Demand For Agricultural Products Research Articles

Development of Regional Production Areas in a Changing Climate: A Case Study of Gippsland, Australia

Increased global demand for agricultural production is being driven, in particular, by the rising middle class in the Asia-Pacific geo-region. The significant role of natural resource-based industries, especially agriculture, in the development of non-metropolitan regions is again being recognised. In this context, this article describes a spatial analysis approach to agricultural development based on the development of Production Areas (PAs) in regional/rural economies. PAs are spatial units within regions selected for the intensive sustainable development of agriculture (including forestry, agro-forestry and bio-energy), their associated activities and underpinning infrastructure. A case study in a resource-based region in Australia—Gippsland – explains the approach. This is informed by the eco-economy model of endogenous regional/rural development, which addresses the links between novel co-production and consumption networks. The methodology for the identification and analysis of PAs has, at its core, Land Suitability Analyses of those agricultural commodities currently cultivated in the region and those that could be grown in future climates. The use of GIS enables us to overlay and analyse several constraints (e.g. flood erosion and salinity risk) and resources (e.g. water and transport) to define PAs and the available land within each of them. The approach is further illustrated by focusing in one PA—Macalister, an irrigated dairy production area where recent dry climatic conditions caused a substantial decline in water resources. Key elements for the sustainable development of this PA are outlined including construction of Blue-Green Infrastructure. Comments on the approach and the need for strategic long-term planning concludes the article.

ANALYSIS SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT OF TOMATO BEEF AGRIBUSSINESS (Case Studies in Tani Maju Group Dusun Junggo Kecamatan Bumiaji, Batu)

Main strength of agribusiness is the fulfillment of demand for agricultural products. However, this demand is often located in cities and industrial centers, whereas the production site of agribusiness is always far away from cities and industrial centers where the demand derives from. Indonesian farmers are lacking of competing ability, and therefore, it is hard to give better quality of supply and more punctuality of procurement. Punctuality is highly required by consumer and therefore, this research attempts to discuss punctuality. The objective of research is to analyze the performance of tomato beef supply chain management and the long-term relationship among the agencies of tomato beef supply chain management. To achieve this objective, research uses analysis methods of SCOR AHP and descriptive statistic. Result of research indicates that the performance of tomato beef supply chain management may be classified already as the good one but it can still be improved by establishing the main priority or the best solution alternative for supply chain management, which respectively is the making of long-term business contract. Therefore, long-term relationship among the agencies of tomato beef supply chain management will be stronger.

English

Wetlands provide several ecological and socio-economic benefits. However, in southwestern Ethiopia, the conversion of wetland to agricultural land is substantial. Hence, the aim of the study was to identify the socio-economic impacts of wetland cultivation. The impacts were assessed through focus group discussion and semi-structured questionnaire of 252 households. According to the respondents, the results indicated that the shortage of subsistence food (65.5%), shortage of cropland (64%), declining of upland crop productivity (63.5%) and increasing demand of agricultural products produced in wetland (40.48%) were the driving forces for wetland conversion and cultivation. The majority (65.48%) of the households benefited from wetland cultivation through growing different crops. However, cultivation of wetlands created deterioration of socio-economical valuable ecological factors. Among the ecological degradation, about 61.21% of households interviewed perceive the degradation of quality and quantity of domestic use of water, 91.27% perceives the decrease of grass for thatching, 100% of interviewed households perceive the loss of grass for plastering, and also for fodder. This affects the livelihood of the community through ailing from water born disease and increased cost for wastewater treatment, increasing cost of construction, reduction of milk and milk products, and to a decrease in number of livestock of 42.86, 61.51, 93.25 and 68% of interviewed households, respectively. Therefore, wetland management needs legal supports and institutions, planning of wise use and strategies for improving the productivity of upland cropland and for minimizing the load on wetland utilization for cultivation.   Key words: Impact, wetland cultivation, wetland benefit, perception, South-Bench district, Ethiopia.

