The Effect of the Structural Adjustment Program on the Output,Prices and Exports of Major Agricultural Export Crops in Nigeria

The primary objective of this paper is to examine changes in the level of output, prices and exports of major export crops resulting from the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) in Nigeria. THere two main sources of data: the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through its annual reports, Economic and Financial Review, and the Nigerian Federal Office of Statistics (FOS) through its Trade Summaries. Although the SAP led to appreciable increases in output and producer prices, its effects on exports were insignificant. The implications of these for the implementation of the program are explored.     

Revealing different understandings of soil held by scientists and farmers in the context of soil protection and management

This paper aims to analyse and draw together results from similar studies in England, Switzerland and France which investigated farmers’ understanding of soil and compared it with that of scientists, researchers and advisors (collectively called scientists in this analysis). A range of methods were used across the three studies and different theoretical approaches, looking at forms of knowledge, local practice of knowledge production and conceptions of reality, were employed to explain the results. Despite the different contexts, methodologies and theoretical approaches in the three studies, the results reveal similar patterns of difference in farmer and scientist understanding of soil. In the English study, farmers demonstrate a ‘know-how’ form or intuitive working knowledge of soil while advisors rely on scientifically established forms of ‘know-why’ and seek to understand and explain soil processes. Similarly in the Swiss study farmers’ and scientists’ differing perceptions are directed and shaped by their respective aims, methods and context of work. In the French study, farmers and researchers are shown to have different conceptions of soil, they attribute different meaning to the same activities, and use different words and language to describe the same features. In all three studies understanding is shown to be cultural and contextual, as such an integrative theoretical framework is proposed.     

森林生物多样性评价模型的改进

针对2002年的评价模型中的不足,提出了新的改进后的森林生物多样性变化的评价模型,并在我国第六次森林资源清查(1999～2003)资料的基础上,对1973～2003年我国森林生物多样性的变化进行了补充评价。评价结果表明:我国森林生物多样性的压力越来越大,压力指数由1973年的100,上升到2003年的199.10,上升了1.99倍;森林物种多样性总体的下降趋势已有一定幅度的改变,森林物种多样性指数增加了31.12%。森林生态系统多样性和森林生物多样性先逐渐上升,尔后又下降,第六次森林资源清查时又有所恢复,并分别上升了4.67个百分点和17.90个百分点。     

转变地质工作发展与服务方式的实践和建议

天津市地矿局注重加快转变经济发展方式，发挥地质工作优势，推进低碳清洁能源的开发利用创新和技术进步，紧紧依托地质工作的人才、技术和行业优势，加大清洁环保资源的勘查、研究、开发、利用。针对天津市水资源缺乏的情况，积极加强后备和应紧水源勘查。按照“两种资源，两个市场”的思路，通过实施中外合作勘查项目，以境外勘查工作为载体和平台，实施引进来和走出去战略，为天津市经济社会发展提供地质技术支撑。     

Trust-A monolithic panacea in land use planning?

Although trust research has been extensive and substantial, the constitution and actual merits of trust in land use planning remain nebulous. What do participants of a local land use planning process actually mean when they say they trust the planning committee? How important is participants’ trust in the planning committee in shaping their perceptions of the planning process and their cooperation in it? To explore the everyday meaning of trust in the specific context of local land use planning, semi-structured interviews with the participants of a local planning project in Switzerland were conducted (n = 9). Based on these results, the constitution and the relevance of trust in the responsible planning committee among a wider circle of participants were assessed (n = 66). The results show that participants trust the planning committee if they perceive its members as competent, honest, open, fair, reliable, reciprocating, respectful and committed. Interestingly, a considerable part of trust in the planning committee hinges explicitly on whether the committee incorporates the personal interests of the participant. Trust is indeed vital to participants’ belief that a meaningful discussion and cooperation with the members of the planning committee is possible. However, trust is neither a guarantee for people's approval of planning decisions nor for their cooperation. One implication of the findings is that in order to evaluate trust-building practice comprehensively, it is necessary to first understand the specific everyday meaning of trust for ‘real people’ in real planning processes.     

