Biocomercio y valoración de la biodiversidad del bosque amazónico en la selva central del Perú

The rapid expansion of agrifood exports from low‐ and middle‐income countries and the contribution of global value chains to rural development are well‐documented in the literature. Also, studies on modernization of domestic food value chains in these countries are emerging. Yet, the linkages between global and local value chains are rarely studied. On the one hand, the development and expansion of global value chains may create competition with local value chains for land, labor, water, soil nutrients, and other resources. On the other hand, positive spillover effects, such as investment, technical or institutional spillovers, may occur and spur the development of local value chains. In this article, we put forward a conceptual discussion on the type of linkages between global and local value chains, and how these depend on crop and value chain characteristics. We review the empirical evidence on these linkages. Our focus is on Africa, where agrifood exports and global value chains evolved rapidly and where challenges remain to upgrade and increase efficiency in local food value chains.

The agricultural water-saving technologies and their application conditions are different in different regions with different natural conditions,so it is difficult and uncertain to evaluate the existing agricultural water-saving technologies.It has great significance to select reasonable evaluation indexes and build a more scientific and comprehensive model that will help to evaluate the agricultural water-saving technologies.According to field surveys and the Delphi method,this paper selected nine indexes from twenty evaluation indexes of agricultural water-saving technology.Water-saving rate,accumulated temperature and soil fertility are ecological factors;output/input,labor input and economy input are belong to economic factors,while the reliable of technical,technical level and the acceptance from farmers are the social factors.Based on these nine indexes,a comprehensive and systematic evaluation index system of agricultural water-saving technology was constructed,allowing avoiding information overlap.This paper proposed a full evaluation model(ARM) based on Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP) and Rough Set,which introduced the experience factor to revise the indexes weight by AHP and Rough Set.Using AHP,Rough Set and ARM,the existing major agricultural water-saving technologies,such as plastic mulch,straw mulch and furrow irrigation technologies were evaluated in Wuwei City,in the Gansu province.In the evaluation of plastic mulch technology,AHP emphasized a very high economic benefit(0.44),while Rough Set was most important in ecological benefit(0.33) and social benefit(0.32),failing the economic benefits(0.05).ARM revised the evaluation results of those two methods,and obtained the economic,ecological and social benefits of plastic mulch technology,was 0.36,0.20 and 0.13 respectively.However,in the evaluation of straw mulch technology,there was a significant difference in the results by Rough Set,where ARM obtained the economic,ecological and social benefits was 0.09,0.18 and 0.06 respectively.In the evaluation of furrow irrigation technology,Rough Set emphasized the ecological benefit about 0.28.After the revision of the evaluation results of those two methods,ARM obtained the economic,ecological and social benefits,was 0.24,0.01 and 0.13 respectively.Generally,evaluation results of ARM showed that plastic mulch technology gave the best economic benefit.Moreover the ecological benefit of plastic mulch and straw mulch technologies were higher by 0.19 and 0.17 than furrow irrigation technology,and this might be mainly due to the fact that straw mulch technology could keep moisture,increase soil organic matter and adjust the ground temperature in the late growth stages of maize.In addition,it emerged that plastic mulch technology could save more water as well as improve the ground temperature at seedling stage.Compared with straw mulch technology,the social benefit by plastic mulch technology and furrow irrigation technology was higher by 112.12% and 18.18% respectively,which shows that those two technologies present a strong social character,in the semi-arid areas of He Xi region.Therefore,plastic mulch technology is likely to result the best agricultural water-saving technology in maize cropping,whereas straw mulch technology demonstrated a high ecological benefit but low economic benefit,which does not fit the conditions of the Northwest of China.Based on Rough Set and AHP,ARM combined the subjective knowledge with the objective factors,could effectively overcome the problem that many of the evaluation models determined the weight subjectivity,thus the evaluation results become more realistic,which provided a scientific and simple evaluation method of agricultural water-saving technology.

