Development Of Agricultural Activities Research Articles

An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Sustainable Management of Territorial Resources in Hodh el Chargui, Mauritania

The present study proposes an analytical investigation of the natural resources and social framework of the Hodh el Chargui region (Mauritania), aiming to offer a useful instrument for planning and management to the local authorities. The situation of the region was evaluated by means of a participatory survey carried out among the local inhabitants. The obtained results include a collection of data about population, territorial organization, access to basic education and health services, infrastructure, main economic activities, and natural resources (in terms of water, both surface and groundwater, duration and intensity of rainfalls, soil types, and vegetal resources). The survey outcomes were completed with an integrated approach based on Earth Observation (EO) data supports, such as digital elevation models (DEMs) and Landsat8 imagery. The interdependence among the different data was evaluated and discussed, with regard to the influence of the availability of natural resources on the development of agricultural activities and on the general social welfare. The results are organized in the form of digital maps and a user-friendly webmap platform to facilitate access for all the technical and nontechnical actors involved in the project.

Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Agriculture: With Reference to Applications and Emerging Concern

Agricultural Informatics is one of the important emerging domains gaining popularity in recent years. This is simply the application of Information Technology and Computing in Agriculture and allied activities. This is also the combination of ‘Agricultural Science’ and ‘Informatics or Information Science’. This emerging as an interdisciplinary subject and provides solutions for the smarter agriculture and advancement of the agricultural sectors. It is connected with various kinds of information and technological tools. In the recent past, various IT components have emerged and all these are responsible for the agricultural activities leading to cultivation; its enhancement, productivity, quality, cleanliness, efficiency, post agricultural activities. The Agricultural Informatics is responsible for the design, development, management and implementation of the advanced and intelligent agricultural systems, that may call as ‘Smart Agriculture’ or it may be called as ‘Digital Agriculture’. For the creation of such agricultural systems, various emerging Information Technological tools and technologies are emerging and among these important are Cloud Computing, Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics & Artificial Intelligence, Human Computer Interaction, etc. Internet of Things (IoT) is applicable in designing and development of healthy and intelligent information systems that are connected with the internet and similar systems. IoT is responsible for various kinds of Agricultural development activities. This paper is conceptual in nature and deals with a brief overview on Agricultural Informatics including evolution, features and role and importance in the concentration of its applications in the creation of ‘Smart Agriculture’ and also emphasized how IoT and similar systems are helpful in promotion of Agricultural activities, intelligent and smarter way. Paper also highlighted about the issues, challenges and concerns on Agricultural Informatics with special reference to its IoT applications in Agriculture towards the promotion of Smart Agriculture.

Development of agricultural activities in Russia and the Sverdlovsk region in terms of environmental instability

The model or way of development of the village and rural economy is always associated with the state policy in relation to the rural areas. Since rural areas are not only a place of residence for human capital, but also a place of labor and economic activity of the rural residents, who are initially employed in agriculture, it is natural that the existing agricultural policy has a huge impact on the model or way of the rural development. The model of the existence of the economic entities in the rural areas under the conditions of exclusive state land ownership has ended since 1990. From here, in the 21st century, the formation of a modern model of Russian agriculture began with organizational and legal forms of management inherent in a market economy.

Territorial transformations of urbanized systems

Efficiency of development of the city is defined by economic, ecological and social parameters. In the course of urbanization the city develops in all specified parameters. In the course of an urbanization there is a development of the environment in noted indicators that causes the necessity of territorial transformation of the environment. One of stages of urbanization is formation of urban agglomerations, and respectively transformation of the urbanized space. Forming district settlements by the principles of the ecovillage of similar settlements within urban agglomerations will promote formation of the new “smart” town-planning environment, development of agricultural activity, formation of the new housing stock meeting the modern requirements. At the same time there will be no need for carrying out global reconstructive and modernization works within the existing urbanized environment. Design of settlements within urban agglomeration taking into account distinctive features of the ecovillages created now will allow making the effective urbanized environment both from the point of view of economy, and in the town-planning relation.

