ABSTRACT
Bangladesh imports roughly 98% of cotton from abroad to produce fabric or yarn (USDA 2020. Cotton and Products Update. Bangladesh. Also available at https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=Cotton%20and%20Products%20Update_Dhaka_Bangladesh_11-30-2020). The production of textiles in Bangladesh depends on the price of raw material, the demand for garment products in the importing countries, smooth supply chain management, and the domestic supply of cheap garment laborers. The global pandemic of COVID-19 disrupted the supply chain of almost all physical goods and services, including textiles. It caused the price of textiles to fall due to a drop in worldwide demand, and increased the marginal cost of textile production due to supply chain interruptions. This paper shows how the decline in the demand for garments, coupled with an increase in cost, shrinks the producer welfare of textile manufacturing and garment exports of the small producing country, Bangladesh.
ABSTRACT
Various kinds of field crops growing on two commercial farms in the Whitehorse area of the southern Yukon Territory were surveyed for diseases in summer 2020 by staff of the Agriculture Branch of the Government of Yukon. They included barley, wheat, canola, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and turnips. Fields were visited one or more times during July and August. The incidence and severity of diseases were visually assessed on a crop-by-crop basis and samples were collected for laboratory analysis of the pathogens present, if any. Both infectious and non-infectious diseases were present on most crops. The infectious diseases were caused by various species of plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi that were common on these crops growing in other areas of Canada. INTRODUCTION AND METHODS: The 2020 field crop disease survey is believed to be the first organized study of its kind on agricultural crops in the Territory. In his book, "An Annotated Index of Plant Diseases in Canada . . . ", I.L. Conners lists over 300 records of plant diseases on trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses in the Yukon that were published by individuals who were surveying forests and native vegetation mainly for federal government departments, universities and other agencies (Conners 1967). The objectives of the 2020 survey were: (1) to determine the kinds and levels of diseases on selected Yukon crops, (2) to identify the major pathogen species attacking Yukon crops, and (3) to use the results to plan future surveillance activities aimed at helping producers to improve their current disease management programs. All of the fields included in the 2020 survey were situated on two commercial farms, which were designated as Farm #1 and #2, in the Whitehorse area in the southern Yukon (Fig. 1). The crops surveyed included cereals (barley and wheat), oilseeds (canola) and vegetables (beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and turnips). Fields were visited one or more times in the mid- to late growing season (July/August) at a time when damage from diseases was most noticeable. Symptoms were visually assessed on a crop-by-crop basis by determining their incidence and severity. Incidence was represented by the percentage of plants, leaves, heads, kernels, etc., damaged in the target crop, while severity was estimated to be the proportion of the leaf, fruit, head, root/canopy area, etc., affected by a specific disease as follows: Proportion of the canopy affected based on a 0-4 rating scale, where: 0 = no disease symptoms, 1 = 1-10% of the crop canopy showing symptoms;2 = 11-25% showing symptoms, 3 = 26- 50% showing symptoms, and 4 = > 50% showing symptoms. Photographs of affected plants were taken and sent to plant pathologists across Western Canada for their opinions on causation. Where possible, representative samples of plants with disease symptoms were packaged and sent to the Alberta Plant Health Lab (APHL) in Edmonton, AB for diagnostic analyses. Background information, such as the general cultural practices and cropping history, was obtained from the producers wherever possible. GPS coordinates were obtained for each field to enable future mapping Cereals: Individual fields of barley (11 ha) and wheat (30 ha) located at Farm #1 were surveyed. The barley was a two-row forage cultivar 'CDC Maverick', while the wheat was an unspecified cultivar of Canada Prairie Spring (CPS) Wheat. Plant samples were taken along a W-shaped transect for a total of five sampling points for the barley field (< 20 ha) and ten sampling points for the wheat field (> 20 ha). The first visit, which occurred on July 30, involved visual inspection and destructive sampling wherein plants were collected and removed from the field for a detailed disease assessment at a lab space in Whitehorse. There, the roots were rinsed off and the plants were examined for disease symptoms. The second visit to these fields, which occurred on August 27, only involved visual examination of the standing crop. Oilseeds: A single 40 ha field of Polish canola (cv. 'Synergy') was examined o
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This report explores the agrologistics challenges and opportunities faced by agri-food systems in three countries in Northern Central America, namely El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, with a specific focus on the impacts on family farming systems. As an overarching principle guiding the analysis, the report adopts the World Bank's framework of Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID), which recognizes that the challenges of poverty, inequality, climate change, and systemic shocks such as COVID-19 are strongly interrelated, and thus need to be addressed simultaneously and systematically. As such, the study seeks to highlight ways in which enhancing agrologistics systems can drive food system efficiency, environmental sustainability, resilience and inclusion in Northern Central America, thus contributing to wellbeing and overall economic performance. In this study, the term agrologistics is used to refer to the infrastructure, machinery, related services, and information systems that allow agri-food products to move from the original point of production to the final point of consumption. The analysis follows the five key components of agrologistics value chain, namely: (a) on-farm post-harvest management;(b) storage and handling, including cold storage;(c) processing and packaging;(d) transport from the farm to collection and processing centers, and onwards to distribution networks;and (e) distribution by wholesalers, retailers and exporters, which in the case of exports involves customs and other border crossing processes.
