A Participatory Simulation to Facilitate Farmers' Adoption of Livestock Feeding Systems Based on Conservation Agriculture in the Uplands of Northern Vietnam

In the mountain areas of northern Vietnam, extensive husbandry of large-ruminants is limited by the lack of natural forage. Since 2000, the Mountain Agrarian System Program has been concerned with this issue and has evaluated technical alternatives aimed at sustainable integration of crop-livestock systems. One alternative consists of feeding systems for largeruminants based on cropping systems with plant cover. Diffusion of information about the new system is supported by a set of interactive communication tools for use between farmers and researchers. A participatory simulation method was developed that combines a compartmental model of the village territory with five technical innovations. Farmers simulate the adoption of the innovations they choose among food-forage cropping systems in rotation or in association, and urea-treated straw. They evaluate the quantity of forage that can be grown for their herd using the chosen set of techniques.

Simulations revealed farmers' constraints and objectives in adopting sustainable cropping systems on the hillsides while maintaining a small animal husbandry system. The results obtained by each farmer provide a useful basis for discussion about the implementation of innovation. This participatory simulation method could be more widely used to facilitate the diffusion of innovations such as integrating livestock feeding systems with conservation cropping practices.     

Development and Adoption of Dryland Cropping Technologies in Hebei Province of Northern China

The opinions expressed in this paper reflect the views of the authors and not Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada or the Canadian International Development Agency.     

Land Tenure and the Adoption of Conservation Practices

We use a logit adoption model with data on 941 U.S. corn producers from the 1996 Agricultural Resource Management Study to analyze the influence of land tenure on the adoption of conservation practices. We extend previous analyses by distinguishing renters according to lease type and by distinguishing practices according to the timing of costs and returns. We find that cash-renters are less likely than owner-operators to use conservation tillage, but share-renters are not. Both cash-renters and share-renters are less likely than owner-operators to adopt practices that provide benefits only over the longer term (grassed waterways, stripcropping, and contour farming).     

农户采纳保护性耕作技术影响因素研究

本文基于山西、河北、天津、北京四个省份调研样本的基础上,对保护性耕作技术体系中的秸秆还田和免耕播种两项技术农户采纳情况分别构建logit模型,定量分析农户采纳这两项技术的主要影响因素.分析结果表明,农户对两项技术的采纳倾向都受到政府的强制或补贴措施、粮食商品化程度、户主身体健康状况三个因素的正向影响.此外,秸秆还田技术的采纳还受到秸秆是否有经济用途、农户劳均土地块数两个因素的负向影响;免耕播种技术的采纳还受到家庭人均受教育程度、户主年龄、农户对免耕播种技术的评价三个因素的正向影响.     

水土保持植物措施在矿山土地复垦中的应用

植物措施是开发建设项目水土流失防治和土地复垦中均采用的重要措施,在概括了矿山开采引起的土地破坏和水土流失等生态环境问题的基础上,通过分析土地复垦和水土保持的定义、技术方法,以及目前矿山土地复垦中存在的问题和开发建设项目水土保持植物措施的特点,应用实例论述了水土保持植物措施在矿山土地复垦中应用的可行性,为矿山土地复垦技术的发展和完善提供参考.     

Labour reserves and surplus populations: Northern Ghana and the Eastern Cape of South Africa

This article is focused on the political economy of two of Africa's “labour reserve” regions, northern Ghana and the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The majority of residents in these regions are taken as paradigmatic examples of “surplus populations.” They exemplify a main feature that has been used to theorize the concept of surplus populations today, namely, that their labour is surplus to the needs of capital accumulation. We follow the method of Arrighi and Piselli, tracing the political economic transformations of these regions from the turn of the 20th century until the present in order to ground the concept of surplus population in a specific historical context. We argue that it is limiting to think about these populations' utility or uselessness only in relation to capital. To understand the political implications of “surplus populations,” we must think about the interrelation between the political and economic roles that they play and how these developed within specific historical contexts.     