Beyond “women and youth”: Applying intersectionality in agricultural research for development

“Women and youth” targets are commonly homogenized both in development discourse and in programmatic targeting. While this framing aims to recognize the customary inequities in agricultural development activities traditionally oriented toward elder men, the homogenization of these categories does not capture the intra-gender differences between these social groups. We explore the utility of intersectionality as an applied analytic concept in agricultural research for development to shed light on the heterogeneity of these social groups and the gender power relations that mediate farmer engagement with agriculture. Drawing on qualitative interview data from the Tanzanian dairy sector, this study applies intersectional analysis to explore how gender, generation, and marital status create power relationships that influence farmers’ positioning to engage in dairy production, institutions, and processes. We find that applying intersectionality helps us understand not only intersecting inequalities but also the fundamentally different experiences and power outcomes that occur at these intersections.

Micro level problems and management of agricultural activities Jagadishnagar village, Magrahat Block -1, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India

West Bengal is an agriculture based state of India as its economy is highly dependent on agricultural production. Being situated in the active delta part of Ganga still, there are some problems to cultivate food crop mainly-paddy as kharif and winter crop in some parts of the State. This Paper aims to find out agricultural problems in Jagadishnagar village, PS-Usthi, Magrahat Block -1 in West Bengal by a micro level case study and by household questionnaire survey. The total geographical area of Jagadishnagar village area is 211 hectare and out of which 70% is agricultural land and paddy being the dominant food crop. The village is characterized by presence of 127 households with a population 558 according to 2011 census. The entire study area has divided into four parts- northeastern, northwestern, southeastern and southwestern parts where Amon paddy alone holds 85% of the total agricultural land followed by vegetables production and it is found that the southeastern and southwestern parts of the village are better in agricultural productivity than the rest of the parts of the village. A comparative analysis between them has been done with the help of different statistical analysis which depicts that there are large variations in irrigation practices, economic condition, and family size, application of modern machineries and Government Policies and practice of crop rotation in these four segments. The finding of the research is that agricultural production does not take place much in winter season in the village due to lack of irrigation practice and practice of crop rotation and low income of the villagers and their economic condition become worse. The research suggests some suitable measures for the development of agricultural activities throughout the year to sustain the economy in future.

An Investigation of Effectiveness of Agriculture Sector Development Fund of Yazd Province on Shareholder Associations from Perspective of Shareholders

According to Iranian government’s politics to support agriculture sector and by considering this that it is required to have capital of private sector along with the capital of public capital in this sector, the government has initiated to establish funds to support agriculture sector development on national, product, province, town and rural and tribal women levels. This survey-descriptive research aims to investigate the effectiveness of the Agriculture Sector Development Fund of Yazd Province on shareholder associations in perspective of shareholders. Methodology: Statistical population of this study includes shareholders of Agriculture Sector Development Fund of Yazd Province that were 226 persons. 110 samples were selected by the simple random method using Cochran’s formula. To analyze data, descriptive and analytical statistics were utilized. Results: After analyzing by SPSS software, findings indicated that there is a positive and meaningful relationship between variables of effectiveness scope of covered companies including improvement of position, employment, income, development of activities of shareholders, development of agriculture activities with the effectiveness of this fund. Conclusion: Making payment facilities purposeful in advantageous fields of the province such as greenhouse and also models of serving patterns and formation of production chains are some approaches.

Nitrous oxide flux from a Tropical estuarine system (Cochin estuary, India)

The Cochin estuarine system (CES) has experienced rapid changes over the last few decades from extensive urbanisation, industrialisation, agricultural development activities and aquaculture practices. Intense pollution and other anthropogenic disturbances have led to an accelerated increase in organic matter (OM) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in the estuarine complex. This study explores nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes and its drivers in the CES. Relatively higher N2O concentrations were observed in the inner estuary when compared to the outer estuary. Higher DIN with varying salinity gradients likely controlled the production and flux of N2O into the inner portions of the system. Hypoxia was never established in the water column indicating that conditions were favourable for nitrification, which in turn possibly led to increased N2O concentrations. It was observed particularly during the monsoon season that the inorganic nutrients and dissolved greenhouse gases from the river Periyar at the head of the estuary, contributed to the increased N2O concentrations. The N2O water to air flux ranged from 0.49 to 29.73μmol m−2 day−1, which was higher than what was documented in earlier reports. Although the CES exports a substantial amount of nutrients to the adjacent Arabian Sea, the estuary effectively processes nitrogen inputs as N2O making CES a net source of N2O emissions.

