Agricultural class and technology dissemination: case study of seed industry in Punjab and Haryana, India

This paper estimates the determinants of farmers’ self-perception toward adoption of new agricultural technologies based on a primary survey of 731 farm households that cultivated rice in eastern Indian states: 157 of these households received seed mini-kits of a new stress-tolerant rice variety called Swarna-Sub1, and the remaining 574 households were randomly selected from the study regions. The results show that farmers who received Swarna-Sub1 have higher scores on self-perception indices toward adoption of new agricultural technologies than the representative farmers. The paper also identifies factors that influence self-perception. The results indicate that female farmers, the less educated farmers, and farmers who belong to the scheduled caste group have low scores on self-perception indices, whereas Swarna-Sub1 users, large landholders, and wealthy farmers have high scores. The results suggest that empowering farmers, in terms of self-perception, may lead to adoption of new technologies.

This research explores the complex relationship between Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in agriculture, focusing on plant variety protection and food security. In this context, protecting plant varieties becomes key to enhancing agricultural productivity, addressing climate change challenges, and ensuring the sustainability of the food supply. Implementing intellectual property rights in agriculture also directly impacts the welfare of farmers and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Methodologically, this research adopts a normative approach, using various data sources and relevant analyses within the legislative framework. The research also elucidates the crucial role of institutions tasked with implementing plant variety protection measures within a broader IPR framework. The research findings indicate challenges and opportunities inherent in implementing plant variety protection measures, including legal and policy barriers, and opportunities for policy innovation and collaboration among government stakeholders, industry, and society. In conclusion, this research offers valuable insights into the complex dynamics between Intellectual Property Rights in agriculture, particularly plant variety protection, and food security. Furthermore, policy recommendations are proposed to strengthen regulatory frameworks for plant variety protection, enhance access to agricultural technology, and promote multi-stakeholder collaboration. Considering the complexity of the relationship between various aspects of IPR, plant variety protection, and food security, further research can explore innovative solutions to overcome existing barriers and capitalize on emerging opportunities. This may involve a more detailed analysis of existing legal and policy frameworks and exploring the practical implications of the policy recommendations outlined in the abstract in ensuring the sustainability of agricultural systems and food security in the future.

Nowadays, big data is widely used in many fields of society, which has strategic guiding significance for modern agricultural technology innovation. Under natural conditions, traditional agriculture uses manual labor, such as manpower, tools and animal power, and relies on the traditional development experience accumulated in The Times. The self-sufficient natural economy occupies a dominant position. With the continuous innovation and development of modern science and technology, the traditional agricultural economy has gradually transformed into the modern industrial economy and urban economy. The rational application of information technology in agricultural upgrading and transformation can accelerate the process of agricultural modernization and guarantee the sustainable goal of our social economic development. Therefore, on the basis of understanding the research status of modern agricultural technology, this paper deeply discusses how to apply the theory of agricultural big data technology in modern agriculture according to the implementation path of modern agricultural big data engineering.

This research aims to (1) describe agricultural modernization in farming communities in Arokke Hamlet, Lili Riattang Village, Lappariaja District, Bone Regency. (2) to describe the impact of agricultural modernization on social changes in farming communities in Arokke Hamlet, Lili Riattang Village, Lappariaja District, Bone Regency. This research uses descriptive qualitative research methods. The data collection process carried out was (1) Observation (2) Interview (3) Documentation. To more easily understand the events being studied, the author uses Talcot Parsons' Functionalism theory approach. The research results show that (1) The development of agricultural modernization in the farming community in Arokke Hamlet, Liliriattang Village is a change in agricultural procedures from traditional to more advanced or modern. Agricultural modernization itself is considered more practical, faster, and makes it easier for farmers to cultivate agricultural land from the process of cultivating rice fields to the harvesting stage. The modernization of agricultural farming in the farming community in Arokke Hamlet, Liliriattang Village is: (a) the values of modernization are the attitude of openness of the farming community towards the changes that occur. (b) agricultural organizations, namely the formation of farmer groups. (c) agricultural technology, based on research results, a form of modernization in agricultural technology is the use of agricultural tools with advanced technology. (d) community knowledge in the use of agricultural technology, agricultural modernization has good potential and opportunities for progress in the agricultural sector, but this potential must be accompanied by knowledge about agricultural modernization so that people are able to manage their agriculture well so that it has an impact on maximum final results. (2) The impact of agricultural modernization on social changes in the farming community in Arokke Hamlet, Liliriattang Village. This research shows that agricultural modernization has brought significant changes to farmers. Changes in the agricultural sector include: (a) an increase in agricultural production. (b) changes in social structure. (c) agricultural modernization also has an impact on the environment. (d) agricultural modernization causes changes in culture and values in society. (e) agricultural modernization has a positive impact on improving the community's economy.

