Agricultural Crisis Research Articles

Desperate Aspirations among Paraguayan Youths

This article explores how young Paraguayan migrants, returnees, and not-yet migrants negotiate contradicting aspirations and desperations that they attach to urban and rural spaces in the present and future. While a protracted crisis of small-scale agriculture in Paraguay increases pressure to migrate, the economic crisis in Argentina challenges the established migration trajectories between rural Paraguay and Buenos Aires. The article shows how young adults continuously weigh up current living conditions and future prospects both “here” and “there” and are torn between leaving, staying, or returning. Based on multi-sited ethnographic field research, it reconstructs the ways in which they navigate between four ambiguous aspirations: security, advancement, belonging, and attachment. Whereas rural out-migration of young people is often interpreted as a yearning for modern city life, the analysis reveals that both rural and urban areas are linked with aspirations as well as desperations.

Strategies for discovering resistance‐breaking, safe and sustainable commercial herbicides with novel modes of action and chemotypes

Farmers need to manage weeds to grow and harvest crops that are essential to our food and energy supply, and herbicides are the most important tool in the farmers' armory to combat weeds. There is now a crisis in agriculture that has been brought about by herbicides being rendered ineffective by resistant weeds or withdrawn from the market due to safety concerns. Efficacious herbicides with novel modes of action (MoAs) and chemotypes are urgently needed to control resistant weeds and satisfy public and regulators' stringent requirements for safe and sustainable products. This article explores the main strategies being deployed by academic and industrial institutions to discover the next generation of commercial herbicides: phenotypic and in vitro target based approaches. There are early signs that much needed innovation and herbicidal products with novel MoAs are on the horizon from start-ups and established agrochemical companies. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

The historical fate of the rural settlement network in Russia: the case of Tomsk Oblast, 1940s–1980s

ABSTRACT This article discusses the practice of designing and restructuring the rural settlement network of Tomsk Oblast from the 1940s through to the 1980s. The focus is on those rural settlements that were seen as having no prospect of further economic development, and whose consolidation constituted the basis of the USSR resettlement policy. Planning schemes and area planning projects created for some areas of Tomsk Oblast are examined, and the results of the implementation of these projects are summarized. The article also explores the socio-economic development of Tomsk villages and the agricultural production crisis in the north of Tomsk Oblast with regard to their impact on migration in the region’s rural areas and subsequent depopulation thereof. It identifies the influence of the state reforms on the relationship between the Soviet village and the Soviet authorities, and changes in the adaptation practices of the Soviet peasants in response to the state’s policy to increase labour productivity on collective farms.

“Farmers Aren’t into the Emotions and Things, Right?”: A Qualitative Exploration of Motivations and Barriers for Mental Health Help-Seeking among Canadian Farmers

ABSTRACT Working in agriculture has been associated with an increased prevalence of psychological distress and mental health concerns. Farmers are also less likely than non-farmers to seek-help for their mental health. Previous research examining help-seeking among farmers has focused predominantly on male farmers, and has not included many of the Canadian agricultural commodity groups or provinces. The goal of this study was to explore perceptions of farmer help-seeking for mental health amongst farmers and people who work with farmers. The study objectives were to characterize the motivations and barriers to help-seeking behaviours. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 75 farmers and individuals who work with farmers in Ontario, Canada, between 2017 and 2018. Interviews were conducted in person, and by telephone when needed. Topics of discussion included farming stresses and their impacts; personal well-being; agricultural crises and mental health help-seeking; use of mental health supports; motivators and barriers to help-seeking; and perceived ideals for mental health supports. Thematic analysis was conducted collaboratively by three authors using inductive and deductive coding. Our analysis resulted in five themes around help-seeking motivations and barriers: 1) Accessibility of mental health supports and services; 2) Stigma around mental health in the agricultural community; 3) Anonymity and/or lack of anonymity in seeking support; 4) Farm credibility; and 5) Recommendations for implementing mental health services for the agricultural community. This study provides insights around how farming culture and the accessibility and delivery of services may influence help-seeking for mental health, and proposes strategies to break down barriers to help-seeking in this population.

