COVID-19 pandemic and resilience in the agricultural sector: a local strategy may solve the global challenges

Agriculture remains a major engine of growth among the majority of developing and underdeveloped countries throughout the globe. But the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has severely affected all sectors of agribusiness industries. In many parts of the world agriculture production became almost half due to the impact of this pandemic. But in two Himalayan regions of India, Darjeeling and Sikkim, mixed effects were observed during the pandemic period. Although a large number of marginal farmers were severely affected during the lockdown and even in the unlock phases, while a significant number of farmers also gained nominal to a large amount of profit;chiefly because of reliability on complete organic farming including producing organic manure and bio-pesticides by the farmers themselves, lack of competition with imported agricultural commodities into the local market due to the inter-state travel ban, marketization of the agricultural products to the consumers through Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs), NGOs and Sikkim State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation ltd. (SIMFED) and above all creation of the Farmers' Helpline at district levels by the local government bodies to solve the problems of the farmers even in the remotest regions.

Selection and evaluation of environmentally friendly pesticides, biological preparations and resistant variety samples against harmful objects of gourds in the conditions of the south-east of Kazakhstan

In the Republic of Kazakhstan melons and gourds are produced mainly in the traditional way, that is, by using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The production of environmentally friendly melons is at the initial stage of its development. There is no organic melon growing at all. Considering the huge export potential of melons among other crops cultivated in the country (the total supply of melons and melons on the domestic market is 472%), the great economic and social significance of the transition of the melon industry to organic production is growing. In the future, Kazakhstan may be in the center of attention of the world community as a manufacturer and supplier of environmentally friendly (organic) melons, and environmentally friendly, natural melons may well become a brand of our sovereign state. To do this, it is necessary to make fundamental changes in the melon industry of the country. In general, the transition of agricultural production to an organic direction will contribute to the consumption of the safest and most useful products by the local population. Here, one should also take into account the decrease in the immunity of the human body due to various diseases, including those associated with the coronavirus pandemic. It should also be taken into account that only a limited number of pesticides used against harmful objects in agriculture act as intended, and most of the toxic substances spread into the environment. The use of disinfectants without scientific support has a negative impact on flora and fauna, being deposited in the soil and irrigation system of fields for a long time, thereby causing enormous damage to the environment. Given the above facts, our scientific research was aimed at the selection of pesticides and biological preparations with high biological and economic efficiency, low rates and frequency of treatments, as well as varieties with high resistance to fungal diseases of melons (watermelon, melon). Research work was carried out on the experimental plots of the Regional Branch "Kainar" of the LLP "Kazakh Research Institute of Horticulture" in the period 2020-2021. The studies used classical methods generally accepted in melon growing. The results obtained are new and relevant, and in the future, will contribute to the transition from traditional melon growing to biological.

Review on the positive influence of intercropping systems for organic vegetable growing

Intercropping is considered to be a fundamental tool for ensuring agricultural sustainability and productivity, a matter of major importance in the specific context of the last decades and, mainly, the last two years. Within European agriculture, conventional advantages of intercropping system following laborious experiments were disregarded by farmers because of the justified goal of maximizig profits using affordable pesticides on the market. This determines farmers to focus on increasing the size of their farms, replacing manual labor with a mechanized one, resulting a technological specialization of a few crops at the expense of biodiversity. However, nowadays, following the Covid-19 pandemic and the entire chain of effects it generated, agriculture was directly affected due to the limitation of worldwide transport amplitude and the scarcity of products and raw materials that arose, the price for some of them becoming trully prohibitive (to be seen the case of chemical fertilizers at the end of year 2021). The present paper aims to highligh some paramount matters of using intercropping systems in vegetable crop practice, regarding the perspective of soil, environment, ecosystem biodiversity and economical sustainability.

Exploring the use of complementary and alternative approaches to health care on UK dairy farms

