Sustainability of Post-Project Market Gardening Production Systems in the North of Côte d’Ivoire

Assessing the sustainability of small-scale farming systems in northern Vietnam

The study was conducted in January to March 2012 of two villages of Alamdanga upazila under Chuadanga district to observe the knowledge of farmers about using the chemical fertilizers and organic manure and also to determine the awar eness of the farmers towards the use of the chemical fertilizers and the use of organic manure. In order to conduct this research, a questionnaire survey was carried out and interview was taken total 100 farmers. This paper describes some findings that around 19% of the farmers had highly favorable attitude while 66% had moderately favorable attitude and 15% had slightly favorable attitude towards the use of chemical fertilizers and organic manure. Moreover by this research it is suggested that the education and annual income can change the attitude of farmers in the field of crop cultivation.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jesnr.v7i2.22207 J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 7(2): 69-72 2014

Although it is widely recognized by researchers who study agricultural production systems that evaluating the sustainability of these systems is vital, few studies of this nature have been published. One difficulty may be in defining what constitutes sustainability and how it should be measured, while another may be in networking with the necessary multi-disciplinary research team to carry out this type of study. Nevertheless, the study of agricultural production systems is important to the sustainability of farms, rural communities, and society because these studies compare actual farming systems, revealing their strengths and weaknesses. Using the recent study on the sustainability of organic, integrated, and conventional apple production systems in Washington State, USA, as an example, we will address the following critical questions about evaluating sustainability and how research networking fits into this scientific approach: What constitutes a whole system’s approach to studying sustainability in horticultural production systems? What are the characteristics of a successful study of horticultural production systems? Why aren't more studies of horticultural production systems performed or reported in the literature? What are the future directions of research on horticultural production systems? INTRODUCTION Although it is now widely recognized by researchers who study agricultural production systems that it is vital to evaluate the sustainability of these systems, few studies of this nature have been published. In order to evaluate the sustainability of agricultural production systems, however, it is first necessary to realistically represent the selected production systems, whether they be organic, integrated, conventional, biodynamic, or some other type, as farmers would experience them. Second, it is necessary to determine which indicators of sustainability are to be measured; but this first requires a clear definition of sustainability. Finally, it is necessary to network with the essential personnel that represent the scientific disciplines required to carry out the study. Using our experience in conducting a study comparing organic, conventional, and integrated apple production systems in Washington State, USA, we will explain how research networking can be used to successfully evaluate the sustainability of horticultural production systems. AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY AND SYSTEM’S RESEARCH Agricultural sustainability is defined by the U.S. Dept. Agr. in terms of economic viability, ecological health, and social equity (USDA-CREES, 2002). Reganold et al. (1990) stated that for a farm to be sustainable in the long term, it must produce adequate yields of high quality, be profitable, protect the environment, conserve resources (i.e., soil, water, genetic, and energy resources), and be socially responsible. A different approach to defining agricultural sustainability was recently presented by Tilman et al. (2002). They defined “sustainable agriculture as practices that meet current and future societal needs for food and fiber, for ecosystem services, and for healthy lives, and that do so by maximizing the net benefit to society when all costs and benefits of the practices are Proc. XXVI IHC – Sustainability of Horticultural Systems Eds. L. Bertschinger and J.D. Anderson Acta Hort. 638, ISHS 2004 Publication supported by Can. Int. Dev. Agency (CIDA) 360 considered.” A key element of this definition is the inclusion of “ecosystem services”, for example, the value attributable to improved soil quality for reducing soil erosion, preventing groundwater pollution, and providing water and nutrients more efficiently to the crop. This broader definition of agricultural sustainability requires a fuller accounting of all the benefits and costs of both conventional and alternative agricultural production systems, which then becomes the basis for future agricultural policy and practice (Tilman

Due to the significant role of agricultural chemicals in increasing agricultural production and ensuring food security, the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has been intensified in Iran. These chemical inputs are important environmental pollutants that threaten human health. In the recent years, in agricultural sector, the balance between the growth of agricultural economy and the spread of pollution in Iran has been one of the major challenges. In this regard, the use of decoupling index to decouple the link between agricultural production and pollution caused by the consumption of chemical inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides, has been emphasized; Therefore, in the present study, the decoupling index first is calculated in relation to the emission of pollution caused by the use of chemical inputs in the process of agricultural production during the period of 1991-2016 in Iran. Then, by reviewing the existing literature systematically, the factors affecting the decoupling index in the agricultural sector of Iran are evaluated using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The results showed that in the recent years, pollution indicators in relation to chemical inputs have not had ideal trends, and despite the further growth of agricultural production, the quality of the environment has experienced a declining trend. The results of the decoupling index related to the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers in Iran show that during a period of 26-year, only 5 and 4years of using these inputs have had a sustainable state compared to the production growth; besides, a strong negative decoupling state occurred as the most unsustainable state in relation to chemical fertilizer for 7years. Moreover, among the factors affecting the decoupling index, the value-added variable of the agricultural sector has had the most positive effect on this index, and thus, in the long run, it increases the level of pollution in the agricultural sector. The variables of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and the area under cereal cultivation in the agricultural sector would also increase the decoupling index. Accordingly, adopting effective strategies to improve resource efficiency, planning for the implementation of biotechnological methods, and doing investment for creating green infrastructure in the agricultural sector can be effective in the ideal decoupling of pollution and agricultural economy growth in Iran.

