Secure Food Supply Research Articles

Reducing postharvest losses using modified atmosphere packaging bags for African nightshade (Solanum scabrumMill.) leaves

African nightshade (Solanum scabrum Mill.) is important for its nutrition, health promoting compounds and its contribution in providing a secure food supply and livelihood for smallholder farmers in rural, peri-urban and urban areas in Kenya. However, inadequate postharvest handling practices result in high losses. To address this issue, studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on improving storability, nutritional and health promoting compounds of 'Olevolosi' African nightshade. Plants were cultivated in a climate chamber for four weeks and three weeks under greenhouse conditions. Leaves were harvested and either packaged in MAP (Xtend®) or left in the open (control). The leaves were stored for 8 days to simulate retail conditions (20°C and RH 56%) and 15 days in cold storage (7°C and RH 86%). Fresh weight loss, leaf colour, antioxidative compounds (i.e., β-carotene, lutein, lycopene, vitamin E, and vitamin C), chlorophylls, protein, microbial counts, and gas composition within MAP were evaluated. The results showed that leaf colour was retained by MAP, more so at 7°C. MAP reduced weight loss by 76.4-83.9% at 20°C and 71.0-84.8% at 7°C compared with the control. Moreover, MAP maintained or even increased the content of protein, vitamins C and E, β-carotene, lutein, lycopene and chlorophylls in both storage conditions in comparison to the control. During storage, the concentration of CO2 increased to 0.7-3.3%, while O2 was reduced by 0.9-3.3% being more pronounced at 20°C, compared to ambient conditions. However, the use of MAP did not reduce microbial counts. The findings indicate the potential of using MAP to improve shelf life and preserve bioactive quality compounds of African nightshade. This could be a vital step to improve nutrition, health and the economic status of smallholder farmers in developing countries such as Kenya.

Changes in rainfed and irrigated crop yield response to climate in the western US

As the global population increases and the climate changes, ensuring a secure food supply is increasingly important. One strategy is irrigation, which allows for crops to be grown outside their optimal climate growing regions and which buffers against climate variability. Although irrigation is a positive climate adaptation mechanism for agriculture, it has a potentially negative effect on water resources as it can lead to groundwater depletion and diminished surface water supplies. This study quantifies how crop yields are affected by climate variability and extremes and the impact of irrigation on crop yield increases under various growing-season climate conditions. To do this, we use historical climate data and county-level rainfed and irrigated crop yields for maize, soybean, winter and spring wheat over the US to analyze the relationship between climate, crop yields, and irrigation. We find that there are optimal climates, specific to each crop, where irrigation provides a benefit and other conditions where irrigation proves to have marginal, if any, benefits. Furthermore, the relationship between crop yields and climate has changed over the last decades, with a changing sensitivity in the relationship of soybean and winter wheat yields to certain climate variables, like crop reference evapotranspiration. These two conclusions have important implications for agricultural and water resource system planning, as it implies there are more optimal climate conditions where irrigation is particularly productive and regions where irrigation should be reconsidered as there is not a significant agricultural benefit and the water could be used more productively.

Development of Novel and Cost Effective Techniques for Purification of Commercial Grade Phosphoric Acid for Fertilizers, Food and Pharmaceutical Industries

AbstractCultivation of 1.5 millions Faddens is one of the major projects for securing food supply to the ever increasing population; therefore, expansion of the fertilizer industry becomes a must.Phosphate ores from New Valley and Nile Valley are chemically processed by sulphuric acid to produce phosphoric acid intermediate by the dihydrate process. Two plants are already inoperation at “Abu Zabaal” and “Fayoum” and another two plants are under establishment, onealong the Red Sea Coast at El-Sokhna and the other at the “New Valley”. Two major problems are facing the industry, namely, the low filtration rate of the acid from solid gypsum and the second is the high level of impurities which decreases the P2O5 water solubility of the produced fertilizers. The filtration rate has been doubled by utilization of surface active agents(Surfactants) to modify the gypsum crystals. On the other hand, novel technique is being developed to decrease the impurities especially iron from 4% to < 1% leading to increasing the P2O5 water solubility of the produced fertilizer. Further decrease of Fe content of the fertilizer grade acid to < 0.1% is achieved through application of a novel membrane technology. The purified acid could be used for food and pharmaceutical industries, thus the economics of the acid production units greatly improve. The paper reviewed the results obtained so far which will improve significantly the value added products. The effects of the different parameters such as oxalic acid dose, temperature and concentration of phosphoric acid on Fe2O3 removal efficiencyhave been studied. Increasing the oxalic acid dose up to 7.5 g/100g of 28% P2O5 (80oC, 100 rpm) raised the removal efficiency of Fe2O3 to 90.8%. Increasing the dose of oxalic acid to 10 g/100g led to slight increase in the removal efficiency of Fe2O3 to 91.6%.

