Suchergebnisse

La labranza de conservacion ha sido promovida como una tecnologia que mejora la productividad y sostenibilidad de los sistemas de produccion de mais en Mexico. Sin embargo, este potencial depende de varios factores, tanto agroecologicos como socioeconomicos. Para evaluar estos factores en forma sistematizada se presenta un modelo conceptual y se aplica este modelo a la tecnologia, distinguiendo entre sistemas mecanizados y sistemas manuales. Se identifica el costo de oportunidad de los residuos como una de las limitantes potencialmente mas severas. (Polit Agric/DÜI)

Background: Staple cereals always have been important dietary components, yet recent debates on their role in human diets are riddled with myths and misinformation. Scope and approach: This article examines the informational controversies, particularly about wheat, and reviews the evidence. The discussion centers on three nutritional cereal debates: i) 'empty calories', ii) over-consumption, and iii) how 'free-from' fads confound dietary transitions. Key findings and conclusions: This article makes two principal points, that i) advances in nutrition are a complex, slow process, and that ii) they can be easily confounded and undone by misinformation. Hence we suggest that more consumer-oriented work is needed—including behavioral approaches and political economy—in order to improve the quality of information, communication and dietary decision making. There is a clear need to tackle nutritional misinformation given the costs of inaction and the need to formulate a coherent agri-nutrition agenda.

Research linking agriculture and nutrition has evolved since the mid-20th century. The current focus is on child-stunting, dietary diversity and 'nutrient-rich' foods in recognition of the growing burdens of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases. This article concerns the global dietary and health contribution of major cereals, specifically maize and wheat, which are often considered not to be 'nutrient-rich' foods. Nevertheless, these cereals are major sources of dietary energy, of essential proteins and micronutrients, and diverse non-nutrient bioactive food components. Research on bioactives, and dietary fibre in particular, is somewhat 'siloed', with little attention paid by the agri-nutrition research community to the role of cereal bioactives in healthy diets, and the adverse health effects often arising through processing and manufacturing of cereals-based food products. We argue that the research agenda should embrace the whole nutritional contribution of the multiple dietary components of cereals towards addressing the triple burden of undernutrition, micronutrient malnutrition, overweight/obesity and non-communicable diseases. Agri-nutrition and development communities need to adopt a multidisciplinary and food systems research approach from farm to metabolism. Agriculture researchers should collaborate with other food systems stakeholders on nutrition-related challenges in cereal production, processing and manufacturing, and food waste and losses. Cereal and food scientists should also collaborate with social scientists to better understand the impacts on diets of the political economy of the food industry, and the diverse factors which influence local and global dietary transitions, consumer behavioural choices, dietary change, and the assessment and acceptance of novel and nutritious cereal-based products.

PURPOSE: Constraints associated with public agricultural extension services imply that farmers increasingly rely on input providers for agricultural innovations and knowledge. Yet such providers are typically commercial profit-making agents and may have an incentive to suggest relatively costly inputs and/or high rates. The purpose of this paper is to look into the case of Bangladesh and the role of fertilizer traders in terms of farmers' decisions on which fertilizer to apply and at what rate. Using primary data, the authors examine farmers' chemical fertilizer use and the associated rice production efficiency, based on different information sources (fertilizer traders, government extension agents or own/peer experience). DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Using primary data, the present study estimates an ordered probit model and production functions separately based on whether or not a farmer relied on information from fertilizer traders or own experience and government extension agents, and examines the efficiency score of each type of farmer. FINDINGS: The findings demonstrate that the resource-poor farmers rely more on traders' suggestions for fertilizer application than public extension – but the actual fertilizer information source has no significant effect on the production efficiency of the rice farmers. This study, therefore, does not find exploitative behavior of fertilizer traders. Thus, this study concludes that small rural traders in Bangladesh are working as agricultural extension agents and provide necessary fertilizer application information to resource-poor farmers. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: This is a case study based on Bangladesh – an emerging economy in South Asia. The findings of the study may not be generalized for other countries. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that confirms the role of agricultural input sellers as the extension agent in developing countries.

L'accroissement rapide de la consommation de riz associé à l'urbanisation est un défi majeur pour les politiques alimentaires en Afrique de l'Ouest. Les stratégies de développement de la production rizicole se sont d'abord focalisées sur la promotion de techniques de production plus intensives, puis ont préconisé un ajustement par les prix dans le cadre des politiques de libéralisation. L'échec relatif de ces stratégies est en partie lié à une analyse sommaire de la position du riz dans les habitudes alimentaires des urbains, de la structure des marchés rizicoles et de la multiplicité des critères de choix utilisés par les consommateurs. Le riz est devenu un bien ordinaire consommé par toute les couches de la population urbaine. Le riz recouvre en réalité une large palette de types de produits différents, la distinction entre riz importé et riz local étant un axe de différenciation majeur. Les consommateurs optent pour un type de riz en fonction de systèmes de préférence particuliers, le prix n'étant qu'un des éléments de la prise de décision. Une reconquête du marché urbain par les filières rizicoles locales passe donc par la prise en compte de la gestion de la qualité pour permettre un meilleur ajustement de l'offre à la demande.