Irrigation is vital to increase the crop yield or crop productivity. The research was conducted in Royal University of Agriculture (RUA), Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in order to compare the influence of different irrigation intervals and methods on plant development and yield of tomatoes. As replicated three times, the treatments designed in the experiment layout included daily drip irrigation without fertilizer (T₀), daily drip fertigation (T₁), drip fertigation in every two days (T₂), and (T₃) daily hand-watering by applying the same amount of fertilizer before planting. In the study, the quantity of water applied in each treatment was equal to 5.22 m³, or 20.88 m³ as a whole. The chemical fertilizers, 46-0-0 and 20-20-15, were only applied for three treatments (T₁, T₂ and T₃), and the total amount of fertilizers used was 7,662 g, or 2,554 g for each treatment, whereas T₀ was not added with any fertilizer. The result illustrates that T₀, T₁, T₂ and T₃ yielded 10.4 t/ha, 42.25 t/ha, 27.45 t/ha and 29.95 t/ha, respectively. The average numbers of tomatoes in each treatment were 8, 22, 18 and 17 fruits per stem for T₀, T₁, T₂ and T₃ respectively. Moreover, the stem growth rate and diameter growth rate was 63.36 cm and 9.38 mm (T₀), 84.81 cm and 12.03 mm (T₁), 75.96 cm and 10.50 mm (T₂) and 79.33 cm and 11.10 mm (T₃). Based on the experiment, it could be concluded that the application of water and nutrients to meet the crop needs without interrupting irrigation, as seen in T₁, had optimal effects on the growth and yield of tomatoes. Therefore, growers should irrigate crops by focusing on the real crop needs for water and nutrient and should choose drip-fertigation methods, which offers multiple benefits such as providing water effectively, reducing erosion and loss of nutrients in the soil, making the ground slower in density, reducing grass, saving time and water and increasing crop growth and yield.

This study aims to answer the research questions as follows: What is the current context of Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary (PPWS)? Where are the most accessible sites of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) over the landscape of PPWS? Who are NTFPs-dependent people? What is the importance of NTFPs in rural livelihoods? What is the contribution of NTFPs in ecosystem services? Analyzed the NTFPs endowment, the open access simulation model was applied. From the 310 sample households, NTFPs dependency and intensity were analyzed through descriptive statistics. Cross tabulation was applied to identify the main users of NTFPs. The role of NTFPs in rural livelihoods and ecosystem services were discussed. The simulation result clearly shows that NTFPs are rich over the landscape, which local people can easily access. Among many types of NTFPs, eight of them are considered as the most importance for rural livelihoods including liquid resin, solid resin, bamboo shoot, bamboo poles, wild honey, orchid flower, fuelwood, and Prich leaf (Melientha suavis Pierre). Around 93% of sampled households collect NTFPs for foods, cash incomes, house construction, and farm equipment. NTFPs are the resources not only for the poor but also to all rural households at PPWS. Some of NTFPs also contribute to ecosystem services.

Global overfishing has been a severe problem for the last 37 years. The research objectives were to 1) study the situation of global overfishing as our common property 2) examine factors influencing global overfishing and 3) explain the global overfishing policy implementation. Secondary data were collected from the database of Food and Agriculture of the United Nations from 1979 to 2016 as well as additional countries. Descriptive statistics were applied as a tool for data analysis. The inferential statistics were an applied econometric model to examine factors affecting global overfishing. Research results found that 1) for the last 37 years, the situation of global overfishing: according to the FAO database (2016), the world has been faced with overfishing for 37 years, with 3 percent underexploited, 20 percent moderately exploited, 52 percent fully exploited, 17 percent overexploited, and 7 percent depleted; 2) factors affecting global overfishing were comprised of the world amount of fish caught, the world quantity of consumption demand, the world fishery product price, the world population and the fishery technology index; 3) for the global overfishing policy and its implementations: in China, they launched a policy called legal regulations on the price of access-rights to fisheries resources in China. Also, they have resource fishery taxes, which are about 1 to 3 percent of the total production value. In Australia, they applied Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) of southern bluefin tuna (SBT) as policy implementation resulting in about 67 percent by average. ITQs reduced the amount of SBT caught. As common property, global overfishing has been, and still is, one of our world problems that everyone in the world should pay attention to. It is a last call for this world natural resource.

Mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emission is a challenging issue in context of coping with the ongoing climate change. Rice farming is considered as the major emitter of CH₄ along with gaseous N₂O. There are several methods of irrigation management that reduces the amount of CH₄ and N₂O gases produced, such as intermittent irrigation and mid-season drainage. SRI (System of Rice Intensification) is one of the new methods known to increase the yield while mitigating GHGs by applying one of key elements intermittent irrigation, and is a method which is now disseminating in many tropical countries. This study was conducted to measure the effectiveness of SRI method by measuring rice plant development, yield component, and methane emission using a lysimeter facility. The transplanted nursery was koshihikari, a Japanese rice variety. The study compared between two plots with different water treatments. The results showed that a plant growth characteristics were better in a Continuous plot than in a Intermittent plot, while grain yield was not significantly different. Methane gas was almost 50% less in the Intermittent plot than in the Continuous plot. Total global warming potential from methane emission for Intermittent plot and Continuous plot were 50.41 g CO₂/m² and 100.53 g CO₂/m², respectively. The results suggest that SRI methodology could be an effective method for mitigating methane emission without reducing the grain yield.

Artificial rainfall simulation is an important aspect to investigate soil erosion process and surface runoff through application of rainfall simulator. On the other hand portable artificial rainfall simulator can be utilized in remote areas to solve some of the challenges that may be posed by heavy and expensive factory-made rainfall simulators at the same time maintaining the effectiveness and efficiency of the equipment. Drop size, kinetic energy, surface runoff and sediment yield were obtained from experiments conducted using artificial portable rainfall simulator developed in the lab of land and water use engineering for testing on actual fields with different vegetation cover in Kenya. Average kinetic energy and drop size calculated from 24 outlet needles of the rainfall simulator was found to be approximately 1.6 x 10^-5 J and 3.42 mm respectively. Using calibrated cylinder, intensity was measured randomly along the simulator needle outlets and average intensity calculated as 40 mm hr^-1. Water pressure was generated through elevated Marriote bottle. Experiments were conducted in research site in Mombasa Kenya. Drop size and kinetic energy for actual rainfall in Kenya were also determined. Evaluation of soil erosion using portable artificial rainfall simulator is therefore important in establishment of proper and effective soil erosion control strategy for achieving sustainable farming in Kenya.

This study developed a series of rainfall-runoff forecasting models that can be used in designing the flood warning system around Pampanga River Basin. The data regarding rainfall and water level of the river was obtained from the Hydrometeorological Division (HMD) of Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). Data were collected from 2014 and 2015 hourly water level reading and rainfall reading. Feedforward Backpropagation Model, a variant of the Artificial Neural Network (ANN), was used in the study along with Gradient Descent with Adaptive Learning Rate Algorithm as a learning technique for the network. MATLAB R2009b was used to train and design the networks. A total of 45 networks were trained. Results of the training gave reasonable predictions for most of the stations with a minimum accuracy of 96%. Inaccuracy of training in some stations were attributed to the inconsistency in data and other factors.

In previous studies, a series of samples were analyzed to measure the salinity status of agricultural lands in Miyagi prefecture, where the extent of the seawater damage was the most severe among the tsunami-affected area in Northeast Japan following the Great East Japan earthquake in 2011. Since then, various restoration projects have been implemented by concerned agencies of the central and local governments. In the agricultural lands damaged by the earthquake and flooded with tsunami water, most of the technical tasks, such as the removal of debris and salts and the repair of irrigation and drainage infrastructures, were in the final stages of completion in 2016, and the efforts seems to have achieved their primary objectives. However, soil productivity in the restored farmlands remains a big issue for the local farmers. The present study was carried out in different farmlands in two adjacent towns in Miyagi Prefecture, Watari-cho and Yamamoto-cho. The major physicochemical and biological properties of soil were investigated, and the results show that the soil dressing used as topsoil in the restored farmlands had a low average cation exchange capacity (CEC) of <6 cmol(+)kg^-1, which ultimately contributed to lower average CEC values overall (<9 cmol(+)kg^-1). Moreover, carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratios in the soil dressings and the restored lands showed a wider range (5 to 19), making the soil inconsistent in nutrient supply i.e., less fertile, compared to those in the farmlands where there was no top-dressing and in the farmlands at nearby inland sites. The study also suggests that issues concerned with rebuilding soil fertility and improving soil productivity in tsunami-inundated agricultural lands should be resolved through sustainable, soil-friendly methods and practices.

