109 research outputs found
Local knowledge held by farmers in Eastern Tyrol (Austria) about the use of plants to maintain and improve animal health and welfare
Background
The sustainable management of animal health and welfare is of increasing importance to consumers and a key topic in the organic farming movement. Few systematic studies have been undertaken investigating farmersâ local knowledge related to this issue. Ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) is a discipline focusing on local knowledge and folk methods in veterinary medicine, however most ethnoveterinarian studies primarily address the treatment of animal diseases. Very few studies have explored prophylactic methods.
Methods
An ethnoveterinary research project in Eastern Tyrol (Austria) was conducted in 2004 and 2005 to gather information about local knowledge of animal husbandry from 144 informants, with the emphasis on plants that maintain livestock health and welfare.
Results
Informants mentioned a total of 87 plants and 22 plant-based generic terms in the context of maintaining and improving livestock health and welfare. The most important preventive measures for maintaining and improving animal health and welfare were practices related to âfodderâ and âfeedingâ. In this category the plants mentioned could be grouped according to three different perceptions about their effect on animals: âGood or bad fodderâ, âFunctional fodderâ and âFodder medicineâ. In addition to fodder, environmental management, the human-animal relationship, household remedies and cultural/religious activities were also mentioned. When asked about practices in the past that maintained animal health and well-being, interviewees mentioned, for example, the importance of the diversity of sources that used to be available to obtain feed and fodder.
Conclusions
The informantsâ approach that feeding is central to livestock welfare is in line with the standard scientific literature on animal health, including in organic farming. Various scientific studies into common fodder evaluate the nutritive and dietary value, efficiency and safety of fodder. Future studies also have to consider the evaluation of traditional, local fodder resources. In fact, the value of âfood as medicineâ for humans in the context of local knowledge has been widely assessed, but the potential health benefits of fodder and nutraceuticals in local and traditional ethnoveterinary methods require further attention
Ethnobotanical Research in Homegardens of Small Farmers in the Alpine Region of Osttirol (Austria): An example for Bridges Built and Building Bridges
Are standards and regulations of organic farming moving away from small farmers' knowledge?
Organic farming is a promising agricultural method with positive effects on the human ecological and social environment. Governments have taken over a major role in defining organic farming by creating legal standards. Many countries all over the world have established a certification and accreditation system in order to protect the justified expectations of consumers with regard to processing and controlling the product quality of organic goods and to protecting producers from fraudulent trade practices. As they are relevant to international trade, these standards do not only influence the organic farming movement on the national level but also have a converse impact across national borders. Organic farming was established in a bottom-up process as farmers aimed to design sustainable ways of using natural resources. Farmersâ traditional knowledge and their awareness of ecological, as well as, of social affairs was the main base for the development of organic farming. Since public interest in organic farming has grown rapidly, the ownership on the process of defining organic farming is no longer in the hands of farmers and the original principles and aims of themovement seem to be threatened by a bureaucratic view of ârecipeâ-organic farming. However, unsolved problems also exist between the necessities of global harmonization and the local adaptability of the standards on organic farming. This paper structures the current discussion and gives future prospects for further development
Einfluss von Einstellungen von BĂ€uerinnen und Bauern auf die Anwendung von Hausmitteln bei Nutztieren im Joglland, Ăsterreich