Impact sanitaire de l"utilisation d"eaux polluées en agriculture urbaine. Cas du maraîchage à Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

Many countries have got self-sufficiency in food, but continuous cropping and frequent cultivation of soil result in breaking down of crumbs of soil aggregates and destruction of organic matter leading to depletion of soil fertility and productivity. There is substantial decline in use of organic manures including farm yard manure and green manure; therefore, sustainability of soil productivity has become a question. Intensive use of chemical or inorganic fertilizers degrades and emits toxicants that enter the food chain endangering the whole life sustaining system through nitrate poisoning. Applying organic matters either as farmyard manure or as green manure, recycling organic wastes, and enhancing biological nitrogen fixation combined with the use of chemical fertilizers are measures to maintain an adequate level of soil fertility for sustainable crop production. Green manuring is a low cost and effective technology in minimizing cost of inorganic fertilizers and safeguarding soil productivity. Green manuring acts as a restoration factory to maintain the soil fertility for sustainable agriculture. Initial set back may be seen in field crops after the incorporation of organic residues with wide C-N ratio. Green manures can be defined as crops or plants grown and ploughed into the soil to improve soil fertility by the addition of organic matter and nitrogen; or green manures are plants which are grown to improve the structure and nutrient content of the soil; or any crop preferably legume grown and ploughed under to improve the structure and fertility of soil, especially by the addition of organic matter is called green manure.Use of green manure crops in cropping system is called “green manuring” where the crop is grown in situ or brought from outside and incorporated when it is purposely grown; or green manuring is the ploughing under or soil incorporation of any green manure crop, while it is green or soon after it starts flowering. It can also be defined as the practice of growing crop, preferably legume, and ploughing it under at the start of reproductive stage of growth, for improving the structure and fertility of soil; or a practice of adding into the soil undecomposed green plant for improving the physical structure and fertility. A fundamental goal of growing green manure crop is to avoid bare soil between cash crop plantings. This not only protects soil, but also captures sunlight and produces biomass that enhances the soil quality.

Bangladesh is considered an overpopulated country due to its high population density and limited land area. It is urgently needed to increase average rice production in Bangladesh to feed the large population of this country. Soil fertility deterioration has become a major constraint to higher crop production in Bangladesh. The increasing land use intensity without adequate and balanced use of chemical fertilizers and with little or no use of organic manures have caused severe fertility deterioration of our soils resulting in stagnating or even declining crop productivity. A field experiment was conducted at the Bangladesh Agricultural University Farm, Mymensingh during January to May 2023 to assess the effect of tillage intensity, use of poultry manure and chemical fertilizer on soil and yield attributes of Boro rice (cv. BRRI Dhan28). The experiment was organized in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments were: T1+P+C = one passing of power tiller + poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 + chemical fertilizer, T2+P+C = two passing of power tiller + poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 + chemical fertilizer and T3+P+C = three passing of power tiller + poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 + chemical fertilizer. Fertilizers were applied @ 123 kg N ha-1, 22 kg P ha-1, 67 kg K ha-1, 11 kg S ha-1, 6 kg Zn ha-1 as Urea, TSP, MOP, ZnO forms. The results revealed that soil physical parameters were significantly influenced by tillage, poultry manure and chemical fertilizer treatments. Three passing of power tiller in combination with poultry manure and chemical fertilizer showed significantly lower (p<0.01) bulk density than all other treatments. The highest soil moisture content of 54.73% was measured in T3+P+C treatment which was significantly higher (p<0.01) than all other treatments which were statistically different. The highest air-filled porosity of 14.93% was measured in T3+P+C treatment which was significantly higher (p<0.01) than T1+P+C and T2+P+C treatments where they were statistically different. Considering the plant attributes, the maximum number of effective tillers hill-1 (18.23) and 1000 grain weight (22.82 g) were observed in T3+P+C treatment which was significantly higher (p<0.05). The highest grain (8.67 t ha-1) and straw (10.66 t ha-1) yields were recorded in T3+P+C treatment which was significantly higher (p<0.01) than other treatments. Considering the soil and rice yield attributes T3+P+C treatment proved the best treatments. It was concluded that judicious application of tillage, poultry manure, and chemical fertilizer improved the physical properties of soil and increased the yield of BRRI Dhan28.

