Diss. Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2003.

The Directorate of Extension and Engineering Services (DEES) in the Caprivi Region introduced the concept of Community Action Plan (CAP) in 2005 as a tool for implementing the Farming Systems Research and Extension (FSRE) approach. The Directorate’s main aim is to have functional Community Action Plans (CAP) in all communities in the Caprivi Region. Although CAP is a useful tool for implementing the FSRE approach in rural communities, not every stakeholder perceives it to be useful. Therefore the purpose of this study is to ascertain the usefulness of Community Action Plans as a strategy to support a bottom up extension approach. Three groups in the Caprivi Region, namely, Extension Staff, Mubiza Community and the Bukalo Community were selected to determine their knowledge and perception of CAP. The Mubiza community implements a Community Action Plan while Bukalo community does not implement a Community Action Plan. Two structured questionnaires were administered to a total of 95 respondents. Of these respondents, twenty two (22) were Extension staff, thirty seven (37) were from the Mubiza community and thirty six (36) were from the Bukalo community. There were no significant differences occurring between the two communities with regard to independent variables such as gender, age and education level. However, in respect of variables such as contact with extension staff and attendance of extension meetings there were differences. Clearly Mubiza community respondents had more contact and they attended meetings more often than respondents from Bukalo community. The majority of the Mubiza respondents 91% indicated that they planned their development activities using CAP while 75% of the Bukalo respondents indicated that they have no plans. Respondents from the Mubiza community are significantly more satisfied (p= < 0.0001) with the support they received from the Agricultural Extension Technicians than those from Bukalo. The study reveals also that there is significantly more involvement and participation in community development by members of the Mubiza community. While 92% of respondents from Mubiza community indicated quite clearly that they received appropriate support from the community leaders, only 42% of the respondents from Bukalo community indicated receiving such appropriate support from their leaders. Both, Extension staff and the respondents from the Mubiza Community, perceived the CAP as an effective tool for implementing the FSRE approach and improving the livelihood of communities. Copyright / Dissertation (MInstAgrar)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第21809号 / 農博第2322号 / 新制||農||1066(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H31||N5181(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科地域環境科学専攻 / (主査)教授 縄田 栄治, 教授 舟川 晋也, 教授 藤原 正幸 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

The purpose of this paper is to study the application of HACCP principles in dairy production systems for mitigation of potential water related hazards by control measures and legislation applicable at farm level. HACCP logical sequence approach including some principles of environmental risk assessment was the method used for the present study (FAO/IDF, 2004;Horchner et al., 2006). Literature review, farms visits, interviews, informal questionnaires and confirmation on site of the gathered information were the prerequisites of the study. Four flow diagrams in SA and three in Benin were drawn to describe the 11 steps relating the activities of the seven types of dairy farming systems recorded altogether in these countries (FAO/IDF, 2004,McCrindle, 2007). From the flow diagrams, almost three groups of 30 potential hazards were identified. Biological, chemical and physical hazards were characterized and their effects described according to the source, pathways, mechanisms, of water pollution. It was noticed that water use during farming activities is linked to the number of animals and is an important factor to qualify the magnitude of the risk of water pollution. Critical Control Points (CCPs) were identified. In SA, national legislation includes legal prerequisites for commercial dairy farming systems (SA GOVERNMENT 2005, 2006, 2007). Although water resources policies, strategies, legislation and management are strongly established, their implementation does not clearly include dairy by-products. In Benin dairy production strategy and development started in 2000. Basic legislation relating water resources is being updated. In commercial farming systems (F1 and F2 in SA), F7 in Benin, biological and chemical potential hazards are the main threat to water quality. Direct or indirect source of contamination due to manure, feces, urine, chemicals and stock remedies, waste water, occurs through husbandry practices (milking), pasture and housing. In SA, farmers are aware of International dairy standards, norms and practices such as GAP, GMP and GHP even if the practices are not completely respected. HACCP is not well yet well implemented at producer level althougth some commercial dairy processors have started the implementation of the system (FEDICS, 2004, CEBENOR, 2007). Environmental care (CCP11 and CCP12) are the main critical control points recorded which are not mitigated by the national legislation in both countries. In regard to traditional farming systems (F3, F4) and in SA, (F5, F6) in