Alternative Farming Practices Research Articles

SOWING THE SEEDS OF TRANSFORMATION IN THE COLOMBIAN ANDES: THE ROLE OF THE HUERTA (HOME GARDEN) IN FOSTERING AND SUSTAINING AGROECOLOGICAL PRODUCTION

ABSTRACT The adoption of agroecological and related alternative farming practices is frequently cited as a viable strategy for fostering transformative change within agricultural and food systems. This study investigates the role of agroecology as a pathway of transformation of small-scale agriculture in the Colombian Andes. Drawing upon the “three spheres” model of transformation, which encompasses interactions between the personal, practical, and political spheres, the study explores motivations, actions, and political implications associated with the adoption of agroecology in three sites within the Bogotá region. The study employs a qualitative methodology, including in-depth farmer interviews and participant observation. Study findings highlight a range of economic, cultural, and ecological motivations within the personal sphere, all of which are driving farmers toward adoption of agroecology. These motivations, many of which are rooted in an ethics of care and connection, manifest in the practical sphere through actions including soil care, plant care, and care of seeds. Within the political sphere, these actions are contributing to micropolitical changes that are fostering broader shifts toward sustainable local food systems. Taken together, these findings suggest that agroecological practices can offer a viable pathway for addressing the current challenges in agriculture, promising a more sustainable and socially just future for small-scale farming.

Analysis of the Concentration of Heavy Metals in Khat Grown in Meru County and the Assessment of Their Associated Health Risks

Contamination of farm produce by toxic heavy metals has become a serious global health concern. These metals can bioaccumulate in plant tissues and are precursors for major public health problems such as cancer and neural impairment. Khat (Catha edulis) also referred to as miraa has the potential to sequester and accumulate both micronutrients and potentially toxic heavy metals in its consumable parts—tender leaves and soft barks of young shoots which are known to possess psychoactive properties when consumed. Therefore, the motivation behind this contribution is to determine the levels of six heavy metals, namely, cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), and nickel (Ni) in consumable Meru khat samples, compare these levels with the permissible limits of World Health Organization (WHO) in order to predict associated health risks, and to estimate the noncarcinogenic risks of these metals by total health quotient (THQ) and health index (HI) on khat consumers. 1.0 g of dry ground khat samples was digested in 0.05 M HCl and allowed to stand for 5 hours before being analyzed for heavy metals using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The mean heavy metal concentrations (mg/kg) in dry khat samples of six toxic heavy metals were Cd (7.81 ± 1.56), Cr (15.98 ± 2.22), Cu (15.81 ± 2.84), Fe (97.35 ± 32.67), Ni (0.37 ± 0.02), and Pb (32.36 ± 9.95). Based on the results, the mean levels of Pb, Cd, and Cr exceeded WHO permissible limits. In addition, the Pb and Cd THQ values and the HI of the six heavy metals investigated in the khat samples exceeded the threshold value of 1.0. Furthermore, the THQ and HI values showed that Pb and Cd were potentially the major contributors to noncarcinogenic risks on regular khat consumers. This is a matter of concern on the excessive consumption of Meru khat-based products, which over time may cause a toxicological response. Based on the findings of this study, the use of agrochemicals should significantly be minimized in khat farming. Accordingly, the Meru khat farmers should be sensitized on alternative farming practices that do not potentially cause heavy metal contamination in khat.

Toward urban-rural linkage development: contribution of climate-adaptive agroecology in the lower Chao Phraya River Basin, Thailand

This case study proposed a hypothesis on initiating urban-rural co-development using food as a medium to drive the transformation of the food systems and sustainable consumption. The guiding principles of the United Nations Habitat to the water-retention areas under the nature-based solution (NBS) for flood mitigation in Thailand's central region, the main rice-growing area, were applied. This study reviewed the partnerships of primary institutions, namely public, private, and universities, supporting and intertwining with civil society through Thai cultural and social norms after the 1997 economic crisis. The critical aspects included the sufficiency economy (SE) philosophy at the household level as a foundation of national policies. Recent policies and measures on food and nutrition security, alternative farming practices, and incentives to increase sustainable agroecology were prioritized post-COVID-19. This research suggests additional measures enabling agroecology and landscape improvement in rural areas connecting the cities of Ayutthaya and Bangkok to enhance market access for small producers and consumers in rural and urban areas with limited resources. A better community-based adaptation, ecological outcomes, and sustainable social inclusion in flood-prone lowlands could support Thailand's food sovereignty and capacity-building as one of the world's major food exporters under climate extremes.

