Local Food Systems; Concepts, Impacts, and Issues

Local Food Systems; Concepts, Impacts, and Issues
Author: Steve Martinez
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 87
Release: 2010-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1437933629

This comprehensive overview of local food systems explores alternative definitions of local food, estimates market size and reach, describes the characteristics of local consumers and producers, and examines early indications of the economic and health impacts of local food systems. Defining ¿local¿ based on marketing arrangements, such as farmers selling directly to consumers at regional farmers¿ markets or to schools, is well recognized. Statistics suggest that local food markets account for a small, but growing, share of U.S. agricultural production. For smaller farms, direct marketing to consumers accounts for a higher percentage of their sales than for larger farms. Charts and tables.

Enabling the Business of Agriculture 2019

Enabling the Business of Agriculture 2019
Author: World Bank Group
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 562
Release: 2019-11-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1464813884

Enabling the Business of Agriculture 2019 presents indicators that measure the laws, regulations and bureaucratic processes that affect farmers in 101 countries. The study covers eight thematic areas: supplying seed, registering fertilizer, securing water, registering machinery, sustaining livestock, protecting plant health, trading food and accessing finance. The report highlights global best performers and countries that made the most significant regulatory improvements in support of farmers.

The Economics of Agricultural and Wildlife Smuggling

The Economics of Agricultural and Wildlife Smuggling
Author: Peyton Ferrier
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre:
ISBN:

The United States bans imports of certain agricultural and wildlife goods that can carry pathogens or diseases or whose harvest can threaten wildlife stocks or endanger species. Despite these bans, contraband is regularly uncovered in inspections of cargo containers and in domestic markets. This study characterizes the economic factors affecting agricultural and wildlife smuggling by drawing on inspection and interdiction data from USDA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and existing economic literature. Findings reveal that agricultural and wildlife smuggling primarily include luxury goods, ethnic foods, and specialty goods, such as traditional medicines. Incidents of detected smuggling are disproportionately higher for agricultural goods originating in China and for wildlife goods originating in Mexico. Fragmentary data show that approximately 1 percent of all commercial wildlife shipments to the United States and 0.40 percent of all U.S. wildlife imports by value are refused entry and suspected of being smuggled.

Environmentally Sensitive Road Maintenance Practices for Dirt and Gravel Roads

Environmentally Sensitive Road Maintenance Practices for Dirt and Gravel Roads
Author: Agriculture Dept., Forest Service, National Technology & Development Program
Publisher: Government Printing Office
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2016-12-28
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780160935923

Over 1.6 million miles of dirt and gravel roads exist within the United States providing a vital part of the nation's transportation system. An environmentally sensitive road maintenance practice is a practice that when implemented reduces the adverse effect of a road on the environment by treating the cuase of the problem and is in keeping wtih the natural landscape. This illustrated field guide provides examples of environmentally sensitive maintenance practices, which if implemented reduce erosion and sediment, maintain subsurface hydrologic connectivity, restore drainage density to more natural conditions, and eliminate diversion potential. It is organized to identify visual signs and problems associated with CAUSES and SOLUTIONS for the most commonly encountered road problens (road surface, ditch, cutbank, etc.) Highway inspectors, public works construction inspectors, to include some construction and building inspectors and engineers that must meet compliance with specifications, building codes, and other regulations, Additionally, City engineers, concrete masonry contractors, road maintenance specialists and workers, and technicians, as well as County Road Supervisors may ber interested in this volume. Students pursuing degree programs for Civil Engineering or certificates of study for Industrial Maintenance Technology or Public Works training in clases such as Roadway Asset Management Essentials, or Inspecting Pavement Markings or certified Public Infrastructure Inspector courses may be interested in this print field guide as a handy reference. Related products: Sign Up for the Public Roads print subscription to begin receiving valuable guidance bimonthly from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/750-005-00000-4?ctid= Drainage Manual can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/024-003-00177-5 Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils, Version 3.0 is available for purchase here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/001-000-04758-2 Converging Waters: Integrating Collaborative Modeling With Participatory Processes to Make Water Resources Decisions can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/008-022-00349-5 Gravel Roads Construction and Maintenance Guide is available for purchase here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/050-001-00348-1 Designing Sustainable Off-Highway Vehicle Trails: An Alaska Train Manager's Perspective is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/001-001-00701-3 Other resources that may be of interest produced by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/199 Other publications produced by the U.S. Forest Service within the United States Department of Agriculture can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/819 , .

