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The impact of public-private partnerships in food value chains in lower middle-income countries
No full textSince the launch of the 2005 Aid for Trade initiative, it has become more popular to disperse development assistance via public-private partnerships (PPPs). Yet, research on the impact of aid dispersed via such PPPs has been limited. This thesis studies the (potential) contribution of PPPs to increased food safety (SDG 2) and increased farmer incomes (SDG 1) in lower middle-income countries. In Chapter 1, the General Introduction, I introduce the topic and main research question, and provide an overview of the methodologies used throughout this thesis. Chapter 2 studies the impact of being surveyed, and finds that this increases the adoption of food safety technology among Kenyan subsistence farmers, thus suggesting that focusing attention to the issue of food safety is an important driver of food safety improvement. Chapter 3 and 4 study how introducing price incentives can help to increase food safety. Chapter 3 finds that providing a modest market premium for safe maize helps Kenyan subsistence farmers to increase the intensity of adoption of food safety technology. In poor years, the resulting safe maize could be consumed at home. In good years, the household would receive a small compensation for the safe maize delivered to the market. Chapter 4 studies how a PPP intervention in the Indonesian dairy value chain increased the quality of milk delivered by members of a large dairy cooperative. Part of the positive impacts on the hygienic and compositional quality of milk are explained by the introduction of an individual price incentive system (that replaced a group-based system). Chapters 5 and 6 study the distribution of rents created by this PPP. Chapter 5 studies how intervention rents are vertically distributed between the dairy processor and the cooperative that represented the smallholder producers, and finds that farmers received higher prices in the short run, but the processor captured the full quality rents after the intervention was completed. Chapter 6 studies the horizontal distribution of benefits between farmers, and finds that the PPP intervention reached mainly large farmer groups and wealthy farmers with relatively many cows. While this may be the most effective way to affect large amounts of milk, the intervention helped these included farmers to earn higher prices, and therefore increased economic inequality within the cooperative membership. Since farmers did not benefit from higher prices on average, this suggests that the poorer subsample may have impoverished relative to the counterfactual without the intervention. Chapter 7, the General Discussion, synthesizes research findings in the light of existing literature, and argues that that the alignment of private interests with development goals is key to realize the intended development outcomes. Especially for the realization of food safety (SDG 2), private interests may be well-aligned with development goals, and PPPs may be an effective organizational tool to spur development. Instead, if the goal is to increase the income of smallholders that deliver their produce to buyers with significant market power, or the goal is to reach the poorest of the poor (SDG 1), private interests and development goals may be misaligned, and intended outcomes are less likely to be reached. While this thesis raises critical questions to the increasingly popular trend to use PPPs to spur development, Chapter 7 further discusses some recommendations for the use of PPPs in food value chains regarding the type of activities funded, the selection of implementing partners, the incentive structure of PPPs and the creation of opportunities for learning. Chapter 7 finally highlights avenues for further research
Biorefinery of Inorganics : Recovering Mineral Nutrients from Biomass and Organic Waste
No full textThis book presents a comprehensive overview of the potential for mineral recovery from wastes, addressing technological issues as well as economic, ecological, and agronomic full-scale field assessments. It serves as a complete reference work for experts in the field and provides teaching material for future experts specializing in environmental technology sectors.Biorefinery of Inorganics: Recovering Mineral Nutrients from Biomass and Organic Waste starts by explaining the concept of using anaerobic digestion as a biorefinery for production of an energy carrier in addition to mineral secondary resources. It then discusses the current state of mineral fertilizer use throughout the world, offering readers a complete look at the resource availability and energy intensity. Technical aspects of mineral recovery organic (waste-)streams is discussed next, followed by an examination of the economics of biobased products and their mineral counterparts. The book also covers the environmental impact assessment of the production and use of bio-based fertilizers; modelling and optimization of nutrient recovery from wastes; and more
Changes in food access by mestizo communities associated with deforestation and agrobiodiversity loss in Ucayali, Peruvian Amazon
