从事有机农业对农民福祉的影响

从事有机农业的农民福祉得到改善是有机农业发展的前提条件。采用Narayan等提出的福祉框架,回顾了有关有机农业行为和支持该行为的公共部门措施对农民福祉影响研究的文献,以厘清从事有机农业与农民福祉间的关系。研究表明,农民有机农业行为对其收入、健康、社会关系、安全和自由与选择等福祉要素产生影响。收入是农民福祉的首要构成要素,但农民有机农业行为究竟是增加还是降低其收入,需要考察具体情境中产量、成本和价格的综合作用,没有一致性结论。农民有机农业行为对其社会关系的影响具有双向性,但它对他们的健康、安全和选择机会的影响是积极的。公共部门通过财政支付、支持合作、建立与完善有机认证制度和采购绿色化等措施支持有机农业,有助于改善有机农民的福祉。其中,财政支付是最重要的支持措施。研究认为不同情境的农民有机农业行为对其福祉影响的综合评价、农民有机农业行为与其福祉间因果关系的检验和公共部门有机农业政策对有机农民福祉贡献的检验,是今后研究的重要选题。     

典型沙漠化地区农户生计资本对生计策略的影响——以内蒙古自治区杭锦旗为例

提升农户兼业化程度是解决农户贫困与生态环境脆弱等关键问题的主要途径。采用参与式的农村评估法(PRA),以地处库布其沙漠腹地的杭锦旗为例,在对农户生计资本和生计策略分析的基础上,建立了多项Logistic回归模型,就农户生计策略由纯农型向农兼型和兼农型转化的关键影响因素进行研究。结果表明:(1)农户生计资本整体上比较稀缺,其中自然资本最为匮乏,且生计资本值存在一定差异。(2)农户主要采取纯农型、农兼型、兼农型和非农型四种生计策略;不同生计策略类型的农户在生计活动安排及其收入构成上存在一定差异。(3)人力资本始终是影响农户生计策略转化的关键生计资本;家庭整体劳动能力(H1)、人均耕地面积(N1)、人均年收入(F1)和能够提供援助的亲友数(S2)是影响农户生计策略转化的关键生计资本指标。除N1外,以上生计资本及生计资本指标对农户生计策略由纯农型向农兼型和兼农型转化均具有促进作用。在此基础上,提出了提高杭锦旗农户生计水平,改善区域生态环境的政策建议。     

Risk Attitudes of Organic and Conventional Hazelnut Producers in Turkey

Understanding farmers’ attitudes and responses to agricultural risks is important for designing financial support services and effective extension activities. Risk attitudes of farmers are also one of the critical barriers for conversion to organic agriculture. Few studies have been conducted to explore and compare risk perceptions between organic and conventional farmers. The purposes of this research were to elicit and compare the risk attitudes of organic and conventional Turkish hazelnut producers and to determine the barriers additional to their risk attitudes toward conversion to organic agriculture in the Terme district of Samsun, Turkey. The Equally Likely Certainty Equivalent (ELCE) model was used to elicit responses from producers. The data used in this study were collected by using a structured questionnaire administered to both 64 randomly selected conventional hazelnut producers and all organic hazelnut producers (39) in the research area. Research results revealed that organic hazelnut producers were less risk averse than conventional producers. It was also found that the variables of education level of operators, farm income, total assets, time allocated outside the farm, farm land area, size of hazelnut orchard, number of hazelnut plots, and total information score were other barriers for conversion to organic hazelnut production, in addition to the producers’ risk attitudes. Providing better extension services and farmers’ training activities relating to organic agriculture and land consolidation, focusing on raising the educational level of producers, facilitating producers with greater access to credit to increase farm land and to enhance farm assets are factors that may accelerate the process of conversion to organic hazelnut production.     