Until now, no single universally adaptable method exits for complete assessment of efficiency and sustainability of agricultural production systems. Existing methods are limited for analyzing agricultural systems. This paper presents the Emergy-Data Envelopment Analysis method; which we built from aggregating Emergy Analysis (EMA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) into a framework, to provide improved accounting of resource and energy use efficiency including absolute and relative sustainability of agricultural production systems. The method of assessment is as follows. An emergy diagram of the production system is drawn to visually represent the system. Inputs and outputs of the system are estimated on an annual base in their standard physical units of measurement. The available energy content (exergy) of input and output resources are calculated respectively using appropriate methods of calculating exergy for each given input and output. This is done assuming the concept of energy memory. Using Microsoft excel, the emergy of the input and output resources are calculated as the mathematical product of resource exergy and unit emergy value (UEV). The refined procedure of emergy calculation by Brown and Ulgiati (2016) is applied, and it leads to the retainment of selected inputs and outputs of various resource types. The emergies of the selected resource inputs and outputs from comparative peer systems of production (decision making units - DMUs) are concatenated into a table (.csv format), and imported into a model of DEA. The optimization function in DEA applies Pareto efficiency to estimate the relative technical efficiency (rTE) scores among peer units. The score value is a proxy indicator for relative sustainability. The calculated UEV of a product equates to eco-efficiency, and it is applied to evaluate the resource and energy use efficiency. Selected emergy-based indicators of proven reliability are applied for the evaluation of absolute sustainability. The composition of the evaluation outcomes provides improved accounting information that contributes to completeness of assessed efficiency and sustainability of agricultural systems as a whole.

<p><strong>Background</strong>. Currently, agricultural production systems are intensives and develop in a context of climate change, soil degradation, environmental pollution, and scarce resources. Thus, it is necessary to know the level of sustainability of agroecosystems and its implications in economic, environmental and social terms. <strong>Objective</strong>. The aimed of this research was to carry out a systematic review of the methodologies used to evaluate the economic, environmental and social sustainability of agricultural production systems (SPA). <strong>Methodology</strong>. The study was carried out in accordance with the PRISMA statement (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyzes), a systematic literature study was carried out in the global databases ScienceDirect, JSTOR, SpringerLink, Dialnet, Google Scholar, Google Academic, using as search terms using the Boolean operator: “evaluation, methodologies, agricultural sustainability”. Zotero (www.zotero.org), a free access manager for bibliographic references, was used. In the case of Peru, the database of the Doctoral Program in Sustainable Agriculture of the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (PDAS-UNALM) was reviewed. <strong>Results</strong>. Twenty-two frameworks or methodological proposals were found. Some frameworks and methodological proposals focus on the construction of indicators of environmental and economic sustainability and to a lesser extent social ones; others in defining sustainability indices, synthesizing values of economic, environmental and social indicators in a single numerical value; and another group that develop conceptual evaluation frameworks with a hierarchical structure of the indicators, start from attributes or objectives, perform the comparison of reference and alternative production systems, and due to their flexibility, they are applicable in different SPAs. In 88% of the sustainability study cases in Peru, the methodological proposal of "Multicriteria Analysis" was used, explained by its low cost, easy definition and interpretation of indicators and adaptable to evaluate the sustainability of most SPA from Peru. <strong>Implications.</strong> The application of methodologies to evaluate the economic, environmental and social sustainability of agricultural production systems are not rigid, in some cases they can be adapted or modified according to the criteria of the researchers based on the characteristics of the agroecosystems. <strong>Conclusions</strong>. For the evaluation of the sustainability of SPAs where a large amount of information with economic, environmental and social variables is involved, there are alternatives such as frameworks or methodological proposals that can be adapted according to the objectives, spatial analysis or their multidimensional nature. In cases of SPA sustainability analysis studies in Peru carried out between 2012 and 2020, it was found that 88% used the methodological proposal of Sarandón and Flores (2009) based on the "Multicriteria Analysis" and define the levels of sustainability with indices.</p>

Techno-economic assessment of agricultural land remediation measures through nutrient management practices to achieve sustainable agricultural production

The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in conventional fruit growing increases yield, but intensive and unconscious practices negatively affect all entities in nature, especially human. The aim of this research is to determine the sensitivity of producers to environmental problems caused by the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in conventional fruit growing farms in Zonguldak province. The sensitivity of the producers towards the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides was evaluated considering their attitudes in three stages of application; before, during and after application. In the research, a survey was conducted with 125 fruit producers determined by the stratified random sampling method. According to the results of the research, it has been determined that the most important opinion of the producers is that they want to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in a way that preserves product yield. In addition, it has been revealed that the producers are not very willing to conduct soil analysis and apply integrated control methods. Another important result obtained from the research is that the problem of disposing of empty packages after fertilization and spraying is among the issues that need to be resolved in terms of producer and consumer health and protection of the environment. These results prioritize training and extension activities on conscious use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, applicability of methods other than chemical control, and waste management.

