Organisation for Researching and Composing University Textbooks in the Humanities (SAMT)
Over 140 titles of books in cooperation with universities and research centers in countries in Asia and Europe
View Rights PortalOver 140 titles of books in cooperation with universities and research centers in countries in Asia and Europe
View Rights PortalOrganic cattle farming is on the increase, with consumer demand for organic milk and meat growing yearly. Beginning with an overview of the aims and principles behind organic cattle production, this book presents extensive information about how to feed cattle so that the milk and meat produced meet organic standards, and provides a comprehensive summary of ruminant digestive processes and nutrition. Since the publication of the first edition, global consumers have increasingly become concerned with the sustainability of meat production. Here, Robert Blair considers the interrelationships of sustainable practices and profitability of organic herds, reviewing how to improve forage production and quality, and minimizing the need for supplementary feeding using off-farm ingredients. This new edition also covers: - Managing a recurrent shortage of organic feed ingredients, due to increased GM feed crop cultivation worldwide - Current findings on appropriate breeds and grazing systems for forage-based organic production - Diet-related health issues in organic herds and the effects of organic production on meat and milk quality. Required reading for animal science researchers, advisory personnel that service the organic milk and beef industries and students interested in organic milk and meat production, this book is also a useful resource for organic farming associations, veterinarians, and feed and food industry personnel.
Tillage agriculture has led to wide-spread soil and ecosystem degradation globally, and more particularly in the developing regions. This is especially so in Africa where traditional agricultural practices have become unsustainable due to severe exploitation of natural resources with negative impacts on the environment. In addition, agriculture in Africa today faces major challenges including increased costs, climate change effects and a need for more sustainable production intensification methods. Conservation (no-tillage) agriculture has emerged as a major alternative sustainable agriculture practice in Africa and has spread to many African countries in the past decade as more development and research has enabled its extension and uptake. This landmark volume is based on the material presented at the Second Africa Congress on Conservation Agriculture which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, 9-12 October 2018. The main theme of the Congress was: Making Climate Smart Agriculture Real in Africa with Conservation Agriculture: Supporting the Malabo Declaration and Agenda 2063. The Congress was aligned to mobilize stakeholders in all agriculture sectors to provide development support, impetus and direction to the vision and agenda for transforming African agriculture as set out by the Malabo Declaration and Agenda 2063. This book is aimed at all agricultural stakeholders in the public, private and civil sectors in Africa engaged in supporting the transformation of conventional tillage agriculture to Conservation Agriculture. This includes: researchers, academics, students, development stakeholders and policy makers as well as institutional libraries across the world.
Approximately 800 million people suffer from hunger, 2 billion from lack of micronutrients and more than 2 billion from excessive weight and obesity. There is renewed interest in reshaping agricultural and food systems at global, regional and national levels, so that poor and vulnerable people have access to nutritious sustenance. This book reviews research findings, results from on-the-ground programmes and interventions, and policy experiences from the past 5-10 years. It examines the direct and indirect effects of agriculture on nutrition, following the agricultural value chain to explore this complex relationship, from biodiversity and crop fortification, to programme evaluation, to the impact of agricultural policies on consumers' choices and actions. It explores the roles of various stakeholders along the chain including women and the private sector, and cross-cutting themes such as data and capacity building. Developing country experiences and the knowledge and action gaps that remain in truly integrating agriculture and nutrition aims and related practices are considered. Key features: -Considers the evidence base on the relationship between agriculture and nutrition. -Includes insights from internationally renowned researchers. -Presents data from real-world settings that is highly relevant to the challenges currently faced by developing countries. This book is ideal for policy-makers and students studying agriculture, international development and nutrition.
Parasitic Plants in African Agriculture brings together for the first time in a single volume, the ecology, biology, damage, and control of all groups of African parasitic plants including both the relatively few parasites introduced to the continent as well as those native parasites that have spread from within Africa. The book covers the well-known witchweeds and broomrapes but also groups and species that have received less attention including mistletoes, dodders, rice vampire weed, and other species posing threats. The book distinguishes between stem and root parasitic weeds and between holoparasites and (facultative or obligate) hemiparasites. Based on their research and experience collectively spanning six decades, the authors provide an authoritative and state-of-the-art overview of the distribution, biology and impact of these highly specialized weeds and include recommendations for their management. Since parasitic plants in African agriculture primarily affect smallholder farmers, these weeds are explicitly discussed within a context of resource limitations and global changes. Readers are informed on all parasitic plant species relevant to African agriculture and the impact these plants have on crop production and livelihoods of smallholders in a changing world. Current and future management strategies are outlined in terms of their principles and effectiveness as well as their feasibility and affordability for farmers, all of which determine farmer adoption. The final chapter synthesises some of the relevant findings and statistics regarding parasitic weed distribution and their host crops and discusses implications in terms of future crop protection concerns in African agricultural systems. Key features: · Authoritative text based on extensive field and laboratory work. · First comprehensive state-of-the-art overview of parasitic plants and their management in Africa. · Highly illustrated with photos, graphs and species distribution maps. · Reviews previous basic and applied work, with relevance to smallholder farming systems. This book will be a valuable reference for students, researchers, extension workers, development officers, national agriculture researchers, plant pathologists, food security specialists, weed scientists, agronomists and botanists.