Mechanism of action of marine ecological restoration on ecological, economic, and social benefits—An empirical analysis based on a structural equation model

Agriculture, food and global value chains: issues, methods and challenges

Background: Food quality and safety concerns in low- and middle-income countries are often addressed using stringent standards and formal contracts between farmers and buyers. Many studies have investigated the welfare implications of these control mechanisms for small-scale farmers in modern value chains, including exports and supermarkets. Conversely, few studies have focused on the potential of certification and contracts to tackle food safety issues within local traditional value chains. Methods: This study uses a discrete choice experiment to explore the preferences of vegetable farmers (n = 301) in northern Vietnam for different types of certification schemes–including third-party certification and participatory guarantee systems–and contracts. Results: Farmers are willing to accept a 49% lower price per kilogram for their vegetables to enter into a contract with a buyer, provided that pesticide use restrictions are feasible and the buyer is fully committed and trustworthy. However, they are strongly averse to organic farming, as they would require a 40% premium per kilogram to produce organically. They would also request a 21% premium to accept selling to an unknown buyer. Farmers highly value contracts that entail large purchase quantities, long duration and pesticide provision. Although the estimated willingness-to-accept values may seem very large, they make sense in the context of highly perishable produce. Conclusion: Our findings urge both policy makers and researchers to not only focus on modern value chains but also on local traditional value chains to tackle food safety issues in low- and middle-income countries, as we show that farmers are willing to produce safe vegetables for the local market when trading with buyers under beneficial conditions.

