Lessons learned by farmers’ groups in Thailand who received area based management extension for sustainable rice production were investigated. Objectives were to 1) study area based management extension for sustainable rice farmers’ groups, 2) analyze the current situation regarding area based management extension of these groups, 3) identify key actions for group improvement, and 4) determine the lessons learned. Qualitative data were collected from 77 sustainable rice farmers belonging to two farmers’ groups in Det Udom district, Ubon Ratchathani Province during an organized forum. Additional data were collected and analyzed from key informants including group chairmen and extension officers using in-depth interviews. Results were as follows: 1) the farmers’ groups were founded as Community Rice Centers producing seed, and later joined the Area Based Management Extension Program initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to increase their knowledge capacity and market linkage. They also participated in the Sustainable Rice Production Pilot Testing Project organized through collaboration between the Thai Rice Department and Better Rice Initiative Asia Project to link with sustainable rice new value chains. 2) Farmers were assessed regarding their current practices against their compliance score of the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) standard and received scores averaging 74.5%. After knowledge transfer, their scores were audited by an external auditor and increased to an average of 84% classified by the ‘Working toward Sustainability’ level. 3) Actions for group improvement were identified as follows: (i) Farm record, (ii) Land preparation, (iii). Planting method, (iv) Seeding service management, (v) Fertilizer management (vi) Weed management, (vii) Combine harvester machine management, (viii) Selling, and (ix) Internal control system management. 4) Valuable lessons learned concerning sustainable rice area based extension included: (i) Good knowledge transfer of sustainable rice production through group actions, (ii) Limited access through machinery service of introduced technology, and (iii) Economy of scale in area based management extension planning between cultivated areas and market capacity.

The implementation of Integrated Social Forestry (ISF) program involved huge investments from the government and donor agencies. Considering these investments, is ISF program effective enough in attaining its objectives? In view of this question, an in-depth analysis of the Panian ISFP model site was conducted. The study was conceptualized to assess the policy implementation status and socio-ecological impact of ISFP to the Certificate of Steward Contract (CSC) holders after 25 years from project implementation. The results of the study showed that CSC holders considered reforestation and agroforestry activities successful due to the increase in biomass and litter production that considerably enhances soil fertility. Likewise, the CSC holders had noticed that the water yield in the community significantly improved and there is a reduction of harvest losses because of reforestation and agroforestry interventions. However, site assessment revealed that most of the CSC holders have not planted 20% of the area with trees as required in the contract. In fact, it is common to find CSC areas fully planted with coconuts. This manifests that the government recognition of forest claims further enhance the conversion of forest land into agricultural plantations. On the other hand, the result indicated that policy concerning delegation of responsibilities within ISFP devolution was unclear and confusing since LGUs’ responsibilities on forest land are still under the supervision, control, and review of DENR. The LGUs pointed out that financial problems, lack of capability, deficiency in the management and cooperation, and lack of personnel were the factors that deter them to continue the support for Panian ISFP model site.

Environmental education and sustainability practices in schools have been emerging as an important trend in 21st century education as the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) launched by the United Nations. Mataneedol School is a unique school in a beautifully landscaped setting and environmental friendly located in Khon Kaen city, Northeast of Thailand. Mataneedol School is a pioneering school where the students and teachers from all over the world can learn and thrive together. The aim of this study was to conduct the environmental education through practices of ESD in order to enable the children to grow in an environment that helps imbibe awareness, sensitivity and the necessary skills to be environmentally responsible citizens of mother earth. The objective of this project was to study the benefits of the project on “Turning the school kitchen waste into the healthy soil and produce the safety food” toward the attitude of students. The student project on school waste management has been conducted. The 3 R (reuse, recycle and reduce) has been taught. Plant biodiversity has been monitored by students. Workshop on vermicompost was conducted by student council president. In the process, students learn that food waste is not totally useless, but can be used as organic fertilizers for plants. Students help to separate and record how much the school waste produced per day. We become more aware about re-using waste and saving the earth. The children are able to participate in activities that help to protect the environment, such as sorting of waste, making vermicompost and use the vermicompost as a biofertilizer for the school's garden. As they take part in these daily activities, the children understand better how to actively protect the environment and get the safe food for them. They learn a scientific thinking through the experiment on their environmental project. The Schools programme encourages young children to take actions to protect their environment and to be the change for sustainabilityl.