Environmental issues in relation to agricultural practices and attitudes of farmers: A case study from Saudi Arabia

PurposeThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is continuously in search of environment-friendly farming practices since mass-scale agriculture was initiated. It is imperative to gauge to the level of awareness of the farmers on the agricultural practices causing environmental issue in order to devise new agricultural extension programs. This research aims to identify the attitudes of farmers towards agriculture and environment in Al-Ghat area of Saudi Arabia.MethodologyA simple random sample of 110 farms truly representing the farming community was drawn to meet the objectives of the study. Data were collected by using the pre-tested questionnaire during the face-to-face interviews. In order to understand the message of study, data were analyzed for percentages, arithmetic average and standard deviation in addition to the simple Pearson correlation coefficient.ResultsThe results showed that the high proportion (87.3%) of farmers was interested in continuing to work farm and 77.3% of farmers did not consider adopting agriculture their main occupation. The findings of the survey reveal that some 55.5% of the respondent farmers were aware of the agricultural practices and their relation to the environment. Some 57.3% of the surveyed farmers are aware of potential benefits of enhanced utilization of agricultural organic wastes. However, main profession, farm employment (as the independent variables) showed a significant positive correlation with the attitudes of farmers towards their working in agriculture (as a dependent variable). Also a significant negative relationship between the educational levels and the attitudes of the farmers towards working in agriculture was noticed. The study also indicated a significant correlation between education and the degree of awareness of agricultural practices related to the environment and maximizing the optimum utilization of agricultural waste i.e. organic residues.ConclusionsThe study suggested the need for new awareness and orientation programs to educate farmers and extension workers, highlighting the environment- friendly agricultural practices.Recommendation: There is need to offer incentives and facilities to keep the farmers stay in the farming business. Extension staff must keep educating them on beneficial features of organic farm waste and crop residues as organic fertilizers.     

Ecuadorian Banana Farms Should Consider Organic Banana with Low Price Risks in Their Land-Use Portfolios

Organic farming is a more environmentally friendly form of land use than conventional agriculture. However, recent studies point out production tradeoffs that often prevent the adoption of such practices by farmers. Our study shows with the example of organic banana production in Ecuador that economic tradeoffs depend much on the approach of the analysis. We test, if organic banana should be included in economic land-use portfolios, which indicate how much of the land is provided for which type of land-use. We use time series data for productivity and prices over 30 years to compute the economic return (as annualized net present value) and its volatility (with standard deviation as risk measure) for eight crops to derive land-use portfolios for different levels of risk, which maximize economic return. We find that organic banana is included in land-use portfolios for almost every level of accepted risk with proportions from 1% to maximally 32%, even if the same high uncertainty as for conventional banana is simulated for organic banana. A more realistic, lower simulated price risk increased the proportion of organic banana substantially to up to 57% and increased annual economic returns by up to US$ 187 per ha. Under an assumed integration of both markets, for organic and conventional banana, simulated by an increased coefficient of correlation of economic return from organic and conventional banana (ρ up to +0.7), organic banana holds significant portions in the land-use portfolios tested only, if a low price risk of organic banana is considered. We conclude that uncertainty is a key issue for the adoption of organic banana. As historic data support a low price risk for organic banana compared to conventional banana, Ecuadorian farmers should consider organic banana as an advantageous land-use option in their land-use portfolios.     

Global and Local Concerns: What Attitudes and Beliefs Motivate Farmers to Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change?

In response to agriculture''s vulnerability and contribution to climate change, many governments are developing initiatives that promote the adoption of mitigation and adaptation practices among farmers. Since most climate policies affecting agriculture rely on voluntary efforts by individual farmers, success requires a sound understanding of the factors that motivate farmers to change practices. Recent evidence suggests that past experience with the effects of climate change and the psychological distance associated with people''s concern for global and local impacts can influence environmental behavior. Here we surveyed farmers in a representative rural county in California''s Central Valley to examine how their intention to adopt mitigation and adaptation practices is influenced by previous climate experiences and their global and local concerns about climate change. Perceived changes in water availability had significant effects on farmers'' intention to adopt mitigation and adaptation strategies, which were mediated through global and local concerns respectively. This suggests that mitigation is largely motivated by psychologically distant concerns and beliefs about climate change, while adaptation is driven by psychologically proximate concerns for local impacts. This match between attitudes and behaviors according to the psychological distance at which they are cognitively construed indicates that policy and outreach initiatives may benefit by framing climate impacts and behavioral goals concordantly; either in a global context for mitigation or a local context for adaptation.     

