The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of epigeic earthworm (Eudrillus eugeniae) and rice stubble on soil aggregate, SOC, soil fertility and greenhouse gases (CO₂) emission in sandy loam paddy soils in Northeast Thailand. Experimental design was a completely randomized design. There were four treatments of incubation using Thai soil (Roi-et series) Sandy loam were: (I) soil control (no additions), (II) soil + rice stubble, (III) soil + earthworms (these added after 8 days incubation) and (IV) soil + rice stubble + earthworms (these added after 8 days’ incubation), and then incubated for 20 days. During the experiment, soil respiration (CO₂), the aggregate size, SOC and soil fertility (N, P and K) were measured. The results suggest that the treatment with adding earthworms and rice stubble had significantly changed on soil aggregate than those without earthworm and added rice stubble only. Earthworm increased SOC and soil fertility (N, P and K) in paddy soil (sandy loam) than other treatment. The effect of earthworm on the decomposition of rice stubble in paddy sandy loam may influence the CO₂ emission from paddy soil.

For making out soil lives in upland field and field properties clearly, micro- arthropods living in farmland soils were picked up, and population, genera, diversity index of Simpson (1/λ) and that of Fisher (α+1) were employed for evaluating soil micro- arthropods under different management were investigated in this study. Also soil physical and chemical properties were measured. Soil samples were gathered from the fields at Hachioji, Tama and Machida in Tokyo, Japan. Planting and fertilized types were collected. And for making out of relationships in diversity of soil micro-arthropods and soil moisture conditions, soil micro-arthropods in some types of drip irrigation fields and tube irrigation fields in green house were observed. The fields in this study were categorized into two groups based on the history of dressing or land degradation. There was no certain difference in population, number of genera and two types of diversity indices between decollated and not-decollated fields. Fisher’s diversity index seemed to be larger than Simpson’s in soil dressed fields, while Simpson’s diversity index seemed to be larger than Fisher’s in non-dressed fields. The difference in types of diversity may be caused by years of cultivation in those fields. Also, based on the results of multiple regression analysis, population, number of genera and Simpson’s diversity index were related with macro porosity. So, it was concluded that those two types of diversity indices are useful for making clear difference of bio-diversities in upland field’s soils.

As one of the four major rivers of Thailand, the Mae Klong River flows in the west of the Kingdom and exits into the Gulf of Thailand. This research study was conducted during February 2006 through May 2008 and found the increased levels of NH₄⁺, NO₂^-+NO₃^-, and PO₄^3- in the lower river and estuary areas of the Mae Klong River, which led to the phytoplankton blooming phenomenon in such areas. Three phyta and 63 genera of phytoplanktons were discovered in the river. The dominant groups were diatoms (Plurosigma or Gyrosigma), cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium), and dinoflagellates (Peridinium and Gonyaulax). In this study, generalized linear modeling (GLM) was applied to examine the factors influencing phytoplankton abundance in the river systems. The results showed that phytoplankton abundance varied according to the dissolved inorganic nutrient (DIN), zone, and season. Thus, the predictive model should be established to facilitate determination of phytoplankton abundance, assessment of water quality, and thereby more efficient management of water resources for sustainable use.

Carbon emissions are the source of global climate change. Tropical deforestation was responsible for up to 25% of the global carbon emissions. Foreseeing the danger of losing tropical forests and impacts on local people and global climate change, world leaders have adopted the Copenhagen and Cancun Accords to fully recognize the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation, Conservation of Carbon Stocks, Sustainable Management of Forests and the Enhancement of Forest Carbon Stocks) scheme of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The REDD+ scheme provides financial incentives for any verified activities that result in reducing carbon emissions or increasing carbon stocks. Compensation can be made possible only when the amount of reduced emissions or increased carbon stocks is estimated. This study focuses on estimating the reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and discusses the benefit sharing for local people. Phnom Tbeng forest in the Preah Vihear province was selected as a study site. There are four types of forests, namely evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest, deciduous and others forests covering 41,530 ha. Our results suggest that a carbon project in this site is likely to result in reduced carbon emissions of about 3.7 million tCO₂ over 30-year project. Depending on carbon price, carbon revenues would be US$ 19 million or US$ 0.6 million annually for a 30-year REDD+ project cycle. In addition to carbon revenues, there are other ecosystem benefits that well-protected forests will provide to local people. Designing appropriate policies and measures to reduce the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation along with law enforcement mechanism is essential for success of the forestry carbon project.

Saline soil is typically found in lower elevation terrain which is also used for rice cultivation. Deforestation in recharge areas can accelerate soil salinity due to increased capillary action. This study examined the relationship between saline soil distribution and vegetative cover at Nong Due Village, Khon Kaen, Thailand. It also identified some social factors and farm management practices which affected rice production in saline paddies. A field survey was conducted in April, 2012 to determine soil property analysis, combined with a questionnaire on rice production, farm management, and farmer’s household socioeconomic conditions. In total, 34 paddy fields were surveyed with 68 soil samples collected from non-saline and saline plots. Elevations of the sampled plots were 146-178 m with electrical conductivity (ECe) 0.19-16.58 dS/m. Soil salinity did not show a significant correlation from the sampled paddies to the closest vegetation, but high salinity did occur in lower elevations and farther away from the nearest forest. Forty household representatives answered the questionnaire, of which 34 had encountered some problems with soil salinity (average 0.89 ha/household). Average rice yields from saline paddies were 1.9 tons/ha, lower than those from non-saline paddies (mean difference -113.39 kg/ha). Rice production costs associated with soil salinity were estimated 10,770 Baht/ha, of which the highest amount was spent on crop maintenance. In contrast, costs from non- saline farming systems were 9,791 Baht/ha (39.75% also spent on farm maintenance). Household income and labor did not show a significant correlation with farm management practices. Fertilizer application is dependent on the availability of on-farm resources and word-of-mouth. Farmers often use cattle manure, compost and green manure to reduce soil salinity. Moreover, farmers raised the height of paddy borders, so that more rainwater could be stored, thus ensuring that the rice paddies were continuously submerged.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment (MoE) conducted vulnerability and adaptation assessments using two different methodologies: the Global Circulation Model (MoE, 2001) and Household Surveys (MoE, 2005). They found that Cambodia is vulnerable to climate change and has a low adaptive capacity compared to other countries in Southeast Asia. Flood and drought were identified as the climatic hazards that imposed the greatest threats to rural farmers. This study, which assessed vulnerability at the household level in the drought-prone Kampong Speu (KPS) province, calculates climate change vulnerability based on the framework developed by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The results indicate that drought is the most severe climate hazard experienced in KPS. Farmers reported that they regularly experienced irregular rainfall distribution during cropping season that results in crop damage and/or loss. Adaptations to drought adopted by farmers include water storage, introducing drought- tolerant crop varieties, and improving knowledge about farming techniques. Other mechanisms that are also feasible are providing or enhancing secondary income capacity.

