The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the top destination for Russian food exports, grains in particular. Focusing on Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, this chapter shows that Russia's food trade with MENA countries is strongly affected by bilateral political relations. Russia banned most food imports from Turkey over a political conflict in 2016. In the same year, improved intergovernmental cooperation with Saudi Arabia resulted in a diversification of Russia's food exports to the Gulf country, and in 2019, Iran's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) led to increasing food trade with Russia. Food imports in MENA countries are usually managed by powerful state trading enterprises (STEs), which recurrently disapprove food products originating from Russia based on non-adherence to food quality standards. Our analysis shows that Russia is successfully working to open additional destination markets, while simultaneously impeding imports of food products that it aims to produce domestically.
A insegurança alimentar e o desperdício de alimentos são abordados pelos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS) da atual Agenda 2030, desenvolvidos pelos países membros das Nações Unidas (ONU). Cada um dos estados-membros da ONU promoveu planos, programas, estratégias e / ou legislações aprovadas, destinados a lidar com o desperdício e a perda de alimentos (DPA) ao mesmo tempo em que alcançam os objetivos de todos os ODS. Essas participações efetivas são descritas por cada país num Relatório Nacional voluntário divulgado pela ONU na sua Plataforma de Conhecimento de Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável. Para ajudar a União Europeia (UE) a alcançar os ODS, a UE desenvolveu uma estratégia para reduzir o desperdício e a perda de alimentos, uma vez que a redução de DPA pode também: 1) lutar contra as alterações climáticas, através da redução das emissões de gases com efeito de estufa (GEE); 2) ajudar na erradicação da fome e da desnutrição, por meio da redistribuição dos alimentos resgatados; 3) gerar poupança económica para produtores e distribuidores; 4) ter impactos sociais positivos na vida das populações empobrecidas; 5) fortalecer os sistemas alimentares. Esta estratégia, denominada Estratégia Farm to Fork, apresenta uma série de ações que visam uma transição mais rápida para um sistema alimentar sustentável a qual deve ter um impacto ambiental neutro ou positivo, reverter a perda de biodiversidade, ajudar a mitigar as mudanças climáticas, garantir a segurança alimentar, nutrição e saúde pública, e preservar a acessibilidade dos alimentos. As políticas da UE com relação ao DPA são postas em prática pelos membros da UE aprovando leis ou implementando outras iniciativas para prevenir, reciclar ou reutilizar o DPA. Em Portugal, para promover a redução do desperdício alimentar através de uma abordagem integrada e multidisciplinar, a Presidência do Conselho de Ministros instituiu a Comissão Nacional de Combate ao Desperdício Alimentar (CNCDA). Um dos objetivos da Comissão Nacional de Combate ao Desperdício Alimentar (CNCDA) é identificar, avaliar e monitorizar as necessidades de adaptação da Estratégia Nacional de Combate ao Desperdício Alimentar (ENCDA) e do Plano de Ação de Combate ao Desperdício Alimentar (PACDA), apresentando relatórios periódicos ao Ministro da Agricultura. Depois de promover um inquérito às partes interessadas ao longo da cadeia alimentar, durante o 3º trimestre de 2020, o CNCDA concluiu que, exceto no canal HORECA: 1) houve um aumento nas doações / excedentes de alimentos resgatados, embora o canal HORECA não tenha seguido esta tendência global; 2) em todos os setores de atividade, a perceção geral era de que a pandemia COVID-19 tinha contribuído para a redução do desperdício de alimentos. Em simultâneo com as políticas internacionais e nacionais, os movimentos civis surgiram com o foco no combate ao desperdício, em todas as suas dimensões, da produção ao consumo. Esses movimentos têm como objetivo unir várias partes interessadas em uma luta ativa contra o desperdício de alimentos usando abordagens e possibilidades inovadoras. Uma das abordagens para combater a insegurança alimentar das famílias de baixos rendimentos, consiste em organizações de ajuda alimentar que resgatem e redistribuem os excedentes alimentares, do canal HORECA e do setor de distribuição. Como resultado, a adequação dos alimentos ou refeições distribuídas por cantinas sociais, mercearias solidárias ou bancos de alimentos têm sido objeto de investigação científica em diversos países. No entanto, os alimentos