AJAD Volume 15 Issue No. 1 June 2018

Agricultural production in South Asia is characterized by intensive use of inputs, such as fertilizers and irrigation water, and by a focus on production of staple crops, especially rice. However, continued growth of the agriculture sector is hampered by a number of challenges. In Bangladesh, these challenges include declining productivity of inputs, resource degradation, and lack of crop diversification. Expansion of agricultural lands is not an option given high population density. Rather, greater efficiency in agricultural production is needed to increase benefits to small producers. This paper examined the benefits of key crop production decisions for rural livelihoods across Bangladesh in order to suggest ways in which producers can increase returns to crop production. The study used plot-level data from a household survey to estimate the relative contribution of various inputs and practices to the total value of production from a given plot over the course of one year. Results were run separately for upper and lower expenditure quintiles to compare production outcomes for richer and poorer households. Three key results emerged: (1) that urea subsidies yielded benefits, though these might not be reaching those that needed it most; (2) that access to groundwater resulted in better production outcomes than access to surface water; and (3) that returns were greater from plots where rice was rotated with other crops. 

Understanding the nature and extent of climatic impacts on agricultural productivity under a variety of scenarios is extremely important for developing countries, where a sizable portion of the population relies on agriculture for life and livelihood. Thus, this paper presents evidence of heterogeneity in climatic impacts on crop yield in Assam, India. In particular, applying the non-parametric quantile regression technique to district-level data from 1978 to 2005, this study examined heterogeneity in the impacts of temperature and rainfall across seasonal rice varieties (autumn, winter, and summer), agroclimatic (AC) zones, and the distribution of rice yield. The results suggested that, in general, the effects of temperature on yield were not statistically significant for any of the three seasonal rice varieties. However, these effects were not uniform in their magnitudes, signs, and statistical significance across AC zones and yield distribution for each variety of rice. Similarly, there were wide variations in the effects of total precipitation across seasonal varieties, AC zones, and yield distribution. The results also suggested that an increase in temperature variability is beneficial and that rainfall variability is harmful to autumn and winter rice yield. For summer rice, the effects of these two climate variables were positive but statistically insignificant. Given the importance of rice yield for food security and poverty alleviation in Assam, these results could inform the design of appropriate adaptation strategies and public policies to counter the adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture in Assam. Furthermore, since most people in rural areas are engaged in agriculture, these results are important for the sustainability of rural economies.

Weather factors, like other inputs such as land, labor, seeds, irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticides are also direct inputs in crop production. In a state of agriculture where the adoption and diffusion of modern technologies is very low or almost nil, weather factors count more than other inputs because of their direct and indirect effects. Thus, the link between weather and crop yield will have implications on food supply and crop forecasting and management policies. It is of immense importance to the policymakers, agricultural scientists, agricultural economists, and meteorologists to understand this relationship. The methodology for studying this relationship has undergone many improvements over time. This paper attempts to review the studies in this area done in India and a few from abroad that brought an evolution in the methodology of crop-weather modeling.

This study was conducted to profile the fish farm owners/operators (known as fish farmers) at the Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando River System (MMORS) and to determine their current fish farm management practices (FFMPs) and concerns encountered in fish farming. Characterizing the fish farmers enabled the formulation of appropriate adaptation interventions that may serve as inputs for management strategies and rehabilitation efforts to address water pollution. In doing so, sustainable fish production could be assured. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a survey were conducted. The survey sampling size was proportionally allocated among municipalities covered in this study.

Half of the respondents were full-time fish farmers and received an estimated monthly income of USD 125–250. The majority (60%) managed small ponds (4 ha and below), which were used for rearing and nursery or rearing and transition of fingerlings or fry. Many rented fish farms through lease agreement with private owners (78%); they mostly grew milkfish (74%) and tilapia (41%), but a few also raised prawns (18%) and shrimps (12%). The fish farmers’ major issues include flooding due to changing climate patterns (74), water pollution (21), and presence of invasive species (20).

Their adaptation strategies include technological changes including FFMPs. However, institutional arrangements are crucial to ensure sustainability and productivity. The study recommends the adoption of an integrated social-technological approach called CARE solution, which refer to Community Action by organizing the fishery sector; long-term Rehabilitation by integrating efforts of all stakeholders through the MMO Water Quality Management Area Board; and Enforcement of environmental laws. This approach is congruent with the Ecosystem Approach for Aquaculture that integrates ecosystem, human well-being and equity, and incorporates other sectors for aquaculture development and management.

The fish farm management baseline study results could be an input in developing specific interventions using the CARE solution framework in the MMORS cleanup and rehabilitation. This approach could help in the design of interventions that aim to achieve enhanced socio-ecological health and ecosystem services for improved and sustained socioeconomic productivity.

Contract farming is becoming a viable form of partnership between tea plantation companies and local farmers in the management of tea plantations. This study aimed to: (1) describe a contract farming pattern through the system of intercropping tea-horticulture, (2) analyze the efficiency of the management of tea garden with contract farming, and (3) describe the benefits and sustainability of the contract farming between Gambung Estate and horticultural farmers. The case study was conducted in Gambung Estate using qualitative descriptive analysis and contract farming scheme analysis. The study observed that the contract farming patterns applied was a modified nucleus estate model with a combination of resource provisioning cooperation with production management cooperation. The challenges for future contract farming include land management, new skill transfer, climate change, and shared risk and effort between the two parties so that the bargaining position of horticultural farmers will be increased in the sustainable tea plantation management framework. Value of investment efficiency was 47 percent for new planting and 49 percent for replanting. The highest R/C and B/C values were given to the intercropping system of tea-chili at 2:25 and 1:25, respectively.

The study was conducted to determine the weight of factors influencing landslides through the algorithm Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). These factors were used as inputs for establishing a landslide susceptibility map based on the geographic information technologies (GIS) at A Luoi District, Thua Thien Hue province. Results of the study showed that landslide risk could be divided into five levels: very low risk of landslide covered 17,638.22 ha (14%), low risk areas accounted for 41,036.20 ha (34%), medium risk of landslide covered an area of 22,380.84 ha (18%), high risk area was 27,176.99 ha (22.19%), and very high risk area was about 14,231 ha (12%). The results of this study could be used to support the implementation of land use planning, which could help reduce adverse impact of landslides on people and property. 

This book covers legal and institutional frameworks and debates surrounding Geographical Indications (GIs) in the Asia Pacific region, presenting both international situations and discussions, as well as how these are applied in most of the countries of the region. It opens up on discussions, on the relationship between GIs and traditional knowledge. More analysis on practical applications and implications of GI protections, and aspects on economic and social development would make this book a much more comprehensive resource for practitioners and policymakers.