The study conducted a feasibility study on payment for forest environmental services in Cambodia, combining quantitative and qualitative data sources. Literature reviews and interviews were conducted to determine conditions required for payment for ecosystem service success, and focus groups discussion and household surveys were employed to capture villagers’ behaviors in forest management and payment for forest environmental services. Results showed that conditions required for PES success include clear defined ecosystem services; flexible contracts and payments; transaction costs that do not exceed potential benefits: a reliance on multiple sources of revenue delivering sufficient and sustainable money; a close monitoring of compliance, land use change and provision of ecosystem services; and the flexibility to improve effectiveness and efficiency and adapt to changing condition. PES-like failures in Cambodia resulted from inequity of benefit-sharing, a lack of management committee capacity to monitor participants and carry out punitive measures, and the poor quality of services and communication skills. Factors contributing to PES-like successes were simple and local program organization, low administrative costs, transparency of benefit-sharing to services providers, and active participation from villagers in complying with the regulations of programs. PFES could be integrated into the REDD finance mechanism. As a result, the case study in Chambok exemplified a community-based forest suitable for PFES implementation and possibly a joint program. This would lead to improved livelihood conditions of local communities through forest cover protection, and increase the awareness of downstream and upstream villagers in ensuring the sustainable provision of services.

In the past, men have been played key role in the way of life of small-scale fishers. Because of their physical condition is more proper than women. Therefore, the women are mainly participating in fish processing and marketing. At present, participation of women in fisheries industry has increased day by day, particularly as a labor force in fisheries production sector. In this study, women in Ban Panern, a fishing village in Laem Pak Bia sub-district, Ban Laem district, Phetchaburi province was selected to examine the women roles that contributing to fisheries governance. Using key informant interviews and participant observation was carried out from August to September 2011. The results showed that, the roles of women in this fishing village were more or less the same of women’s role in the third world. These roles are classified into 3 categories, i.e., motherhood role, labor in production role and community management role. Most of them have been involved in all three categories particularly, contribution to the fishery management in their community. They have participated in many activities that relating to public utility development, they have established and conducted a fish central market in the village in order to solve the unfair price of aquatic animal problem of the fishers. These demonstrated that, women have a high potential in strengthen the capability of fishing community in fisheries governance. The success of fisheries governance will lead to better livelihood of fishing households and a sustainable of their fisheries.

The experiment was conducted on Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus to determine the lethal concentration of textile metal complex dark green azo acid dye in the presence and absence of anionic surfactant oil during an exposure period of 96 hr. The design consisted of four treatments: control, metal complex dark green azo dye, a mixture of metal complex dark green azo acid dye with anionic surfactant oil and anionic surfactant oil; and each was applied at four concentrations (1%, 5%, 10% and 15% of stock solution). Data were analyzed by using Probit analysis. The 96 hr LC50 was 7.25% (95% CL = 6.55-7.96) of stock solution for metal complex dark green azo acid dye, 2.85% (95% CL 2.14-3.90) for the mixture of metal complex dark green azo acid dye with anionic surfactant oil and 7.27% (95% CL = 6.45-8.43) stock anionic surfactant oil. Total chromium concentration in the gill filaments of tilapia increased linearly with dye concentration and was independent of anionic surfactant oil. Contrary, total copper concentration in the gill tissue increased linearly in with the present of anionic surfactant oil. The lethal effect observed during the trial was dose depended, the mortality rate increased with the increase in treatments concentration.

In Cambodia, a large portion of the population engages in primary sector production such as agriculture, forestry and fishery, and the people’s livelihoods are directly dependent upon the availability of natural resources. The natural environment, however, has been undergoing severe deterioration for several decades. Similar challenges are being faced in many different countries and it is therefore of global importance to explore ways to conserve the environment while allowing people’s livelihoods to develop. In this context, the term socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) was coined to refer to areas shaped by production activities characterised by harmonious human-nature interactions. The aim of this study is to deepen the understanding of Cambodian production landscapes using three different perspectives drawing on the SEPLS concept: structure, benefits and changes. Based on a literature review, key characteristics of SEPLS were identified including their mosaic structure and the diverse benefits they provide. Further study is needed to understand the significance of SEPLS in Cambodia in terms of the biodiversity and environmental benefits they provide.

Forests are important sources of ecosystem goods and services to billion people around the world. As tropical forests are gradually disappearing while population is increasing, the livelihood of forest-dependent communities is being threatened. Cambodia’s forest subsector contributed 8.4% to agricultural GDP over the period from 1999 to 2008. Although this figure provides an indication of the importance of forest resources in national development, assessment of the detailed contribution of forest goods and services at the local level is urgently needed so that appropriate intervention and development policies could be introduced. The objectives of this study are to better understand the contribution of forest resources to household livelihood by classifying such contribution to four main forest and non-forest products and to propose a policy recommendation. Questionnaires were developed to interview 600 households in three communes, namely the Takaen, Sangke Satob, and Tumring in Kampot, Kampong Spoeu, and Kampong Thom provinces, respectively. The interviews were performed quarterly throughout the year so as to increase the accuracy of the responses from the households. Our analysis found that forest income contributed 76,892±8,160 riel or 13% of the total household incomes in the first quarter. However, forest income increased to 24% (142,645±17,540 riel), 33% (146,422±16,967 riel), and 31% (122,512±9,693 Riel) in the second, third and fourth quarters, respectively. Other sources of household incomes were agriculture, outside forest, and other income, all together, contributing 87%, 76%, 67% and 69% of the total incomes in the first, second, third, and fourth quarters, respectively. These findings suggest that forest resources are important sources for the survival of forest-dependent communities. It is recommended that incorporating forest resources into the development planning with the active participation of local people could contribute to sustainable development while protecting the forests.

