Land Tenure and Cotton Farmers’ Land Improvement: Evidence from State-Owned Farms in Xinjiang, China

The land system of state-owned farms in China is different from that in rural areas. Whether the land tenure of state-owned farms can play a role in protecting cultivated land is an important issue for the high-quality development of state-owned agriculture in China. This article develops a dynamic model to examine how land tenure influences farmers’ decisions on land improvement. It then analyzes this relationship based on cotton farmers’ household-level data from state-owned farms of Xinjiang in China. We applied methods that take into account the possible endogeneity of the land tenure. The results reveal that the stability of land tenure in the past will not affect the current behavior of farmers for they have a relatively stable expectation of current land tenure and a high degree of trust in the government and its policies. The intergenerational transfer of land tenure is not the key factor that affects farmers’ land conservation, and the relatively long-term duration of land tenure (possibly five years or more) during their careers is more important. Our findings also reveal that non-property factors, such as government intervention (e.g., technology promotion) that alleviates the limited rationality of farmers, cannot be ignored because they played a crucial role in past land improvement when land tenure was less stable.

Application of GIS Technologies in Land Improvement in the Shabran-Sumgait Region

The article presents the results of a soil cover study carried out in Azerbaijan. It was found that the soils of the study area are slightly saline, which is more common on irrigated lands. Solonetzic soils are widespread in the Shabran-Sumgait region. The negative impact of alkaline soils on the development and crop yield of cultivated plants is due to the presence of soda and absorbing sodium and magnesium cations in the soil solution. It was revealed that 36.3% of soils with. Gyulamli, Shabran region, was heavily salinized. It is necessary to control the flows of the collector and drainage network in agricultural areas.

PLANNING TO REPAIR THE APPROACH SLABS BRIDGE MUARA TABIRAI, RANTAU – KANDANGAN

Muara Tabirai Bridge is on the border between Rantau and Kandangan District ,which is precisely is on the street of Kalumpang-Margasari, the village of Paci, Kalumpang subdistrict. Increasing economic growth has led to the economy of the population being affected by the development of the city, gradually increasing in economic sectors as a result of global economic growth. The increase in this economy is due to the growing industry in the area. This is accompanied by the increase and needs of the population in the area that resides in the region. Unfortunately, after one year of construction of Muara Tabirai Bridge, the approach slabs bridge in the direction Kandangan on the right side suffered a decrease in the soil to damage the asphalt, due to the possibility of a landslide on the side of the road, then the implementers make alternative repairs by using a bronjong which makes the load heavier than before so that the ground that supports the burden of the heap, bronjong and traffic load can not withstand and So in this final task is done repair on the ground soil and design a retaining wall that is more suitable for the condition of the landThe basic soil repair method used is by a phased heap (Preloading) combined with the Prefabricated Vertical Drain (PVD) ,which serves as a water and air release on the soil, thus experiencing a consolidated degree of 90%. And for retaining wall against the side of the heap is used sheet pile with the type of free-standing ,which is suitable for the location of the pile located in the river. After that, the calculation of budget plan (RAB) on the Land, improvement Project,From the result of calculation obtained, a gradual heap (Preloading) carried out 0.2 m/week ,and ,a high critical heap (HCR) obtained on the high end of the plan (HR) 3.14 m obtained a security figure (SF) of 1.148 so that the heap used the soil reinforcement that is Mini pile erection so that the safety number (SF) reaches more than equal to 1.5 Prefabricated Vertical Drain (PVD) is used specification of the product PT. Teknindo Superior System installed when before done the filling is on the ground ground, planning Prefabricated Vertical Drain (PVD) using a triangular mounting pattern with a distance between PVD 1.25 m, depth 28 m and the time required is 21 weeks. Planning of soil retaining structure used is cantilever sheet pile type, obtained a total length of sheet pile of 20.938 m at STA 0 + 275 on the left and right side of the bridge. The budget plan for this basic land improvement project is Rp. 30,886,527,167

The practice of the calculation of land plot physical area

The issue of physical area calculation has been scrutinized in the article. The research rationale is predefined by the influence of the accuracy of land plot area determination on the economic, environmental, and social components of land tenure. The issue of physical characteristics of a land plot at the determination of its area has been singled out in the article. The goal of the research is the substantiation of the use of land plot physical area calculation methodology in the current social and economic environment. The notion of land plot physical area has been provided. The trends of the application of land plot physical area determination methodology have been systemized. The methodology of land plot physical area determination by means of marking out polygons and determining the average slope has been used. The calculations of land plot area considering the relief at various quantities of the division of a triangle side have been made. Comparison with the calculation of area without considering the relief has been performed. The regression analysis of the dependence of physical area change with the change of the quantity of triangle side divisions has been carried out. The calculation of the relief complexity index for the determination of land plot physical area has been presented. This calculation confirms the economic viability of the determination of a land plot physical area by the suggested methodology at land improvement and agrotechnical activities. The result can be used for various works connected to the spatial aspects of land use and in the following scientific researches.