Pineapple fiber offers a promising contribution in the developing geo-textile industry in Balete, Aklan. To support this initiative, a study was conducted to assess the different agroecological production systems of Ananas comosus var. Red Spanish for fiber production and determine the biomass production, fiber yield, and fiber recovery of Red Spanish grown under different agroecological production systems. Five study sites were selected with varying socio-cultural management systems which included a) intensive pineapple monoculture; b) traditional pineapple monoculture; c) pineapple-rambutan-gmelina; d) pineapple-rambutan-banana and e) pineapple-indigenous trees. Results showed that the pineapple planted underneath the indigenous trees significantly (p≤0.05) produced lower biomass but higher fiber yield (p≤0.05) as compared to the other four production systems studied. It was found out that there was a significant correlation (r=0.93) between leaf weight, length, and fiber yield. However, no significant difference on fiber recovery was observed between study sites. On the other hand, pineapple-indigenous trees agroecological system had higher NPK contents compared to those in the other study sites. Therefore, integrating the pineapple with indigenous trees is the most sustainable production system since this will lead to better soil fertility and provide optimum fiber yield.

The effective utilization of industrial wastes has been becoming the urgent problem for the establishment of the recycling society. Especially, there are many kinds of the powders-formed industrial wastes, and studies on the utilization of them have been conducted individually and widely. The powders which do not have activity are often used as a filler of asphalt pavement, but its supply has been already saturated in Japan. Therefore, the methods to use them as the aggregate of concrete pavement is also studied. When the approach method is established, it will help the reduction of the environmental load in the infrastructure development of the field of agriculture. In this study, authors focused on the powder exhausted in the manufacturing process of the ceramic product. This ceramic powder (CP for short) is one of the powders-formed industrial wastes which don't have activity. A process of the abrasion is necessary in the production of the ceramic product. On this occasion, ceramic fines are produced as sludge-formed drainage. Under the present condition, the drainage is dried by the sun and solidified by the addition of cement. It is disposed as the industrial waste in the state, and effective utilization has been expected. In this paper, CP was investigated to be used effectively as the substitute of fine aggregate. A part of JIS standard sand was replaced to CP by volume, being based on the mix proportion in the strength test of cements. The maximum replacing ratio was established experimentally from the viewpoint of fresh properties such as mortar flow test and setting time test and strength properties. The shrinkage properties was also obtained by the test of length change of mortar with dial gauge.

The technical possibility to manufacture fibreboards based on coconut husk and bonded with tannin adhesive formulation was shown. However, there were limited information on the husk production in different coconut producing provinces in the Philippines. Surveys and interviews were conducted to assess husk productivity and utilization by the smallholder coconut farmers. In 2014 and 2015, a total of 13 top coconut producing provinces in the Philippines were surveyed. A total of 1,200 coconut farmers were interviewed. A total of 200 nuts were sampled from the six provinces in the Philippines to characterize husk of coconut. Statistical analysis results showed that the weight of husks are significantly different (p ≤ 0.05) between the provinces across the islands. The heaviest husks (dry weight) were in the province of Northern Samar (463 ± 11 grams). The mean density (ton ha^-1 yr^-1) of husk production in the 13 provinces was analyzed using the Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analyst tool. Among the 13 provinces surveyed, Davao Oriental in Mindanao had the highest density (0.70 – 1.43), followed by Camarines Sur (0.66 – 1.29) in Luzon. In the Visayas, Northern Samar (0.55 – 1.17) has the highest density.

Pulses are one of the major agricultural exports in Myanmar. About 70 percent of all pulses are normally grown immediately after monsoon rice in middle and lower region. Farmers are not achieving the optimum yield due to inappropriate crop management and insufficient technological solutions although modern varieties are cultivated extensively. The introduction of applying new science tools such as GPS, GIS and drone image can develop timely and accurate estimation of crop areas and forecasting its production. It may also provide governments, planners, and decision makers with essential information to make a successful plan of appropriate technologies in regard to import/export. The study was conducted at Kyee Inn Village, Pyinmana Township, middle Myanmar from December 2016 to May 2017 to expose mapping for spatial distribution of yield and management practices. Drone flying had done by using DJI Phantom 4 drone and Litchi software. Drone photos were consolidated and prepared for digitizing and analyzing with pix 4D software and ArcGIS. Seventy farmers were selected as sample respondents for collecting ground truth information of yield and management practices based on pulses cultivated area. The study revealed that the major pulse grown in target area was black gram with yields ranging from 0.16 to 2.29 MT/hectare. The majority of respondents were found to have low level adoption of Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) of black gram recommended by Agricultural Department. It is urgently needed to upgrade full adoption of improved recommended package of practices by supporting training institutions to train the farmers and recommend technological solutions for the increase of productivity. Thus, new science tools such as GPS, GIS and drone image must be applied in agricultural system for increasing crop productivity as well as improving livelihood of the farmers.