Im Hinblick auf die Richtlinien der ökologischen Landwirtschaft auf chemisch- synthetische Arzneimittel zu verzichten und beispielsweise pflanzliche Heilmittel einzusetzen, scheint eine Einbindung von pflanzlichen Hausmitteln in die Tierheilkunde sinnvoll. Die Faktoren, die mit dem Hausmitteleinsatz in Verbindung stehen bzw. diesen begĂŒnstigen könnten, wurden bisher wenig untersucht. Ziel dieser Arbeit war es einerseits, das Wissen von ausgewĂ€hlten BĂ€uerinnen und Bauern zu Hausmitteln zu dokumentieren und andererseits Faktoren zu ermitteln, die positiv auf den Hausmitteleinsatz einwirken könnten. Aufbauend auf die Theory of Reasoned Action von Fishbein und Ajzen wurde ein Modell entwickelt, anhand dessen Hypothesen abgeleitet und Einflussfaktoren geprĂŒft wurden. Im Joglland, Steiermark wurden 45 BĂ€uerinnen und Bauern, von denen 19 nach den Richtlinien der ökologischen Landwirtschaft wirtschafteten, im Jahr 2011 mit Hilfe eines standardisierten Fragebogens zu den ihnen in der Tierheilkunde bekannten Hausmitteln befragt, sowie die Einstellung zum Hausmitteleinsatz erhoben. Die Auswertung der Daten erfolgte mit deskriptiven und interferenzstatistischen Methoden. Insgesamt wurden von den BĂ€uerinnen und Bauern 144 verschiedene Hausmittel genannt, von denen der GroĂteil pflanzlichen Ursprungs war. 55 Pflanzenarten konnten als Rohstoffe fĂŒr Hausmittel bestimmt werden. MĂ€nner konnten signifikant mehr Hausmittel nennen und setzten auch mehr ein als Frauen. Zudem setzten GesprĂ€chspartnerInnen, die viele Hausmittel kannten, auch mehr ein. GesprĂ€chspartnerInnen mit einer positiven Einstellung zum Hausmitteleinsatz wandten diese auch vermehrt an und eine positive Intention, Hausmittel einzusetzen, spiegelte sich auch in der Anwendung wider. Keinen signifikanten Einfluss auf den Hausmitteleinsatz hatten beispielsweise die Faktoren Alter, ökologische Wirtschaftsweise, Einstellung des behandelnden Tierarztes/ der TierĂ€rztin zum Hausmitteleinsatz und Anwendung von Hausmitteln in der Humanmedizin
Das Biokontrollsystem in Ăsterreich
Ăsterreich hat ein bereits weit entwickeltes Bio-Kontrollsystem â trotzdem gibt es Schwachstellen. Die Autoren benennen den Handlungsbedarf zu seiner Optimierung
Das Bio-Kontrollsystem in Ăsterreich: Funktionsweise, StĂ€rken, SchwĂ€chen und Handlungsbedarf
Die Ausweitung der Palette von Bioprodukten im Handel, die Zunahme an UmsĂ€tzen von Bioprodukten, das starke Interesse fĂŒr Bioprodukte nach Lebensmittelskandalen in der konventionellen Landwirtschaft und BetrugsfĂ€lle im Bio-Sektor â von Bio-Kontrollstellen aufgedeckt â haben das Interesse an der Verbesserung des Kontrollsystems fĂŒr den Biologischen Landbau geweckt
Organic farmers use of wild food plants and fungi in a hilly area in Styria (Austria)
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Changing lifestyles have recently caused a severe reduction of the gathering of wild food plants. Knowledge about wild food plants and the local environment becomes lost when plants are no longer gathered. In Central Europe popular scientific publications have tried to counter this trend. However, detailed and systematic scientific investigations in distinct regions are needed to understand and preserve wild food uses. This study aims to contribute to these investigations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Research was conducted in the hill country east of Graz, Styria, in Austria. Fifteen farmers, most using organic methods, were interviewed in two distinct field research periods between July and November 2008. Data gathering was realized through freelisting and subsequent semi-structured interviews. The <it>culinary use value </it>(CUV) was developed to quantify the culinary importance of plant species. <it>Hierarchical cluster analysis </it>was performed on gathering and use variables to identify culture-specific logical entities of plants. The study presented was conducted within the framework of the master's thesis about wild plant gathering of the first author. Solely data on gathered wild food species is presented here.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-nine wild food plant and mushroom species were identified as being gathered, whereas 11 species were mentioned by at least 40 percent of the respondents. Fruits and mushrooms are listed frequently, while wild leafy vegetables are gathered rarely. Wild foods are mainly eaten boiled, fried or raw. Three main clusters of wild gathered food species were identified: leaves (used in salads and soups), mushrooms (used in diverse ways) and fruits (eaten raw, with milk (products) or as a jam).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Knowledge about gathering and use of some wild food species is common among farmers in the hill country east of Graz. However, most uses are known by few farmers only. The CUV facilitates the evaluation of the culinary importance of species and makes comparisons between regions and over time possible. The classification following gathering and use variables can be used to better understand how people classify the elements of their environment. The findings of this study add to discussions about food heritage, popularized by organizations like Slow Food, and bear significant potential for organic farmers.</p