In modern agriculture, reducing the internal moisture content of crop seeds is essential to enhance the activity and mobility of seed oil molecules, thereby increasing oil yield while minimizing the risk of mold and deterioration. However, traditional drying methods often result in uneven heating, leading to seed scorching and diminished drying efficiency and economic returns. To address these limitations, this study proposes a novel thin-layer seed drying system incorporating a redesigned drying tray structure. Specifically, the system places the seed-bearing tray beneath a vibration module operating at a predetermined frequency. The vibration mechanism induces the uniform motion of the seeds, thereby preventing localized overheating (scalding) and enabling automatic weighing for the real-time monitoring of moisture reduction during the drying process. The advancement of wireless sensor technologies in agriculture has enabled the deployment of more refined, large-scale monitoring networks. In this work, a commercial chip-based piezoelectric vibration detection device was integrated into the experimental setup to collect time-domain response signals resulting from interactions among seeds, impurities, and the drying tray. These signals were used to construct a comprehensive database of seed collision signatures. To mitigate discontinuities in signal transmission caused by vibration and potential equipment failure, the shortest routing protocol (SRP) was implemented. Additionally, the system outage probability (OP) and a refined closed-form solution for signal transmission reliability were derived under a Rayleigh fading channel model. To validate the proposed method, a series of experiments were conducted to determine the optimal vibration frequencies for various seed types. The results demonstrated a reduction in seed scalding rate to 1.5%, a decrease in seed loss rate to 0.4%, and an increase in moisture monitoring accuracy to 97.0%. Compared to traditional drying approaches, the vibrating drying tray substantially reduced seed loss and effectively distinguished between seeds and impurities. Furthermore, the approach shows strong potential for broader applications in seed classification and moisture detection across different crop types.

Agriculture is a vital sector that plays a role in fulfilling food needs, economic development, and community welfare, particularly in rural areas. However, most farmers in Lebak Village, Grabag District, Magelang Regency, still rely on conventional methods that are inefficient and do not yet utilize modern agricultural technology. This community service activity aims to enhance farmers' understanding and skills related to appropriate technology, specifically a sensor-based automatic soil moisture irrigation system, a portable soil pH meter, and a circle model seed planting pattern. The method employed in this activity was the socialization of appropriate technology. The results show a significant improvement, with the average understanding score increasing by 91%, 85% of farmers being able to operate the pH meter, water use efficiency rising by 28%, and corn planting time becoming 44% faster. These outcomes prove that participatory socialization based on direct practice is effective in boosting farmers' capacity, both cognitively and technically. This activity is expected to serve as a model for strengthening the adoption of modern agriculture based on adaptive, productive, and sustainable precision technology at the village level.

Agricultural modernization as an outcome of economic development cannot be achieved within the agricultural sector only. The agricultural transformation process in western countries has revealed that agricultural modernization is a process in which agricultural organizations spontaneously achieve the transformation in agricultural industrial organization and agricultural technology with the core ideology of industrialization. The existing binary system has made Chinese agriculture fail to achieve the transformation in industrial organization and technology synchronically with the industrial sector. Therefore, in the current conditions, in order to facilitate agricultural modernization, we must transform the land system at the level of relations of production, urban and rural household registration system, urban and rural social security system and other key factors, promote the transformation of agricultural industrial organization with the core concept of industrial revolution, thus promoting the spontaneous revolution in agricultural production technology.