Land- and Water-Based Adaptive Farming Practices to Cope with Waterlogging in Variably Elevated Homesteads

Waterlogging is a major problem in the south-western region of Bangladesh; this study was conducted in the eight most affected areas in order to enhance agricultural production by applying Land- and Water-based adaptive and alternative Farming Practices (LWFP). The study was designed to support target (research) farmers by raising one part of their homestead to use for living and agricultural farming, with the other part excavated to store rainwater and use for aquaculture. The study selected two groups of control farmers: those with ponds and those without. The study was conducted in two phases (i.e., phase 1—pilot phase and phase 2—extended phase), with each year divided into three cropping seasons: summer, rainy, and winter. The study found that the research farmers’ income was significantly higher from vegetables (both pilot and extended phases: p < 0.001), dike crops (both pilot and extended phases: p < 0.001), fish (both pilot and extended phases: p < 0.001), livestock (pilot phase: p < 0.01 and extended phase: p < 0.001), and poultry (pilot phase: p < 0.05 and extended phase: p < 0.001) compared to the control farmers. Moreover, the research supported the empowerment of women, which was not found in the control farms. Overall, the research program was embraced by the local communities as a very successful model. Furthermore, the study showed how waterlogging marginally affects very poor people, and that they can cope with this severe problem by adopting various farming practices. Therefore, the application of this research approach is suggested for similarly affected areas.

Limited honeybee hive placement balances the trade-off between biodiversity conservation and crop yield of buckwheat cultivation

An increasing number of farmland initiatives aim to aid biodiversity conservation through alternative farming practices such as nature-inclusive farming. However, these approaches frequently lead to trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and crop yield. For example, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is a melliferous crop that flowers for a long period in the summer when nectar in agricultural areas is generally scarce, and buckwheat cultivation could therefore contribute to wild pollinator conservation. However, honeybees (Apis mellifera) are placed to ensure sufficient crop pollination, which potentially increases resource competition with wild pollinators in and around the crop. Here, we have studied this trade-off by surveying pollinators in and around 16 small-scale (∼1 ha) flowering buckwheat fields and we determined the contribution of pollinator density to crop yield in a nature-inclusive farming project. We found that the buckwheat pollinator community was diverse, albeit dominated by honeybees. We found no clear indications of resource competition between honeybees and wild pollinators within the buckwheat fields. Honeybee density in the surroundings was generally low, and increased minimally during honeybee-hive placement. While densities of honeybees decreased non-linearly over the day in buckwheat fields, they did not (temporarily) move into the surroundings of the field, suggesting limited competition for resources with wild pollinators. Crop yield was largely dependent on crop pollinator density, notably of honeybees, and to a lesser extent crop biomass (as a proxy for agricultural management). Our results show that buckwheat cultivation fits well within nature-inclusive farming if some simple precautionary measures are being taken, such as limiting the honeybee-hive densities and placing hives only during the main flowering period. The introduction of buckwheat cultivation into crop rotation could then contribute to fill an important nectar gap in the summer, which potentially boosts wild pollinator populations in the long term.

Understanding the social enablers and disablers of pesticide reduction and agricultural transformation

Sustainable agricultural transformations are essential to navigate today's social-ecological challenges. One such transformation increasingly advocated through new policies is the reduction of pesticides. Whilst such policies can encourage farmers to switch to alternative farming practices, a dramatic and rapid top-down approach to pesticide reduction can lead to conflicts over the why and how of these initiatives, potentially contributing to unmet policy targets. We investigate what can enable or disable agricultural transformations, and in turn the mobilisation of farmers towards alternatives to pesticides, using a case study involving conflicts around pesticide use in Bourgogne Franche-Comté (France). Results from 55 in-depth interviews highlight diverse perceptions of pesticides, and identify social enablers and disablers of pesticide reduction. Whilst our results highlight limited individual level factors, they mainly highlight the importance of structural issues of (in)justice, power-imbalance and lack of engagement in democracy and territorial development; as well as cultural and relational factors related to the (lack of) social recognition of farming, the disconnect between farming and society, and changing consumer/societal expectations of agriculture. Based on our conflict-centred framework, we argue that the conflicts around pesticide use can be seen as expressions of the need of farmers and rural communities to participate in defining and enabling sustainable agricultural transformations. If such conflicts are managed successfully through an inclusive process that integrates different values and worldviews, they can lead to a joint understanding and improved implementation of sustainable agricultural transformations.