The agro-industrial waste has been increasing every year. Without proper management, it would cause problems to soil as well as water and air pollution to the environment. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the use of chicken manure in vermicompost of agro-industrial waste. The vermicompost experiment was conducted by using different agro-industrial wastes (cassava pulp, cassava peel, eucalyptus peel and oil palm) and different rates of chicken manure (2.5%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%). The qualities of each mixture and vermicompost in different treatments before and after 30 days were analyzed. Earthworms (Eudrilus eugeniae) could survive 100% in the vermicompost of chicken manure at the rate of 2.5 - 25% in cassava pulp, cassava peel and eucalyptus peel treatments, but could not survive in the oil palm treatment. After 30 days, the growth of earthworms in the vermicompost treatments with cassava pulp, eucalyptus peel, cassava peel with chicken manure were increased at 134%, 188% and 167%, respectively. Therefore, chicken manure can be used to increase the growth of earthworms in vermicompost using industrial wastes (cassava peel, cassava pulp, and eucalyptus peel) to produce biofertiliser and reduce environmental pollution problem.

In this study it is proposed a photovoltaic powered farming robot system that consists of a delivery vehicle and a working vehicle. The proposed system is designed based on a newly proposed farming method called shaft tillage cultivation. So, we have developed two automatic vehicles, as well as a 2-D localization method for positioning of the working vehicle. In addition, we have developed an attachment for shaft tillage and transplanting which is derived from commercially available transplanting machines. This movable transplanting attachment was mounted over two rails which are disposed transversally on the frame of the working vehicle which in turn permits transplanting multiple rows. The working vehicle is based on a skid steer vehicle with independent left and right motors that allow for motion direction control by turning the left- and right-side wheels at different velocities. However, within the field, even if same turning velocities are applied to both left- and right-side wheels a yaw angle is generated due to the sinkage and rolling resistance. Additionally, controllability of the working vehicle is greatly affected by variable changes of the center of gravity caused by lateral motion of the transplanting attachment. So, this paper focused on the effect of the position of center of gravity on the yaw angle in the working vehicle. The least square method was examined as method to find out the instantaneous center of rotation (ICR) and its effectiveness was confirmed. When the position of center of gravity was on the faster wheels the turning of the skid steer vehicle was more difficult than in other positions. The ICR changed even when the left- and right-side wheels were driven at the same velocities. Therefore, considering the position of center of gravity in the skid-steer vehicle would allow a rational guidance of the vehicle.

The aim of this study was to investigate the change of phosphorus form in vermicompost using cassava pulp. The ratio of cassava pulps: soil mix (sandy soil and cow manure) were applied at 75%:25% (W/W) in compost (CP: without earthworm) and vermicompost (VCP: with earthworm). The qualities of vermicompost and the form of phosphorus after 60 days incubation were analyzed. The results showed that the pH and EC (Electrical conductivity) were increased in CP and VCP. The water-soluble P in VCP was increased by 21.55% from initial and higher than CP 16.07%. The exchangeable P in VCP was increased by 39.57% from initial and higher than CP 24.25%. Total P in VCP was increased by 21.55% from initial and higher than CP 16.07%. The total N in VCP was increased by 87.61% from initial and higher than CP 85.14%. Moreover, the decrease of %OC (organic carbon), C/N ratio, C/P ratio were found in VCP more than CP, the percentage of decreasing from initial was 76.93%, 97.27%, 82.15%, respectively. The humic acid (%) content in VCP was higher than CP and the percentage of changing after 60 days of VCP was 56.41% and of CP was 32.83%. The growth and reproduction of earthworm showed that the growth rates of earthworm were 10.75 worm^-1 day^-1 (mg) and the numbers of cocoons produced in vermicompost were 6.8 earthworm^-1. Therefore, the activity of earthworm and microbial was helpful to phosphorus available form and nutrient fertilizer content in vermicomposting. These data suggest that vermicompost helps to enhance phosphorus availability in compost.

Rattan, which accounts of approximately USD 1.5 million of total revenue in Cambodia, plays a crucial role in national and international trade for poverty reduction and conservation. Prek Thnot community, Kampot province was selected for implementing sustainable rattan management approach 5 years ago including nursery management, enrichment planting and the development of a harvesting plan. Interviews with 324 families who have a forest dependence revealed that rattan is one of the top three options for their livelihood improvement. The objective of this research is to establish the marginal utility of each attribute for sustainable rattan management. It was also used to estimate the payment of each activity for sustainable management and productions. The results revealed that 93% of local communities were willing to pay a tax fee through a revolving fund for managing natural resources at their communities and only 7% rejected the payment because they felt they did not gain profit from their contribution. All attributes were found to be statistically significant at 1 and 5 percent except the benefit sharing from Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+), meaning that local community are still not expected to get benefit from REDD+ or they did not well educated on REDD+ in Cambodia. The marginal of willingness to pay of sustainable rattan management shows that they are willingness to pay more for increasing endangered species and recovering rattan resources in their communities through conservation and enrichment planting at degraded forest and over rattan harvesting areas. Hence, it can be stated the local community are well prepared for participating rattan management activities and these results should be contribute to the making decisions by stakeholders at the community of defining a new policy to be implemented by considering important on biodiversity before implementing any activities.

The increasing of waste nowadays necessitates agro-industrial waste management, and vermicomposting technology has been offered as a viable method. However, before application of this method, a study of the effects of waste on earthworms is required. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of organic material on earthworms as a result of the vermicomposting process. The experiment was conducted using completely randomized design with three replications. A toxicity test was administered to determine the effects of organic material (molasses and distillery slop from cassava industrial wastes) on the survival and growth of earthworms in vermicompost. The study found that after 7 days, 100% of the earthworms could survive under concentrations of molasses at rates of 1.25 - 3.75% and concentrations of distillery slop at rates of 6.25 - 25%. In addition, the application of organic materials (molasses and distillery slop) mixed with cassava industrial wastes increased the growth of earthworms. The earthworms had a survival rate of 67-100% after 4 weeks in the vermicompost treatment when molasses was mixed with cassava pulp and cassava peel, but without cassava pulp and cassava peel, the earthworms could not survive. Similar results were found with the application of distillery slop mixed with cassava pulp and cassava peel. Therefore, suitable rates of molasses and distillery slop use for earthworm survival are 1.25 - 3.75% and 6.25-25%, respectively. In conclusion, molasses and distillery slop can be used with cassava industrial waste material in the vermicomposting process.

