Land Resources and Productivity Potential - Agro-Ecological Methodology for Agriculture Development Planning

Understanding the nature and dimension of the land and water resources for food and agriculture development and the policies available to develop them have been the focal point of the work of the Land and Water Division of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. As we anticipate over the coming decades a technological transformation of agriculture which will be constrained by resource limitations and which could have serious environmental consequences, a number of important questions arise: (a) What is the stable, sustainable production potential of the world? of regions? of nations? (b) How does this production potential in specific areas (within countries as well as groups of countries) compare to the food requirements of the future populations of these areas? potential? (c) What alternative transition paths are available to reach desirable levels of this production potential? (d) What are the sustainable and efficient combinations of techniques of food production? (e) What are the resource requirements of such techniques? (f) What are the policy implications at national, regional and global levels of sustainability? Stability and sustainability are both desirable properties of agricultural land resources development, inter-generational equity as well as of political stability and peace. We hold ecological considerations to be of critical importance in answering the questions posed above. Limits to food production are set by soil and climatic conditions and by the use, and management, of the land. In the long term, any "mining" of land beyond these limits will result in degradation and decreased productivity. Accordingly, there are critical levels of production obtainable, in perpetuity, from any given land area and hence critical levels of populations that can be supported from this area. It is crucial to take account of the physical resource base for potential production as well as the socio-economic aspects that will influence the actual production. The population and land resources study, carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in collaboration with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, with funding from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is concerned with the quantitative evaluation of the land resources' food productive capacity on the basis of soil, climate and crop data under specified technological conditions. The methodology and resource data base developed within this study provides a first approximation of the food production potentials and the population supporting potentials for 117 countries in five regions of the developing world. The most fruitful and promising avenue for further work and application of the methodology is in relation to detailed country case studies. The aim of this report is to describe the agro-ecological methodology and specify the data needs, with special emphasis on methodological and data refinements for detailed country agricultural planning studies. The report should be of particular interest and use to institutions in countries considering an ecological--technological--economic approach to the planning of agricultural development

Food Production Potential and Assessment of Population Supporting Capacity - Methodology and Application

Understanding the nature and dimension of the food problem and the policies available to alleviate it has been the focal point of the Food and Agriculture Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) since the program began in 1977. In the program we are not only concerned with policies over a 5-15 year time horizon, but also with a long term perspective to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the food problems of the world. As we anticipate over the coming decades a technological transformation of agriculture which will be constrained by resource limitations and which could have serious environmental consequences, a number of important questions arise. (a) What is the stable, sustainable production potential of the world? of regions? of nations? (b) Can mankind be fed adequately by this stable, sustainable production potential? (c) What alternative transition paths are available to reach desirable levels of this production potential? (d) What are sustainable, efficient combinations of techniques of food production? (e) What are the resource requirements of such techniques? (f) What are the policy implications at national, regional global levels of sustainability? Stability and sustainability are both desirable properties from the considerations of inter-generational equity as well as of political stability and peace. We hold environmental considerations to be of critical importance in answering the questions posed. This report presents the results of a case study of Kenya carried out as a part of the FAO/UNFPA Project INT/513, Land Resources for Populations of the Future, being carried out in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Program, IIASA. The results are preliminary and should be regarded as the first approximation. At the present time a detailed case study of Kenya (Phase 2, FAO/Kenya/IIASA Study) is being carried out. As understanding of the ecological and technological limits of food production is a critical part of agricultural development planning, this report highlights the results for Kenya and the methodology of evaluating agricultural production potential, population supporting capacity and soil degradation hazards. Policy relevance and implications for Kenya are briefly discussed. This preliminary report in collaboration with the Land and Water Division of the FAO is the first of a series on the potential and limits of food production in developing countries