Tradeoff analysis between electricity generation and ecosystem services in the Lower Mekong Basin

The Mekong River is the largest freshwater fishery and the third most bio-diverse river system in the world. Two of 11 planned mainstream hydropower projects, Xayaburi and Don Sahong, are nearly completed and a third project proposal, Pak Beng, has been submitted by the Lao PDR government for consideration. This paper builds on previous studies and examines the tradeoffs (between water use, food security supply and energy production) for the proposed mainstream hydropower projects in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB).The paper concludes that the forecast loss of capture fisheries, sediment/nutrients and social mitigation costs measured as Net Present Value (NPV at 10% discount rate) are greater than the benefits from electricity generation, improved irrigation and flood control. The paper also forecasts huge negative economic impacts for Cambodia and Vietnam in contrast to previous Mekong River Commission’s (MRC) conclusions that all countries will benefit from hydropower development.The paper recommends reassessing the economic impacts of hydropower development using full environmental cost accounting. It also recommends that a new LMB energy strategy be developed taking into account less hydropower income than previously anticipated, updated forecasts for LMB power demand and anticipated technology developments for improved energy efficiency & renewable energy (especially solar which is now competitive with hydropower).

Yield and Yield Components of Snap Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) as affected by N and P Fertilizer Rates at Jimma, Southwestern Ethiopia

Snap bean is one of the newly introduced legume crops in Ethiopia and it is an important crop in the provision of food security and earing forging currency. It responds much better to the application inorganic fertilizer especially N and P fertilizers due to lack of nodule forming bacteria in the soil and low in building of fertile soil. However, information concerning the production package of snap bean at Jimma was scares and due to this there is limited evidence in the response of snap bean to inorganic fertilizers (N and P fertilizers) which can increase yield and quality. Cognizant to this fact, the experiment was conducted to realize the effect N and P fertilizers rates on yield and yield components of snap bean at Jimma, Southwestern Ethiopia. The experiment consisted of two factors, five levels of N (0, 41, 82, 123, and 164 kg/ha) and four levels of P (0, 46, 92 and 138 kg/ha) arranged 5 × 4 in randomized complete block design with three replications. N as urea was applied in split application (50% at sowing and 50% at flowering) whereas the full dose of P was applied at sowing as triple super phosphate. There was a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) for main effects of N and P fertilizer rates for all yield and yield component variables. Out of the whole variables tap root length were significant by the interaction effects of N and P fertilizers rate. The result showed that the maximum marketable pod yield was obtained from 123 kg/ha N and 92 kg/ha P2O5 fertilizer application rates. While, the minimum marketable pod yield was recorded from the application of 0 N and P fertilizer rate. So, form this experiment application of 123 kg/ha N and 92 kg/ha P2O5 increased the marketable pod yield of snap bean at Jimma. Since, the experiment was conducted in a single location and season. So, repeating the experiment for more seasons and similar location would help us draw sound conclusive recommendations to the end users.