Loss of land and livelihoods from mining operations: A case in the Limpopo Province,South Africa

Loss or degradation of communal lands can have major implications for people’s livelihoods and well-being in rural underdeveloped areas. Mining operations are one driver of land loss with negative implications for people. This study assesses the livelihood effects of open-cast mining on a rural communal land village that lost 8 000 ha of land and compares it to another village nearby that did not. The results suggest that the loss of land and the ecosystem services they provide has negatively affected people’s livelihood strategies and outcomes. On average, only 23 % of households in the affected village had crop fields compared to an adjacent village, that did not lose land to the mine, where 90 % of households had a crop field. This accounts for substantial losses in income through agriculture, both as cash earnings and savings, and negatively affects household food security. As a result of the mine the affected community has also lost access to grazing, and now many households must pay to graze their livestock in other areas. Furthermore, the option to harvest several key natural resources (provisioning services) or non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as wild fruits and vegetables, edible insects, fuelwood, and to a lesser extent resources like reeds and medicinal plants were lost due to the mine, negatively impacting local livelihoods. NTFPs are important for rural livelihoods as they allow for cash saving, income generation and act as a safety net or fall-back option during times of increased vulnerability. The findings also give a good indication of changes in agriculture and resource use over time and the varying reasons for this. Other negative effects from the mine included; cracking of houses due to blasting, dust pollution, water contamination, social and cultural effects, community alterations and conflicts, and very little was seen to be gained in terms of employment through Social Labour Plans (SLPs) or corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Households in the village affected by the mine lose approximately R 15 000 per year through losses of agricultural potential and the ability to collect NTFPs, which is larger than the annual cash incomes for most households. This value is likely to be an underestimate of the total value lost, as reductions in grazing potential and the loss of supporting, regulating and cultural ecosystem services were not included in this figure. This study highlights the importance of considering land access and associated land-based livelihoods in rural communal land areas in the context of disturbance and change. Recommendations for future assessments and policy on compensation for rural communities are made and issues relating to CSR are discussed.     

The Sexual Economy,Gender Relations and Narratives of Infant Death on a Tomato Farm in Northern South Africa

Based on an extended case study of a large‐scale tomato farm in northern Limpopo province, the paper examines how the restructuring of agriculture transforms the sexual economy through shifts in the composition of labour and management practices on farms in this area. The employment of Zimbabwean migrants, rather than relatively permanent Venda families, suggests a potentially greater variety of people participating in the sexual economy. While families as units of employment have declined, black supervisors increasingly serve as a primary locus of coercion on the farm and in the sexual economy. The monetization of erstwhile paternalistic services places pressure on women to earn income however they can, including transactional sex. Contested interpretations over the causes of infant deaths on the farm, in the form of hygiene, blood‐mixing and infanticide, provide an ethnographic framework for a deeper analysis of the sexual economy and its social effects. While the sexual economy presents opportunities for women to increase their income, it also exposes them to the risks of HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies, resulting in contradictory implications for the status of women on farms.     

An Economic Analysis of Targeting Soil Conservation Measures with Respect to Off-site Water Quality

