Cultivation Of Cash Crops Research Articles

Effect of vitamin supplementation and exposure-free break on hematological, Biochemical, and pathological parameters in male Wistar rats exposed to quinalphos

ABSTRACT Background: India is a land of agriculture, where the economy is based on cash crop cultivation. The wide and chronic use of pesticides for agriculture, domestic, and industrial purposes without protective measures has led to subsequent adverse health effects and further evaluation. It has become a major concern of public health due to its usage throughout the year among pesticide industrial workers, distributors and retail shopkeepers, agricultural field workers, and sprayers. Among the different types of pesticides (organochlorines, organophosphorus, carbamates, and pyrethroid compounds) used, quinalphos is the most common organophosphorus compound used in South India. These compounds were known to produce oxidative damage in the liver, kidney, bone marrow, brain, and intestine. Nonenzymatic antioxidants like vitamin C and E were found to alleviate the oxidative damage imposed by these pesticides. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the effect of oral supplementation of vitamin E and vitamin C in comparison to exposure-free days on complete blood count, antioxidant enzymes, liver enzymes, and histopathological changes in the liver following exposure of male Wistar rats to quinalphos. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was done at XXXX after getting scientific and ethical committee clearance. A total of 24 adult male Wistar rats were divided randomly into four groups, with six in each group. Group A consists of animals not exposed to quinalphos for 60 days (control group), group B exposed to quinalphos for 60 days, group C exposed to quinalphos orally only for the first 30 days with exposure-free days for the next 30 days, and group D exposed to quinalphos orally for 60 days along with vitamin E and vitamin C oral supplementation. During exposure, quinalphos was administered at the dose of 3 mg/kg/day mixed with drinking water through oral gavage. Animals were sacrificed at the end of 60 days. Blood was collected by direct cardiac puncture, and the liver tissue was used for histopathological investigation. Data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and post hoc Turkey’s test for intergroup comparison using SPSS 21.0 software. Results: RBC count (P = 0.011), Hb % (P = 0.000), and hematocrit (P = 0.000) were significantly reduced, whereas WBC count (P = 0.005) and neutrophil % (P = 0.001) significantly increased in the quinalphos-exposed group (group B) compared to other three groups. Liver enzymes, SGPT (P = 0.028) and SGOT (P = 0.343), were elevated, and the antioxidants catalase (P = 0.000) and glutathione peroxidase (P = 0.000) were significantly reduced in the quinalphos-exposed group when compared to the control and exposure free group. Histopathology of the liver showed diffuse necrosis of the hepatocytes with central venous congestion in quinalphos-exposed (group B) compared to the other three groups. The exposure-free group (group C) has shown better histopathological changes when compared to quinalphos exposure with (group D) and without (group B) vitamin C and E supplementation group. Conclusion: Quinalphos exposure orally results in anemia, leucocytosis with neutrophilia, liver damage, and oxidative stress. As evidenced by liver histopathology and altered antioxidant enzymes in the supplementation group compared to the group with exposure-free days, the toxic effects of quinalphos were less during exposure-free days. Thus, people occupationally exposed to quinalphos can alleviate the ill effects by having exposure-free days as interval breaks to remove the toxic accumulation of organophosphorus compounds.

Population, Land, and the Development of the Commodity Economy: Evidence from Qing Dynasty China

Population growth exacerbates the pressure on land carrying capacity, affecting the sustainability of agricultural production, and also impacts non-agricultural industries. This paper utilizes grain price data from southern China during the Qing Dynasty (1776–1910) to examine the impact of population and land pressure on the development of the commodity economy under the “involution” of smallholder agriculture. This study finds that under conditions of stagnant technological advancement and limited natural resources, population growth during the Qing Dynasty created significant “Malthusian” population pressure. This pressure on land first resulted in the over-concentration of agricultural labor and saturation of the farming population. Surplus labor, unable to be absorbed by agriculture, shifted to non-agricultural sectors, engaging in the transportation and trade of grain. The pressure on land carrying capacity facilitated the cultivation and processing of cash crops, and product trade was supported by efficient waterway transportation. These activities generated commercial profits that alleviated survival pressures and promoted the prosperity of the commodity economy. However, this prosperity did not accompany significant productivity improvements; instead, it was a product of “involution” agriculture under high population density pressures.

