World food markets into the 21st century: environmental and resource constraints and policies

Projections of global food supply and demand to the year 2020 indicate that food production in the aggregate is likely to keep pace with growing populations and incomes, and that real food prices will be stable or slowly declining. This article examines the possible environmental and resource constraints to long‐term food production growth and explores the implications of these possible constraints for food and resource policies. The article reviews and synthesises the evidence on biophysical limits to crop productivity; plant genetic resources and biotechnology; the availability of plant nutrients; soil and land degradation; the increasing scarcity and declining quality of water; and the impact of global climate change on agriculture.International Relations/Trade,

Impact on food security and rural development of reallocating water from agriculture:

The competition for limited water resources between agriculture and more highly valued domestic and industrial water uses is rapidly increasing and will likely require the transfer of water out of agriculture. This paper reviews and synthesizes the available evidence of the effects of water transfers from agricultural to urban and industrial areas on local and regional rural economies; and analyzes the potential impacts of a large reallocation on global food supply and demand. It concludes with a discussion on the potential for water policy reform and demand management to minimize adverse impacts when water is reallocated from agriculture. It is argued that comprehensive reforms are required to mitigate the potentially adverse impacts of water transfers for local communities and to sustain crop yield and output growth to meet rising food demands at the global level. Key policy reforms include the establishment of secure water rights to users; the decentralization and privatization of water management functions to appropriate levels; the use of incentives including pricing reform, especially in urban contexts, and markets in tradable property rights; and the introduction of appropriate water-saving technologies.Agricultural resources., Resource allocation., Water resources, Water use Management.,

CC123 Let\u27s Reach for Top Corn Yields

Extension Circular CC123 This circular is about how to reach for top corn yields

Does efficient water management matter?: physical and economic efficiency of water use in the river basin

With growing water scarcity and increasing competition across water-using sectors, the need for water savings and more efficient water use has increased in importance in water resources management. Improvement in the physical efficiency of water use is related to water conservation through increasing the fraction of water beneficially used over water applied, while enhancing economic efficiency is a broader concept seeking the highest economic value of water use through both physical and managerial measures. Physical and economic efficiency measures are both useful indicators for water management at the irrigation system and river basin level. However, the relationship between physical efficiency and economic efficiency is not always clear and the values of these measures may indicate different directions for water policy and investments in irrigation. Open research questions include, for example: does enhancement of physical water use efficiency always lead to improved economic water use efficiency? How does the change in responsiveness of water allocation and irrigation technology to economic incentives affect physical and economic irrigation efficiency? What is the impact on physical and economic efficiency of various structural and nonstructural improvements? To explore these issues, an integrated economic-hydrologic river basin model is applied to the Maipo River Basin in Chile. A series of modeling scenarios are defined and policy implications from physical and economic efficiencies for basin-wide irrigation water management are analyzed.Irrigation Economic aspects., Water resources development., Water conservation., Chile.,

CC124 Use Top Quality Lime on your Farm

Extension Circular CC124 This circular is about how to use top quality lime on your farm. It includes information on purity, fineness, moisture, testing, rats of application, recommendations, and materials needed

Roots and tubers for the 21st century: trends, projections and policy options

"...The assessment of past trends, future prospects, and policy options reported here stems from the tradition of joint studies of roots and tubers in developing countries by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). This report builds on that previous collaboration and represents the first intercenter effort to produce future projections of demand and supply for these crops and represents the empirical foundation of a broader effort aimed at documenting not just trends and projections but also describing research activities and organizations with the overall objective of providing a vision for research on roots and tubers in the CGIAR. Gregory J. Scott, Mark W. Rosegrant, and Claudia Ringler have synthesized a significant amount of data and information on roots and tubers in order to provide a clearer vision of their past, present,a nd future roles in the food systems of developing countries. How the production and use of these commodities have changed and will continue to change over time are all the more important to understand because of the contribution they make to the diets and income-generating activities of the rural and urban poor in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This paper provides a fuller understanding of the prospects of roots and tubers for food, feed, and other uses in developing countries in the decades ahead. " (excerpted from Forward by Per Pinstrup-Andersen and Hubert Zandstra)Tubers Economic aspects Developing countries., Root-crops Economic aspects Developing countries., Agricultural economics and policies., Food supply Developing countries Forecasting., Assessment,