This paper analyses the advantages and disadvantages of targeting soil conservation measures on the basis of off-site water quality goals. The Stratford Avon watershed in Perth County and the Big Creek watershed in Middlesex County, both located in southwestern Ontario, are used as case studies. Targeting criteria, used as proxies for measuring the contribution to off-farm damage from particular parcels of crop land, are based on the physical characteristics of the parcels. Alternative conservation tillage practices include fall chisel ploughing, ridge planting, no tillage and buffer strips. At each level of the targeting criteria, the reduction in off-farm damage is estimated using the Guelph Model for Evaluating the Effects of Agricultural Management Systems on Erosion and Sedimentation (GAMES). Economic targeting criteria are based on the value of improved water quality under a conservation practice minus the on-farm costs of adoption of that practice. Targeting conservation policies on the basis of reduction of off-farm damages can result in greater efficiency in public policy. The authors conclude that further efforts in targeting conservation policies have the potential to improve the cost effectiveness of soil conservation programs if technical and administrative problems can be overcome. L'article analyse le pour et le contre du ciblage des mesures de conservation des sols sous l'angle de la qualité de l'eau à l'aval. Le bassin versant Stratford Avon dans le comité de Perth et celui de Big Creek dans le comté de Middlesex, tous deux situés dans le sud-ouest de l'Ontario, sont utilisés comme études de cas. Les critères de ciblage utilisés comme valeurs d'approximation dans la détermination de la part des dégâts causés à l'aval qui est attribuable à des parcelles agricoles données, sont basés sur les caractères physiques des parcelles. Les diverses pratiques de travail de conservation comparées sont la labour au chisel, la culture sur billons, la culture sans labour et l'établissement de bandes riveraines. A chaque niveau des critères de ciblage, la réduction des dégâts infligés à l'aval des exploitations est estimée selon le Modèle d'évaluation des effets des systèmes d'exploitation agricole sur l'érosion et la sédimentation de l'Université de Guelph (GAMES). Les critères de ciblage économiques reposent sur la valeur attribuée à l'amélioration de la qualité de l'eau par une pratique de conservation donnée, moins les coûts réels d'adoption de l'exploitant à cette pratique. Le ciblage des politiques de conservation en fonction de la réduction des dégâts causés à l'aval de l'exploitation peut rendre plus efficientes les politiques du secteur public. Il ressort de ces études que les politiques de ciblage des mesures de conservation offrent la possibilité d'améliorer la rentabilité des programmes de conservation du sol, pour autant parvienne à surmonter les problèmes techniques et administratifs.     

Factors That Affect the Adoption Decision of Conservation Tillage in the Prairie Region of Canada

The adoption of conservation tillage technology since the 1970s has been one of the most remarkable changes in the production of crops on the Canadian Prairies. The decision whether to adopt conservation tillage technology or not requires the producer to go through a thorough decision-making process. In Canada, there has been little economic research on the question of what farm, regional, and environmental characteristics affect the adoption decision. Using 1991, 1996, and 2001 Census of Agriculture data together with other data sources we estimate a probit model explaining the adoption decision. We find that important variables include farm size, proximity to a research station, type of soil, and weather conditions.
La pratique du semis direct depuis les années 1970 constitue l'un des changements les plus notables de la production des cultures dans les Prairies canadiennes. Avant de décider d'adopter ou non cette pratique, le producteur doit s'engager dans un processus rigoureux de prise de décisions. Au Canada, peu d'études économiques se sont penchées sur les caractéristiques agricoles, régionales et environnementales qui influencent la décision d'adopter ou non. Au moyen des données tirées du Recensement de l'agriculture de 1991, 1996 et 2001, combinées à d'autres sources de données, nous avons estimé un modèle probit pour expliquer la décision d'adopter ou non. Nous avons estimé que les variables importantes incluent la taille de l'exploitation, la proximité d'une station de recherche, le type de sol et les conditions météorologiques.     

Green Subsidies in Agriculture: Estimating the Adoption Costs of Conservation Tillage from Observed Behavior