Vulnerability in farmer seed systems: Farmer practices for coping with seed insecurity for sorghum in Eastern Ethiopia

Many interventions try to address farmers’ seed insecurity, though few assess the causes of farmers’ vulnerability or understand their coping strategies. This paper analyzes farmers’ practices for maintaining sorghum seed security in a specific season (1998–99) in Ethiopia, which provides a richer picture of coping strategies than accounts of “general” practices, as it shows how responses reflect events unfolding over time and household-specific situations. High seeding rates ensure against environmental uncertainty, but not everyone has sufficient seed for repeated sowing should stands fail to establish. Off-farm seed fills this gap, though payment is usually required for substantial quantities; only 20% of seed from other farmers came for free in 1998. Differences between seed suppliers and recipients suggest indicators for chronic seed insecurity. The discussion explores implications for supporting farmers’ coping strategies. Helping the poorest farmers access off-farm seed, from other farmers or from merchants, can reduce their vulnerability.     

Troublesome neighbours: Changing attitudes towards chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in a human-dominated landscape in Uganda

Long-term human–wildlife sympatry depends on the willingness and capacity of local people to coexist with wild animals. With human population growth and deforestation for agriculture, farmers increasingly live in proximity to wildlife, including large mammals of conservation concern. Understanding local perspectives and concerns regarding wildlife is essential for informing appropriate management strategies that reduce conflicts and promote sustainable coexistence. Social science approaches therefore have a critical role in integrated conservation programmes. We undertook an attitude survey to understand residents’ perspectives about sharing a landscape with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in an unprotected forest–agriculture mosaic in Uganda. Interviews (n = 134) in 12 villages demonstrate residents’ ambivalence towards living alongside these protected yet potentially troublesome mammals. Chimpanzee behaviour is reported to have undergone recent changes. Residents claim apes increasingly enter villages for food, threaten people, and pose a particular threat to children's safety. Chimpanzee numbers are believed to have increased locally. Most interviewees fear chimpanzees, considering them dangerous. Crop losses to chimpanzees were widely reported. Farmers tolerate raiding of domestic fruits, but not cash-crops. Results demonstrate that attitudes towards wildlife are not fixed. Reported changes to chimpanzee behaviour are challenging villagers’ traditionally benign attitude towards them. Even so, residents acknowledge benefits to chimpanzees because they reportedly displace other crop-raiding wildlife which, unlike chimpanzees, damage important staple food crops. Survey findings are contextualised with respect to recent, major land-use changes in Uganda (clearance of unprotected forest for timber and agriculture) that have precipitated a sharp rise in farmer–chimpanzee interactions. We discuss the study's broader implications for protected mammal management and conflict mitigation in human-dominated landscapes, and ask whether it is appropriate to expect impoverished rural farmers to accommodate large-bodied mammals that pose a potential threat to their safety and livelihoods.     

Macro-Micro Linkages and Structural Transformation: The Move from Full-Time to Part-Time Farming in a North Florida Agricultural Community

Recent research has focused on the effects of macro-level structural forces on local cultures and agricultural systems of production. While indigenous systems can be dramatically altered by these forces, local institutions can also try to adopt strategies for survival. In this article I focus on how the shade tobacco farmers of North Florida adapted to the market collapse of their major money crop. In order to remain in agriculture, farmers who were established in a full-time farming tradition had to consider strategies that included part-time farming and off-farm work. The part-time farmers are compared to those who have tried to remain full time to find how successful the adjustment process has been.     