The potential for rural resources development, specifically livestock commodities based on Geographic Information System (GIS) in Patukku Village, Bontocani District, Bone Regency

The Potential for rural resources development, specifically livestock commodities based on Geographic Information System (GIS) in Patukku Village, Bontocani District, Bone Regency(Muhammad Anshar dan Nur Wahidaas researchers). This study aims to analyze how the potential of Rural Resource Development, especially Livestock Commodities based on Geographic Information System (GIS) in Pattuku Village, Bontocani District, Bone Regency. The analytical method used is descriptive analysis and analysis of Geographic Information System (GIS) based mapping. The results showed that Pattuku Village has the potential resources in the form of basic physical conditions that are appropriate in supporting the development of rural areas based on agriculture, especially livestock sub-sector because it has topographic conditions located at an altitude of 120 meters above sea level (masl) with hydrological conditions including groundwater, springs and periodic inundation, namely rice fields and rivers as sources of water that can be used by residents, especially farmers in development of agricultural activities, especially livestock. For climatology conditions in Patukku Village, it has two seasons, rainy and dry seasons, with rainfall changing every month and this climate cycle occurring every year. These conditions encourage the optimization of agricultural land use, especially the development of rural areas based on superior livestock commodities.

The ironies of new innovation and the sunset industry: Diffusion and adoption

Agriculture plays a vital role in the Malaysian economy. Within the agriculture sector, paddy is considered important as it is the staple food for the nation. Innovation is considered as an important and necessary component in the development of agricultural activities, while communication is the powerful tool to further strengthen this sector. Technology adoption would only take place if innovation is driven by farmers’ need. Innovation diffusion technology transfer and adoption are all inter-related facets in increasing crop production. This study examined the influence of innovation attributes, communication channels and awareness in aiding diffusion and adoption of green fertilizer technology innovation in paddy farming in Malaysia. Past innovation diffusion studies have had limited emphasis on the importance of communication for diffusion and adoption of green fertilizer technologies. Hence, there exists a gap that demands specific studies to be undertaken. This study adopted a quantitative method through survey dissemination to fulfil the aim and objective of this study. 366 paddy farmers were selected from Perak to be the respondents. Demographic and multiple regression analysis were carried out on the data. Examining these results is an important first step toward understanding factors that could make the paddy sector in Malaysia more sustainable. From the analyzed data, this study found that certain attributes which are compatibility, interpersonal communication, mass media and awareness have an influence on green fertilizer technology adoption among the local farmers in Malaysia. The results indicate that the level of farmers awareness and information about innovation in general, innovation diffusion process and the extent of attributes in innovation. The study have several implications for government agencies and policy makers in the agricultural sector. Impact of study on Malaysian context are also proposed.

SWAT based hydrological assessment and characterization of Lake Ziway sub-watersheds, Ethiopia

Study regionLake Ziway watershed, Ethiopia. Study focusLake Ziway and its watershed play a significant role in supporting the livelihoods of people in the region. However, the study region is currently under heavy human pressures mainly associated with the ever increasing of human population and the subsequent intensification of agricultural development activities. The present study therefore aims at quantifying and comparing water balance components, feeder rivers’ discharge and evapotranspiration (ET) in the study region using SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model. Flow data from 1988 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2013 were used for model calibration and validation periods respectively. New hydrological insights for the regionResults show that infiltration, surface runoff, base flow and aquifer recharge were large in Katar sub-watershed while ET and lateral flow were large in Meki sub-watershed. However, surface and base flows showed decreasing trends in both sub-watersheds, yet Katar sub-watershed showed major contribution of water to Lake Ziway. The model estimated Lake Ziway and its watershed mean annual ETs as 1920mm and 674mm respectively, but plantation showed more ET than other land cover types in the watershed. If the current trends in irrigation development continue in the region, it is suspected that Katar and Meki Rivers are likely to cease to exist after seven decades, and so is then Lake Ziway to dry out.