The maintenance of infrastructure for agricultural production is essential to sustainable agricultural productivity. Farm roads are particularly important infrastructure for transporting agricultural products. Load-bearing capacity is a performance index for evaluating the soundness of a road, and recently, falling weight deflectometer (FWD) tests have been used to measure such capacity. However, an FWD is a stationary device, so its use is time intensive. This study aims to develop a moving wheel deflectometer (MWD) device that determines the load-bearing capacity continuously and economically, for the efficient management of farm roads. For that reason, the development of the MWD involved fabrication, testing and the verification of its practicality on a public road. The MWD was used to estimate the load-bearing capacity of a public road at travel speeds of 10 to 60 km/h. The soundness evaluated based on the MWD measurements were shown to be comparable to that as evaluated by the FWD at all travel speeds. The results demonstrate that the MWD has the potential to be used for the comprehensive measurement of load-bearing capacity.

Victims of natural disasters have countless challenges to face on right after the event. Immediate local government unit and other community leaders are the first line of help to affected communities. The wellbeing of everyone in a vulnerable community is greatly affected by how the local sectors response. A deeper understanding of the concepts of community wellbeing is hereby realized through a qualitative research approach in the field. Several focus group discussions are done with five local sectors in the selected sites. The narratives of the victims are analyzed through thematic analysis in identification of sectoral concerns regarding concepts of community wellbeing.

Application of coral transplantation technology was the project funded by Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCAARRD DOST). Implemented by Bohol Island State University – Candijay Campus in partnership with Provincial Government of Bohol, Municipality of Anda, and AMUN Ini Beach Resort. 30,000 coral fragments from dislodged coral colonies were transplanted in damaged reef areas in Anda, Bohol, Philippines. Coral fragments were attached in the nailed concrete nails, fixed with plastic cable ties, and tightened with aqua epoxy clay from 5 m to 12 m depth. After year of transplanting corals, it was found that the total mean average of survival = 37.1 percent, however, in term of significant difference of survived coral it was revealed that there is a significant different due to “p value = 0.367” which is higher than the p = 0.05”. With regards to the influence of transplanted corals to fish, it was observed that there were 38 families with 52 species of fish, and thousands of individuals attracted and settled in the rehabilitated area. The dominant species of fish in both areas were Pomacentridae and Apogonidae with the occurrence of other attractive animals such as sea slugs, sea turtles, leopard anemone shrimp, whale shark and eagle ray.

Dawei Special Economic Zone (DSEZ) Project is one of the largest petrochemical industrial estates in South East Asia which aims to transform the country into a pivotal hub for regional connectivity and logistics. Socio-economic factors determine local lifestyles, including mobility pattern, and directly impact on rural sustainability. Changes in mobility may represent not only generating alternative opportunities associated with socio-economic development, but also the vulnerability of rural people which can be a significant challenge for social sustainability in a rural area. Consequently, mobility can be one of the powerful indexes to assess impacts resulted in socio-economic changes in a long-term. The objectives of this paper are to: convert conventional mobility data to spatiotemporal data and visualize them; and to assess the change of mobility in 2005, 2010 and 2015 with respect to social parameters such as sex and age. A total of 345 individual respondents were stratified-randomly selected for assessing one-day mobility. Conversion of conventional mobility data was conducted using online maps. Historical analysis of mobility data was conducted after performing mobility data validation. The result shows that different mobility was observed by sex and age group. Average increases of males’ mobile distance between 2005/2010 and 2010/2015 show 2.6 and 1.7 times increase, while that of females shows 1.6 and 2.6 times, respectively. Especially, working age females show a high increase in 2010/2015. The study concluded that mobility data obtained in different formats in different time periods can be integrated and visualized for long-term mobility assessment. This contributes to better understand how local people is responding to such socio-economic development. Mobility can be an important parameter and further provides significant perspectives to policy development for sustainable rural development.