The Political Economy of Agricultural and Food Policies

The Political Economy of Agricultural and Food Policies
Author: Johan Swinnen
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2018-05-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1137501022

Winner of the European Association of Agricultural Economists Book Award Food and agriculture have been subject to heavy-handed government interventions throughout much of history and across the globe, both in developing and in developed countries. Today, more than half a trillion US dollars are spent by some governments to support farmers, while other governments impose regulations and taxes that hurt farmers. Some policies, such as price regulations and tariffs, distribute income but reduce total welfare by introducing economic distortions. Other policies, such as public investments in research, food standards, or land reforms, may increase total welfare, but these policies come also with distributional effects. These distributional effects influence the preferences of interest groups and in turn influence policy decisions. Political considerations are therefore crucial to understand how agricultural and food policies are determined, to identify the constraints within which welfare-enhancing reforms are possible (or not), and finally to understand how coalitions can be created to stimulate growth and reduce poverty.

Productivity Growth in Agriculture

Productivity Growth in Agriculture
Author: Keith Owen Fuglie
Publisher: CABI
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2012
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1845939212

This volume is written primarily for agricultural economists doing research on productivity. It includes discussions of the theoretical underpinnings of productivity measurement as well as the many practical considerations that go into translating this theory into actual measures of aggregated outputs and inputs. The unifying concept of agricultural productivity used across the chapters of this volume is aggregate total factor productivity (TFP) of the sector. The volume also contains detailed analysis of the underlying causes of agricultural productivity growth. Part I (chapters 2-6) examines agricultural productivity in high-income and transition countries. Part II (chapters 7-11) examines agricultural productivity growth and its driving forces in five important agricultural producers in Asia and Latin America. Part III (chapters 12-14) focuses on measuring and identifying constraints to agricultural productivity growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Part IV (chapters 15-16) gives a global perspective on agricultural productivity.

Commercial Agriculture, the Slave Trade and Slavery in Atlantic Africa

Commercial Agriculture, the Slave Trade and Slavery in Atlantic Africa
Author: Robin Law
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2013
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 184701075X

This book considers commercial agriculture in Africa in relation to the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the institution of slavery within Africa itself, from the beginnings of European maritime trade in the fifteenth century to the early stages of colonial rule in the twentieth century. From the outset, the export of agricultural produce from Africa represented a potential alternative to the slave trade: although the predominant trend was to transport enslaved Africans to the Americas to cultivate crops, there was recurrent interest in the possibility of establishing plantations in Africa to produce such crops, or to purchase them from independent African producers. This idea gained greater currency in the context of the movement for the abolition of the slave trade from the late eighteenth century onwards, when the promotion of commercial agriculture in Africa was seen as a means of suppressing the slave trade. At the same time, the slave trade itself stimulated commercial agriculture in Africa, to supply provisions for slave-ships in the Middle Passage. Commercial agriculture was also linked to slavery within Africa, since slaves were widely employed there in agricultural production. Although Abolitionists hoped that production of export crops in Africa would be based on free labour, in practice it often employed enslaved labour, so that slavery in Africa persisted into the colonial period. Robin Law is Emeritus Professor of African History, University of Stirling; Suzanne Schwarz is Professor of History, University of Worcester; Silke Strickrodt is Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of African Studies and Anthropology, University of Birmingham.

Digital agriculture report: Rural e-commerce development experience from China

Digital agriculture report: Rural e-commerce development experience from China
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2021-08-25
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9251345104

This publication, produced by FAO and Zhejiang University, examines how rural e-commerce could advance the digital transformation of agri-food systems, including increasing production efficiency, expanding farmers’ market access, improving poverty alleviation, fostering agricultural entrepreneurship, and attracting young generations back to their villages for economic revival and rural revitalization. It is highlighted that an enabling ecosystem with favourable government policies and strategies, public-private partnerships and innovative business models is of great importance to accelerate the development of rural areas in China, and generate larger economic, social and environmental impacts. As the largest developing country in the world, the experience of digital agriculture transformation in China could be shared with other developing countries. The report also discusses some of the challenges encountered and lessons learned during the development of rural e-commerce, as well as the proposals for the way forward.