Self-sufficiency In Food Production Research Articles

Modernization and Intellectual history: An interpretive model for the history of unified Italy

Abstract The starting-point for my research on modernization is Fascist ruralism. Italian historiography divides itself between those who consider ruralism merely as an aspect of Fascist propaganda, and those for whom it has a more substantial importance. I tend to side with the latter position, and find the intrinsic meaning of the myth of rural Italy in Fascist ruralism. As such, and because of this virtue, that is by being devoted to the cult of the earth, the Italian nation could regain strength, vigour and purity. In the history of the Fascist regime, the rural myth partly fulfilled the role of the blood myth in N ational Socialist Germany. The myth that the fertility of the Italian earth was ultimately capable of sustaining the entire population living on Italian soil was the ideological basis of some of the economic and cultural campaigns of Fascism. If the battaglia del grano [grain battle] - aiming at self-sufficiency in food production for the nation — was the first strong expression of Fascist ruralism, the campaign for population growth was its by-product. The values supporting these programmes were quite coherent: fertility of the earth = purity = growth = strength = virility. Even femininity became a value, albeit one linked to population growth and to traditional values (the guardian of the domestic hearth as mother and wife).

Developing the prerequisites for sustainable land use in Albania

Abstract. When Albania emerged from its seclusion in 1991, the scientific community had its first opportunity to interact with its international counterparts. Soil resource assessment was made with systems developed in the early 1950s, laboratory facilities to provide supporting data were poor, and it was recognized that a new assessment was urgently needed.The country faces a major challenge in reforestation and soil conservation against a background of overgrazing by sheep and goats and clearing of trees and scrubs for fuelwood. Even orchard and olive trees were used as fuelwood during the winters of 1990 and 1991. Since then, gully and rill erosion has accelerated on many of the sloping lands. In addition to reforestation and conservation measures to reduce the pressures on the sloping land, it is necessary to enhance productivity on the fertile valley bottom soils where most of the agriculture is confined. In the recent past, grain yields have declined due to reduced fertilizer use (low purchasing capacity), and poor management practices. More recently productivity has slowly improved, but land degradation, particularly erosion, has visibly increased.USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in collaboration with the Land Resources Institute of Albania, initiated work on a new national soil map through collation of existing information and field studies. The land unit for land use planning, evaluation, and general management decisions, is the Major Land Resource Area (MLRA). Each MLRA encompasses geographically associated soils, the majority of which have broadly similar patterns ofclimate, water resources, and land uses. The MLRAs presented here are based on the soil map of Albania at 1 : 200 000 scale. The MLRA information provides an overview of the landscape and natural resources. It can be used to assess land suitability for various crops, opportunities to achieve self sufficiency in food production, selection of areas for both field crops and highvalue crops for export, and identification of appropriate farming system technologies. Each MLRA will have a set of degradation processes which can be flagged, therefore each of them becomes a unit for decision making with respect to investments in research and mitigating technologies. The task is far from complete. Appropriate databases are needed to support the decisions that are being made at national level. To complement the MLRA and related database, decision support systems are needed for the important task of developing policy options.

Transmigration settlements in Seberida, Sumatra: Deterioration of farming systems in a rain forest environment

Abstract This study of transmigration settlements in Seberida, Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia, attempts to analyse why there was a deterioration in the farming systems of transmigrants and what the consequences of this were for the settlers and the local environment. The analysis is of both an agroecological and a socioeconomic nature. The government-planned farming models were of the food crop and the tree crop (with rubber) types. None of the models performed according to expectations. It was found that the majority of the settlers were unable to meet the goal of self-sufficiency in food production. As much as 64% of the transmigration population was found to fall below the poverty line. This again resulted in transmigrants searching for off-farm sources of income, like waged work on neighbouring plantations, collection of forest produce, particularly rattan, and swiddening in the surrounding rain forest. More than 30% of the transmigrants had returned to Java.

The demand for potatoes in Tunisia: Are they a cereal substitute?

Per capita potato consumption has more than doubled in Tunisia during the past three decades. An econometric analysis of potato demand suggests that the principal source of growth in consumption is an income effect. The demand elasticities also suggest that potatoes are substituted for traditional cereal staples when food price ratios change, at least in the short run. Consumer preferences for potatoes may be increasing due to demographic and cultural factors. These findings carry implications for national agricultural policy which seeks to achieve self-sufficiency in food production. More emphasis could be given to non-traditional foods such as potatoes. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.