Mabolo fruit is from an endangered Mabolo tree in the Philippines. It is an ideal source of calcium, vitamin B, iron and protein and contains numerous phenolic compounds that provide powerful antioxidants. It is nutritious but it is underutilized as human food because of its unpleasant odor comparable to rotten cheese or cat feces and is covered with hair which is irritating to sensitive skin. Because of this, it got rotten, eaten by the birds, used as feeds to domestic animals and some were thrown as garbage. This study aimed to produce Mabolo Cake, Mabolo Boat Tart, Mabolo Fritters and Mabolo Pancake, and to determine their acceptability; to promote the nutritious products to the community; to introduce them to the entrepreneurs; and to encourage everybody to have in their snack boxes the value-added Mabolo products. This is an experimental study utilizing the five-point Hedonic scale in assessing the acceptability of the products in six sensory attributes; appearance, texture, odor, taste and overall liking. The products were assessed by twenty-five panelists. It was found out that Mabolo Cake and Boat Tart ranked first and second respectively in six sensory attributes, with a rating within the range of Like Very Much while Pancake ranked third with a descriptive rating of Like in all attributes. Fritters ranked fourth in all attributes with descriptive rating of Like in appearance and taste and Neither Like nor Dislike in Texture, Odor and Overall Liking. It can be concluded that the products are generally acceptable. Proper promotion of Mabolo products can on one hand provide useful livelihood source while in the other hand provide incentive for communities for protecting the endangered tree.

Climate predictions for Cambodia are for increases in temperatures and rainfall with the likelihood of wetter monsoon seasons and less rainfall in the dry seasons. Developing countries such as Cambodia have few resources and capacity to adapt to climate change and are therefore considered to be the most vulnerable. Attention so far in Cambodia has focused on technical interventions and disaster relief rather than on planned adaptive responses. The aim of this study was to gain insights on how individual farm households cope with and adapt to climate variability and change. Here we present the results of pilot case studies to document climate risk-coping strategies currently employed by small-scale rice farmers in Cambodia. Community consultations and in-depth interviews with selected participants were conducted in the Communes of Trapeang Ruessei in Kampong Thom Province and Snam Krapeu in Kampong Speu Province in 2011. Data were collected by writing down notes to form the basis of the respondent’s narrative. Two in-depth interviews were done in each Province. It was immediately obvious from the narratives that the households studied could not survive from on-farm income alone especially during droughts. Our pilot interviews indicated that off-farm income might be the predominant coping strategy in the rice-based farming system. There appears to be a need for researchers and policy makers to shift from an agricultural systems/commodity mind-set to a household livelihood mind-set with regard to the ability of households to cope with climate variability and climate change. A complete breakdown of household income sources is an essential baseline requirement before an assessment of climate change resilience in the rice-based system can be made. A baseline assessment of vulnerability at the household level should be considered an essential prerequisite for developing research priorities and designing interventions.

This paper presents the results of a survey of farm households carried out in North-Western Cambodia in early 2012 to gather baseline data for a new agricultural production and marketing research project. One of the objectives of the survey was to refine dissemination and communication strategies for project outputs and delivery of planned impacts. The survey gathered information about maize production issues, sources of information, training needs, as well seeking to identify ways to improve the delivery of relevant technical information and research findings to individual farmers. The survey revealed that farmers rely almost completely on each other for information about maize inputs especially seed for sowing and herbicides. The majority of training (68%) was provided by Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) with Provincial Departments of Agriculture (PDAs) providing 10% and input suppliers 7%. We put forward a conceptual communication and dissemination strategy that could be used to promote adoption of project results. It involves integrated roles based on comparative strengths for public, private and non-government organizations to achieve adoption of new technologies and better practices by farmers.

This tree domestication research is an ex-situ conservation effort aimed to find out the growth performance of some indigenous timber species planted outside their natural forest habitat in Bohol Island, Central Philippines. Specifically, the study sought to characterize the growing conditions of the sites and the biometrics of the trees in three sites after 12 years of growth. We also wanted to find out the best “performers” when grown outside the natural forest habitat. Only indigenous trees were used and planted in a mixed manner. Most of the planting materials were selected wildlings from the local forests. A few were brought in from the nearby island of Leyte. Standard biometrics of trees were taken of all trees. A total of 1,040 trees belonging to 49 species and 25 plant families in 3 land parcels were inventoried. The three sites totaled 2.5 hectares located within the same village and similar growing conditions. These were typical degraded karst areas: shallow soils with pebbles and rock outcrops dotting the landscape. Scrubby vegetation and few scattered trees were the precursor vegetation. The sites used to be cogonal for a long time before scrubby vegetation set in. Annual rainfall is about 2,000 mm; flat to rolling topography; elevation of 320 meters above sea level. Daytime temperature ranges from 24-28 degrees Celsius most of the year and 28-33 degrees during summer (March-May). The standout performers were Terminalia microcarpa, Shorea contorta, Vatica mangachapui, Shorea palosapis, Parashorea malaanonan, and Dracontomelon dao. The biggest Terminalia microcarpa area measured 48 cm in diameter at breast height (dbh). Shorea contorta had a dbh of 29 cm and had a total height of 29 meters. Shorea assamica did not do well in the sites, and was stricken by dieback of unknown cause. Quisumbing guisok was noted to be very sensitive to moisture stress from seedling to the sapling stage. At 12 years, many forest-based timbers including dipterocarps responded well to domestication or ex-situ conservation even in a degraded karst land in tropical Philippines.