Analytical Provision Of Socio-Economic Security Management At Macro And Microlevels

The agricultural crisis in Ukraine during last years has exacerbated the need for changes in managing the socio-economic security of economic entities. Neglect of the social component poses real threats to economic security of the enterprises and the agricultural sector as a whole. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the theoretical and methodological foundations for analytical support of socio-economic security management at the macro and micro levels. The factors of strengthening economic security of agriculture in Kharkiv region of Ukraine in the context of the social component and developed an economic and mathematical model of socio-economic security of agriculture in the region are analyzed in the first part. In the second part, the micro-level factors of socio-economic security and their influence were systematized using grouping methods, averages and variance indicators. The practical significance of the obtained results lies in the possibility of using the developed analytical tools in forming a holistic approach to the management of socio-economic security at the macro and micro levels.

Preface 1st International Conference on Industrial Agriculture (ICONIA 2020)

Agriculture plays an important role for providing food and jobs as well as an engine of economic growth in most developing countries. In terms of large scale or industrial agriculture, this field faces big challenges for providing food, feed, fiber and fuel for growing population while answering issues of sustainability, natural resource depletion, climate change, market protection, and food security. Therefore, agriculture based tropical countries should be able to address the challenges through collaboration and innovations. Accordingly, we held the First International Conference on Industrial Agriculture (ICONIA 2020) as a part of conference series presented by Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia with the theme of Managing Crisis in Industrial Agriculture: Way Forward. This conference is the first round held by Pusat Inovasi Agroteknologi (PIAT) UGM in a close collaboration with partner universities: Universitas Janabadra, Politeknik LPP, Universitas Pembangunan ‘Veteran’ Yogyakarta, Institut Pertanian INTAN Yogyakarta, and Universitas Sarjanawiyata Tamansiswa. This program provides an ideal platform for policy makers (government), private sectors, planters, agriculturist, academicians, professionals, NGO’s, and students to share the experience and knowledge about industrial agriculture.ICONIA 2020 covers various topics from Genetic Resources and Utilization, Crop Production Technology, Modern Agriculture, Post-harvest Agriculture, Agricultural Socioeconomics, to Agriculture Waste Management. This conference was planed one year before that would use an ordinary conference format in a hotel on the mid October 2020 expecting a huge number of participant and some exhibitions. However in the early 2020, the pandemic outbreak forced the conference committee to postpone the date to 3rd December in the hope for outbreak ceased. Unfortunately, until the mid 2020 there was no positive sign of the cease of this pandemic, thus, the committee decided to switch into a virtual conference format. The virtual conference was also mandated by UGM for all the conference held in 2020 and also comply with local government (Yogyakarta) regulation. Luckily through several adaptations and changes, we were still able to get 30 paper submission and four plenary lectures from 5 different countries.During the conference, the online presentation was using Zoom Meeting platform. The committee set up a control room to handle the conference in Eastparc Hotel Yogyakarta at the conference date for ensuring stable internet connection and electrical supply. ICONIA 2020 has two sessions in sequence which are plenary session and parallel session. The plenary sessions delivered by four speakers: Prof. Bunyamin Tar’an, Ph.D. (University of Saskatchewan, Canada), Roland Schafleitner, Ph.D. (World Vegetable Center, Taiwan), Benisiu Thomas, Ph.D. (University of Namibia) and Dr. Guilherme Rossi Machado Junior, MS. (Rossi Consultoria E. LTDA, Brazil). Each keynote speaker had 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for question and answers session. Meanwhile, presenters in parallel sessions were given 10 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for question and answer. All 28 papers have been presented successfully using Zoom Meeting and Conference platform. Meanwhile, non-presenter participants number are 68 which were able to follow the plenary session online before separated into four parallel virtual rooms based on their choice.By all the challenge due to this pandemic, one day conference of 1st ICONIA 2020 has been successfully held. There was no significant hindrance due to internet connection or others. We do hope the next ICONIA can be held in a normal conditions with more participants and more significant contribution to Industrial Agriculture fields.