Organic mulching modulated native populations of entomopathogenic nematode in vineyard soils differently depending on its potential to control outgrowth of their natural enemies

The entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are biological control agents that are widespread in crop soils. However, traditional agricultural management practices such as cultivation and agrochemical usage can alter the soil balance that enables their occurrence and activity. Alternative strategies like mulching are commonly employed to prevent weed growth, enhance below-ground biodiversity by improving soil, organic matter content, fertility, and moisture. We hypothesized that organic mulches would favor biotic conditions for nematofauna development in crop soil, including EPNs, compared to herbicide application or tillage. Traditional (insect baits) and molecular (qPCR analysis) tools were used in this study to assess the abundance and activity of native EPNs, and the abundance of potential natural enemies, such as free-living nematode (FLN) competitors, nematophagous fungi (NF), and ectoparasitic bacteria, in soils managed with different organic mulches or traditional practices. As a model agroecosystem, we selected the vineyard, one of the most intensively managed crop systems. We compared mulches of grape pruning debris (GPD-M), straw (Str-M), and spent mushroom compost (SMC-M) in two commercial vineyards, which employed either integrated or organic pest and disease management. Following a completely randomized design, we retrieved two composite samples per plot (n = 3 per treatment in each vineyard) in April, June, and October 2020. Numbers of EPNs and selected members of their soil food web were higher in the organic than the integrated managed vineyard. Supporting our hypothesis, organic mulching overall favored nematode occurrence in both vineyards. We found higher NF abundance for Str-M, and GPD-M in the organic vineyard, which plausibly explained the lower EPN activity and occurrence compared to SMC-M in both vineyards. We conclude that the organic mulches can provide appropriate conditions for increasing nematofauna numbers but, depending on the mulch type, may also adversely affect EPNs by increasing their natural enemies. Our findings highlight the need to explore alternative farming practices to unravel complex biotic interactions that affect beneficial soil organisms in agroecosystems.

Organic farming enhances soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in oil palm crops from Southeast Amazon

ABSTRACT The expansion of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq, Arecaceae) crops threatens tropical rainforests. It negatively impacts a series of ecosystem services and functions, including carbon (C) sequestration and dynamics, as well as nutrient cycling. Such negative impacts have pressured companies to adopt conservationist practices in palm oil production. And yet the conversion from conventional to organic farming has gained space in the last decade, studies assessing the effects of organic oil palm crops on ecosystem functioning are still scarce. Here, we assessed how alternative farming practices affect organic matter dynamics in oil palm crops. We compared oil palm crops under conventional (CP) and organic (OP) farming in Southeast Amazon. We also sampled lowland dense ombrophilous forest (floresta densa de terra firme, FT) as reference. Soils were sampled at 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm depth intervals to determine soil physical–chemical properties and C and nitrogen (N) concentrations and stocks. The highest soil C and N concentrations were found at 0–10 cm interval in CP and OP. We detected no variation in soil C and N stocks within depth intervals in FT and CP, while OP had higher soil C and N stocks at the 0–10 cm interval. When comparing OP and CP crops, soil C concentrations and stocks did not vary within zones or depth intervals. All OP zones had higher soil N concentrations and stocks than their conventional counterparts, and we found a variation within depth intervals. Our results show that organic farming has positively influenced organic matter dynamics. Organic oil palm crops preserved and even increased C and N sequestration.