Get PDFFew longitudinal studies link agricultural biodiversity, land use and food access in rural landscapes. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that, in a context of economic change, cash crop expansion is associated with deforestation, reduced agrobiodiversity and changes in food access. For this purpose, we analysed data collected from the same 53 upland and floodplain mestizo households in Ucayali, Peru, in 2000 and 2015. We found an emerging transition towards less diversified food access coupled with loss of forest cover and reduced agricultural biodiversity. In 2015, diets appeared to rely on fewer food groups, fewer food items, and on products increasingly purchased in the market compared to 2000. Wild fruits and plants were mentioned, but rarely consumed. Agricultural production systems became more specialised with a shift towards commercial crops. Peak deforestation years in the 15-year period appeared linked with incentives for agricultural expansion. Our results suggest an overall trend from diversified productive and “extractive” systems and more diverse food access, towards specialized productive systems, with less diverse food access and stronger market orientation (both in production and consumption). The assumption in the food and agricultural sciences that increased income and market-orientation is linked to improved food security, is challenged by our integrated analyses of food access, agrobiodiversity, land use and forest cover. Our results highlight the importance of longitudinal, multidimensional, systemic analyses, with major implications for land use, food and health policies. The potential risks of parallel homogenisation of diets and agricultural production systems require interdisciplinary research and policies that promote integrated landscape approaches for sustainable and inclusive food systems.</p
Belowground soil water response in the afforestation-cropland interface under semi-arid conditions
No full textAgroforestry is an effective measure to control soil erosion and maintain or increase productivity in semi-arid areas. However, the belowground soil water responses in the afforestation-cropland interface (ACI) is not well known. This study analyzed the variability of soil water storage (SWS) and deficit in three ACIs taking into account the distance between the forest and cropland. The variations of soil water content up to 4 m depth and at five distances from the interface (−5 m (in forest), 0 m (interface), 1 m, 3 m and 5 m (in cropland)) were estimated in three artificial forests (Salix matsudana, Sophora japonica, and Populus cathayana) and their adjacent croplands (maize). The results showed that soil water at the interfaces was significantly affected by forest. This effect was effective up to 160–170 cm of soil depth, and the ACI of S. matsudana had the greatest impact on the farmland soil water. There was no significant relative soil water deficit between 1 and 3 m length, and the ACI of P. cathayana showed the lowest changes in the lateral direction. The SWS of S. japonica in the ACI was clearly higher than the other two artificial forests (P < 0.05). Our findings indicated that S. japonica was the most suitable forest species for agriculture sustainability in the study area. The tree species and the distance between cropland and forest should be considered during the establishment of agroforestry systems. This study provided insights for water conservation and effective management of ACIs in semi-arid areas.</p
Green Challenges: systeemaanpak biologische plaagbestrijding met gebruik van functionele biodiversiteit : Deel 2: Eenjarige zomerbloeiers
No full textThe low pest tolerance, the harvest of the complete plants, the short cropping cycle and the low cultivation temperature in annual flowers form a challenge for biological pest control. The goal of the here described research was to design and test a systems approach of pest control in annual flowers on the basis of functional biodiversity. As a first step, an overview has been made of the most important pest and natural enemy species, and the potential chances and challenges for a systems approach of pest control in annual flowers. The first experiments showed that alternating rows of aphid-sensitive and aphid-resistant annual flower species could slow down the spread of aphids. In a second experiment, the strategy around the population build-up of the predatory bug Macrolophus pygmaeus in successive cropping cycles was central. To build up a population of M. pygmaeus, it is important to already start during wintertime. Pelargonium sp. form, with the right choice of species and cultivar, a good host crop for the early establishment of a M. pygmaeus population. To be able to use this population effectively in spots where these predatory bugs are needed, as ‘transport’ system is required to move the predatory bugs around. This ‘transport’ system still needs to be further developed
Vismonitoring Zoete Rijkswateren en Overgangswateren t/m 2019 : Deel II, Toegepaste methoden
Get PDFOm een inschatting te krijgen van de toestand van de zoete rijkwateren en overgangswateren worden diverse vismonitoringsprogramma’s uitgevoerd. Deze programma’s maken deel uit van het Wettelijke Onderzoekstaken (WOT) programma in opdracht van het ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit (LNV) en het Programmaplan Vis-en Biotamonitoring 2018-2023 van Rijkswaterstaat (RWS). In totaal worden 13 monitoringsprogramma’s en één registratieprogramma in de grote zoete rijkswateren (meren en rivieren), de overgangswateren en de spuikom bij Kornwerderzand in de Waddenzee uitgevoerd. Ontsluiting van vismonitoringsgegevens gebeurt op drie manieren. Het voorliggende rapport (Deel II) is een achtergronddocument waarin de gebruikte monitoringsmethodieken in de verschillende vismonitoringen in de zoete rijkswateren en overgangswateren t/m 2019 worden vastgelegd. In het rapport ‘Toestand en trends’ (Deel I) worden de resultaten geïnterpreteerd (trends en duiding). Daarnaast worden de monitoringsdata via een dataportaal1 ontsloten (voorheen rapportage Deel III). Wijzigingen die in 2019 zijn doorgevoerd, staan puntsgewijs opgesomd in paragraaf 1.1. De veranderingen betreffen het beëindigen van bepaalde bemonsteringen of juist het starten van nieuwe bemonsteringen, maar ook veranderingen in monsterlocaties of –frequenties en rapportage