Decentralized governance can facilitate the participation of non‐government actors in natural resource management. Yet efforts to increase participation can also enhance the power of existing elites. Here, we analyse the role of landowning elites in developing and operating a hybrid governance arrangement in response to the decentralization of anti‐deforestation policy in the Brazilian Amazon. We employ a framework that permits examination of the role played by different actors, the rationale that promoted collaboration in the first place, and the distribution of power that shapes the still evolving governance arrangement. By engaging state and non‐state actors in a hybrid governance partnership, the local landowning elite in Paragominas, a municipality in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, successfully achieved the specific goals set by federal policies to be removed from a high deforestation ‘Red List’. Yet the local governors, together with the rural elite, transformed the crisis generated by inclusion in the Red List into an opportunity to shift the rural economy on a path towards more legalized large‐scale agriculture. By aligning production and conservation objectives, the project attracted medium and large landowners, but also failed to prevent − or potentially exacerbated − the further marginalization of smallholders. Rural elites can effectively mobilize hybrid government arrangements in pursuit of their own interests while also producing wider benefits such as a more stimulated urban economy and strengthened environmental compliance. However, inclusion of more marginalized populations in this process remains a severe and largely unaddressed challenge. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Crop seeds that are formed on seed-bearing crops at late growth stages are a potential diet item of birds and mammals feeding in agricultural landscapes and may carry pesticide residues. This potential exposure route for birds and mammals is thus part of the European risk assessment framework for pesticide risk assessment. For assessing the risk, estimated residue concentrations on crop seeds are needed, which are typically expressed as RUD (residue-per-unit-dose) values. However, proposed RUD values for seeds as given in relevant European Union (EU) guidance documents were often not derived from actual crop seeds and are generally based on outdated data with unclear relevance for regulatory purposes. The objective of this work was to provide reliable crop seed RUD values representative for EU conditions and modern pesticides. For this purpose, industry field study data on crop seed residue levels for various pesticides resulting from spray application to crops at late growth stages were gathered and evaluated. This new large dataset is based on 178 residue trials and provides crop-specific data for cereals, sunflower, oilseed rape, and pulses. The analysis revealed significantly lower RUD values across crops than the current default values for use in wildlife risk assessment.

Ecological intensification may reduce environmental externalities of agriculture by harnessing biodiversity to benefit regulating ecosystem services. However, to propose management options for the production of such services, there is a need to understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of net effects between ecosystem services and disservices provided by wild organisms across taxonomic groups in relation to habitat and landscape management. We studied the contribution of predatory vertebrates and invertebrates (including both carnivores and seed herbivores) to regulating ecosystem services and disservices in 16 cereal fields in response to a local habitat contrast and a landscape complexity gradient. From May to November 2016, we provided weed (predation reflects an ecosystem service) and crop (predation reflects a disservice) seeds, as well as pest (predation reflects an ecosystem service) and beneficial (predation reflects a disservice) invertebrate prey to predators. Seed predation was dominated by vertebrates, while vertebrates and invertebrates contributed equally to predation of animal prey. Before harvest, predation steadily increased from very low levels in May to high levels in July independent of the resource type. After harvest, ecosystem services declined more rapidly than disservices. The presence of adjacent seminatural grasslands promoted crop seed predation, but reduced pest prey predation. Predation on beneficial prey decreased with increasing proportions of seminatural grassland in the landscape. Predatory vertebrates and invertebrates provide important ecosystem services due to the consumption of pests. However, beneficial invertebrates and crop seeds were often consumed to a similar or even higher extent than harmful invertebrates or weed seeds. Our results therefore raise concerns that management options aimed at enhancing service providers may simultaneously increase levels of disservices. By considering positive and negative effects simultaneously, this study addresses an important knowledge gap and highlights the importance of interactions between local management, landscape composition, and service and disservice provision across taxa and over time. Considering trade-offs between ecosystem services and disservices when evaluating the net effects of biodiversity conservation measures on ecosystem service provision is crucial. Future agri-environment schemes that offer payments for seminatural habitats may need to provide higher compensation for farmers in cases where net effects are likely to be negative.

This study presents a rapid assessment of the adoption of digital technology in Philippine agriculture and its implications for smallholder farmers. Modernization of agriculture, a perennial goal in agricultural policy, is increasingly linked with digital technologies, as outlined in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) and underscored by Industry 4.0’s transformative impacts on markets, trade, and manufacturing. Digital agriculture offers significant potential benefits, including enhanced productivity, market access, and sustainability. However, it also presents the risk of exacerbating the “digital divide,” potentially leaving vulnerable rural populations further behind. The assessment explores the current application of digital technologies in agricultural value chains, the prospects for further adoption, and whether these technologies are benefiting the most vulnerable farmers and fisherfolk. Findings reveal that while certain digital agriculture components like advisory apps and online retail networks are widespread, others remain in early development or at prototype stages. Government priorities and stakeholder interests (farmers, fisherfolk, agribusiness companies) suggest promising prospects for expanding digital agriculture tools, including decision support systems and online marketplaces. The study also identifies strategies to bridge the digital divide, such as community organizing, development of rental markets, and investments in rural connectivity. Key policy recommendations include harmonizing government data and advisory services, creating a single government portal for digital agriculture, integrating digital solutions into farm management, expanding decision support for diversification and climate resiliency, and establishing a centralized e-commerce platform. Emphasizing the importance of government-led initiatives, the study advocates for exploring public-private partnerships to enhance the commercialization and accessibility of digital agricultural technologies.

