<p dir="ltr">Agricultural biosecurity is a global concern, with implications for food security, public health, and economic and ecological stability. Through education and technology, threats can be predicted and better managed. Existing educational materials and spatial analysis predominantly cater to larger facilities, leaving smaller producers at a disadvantage as they often lack financial means to implement prevention strategies and have less resources at their disposal. In this dissertation, two novel uses of education and technology within agricultural biosecurity were researched: educational curricula for young and beginning farmers and the potential impact of geospatial information systems (GIS) tools in understanding the spread of avian influenza viruses (AIV). I extend my deepest gratitude to Dr. Shawn Ehlers, Clinical Assistant Professor, for his unwavering guidance and mentorship throughout my dissertation work. Special appreciation goes to my committee members, Dr. Pamela Aaltonen, Dr. William Field, and Dr. Roger Tormoehlen, for their valuable insights and constructive feedback. Collaborative efforts with Melissa Rudolph and the support from ABE GSA and QGSA greatly enriched my research experience. Heartfelt thanks to my family, including Glen Jr. Morris, Melodie Morris, Moranda Morris, Marissa and Ian Pringle, and my partner Adam Dachowicz, as well as Adam’s family Steven, Lori, Alyssa, and Holly, for their constant support. I acknowledge the contributions of Gearing Up for Safety, IN-PREPared, Indiana Board of Animal Health (BOAH), Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for their help in my research investigations and express my appreciation to Purdue libraries and ABE faculty and staff for constant support with crucial resources and facilities.</p><p><br></p>

Fruit set in cucurbit crops such as watermelon is entirely dependent upon pollinators, which makes them an important aspect of grower management. This reliance on pollinators means that growers must consider them when making pest management decisions, especially when using pesticides, which can have a negative impact on pollinators. Thus, pest management in watermelon production faces a potential trade-off between pests and pollinators. The ways in which growers manage this trade-off could have a large impact on the communities of both groups and the yield of the crop. <br>

An exploration of the creation and use of farmers' commonly used "rules of thumb" is required to conceptualize farmers' decision making processes. While farmers face complex situations, particularly when subsistence is an issue, they do appear to use simple rules in their decision making. To date inadequate attention has been given to understanding their reasoning processes in creating the rules, so this study traces the origins of farmers' beliefs, and extracts the decisive and dynamic elements in their decision making systems to provide this understanding. The analysis was structured by using a model based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Modifications included recognizing a bargaining process (BP) and other decision stimuli to represent socio-cultural influences and sources of perception, respectively. Two analyses based on the Personal Construct Theory (PCT) and the Ethnographic Decision Tree Modelling (EDTM) were also applied to help elaborate the farmers' cognitive process and actual decision criteria. The method involved interviews in two villages in Lamongan Regency in East Java Province of Indonesia, where the farmers adopted an improved paddy-prawn system ("pandu"). The results highlighted that farmers use rational strategies, and that socio-cultural factors influence decision making. This was represented by interactions between the farmers' perceptions, their bargaining effort, and various background factors. The TPB model revealed that the farmers' perceptions about the potential of "pandu", and the interaction with their "significant others", influenced their intention to adopt "pandu". The farmers appeared to prefer a steady income and familiar practices at the same time as obtaining new information, mainly from their peers. When "pandu" failed to show sufficiently profitable results, most farmers decided to ignore or discontinue "pandu". This became the biggest disincentive to a wide and sustainable adoption. However, the PCT analysis showed that part of this problem also stemmed from the farmers' lack of resources and knowledge. The farmers' restrictive conditions also led them to seek socio-cultural and practical support for their actions. This was highlighted by a bargaining process (BP) that integrated what the farmers had learned, and believed, into their adoption behaviour. The BP also captured the farmers' communication strategies when dealing with "pandu" as its adoption affected resource allocation within the family and required cooperation with neighbours. The PCT and EDTM analyses also confirmed how the BP accommodated different sets of decision criteria to form different adoption behaviours. Such a process indicated the importance of considering the adoption decision and the relevant changes resulting from the farmers' cognition. This provided a more dynamic and realistic description of the farmers' decision-making process than has previously been attempted. Overall, the results suggested that semi-commercial farmers need to know, and confirm, that a new technology is significantly superior to the existing system, and can provide a secure income. The introduction of a new technology should use a participatory approach allowing negotiation, conflict mitigation and the creation of consensus among the relevant parties. This can be supported through better access to knowledge, information and financing. A specific and well-targeted policy intervention may also be needed to accommodate the diversity in the farmers' ways of learning and making decisions. Ways to improve the current analytical approaches are also suggested.

