Micro-agricoltura e sistemi lineari

TERRITORIO ◽  
2012 ◽  
pp. 122-136
Author(s):  
Alessandra Giannini ◽  
Andrea Oldani
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agronomic Practices ◽  
Heterogeneous Landscape ◽  
Marginal Areas ◽  
Vegetable Gardens ◽  
Fruit Growing ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Definition Of

With the term micro-agriculture, we mean agriculture on a small scale (as opposed to intensive agriculture and monoculture). If horticulture is the collection of agricultural and agronomic practices aimed at the production of vegetables, urban gardening being one aspect of this, then micro-agriculture is the collection of ‘small scale' agricultural practices, including horticulture (as in the case of urban vegetable gardens), fruit-growing or flower-growing. Micro-agriculture is a landscape: the collection of garden plots, and natural and artificial materials used define a unified yet diversified whole, different from the traditional agricultural landscape in its reduced scale, biological richness, the variety of materials used and the heterogeneous landscape created. Land use practices generated spontaneously can lead to projects for landscaping and reorganizing marginal areas, and the definition of a new linear landscape.

Transforming the Rural Agricultural Landscape Through Groundwater Optimisation: Exploring A Chinese-South African Partnership

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nirmala Dorasamy ◽  
Olayemi Bakre
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Subsistence Farming ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Subsistence Farmers ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
Standards Of Living ◽  
Kwazulu Natal

The majority of the South African rural populace is directly or indirectly engaged in agricultural practices to earn a livelihood. However, impediments such as climate change, water shortages, and inadequacy of institutional support have undermined these once thriving subsistence farming communities. Furthermore, poor leadership in hydrology, coupled with a lack of depth in skills at all government levels to facilitate the understanding of the importance of groundwater, has made it near impossible for subsistence farmers to benefit optimally from groundwater. The 2012 drought experienced in South Africa paralysed several subsistence farming communities in KwaZulu-Natal. To revamp subsistence farming and assist these farmers across South Africa, the Department of Water and Sanitation launched interventions, but despite the enormous resources expended, indicators (e.g. unsustainable farming practices, poor crop yield, pitiable living conditions, and poor standards of living) provide evidence that these interventions have not yielded the desired results. This paper seeks to suggest practicable interventions aimed at reducing the vulnerability of subsistence farmers in KwaZulu-Natal. The study pursued a qualitative approach in that it solicited the views of experts on groundwater and in related fields to gain an in-depth perspective. Some of the core challenges undermining the sustainability and growth of subsistence farming in the study area were found to be the inadequacy of experts on groundwater, water shortages, institutional deficiencies, lack of political will, and lack of coordination among stakeholders. Pragmatic recommendations are made to address these challenges, among other things to encourage a South African-Chinese partnership in the hydrology sector.

scholarly journals The definition of an atmospheric database for Aeolus

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Marseille ◽  
K. Houchi ◽  
J. de Kloe ◽  
A. Stoffelen
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Laser Wavelength ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
Atmospheric Dynamics ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Horizontal Line ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract. The definition of an atmospheric database is an important component of simulation studies in preparation of future earth observing remote sensing satellites. The Aeolus mission, formerly denoted Atmospheric Dynamics Mission (ADM) or ADM-Aeolus, is scheduled for launch end of 2013 and aims at measuring profiles of single horizontal line-of-sight (HLOS) wind components from the surface up to about 32 km with a global coverage. The vertical profile resolution is limited but may be changed during in-orbit operation. This provides the opportunity of a targeted sampling strategy, e.g., as a function of geographic region. Optimization of the vertical (and horizontal) sampling strategy requires a characterization of the atmosphere optical and dynamical properties, more in particular the distribution of atmospheric particles and their correlation with the atmospheric dynamics. The Aeolus atmospheric database combines meteorological data from the ECMWF model with atmosphere optical properties data from CALIPSO. An inverse algorithm to retrieve high-resolution particle backscatter from the CALIPSO level-1 attenuated backscatter product is presented. Global weather models tend to underestimate atmospheric wind variability. A procedure is described to ensure compatibility of the characteristics of the database winds with those from high-resolution radiosondes. The result is a high-resolution database of zonal, meridional and vertical wind, temperature, specific humidity and particle and molecular backscatter and extinction at 355 nm laser wavelength. This allows the simulation of small-scale atmospheric processes within the Aeolus observation sampling volume and their impact on the quality of the retrieved HLOS wind profiles. The database extends over four months covering all seasons. This allows a statistical evaluation of the mission components under investigation. The database is currently used for the development of the Aeolus wind processing, the definition of wind calibration strategies and the optimization of the Aeolus sampling strategy.

