No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Maryland, College Park, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Attending to the felt quality of experience, this work looks at how a community of Mexican campesinos go about thew life While cultivating coffee, trying to make sense of how villagers feel, know, and understand the world "on their own terms". The aim is to work through (and from) the plane of the body, a narrative strategy that seeks to convey some of the give an take of everyday life; the joy and salubrity that are often bounded in moments of good health, the sorrow and pain that poverty entails. But since "well being" is not "culture five" but guided by moral and aesthetic constraints, I map out the cultural "building blocks" to see how local notions of health and illness tie into feelings of integrity or fragmentation. Last, we look at what social ideals underscore notions of personhood and how these shape local experiences of land.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, December 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 268-295).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Princeton university, 1916. / Published also without thesis note. Digitization funded by NEH digital to microfilm conversion project. Title selected from the series Literature of the agricultural sciences for the Core historical literature of agriculture, Agricultural economics and rural sociology. Also available in print and in microfilm.

This study delves into the local food system of Eugene, Oregon to focus on this community’s small-scale growers and their distribution strategies. The various distribution strategies open to small-scale local growers each require their own kind of work. In determining how to allocate their time and energy, growers consider these activities alongside the benefits that each distribution strategy offers. Certain distribution arrangements with smaller bulk buyers like restaurants and community grocery stores, which I term “direct wholesale” arrangements, offer the benefit of providing long-term, close relationships. These arrangements provide value that more than compensates for the work of establishing and maintaining these arrangements in the first place. In this context, these close-ties developed through “direct wholesale” provide the best platform for the viability of a small-scale, local farm in Eugene, Oregon.

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / It aims to analyze the socioeconomic profile of producers of irrigated fruit in the Cariri and measure the technological level, identifying the factors that influence each level. The measurement of technological index of fruit growers allows you to identify the level of technology used by producers. Have the technical efficiency scores of caririenses fruit growers and the identification of the effects of socioeconomic variables on efficiency levels allowed capture the impact of these determinants along different points of the conditional distribution of technical efficiency. In preparing the technological index was used factor analysis, and to measure the index of efficiency scores were applied in determining the analysis of data envelopment analysis (DEA) models and quantile regression. Came indicators of primary sources, collected in 2014, directly, with 86 growers located in six municipalities of the Cariri. The results show that in most cases, the growers (53.49%) have only to primary education, and only 16.28% can only sign his name. You can still see that 31.40% of producers have secondary education and that is down the number of illiterate farmers (3.49%) and they have 30-50 years of age (66.67%) and also that 75 , 68% of growers have over five years experience in the activity. The results also show that 42.66% of the fruit growers of the region not participating unions have no access to any type of credit; 72.73% of these already, participating cooperatives or associations, hold some kind of credit. For the technological indexes classified as very low, there were two growers, 30 of them were considered low-tech, 53 fruit growers have considered average index and fruit grower demonstrated considered high index, 0.62 to 0.78, with relative frequency of 1, 16%. There were no fruit growers with very high rates for technology