Agricultural Land in Vietnam: Markets Tempered by Family, Community and Socialist Practices

Since the late 1980s, markets involving agricultural land have emerged in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. One major reason is that collective farms, previously a central feature of the country's political economy, ended. And a major reason for that was villagers' everyday politics gnawed the underpinnings of the collectives until they collapsed. Rural households, for the most part, wanted to farm separately. Today they do. Land is not privatized, however. Farming households have land use rights, not ownership. This tempers markets, as do other conditions arising from contending schools of thought in Vietnam about how land should be used, distributed and regulated.     

Conservation agriculture (CA) in Tanzania: the case of the Mwangaza B CA farmer field school (FFS), Rhotia Village,Karatu District,Arusha

This project was initiated to promote conservation agriculture (CA) in Tanzania so as to improve the food security and rural livelihood of small- and medium-scale farmers through the scaling-up of CA as a sustainable land management (SLM) tool as well as increasing the numbers of SLM-CA farmer field schools (FFS) in communities. The project had two phases from 2004 to 2010. It was funded by a Government of Germany trust fund and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture in Tanzania. The project pilot districts include Arumeru (Arusha and Meru Councils), Karatu, Babati, Hanang and Moshi districts. CA has been shown to offer positive elements that could contribute to fighting hunger and poverty.     

Towards an Integration of R & D and Marketing in Production Development

Abstract

In this paper, two approaches which are characteristic for Research & Development and Marketing departments are compared. First, R&D versus Marketing orientations are explained, then the major differences between them are presented. The integration of both approaches may improve competitive advantage of the food industry. Factors stimulating such integration are presented on the basis of data from real business circumstances. Innovation is regarded as a major source of competitive advantage of company. Therefore, integration in sensory methodology, that is commonly but differently used by R & D and Marketing departments, may contribute to the improvement of innovation practices and successful business performance. Finally, the role of consumer tests, oriented for marketing and product development, is illustrated.     

Successful Practices in California Wine Exporting

Abstract

California is one of the world's largest wine producers, yet it has exported only a small portion of its products. Many US wineries want to pursue opportunities in foreign markets but only a few are actually doing this successfully. Therefore, this study attempts to identify the successful practices of 12 California wineries that have achieved their financial targets and other export goals. A qualitative research design of in-depth interviews was employed. Results indicate that there are 5 major success factors, with the two most important being the foreign partner relationship and top management vision and commitment to exporting.     

Time Allocation Decisions Associated with Job Market Preparation: Undergraduate Perceptions versus Market Realities

A survey of agribusiness firms identifies characteristics associated with above average starting salary offers in the allied fields of agribusiness, agricultural economics, business, and economics. A complementary survey is made of students at Texas A&M University and University of Georgia. Results show that firms value work experience and leadership experience more than students do, whereas students value raising grade point average and interview preparation more than do firms. Students seeking a firm's maximum starting salary offer will need to enhance academic performance with substantial work experience and leadership experience.     

Developments in the Doha Round and WTO dispute settlement: some implications for EU agricultural policy

Progress in the Doha Round is assessed against the changes tothe common agricultural policy (CAP) brought about by the Fischlerreforms of 2003–2004, and that proposed for sugar. Anelimination of export subsidies could place EU exports of processedfoods at a competitive disadvantage because of high sugar andmilk prices. Provided the single payment scheme falls withinthe green box, the likely new limits on domestic support shouldnot be problematic for the post-Fischler CAP. However, an ambitiousmarket access package could open up EU markets and bring pressurefor further reform. If there is no Doha agreement, existingprovisions will continue to apply, but without the protectionof the Peace Clause; and increased litigation is likely. FurtherCAP reform is to be expected.     