Due to payoff uncertainties combined with risk aversion and/or real options, farmers may demand a premium in order to adopt conservation tillage practices, over and above the compensation for the expected profit losses (if any). We propose a method of directly estimating the financial incentives required for adopting conservation tillage and distinguishing between the expected payoff and premium of adoption based on the observed behavior. We find that the premium may play a significant role in farmers' adoption decisions. In an application to the state of Iowa, we find that if a uniform conservation tillage adoption subsidy program were offered in 1992, over 86% of the subsidy program payments would be an income transfer to existing and low‐cost adopters. En raison des incertitudes quant aux gains, combinées à l'aversion pour le risque et/ou aux options réelles, les agriculteurs pourraient réclamer une prime pour l'adoption de méthodes culturales de conservation du sol, une prime qui serait supérieure à l'indemnisation offerte en cas de perte de gains prévue (s'il y a lieu). Nous avons proposé une méthode fondée sur le comportement observé qui permet une estimation directe des incitatifs financiers exigés pour adopter les méthodes culturales de conservation du sol et qui fait une distinction entre les gains prévus et la prime d'adoption. Nous avons constaté qu'une prime pourrait influencer considérablement les décisions des agriculteurs quant à l'adoption de méthodes culturales de conservation du sol. En Iowa par exemple, nous avons trouvé que, si un programme de subventions uniforme pour l'adoption de méthodes de conservation du sol avait été offert en 1992, plus de 86 p. 100 des paiements du programme de subvention aurait constitué un transfert de revenus aux adopteurs existants et à faibles coûts.     

Sources of Subsectoral Growth in South Africa

Abstract

Although South Africa's growth performance has improved somewhat in recent years, it has generally been poor over the last few decades. This article uses Chenery's factor decomposition method to analyse the sources of growth in South Africa from 1970 to 2007. Using input–output data, the growth of each subsector is decomposed into components associated with export growth, import substitution, growth in domestic demand and growth in intermediate demand. The results highlight a dependence on domestic demand expansion as a source of growth since 2000, especially for manufacturing. Subsectors that relied primarily on domestic demand expansion generally performed relatively poorly. Technological change is the only component of growth with a consistently positive and statistically significant correlation with subsectoral growth. The analysis contributes to a better understanding of growth in South Africa, particularly in terms of subsectoral dynamics.     

Fenced in: Common property struggles in the management of communal rangelands in central Eastern Cape Province,South Africa

This paper takes as its starting point the assertion that current rangeland management in the central Eastern Cape Province (former Ciskei) of South Africa, is characterised primarily by an ‘open-access’ approach. Empirical material drawn from three case-study communities in the region is used to examine the main barriers to management of rangeland as a ‘commons’. The general inability to define and enforce rights to particular grazing resources in the face of competing claims from ‘outsiders’, as well as inadequate local institutions responsible for rangeland management are highlighted as being of key importance. These are often exacerbated by lack of available grazing land, diffuse user groups and local political and ethnic divisions. Many of these problems have a strong legacy in historical apartheid policies such as forced resettlement and betterment planning.     

松嫩平原北部黑土区水土资源平衡效应研究

研究目的:分析松嫩平原北部黑土区在土地利用和农业气候资源变化条件下的水土资源平衡效应。研究方法:在傅抱璞假设理论的基础上,通过拟合参数ω回归方程求得实际蒸散量,以此来构建水分盈亏模型,分析水土资源平衡效应。研究结果:(1)1985—2015年,松嫩平原北部土地利用表现为湿地面积大幅度减少,水田和旱地面积不断增加;潜在蒸散量和气温具有较为明显的变化趋势,气温以0.27℃/10 a上升,潜在蒸散量以5.15 mm/a下降;(2)经过拟合参数ω方程求得实际蒸散量可以有效反映土地利用状况、地貌特征和土壤属性;(3)1985—2015年间总体的水分亏缺率均值是0.25、0.2、0.31和0.13,而土地利用的影响使严重缺水面积逐年增加,其增加量是总面积的1.59%,约是原有面积的2倍。研究结论:基于傅抱璞理论改进的参数ω能够提高地区实际蒸散量的估算精度,对区域水土平衡评价具有重要意义,为实现区域资源合理利用提供指导。     

Landcare and Livelihoods: The Promotion and Adoption of Conservation Farming Systems in the Philippine Uplands