In Japan, cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and arsenic have been designated as specific harmful substances in the Agricultural Land Soil Pollution Act. Though the safety standards of these substances have not been provided for upland field crops in Japan, it is important to minimize the concentration of these contaminants in agricultural products for both international trading and our health. The objective of this study is to clarify the effects of controlling groundwater levels on Cd and Cu uptake and growth and yield of soybeans. For this experiment, three plastic containers were prepared, and then 14cm-thick of non-contaminated gravel, 15cm-thick of non-contaminated soil (0.12 mg Cd kg^-1; 2.4 mg Cu kg^-1) and 25cm-thick of contaminated soil (2.24 mg Cd kg^-1; 43.4 mg Cu kg^-1) were placed in this order from the bottom of each container. Then the groundwater level of each container was maintained as 5cm (GL5), 10cm (GL10) and 40cm (GL40) during the growing period. As a result, Cd and Cu concentration of soybean seeds of GL5, GL10 and GL40 were 0.25, 0.52 and 1.07 mg Cd kg^-1, respectively, and 5.08, 5.82 and 9.96 mg Cu kg^-1, respectively. Significant difference in both Cd and Cu concentration of soybean seeds were found among three models at 5% level. On the other hand, growth and yield of soybeans tended to decrease with the rise of the groundwater level. Noticeably, plant heights and weights of a hundred grains were significantly different among these three models. From the above, it can be concluded that controlling groundwater levels can reduce Cd and Cu uptake and affect growth and yield of soybeans.

Paddy fields in Kumamoto Prefecture were struck seriously by the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake. The surface deformation and cracks damaged water distribution system for paddy fields. In order to clarify damages with rapidity, the surveying combining the aerial-based surveying and ground-based surveying was necessary. The aerial photogrammetry was conducted for the surface deformation and crack area, to clarify them quantitatively. The aerial photos were taken by an airplanes after the earthquakes. The aerial photogrammetry by airplane is suited to compare the topographic model after earthquakes to the topographic model before earthquakes, because the topographic model before earthquakes was surveyed by airplane. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) surveying was also conducted at the ground points in the area of aerial photos. The orthophoto mosaic and the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) after the earthquakes were made from these surveying. Further, the orthophoto mosaic and the DEM after the earthquakes were input into the Geographic Information System (GIS), to analyze the surface deformation and cracks in paddy fields. The accurate positions for cracks were found by overlaying the translucent orthophoto mosaic on the existing map. The differences between the DEMs before and after the earthquakes were analyzed by overlaying the DEM after the earthquakes on the DEM before the earthquakes. As the results, it was found that the overall upheaval and the local cave-in arose in the focused paddy field. The overall upheaval was 0.0 m - 0.4 m. The local cave-in was about 2.0 m. In order to check the differences between the DEMs before and after the earthquakes, the DEM after the earthquakes was compared to the elevation value by the GNSS surveying at the verification points. As the result, it was verified that the difference was 0.118 m as standard deviation.

Land use without proper land management may cause deforestation and other negative impacts on ecosystem services (ESs), as defined in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005. In Laos, natural resource sectors have received many investments in the past decades, during which a loss of ESs occurred. The aims of this study were to assess impacts on the potential provisions of ESs caused by land cover changes. The Savannakhet province in Laos was selected for the case study. Land cover changes were investigated using Landsat satellite images from 1988. A land cover map for 2010 was obtained from the government. After classifying the image into five land cover types, spatial analyses of the ESs were conducted by utilizing the primary unit values of six ESs. The results indicated that forests were converted to agricultural areas. Most of the potential provisions of ESs decreased due to these conversions in the past two decades.

The study applied the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model -- to predict streamflow and sedimentation in Wahig-Inabanga Watershed, Bohol, Philippines. The applicability of the SWAT model was evaluated and its output was integrated to GIS to generate sedimentation hazard map. The result of the SWAT model performance evaluation on stream flows was satisfactory given prediction efficiency values: NSE = 0.6578; R² = 0.7038; PBIAS = 14.94%; and RSR = 0.5850. Satisfactory result was also achieved in model validation with model accuracy values on NSE, R², PBIAS and RSR of 0.41, 0.57, 25.09%, and 0.71, respectively. However, the model did not provide precise estimates of sediment yield in sub-basins and hydrological response units (HRU) especially with corn as single land use or one of the landuses even on flat to gently rolling terrain. Inaccuracy issue on sediment yield prediction deferred further analysis including thesedimentation risk valuation which supposed to provide baseline information for watershed management and land use planning.