Agriculture is important for most of the world’s poor population not only as a source of income but defense against hunger. Over the last three decades, agricultural supply chain organizational structures in developing countries have increasingly become complex and transformed because of the emergence of competitive, fast-moving business environments. These changes have particularly affected several food value chains, creating in some cases positive effects, and resulting in the exclusion of smallholders who are unable to meet specific supply chain requirements. This counteracts the achievement of development goals by disrupting associated distributional effects to excluded smallholders in developing countries. Evidence suggests that affected smallholders respond by switching marketing channels and shifting to organizational network relationships. This consequently intensifies the formation of dualistic systems in which both modern and local value chains coexist. However, since the mid-1990s, the focus of development analysts and researchers has been on the expansion and inclusion of smallholders in modern value chains. This has resulted in total neglect of local value chains, which remain a significant source of income for many rural populations and ensure effective food delivery that meets culturally diverse needs in developing countries. Only recently has agribusinesses’ and development analysts’ attention been placed on local value chains yet, some key knowledge and research areas remain unaddressed.
\nIndeed, our understanding of how local value chains are organized and function within dualistic systems remains generally limited. In particular, little is known about the role of socially constructed concepts such as gender-relations and decision-making power in driving value additions. Understanding these fundamentals is important for the postulation of policies for agricultural and local value chain upgrading and equitable distribution of wealth. Besides, smallholders continuously face external and internal contingencies that affect their competitiveness along food systems. Theory posits that the effects of changing business environments on smallholder performance can be mitigated by fitting supply chain network that includes vertical, horizontal and lateral relationships. However, the associations between these constructs as postulated theoretically remain generally underexplored, especially for smallholders in African food sectors. Frameworks and empirical analyses that holistically and simultaneously analyze these associations are rare. Furthermore, over the last two decades, there has been increasing attention of donors, governments and researchers to strengthen collection actions through producer groups in developing countries. Producer groups are widely viewed as valuable institutional arrangements for smallholders to cope with/overcome market inefficiencies arising from changing business environments. However, little is known about the effect of membership in producer groups on smallholder performance in fishery subsectors. Overall, bridging these gaps is important to understand and posit practical implications on how to promote alternative development models and smallholders’ opportunities in dynamic food systems.
\nOn this account, this dissertation fills these gaps by analyzing the links between organizational structures, gender roles, and performance of smallholders in African local value chains. The dissertation consists of three main papers that are based on two types of data from the Nigerian shrimp and prawn sector. First, qualitative data was obtained between December 2017 and January 2018 from 48 respondents in three States namely; Akwa-Ibom, Delta and Lagos. The second data includes two sets of quantitative data obtained from the survey of 405 producers and 238 processors in Akwa-Ibom, Ondo and Lagos States between May and August 2018. 
\nThe first paper aims to uncover how local value chains in dualistic food systems are organized, depicting the predominant governance themes, gender roles for value addition, and necessary upgrading strategies for smallholders in Africa. Failure of existing studies to capture the evolution and multiplicity of governance structures, and hidden social constructs has resulted in mixed findings on the organization and drivers of local value chains. Using qualitative data obtained from 3 in-depth focus group discussions and 21 key informant interviews, we rely on the global value chain approach to map local value chain’s organization distinctively from modern value chains. We make a conceptual contribution by extending this approach to include a gendered dimension of the value web approach, which we developed. This allows for simultaneous analysis of the roles of governance schemes and hidden gender relations in driving local value chains. 
\nOur main results reveal that competitive traders, the mutual dependence between production and processing segments and strategic business activities of female processors were crucial for the chain’s functioning. Results from the Net-maps show that the predominant marketing channel is long: producer–women processors/marketer–trader–retailer–consumer, however, analysis of the governance dimensions shows the importance of the relational governance between producers and women processors that allows for better coordination of supply and marketing activities at the supply-base. Further analysis of the gendered value-web highlights the vital roles women play in ensuring value additions and smooth flow of products along the chain. Women processors act as financial buffers for producers, points of contact and precursors to all midstream value additions in the value web.
\nThe second paper builds on the results and implications of the first paper. Here, we suggest a comprehensive quantitative research framework to determine the relationship between changing business contingencies, organizational supply chain networks and smallholder performance. While supply chain contingencies and organizational complexities have been widely studied in organizational theory literature, it only became a subject of quantitative analysis in recent times. Still, several conceptual and research shortcomings exist in the literature such as the neglect of the concurrent fit of organizational strategies to both external and internal contingencies, lack of comprehensive analysis of organizational networks, and less focus on multiple tiers. Hence, we use a variance-based structural equation model to analyze the quantitative data from producers and women processors. We first take a cue from contingent resource-based theory and netchain approach to conceptualize the influence of both external (market turbulence, technological progress, distrust and power asymmetry) and internal (human and financial resources) contingencies on organizational relationships and performance, extending an existing empirical model. We then empirically test the so-called “Contingency-Netchain-Performance” (CNP) framework, on two tiers to derive valid and comprehensive evidence comparable across the tiers. 
\nResults from the estimations indicate that both external and internal contingencies significantly influence adaptational change in organization supply chain network, which in turn contributes to smallholders’ performance. All the smallholders’ external contingencies influence the formation of tighter vertical coordination but their influences differ on horizontal and lateral relationships. More importantly, results reveal that smallholders’ internal contingencies concurrently influence their organizational network structures and performance. However, the influence of both external and internal contingencies on organizational networks seems to differ across tiers while supply chain vertical relationships tend to intensify the formation of closer network structures. Several conceptual, theoretical and practical contributions emerged from the successful application of the CNP framework in this study.
\nIn the third paper, we examined the selectivity-corrected role of fisher groups on the capture and technical efficiency of artisanal shrimpers in Africa. We empirically identify factors that influence shrimpers’ decision to belong to fisher groups and estimate the effect of membership on capture and technical efficiency. Methodological augmentation using Greene’s stochastic production frontier method and propensity score matching that correct for selection bias, allows us to account for different technological set if any, and sample selection bias from both observed and unobserved factors. We use quantitative data of 353 producers that operate outboard engines, comprising of 95 members and 258 non-members. We found that the overall participation in fisher groups is positively determined by shrimpers’ socioeconomic characteristics; female participation in shrimp-related groups; and infrastructural facilities like credit and tarmacked roads. The stochastic results reveal that technical efficiency scores remain consistently higher for members regardless of how biases were corrected. Although technical efficiency scores for members and nonmembers tend to be over-estimated if selectivity is not appropriately controlled, our findings suggest that participation in fisher groups is important for smallholders with below-average performance and positively related to increases in catch and technical efficiency.
\nImportant lessons and conclusions were derived from the results of this dissertation. The papers confirm that organizational network structures matter for smallholders’ upgrading and local value chain development in Nigeria. Our results confirm strong influences from highly dynamic external and internal contingencies on the formation of dense and complex organizational network structures in which vertical and network relationships are dependent. By ali

Governance and learning in global, regional, and local value chains: The IT enabled services industry in South Africa