The aims of this study are to determine if CAM use has potential to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use and support the global efforts against antimicrobial resistance, and to ensure that antimicrobials and other conventional treatment approaches are used where appropriate. 20 farms with a range of management systems, herd sizes and production goals were recruited to this study. Interviews were conducted with 24 farmers through a mixture of face-to-face, telephone and videoconferencing modalities necessitated by movement restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, 16 farms were visited to collect ethnographic participant observational data using ethnographic fieldnotes and photographs. Interviews were conducted using a topic guide and explored participants' experience of CAM, including drivers/barriers to CAM use, experiences of CAM use and how CAM might influence the use of conventional medicine such as antibiotics. Early findings indicate several drivers for UK dairy farmers to use CAM approaches, including their own personal [or friends' and relations'] experiences, the views of influential people and advisors, networks within the farming community and the fact that CAM use allows a greater sense of autonomy in health-based decision making. Farmers often refer to milk buyers and organic guidelines as factors which influence their use of CAM. They further refer to a desire to 'do something' for the animal and to minimise animal welfare related concerns. A range of CAM information sources were also consulted by farmers including, holistic health management organisations/courses, online materials, and pharmacies. Participating farmers associate the use of CAM approaches with other holistic health management practices, human-animal interactions, the actual character and physical characteristics of an animal and animal welfare. This indicates that CAM use is seen by farmers as part of a wider ethos and belief about holistic farming practices and land use. Additionally, data implies that some farmers value their positive personal experiences of CAM use over scientific evidence. In contrast, barriers to CAM use were also identified including: the perception that CAM approaches are reserved specifically for organic systems, little access to CAM and related resources and some existing tensions between farmers and other stakeholders' views. Early findings suggest that farmers are influenced in their use of CAM by a range of individuals within the agriculture community, including veterinary surgeons (some of whom use homeopathic practices), mainstream farming press and pro-CAM organisations and advisors.

Problems and proposal of solutions in organic farming

Interest in organic farming is increasing day by day in our country. The fact that people have to keep their immune systems strong, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic process, has directed people to organic products. Due to the increasing demand for organic products, it should be required to gain momentum in its cultivation. However, organic farming growers in our country face various problems at the beginning of their work. These is generally organic seed and organic seedling supply, organic fertilization, organic spraying. This is followed by the marketing of organic products grown under very difficult conditions and informing the consumers in order to eliminate the problems in marketing. The dissemination and sustainability of organic agriculture is not possible only by increasing the production areas and amount. It is important to ensure that consumers also prefer organic products and to be informed for this purpose. Informing producers and consumers will increase the supply and demand of organic products, thus increasing both commercial production and the production of products that are beneficial to the environment, nature and human health. The aim of the study;It is to offer solutions by considering the problems faced by organic agriculture growers from the first time they start to work, until the harvest and sales point.

Strategies for the development of participatory organic agriculture network (PGS), Pad Riew, Chachoengsao province

The objective of this qualitative research was to determine a network development strategy through a focus group discussion, in-depth interviews, participant observation, and non-participant observation from 18 key informants. The major findings indicated that the strengths were the farming-facilitating areas, the network's PGS quality assurance system, the management strength and member participation, the knowledge of the PGS, bargaining power, and selfless leaders. However, weaknesses were insufficient inspectors, unsystematic network document storage, members' lack of note taking, lack of packaging model, inability to keep up with modern agricultural technology, labor shortages, and high wages. Opportunities were local agencies support, government policies focusing on organic agriculture, and growing organic consumption trends. The threats were climate change, aging agricultural workers, high production costs, and the COVID-19 epidemic situation. Network development strategy using TOWS Matrix method could be defined in 4 aspects as follows: For the management aspect, strategies include (1) Encouraging members to form a community enterprise. (2) Developing a course for field inspectors and training the new generation of farmers. For the development of network members, strategies include (1) Promoting the Young Smart Farmer. (2) Educating and the importance of note taking. For the development of production, the strategies include (1) Promoting knowledge in applying for higher organic farming standards. (2) Promoting the establishment of underground water banks. For the development of marketing and packaging, the recommended strategies include (1) Developing a model of packaging for organic products, and (2) Creating understanding of organic products with consumers.

Jequitinhonha organic guarantee participatory system: the challenge of participation in times of pandemic

The Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) is an organic conformity assessment methodology based on the active participation of interested actors who organize themselves in a network. The Covid-19 pandemic imposed several restrictions on social interaction and, as a result, peer and verification visits, the main social control mechanism used by SPGs, were suspended in 2020. Aiming to maintain the dynamics of interaction and also contribute to reduce the impacts of social isolation on the lives of farmers, the PGS Organicos Jequitinhonha developed a method of remote visits. The objective of this work was to understand how this adaptation took place and what results were achieved. It is an action research, in which the authors actively participated in the implementation of the researched methodology. The researchers highlight as results the social control satisfactorily exercised in a remote system, greater interaction between families, learning in the use of digital technologies that were considered inaccessible by family farmers in Vale do Jequitinhonha.