Cross-Sector Review of Drivers and Available 3Rs Approaches for Acute Systemic Toxicity Testing

Acute systemic toxicity studies are carried out in many sectors in which synthetic chemicals are manufactured or used and are among the most criticized of all toxicology tests on both scientific and ethical grounds. A review of the drivers for acute toxicity testing within the pharmaceutical industry led to a paradigm shift whereby in vivo acute toxicity data are no longer routinely required in advance of human clinical trials. Based on this experience, the following review was undertaken to identify (1) regulatory and scientific drivers for acute toxicity testing in other industrial sectors, (2) activities aimed at replacing, reducing, or refining the use of animals, and (3) recommendations for future work in this area

Modeling and forecasting riverine dissolved inorganic nitrogen export using anthropogenic nitrogen inputs, hydroclimate, and land-use change

A quantitative understanding of riverine nitrogen (N) export in response to human activities and climate change is critical for developing effective watershed N pollution control measures. This study quantified net anthropogenic N inputs (NANI) and riverine dissolved inorganic N (DIN=NO3-N+NH4-N+NO2-N) export for the upper Jiaojiang River catchment in eastern China over the 1980-2010 time period and examined how NANI, hydroclimate, and land-use practices influenced riverine DIN export. Over the 31-yr study period, riverine DIN yield increased by 1.6-fold, which mainly results from a ~77% increase in NANI and increasing fractional delivery of NANI due to a ~55% increase in developed land area. An empirical model that utilizes an exponential function of NANI and a power function of combining annual water discharge and developed land area percentage could account for 89% of the variation in annual riverine DIN yields in 1980-2010. Applying this model, annual NANI, catchment storage, and natural background sources were estimated to contribute 57%, 22%, and 21%, respectively, of annual riverine DIN exports on average. Forecasting based on a likely future climate change scenario predicted a 19.6% increase in riverine DIN yield by 2030 due to a 4% increase in annual discharge with no changes in NANI and land-use compared to the 2000-2010 baseline condition. Anthropogenic activities have increased both the N inputs available for export and the fractional export of N inputs, while climate change can further enhance riverine N export. An integrated N management strategy that considers the influence of anthropogenic N inputs, land-use and climate change is required to effectively control N inputs to coastal areas

Managing aflatoxin in smallholder groundnut production in Southern Africa: Paired comparison of the windrow and Mandela cock techniques

Timely drying of groundnuts is important after harvest. In most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, moisture content reduction is practically achieved by solar drying. In particular, the groundnuts are traditionally cured in the field using the inverted windrow drying technique. Recently, the Mandela cock technique, a ventilated stack of groundnut plants with a chimney at the center, has been introduced in the southern Africa region with the aim of reducing moisture content and the risk of aflatoxin contamination. An on-farm study was conducted in Malawi to compare the effectiveness of the Mandela cock and Windrow drying techniques with respect to aflatoxin control. For two consecutive years, farmers (2016, n = 29; 2017; n = 26) were recruited to test each of the two drying techniques. A mixed-design ANOVA showed that the Mandela cock groundnut drying technique led to sig- nificantly (p < 0.001) higher aflatoxin levels in groundnut seed compared to the traditional inverted windrow drying (5.7 μg/kg, geometric mean vs 2.5 μg/kg in 2016 and 37.6 μg/kg vs 8.4 μg/kg in 2017). The present findings clearly demonstrate the need for regulation and technology validation if farmers and consumers are to benefit

Advancing mutual accountability through comprehensive, inclusive, and technically robust review and dialogue

Ethiopia’s key development objectives are poverty eradication and food security at the household level, with agriculture playing an important role in the achievement of both of these objectives. The major policy framework for doing so is the Agricultural Development-Led Industrialization (ADLI) strategy, which has been the central pillar of Ethiopia’s development vision since the 1990s. Agricultural sector growth in the short and medium terms is envisaged as the driver for long-term industrialization and the structural transformation of Ethiopia’s economy. Ethiopia indigenized the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) by signing a CAADP Compact in August 2009 and developing the Agricultural Sector Policy and Investment Framework (PIF), which is the country’s National Agricultural Investment Plan. PIF is a 10-year plan that targets 8 percent annual growth in agricultural gross domestic product. It prioritizes agricultural subsectors for investment, estimates financing needs, and provides an implementation roadmap. To further support CAADP implementation, Ethiopia signed the G8 [Group of Eight] Cooperation Framework to support the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in 2012. The G8 Cooperation Framework aims to catalyze private-sector investment in seed development, multiplication, and distribution. It also seeks to put mechanisms in place to improve the ability of Ethiopia’s private sector to access markets, land, and credit.Non-PRIFPRI1; ReSAKSSDSGD; WCAO; ESA

Development of Chinese Agriculture since WTO Accession

This article discusses the main agricultural impacts of China's WTO accession and the associated challenges. We elaborate on four issues - agricultural production and trade, food security and self-sufficiency, farmers' incomes, and rural land reform. After more than seven years of WTO accession, the value of China's agricultural production and trade has increased and China has turned into a net importer of agricultural products. Globally, China now ranks as the fifth largest agricultural exporter and fourth largest agricultural importer. Although considerable resource shifts have taken place from land-intensive towards labour-intensive agricultural products in both production and trade, this transfer remains well below the potential due to trade barriers facing China's exports of labour-intensive agricultural products. Farmers' incomes increased after WTO entry, with a growing off-farm portion linked closely with world economic cycles. Rural land reform to improve economies of scale will require complementary policy aimed at a fully integrated labour and housing market, as well as a unified education and social welfare system for all of China's society. We argue that WTO accession has impacted China's agriculture in a positive fashion and has improved the efficiency of the sector, but accession has also given rise to new agricultural policy challenges. Copyright (c) 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation (c) The Agricultural Economics Society and the European Association of Agricultural Economists 2009.