Evaluation of economic loss caused by Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in agricultural land of district Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

The Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) is a vertebrate pest of agricultural lands and forest. The study was aimed to report the damage to local crops by the Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in the Muzaffarabad District. A survey was conducted to identify the porcupine-affected areas and assess the crop damage to the local farmers in district Muzaffarabad Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from May 2017 to October 2017. Around 19 villages were surveyed, and a sum of 191 semi-structured questionnaires was distributed among farmers. Crop damage was found highest in village Dhanni where a porcupine destroyed 175 Kg/Kanal of the crops. Regarding the total magnitude of crop loss, village Danna and Koomi kot were the most affected areas. More than half (51.8%) of the respondents in the study area suffered the economic loss within the range of 101-200$, and (29.8%) of the people suffered losses in the range of 201-300$ annually. Among all crops, maize (Zea mays) was found to be the most damaged crop ranging between 1-300 Kg annually. In the study area, porcupine also inflicted a lot of damages to some important vegetables, including spinach (Spinacia oleracea), potato (Solanum tuberosum) and onion (Allium cepa). It was estimated that, on average, 511Kg of vegetables are destroyed by porcupine every year in the agricultural land of Muzaffarabad. It was concluded that the Indian crested porcupine has a devastating effect on agriculture which is an important source of income and food for the local community. Developing an effective pest control strategy with the help of the local government and the Wildlife department could help the farmers to overcome this problem.

Farmers’ Strategies to Climate Change and Urbanization: Potential of Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in Rural Chengdu, Southwest China

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is emerging as a cost-effective approach for helping people adapt to climate and non-climate changes. Nowadays, climate change and urbanization have affected agricultural systems, but it is not clear how rural communities have responded or adapted to those changes. Here, we chose two typical villages in the Chengdu Plain, southwest China, through sociological surveys on 90 local farmers with a semi-structured questionnaire, participatory observation, geospatial analysis of land use and land cover, and a literature review, to explore the local people’s perception of changes or disturbances and their adaptation strategies from the perspective of EbA. The results showed that climate change and urbanization had impacted agricultural systems dramatically in the last 40 years. In two case-study sites, climate change and urbanization were perceived by most local farmers as the main drivers impacting on agricultural production, but various resource-use models containing abundant traditional knowledge or practices as well as modern tools, such as information communication technology (ICT), were applied to adapt to these changes. Moreover, culture service through the adaptive decoration of rural landscapes is becoming a new perspective for implementing an EbA strategy. Finally, our findings highlighted the potential value of an EbA strategy for sustaining urban-rural integrated development and enhancing the resilience of agricultural systems.

Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Some Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Genotypes Collected From Erzincan Province of Turkey

BackroundTurkey is a country with different geographical features and therefore it is extremely diverse in plant diversity. Tomato is one of the most important vegetables produced both in the world and in Turkey. In this study, it was aimed to determine the genetic diversity of 24 tomato genotypes collected from local farmers from “Center villages” and “Üzümlü” district in Erzincan province.Methods and ResultsMorphological (qualitative and quantitative) and molecular markers (ISSR) were used to determine genetic diversity among genotypes. Genotype 24 was found to be higher than other genotypes with important quantitative morphological features such as fruit length, fruit width, fruit weight and soluble solid content (SSC). Considering the overall morphological traits, a wide variation was detected between genotypes. According to the molecular findings obtained. The polymorphism rate ranged from 0–100% and the average polymorphism rate was calculated as 80%.ConclusionPresent findings revealed the diversity in tomato genotypes collected from Erzincan province and may constitute the bases for further breeding studies in tomato and will bring an integrity in tomato identification studies.

INFORMAL BUSINESS TOURISM IN CAMEROON

The uniqueness of business tourism in the African context is argued to be an amalgam of several clusters of activities manifested in both the formal and informal sectors. In this study, business tourism in the global south, with a specific focus on the informal sector in Cameroon is analysed. Using data that was collected from a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with three hundred and seventy-seven business travellers, the study reveals that informal business tourism includes domestic business travellers classified into five distinctive categories: (1) informal salespeople (2) shopowners (3) herdsmen (4) local farmers and (5) wholesalers. The study concludes that informal business tourism represents an important sector that contributes to tourism development and if well harnessed, its multiplier effect could be widespread amongst the different economic sectors of Cameroon.

Exploring agroforestry systems and practices in the Terai and hill regions of Nepal

This paper explores the status of agroforestry systems and practices in the Terai and hill regions of Nepal. Field survey, semi-structured interview and focus group discussions with the local farmers and stakeholders were conducted to explore the status of the agroforestry system and practices. The study covers forty-three districts, and represents agroforestry systems and practices in the Terai and hill regions of Nepal. Altogether, twelve agroforestry systems and forty-three agroforestry practices were documented in the Terai and hills of Nepal- ten systems in the Terai and seven systems in the hills. Agrisilviculture, agrisilvihorticulture, agrosilvopastoral, agrohortosilvopastoral, homegarden, hortiagriculture, silvofishery, agrosilvifishery, hortisilviculture and apiculture were the major agroforestry systems adopted in the Terai whereas those adopted in the hills included hortiagriculture, agrisilviculture, agrisilvihorticulture, agrosilvopastoral, homegarden, hortosilvipastoral and silvopastoral. The study revealed a gradual emerging scenario of commercial agroforestry systems in these regions although the continuation of traditional agroforestry systems was observed in most of the Terai and hill regions. Insufficient labour availability, fragmentation of land, market price fluctuation, lack of technical knowledge, and wild animal disturbances were some of the major challenges observed in the Terai and hills of Nepal.