Chapter 11 - Bioengineering of rhizobiome toward sustainable agricultural production

Sustainability of agricultural systems depends on their carbon (C) footprint, and the Coutput:Cinput ratio. Thus, this study was conducted with the objectives to: (i) assess the agricultural C emissions in relation to predominant farming systems in Punjab, India, and Ohio, USA; (ii) evaluate C-use efficiency of production systems; and (iii) determine the relative sustainability of agronomic production systems as determined by their C footprints. The data collated on C-based input into the soil for predominant crops for both regions included the amounts of fertilizers (N, P, K), herbicides and pesticides used for each crop annually, tillage methods, cropland area, total production of each crop, area under different farming systems, water-management practices (e.g., tubewell irrigation), and total number of livestock. These data were used to compute C equivalent (CE) per hectare of input and output, and the relative sustainability indices as a measure of the C-production efficiency. There existed a linear relationship observed between C input and C output for Punjab, indicating that an increase of 1 Tg/yr (1 Tg = teragram = 1012 g = million ton) of C input resulted in the corresponding C output of ∼12 Tg/yr. A similar linear relationship between input and net C output between the 1930s and 1980s was observed for Ohio, and the ratio reached a plateau during 1990s. The average C-sustainability index (increase in C output as % of C-based input) value for Ohio from 1990 to 2005 was 35–43, almost 2.5 times that of Punjab. Since 1989, there has been a major shift in Ohio from conventional tillage to reduced and conservation tillage along with a decline in fertilizer use. No-till farming is practiced on about 35% of the cultivated area, which involves elimination of plowing, retention of crop residue mulch, and judicious use of chemicals. In Punjab, crop residues are removed, resulting in loss of C from the soil organic carbon pool. Hence, the C-based sustainability index is much higher in Ohio than in Punjab. C-efficient systems are more sustainable than inefficient farming systems, and residue removal reduces agricultural sustainability by depleting the soil C pool.

Food production in cities offers a framework for local self-reliance and resilience. However, there are concerns about urban soil quality and a general lack of data on productivity in urban gardens. This study investigated soil health via a comprehensive nematode food web analysis and crop productivity via tomato fruit yield in community and market gardens in Cleveland, Ohio, USA over a two-year period. Results revealed that market gardens had significantly higher soil organic matter (SOM) and NH4-N than community gardens in 2011. While there was no difference between market gardens and community gardens in terms of nematode abundances (except bacteria-feeding nematodes in 2011), market gardens had higher nematode combined maturity index than community gardens in 2011. However, plant-parasitic index was lower in market gardens than in community gardens in 2011. There was no difference in tomato fruit yield in either year between the garden types, but tomato growth responses including leaf dry weight ratio, and plant surface area differed between market and community gardens in 2012. Different weather and related soil and growing conditions likely contributed to the large variation observed between 2011 and 2012; still, soils in market gardens tended to support greater growth and yield than community gardens. Regardless, there was no direct evidence that the gardens were nutrient limited, thereby minimizing the potential for nutrient limitations to contribute to yield differences. Overall, fruit yield ranged from 1.47 to 15.72 kg/m2, which is consistent with U.S. national average for commercial production systems.

Potential of integrating traditional agricultural techniques with modern farming practices in India, aiming to forge a path towards sustainable agriculture. Recognizing the multifaceted challenges faced by the agricultural sector, including environmental degradation, climate change, and socio-economic disparities, the paper explores the synergistic potential of blending age-old wisdom with contemporary agricultural advancements. The analysis begins with a historical overview of traditional Indian agricultural practices, such as crop rotation, terracing, polyculture, and the use of organic manures, underscoring their inherent sustainability and ecological harmony. Modern farming techniques, including mechanization, the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and precision agriculture, are examined for their advancements and limitations, particularly concerning environmental and economic impacts. The core of the review focuses on the integration of these two paradigms, emphasizing the rationale behind such a merger, which includes enhancing sustainability, increasing biodiversity, and improving soil health. A series of case studies from various Indian states illustrate successful examples of this integration, including agroforestry, organic farming, and permaculture practices. The paper also addresses the challenges and barriers to integration, highlighting sociocultural factors, economic constraints, policy and regulatory issues, and hurdles in knowledge and technology transfer. Looking forward, it outlines the future directions and research needs in this domain, emphasizing the critical role of policy and government support, the necessity for targeted education and awareness programs for farmers and consumers, and identifying research gaps. The paper concludes by affirming the viability and necessity of integrating traditional and modern farming practices in India, advocating for a model of agriculture that is sustainable, resilient, and inclusive, catering to the needs of the present while safeguarding resources for future generations.