According to Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, ecosystem services are divided into four services. Among them, regulating services include water regulation and natural hazard regulation which regulate water-discharge to rivers and mitigate flood risk by forest ecosystem. This research investigated characteristics of river flow changes at the time of rainfall runoff in two different land-use types, i.e.,1) watershed forest in Soebethu river watershed in Hokkaido and 2) intermixed watershed forest and pastureland in Igarashi river watershed in Hokkaido. A semi-distributed hydrological model, TOPMODEL was applied to simulate the amount of water discharge to the rivers. The conventional TOPMODEL was applied to the watershed forest, and the developed version of TOPMODEL to the intermixed watershed and pastureland. Monte Carlo simulation was used to identify unknown parameters required for the simulation. By comparing the identified parameters in the two different watersheds, flood control effect was evaluated in both land-use watersheds and each watershed and pastureland separately in the intermixed land-use. As the results of comparing the unknown parameters between the different land-use in the intermixed watershed and pastureland, the model showed that watershed forest has higher regulating service than pastureland. In addition, the research found that the difference of the type of surface soil influenced the amount of water discharge, that is, flood control effect. As the consequence, TOPMODEL was applicable for quantitative assessment of water regulation: the regulating service of the forest ecosystems.

Farmers in the mid-hills of Nepal have been using farmyard manure for maintaining soil fertility for their lands. However, there has been a decrease in production of farmyard manure. Less application of farmyard manure has led to declined soil fertility and reduced nutrient balance. Soil degradation through nutrient depletion is a serious issue. Soils in mid hills have very low nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus concentration. Sustainability of hill agriculture depends on how farmers use the available resources. Application of incompletely fermented and decomposed farmyard manure could have low nutrient contents, cause health risks as plants can uptake pathogenic bacteria through soil. Also, imbalances in nutrient content of manure mainly nitrogen and phosphorus can pollute water sources through leaching and runoff. An experiment was conducted to determine the action of Bacillus sp. as an inoculant for composting. Three different concentrations of Bacillus sp. liquid were extracted from locally available rice husk, which were 6.0×10¹⁰, 6.0×10¹², 6.0×10¹⁴ cfu mL^-1. An experiment was conducted for 60 days comparing samples with and without Bacillus sp. liquid. Results showed that Bacillus sp. helped in enhancing the fermentation process and better decomposition of organic matter, mineralization and the heat generated during the process helped in the elimination of pathogenic bacteria. Further, a growth experiment was conducted where Brasicca rapa was grown on the compost prepared. The results of growth experiment showed application of Bacillus sp. is good for development of plants.

Application of organic residues into infertile soil is one way to restore the fertility and productivity of arable soils. However, organic residues have different qualities (especially chemical compositions including allelochemicals) that may influence the activity and type of microorganisms present in the soil. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of allelochemicals on plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) biodiversity in 17 years long-term field experiment continuous application of different quality residues, groundnut stover (Arachis hypogaea) (high quality organic residue; with allelochemicals) and tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) (intermediate quality organic residue; without allelochemicals), compare to control (no organic residue applied). PGPB isolates were screened for their plant growth promoting factors such as production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), phosphate solubilizing activity and their ability to grow in nitrogen-free medium. In addition, the biocontrol activities which are protease production and antagonistic activity against Fusarium sp. were investigated. PGPB biodiversity was determined on a basis of amplified rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). The majority of bacteria were found to belong to the genera of Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Brevibacterium. In addition, at 52 weeks after residue application, PGPB richness of tamarind treatment was higher than groundnut treatment. The findings of this study also indicated that long-term legume residues amendment with and without allelochemicals can affect PGPB richness and biodiversity.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of the local government support in farmers’ level and to analyze the potential of rural development through the improvement of nutmeg production system in Fakfak Regency. The results can be concluded as follows: (1) Nutmeg industry in Fakfak Regency has been developed intensively by the support of local government; (2) The nutmeg industry is deeply connected with traditional culture. Meanwhile, the recent development efforts including local government support seem to meet many obstacles when confronted with tradition; (3) However, there are farmers who showed positive attitudes towards development, especially those who realize the importance of sustaining production for their future generations; (4) Farmers will be highly motivated to improve their skills and production when they can personally prove that their efforts can directly lead to the increase of their family income.

Cambodian agriculture is now in midst of transition from the traditional subsistent to modern commercial one. With respect to rice farming, more farmers are shifting from non-aromatic to aromatic rice production. Currently, aromatic rice accounts for about 10% of total rice cultivated area, and 30% of total rice production. Furthermore, the competitiveness of non-aromatic rice has worsened recently. By observing this trend, this study aims to grasp the differences in characteristics and profitability between non-aromatic and aromatic rice production, and to discuss the factors affecting the variety selection from farmers’ viewpoint. This study is based on the survey conducted in Voatkor commune, Battambang province in 2017, one of the biggest rice producing areas in Cambodia. In the survey, random sampling method was applied, and 82 rice farmers were interviewed. Among the sample, 59 farmers adopted non-aromatic rice, and 61 farmers adopted aromatic rice, including farmers adopted both aromatic and non-aromatic. Study farmers generally cultivated only once a year, mainly in wet season. The result of the study showed that aromatic rice was not commonly used for home consumption, and that more than 80% of the production was for sale, considering greater demand from international market. On the other hand, the non-aromatic rice was mainly used for home consumption and domestic market. The costs of aromatic rice production were higher on material and labor costs, but farmers were able obtain higher yield in comparison with the non-aromatic rice. Despite higher production costs, aromatic rice was found to be more profitable in gross value added, gross margin and net profit, thanks to higher yield and favorable paddy price. In addition, this study also identified non-economic factors affecting the farmers’ decision-making on varieties. Finally, some recommendations are offered.