Forest soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Thus, documenting changes in carbon stocks and hydraulic property by logging are essential to sustainable management. However, information on logging in relation to soil organic carbon (SOC) stock is scarce and it can be site specific. Thus, the effects of logging on the SOC stock and hydraulic property were analyzed after logging at a site in the North Appalachian Experimental Watershed (NAEW) near Coshocton, Ohio, USA. The objectives of the study were to quantify the impacts of logging on SOC stock and hydraulic property. Results show that for the 0-30 cm soil depth, SOC stock after logging (61.5 Mg ha^-1) was 54.5% lower than that before logging (135.3 Mg ha^-1). Further, soil water retention at different potential was consistently higher before logging than that after logging. A plot of the hydraulic capacity vs. suction under natural forest differed significantly than that after logging at 0-10 cm soil depth. Thus, logging reduced SOC stock, and degraded hydraulic property of the surface layer.

Water pollution due to agriculture has become a serious global problem. Also, agricultural development has had major impacts on biodiversity. Impacts on the ecology of a watershed should be considered when proposing changes to land use and management for water quality conservation. Habitat diversity is one of the most important factors for conserving biodiversity in an agricultural landscape. In recent years, several fields of research have shown a positive correlation between a mosaic of land types and species richness. Herein, we evaluated the land use diversity of the Tokachi River basin and examined an appropriate spatial unit to calculate a land cover heterogeneity index for river water quality. The Tokachi River basin is located in the northern part of Japan and plays an important role in a food production area. The main land use types are forest, cropland, pasture, and dairy farming. Here we applied the Satoyama Index (SI) as a land cover heterogeneity index to examine land use diversity. SI evaluates a diverse mosaic of agricultural and non-agricultural land as an index from 0.0 to 1.0 based on Simpson’s diversity index. High SI values are an indicator of high habitat diversity. The mean SI value of the Tokachi River basin (No.17) was 0.6, and SI tended to be high in the central basin and low in the headwater of mainstream and tributaries. SI values had negative correlations with total nitrogen, nitrate, and electrical conductivity (EC) of river water. Unified land uses for extensive agricultural land results in increasing nitrogen and EC of the river water and leads to monotonic habitat conditions in the Tokachi River basin.

Food security is strongly linked to water security. Irrigation is recognized as a means to substantially increase agricultural productivity. Consequently, the Food and Agriculture Organization indicated that 75% of agricultural growth required in Nigeria by 2025 would have to result from intensification, with the remaining 25% resulting from arable land expansion. However, the total water demand in Nigeria was estimated to be 5.93 billion cubic meters (BCM)/year in 2010, which is expected to increase to 16.58 BCM/year by 2030. Irrigation water demands will increase from 30% to 40% under minimal utilization. Accordingly, as irrigated agriculture is likely to be promoted and expanded, there is a need for appropriate on-farm water management of the available water resources to avoid the potentially alarming problem of water shortage. Water improvement projects and the management system were described through a comparative study to investigate the major differences in water management systems. The aim was to formulate equitable and effective water management practices that can improve water use and increase food production in Nigeria. In this study, some major differences identified between Japan and Nigeria were the procedure for the development of water improvement projects; system of operation, management, and maintenance; and the relationship between water managers and farmers, which were found to be bottom-up and top-down processes, dependent and independent, and mutual relationship and individuality, respectively. A realistic solution to improve the Nigerian water management system has been proposed through an in-depth analysis based on a questionnaire and interview survey.

Forest ecosystems provide goods and services that support our livelihoods. However, forestlands are often cleared for agriculture due to nutrient availability for crop growth. This study examined forest ecosystem services and agricultural practices of three villages at Phu Kao – Phu Phan Kham National Park, northeastern Thailand. A survey on agricultural production and socioeconomics was conducted in June 2016, together with GIS spatial analysis to examine correlations between agricultural productivity and forest-to-farmland distances (FD) and vegetative cover (VC) surrounding farmlands within a 100m radius. We hypothesized that farmlands closer to the forests and/or surrounded by greater vegetative structure would receive more benefits from forest ecosystem services than those farther away. In total, 100 household representatives answered the questionnaire. Cassava was a major cash crop planted with approximately 8.94 tons/ha. Production costs of cassava plantation (i.e., labor and fertilizer) were estimated 24,67.95 Baht/ha, mainly from harvesting costs and chemical fertilizers. Forest-to-farmland distances and VC did not result in significant yields (tons/ha). However, the total production costs of cassava plantations closer to the forest (<1 km) were significantly smaller than those farther away (mean difference = -7,053 Baht/ha, p = 0.007), while VC showed a marginal difference. Farmlands with less VC (<1 ha) resulted in greater total production costs than those with larger VC (mean difference = 2,540.00 Baht/ha, p = 0.073). These findings illustrate that adjacent forests provide ecosystem services to cassava production, at least to some degree. Farmers incur smaller production costs, thereby receiving greater economic returns when their farmlands were closer to the forest and surrounded by larger amounts of vegetation.