SIMULASI KEBIJAKAN PADA IMPLEMENTASI PERJANJIAN KOMPREHENSIF INDONESIA-AUSTRALIA (IA-CEPA) TERHADAP PASAR DAGING SAPI DOMESTIK

Abstrak Beberapa tahun terakhir, pemenuhan permintaan daging sapi di Indonesia masih bergantung pada impor khususnya dari Australia. Impor daging sapi dapat menstabilkan harga daging sapi domestik, tetapi di lain sisi dapat menekan pendapatan peternak lokal. Implementasi dari IA-CEPA adalah penghapusan tarif impor dan TRQ (Tariff Rate Quota) untuk komoditas sapi hidup. Penghapusan tarif menyebabkan harga sapi yang masuk ke Indonesia menjadi lebih murah dan memperbesar peluang peningkatan volume impor sapi hidup. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis skenario terbaik untuk meningkatkan kesejahteraan pelaku ekonomi dengan menggunakan model persamaan simultan 2SLS (two stage least square). Simulasi dilakukan untuk tiga skenario yaitu skenario penghapusan tarif, penetapan kuota, dan TRQ. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa skenario penghapusan tarif memberikan total peningkatan kesejahteraan pelaku ekonomi terbesar yaitu 115 miliar dengan rincian defisit 736 miliar bagi produsen, surplus 936 miliar bagi konsumen, dan defisit 85 miliar untuk penerimaan pemerintah. Oleh karena itu, skenario yang direkomendasikan adalah skenario penghapusan tarif pada impor sapi dari Australia. Kata Kunci: 2SLS, IA-CEPA, Pasar Daging Sapi Abstract Recently, demand fulfillment of beef in Indonesia depended on imports, especially from Australia. import can stabilize the domestic price of beef, but the other hand can suppress the income of local farmers. Implementation of IA-CEPA policies is the elimination of import tariff and TRQ (tariff rate quota) for live cattle commodities. Elimination of import tariff causes the price of cattle to enter Indonesia to be cheaper and increases the opportunity to increase the import volume of live cattle. The study aims to investigate the best scenario that can improve the welfare of economic actors using simultaneous equation model 2SLS (two-stage least squares). Three scenarios that simulated are eliminating tariff, setting quota, and TRQ. The result shows that eliminating tariffs gives the largest total welfare increase of economic actors that is 115 billion, with a 736 billion deficit for producers, 936 billion surplus for consumers, and 85 billion deficit for government revenue. Therefore, the policy recommendation is the scenario of eliminating tariffs on cattle imports from Australia. Keywords: 2SLS, IA-CEPA, Beef Market JEL Classification: C53, F12, F13

The Effectiveness of Integrated Agribusiness Cooperatives on The Income of Local Farmers

The primary problem is the limited capital owned by the farmers. This study determine agribusiness activities and analyze the effectiveness of the Integrated Agribusiness Cooperative on the income level of farmers in Subak Guama, Tabanan Regency, Bali Province. The research subject is the Subak Guama farmers who receive capital assistance, and the object is the income of farmers. This study used quantitative data with descriptive statistical analysis, namely paired sample t-test. The results showed that: (1) The Subak Guama carries out: integrated rice management activities, rice-livestock integration activities; and task to strengthen household business capital, namely independent business loans; (2) There is a difference in the level of farming income of Subak Guama farmers before and after receiving capital assistance for agribusiness cooperatives of 7.24% with an effective level of 86.69% with effective criteria.

Estimation of genetic erosion on Ethiopian tetraploid wheat landraces using different approaches

The demand and use of improved crop varieties by farmers has increased in the central highlands of Ethiopia, where continuous loss of local traditional varieties has been occurring in the last two to three decades. The objectives of the study were to assess the extent of genetic erosion and perception of farmers and associated causes for the reduction of traditional farmers' varieties. Direct field assessment covering 56 wheat farms and a survey in which 149 farmers participated were carried out in three districts of central Ethiopia. Based on data collected during direct farm assessment, the loss of genotypes was found to be 88% in Ada followed by 80% and 60% in Lume and Gimbichu districts, respectively. The farmer survey indicated an even greater loss of diversity of100% in Ada followed by Lume (93%) and Gimbichu (67%). Diseases and pests as well as shorter growing seasons associated with climate change were identified as main causes for farmers to switch to modern varieties. The expansion of high yielding improved bread and durum wheat varieties also contributed to gradually replace local durum wheat varieties by local farmers of these districts. Overall, genetic erosion of tetraploid wheat varied among the three districts of central Ethiopia. Reductions in the number of farmers and area coverage in the study districts could be used as good indicators for the existence of genetic erosion.