Land-use changes and agriculture in the tropics: pesticides as an overlooked threat to wildlife

The growing demand of agricultural products has led to drastic changes in land-use all over the world. Tropical lands are no exception; they are drastically and rapidly changing look and losing their peculiar features. A recent assessment of crop distribution and expansion in 128 tropical countries for the years 1999–2008 showed that soybeans and maize are the crops which expanded most in absolute area (Phalan et al. 2013). Among these crops, it is increasingly recognised that oil palm is one of the main drivers of tropical forest conversion (Carrasco et al. 2014). The growing global demand for oil palm is leading to the expansion of plantations in Asia, Latin America, and West Africa, which are threatening vast tracts of tropical forests with loss of biodiversity and functional diversity (Senior et al. 2013; Edwards et al. 2013). Although expansion of agricultural land has mostly come at the expense of tropical forests, other important biomes of high conservation value (e.g., grasslands, savannas, shrublands) are also shrinking dramatically (Gibbs et al. 2010). The assumption that yield improvement (e.g., ‘‘super palms’’ variety) would spare land for nature has recently been disputed (Carrasco et al. 2014; Giam et al. 2014), leaving little hope for the future of tropical ecosystems. Although habitat loss poses the greatest threat to species, I highlight that there is another important, but overlooked and sneaky threat to tropical wildlife and ecosystems that further reduces any optimism: pesticides. The global use of pesticides (fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides) is important for growing oil palms, as well as other crops, by reducing the prevalence of targeted pest species. However, little attention is given in the tropics to the potential unintended effects on non-target species, including

THE STUDY OF SOME ICT PROJECTS IN AGRICULTURE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF INDIA

Information and communication technology (ICTs) ischanging all the spheres of human lives. Hence it is popular. The application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in agriculturesector is increasingly important. Agriculture is an important sector with the majority of the rural population in developing countriesdepend ing on it.The agriculture sector faces major challenges of enhancing production in a situation of decliningnatural resources necessary for production. The growing demand for agricultural products, however, also offers opportunities for producers to sustain and improve their livelihoods. Information andCommunication Technologies (ICT) act as a key agent in agriculture sector in addressing these challenges and enrichingthe livelihoods of the poorrural population which depends on agricultural produce. In this paper we studied some of the existing ICT projects in India. Despite the huge potential to harness ICT for agricultural development, only few isolated projects have been initiated in India and few in other parts of the world. Interestingly, many of these projects were started by NGOs, private organisations, cooperative bodies and governmental organisations other than agricultural departments. To formulate a strategy for overall agricultural development, the isolated ICT projects need to be studied and the experiences generated must be documented in order to draw lessons for the future.

A Contribution to the Debate on Reconciling Bioenergy for Biofuels and Food Security

 Abstract—Over the last few years, bioenergy production has undergone a process of rapid development, causing significant impacts on the global food system. Among other things, the resulting increase in demand for agricultural products has had important implications for food security. The alleged causal link between bioenergy production and food security has been the subject of increasing debate. Given the complex nature of bioenergy, debates on the matter often lack a solid scientific basis. The endurance of such debates raises the need for more informed and systematic attention to this issue. The present paper identifies some of the main players in this debate and their arguments in favor or against the expansion of biofuel industries. A case study of the Brazilian experience with biofuels will clarify the validity of arguments on both sides of the debate and the potential applicability of the Brazilian biofuel model worldwide.