Diffusion of organic farming among Dutch pig farmers: An agent-based model

CONTEXTOrganic farming is an alternative for conventional farming practices with the potential to decrease negative externalities. Yet, in the Netherlands there has been a mismatch between societal preferences and farmer behaviour: despite increasing demand for organic pork meat, farmers feel peer pressure to remain conventional. Therefore, to understand diffusion of organic farming, one needs to consider social dynamics between farmers. OBJECTIVEThe aim of this research is to gain insight in the factors contributing to the diffusion of organic farming, by considering social interaction mechanisms, market price dynamics, and heterogeneity in farming styles. METHODSWe built an agent-based model of pig farmers differing in farm size and farming style (idealists, craftsmen and entrepreneurs) in a social-spatial network. They can convert from conventional to organic farming and back. Farmers can influence one another when they interact. This social influence is based on the social identity approach: Farmers who are similar in, among others, farming style converge in attitudes, while dissimilar farmers diverge in attitudes. The conventional meat price is volatile. The organic meat price fluctuates in accordance with supply. An exploratory analysis was performed on social influence parameters. Three social influence scenarios on the likelihood for influence in interaction were selected for local sensitivity analysis. The model run replicated 15 years and started with 16 organic farmers and 1958 conventional farmers. Model results were discussed with Dutch organic pork sector experts. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONThe results of the exploratory analysis are threefold. An increase in the likelihood of influence in interaction increases the number of organic farmers from 44 to 121 and diversifies the organic farmers from 98% idealists to 31% idealists, 49% craftsmen and 20% entrepreneurs. The most influential factor on diffusion of organic farming is the demand for organic pork meat. New entrants stimulate organic farming through a different farming style than their predecessor. Expert discussion on model results confirmed the importance of consumer demand and new entrants for understanding diffusion. SIGNIFICANCEThe social identity approach serves as a helpful framework to capture empirical and sociological knowledge. It reveals that farming styles of entrants contribute to the diversification of farming practices overall. For researchers and policy makers wishing to stimulate alternative farming practices, it is of interest to better understand this mechanism. In addition, we showed that those wishing to understand innovation in farming practices should look beyond farmer decision-making, by including market dynamics through consumer demand.

Alternatives to Agrilogistics: Designing for Ecological Thinking

Sustainable HCI (SHCI) researchers have historically looked to small and urban farmers to help situate and extend notions of sustainability within economic, social, and political frameworks. In the face of climate change and the Anthropocene, however, we ask how designing like the alternative farming practices of small and urban farmers might open up new, ecological approaches to agricultural technology. We conducted ethnographic field work with small farmers and their community in Indiana and show how they are challenging "agrilogistics," defined by philosopher Timothy Morton as a strict separation of nature and culture in food production, a separation, he argues, which underlies the substantial agricultural contributions to climate change. Our ethnography led us to suggest new possibilities for design of agricultural technology that support ecological thinking and caring for more-than-human actors through visceral imaginaries, posthuman storytelling, and engaging curiosity, possibilities which may offer ways to disentangle agricultural technology from agrilogistic paradigms.?

Reforming smallholder farms to mitigate agricultural pollution.

China's agriculture is dominated by smallholder farms, which have become major sources of negative environmental impacts including eutrophication, formation of haze, soil acidification and greenhouse gas emissions. To mitigate these environmental impacts, new farming models including family farming, cooperation farming and industrial farming have emerged in recent years. However, whether these new farming practices would improve the economic and environmental performance as compared to the current smallholder farming has yet to be verified on ground level. In this paper, by using pilot farming cases within the watershed of Tai Lake, we found that alternative farming models produced 7% more crop yield, while using 8% less fertilizer, leading to a 28% decrease in pollutant emission per hectare. These alternative farming models have a 17% higher fertilizer use efficiency and 50% higher profit per hectare. Compared to smallholder farming, these alternative farming practices invest 27% more resources into agricultural facilities, including advanced machinery, and have a younger, better educated labor force as a consequence of a larger farm size and more specialization. These input changes substantially increase fertilizer use efficiency and reduce agricultural pollution. Policy arrangements to support and facilitate the uptake of these farming models will further promote the green development and sustainable intensification of agricultural production.

Time to Transition: Barriers and Opportunities to Farmer Adoption of Soil GHG Mitigation Practices in Dutch Agriculture

As the second largest exporter of agricultural products worldwide, the Netherlands is a production hub, a leading example of high yields per hectare. However, this productivity includes intensive farming practices, placing a risk on the climate through the emission of greenhouse gases N2O and CO2 from soil. To meet global efforts, the Netherlands must reduce its climatic impact, including soil emissions, but the transition to alternative farming practices can be challenging. This research identifies the barriers and opportunities for arable farmers to adopt practices which mitigate emissions from agricultural soils, and consists of a literature review, informant interviews, and semi-structured interviews with farmers, policy-makers, and boundary organizations. Main findings are (1) a lack of awareness by farmers of their soil greenhouse gas production, and (2) six barriers and five opportunities for farmer adoption with placement of these findings into different steps of adoption. Critical barriers include economic challenges, personal mindset, on-farm complications, and the need to reconcile different stakeholders' rates of adoption. Opportunities lie with farmers becoming interested and able to quantify soil health, positive framing in the media, and policies or economic mechanisms to assist farmers. If the Netherlands can transition its farming system, the opportunities for the global food system could be significant.