Benin, national legislation does not include prerequisites for biological and physical hazards; these are the main threat of water pollution and are due to direct or indirect contamination through drinking and grazing. Chemical hazards are not important because inputs of stock remedies are low in these systems. Farmers are not aware of International dairy standards, norms and practices such as GAP, GMP and GHP which are fairly respected. HACCP is unknown at producer level. CCPs relating animal treatment and care are partly mitigated by the national legislation. Stock remedies, drugs residues and Pharmaceuticals are controlled in both countries although Benin faces the introduction of uncontrolled veterinary drugs through illegal frontiers. The majority of the CCPs are not completely mitigated by national legislation for traditional dairy farms in both countries. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Paraclinical Sciences / unrestricted

A realidade agrária da Bocacosta na Guatemala, área tradicionalmente cafeeira, sofreu modificações importantes nos últimos anos. As crise do café em princípios de 1990 e 2000, concomitantemente com a firmação dos Acordos de Paz em 1996, foram decisivos para a transformação produtiva e social da região. Atualmente, podemos encontrar, integrados aos latifúndios de café tradicionais do modelo agroexportador e às grandes fazendas de gado, associações compostas por pequenos produtores de café, assentamentos de ex-guerrilheiros do conflito armado, comunidades de camponeses que regularizaram as terras, entre outros. São estes grupos que, conscientes do perigo do monocultivo de café, estão diversificando a produção. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar as dinâmicas sociais e produtivas da Bocacosta, proporcionando um melhor entendimento do panorama agrário atual. A partir de uma metodologia fundamentada em um instrumental de cunho sistêmico, a pesquisa busca analisar e diagnosticar os sistemas de produção implementados pelos agricultores da Bocacosta. Este estudo permitiu identificar cinco (5) sistemas agrários, que evoluiram e diferenciaram-se ao longo do tempo, e sete (7) sistemas de produção predominantes, praticados atualmente na região. A análise aprofundada de cada sistema de produção foi operacionalizada por meio de estudos de caso, escolhidos intencionalmente, a partir da pesquisa de campo e das entrevistas com os informante-chave. Constatou-se que o café, apesar de ainda ser predominante na realidade agrária da região, encontra-se em regressão na maioria dos estabelecimentos rurais, em razão da baixa rentabilidade. Igualmente, destaca-se a heterogeneidade nas estratégias adotadas pelas novas formas sociais, responsáveis pelas novas dinâmicas produtivas. A análise das informações evidencia a necessidade de elaborar políticas públicas de caráter social que elevem as condições de vida da população rural, bem como medidas que permitam efetivar a transição produtiva para outros cultivos e criações ou a diferenciação do produto no mercado. / The agrarian reality at Bocacosta in Guatemala, a traditionally coffee area, underwent significant changes in recent years. The coffee crisis of early 1990 and 2000, concurrently with the Peace Accords signing in 1996, were crucial for the productive and social transformation in the region. Currently, we can find, integrated with traditional agro-export model coffee lands and large livestock farms, associations composed of small coffee producers, ex-guerrillas settlements of armed conflict, peasant communities that regularized the land, among others. Are these groups that, aware of the danger of coffee monoculture, are diversifying the production. In this context, the present study aims to examine the social and productive dynamics at Bocacosta, providing a better understanding of the current agricultural background. From a methodology based on a systemic instrument, the research seeks to analyze and diagnose the farming systems implemented by farmers of Bocacosta. This study allowed to identify five (5) agrarian systems, which evolved and differed over time, and seven (7) predominant farming systems, currently performed in the region. A detailed analysis of each farming system was carried out through case studies, intentionally chosen from the research field stage and interviews with key informers. We found out that coffee, despite still being dominant in the agricultural reality of the region, is declining in most of rural establishments, due to low profitability. Also, it can be highlight the heterogeneity of strategies adopted by the new social forms, responsible for new dynamic production. Analysis of the data illustrates the necessity to develop social-nature public policies that increase living conditions of rural population, as well as procedures to shift production to other crops and livestock or product differentiation on the marketplace.