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Assessment of the socio-economic impacts associated with the arrival of apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata) in Mwea irrigation scheme, Kenya
Get PDFBackground: In Kenya, rice (Oryza sativa L.) is mainly produced under irrigation by small-scale farmers. Mwea irrigation scheme
(MIS) in Kirinyaga County accounts for 80–88% of rice production. Here, rice is the main source of livelihood and a source of
revenue generation for the county. However, a recently established invasive freshwater snail, Pomacea canaliculata
(Lamarck) (family: Ampullariidae), a species of apple snail, presents a serious threat to rice production.
Results: Household surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews highlight apple snail as a serious problem in
MIS. Households that observed at least a moderate level of infestation (>20% of cultivated area) experienced significant reductions in rice yield (∼14%) and net rice income (∼60%). Farmers reported increased use of chemical pesticides for management
of apple snail. In addition, the cost of hired labor for physical removal of egg masses and snails is resulting in substantial negative effects on net income. Farmer age, area of land owned, responsibility for decision-making, receipt of extension advice,
training, and membership of a farmer organization, were all statistically significant variables to explain farmers awareness of
the need for area-wide apple snail management.
Conclusion: Strategies to limit the spread of apple snail are urgently needed. A Multi-Institutional Technical Team (MITT) has
been established to spearhead management efforts and consolidate advice to farmers on how to manage apple snail. However,
without action to mitigate spread, the consequences could be disastrous for rice production and food security in Kenya, and for
other rice growing regions across Africa
Regulating antimicrobial resistance: market intermediaries, poultry and the audit lock-in
Get PDFAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become one of the defining challenges of the twenty-first century. Food production and farming are a key if troubling component of that challenge. Livestock production accounts for well over half of annual global consumption of antimicrobials, though the contribution of the sector to drug resistance is less clear. As a result, there is an injunction to act in advance of incontrovertible evidence for change. In this paper we engage with the role of market actors in the precautionary regulation of farming practices and AMR threats. The paper takes the UK poultry sector as exemplary of an audit-led process that has, in recent years, achieved impressive reductions in antimicrobial use. Using qualitative interview
data with farmers and veterinarians we chart the changing practices that have accompanied this reduction in treatments. We use this analysis to raise some cautions around audit-led systems of regulation. Audits can lock farms and animals into particular versions of farming and animal health; they can elevate harmful compensatory practices (including disinfectant uses); and they can reproduce an actuarial approach to an issue that does not fit the conventions of risk management. The paper presents the considerable successes that have been achieved over a short period of time in a livestock sector,while
generating notes of caution concerning the audit-led management of livestock-related AMR threats
What can ecotheological and agroecological accounts contribute to biopolitical perspectives on farming?
Get PDFWe propose that ecotheological accounts have the potential to provide guidance to governmental policies relating to biosecurity. Governmental policies continue to transform our ecological and political landscapes in the broadest possible ways; including the future of our autonomy, collective health, and economic security. We consider how ecotheological principles have the potential to guide emerging farming movements such as agroecology and regenerative agriculture in ways that would promote the resilience and autonomy of farmers to move toward environmentally sustainable practices. In Section 8.2, we survey biopolitical accounts of theology and religion on the one side, and immunology on the other. We begin by examining the broadly negative stances taken by biopolitical philosophers toward theology and religion, focusing on Foucault. We then turn to Derrida’s expansion of immune logic as a way of understanding the September 11 terrorist attacks in Section 8.2.2. We argue that these accounts fail to recognize the potential positive contribution of theology to environmental and ecological policies
Bioassays and proteomics as early detection tools in postharvest management of table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) diseases – A Review
No full textPostharvest diseases are a major concern to the table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) industry, leading to huge economic losses worldwide. Monitoring postharvest disease and early detection of fruit pathogens are crucial to mitigate disease infestation and facilitate effective management practices. Over the years, traditional visual scouting for symptoms combined with biochemical assays, serological tests and/or DNA-based approach have been useful tools in fruit disease diagnosis. However, these tools have drawbacks in accurately detecting diseases during asymptomatic stage. Hence, these methods are not the most effective for disease confirmation and pathogen identification. In contrast, proteomics could provided instantaneous results that can be used to identify asymptomatic disease stages on table grapes. Therefore, this review provides an overview on the postharvest disease causing pathogens and associated symptoms on table grapes. Prospects of using changes in biochemical assays and proteomics as early response signal in postharvest disease management were discussed. This article proposed the need for continued advancement in the development of conventional tools, with emphasized on combining these tools with more robust and responsive novel approaches for better early disease diagnostic strategies
To adapt or not to adapt, that is the question. Examining farmers’ perceived adaptive capacity and willingness to adapt to sustainability transitions
