Adoption of sustainable agriculture practices: Evidence from a semi-arid region of Ethiopia

In the wake of the resource constraints for external farm inputs faced by farmers in developing countries, sustainable agriculture practices that rely on renewable local or farm resources present desirable options for enhancing agriculture productivity. In this study, plot-level data from the semi-arid region of Ethiopia, Tigray are used to investigate the factors influencing farmers' decisions to adopt agriculture practices, with a particular focus on conservation tillage, compost and chemical fertilizer. A trivariate probit model is used to analyze the determinants of adoption of these practices. In addition, stochastic dominance analysis is used to compare the productivity impacts of compost with that of chemical fertilizer based on a six-year cross-sectional farm-level dataset. Our results indicate heterogeneity with regard to the factors that influence adoption decisions of the three practices and the importance of both plot and household characteristics on influencing adoption decisions. In particular, we found that household endowments and access to information, among other factors, impact the choice of sustainable farming practices significantly. Furthermore, the use of stochastic dominance analysis supported the contention that sustainable farming practices enhance productivity. They even proved to be superior to the use of chemical fertilizers — justifying the need to investigate factors that influence adoption of these practices and to use this knowledge to formulate policies that encourage adoption.     

基于VEGETATION数据的区域生态系统质量评价之二——生产能力指数评价

区域生态系统生产能力指数是评价其生态功能的重要指标之一.文章构建了区域生态系统生产能力指数评价模型,并对中国1998～2004年间区域生态系统生产能力进行评价,发现中国各区域生态系统的生产能力在时空发布上差异巨大,在空间上呈现从西北往东南逐级变好的趋势,西北最差.在时间分异上,区域生态系统生产能力呈现明显的季节性发布,尤以北方地区最为明显.     

Management of Lignite Fly Ash for Improving Soil Fertility and Crop Productivity

Lignite fly ash (LFA), being alkaline and endowed with excellent pozzolanic properties, a silt loam texture, and plant nutrients, has the potential to improve soil quality and productivity. Long-term field trials with groundnut, maize, and sun hemp were carried out to study the effect of LFA on growth and yield. Before crop I was sown, LFA was applied at various doses with and without press mud (an organic waste from the sugar industry, used as an amendment and source of nutrients). LFA with and without press mud was also applied before crops III and V were cultivated. Chemical fertilizer, along with gypsum, humic acid, and biofertilizer, was applied in all treatments, including the control. With one-time and repeat applications of LFA (with and without press mud), yield increased significantly (7.0–89.0%) in relation to the control crop. The press mud enhanced the yield (3.0–15.0%) with different LFA applications. The highest yield LFA dose was 200 t/ha for one-time and repeat applications, the maximum yield being with crop III (combination treatment). One-time and repeat application of LFA (alone and in combination with press mud) improved soil quality and the nutrient content of the produce. The highest dose of LFA (200 t/ha) with and without press mud showed the best residual effects (eco-friendly increases in the yield of succeeding crops). Some increase in trace- and heavy-metal contents and in the level of γ-emitters in soil and crop produce, but well within permissible limits, was observed. Thus, LFA can be used on a large scale to boost soil fertility and productivity with no adverse effects on the soil or crops, which may solve the problem of bulk disposal of fly ash in an eco-friendly manner.     

Measuring and decomposing changes in agricultural productivity, nitrogen use efficiency and cumulative exergy efficiency: Application to OECD agriculture

This paper uses an aggregate quantity space to decompose the temporal changes in nitrogen use efficiency and cumulative exergy use efficiency into changes of Moorsteen-Bjurek (MB) Total Factor Productivity (TFP) changes and changes in the aggregate nitrogen and cumulative exergy contents. Changes in productivity can be broken into technical change and changes in various efficiency measures such as technical efficiency, scale efficiency and residual mix efficiency. Changes in the aggregate nitrogen and cumulative exergy contents can be driven by changes in the quality of inputs and outputs and changes in the mixes of inputs and outputs. Also with cumulative exergy content analysis, changes in the efficiency in input production can increase or decrease the cumulative exergy transformity of agricultural production. The empirical study in 30 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development from 1990 to 2003 yielded some important findings. The production technology progressed but there were reductions in technical efficiency, scale efficiency and residual mix efficiency levels. This result suggests that the production frontier had shifted up but there existed lags in the responses of member countries to the technological change. Given TFP growth, improvements in nutrient use efficiency and cumulative exergy use efficiency were counteracted by reductions in the changes of the aggregate nitrogen contents ratio and aggregate cumulative exergy contents ratio. The empirical results also confirmed that different combinations of inputs and outputs as well as the quality of inputs and outputs could have more influence on the growth of nutrient and cumulative exergy use efficiency than factors that had driven productivity change.     