Water management for food production: Strategy plan

This paper attempts to discover the real bottleneck of many irrigation projects: the complex of technical and nontechnical constraints which oppose the integrated and stable utilization of available soil and water resources. The efficiency of irrigation water use is the basic problem of intensive agriculture. Irrigation projects are, in the initial stage of operation, required to serve short-term objectives, such as to reach local self-sufficiency in food production. Their operation should, in the long run, nevertheless be based on a water-use concept and should reflect the desirable development of agriculture resulting from the need for further intensification and diversification of production. The establishment of the Water Management Strategy Plan for the Kirindi Oya Irrigation and Settlement Project in Sri Lanka is an example of the integrated approach to water resources development and management. This plan has been established on the basis of a multidisciplinary system analysis and simulation/optimization of the hydraulic and agricultural performance of the irrigation system.

A dynamic goal programming model for planning food self-sufficiency in the Middle East

This paper proposes a dynamic goal programming model as a framework for planning joint investment in agriculture to achieve self-sufficiency in food production in the MiddleEast. The goals of the model are the forecasted demand of each type of food. The constraint of the model is the input-output relationship governing the agriculture production and the food industry technology. The issue of equitable allocation of returns to participants in the joint investments isaddressed as well. Equitable divisions of profits and equitable assessment of costs of collaborating investors are developed through an associated characteristics function game. An example is given to demonstrate the feasibility of the model and the possibility of achieving food self-sufficiency in the Middle East.

RBRDAs and vulnerability to hunger in Nigeria: The case of the South Chad Irrigation Project

Ostensibly formulated to aid the process of rural transformation and the country's drive to self-sufficiency in food production, River Basin and Rural Development Authorities (RBRDAs) have become the source of vulnerability to hunger in Nigeria. Using the South Chad Irrigation Project (SCIP) as a case study, this article argues that RBRDAs are yet to contribute significantly to local, national or regional selfsufficiency in food production.

Fuel and fodder from village woodlots: A Gujarat (India) experience

Having attained self-sufficiency in food production, India is now concentrating in using wastelands to increase its production of other products of agroforestry namely, fodder, fuel and small timber for the poorer section of society. Many agroforestry practices are being tried towards the attainment of this goal. In one such attempt, a 4 ha plantation was established in 1974 on Community grazing land in the village of Dhanori in Gujarat as a part of the State Village Forests Scheme. Casuarina equisetifolia was planted beca se it suited the site and because the villagers wished it. Grasses grew up naturally as a result of the enclosure. The trees were felled in 1983–4 and the distribution of benefits determined by the village panchayat. The internal Rate of Return was 35%. Villagers benefited from grasses, fuelwood and small timber for house construction and repair and from the employment generated. The success of the project led the village to organize itself into a Tree Grower's Society and undertake further planting in 1985–6. The demonstrated efficiency of the woodlot let to 200 ha of other plantations being established in the area. the poor benefited considerably from the project but if they had a greater say in the deliberations of the panchayat, the benefits could have been even greater. this agroforestry system has the potential of increasing the production of grasses, fuelwood, small timber and fruits (food) from wastelands.

India: The Years of Indira Gandhi

Admired by her supporters and criticized by her opponents, Indira Gandhi presided over the most eventful years of politics in an independent India. During her regime, India made an impressive technological and industrial breakthrough, achieved self-sufficiency in food production and entered a period of social revolution. Despite the impressive achievements of her regime, these critical years also witnessed increased polarization within society and an unprecedented increase in social violence leading to an enhancement of the repressive capabilities of the state.

India: The Years of Indira Gandhi

Admired by her supporters and criticized by her opponents, Indira Gandhi presided over the most eventful years of politics in an independent India. During her regime, India made an impressive technological and industrial breakthrough, achieved self-sufficiency in food production and entered a period of social revolution. Despite the impressive achievements of her regime, these critical years also witnessed increased polarization within society and an unprecedented increase in social violence leading to an enhancement of the repressive capabilities of the state.

Regulations and policies on the importation of fishing materials in Nigeria: 1970–1980

A major problem of many developing countries is the design of effective strategies to attain self-sufficiency in food production. Policies advocated to cure one ill often create other problems. In Nigeria, the drive for self-sufficiency in food production started a decade ago, but for one reason or the other the goal has been elusive. For the fisheries sub-sector, one of the causes of failure is the conflict between government subsidy programmes and restrictions on the importation of fishing materials. While the subsidy was designed to increase the rate of modernization, the need to raise revenue through tariffs led to increases in the prices of imported materials, a reduction in effective subsidy rate and a decline in the quantity imported into the country.

