Organic agriculture world-wide allows farmers to produce healthy food with low levels of external inputs, and often shortens the value chains, giving farmers a higher share of the consumer dollar. ...This book reports on long-term comparative organic farming systems research trials carried out over the last four years in South Africa's Southern Cape, as well as research on the organic sector and the technical tools it requires in South Africa, Zambia, Uganda and Tanzania. The trials show how the yield gap between organic and conventional crops was closed over 3 years. Water use efficiency was also greater in the organic farming system, and pests and diseases were effectively controlled using biological products. Farmer training approaches, soil carbon analysis, participatory guarantee systems, the Zambian organic farming sector (agronomy) and Ugandan organic farmer training support, and a sector plan for southern African organic farming are examined.
Euphorbia dentata (Euphorbiaceae), an invasive weed, is rarely eaten by herbivorous insects and could secrete a large amount of white latex, causing a serious threat to local natural vegetation, ...agricultural production and human health. In order to prevent this plant from causing more negative effects on humans, it is necessary to understand and utilize the chemical relationships between the latex of E. dentata and herbivorous insects. In this study, three new norsesquiterpenes (1–3), together with seven known analogues (4–10), were isolated and identified from the latex of E. dentata. All norsesquiterpenes (1–10) showed antifeedant and growth-inhibitory effects on H. armigera with varying levels, especially compounds 1 and 2. In addition, the action mechanisms of active compounds (1–3) were revealed by detoxifying enzyme (AchE, CarE, GST and MFO) activities and corresponding molecular docking analyses. Our findings provide a new idea for the development and utilization of the latex of E. dentata, as well as a potential application of norsesquiterpenes in botanical insecticides.
Esta reflexión aborda el tema de la crisis patrimonial y no patrimonial de los agricultores en el ordenamiento jurídico colombiano e italiano, así como la administración y gestión de su insolvencia ...como un asunto de importante relevancia en la actividad productiva de la persona natural no comerciante y del imprenditore agricolo. En ese sentido y acorde a los procedimientos concursales a los que pueden acceder los agricultores en estos ordenamientos, en un primer momento para el caso colombiano se describirán los procesos de: 1. Negociación de las deudas, 2. Convalidación de acuerdos privados y 3. liquidación patrimonial de la persona natural no comerciante acorde a la Ley 1564 de 2012, mientras que en un segundo momento para el caso italiano se describirán los procedimientos de sovraindebitamento: 1. concordato minore y 2. liquidazione controllata regulados por el Codice della crisi d’impresa e dell’insolvenza . Finalmente se confrontará el procedimiento de la negociación de las deudas versus el procedimiento del concordato minore y el proceso de liquidación patrimonial respecto de la liquidazione controllata, con el propósito de evidenciar los puntos de encuentro y desencuentro en los sistemas concursales aquí analizados, haciendo la premisa que en la actualidad el ordenamiento jurídico colombiano no posee una ley especial aplicable al agricultor persona natural en crisis.
As organic food increases in popularity, there has been increased interest in the history of organic farming. Previous scholarship has done excellent work documenting the social and political aspects ...of organic and sustainable agriculture, but less research has been done on the history of organic farming methods. The purpose of this study was to address this deficiency by surveying the organic and sustainable farming community in the midwestern and northeastern United States to identify influential authors, publications and organizations. Information about influences on farming practices was created using an anonymous online survey, distributed through organic and sustainable agriculture organizations in the target region. Out of the 224 respondents who completed the survey, 171 (76%) listed books, 169 (75%) listed organizations and 123 (55%) listed influential individuals. A total of 218 authors were identified, with Eliot Coleman receiving the most mentions, followed by Rodale publications, Wendell Berry, Acres U.S.A. magazine, Masanobu Fukuoka, Joel Salatin and Michael Pollan. 242 organizations were listed, with Marbleseed (MOSES), MOFGA, NOFA, PASA, OEFFA, LSP, SFA-MN and MOFFA most frequently mentioned. These results provide a useful starting point for future research on the development and dissemination of farming methods in this region. Research priorities include conducting oral histories with still-living authors of influential books and archiving organizational records before critical historical information is lost.