Revealing Greenhouse Gas Emission and Nitrogen Fertilizer Destination: A Case Study in Chengdu Plain Cultivation Industry

The cultivation industry occupies a large proportion of greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. Assessing greenhouse gas emissions from the cultivation industry is pivotal for mitigating emissions and promoting sustainable cultivation. Utilizing greenhouse gas emission calculation methods recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other methods, this work evaluated annual emissions and the emission structure of major crops from 2005 to 2021 in the Chengdu Plain, a significant agricultural region in Southwest China. We identified nitrogen fertilizer as the primary contributing factor to high emissions from cultivation production. Subsequently, we analyzed the trend and utilization of nitrogen fertilizer, which proposes essential strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The results showed that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the cultivation industry in the Chengdu Plain exhibited a growth, fluctuation, and eventual decline trend from 2005 to 2021. The emissions increased from 5,148,900 t in 2005 to 6,289,700 t in 2009, representing a 22.16% increase, and subsequently decreased to 5,109,900 t in 2021, marking a 23.31% decrease. Nitrogen fertilizer application emerges as the primary source of GHG emissions, constituting approximately half of the total, with nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing contributing significantly as well, collectively amounting to about 70%. We also found that the proportion of greenhouse gas emissions attributed to cash crop cultivation has gradually increased over the last decade. Among these crops, vegetables exhibit the highest emissions, comprising nearly half of the total emissions from 2019 onwards. However, the nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency of cash crops is less than 30%, with higher nitrogen surplus, ammonia volatilization, and nitrogen leaching per unit area, and the total amount is higher than that of grain crops. Among cash crops, vegetables exhibit the highest amount of nitrogen surplus, ammonia volatilization, and nitrogen leaching, constituting nearly half of the total amount in the study area since 2019. Our findings significantly affect sustainable and low-carbon cultivation industry development in the study area.

Spatial patterns, determinants, future trends, and implications for the sustainable use of terraces abandonment in China

Terrace abandonment in hilly and mountainous regions, particularly in China, has become a significant concern. However, comprehensive assessments of abandonment patterns and underlying causes are still lacking. This paper elucidates the patterns, determinants, and impacts of terraces abandonment in China by using data from a survey of 580 villages across 346 counties and employing spatial analysis and the Heckman two-stage model. Terrace abandonment, which began in the 1990s, has progressively intensified, peaking in 2015. Currently, 51.55% of surveyed villages experience terrace abandonment, affecting 21.17% of households and 8.37% of the total terrace area, with a distinct prevalence in the South and scarcity in the North. Key factors contributing to terrace abandonment include low returns compared to other options, wildlife damage, high engagement in non-farm labor, and substantial non-farm income. In 2021, terrace abandonment led to the loss of 9.36 million tons of grain production capacity, enough to fulfill the yearly consumption requirements of 23.4 million people. Moreover, terrace abandonment undermines the cultural importance of terraced agriculture, reduces tourism potential, and hinders rural rejuvenation. The challenge of terrace abandonment is anticipated to worsen with the increase in non-farm economic activities and ecological restoration projects in hilly and mountainous regions. It is crucial for the government to implement measures to enhance terrace management. These measures include reducing operational costs for large contiguous plots, promoting the cultivation of cash crops to increase revenues from extensive scattered plots, and advocating for the reforestation of agricultural land to enhance the ecological value of remote terraces at higher altitudes. Addressing these issues can achieve sustainable terrace use and management, contributing to broader rural development and ecological goals.

Land use intensification causes the spatial contraction of woody-plant based ecosystem services in southwestern Ethiopia

Integrating biodiversity conservation and food production is vital, particularly in the tropics where many landscapes are highly biodiverse, and where people directly depend on local ecosystems services that are linked to woody vegetation. Thus, it is important to understand how woody vegetation and the benefits associated with it could change under different land-use scenarios. Using a comprehensive, interdisciplinary study in southwestern Ethiopia, we modeled current and future availability of woody plant-based ecosystem services under four scenarios of landscape change. Land-use scenarios with intensified food or cash crop cultivation would lead to the contraction of woody-plant based ecosystem services from farmland to forest patches, increasing pressure on remaining forest patches. This raises questions about the viability of conventional intensification combined with land sparing—where conservation and production are separated—as a viable strategy for conservation in tropical landscapes where woody-plant based ecosystem services are vital to the lives of local communities.

