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PubMed1998

Perspectives in agrobiotechnology.

This review surveys the most important and promising contributions of agricultural biotechnology to the development of sustainable, environment-friendly agriculture. It deals with the recent achievements of genetic technology for the development of new transgenic microbial, plant and animal products. It also deals with the newest developments and perspectives of microbial intervention in agricultural practices, such as biofertilizers, biocontrol agents, and various microbiological products used in modern agriculture. The review surveys the outlook for a waste-free, environment-friendly sustainable agricultural practice, including waste management, recycling and bioremediation technologies. The review lists the most important marketable agrobiotechnological products, and their present and projected sales volume.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2004

Opportunities and limiting factors of intensive vegetable farming in malaria endemic Côte d'Ivoire.

Poverty reduction policies guide development strategies. In economies that depend heavily on agriculture, in the face of rapid population growth, innovative approaches are required to satisfy food needs, increase household welfare and alleviate poverty. Irrigated agriculture is an important strategy to enhance crop production, but it must be well tailored to specific socio-ecological settings, as otherwise, it might increase the burden of water-related parasitic diseases and delay economic advance. The purpose of this study is to assess and quantify the effect of ill health, particularly malaria, on the performance of farm activity, with an emphasis on drip-irrigated vegetable farming in rural Côte d'Ivoire. Vegetable yields and revenues were monitored among 12 farmers and linked with longitudinal medical and entomological surveys. Over the course of 10 months, farmers were classified as sick, on average, for 14-15 days, with malaria accounting for 8-9 days (58%), confirming that malaria is the most important disease in this setting. There was a large heterogeneity among farmers, with malaria-related work losses ranging between 0 and 26 days. Work absenteeism correlated with overall yields and revenues. During a single cabbage production cycle, those farmers who were prescribed sick because of malaria for more than 2 days (mean: 4.2 days) had 47% lower yields and 53% lower revenues than farmers who missed a maximum of 2 days (mean: 0.3 days). This is consequential in an intensive cropping system, where substitutes for qualified workers are not readily available. We conclude that mitigating the burden of malaria is an important step towards reducing the vulnerability of people engaged in intensive agricultural production. This calls for targeted interventions to facilitate agriculture-based rural development that might spur social and economic development and reduce inequities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Veterinary medicine educational requirements to meet the needs of the US Agency for International Development.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) works within the overall purpose of US foreign assistance to improve the lives of the citizens of the developing world. Through partnerships with other agencies, organizations, and governments, and using its field offices around the world, USAID strives to develop local capacity and thus build sustainable development. Two specific USAID programs pertinent to veterinary medicine are global health and agriculture. In the area of global health, veterinarians can aid USAID's work to improve the quality, availability, and use of essential health services that specifically target maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, family planning and reproductive health, infectious diseases, environmental health, nutrition, and other life-saving areas. The challenge of making the agricultural sector in a developing country more productive is a critical one for USAID and a clear area for input from the veterinary profession. Animal agriculture is the largest single sector of agricultural economies in most developing countries, and livestock remains a critical component of poverty alleviation. There are educational requirements that benefit anyone working at USAID and can be met prior to admittance to a DVM program, as part of a DVM curriculum, or in post-graduate training/employment, such as proficiency in a foreign language; environmental sciences background; familiarity with accounting and management techniques; expertise in foreign animal diseases, zoonotic diseases, epidemiology, food safety, and nutrition, as well as the application to human health of those areas; an advanced degree such as an MPH; and management experience. Appropriately trained veterinarians can make enormous contributions to USAID's global efforts to improve the health and agriculture sectors of developing nations.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2003

Growing vegetables in developing countries for local urban populations and export markets: problems confronting small-scale producers.

Vegetables attract high applications of pesticides, and farmers in developing countries use many acutely toxic insecticides to control pests on these crops. With the liberalisation of agricultural markets in developing countries, the number of small-scale farmers growing vegetables for both domestic and export markets is increasing. Demand for supplies of year-round and exotic fruit and vegetables has grown in industrialised countries, but with rising quality standards and traceability requirements it is difficult for small-scale farmers to benefit from this lucrative non-traditional agricultural export trade. The demand is high for vegetables in the expanding cities in developing countries, and farmers in peri-urban areas, or rural areas with good access to the cities, are in a position to find a growing market for their produce. Poor storage facilities will often mean that farmers are forced to sell at peak times when prices are low. Farmers rarely have access to training in pesticide use, and have only limited or no access to advice on the complicated management of pesticides. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN is concerned about high levels of poor quality and adulterated pesticides on sale in developing countries. Surveys repeatedly show that without training, farmers are unable to make good crop decisions: recognition of pests and their predators is generally low, leading to decisions to spray to kill any insect; knowledge of product selection, application rates and timing is poor; different products are often combined in the belief that the effect will be greater; re-entry periods after spraying and essential harvest intervals are not known; and without knowledge of alternatives, farmers will often assume that the only solution to pest problems is to spray more frequently. From a consumer's point of view, few developing countries are able to monitor pesticide residues, particularly for produce grown for home consumption: most countries do not have laboratories for even simple residue testing. Changes in European Maximum Residue Limits means that export crops will be rejected if they contain residues at the Limit of Detection of pesticides not registered in Europe. Season-long field level training in Integrated Pest Management can help farmers to become better decision-makers, and to greatly reduce pesticide use while reducing risks to their own health and environment, producing safer products for consumers, maintaining yields, and increasing incomes.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2002

Effects of agricultural runoff on native amphibians in the Lower Fraser River Valley, British Columbia, Canada.

