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Socio-Economic Drivers of Poverty and Food Insecurity: Nigeria a Case Study
Get PDFThis narrative review paper considers the link between poverty and food security in urban and rural Nigeria, with emphasis on the economic (food availability & accessibility), social (people related factors) and environmental (effective resource use) implications. This study suggests that appropriate governance mechanisms must be put in place while developing strategies and policies to address problems of poverty and food insecurity in Nigeria. Improving infrastructure, mitigating the impact of continuing population growth, and uneven distribution of income, and identifying opportunities for education are important components to consider in developing food security policies and strategies for the Nigerian people
The Role and Contribution of Women in UK Farm Businesses
Get PDFThe global empowerment of women has, and remains to be, a continuing issue, especially within the workplace. The agribusiness industry is no exception where, due to the continuation of gender bias and stereotypes within the sector, women are under-represented. Despite this, the number of women entering careers in the industry is increasing. Historical data typically represents the role of women as wives or assistants to their male counterparts. Much of the remaining literature highlights the significance of women in farm businesses but yet continue to comment on their invisibility in the working environment. This qualitative study assesses the different roles women currently partake in modern United Kingdom (UK) farm businesses by interviewing individual participants from allocated job roles. These include a farmer, a farm manager, an off-farm income careerist and an entrepreneur of an on-farm diversified business. The research proposes a new conceptualisation from the findings, involving the identification of five prominent role characterisations that were generated from initial themes and in which women complete as part of their contribution to their associated farm business. These characterisations include the role of a woman as a mother, a decision-maker, an entrepreneur, a supporter and a labourer. The variance in disciplinary tasks across these role types indicates the extensive work and contributory efforts that women instinctively provide to the business
Construction of a conceptual framework for assessment of health-related quality of life in calves with respiratory disease
Get PDFBovine respiratory disease (BRD) is one of the most prevalent diseases affecting beef and dairy calves worldwide, with implications for lifetime productivity, antimicrobial use, and animal welfare. Our objective was to construct a conceptual framework for assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in calves with respiratory disease, based on indicators suitable for direct pen-side visual observation. HRQL measures aim to evaluate the subjective experience of the animal rather than any related pathology. A conceptual framework graphically represents the concepts to be measured and the potential relationships between them. A multistage, mixed method approach involving diverse data sources, collection methods and stakeholders, was applied to promote comprehensiveness, understanding and validity of findings. A scoping review was conducted to identify, characterise and collate evidence of behavioural indicators of BRD studies. The indicators identified were mapped against the principal attributes of five prominent animal welfare assessment frameworks to appraise their correspondence with different characterisations of the dimensions of welfare. Forty-two semi-structured, individual, qualitative interviews with a purposeful sample of experienced veterinarians and stockpersons from UK, US and Canada, elicited in-depth descriptions of the visual observations of HRQL they make in diagnosing and assessing the response to treatment of calves with BRD. Verbatim interview transcripts were examined using inductive thematic analysis. Respondents provided insights and understanding of indicators of HRQL in BRD such as interaction with feed source, hair coat condition, specific characteristics of eye appearance, eye contact, rumen fill and stretching (pandiculation). In an on-farm pilot study to assess the value of potential HRQL behavioural indicators, there was a moderate positive correlation between behaviour and clinical scores (rs = 0.59) across the 5 days preceding veterinary treatment for BRD. Interestingly the behaviours evaluated were observed a median of 1.0 (interquartile range, IQR: 1.0 – 3.5) days before clinical indicators used in the scoring system. The proposed conceptual framework for assessment of HRQL features 23 putative indicators of HRQL distributed across two interrelated domains – clinical signs and behavioural expressions of emotional wellbeing. It has potential applications to inform the development of new HRQL measures such as structured questionnaires and automated sensor technologies
Factors Affecting Site Use Preference of Grazing Cattle Studied from 2000 to 2020 through GPS Tracking: A Review
Get PDFUnderstanding the behaviour of grazing animals at pasture is crucial in order to develop
management strategies that will increase the potential productivity of grazing systems and simultaneously decrease the negative impact on the environment. The objective of this review was to
summarize and analyse the scientific literature that has addressed the site use preference of grazing