Agricultural Price Fluctuation and Its Effects on Small-Scale Farmer Income: A Case of Maize Crop in Kilolo District

This study examined the agriculture crop price fluctuation and its effects on small-scale farmer income in Tanzania, specifically in Kilolo District in Iringa Region. The study sampled 90 respondents, where 84 respondents were for structured questionnaire and 6 for interviews. Simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to collect data. The mixed-methods data were analysed using linear regression estimation techniques, estimated Ordinary Least Squares estimator, and content analysis for qualitative data. The study revealed that Agriculture cash crops positively influence the yearly income of small-scale farmers, signifying that increased engagement in cash crop cultivation contributes to higher income levels for these farmers. Conversely, the study unveiled the negative implications of crop price fluctuations on small-scale farmers’ yearly income, demonstrating that erratic price variations can substantially challenge their economic stability. These findings were robustly supported by statistical analyses, including the t-test and regression analysis, which underscored the significance of Agriculture cash crops and crop price fluctuations as determinants of small-scale farmers’ yearly income. The adjusted R² value of 0.607 further substantiated these results, signifying that the independent variables, Agriculture cash crops, and crop price fluctuations account for approximately 60.7% of the variation observed in the dependent variable. In such a sense, small-scale farmers’ yearly income is determined by agricultural cash crops done by small-scale farmers and the crop prices fluctuation in the markets. There is a need for marketing officers to provide marketing information to small-scale farmers from time to time for small-scale farmers to be aware of cash crop price fluctuations and what kind of cash crops will have a higher market value, hence lowering the level of price fluctuation in the markets. Such a move would increase small-scale farmers’ yearly income in Kilolo District

Alfalfa cropping is superior to cotton and rapeseed cropping in improving the quality and microbial diversity of reclaimed saline soils

ABSTRACT Soil salinisation has led to increasing abandonment of farmlands in the arid region of northwest China, and the cultivation of cash crops has become an important way to reuse abandoned farmlands and remediate saline soils. In this study, the effects of cotton (Cot), alfalfa (Alf), and rapeseed (Rap) cropping on the bacterial and fungal communities in saline soil were compared based on high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) of the Cot, Alf, and Rap groups decreased significantly compared with those of bare land (CK). Especially, soil pH (8.3) and EC (0.93 mS cm-1) of the Alf group decreased the most, and the contents of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) increased the most, which increased by 250% and 91.4%, respectively compared with those of the CK (p < 0.05). Actinobacteriota and Proteobacteria were the dominant bacterial phyla in the three groups, Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the dominant fungal phyla. The diversity of soil bacterial and fungal communities in the Alf group was higher than that in the Cot and Rap groups. The results of RDA and PERMANOVA analysis showed that soil pH, EC, C/N ratio, and TN were the main factors affecting soil bacterial and fungal communities in the three groups. In general, Cot, Alf, and Rap cropping all could reduce soil pH and EC and improve soil microbial community structure and diversity, but Alf cropping had the best effects in improving saline soil quality and bacterial and fungal diversity.

Forest Tales? Unravelling Divergent Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) Maps and State Narratives in Vietnam’s Northern Uplands

The Vietnamese state has advocated for the sedentarization and market integration of upland northern farmers over the past thirty years, leading to both agrarian and forest transitions. This article presents a comprehensive land use and land cover change (LULCC) analysis of two adjacent upland borderland districts, Phong Thổ and Bát Xát, in northern Vietnam, spanning two neighboring inland provinces, Lai Châu and Lào Cai. These districts are primarily home to ethnic minority farmers who are encouraged by Vietnamese state officials to not only protect forests but to also transition toward cash crop cultivation from less intensive semi-subsistence agriculture. Our LULCC maps, covering the period from 1990 to 2020, revealed a reduction in the speed by which closed-canopy forests were disappearing. During interviews, state officials were confident that this was due to a range of state policies and state-sponsored initiatives, including the promotion of tree crops and payments for forest environmental services. Our own fieldwork in the region suggests other factors are also supporting this decline in deforestation rates, rooted in ethnic minority farmer livelihood decision making. Some state officials were also able to point to factors hindering a more positive result regarding forest cover, including population pressure and new infrastructure. Interestingly, despite our positive findings on Land use and land cover change (LULCC) related to forest cover, one-third of state officials, upon reviewing our LULCC maps, firmly maintained that errors had occurred. Some even proposed that there was an actual rise in forest cover. Our study shows that these discrepancies raise compelling questions about officials’ political motivations and ongoing pressures to uphold the central state’s reforestation and agrarian transition discourses.