Agrobiodiversidad: Validación E Identificacion De Flora En La Comunidad Piñancay, Parroquia Capsol, Chunchi-Ecuador

Ecuador is considered as a country with great biodiversity, in spite of its small territory. This is due to multiple factors including geographic location, geological, topographical and climatic factors, precipitation, temperature, and location in the tropical belt of the planet. On the equinoctial line, with territories located both in the northern hemisphere and in the southern hemisphere, all this forces us to maintain a constant responsibility towards our flora and fauna for its conservation and wealth. Piñancay is one of the six (6) communities of the Capsol parish, which belongs to the Chunchi canton. It has a cold, humid, and cloudy climate that allows the development of agricultural activities on a wide range. It however serves as a form of income to the inhabitants of the sector. Thus, based on the validation and identification of the flora inventory of the Piñancay community and in addition to the morphological and taxonomic identification of the plants, a study was carried out on the current agrobiodiversity of the Piñancay community.

DRAWING UP MAPS OF INFERTILE SOIL PLOTS USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

There are quite a lot of unused plots of lands that are suitable for agriculture or other business in the territory of Lithuania. This has happened because of various social, natural and economic reasons. Scientists emphasize that all intensity of agricultural production is determined by different conditions of development of agricultural activities. Productivity of soil is highly significant in this case. Big farmers control vast territories in which natural conditions are different. Some farmers engage in one type of activities in their farms, whereas others develop different business. Using the territory used for agriculture to engage in different activities is more efficient economically because different crops need different conditions to grow; therefore, it is possible to obtain higher economic efficiency taking into account the characteristics of soil. Taking into account the relevance of such a map in practice, it was decided to try to draw it up using geographic information systems. The biggest problem while performing this task is the fact that initial information is saved in different formats. The article also describes the capacities of software. It is noteworthy that the situation is analyzed in respect of drawing up a map of individual holdings not a mass map of unproductive land. The article is more of practical nature; therefore, the results reflect program capacities and theoretical ideas more that could be useful in business and expand the capabilities of land management officers‘ activities.

Holocene climate change evidence from high-resolution loess/paleosol records and the linkage to fire–climate change–human activities in the Horqin dunefield in northern China

The combination of high-resolution sedimentary paleoclimate proxies of total organic carbon and magnetic susceptibility of a loess/paleosol section with black carbon (BC) records provides us with information about climate change and the linkage of fire–climate change–vegetation–human activities in the Horqin dunefield over the past 11,600calyr BP. We found that during 11,600–8000calyr BP (the early Holocene), the area was dominated by a dry climate. The vegetation coverage was low, which limited the extent of fire. The Holocene optimum can be placed between 8000 and 3200calyr BP, and during this period, anthropogenic fire was a key component of total fire occurrence as the intensity of human activity increased. The development of agricultural activities and the growing population during this period increased the use of fire for cooking food and burning for cultivation and land fertilization purposes. During 2800–2600calyr BP, a warm/moister climate prevailed and was associated with a high degree of pedogenesis and vegetation cover density, evident at 2700calyr BP. Fires may have contributed to human survival by enabling the cooking of food in the warm and wet climate. In the period since 2000calyr BP, fires linked to agriculture may have led to increased biomass burning associated with agricultural activity.