fornecidos nas organizações estudadas são, principalmente, ou adquiridos pela organização ou adquiridos por doadores que posteriormente doam esses alimentos à organização, ou ainda, em quantidades menores, resultantes de sobras de alimentos. Nessas organizações, devido ao seu custo e às necessidades de logística de transporte e refrigeração, os alimentos frescos costumavam ser fornecidos em quantidades baixas ou muito baixas. Como resultado, o teor de nutrientes das refeições e cestas de alimentos geralmente carece de vitaminas e minerais. Além disso, os resíduos alimentares sendo um reservatório de hidratos de carbono, proteínas, lípidos e outros macro e micronutrientes orgânicos e inorgânicos, podem ser considerados como uma fonte material na indústria de alimentos, indústria de ração animal ou indústria farmacêutica como aromatizantes e fragrâncias, antioxidantes, aditivos e suplementos alimentares. No entanto, como os processos de extração industrial exigem know-how e consomem mais tempo, materiais, energia e recursos humanos, a maneira mais favorável do ponto de vista ambiental de aumentar o ciclo de alimentos é usá-los como estão, para alimentar a população em insegurança alimentar. Tanto quanto sabemos, nenhuma outra investigação mediu e avaliou a contribuição de alimentos frescos ou preparados na hora, para uma dieta equilibrada de famílias de baixos rendimentos. Assim, nesta tese de doutoramento, pretendeu-se explorar as formas como o desperdício de alimentos é reciclado, focando principalmente no processo que leva ao consumo humano, medindo seus resultados no que diz respeito à quantidade de micro e micronutrientes reaproveitados, para a contribuição para uma alimentação equilibrada, para o alívio da insegurança alimentar e, finalmente, para a contribuição para o alcance dos ODS. Com base na lacuna de investigação identificada acima, esta tese é regida por quatro questões investigativas principais: a) Com é que o desperdício de alimentar está a ser reutilizado? b) Como é que os alimentos reciclados podem contribuir para a dieta equilibrada de famílias de baixos rendimentos? c) Qual é o conteúdo nutricional dos alimentos resgatados e redistribuídos veiculados por uma organização de ajuda alimentar, em relação aos valores de doses diárias recomendadas? d) Como é que o processo de reciclagem e redistribuição de alimentos pode contribuir para o cumprimento dos ODS? Derivando destas questões, foram estabelecidos seis objetivos principais de pesquisa: i) Fornecer uma atualização sobre o que foi encontrado para aumentar a reutilização do desperdício alimentar como um material ou fonte de energia, mas também para encontrar soluções de uso de desperdícios alimentares para consumo humano. ii) Avaliar o contributo dos alimentos frescos ou acabados de confecionar, resgatados e redistribuídos como complemento da alimentação das famílias de baixos rendimentos, de acordo como guia alimentar português (Roda dos Alimentos), utilizando a organização Refood-Leiria como estudo de caso. Esta avaliação é feita, em primeiro lugar, apenas considerando os dados categorizados como alimentos redistribuídos pertencentes à Roda dos Alimentos Portuguesa. Em segundo lugar, são considerados os dados totais, pertencentes ou não à Roda dos Alimentos Portuguesa, o que permite também a terceira avaliação, que consiste em comparar os alimentos reciclados, na organização do estudo de caso, com o padrão alimentar da população portuguesa em geral. iii) Quantificar os nutrientes dos alimentos resgatados e redistribuídos na organização do estudo de caso. iv) Avaliar como esses nutrientes contribuem para aliviar a insegurança alimentar das famílias beneficiárias. v) Avaliar as formas pelas quais o processo de reaproveitamento de alimentos frescos pode contribuir para o alcance dos ODS. vi) Propor uma estratégia para tornar o processo de resgate e redistribuição de alimentos uma atividade perene, naturalmente integrada na vida dos cidadãos. O projeto de investigação escolhido leva naturalmente a um desenvolvimento de pesquisa sequencial. A questão-chave inicial no início desta pesquisa foi "O que está a ser feito para melhorar a reutilização dos alimentos, principalmente para consumo humano?". Após pesquisa exploratória da literatura, realizou-se a reflexão crítica, identificou-se uma possível organização do estudo de caso, foram estabelecidas questões de pesquisa mais específicas e consequentes objetivos iniciais. Além disso, um projeto à escala de uma tese de doutoramento requer constante aperfeiçoamento e adaptação. Assim, num processo iterativo, os objetivos iniciais i), ii) e iii) foram expandidos