By using different rates and forms of urea fertilizer, the field experiments were carried out at Department of Agricultural Research, Head Quarters, Yezin and Tatkon Agricultural Research Farm, during the monsoon season of 2017. For improving nitrogen use efficiency of Yezin Hybrid Maize-10 variety, four nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 71.27, 118.78 and 166.29 kg N ha^-1) were applied with two forms of nitrogen fertilizer (Briquette urea and Prilled urea). The 4 x 2 factorial arrangements were assigned in the Randomized Complete Block Design with 3 replications in both experimental sites. Mean effects of applied nitrogen rates on seed yield of maize were highly significant in this study. The highest mean values of seed yield resulted with the rate of 166.29 kg N ha^-1 in Yezin (8.14 t ha^-1) and Tatkon (11.69 t ha^-1). Although, there was no significant effect from forms of urea fertilizer on seed yield, mean seed yields of Briquette urea were generally higher than those of Prilled urea at the same level of applied N rate in both sites. Non-significant interaction was observed between rate and form of urea fertilizer factors in the variation of hybrid maize seed yield. The similar trend was also observed in comparison of agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (AE) of hybrid maize. The AE mean values of 166.29 kg N ha^-1 (8.14 and 11.69 t increased seed kg^-1 N applied) were significantly higher than those of other two rates of applied nitrogen in Yezin and Tatkon, respectively. The significant effect was observed from forms of urea fertilizer on nitrogen recovery efficiency (RE) in both trials. The RE means of Briquette gave 208.58 in Yezin and 631.43 in Tatkon.

The purposes of this research are 1) to investigate the pedestrian behavior; 2) to analyze the footpath physical characteristics and opinion of user in Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT) Rangsit center; 3) to present footpath model that encourage to use footpath in RMUTT Rangsit center. The samples used in this research were analyzed by 340 sampling sets from instructor, student and officer in RMUTT Rangsit center. The main questions focused on pedestrian behavior, satisfaction and attitudes of pedestrian towards physical obstacles in sidewalk. The answers were analyzed by statistical methods. The results found that the factor affecting the choice to walk at RMUTT Rangsit center was based on cover way. Factors considered were pedestrian satisfaction of footpath physical characteristics such as parallel footpath with road, shade tree and good surrounding environment.

Dust generated in feedlots from roads, animal activity in pens, and equipment can have detrimental effects on air quality for animals, workers and surrounding communities. Controlling dust in cattle feedlots requires an understand of the key sources and processes needed to better manage dust generation and associated activities. There is growing recognition internationally that dust sources from the agricultural sector may contribute to regional sources with both local and area wide effects on the population, animals and other biota in the environment. Monitoring of fine 10 micron-sized particulate matter (PM₁₀ air particulate matter) over the last decade shows that agricultural activities can contribute to regional dust generation from diffuse sources such as from farms and feedlots. The basic features and processes of manure generation at feedlots and storage with water are dried to become a source of dust but other subtle phenomena associated with interaction of conditions and constituents are being identified. In the Central Plains of the United States antibiotic residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria absorbed on particles have been observed. By understanding the processes of dust generation from feedlots as diffuse sources, it should be possible to identify risks to the population, animals and other biota in the environment. Sustainable production systems rely on keeping soil in place and in good health, efficient use of water, minimizing nutrient loss and maintaining or enhancing biodiversity. This is primarily achieved through management of the pasture base (native, naturalized and sown) in a highly variable and changing climate. This review provides a summary of the significant advances in dust suppression technologies and strategies to suppress dust generated from farms. It also identifies that emerging issues including the dispersion of antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant genes and human-pathogenic bacteria on dust particles from feedlots require managing.