The quality of flour is influenced by various factors including genotype, environmental and agronomic conditions, post-harvest grain storage, and milling technology. Currently, the EU focuses on ...reducing mineral fertilization and promoting less intensive agrotechnology (organic and integrated farming). This research aimed to assess the baking value of flour obtained from four spring wheat cultivars cultivated in three farming systems: organic (ORG), integrated (INT), and conventional (CONV). The wheat grains were sourced from a three-year field experiment (2019–2021) conducted at IUNG-PIB in Pulawy, Poland. Results indicate that the CONV generally yielded more favourable qualitative parameters for the flour, including significantly higher protein content, wet gluten, falling number, and farinographic characteristics such as dough development, stability time, and quality number. Nevertheless, most flours from the ORG system met the quality requirements for the baking industry, showing adequate protein content, wet gluten, and falling number. However, flours from the INT system stood out due to significantly higher water absorption, resulting in increased dough and bread yield. Additionally, bread baked from these flours exhibited a significantly higher bread volume. In sensory evaluation, bread from CONV flours received the highest scores, although the differences in the overall acceptability were not significant.
“Africanized” honey bees (AHB) have been part of California's agricultural and natural landscapes for nearly three decades. Prior to their arrival in 1994, leading honey bee experts expressed concern ...over the potentially disastrous impact of AHB on California agriculture and public safety. Despite these concerns, the state's agricultural production has not been significantly impacted by AHB. However, some evidence suggests that the abundance of AHB in natural habitats can have negative consequences for native pollinators. At the same time, AHB may provide a genetic resource for improving managed honey bee health. We recommend updating the term “Africanized” honey bees to more accurately reflect their biology and to avoid unfortunate connotations.
An important question for farmers is whether to run their farm conventionally or organically. This choice can significantly affect the farm's financial performance and its impact on the environment.
...The primary objective of this study is to compare the profitability of conventional and organic cattle systems and investigate how it is associated with individual farm characteristics, like forage production capacity, forage quality, milk quota, animal housing capacity, and their relative presences.
We employ a whole farm optimization model, customized for Norwegian cattle farming. The primary goal of this model is to maximize the gross margin by optimizing decisions related to land usage and animal inventory while adhering to a set of constraints. We systematically solve more than 200,000 model instances, with varying farm characteristics.
The results can be distilled to the following key points: If forage of good quality is readily available, but the livestock operation cannot be expanded due to animal housing and milk quota restrictions, organic may outcompete conventional farming. Otherwise, gross margin is maximized with conventional farming. These findings emphasize the crucial role of forage production capacity and quality in relation to available milk quota and infrastructure when considering the transition from conventional to organic farming. Extensive sensitivity analyses affirm the robustness of these conclusions. Regional regulatory factors, such as government farm payments, also play a significant role, and influence the optimal farming approach. Additionally, we show that increases in organic price premiums can markedly impact the competitiveness of organic farming, even in a system where government payments make out a significant part of the farm revenue.
The model can support farmers to make informed decisions about converting to organic or conventional farming. It can also be used by policymakers to determine the level of support required to make it worthwhile for different types of farms to convert. We also show that existing government payment schemes give rise to regional differences in the incentives for organic farming in Norway. To ensure equal incentives for organic farming across the country, the organic payments would have to be regionally adjusted, in line with the other already regionally dependent government payments. This insight may be of significant interest to policymakers and other stakeholders.
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•Employing a whole farm model to optimize gross margin in conventional and organic cattle systems.•Conventional farming is superior when forage production capacity is limited in comparison to other resources.•Organic farming is superior when forage production capacity is significant in comparison to other resources.•Organic farming benefits more from higher forage quality than conventional farming.
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