Maize production is the main source of income in rural western Kenya, where 70% of the population lives below the poverty line. Many maize farmers over the years have been experiencing losses in their production that are brought about by striga weeds, stemborer, and fall armyworms as the major menaces. Push-pull technology (PPT), which was developed over three decades, has proven to be an effective organic method for reducing these biotic stressors. Multi-actor communities of practice (MACs) are important in the dissemination of agricultural technologies to diversified farming communities at different levels for enhanced adoption through the use of effective dissemination pathways. UPSCALE is a Horizon 2020 project whose aim is to promote wide-spread push-pull Pull Technology adoption through the transdisciplinary engagement of MAC. This paper focused on two objectives: to compare the differences in maize yield among adopters and non-adopters of PPT and to evaluate the effects of MACs on the adoption of push-pull technology in western Kenya. This brings the relevant stakeholders on board to ensure smallholder farmers realize the associated benefits of PPT and other agricultural technologies. It has been established that MACs collaboration can aid in increased adoption of agricultural technologies such as push-pull technology, as this is shown through responses from farmers via services they acquire from MACs. MACs inclusion is important because they interact directly with farmers to ensure farmers are up to date with new technologies in terms of information sharing, technology promotion, and the supply of inputs required to adopt technologies. Additionally, adopters tend to get higher maize yields as compared to non-adopters, based on the obtained results. Given the importance of involving MACs at every stage of technology adoption, there is a call to fully engage with stakeholders in ensuring the dissemination of agricultural research and technologies.

Agriculture is the most important sector in economic life in an area. Jember Regency is the area with the largest agricultural area. One of the agricultural products in the Jember region is Mushroom. The mushroom cultivation system is very dependent on the season so that it results in instability of farmers’ income. This study aims to determine: 1) The condition of mushroom farming communities in the Jember area; 2) how the benefits of information literacy for mushroom farmers. This research uses descriptive research method with a qualitative approach. Determination of informants using the Snowball Sampling technique. In this study data collection using the method of observation and interviews. The object of research chosen was farmers who had used agricultural technology and modernization through a literacy approach. The results showed the pattern of mushroom cultivation using modernization techniques and the use of appropriate technology to maximize agricultural yields and sales of mushroom production. Through information literacy, mushroom farmers can gain new knowledge. The results obtained through information literacy in the form of knowledge about agricultural modernization, agricultural technology and implementation of information in its application in agriculture, especially mushroom agriculture. To increase revenue and development in the field of mushroom cultivation

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Ethiopian economy. However, the growth of the sector is constrained by different factors. Low level of technology development, inefficient technology dissemination, low utilization of improved production inputs and shortage of research proven production practices are among the most important factors hindering the growth of the sector. The objective of this study was, therefore, to assess the status of the current agricultural knowledge and technology transfer systems. For this purpose, a combined effort of literature study, expert elicitation and questionnaire based survey were carried out. The results of the study showed that a multitude of factors are constraining the system in the area. Limited economic capacity and awareness of farmers, lack of motivation of stakeholders, lack of motivation and knowledge level of development agents to support the transfer system are within the limiting factors. Weak linkage amongst the concerned actors, negligence of farmers' indigenous knowledge, and resistance of farmers to newly introduced technologies are also among the main factors hindering the efficiency of the system in their respective orders. Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that practicing participatory research approach, capacity building training, and mobilization of farmers are in urgent need for improving the efficiency of the transfer systems. Equipping with knowledge and skill and establishing a motivation scheme for development agents also a central solution to improve the systems. On top of this, timely dissemination of agricultural technologies, and information considering farmers indigenous knowledge needs to get due attention so as to improve agricultural knowledge-information and technology transfer system as well as smallholders' livelihood. Key words: Agricultural information, agricultural technology, Southern Ethiopia, technology and knowledge transfer.

В статье рассматриваются условия внедрения цифровых технологий в современное сельское хозяйство России. Проанализированы особенности агропромышленного комплекса России оказывающие наибольшее влияние на эффективность цифровизации сельского хозяйства. Целью исследования являлось выявление влияния цифровых технологий на сельское хозяйство. Основой статьи явились научные работы российских и зарубежных ученых и агентств. Также в работе использован комплекс научных подходов и методов, которые основаны на теоретико-методологическом исследовании новейших цифровых технологий и возможности их интеграции в аграрный сектор. Рост как возможности, так и необходимости сбора, управления и анализа данных может привести к коренному изменению в организации продовольственной системы. В статье рассматриваются возможности и проблемы, которые вызывают данные новшества, современное состояние внедрения цифровых технологий в России, а также проводят анализ опыта различных стран в использовании данных технологий в сельском хозяйстве.