Stable supply of agricultural products into tourism business is a key for the both sectors to sustainably grow together; however, rural farmers still face challenges in effectuating such a goal. The current research addresses how agri-supply chain exists in tourism market and issues on such a chain in Cambodia through a case study in Northeastern Region. The triangulation methods were employed. Surveys were conducted on farmers, hotels/restaurants and vegetable sellers, whereas semi-structured interviews were done with middlemen, community chiefs, NGOs and local authorities. The farms of Koh Trong are operated with family labors. Most farmers do not have advanced knowledge on farming techniques. Little pesticides are applied, while chemical fertilizers are most commonly used. Most vegetables and fruits are shipped from Koh Trong by middleman across the Mekong River to town market, where they meet with the customers, hotels and restaurants. While middlemen are the price setters, farmers are the price takers. Tourism market consumes less than half of the total vegetables produced by Koh Trong farmers. Besides, agri-products are brought in from other places and imported from Vietnam. Koh Trong responds fairly little to the market demand. Small-scale farms of Koh Trong are less competitive in terms of product variety; however, they are more competitive in terms of high quality and unique products. Major issues affecting the supply chain include limited knowledge, limited transportation, supply irregularity, limited market access and imbalanced power among chain actors. Tourism is yet a small market for agri-products from Koh Trong, but implies a potential one. While conventional supply chain is adequate, there is a barrier to overcome in making the chain more equitable for all market actors.

Agriculture represents about 9% of the Bosnian gross domestic product and employs almost a fifth of the labor force. Agriculture is no more sufficient to ensure the development of Bosnian rural areas; where lives around 61% of the population. Diversification issue can be considered in terms of resources (land, labor or capital), location (on-farm or off-farm) and output (farm or non-farm). The paper aims at analyzing income-generating activities diversification in rural south-eastern Bosnia with a focus on motivations and barriers. It discusses the main factors affecting off-farm and non-farm activities development, including policies, and provides some recommendations. The paper is based on an extended secondary data analysis and semi-structured interviews, conducted in March-April 2012, with 104 households’ heads from Foca, Rogatica, Han Pijesak, Vlasenica, Sekovici, Milici and Bratunac municipalities. Almost a half of the surveyed households characterized themselves as mixed (46.1%), 41.3% as farm, and 12.6% as non-farm. Income is generated mainly from agricultural products sale (76%), off-farm activities (52.9%) and pensions (44.2%). Motivations for engaging in off- and non-farm activities are not always purely financial and also reflect societal changes. In the last five years, 21.6% of the households started new income-generating activities - mainly related to services provision and on-farm processing - but gave up while 22.6% of them still deal with new activities. The main barrier is the lack of financial resources (39.7%) and time (12.1%). Weak business skills are also a limiting factor. Development of new activities raises farmers’ income and contributes to a healthy, diversified and viable rural economy. Public institutions need to make sure that policies in place, whether sectoral or broader, do not put obstacles in the way of diversification and improve rural planning and services delivery. Creating an enabling environment for diversification requires the efforts of many public and civil society actors.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) consists of two governing entities; the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the Republika Srpska (RS). Agriculture employs almost a fifth of the total labor force. Around 61% of the population lives in rural areas. Easy and timely access to reliable and updated information provided by extension services is crucial for agricultural and rural development. The paper aims at analyzing the public agricultural extension and advisory services (AEAS) in Bosnia. In particular, it analyses governance; human resources; gender; cooperation projects; decentralization; financing; role in building social capacity as well as advisory approaches, methods and media. Some recommendations to improve the AEAS performance are made. The paper is based on a literature review and semi-structured interviews as well as focus group discussions carried out in March 2011 with agricultural advisors in the RS. Modern AEAS started to exist in BiH in 2002 and are organized on entity level: the Agency for Providing Services in Agriculture in the RS and cantonal agricultural extension services in the FBiH. The National Extension Services for BiH project helped establishing cantonal and regional offices. The Advisory Services Agency has five regional offices. Advisors use many group (e.g. lectures, seminars, field days) and individual (e.g. farm visits, phone calls) extension methods and media (e.g. internet, leaflets, posters, brochures, mass media). Advisors focus mainly on crop and animal production, processing and marketing. They also assist producers to gather in cooperatives. Advisory services face many financial, management and technical problems. The traditional top-down approach is still widely used. Bosnian AEAS should be supported by providing them with the necessary means and resources as well as technical, managerial and soft skills to fully assume their crucial role. That is necessary to develop a well performing pluralistic, participatory, bottom-up, decentralized, farmer-led and market-driven advisory system.

Flood is regarded as the most serious natural disaster that affected the economy of Cambodia. As the consequence, flooding has caused the loss of many lives, and has addressed impacts on social welfare and damaged the public and household properties. Livestock and crops were also destroyed. It has caused not only on the economic impact, but also on social and environmental problems of the nation. Seeing this serious problem which is an obstacle for the development of Cambodia, this study have been conducted with three main objectives are (1) to identify the extent of flood’s impact on rice yields of farmers, (2) to assess the economic impact of rice production, and (3) to explore the farmer’s adaptation capacity on rice pattern to the flood. To achieve those objectives, structured questionnaires were used with 96 who participated in the interview. The Study showed that the major flooding event in the last twenty years, worst flood in history in study site was the flood in 2011. Indeed, all respondents have evaluated there 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2011. Flood causes the most negative impact to their rice and mixed crops productions. The flood of 2011 has badly affected to economic value of farmer’s rice production, which total average yield 3.862 tones/ha were lost. Rice crop is the main source of farmer’s living, so this is the serious problem to their livelihoods. Low education of farmers was seen as the cause of low adaptation to flood. Most illiterate people (98%) were worst affected among the others in the study site. Recently, around a half of respondents grow dry season rice instead. Migration after that the flood in 2011 has become the popular way to generate more income. Conclusion, flood in 2011 is the worst impact on rice production in the study area. Further adaptation strategy is strongly needed for local people.