Investigating dynamic interconnections between organic farming adoption and freshwater sustainability

As freshwater overexploitation in agriculture is rising, the application of alternative farming practices, particularly in water-scarce areas, is critical for the sustainability of the sector. Organic agriculture constitutes an opportunity for freshwater conservation, further improving biodiversity and human health. Notwithstanding literature efforts on the driving factors of organic farming and the impact of the latter on freshwater resources, a dynamic investigation of the interconnections between organic farming diffusion and freshwater sustainability is lacking. This research adopts a systems thinking perspective on the transition from conventional to organic agriculture. The developed system dynamics model explores the feedback mechanisms underpinning organic farming adoption and freshwater use by integrating, for the first time, the effects of: (i) farmers' water-related environmental and economic awareness patterns; and (ii) policy incentives and word of mouth about organic production benefits. The model is validated and tested based on a real-world wine grapes' case. The simulation outcomes highlight that the growers' intense environmental awareness could accelerate organic farming adoption, further promoting freshwater sustainability in case organic agriculture operations generate considerably low freshwater consumption coefficients. Overall, the proposed modelling framework is anticipated to act as a strategic tool for informing policy-makers about the system's state over time to plan potential interventions towards water-friendly organic farming.

Climate risks and adaptation strategies of farmers in East Africa and South Asia

Understanding major climate risks, adaptation strategies, and factors influencing the choice of those strategies is crucial to reduce farmers’ vulnerability. Employing comprehensive data from 2822 farm households in Ethiopia and Kenya (East Africa; EA) and 1902 farm households in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal (South Asia; SA), this study investigates the main climate risks that farmers faced and the adaptation strategies they used. Among others, excessive rainfall and heightened crop pest/disease incidence are commonly observed climate-induced risks in all study areas, while cyclones and salinity are unique to Bangladesh. Drought is prevalent in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and Nepal. Farmers in those countries responded with strategies that include change in farming practices, sustainable land management, reduce consumption, sell assets, use savings and borrowings, seek alternative employment and assistance from government or NGO. In general, farmers faced several multiple climate risks simultaneously and they responded with multiple adaptation strategies. Therefore, this study used a multivariate probit (MVP) approach to examine the factors influencing the adoption of adaptation strategies. Unlike other studies, we also tested and corrected for possible endogeneity in model estimation. All the countries mentioned have low adaptive capacity to address climate change, which is further weakened by inadequate governance and inefficient institutions. We observed significant differences in the choice of adaptation strategies between male-headed households (MHHs) and female-headed households (FHHs), as well as across countries. Generally, MHHs are more likely to seek additional employment and change agricultural practices, while FHHs and households headed by older persons tend to reduce consumption and rely on savings and borrowings. Institutional support for adaptation is much less in EA compared to SA. Training on alternative farming practices, enhancing non-farm employment options, better institutional support, and social security for older farmers are crucial for climate change adaptation in both regions.