MODELS FOR INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL TERRITORIES BASED ON INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

The research subject is an aggregate of theoretic and methodical grounds for choice and organization of rural development innovation models based on infrastructure development, taking into consideration the world experience. Methodological and theoretical ground for the research is a systematic approach for studying socialeconomic and ecologic phenomena and processes under the market conditions. In order to solve some tasks, there are used several methods: abstract-logical method to determine the conception and methods of analysis and synthesis. The aim of the research is to study the models for innovation development of rural territories based on infrastructure development. Conclusions. Segregate scientific approaches to form the model of rural economy are ruralism and neoruralism. Ruralism is a way of thinking and idea representing ruralisation in the human community, the development of which is focused on securing food supply and needs of those who live and work in rural areas. Neoruralism is a multifunctional social-economic system, which is focused on broadening of powers for united territorial communities. The rural economy here is an open system, focused on securing rural inhabitants welfare. The idea that agricultural changes in terms of modern tendencies and effective models of rural development, especially in the sphere of agricultural modernization, as a ground for its sustaining power, improvement of competitive ability for agricultural production and to meet the WTO Ukrainian member requirements is proved. Strategic benchmarks for Ukrainian rural areas in accordance with the requirements of Europe 2020 strategy are smart development – balanced development of the economy and social sphere; constant development – abide by scientifically proved norms; inclusive development – taking into consideration social standards for development. Special institutions determining law institutional mechanism of innovation development are very important for the revival of rural areas and infrastructure development.

Convergence and divergence in biology and medicine

A convergence of digital and physical worlds shapes capabilities of attaining a fundamentally new level of knowledge about molecular and system-level principles of functioning of both individual elements of living world matter, and the entire biosphere. Accordingly, there appear those growing points, which change the traditional types of specialists’ employment beginning to get oriented to solving the key problems of ecological and food-supply security, problems of biologically renewable sources of energy and materials, biotechnologies and bionic applications in engineering and industry, and ultimately to the challenges of public health services and healthcare. The basic changes of labor market in the fields related to biology and medicine have been shown. The directions of application of computational methods for searching biologically inspired breakthroughs for engineering and industry have been given consideration. The presented data can be interesting for analyzing negative, neutral and positive scenarios of development of universities and other education research communities.

The effect of crude oil prices fluctuations on the agricultural producers' performance efficiency

Purpose. The development of agriculture and the security of food supply primarily on the domestic market represent the base of the economic development, and of economic and social stability of a country. Methodology. By using the VaR method, which is the best available risk-measuring technique, the crude oil price fluctuations will be followed in a designated period, in order to understand its influence on the creation of the business policy of agricultural producers. Results. A significant support for the development of agriculture is provided by the leading companies in the crude oil and oil derivatives industry. Conclusions. The aim of the current study is to comprehend the level of influence of crude oil prices as a global economic factor on the behavior of agricultural producers.

Impact of Bee Pollination on Yield of Faba Bean (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Vicia faba&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; L.) Grown under Semi-Arid Conditions

The effect of honeybee (Apis mellifera carnica) on yield was investigated in open-pollinated faba bean cultivars and three inbred generations produced from them (once-selfed, twice-selfed, and thrice-selfed). All entries were grown in cages under two pollination conditions: presence of bees (cross-pollination) or absence of bees (self-pollination). The open-pollinated generations gave the highest performance in the presence and absence of bees. In the presence of bees, the open-pollinated and their inbred entries gave higher performance in all of the studied traits than in the absence of bees; the average improvement in yield and its components was 22%. The highest improvement percentage in yield performance was shown by more inbred entries (thrice-selfed > once-selfed), indicating that in faba bean populations, the performance of inbred generations was chiefly associated with the tripping of flowers, which is usually governed by successfully fertilized flowers, i.e., plants result from selfing in faba bean population needs to be visited by pollinating insects (bees) to set more seeds. It concluded that honeybee has an important role in increasing faba bean yield in semi-arid conditions; hence, it is important to provide a pollinator friendly environment for their foraging places and nesting sites to secure food supply.

