of external integration in achieving internal integration.