Consumer Trust in Quality and Safety of Food Products in Western Siberia

Modern Russia faces difficulties in ensuring food quality and safety. The updated federal food security doctrine focuses on export opportunities and monitoring the ratio between domestic production and consumption. This agenda is determined by possible external threats: sanctions and trade wars, various conflicts, and economic and agricultural crises. The aim is to reveal the features of consumer behavior when interacting with food operators and to show the influence of socio-economic characteristics on individual practices. Empirical data are obtained from the authors’ mass survey and in-depth interviews. Results might signify that society came to a consensus on trust in quality and safety of food. Observed differences in outlet and product choices can be explained by income, settlement type, and age. Local producers are struggling to enter retail chains, as there are contradictions between consumer expectations and internal policies of sales operators. Experts argue that people poorly assess the real risks of economizing and favoring low-quality food.

Key Competencies of Agricultural Managers in the Acute Stage of the COVID-19 Crisis

The acute phase of the COVID-19 crisis exacerbated the need for managerial skills of agricultural managers, provoked another wave of discussion on content of managerial competencies in times of crisis, and revealed a significant research gap. The main goal of our study is to identify the impact of competencies of agricultural crisis managers on the performance of employees in the acute phase of the crisis, when the performance was influenced by their subjective perception and evaluation of their working conditions, satisfaction and safety. We used statistical mediation to examine the connections and deeper relationships between several variables. The hypothesis of dependence between competencies of crisis management and performance of employees, mediated by information sharing, teamwork and cognitive diversity, has been confirmed. Partial mediation has been identified, when only part of the effect is mediated by the mediator variables, however the substantial one. The remaining, smaller part is transmitted directly. Employees’ performance in an acute crisis phase can be influenced by competent crisis management and enhance its effect through information sharing and teamwork support. The cognitive diversity of crisis management did not prove significant in our study. The emphasis is on consistency and the resulting sense of security and safety.

ENERGY-ECOLOGICAL EFFICIENCY OF AGROECOSYSTEM OF WEST KAZAKHSTAN

The negative balance of the reproduction of soil energy indicates a deep ecological and energy crisis in agriculture. Analyzed: indicators of the use of biological factors, such as solar energy and the energy of soil fertility, affect the ecological and economic efficiency of agricultural production; the efficiency of using solar energy and the coefficient of its efficiency. The required level of productivity has been determined to maintain the annual deficit-free soil balance in the western region of Kazakhstan. The necessity of state regulation to determine the critical threshold of the yield level to compensate for the deficiency of soil energy at the expense of other sources of organic matter has been substantiated. For the modernization and ecological optimization of agriculture, a bio-energetic model of individual crop rotations was built, which also includes indicators of crop yield, the degree of mineralization of soil organic matter and some other standard indicators.

Grinding Mills in the Life of the Russian Peasantry of the Post-Reform Period

Grinding mills were a routine attribute of the economic life of the peasantry, being an indispensable stage in the process of making bread. Yet these structures are hardly ever specifically researched by historians and anthropologists. This paper examines the socio-economic role of mills in the life of peasants of the early 20th century in Karelia. The study is based on the analysis of archival statistical data from the agricultural census of 1916 as well as on ethnographical and toponymical materials, which allows for a comprehensive examination of the object. The study has identified the number of mills in Karelia at the beginning of the 20th century. It also analyses the conditions that contributed to the effectiveness of functioning of these peasant farm buildings. It has been found that the mill craft in Karelia was the second (after blacksmithing) small-scale peasant production in terms of its economic benefit. At the same time, this type of economic activity was not the main source of income in those farms where they existed. The miller remained primarily a peasant farmer, but the level of prosperity of his economy was higher than that of other peasants. The sources used for the research have also enabled to trace the negative effects of crises in agriculture in Karelia during World War I on the flour milling business. A special attention in the paper is devoted to the mythological worldview of peasants. The analysis of the corpus of Karelian- and Russian-language toponymic data has confirmed the important role of grinding mills in the setup of the region’s peasant economy.