Exposure assessment is one of the most important key components of the risk assessment process. Dietary intake of significant amounts of residue can lead to adverse health effects and development of antimicrobial resistance in the population. The study was conducted to determine exposure risk to antibiotic drug residues in pork consumed in the Philippines. The specific aim was to estimate dietary exposure of Benzylpenicillin residues by age and gender groups. Parameters such as food consumption, substances residue, body weight, ages, and gender groups were gathered from local and international institutions. Mathematical equations were used to calculate for Dietary Exposure from amount of drug residue multiplied by the mean food consumption and adjusted by body weight. The present study; dietary exposure of Benzylpenicillin residue for children from 1 to <3 years old had the highest exposed followed by adolescents, adults and infants while males were significantly higher than females (p<0.05). This is the first attempt to determine risk assessment of dietary exposure to antibiotic residue of different population groups in the Philippines. Improvement of mathematical models used in this study is proposed to better prioritize exposure assessment models for veterinary drug residues to ensure the safety of food produced from farm to table.

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between the characteristics of fluctuations in river water quality at the normal water level and the proportion of agricultural land in watersheds of Eastern Hokkaido that have different agricultural land use, based on the 20 years observations. The investigations were carried out during late August to early September in 1992, 2003 to 2006, and 2012 at 35 watersheds in two areas, and NO₃-N, EC of river water and river discharge were measured. The Tokachi area (24 watersheds) is located in the northwestern part of the Tokachi General Subprefectural Bureau, the main land uses are upland and dairy farming. The Nemuro area (11 watersheds) is located in the western part of the Nemuro Subprefectural Bureau, the main land use is large-scale dairy farming. In the 20 years since 1992, NO₃-N concentration and EC have shown increasing tendency in some of the investigated river watersheds. The river water quality in some watersheds investigated in 2004, immediately before the full implementation of “The Law on Animal Waste Regulation”, greatly differed from the observation results of several years before and after 2004. When the two areas had the same proportion of agricultural land, the NO₃-N concentration in the river water tended to be higher in Tokachi area than in Nemuro area. This is attributed to the proportion of upland fields, which require large inputs of chemical fertilizer in the Tokachi area. EC, however, tended to be high in the Nemuro area, even for watersheds with similar proportion of agricultural land. This suggests that the river water in the Nemuro area contains many materials of geological origin, in addition to containing NO₃⁻.

Food security is one of the critical development issues faced by several developing countries. One avenue of yielding quality crops is by ensuring that good agricultural practices are followed throughout the entire farming cycle. This research focuses on educating students of higher learning on good agricultural practices associated with growing vegetables. Research target are students who are currently pursuing tertiary education in the field of agronomy and agroindustry, as it is expected that upon graduation, they will represent the frontlines of various agricultural concerns. As such, students form the basis for sustainable education as they can replicate knowledge gained and impact farmers on good agricultural practices through proper education, as well as enforcement. For the purpose of this research, students from Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia are identified as participants. The electronic learning method (e-Learning) is deployed to expose students to new mechanisms of teaching and learning, as well as to encourage students to be more active in independent studying. As teaching material, interactive multimedia videos canvassing the general farming guidelines, production and post harvest practices pertaining to the cultivation of vegetables are produced and distributed to students through workshops. A web portal is also developed to form an online community of students and promote interaction through forums, live chats, news updates and social networking platforms.

The eri cocoon may have the potential to immobilize effective microorganisms although it needs to be tested in order to be used as a method to remove pollutants from water. Lactobacillus acidophilus has proven to be capable of removing up to 60% of Arsenic (III) from water within 3 hours. The main objective of this study was to quantify the amount of glucose absorbed by inoculated eri cocoon as an indicator of the capacity for pollutant removal. Lactobacillus spp. was incubated at 37 °C for 48 hours. By microscopic observation, structures were described. The rate of inoculation was calculated as colony forming units (cfu) in the eri cocoon divided by cfu of the inoculation solution times one hundred. An absorption trial was set up. The absorption rate was calculated as final glucose concentration minus initial divided by time. The untreated (UT) eri cocoon presented nano-tubes where bacteria can easily penetrate. By soaking eri cocoons in distilled water (WS), cavern-like structures appeared within the silk fibers. When the eri cocoon was autoclaved (AC), the cavern structures were more frequent. The twisted yarn (TY) showed almost no difference with the fibers in the UT eri cocoon. The sample counts gave no statistical differences between UT and AC. Eri cocoon has the natural structures to accommodate microorganisms within its fibers. In the inoculation rate there was no difference between UT and AC treatments. The consumption of glucose showed no difference between UT, AC and WS; but there was a significant difference between the first three and TY. TY had the lowest glucose consumption.

This paper reports on the feasibility of utilization of vermicomposting technology using the earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae for managing municipal sewage sludge by conversion into beneficial bio-fertilizer. Sewage sludge was used at various concentrations 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% to test for avoidance behavior of the earthworm. The mix of sewage sludge with cassava wastes and cow dung was subjected to compost treatment with and without earthworm treatment for 30 days. During the study period data was collected on the surviving earthworms, biomass together with chemical analysis of wastes before and after treatment. The results indicate that 5% concentration of sludge mixed with cassava waste was ideal for Eudrilus eugeniae to treat. There was a decrease in pH, organic carbon concentration, C:N ratio, and an increase in electrical conductivity (EC), nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus concentrations in all the vermireactors. Total Kjeldhal nitrogen (TKN), available phosphorus and potassium concentrations were increased compared to compost without earthworm treatment at 50, 24, and 10% respectively. The heavy metal concentrations (Cr, Cu, Cd, Pb and Hg) in final vermicomposts were lower than in initial feed mixtures. The earthworm biomass was increased 40-90% and could survive 60% from the beginning. Therefore, the present study showed that vermicomposting of municipal sewage sludge into bio-fertilizer is feasible and provides a safe, simple, economic and practical alternative method to resolve the problem of management of sewage sludge.

Ecosystem Services (ESS) are defined as the benefits humans derive from ecological processes and the ecosystem functions (MA, 2005). The functionality of agro- ecosystems is strengthened through ES like pollination, biological pest control or hydrological services provided by natural ecosystems (Sandhu et al., 2010). Agro- ecosystems also produce several ESS such as carbon sequestration, regulation of soil and water quality and support for biodiversity (Power, 2010). On the other hand agriculture may have a negative impact on neighboring natural ecosystems. Organic farming is the most sustainable and environmentally compatible way of agricultural land use, by using biological methods for regulation of pest and diseases instead of chemically-synthesized pesticides and mineral fertilizers. Thus organic agriculture minimizes negative impacts on nature-related ecosystems while simultaneously providing positive ESS like biodiversity.