Rice Bran Affects Dry-matter Production of Chinese and Japanese Rice Cultivars

The effect of rice bran on dry matter production of different rice cultivars, namely the Chinese panicle weight types and Japanese panicle number types, was evaluated in field conditions, with growth, canopy production structure and the root system determined over a period of 60 days. The treatments consisted of rice cultivars with 1000 kg ha1 rice bran without agrochemicals (RB), cultivars with chemical fertilizer and cultivars with herbicide, with the latter serving as a control. The crop growth rate (CGR) and mean leaf area index (mLAI) in RB treatment were lower than that of the control; however, the net assimilation rate (NAR) was higher for all growth stages in this treatment. It was noted that CGR in RB and the control treatment depended greatly on mLAI during the early and middle growth stages, whereas CGR was more dependent on NAR in the late growth stage. Correlation between CGR in middle stage and the extinction coefficient of the canopy (k) at heading was apparent (p < 0.05). NAR in middle stage was positively correlated with mean leaf color and specific leaf weight (SLW). The correlations between NAR in the late stage and bleeding rate per number of primary roots, and per leaf area at maturity was apparent (p < 0.01). Root vitality and NAR were higher in RB treatment. The photosynthesis-related traits after heading in RB treatment were better than the control. Reduction of ∆W in RB treatment as well as the spikelets number (SN) was unapparent. The panicle number type cultivars did not inhibit growth during the early and middle growth stages with the presence of rice bran. The difference between growth, panicle number and weight cultivars was insignificant in the late stage. Discipline: Crop production Additional key words: bleeding rate, growth analysis, light extinction coefficient, the panicle number type cultivars, root system. This research was supported in part by Tianjin natural science fund for Scientific Research (No.11JCYBJC27100) from the Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Commission, China. The Project Sponsored by the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, State Education Ministry (No.46). This research was supported in part by the ScienceT accepted 2 March 2015 Introduction The use of nitrogen in paddy cultivation in China is three times higher than in Japan. In this context, excess application of chemical fertilizer in paddy cultivation pollutes the environment and has adverse effects on both aquatic and terrestrial organisms. The use of chemical fertilizers increases operation costs, resulting in higher rice and rice product prices. It is, therefore, important to find new alternatives as substitutes for chemical fertilizer in paddy farming to alleviate environmental issues arising from their use. Rice bran is often used in the organic paddy farming in Japan because of its efficacy as a fertilizer and herbicide. This cultivation technique fulfills the growing demand for agriculture products with fewer or no agrochemicals to

Survey of Uruguayan Freshwater Water Quality for Crop Irrigation

The increase in global demand for food and biofuels, has led to an high demand for agricultural products. That situation implies an intensification of production systems, and develop strategies to ensure stability against drought, and moreover a better levels of productivity. Objectives that could be achieved with the irrigation of crops; however, it can promote negative impacts due to cumulative effects on soil quality, which depend on the chemical composition of the water used. This paper show the results of a national study of freshwater quality, on 100 river watersheds (up to 100,000 ha), which correspond to a cumulative drainage area of 70% of country surface. In these freshwaters the following parameters was evaluated: electrical conductivity, concentration of major cations (Na, K, Ca, Mg), alkalinity, and pH. The results showed Ca, Mg, K, and Na concentrations in ranges of 0.0- 45.1, 0.0-14.1, 0.019-16.8, and 0.78 -139 mg L-1, respectively. The alkalinity was in range of 32 to 420 CaCO3 mg L-1, and this variable was the most important contribution to get the different values of electrical conductivity of water, which had values between 71.6 and 1047 micro Siemens cm-1. These features allow propose at least 3 freshwater ecoregions (coastal and central-south; basalt; Northeast and southeast) at Uruguay, based on the chemical composition of studied freshwaters. Moreover, SAR values (([Na] / [(Ca + Mg) / 2] 1/2) of these waters shown a 99% of them has good quality characteristics for the development of irrigation, because they have a SAR below 10.

Linkage of food consumption and export to ammonia emissions in Canada and the overriding implications for mitigation

Ammonia (NH3) emissions from agriculture to the atmosphere, along with emissions of other pollutants from a variety of sources, are of concern to agriculture worldwide. National emissions from agricultural sources in Canada are linked to domestic consumption and export demand for agricultural products. The onus to limit emissions is often directed to the producers, but the marketplace and consumer are also responsible for the environmental impact of their choices. This objective of this study was to quantitatively link agricultural NH3 emissions to per person consumption of food and protein and to agricultural exports from Canada. There are substantial differences in the NH3 emissions per unit consumed protein among the various food types. As a result, shifts in the Canadian diet have had a large impact on relative per person NH3 emissions. From 1981 to 2006, the total per person protein intake in the Canadian diet increased about 5%, but NH3 emission related to that diet decreased 20%. This is largely related to consumption of less beef, which has a high emission per unit of meat or protein, and more poultry and cereals which have much lower emissions. Although these changes in diet were not because of environmental concerns by the consumers, they had substantial effects on national-level emissions. These consumer driven effects may well exceed the possible effects of best management practices intended to address NH3 emissions at the producer level. Note that the Canadian population has increased 50% from 1981 to 2006 and meat and egg exports increased 570%, so that total emissions from food production in Canada have increased. Our results imply there will be further effects on national NH3 emissions because of dietary and export drivers that are generally outside the scope of agro-environmental policy.