Soil Fertility on an Agricultural Frontier: The US Great Plains, 1880–2000

AbstractIn contrast to most long-settled agricultural landscapes, the US Great Plains presents a rare example of well-documented agricultural colonization of new land. The Census of Agriculture provides detailed information about evolving grassland farm systems from the beginning of agricultural expansion and then at some two dozen time points between 1880 and the present. From early sod-busting, through drought and depression, and into late-twentieth-century modernization, it is possible to track how farmers used their land in any county. Treating farmland as an agroecosystem, a hybrid human-natural landscape, this article asks how farmers captured, altered, and replenished soil fertility. Did they extract more soil nitrogen than they returned, or did they maintain a balance? The article assesses land use from a soil nutrients perspective in several plains environments to capture variation in climate (especially rainfall), native soil quality, and availability of irrigation water. It traces farm management strategies through time to understand agricultural crises, growth periods, and technological transitions in the context of soil fertility. Soil management on an agricultural frontier was markedly different from that in places that had been farmed for centuries. A shortage of people and livestock and an abundance of deep, rich soils in the plains informed farmers’ calculations as they juggled labor, capital, and market forces against family and financial strategies. Uniform methods of estimating and representing soil nutrient processes make possible a direct comparison of the relative sustainability of historical agroecosystems.

“In Ireland I’d Have Starved”: North American Fiction about the Great Irish Famine, 1850–1918

“In Ireland I’d Have Starved”: North American Fiction about the Great Irish Famine, 1850–1918 Christopher Cusack (bio), Marguérite Corporaal (bio), and Lindsay Janssen (bio) this dossier brings together popular fiction originally published between 1850 and 1918 in the United States or Canada that represents, in various ways, the Great Irish Famine, a watershed event in Irish and Irish-diasporic history.1 The Great Famine (1845–51) was caused by successive failures of the potato crop and the seriously inadequate government response to this agricultural crisis, and resulted in at least one million deaths. Moreover, between 1845 and 1855 over two million Irish emigrated, mainly to the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.2 Though Irish emigration figures had been increasing before the Famine, the crisis drastically accelerated out-migration. By 1890 about 40 percent of Irish-born people were living outside of Ireland, mainly in the United States and Great Britain.3 Not surprisingly, the Famine is generally considered one of the formative events at the heart of Irish American and Irish Canadian identities.4 In many ways, it has become what Margaret Kelleher calls a “charter myth,” even though Irish migration to America significantly predates [End Page 129] the mid-nineteenth century and even though millions more actually came over after rather than during the Famine.5 Despite its centrality in Irish-diasporic history, the notion that the memory of the Famine was so traumatic that it has been culturally repressed persists in popular understandings of the Irish-diasporic past and in some scholarship on the North American Irish diaspora.6 This notion, however, is not borne out by the available source material. On the contrary, during the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth, the Famine was a prevalent theme in journalism and fiction written by Irish-diaspora authors based in the United States and Canada, as well as in Irish-interest material produced by North American writers without Irish ancestry. However, most scholarship on diasporic identity formation during this era focuses primarily on journalism and contemporary historiography, and literature in particular remains a sorely neglected resource.7 This contribution showcases a considerable yet largely unknown corpus of popular fiction published between 1848 and 1918 in the United States or Canada that engages with the legacy of the Famine. In particular, our work underscores the added value of fiction for examining processes of diasporic identity formation and affiliation. In so doing, it also offers starting points for critical reconsiderations of established narratives regarding the position of the Great Famine in the diasporic imagination. This body of fiction is valuable not only because it comprises a sizable repository of materials that imaginatively engage with the Great Famine but also because these texts once reached a substantial and diverse audience. Recollections of the Famine can be found across the full range of fictional genres during the period, including romantic didacticism, regionalism, (urban) realism, and [End Page 130] “lace curtain” fiction, as well as in texts that straddle multiple genres.8 For the Irish characters in works by romantic-didactic authors, such as Mary Francis Cusack’s From Killarney to New York (1877) and Mary Anne Sadlier’s Bessy Conway (1861), the Famine provided an opportunity to overcome adversity and demonstrate their steadfast Irish Catholic faith. Nationalist writers employed famine memory and the charge of British responsibility to justify Fenianism, the campaign for Home Rule, and later republicanism. For political novels like James Doran’s Zanthon (1891), famine suffering served as a first step on the journey to the United States for its eponymous protagonist. Moreover, novels such as Zanthon and John Brennan’s Erin Mor (1892) cast US republicanism and its doctrine of liberty as the solution to Ireland’s colonial hardships. Conversely, Irish American (urban) realism was more critical of diasporic self-presentations and, as shown by John Talbot Smith’s story “How The McGuinness Saved His Pride” (1891), excerpted below, Irish American intolerance toward other immigrant communities. Such examples indicate that in the United States and Canada, as in Ireland, famine memory was deployed for a variety of objectives.9 Authors assimilated such memories into their preferred genres and...