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Agriculture)) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / Maize is a dominant crop in smallholder farming systems in the Limpopo province of South Africa, generally cultivated as intercrop with grain legumes. The major constraint in this cropping system is inadequate soil moisture during the growing season, which also limits nutrient availability to the component crops. The minimum tillage system has been reported to improve soil moisture availability on farmers’ fields but this has not yet been verified in an intercropping system in the province. The objective of this study was to quantify grain yield and chlorophyll production of intercropped maize, and to assess seasonal moisture availability under minimum tillage (MT) and conventional tillage (CT) systems. Dryland field experiments were conducted at two locations in the province namely, farmer’s field at Dalmada in 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 growing seasons and at the University of Limpopo Experimental farm at Syferkuil during the 2003/2004. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in split plot arrangement at all locations and seasons. Tillage systems consisting of conventional tillage and minimum tillage were the main plot treatments, whereas five different cropping systems namely, sole maize, and maize intercrop with cowpea (variety, Bechuana White), cowpea (variety, Agripers), Lablab bean (variety, Rongai) and Velvet bean were assigned as sub-plot treatments. Maize grain yield in 2002/2003 at Dalmada was significantly lower (357 kg/ha) under CT relative to 755kg/ha under MT. In 2003/2004 at Dalmada, grain yields under the two systems were similar, where as at Syferkuil, 15% higher grain yield results was obtained under MT. Minimum tillage systems resulted in higher number of maize cobs per plant at Dalmada in both growing seasons and weight per cob was higher under MT at both locations and seasons. At Dalmada, significantly higher soil moisture was recorded under the MT relative to the CT depending on depth and sampling dates. Chlorophyll content of the youngest fully expanded leaves of maize was generally higher under MT than CT, but this was observed only at the later stages of plant growth. The results also showed that the rate of senescence (reduced chlorophyll content in older leaves) was higher in maize plants grown under CT relative to those under MT. The minimum tillage system has shown the potential of being a superior system for dryland maize production, but further research involving additional locations is required to ascertain this fact.

[Truncated abstract] The initial success of the Green Revolution notwithstanding, the ability of our planet to produce sufficient food to support its growing population is causing growing concern. Indonesia, like many other countries, cannot produce sufficient rice to feed its people. This creates an imperative to import rice that Indonesia wishes to overcome. In addition, agricultural intensification has created ecological contamination from overuse and the mismanagement of chemical inputs. These problems threaten the sustainability of agricultural lands and Indonesia's ability to support national food selfsufficiency. The extension of agricultural lands is one alternative that has been implemented by the Indonesian government for more than two decades. Families from the crowded islands of Java and Bali have been translocated to the outer islands of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua. In South Kalimantan, the tidal swampland areas are one of the resettlement destinations; which are usually reclaimed for the purpose of increasing rice production. However, the difference between the natural characteristics, socialeconomics, language, and culture in South Kalimantan, compared with the homelands of the transmigrant farmers, has the potential to adversely affect the farming activities of both the transmigrant and the local indigenous farmers. This in turn might affect the sustainability of the tidal wetlands for agricultural production. It may also damage the ecological integrity of the coastal environment ... The research findings indicate that farming practices by the groups differed significantly. Similarly, there was a significant difference between the cultivation of traditional rice varieties and the HYV. Farming practices performed by the indigenous local farmers, who have lived in the swamplands for centuries, were more ecologically sustainable than those of their transmigrant counterparts in both of the tidal swamplands being assessed. Likewise, traditional (indigenous) rice variety cultivation appears to be more sustainable than the HYVs. Among the socio-economic and agronomic influences of the farming practices selected for statistical analysis, only the non-formal education variable had a significant impact on the sustainability index. Tidal swampland Type B has lower yields than Type A, but in both swampland types, indigenous farmers produce higher yields than the transmigrant farmers, while the HYV has a higher yield over the traditional one. Indigenous farmers received higher financial returns per ha compared to the transmigrant returns in tidal swampland Type A and Type B. The higher yields produced by the HYVs are not accompanied by a higher financial return per ha compared to the traditional variety. The conclusions of this research are that not only are indigenous farming practices more sustainable but that indigenous farmers achieve a higher overall output and higher returns per ha from their farming activities. Future research should be formulated to further investigate the implications for both increasing rice production and sustainability by extending the use of indigenous farming systems. The sustainability index developed in this research should be investigated for adaptation in other areas of Indonesia and possibly by other farming areas internationally.