بعض المؤشرات الإنتاجیة والاقتصادیة للزروع المصریة

Despite the multiplicity of productive fields within the agricultural sector in the Arab Republic of Egypt, it is characterized by its low productivity and its inability to meet the growing consumer demand for agricultural products within the local market, due to the multiple uses of these products in addition to the growing population. It aims to identify the production and economic indicators of the various Egyptian field and vegetable crops during the period (2010-2012) to determine the relative importance of the cultivated areas of each crop, as well as to estimate the water needs of the most important crops, as well as to estimate the net return of those crops. The study results on the descriptive and in explaining and presenting the economic variables. The results showed that the total cultivated area of ​​field crops amounted to about 10.7 million feddans, and the average per feddan share of water for various Egyptian field crops during the study period came in the forefront of the sugar cane crop, which occupies the first place in the feddan’s need for water, with an average of about 9.9 thousand. m3, and the rice crop comes in second place with an average of about 5 thousand m3, the total area of ​​vegetable crops amounted to about 1.1 million feddans. The feddan of water is at an average of about three thousand m3, and the Nile lug crops come in second place with an average of about 2.7 thousand m3, and the winter lug crops come in the last rank for the feddan's need of water.

Soil Compaction, Both an Environmental and Agronomic Culprit: Increased Nitrous Oxide Emissions and Reduced Plant Nitrogen Uptake

With a burgeoning world population and growing demand for agricultural products, it will be necessary to strike a judicious balance between maintaining adequate N inputs and minimizing gaseous N losses in farming systems. Our objective in this study was to quantify the effects of soil compaction, N fertilization, and clay content on N2O emission from soil. Soil cropped to maize (Zea mays L.) was compacted by tractor wheel traffic or not compacted for consecutive years, and N fertilizer was applied at 0, 75, 150, and 300 kg N ha−1 to both compaction treatments. Variability in clay content across the experimental plots allowed us to assess of the effects of texture on N2O response to compaction and N fertilization. Compaction, increasing N fertilization, and their interaction all significantly increased cumulative emissions of N2O during the growing season. There was a significant carryover effect, with higher N2O emissions observed in previously compacted soils in a subsequent year when soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] was grown and no compaction or N fertilizer was applied. Nitrous oxide emissions scaled against plant N uptake showed significant positive response to both compaction and N fertilizer. Clay content did not significantly affect N2O emissions, but its role became apparent when the emissions were scaled by N uptake. This scaling amplified the deleterious effects of compaction on gaseous N losses from soil because compaction both increased N2O emissions and decreased yield and plant N uptake. In contrast, increasing N fertilizer increased both and therefore did not have as large an effect on the scaled N2O emissions.

Climate change and water resources: a case study of the canadian prairie region

Climate change through altering the hydrologic regime would affect water supply in various parts of the world. Dry regions of Canada, such as the semi-arid Prairies, would be affected harder under the project climate change scenarios. This chapter reviews water availability and demand for the province of Saskatchewan, located in the semi-arid region of Canada. Implications of climate change for value of water and other socio-economic issues are also identifi ed. In the study region, it is inevitable that climate change would bring forth lower water availability, change in the seasonality of precipitation and its form, higher water demand for agricultural production plus other related implications. The latter type of implications may include health impacts, regional and local confl icts, and interregional migration of people. Under the future water stress levels, it is imperative that integrated water management, including demand management, is undertaken. Although climate change may be a factor that would affect future water resources, equally important are factors such as population, technology, people’s attitude about water use and wastage.