This study was conducted to identify and compare pregnant women’s anxiety, depression, and birth satisfaction levels based on their traumatic childbirth perceptions. This study used a cross-sectional design. The data were collected at two stages, namely, the prenatal and postpartum stages. First, the Traumatic Childbirth Perception Scale, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory were applied to the pregnant women. Next, in the postpartum period, the Childbirth Information Form and the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised were applied. It was found that the participants with high levels of traumatic childbirth perception had higher mean anxiety and depressive symptom scores (26.13 ± 11.30 and 16.16 ± 9.02, respectively), whereas the participants with low levels of traumatic childbirth perception had a higher mean birth satisfaction score (17.50 ± 4.91). The findings indicated that high levels of traumatic childbirth perception may lead to have anxiety and depression, while low levels of traumatic childbirth perception may enhance their birth satisfaction. IMPACT STATEMENT What is already known on this subject? In the literature, it is stated that the perception of a traumatic birth can lead to permanent or long-term negative consequences in women's lives, negatively affecting their future health, subsequent birth experiences, and family relationships. What do the results of this study add? In this study, 37.7% of the participants were found to have high levels of traumatic childbirth perception. It was determined that the anxiety and depression levels of the participants with high levels of perception of traumatic birth were higher, and the levels of birth satisfaction were higher in the pregnant women with low levels of perception of traumatic birth. The results indicated that severe depressive symptoms, severe anxiety, and low levels of birth satisfaction were likely to raise traumatic childbirth perception levels in pregnant women. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? The care to be given under the leadership of midwifery professionals is important in terms of reducing pregnant women’s perceptions of a traumatic birth, anxiety, and depression levels and increasing their levels of birth satisfaction.

Smallholder farmers are the cornerstone of the livestock sector and an essential element in building and developing the local dairy value chain, critical for developing its local economy. In Georgia, and despite the efforts made since independence from the Soviet Union until now, farmers still face many problems that prevent them from participating effectively in developing the dairy value chain, especially heavy metal pollution that afflicts the study region. This research study refers to smallholder farmers’ viewpoints in the Kvemo Kartli region on the dairy production sector and the problems these farmers face. This study also investigates the effect of several factors (ethical factors, traditions, animal welfare, cultural factors, etc.) on the dairy value chain. The convergence model was used in the mixed-method approach’s triangular design as a methodology for this research study. As part of the social data, 140 farmers who produce and sell milk and cheese in the Kvemo Kartli region were interviewed. The results showed the influence of the ethical, cultural, and traditional factors in developing the value chain. The results also showed the problems and difficulties small farmers face in rural areas, on the one hand, and the gap between these farmers and governmental and private organisations on the other hand. These results are compared to those of a previous study, where interviews with experts in Georgia’s dairy production sector were performed.

To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, research concepts and empirical evidence are needed to upgrade smallholder activities within local value chains (LVCs) of many developing countries. Yet, comprehensive gender‐sensitive investigations of the evolution and multiplicity of governance in whole food systems with parallel functioning of local and modern value chains (MVCs) are greatly underrepresented in the scientific literature. This study aims to uncover LVCs' (a) value systems, (b) governance themes and gender roles for value addition and (c) smallholder upgrading strategies in developing countries' dualistic sectors. The global value chain framework serves as the conceptual basis for the study and is extended towards the gendered value web approach. Empirical data obtained through three focus group discussions, three Net‐maps and 21 interviews from the Nigerian shrimp sub‐sector represent the basis for the qualitative analysis. The results identified two lead actors—traders and women processors—who are crucial for the functioning of the complex value system. Further findings showed that fishermen and women processors are mutually reliant and are organized along their gendered comparative advantage. Based on these results, manifold managerial and policy implications, that are also applicable to other developing countries and cases, are derived to upgrade and develop smallholders' gendered activities and products along the LVC.

Background: Enteral feeding (EF) is the preferred method of feeding for high-risk neonates. So, major attention should be directed to nurses' perception and bedside observation concerning EF. Aim: This study aimed to determine nurses’ perception and bedside observation concerning EF at NICU. Design: Descriptive research design was utilized. Setting: This study was carried out at NICU in Assiut University Children Hospital. Subjects: A convenience sampling of 60 nurses who had clinical experience at least three months in NICU was included. Tools: Two tools were used to collect necessary data which included; personal characteristics questionnaire for nurses (tool 1) and enteral feeding questionnaire (tool 2). Results: 48.33% of the studied nurses had high level of perception and more than half (58.33%) of them had high level of practice concerning enteral feeding, 100 % of the studied nurses who aged 35 years and more and the majority of them who had 10 years and more of experiences had high level of perception and practice (85.2 and 96% respectively). Conclusion: About half of the studied nurses had high level of perception and more than half of them had high level of practice concerning enteral feeding. More experienced, attendance training programs and aged nurses had high level of enteral feeding perception and practice. Recommendations: Provision of continuing educational programs on regular basis is suggested in order to refresh and updated nurses' perception and practice.