Mapping the groundwater vulnerability for pollution at the pan African scale

We estimated vulnerability and pollution risk of groundwater at the pan-African scale. We therefore compiled the most recent continental scale information on soil, land use, geology, hydrogeology and climate in a Geographical Information System (GIS) at a resolution of 15km×15km and at the scale of 1:60,000,000. The groundwater vulnerability map was constructed by means of the DRASTIC method. The map reveals that groundwater is highly vulnerable in Central and West Africa, where the watertable is very low. In addition, very low vulnerability is found in the large sedimentary basins of the African deserts where groundwater is situated in very deep aquifers. The groundwater pollution risk map is obtained by overlaying the DRASTIC vulnerability map with land use. The northern, central and western part of the African continent is dominated by high pollution risk classes and this is very strongly related to shallow groundwater systems and the development of agricultural activities. Subsequently, we performed a sensitivity analysis to evaluate the relative importance of each parameter on groundwater vulnerability and pollution risk. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the removal of the impact of vadose zone, the depth of the groundwater, the hydraulic conductivity and the net recharge causes a large variation in the mapped vulnerability and pollution risk. The mapping model was validated using nitrate concentration data of groundwater as a proxy of pollution risk. Pan-African concentration data were inferred from a meta-analysis of literature data. Results shows a good match between nitrate concentration and the groundwater pollution risk classes. The pan African assessment of groundwater vulnerability and pollution risk is expected to be of particular value for water policy and for designing groundwater resources management programs. We expect, however, that this assessment can be strongly improved when better pan African monitoring data related to groundwater pollution will be integrated in the assessment methodology.

Aspirations of rural youth towards self-development

The present research “Aspirations of rural youth towards self-development” was conducted in Ramtek and Kamthi taluka of Nagpur district of Maharashtra State. 100 youth were selected randomly from 10 villages. The data was collected by personal interview of the rural youth with the help of interview schedule. In case of profile of rural youth nearly half of respondents (46.00 %) had medium age (24 to 28 years). The 30.00 per cent of rural youth educated up to college level. Majority of respondents (71.00 %) had medium experience in farming (4 to 7 years) and 72.00 per cent had medium family size (4 to 7 members), majority of respondents (56.00 %) had semimedium (2.01 to 4.00 ha) land holding, 40.00 per cent respondents had high social participation and 46.00 per cent had medium extension contact, whereas 44.00 per cent respondents had high mass media exposure and majority of respondents (59.00 %) had medium cosmopoliteness. It was observed that majority of respondents (51.00 %) performed medium level overall role in village development activities. In case of role of rural youth in agricultural development activities majority of respondents (56.00 %) were played role in sowing, drilling, dibbling, etc. activities, in case of rural youth role in social development activities of village majority of respondents (52.00 %) played role in cultural and recreational programmes. In case of role of rural youth in economic development activities over two fifth of respondents (43.00 %) were participated in work of marketing of agriculture product.

PERDA DE SOLO EM DIFERENTES CULTURAS AGRÍCOLAS SOBRE LATOSSOLO VERMELHO NO MUNICÍPIO DE PATROCÍNIO, MG - DOI: 10.13083/1414-3984.v22n05a05

Os processos erosivos, apesar de naturais, vêm sendo intensificados pelo uso inadequado do solo provocando a perdas anuais de bilhões de toneladas de solos férteis em todo o mundo. Assim, compreender este processo é fundamental para um desenvolvimento sustentável da atividade agrícola. Este trabalho avaliou as perdas de solo por erosão laminar em sete parcelas, sob diferentes tratamentos (mata; cultivo de soja, milho e cafeeiro, pastagem e solo exposto), em Latossolos vermelhos da Fazenda Esmeril, em Patrocínio, MG. As parcelas de solo exposto apresentaram os maiores valores de perdas de solo, com mais de 23 Mg ha-1 ano-1. Em relação aos demais tratamentos, a mata apresentou os menores totais, aproximadamente 38%; dentre as culturas, o milho (79%), seguido da soja (68%), foram os que apresentaram os maiores valores para as perdas de solo, bem superiores ao da área de cafezal e pasto, com 47% e 45%, respectivamente. Apesar do sistema de plantio direto nas culturas de soja e milho ter reduzido a produção de sedimentos nestas áreas, estas ainda continuam perdendo muito material durante as fases de preparação do solo e plantio. Já o valor elevado apresentado na cultura do cafeeiro é reflexo do grande espaçamento entre plantas.