cattle using global positioning systems (GPS) collars in the past 21 years (2000–2020) to aid the development of more sustainable grazing livestock systems. The 84 studies identified were undertaken
in several regions of the world, in diverse production systems, under different climate conditions
and with varied methodologies and animal types. This work presents the information in categories
according to the main findings reviewed, covering management, external and animal factors driving
animal movement patterns. The results showed that some variables, such as stocking rate, water
and shade location, weather conditions and pasture (terrain and vegetation) characteristics, have a
significant impact on the behaviour of grazing cattle. Other types of bio-loggers can be deployed in
grazing ruminants to gain insights into their metabolism and its relationship with the landscape they
utilise. Changing management practices based on these findings could improve the use of grasslands
towards more sustainable and productive livestock systems
The influence of production chemicals on the quality of oilfield produced water
Get PDFThe cost of treatment of produced water prior to disposal forms a significant percentage of the total economic impact of pollutants in crude oil production. The treatment of produced water involves the removal of toxic compounds contained in the fluid to a level where it is considered safe before the water can be disposed, discharged or reused in the environment. Production chemicals have been identified as one of the sources through which these toxic compounds enter the produced water and therefore the need to evaluate the influence of these chemicals at their various injection rates on the quality of the produced water from the production process. This research study is a part of an on-going project on the application of environmental process engineering for pollutant reduction and energy savings in crude oil production. The study has found that the introduction of scale inhibitor, paraffin inhibitor, demulsifier, biocides and corrosion inhibitor at the rates of 10 ppm, 200 ppm, 15 ppm, 500 ppm and 10 ppm, respectively, yields a corresponding increase in the concentrations of ammonia, hydrocarbons, salinity, phosphates and nitrates in the produced water by 242%, 53%, 12.5%, 300% and −4.8%, respectively. The knowledge provided by this project will educate the oil and gas sector across the globe, aid engineers and operators understanding of produced water pollution mechanism during oil and gas production processes. The results of this research will also be useful in the design of crude oil production and produced water treatment processes in avoiding negative environmental impacts from the final effluent composition of produced water
"Young and Green” A Study of Consumers’ Perceptions and Reported Purchasing Behaviour towards Organic Food in Poland and the United Kingdom
Get PDFGlobally, the organic food market is the most successful green market. Young consumers, the decision-makers of the future, are perceived as being more environmentally concerned than older cohorts. The aim of this study was to consider young consumers’ attitudes and behaviours concerning organic food, where the organic food market in the UK is more mature than in Poland. Empirical research was conducted using a web-based survey questionnaire (CAWI) with consumers (n = 973) in both countries. The associations between four constructs (general pro-social attitudes, green consumption values, receptivity to green communication, and buying behaviour) were considered using CB-SEM. We extended the model with two new constructs to explain young consumers’ purchases of organic food. UK respondents are significantly more conscious green consumers with higher environmental attitude intensity than Polish residents. Intensity of pro-environmental attitude components influences directly and indirectly the choice of organic food. People with a higher intensity of pro-environmental attitudes are significantly more likely to choose organic food. Perception of organic food influences purchases only in Poland. The components of pro-environmental attitudes and perception of organic food alone do not explain the variability in behaviour, despite a good fit of the model. This suggests that other independent variables may be of influence
National farm assurance scheme demonstrates welfare outcome improvements for sustainable intensification of dairy production
Get PDFAnimal welfare is a key pillar of sustainability in livestock farming but can be challenging to deliver improvements in when productivity is high. In October 2013 the Red Tractor UK national dairy assurance scheme introduced welfare outcome monitoring on its 11,500 farms covering 95% of UK milk produced. Here we show that 98 farm assurance assessors achieved high levels of agreement with a gold standard and report data they collected for three years from 248,689 cows, typically 10 cows per farm, during 19,899 audits. Between 2013/14 and 2015/16, the estimated national prevalence fell significantly for lameness (from 10.0% to 7.9%), dirtiness (from 12.4% to 9.2%), ‘hairloss, lesions and swellings’ (from 9.3% to 6.5%), and fat cows (from 2.4% to 1.9%). This occurred at a time when milk yield per cow increased. We have demonstrated an effective implementation strategy suitable for uptake internationally to align with societal sustainability goals
Does agri-environment scheme participation in England increase pollinator populations and crop pollination services?