Agricultural Logistics Companies Distribution Based on Fuzzy Clustering Analysis and Genetic Algorithm

This paper analyzes the logistics distribution system, logistics and distribution of agricultural products and agricultural products logistics enterprise status,Demand for agricultural products logistics companies point clustering analysis, Determine the economic and non-economic rational and reasonable point point,To TSP problem-based, Application of improved genetic algorithm to determine its distribution route, Use natural number coding chromosome structure represents feasible route, greedy crossover, mutation and reverse the 2-opt other methods, With VC + + and MATLAB programming of the algorithm, And empirical analysis proves the validity of the algorithm.

Land and Farm Production: Availability, Use, and Productivity of Agricultural Land in the World

Population and income growth determine increasing demand for agricultural products, especially food products; and agricultural production requires land. This paper analyses historical trends in growth of agricultural production (total and per capita, at world level and for major regions) during the half century since 1961, and the relative contributions to such growth coming from additional land and from increased land productivity, and summarises the latest studies on availability of extra suitable land. World production has been growing steadily ahead of population, causing a rising tendency in agricultural and food output per capita; such growth has been achieved with very little addition of extra land; land use for agriculture peaked around 1990 and has been stagnant or declining since; extra land contributed just about 5% of agricultural output growth from 1961 to 2011, and almost nothing in the latest decades. On the other hand, land suitable for rain-fed crop production that is not forested, not built-up, not otherwise protected, and not yet cropped, is quite abundant. However, projections of future agricultural growth, even under very conservative hypotheses, do not envisage much increase in the use of extra land. Available estimates show that agricultural Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is the dominant factor in agricultural growth, and that growth of agricultural TFP is accelerating. The world produces more than enough food relative to the needs of the world's population (though unequal access persists), and is very far from running out of land to sustain agricultural growth in the future, even assuming less progress in productivity in the coming decades.

A Feasibility Study on Applying Remotely Sensed data for Agricultural Management in Beyza Land

because of increasing demands for agricultural products and existence of restrictions against resources such as lack of natural water resources for producing agricultural products using traditional methods, it is a need to use modern techniques such as satellite remote sensing to manage natural resources. The need for agriculture is to increase the production by optimum utilization of resources. Remote sensing satellites could be a good option for water and nutrient requirement and disease detection. In this paper a feasibility study is carried out for using remote sensing images for managing agricultural resources in the area of Beyza, a land in Fars province in Iran. After a study on availability of different imagery resources covered this area and the way of accessing such data in a good manner, ETM+ of Landsat satellite is selected as the source of data. After that the image processing steps required for extracting useful information are discussed and finally a practical model is proposed that should be implemented for applying the model on the real condition. The simulation results based on prototype data and previous studies showed the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Study and Implementation of Mobile Information Service System for Agriculture Based on Things

With the rapid development of mobile networks and networking technology, agricultural information services will change in the concept, content, patterns and so on. This paper analyzes the existing agricultural information services, mobile information services to build the mobile information services system for agriculture based on android platform can provide the supply and demand of agricultural products in a timely and implement the efficient flow of agricultural information. Users can get more friendly and convenient user interface localized modes of operation than WAP pages through the system, users can obtain real-time mobile service information. Description of the experimental system is feasible in practice.

Quantifying yield gaps in wheat production in Russia

Crop yields must increase substantially to meet the increasing demands for agricultural products. Crop yield increases are particularly important for Russia because low crop yields prevail across Russia’s widespread and fertile land resources. However, reliable data are lacking regarding the spatial distribution of potential yields in Russia, which can be used to determine yield gaps. We used a crop growth model to determine the yield potentials and yield gaps of winter and spring wheat at the provincial level across European Russia. We modeled the annual yield potentials from 1995 to 2006 with optimal nitrogen supplies for both rainfed and irrigated conditions. Overall, the results suggest yield gaps of 1.51–2.10 t ha−1, or 44–52% of the yield potential under rainfed conditions. Under irrigated conditions, yield gaps of 3.14–3.30 t ha−1, or 62–63% of the yield potential, were observed. However, recurring droughts cause large fluctuations in yield potentials under rainfed conditions, even when the nitrogen supply is optimal, particularly in the highly fertile black soil areas of southern European Russia. The highest yield gaps (up to 4 t ha−1) under irrigated conditions were detected in the steppe areas in southeastern European Russia along the border of Kazakhstan. Improving the nutrient and water supply and using crop breeds that are adapted to the frequent drought conditions are important for reducing yield gaps in European Russia. Our regional assessment helps inform policy and agricultural investors and prioritize research that aims to increase crop production in this important region for global agricultural markets.