Covering all aspects of practical plant nematology in subtropical and tropical agriculture, the third edition of this definitive global reference work is fully revised and in full colour throughout. It covers the presence, distribution, symptomology and management of all economically important plant parasitic nematodes damaging the world's major food and cash crops. This includes: rice, cereals, solanum and sweet potatoes (and other root and tuber crops), food legumes, vegetables, peanut, citrus, fruit tree crops, coconut and other palms, coffee, cocoa, tea, bananas, sugarcane, tobacco, pineapple, cotton, other tropical fibres, spices and medicinal plants. New content for this edition includes: - A chapter on nematode soil biodiversity and soil health. - Reflections on the future impact of nematodes and nematology on food security. - The importance of climate change, emerging threats, and new management technologies for large and small subsistence growers. - Significant revisions to the IPM chapter and chapters on vegetables, citrus, legumes, tuber crops, cotton, peanut and banana where major advances in nematode management have occurred. This book is highly illustrated, with up-to-date practical guidance on methods of extraction, processing and diagnosing of different plant and soil nematodes and on integrated pest management. It remains an invaluable resource for those studying and working in the area of crop protection.
Based on the the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, describing this great turning point, the developing track and historical events before the meeting.
Agriculture is strongly affected by changes in soil hydrology as well as by changes in land use and management practices and the complex interactions between them. This book aims to expand our knowledge and understanding of these interactions on a watershed scale, using soil hydrology models, and to address the consequences of land use and management changes on agriculture from a research perspective. Case studies illustrate the impact of land use and management practices on various soil hydrological parameters under different climates and ecosystems.
Nanotechnology research and its application in agriculture has become a major focus in recent years. Nanoformulations offer the possibility to develop more efficient and less damaging agrochemicals in the environment. Smart delivery systems for nanosensors, molecules that can help to detect biotic or abiotic stresses before they can affect production, are being developed and applied. Nanotechnology also provides new techniques for genetic manipulation and plant breeding. The use of nanoformulations in agriculture is increasingly being used to enhance food values, reduce agricultural inputs, improve nutrient contents and create a longer shelf life for many products. Nanotechnology is also being applied to many aspects of food security, disease treatment, new tools for pathogen detection, effective delivery systems and packaging materials. It is hoped that all these applications will help meet the needs of a growing population, and help mitigate the effects of climate change and other ecological disturbances. This book highlights new applications of these nanoforms in the field of agricultural science.It is written by an international team of experts from across this broad discipline.The book is essential reading for graduate students, researchers and practitioners involved in the application of nanotechnology in agriculture. The book · examines the role of nano-formulations in crop yield improvement whilst reducing reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. · covers specially enabled delivery systems for the release of nanoformulations, field-sensing systems to monitor environmental stresses, and improvement of plant traits against environmental stress and diseases · is well written, unambiguous, simple, lucid, scientific and precise and chapters are supplemented with ample illustrations and case studies to clarify and summarize key points.
The future of Africa and the whole globe is dependent on sustainable agribusiness management. This book offers insights to a wide range of agricultural marketing and agribusiness management practices with a focus on sustainability. It is designed to provide academics and graduate students in business studies with a comprehensive treatment of the nature of agricultural marketing and agribusiness management, as well as sustainability transitions and related practices in certain regions of the world (particularly in Africa). The text also serves as an invaluable resource for agricultural marketing practitioners requiring more than anecdotal evidence on the structure and operation of agricultural marketing and agribusiness management, as well as sustainability in different organisations and geographical areas. It allows the reader to compare and contrast agricultural marketing and agribusiness management, as well as sustainability practices across different research methodologies and settings. The book provides a unique mix of theory, reviews, primary research findings and case studies.
Tillage agriculture has led to widespread soil and ecosystem degradation globally. This is especially so in Africa where traditional and modern tillage-based agricultural practices have become unsustainable due to severe disturbance and exploitation of natural resources, with negative impacts on the environment and rural livelihoods. In addition, agriculture in Africa today faces major challenges including increased costs of production and energy, the effects of climate change, and the lack of an effective paradigm for sustainable intensification, especially for small- and medium-size holdings. Africa is facing a serious challenge to food security and as a continent has not advanced towards eradicating hunger. In addition, the population is still growing much faster than on most other continents. This pressure has led to the emergence of no-till conservation agriculture as a serious alternative sustainable agriculture paradigm. In Africa, in recent years, conservation agriculture techniques and methods have spread to many countries, as greater development, education and research effort are directed towards its extension and uptake. This book is aimed at agricultural researchers and scientists, educationalists, and agricultural service providers, institutional leaders and policy makers working in the fields of sustainable agriculture and international development, and also at agroecologists, conservation scientists, and those working on ecosystem services. This book: · Focuses on research and development initiatives in Africa aimed at building resilient farming systems based on conservation agriculture principles and practices. · Summarises the status of conservation agriculture in Africa today and prospects for its future development in Africa as a basis for sustainable agriculture intensification. · Describes case studies showing the performance of conservation agriculture in Africa. ; Tillage agriculture has led to widespread soil and ecosystem degradation. This book reviews research and development initiatives in Africa aimed at building resilient farming systems. It summarises the status of conservation agriculture today, discusses prospects for future development and provides case studies showing its performance in Africa. ; 1: Conservation Agriculture in Africa: An Overview2: Weather-Proofing Agriculture with Conservation Agriculture3: Conservation Agriculture: Growing more with less – the future of sustainable intensification4: Empowering Smallholder Farmers with Profitable and Sustainable Farming using Conservation Agriculture – the Case of East Africa5: Implementing the Principles of Conservation Agriculture in Malawi: Crop Yields and Factors Affecting Adoption6: Innovation Systems and farmer perceptions regarding Conservation Agriculture in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique7: Conservation Agriculture in North Africa: Experiences, Achievements and Challenges8: How Can We Cover Millions of Hectares with Conservation Agriculture in Africa?9: Climate-Smart push-pull - A conservation agriculture technology for food security and environmental sustainability in Africa10: How to Make Conservation Agriculture Ever Green11: Mechanization of smallholder Conservation Agriculture in Africa: contributing resilience to precarious systems12: Conservation Agriculture in South Africa: Lessons from Case Studies13: Extending Conservation Agriculture benefits through Innovation Platforms14: Summing Up
This landmark volume presents the results of a comprehensive and coherent in-depth assessment of Ethiopian agriculture and draws lessons from it to generate actionable recommendations that will inform policy decisions and priority setting for agricultural transformation across Africa. Policy makers in Africa are faced with the challenges of ensuring food and nutrition security and the economic wellbeing of their rapidly growing populations while at the same time maintaining the integrity of their natural resource base. Between 2000 and 2021, 74% of the growth in overall crop production on the continent was derived from increases in land area expansion, while increases in yield contributed only 26% of the growth. This unchecked expansion of land use puts the sustainability of the natural resource base under severe pressure. Even though some countries have made substantial increases in their farm productivity over the last two decades, the overall performance for Africa is far behind other regions. For the most part, in Africa, agriculture is not fulfilling its expected functions of food and nutrition security, increased export earnings, import substitution, and raw material supply for local industries. Attempts have been made to transform African agriculture over the years, but few countries have succeeded in achieving sustainable change. Using examples from Ethiopia this book identifies the major factors for success and the root causes of underperformance, and offers evidence-based recommendations for future decision making, policy change and the creation of growth. This book: · Draws on a unique set of case studies from Ethiopia described and told from a truly African perspective. · Emphasises to policy makers in Africa that development cannot be outsourced and there are no shortcuts; it is only through consistent effort and sustained support for their agricultural research and development that positive change can be brought about. · States that past agricultural development efforts by the international community have not properly included a strong African voice, and that therefore, all future academic research, policies and strategies dealing with the continent's agriculture and food security should be formulated by Africa's own leading thinkers and experts. · Is not a polemic; its arguments are knowledge and evidence based, building a compelling picture of how agricultural development can be sustained for the future.
This books discusses the nuritive requirements of ruminant animals
This book provides an insight into the background, lessons learned, and the methodology of facilitating the application of best-bet/best-fit agricultural technologies to smallholder farms in East and Southern Africa (ESA). All technologies highlighted within this book, except those on livestock feeding, were trialed and demonstrated in farmers' fields over an eight-year period [2012 - 2020] as part of the Feed the Future/USAID funded research-for-development Africa RISING ESA Project and supported by the CGIAR. The livestock feed technologies were compiled from Eastern Africa literature and included to offer a full set of technologies relevant for farmers in mixed farming systems. Topics covered include the introduction of resilient and nutrient-dense crops, better arrangement of crops in the field to amplify intercrop benefits, and the management of soils to improve soil fertility and minimize physical soil and nutrient loss. The publication also features technologies for postharvest loss reduction, livestock feeding, food processing, and in the later chapters, important expositions on how multiple technologies can be creatively integrated in a farming system and how key products of research can be taken to scale. In the first chapter and throughout the handbook, the importance of taking gender dynamics into account to ensure technologies produce equitable outcomes is emphasized. This book: provides evidence-based descriptions of sustainable agricultural intensification technologies that have been validated iteratively with smallholder farmers. a convenient, easy-to-read, and science-based 'how-to' guide for successful deployment of improved agricultural technologies that will ensure readers from development/scaling agencies save time and resources for research trials and instead focus on technology deployment. gives evidence of how building research and development partnerships can be a critical element for successful delivery and scaling up of agricultural technologies. The book is aimed primarily at development practitioners who seek new competences in taking new technologies to scale. However, the breadth of topics covered makes this book an essential resource for agricultural scientists as well as university and college students aspiring to apply systems thinking in future agricultural research and development work.
The book addresses and documents farmers' risks in developing and emerging economies. It draws lessons from experimental economics on measuring risk preferences, attitudes, gender differences in managing risks, and risk management strategies in countries across Africa and Asia. It argues policy makers, especially in emerging economies, need a better understanding of farmers' attitudes toward risk and choices of risk management strategies when designing policies to support production agriculture. The book includes chapters on three themes: understanding risk attitudes and preferences; using experimental economics to measure risk, preferences, and risk management strategies; and understanding climate change, risk, and risk management. The book critically examines the currently held beliefs about risk preference, attitudes, and empirical estimation of risk management strategies, emphasizing developing and emerging economies (DEE). "The agricultural development space is an inherently risky one and this welcome collection belatedly helps to plug an important hole." Jock R. Anderson, Emeritus Professor of Agricultural Economics, University of New England, Armidale, Australia "Over time, agricultural production practices have evolved, as have the markets and value chains for food and agricultural products. A constant consideration, however, and one that continues to define agriculture worldwide, is risk. The risks that impinge on agriculture come in all shapes and sizes. Of course, production risks are ubiquitous. But so are market risks. And the same is true for macroeconomic and financial risks and the risks associated with an evolving climate. This book will be a valuable, comprehensive resource for any applied economist desiring to understand the risk management principles relevant to modern food and agricultural systems." Matthew Holt, Prof. and head of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture has had a fundamental impact on agricultural policy worldwide. The new WTO agreements will cover agriculture,sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade and trade in intellectual property rights. This book addresses the interface between the law of international agricultural trade, the emerging legal and economic order for agricultural trade under the auspices of the WTO, and its impact on agricultural policy reform both in the European Union and the USA. With contributions from leading authorities in the appropriate areas.
Over the past two decades, significant investment has been made into agriculture-related natural resource management research in developing countries. With investors beginning to request the impact of their investments in this research, a review was needed on the economic, social and environmental effects of these projects. Stemming from an effort to address these concerns, this collection of case studies establishes a methodological foundation for impact assessments of NRMR through a discussion of research conducted by the CGIAR around the world. Both micro and macro projects are examined to consider the results of these agricultural and development programs at the farm level as well as on a regional scale.
Many missionary societies established mission schools in the nineteenth century in the British Empire as a means to convert non-Europeans to Christianity. Although the details, differed in various colonial contexts, the driving ideology behind mission schools was that Christian morality was highest form of civilisation needed for non-Europeans to be useful members of colonies under British rule. This comprehensive survey of multi-colonial sites over the long time span clearly describes the missionary paradox that to draw in pupils they needed to provide secular education, but that secular education was seen to lead both to a moral crisis and to anti-British sentiments.
This book is a mathematical discipline education research method books written by Zhang Dianzhou, academician of International Academy of Sciences for Europe and Asia(IASEA). Its publication is designed to help people understand math education for the forefront of progress in the study of mathematics education, raising the level of scientific research in mathematics education research, guidance for mathematics education research method of strategy.
Rapid urbanization has created a major challenge with regard to waste management and environmental protection. However, the problem can be ameliorated by turning organic waste into compost for use as an agricultural fertilizer in peri-urban areas. This is especially significant in less developed countries, where food security is also a key issue. This book addresses these subjects and is based on papers presented at a workshop held in Ghana by the International Board for Soil Research and Management (IBSRAM, now part of the International Water Management Institute) and FAO. Special reference is given to Sub-Saharan Africa, with acknowledgement to experiences from other parts of the world. Contributing authors are from several European, as well as African, countries.
This work discusses the nutrient requirements of all forms of ruminant livestock.