ABSTRACT
The implementation of robotics in agriculture is influenced by objective reasons, including a shortage of personnel in the industry, especially during the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. In Russia, the use of robots in agriculture is very irregular across the federal districts. The largest number of robots is used in agriculture in the Central Federal District - 184 units, the Volga Federal District - 95 units and the Urals Federal District - 68 robots. The study aims to identify the dependence of the use of robotics in agriculture in the federal districts of Russia, considering their socio-economic characteristics. It has been established that in the federal districts with traditionally developed agriculture and a high share of agriculture in GDP, the number of robots is decreasing and there is a technological lag. The highest correlation coefficient of 0.73 is observed between animal productivity and the number of used robots. This allows making the conclusion that agricultural economic entities aim to reduce the payback period for robotization projects and thus reduce risks. To make conditions for the implementation of robotics, it is proposed to use agricultural growth corridors (agro-corridors) and agro-clusters.
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This project aimed to identify and prioritize opportunities for sustainable development of groundwater resources with specific focus on the lowland plains and upland plateaus of Laos. It addressed this aim through three key objectives: (1) establish the potential to develop groundwater for irrigation in key hydrogeological settings in Southern Laos;(2) assess the opportunities that solar-powered pumping technologies may provide smallholder farmers seeking to engage in more profitable, market-oriented agriculture;and (3) enhance the capacity of current and emerging groundwater professionals in Laos. Two areas with promising aquifer development potential were selected in Southern Laos: a drought-prone lowland area underlain by sandstone aquifers in Savannakhet province (Outhomphone district);and a wetter, upland basaltic area on the Bolaven Plateau (Pakxong district). For the first objective, a preliminary hydrogeological assessment was undertaken based on the collation and analysis of existing (limited) data supplemented by data from a network of around 40 to 50 monitoring wells in each district and other hydrogeological measurements collected during two field campaigns. For the second objective, the opportunities for solar-powered groundwater pumping to provide an alternative to conventional grid electricity or fuel pumps was explored through policy analysis and the evaluation of a demonstration project as well as actual field operations. The third and final objective involved a cross-cutting effort to enhance capacity of current or emerging groundwater professionals. For Outhoumphone, where the need for dry season access to reliable groundwater sources is high, the sandstone aquifers present are likely sufficiently replenished but inadequately productive to provide a substantial resource for expanding dry season irrigation. Drillers in the area report well instability, saline water and drilling failure as common technical challenges. With adequate field investigations these challenges may be overcome and supplies for commercial agriculture could become feasible. For Pakxong, where the basaltic aquifers are more productive and reliable, field observations show that more entrepreneurial farmers have already started to develop groundwater for high value commercial crops. There is clear scope to expand irrigation development. Drillers report high success rates for wells and this is supported by the aquifer testing undertaken during this research. Even though policies on solar technologies in agriculture are limited, the solar industry appears to be expanding rapidly, with over twenty solar companies based in Laos;most of which are also servicing the agricultural sector. A demonstration site operated by the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute in Vientiane Capital provides firsthand experience of solar pumping and data is emerging on its functioning and performance. Rapid assessments of six solar pumping sites on the Vientiane Plain show that better-off farmers and investors with the means to afford the upfront capital cost are accessing water on demand at effectively little or no marginal cost. Although the situation is evolving rapidly, solar water pumping for agriculture still remains an emerging technology in Laos and hence the long term technical performance, economic viability and potential impacts on the groundwater resources remain entirely unanswered at the present time. A one-week hydro-geophysics training course took place in Pakxong in November 2020 that involved 14 attendees from government agencies and the national university. Training was provided in fieldwork and analysis in new techniques to investigate groundwater using geophysical equipment, site wells, drilling and aquifer testing and aquifer conceptualization. In-situ guidance was provided by in-country team members supported by higher level oversight provided remotely by trainers based in Australia due to travel restrictions associated with COVID-19. The project has also enabled 5 Bachelor, Master and Doctorate students to unde
ABSTRACT
This project was originally envisaged as an 18-month development-oriented project based in Provinces 1 and 2 of the Nepal Terai. It aimed to build solidarity and teamwork around the drive for agri-mechanisation in each of these two provincial governments. Unfortunately, the short time frame paired with intensive efforts to establish new relationships and then the onset of COVID-19 meant that there was limited scope to deeply develop these new relationships and fully build the envisaged roadmap process and plans. Regardless of this, the project has made some essential steps in improving provincial agri-mechanisation planning and implementation, including: (1) substantial capacity developed though placement of engineering experts within the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), the Ministries of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives (MoLMAC), various cooperatives and agricultural knowledge centres;(2) new and deepened relationships with and between key stakeholders, and particularly between NARC and provincial government, as well as with and between various cooperatives;(3) development of the first quantification of the status of agri-mechanisation on the Nepal Terai - indicating that there is high potential for rapid mechanisation if some key constraints are addressed;(4) publication of the learnings for a review of mechanisation in India and Bangladesh, and what that means for Nepal's agri-mechanisation planning;(5) regional learnings and new collaborations with various stakeholders in Nepal and West Bengal;(6) a national symposium on agri-mechanisation on the Nepal Terai, with a large number of supported individuals attending and learning from the national Agrimechanisation Fair;(7) development of a "roadmap" process that can be used more widely with additional further development;and (8) technical guidance and relationship building to improve the scaling of government supported custom hire centres in Province 1.