Improving efficiency and sustainability of water-agriculture-energy nexus in a transboundary river basin under climate change: A double-sided stochastic factional optimization method

In this study, a double-sided stochastic fractional programming (DSFP) method is developed for identifying optimal water-allocation schemes of water-agriculture-energy nexus (WAEN) system under considering climate change impact. The advantages of DSFP are (i) handling complex uncertainty of double-sided randomness, (ii) addressing conflicting objectives with optimal system efficiency, and (iii) achieving trade-off between marginal benefit and system risk. Then, a DSFP-based water-agriculture-energy nexus (DSFP-WAEN) model is formulated for water resources allocation in a transboundary river basin of Central Asia, where 48 scenarios are designed to examine the impacts of climate change, irrigation efficiency, and system risk over a long-term planning horizon (2026–2050). Results reveal that: (i) among all agricultural activities, cash crop cultivation shows the greatest change in adaption to climate change, with the share of cash crop cultivation increasing to 70.7% by 2050 under RCP4.5; (ii) Kazakhstan, which has the largest irrigation needs and is the county most sensitive to water supply risk, should be the first to be constrained in the case of severe water shortages and poor delivery levels; (iii) the improvement of irrigation efficiency can increase the inflow to the Aral Sea by 2.7%, and reduce water loss of infield irrigation by 11.3% even under severe water shortage (i.e. p = 0.01). Compared with the models based on the traditional stochastic programming and single-objective methods, DSFP-WAEN has advantages in optimizing water-use efficiency and reflecting system complexity with flexible solutions. To coordinate transboundary water conflicts, strategies from both demand and supply sides related to quota management and water-saving techniques are suggested for the Syr Darya River basin, such as clean energy transition, drip irrigation promotion and canal system improvement. From a long-term planning perspective, WAEN schemes should be adapted to risk attitude and climate change, which can help address water scarcity and achieve future sustainability.

종족(宗族)마을의 변화를 통해 본 경산시 도시사(都市史) 연구

This study examines the changes experienced by a lineage village near Gyeongsan City, adjacent to a major urban center, during the process of urbanization. To understand the impact of urbanization on the social and economic aspects of rural areas near Gyeongsan City and its various effects on lineage organization, this study applies a research method of urban history, focusing on correspondence in response to urbanization over different periods.&#x0D; The cultivation of cash crops and an increase in diversified farming accelerated the outflow of lineage members to the city, leading to the influx of outsiders and the formation of autonomous cooperative groups among those who were traditionally marginalized in the lineage community. As urbanization progressed, the structure of intra-lineage property changed, resulting in organizational transformations to effectively manage it. Consequently, the traditional functions and aspects of lineage communities focused on hierarchy and lineage have diminished, giving rise to intensified conflicts among lineage members over the management and disposal of intra-lineage property. The study suggests that the implications of these changes in suburban lineage villages due to urbanization highlight the need for institutional mechanisms applicable to the realistic functional shifts within lineage communities and the management of intra-lineage property in contemporary society.

Colonial Economic Policies in East Africa. A Case Study in Uganda During Colonial Period

This research investigates East African colonial economic policy, using Uganda as a case study. Following the introduction of Europeans in East Africa, policies aimed at assisting their administration in the region were developed. The colonial economy in Uganda was largely centered on cash crop cultivation and other extractive sectors, while local economies and peoples were neglected. Local communities were displaced from their land, which was subsequently exploited for cash crop cultivation as a result of the policies. In this study, documentary analysis was utilized as a research approach, which entailed evaluating written or recorded records to analyze social phenomena in East Africa's colonial economy .This resulted in the extinction of traditional livelihoods and the devastation of local economies.The colonial rulers also instituted a forced labor system, which was employed to construct infrastructure like as roads and railways.Uganda is still affected by colonialism, and correcting the inequalities and injustices brought about by these economic practices would need a concerted effort.The article finds that colonial economic policies in East Africa had a considerable influence on the region's economy and society, and that colonialism's legacy may still be felt today.

