Intensification Of Production Systems Research Articles

PLASTIC YAM AND PLASTIC YAM STICKS – PERSPECTIVES ON INDIGENOUS TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AMONG JAMAICAN FARMERS

ABSTRACTYam farming in Jamaica has been one of the few success stories in agriculture since Independence in 1962. Production is entirely dominated by small farmers who have intensified production systems. Over the last decade yam farmers experienced a ‘yam stick problem’ due to the scarcity, poor quality and high prices of yam sticks. This paper focuses on the content and contextualisation of indigenous technical knowledge among yam farmers. The intrinsic dynamic nature of indigenous technical knowledge is revealed by showing how farmers have adapted their cultivation methods and have themselves innovated new ways of staking yams in efforts to solve the yam stick problem. In effect they have had to rely on their own indigenous knowledge base as a source of new ideas. We discuss a series of alternatives to traditional yam staking methods with a large sample of farmers, including both real and hypothetical examples of externally‐induced innovations. Farmers’ responses to these innovations are reported and analysed in the context of Briggs’ recent review of indigenous knowledge and development issues. Our research suggests that farmer innovation is a normal consequence of coping with farming problems. Further, farmers are not intrinsically unresponsive to externally‐induced innovations, which supports the view that ‘Western science’ and indigenous knowledge are not necessarily bipolar and mutually exclusive knowledge systems. We conclude that indigenous technical knowledge can provide a nexus for research in fostering partnerships with farmers, NGOs and planners in their search for sustainable solutions to the yam stick problem and broader aspects of rural development and resource management.

Planning sustainable soil management under intensified crop production system in Nigeria: an ecosystem approach

No abstract Keywords: sustainable; management; intensified; crop production; ecosystem Global Journal of Agricultural Sciences Vol. 4(1) 2005: 45-54

Cows, colonists and trees: rethinking cattle and environmental degradation in Brazilian Amazonia

This paper examines the role of cattle production in the evolution of smallholder farming systems in a frontier region of Brazilian Amazonia. There are many incentives for smallholders to raise cattle, but the success of cattle enterprises depends on a number of factors, both endogenous and exogenous to individual farms. A key factor in the intensification of cattle production is pasture management. We identify three models of pasture management, reflecting different levels of specialisation and intensification of production systems. Contrary to conventional wisdom, our findings indicate that pasture quality and degradation are related to under-utilisation and low stocking rates. This suggests that more intensive systems may be more ecologically sustainable in some contexts. However sustainable intensification strategies, which could potentially contribute to frontier stabilisation, depend on investment in infrastructure, markets and social capital beyond the capacity of individual farms or farmers.

Intensified production systems on western Brazilian Amazon settlement farms: could they save the forest?

Annual land-use decisions of settlement farmers, estimated to approach half a million in the Amazon, can have significant impacts on forest conversion of the largest tropical moist forests. Given the biodiversity and climate change consequences of the disappearance of this forest, it is pivotal to understand these farmers’ reactions to combinations of technologies, policies, and institutional arrangements to predict their deforestation implications. This study aims to find whether settlement farmers in the western Brazilian Amazon will adopt more intensive production systems, and if they do, what the impact of this adoption would be on deforestation and farm incomes. Adoption of four types of intensification and their economic and environmental impacts were predicted using a farm level bioeconomic linear programming model. The four intensification types were: no intensification, intensification of non-livestock activities on cleared land, intensification on all cleared land, and intensification on both cleared and forested land. Intensified land uses on either the cleared or forested lands generate higher returns to labor and land, and thus will likely be adopted by settlement farmers. Also, intensification of non-livestock activities on cleared land resulted in the largest deforestation rates. Despite its lower deforestation rate, intensification on all cleared land (including pasture) resulted in the least amount of preserved forest after 25 years. More precisely it decimated the forest. Intensification on forested land — low-impact forest management — slowed the deforestation rate, but did not stop it unless timber prices were increased to R$550 m −3 (a R$435 increase over 1994 prices). Even with intensified activities on forested land, pasture still dominated the landscape. In the long run, there is a trade-off between farm income and forest preserved, which results from intensification of land uses on the cleared land. Under the current socioeconomic and political setting existing intensification systems on the cleared land will not save the forest. Intensification systems on forested lands provide better hope because they increase the value of the standing forest, thus counteracting the pressure to deforest.

CHARACTERIZATION AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF INTENSIVE CROPPING SYSTEMS IN RAINFED LOWLANDS OF ILOCOS NORTE, PHILIPPINES

Many farmers are intensifying production systems by applying greater amounts of inorganic fertilizers, irrigation and pesticides, especially to cash crops. Such intensified systems, even though economically profitable in the short run, may not be sustainable. This paper analyses the economics and sustainability of an intensified rainfed rice-based system in Ilocos Norte, Philippines. Farmers use high levels of inorganic fertilizers for cash crops such as sweet pepper, garlic and tomato. Although these crops generate high levels of income, the high input systems may not be sustainable in the long run due to adverse on-site and off-site effects. Preliminary estimates of total factor productivity that include on-site effects only, display no clear time trend. However, negative externalities created by high nitrate contamination of groundwater and high rates of pesticide usage could make the system unsustainable by adversely affecting human health and the environment.

Incidence and Control of Classical Swine Fever, with Special Reference to the Situation in the EEC

Classical swine fever (CSF) has for almost a century been a serious problem for European pig producers, but concerted efforts in the Member States of the EEC have resulted in a marked reduction of the prevalence of the disease. The EEC is determined to eliminate it from its territory. This article describes the behaviour of the virus infection in pigs and the technical basis for control and eradication. Expansion and intensified production systems in the pig sector have made it difficult to control CSF and the necessity for structural changes in pig production is urged.