農業相對於其他產業來說，其重要性確實是遞減，但農業的地位確是絕對的重要，類生最根本的生存需要則需靠農業才能被滿足。當農業生產價值逐漸降低、台滔加入WTO，農產品貿易開放自由化後，農業必須轉型利用，轉型成其具有特色、不容易被替代的產業。休閒農業與休閒農場則是基於這樣的情況而出現的，休閒農業以農為根本，除了發揮其原本的生產功能之餘，並開發其另外的兩項功能--「生態功能」與「生活功能」。這種基於台灣農業而開發出來的休閒與農業的綜合性產業，是國外農產品所不能替代的。 但休閒農場的發展過程中遭遇許多的困難，農場的經營管理也不再向傳統的農場那麼的單純，休閒農場必須面對的其他相關休閒產業的競爭；另一方面，遊客的要求也越來越多、遊客擁有完全的自主權與選擇權。因此供給者所創造出的產品與服務，必須要能夠滿足消費者的需求。不然，就算產品與服務品質再好、價格多低，也不能獲得消費者的青睞。行銷管理的主要目的則是為了要解決「企業外不特定對象」--消費者的問題，因此，本研究認為在眾多管理問題中，行銷管理策略是必須要被立即採用，其最佳的手段則為行銷組合策略。藉助行銷組合策略的擬定，產品、價格、通路與促銷四個策略的擬定，是有助於吸引遊客的到來、增加休閒農場的收入。 而本篇論文主要要探討的四個主題為： 1、瞭解台灣休閒農場經營管理的現況與困境。 2、瞭解行銷組合策略在休閒農場經營上的現況與使用困境。 3、探討遊客對休閒農場的需求、認知程度、決策行為、與其對休閒農場的期望。 4、研擬一套適合休閒農場應用的行銷組合策略，藉以吸引遊客，提高休閒農場的遊客量與收入。 行銷組合策略會依據各個休閒農場的特性、資源條件、企業目標或目標市場的不同，而有所差異，本研究是以頭城休閒農場作為個案研究對象，希望可以 針對個案擬定一套行銷組合策略，並由個案的經驗對其他相關同業給予策略擬定上的建議。

This project investigated the business, environmental and social sustainability of dairy farms that include dairy support land. Seventeen farmers were interviewed using Yin’s case study method (Yin, 2003). The interviewees were selected from a list provided during a series of focus groups done with rural professionals prior to continuing with the main body of the research. Those interviewed saw that the primary role of dairy support land is to protect the dairy farm from external factors. Dairy farms are vulnerable to externalities due to high fixed costs and the relationship between cow condition and milk production. The ability of dairy support land to manage externalities relates to quantity of feed grown, therefore feed grown is perceived as the most appropriate measure of performance. For dairy support land to be sustainable, it must be well resourced. On a fully resourced DSL unit, there will be time to plan and carry out essential tasks and environmentally important developments such as riparian fences and stockwater systems are likely to be in place. If the dairy support land unit is not fully resourced it will become a liability to the overall system as the supply of feed becomes unreliable, cows calve in poor condition and dairy farm staff and management are overextended. Poorly resourced dairy support land is also unlikely to have environmentally friendly developments in place. The case studies also demonstrated that the fundamentals of sustainability and practice remain constant across a variety of soil and climatic conditions in Canterbury and Southland.