Malthus and the Theory of ‘Unequal Powers’: Population and Food Production in India, 1800–1947

The spectre of a ‘Malthusian’ catastrophe engulfing the subcontinent commands less attention currently than in relatively recent times. This is largely attributable to the greater sense of confidence in the food-grain supply capacity of Indian agriculture in the wake of the Green Revolution. From the mid-1960s through to 1980, output has maintained a growth rate in excess of 2.5% p.a., with yield increments rather than area increments accounting for the major part. Since 1950, per capita net availability of foodgrains has increased by over 20%, while the real price of foodgrains has shown a steady downward trend since 1968. Current projections suggest that self-sufficiency in food production can be sustained through to the end of the century. Yet this remains partly contingent on climatic factors and a slackening trend of population growth. However, population growth rates currently exceed 2.2% p.a. and the relative stability of fertility rates means that a diminution is by no means assured. While supply shortfalls could be met through increased imports of food commodities, the possible emergence of India in the longer term as a food deficitary economy could have serious implications for the international grain market, given the current structure of supply for foodgrains and the growing dependence, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, on food imports.

Small-Scale Agro-Pastoral Production in the Central Andes

ABSTRACT Small-scale agro-pastoral production in the Central Andes is oriented toward guaranteeing a subsistence livelihood by efforts to attain self-sufficiency in food production and to reduce environmental risks. Production strategies involve the simultaneous use of several ecological zones each with characteristic crops or types of pasture. Households are the basic units of production which allocate land, labour, and capital at their disposal to meet short-term production goals. Supra-household mechanisms support the households within particular communities by limiting access to some lands, managing communal pastures, scheduling agro-pastoral activities, enforcing rotation schedules, and maintaining communal infrastructure (roads, terraces, irrigation canals). Ethnographic research in the last decade permits a detailed description of the workings of these forms of organization in a variety of ecological and economic conditions. Both the complementarity and the tension between household and supra-household claims on land and labour are discussed and some recent changes are reviewed.

Energy and irrigation in LDCs

Climatic conditions prevailing in most developing countries determine that much of the annual rainfall is seasonal. There are regular dry spells which last anything from a few weeks to several months and sometimes even longer. If developing countries are to achieve greater self-sufficiency in food production, then irrigation must play a vital role. But irrigation is energy intensive and some energy sources are a dwindling asset. On the other hand there is a continually rising demand for food which automatically produces a corresponding increase in energy requirements. The question this poses then is, if continuity of food production is to be assured, on what energy system should irrigation development be based? Alternatively, how can expendable sources of energy be most economically used?

Water Availability and the Development of Rainfed Agriculture in South-West Niger, West Africa

Niger faces a number of socio-economic and natural resource problems which constrain its development. The result is a low level of industrialization with over 90 per cent of the population directly engaged in agriculture. The government has identified self-sufficiency in food production as a prime objective and this study focussed upon the development of food crops in south-west Niger. The study was based on the premise that water is a major factor limiting agricultural productivity. Water availability in the dry-land farming systems was therefore investigated using the waterbalance approach. Studies were carried out on soil moisture, infiltration and run-off, drainage, evapotranspiration, rainfall, crop-rooting depth and crop coefficients. The results were combined to produce a water-balance model which showed that traditional millet cultivation could expect serious yield reduction two years in ten. Large drainage losses were probable two-years in ten because of the poor soilmoisture retention and the skewed distribution of rainfall. The model was also used to examine the potential of new crops (sunflower and soya-bean) which were found in this study to be under severe moisture stress for most of the time.

Training for agricultural and rural development in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Education and training equip their recipients with cognitive ability to perform a set of activities skillfully. The quality and quantity of human resources are the key factors in the growth process; they can stimulate or retard (agricultural) growth. This paper examines the demand and supply situation for agricultural manpower in the Economic Community of West African States. The demands for various categories of manpower by various subsectors of agriculture are discussed. The facilities for training manpower are explored to determine whether enough skilled manpower is being made available to meet the needs of the agricultural sector. The paper concludes by indicating that the quantity and quality of available manpower and the facilities for training such a labour force are not adequate. Member countries are then called upon to establish more training facilities so as to achieve regional self sufficiency in food production.