Integrating Science-Based Co-management, Partnerships, Participatory Processes and Stewardship Incentives to Improve the Performance of Small-Scale Fisheries

Small scale fisheries are critically important for the provision of food security, livelihoods, and economic development for billions of people. Yet, most of these fisheries appear to not be achieving either fisheries or conservation goals, with respect to creating healthier oceans that support more fish, feed more people and improve livelihoods. Research and practical experience have elucidated many insights into how to improve the performance of small-scale fisheries. Here, we present lessons learned from five case studies of small-scale fisheries in Cuba, Mexico, the Philippines, and Belize. The major lessons that arise from these cases are: 1) participatory processes empower fishers, increase compliance, and support integration of local and scientific knowledge; 2) partnership across sectors improves communication and community buy-in; 3) scientific analysis can lead fishery reform and be directly applicable to co-management structures. These case studies suggest that a fully integrated approach that implements a participatory process to generate a scientific basis for fishery management (e.g., data collection, analysis, design) and to design management measures among stakeholders will increase the probability that small-scale fisheries will implement science-based management and improve their performance.

"We Will Show the Country": Bringing History to Life

"We Will Show the Country": Bringing History to Life

Print to detect: a rapid and ultrasensitive phage-based dipstick assay for foodborne pathogens.

Foodborne pathogens are a burden to the economy and a constant threat to public health. The ability to rapidly detect the presence of foodborne pathogens is a vital component of any strategy towards establishing a safe and secure food supply chain. Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses capable of infecting and replicating within bacteria in a strain-specific manner. The ubiquitous and selective nature of phages makes them ideal for the detection and biocontrol of bacteria. Therefore, the objective of this research was to develop and test a phage-based paper dipstick biosensor for the detection of various foodborne pathogens in food matrices. The first step was to identify the best method for immobilizing phages on paper such that their biological activity (infectivity) was preserved. It was found that piezoelectric inkjet printing resulted in lower loss of phage infectivity when compared with other printing methods (namely gravure and blade coating) and that ColorLok paper was ideally suited to create functional sensors. The phage-based bioactive papers developed with use of piezoelectric inkjet printing actively lysed their target bacteria and retained this antibacterial activity for up to 1 week when stored at room temperature and 80% relative humidity. These bioactive paper strips in combination with quantitative real-time PCR were used for quantitative determination of target bacteria in broth and food matrices. A phage dipstick was used to capture and infect Escherichia coli O157:H7, E. coli O45:H2, and Salmonella Newport in spinach, ground beef and chicken homogenates, respectively, and quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the progeny phages. A detection limit of 10-50 colony-forming units per millilitre was demonstrated with a total assay time of 8 h, which was the duration of a typical work shift in an industrial setting. This detection method is rapid and cost-effective, and may potentially be applied to a broad range of bacterial foodborne pathogens. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Determining optimum nitrogen input rate and optimum yield-scaled nitrous oxide emissions: Theory, field observations, usage, and limitations

Abstract Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the major greenhouse gases causing global warming and climate change. Recently, studies showed that the nitrogen (N) input producing optimum amount of crop yields may minimise yield-scaled N2O emissions in agricultural production. Objectives of the study were to 1) investigate theoretical backgrounds of yield, N2O emission, and yield-scaled N2O emission responses to N input, 2) suggest concepts of optimum N input rate and optimum yield-scaled N2O emission and derive equations for them and 3) test with field observations, and 4) assess usage and limitations and suggest future studies. We have proposed a concept and equations for optimum N input rate and optimum yield-scaled N2O emission, and applied them to field-measured data from 10 independent experimental studies worldwide. Field-measured data showed that the suggested equations could be used to determine optimum N input rate and optimum yield-scaled N2O emissions. However, in some cases, any N input resulted in increased yield-scaled N2O emission and minimum yield-scaled N2O emissions occurred when N input was zero. The suggested optimum N input rate and optimum yield-scaled N2O emission can be useful indicators for best management practices to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and secure food supply. However, in some cases, taking into account yields and N2O emissions separately is required to identify best management practices. Further studies are needed to better understand the characteristics of yield-scaled N2O emissions response to N input and its use for management purposes.

