The Contribution of GIS and Remote Sensing to Farming Systems Research on Micro- and Regional Scale in North West Vietnam

The Contribution of GIS and Remote Sensing to Farming Systems Research on Micro- and Regional Scale in North West Vietnam
Author: Peter Lentes
Publisher:
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2003
Genre: Agricultural systems
ISBN:

On the example of a mountain region in the northwest of Vietnam, the study investigates, how the strengths of GIS and remote sensing can be transferred to farming systems research. Such an integration of both disciplines allows the consideration of spatial information that goes beyond the usual use of transportation cost in economics. In this way, the holistic farming systems approach can be based on a broader database that includes space in a different way as in the past. The spatial analysis of the physical and socio-economic environment enables the comparison of characteristics for spatially closed areas. Data from geo-informatics assess the spatial reference system of farming systems by means of their physical site conditions. The socio-economic site conditions for these framing systems are assessed through the classical farming systems research methodology based on family level surveys. Thus the spatial integration of socio-economic development allows to unify the strengths of both research areas. In doing so, GIS and remote sensing contribute to farming systems research by assessing the site conditions of the farming systems on a spatially explicit and on a regional basis. This can be achieved by means of instruments like 1. the spatial representation of gradients, 2. the classification of zones according to socio-economic criteria, 3. the regional assessment and valuation of the endowment of agricultural land and 4. the modelling of socio economic parameters, like income, on the basis of spatial data on regional scale.

The Future of Mountain Agriculture

The Future of Mountain Agriculture
Author: Stefan Mann
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2012-11-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3642335845

Mountain agriculture is a socially and culturally unique system, but also a regionally important economic sector. In a globalising world, it is clear that fertile areas on all continents will always be used to produce large quantities of agricultural products in order to feed the world and, increasingly, provide biomass as a source of energy. It is far less clear, however, how land use in steep and more peripheral regions will evolve. By definition, farmland in mountain areas is more difficult to work because of steep slopes and missing accessibility. Climate conditions and poor soil quality often add to these adverse conditions. Through overcoming limited views from one region only or from one discipline, this book intends to draw a first truly international perspective on the issue of mountain farming.

Sustainable Land Use in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia

Sustainable Land Use in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia
Author: Franz J. Heidhüs
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 423
Release: 2008-01-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3540712208

This book creates a scientific base for the development and testing of sustainable production and land use systems in ecologically fragile and economically disadvantaged mountainous regions in Southeast Asia; to develop concepts for rural institutions that can reduce rural poverty and food insecurity, and improve livelihoods in mountainous regions in Southeast Asia; and to explore methods for analyzing complex ecosystems and their interactions with the socio-cultural, economic and institutional environment.

The Impact of Animal Production in Mountainous Farming Systems Development in Northwest of Vietnam

The Impact of Animal Production in Mountainous Farming Systems Development in Northwest of Vietnam
Author: Thi-Thanh-Huyen Nguyen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2004
Genre: Agricultural systems
ISBN:

This book presents an analysis of the impact of animal production in mountainous farming systems development in Northwest of Vietnam. The research areas are located in a typical transect in the mountainous zones. This transect represents a gradient from urban to remote areas, with changes in production condition (livestock types and breeds), degree of market orientation (feed stuffs), and socio-economics conditions (knowledge and production habit) due to different ethnic groups of the families. Information used came from interviews in panel survey, collected twice over two years. The descriptive analysis, historical analysis and comparative analysis show that family resources become increasingly scarce along the gradient from the market proximity to remote areas. The economic success follows the same trend with increasing remoteness, and the farm, off-farm and family income decrease. The study also found a relation between resource availability for crop and livestock and the size of the land. The livestock contribution to income is important for the bigger farms with a low production potential as well as for the small farms with high production potential. Fluctuations of resource availability and use over two years show that the resources are over-used. There is increasing utilisation of land in order to increase income while land quality seems to decrease. Results of regression models show that a small change in the animal sector impacts greatly the income and living standard of the families, offering an opportunity for the development of mixed farming systems, and hinting at its high potential for their future development. The impact analyses of potential future strategies were made using linear programming models at family level. Increasing the capacity of stables in order to increase herd size as well as comprehensive veterinary care could improve income. Improving income for families in remote areas is usually very hard to achieve.

Impact of Project Intervention on Rural Households in Nepal

Impact of Project Intervention on Rural Households in Nepal
Author: Lila Bahadur Karki
Publisher:
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2004
Genre: Agricultural innovations
ISBN:

Obtaining enough food for survival is a fundamental challenges in most of the developing countries. The livestock sector is of paramount importance to sustain the agrarian production, where mixed farming system is practiced. The possibility of increasing the consumption of animal protein in such countries requires an acceleration of the livestock's productivity. One of the most feasible solutions in this regard is to enhance the efficiency of livestock farmers where intervention of development projects play decisive role. This book presents a stringent analyses of such interventions on socio-economic and environmental aspects at households level. The major issue is to isolate the impact on innovation in smallholder peasants, food self-sufficiency, natural resource management, institutional development, gender equity and production efficiency due to such intervention, and its overall effect on the living standard of beneficiaries and other stakeholders of the community. Besides, spillover impact was considered in terms of physical changes due to combined effect of activities transferred into the periphery as percolation. A With-Without project evaluation approach was applied as a research methodology. The findings are based on the primary information collected through household survey. The collected cross sectional information was analyzed using descriptive statistics, econometric models and qualitative analyses. The empirical findings obtained from such analyses confirm a substantial contribution of a project intervention as long as the activities are institutionalized for the sustainability of the accrued benefit over time.

Agricultural Projects and Sustainable Development of Rural Areas in Benin

Agricultural Projects and Sustainable Development of Rural Areas in Benin
Author: Jacob Afouda Yabi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2004
Genre: Agricultural development projects
ISBN:

The most criticisms of agricultural projects are that their design, management and monitoring are little efficient and consider little development needs of stakeholders. These weaknesses induce low impacts on sustainable development of beneficiaries, as well as low participation and adoption of modern technologies, which make the projects little sustainable. This book investigates therefore the impacts of the projects on sustainable development of stakeholders and the factors affecting their participation and adoption decisions, using a with-without approach and a structural modelling. The results show the impacts were positive, but depended closely on the area where the projects were implemented. As feedback, overall satisfactions that the stakeholders view from the impacts, human capital and access to production inputs were key factors of participation and adoption. Therefore, the solution for more sustainable impacts of agricultural projects lies on designing and implementing small-scale projects that target real development problems of stakeholders, improvement on human capital and access to production input.