Bilevel optimization of conservation practices for agricultural production

Uncertainty surrounding the sources of nonpoint pollution and producer response to prospective policy incentives complicates the nonpoint policy problem. To explain, neither policy-makers nor producers know the exact effect of current and alternative farming practices on the contributions of specific cropped fields to nutrient pollution. Spatial heterogeneity of the production technology and environmental damage of runoff also precludes the formulation of an analytic solution, so that producer response to prospective policies is unknown a priori to the policy maker. To address the complexity arising from point source uncertainty and spatial heterogeneity, we draw on recent computational advances to reformulate the classic nonpoint source pollution problem as a multi-objective bilevel optimization problem, employing genetic algorithm (GA) solution methods. This computational framework explicitly accounts for the nested nature of farm-level management decisions in response to prospective agri-environmental policy incentives, and spatial heterogeneity of both production and pollution effects. Our application considers the optimal spatial targeting of multiple management practices in the Iowa Raccoon River Watershed, an intensive corn and soybean production region of the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB). Consistent with theory and previous empirical results, we find that combining multiple management practices, versus relying on single or one-size policies, lowers the total cost for a given level of nitrogen reduction. But we also find overall limited potential nitrogen reduction via implementing these practices on working land, suggesting the continued need for land retirement in meeting current nonpoint policy goals for the UMRB. We believe that the main contribution of this study lies in the novelty of the bilevel approach, which explicitly accounts for feedbacks between policy makers and agricultural producers, while the associated GA computational methods allow for better handling of large scale and complex spatial heterogeneity over the agricultural watershed.

Climate change risk perceptions and agricultural adaptation strategies in vulnerable riverine char islands of Bangladesh

Farmers in the riverine char islands of Bangladesh are frequently affected by climate change due to their proximity to the river and heavy reliance on agriculture for their livelihoods. The present study evaluates char dwellers’ risk perceptions and agricultural adaptations to climate change. Survey data were collected from 98 households, and focus group discussions were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire from Rydas Bari char under the Gaibandha District of Bangladesh. A standardized risk perception index was created using a four-point Likert scale against sixteen climatic events. In addition, a binary logit model was used to estimate the influence of socioeconomic characteristics of sample households on the decision to choose climate change adaptation strategies. Findings suggest that droughts, river erosion, and floods are the major climatic risks perceived by char dwellers. Additionally, results from a climate vulnerability index portray similar findings that char respondents are more exposed to diverse climatic hazards. The study further investigates local adaptation mechanisms in agriculture with regards to major climatic events. In response to the existing climate change risks, the char inhabitants employ several adaptation strategies in agriculture such as implementing new or alternative farming practices, changing planting times, and cultivating short-duration varieties. The llogit analysis suggests that household age, family size, annual income, farm size, farm ownership and farming experience have a significant influence on farmers' adaptation choices. Household access to education, early warning by extension agents, information on improved agricultural technologies, access to off-farm sources of income and incorporating char people during policy design can effectively enhance farmers’ resilience and help reduce vulnerability.

Agroecology in North African irrigated plains? Mapping promising practices and characterizing farmers’ underlying logics

In the irrigated plains of North Africa, the sustainability of productive resources is subject to multiple threats linked to the prevailing productivist model of irrigated agriculture. These threats, such as soil degradation and unequal access to resources, markets, and information, prompt farmers to mobilize depleting natural resources, including soil and water, in an often environmentally unsustainable way. In order to sustain their farming systems and consequent incomes, farmers sometimes update their strategies by setting-up alternative farming practices. This study aims at mapping and analyzing such existing local farming practices with agroecological potentials. Our approach is based on direct observations combined with 150 interviews of farmers in three major irrigated plains in North Africa, namely, the Merguellil, Upper Cheliff, and Saiss plains, respectively, in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. This study shows that a wide range of alternative practices with agroecological potential are emerging (or exist) locally, against the flow of the dominant agricultural model which is rather in favor of intensive practices. The most common practices are developed to improve soil fertility management (production of manure tea, integration of legumes in crop successions), increase per surface agricultural production (relay intercropping, intercropping, agroforestry), or provide multiple ecosystem services (diversification, livestock integration). These practices are jointly used, mostly to (i) increase land-use efficiency, and hence face land fragmentation; (ii) diversify their cropping strategy, and spread out market-related risks; and (iii) reduce expensive production costs related to irrigation and chemical fertilization. The gradient of adoption observed according to national contexts suggests a strong influence of contrasting socio-political and historical factors at the regional to national levels. The analysis of logics in implementing such practices by farmers indicates that economic reasons take precedence over environmental concerns. As such, these practices can be seen as (i) an access to low-cost strategies for small farmers or (ii) a pathway to international markets for agribusiness farmers. Taming the extensive local knowledge related to ecological intensification strategies, as identified in this study, can help to pave the way for a more sustainable agriculture, in this intensively cultivated region of the world.