No full textAgri-environment schemes are programmes where landholders enter into voluntary agreements (typically with governments) to manage agricultural land for environmental protection and nature conservation objectives. Previous work at local scale has shown that these features can provide additional floral and nesting resources to support wild pollinators, which may indirectly increase floral visitation to nearby crops. However, the effect of entire schemes on this important ecosystem service has never previously been studied at national scale. Focusing on four wild pollinator guilds (ground-nesting bumblebees, tree-nesting bumblebees, ground-nesting solitary bees, and cavity-nesting solitary bees), we used a state-of-the-art, process-based spatial model to examine the relationship between participation in agri-environment schemes across England during 2016 and the predicted abundances of these guilds and their visitation rates to four pollinator dependent crops (oilseed rape, field beans, orchard fruit and strawberries). Our modelling predicts that significant increases in national populations of ground-nesting bumblebees and ground-nesting solitary bees have occurred in response to the schemes. Lack of significant population increases for other guilds likely reflects specialist nesting resource requirements not well-catered for in schemes. We do not predict statistically significant increases in visitation to pollinator-dependent crops at national level as a result of scheme interventions but do predict some localised areas of significant increase in bumblebee visitation to crops flowering in late spring. Lack of any significant change in visitation to crops which flower outside this season is likely due to a combination of low provision of nesting resource relative to floral resource by scheme interventions and low overall participation in more intensively farmed landscapes. We recommend future schemes place greater importance on nesting resource provision alongside floral resource provision, better cater for the needs of specialised species and promote more contiguous patches of semi-natural habitat to better support solitary bee visitation
Active management of wildflower strips in commercial sweet cherry orchards enhances natural enemies and pest regulation services
No full textTo protect sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) against pests in commercial orchards, pesticides are frequently used, but some have adverse environmental impacts. Natural enemies can deliver protection against pests but compared to the surrounding non-crop habitat their abundance is usually low in intensively managed agricultural systems. Wildflower interventions established for Conservation Biological Control as part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can reinstate habitat for natural enemies within cropped areas and enhance natural pest control. Over a three-year period, this more sustainable approach to crop protection was investigated in eight sweet cherry orchards protected under polytunnels in the West Midlands (UK). Wildflower strips were established in alleyways between rows of cherry trees and managed under two cutting regimes, Standard Wildflower Strips (SWS) (a single cut in late September) and Actively Managed Wildflower Strips (AMWS) (regularly cut to a height of 20 cm throughout the growing season). These were compared to unsown Control Strips (CS) (original vegetation dominated by grass species). To investigate natural enemy populations and pest regulation services, direct search, Vortis suction sampling, beat sampling, and aphid bait cards were used. Araneae (40.0% of records) and parasitoid wasps (22.7%) were the most frequent natural enemies recorded in alleyways, whilst Anystidae (51.8%) and Araneae (20.8%) were most abundant on cherry trees. Wildflower treatments almost doubled the abundance of natural enemies in alleyways, and increased abundance in cherry trees by ~15% compared to the CS. Wildflower strips increased predation of aphids (bait cards) in cherry trees by 25%. No difference in natural enemy abundance, richness or pest control was recorded between the two wildflower management regimes. Differences in natural enemy abundance and predation rates were detected despite the continued use of pesticides by growers (an average of 5.4 (± 0.4) applications per orchard per year). This study demonstrates that creating wildflower habitat in commercial sweet cherry orchards under polytunnels can boost natural enemies and the associated pest regulation services. Relative to CS, the novel grower-friendly approach of maintaining wildflower strips at a height of 20 cm with regular cutting increased flower resource availability and pest regulation services, demonstrating the potential for growers to adopt this approach as part of a robust IPM strategy
How do natural resource dependent firms gain and lose a social licence?
Get PDFA project, firm or industry whose activities are accepted by communities and stakeholders is said to have a social licence to operate. The importance of a social licence is increasingly being realized in natural resource industries where a project or firm can impose more environmental and social costs, e.g. pollution, or strain on service delivery and housing, on communities than they are willing to accept. However, the conditions that are necessary and/or sufficient to obtain/maintain a social licence are unclear. To rectify this gap, a global literature review paired with a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of 47 natural resource case studies from 25 countries was used to identify the conditions necessary and/or sufficient to: (1) obtain or lose a social licence; (2) result in voluntary practice change by firms; and/or (3) create regulatory change. No single condition out of the ten conditions tested was found to be necessary to obtain or lose a social licence or to change firm behavior. However, a combination of five conditions created a robust pathway for maintaining a social licence, including: (1) delivery (or perception) of net economic benefits beyond the firm; (2) adequate stakeholder consultation; (3) minimal media coverage; (4) minimal public protests; and/or (5) absence of well-defined and enforced private property rights. These results contribute to an understanding of the somewhat limited effectiveness of social licence as a form of governance, and suggest that social licence outcomes are determined by the expectations of stakeholders, decisions and behaviors of firms, and broader institutional governance factors