Loose soils from recent cultivation, especially before the crops well cover the surface are highly vulnerable to erosion. The effects of gypsum and rice husk biochar on runoff, loss of soil and nutrients from farmlands in most parts of Kenya are rarely documented. This study aims to discuss effects of surface application of gypsum and rice husk biochar on discharge of sediments and nutrient loss from farmlands in Budalangi, Kenya. Gypsum and rice husk biochar were incorporated into the soil and erosion experiments conducted in the laboratory. Two soil types, loam and silt loam were used in this experiment involving four treatments: control (C), gypsum (G), rice husk biochar (RHB) and a combination of rice husk biochar and gypsum (G+RHB). The effects of G application at a rate of 5 t ha-1 and RHB on runoff volumes, sediment yield and level of nutrient losses were evaluated. The results showed that treatment of G induced a significant reduction in runoff and sediment yield followed by RHB+G and RHB. By plotting the data obtained, it was observed that average runoff decreased by 52.7%, whereas sediment yield decreased by 88% in G treatment. RHB+G treatment showed a reduction in average runoff of 42.3%, whereas sediment yield by 75%. RHB treatment showed 30.7% average reduction in runoff with 71% in sediment yield for loam soil. Similar trends were observed for silt loam soil. Addition of G increased levels of magnesium in both loam and silt loam soils to about five times the initial levels. Total nitrogen loss was minimized by between 15% and 27%, with total phosphorous loss minimized by 50% to 70% between the different treatments. Based on these findings, it can be suggested that amending soil with G and RHB can be effective in controlling soil and nutrient loss from farmlands.

Copper(Cu), arsenic, and cadmium are designated as specific substances of the Agricultural Land Soil Pollution Prevention Act in Japan. It has been known that high Cu concentrations in soil layers reduce rice crop production and therefore agricultural practices such as soil dressing have been applied to minimize damage to crops by Cu pollution. In this study, we investigated the effects of percolation patterns of the plowsole and the subsoil on growth and yield, and Cu uptake of paddy rice. Four stratified paddy field models were constructed to conduct growth tests under the condition that the percolation patterns of plowsole and subsoil were in an open or closed system. These models had a plow layer and an upper plowsole made with 12.5cm-thickness of non-polluted soil dressing (3.7 mg/kg) and underlying 15cm-thickness of a polluted lower plowsole and a subsoil layer whose Cu concentrations were either higher (approximately 250 mg/kg) or lower (approximately 70 mg/kg) than Japanese safety standards (125 mg/kg). During the tests, a constant water-ponding system was adopted, and mid-summer drainage was not done. As a result, Cu concentrations in the rice grains were 5% significantly higher in the open system percolation models regardless of the original amount of Cu in the plowsole and subsoil. On the other hand, we did not recognize the significant difference in growth and yield of rice plants among the models. We concluded that the Cu concentrations in rice plants were affected by percolation patterns of the polluted plowsole and subsoil even though they were covered with non-polluted soil dressing layers.

Nonpoint source pollution of water is an important environmental issue in Japan. In this study, water samples were collected from 12 selected sites and 4 different periods at the upper stretch of the Ayase River Basin located in Saitatma prefecture, and analyzed. The results revealed that the water in the study area was in eutrophic condition and the extent of pollution varied in different ranges depending on the sites’ ambient conditions. Moreover, the growing to harvesting period of crops (mainly mid-September to late-October) showed peak-values for nitrogen/phosphorus levels in water samples. The study recommends that either a strict policy needs to be incorporated or much more care should be taken to control pollution from agricultural runoffs.

Soil health is the capacity of soil to function as a living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans. Healthy soils support the optimal crop yields and also plays a crucial role in protecting water quality and other aspects of environmental stewardship. Meanwhile, the agricultural damage by the earthquake causes serious crop productivity degradation in Japan. Thus, there is a need for research on crop productivity, especially land under the earthquake disaster. In addition, the global demand for renewable energy resources such as Miscanthus spp., mainly the triploid interspecific hybrid Miscanthus × giganteus (M × g), has increased substantially. Because it has the potential to have a high yield, sequester the carbon into the soils, and improve the soil health. Therefore, the objective of this study was to demonstrate soil health index assessment at Miscanthus spp. fields. We investigated (1) to quantify the impact on land use changes including Miscanthus, pasture, and arable land on soil health index. T soil under M × g increases the over-all SHI value to compare another land use. Therefore, it can be concluded that M × g is the better land use management option in the cool climate regions such as Northern Japan.

This study aimed to investigate the adoption of Highland Terrace Paddy Cultivation Technology (HTPCT) in Northern Thailand. HTPCT was promoted by the Rice Department in 2003 in four provinces of Northern Thailand under the Royal Development Project. Previous studies showed increased yields using HTPCT while cost of converting sloping lands into terrace paddy can be recouped in a few years. However, despite the promotion of the technology, adoption had not been widespread. To understand the limitations in the adoption process, quantitative and qualitative research was conducted in 5 villages of Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son provinces located in Doi Ompai Mountain. Results show that overall the respondents had high level of adoption but for two practices, namely, soil fertilizer management and sequential cropping system and livestock production, the respondents had moderate level of adoption. Further, the two production practices were only partially practiced by the farmers. This means that even if the adopters converted their upland rice areas to terrace paddy, they still used some traditional technologies and did not follow all recommended HTPCT practices. The common problems mentioned by the respondents in practicing HTPCT were water and labor shortage, difficulty of land preparation, lack of bio-pesticides and green manure seeds, familiarity with traditional cultivation and their superstition which worked against widespread adoption. Thus, a model in promoting HTPCT in Northern Thailand is proposed. The model takes into consideration the necessary policies, roles of various stakeholders and joint learning among farmers, extension workers and researchers in each step of HTPCT promotion.