adoption. The variables that contributed most to indicate adoption of technological improvements in that index were Total Area, Gross Income and Total Production, result justified by the increased variance indicated by the data, a total of 24.058%, represented by the factor 1 (intensive Productivity) technology. The quantile regression was estimated, considering the technical efficiency scores obtained in the constant returns to scale model, the results show that the explanatory factors of technical efficiency for the group of more efficient producers are important in explaining the efficiency of this group. For the less efficient growers group, it is observed that among the six explanatory variables, only management index, credit and education played irrelevant role in explaining variations in technical efficiency level, since the coefficients of these variables were not statistically significant, in this case, there is no difference between fruit growers with access to credit and those without and between grade levels, ie, if the producer has secondary or higher education or do not have that level of education. / Objetiva analisar o perfil socioeconÃmico dos produtores de fruticultura irrigada na regiÃo do Cariri e mensurar o nÃvel tecnolÃgico, identificando os fatores que mais influenciam cada nÃvel. A mensuraÃÃo do Ãndice tecnolÃgico dos fruticultores permite que se identifique o nÃvel de tecnologia utilizado pelos produtores. Jà os escores de eficiÃncia tÃcnica dos fruticultores caririenses e a identificaÃÃo dos efeitos das variÃveis socioeconÃmicas sobre os nÃveis de eficiÃncia permitiram captar os impactos desses determinantes ao longo de pontos distintos da distribuiÃÃo condicional da eficiÃncia tÃcnica. Para a elaboraÃÃo do Ãndice tecnolÃgico foi empregada a anÃlise fatorial, e para mensurar o Ãndice dos escores de eficiÃncia foram aplicados na anÃlise determinante os modelos de anÃlise envoltÃria dos dados (DEA) e de regressÃo quantÃlica. Os indicadores provieram de fontes primÃrias, colhidas em 2014, diretamente, com 86 fruticultores, localizados em seis municÃpios da regiÃo do Cariri. Os resultados mostram que em sua maioria, os fruticultores (53,49%) sà possuem atà o ensino primÃrio, sendo que apenas 16,28% conseguem assinar somente o nome. Ainda se pode perceber que 31,40% dos produtores possuem ensino secundÃrio e que à baixo o nÃmero de produtores analfabetos (3,49%) e eles tÃm de 30 a 50 anos de idade (66,67%) e ainda, que 75,68% dos fruticultores tÃm mais de cinco anos de experiÃncia na atividade. Os resultados tambÃm mostram que 42,66% dos fruticultores da regiÃo que nÃo participam de cooperativas nÃo tÃm acesso a algum tipo de crÃdito; jà 72,73% destes, que participam de cooperativas ou associaÃÃes, detÃm algum tipo de crÃdito. Para os Ãndices tecnolÃgicos classificados como muito baixo, houve dois fruticultores, 30 deles foram considerados de baixa tecnologia, 53 fruticultores apresentam Ãndice considerado mÃdio e um fruticultor demonstrou Ãndice considerado alto, de 0,62 a 0,78, com frequÃncia relativa de 1,16%. NÃo foram encontrados fruticultores com Ãndices muito altos para adoÃÃo de tecnologia. As variÃveis que mais contribuÃram para indicar melhorias de adoÃÃo do nÃvel tecnolÃgico do referido Ãndice foram: Ãrea Total, Renda Bruta e a ProduÃÃo Total, resultado justificado pela maior variÃncia apontada pelos dados, num total de 24,058%, representadas pelo fator 1 (uso intensivo da tecnologia Produtividade). A regressÃo quantÃlica foi estimada, considerando os escores de eficiÃncia tÃcnica obtidos no modelo de retornos constantes de escala, cujos resultados mostram que os fatores explicativos da eficiÃncia tÃcnica para o grupo de produtores mais eficientes sÃo importantes para explicar a eficiÃncia desse grupo. Para o grupo de fruticultores menos eficientes, observa-se que dentre as 6 variÃveis explicativas, apenas Ãndice de gestÃo, crÃdito e escolaridade desempenharam papel irrelevante para explicar variaÃÃes no nÃvel de eficiÃncia tÃcnica, jà que os coeficientes destas variÃveis nÃo se mostraram estatisticamente significantes, neste caso, nÃo hà diferenÃa entre os fruticultores com acesso ao crÃdito e os que nÃo possuem e entre os nÃveis de escolaridade, ou seja, se o produtor possui ensino secundÃrio ou superior ou nÃo tem esse grau de instruÃÃo.