This thesis is grounded in the introduction of participatory research, development and extension (RDE) to Australian agriculture. The emphasis on participatory processes emerged as the Transfer-of-Technology (ToT) model is no longer considered adequate to deal with complex farming systems and their diverse stakeholders (Packham 2003). However, RDE agencies are introducing participatory processes with a limited understanding of how they may work in Australia's developed agriculture sector (Vanclay 1994). Consequently, the initiation of three participatory Farming Systems RDE projects in Australia's northern grains region provides opportunity to explore and understand participatory approaches and their impact on participants. Three related themes are developed by exploring the nature of participants' diversity across these projects, the characteristics of participation in each project and the subsequent learning of participants: (i) that increased participation implicitly increases diversity in the conduct of RDE; (ii) that participatory RDE provides opportunities to integrate stakeholders' diverse experience and knowledge; and (iii) that participants' learning can improve current farming systems. Participatory action research was used to understand how participatory RDE should be enacted, and to involve project participants to help them also understand and improve their project processes and goals. The research utilised a range of qualitative and quantitative procedures including: participant and nonparticipant observation at project meetings and activities with farmers; focus groups and semi-structured interviews with project teams, their managers, and participating farmers; a team learning survey of team members; and custom-made questionnaires to quantify participants' perceptions of the projects, their processes, and impacts on learning and behaviour. These interventions identified participants' demographic, organisational and informational diversity. They also identified and elaborated their diverse aims, expectations and passions for participatory RDE, revealed individuals' preferred RDE methodologies and suggested their underlying worldviews. Indeed, ToT paradigms and positivist worldviews remained entrenched in most project staff and their managers. The teams consequently used participation to help farmers better understand technical issues, not build interdependent projects with integrated RDE processes. Farmers generally appreciated their increased participation and influence in RDE activities. While their initial consultative and functional participation did not extend to process decisions or project strategy, farmers valued the opportunity to work with the projects and influence the issues addressed. The projects consequently improved farming practices and management of issues that have long-eluded traditional RDE. For example, the widespread use of: (i) zero tillage and controlled traffic systems to control soil erosion; (ii) nitrogen fertilisers to match crop requirements; (iii) ley pastures to address soil fertility in grain and grazing systems; and (iv) new crops to diversifying grain systems away from monocultures. The projects provided farmers with opportunities for increased participation and learning over time. Functional participation developed in on-farm research that addressed issues identified with farmers, and action learning workshops provided proximal opportunities for farmers to understand existing information and use their own farm data in real decisions. In this way, the behaviourist learning of the ToT approach was supplemented by guided learning to integrate new meaning schemes with farmers' experiential knowledge. Some on-farm research and action learning activities extended to reflecting on their processes, and involved farmers in deciding the most appropriate RDE methodology and methods for subsequent activities. This opportunity to reflect on the values and assumptions of different approaches was critical in developing interactive participation and higher level learning for participants. Nevertheless, the initial participation in each project team failed to meet some team members' expectations. The expected task and process conflicts emerged, but small activity groups with shared values and RDE paradigms developed within each team. Team members' process conflict about the 'best' RDE methodologies for specific issues then developed into worldview conflicts about the relevance and rigour of these methodologies. Some smaller groups subsequently worked independently, with damaging relationship conflict developing from unresolved process issues between some individuals. Team members communicated, but their participation remained largely passive and consultative. Factors that shaped participation were identified, and a framework to support opportunities for stakeholders to plan, manage and evaluate RDE was developed. These helped increase participation in the projects. Participation within the projects' constituent activities subsequently fluxed from isolation to interactive participation. Individuals within activities now