The study was conducted to explore gender dimensions in the local chicken value chain in northern Uganda. Specifically, it focused on characterizing local chicken value chain actors, ascertaining level and determinants of gender participation as well as relationships between gender, access and control over income from local chicken enterprises. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaires administered in a cross-sectional survey of 200 randomly selected local chicken value chain actors. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 10 and StataSE 13 software from which simplified gross margins, descriptive statistics, correlations and a Logit regression model were estimated. Results revealed that majority of value chain actors were aged 20–48 years and males were dominant across most segments in the value chain. Men participated more in input supply, house construction, marketing and barbequing while women participated in production and stewing local chickens. Among actors, processors (UGX 1,911,274) and farmers (UGX 159,691) had the highest and least annual gross margin respectively. The Logit model revealed that age, education level, marital status and income control positively influenced (Pr = 0.00) gender participation. Men had more control over income than women. An engendered innovation platform could be established for training and empowerment of local chicken value chain actors.

Multiple influences of land transfer in the integration of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in China

The rice–crab co-culture (RC) system is a multidimensional integrated farming model with significant potential for balancing ecological and economic benefits in paddy fields. However, improper nitrogen (N) fertilizer application exacerbates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, degrades water quality, and disrupts the balance of the RC ecosystem. Therefore, optimizing and improving N management strategies for the RC system is crucial to maximize its ecological and economic benefits. This study conducted a two-year field experiment to assess the impact of optimizing N application on the productivity, sustainability, and economic benefits in RC systems. Comparisons were made to compare rice and crab productions, GHG emissions, and net ecosystem economic benefit (NEEB) between the RC and rice monoculture (RM) systems under different N application rates (0, 150, 210, and 270 kg ha−1) with the aim of identifying the optimal N application rate for the RC system. The results showed that the N application rate of 210 kg ha−1 in the RC system improved the agronomic traits and N use efficiency, leading to a 0.4% increase in rice yield (7603.1 kg ha−1) compared to the maximum rice yield in the RM system at 270 kg ha−1. At this application rate, surface water quality was optimal for crabs, resulting in the highest crab yields (370.1 kg ha−1) and average weights (81.1 g). The lower N application reduced the greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) of the RC system by 13.7% compared to the RM system. The NEEB at the optimal N application rate of 210 kg ha−1 in the RC system reached 8597.5 CNY ha−1, which was 1265.7% higher than that of the RM system at 270 kg ha−1. In summary, optimizing N application in the RC system conserves N fertilizer resources, increases rice and crab yields, and reduces GHG emissions, thereby synergistically enhancing both economic and ecological benefits. Optimizing the N application rate has greater potential in other innovative RC models, and the productivity, sustainability, and economic efficiency should be further investigated.

Background: The degree to which nurses feel rooted in their profession and are less likely to plan to leave is influenced by the strength of the interaction between them and their superiors. Additionally, it's possible that dehumanizing encounters inside healthcare organizations are a prevalent problem right now. This problem affects the recruitment of nurses. The research aimed to assess the supervisor’s organizational embodiment, organizational dehumanization and its relation with job attraction as perceived by nurses. Research design: A descriptive correlation research design. Sample: Convenience sample composed of 277 nurse. Setting: The study was applied at Cardio Thoracic Minia University Hospital. Tools of data collection: Three tools were used, 1st tool consisted of two parts, part one was personal data sheet, the 2nd part was supervisor’s organizational embodiment scale; also the 2nd tool was organizational dehumanization scale and the 3rd tool was job attraction scale. Results: Reveals that less fifty percent of nurses have high level of perception about supervisor’s organizational embodiment, above half of nurses have high moderates level of perception about organizational dehumanization, and above one-third of nurses have high level of perception about total of job attraction. Conclusion: There was positive relation between nurse’s perception about supervisor’s organizational embodiment and their perception about job attraction and there was negative relation between nurse’s perception about organizational dehumanization and their perception about job attraction. Recommendations: Motivate the best ways to lessen employees' perception of dehumanization are through workshops, conferences, and team-building activities that encourage active participation from people at all levels of management.