BĂ€uerliche Experimente in Kuba und ihre Bedeutung fĂŒr eine nachhaltige Landwirtschaft
This paper aims to examine farmersâ perception on the contribution of farmersâ experiments to sustainable agriculture. Field research was conducted in Cuba and comprised semi-structured interviews with 72 farmers. Most Cuban farmers experimented with locally available resources. According to the farmersâ perception, resources, topics and methods were ecologically compatible and involved little risks. Through experimenting the respondents felt, that they increased the production and the degree of self-sufficiency. Farmers ensured that experiments contributed to improve the local farming system and thereby supported the sustainable development of agriculture
BĂ€uerliche Experimente in Ăsterreich â Beurteilung von Video als möglicher Auslöser der ExperimentiertĂ€tigkeit von BiobĂ€uerinnen und Biobauern
Farmersâ experiments are an integral element of agricultural practice, contribute to the development of local knowledge and form the precondition for local innovations. This study addresses organic farmersâ experiments in Austria, and specifically video as tool for capturing and sharing lessons learned from farmersâ experimentation, as well as the potential of video to trigger farmersâ experiments. For 85 % of the surveyed organic farmers (n=34) farmersâ experiments were considered to have high relevance in the course of their farming activities. The elaborated videos stimulated 71 % of the farmers to conduct experiments. The videos were successfully applicable in adult and student agricultural education. After watching them, 12 of 16 students (75 %) came up with ideas for experiments they would like to try at their parentsâ farms
Explaining the resurgent popularity of the wild: motivations for wild plant gathering in the Biosphere Reserve Grosses Walsertal, Austria
Background:
Wild plant gathering becomes again a popular and fashionable activity in Europe after gathering practices have been increasingly abandoned over the last decades. Recent ethnobotanical research documented a diversity of gathering practices from people of diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds who gather in urban and rural areas. Few efforts were though made to study the motivations for gathering wild plants and to understand the resurgent popularity of wild plant gathering. This paper addresses the following research questions: (1) which motivations activate wild plant gatherers? (2) which motivation-types of gatherers exist in the Grosses Walsertal? (3) how do the motivations for gathering relate to the socio-demographic background of gatherers?
Methods:
Field research was conducted in the Grosses Walsertal, Austria in the years 2008 and 2009 in two field research periods. Thirty-six local farmers were first interviewed with semi-structured interviews. The motivations identified in these interviews were then included in a structured questionnaire, which was used to interview 353 residents of the valley. Pupils of local schools participated in the data collection as interviewers. Principal Component Analysis was used to categorize the motivations and to identify motivation-types of wild plant gatherers. Generalized Linear Models were calculated to identify relations between motivations and the socio-demographic background of gatherers.
Results:
The respondents listed 13 different motivations for gathering wild plants and four motivations for not gathering. These 17 motivations were grouped in five motivation-types of wild plant gatherers, which are in decreasing importance: product quality, fun, tradition, not-gathering, income. Women, older respondents and homegardeners gather wild plants more often for fun; older respondents gather more often for maintaining traditions; non-homegardeners more frequently mention motivations for not gathering.
Conclusions:
The resurgent popularity of wild plant gathering comes along with an internalization of motivations: the main motivations for wild plant gathering changed from the external extrinsic motivation of gathering because of necessity towards the internalized extrinsic motivation of gathering for the highly esteemed product quality and the intrinsic motivation of gathering for the pleasure of the activity itself. This internalization of motivations supports the persistence of wild plant gathering, a positive self-perception of gatherers and good quality of engagement with wild plant gathering.(VLID)90709
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