Mediation of the agricultural water rebound effect through climate conditions and types of crop mix

AbstractThe water rebound effect is recognized as an impediment to irrigation efficiency enhancement for saving water. This study foregrounds climate conditions and crop mix as two important contexts influencing the relationship between irrigation efficiency and water use (the water rebound effect). Considering China as our study area for conducting an empirical analysis of this relationship, we used the data envelopment analysis (DEA)–Malmquist method and econometric models to examine their impact on the water rebound effect. The results of the analysis revealed that the water rebound effect in China is 69.1%, with humid conditions being the main factor moderating an increase in it. Whereas cash crop cultivation is associated with water conservation under drought conditions, this is not the case under humid conditions. These findings suggest that given the prioritization of food security, policies to reduce cash crops should be introduced, thereby mediating the water rebound effect.

CLASSIFICATION OF SETTLEMENTS BY ECONOMIC POTENTIALS IN THE SOUTHERN REGION OF NIGER STATE: A LOCATION QUOTIENT APPROACH

Regional economic activities and developments are measured through various techniques where Location Quotient (LQ) is one of the most reliable techniques. This paper classifies the settlements by economic potentials in the southern region of Niger state using the LQ. A structured questionnaire was administered to 1.040 in the 37 rural communities selected from 37 districts in 8 LGAs in the Niger South Federal constituency in Niger State. The data collected was analysed using LQ. Findings of the study in terms of economic potentials of the region, reveals that communities are mainly engaged in basic economic activities; including the cultivation of food crops (rice, maize, beans, millet and yam); cultivation of cash crops (benisead, ground nut, vegetable, cassava and melon), plantation agriculture (palm, kola nut, cashew and sugar cane). Findings in terms of basic economy revealed that Egbako has the highest LQ with an average score of 0.06, and is closely followed by Takuma, Batako, Kusoyaba, Mukugi and Kalmo, with an average LQ score of 0.04 each, while in terms of non-basic economy, the findings indicates that both Egbako and Kuchita have the highest non-basic LQ with an average score of 0.07, which were closely followed by Katcha, Mukugi and Gayankpa settlements with non-basic economic LQ and average scores of 0.04 each. The study concludes that LQ is one of the best techniques in measuring economic potentials of regions. It also recommends LQ for regional economic assessments.

Land Leasing in Kerala: Evidences from a Field Survey

This article, based on a primary survey in two villages of Wayanad district in Kerala, argues that the high incidence of landlessness, as well as the predominance of marginal and small landholdings, has maintained a high incidence of tenancy in Kerala. The tenancy market is dominated by farmers with smaller landholdings. The land is leased mainly for the cultivation of cash crops under cash rents. The land for leasing is supplied by those landed households who have withdrawn from agriculture due to better earnings from non-farm sector, difficulties in procuring labour for agricultural tasks and dwindling irrigation resources. The landless and marginal-small farming households predominantly form the pool of lessees who lease land for two important reasons. First, the growing opportunities in the non-farm sector have been uneven in nature in the sense that they have absorbed only a section of rural labour, leaving many others to remain in cultivation and augment their family income through the leasing of land. Second, lease cultivation, in spite of high fluctuations in the prices and production of crops, is generally profitable for lessees in normal years and when the prices are on an upswing. Given the role of land leasing in providing economic support to rural poor households, the state government should revisit the legal ban of land leasing on Kerala.

Proactive Adaptation Responses by Vulnerable Communities to Climate Change Impacts