Genomics at the origins of agriculture,part two

Agricultural expansion was such a momentous event that cultural or genetic evidence of its impact should be apparent. Abundant evidence indicates that agriculture was introduced into Europe at least 9,000 years ago. The primary issue remains whether agriculture spread by contact or by farmers moving into Europe. If agriculture was brought by farmers moving into foragers' territory, then genetic evidence should be apparent in the genes of modern Europeans. If foragers weredisplaced, then European genetic profiles should reflect the source population from the Near East. If there was interbreeding with the foragers who had a distinct genetic profile, then the genes of the Europeans descendants should reflect this admixture, with a clinal distribution of traits radiating from the Near East. These scenarios have been the focus of decades of debates between anthropologists and geneticists. In addition, genomic studies have been applied to pathogens in order to explore the link between agriculture and infectious disease.     

The Black farmer and land in south-central Alabama: Strategies to preserve a scarce resource

Black-American culture has been tied to the land and agriculture for over 300 years. However, Blacks have had limited access to land ownership due to a historic relationship with a dominant White society based on discrimination. This major resource constraint prevented the full participation of the Black farmer in traditional commercial agriculture. Research conducted in the Black Belt Region of Alabama is used to examine the importance of land, particularly the multigenerational ownership of land, on current farm participation and landholdings. Strategies employed by farmers to pass this scarce resource to succeeding generations are also examined.     

The Concept of Animal Welfare at the Interface between Producers and Scientists: The Example of Organic Pig Farming

In organic farming animal welfare is one important aspect included in the internationally agreed organic principles of health, ecology, fairness and care (IFOAM 2006), reflecting expectation of consumers and farmers. The definition of organic animal welfare includes—besides traditional terms of animal welfare—‘regeneration’ and ‘naturalness’. Organic animal welfare assessment needs to reflect this and use complex parameters, include natural behaviour and a systemic view. Furthermore, various parties with seemingly conflicting interests are involved, causing ethical dilemmas, such as the use of nose rings for outdoor sows (impaired animal welfare vs. destruction of humus). Solutions can only be found when foundational concepts are translated and applied to practical situations. On-farm animal welfare assessment and implementation of improvement strategies are increasingly relevant scientific areas. They combine on-farm welfare assessment, identification of key problem areas and connected risk factors. Constant communication between all parties is crucial for success. Animal health and welfare planning is one application of this approach, which was carried out on Austrian organic pig farms as well as organic dairy farms in seven European countries. The projects included welfare assessment, feedback and benchmarking as a tool for communication between farmers, advisors and scientists. Finally goals were set by the farmer and improvement strategies applicable to organic farming were implemented. This included prevention of disease by management strategies instead of routine treatment with pharmaceutical products. It appeared that next to problem structuring, multidisciplinary problem solving demands good communications skills to relate animal welfare science to value reflections.     

黄河流域旱塬区农户生计脆弱性及影响因素

黄河流域生态保护和高质量发展成为事关中华民族伟大复兴的千秋大计。人地系统协调与农业农村高质量发展是黄河流域高质量发展的重要内容,也是实施城乡融合与乡村振兴战略的内涵所在。而在气候多变、水旱灾害异常的背景下,依赖农业为生的黄河流域旱塬区农户生计面临着不可持续的威胁。当前亟需评估基于等级差异的农户生计脆弱性影响因素,建立农户的可持续生计,为巩固脱贫攻坚成果、解决相对贫困提供借鉴。以黄河流域旱塬区的渭北旱塬为例,在综合评价农户生计脆弱性指数的基础上对农户的生计脆弱性等级进行排序,使用有序logistic回归分析了影响农户生计脆弱性的关键因素,并进一步使用夏普利值进行分解。结果发现：(1)非农户和一兼户占了研究样本的大多数,从脆弱性的三个维度来看,纯农户的暴露水平最高,敏感性最低,非农户的适应能力最高;(2)回归结果表明,耕地数量、耕地质量、房屋结构、家庭固定资产数量、村民信任、整体健康状况影响显著;(3)夏普利值分解发现,生计资本的排序为：物质资本>人力资本>社会资本>自然资本,各类资本的组成成分中,家庭固定资产数量的贡献度最高,整体健康状况次之,村民信任、耕地质量、房屋结...     