Sri Lanka: the economics of capitulation

Since 1948, when Sri Lanka became independent, the two major par ties - the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) - have alternated in governing the country. The SLFP, in coalition with the Trotskyite Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and the Communist Party (CP), last held office as the United Front (UF) from 1970 to 1977. The current UNP government came to power in the July 1977 elections. The years of the UF government had been marked by a state of emergency (following a major insurrection by the youth in the countryside), lasting for almost the whole term of their office, which severely curbed political and trade union activity, drastically cir cumscribed civil liberties and substantially curtailed judicial in dependence. The UFgovernment's policies of land redistribution, pro motion of rural development, increasing self-sufficiency in food pro duction and lessening dependence on tea and rubber exports were not far reaching enough to halt or reverse the steady pull of Sri Lanka into the world capitalist system. What resulted was a so-called 'mixed economy' professing to reflect the Buddhist virtues of 'the middle path'. But such policies were simply not viable, and in any case tended to be undermined by corruption and inefficiency. In the end, the government was discredited and suffered an overwhelming defeat in the elections of 1977. The landslide victory of the UNP marked a significant change in Sri Lankan politics, and has disturbing implications for the country's future. Elected on a platform of 'just and righteous' government, on promises of restoring civil rights, and pledged to 'democratic socialism', one of the government's first acts was to promulgate a new constitution which vested sweeping powers in the newly-created office of Executive President. From the beginning, the UNP has stressed its commitment to a free economy' and its wholehearted welcome of foreign investment and western aid. It is now pursuing, with frightening speed, a series of massive and far-reaching 'development' policies whose effect can only be to bring the country into a state of total dependency within the im perialist system. We examine some of these extraverted policies and their implications in the following article, which is based on a chapter from the author's forthcoming book on Sri Lanka: The Crisis of Dependent Capitalism: the Sri Lankan economy 1948-1980 (Zed Press, 57 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DN).

Spatial and Seasonal Distribution of Rainfall and Runoff in Jamaica

AVAILABILITY and use of water are vital concerns in developing countries. As these countries face a rapidly growing population, an unprecedented level of rural-urban migration, and an apparent rise in living standards, the demand for safe and reliable supplies of water, especially in the major population centers, has never been as intense as it is now. Additional demand on water supply is caused by irrigation, a necessary practice that must be adopted in many Third World countries in order to attain self-sufficiency in food production. A persistent problem in waterresource planning in these countries is the dearth of information on the amount of available water and on its spatial and seasonal distributions. This paper demonstrates a type of analysis on which discussion of water-supply management alternatives in one of these countries can be based. The study presents correlated information on rainfall and runoff in Jamaica. The first part of the paper looks at the distribution of rainfall over the island. In the second part, the streamflow characteristics are considered. The third section examines the relationship between rainfall and runoff. Jamaica, a developing Caribbean country of 2.1 million people, faces two important social and economic problems that have direct relevance to its water supply. The first is population pressure in major urban centers. The second is agricultural productivity. The government has introduced a variety of schemes designed to stimulate agriculture.' The success of these projects, however, depends in part on the availability of water for irrigation, because the most arable land is located in the drier sections of the island.2 The analyses presented in this paper are based principally on rainfall and streamflow data from eleven drainage basins (Table I). The basins include all major geographical regions in the island (Fig. 1). There are five north-flowing streams and six south-flowing ones. At least one stream originates or flows through the Blue Mountains, the Central Inlier region, the Cockpit Country, and the alluvial coast of the south. The data for these streams come from eleven of the thirteen parishes, or administrative divisions, of the island. Each stream had a daily flow record of at least fifteen years with an average record-length of eighteen years. The rainfall records were longer, an average of forty years. In preparing the map on distribution of runoff and runoff coefficients, use was made of short-term data with an average length of five years from ten additional stream-gauge stations. These stations were located on sections of some of the eleven streams, for example, Rio Cobre at Bog Walk, or on recently gauged streams such as the Yallahs River. The average rainfall for rainfallrunoff correlation analysis was obtained by isohyetal method. Three drainage basins were selected for an in-depth analysis of the relationship between rainfall and streamflow. They are the Rio Grande and the Black and Hope

Regional Self-Sufficiency in Food Production – The New England States

New England's dependence upon other regions for much of its food supply has become a cause for concern for farmers, consumers, and public officials. As the debate on the region's need and ability to become more self-sufficient in food production continues, the need for an estimate of current levels of self-sufficiency becomes obvious.This paper estimates New England's level of self-sufficiency for 1975 using secondary data for population, retail expenditures and farm marketing receipts. The region was found to be about 38 percent self-sufficient in overall food production. It produces a high of 176 percent of its seafood requirements and a low of 3 percent of its red meat. Maine and Vermont are surplus food producers.

Agricultural Development in Israel: Case Study of Two Settlement Schemes

S NE OF THE PRINCIPAL AMBITIONS Of the State of Israel is the agricultural development of the Negev Desert, comprising sixty per cent of the entire land area or approximately 5000 square miles. Greater self-sufficiency in food production might be attained and further increases in foreign exchange realized from the sale of cash crops if extensive areas there can be brought under intensive cultivation. At present, only about 6.2 per cent of a total population of just over 3 million live in the Negev, accounting for an average density of 37 persons per square mile as compared to a national density of 375 per square mile.' Economic activities include mining and associated industries as well as agriculture. Like California, Israel has more suitable land than water available for its