39 research outputs found

    An Integrated Approach to Assessing Spread of Commercial Horticulture and Related Environmental Impacts on Watersheds : Cases in Central Highlands of Kenya

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    Intensive horticulture production has broad environmental implications due to the high dependency on natural resources. Numerous reports indicate positive socio-economic gains associated with the Kenyan horticulture sub-sector. Even so, few highlight the extent of the negative environmental impacts. We adopt a holistic approach that integrates deskwork, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), field study and remote sensing tools to evaluate the spread and growth of commercial horticulture, and the effects on: i) surface water quality, and ii) vegetation condition, in watersheds experiencing increased production within the central highlands. The desk research utilized Google Earth archives and GIS data, to map greenhouse distribution, determining area under production and factors predicting choice of location. This was followed by a field study to sample and characterize surface water quality in select sub-watersheds with intensive horticulture, thereby highlighting potential pollutant source-processes. Twenty five years of remote sensing data were also analyzed to establish vegetation condition and responses to increased farming and human disturbances. This was followed by a detailed study to quantify land use and land cover changes, and finally a chapter illustrating trends in horticulture exports volumes. Results from the desk research showed heterogeneous spread of farming, where area under production increased rapidly between 2000 and 2011. Population density, average slope, average rainfall and dams were significant predictors to farming location. Results from the field study show predominance of anthropogenic trace elements of cadmium, phosphate, and zinc in waters draining from regions with intensive large scale horticulture. The long-term vegetation study indicates spatially varying inter-annual NDVI, which continuously declined post 1990s in sub watersheds with increased farming. The study to quantify land transformation dynamics, indicate varying magnitudes of change with rates of change differing between land-uses, and between case studies, attributable to socio-economic drivers. We also find that horticultural exports had positive trends until 2008/2009, and 2010, where the effects of post-election violence and volcanic eruption are evident. Overall, the research has demonstrated the efficacy of integrated approaches in understanding implications intensified production on watershed resources. This knowledge is important in developing policies and regulatory frameworks that supports sustainable resource utilization and best management practices

    Determinants of protected tomato production technologies among smallholder peri-urban producers in Kiambu, Kenya

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    Climate variability and the rise in incidences of pests and diseases continue to undermine production of high value vegetables among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. In order to respond to these challenges, protected farming technologies (PFT) (such as greenhouses) which modify the plant environment and therefore aid in avoiding the harmful eects of climatic factors have been promoted. Greenhouses protect the crops against high solar radiation and heavy rainfall that have the potential of destroying vulnerable crops like tomatoes. Consequently, PFT is associated with better yields and farm incomes. However, the adoption of PFT among smallholder farmers, not least in Kenya is low. Drawing on the Agricultural Household Model (AHM) theoretic framework, this paper assessed the determinants of adoption of PFT among smallholder tomato farmers in Kenya. Tomato is the second most important horticultural vegetable crop in Kenya after potatoes in terms of production volumes and value. Data for the study were collected from a cross sectional multistage random survey of 104 tomato farming households and analysed using maximum likelihood probit model. The probit results revealed that the age of a farmer, educational level, household size, total household income and access to credit positively influenced the likelihood of PFT adoption. The likelihood of adoption was negatively related to distance to input markets and access to the county government extension services. Overall, the results of this study suggest that an integrated promotional strategy that accounts for household heterogeneities and focuses on institutional arrangements that support the accumulation of human and financial capital would enhance PFT adoption

    Internet of things for monitoring environmental conditions in greenhouses: a case of Kiambu County

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    Efficient management of greenhouse farming is a challenge to ensure high yield production. This is a great challenge to farmers who do not have a reliable mechanism to ensure the optimum environmental conditions for their crops. Farmers are opting to look for solutions from technologies such as Machine to Machine and Internet of Things. Machine to Machine Communication refers to solutions that allow communication between devices of the same type and a specific application through wired or wireless communication networks. Moreover, Internet of Things is a connection of physical things to the internet which makes it possible to access remote data and control the physical world from a distance. These types of solutions allow end-users to capture data about events and transfer it to other devices but they do not allow broad sharing of data or connection of the devices directly to the Internet. In this thesis, the researcher investigated the use of machine to machine communication by having small electronic devices equipped with sensors that when deployed in a farm they can record the environmental conditions and communicates the information to the farmers. Moreover, the different types of crops grown in greenhouses at Kiambu County. Thereafter, the information was analyzed and sent to relevant end users such as the farmer and a metrological department that will enable them to monitor and adapt to the environmental conditions. The research used applied method of research, interviews and questionnaires to gather data. Therefore, an IoT prototype was developed to gather the critical environmental conditions in a greenhouse. The recorded data was transmitted by wireless networks using machine to machine (M2M) technologies from the sensors to the cloud platform, Intel IoT analytics dashboard, for real-time predictive analysis of the environmental parameters. An email notification was sent to alert the farmers when the parameters exceeded the threshold which were preset. This IoT prototype was used in small to large commercial indoor operations as well as small personal gardens

    New Advances and Contributions to Forestry Research

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    New Advances and Contributions to Forestry Research consists of 14 chapters divided into three sections and is authored by 48 researchers from 16 countries and all five continents. Section Whither the Use of Forest Resources, authored by 16 researchers, describes negative and positive practices in forestry. Forest is a complex habitat for man, animals, insects and micro-organisms and their activities may impact positively or negatively on the forest. This complex relationship is explained in the section Forest and Organisms Interactions, consisting of contributions made by six researchers. Development of tree plantations has been man’s response to forest degradation and deforestation caused by human, animals and natural disasters. Plantations of beech, spruce, Eucalyptus and other species are described in the last section, Amelioration of Dwindling Forest Resources Through Plantation Development, a section consisting of five papers authored by 20 researchers. New Advances and Contributions to Forestry Research will appeal to forest scientists, researchers and allied professionals. It will be of interest to those who care about forest and who subscribe to the adage that the last tree dies with the last man on our planet. I recommend it to you; enjoy reading it, save the forest and save life

    Evaluating the sustainability of urban agriculture projects

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    Evaluating the sustainability of urban agriculture projects. 5. International Symposium for Farming Systems Design (AGRO2015

    Rangeland Systems: Processes, Management and Challenges

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    environmental management; environmental law; ecojustice; ecolog

    Agroforestry-Based Ecosystem Services

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    As a dynamic interface between agriculture and forestry, agroforestry has only recently been formally recognized as a relevant part of land use with ‘trees outside forest’ in important parts of the world—but not everywhere yet. The Sustainable Development Goals have called attention to the need for the multifunctionality of landscapes that simultaneously contribute to multiple goals. In the UN decade of landscape restoration, as well as in response to the climate change urgency and biodiversity extinction crisis, an increase in global tree cover is widely seen as desirable, but its management by farmers or forest managers remains contested. Agroforestry research relates tree–soil–crop–livestock interactions at the plot level with landscape-level analysis of social-ecological systems and efforts to transcend the historical dichotomy between forest and agriculture as separate policy domains. An ‘ecosystem services’ perspective quantifies land productivity, flows of water, net greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity conservation, and combines an ‘actor’ perspective (farmer, landscape manager) with that of ‘downstream’ stakeholders (in the same watershed, ecologically conscious consumers elsewhere, global citizens) and higher-level regulators designing land-use policies and spatial zoning

    Book of abstracts, 4th World Congress on Agroforestry

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    International audienc

    Rainfed agriculture: unlocking the potential

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    Rainfed farming / Soil degradation / Crop production / Climate change / Irrigation methods / Water harvesting / Yield gap / Models / Supplemental irrigation / Water productivity / Watershed management / India
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