People, Land and Food Production - Potentials in the Developing World

Understanding the nature and dimension of the land and water resources available for food and agriculture development, and the policies available to develop them, have been among the focal points of the work of the Land and Water Development Division of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and of the Food and Agriculture Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. As we anticipate, over the coming decades, a technological transformation of agriculture which will be constrained by resource limitations and which could have environmental consequences, a number of important questions arise: (a) What is the stable, sustainable production potential of the world? of regions? of nations? (b) How does this production potential in specific areas (within countries and groups of countries) compare to the food requirements of the future populations of these areas? (c) What alternative transition paths are available to reach desirable levels of this production potential? (d) What are the sustainable and efficient combinations of techniques of food production? (e) What are the input requirements of such techniques? (f) What are the policy implications at national, regional and global levels of sustainability? Stability and sustainability are both desirable properties of agricultural land resources development. We hold ecological considerations to be of critical importance in answering the questions posed above. This paper presents the results of a recent study entitled "Land Resources for the Populations of the Future" carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Program of IIASA with financial support from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities. The study was designed to quantify potential population supporting capacities of land resources in the developing regions of the world, based on ecological and technological limits to food production. An understanding of these limits is critical to agricultural policy formulation and development planning. This paper highlights policy implications for developing countries

Diagnostic SWOT appraisal of the wicker handicraft entrepreneurship development in Kashmir, India

Critical analyses of the perceptions on SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) have become a fundamental element of multi-criteria decision making for developing wicker handicraft entrepreneurship. The study examined the effectiveness and prioritization of entrepreneur's perceptions towards SWOT categories and factors and provided insights for developing wicker handicraft entrepreneurship in Pulwama district of Kashmir. Data were collected through structured interviews and focus group discussions of 100 wicker handicraft entrepreneurs of 20 villages selected by multi-stage random sampling. Simple descriptive statistics were used for the data analysis. Results showed that the factors like income generation (19.30%) and employment generation (19.00%) were viewed as most important strengths while labour intensive and less remunerative livelihood (18.80%) and seasonal subsistence (18.70%) were identified as main weaknesses. Further, poverty alleviation (20.70%), preservation of traditional art craft (19.00%) and improvement in public-private relations (17.50%) were adjudged as strong opportunities whereas limited marketing facilities (20.70%), lack of co-operative societies (18.90%) and harassment by officials in withies collection (16.50%) were seen as chief threats. The challenges (weaknesses and threats) (50.40%) for wicker handicraft entrepreneurship outweighed the prospects (strengths and opportunities) (49.60%) while the internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) (54.80%) prevailed over the external factors (opportunities and threats) (54.20%). F statistics (p<0.05) indicated significant differences between the internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats). The results projected the basis to the policymakers to prioritize and address the prominent challenges and reinforce the prospects for conceptualizing, formulating and implementing the strategies for strengthening the wicker handicraft entrepreneurship

Simulation of long-term carbon and nitrogen dynamics in grassland-based dairy farming systems to evaluate mitigation strategies for nutrient losses

Many measures have been proposed to mitigate gaseous emissions and other nutrient losses from agroecosystems, which can have large detrimental effects for the quality of soils, water and air, and contribute to eutrophication and global warming. Due to complexities in farm management, biological interactions and emission measurements, most experiments focus on analysis of short-term effects of isolated mitigation practices. Here we present a model that allows simulating long-term effects at the whole-farm level of combined measures related to grassland management, animal housing and manure handling after excretion, during storage and after field application. The model describes the dynamics of pools of organic carbon and nitrogen (N), and of inorganic N, as affected by farm management in grassland-based dairy systems. We assessed the long-term effects of delayed grass mowing, housing type (cubicle and sloping floor barns, resulting in production of slurry and solid cattle manure, respectively), manure additives, contrasting manure storage methods and irrigation after application of covered manure. Simulations demonstrated that individually applied practices often result in compensatory loss pathways. For instance, methods to reduce ammonia emissions during storage like roofing or covering of manure led to larger losses through ammonia volatilization, nitrate leaching or denitrification after application, unless extra measures like irrigation were used. A strategy of combined management practices of delayed mowing and fertilization with solid cattle manure that is treated with zeolite, stored under an impermeable sheet and irrigated after application was effective to increase soil carbon stocks, increase feed self-sufficiency and reduce losses by ammonia volatilization and soil N losses. Although long-term datasets (>25 years) of farm nutrient dynamics and loss flows are not available to validate the model, the model is firmly based on knowledge of processes and measured effects of individual practices, and allows the integrated exploration of effective emission mitigation strategies

Productivity and economic evaluation of Willow (Salix alba L.) based silvopastoral agroforestry system in Kashmir valley