expected, and usually had, equality in content decisions (i.e. functional participation), which often extended to process decisions (i.e. interactive participation). Yet, the levels of participation between members of different activities varied across the projects. One project remained a series of parallel and relatively independent activities with passive and consultative participation. A second project had functional and interactive participation imposed for some activities, but otherwise used passive and consultative participation. The third project developed to provide functional and interactive participation in major project decisions. It then became apparent that the learning outcomes of each project varied. Individuals continued to learn from their participation in the projects, but the contributions of diverse sources and participation were major shapers of this learning. Participation within the less diverse activity groups produced mainly technical learning through participants' existing meaning schemes. Again, the level of participation between activities with diverse values, RDE paradigms, and worldviews, shaped the nature of learning. Passive and consultative participation produced mostly technical learning through existing meaning schemes. Yet, teams that embraced their diversity, and reflected on the assumptions of their different RDE methodologies, transformed their approach to learning. With high levels of diversity, the level of participation determined the level of learning. Essentially, participation became learning. This thesis confirms the potential of participatory RDE to improve farming practices. Consultation to identify priority issues, and functional participation to develop proximal opportunities for farmers to understand these issues and make their own decisions had a major impact on farming practices. Yet, participatory processes must rise above the prevailing ToT paradigms of RDE agencies to integrate participants' knowledge, and so achieve sustainable development in Australia. Three main process contributions are made to support this development. Firstly, the evaluation framework provides a challenge and structure to encourage the contributions of all participants at each stage of project activities. It provides a checklist for effective participation in Farming Systems RDE. Secondly, a typology of participation in Farming Systems RDE extends that proposed by Pretty (1995). It provides a catalyst and means to better understand and identify the most appropriate levels of participation in RDE projects. The associated checklist for assessing modes of participation allows monitoring of the participation developed in practice. Finally, the re-conceptualisation of a broader continuum of participation in Farming Systems RDE for developed agriculture is proposed. The subsequent development of the Doing successful on-farm research process is a culmination of the understandings developed in this thesis. It facilitates the development of interactive participation within the on-farm research process that is central to these projects. Recognising the technical focus of most current RDE agency staff, it guides their development of participatory on-farm research processes before reflecting on the appropriateness of different research methods to their research issues. The findings here cannot ensure the development of Australia's RDE beyond the ToT paradigm. However, this thesis provides important insights into the nature of diversity, participation, and learning in the Farming Systems projects, and a series of tools to support this development. Conceptually, it proposes that different kinds of participation will be shaped by participants' diversity from their prior experiences and their expectations that are in turn transformed through evidence of improved practice.

This thesis covers years of field work in Malawi, Africa by the author as a Research Agronomist (Tree Nuts) for the Government of Malawi. The thesis is an action research type with core and thesis projects which are closely linked. The client group are large estate managers who control the tree nut industries in Malawi. The political, economic and historical perspectives are different from those commonly faced by Australian agronomists and the isolated location of the work make this a unique study. The thesis includes sections on plantation or estate agriculture, farming systems approaches to research and problem solving, systems concepts in agricultural settings and action research concepts. These provide a framework for the study within the constraints of the government research system and industry expectations. The body of the thesis is a review paper presented to estate managers and co-researchers after one year's work. Relevant outcomes of the study are presented. The discussion draws together the outcomes through reflection on the process and methods used. Advantages and disadvantages are considered and risks, such as the dangers to the researcher of this type of study, are highlighted. / Master of Science (Hons)

Diss. Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2003.