Soil erosion is a serious problem in Afghanistan, which has been accelerated by improper land management day by day and a growing problem especially in agricultural land. The land in the country is facing continuous soil loss and sediment accumulation due to the irregular topography, deforestation and desertification. It does not only reduce agricultural and livestock production, but also decrease the water availability for irrigation purpose. This study focused on the estimation of the rate of soil loss and soil erosion risk using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and ArcGIS for the Gardez basin Paktya Province, Afghanistan. All factors used in USLE (R, K, L, S and C) were calculated for the study area using local data. The best equation for estimating the R value from the annual rainfall was discussed on the basis of the observed annual rainfall with the installed rain gauge. Also, all factors were presented by raster layers in ArcGIS platform then multiplied together to predict soil loss (A). The results indicated that the annual soil loss within Gardez Basin ranges from 0 to greater than 100 t ha^-1 y^-1. The value was divided into five (5) risk classes. The result showed that slight class of soil loss having a range of soil loss between 0 to 5 t ha^-1 y^-1, moderate class having rates between 5 to 10 t ha^-1 y^-1, high class having rates between 10 to 50 t ha^-1 y^-1, severe class rates between 50 to 100 t ha^-1 y^-1 and very severe class rates greater than 100 t ha^-1 y^-1, covering 64.31%, 13.95%, 19.76%, 1.76% and 0.22% of the Gardez Basin area, respectively. Most of the agricultural lands are slight to high soil loss categories. However, high soil erosion is found in the barren land, rangeland and rainfed agricultural land. The soil erosion risk is extremely higher on steep slope and foothills. Based on the mean soil erosion value of different land use classes, target land use for conserving strategies was discussed for planning soil conservation practices.

Methanol, an alcohol, is known to be hazardous for human consumption. Methanol contamination in traditional rice liquor caused many deaths in local areas in Cambodia. Contamination happened in every step of liquor manufacturing, distribution, and consumption. To avoid this problem, monitoring the quality of alcohol is important. However, only a few government institutes in the capital can detect the methanol contamination at an institutional level by colorimetric methods. To detect methanol contamination easily at the local level, a simplified method is urgently required. We tested the original colorimetric methods to determine the influence of the amount of chemical solutions, the time and the alcohol percentage to the color change. Further we checked the shelf life of the chemical solutions. The results showed that methanol was detectable at one-twenty of original volume after treatment 2-5 hours, and the alcohol percentage was not influence of the color changes. In addition, we tested 21 liquor samples collected from markets in Phnom Penh and 6 provinces with the simplified method, resulting that methanol was not detected in all samples.

Grape is one of the most commonly produced and globally well-known fruit crops. And also grape is the major fruit species grown in Afghanistan that accounts 48% of the total fruit growing area. Reduction of post-harvest losses is the indispensable challenge in the country, hence to increase the availability of fruits and vegetables. However, the purpose of this study is to determine the pre and post-harvest losses of grape at stages of marketing and distribution. A questionnaire survey was conducted in Mirbachakot, Shakardara and Kalakan districts of Kabul province, Afghanistan. A total 60 farmers, including contractors, wholesalers and retailers were randomly selected and interviewed across in the study areas, using structured and semi-structured questionnaire sheet during the months of August-September in 2016. Based on the result of questionnaire, pre-harvest loss of grape from large, medium and small by 14%, 13 and 12%, respectively. Similarly, total post-harvest losses of grapes; Contractor loss, 9.0%, Wholesaler loss, 10.3% and Retailer loss 12.0%. In addition, there are many other causes such as, insect attack, diseases, dropping, mummification, water berries, improper packing and transportation. All these factors contribute and significantly declining the grape production. It can be suggested that grape growers would be trained on the subject of pre and post-harvest management and marketing practices.