Tra ruralizzazione ed urbanizzazione: progetti integrati cittŕ-campagna

TERRITORIO ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 171-177
Author(s):  
Alessandra Giannini
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Rural Life ◽  
Rural Living ◽  
Marginal Areas ◽  
Country Life ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

- Country life is (and has been) the object of utopian visions, set against the rise of urban living. The paradigms of the myth of rural life can be traced back to Howard's Garden City and to Frank Lloyd Wright's Broadacre City. These examples of the paradigm blend into a broader and trans-disciplinary contemporary discourse on the myth of rural living. Since the end of the 1990s, the subject of the relationship between the rural and the urban has developed into plans that could be called ‘country utopias'. The system of agricultural production and the countryside is evolving today towards new forms of integration and hybridisation with urban areas. Planning practices are emerging today in the definition of the characters and traits of urban agriculture designed to create town and country interaction particularly in marginal areas, strips located on the borders between town and country. These modifications are leading to the definition of new rural figures, together with plans capable of giving new life to liminal and marginal areas between town and country by creating new models of ‘rururban' living.

Developing a functional definition of small-scale fisheries in support of marine capture fisheries management in Indonesia

Marine Policy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
pp. 238-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Halim ◽  
Budy Wiryawan ◽  
Neil R. Loneragan ◽  
Adrian Hordyk ◽  
M. Fedi A. Sondita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Definition Of

scholarly journals Systematic Review on Food Safety and Supply Chain Risk Assessment Post Pandemic: Malaysian Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Saad Nurul Eiman ◽  
Firdaus Muhammad Nurul Azmi Aida ◽  
Trias Mahmudiono ◽  
Siva Raseetha
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Supply Chain Risk ◽  
Food Supply Chain ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
The Impact

The novel coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, is a recent disease that has struck the entire world. This review is conducted to study the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to food safety as well as the food supply chain. The pandemic has caused various changes around the world as numerous countries and governments have implemented lockdowns and restrictions to help curb the rising cases due to COVID-19. However, these restrictions have impacted many aspects of everyday life, including the economic sectors such as the food industry. An overview of the current COVID-19 situation in Malaysia was discussed in this review along with its implication on food safety and food supply chain. This is followed by a discussion on the definition of food safety, the impact of the pandemic to food safety, as well as the steps to be taken to ensure food safety. Hygiene of food handlers, complete vaccination requirement, kitchen sanitation and strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) should be in place to ensure the safety of food products, either in food industries or small scale business. Additionally, the aspect of the food supply chain was also discussed, including the definition of the food supply chain and the impact of COVID-19 to the food supply chain. Travel restriction and lack of manpower had impacted the usual operation and production activities. Lack of customers and financial difficulties to sustain business operational costs had even resulted in business closure. As a conclusion, this article provides insight into crucial factors that need to be considered to effectively contain COVID-19 cases and highlights the precaution methods to be taken through continuous monitoring and implementation by Malaysian government.

scholarly journals The legacy of traditional rice cultivation by descendants of Indian contract laborers in Suriname

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Ramdayal ◽  
Harro Maat ◽  
Tinde van Andel
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Rice Cultivation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Weedy Rice ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
East Indian ◽  
Rice Landraces ◽  
Contract Laborers ◽  
Traditional Rice

Abstract Background Some 35,000 indentured laborers from India were recruited to work on plantations in Suriname between 1868 and 1916. It is likely that most were familiar with farming before they were shipped to this former Dutch colony in the Caribbean. Around 1900, those who did not return received a piece of land where most of them started growing rice as a staple crop. Agronomists characterized their traditional landraces as inferior and infested with weedy rice and started to ‘purify’ these landraces. No research has been done on whether these ancient rice varieties still exist. We aimed to document the rice varieties (both landraces and more modern cultivars) grown currently or in the recent past by (descendants of) Hindustani smallholders in Suriname, their origin, morphological and agronomic characters, local uses and cultural and spiritual relevance. Given the rapid decline in small-scale rice cultivation in the past 40 years, we wanted to know why people continued or abandoned rice farming and what aspects of traditional practices still survived. Methods We interviewed 26 (former) small-scale Hindustani farmers and asked about the varieties they cultivated and traditional agricultural practices. We collected seed samples, local names and associated information, and compared these to information from agricultural reports from the colonial period. We also interviewed 11 Maroons, one Javanese farmer, and three persons of mixed ethnicity, who were somehow involved in the cultivation of East Indian rice varieties. Results and discussion Hindustani smallholders in Suriname largely lost their traditional rice landraces. Most of the interviewed farmers grew modern cultivars, developed after 2000. Some cultivars from the 1950s were still planted for fodder, but these were heavily mixed with weedy rice and other weeds. Maroon farmers in the interior, however, still actively cultivated varieties with names like ‘coolie rice’, which probably descend from landraces introduced by the Indian contract laborers, although this needs to be confirmed by molecular research. Although traditional cultivation practices seem to have been lost, smallholders still retain pleasant memories of the manual planting, harvesting, and processing of rice, as well as the gender-based practices and beliefs associated with the cultivation of the crop. The oral history of former rice farmers and traditional rice varieties (possibly obtained from Maroon fields) could play a role in museum settings as living vehicles for memories of the descendants of Asian contract labourers in Suriname and Guyana.

scholarly journals Geographical and logistical factors of sustainable development of rural tourism in the context of regional economy

2016 ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
I. Smyrnov
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Regional Economy ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Rural Tourism ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Tourist Flows ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact

Rural tourism is now seen as an important direction of development of the regional economy. From the perspective of sustainable development rural tourism affects the economic, social and environmental aspects of the regional and local economy. Rural tourism is closely linked with agrotourism, eco-tourism, natural tourism and so on. Sustainable rural tourism can be realized by applying logistic, geographic and marketing approaches as components of sustainable development strategies. Logistics approach is determined by logistic potential of resource base of rural tourism and appropriate tourist flows regulation. In this context in the article the concept of tourism capacity or capacity of the resource base of rural tourism is used. The problem of the definition of tourism pressure on the resource base of rural tourism, particularly in natural landscapes is disclosed. Unlike environmental and recrealogical sciences, which stop at the capacity definition of the resource base of tourism, tourism logistics compares this figure with the existing tourist flows and accordingly determines the safe way of tourism management to ensure its sustainable nature. It was shown that these strategies boil down to two basic types – the further development of tourism in a particular area or limit such activities to conserve the resource base of tourism. Recreational (travel) load is the indicator that reflects the impact of tourism on the resource base of tourism (especially landscape complex), expressed by the number of tourists or tourists-days per area unit or per tourist site for the certain period of time (day, month, season year). There are actual, allowable (the maximum) and destructive (dangerous) types of travel load. The latter can lead recreational area or resource base of rural tourism to destruction. Thus, depending on the intensity of tourism resource base using in rural tourism it may change – according to tourist consumption. Large number of tourists affects the entire range of recreational destinations and their individual components. The most vulnerable part of the environment in this sense is vegetation, except that significant changes may occur with soil, water bodies, air and so on. The geographic dimension of the problem of rural tourism sustainable development includes the concept of zoning, ie the division of the territory, offering to develop rural tourism in several zones with different modes of travel usage – from a total ban (in protected areas) for complete freedom with transitional stages, involving various limit degrees in the development of rural tourism. Marketing approach reflects the application of the curve R. Butler to the stages of development of rural tourism destinations with the release of such steps as: research, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation (also called “saturation”), revival or decline. Shown the models that link the stage of resource base tourist development (under “Curve Butler”), strength of tourism consumption the magnitude of such effects (eg weak (disperse) impact in large scale, strong (concentrated) impact in large scale, strong (concentrated) impact in small scale, weak (disperse) impact in small scale), dynamics of tourism development at the territory.

scholarly journals Agricultural Practices in Lawngtlai Rural Development Block of Mizoram

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 01-08
Author(s):  
R. Lalthankhumi ◽  
Joseph Lalmalsawma
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Horticultural Crops ◽  
Shifting Agriculture ◽  
Development Block ◽  
Major Factors

Agriculture constitutes one of the major sources of income among the people of Mizoram. The areas used for cultivation in Mizoram are usually slashed and burnt down to ashes and are abandoned for years, the land is used and the same plot is re-use after 3-5 years. More than half of the total population is either directly or indirectly involved in agriculture. However, the income from agriculture is less than 5% of the State Gross Domestic Product (State Economic Report, 2015). In the last few decades Mizoram witnessed several changes in agriculture pattern as many farmers have been shifting from cultivation to small- scale agricultural farming. This paper highlights the transformation of agricultural practices and the major factors affecting agricultural production and attempt is made to examine the prevailing socio- economic aspects associated with farmers with special reference to Lawngtlai Rural Development Block and a questionnaire method was used for collecting relevant information for the purpose. The research found that there exist major transformations of agricultural practices in the last couple of decades. The cycle of shifting agriculture period has been shortened drastically. It is also revealed that farmers are gradually adopting settled farming from shifting agriculture and that government intervention and assistance has been increasing more and more in this field. It is suggested that agricultural practice be transformed from jhuming to settled farming and from cultivating the traditional crops to cash crops with governmental and institutional support for shifting to higher income in agricultural and horticultural crops.

Material efficiency in a multi-material world

2013 ◽  
Vol 371 (1986) ◽  
pp. 20120002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reid Lifset ◽  
Matthew Eckelman
Keyword(s):  
Economic Effects ◽  
Material World ◽  
Multiple Resources ◽  
Material Efficiency ◽  
Material Choice ◽  
Multiple Materials ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Environmental Goals ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact

Material efficiency—using less of a material to make a product or supply a service—is gaining attention as a means for accomplishing important environmental goals. The ultimate goal of material efficiency is not to use less physical material but to reduce the impacts associated with its use. This article examines the concept and definition of material efficiency and argues that for it to be an effective strategy it must confront the challenges of operating in a multi-material world, providing guidance when materials are used together and when they compete. A series of conceptions of material efficiency are described, starting with mass-based formulations and expanding to consider multiple resources in the supply chain of a single material, and then to multiple resources in the supply chains of multiple materials used together, and further to multiple environmental impacts. The conception of material efficiency is further broadened by considering material choice, exploring the technical and economic effects both of using less material and of materials competition. Finally, this entire materials-based techno-economic system is considered with respect to the impact of complex policies and political forces. The overall goal here is to show how the concept of material efficiency when faced with more expansive—and yet directly relevant—definitional boundaries is forced to confront analytical challenges that are both familiar and difficult in life cycle assessment and product-based approaches.

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