With the huge number of mouths to feed, problems and challenges on food safety and sufficiency in terms of the decreasing number of new farmers and increasing number of aging farmers arises in Japan and the Philippines. Young generations do not see farming as a lucrative career. In order to attract the youth to engage into farming, one of the potential solutions is the farmer-trainer, which is a generic term used to address farmers that provides and conducts training to farmers, and other actors in a community. As a farmer-trainer, farmer also serves as an innovator and educator and promoter of indigenous knowledge that are environmentally-friendly and safe. Prior to conducting research on farmer-trainer, this paper initially aims to identify the stakeholders and their respective roles, and to review the development and contribution of farmer first movement that significantly affect the farmers to invent, try, and share the new knowledge and innovations to other farmers and actors in their respective communities since 1987. Upon reviewing related literatures on farmer first and examining farmer-conducted trainings in the Philippines and Japan using case study approach, it became clearer that farmer first movement still plays a very important role in extending agricultural knowledge and technologies that are environmentally-friendly and contributes to rural development. This research highlights the importance of farmer first movement in boosting confidence of farmers to conduct their own trainings and to spread safe, environmentally-friendly agricultural systems especially for rural development through the development of “theme-community”.

In Cambodia, soil capability for rice production in lowlands has been almost documented, but only little is known about the properties of upland soils for growing non-rice crops. Current agricultural land use practices together with severe climatic conditions and population pressure have led to soil degradation, loss of soil fertility which declining crop yield and increase the risk of malnutrition. Therefore, the objectives of this study were 1) to compare the soil properties of farmlands applied organic and inorganic fertilizers, 2) to measure the organic fertilizer dependence in Samraong and Baray Communes. The questionnaire survey was conducted and farmer representatives were interviewed. Soil samples were collected from 20 different locations. Soil samples were analyzed for its pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter, total nitrogen (T-N), total phosphorus (T-P), calcium (Ca²⁺), potassium (K⁺), sodium (Na⁺), water content, and permeability, and the Pearson coefficient correlation was used for the statistical analysis. Organic fertilizer dependence was classified into 3 categories not dependent, moderately dependent and highly dependent, 40.0%, 30.0%, and 30.0%, respectively. The results of statistical analysis showed that in Samraong Commune there was no trend detected, despite in Baray Commune there was positive trend detected between organic fertilizer dependence and soil properties.

Harvesting surface runoff water from rainfall rather than allowing these waters to run into the streams and rivers and eventually lost into sea is attaining popularity due to the increasing demand for scarce water resources. In semi-arid countries such as Afghanistan crops in need regular irrigation due to low and unequally divided annual rainfall throughout the growing season. Therefore, this study aimed to develop water harvesting technique with clayey dressing application as a water harvesting strategy for surface runoff inducement to reduce water shortage problems in Qargha Reservoir Watershed of Paghman District, Afghanistan. The results of laboratory and field experiments showed that, application of clayey dressing on the soil surface was highly effective in surface runoff inducement. The application of clayey dressing with silty clay loam and clay loam textures in the laboratory and in the field and at various concentrations increased surface runoff considerably. The plug radius of both silty clay loam dressing with 37.16% or lower concentration and clay loam dressing with 46.96% or lower concentration can effectively clog pores and seal soil surface. Therefore, development of proper water harvesting strategies such as clayey dressing application is indispensable to achieve sustainable agriculture.