The Philippines is susceptible to tropical cyclones which threaten the production of agricultural crops. To help farmers cover their losses, financial protection through crop insurance can be employed. This paper studied the effects of the Philippine multi-peril crop insurance on mean returns per acre. Data on palay (unhusked rice) yields in the province of Laguna were gathered from 1978 to 2015. Using classical decomposition, the time series data was decomposed into trend-cycle, seasonality and irregularity components to compute for the Actual Production History (APH) yield and to forecast the APH yield for 2016. Using the crop insurance incentives model of Just et. al., the data were used to explore the subsidy and asymmetric information incentives for insurance participation for both wet and dry seasons. Three risk classes were considered: low, medium and high, while four insurance guarantee levels were considered: 100%, 90%, 10% and 0%. It was found that as yield guarantee increases, the effect of insurance on mean returns also increases. Additionally, as insurance premium increases, the effect of insurance on mean returns per acre decreases. Results also indicate that effects of crop insurance on mean returns per acre are highest when risk class is low and yield guarantee is high.

This work was focused on the simulation of a surface terrestrial water flow process model in the area of Kourtimalei in Djibouti using GIS, RS and GETFLOWS, a physics-based surface and subsurface fully coupled fluids flow code. A trial and error were used to calibrate the model using observed surface water level of the pond. The manual calibration was performed until the surface water level of the pond RMSE to be 0.40 m with K>0.8. Furthermore kappa coefficient was used to evaluate the agreement between the pond areas extents derived from available LANDSAT-8 images during the simulation period with the pond area extents results of GETFLOWS simulation. The analysis showed that GETFLOWS successfully simulated the surface water flow process. We conclude that the use satellite derived datasets can help calibrate and evaluate GEFTLOWS hydrologic model for an ungauged watershed like in the present case..

Conventional agriculture, also known as modern or industrial agriculture, which main aim is to maximize production, is currently prevalent in the world. Negative consequences of such approach include environmental impacts such as soil degradation, groundwater pollution and GHG emissions. Along with environmental problems, the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers in conventional agriculture may cause problems to human health, both of producers and consumers. To alleviate negative impacts of conventional agriculture, the Japanese government has undertaken attempts to promote alternative agriculture. Laws, guidelines and certification schemes for promotion of alternative agriculture have been introduced in late 1990s and early 2000s. Today there are three national level certification schemes: “JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standard) Organic”, “Eco-Farmer” certifications and “Specially Cultivated Products” certification. This review takes a look at the history of developing these certification schemes in Japan as well as the differences in the requirements for obtaining the certifications. The literature suggests that the role of national, regional and municipal governments vary regarding the procedure of introducing and issuing the certifications of each type. The possibility of negative economic impact on uncertified farmers practicing alternative agriculture is discussed. Authors argue that a simplified labeling system is preferred to increase customers” awareness and understanding of alternative agriculture certification schemes.

Afghanistan, an agricultural and land locked country, located in the heart of Asia. More than 75% of country’s population is living in rural areas. Paghman District located in the Kabul Province of Afghanistan was selected for conducting this research. In Paghman District, there are some severe problems regarding agricultural land use, water resource conservation, and utilization. The objective of this study is to identify current agriculture status and problems faced in Paghman District for conserving water environment of the Qargha Reservoir qualitatively and quantitatively. To achieve the objectives, a questionnaire survey was conducted to find out the current agricultural status and problems faced in Paghman District. One or more local farmers (representatives) were selected from each of the 15 different villages in Qargha Reservoir watershed of Paghman District. The results indicated that water shortage, soil erosion, and low fertility were the major factors causing low agricultural productivity. Majority of the local farmers perceived water shortage magnitude as severe and very severe at 33%, respectively. Local farmers’ awareness about soil erosion effects on their cultivated lands were minor. About 54% of the local farmers were not aware of the soil erosion effects on their lands. The correlation analysis showed that water shortage and soil erosion negatively affected the yields. The development of proper conservation strategies as well as farmers education on proper soil and water resource management is needed to achieve sustainable agriculture in Paghman District of Kabul Province, Afghanistan.

Sri Lanka is well-known as one of the most successful cases of human development among South Asian countries, despite widening income disparities among sectors (urban, rural, estate), especially in the estate sector. Tea industry is an important industry in the estate sector, however, working and living conditions which affect the quality of life are generally worse than other. This resulted in a decrease in well-being of the workers’ capabilities. This study aims to identify the disparities in housing conditions among living four sectors in Sri Lanka and also residential areas in tea industry. Qualitative and quantitative methods are applied for analysis. To consider the well-being of people, capability approach is also applied. Data in the study relied on the secondary data conducted in 2008/2009, and 302 households’ primary data obtained between 2014 and 2015. Three indexes of housing facilities used in this paper are access to drinking water, exclusive toilet facilities, and electricity lighting. Results in comparison between housing conditions and living sectors indicate that people in estates are under the low quality of housing facilities and face the risks under the unsanitary conditions. Statistically, all three indexes showed there are disparities among living sectors. Comparing indexes among sectors, accessibility to safe drinking water in estate has wider disparity than the others two index. Exploring the tea industry based on the management style (RPC, Private estate, Farmer) deeply found private estates are more likely to face disadvantages than others. Accessibility to safe drinking water is lower than in others variables. Among residential areas access to safe drinking water is not statistically significant, but access to toilet facility and electricity is statistically significant at five percent level.