The dynamics of climate change in the Perm Territory

Приводятся данные о биоклиматическом потенциале (БКП) Пермского края, его составляющих, а также динамика изменения БКП за периоды 1970–1999 и 2000–2014 годов. На основании данных 17 метеостанций рассчитаны показатели биологической продуктивности земель, приводится районирование территории, анализируется теплообеспеченность вегетационного периода каждой выделенной зоны в ходе районирования. Пространственная оценка современных климатических условий показала, что на территории края прослеживается сильная изменчивость агрометеорологических характеристик в направлении с юго-запада на северо-восток. Продолжительность периодов с температурами выше 0; 5 и 10°С достаточно сильно колеблется по территории края — в пределах 200–223, 156–180 и 107–146 дней соответственно. Различия в обеспеченности теплом между северными и южными районами составляют порядка 500–700°С по суммам температур выше 10°С и 25–30 дней — по продолжительности периода активной вегетации. В целом территория Пермского края в настоящее время характеризуется удовлетворительными и хорошими агрометеорологическими условиями. Климатический индекс биологической продуктивности к концу исследуемого периода имеет тенденцию к возрастанию абсолютно во всех районах. Большинство районов входят в ареал средней биологической продуктивности со значением показателя 106–120 баллов. Сравнивая климатические показатели, составляющие БКП, за первый и второй периоды можно говорить о том, что в большей степени изменения коснулись сумм активных температур выше 10°С и количества осадков: среднее значение увеличилось на 139°С, количество осадков тоже увеличилось в среднем на 42 мм. Климатические условия этой территории могут обеспечить урожайность зерновых культур 2,4–2,8 т/га. Увеличиваются площади территорий с более благоприятными условиями климата для возделывания зерновых культур, а также сортов люцерны изменчивой северного экотипа. The article reports on farming potential of the Perm Territory and its dynamics for the periods of 1970–1999 and 2000–2014. Parameters of soil fertility were estimated on the base of the data obtained from 17 meteorological stations. The report reviews land improvement and climate conditions of growing seasons of each zone. Weather conditions change significantly from the southwest to the northeast. The length of periods with temperatures above 0; 5 and 10°С varies within 200–223, 156–180 and 107–146 days around the region. Differences in accumulated temperatures above 10°С amount to 500–700°С between the northern and southern regions, in the duration of active growing season — 25–30 days. The Perm Territory has moderate conditions for farming. Biological productivity tends to grow by the end of the period studied in all the zones. Most regions have average biological productivity. Sum of active temperatures above 10°С increased by 139°С from the first to the second periods as well as the amount of precipitations — by 42 mm. The climate of the Perm Territory provides grain crop yield of 2.4–2.8 t ha-1. Lands with optimal condition for grain crop cultivation grow as well as for farming of northern ecotypes of bastard alfalfa.

Pattern and Sources of Farm Investment in Agriculture of West Bengal: A Comparative Analysis Between Small and Large Farm

The analysis of the farm level investment is a complex problem, being very useful in the planning as well as in policy making process. This paper is the first to attempt a systematic comparison of investment between small and large farms in West Bengal. There has been a growing interest in recent years in the pattern of the capital formation, and sources of farm investment between different categories of farmer. The paper identifies the pattern of investment on different farm assets viz., purchase of land and land improvement, livestock, machinery, farm building, irrigation equipments and perennial crops. Data for the study was generated through a sample survey of 90 farm households from two districts in West Bengal. The rate of capital formation increased as the farm size increased. Purchase of irrigation appliances and land were the major item of capital formation in the farms of both small and large categories. Large farms invested highest on irrigation implements (` 66,467) and least on perennial crops (` 10,700). However, magnitude of investment was different across the different categories of farm. The per hectare investment on different farm capital assets found higher in case of small farms (` 2,77,559 per ha) than large farms (` 2,77,010 per ha). On aggregate, share of investment on different items was more than three times higher than investment made by small farmers in the last twelve month on their farms.

Economics of poultry manure utilization in land quality improvement among integrated poultry-maize-farmers in South western Nigeria

The rapid growth of Nigerian's poultry has made it more advantageous in terms of providing the essential raw material for soil fertility enhancement than other livestock. This paper evaluates the benefits of poultry manure use among integrated poultry-maize farmers in Ekiti and Osun States of Nigeria for improved land quality and continuous food production. Data were collected using Structured survey questionnaires administered on 500 randomly selected respondents in the two States. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics and costs and returns techniques. Respondents were small holders, with land area grown to mazie varying between 0.01 and 3.00 hectare. Majority of the respondents have personal farms but applied poultry manure only on small portions (25%) of the total cropped area of their farmlands. On the average, 53% of the respondents used poultry manure on their farms. Respondents were fairly literate with a mean age of 43 years. Major constraints to poultry manure use include odour, transportation, scarcity, wetness, bulkiness and time wastage in descending order of importance. While odour and transportation were identified as common problems among poultry manure users in Ekiti and Osun States, bulkiness was an additional constraint for non-user respondents in both states. Poultry manure material constituted about 91% of the total cost of inputs; transportation cost was 8% while labour cost averaged 2%. The mean net income earned per annum by poultry manure users was 1.40 times higher than that for non-users. The difference in mean net income users and non-users of poultry manure constitutes an important land improvement technique capable of enhancing farm production and income levels. Thus, technologies aimed at packaging it in such a way as to remove the associated social constraints to its use by farmers need be put in place.