Global warming situation has affected many life in the world; especially its effects on agricultural industry. Greenhouse was one of many tools which was brought to help farmers in growing many plants and flowers in uncontrollable environments for long time. This work was aimed to build a low-cost controlled temperature greenhouse prototype. The greenhouse prototype was studied for temperature distributions inside the prototype to sow marigold seedlings. A water evaporative cooling system was chosen to remove heat from the greenhouse, a low-cost temperature control set was fabricated to help controlling air flow and temperature inside the greenhouse. A cooling pad system was chosen as the evaporative cooling system in this work. The greenhouse frame was built locally as a length of 2.1 m., a width of 1.8 m. and a height of 3.1 m. and was covered with clear UV reducing plastic. The cooling pad system consisted of 25-watts ventilating fans with a length of 30 cm, a width of 30 cm, a height of 16 cm and one 60-watt water pump. The low-cost temperature control set was connected with the cooling pad system to turn on and off the fan of the system automatically and to remove the humid air out of the greenhouse. Six different seedling materials; pure peat moss, pure bagasse, bagasse mixed with soil at 1:1 and at 1:0.5 by weight, bagasse mixed with soil and rice-straw biochar at 1:1:0.5 and at 1:0.5:0.5 by weight, were also investigated in the greenhouse. The experimental results showed that using one cooling pad could reduce inside temperature with an average temperature different of 2.5 Celsius while using three cooling pads could reduce inside temperature with an average temperature different of 5 Celsius. The air circulation system also affected the temperature distribution inside the greenhouse and could control the temperature inside the prototype. The seedling material which was prepared from bagasse mixed with soil; at a mixing ratio of 1:0.5 by weight, allowed marigold seedling to grow the most in the same experiment period.

Construction work and materials depend mostly on earth resources. A sustainable recycling-oriented society becomes possible only when technologies for recycling as well as for energy conservation in construction are disseminated and when untapped natural resources are effectively utilized. In this paper, applicability of natural fibers for the soil stabilization technique was examined. Especially, this paper focuses on bamboo fiber extracted by steam explosion, which technique is capable to produce thin and flexible fibers from raw bamboo. In order to understanding the mechanical properties of soil mixed with bamboo fiber produced by steam explosion, unconfined compression tests were conducted. As a result of unconfined compression tests, following findings are obtained. (1) The addition of bamboo fiber to cohesive soil helps to increase the unconfined compression strength of the soil. Moreover, the addition of bamboo fiber to soil helps to increase the toughness of the soil. (2) An increase in the mix ratio of bamboo fiber results in a change in the failure mode of test specimens. In addition, at a mix ratio by weight of 0.4% or higher, specimens did not occur shear failure, but instead broke such as to become barrel-shaped. (3) The deformation coefficient of the soil mixed with bamboo fiber is similar to the deformation coefficient of cohesive soil containing no bamboo fiber. The addition of bamboo fiber does not affect deformation properties.

Cambodia, among other nations in South East Asia, is a developing country that relies on its agricultural sector. More than 70% of the population farms rice is a staple crop and vegetables as a secondary crop for domestic demand and consumption. In 2013, Cambodia produced only 40-50% of the domestic demand for vegetables and the shortage was filled by imported vegetables from neighboring countries including Vietnam and Thailand. The shortage is caused by a number of factors including that vegetables are cultivated in small quantities and farmers lack funds to support improvements in crop cultivation that are necessary to address climate change, poor irrigation systems, disease outbreaks, and particularly crop destruction by pests. For instance, in 2016 crops in some provinces of Cambodia were damaged by Spodpter spp. Other insects also cause crop destruction which prompts farmers to change chemical pesticides to control additional pests. Using chemical methods to control the variety of pests that destroy Cambodian crops is not a viable long-term solution because it affects the health of both producers and consumers, the environment, and the microorganisms that are useful for cultivating high quality crops. The net-house is an installation structure using high quality mosquito netting that tolerates weather. It is suitable for growing vegetables and other crops because it creates a barrier between pests and crops to prevent damage. Using a net-house is an effective way to reduce pesticide use in vegetable production. It is also reported that net-houses have other benefits such as preventing weeds, reducing soil moisture loss, depleting sunlight, increasing yields and providing safe food. This research study has two aims (1) to assess the effects of different shapes of net-houses on growth and yield of Chinese mustard, and (2) to study the economic efficiency of growing Chinese mustard in differently designed net-houses. Experiments were conducted in triplicate using Randomized Complete Block Design. Treatments included standard net-house, covered-ridge net-house and open field as a control. Analysis revealed that using net houses increased the yield and economic efficiency of growing Chinese mustard and that the degree of benefit was affected by the design of the net house. Based on the results, recommendations are made about the most suitable method for growing high quality, pesticide-free Chinese mustard.

Agriculture sector is under pressure in producing more foods in order to feed the growing population. Vegetable production is also the important part to solve the problem in the agricultural market. Nowadays, organic productions are in demand in order to promote health awareness and food safety. Vermicompost extract is liquid biofertilizers which able to boot up plant nutrients and plant productions. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of vermicompost extract on germination of green Romaine (Lactuca sativa L. var. Jericho) and green Batavia (Lactuca sativa L.var. Concept) and to identify the treatment which is suitable to enhance seed germination. The experiment was arranged in a Complete Randomized Design with 3 replications in the petri dish. The concentration of vermicomposting extract was diluted to (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) to irrigate seeds. Seed germination, root length, shoot length, seed vigor index, fresh weight, and dry weight were measured after 13 days of seed germination. The seed germination percentage of green Romaine and Batavia lettuce were significantly (p<0.05) increased up to (86-95%) and (87-95%) when irrigated with 100% vermicomposting extract as compared to control. In conclusion, using 100% vermicomposting extract as the nutrient source could enhance seedling growth.