para iv), v) e vi). Em termos de materiais, novamente num processo iterativo, paralelamente à constante pesquisa bibliográfica, foram solicitadas autorizações, na organização do estudo de caso, para recolha de dados relativos aos alimentos redistribuídos e dados sociodemográficos. Foram pesquisadas e selecionadas ferramentas adequadas para avaliar o conteúdo nutricional dos alimentos redistribuídos e sua adequação, bem como valores de referência nutricional e guias alimentares. Para medir a insegurança alimentar, foi selecionada a Escala de Experiência em Insegurança Alimentar (FIES). Os programas utilizados na análise e tratamento dos dados foram o Food Processor Plus® (ESHA Research, Salem, Oregon), Microsoft Excel Office® 365 e IBM® SPSS® Statistics versão 27 para Windows®. Esta tese tem um formato cumulativo e baseia-se em três publicações científicas com revisão por pares, resultantes das diferentes fases da investigação. As publicações foram organizadas em três partes principais. A Parte I é baseada no capítulo do livro "Rerouting Food Waste for Climate Change adaptation: the paths of research", apresentado no 4th World Symposium on Climate Change Adaptation WSCCA- 2021), que decorreu em paralelo com a COP26 em Glasgow, Scotland, a 3 de novembro de 2021, e aceite como capítulo do livro 4th World Symposium on Climate Change Adaptation Book - "Climate Change Strategies: handling the challenges of adapting to a changing climate", a publicar na editora Springer. Fornece uma compilação de como a investigação para a reutilização de DPA tem evoluído desde a crise económica de 2008, para encontrar soluções inovadoras de uso de DPA tanto como fonte de biomateriais e bioenergia, como para consumo humano para combater a insegurança alimentar. Os resultados são discutidos sob as seguintes perspetivas: distribuição geográfica da instituição do autor, categorias temáticas e palavras-chave dos autores. Foram identificadas as tendências atuais e previsíveis na gestão de resíduos alimentares como matéria-prima e para a segurança alimentar. Verifica-se que os campos de interesse da pesquisa de DPA têm sido, por um lado, o desperdício alimentar como fonte de matériaprima para a produção dos biocombustíveis e dos biomateriais e, por outro lado, a reciclagem dos resíduos alimentares para consumo humano, como solução para a insegurança alimentar. A Parte II é baseada no artigo "The Contribution of Up-Cycled Food Waste to a Balanced Diet of Low-Income Households" publicado na revista Sustainability (2021), 13 (9): 4779. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094779 e compreende a avaliação da contribuição de alimentos frescos ou recém confecionados, resgatados e redistribuídos para complementar a dieta familiar de baixo rendimento, de acordo com o guia alimentar português (Roda dos Alimentos), tendo como estudo de caso a organização Refood-Leiria. Em primeiro lugar, apenas são considerados os dados categorizados como alimentos redistribuídos pertencentes à Roda Alimentar Portuguesa. Em segundo lugar, são tidos em consideração os dados totais, pertencentes ou não à Roda dos Alimentos Portuguesa, o que permitirá também a terceira avaliação que consiste na comparação dos dados recolhidos, relativos a alimentos resgatados e redistribuídos, com o padrão alimentar da população portuguesa em geral. Os resultados sugerem que os alimentos reciclados podem contribuir para uma alimentação mais equilibrada em termos de "Batata, Cereais e Produtos de Cereais", "Legumes", "Carne, Peixe, Marisco e Ovos" e "Frutas", ambos de acordo com a Roda Alimentar Portuguesa e em comparação com a população portuguesa em geral. A Parte III é baseada no artigo "The Nutritional Content of Rescued Food Conveyed by a Food Aid Organization", publicado na revista International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2021), 18(22):12212. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212212. Concentra-se na determinação do conteúdo nutricional de cestas de alimentos fornecidos pela nossa organização de estudo de caso. Todos os itens de cestas de alimentos são pesados, em três rodadas de pesagem durante um período de quatro meses. A Escala de Experiência de Insegurança Alimentar (FIES) foi aplicada para medir a insegurança alimentar das famílias. Os resultados mostraram que, no nosso estudo de caso de organização de ajuda alimentar, as doações de alimentos contribuem substancialmente para a ingestão da Dose Diária Recomendada (DDR) de energia, macro e micronutrientes. Ao avaliar como esses nutrientes contribuem para aliviar a insegurança alimentar das famílias beneficiárias, concluímos