LEARNING FROM THE PRESENT AND THE PAST: A CONTEMPORARY AND HISTORICAL REVIEW OF AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS ON SOIL FERTILITY

Conventional farming involves the use of synthetic and chemical pesticides that increases the short-term productivity of the soil with the expense of its long-term fertility. The emergence of alternative agriculture movement is estimated to have become a progressive response in increasing awareness of the long adverse effects on an effort to promote the soil which is well cultivated by the agro-ecological environment. Although it is a shift from conventional farming, alternative farming practices have not been adequately integrated as organic farming techniques and remain non-organic farming options. In an effort to explore the differences, we conducted a literature review of temperate areas studies comparing to conventional and alternative farming techniques in terms of their effects on soil nutrient levels. This review was found that 70% of the literature supports the use of alternative techniques as the means of reducing the agriculture impact on fertility and health of the soil and highlights the need of further research on the topic of longitudinal studies primarily in the context of the ecology of temperate climate. To contextualize contemporary view with the developing popularity of the alternative conventional farming system, we also explored the literature about the impact of agriculture that expanded again from the 1920s. The historical study examined literature concerning long-term fertility soil in Canada Journal on scientific agriculture to capture general environment narration about alternative farming at that time. It was found that a segment of the pre-1950s literature viewed the farming practices sustainable time, citing the declining yields to support this claim. The latest increasing proved in alternative farming techniques in response to a growing awareness of the long-term effects of conventional farming can be contextualized in the context of history as well as the rise of a more traditional approach to farming.

Hydroponics as an innovative technique for lettuce production in greenhouse environment

Abstract Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is an appetizing top leafy vegetable used as salad consumed all over the world due to a good source of vitamins and minerals. In Pakistan conventional lettuce production in soil (geoponics) is insufficient to meet the market demand round the year. However, customers demands for fresh lettuce during offseason. In this scenario, alternative farming practices like nutrient film technique is only feasible and have great yield promise. Keeping in view the market demand of lettuce an experiment was conducted at Hydroponic Research Station Rawat, Institute of Hydroponic Agriculture, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Agriculture University Rawalpindi. Static hydroponic system was developed in the experiment and its comparison was made with the geoponics in the green house condition. Growth and yield parameters were recorded. Crop parameters including plant height, number of leaves per plant, length of leaf, breadth of leaf, and yield per plant in five treatments T1 (static pipe with 7.6 cm dia.), T2 (static pipe with 10.1 cm dia.), T3 (static tray with 8.8 cm width), T4 (static tray with 12.5 cm width) and T5 (Geoponics) were measured. To take the average data five plants were selected from each treatment. The data were statistically analyzed in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) at 5% level of probability. Yield per plant in treatments T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, was observed 190.80, 245.80, 176, 213.40 and 150.80 respectively. Highest yield per plant (245.80) was recorded in treatment T2 while the least yield per plant (150.80) observed in treatment T5. Keywords: Geoponics; Lettuce; Static hydroponic system http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2020.90130

Agroecologia e tecnologia social como caminhos para o desenvolvimento rural integral: Uma aproximação

Tanto sob a perspectiva empírica, como teórico-conceitual, a Tecnologia Social (TS) pode ser entendida como aquela tecnologia que melhor se alinha à proposta de resolver os problemas sociais: primeiro, a TS possibilita o processo de construção social da tecnologia, isto é, os atores sociais que utilizarão a tecnologia participam da construção da mesma. Além disso, ao invés de garantir os objetivos de geração de lucro, ela é voltada para resolver problemas sociais e, dentre estes, a exclusão social. A TS se alinha à temática do desenvolvimento rural, tanto pela crítica aos problemas sociais gerados pelo capitalismo, como, pela crítica a sua insustentabilidade ambiental. Além disso, as discussões sobre o desenvolvimento rural, durante a década de 1990 marcaram a diferenciação entre a agricultura familiar (geralmente, pequena) e a grande agricultura – elemento essencial para mostrar a importância de se desenvolver políticas públicas para a agricultura familiar. A Agroecologia também se posiciona criticamente contra os problemas gerados pelo capitalismo, destacado que o modelo da grande agricultura, com seus objetivos de lucro, não se alinha à proposta de sustentabilidade. Em contraposição, é são os pequenos agricultores familiares que vêm se dedicando a desenvolver práticas agrícolas alternativas, que se alinham à proposta de uma sociedade sustentável (sob a perspectiva econômica, ambiental, social, etc.).