Small-scale sugar-cane farming came to Mpumalanga Province in the 1990s. As result of the Nkomazi Irrigation Expansion Programme, 34 projects with farms of on average size of seven hectares were initially allocated by Government to potential farmers in rural areas. This was done to enable them to generate income from sugar-cane to support their families. The initial expectations for the success of the programme were high, but they did not realise as anticipated. The yield results for the first decade of the 21st millennium showed a declining trend. Over the same period the large-scale sugar-cane growers (LSGs) performed better. This added impetus to the on-going debate on the relationship between farm size and efficiency in South Africa. It also raised the question whether small-scale farming has a future. Four hypotheses were formulated and tested with regard to the Mpumalanga sugar-cane growers’ land productivity. Regression analysis on land productivity, stakeholders’ inputs, production budget analysis and macro-economic analysis, by applying the Social Accounting Matrix of Mpumalanga, were used to address the hypotheses. The first hypothesis states: ‘There exits an inverse relationship between farm size and land productivity amongst sugar-cane growers in Mpumalanga.’ It was rejected but qualifications were added. For the sugar-cane cultivated until farm size groups of 4 000 ha in the 2009 season, there was a direct relationship between farm size and land productivity which was highly significant. If this study only focussed on farm sizes up to 7 ha, the hypothesis would have been accepted as there was a high significance of an inverse relationship of the small-scale growers (SSGs) until 7 ha. Despite the inverse relationship of certain larger farm size groups, of which regression analysis suggested no evidence of such a relationship, the LSGs average yield was still approximately 25 t/ha higher than SSGs yield of about 64 t/ha. The second hypothesis, namely, that land productivity has declined amongst SSGs and not so amongst LSGs, was tested by observing partial productivity over different time periods. The LSGs had a negative growth rate during 2001–2005 but showed positive growth during 2005–2009. The whole period of 2001–2009 showed marginal positive growth for the LSG while the SSGs growth rate declined by 4.6%. For the SSGs the land productivity was about 20 t/ha lower compared to the LSGs, at the data points, 2002, 2007 and 2011, as well as over the period 2002–2011. This confirmed the second hypothesis. The third hypothesis, namely that the performance of SSGs in the 2009 season indicated financial sustainability, was evaluated by means of production cost analyses for SSG farm size groups, individual farmers and a breakeven point scenario. If the net farm income (NFI) per hectare was the only consideration to measure financial feasibility, the hypothesis would have been accepted. The analyses however showed that the SSGs had much difficulty to cover their living costs from a farm of less than 6.29 ha, resulting in a rejection of the hypothesis. Testing of the fourth hypothesis, namely that SSGs are an important and essential part of the Mpumalanga economy, and make a critical economic contribution to the region, revealed that SSGs’ direct contribution in terms of agricultural production represents 20% of the involvement in the sugar-cane industry and 0.03% of the economy of Mpumalanga Province. Its economic contribution consisted of about R110 million of total GDP, about 2 800 total employment opportunities, and income distribution to households of almost R50 million. The fourth hypothesis can be rejected when considering the magnitude of the SSGs’ production only constitutes 0.03% of the total economy of Mpumalanga. However, to assess the real importance of the SSGs, other factors besides production magnitude should also be considered. A major contribution of the SSG sector is the amount of labour opportunities they offer. If this is taken into account, there is reason enough to accept the hypothesis. When the focus shifts from Mpumalanga as a whole to the Nkomazi region, the contribution of the SSGs is substantial. It is therefore possible to confirm the hypothesis, especially due to the contribution to the Nkomazi region. This study found that SSGs on the whole did not perform as well as LSGs. It however found that some of the SSGs performed sufficiently, and have potential for a sustainable future. Continued support from institutions such as local, provincial and national government, Tsb Sugar, the Cane Growers’ Association and Akwandze Agricultural Finance will remain indispensable. With such aid it can be anticipated that the SSGs contribution to society will continue and should be with co-operative ventures as implemented at the irrigation project, Langeloop II, assist the SSGs in being more financially sustainable and providing an even greater economic contribution. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Premature and excessive leaf abscission during flowering time in the late avocado (Persea americana Mill.) cultivar ‘Ryan’ is a considerable problem for avocado growers. They are especially concerned that premature and excessive leaf abscission will have a negative effect on yield. No previous investigations have been performed where premature and excessive leaf abscission in avocado has been studied in detail. This study therefore aimed to investigate the pattern of premature and excessive leaf abscission in ‘Ryan’, and compare it with two other important commercial cultivars, ‘Fuerte’ and ‘Hass’, which do not display this phenomenon. Time course studies of leaf abscission in the orchard were performed during 2006 and 2007 to determine the pattern of leaf abscission on ‘Ryan’, Fuerte’ and ‘Hass’. This also included anatomical studies to determine the time of leaf abscission zone formation. Possible stress factors, which accelerate leaf abscission were also investigated, namely unfavourable climatic conditions (temperature, solar radiation, rainfall, relative humidity and evapotranspiration), nutrient imbalances, excessive flowering and leaf area. The possible impact leaf abscission may have on yield was then assessed by determining levels of reserve carbohydrates in the bark of the tree. In addition, practical solutions, i.e. the application of fertilizers, plant growth regulators (PGRs) and kaolin, were investigated in order to reduce or eliminate premature and excessive leaf abscission. This study was carried out over the period 2005 until 2007, with experiments being modified on an annual basis as information was gathered on the phenomenon. Experiments began in 2005 with a study on the pattern of leaf abscission in ‘Ryan’, which revealed an increase in leaf abscission just prior to flowering. However, this increase was not significant. During 2006, the leaf abscission pattern for ‘Ryan’ was compared with the leaf abscission patterns of ‘Fuerte’ and ‘Hass’. Leaf abscission for ‘Ryan’ was significantly higher than for ‘Fuerte’ and ‘Hass’ during 2006. During 2006 ‘Ryan’ displayed two periods of high leaf abscission, namely the spring flush between bud dormancy and bud swell, and a drastic increase in spring and summer flush leaf abscission between inflorescence development and full bloom. These periods of increased leaf abscission were absent during the 2007 season. In addition, ‘Fuerte’ and ‘Hass’ did not display these peaks of high leaf abscission, with leaf abscission occurring in these cultivars at higher rates from full bloom onwards. Premature and excessive leaf abscission is therefore not an annual event in ‘Ryan’ and is in all likelihood influenced by external factors. Anatomical studies did not reveal any results in terms of initiation of leaf abscission, with only the protective layer of the abscission zone being visible after leaf yellowing occurred. During 2006, two peaks of extremely low temperatures (<4°C) occurred just prior to the acceleration of leaf abscission. During the second period of low temperatures, the solar radiation:temperature-ratio was also considerably higher. These periods of low temperatures were absent during 2007, indicating that cold and light stress could be contributing to premature and excessive leaf abscission in ‘Ryan’ in 2006. In addition, ‘Ryan’ flowered excessively during 2006, which could have been triggered by low temperature stress just prior to flower initiation. A significant correlation was found between excessive flowering and excessive leaf abscission in ‘Ryan’ during 2006. The occurrence of reduced flowering in ‘Fuerte’ and ‘Hass’ may possibly be due to these two cultivars being more tolerant to stress, and it is possible that ‘Ryan’ is genetically more prone to excessive flowering than ‘Fuerte’ and ‘Hass’. Excessive flowering could accelerate leaf abscission by causing an unusually high demand for water, nutrients and carbohydrates, resulting in the acceleration of leaf abscission. No significant relationship between nutrient levels and excessive leaf abscission was found for either 2006 or 2007. In addition, no significant correlation could be found between leaf abscission on a branch and the total leaf area of that branch during the 2007 season. During 2007, leaf abscission was low and it is possible that a significant correlation could be found in a season with excessive leaf abscission. During 2005, chemical applications to reduce leaf abscission did not yield any significant improvement in leaf retention. In fact, the 50 g/tree Solubor® and 50 g/tree Solubor® in combination with 2 kg/tree dolomitic lime had a significant negative effect on fruit set, possibly because too high concentrations were applied too close to fruit set. Chemical applications during 2006 were therefore made at bud dormancy and bud swell, as it was found that leaf abscission occurred before flowering time. However, no effect was observed on leaf retention or fruit set. During 2007, emphasis was placed on treatments that might reduce stress, as it became evident that stress could be responsible for premature and excessive leaf abscission in ‘Ryan’. Most treatments showed a slight positive effect on leaf retention, but no significant results were obtained possibly because that particular season was a season of low leaf abscission. Further research on application of stress-reducing treatments is therefore recommended. Best farm management practices including optimal fertilization and irrigation is therefore vital to prevent stress, accelerating leaf abscission. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Plant Science / unrestricted