que a perceção de insegurança alimentar é independente da quantidade de nutrientes servidos. Tanto quanto sabemos, este é o primeiro estudo que mede o conteúdo nutricional de alimentos resgatados frescos ou recém confecionados, redistribuídos por uma organização de ajuda alimentar. Essas três partes são acompanhadas de um capítulo anterior, uma introdução geral à tese, e um último capítulo sobre as reflexões e conclusões finais em que as questões de pesquisa são respondidas. Limitações do estudo, bem como uma perspetiva sobre futuras investigações estão incluídas no último capítulo desta tese, seguidas pela bibliografia compilando todas as fontes citadas de todos os capítulos. Ao final da tese, são fornecidos dois apêndices, nos quais estão organizados todos os materiais de pesquisa relevantes, como os diagramas metodológicos da Parte II e da Parte III, Escala de Insegurança Alimentar em Língua Inglesa e Língua Portuguesa. O Apêndice B contém o diagrama da metodologia usado na parte II, e o Apêndice C contém todos os materiais usados na parte III. ; There has been a growing concern in food waste and food loss reduction while the number of food insecure families in the European Union has increased resulting in an increasing number of households depending on food assistance programs. The practice of up-cycling food to improve the diet of low-income households not only tackles food wastage and food insecurity, but also has the potential to contribute to the fulfilment of other Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) (SDG 2 and SDG 12, as well as the potential to contribute to the fulfilment of other SDG, such as SDG 1, SDG 3, SDG 10, and SDG 13). After having conducted a scientific literature compilation in the food waste reuse field adopting a methodology based on the use selected key words, extracted results were divided in two categories: raw material and food security. Actual and predictable trends on food waste management were identified for both categories: food waste is regarded as a source of raw materials to produce biofuels and high value biomaterials, or as a solution to food insecurity through food aid organizations. However, there has been an increasing concern with the adequacy of food provided by these organizations, whether up cycled or not, due a lack a fresh food. Therefore, we endeavoured in a pilot study concerning the contribution of up-cycled fresh food to vulnerable households. This study analyses the contribution to a balanced diet of an upcycling food organization which rescues and redistributes fresh or freshly cooked food to low-income households, to determine the nutritional balance of food hampers provided by our case study organization, according to the Portuguese food guidelines. We also evaluate the ways in which the process of upcycling fresh food can contribute to achieve SDG. We determine the nutritional content of food hampers provided by our case study organization, weighing all items of food hampers in three weighing rounds over a period of four months. To evaluate how these nutrients contribute to alleviate food insecurity of the beneficiary households, the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) was applied to measure households´ food insecurity. In the conclusion we propose a strategy to make the food rescue and redistribution process a perennial activity, naturally integrated into citizens´ lives.
Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M ; Food self-sufficiency is a relevant political issue in many countries, developed and developing, particularly to satisfy the internal nutritional needs of the population and face situations in which the prices of basic products are unstable or when a country faces an external shock. Improving resilience involves strengthening local rural communities to meet demand with domestic production. The member countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LCN) produce enough food to sustain their population and to be one of the world's largest food exporters. From the theoretical discussion and using data from FAO, the research shows that there is a potential to improve food sovereignty and to define food and agricultural policies through agricultural complementarity among the LCN countries. Diverting part of the current trade with third parties to intraregional trade, for products in which the region has a comparative advantage, would mean that LCN countries could save up to 2.7 billion dollars per year, that is, 6.8%of total imports of food in 2018, avoiding the outflow of foreign currency and promoting greater economic integration between countries.