How does inter-annual variability of attainable yield affect the magnitude of yield gaps for wheat and maize? An analysis at ten sites

Provision of food security in the face of increasing global food demand requires narrowing of the gap between actual farmer's yield and maximum attainable yield. So far, assessments of yield gaps have focused on average yield over 5–10years, but yield gaps can vary substantially between crop seasons. In this study we hypothesized that climate-induced inter-annual yield variability and associated risk is a major barrier for farmers to invest, i.e. increase inputs to narrow the yield gap.We evaluated the importance of inter-annual attainable yield variability for the magnitude of the yield gap by utilizing data for wheat and maize at ten sites representing some major food production systems and a large range of climate and soil conditions across the world. Yield gaps were derived from the difference of simulated attainable yields and regional recorded farmer yields for 1981 to 2010. The size of the yield gap did not correlate with the amplitude of attainable yield variability at a site, but was rather associated with the level of available resources such as labor, fertilizer and plant protection inputs. For the sites in Africa, recorded yield reached only 20% of the attainable yield, while for European, Asian and North American sites it was 56–84%. Most sites showed that the higher the attainable yield of a specific season the larger was the yield gap. This significant relationship indicated that farmers were not able to take advantage of favorable seasonal weather conditions. To reduce yield gaps in the different environments, reliable seasonal weather forecasts would be required to allow farmers to manage each seasonal potential, i.e. overcoming season-specific yield limitations.

One Health in food safety and security education: Subject matter outline for a curricular framework

Educating students in the range of subjects encompassing food safety and security as approached from a One Health perspective requires consideration of a variety of different disciplines and the interrelationships among disciplines. The Western Institute for Food Safety and Security developed a subject matter outline to accompany a previously published One Health in food safety and security curricular framework. The subject matter covered in this outline encompasses a variety of topics and disciplines related to food safety and security including effects of food production on the environment. This subject matter outline should help guide curriculum development and education in One Health in food safety and security and provides useful information for educators, researchers, students, and public policy-makers facing the inherent challenges of maintaining and/or developing safe and secure food supplies without destroying Earth's natural resources.

Slave ship provisioning in the long 18th century. A boost to West African commercial agriculture?

To what extent did the 18th century intensification of the transatlantic slave trade boost commercial agriculture in the coastal areas of West Africa? Exploring the provisioning strategies of 187 British, French, Dutch, and Danish slave voyages conducted between 1681 and 1807, we call for a major downward adjustment of available estimates of the slave trade- induced demand impulse. We show that during the 18th century, an increasing share of the foodstuffs required to feed African slaves were taken on board in Europe instead of West Africa. We also document considerable variation in provisioning strategies among slave trading nations and across main regions of slave embarkation. We explain these trends and variation in terms of the relative (seasonal) security of European versus African food supplies, the falling relative costs of European provisions and the increasing risks in the late 18th century trade, putting a premium on faster embarkation times.

ORGANIZATIONAL AND MANAGERIAL MODEL OF IMPORT SUBSTITUTION PROCESS IN THE REGION (ON EXAMPLE OF KURSK REGION)

During periods of geo-economic and geopolitical instability in the conditions of aggravation of relations between Russia and the West an objective assessment of socio-economic development alternatives is needed with the objective of establishing an effective competitive national economy, agreeable to standards of modern realities inclusion into the system of world economic relations, aimed at import replacement and strategic security of the state. In our view, theories and concepts are necessary for the development of import substitution as an important condition of economic safety maintenance of the country and its regions. According to Russian scientists they are a significant factor for stable and sustainable innovative development of the specific site, increase the likelihood of sustained development of country economy and its regions and make a significant contribution to the development of the regional economy. The state has many effective tools for influencing the market and the business to optimize economic growth, redress imbalances of socio-economic development of territories. The government is interested in ensuring economic, food supply and financial security of the country. In the framework of import substitution policy regional authorities have the opportunity to create and implement various incentive schemes of import substitution process. The process efficiency depends on the management system construction of import substitution in the region. It shows a clear need for the study of the role and importance of regional regulation of import substitution. Management of regional economy should be based on the understanding that import substitution is a development resource. It is the perception concept of import substitution process that should be the basis for a new regional economic policy in Russia, focused on modernization and innovative development of its non-oil sector and rational use of resources. The article provides the definition of "import substitution", measures aimed to implement the import substitution process in the Kursk region and characteristics of regional import substitution plan submitted by the organizational and managerial model of import substitution process in the Kursk region.