Assessing Print Media Coverage on Environmental Issues in Pakistan: A Study of Major Newspapers in Pakistan

Nowadays, Pakistan faces sever environmental problems in spite of existing laws willing to defend the sustainable environment. In today’s environmental crisis, print media has a unique role to play among various stakeholders which consists of policy makers, Government, NGO’s and the public at large level. No one can deny from the role of print media as a source of information about education for millions of readers. There are many newspapers such as national Urdu, English and regional published daily in Pakistan. In Pakistan, media is also divided language with series of media in vernacular languages including Sindhi, Punjabi and Pashto. In this research, the content analysis of three newspapers Daily Dawn, Daily Jang and Daily Kawish was done of 2016, year to check the Length and Frequency of five major environmental issues Water Crisis, Agriculture Crisis, Pollution, Climate change and Deforestation. The data of following issues were analyzed by using tabulations month wise and finally year wise. English newspaper Dawn has given more coverage to these concerned issues, while secondly Urdu Jang newspaper has given coverage and Kawish has covered less number of stories regarding five major environmental issues.

From resolving land disputes to agrarian justice – dealing with the structural crisis of plantation agriculture in eastern DR Congo

ABSTRACT Land disputes in conflict-affected settings are often considered as a security threat, to be addressed through mediation and strengthening the rule of law. This overlooks the roots of land conflicts in longer-term processes of agrarian development and worsening conditions of land and labour access. A case-study of a dispute between former plantation labourers and concession holders in eastern DR Congo shows mediation's incapacity to counter perceived structural injustices in land access and difficulties in making a living. While dispute resolution may temporarily calm down tensions, it cannot substitute for fundamental political choices vis-a-vis wider questions of agrarian development and justice.

Our Agricultural Krísis

In Australia, and indeed across the world, we are experiencing the effects of a broken food system, such that we face the possibility of a serious agricultural crisis. Current hopes for a resolution to this impending crisis are generally pinned to technology, despite the various problems associated with the use of agricultural technologies over recent decades. Such a situation demands a Christian missional response—an agriculturally-conscious missiology. This paper argues that farming and food production constitutes an aspect of Christian mission. The NT notion of krísis (judgment) is an as opportunity for repentance, applied to suggest that our agricultural crisis is a missional opportunity for the Church since it has spiritual, practical, and traditional resources necessary for a new agricultural paradigm. In light of these resources, the paper makes some provisional suggestions, directed at “consumers,” related to three missiological categories: relationship, contextualization, and participation. Each contributes to a way of thinking that Ellen Davis has called “agrarianism.”

Challenges for agroecology development for the building of sustainable agri-food systems

Environmental and social crises in agriculture have led to growing recognition that more ecologically sustainable and socially just food and agricultural systems are needed. This thematic number of the International Journal of Agriculture and Natural Resources gathers the papers submitted to the workshop “Challenges for agroecology development for the building of sustainable agri-food systems,” an OECD Co-operative Research Programme-sponsored conference. The aim of the workshop was to promote the transition from conventional agriculture towards agroecology as a science, practice and social movement through sharing the experiences of different OECD countries: Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United States. The main topics discussed at the workshop included i) agroecology development in OECD countries: local experiences and international collaboration; ii) agroecology as a social movement and related public policies; iii) agroecology education to promote sustainable agri-food systems; and iv) science, innovation and technologies in agroecological systems. While not a comprehensive assessment of the state of agroecology in OECD countries, this thematic number integrates diverse perspectives on some main research and policy advances and uncovers some existing gaps in agroecology practice as an approach for transitioning towards ecologically sustainable and socially just agricultural systems

Satellite Data Based Soil Water Index as a Tool to Monitor Droughts and Agricultural Crisis -An Example of Yavatmal District, Maharashtra, India

