Traditional agriculture in transition: examining the impacts of agricultural modernization on smallholder farming in Ghana under the new Green Revolution

Following the renewed effort at achieving a new green revolution for Africa, emphasis has been placed on modernizing smallholder agriculture through the deployment of improved inputs especially mechanized technologies. In Ghana, the government has in the last decade emphasized the provision of subsidized mechanized ploughing services to farmers alongside a rapidly growing private sector tractor service market. While mechanized technology adoption rates have increased rapidly, the deployment of these technologies has been without critical analysis of the impacts on production patterns and local agrarian systems. This paper examines the distributional impacts of agriculture mechanization on cropping patterns and farm sizes of smallholder farmers in northern Ghana using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, and semi-structured interviews with smallholder farmers (n=60). Specifically, comparative analysis of the field sizes and cropping patterns of participant farmers prior to and after the adoption of mechanized technologies was conducted. In-depth interviews were used to contextualize the experiences of smallholder farmers toward understanding how mechanization may be impacting traditional agriculture. Our findings reveal a mechanization paradox in which farm sizes are expanding, while cropping patterns are shifting away from traditional staple crops (pearl millet and sorghum bicolor) to market-oriented crops (maize, rice and groundnuts). This transition we argue, has adverse implications on the cultural dimension of food security, the organization of social life, and climate change adaptation. We recommend a retooling of the current agricultural policy focus to ensure context sensitivity for a more robust battle against food insecurity.     

长江流域水生态环境安全主要问题、形势与对策

为进一步深化长江流域水生态环境保护的系统性、整体性科学认识,围绕长江水生态环境安全的主要问题及形势进行了剖析,提出了进一步加强长江流域水生态环境安全保障的对策建议.研究表明:在水环境质量方面,磷污染成为制约水质改善的主要影响因素,农业源排放量占比高,但工业源入河对水体的影响更直接,水库群运行带来的水沙条件变化对磷污染沿程演变有明显影响;在水生态健康方面,长江水生生物资源衰退、湖库富营养化格局发生改变、湿地生态功能退化问题突出;在水环境风险方面,化工围江、航运污染风险引起广泛关注.当前长江流域面临着源头区水资源战略储备减少、区域经济发展与生态环境保护双重压力仍较大、水环境质量仍存问题隐患、水生态系统退化态势未得到根本遏制等复杂且严峻的形势,未来长江水生态环境安全保障仍有诸多挑战.建议统筹长江全流域“一盘棋”,推进区域绿色协调发展,强化磷污染点面源综合管控,着力提升水生态健康水平,同时加快水环境风险隐患排查整治,强化科技创新有效供给.      

西藏食物保障度分析及对策

食物保障是西藏社会性经济可持续发展重要问题之一。分析表明，西藏食物保障度及目标因食物种类而异。尽管粮食总产及单产均持续增长，但结构性短缺问题难以解决，粮食保障不应过分强调自给率目标；肉类中羊肉自给，但猪肉基本依靠内地；蔬菜保障存在生产不稳定问题，如何提高生产的稳定性是问题的关键。对居民营养摄入量及结构的分析表明，城乡居民食物消费结构及来源结构有较大差异，城镇居民食物消费与内地差异不大，而乡村居民的食物消费呈现极显著的本地化特征；分析还表明，城乡居民生活支出中有一半以上用于食物，表明收入和生活水平还不高，特别要关注低收入居民的食物问题。为此，粮食不应继续作为食物保障的重点，重点应在鲜活食物的保障；建立包括开放食物流通系统和开放食物生产系统在内的开放的食物保障系统；改善交通运输条件、增进食物空间可达性，包括增进食物生产资料空间可达性和改善畜产品外销通径；增强储备意识和能力：保障贫困人口食物供给：广辟食物来源。     

Spatial distribution of ecological security status assessment of West-Liaohe River based on geographic information system

Eco-security assessment is a hot research area in resource and environmental science, which involves data with much spatial, non-linear, and random features. Geographic information system (GIS), as a useful tool to analyze and manage spatial information, has a superior advantage in this field. A case study in the western part of the Liaohe River featuring a method of eco-security spatial differences (ESSD) based on GIS is developed in this paper. The method includes four steps: 1) developing the pressure-state-response (P-S-R) framework with site data; 2) digitizing West-Liaohe River and setting its GRID database of ecosecurity assessment indicators; 3) figuring out the relative membership degree (RMD) of eco-security indicators by using the analytical hierarchy process with the weight of indicator; 4) classifying the security zone and mapping the assessment result of eco-security status in grid by GIS method of assigning and clustering. The visual spatial differences of eco-security based on GIS enables decision makers to know the status of eco-security better in making policies for achieving sustainability. __________ Translated from Environmental Science, 2005, 26(5): 28–33 [译自: 环境科学]     

校园安全的现状和应对办法

校园安全问题是一个为社会各界关注的热点问题。保护好每个学生，使发生在他们身边的意外事故减少到最低限度，关系到千家万户的切实利益是各级学校教育和管理工作的重要内容。本文介绍了我国校园安全的现状，我国大多数学校对待校园安全的态度，分析了校园安全问题的原因，并着重介绍处理校园安全问题的应对办法。     

西藏食物保障的自然资源相对优势分析

对西藏食物保障的自然资源相对优势研究表明 ,光能、生物、旅游资源是西藏食物保障的突出相对优势。这些资源具有独特、再生和易于持续开发利用等突出特点 ;水利资源和矿产资源具有明显的开发利用优势 ,但是 ,与经济落后形成了极大的反差 ,目前开发乏力 ,开发利用将带来后续管理与环境保护的沉重负担 ;耕地、草地与森林资源既具有明显的优势 ,又有突出的劣势 ,主要表现为数量的优势与质量的劣势。西藏未来食物保障 ,取决于如何将这些资源的相对优势有效组合、综合管理和合理开发利用。     

利用洗脸盆的排水保护地漏存水弯水封

简要介绍了我国地漏的现状与问题,并结合SARS病毒在香港淘大花园传播的原因,说明了地漏安全问题的严重性。根据香港城市大学的实验,提出了利用洗脸盆排水保护地漏存水弯水封,从而解决地漏的安全问题。     

工业控制网络安全风险及防护策略

分析了工业企业工控系统网络面对诸如自身漏洞、工业协议、操作系统、杀毒软件以及管理缺陷等日益增多的安全风险,需要采用分区隔离、边界防护、异常检测、访问控制、限制接入、健全管理等多种技术、管理手段,建立纵深防御体系,提升工业控制系统的网络安全防护水平,以抵御工业控制网络面临的安全风险。     

企业计算机网络与系统安全

本文介绍了网络技术与系统的内在结构以及各个环节可能存在的安全漏洞，分别对如何提高局域网，广域网，外部网和系统的安全性进行分析，提出了相应的解决办法。