城郊有机农场生态系统服务评估——以北京市为例

快速城市化对周边农业区域造成巨大影响。都市农业能够提供世界上20%的食品,为粮食安全做出了重要贡献。在全球环境危机的背景下,农业生态保护问题得到了越来越多的关注。有机农场在生产过程中遵循自然规律,不使用化学合成的农药、化肥和生长调节剂等物质,是实现生态农业的有效模式之一。城郊有机农场得益于临近都市的地理位置,常常同时提供参观、采摘等休闲服务,加深了游客对农业的理解和与自然的连结。目前,国内研究大多关注有机食品健康、有机农业政策和环境效益,但往往忽视其提供的经济和文化价值。基于生态系统服务与人类福祉关系的概念框架,以北京市为例,从供给、调节、文化三个方面全面评估城郊有机农场的生态系统服务。结果显示,截至2019年北京市城郊共有271家有机农场,种植面积1.09万hm²,占北京市耕地面积的5.1%。供给服务价值为16.12亿元。调节服务方面,提供了2140万元的土壤碳固存价值,并且比相同面积的常规农场减少了16.4万GJ能量、2639tCO₂、202tSO₂和29tPO₄^3-的排放。文化服务方面,提供了1.189亿元的采摘服务,并促成了120余次农夫市集和50余次讲座、沙龙的宣传教育活动,积累了社会资本。本研究尝试通过直观的数据全面反映城郊有机农场对收益者的多种惠益,凸显了在有限的供给服务之外,城郊有机农场在休闲游憩和教育宣传等文化服务的贡献,为深入理解城郊有机农场生态系统服务提供基础,有助于进一步提高农业管理的精细程度和城市的可持续性。     

有机农业发展概述

本文介绍了不同国际组织为有机农业下的定义、有机农业的起源及理论发展过程,以及我国有机农业的发展轨迹:我国有机农业较发达国家起步晚,但发展迅速.通过详细叙述国内外有机农业发展规模、种植作物种类、有机农业生产标准、投入品及有机种植技术,比较了我国有机农业发展与国外存在的差异.从有机农业标准、生产技术、产品市场、有机认证、企业信誉、自然环境污染、国家政策支持力度等方面详细分析了我国有机农业发展的制约因素,提出了我国有机农业健康发展的方向及对策.     

有机农业发展概述

本文介绍了不同国际组织为有机农业下的定义、有机农业的起源及理论发展过程,以及我国有机农业的发展轨迹:我国有机农业较发达国家起步晚,但发展迅速.通过详细叙述国内外有机农业发展规模、种植作物种类、有机农业生产标准、投入品及有机种植技术,比较了我国有机农业发展与国外存在的差异.从有机农业标准、生产技术、产品市场、有机认证、企业信誉、自然环境污染、国家政策支持力度等方面详细分析了我国有机农业发展的制约因素,提出了我国有机农业健康发展的方向及对策.     