This study investigated the effects of the pre-planting treatment of stem cutting with different vermicompost tea concentrations on the rooting, budding, and root biomass of cassava. The completely randomized design (CRD) was used with three replications. The stem cutting of three cassava varieties (Rayong 7, Rayong 9 and Kasetsart 50) were soaked into the different solutions consisting of un-treated (control), 0% VM tea (distilled water), 50% VM tea, and 100% VM tea. Root and bud number and root dry weight were monitored at 7, 14 and 21 days after planting. Results showed that the numbers of cassava root pre-treated with vermicompost tea treatments were significantly increased compared to control. The number of cassava root grown in soil amended with 50% and 100% of the original vermicompost tea concentration were increased by 41.69% and 36.56%, respectively and the buds were increased by 44.09% and 44.18%, respectively compared to the control. The dry weights of root were also increased significantly average 213% and 292%. Therefore, this study indicated that pre-treating cassava stem cutting of three varieties with vermicompost tea before planting had a positive effect on initial root development, bud and root growth. Because of vermicompost tea had organic substances: humic acids, fuvic acids and plant- growths regulators hormone and plant nutrients on cassava growth.

The effects of riparian buffer zones consisting of forest and wetland on water quality functions were investigated by comparing the river water quality in two watersheds with dairy farming grassland in a large-scale dairy farming area of Eastern Hokkaido. The nitrogen, phosphorus and suspended solids (SS) components from the two watersheds, one without riparian buffer zones (MB) and the other with riparian buffer zones (HY), were compared at normal flow and at rainfall runoff periods. Total nitrogen (T-N) and NO3−N concentrations were lower in the water from the river with riparian buffer zones. For the water sampled during the rainfall runoff period, all the water quality indicators showed lower concentrations for the river with riparian buffer zones than for the river without riparian buffer zones. The amount of nitrogen that flowed out of land into the river (nitrogen load) in the watershed with riparian buffer zones was 70% of that of the watershed without riparian buffer zones. The differences in water quality between the two watersheds are assumed to have resulted from water purification by the riparian buffer zones on one of the rivers. It is assumed that the riparian trees adsorbed nitrogen and that the riparian wetlands removed nitrogen and captured suspended solids, both of which contributed to purifying the runoff water. Based on the above findings, it can be determined that the conservation of riparian buffer zones is effective in preserving the river water quality on a watershed-wide scale in watersheds consisting of dairy farming grassland.

Plant genetic resources (PGR) are plant materials of actual or potential value for the present and future generations. (Borromeo, 2007). Its conservation, management and sustainable utilization are important in environmental protection, crop improvement and food security. In the Philippines, the National Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory, ensures that a number of accessions of crops species are secure and accessible. (Hautea, 1998); Philippine Coconut Authority, Davao National Crop Research and Development Center, Bureau of Plant Industry (Bautista, 1994); and International Rice Genebank Collection (IRRI, 2012) also maintain germplasm collections. Foregoing institutions are non- academic. Hence, Bohol Island State University (BISU) in Bohol, Philippines with South- East Asia Regional Initiative for Community Empowerment (SEARICE) worked on PGR conservation through Farmers Field School (FSS) and Agriculture Curriculum Enrichment (ACE) Projects purposely to mainstream the principles of sustainable agriculture and development through conservation, improvement and utilization of PGR in the communities. Participatory basic needs assessment; FFS curriculum formulation; ACE following protocol and networking with Local Government Units, Department of Agriculture line agencies, non-government and peoples’ organization were employed. As a result, 16 FFS were conducted while ACE project successfully integrated Plant Genetic Resources Conservation and Management (PGRCM) into the two Agriculture curricular programs of BISU. Seventy-five students passed the PGRCM course who also graduated from FFS with 290 farmers, five faculty-trainers and nine agricultural technician-trainers with skills in participatory varietal trials, selection and plant breeding that raised rice diversity in villages by 25-33 percent, produced three stable rice accessions, 25 selections and 18 breeding lines at F3 today apart from a number of bonus accomplishments. These developments are realities justifying that PGRCM can be successfully integrated into the state university’s mandates: instruction, research, extension and production and be capitalized as valuable initiative for sustainable development in the communities which the academe serves.

About 35 million hectares of agricultural land are managed organically worldwide by 1.4 million producers. Bosnia has a big agro-ecological potential and natural capital for organic production (OP) as traditional small-scale agriculture can be easily converted to organic. Agricultural land covers 50% of the total area. The paper aims at giving an overview of the current situation of the Bosnian organic sector especially potential, animal and crop production, governance, legal framework and market. Some solutions to overcome the main barriers to OP development are discussed. The paper is based on a secondary data review and exploratory semi-structured interviews - dealing mainly with reasons for converting to organic; marketing channels; problems; impacts; access to agricultural extension - conducted in July 2012 with 20 organic producers from Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, Bihac, etc. Organic area represents less than 1% of the total agricultural area. Plant production - mainly cereals - is more significant than animal production. Wild collection plays an important role. The complex political structure renders organic sector governance difficult. There is no national action plan and no national law on OP was enforced. Only the Republika Srpska entity has a law on OP. Organska Kontrola is the first local certification body. The organic movement is experiencing new dynamics, pushed by farmer and consumer associations and market actors. Organic market is relatively young and small. Supply chains are generally short. Two marketing channels grow slowly: direct selling (on-farm, farm gate, green/farmer markets) and conventional retail. Certified organic products are exported primarily to the European Union. Further organic sector growth is more than likely. OP represents a valid instrument for sustainable natural resources management and rural development. For allowing organic farming to express all its potential domestic market should be developed; legal framework and governance enhanced; and institutional and financial support secured.