The overall objectives of meat inspection are to contribute to food safety, animal welfare, and animal health. In the European Union (EU), there is a request for a modernised meat inspection system that addresses these objectives in a more valid, feasible and cost-effective way than does the traditional system. One part of the modernisation deals with the coding system to register meat inspection findings. Although unified standards are set at the EU level for judgement criteria regarding fitness of meat for consumption, different national systems are in force. The question is the extent of the differences and whether there is a basis for harmonisation. To investigate this, information was gathered about the code systems in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Spain. Moreover, meat inspection data covering pigs slaughtered in 2019 were collected. A comparison of the number of codes available, the terminology and the frequencies of the findings registered was undertaken. Codes with a similar meaning were grouped. Hereby, two lists were compiled showing the most common codes leading to total and to partial condemnation. Substantial variations in the percentage of condemned pigs and in the terms used were identified, and possible reasons behind this are discussed. Moreover, a strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT)-like analysis was applied to the coding systems. Finally, the reasons for unfitness of meat given in the EU Food Inspection Regulation 2019/627 were compared to the national code lists. The results show the systems in force varied substantially, and each system had its advantages and disadvantages. The diverse terminology observed made it a challenge to compare data between countries. Development of harmonised terminology for meat inspection findings is suggested, enabling comparison of data between abattoirs, regions, and countries, while respecting the national epidemiological situation, the local food safety culture, and the trade agreements in force. ; Peer reviewed
Funding Information: This work was supported as part of the Strategic Research Programme of the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) division, Theme 3: Food and Health (Work packages 3.2 and 3.3). ; Peer reviewed ; Publisher PDF
1 sheet ([1] p.) ; Attributed by STC to William Redman. ; Signed: Will: Norwicen:. ; Imprint from STC. ; A broadside. ; Reproduction of the original in the Bodleian Library.
Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world. With a total population of around 165 million, the country has constantly been facing food security challenges and other problems. Therefore, increasing food production is one of the feasible solutions to this challenge, and proper agricultural land use for food production bears critical importance. Adopting sustainable irrigation systems and viable technologies would be vital for ensuring efficient use of agricultural land in Bangladesh to safeguard the country's food security. Solar irrigation pumps (SIPs) can be a reliable option in this regard. However, Bangladesh has experienced a prolonged growth rate of SIP installation in the last decade. The countryhas set a target to install 10000 SIPs by the year 2027, albeit it is a tiny share of the 1.57 million conventional irrigation pumps operating in the country. This study aims to investigate the economic feasibility of the SIPs operating in the northern region of Bangladesh in terms of estimating financial feasibility and environmental benefits. The study is mainly based on primary data collected from the users of SIPs from two Upazilas of Dinajpur and Rangpur districts. A total of 14 SIPs, categorized into large, medium, and small pumps, are selected randomly from the available SIPs in the study areas. The financial analysis reveals that small SIPs are the most profitable option (20% IRR) for investment. Large SIPs are moderately profitable (10% IRR), and their profitability can be improved (10.50% IRR) by introducing additional uses of solar energy. However, medium SIPs are the worst (5% IRR) option for investment. In the study areas, large and medium SIPs are designed for the 'fees for service model', and small SIPs are designed for the 'fees for ownership model'. It is found that the 'fees for ownership model' is more profitable than the 'fees for service model'. Moreover, the net environmental benefit for all SIPs is found almost equal to the given subsidy for installing them. Also, the net environmental benefit per kilowatt peak (kWp) is highest for the small SIPs. This paper recommends that additional use (e.g., husking, grinding, supply excess electricity to grid, and so on) of solar energy can improve the profitability of investmenton SIPs. Further, the government should continue giving grants for installing SIPs and promote 'fees for ownership model' (small SIPs) for personal use. It would speed up the dissemination rate of SIPs and help increase the country's agricultural production and improve the environmental conditions.
