Adoption of innovations in harvesting methods of the grape: A case study in Charikar and Bagram districts of Parwan province, Afghanistan

The main objectives of this study were to determine the extent of innovation in the grape harvest, and the rate of familiarity and usability of innovations by farmers in Parwan province. The data were collected as primary data, included face to face interviews with 120 grape growers and local authorities in 20 villages spread across the two districts of Charikar and Bagram provinces of Parwan, Afghanistan. The data was analyzed by (SPSS 22) Package. According to the results, the size of agricultural land, land allocated to grape production have the most similarities; however, the findings show that grape yield was impressed by the application of farmers' innovations and knowledge by the user of innovation in the harvest stage grape production. The membership of farmers in agricultural organizations is very weak, and only 8.2% of the farmers have membership in the organization. And also, the advantages and disadvantages of using innovations were evaluated. The advatages were evaluated by six options (Saving Time, Increasing demand for the product, Wastes Reduction in the product, Better management, Easy harvest, Employment of less laborer), and all of them given high importance (HI). The disadvantages were evaluated in four options, of which only the the item ''Not economic'' was given (HI) while the remaining three disadvantages were in (LI) category. Familiarity and usability of innovations have different results; most of the farmers are familiar with innovations. However, the application of innovations is less than it is familiarit

The New Food Safety

A safe food supply is essential for a healthy society. Our food system is replete with different types of risk, yet food safety is often narrowly understood as encompassing only foodborne illness and other risks related directly to food ingestion. This Article argues for a more comprehensive definition of food safety, one that includes not just acute, ingestion-related risks, but also whole-diet cumulative ingestion risks, and cradle-to-grave risks of food production and disposal. This broader definition, which we call “Food System Safety,” draws under the header of food safety a variety of historically siloed, and under-regulated, food system issues including nutrition, environmental protection, and workplace safety. The current narrow approach to food safety is inadequate. First, it contributes to irrational resource allocation among food system risks. Second, it has collateral consequences for other food system risks, and, third, its limited focus can undermine efforts to achieve narrow food safety. A comprehensive understanding of food safety illuminates the complex interactions between narrow food safety and other areas of food system health risks. We argue that such an understanding could facilitate improved allocation of resources and assessment of tradeoffs, and ultimately support better health and safety outcomes for more people. We offer a variety of structural and institutional mechanisms for embedding this approach into federal agency action

Towards informed and multi-faceted wildlife trade interventions

International trade in wildlife is a key threat to biodiversity conservation. CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is the primary mechanism for controlling international wildlife trade and seeks to ensure it is sustainable, relying on trade bans and controls. However, there has been little comprehensive review of the effectiveness of CITES. Here, we review typical and atypical approaches taken to regulate wildlife trade in CITES and assert that it boasts few successes. We attribute this to: non-compliance, an over reliance on regulation, lack of knowledge of listed species, ignorance of the reality of market forces, and influence among CITES actors. To more effectively manage trade we argue that interventions need to go beyond regulation and should be multi-faceted, reflecting the complexity of wildlife trade. To inform such interventions we assert an intensive research effort is needed and we outline six key research areas: (1) factors undermining wildlife trade governance at the national level, (2) determining sustainable harvest rates for CITES species, (3) gaining the buy-in of local communities in implementing CITES, (4) supply and demand based market interventions, (5) means of quantifying illicit trade, and (6) political processes and influence within CITES

2005 Cocoa Protocol Update

This brief report provides an update on child labor on cocoa farms in West Africa and on the status of the chocolate industry’s voluntary initiative to eliminate the worst forms of child labor by July 1, 2005

Jobs, natural resources, and community resilience: A survey of southeast Alaskans about social and environmental change

As part of the Community and Environment in Rural America (CERA) project, researchers at the Carsey Institute surveyed 1,541 residents of the ten boroughs and unincorporated census areas in Southeast Alaska to better understand social and environmental change in the region and their implications for Alaskan community and families. The authors of this brief report that social problems in the extremely isolated region of Southeast Alaska such as crime and drug use are closely related to economic distress, particularly in small outlying communities

Planting and harvesting innovation - an analysis of Samsung Electronics

This study explores how firms manage the entire life cycle of innovation projects based on the framework of harvesting and planting innovation. While harvesting innovation seeks new products in the expectation of financial performance in the short term, planting innovation pursues creating value over a long time period. Without proper management of the process of planting and harvesting innovation, firms with limited resources may not be successful in launching innovative new products to seize a momentum in high tech industries. To examine this issue, the case of Samsung Electronics (SE), now an electronics giant originated from a former developing country, is analyzed. SE has shown to effectively utilize co-innovation to maintain numerous planting and harvesting innovation projects. Both researchers and practitioners would be interested in learning about how SE shared risks of innovation investment with external partners at the early stage of innovation cycles

2019 State-of-the-Science of Dispersants and Dispersed Oil (DDO) in U.S. Arctic Waters: Public Health and Food Safety

Chemical dispersants were employed on an unprecedented scale during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and could be a response option should a large spill occur in Arctic waters. The use of dispersants in response to that spill raised concerns regarding the need for chemical dispersants, the fate of the oil and dispersants, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment. Concerns remain that would be more evident in the Arctic, where the remoteness and harsh environmental conditions would make a response to any oil spill very difficult. An outcome of a 2013 Arctic oil spill exercise for senior federal agency leadership identified the need for an evaluation of the state-of-the-science of dispersants and dispersed oil (DDO), and a clear delineation of the associated uncertainties that remain, particularly as they apply to Arctic waters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in partnership with the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC), and in consultation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) embarked on a project to seek expert review and evaluation of the state-of-the-science and the uncertainties involving DDO. The project focused on five areas and how they might be affected by Arctic conditions: dispersant effectiveness, distribution and fate, transport and chemical behavior, environmental impacts, and public health and safety. This publication (1 of 5) addresses efficacy and effectiveness