Get PDFThe agricultural sector is one of the areas that has been highlighted as requiring a sustainability transition. For these kinds of transitions to succeed over the long-term, farmers need to be able to adapt to the required changes. Identifying which individual and institutional aspects are important for farmers’ adaptive capacity and willingness to adapt is therefore an essential step in gaining insight into the role of farmers’ agency in transition processes and their long-term sustainability. So far, adaptive capacity literature has mainly focused on adaptive capacity in relation to climate change or individual innovations, thereby leaving a knowledge gap on adaptive capacity in relation to sustainability transitions. In this study, we aim to address this by deepening our understanding of these aspects through 24 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with English farmers and organisations in the context of the post-Brexit agricultural transition. Whilst we found many similarities with previous adaptation literature in the context of climate change and individual innovation, we also found aspects that have not been prominent and thus seem to be specific for adaptation in relation to sustainability transitions. These include the dual role that access to finances and information can play; land ownership status in terms of having the right to implement adaptation measures; state of mind; feeling respected, appreciated, and understood; perceived level of control and ownership; and considerations of (global) consequences. Further research is needed to strengthen and further develop our findings, for example through case studies in other geographical locations or sectors
Structural heterogeneity of wildflower strips enhances fructose feeding in parasitoids
No full textThe use of wildflower strips to provide carbohydrate resource for parasitoids and enhance pest regulation is widely recommended in agriculture. However, how the management of wildflower strips affects resource availability and utilisation by parasitoids has never been studied. Using orange orchards as a model system, three experimental alleyway management treatments were investigated: a control treatment where naturally occurring vegetation in the alleyways between rows of trees was managed under standard farm practice; a standard management wildflower treatment in which sown wildflower strips in alleyways were managed by cutting once a year; and an active management wildflower treatment, in which the wildflower strips in alleyways was managed by cutting three times a year. Wildflower strips under standard management prevented the seasonal decline of nectar, supporting fructose feeding in parasitoids across all three seasons. The abundance of floral and hemipteran honeydew carbohydrate resources in the orchard alleyways and citrus canopy was consistently greater with the standard management treatment than the control or the active management treatments. In turn, this treatment was associated with twice the abundance of primary parasitoids than with the control and active management treatments in both summer and autumn. In addition, in autumn, parasitoids were more likely to have recently fed on carbohydrate in the standard management treatment than in the other two alleyway treatments. Finally, greater carbohydrate feeding in parasitoids was associated with increased structural heterogeneity of vegetation within the orchard alleyways. This study demonstrates that the nutritional status of parasitoids in a perennial cropping system can be improved using wildflower strips, which could enhance pest regulation, and emphasises the importance of studying the management of wildflower strips when targeting specific resource requirements
Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Soil Health: Lessons from the University of Fort Hare Trial
No full textConservation Agriculture (CA) promotes soil health, but issues to do with soil health are poorly researched in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This study reports on findings from a field trial done on the effects of tillage, crop rotations composed of maize (Zea mays L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) and residue management on a number of soil health parameters such as carbon (C)-sequestration, CO2 fluxes, enzyme activities, earthworm biomass and the Soil Management Assessment Framework soil quality index (SMAF-SQI). The field trial was done in a semi-arid region of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, over five cropping seasons (2012–2015). It was laid out as a split–split plot with tillage [conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT)] as main plot treatment. Sub-treatments were crop rotations: maize–fallow–maize (MFM), maize–fallow–soybean (MFS); maize–wheat–maize (MWM) and maize–wheat–soybean (MWS). Residue management: removal (R−) and retention (R+) were in the sub-sub-plots. Particulate organic matter (POM), soil organic carbon (SOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and enzyme activities were significantly (p < 0.05) improved by residue retention and legume rotation compared to residue removal and cereal-only rotations. Also, carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes under CT were higher compared to NT. The calculated soil quality index (SQI) was greatly improved by NT and residue retention. MWM and MWS rotations, in conjunction with residue retention under NT, offered the greatest potential for building soil health. Residue retention and inclusion of soybean in crop rotations are recommended for improving soil health under CA systems in the semi-arid regions of South Africa
The Agricultural Circular Economy
No full textThis presentation provides a discussion on some of the issues when adopting a circular economic model in agriculture. It focuses on the Chocolate supply chain, highlighting some of the issues, potential solutions and current new ventures which has been launched to take advantage of this model
Mapping and examining the determinants of England’s rural creative microclusters
Get PDFCreative industries are increasingly being recognised as potential drivers of economic
growth in rural areas, and creative industries clusters are one key part of that potential.
There is some evidence that these rural clusters have distinct characteristics to those of
urban creative clusters, in terms of firms’ location decisions as well as configurations of
agglomeration and clustering. This study aims to identify the main drivers of clustering of
rural creative industries in England, and to compare these drivers to those of clustering in
urban settings. This report uses pre-pandemic web scraped data of 184,791 creative
industries organisations in England to identify rural creative microclusters of
geographically proximate creative firms. Our cluster mapping demonstrates that rural
microclusters are widely spread across the country, with about one-third of the rural firms
and organisations in our sample are operating in one of the small clusters. Our results for
rural clusters are also largely in line with previous findings, which have mainly focused on
urban settings and the importance of place-based assets (such as cultural institutions and
social capital), location and diverse economies. We find that the drivers of clustering in
rural areas are not inherently different from urban areas, apart from a weak link between
rural microclustering and informal social networks. This opens avenues for place-based
policy making to support microcluster formation and development on the basis of cultural
regeneration alongside other forms of economic development. We argue therefore that
interventions in ‘levelling up’ the UK based on creative clusters should champion, rather
than exclude, rural creative cluster