Déforestation, savanisation et développement agricole des paysages de savanes-forêts dans la zone soudano-guinéenne du Bénin

Les communes de Banté-Glazoué-Ouessé (département des Collines) en zone sou- dano-guinéenne du Bénin constituent le domaine des mosaïques de forêts et une des principales pourvoyeuses en produits agricoles et en charbon de bois. Ces mosaïques de forêts sont soumises à de multiples formes de dégradation. Une étude de la dynamique spatio-temporelle basée sur une interprétation des images de types Landsat (MSS 1972, TM 1986 et ETM+ 2006) a été réalisée grâce à l’utili- sation du système d’information géogra- phique et des outils d’écologie du paysage afin d’envisager un programme de restau- ration forestière. Les résultats de cette étude ont permis, grâce à des matrices de transition et des indices de structure spa- tiale, d’évaluer les mutations liées aux pratiques agricoles. Quatre grands pro- cessus de transformation spatiale ont été mis en évidence et quantifiés pour la période de 34 ans (1972 à 2006) retenue pour cette étude : (i) la formation des savanes, (ii) la déforestation, (iii) le déve- loppement des activités agricoles et, enfin,(iv) une restauration forestière. La dyna- mique de la structure spatiale est dominée pendant cette période d’étude par une séquence de création suivie d’agrandis- sement pour les taches des classes de champs-jachères et de plantations arbo- rées ; d’agrégation pour les classes de savanes et de sols nus-agglomérations ; et de suppression pour les taches de forêt.

Coastal palaeoenvironmental record of the last 7 kyr BP in NW France: Sub-millennial climatic and anthropic Holocene signals

To date, Holocene palaeoecological signatures on the Northwestern coast of France have not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, environmental changes related to both climate processes and human disturbances were reconstructed over the last 7000 cal. yr BP, based on pollen and chironomid assemblages from four coastal cores retrieved in Western Brittany (Porsmilin beach, NW France). Pollen and chironomid records show an environmental response to both millennial- and centennial-scale climate changes. During the mid-Holocene (until around 4200 cal. yr BP), when human impact was low, Porsmilin’s landscape was characterized by a mixed oak forest dominated by Corylus trees. Comparison of our data with other palynological data from the NW French Atlantic coast shows that this dominance may be related to more humid conditions prevailing at Porsmilin. Furthermore, over the mid-Holocene, Corylus and Quercus patterns appear anti-correlated, with Quercus declines appearing synchronous with major storms revealed by data recently compiled for the Holocene in Brittany, suggesting that cold conditions probably caused the Quercus contractions, which in turn favoured the rise of the heliophile taxon Corylus. Regarding chironomids over this period, our results show variations in lotic–lentic taxa related to hydrological conditions, more specifically changes in river run off strength. Over the Late Holocene, the Porsmilin palynological record shows progressive vegetation changes mainly related to human settlement and development of agricultural activities.

Sazonalidade na qualidade da água de irrigação em açudes da bacia do rio Acaraú, Ceará

Knowledge of salt concentration and consequently the quality of irrigation water is of utmost importance in irrigation management since it may limit its use , severely altering the chemical and physical characteristics of the soil . This study was conducted at Bacia do Rio Acaraú, located in the northwest of the state of Ceará. Five samples were collected over a year of six ponds in the region, in the period August 2009 to July 2010 and on each collection was performed using four replications with the end 120 samples throughout the period and all points were geo-referenced . Evaluated parameters were : electrical conductivity of water (ECw) , hydrogen potential (pH) , cations (Ca 2 + , Mg 2 + , Na + and K + ) and anions . Generally waters containing high concentrations of bicarbonate ions, has a great tendency for precipitation of Ca and Mg , the waters of the dams studied in the period between September 2009 and April 2010 are , with normal irrigation except for the parameters calcium, magnesium , chloride and carbonate. This study shows the need for monitoring of the basin for decision making and development of agricultural activities and public policies for the better performance of local agriculture , since the climatic conditions prevailing in the analyzed region favor a higher risk of salinity and sodicity along the year from higher temperatures.