Ethiopia is a developing country, the second most populous in Africa with an estimated population of more than 94 million. The Ethiopian economy is based on agriculture, and poverty reduction has been the overriding development agenda. The coverage of formal financial services estimated to be less than 10 percent, nevertheless banks consider the poor “un-bankable”. It has been assumed that Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) have reached the poor on a sustainable basis. Considering the situation, this study aims at evaluating the outreach level of Ethiopian MFIs and its sustainability. In order to achieve the planned research objectives, quantitative as well as qualitative research methods are used. The target of this research is MFIs currently operating in the country. The 14 samples of the study were selected from operating 34 MFIs by using purposive sampling technique to include all categories. Data were collected through questionnaires, whereas, secondary data from annual reports and other documents. The analysis indicated that the breadth and the depth of outreach of Ethiopian MFIs are in an increasing trend. The increase in the amount of voluntary savings was remarkable, and its ratio to the compulsory savings was 482.51 percent from 2005 to 2014. With regards to depth of outreach, 54.73 percent of women and relatively insignificant number of crop producing farmers have been covered by microfinance services. The Operational Self-sufficiency Ratio and Financial Self-sufficiency Ratio of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions’ are in increasing trends because of the enhancements in generating more revenue. Outreach trend is promising, though they have challenges to address the disadvantaged group of the society. The sustainability indicators suggested that the increase of operational sustainability and financial sustainability ratios are due to the increase in revenue and the contribution of donors and/subsidization. It is also advisable to improve its sustainability by increasing the efficiency.

In Japan, the number of newly constructed woody biomass power plants are expected to increase with the introduction of the Feed in Tariff mechanism. However, many woody biomass energy plants, including heat supply systems, face difficulties because of issues such as high fuel costs and find it difficult to maintaining a stable supply. This study aims to reveal the requirements for continuous business regarding woody biomass energy, focusing on four factors: wood supply, fuel manufacturing, energy supply, and energy demand. Specifically, we selected multiple Japanese cases that focus on the types of woody fuels such as cordwood, wood chips, and wood pellets, conducted semi-structured interviews, and compared and examined how their supply chains successfully developed. We found that integral cooperation among the four factors was essential, and support regarding each factor, economic viability, as well as balanced supply and demand for wood were necessary for ensuring continuous woody biomass energy utilization systems.

One of the most important consequences of climate change in Korea is the moving of the adequate cultivation area for apple. To respond adequately to such consequences, the farmers require performing on the adaptation measures. Although Korean government puts great efforts to develop adaptation measures, the livelihoods of agriculture and rural communities are still posing great threats from climate variability and change. It is because the most of adaptation studies and policies fail to address the perception of farmers who decide and perform the adaptation measures. Without an understanding of farmers’ perceptions, private adaptation strategies are unlikely to be effective. This paper, therefore, aims to investigate and analyze factors influencing farmers’ perception on adaptation behaviors. To meet such objectives, this study based on theory, a Model of Private Proactive Adaptation to Climate Change (MPPACC), explaining individual’s intention of adaptive behavior is based on socio-cognitive aspects including perceived adaptation measure efficacy, self-efficacy and adaptation costs. To analyze the factors influencing farmers’ perception and behavior of climate change adaptation, 170 apple farmers in Cheongsong County is selected for farm household survey. By analyzing through multiple linear regressions, the results were found that the farmers’ perceptions of adaptive efficacy are significantly associated with farm household demographic and socioeconomic factors including investment in crop insurance, and contents and sources of information. This implies that to enhance the farmers’ motivation to adaptation, the local government should pay further attention to improve credibility of crop insurance efficacy and the quality and source information to increase farmers’ adaptive capacity through increased farmers’ perception on adaptation efficacy.