Potential Uses of Wild Germplasms of Grain Legumes for Crop Improvement.

Challenged by population increase, climatic change, and soil deterioration, crop improvement is always a priority in securing food supplies. Although the production of grain legumes is in general lower than that of cereals, the nutritional value of grain legumes make them important components of food security. Nevertheless, limited by severe genetic bottlenecks during domestication and human selection, grain legumes, like other crops, have suffered from a loss of genetic diversity which is essential for providing genetic materials for crop improvement programs. Illustrated by whole-genome-sequencing, wild relatives of crops adapted to various environments were shown to maintain high genetic diversity. In this review, we focused on nine important grain legumes (soybean, peanut, pea, chickpea, common bean, lentil, cowpea, lupin, and pigeonpea) to discuss the potential uses of their wild relatives as genetic resources for crop breeding and improvement, and summarized the various genetic/genomic approaches adopted for these purposes.

Integration of wheat-maize intercropping with conservation practices reduces CO2 emissions and enhances water use in dry areas

Crop intensification has been used as a mean to increase crop yield and secure food supplies in developing countries. However, issues about CO2 mitigation, water consumption, and the overall viability associated with the crop intensification have become a concern. The main objective of this study was to investigate how the yield related environmental factors, i.e. soil CO2 emission and crop water use would responsed to wheat-maize intercropping with conservation practices. Here we determined crop yield, plant biomass carbon, soil CO2 emission, and crop water use in various cropping systems. The field experiment was conducted at Wuwei Experimental Station in an arid oasis region (37°57′N, 102°37′E), in 2011 and 2012. Four tillage and crop residue options were applied to wheat-maize intercropping. They were (a) no-till with stubble standing (NTS), (b) no-till with stubble mulching (NTM), (c) reduced tillage with stubble incorporated into the soil (RTS), and (d) conventional tillage without stubble retention (CT). Averaged across two years, wheat-maize intercropping integrated with no-till and stubble mulching yielded 1.6tha−1 more grains and 7.1MJha−1 more energy, while emitted 1.2tha−1 less soil CO2 than conventional wheat-maize intercropping; at the same time, the system increased plant biomass carbon by 16%, and enhanced CO2 emission efficiency per unit of grain yield by 39%, compared with the conventional system. Also, the integrated system decreased soil evaporation by 11%, increased energy yield per unit of water by 19%, and lowered CO2 emission per unit of water by 9%. Among the wheat-maize intercropping systems evaluated, the treatment with no-till and crop residue mulched on the soil surface had the highest evaluation index at 0.82; this was attributable to the increases of carbon emission efficiency by 48% and water use efficiency by 22%, compared with the conventional system. Wheat-maize intercropping integrated with no-till and stubble retention can be used to increase crop yield efficiently while reducing soil CO2 emission and enhancing crop water use effectively in dry areas.

Synthesis of 1,2,3-Thiadiazole and Thiazole-Based Strobilurins as Potent Fungicide Candidates.

Strobilurin fungicides play a crucial role in protecting plants against different pathogens and securing food supplies. A series of 1,2,3-thiadiazole and thiazole-based strobilurins were rationally designed, synthesized, characterized, and tested against various fungi. Introduction of 1,2,3-thiadiazole greatly improved the fungicidal activity of the target molecules. Compounds 8a, 8c, 8d, and 10i exhibited a relatively broad spectrum of fungicidal activity. Compound 8a showed excellent activities against Gibberella zeae, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and Rhizoctonia cerealis with median effective concentrations (EC50) of 2.68, 0.44, and 0.01 μg/mL, respectively; it was much more active than positive controls enestroburin, kresoxim-methyl, and azoxystrobin with EC50 between 0.06 and 15.12 μg/mL. Comparable or better fungicidal efficacy of compound 8a compared with azoxystrobin and trifloxystrobin against Sphaerotheca fuliginea and Pseudoperonspera cubensis was validated in cucumber fields at the same application dosages. Therefore, compound 8a is a promising fungicidal candidate worthy of further development.