Yavatmal is one of the drought prone districts in Maharashtra state of India and has witnessed an agricultural crisis to the extent that hundreds of its farmers have committed suicides in recent years. Satellite data based products have previously been used globally for monitoring and predicting of drought, but not for monitoring their extreme impacts that may include farmer-suicides. In this study, the performance of the Soil Water Index (SWI) derived from the surface soil moisture estimated by the European Space Agency’s Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) is assessed. Using the 2007-2015 data, it was found that the relationship of the SWI anomaly was bit stronger (coefficient. of correlation = 0.59) with the meteorological drought or precipitation than with the agricultural drought or crop yields of major crops (coefficient. of correlation = 0.50). The farmer-suicide rate was better correlated with the SWI anomaly averaged annually than with the SWI anomaly averaged only for the monsoon months (June, July, August, and September). The correlation between the SWI averaged annually increased to 0.89 when the averages were taken for three years, with the highest correlation occurring between the suicide rate and the SWI anomaly averaged for three years. However, a positive relationship between SWI and the suicide rate indicated that drought was not a major factor responsible for suicide occurrence and other possible factors responsible for suicide occurrence need to examine in detail.

UTILIZATION OF SOLID OR LIQUID WASTES IN AGRICULTURE

Now-days increasing solid or liquid wastes are major problems in developing country therefore utilization of all these wastes are required because of its impact on the environment and as well as on agriculture. These wastes are decomposed and stabilized through composting, vermicomposting, anaerobic digestion, recycling and reuse. Solid wastes act as an organic fertilizer, nutrient supplier, and media for nursery and also helps in improving the physical, chemical and microbiological activity in agricultural soils. Reuse of wastewater helps in reducing water crisis in agriculture. Poultry wastes are used as organic fertilizer, feed for livestock, biogas production, products for commercial purposes.

Adverse Rainfall Shocks and Civil War: Myth or Reality?

News reports and policymakers frequently link African civil conflicts and wars to agricultural crises caused by droughts. However, empirical studies of the relationship between rainfall and civil conflict or war remain inconclusive. I reexamine this relationship focusing on rainfall over each country’s agricultural land during the growing seasons. I also incorporate that the relationship between rainfall and agricultural output is hump-shaped, as rainfall beyond a threshold decreases output. I find a U-shaped relationship between rainfall and the risk of civil conflict and war in (Sub-Saharan) African countries. This relationship mirrors the hump-shaped relationship between rainfall and agricultural output.

COVID-19 impacts on agriculture and food systems in Nepal: Implications for SDGs

The objective of this study was to understand the impacts of COVID-19 crisis in agriculture and food systems in Nepal and assess the effectiveness of measures to deal with this crisis. The study draws policy implications, especially for farming systems resilience and the achievement of SDGs 1 and 2. The findings are based on (i) three panel discussions over six months with policy makers and experts working at grassroots to understand and manage the crisis, (ii) key informants' interviews, and (iii) an extensive literature review. Results revealed that the lockdown and transport restrictions have had severe consequences, raising questions on the achievement of SDGs 1 and 2, especially in the already vulnerable regions dependent on food-aid. This crisis has also exposed the strengths and limitations of both subsistence and commercial farming systems in terms of resiliency, offering important lessons for policy makers. Traditional subsistence farming appears to be somewhat resilient, with a potential to contribute to key pillars of food security, especially access and stability, though with limited contributions to food availability because of low productivity. On the other hand, commercial farming - limited to the periphery of market centres, cities, and emerging towns and in the accessible areas - was more impacted due to the lack of resilient supply networks to reach even the local market. Lower resiliency of commercial farming was also evident because of its growing dependence on inputs (mainly seeds and fertilizer) on distant markets located in foreign countries. The observation of crisis over eight months unleashed by the pandemic clearly revealed that wage labourers, indigenous people, and women from marginalized groups and regions already vulnerable in food security and malnutrition suffered more due to COVID-19 as they lost both external support and the coping mechanisms. The findings have implications for policies to improve both subsistence and commercial farming systems – in particular the former by improving the productivity through quality inputs and by diversifying, promoting and protecting the indigenous food system, while the latter through sustainable intensification by building reliant supply network linking farming with markets and guarantying the supply of inputs.