Suchergebnisse

This book pays tribute to the development of Omani settlement structures that defined the bio-physical and climatic conditions characteristics of the harsh conditions on the Arabian Peninsula. It also highlights the treats that Omani oases face from the recent modernisation processes that have profoundly transformed their physical cultural and economic basis.

Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) has been widely promoted by research and philanthropic organizations as well as governments to increase crop yields and improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa. Therefore, it is surprising that there is still scant information on its impact on crop yields and household income. This paper uses a counterfactual model to assess ISFM impact on yields and total household incomes using far household data from Tamale (Northern Ghana) and Kakamega (Western Kenya). The analyses reveal that ISFM adoption leads to an increase in maize yields by up to 27% in Tamale and 16% in Kakamega. Increasing the number of ISFM components, however, does not improve yields. Despite the effect on yields, adoption of ISFM does not increase total household incomes at both locations. Some implications for future research are discussed.

Ökologische Landwirtschaft: faszinierend vielfältig und ein absolutes Must-have für Studierende der Agrar- und Forstwissenschaften und für Ökologen. Die Ökologische Landwirtschaft hat sich zu einer stark wissensbasierten Wirtschaftsweise entwickelt. Für ein umfassendes Verständnis sind neben dem Spezialwissen der Boden-, Pflanzenbau-, Nutztier-, Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften auch Kenntnisse über die Querbeziehungen zwischen diesen Gebieten sowie zur Organisation ganzer (Betriebs)Systeme notwendig. Angesichts der zunehmenden Bedeutung von Produkten aus tropischen und subtropischen Regionen für den weltweiten Konsum von Erzeugnissen der Ökologischen Landwirtschaft, beleuchtet dieses Buch auch die aktuellen Themen und Bedingungen der dortigen Produktion. Bachelorstudierende der Agrarwissenschaften und angrenzender Studienrichtungen erhalten eine kompakte und verständliche Einführung in all diese Wissensgebiete, aber auch für Praktiker und Interessierte ein toller Einblick in den Ökologischen Landbau

The perennial shrub sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) provides multiple products that are beneficial to human health. In addition, the plant can also be used to combat desertification. In contrast to the vast ecological, agronomic and nutritional literature on this species, little is known about its economic and marketing aspects, particularly in Central Asia. We therefore analysed the private and social competitiveness of sea buckthorn farming in 21 households of Bulgan county of Khovd province in Mongolia. The results show that half of the interviewed sea buckthorn farmers are privately competitive. We found that social competitiveness exceeded private competitiveness because while private output prices are supported by government policies, which increases private profits, input prices are also supported, which reduces the competitiveness. The net effect of supports to input and output prices taxes producers and reduces private competitiveness. In our study area the most competitive households had larger land sizes, fenced wild sea buckthorn areas, and were more experienced than others. The competitiveness of sea buckthorn farming increased from 2012 to 2013, which may be due to a government subsidy programme. Given the social and environmental benefits of sea buckthorn production, future government programmes should consider supporting the production through subsidies to make private households more competitive.

Part I: Introduction -- The rural-urban interface – An interdisciplinary research approach to urbanisation processes around the Indian megacity Bengaluru -- Part II: Changing patterns of land use and agriculture -- Temporal dynamics of land use change and spatial urbanization indices in the rural-urban interface of Bengaluru over the past three decades -- Urbanization effects on agricultural production systems across the rural-urban interface of Bengaluru -- Changes in land use pattern vis-a-vis urbanization and credit across the rural-urban interface of Bengaluru -- Dairy Production in an urbanizing environment: A social-ecological approach to understand the case of Bengaluru -- Capital formation across the rural-urban interface of Bengaluru North: An economic analysis -- Part III: Resource use, efficiencies and tradeoffs in crop and livestock production -- Crop production under urbanisation: An experimental approach to understand and model agricultural intensification -- Effects of soil management practices on soil physical properties and water cycle in a multifactorial field experiment -- Biomass estimation of vegetables - Can remote sensing be a tool for it?- Dairy farms in an urbanising environment: Tradeoffs between productivity and animal welfare -- Part IV: Food systems as outcomes and drivers of rural-urban transitions -- Crop diversity, dietary diversity and nutritional intake: Evidence on inter-linkages across rural-urban interface of Bengaluru -- Food security and factors influencing food and calorie intake across rural-urban interface of Bengaluru -- Nutritional status of households and individuals in the rural-urban interface of Bengaluru -- Nutritional status of women across rural-urban interface of Bengaluru -- "Homemade food is always healthy": The ambivalence of a traditionalisation of diets in Bengaluru -- Part V: Biodiversity and ecosystem functions under rural-urban transitions -- Tree species diversity in the Southern transect across the rural-urban interface of Bengaluru -- Biodiversity of birds along the rural-urban interface of the Indian megacity Bengaluru -- Bee diversity in the rural-urban interface of Bengaluru and scope for pollinator-integrated urban agriculture -- Dynamics of field margin vegetation with changing agricultural landscape across a rural-urban interface -- Part VI: Conclusion. Editorial: Dynamics in the rural-urban interface of an Indian megacity – Synopsis and outlook.