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Factors that influence dairy farmers’ decisions to implement Johne’s Disease control practices: A systematic review
Get PDFJohne’s Disease (JD) is an infectious ruminant disease that can cause economic loss for famers through reduced milk yields and infertility and has negative implications for animal welfare. JD is endemic in the dairy populations of many countries and there has been significant effort by governments and industry to try and control it. However, these efforts have had limited success. Many studies look at individual control programmes or the adoption of Johne’s control measures; however a wider perspective on what drives farmer participation Johne’s control does not currently exist. This study seeks to fill this gap by conducting a systematic review informed by the PRISMA statement. The results suggest that psychological factors such as participation fatigue, cognitive dissidence over animal welfare and not having first-hand experience of the disease act as barriers to Johne’s control. To better promote Johne’s control, this review emphasises that control programmes need to engage farmers, advisers, and supply chain actors in their design and delivery of control programmes to account for differing attitudes and levels of knowledge
Bioremediation of mercury contaminated soil and water: A review
Get PDFMercury (Hg) pollution of soil and water environments is a major global threat to human health, agri-food systems and ecosystems and industrial activities mainly coal combustion augmented their content in different environmental media. Bioremediation is a nature-based solution involving microbial- and plant-based (phytoremediation) technologies that clean-up Hg contaminated sites. Here, we review Hg-resistant bacteria and how latest insights in our understanding of the cellular and biochemical mechanisms of the mer operon genes responsible for Hg resistance and transformation have facilitated developments in microbial Hg-bioremediation. We also review the phytoremediation mechanisms, including those of bacterial- and fungi-assisted phytoremediation processes, which have shown promising results in reducing Hg2+ to Hg0. This review provides a detailed knowledge of novel Hg bioremediation mechanisms and methods. Consequently, microbial- and phyto-based bioremediation technologies have a critical role in the reclamation of Hg-contaminated environments and the protection of human health and ecosystems
Threat or opportunity? An analysis of perceptions of cultured meat in the UK farming sector
Get PDFBackground: The environmental and social impacts of cultured meat, and its economic viability, are contingent on its implications for food production and for agriculture. However, the implications of cultured meat production for farmers have not yet been thoroughly investigated and are poorly understood. The aim of this research was to engage with the farming sector in critically assessing cultured meat as a technology which could profoundly affect future farm livelihoods, land use, rural and farming communities and agricultural value chains. Ensuring farmers’ voices, and potential ‘counter-narratives’ inform the development of cultured meat is not only inclusive, but could identify unexpected impacts of this emerging technology and contribute to the framing of the social license of the industry developing them.
Methods: Six focus groups were undertaken with 75 UK farmers from a variety of farming sectors and regions. Questions focused on what the term ‘cultured meat’ means to farmers, the potential impacts of cultured meat, and potential business scenarios arising for farmers. All meetings were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed.
Results and discussion: Farmers expressed complex and considered reflections on cultured meat, raising several perceived opportunities and risks associated with the themes of ‘ethics and affective’ narratives, ‘environment-based’ narratives, and ‘socio-economic’ narratives. Aspects of foci of power, food system control and transparency associated with cultured meat emerged from the conversations, as well as cultured meat’s potential impacts on the environment and on jobs, farming/rural communities and connecting with the land.
Conclusion: Globally, meat production underpins the livelihoods of many rural communities, so a transition to cultured meat is likely to have deep-seated ethical, environmental, and socio-economic impacts. Within the discourse on cultured meat the voices of farmers are often lost. While not claiming to be representative of all UK farming, this study engaged UK farmer perspectives as a way of starting the substantive process of greater stakeholder inclusion in cultured meat innovation pathways, and which should underpin responsible technology transitions in agriculture
The Competitiveness of Ethiopian Honey in the European Union and the United Kingdom
No full textIn spite of efforts made by the government, to help the private sector, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in Africa. The agri-food sector provides 75% of jobs in Ethiopia (United States Agency for International Development, 2023). However, most agriculture products are sold unprocessed and undifferentiated. Ethiopia is regarded as a country of high potential for honey and beeswax production. Ethiopian honey production is estimated at
45,000 tonnes, however, the country is only exporting 800 tonnes (Alemu & Adesia, 2015). Some of the most promising destinations for Ethiopian honey exports include the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK). Within this context, this paper aims to critically analyse the competitiveness of the Ethiopian honey value chain in order to identify its challenges and opportunities within the EU and UK market. This study uses a qualitative research approach. Primary data were collected from stakeholders of the Ethiopian honey value chain. The results of this study indicate that Ethiopian honey could be competitive in the specialty and organic niche market. Findings have revealed that the Ethiopian honey value chain needs improvement in terms of quality, food safety, market information management
and cooperation among stakeholders. The findings of this research make a contribution to the existing literature by extending current knowledge within this domain and identifying strategies to penetrate a very competitive sector
Speaking Flames – A study of threshold experiences inherent in fire-cræft and the affordances of kindling metaphors for the principles they provide for progressive pedagogy
No full textThis thesis challenges current mandated pedagogy which has an overly instrumental focus on credentialism and education for employability. An alternative view of education is explored, initiated through the practice of fire-craft. Deliberations on the process and affordances of fire-lighting lead to the identification of principles for a progressive pedagogy for which kindling is both method and metaphor.