隨全球經濟發展、環保意識抬頭，以及食品安全衛生議題的日益重視，運用資訊科技維護人們食的安全已是一股不可擋的趨勢。本論文以資訊科技導入農產品生產控管以及維護生產品質、建立所謂農產履歷為研究目的；並以豬隻生產為例，深入探討在豬隻的生產過程中如何導入這新的科技技術，以及所搭配的生產履歷資訊平台。 文中首先針對所謂「農產履歷」作一詳細介紹，其中包括農產履歷的來由、推動農產履歷原因，以及目前各國所推展的農產履歷的現況如何。另外，在導入農產履歷之前也必須先了解所謂的「追溯系統」，在農產品整個生產過程中有哪些東西或流程是必須追蹤記錄。 本研究案在眾多的農產品中選擇以豬隻的生產過程作為導入「農產履歷」的研究標的其原因是因為： 1、 豬隻為我國農產品中產值最高。 2、 豬隻的生產過程短，從出生到送入屠宰僅六個半月。 3、 豬隻的生產過程中所需控管的項目較多，例如：飼料、添加劑、藥品、種源等。 本研究選擇以RFID作為農產履歷的記錄介質，在豬隻的身上打上所謂的RFID晶片，借以控管並記錄豬隻的生產過程，然，RFID晶片的外在形式有兩種，一種是外在耳掛式的晶片，稱之為「RFID耳標」，另ㄧ種是皮下植入式的，我們稱之為「植入式晶片」，本研究亦會針對這兩種不同的晶片同時導入加以評估，選擇一個最適合於豬隻生產所應搭配的形式。 除此之外，搭配RFID晶片所需的生產資訊系統，意即「畜牧場管理系統」也是不可或缺的，本研究案同時也針對了該管理系統有一深入的研究並提出該系統的設計理念，以及相關的系統設計方式，以期在本研究結束後能夠提出一套完整的豬隻生產過程的「農產履歷系統」。 / As the global economic development, environmental awareness and the attention to food safety, applying technology to safeguard people's food security is an irreversible trend. The purposes of this paper are to addresses the methods of introducing technology into agricultural production and control, and the maintenance of production quality. Take the production of pigs for example to investigate the introduction of technology to agricultural production as well as the operation and usage of information platform. The thesis is aimed at so-called “agro-biographical”, containing the origins, the motivations and the current status of introduction of agro-biographical all around the world. On the other hand, the so-called "tracing system" is acknowledged before the introduction of agro-biography, which indicates what and how the detailed data should be included or recorded. The case studies were selected in many agricultural production processes as a force to pigs "agro-biographical" because of the research subjects: 1. Pigs generate the highest value among Taiwan’s agricultural products and they are the necessity. 2. The production process of pigs is short, only six and a half months from birth to slaughter. 3. The more attentions are required to pigs production process and control, such as feed, additives, drugs, plant sources. The study selected RFID as agro-biographical recording media, which control and record pig production process. These RFID chips are in two forms, one is the external ear TAGs, the so called “RFID ear TAG”, and the other is in subcutaneous implantation style in the heads, known as “Subcutaneous Implantation TAG”. The study made comparison between these two kinds of RFIDs and the evaluated them to choose the better one. In addition, the mix of RFID chips for the production of information systems, namely, “The livestock management system” is also indispensable. The research also investigated in the management system , concepts of design, and related systems topics. Finally, the results are hoped to make contribution to the introduction of technology to agro-biography.

