Informal irrigation in urban West Africa: An overview

Irrigated farming / Urban agriculture / Suburban agriculture / Farm size / Farming systems / Health hazards / Water pollution / Farm income

From Empty Lot to Garden Plot: Urban Agriculture in Chula Vista

This project is an exploration of how agriculture can be incorporated into the fabric of the city of Chula Vista, which has both uniquely urban and suburban areas. The proposal is to integrate agriculture as a design tool to reconnect to the city’s agricultural past and as a model for cities of the future. First, I discuss Chula Vista’s history and contemporary context, including demographics. I review the existing urban agriculture policies Chula Vista has and compare them to other cities in California. The second part of the project is concerned with how to choose and develop a site for urban agriculture. I present a set of evaluation criteria and apply it to two sites on opposite ends of the city. The purpose of this project was to show how agriculture could be integrated into both urban and suburban environments, and to serve as a guide for how to work with and improve existing polices concerning urban agriculture

Landscape effects on bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colony performance and fitness in New York State

Supplemental file(s) description: Supplementary figures and tablesPollinators such as bumble bees are in decline as a result of many factors, including loss of habitat. Initiatives to improve and restore pollinator habitat have become increasingly popular. However, to most effectively conserve pollinators, we need a better understanding of which habitats are limiting to their survival and growth at the landscape scale. Our study examined the performance of the common eastern bumble bee, Bombus impatiens (Cresson), in four common landscapes (natural, suburban, conventional agriculture, and organic agriculture). In the summers of 2016 and 2017, 64 commercial bumble bee colonies were deployed across 16 sites (4 in each landscape) and their growth (weight and bee abundance) and fitness (caste production), and survival were monitored weekly. Across both years, colonies in suburban landscapes were approximately 28-30% lighter, had 13-15% less bee abundance, produced 38-40% fewer worker cells, and 45-50% fewer drones cells. Colonies in suburban landscapes also experienced queen death at a rate two-times faster. In 2016, 100% of the colonies in suburban landscapes were removed due to queen death, which was six days earlier than the overall average across all landscapes. In 2017, over 50% of the suburban colonies had queens die before the overall average across all landscapes. Our study adds to the growing literature highlighting the influence of the landscape context on pollinator populations, particularly in suburban environments. Overall, our results suggest that suburban landscapes are suboptimal for B. impatiens while agricultural landscapes were not detrimental to colony growth or survival. Future research is needed to identify mechanisms that are responsible for the reduced performance of bumble bee colonies in suburban landscapes, especially regarding floral resources, pesticides, and pathogens

Rubber plantation labor and labor movements as rubber prices decrease in southern Thailand

A decrease in rubber prices can initiate labor migration trends from rubber production to industrial or service sectors, which could further cause labor shortages in rubber production. This case was not studied in the different communities with a long history of rubber such as the center city of southern Thailand. This study analyzes the source of labor and movement of laborers working in rubber plantations in the context of decreasing rubber prices. We selected 3 representative areas, namely rural, suburban and urban communities in Hat Yai district, Songkhla province. Owners of rubber holdings were the target group for the survey, and individual interviews were conducted. We collected data between March and July 2015, engaging with 207 owners. The results showed that family labor and hired labor were widely used in rubber plantations in the three communities. Locally hired laborers and laborers from other countries were the main sources of hired labor for rubber plantations. The transnational laborers were a secondary source of labor for all communities, especially the rural ones. Family labor was the main source of labor for smallholder rubber plots, especially for the urban and suburban areas. Hired labor was used in all sizes of rubber holding in rural and suburban communities and were very common in the small rubber holdings in urban areas. This shows that the rubber production sector creates employment for local people and for migrants. Furthermore, low rubber price conditions did not significantly impact labor movement in rubber plantations. However, rubber plantations in urban and suburban communities lacked labor supply due to their proximity to the larger urban center of Hat Yai city. Therefore, the low tapping intensity and generate the diversified source of income to attract young labor generation to work on the farms should be policy to maintain natural rubber production in Thailand

Rural and central city residents with multiple children likely to be hardest hit by proposed WIC cuts

This brief uses data from the 2007 and 2010 Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement to describe the distribution of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) receipt across the population and to detail place-based differences in receipt. WIC is a nutrition program that serves pregnant or postpartum women, infants, and children up to age 5 (who meet certain criteria) by providing them with nutrition education and checks or vouchers for food purchases. The proposed fiscal year 2012 funding is $733 million less for WIC than fiscal year 2011 levels, and far less than what is needed to serve all who are eligible. This brief describes the implications of the cuts to the WIC budget to help policymakers and service providers to better understand the population likely affected by cuts to WIC funding

Extension’s Potential to Respond to Suburban Food Insecurity

Between 2000 and 2013, the suburbs in the country’s largest metro areas saw their low-income population grow twice as fast as primary urban cities. In 2018, the Pew Research Center reported that poverty increased more sharply in suburbs than in urban and rural counties (Parker et al., 2018). The rise in suburban poverty coincides with an increasing prevalence of food insecurity. The social and physical environments of suburban communities pose unique food-related challenges for the suburban poor. Awareness and stigmatization of food assistance programs, lack of transportation options, access to food pantries, and limited community gardens are examples of challenges that many families face. With a growing suburban population facing poverty and food insecurity, Extension is positioned to address the complex problem of suburban food insecurity through community-engaged research and education involving the areas of family and consumer sciences, community development, agriculture and natural resources, and 4-H youth development