Performance of two fodder crops namely, sorghum (Sorghum vulgare L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) was investigated with Willow (Salix alba L.) to evaluate productivity and economics of the silvopastoral agroforestry system in Kashmir valley. The experiment was laid out by planting two year old willows at 2.0m × 2.0m spacing and dividing the main plot into sub-plots of size 8m × 2m each with 5 replications in randomized block design (RDB). The intercrops of sorghum and maize were maintained at 20cm × 10 cm spacing and supplied with recommended doses of fertilizers. The economics of the willow plantation intercropped with fodder crops was compared with sole willow farming by the benefit-cost ratio and net present worth. The study revealed the differential behaviour of Salix alba regarding growth parameters (height, diameter and girth) by different intercrops and various fodder intercrops with respect to yield, above ground biomass, dry matter production and soil nutrient status (pH, organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). The willow based silvopastoral system was estimated to have benefit-cost ratio of 2.71 with maize and 2.68 with sorghum, while as sole crop the willows accrued a benefit-cost ratio of 2.66. The study is useful in discovering growth of willows, productivity of fodder crops and soil nutrient status under various silvopastoral agroforestry systems for maximizing economic gains. The findings envisaged evidences in favour of adopting willow based silvopastoral agroforestry instead of sole tree farming and the knowledge of interactions will be helpful in proper management of the system for sustained multiple productions

Mineralization and herbage recovery of animal manure nitrogen after application to various soil types

Background and aim - Typical values of plant available nitrogen (N) from animal manures are provided in fertilizer recommendation schemes. However, only a few attempts have been made thus far to study the variation in these values among contrasting soil types. The objective of this study was to examine the interactions between animal manure and soil types on N mineralization and total plant N recovery (shoots¿+¿roots) during one growing season. Methods - A pot experiment was conducted in a greenhouse during a growth period of 180 days. Experimental treatments included solid cattle manure (SCM), cattle slurry (CS) and poultry manure (PM), all applied to sandy, clay and peat soils sown with perennial ryegrass. Total N application rate was 120 kg ha-1. Results - There were clear interactions (P¿¿sandy¿>¿clay. In case of the peat soil, net mineralization of the applied organic N was on average 90 % from PM, 39 % from SCM and 26 % from CS. However, in the clay soil a positive net N mineralization occurred only from PM (42 %). Besides, significant proportions of the applied mineral N from SCM (17 %) and CS (35 %) were immobilized in this soil type. Consequently, apparent total plant N recovery was highest in the peat soil with values of 80, 57 and 50 % from PM, CS and SCM, respectively. In contrast, these values were only 57, 28 and 15 % for the clay soil. Conclusions - It is concluded that wide variations do exist in the extent of net N mineralization and plant N recovery from a given animal manure type when applied to diverging soil types. This indicates the need for more soil-specific manure fertilizer recommendations

Examining the Linkage of Academic Performance and Attention by Uddin's Numeral Finding and Typo Revealing Tests: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study in Undergraduate Students of Bangladesh

Background: Attention is the state of applying the concentration to something and it's strongly linked to academic performance. The drive of this study was to analyze the academic performance and attention of undergraduate students. Methods: The study was implemented on 139 undergraduate students of Bangladesh selected from 9 universities from April to August 2018. In this study to investigate the attention of the students, the Uddin's Numeral Finding (NF) and Typo Revealing (TR) tests were used. Results: In the NF test male students with last semester cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.47 (highest) exerted the maximum 40% attention but female students exerted only 33.3% attention and their last semester CGPA was 3. Students with age > 22 years exerted maximum, 70.55%, and 35.2% attention in NF and TR tests respectively with last semester CGPA of 3.56 (maximum). In the NF and TR tests, highest, 89.73%, and 50.33% attention respectively were reported by 1st-year students with last semester CGPA of only 3.70. High-socioeconomic status students with last semester CGPA of 3.43 (lowest) exerted maximum 75.30% attention in NF test. There were no significant associations between variables. Conclusion: Attention is a very rudimentary function that often is a forerunner to cognitive functions. Individual differences in academic performance have been linked to differences in attention and intelligence

A generalization of the Heine--Stieltjes theorem

We extend the Heine-Stieltjes Theorem to concern all (non-degenerate) differential operators preserving the property of having only real zeros. This solves a conjecture of B. Shapiro. The new methods developed are used to describe intricate interlacing relations between the zeros of different pairs of solutions. This extends recent results of Bourget, McMillen and Vargas for the Heun equation and answers their question on how to generalize their results to higher degrees. Many of the results are new even for the classical case.Comment: 12 pages, typos corrected and refined the interlacing theorem