Irrigation and water resources in Latin America and the Caribbean: challenges and strategies

Latin America and the Caribbean are relatively well endowed with water resources. However, population growth and rapid urbanization are putting considerable pressure on water available for irrigation. Local and regional water scarcity problems are exacerbated by severe water quality problems; and wastewater is frequently used for irrigation. Moreover, prospects for new investments into irrigation development appear limited. This paper examines the factors underlying irrigation development in Latin America and the Caribbean, reviews the water supply situation, and describes trends in water demand and irrigated agriculture. The overall water management in the region is assessed, and recent trends in investments in the water sector, with a focus on large-scale irrigation systems, are analyzed. The paper concludes that in this context of accelerating demand and declining irrigation investments, new water development is not the primary solution to water resource challenges in the region. Much greater attention is needed on water policy and management reform to improve the efficiency and equity of irrigation and water supply systems.Water resources development Caribbean Area., Water-supply., Water use Management., Irrigation farming.,

Impact on Food Security and Rural Development of Transferring Water Out of Agriculture

The competition for limited water resources between agriculture and more highly valued domestic and industrial water uses is rapidly increasing and will likely require the transfer of water out of agriculture. This paper reviews and synthesizes the available evidence of the effects of water transfers from agricultural to urban and industrial areas on local and regional rural economies; and analyzes the possible impacts of a large reallocation on global food supply and demand. It concludes with a discussion of the potential for water policy reform and demand management to minimize adverse impacts when water is reallocated from agriculture. It is argued that comprehensive reforms are required to mitigate the potentially adverse impacts of water transfers for local communities and to sustain crop yield and output growth to meet rising food demands at the global level. Key policy reforms include the establishment of secure water rights to users; the decentralization and privatization of water management functions to appropriate levels; the use of incentives including pricing reform, especially in urban contexts, and markets in tradable property rights; and the introduction of appropriate water-saving technologies

The impact of global climate change on the Indonesian economy:

Global climate change influences the economic performance of all countries, and Indonesia is no exception. Under climate change, Indonesia is predicted to experience temperature increases of approximately 0.8�C by 2030. Moreover, rainfall patterns are predicted to change, with the rainy season ending earlier and the length of the rainy season becoming shorter. Climate change affects all economic sectors, but the agricultural sector is generally the hardest hit in terms of the number of poor affected. We assess climate change impacts for Indonesia using an Indonesian computable general equilibrium (CGE) model that focuses on the agricultural sector. Climate change input data were obtained from the International Food Policy Research Institute's International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade. Our results show that by 2030, global climate change will have a significant and negative effect on the Indonesian economy as a whole. In these projections, we see important impacts for particular sectors in the CGE model, especially for the agricultural sector (both producers and consumers) and in rural areas and for poorer households. Real gross domestic product (GDP) drops slightly and the consumer price index (CPI) increases by a small amount. Negative GDP growth is chiefly the result of adverse impacts on agriculture and agro-based industries, with the largest impact for soybeans, rice, and paddy (unmilled rice). Decreasing output of paddy and rice will adversely affect the country's food security. Domestic prices for paddy and rice increase significantly, pushing up the CPI. Taking international food price shocks into account would increase negative impacts. We find that addressing constraints to agricultural productivity growth through increased public agricultural research investments will be important to counteract adverse impacts of climate change. Enhanced awareness of both government agencies and farmers will be needed for the rural economy to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change.Climate change, Economy, Impact model, national CGE model, Computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling,

EC193 Revised 1952 Anhydrous Ammonia, A Good Nitrogen Fetilizer

Extension Circular 193 Revised 1952 Anhydrous Ammonia as a good nitrogen fertilizer