Though land consolidation for paddy field areas has contributed to an increase in food supplies and an improvement in convenience, it has changed the physical structures and deteriorated paddy field ecosystems throughout Japan. Eco-friendly land consolidation in paddy field areas has been conducted based on the implication of ecosystem deterioration. Ecological engineering techniques, such as the placement of fish ladders between paddy fields and irrigation canals, were developed and applied to actual paddy fields to conserve fish. However, the techniques were not evaluated sufficiently. Therefore, I reviewed status and issues of ecological engineering techniques for conserving fish, which are often reported in Japan. This review showed the installation of fish ladders between paddy fields and drainage canals, as well as the construction of artificial ponds and wetlands, have contributed to providing fish with spawning and nursery areas in the paddy fields areas of Japan. On the other hand, the effects of ecological engineering techniques in canals, such as the construction of concrete block habitats, are not clear, although the techniques have already been applied to actual paddy field areas. Studies evaluating the effects of these techniques, which were applied for canals especially, should be conducted, and researchers and engineers should elucidate the most suitable structures, locations, scales and maintenance techniques for these constructions to best conserve fish in paddy field areas.

Eighty eight Sein Ta Lone mango individuals from five Sein Ta Lone orchards (populations), namely, Mya Na De, Htone Bo, Se Bauk, Taik Kyi, and Nam Latt, and 100 years old plant as control, and a landrace of Yin Kwe individual, a total of 89 individuals, were genotyped using 38 polymorphic markers showed 147 alleles with an average of 3.87 alleles per locus. Polymorphic information content varied from 0.02 to 0.83 and averaged of 0.37.Twenty four loci were Sein Ta Lone unique markers. Cluster analysis depicted those SP4 plant individuals from Se Bauk stand as an out-group from the rest of Sein Ta Lone individuals which scattered independently from their locations. Principal coordinate analysis confirmed grouping of Sein Ta Lone individuals closely to control Sein Ta Lone (100 years old) rather than Yin Kwe variety, and the first three principal coordinates explained 62.05% of total variation. Analysis of molecular variance explained 75% of genetic variation occurred within populations and 25% among populations. The fixation index (Fst) 0.63, pointed the high level of genetic differentiation among populations, it might be due to Yin Kwe control rather than five Sein Ta Lone populations. Limited gene flow (Nm = 0.31) occurred among the populations. Almost the same value (0.32 to 0.35) of the expected heterozygosity and the observed heterozgosity (0.16) were observed in Sein Ta Lone populations. The number of effective alleles varied from 1.88 to 2.13, Shannon Index ranged from 0.54 to 0.61, and same positive fixation index of (0.4), same value of the percentage of polymorphic loci (52.63%). Pairwise Nei genetic identity showed higher value to Sein Ta Lone control (100 years old), highest among five populations ranged from 0.916 to 0.957.

The main objective of this study is to clarify the characteristics of farm management based on the indicators of agricultural production. A categorical principal component analysis was applied to categorize and clarify the effectiveness of their farm management. The research site was Samroung Commune, Prey Chhor District, Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia. The results of the analysis are summarized as follows. 1) Even in the same commune, the differences were found among villages when the features were grasped from the indicators of agricultural production of each village. 2) Based on the categorical principal component analysis results, farm management was classified and clarified based on the characteristics of each category. According to the results of the analysis, it was indicated that it is necessary to classify agricultural production information of the target area in order to support effectively with full use of the abilities of support organizations.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the variation in the copper (Cu) accumulation in kale and two different Thai soil series (Korat and Nampong soil series) treated with swine manure, compost and vermicompost. Completely randomized design (CRD) experiment was conducted on the soil samples collected from Korat and Nampong soil series. Same amount of treatments namely swine manure, compost and vermicompost of 18.75 t/ha were applied in each experimental unit and harvested after 45 days. Results showed that the accumulation of Cu in roots and shoots were found higher in Nampong soil series than Korat soil series. The Cu accumulation in roots and shoots was highest when treated with swine manure. The Cu content in roots and shoots were 6.62 and 3.69 mgkg^-1 respectively. However, there was no significant difference in the Cu content when treated with compost and vermicompost. The Cu accumulation in Korat soil series was found higher than Nampong soil series at 6.29 and 6.19 mgkg^-1 respectively when treated with swine manure. However, accumulation of Cu in Kale and soil depend on difference in soil texture and speciation of Cu in swine manure, compost and vermicompost. This is because Korat soil contains clay mineral which absorbs Cu whereas Nampong soil series is more of sandy which absorbs less Cu.