A cross-sectional comparison of meal delivery options in three international cities
No full textBackground/Objectives: The recent upsurge in online food delivery options has reshaped the food market. The aim of this study was to examine between-city differences and within-city socioeconomic differences in the number of online meal delivery options, meal types, and meal prices. Subjects/Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in three international cities within high-income countries. Across 10 sampled addresses in Chicago (USA), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), and Melbourne (Australia), meal delivery options provided by a major international meal delivery company were sampled. Bonferroni adjusted Chi2-tests were conducted to assess between-city differences as well as within-city socioeconomic differences in price levels. Results: Across the 10 sampled addresses in each city, there were n = 1668 delivery options in Chicago, n = 1496 in Amsterdam and n = 1159 in Melbourne. In total, 10,220 keywords (representing 148 different meal types) were recorded across all 4323 delivery options. In all three cities, burgers, pizza and Italian were in the top 10 of most advertised meals. Compared with Amsterdam, healthy and meat-free meals were less commonly advertised in Chicago and Melbourne. In Chicago, the number of delivery options for addresses in the most disadvantaged and least disadvantaged neighborhoods were similar. In Amsterdam and Melbourne, a greater number of options was available for the addresses in the least disadvantaged neighborhoods. Conclusions: This study highlights the vast number of meal delivery options individuals can source when at home via a meal delivery service, noting the number differs across and within cities. In each city, most food types available for delivery were not considered healthy.</p
First report of Fusarium Wilt Tropical race 4 in Cavendish Bananas Caused by Fusarium odoratissimum in Colombia
No full textModeling honey bee colonies in winter using a keller-segel model with a sign-changing chemotactic coefficient
No full textThermoregulation in honey bee colonies during winter is thought to be self-organized. We added mortality of individual honey bees to an existing model of thermoregulation as an approach to model the elevated losses of bees that are reported worldwide. The aim of this analysis is to obtain a better fundamental understanding of the consequences of individual mortality during winter. This model resembles the well-known Keller-Segel model. In contrast to the often studied Keller-Segel models, our model includes a chemotactic coefficient of which the sign can change as honey bees have a preferred temperature: When the local temperature is too low, they move toward higher temperatures, whereas the opposite is true for too high temperatures. Our study shows that we can distinguish two states of the colony: One in which the colony size is above a certain critical number of bees in which the bees can keep the core temperature of the colony above the threshold temperature and one in which the core temperature drops below the critical threshold and the mortality of the bees increases dramatically, leading to a sudden death of the colony. This model behavior may help explain the globally observed honey bee colony losses during winter.</p
European anthropogenic AFOLU greenhouse gas emissions : A review and benchmark data
Get PDFEmission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and removals from land, including both anthropogenic and natural fluxes, require reliable quantification, including estimates of uncertainties, to support credible mitigation action under the Paris Agreement. This study provides a state-of-the-art scientific overview of bottom-up anthropogenic emissions data from agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) in the European Union (EU281). The data integrate recent AFOLU emission inventories with ecosystem data and land carbon models and summarize GHG emissions and removals over the period 1990-2016. This compilation of bottom-up estimates of the AFOLU GHG emissions of European national greenhouse gas inventories (NGHGIs), with those of land carbon models and observation-based estimates of large-scale GHG fluxes, aims at improving the overall estimates of the GHG balance in Europe with respect to land GHG emissions and removals. Whenever available, we present uncertainties, its propagation and role in the comparison of different estimates. While NGHGI data for the EU28 provide consistent quantification of uncertainty following the established IPCC Guidelines, uncertainty in the estimates produced with other methods needs to account for both within model uncertainty and the spread from different model results. The largest inconsistencies between EU28 estimates are mainly due to different sources of data related to human activity, referred to here as activity data (AD) and methodologies (tiers) used for calculating emissions and removals from AFOLU sectors. The referenced datasets related to figures are visualized at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3662371 (Petrescu et al., 2020).</p