Public policies can reduce tropical deforestation: Lessons and challenges from Brazil

Reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation now constitutes an important strategy for mitigating climate change, particularly in developing countries with large forests. Given growing concerns about global climate change, it is all the more important to identify cases in which economic growth has not sparked excessive forest clearance. We address the recent reduction of deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon by conducting a statistical analysis to ascertain if different levels of environmental enforcement between two groups of municipalities had any impact on this reduction. Our analysis shows that these targeted, heightened enforcement efforts avoided as much as 10,653km2 of deforestation, which translates into 1.44×10−1PgC in avoided emissions for the 3 y period. Moreover, most of the carbon loss and land conversion would have occurred at the expense of closed moist forests. Although such results are encouraging, we caution that significant challenges remain for Brazil's continued success in this regard, given recent changes in the forestry code, ongoing massive investments in hydro power generation, reductions of established protected areas, and growing demand for agricultural products.

Mapping Land Management Regimes in Western Ukraine Using Optical and SAR Data

The global demand for agricultural products is surging due to population growth, more meat-based diets, and the increasing role of bioenergy. Three strategies can increase agricultural production: (1) expanding agriculture into natural ecosystems; (2) intensifying existing farmland; or (3) recultivating abandoned farmland. Because agricultural expansion entails substantial environmental trade-offs, intensification and recultivation are currently gaining increasing attention. Assessing where these strategies may be pursued, however, requires improved spatial information on land use intensity, including where farmland is active and fallow. We developed a framework to integrate optical and radar data in order to advance the mapping of three farmland management regimes: (1) large-scale, mechanized agriculture; (2) small-scale, subsistence agriculture; and (3) fallow or abandoned farmland. We applied this framework to our study area in western Ukraine, a region characterized by marked spatial heterogeneity in management intensity due to the legacies from Soviet land management, the breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the recent integration of this region into world markets. We mapped land management regimes using a hierarchical, object-based framework. Image segmentation for delineating objects was performed by using the Superpixel Contour algorithm. We then applied Random Forest classification to map land management regimes and validated our map using randomly sampled in-situ data, obtained during an extensive field campaign. Our results showed that farmland management regimes were mapped reliably, resulting in a final map with an overall accuracy of 83.4%. Comparing our land management regimes map with a soil map revealed that most fallow land occurred on soils marginally suited for agriculture, but some areas within our study region contained considerable potential for recultivation. Overall, our study highlights the potential for an improved, more nuanced mapping of agricultural land use by combining imagery of different sensors.

Food appropriation through large scale land acquisitions

The increasing demand for agricultural products and the uncertainty of international food markets has recently drawn the attention of governments and agribusiness firms toward investments in productive agricultural land, mostly in the developing world. The targeted countries are typically located in regions that have remained only marginally utilized because of lack of modern technology. It is expected that in the long run large scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) for commercial farming will bring the technology required to close the existing crops yield gaps. While the extent of the acquired land and the associated appropriation of freshwater resources have been investigated in detail, the amount of food this land can produce and the number of people it could feed still need to be quantified. Here we use a unique dataset of land deals to provide a global quantitative assessment of the rates of crop and food appropriation potentially associated with LSLAs. We show how up to 300–550 million people could be fed by crops grown in the acquired land, should these investments in agriculture improve crop production and close the yield gap. In contrast, about 190–370 million people could be supported by this land without closing of the yield gap. These numbers raise some concern because the food produced in the acquired land is typically exported to other regions, while the target countries exhibit high levels of malnourishment. Conversely, if used for domestic consumption, the crops harvested in the acquired land could ensure food security to the local populations.