Social and cultural efficacies of medicines: Complications for antiretroviral therapy

Ethnoecological knowledge may be understood as spontaneous knowledge, culturally referenced of any society's members, learned and transmitted through social interactions and that are targeted at resolution of daily routine situations. The traditional knowledge in small scale economy societies as well as the non-academic knowledge in urban-industrial societies might be included in this concept. An ethnoecological approach study was performed here on people living at the communities of Alvinho, Almeida, Chã do Marinho, Floriano, and Chã de Oiti, all located in the municipality of Lagoa Seca, Paraíba state, Northeast Brazil. The general objective pursued here was to study the knowledge that peasant farmers have on management of plant species utilized for pest control. For this, the methodological instruments employed here to investigate the ethnoecological knowledge were: direct observation, structured and semi-structured interviews, and tours conducted by local peasant farmers. We analyzed the data obtained under an emic/etic view and also by comparing the local knowledge with those obtained from the literature. The results showed that people in those communities utilize management alternatives for controlling pests, which are mainly: (i) fallowing; (ii) crop rotation; (iii) destruction of crop remains and fruits attacked by pests; (iv) alternations of crops with repellent plants; and/or (v) mixed cropping; (vi) insect's larvae covered with soil; (vii) crops irrigated abundantly; and (viii) soil preparation. The recovery and comprehension we get about this knowledge as well as the farmers' savoir faire, are extremely important to the revival of ancient agricultural practices, which have been forgotten due to advances in modern agriculture. The data obtained here showed that a huge body of knowledge the farmers have on many forms or strategies of management are generally compatible with scientific knowledge.     

Commercial Crop Yields Reveal Strengths and Weaknesses for Organic Agriculture in the United States

Land area devoted to organic agriculture has increased steadily over the last 20 years in the United States, and elsewhere around the world. A primary criticism of organic agriculture is lower yield compared to non-organic systems. Previous analyses documenting the yield deficiency in organic production have relied mostly on data generated under experimental conditions, but these studies do not necessarily reflect the full range of innovation or practical limitations that are part of commercial agriculture. The analysis we present here offers a new perspective, based on organic yield data collected from over 10,000 organic farmers representing nearly 800,000 hectares of organic farmland. We used publicly available data from the United States Department of Agriculture to estimate yield differences between organic and conventional production methods for the 2014 production year. Similar to previous work, organic crop yields in our analysis were lower than conventional crop yields for most crops. Averaged across all crops, organic yield averaged 80% of conventional yield. However, several crops had no significant difference in yields between organic and conventional production, and organic yields surpassed conventional yields for some hay crops. The organic to conventional yield ratio varied widely among crops, and in some cases, among locations within a crop. For soybean (Glycine max) and potato (Solanum tuberosum), organic yield was more similar to conventional yield in states where conventional yield was greatest. The opposite trend was observed for barley (Hordeum vulgare), wheat (Triticum aestevum), and hay crops, however, suggesting the geographical yield potential has an inconsistent effect on the organic yield gap.     

Developing and quantifying indicators of organic farming using analytic hierarchy process

Although regulations and criteria relating to organic farming are clearly defined by the relevant agencies, especially by IFOAM, some have been overshadowed by attention to others and have lost their significance over time. The aim of this study was to develop and quantify organic farming indicators to determine the relative importance of each. The desired indicators were collected during a literature review of scientific resources about the principles of organic farming. These indices were classified into four categories and their weights were determined through interviews with experts on organic agriculture, including university professors, agroecology students, Ministry of Agriculture experts, organic farming inspectors and organic farmers. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used for this purpose. The results showed that pest and disease management, yield, soil nutrient management, water consumption rate, chemical fertilizer consumption rate and the use of transgenic materials having weights of 0.16, 0.098, 0.096, 0.08, 0.071 and 0.059, respectively, and are the most important indicators for development and assessment of organic farming. In this as well as similar studies, the weight of indicators associated with consumption of chemical fertilizers and pesticides were relatively high. This indicates the importance of rules related to the use of chemicals in organic farming; however, each index has a certain weight and none can be overlooked. All indicators should be considered as an inseparable set and all should be used in the development of organic farming. The results of this study can be useful for both inspection bodies and organic farmers. Farmers can reduce the risks associated with transitioning to organic farming and minimize the probability of failure by monitoring these indicators in their fields.