Slow adoption of conservation farming systems in the Philippine uplands is a major problem. To address this, the landcare approach, based on community landcare groups, is being piloted in several locations. The results of a study to evaluate the impact of the Landcare Program in Barangay Ned in Southern Mindanao are presented. The sustainable rural livelihoods approach was used as a framework for the evaluation. The study focused on two impacts, the adoption of conservation practices and the formation and development of landcare groups, drawing on four data sources—project reports, key informants, a questionnaire survey, and case studies of landcare groups. The Ned Landcare Program has been associated with rapid adoption of conservation farming practices and the rapid formation of landcare groups linked in an association. The main effect of the Program was to enhance human capital through practical, farmer-led training and extension, enabling farmers to incorporate soil conservation and agroforestry technologies in their farming systems, with desirable outcomes for livelihood security and environmental sustainability. The social capital formed, especially through the landcare association, was crucial to these outcomes. Ongoing partnerships with adequately resourced facilitating agencies were required to maintain the Landcare Program in the long term.     

The inheritance of apartheid planning in South Africa

South Africa has been the scene of a major experiment in land use planning on a racial basis. The programme is now recognized to have failed. However, the structures built up during the segregationist, apartheid era are substantial and are not likely to be easily eradicated. An appreciation of the era is therefore essential for any new planning initiatives.     

南非发展淡水养殖业需要关注的几个问题

2006年以来,中国与南非双方签署了多项合作协议和谅解备忘录,开启了中国与南非以农业领域为重点的全面合作。就渔业而言,南非共和国捕捞业发达,养殖业薄弱。本文基于中国援助南非渔业技术示范中心项目的双方座谈、实地考察和收集资料,就南非水产养殖业发展中需要关注的水资源、气候、市场、水产养殖技术、环境保护等问题进行了分析,希望对有志于南非水产养殖业研究的专家学者提供一定的参考。     

苏北滩涂围垦区土壤碳氮磷含量及其生态化学计量特征

研究目的:分析沿海围垦活动下土壤碳氮磷含量及其生态化学计量特征变化。研究方法:以江苏省东台围垦区为研究区,基于时空替代法进行土壤样品的采集和实验室分析。研究结果:在60年的围垦开发活动影响下,(1)0—100 cm土壤TOC含量由0.764 g/kg升至3.660 g/kg,TN含量从0.152 g/kg增至0.534 g/kg,TP含量由0.739 g/kg降至0.681 g/kg,而0—20 cm土壤中TOC、TN和TP含量分别从0.718 g/kg、0.127 g/kg和0.676 g/kg升至8.083 g/kg、1.052 g/kg和0.865 g/kg;(2)0—100 cm土壤C∶N先升高后降低,总体在6.797左右波动,C∶P由1.041升至5.082,N∶P从0.206增至0.752,0—20 cm土壤C∶N、C∶P和N∶P分别由5.581、1.052和0.188增至7.675、9.440和1.221;(3)不同土地利用方式下土壤TOC和TN含量及C∶N、C∶P和N∶P的总体趋势均为林地耕地草地光滩,土壤深度对TOC、TN和TP含量变化的影响及贡献率高于围垦年限和土地利用方式,围垦年限和土地利用方式对土壤TOC和TN含量产生极显著的高度影响效应,但对TP含量无显著影响。研究结论:人类围垦活动促进滩涂土壤TOC和TN的积累,对TP的影响较小,围垦60年后的土壤碳氮含量仍低于全国和全球的平均水平,土壤有机质供肥状况较差。     

南非矿业在国民经济中的作用

南非矿产资源极其丰富,蕴藏着60多种矿藏,许多矿产储量、产量、出口量位居世界前列。南非矿业在世界矿业经济中占有重要的地位;矿业占南非国内生产总值的比重总体呈下降趋势,1994年以后,矿业在国内生产总值中的比重大致在6%-10%之间。矿产品是南非外汇收入的主要来源,矿业是创造就业的重要部门。