We explored the proactive responses of local communities against locally experienced climate change impacts and anticipated threats. This study interviewed 124 rural households from three community forestry user groups representing three ecological regions of Nepal using a semi-structured questionnaire. The study used eight criteria to distinguish the proactive nature of adaptation. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze data, including the use of a chi-square (χ2) test to determine the proactive measures and their association with livelihood options and the ordered logistic regression model to explain determining factors of choosing proactive adaptations. The results indicate that 83.9% of households adapted both proactive and reactive measures, while 10.5% applied solely reactive adaptation and 5.6% were earmarked only for proactive adaptation measures. Over 50 different proactive adaptation measures were implemented by the households. The measures were significantly associated with agricultural diversification, cash crop cultivation, livestock raising, small-scale enterprise development, and disaster control. Socio-economic and spatial factors such as a household’s wellbeing, land holding size, geographical location, livelihood options, and the number of adaptation measures implemented by households were found to be decisive factors in choosing proactive adaptation. The study concludes that local people in Nepal are not only aware of escalating climate risks but also engage their cognition and knowledge proactively to adapt locally. The results suggest that even small proactive initiatives by households can offer multiple benefits against climate risks as an architect of individuals. Therefore, adopting a trans-disciplinary approach and nurturing local proactive actions in strategic connectivity between environmental, political, and societal functions is pivotal, which primarily takes a step to drive expediently successful climate change policy and strategy implementation. The findings of this study offer valuable insights into policy and strategy planning for the unsolicited consequences of climate change and highlight the importance of understanding the perspective of local communities in adaptation planning and implementation.

PREFERENCE FOR CREDIT SOURCES IN RURAL AREAS: THE CASE OF SMALL RICE PRODUCERS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE

This study’s goal is to investigate the socioeconomic variables that influence small-scale rice growers in Côte d’Ivoire’s need for financing from various sources. The study assessed producers’ choice of various credit sources, including banks, credit unions, people, and input suppliers, using a multivariate Probit model applied to data collected from a sample of 1429 producers acquired through multilevel stratified sampling in the departments of Korhogo, Ferké and Man in Côte d’Ivoire. The findings indicate that the choice of credit source is influenced by age, gender, the number of children in the household, the cultivation of cash crops, the value of farm equipment, off-farm activities, household income, contact with extension agent, the distance from town, the main activity, group membership, the level of technology applied to the plot, the ownership of livestock, the degree of self-consumption, the number of assets owned, and geographical location. These sources are substitutable from the producers’ perspective. Policy makers should take into account the characteristics of the available and appropriate credit sources in order to develop a credit market suitable for all smallholder farmers.

Energy and monetary efficiencies at the different altitudinal agroecosystems in central Himalaya, India

Himalayas with diverse topographical and ecological zones sustain diverse agroecosystems. Differences in precipitation regimes, cropping systems, land-use systems and availability of resources significantly affect energy flow within agroecosystems (AGEs) of the region. Thus, the present study was aimed to evaluate the energy use pattern and economic profitability of different sized agroecosystems (small, medium and large) along the altitudinal gradient [very low altitude (VLA), low altitude (LA), mid altitude (MA) and high altitude (HA)] of Central Himalaya, India. The sampling was carried out following random stratified design and total 108 agroecosystems (4 altitudes× 3 sizes × 3 replicates × 3 seasons) were assessed. Data collected on quantities of agricultural inputs and outputs were converted to energy values using standard energetic constants and monetary values on the basis of local market price. Low altitude agroecosystems predominantly support cereal + pulse based cropping systems while, high altitudes favour cash crop cultivation (vegetables). Significant variation (P < 0.05) in total input and output energy was observed seasonally, while differences were insignificant across sizes and altitudes. Irrespective of the sizes and seasons, farmyard manure (organic fertilizer) contributed major share of total energy inputs across all altitudes in the order: HA AGEs (66.7 %) > MA AGEs (66.1 %) > VLA AGEs (62.6 %) > LA AGEs (52.1 %). The share of non-renewable energy inputs (inorganic fertilizers and fuel) declined along altitudinal gradient as: LA (31.1 %) > VLA (26.9 %) > MA (12.5 %) > HA (11.8 %). Seasonally, highest net energy was recorded during rainy season (92286 M J ha−1 yr−1) followed by summer (68906 M J ha−1 yr−1) and winter (18686 M J ha−1 yr−1). The economic yield significantly increased with increasing altitude and was recorded maximum for large sized agroecosystems. Energy use efficiency (EUE) differed distinctly (P < 0.05) across seasons and was recorded maximum during rainy season (8) while, across sizes and altitudes it did not vary significantly. EUE did not reflect any definite pattern along altitudinal gradient [HA AGEs (3.84) > VLA AGEs (3.81) > LA AGEs (3.56) > MA AGEs (3.01)]. Benefit-cost ratios (BCR) differed significantly (P < 0.05) along altitudes and was maximum at VLA AGEs (5.27) however, differences were insignificant across sizes and seasons. From present study, it can be concluded that season and altitude had significant impact on the energetics and economic flow of the agroecosystems while, no marked differences were observed for size classes. High altitude agroecosystems were energetically efficient while, monetary wise very low altitude systems.