Organic farming is increasingly viewed as a plausible production system for sustainable agriculture for smallholder farmers. However, there is not enough scientific evidence and knowledge to advocate certified organic farming for African smallholder farmers who face several constraints related to production, storage and marketing. The potential for organic farming for smallholder farmers, faced by these constraints, is not clearly defined. As a result, this study set out to evaluate the production potential of organic agriculture among three smallholder farmer groups. Production questions were used to investigate and evaluate the potential for organic agriculture among three smallholder farmer groups and constituted the following subproblems: · What crops can be grown in the three study areas, based on climatic data ? · Do farmers concur that these are the most suitable potential organic crops? · How useful do the farmers find the decision making tool? · What constraints threaten commercial production of the identified crops for these farmers? Participatory methodologies that included the use of Force Field Analysis, discussions and workshops were used to identify organic production constraints related to production decisions. Farmers faced constraints related to finance, capacity enhancement, technical knowledge, fencing, irrigation, and a lack of, or inappropriately trained extension officers. As a response to identified production constraints, a decision support tool was developed. Natural resource data, including climatic and agronomic data, was used to create a specially calibrated Microsoft Excel spreadsheet interface that functions as an empirical organic production decision support tool for organic and aspirant organic smallholder farmers, by providing answers for farmer-prioritised production constraints. A list of potential crops for each of the three study areas was subjected to a series of checks against suitability for climate and disease conditions and nutrient requirements. A limited supply of manure, to meet the enormously high requirements for organic production in the poor soils of these areas, is the major constraint to exclusive organic production and renders certified organic production difficult and unsustainable. Farmers disagreed with some of the crops on the list, arguing that familiar crops were rejected by the model, but they were excited by the prospects for production of “new” crops suggested as suitable by the decision support tool, but not yet grown in the study areas. End users welcomed the model and expressed the opinion that it would be useful in decision making related to organic crop production. The study concludes that, although a number of agronomically-suitable crops can grow in the study areas, organic production is restricted by rather high manure requirements, lack of compost making skills, lack of knowledge on natural pest and disease control and poorly nourished soils, leading to poor yields. The rainy season creates a disease-supporting environment, rendering organic farming risky for rain-fed smallholder farming. Risk in certified organic farming for smallholders was further exacerbated by a hardly inconducive policy environment that low literacy levels exist amongst farmers. This study is innovative for three reasons. First, farmers were true participants and drivers of the research. Second, trans-disciplinary expert seminars were attended by experts from different disciplines who critiqued the conceptualisation, design, and implementation of the study. Third, the development of a practical decision-support tool shows innovation towards solving complex smallholder farmers decisions. If organic farming is to be promoted, commitment by government is needed in order to establish policy and legislation on organic farming to direct and govern training, information provision and marketing. Intensive training and knowledge building of organic production for smallholder farmers and extension officers is critical. There are also agroecological risks associated with organic farming for smallholder farmers. Recommendations for future research include comparison between organic agriculture and conventional agriculture, where sustainability of certified organic farming and economic viability can be conducted in the South African context. Improvement of the decision making tool will require involving information technology specialists so that the tool can be installed in community centres, extension offices and other accessible places for farmers and others. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

A survey of 186 commercial farmers from three Zobas (provinces) of Eritrea was conducted between November 2002 and February 2003 to examine farmers' perceptions of risk, to determine the most important sources of risk affecting farmers' decisions, to identify managerial responses to risks and to identify information use. As part of the main survey, 74 randomly selected commercial dairy farmers were also interviewed to identify factors that affect the purchase of livestock insurance. Findings show that whilst some risks are of concern to most farmers, others are more enterprise or region specific. In general, changes in weather, changes in the labour force, and diseases, pests and weeds were identified as being important sources of risk for most farmers. Factor analysis was used to analyse heterogeneity amongst farmers' perceptions of various risks. Results indicate that programmes designed to assist farmers in Eritrea to manage production and price risks should vary between enterprises and between regions. Policy implications of this research include that the government of Eritrea should disseminate information to clarify agricultural tax and land policies, and its demobilization and rehabilitation programmes. Relaxing foreign exchange rate controls may reduce price risks in agricultural input markets. Increased use of information sources, choice of production system, keeping production records, and diversification of farm enterprises were found to be the main production responses to risk. Important marketing responses included indirect selling (e.g. to the grain board or wholesalers) and use of marketing information, while important financial responses were keeping financial records and investing off-farm. Factor analysis was used to analyse heterogeneity amongst farmers' managerial responses to risk. Results indicate that farmers respond differently to different types of risk attributed to enterprise type. Policy implications of this research include that the government of Eritrea should create a more conducive environment for business, train farmers with appropriate record keeping skills and improve road and communication infrastructure. Results also show that farmers' sources of information vary according to farm type. While poultry and dairy farmers depend largely on information provided by the government, horticulture and crop farmers rely mostly on their own sources of information or non-governmental sources. Policy recommendations include additional and appropriate record-keeping training for farmers, improving the road and communication infrastructure, promoting commercial information providers, and periodically publishing an agricultural magazine by the Ministry of Agriculture in a way that farmers can understand the information. The results of a logit model of the adoption of livestock insurance indicate that formal education of the farmer and the farmer's awareness of livestock insurance increase the probability of insurance adoption, whereas farming experience, poor location and use of alternative risk management strategies, such as off-farm investments and farm enterprise diversification, reduce the probability of livestock insurance adoption. Further insight into the socioeconomic factors influencing farmers' adoption of livestock insurance may assist policy makers and the National Insurance Corporation of Eritrea in their future plans. Results of this study have some policy implications, such as the need for a variable rather than fixed insurance premium, improving the know-how of farmers concerning risk assessment, improving Zobas' infrastructure and a need for a thorough study to be conducted on the demand for agricultural insurance in Eritrea. / Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