Decentralisation,clientelism and social protection programmes: a study of India’s MGNREGA

Abstract

Does decentralisation promote clientelism? If yes, through which mechanisms? We answer these questions through an analysis of India’s (and the world’s) largest workfare programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), in two Indian states: Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh (AP). The two states adopted radically different implementation models: Rajasthan’s decentralised one stands in contrast with Andhra Pradesh’s centralised and bureaucracy-led model. Using a mixed method approach, we find that in both states local implementers have incentives to distribute MGNREGA work in a clientelistic fashion. However, in Rajasthan, these incentives are stronger, because of the decentralised implementation model. Accordingly, our quantitative evidence shows that clientelism is more serious a problem in Rajasthan than in AP.     

A holon approach to agroecology

Systems thinking contributes to envisioning agricultural sustainability. However, it faces two dilemmas, recently highlighted by complexity theory: the problems of boundary and change. We propose that interpreting Koestler's holon as an intentional entity embedded in an ecology of contexts provides an ontological construct which addresses both of these issues. The holon is in some ways a whole and in other ways a part, and to see it simultaneously as both we suggest an epistemological tool that we term flickering. In our interpretation a holon is bounded by its intentionality to persist, and the imperative to do so in multiple, incommensurable, and ever-evolving contexts motivates—indeed, makes both possible and inevitable—change. Farms are compelling examples of holons, as their humans plan and act to maintain them as a source of livelihood, necessarily in contexts as diverse and shifting as climate, life histories, trade rules, subsidies, personal spirituality and public perceptions of agricultural practices.     

Tariff Equivalent of Technical Barriers to Trade with Imperfect Substitution and Trade Costs

The price-wedge method yields a tariff-equivalent estimate of technical barriers to trade (TBT). An extension of this method accounts for imperfect substitution between domestic and imported goods and incorporates recent findings on trade costs. We explore the sensitivity of this revamped TBT estimate to its key determinants (substitution elasticity, preference for home good, and trade cost). We use the augmented approach to investigate the recent Japan–U.S. apple trade dispute and find that removing the Japanese TBT would yield limited export gains to the United States. We then draw policy implications of our findings.     

Into the black hole: Do local governments implement their spatial policies?

Do local governments implement their own spatial policies? Why or why not? This article examines the outcomes of county comprehensive plan policies and ordinances that prohibit incompatible uses in sensitive areas, specifically floodplains, sensitive soils, and airport noise zones. Based on a six-county case study, the article concludes that implementation is indeed a problem. Comprehensive plan policies were rarely if ever converted into actual development restrictions. The results for ordinances were mixed, with some (e.g., floodplain ordinances) experiencing greater implementation success than others (e.g., airport land use ordinances). Implementation problems stemmed from property rights issues, departmental structure, and other factors.     

The Real of Community,the Desire for Development and the Performance of Egalitarianism in the Peruvian Andes: A Materialist–Utopian Account

The paper proposes a materialist–utopian perspective for explaining the persistence of community in the Andes by drawing upon Lacanian theory and the thought of the Peruvian Marxist José Carlos Mariátegui. What characterizes the Andean comunidad are not notions of belonging and identity, but the existence of a fundamental antagonism (what I call the ‘Real of community’). The argument unfolds ethnographically. Usibamba, a peasant comunidad in the central Peruvian Andes, is known as a highly egalitarian and disciplined comunidad. However, a disjunction exists between deep‐seated aspirations of justice and egalitarianism and the particularistic interests of families and individuals. This disjunction manifests itself in a contradictory, schizophrenic regime of discipline and negotiation that produces ‘split subjects’. Desiring development and the staging of theatrical performances of egalitarianism enables Usibambinos to deal with this disjunction and to present an image of unity and determination. I conclude that the comunidad persists through ‘impossible political acts’ brought about by a residual but growing category of landless comuneros who constitute ‘the part of no part’, the uncounted or unnamed.     