Hatching success, deformity rates, and survivorship of northern red-legged frogs (Rana aurora) and northwestern salamanders (Ambystoma gracile) were assessed at three agricultural and three reference sites in the Sumas Prairie, British Columbia, Canada. In 1997 and 1998, eggs of both species and eggs of R. aurora, respectively, were placed in Nytex mesh cages (Irwindale, CA, USA) in roadside ditches at each site. Concurrently in 1997, eggs of R. aurora were reared in the laboratory but were exposed to water samples from each of the study sites. Hatching success was significantly lower at all agricultural sites compared to the reference sites for both species. However, no differences were observed in hatching success among sites for eggs of R. aurora reared in the laboratory. Water chemistry differed among all sites, but the largest differences were between reference and agricultural sites. Ammonia (maximum of 1.27 mg/L), total phosphate (maximum of 8.14 mg/L), and biological oxygen demand (maximum of 79.00 mg/L) were high at some of the agricultural sites during the development period. Results suggest that agricultural runoff may contribute to lower reproductive success and ultimately to reduced population viability of amphibian populations in the Lower Fraser Valley (BC, Canada).

Agriculture↗
PubMed2026

Meta-analysis of source identification and apportionment in soil: A systematic review of analytical procedures, receptor modeling, and environmental applications.

Soil pollution poses significant risks to ecosystems and human health, necessitating accurate source identification and apportionment to guide mitigation strategies. This systematic review evaluates the application of Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) and other receptor models in soil pollution studies, focusing on analytical procedures, tracer indicators, and environmental applications. This review aims to provide a comprehensive framework for conducting soil source apportionment studies, aiding policymakers in designing effective, region-specific environmental management strategies by compiling global trends and methodological insights. The study addresses sampling protocols, emphasizing representativeness and quality control. Data from 500 peer-reviewed publications highlight the dominance of research in China, Eastern Europe, and South Asia, with agricultural soils being the most frequently studied. Key findings reveal that traffic emissions (20.8 %) and industrial activities (19.4 %) are the primary global contributors to soil contamination, with regional variations such as coal combustion in cold climates and agricultural inputs in developing regions. Policy recommendations include stricter industrial regulations, sustainable agricultural practices, and targeted remediation efforts based on source-specific risks.

Soil Pollutants↗
PubMed2005

Monitoring the development of intertidal habitats on former agricultural land after the managed realignment of coastal defences at Tollesbury, Essex, UK.

The managed realignment of coastal defences and subsequent creation of intertidal habitats is one of several 'soft' engineering options that could reduce the costs of maintaining embankments and at the same time deliver environmental benefits. The managed realignment at Tollesbury was one of the first in the UK, undertaken as an experimental test case to improve understanding of the practical techniques and processes involved. Independent studies were undertaken on the development of soils, benthic invertebrates and vegetation within the site in addition to methods of enhancing the process of natural colonisation of saltmarsh plants. Bathymetric and vegetation monitoring were undertaken on the adjacent estuary to determine any breach effect that may be attributed to the realignment. This paper summarises the results from the vegetation, sedimentation and invertebrate monitoring and discusses the implications for other managed realignment schemes in the UK.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2002

Potential carbon mitigation and income in developing countries from changes in use and management of agricultural and forest lands.

The many opportunities for mitigating atmospheric carbon emissions in developing countries include reforesting degraded lands, implementing sustainable agricultural practices on existing lands and slowing tropical deforestation. This analysis shows that over the next 10 years, 48 major tropical and subtropical developing countries have the potential to reduce the atmospheric carbon burden by about 2.3 billion tonnes of carbon. Given a central price of $10 per tonne of carbon and a discount rate of 3%, this mitigation would generate a net present value of about $16.8 billion collectively for these countries. Achieving these potentials would require a significant global effort, covering more than 50 million hectares of land, to implement carbon-friendly practices in agriculture, forest and previously forested lands. These estimates of host-country income potentials do not consider that outside financial investment may or may not be available. Our calculations take no account of the additional benefits of carbon sequestration in forest soils undergoing reforestation, increased use of biomass and reduced use of fossil-fuel inputs and reduced agricultural emissions. In all events, realizing these incomes would necessitate substantially greater policy support and investment in sustainable land uses than is currently the case.

Africa↗
PubMed2005

[Developing models on water-saving agriculture through rainwater harvesting for supplemental irrigation in northern China semi-arid region].

Zhungeer of Inner Mongolia, an arsenic-bearing sandstone area of northern Loess Plateau, is one of the sites with most serious soil and water losses in China, while rainwater harvesting (RWH) for supplemental irrigation is the only approach to abate droughts in this region. In the ongoing water saving agriculture project, a national 863 project of China, Zhungeer was chosen as a demonstration zone of water-saving dryland agriculture through rainwater harvesting for supplemental irrigation in northern China semi-arid region. The traditional RWH and utilization lacks of holistic consideration, resulting in the blindness in engineering planning and production arrangement. Based on the analysis of the ecological, economic and societal conditions in the demonstration zone, this paper summarized the technological system of dryland cropping production centered on RWH for supplemental irrigation, and developed three models of RWH and highly effective crop-planting, RWH and ecological pasturing, and domestic RWH and economy. The water demand standards for integrative rainwater utilization in the demonstration zone were determined, and the ecological and socio-economic assessment on the three years implement effects of the models was conducted.

Agriculture↗