First steps were undertaken in this research through life-writing, an auto-philosophical lens which sought to understand how learning fire-craft has contributed to my own praxis as an educator. Introducing facilitated fire-lighting into a variety of pedagogical contexts sparked further questions. These sought to understand how kindling, when undertaken as a collaborative task, contributes to the personal and professional development of teachers.
Questions posed in the first half of this enquiry were considered through an analysis of findings gathered from three domains: 1) narrative accounts of my own encounters with fire and self-education in fire craft (first person perspectives); 2) unstructured interviews or ‘fire talks’ with individuals or small groups who participated in kindling sessions (second person perspectives); and 3) a critical engagement with literature in which fire-lighting is discussed in terms of kindling in education and kindling in relation to education (third-person perspectives).
Deliberations on research findings lead to an identification of seven distinct but interrelated stages inherent in the kindling task. Each stage was then considered for its educational principles that, taken together, contributed to the generation of a theory of education-as-kindling (EK). EK is a living theory of education that encompasses dimensions of making (cræft) and metaphor (meaning-making) and re-evaluates human ontology for contemporary educational purposes. I conclude with the proposal that teacherly actions like kindling are ‘instances worth a thousand’; unique and contextual activities that can inform a broad array of progressive pedagogical concerns
Consumers’ purchase intentions towards traced foods: A comparative analysis between the United Kingdom and China
No full textFood traceability can potentially facilitate the identification of safe foods, and enable the authentication of different production characteristics, such as sustainability or quality attributes associated with production practices. The successful implementation of traceability systems will depend on the extent to which consumers are willing to purchase traced foods. This may vary between food categories, and the product characteristics which are being traced. This research investigated Chinese and UK consumers’ responses (UK n = 1656 and Chinese n = 1515) to different traced foods (apples, milk and beef), using online survey methodology. The results showed that Chinese consumers expressed greater intentions to buy traced foods than UK consumers overall. Traced beef and milk incurred higher purchase intentions than traced apples in both countries.
A hybrid model has been developed and tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results indicated attitudes and perceived affordability are the main determinants of purchase intentions for UK consumers, while perceived affordability and perceived ease of use are the main determinants for Chinese consumers. Consumer purchase intentions exhibited a greater dependence on existing attitudes towards traced food in general for Chinese consumers, indicating potentially stronger cognitive biases. A perceived price premium had negative impacts on UK consumers', but positive impacts on Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions towards traced foods. This could relate to UK consumers being more price-conscious, while Chinese consumers regarded price premium as signifying greater safety and quality during food decision making. Implications for the future implementation of food traceability systems in China and the UK are discussed
An archaeometallurgical investigation of iron smithing in Swahili contexts and its wider implication
Get PDFAfrican agri-entrepreneurship in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic
Get PDFBackground
The African continent is known for high entrepreneurial activity, especially in the agricultural sector. Despite this, the continent's economic development is below expectations, due to numerous factors constraining the growth and sustainability of agricultural SMEs. These constraints have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to understand the pathways through which the pandemic affected agri-SMEs, with specific focus on assessing the differentiated effects arising from the size of the agri-SME and the gender of the owner-manager.
Methods
Data was collected from over 100 agri-SMEs, ranging in size from sole proprietorships with one employee to agri-SMEs employing up to 100 people, in six African countries. Mixed methods were used to analyse the data with changes in business operations arising from changing market access, regimented health and safety guidelines and constrained labour supply assessed using visualisations and descriptive statistics. Logistic regression modelling was employed to determine the set of variables contributing to agri-SME business downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Results
All surveyed agri-SMEs were negatively affected by COVID-19-associated restrictions with the size of the firm and gender of the owner-managers resulting in differentiated impacts. The smallest agri-SMEs, mainly owner-managed by women, were more likely to experience disruptions in marketing their goods and maintaining their labour supply. Larger agri-SMEs made changes to their business operations to comply with government guidelines during the pandemic and made investments to manage their labour supply, thus sustaining their business operations. In addition, logistic regression modelling results show that financing prior to the pandemic, engaging in primary agricultural production, and being further from urban centres significantly influenced the likelihood of a firm incurring business losses.
Conclusions
These findings necessitate engendered multi-faceted agri-SME support packages that are tailored for smaller-sized agri-SMEs. Any such support package should include support for agri-SMEs to develop sustainable marketing strategies and help them secure flexible financing that considers payment deferrals and debt moratorium during bona fide market shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic