Sri Lanka Social Enterprise Needs Assessment and Advisory

Authored in collaboration with Oxfam, this research maps social enterprises within the agriculture sector, identifies the key challenges they face, and makes recommendations for donors and development agencies looking to support the space in Sri Lanka. Findings and recommendations developed based on secondary research and field survey of social enterprises in Sri Lanka

Creating superfluid vortex rings in artificial magnetic fields

Artificial gauge fields are versatile tools that allow to influence the dynamics of ultracold atoms in Bose-Einstein condensates. Here we discuss a method of artificial gauge field generation stemming from the evanescent fields of the curved surface of an optical nanofibre. The exponential decay of the evanescent fields leads to large gradients in the generalized Rabi frequency and therefore to the presence of geometric vector and scalar potentials. By solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation in the presence of the artificial gauge fields originating from the fundamental HE$_{11}$ mode of the fibre, we show that vortex rings can be created in a controlled manner. We also calculate the magnetic fields resulting from the higher order HE$_{21}$, TE$_{01}$, and TM$_{01}$ modes and compare them to the fundamental HE$_{11}$ mode.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Shifting from Agriculture to Agribusiness: The Case of Aromatic Plants

This study has examined the agribusiness opportunities in medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), based on the field level information from the state of Uttarakhand. The financial feasibility of important aromatic plants has been studied. It has been found that the returns are substantially higher from these crops than the most profitable commercial crops like sugarcane. The study has identified the constraints that affect the spread of cultivation of MAPs; these include inadequate processing capacities, price risks and non-availability of planting material. It has been suggested that concerted efforts should be made to address these constraints and increase access to the world market.Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries,

Small and Medium Enterprises in the Agriculture Value Chain: Opportunities and Recommendations

Authored in collaboration with Oxfam, this report analyzes the effectiveness of development programs in addressing the effectiveness of SME agricultural value chains, and dissect whether these interventions would be Social Enterprises (SEs) in agriculture in Asia. The paper makes recommendations for donors and development agencies that seek to support SEs in agriculture

Extended Bose Hubbard model for two leg ladder systems in artificial magnetic fields

We investigate the ground state properties of ultracold atoms with long range interactions trapped in a two leg ladder configuration in the presence of an artificial magnetic field. Using a Gross-Pitaevskii approach and a mean field Gutzwiller variational method, we explore both the weakly interacting and strongly interacting regime, respectively. We calculate the boundaries between the density-wave/supersolid and the Mott-insulator/superfluid phases as a function of magnetic flux and uncover regions of supersolidity. The mean-field results are confirmed by numerical simulations using a cluster mean field approach.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure

Role of Agricultural R&D Policy in Managing Agrarian Crisis in India

The study has revealed that agricultural research and development (R&D) has potential to offer long-term solutions to the problems of Indian agriculture. With the changing environment and supply-side constraints, the role of R&D has become more important. This realization alongwith past performance of agricultural R&D has convinced the government to commit a significant proportion of its resources for developing appropriate technologies. The ICAR-SAUs system has come out with a number of improved agricultural technologies for major agro-climatic conditions. The paper has provided a list of some of these technologies, which are capable of making farm operations easy, provide savings in resources, reduce production losses, improve product quality and increase shelf-life of products, etc. These technologies eventually provide higher availability of quality foods and higher farm income, including maintaining productive capacity of agro-ecosystems. Since some of the new technologies are information-intensive, the role of ICT has become more important alongwith empowerment of farmers with scientific know-how.Agricultural and Food Policy,