Background Humans are regularly exposed to metals and metalloids present in air, water, food, soil and domestic materials. Most of them can cross the placental barrier and cause adverse impacts on the developing foetus. Objectives To describe the prenatal concentrations of metals and metalloids and to study the associated sociodemographic, environmental and dietary factors in pregnant Spanish women. Methods Subjects were 1346 pregnant women of the INMA Project, for whom the following metals arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), thallium (Tl) and zinc (Zn) were determined in urine, at both the first and the third trimesters of gestation. Sociodemographic, dietary and environmental information was collected through questionnaires during pregnancy. Multiple linear mixed models were built in order to study the association between each metal and metalloid concentrations and the sociodemographic, environmental and dietary factors. Results The most detected compounds were As, Co, Mo, Sb, Se and Zn at both trimesters. Zn was the element found in the highest concentrations at both trimesters and Tl was detected in the lowest concentrations. We observed significant associations between As, Cd, Cu, Sb, Tl and Zn concentrations and working situation, social class and age. Seafood, meat, fruits, nuts, vegetables and alcohol intake affected the levels of all the metals but Cd and Cu. Proximity to industrial areas, fields and air pollution were related to all metals except Cd, Sb and Se. Conclusions This is the first large prospective longitudinal study on the exposure to metals and metalloids during pregnancy and associated factors to include several cohorts in Spain. The present study shows that some modifiable lifestyles, food intakes and environmental factors could be associated with prenatal exposure to metal(loid)s, which may be considered in further studies to assess their relationship with neonatal health outcomes. ; This study was funded by Grants from EU (FP7-ENV-2011 cod 282957 and HEALTH.2010.2.4.5–1); Spain: ISCIII (Red INMA G03/176, CB06/02/0041; FIS-FEDER: PI03/1615, PI04/1509, PI04/1112, PI04/1931, PI05/1079, PI05/1052, PI06/0867, PI06/1213, PI07/0314, PI09/00090, PI09/02647, PI11/01007, PI11/02591, PI11/02038, PI13/1944, PI13/2032, PI13/02187, PI14/00891, PI14/01687, PI16/1288, PI17/00663, PI18/01142 and PI19/1338; Miguel Servet FEDER MS15/00025, MS20/0006, CPII16/00051, and FIS-FSE: 17/ 00260); CIBERESP; Generalitat Valenciana: FISABIO (UGP 15–230, UGP-15-244, and UGP-15-249), AICO/2020/285, and Alicia Koplowitz Foundation 2017; Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT 1999SGR 00241; Department of Health of the Basque Government (2005111093, 2009111069, 2013111089 and 2015111065); Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa (DFG06/002, DFG08/001 and DFG15/221). We acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the "Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019–2023" Programme (CEX2018000806-S), and from the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Programme, as well as the municipalities in the study area. ; Peer reviewed
The Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) is a vertebrate pest of agricultural lands and forest. The study was aimed to report the damage to local crops by the Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in the Muzaffarabad District. A survey was conducted to identify the porcupine-affected areas and assess the crop damage to the local farmers in district Muzaffarabad Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from May 2017 to October 2017. Around 19 villages were surveyed, and a sum of 191 semi-structured questionnaires was distributed among farmers. Crop damage was found highest in village Dhanni where a porcupine destroyed 175 Kg/Kanal of the crops. Regarding the total magnitude of crop loss, village Danna and Koomi kot were the most affected areas. More than half (51.8%) of the respondents in the study area suffered the economic loss within the range of 101-200$, and (29.8%) of the people suffered losses in the range of 201-300$ annually. Among all crops, maize (Zea mays) was found to be the most damaged crop ranging between 1-300 Kg annually. In the study area, porcupine also inflicted a lot of damages to some important vegetables, including spinach (Spinacia oleracea), potato (Solanum tuberosum) and onion (Allium cepa). It was estimated that, on average, 511Kg of vegetables are destroyed by porcupine every year in the agricultural land of Muzaffarabad. It was concluded that the Indian crested porcupine has a devastating effect on agriculture which is an important source of income and food for the local community. Developing an effective pest control strategy with the help of the local government and the Wildlife department could help the farmers to overcome this problem.
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the major staple food in the Nepalese context. Chitwan district of Nepal was purposively selected to analyze the rice production from the socio-economic and environmental perspective. A total of 100 rice growing farmers, 50 organic and 50 inorganic were selected as the sample for the purpose of the study using the simple random method of sampling. Primary data were collected through a pre-tested semi-structure interview schedule and key informant interviews; secondary data were collected reviewing related publications. Descriptive statistics, multiple regression and chi-square test were used for data analysis. The multiple regression revealed that the four explanatory variables included in the model: age of the household head, primary occupation of the household head, number of family members involved in agriculture and subsidy in inputs for rice farming were found to have positive and statistically significant effect on rice yield (P<0.01). Moreover, chi-square test revealed that the farming practices that contributes to climate change mitigation such as: minimum tillage practice (P<0.05), crop diversification (P<0.01), green manuring (P<0.01), agro forestry practice (P<0.05), incorporating crop residues (P<0.1), weed management practice (P<0.01) and pest management practice (P<0.01)were found to be well adopted by the organic rice farmers, in contrast, the farming practices of inorganic rice farmers were statistically and significantly different in this respect. Government should make such policy that could grave the attention of the Nepalese people towards organic agriculture; moreover, encouraging them to make it their primary occupation.
