Adoption of Fragrant Rice Farming: The Case of Paddy Farmers in the East Coast Malaysia

AbstractAnnually, Malaysia has to import approximately 30% of rice, including fragrant rice (Basmati and Jasmine type) to meet the shortage of domestic demand. The import of this specialty rice shows an up surging trend every year with a value of RM500 million. Mas Wangi or MRQ74 that has special characteristics and 80% similar attributes to Basmati type has been officially released in year 2005. The special characteristics such as long and slender grain shape, non- sticky and aromatic rice makes it preferred by Malaysian consumers and enabling it to tap the higher-end rice market, compared to normal white rice. The fragrant rice farming is one of the government initiatives to produce fragrant rice in large areas and needs full commitment from the farmers in non-granary areas. This study seeks to determine factors that influence new rice variety, MRQ74 adoption among paddy farmers in East Coast, Malaysia including the adoption behaviour. The study involved 28 farmers in non-granary areas in two districts; Pasir Mas and Tanah Merah, Kelantan via an in-depth interview approach. The results revealed that apart from the technology characteristics, there are other significant aspects that influence the adoption decision-making of the farmers such as extension services, capital resources, social influences, and institutional factor

Investigation on the electrochemical performances of Li4Mn5O12 for battery applications

In this study, well-crystallized Li4Mn5O12 powder was synthesized by a self-propagating combustion method using citric acid as a reducing agent. Various conditions were studied in order to find the optimal conditions for the synthesis of pure Li4Mn5O12. The precursor obtained was then annealed at different temperatures for 24 h in a furnace. X-ray diffraction results showed that Li4Mn5O12 crystallite is stable at relatively low temperature of 400 °C but decompose to spinel LiMn2O4 and monoclinic Li2MnO3 at temperatures higher than 500 °C. The prepared samples were also characterized by FESEM and charge-discharge tests. The result showed that the specific capacity of 70.7 mAh/g was obtained within potential range of 4.2 to 2.5 V at constant current of 1.0 mA. The electrochemical performances of Li4Mn5O12 material was further discussed in this paper

Lithium ion conduction and ion-polymer interaction in PVdF-HFP based gel polymer electrolytes

The GPE films consisting of PVdF-HFP as host polymer, LiCF3SO3 as dopant salt and the mixture of EC and PC as plasticizing solvent were prepared by the solution casting technique. The ionic conductivity at room temperature and the conductivity-temperature dependence were determined by a.c impedance spectroscopy. The result of conductivity versus temperature obeys the VTF rule. The increase in the conductivity is due to the increase in the number of mobile charge carriers and the decrease in ion pairs and ion aggregates as revealed by the FTIR spectra. These results are consistent with its morphological properties. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved