Outlook on Agriculture

An analysis was made of the contributions to increasing the productivity of crop–livestock systems by over 100 DFID-RNRRS research projects and relevant work carried out by ILRI and its partners in Sub-Saharan Africa. Important lessons and critical challenges were highlighted to inform future donor investment. It was concluded that integrating crop–livestock R&D in Sub-Saharan Africa remained an imperative if crop and livestock research were to have a lasting impact on reducing poverty, improving the livelihoods of small-scale crop–livestock farmers and encouraging national economic growth.

This paper analyses and compares the differences between China and developed countries in terms of resource endowment, agricultural productivity, scale of farmland operation and agricultural intensification. Major findings include: (1) agriculture in China has insufficient natural resources (for agricultural production) but abundant labour resources, low labour productivity but relatively high land productivity; (2) China's ultra-small farm size has seriously hindered increases in labour productivity and in farmers' incomes; (3) China's agriculture has low intensification, limited mechanization but high chemical utilization; and (4) the organization of farmers in China is very limited, resulting in a poor ability to overcome natural and market risks. Recommendations are made on policies for further development of China's agricultural industrialization.

This paper reviews the evolution of the application in Galicia (north-west Spain) of rural development initiatives promoted over the last decade by the European Union (LEADER, LEADER II and LEADER+) and the national and regional programmes that they have inspired (Proder and Agader). Aspects considered include the nature of the beneficiaries, measures taken, and types and extent of funding.

Changes in the agricultural sector over the last 50 years have meant that many of the organizations created to favour agricultural production are no longer of value and need to be modified. In Galicia, Spain, the agricultural cooperative movement is not fully developed, and at the same time is being forced to adapt to new development policies within the European Union. This study reviews the current situation regarding the agricultural cooperative movement in Galicia, and assesses its potential as a transforming agent in rural development. The authors report on a census of existing cooperatives and a questionnaire survey of their characteristics.

Some years after their establishment, areas of pasture planted to Brachiaria and other African grasses in the Brazilian Amazon region show a continuous decline in forage and animal productivity. If no remedial measures are taken, plant cover decreases, the areas become invaded by weeds and the soil becomes compacted. However, this process is not yet well understood. A series of evaluations was implemented in a 20-year-old pasture located on a representative cattle ranch in Rondônia state to estimate the botanical composition, standing phytomass (including leaf litter), macrofauna species richness and microbial biomass to characterize the soil biological conditions of a pasture site about to degrade and before rehabilitation practices were adopted. The aim was to characterize the type and degree of degradation already completed to record the baseline against which the results obtained by restoration practices could be compared. Soil C, N and available P stocks were 20.4 Mg C ha⁻¹, 1.5 Mg N ha⁻¹ and 8.3 kg P ha⁻¹ respectively, higher than under natural forest and close to those found in productive pasture sites. Physical and chemical analyses did not indicate effective degradation. Woody species dominated by trees and shrubs such as Tabebuia spp., Erisma uncinatum and Vismia guianensis occupied 15–18% of the total area. Babaçu palm (Orbignya phalerata Mart) covered 12%, herbaceous weeds 4–11%, while the rest (mean 63.5%) contained a mixture of Brachiaria brizantha and Pannicum maximum. The high biomass accrual and the diversity of species suggest that the soil is still able to support a productive forage grass cover. Biomass above ground, including litter layer, totalled 131 Mg DM ha⁻¹, or 42% of original forest. High standing biomass in the experimental area can be attributed to insufficient and/or inapropriate weed control since the early stage of pasture installation. Reformation of the study site would implicate a potential above-ground input of about 130 Mg C ha⁻¹ (C/N = 49; C/P = 744), besides another 6.4 Mg C ha⁻¹ derived from root biomass decomposition. The most frequently found invertebrates were the termites (368 ind m⁻²), restricted to the 0–10 cm layer, while earthworms (204 ind m⁻²), ants (152 ind m⁻²) and Coleoptera (146 ind m⁻²) were found to a depth of 30 cm. The presence of so-called ecosystem engineers indicates that this population, probably comprising anecics and rhizophagous species, is related to the high root and litter density. The average number of representatives is more comparable with sites undergoing regrowth of secondary vegetation than with degraded pastures. Microbiological evidence indicates that the pasture studied constitutes an unstressed system about to accumulate organic matter in the soil.

An in-depth field survey was conducted on 125 randomly selected urban-based and peri-urban smallholder dairy herds in the Dar es Salaam region of Tanzania. The primary objective was to define the sector in terms of its productivity, constraints and relevance to urban dwellers. Information on such variables as animal management, feeding, housing, prophylaxis and disease history was obtained by means of a standardized interview questionnaire and by cross-sectional inspection of the available farm records. Results show that dairying has led to improvements in dairymen's general welfare: 78% of the respondents indicated that dairying had increased their ability to meet medical and school expenses for their children, while 6% of respondents had used dairy income to invest in more capital-intensive off-farm activities. It was also learnt that the sector had opened up a number of supporting businesses, creating employment for the people engaged in it. However, the dairy sector's potential is limited by a number of shortcomings and specific constraints, which include (among many others) poor nutrition, poor animal health and diseases, lack of finance, transport, skilled labour, processing facilities, storage, marketing and the delivery of advisory and health services. It is suggested that the system would have a more secure future if these technical and socioeconomic constraints were removed through research and technology transfer with appropriate policy support.

Most of Kenya (80%) is classified as arid and semi-arid. The climatic conditions in these regions are so harsh for crops that only livestock production can thrive. These regions provide the bulk of beef consumed in the country, which is produced via two main systems: large-scale dairy-meat commercial ranching and small-scale dairy-meat production. In both these systems, production is pasture-based. The animals kept are the highly adapted indigenous zebu (small East African zebu and Boran) or exotic beef (for example, Hereford, Simmental, Charolais, Angus) breeds and their crosses kept mainly by the commercial ranchers. Development of the beef industry in Kenya has lagged behind other agricultural enterprises due to policies that were unfavourable towards arid and semi-arid lands and the historically poor infrastructure development in the rangelands. It is concluded that there is potential for beef production in Kenya, given the available genetic and physical resources, although this potential can be achieved only if government policies are introduced to accelerate development in the rangelands and empower both the larger producers and pastoralists to increase their production.

Compared with results from other studies of farm production in developing countries, this study finds that the sample of 54 cotton farmers located on the Harran Plain, Turkey, are producing at a high level of efficiency. Nevertheless, 72% of the farms are using inefficient levels of inputs. A statistically significant, positive relationship between farmers' education and on-farm technical efficiency underscores the need for public investment in rural education. Chemical, urea, tractor and labour inputs are used most inefficiently. Hence educational programmes should target these four inputs. A statistically insignificant relationship between farm size and technical efficiency implies that educational programmes should be available to all farmers, regardless of the size of their farm.