边缘旅游地开发研究——以赤峰市为例

边缘旅游地正逐渐成为旅游发展研究的热点之一;在阐述边缘旅地形成机理的基础上,分析了赤峰市旅游业边缘化的原因及表现;对边缘旅游地赤峰市的旅游业开发进行可行性分析,提出摆脱旅游业边缘化的对策和措施,强调必须紧紧依托周边京津冀辽等核心旅游地,注重区域间的优势互补,借助周围核心旅游地的优势扩大赤峰市的旅游市场,在边缘地树立大旅游观念,同时依据赤峰市自身的资源优势不断开发特色旅游产品、打造品牌,积极培养优秀的旅游人才。     

天津地热资源可持续开发利用对策

天津有着十分丰富的地热资源,至2003年底,已有地热井235眼,年开采量2701万m3。但地热资源利用率最高为62.4%,地热尾水回灌率不到8%,基本是一种粗放的开发利用模式。文章从实现地热资源可持续开发利用角度出发,针对天津地区不同热储层的特征,提出适宜的利用方式,提高地热利用率。而且指出必须走回灌开发道路,增加回灌井,提高回灌率是实现地热资源可持续开发利用的重要保障。     

Goal Programming: Potential and Limitations for Agricultural Economics

Recently, goal programming (GP) has been discussed in the literature as an alternative to linear programming, particularly in decision-making environments involving multiple objectives. In this paper we present an overview of the different GP formulations, their assumptions, limitations, and implications for agricultural decision making. Furthermore, a new insight into the interpretation of duality in GP is discussed. The concept of "standardized dual variables" which provides a more meaningful interpretation of shadow prices in GP is introduced. A simple but realistic farm agricultural planning example is used to illustrate the analysis.
Récemment, la technique de programmation appellée "goal programming" ou "GP" a été presentée dans la literature comme une alternative à la programmation Iinéaire, particulièrement dans les situations òu le procés de décision est basé sur plusieurs objectifs simultanés. Dans cet article nous présentons une vue génerale des différentes formes de la "GP;" leurs hypothèses de base. Ieurs limitations, et leurs implications pour le procés de decision agricole, une nouvelle intérpretation de la dualité en "GP" est proposée. En particulier, le concept de "variables duales standardisées" est introduit, ce qui permet une interpretation plus significative des prix de reference en "GP." Finalement. un exemple simple mais réaliste de planification agrcole a l' échelle d' une ferme est pour élucider utilisé l' analyse.     

Projections of maize yield vulnerability to droughts and adaptation options in Uganda

Sub-Saharan Africa is likely going to experience more intense and frequent droughts with high parallel possibilities of ramifications on maize yields. While there is a lot of scholarship dwelling on the ramifications of droughts on maize yields at the level of Africa, little has been researched at lower scales. This study presents past (1960–2014) vulnerability of maize yields to droughts based on a previous study (Epule et al., 2017) and projects the future vulnerability of maize yields to droughts by calculating the sensitivity, exposure and adaptive capacity of maize yields to droughts for the period 2015–2050. The results show that maize yields are more vulnerable in the north of Uganda for the period 1960–2014. However, adaptive capacity is higher in the south. Maize yields also record higher levels of sensitivity and exposure in the north with the latter patterns explained by variations in precipitation, temperature, rich volcanic soils, access to rivers and lakes. In terms of future vulnerability for the period 2015–2050, this study shows that the level of vulnerability of maize yields to droughts in Uganda will increase to levels higher than what currently obtains. For example, the vulnerability index will increase from 0.54 under the 1.5 °C to 0.70 under the 2.0 °C and to 1.54 under the 2.5 °C scenario. Sensitivity is also likely to increase while exposure and adaptive capacity are most likely to remain the same. Overall, it can be said that the future of maize production in Uganda under present and future circumstances remains very bleak without concrete actions. As a way forward, land use policy designers will have to integrate water management, agroforestry, climatic information diffusion, training and indigenous knowledge into land use planning decisions in the context of agriculture.