The effect of integrated management system on safety and productivity indices: Case study; Iranian cement industries

Nowadays, with implementation of management systems and environment management and due to the influence of safety and health issues on working processes, organizations have also sought to acquire health and safety management systems. This study which aims to examine the influence of integrated management system on safety and productivity indices has retrospective experimental nature. It was conducted in Cement Factories in which three systems are used: quality, environment and safety systems. The collected data were: accident reports and the investigation of events in 6 years during 2005-2010 (3 years before and 3 years after the implementation of the system). The safety indices that used in this study are: IFR, ISR, FSI, and Safe T. Score. Then, the data analyzed with the T-test, mean and standard deviation. The results showed a significant difference between various safety indices before and after the implementation. The examination of production indices such as increasing rate of productivity and production indicates the influence of these systems on production and productivity indices. The results have showed that the safety system existence cannot ensure productivity increase. Indices definition can be helpful for the safety system effectiveness and system continual improvement. It is important to say that there might be various indices definition in different industries.     

Multi-Criteria Assessment of Tensions in Resource Use at Continental Scale: A Proof of Concept with Australian Rangelands

The purpose of this study was to help to inform policy development for the Australian rangelands, and provide a proof of concept for application of a multi-criteria analysis approach to assessment of competing resource use at continental scale. The study aimed to identify and locate key natural resource and agricultural production assets in the rangelands, define a number of measures of potentially threatening processes, and use a multi-criteria approach to identify areas where threatening processes, agricultural production problems, or valuable natural resources coincided. The analysis used 35 readily available, continental spatial data layers at 5-km pixel resolution ranked from 1 (low) to 5 (high) under three themed groupings: natural resource base, production base, and threatening processes. These measures were aggregated into composite indicators to define attributes such as environmental sensitivity and total grazing pressure. The composites were then compared in a two-way analysis to explore particular interactions between threatening processes such as pastoralism and mining, and the condition of production and natural resource assets. These interactions were defined as “tensions” for purposes of this analysis. Example “tensions” included the association of high grazing intensity with areas of high environmental sensitivity, indicating a risk of land degradation under adverse climatic conditions. A summary of patterns of tension was obtained by extracting area proportions of high-tension classes for selected Natural Heritage Trust Regions, which are a basis for Australian Government funding of improved environmental management. The study provides a basis for further examination of trade-offs in the use of natural assets, opportunities for improved productivity and sustainability, and social and economic implications.     

Making a stronger case for industrial energy efficiency by quantifying non-energy benefits

This paper describes a more compelling case for industry to promote the non-energy benefits of energy efficiency investments. We do this in two ways to actively appeal to chief executive officers (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) primary responsibility: to enhance shareholder value. First, we describe the use of a project-by-project corporate financial analysis approach to quantify a broader range of productivity benefits that stem from investments in energy-efficient technologies, including waste reduction and pollution prevention. Second, and perhaps just as important, we present such information in corporate financial terms. These standard, widely-accepted analysis procedures are more credible to industry than the economic modeling done in the past because they are structured in the same way corporate financial analysts perform discounted cashflow investment analyses on individual projects. Case studies including such financial analyses, which quantify both energy and non-energy benefits from investments in energy-efficient technologies, are presented. Experience shows that energy efficiency projects’ non-energy benefits often exceed the value of energy savings, so energy savings should be viewed more correctly as part of the total benefits, rather than the focus of the results. Quantifying the total benefits of energy efficiency projects helps companies understand the financial opportunities of investments in energy-efficient technologies. Making a case for investing in energy-efficient technologies based on energy savings alone has not always proven successful. Evidence suggests, however, that industrial decision makers will understand energy efficiency investments as part of a broader set of parameters that affect company productivity and profitability.     

Environmental performance and spillover effects on productivity: evidence from horticultural firms

This study investigates the effect of environmental investment and related spillover effects on productivity in the agricultural sector by using a panel data of horticultural firms in Andalusia (Southern Spain). The results indicate a positive relationship between firm investment in environmental practices and productivity improvement, also showing the presence of positive environmental spillovers. In a second-stage of analysis, the incidence of environmental factors in firm specific individual technical efficiency is estimated. This analysis also shows the link between environmental knowledge diffusion and horticultural firms' performance.     

中国区域生态系统生产能力指数变化原因分析

决定中国区域生态系统生产能力指数的影响因子主要有两类:一是下垫面的影响,山区、丘陵的生产能力高于平原区,在具备生产能力的土地生态类型中,林地生产能力最高,耕地次之,草地最低;二是气候因子的影响,季风气候决定了我国生态系统生产能力的空间分布.呈现西北-东南逐级递增的趋势,造成这种空间分布的主要因素是季风气候造成的降水空间分布.同时,温度也在一定程度上影响了我国生态系统的生产能力,尤其是东部地区.降水对生态系统生产能力的影响强度较温度大.