Effect of agricultural subsidies on heterogeneous farmers’ fertilizer application intensity and its mediating mechanism: Based on China household finance survey database

Agricultural subsidies have an important effect on the farmer’s fertilizer application behavior, but the differences in the effect on different farmers and its mediating mechanism have not been sufficiently studied. Using relevant data from the CFHS database in 2015, this paper focused on the differences in the effect of agricultural subsidies on fertilizer application intensity among farmers with different operation scales and planting structures, as well as the mediating mechanism of the effect of agricultural subsidies on farmers’ fertilizer application intensity. It was found that agricultural subsidies in general helped farmers reduce fertilizer application. This finding still held after replacing the explanatory variables. However, the effect of agricultural subsidies on fertilizer application intensity varied significantly across farmers with different operation scales and planting structures. The fertilizer reduction effect of agricultural subsidies was weakened by the increase in the operation scale and the share of food crop cultivation, i.e., the fertilizer reduction effect of agricultural subsidies on smaller farmers and cash crop cultivation was greater relative to larger farmers and food crop cultivation. Farmers’ operation scale, planting structure and farm machinery inputs are important mediating variables of the effect of agricultural subsidies on farmers’ fertilizer application intensity. The agricultural subsidies played a role in reducing fertilizer application intensity by encouraging farmers to expand their operation scale and increase food crop cultivation, and increased fertilizer application intensity by incentivizing farmers to purchase farm machinery and adopt mechanical farming. Finally, some suggestions were put forward to play the fertilizer reduction effect of agricultural subsidies based on the findings of the study.

Climate Change and New Markets: Multi-Factorial Drivers of Recent Land-Use Change in The Semi-Arid Trans-Himalaya, Nepal

The Nepalese Mustang District is subject to profound environmental change. In recent decades, rising temperatures have been apparent, accompanied by increasing precipitation variability and a reduction in glacier extent. In a semi-arid climate, this reduces water availability and threatens irrigation-based subsidence agriculture. In addition, the region is experiencing rapid socio-economic change due to a new road connecting the former periphery to new markets downstream. This enables a higher market orientation for agricultural products and improved accessibility for tourists. In recent decades, these changes have triggered severe transformations in the local land-use systems and settlements, which are investigated in this study. Detailed on-site re-mappings of the settlements of Marpha and Kagbeni were performed based on historical maps from the early 1990s. Additionally, land-use patterns and functionality of buildings in the district capital of Jomsom and in the settlement Ranipauwa/Muktinath were mapped. For all settlements, a profound increase in cash crop (apple) cultivation can be observed since the 1990s. Recently, new cultivation practices such as intercropping have been extensively introduced as an adaptation strategy to climate extremes. Demand for different crops from the new markets downstream is causing a significant decline in local, well-established cultivation of traditional crops such as buckwheat. This corroborates with an increasing demand for freshwater for the enhanced vegetable cultivation used for inter-cropping. Simultaneously, the freshwater demands from the tourism sector are steadily increasing. In a region where water quality is deteriorating and springs are already drying up due to climate change, this will probably lead to further challenges regarding the allocation of water in the future.

Does Non-Food Cultivation of Cropland Increase Farmers' Income?

The production of cash crops is often regarded as an effective way to increase farmers’ income. This study evaluates the impact of non-food cultivation of cropland on farmers’ income by using the least-squares (OLS) model in Zhejiang Province, eastern China. Farmers are further divided into different groups according to their income levels to analyze the different impacts of non-food cultivation on their household income. The result shows that non-food cultivation has a significant negative effect on farmers’ income, with a more pronounced effect on farmers with a relatively low income. Accordingly, the increase in the proportion of cash crops that are grown does not increase the income of farmers in Zhejiang; instead, this harms their income. Therefore, farmers in Zhejiang should not rely on the cultivation of cash crops for their prosperity but must focus on participating in non-farm employment to increase their household income.