This research was undertaken to determine the extent to which share equity schemes have been successful. The research also investigated the possible causes of failure of the established share equity projects and sought to determine the feasibility requirements that may be put in place to ensure success and sustainability of the ventures in support of land reform. The methodology used involved comparing the data gathered from business plans, valuation reports and other project documents from the Department of Land Affairs (DLA) with the information gathered through interviews and observations. The results revealed causes of failure to include the fact that beneficiaries of the investigated equity schemes did not participate in business plan development or implementation and therefore had no sense of ownership in the intended joint ventures. It was also found that none of the business plans included any form of training for capacity building and therefore no mechanism for empowering beneficiaries existed to participate effectively at all levels of the farming enterprise. Furthermore, original farm owners as the majority shareholders tended to re-invest profits into farm assets rather than paying dividends. It was concluded that the inclusion of a training programme in every business plan is crucial to the success of farm share equity ventures as this may enable beneficiaries to be sufficiently empowered to participate effectively at all levels of the business. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

In the last few years the demand for organic products has increased rapidly resulting in a strong growth of the organic industry worldwide. Organic certification is globally used to guarantee that 'organic' labelled produce follow the principles and standards of organic agriculture set by international and national organic certification bodies. Currently the lengthy and complex process of organic certification is entirely paper based and requires multiple access by organic primary producers to the certifying body involving precise data capture and transfer over a long period of time. The paper based organic certification has some significant disadvantages such as being time-consuming, error-prone (in particular transcription errors) and complex. Any improvement of the paper based organic certification process can lead to higher efficiency, lower costs and time savings for primary producers and certifying bodies. Australia is a major supplier of organic produce holding almost half of the organic farmland worldwide. However, Australia?s unique geography provides challenges by means of huge distances and poor rural telecommunication coverage for the sustainable agriculture sector. The disadvantages of the paper based organic certification are this kind of environment more severe. Up until now, there has not been a software solution supporting organic primary producers in their certification process, let alone a mobile software solution. In any case there are many farm management software solutions available but they do not take into account the specific issues in organic agriculture such as soil management, pest control, or fertilisation of land/animals. The Mobile Organic Certification (MobiCert) project was created to overcome these disadvantages focussing on the development of a mobile information portal which can be accessed through mobile Internet using GPRS or 3G technology enabling primary producers access and provision to organic certification related information in field using their mobile phones. The MobiCert project investigates the effectiveness of mobile devices (mobile phones/PDAs) for (some of) the stages of the computerised organic certification, in particular in terms of information access and provision. Designed as a proof-of-concept project the investigation takes place in South Australia targeting the NASAA organic certified primary producers there. The MobiCert project is a pilot project within the SAmCom (Sustainable Agriculture m-Commerce) project framework, which aims to enhance the information access and provision for primary producers through m-Commerce. It is a joint project of the University of South Australia, m.Net, NASAA, e-Cert and the Fraunhofer Institute Using a qualitative approach in a rapid appraisal case study the goals of the MobiCert project are: to create a theoretical model (RuTADIM) for the mobile technology acceptance and diffusion of innovation in remote and rural areas; and to develop and test a prototype mobile information community for organic certification which provides access to data and information related to organic certification, (online and offline) record keeping functionalities, as well as community functionalities for communication and experience exchange of primary producers. The results of the proof-of-concept MobiCert project suggest that organic primary producers can benefit from a mobile information platform to access and provide information in rural and remote areas. The high acceptance of organic primary producer to use the mobile information community indicates the willingness to embrace new technology and solutions in the existing organic certification process. The benefits and acceptance of the MobiCert solution have to bee affirmed in follow on field studies incorporating other issues such as the underlying business models. The contributions of the MobiCert project are two-fold: firstly, it provides a theoretical model (RuTADIM) which gives insights of key influence factors for the acceptance of mobile technology and the diffusion of innovation in rural and remote areas. The RuTADIM model can be foundation for future research projects involving mobile technology rural and remote areas. Secondly, the MobiCert information community displayed the potential of mobile solutions for primary producers in remote and rural areas. The MobiCert platform is a stepping stone for future mobile solution which can build upon this platform.