Gresik regency has 27 tourist destinations supported by small and medium industries both in the sector of food and beverage, handicraft, Muslim fashion and its equipment, which has been established since several years ago. It seems that the development of this industry is stagnant although it is actually potential to be developed and can be a trigger for the welfare of the small industrial community of Gresik regency in East Java. The problems that occur in small and medium industry community of Giri regency of Gresik regency based on the survey result is that business actors still do not have financial literacy, marked by not understanding about financial planning, not yet separating recording and financial storage in their family or business. Besides, there is still limited socialization of financial inclusion so that in general they are still unbanked. Based on factor analysis on financial literacy and financial inclusion, there are some attributes that significantly affect financial literacy of small and medium industries, namely financial planning, experience in finance, socialization of financial literacy from related parties, socio-economic status, economic attitude, financial behavior, financial attitude, financial crisis, government policy, financial education, demography, investment, saving, consumption, financial wellbeing, financial concerns, self control, old age, and gender. While the attributes of financial inclusion include credit management, knowledge of credit guidelines, consumer over in-debtedness, saving and deposit functions. The strategies that should be done in the short term based on the attributes found in this study are: 1) to conduct financial literacy and financial inclusion education with attention to the significant attributes, 2) perform mentoring from financial planning to the preparation of financial statements, 3) giving motivation to separate between family finance and business finance 4) the government is expected to grow ...
Previous studies have shown that the use of zinc (Zn) chelate fertilizers combined with a nitrogen (N) fertilizer (urea) can lead to both agronomic (i.e., yields and Zn and N biofortification due to the synergies between both nutrients) and environmental (i.e., by reducing the emissions of nitrous oxide, NO, derived from N fertilization) benefits under rainfed semi-arid conditions. However, little is known about the effect of Zn-N co-fertilization on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or soil microbial processes involved in NO fluxes under non-flooded irrigated conditions (during the dry season). Under these conditions, water-filled pore space continuously fluctuates following a periodic pattern and soil temperatures are in the optimum range for soil microorganisms. In this context, a field experiment was conducted using a maize (Zea mays L.) crop treated with two N levels (no N application and 120 kg N ha as urea), and three Zn sources (no Zn application, Zn sulphate, and Zn applied with a mixture of chelating compounds, DTPA-HEDTA-EDTA). Nitrous oxide, methane (CH) and carbon dioxide (CO) fluxes were measured using opaque chambers, as well as the total abundances of soil bacteria, archaea and nitrifier and denitrifier communities. Zn-N co-fertilization increased cumulative NO emissions from 0.36 kg N-NO ha (for urea combined with Zn chelates) to 0.76 kg N-NO ha (for urea combined with Zn sulphate), with respect to urea without Zn application. The NO emission factors were lower (0.34%–0.72%) than the IPCC default value of 1%. Total abundances of the nosZ denitrification gene, which is involved in the reduction in NO to dinitrogen (N), were reduced by 75% on average in the plots that received Zn fertilizers. This reduction may explain the higher NO emissions in these treatments. In contrast with the case with non-irrigated crops, Zn-N co-fertilization cannot be recommended as a strategy to mitigate NO emissions in irrigated maize under semi-arid conditions, despite of the enhancement of Zn availability in soil. ; Financial support was provided by an ERDF-cofinanced grant AGL2015-64582-C3-3-R (MINECO-FEDER) from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spanish Government). We are grateful to the Comunidad de Madrid (Spain) and Structural Funds 2014-2020 (ERDF and ESF) for the financial support (project AGRISOST-CM S2013/ABI-2717). The authors are also grateful to the SIRENA network (Ref. AGL2015-68881-REDT), funded by MINECO, for supporting the stay at the Department of Microbiology and Symbiotic System, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC. M. Montoya and A. Castellano-Hinojosa are the recipients of the FPI grant BES-2016-076712 and a grant of MECD (FPU 2014/01633), respectively. Special thanks are given to the field assistants working with us at Centro Nacional de Tecnología de Regadíos (CENTER), particularly to Alejandro Sánchez de Ribera. We also thank the technicians of the Department of Chemistry and Food Technology of the ETSIAAB. This work was done within the framework of the Moncloa Campus of International Excellence (UCM-UPM).