Agrochemicals application has been rapidly popularized in Cambodia due to agricultural development technologies. Although agrochemicals utilization has significantly increased crop production, it has negative impact on human health, sustainability of land use and ecosystem. Therefore, this study has been focused on conventional farming practice in Samroung village of Kampong Cham province, Cambodia. The main objectives of this study are 1) to understand current situation of farming practices in the village and 2) to identify the condition of agrochemicals applied at farmlands. To access the objectives of this study, various participatory researches, both quantitative and qualitative have been conducted. Semi-structured interviews, in-depth interviews, focus-group discussion were conducted, and secondary data were used in this study. Data was summarized and analyzed to observe the significant difference and high confident correlation of these variables by using One-way ANOVA and Regression Analysis. The result of the study showed that rice and vegetable production is main sources of farmers in Samroung village. In addition, chemical fertilizer and pesticide are applied for increasing crop production. The amounts of chemical fertilizer and pesticides applied did not correlate with the level education of famers, also with the size of farmland as well (P > 0.05). In addition, the amounts of pesticide applied did not correlate with the total annual household income. However, the amounts of chemical fertilizer applied showed slight correlation with the total annual household income from agriculture (P < 0.05). Also, increasing expenses of agrochemicals application, especially chemical fertilizer application, affects to the farmer’s annual income. Moreover, it affects to their life that depends on low income from their agricultural products. Furthermore, the survey indicated that 92% of farmer in the village want to change their practice to sustainable practice in the future. Therefore, agricultural education such as providing technical training, workshop is necessarily required for promoting sustainable use of agrochemicals as well as alternative ways based on organic farming practices and farming practice with low chemical input.

A field research program commenced in north-west (NW) Cambodia in 2012 to test the feasibility of including a dry season crop for this upland area, increasing the cropping intensity from 2 to 3 crops per year. Dual purpose crop options that can be harvested for fresh forage or silage in the event of crop failure due to drought will also be evaluated. Forest clearing after 1998 has been followed by the expansion of upland cropping in NW Cambodia. Major threats to sustainable agricultural production in the region are: (a) rapid soil degradation, soil fertility decline, loss of crop diversity; and (b) poverty and lack of income diversity for small-holder farmers. Access to improved agricultural technologies could provide solutions to these problems. Current farmer practice involves growing two crops per year, with an early wet season crop (March-June) and followed by a main wet season crop (July-October). Land is ploughed after the main wet season crop or left fallow from November to February. Due to high rainfall in NW Cambodia in September and October, there is significant residual water remaining in the soil after the wet season that could be exploited by crops rather than weeds as it currently is. The risk of growing dry season crops would be reduced if tillage was eliminated and surface crop residues were retained to conserve soil water. Small-holder farmers in NW Cambodia struggle to cover household expenses with crop income. Annual gross margins from growing two crops of maize (USD 874/ha) are declining and farmers are turning to cassava (USD 1,066/ha) to increase income and reduce labour costs. Replacing early wet season maize with peanut is more profitable (USD 1,447/ha); moreover adding dry season sunflower into the peanut-maize rotation to grow three crops per year could return a gross margin of USD 1,888/ha.

In Pailin Province, Cambodia, small-holder farm households derive most of their income from upland cash crops such as cassava, maize, soybean, mungbean and sesame. Since the end of the Khmer Rouge civil war in 1998, large areas of rainforest have been cleared opening the way for rapid expansion of cropping, especially maize. The crop expansion has occurred on ferrosols and vertosols which had high initial fertility after clearing. Continuous cropping with maize has resulted in a decline in soil fertility and an increase in losses due to biotic factors, especially weeds which have contributed to a decline in maize yields. Due to the increased cost of agricultural labour, farmers have rapidly taken up the use of herbicides for weed control in maize. A survey of 88 households in 6 villages was carried out to determine the effectiveness and economics of weed control methods for maize, being used by farmers. The results indicate that farmers are moving away from the traditional two cultivations for land preparation and two in-crop hand weedings. This has been due to replacement of the second ploughing with pre- sowing glyphosate, and the replacement of hand-weeding with selective in-crop herbicides in response to the cost and scarcity of labour. Although the current herbicide-based system for maize is working well, it is not likely to be sustainable without crop rotations and use of a wider range of herbicides. Maize crops in Pailin are being invaded by Sorghum weed species, and these species are not controlled by the commonly used atrazine. Rotation of crops and herbicides will be necessary to prevent a build up of naturally resistant weeds and development of genetic herbicide resistance in weed populations.

Oxbow lakes in the Ishikari River Basin, Japan, are used as irrigation water sources, flood control ponds, and waterside parks, etc. In this study, we monitored water quality over the course of the restructuring project at Lake Chashinainuma. In this catchment area, irrigation water was pumped from the lake until 2010, but is now drawn from a distant river. As a result, the total nitrogen load balance changed from an outflow type to a storage type due to decreased removal of water from the lake. The lake water retention time also increased significantly. However, total nitrogen concentration decreased after the pumping station was abolished. We suggest that this reduction in total nitrogen concentration after 2011 reflected decreased particulate nitrogen due to biological purification effects that are expected with increased chlorophyll concentration. Hence, the change in load balance to an accumulation type may have been influenced by changes in agricultural water management and transformation of paddy fields into upland.

In India, 0.4 million children die from diarrhoea which is a particularly alarming figure. There are several kinds of water sources in rural India, but most of them are contaminated. Boiling is an effective way to purify water and improve its safety for drinking. The objective of this study was to reveal the behavioural factor of boiling. A village near Sompeta city in Andhra Pradesh, India was selected as a survey site of this study. On-site surveys were conducted from 14th to 29th April and from 23rd September to 5th October in 2012. The surveys consisted of a water quality test of boiling and interviews with all 53 households that had a child of 3 or 4 years old. The contents of water quality test were coliforms, iron and total hardness, and the interview questions were about habits and thoughts relating to boiling. The effect of boiling, the reduction of infection risks, could be observed by the test. However, the evaluation of the taste of boiled-water was worse than non-boiled-water, even though iron could be removed. Thirty-two per cent households always use boiled-water and 15% use it only in rainy season. The main reason for boiling was to prevent infections. They knew boiling is an effective way to reduce the risk of infection and thus use boiled-water daily. On the other hand, 42% households use boiled-water only when they get sick and 11% of households do not use it. The reason for not boiling was not the cost and trouble but a lack of awareness of the necessity for it. In this area, doctors had given advice to boil water for the sake of children’s health. Some households followed the advice and used boiled-water; however, there were a number of households that did not follow the advice and still used water without boiling.