Showing results for: cotton farming Articles
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Impact of Bt cotton on farmer livelihoods in South Africa
The economic benefits of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in developing countries have been well documented, but little research has been undertaken to date on the impacts of GM adoption on household livelihoods. The research reported here aimed to assess the livelihood impacts of the adoption of Bt cotton in South Africa., and involved 100 interviews of resource-poor farmers growing Bt cotton in ...
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Perceptions and practices of farmers towards the salinity problem: the case of Harran Plain, Turkey
The Harran region, located in the South-eastern part of Turkey, is facing an increasing salinity problem due to excessive and inefficient irrigation practices. In this paper, we survey 619 cotton producers in the region and analyse their perceptions and practices towards soil salinity. The survey results indicate that formal education and training are the central factors that determine the ...
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New tools and farmer training could revolutionize pesticide management in West Africa
Field schools that train farmers in alternative methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of toxic pesticides by a community of cotton growers in Mali, according to a new FAO study published today by the London-based Royal Society. The study was conducted in two areas - the Bla region of southern Mali, where FAO established a field school program in 2003, and a second ...
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Rural transformation in Turkey 19802004: case studies from three regions
This paper focuses on the economic dimension of rural transformation (or structural transformation) in Turkey. It investigates the development of labour demand and supply in rural areas over the past two decades. For that purpose, three longitudinal case studies were conducted in three different regions of Turkey. This paper concludes that the lack of substantial labour transfer from agricultural ...
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Indian government still ‘flip flopping’ on GM trials
In August, India’s ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stopped its legislators from accepting Monsanto sponsorship to attend a farm exhibition in the US state of Iowa. On the surface this might seem strange: attending the Farm Progress Show should be innocuous, as Monsanto routinely takes farmers, industry experts, media and MPs from various countries to visit the show and ...
By SciDev.Net
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Farmers banded together to tackle early price and income problems
Few weeks ago in this column we looked at the earliest agricultural policies that were put in place by the European settlers and their descendants in what is now the United States. For the most part, though not exclusively, the policies can best be described as developmental policies because they 1) increase the supply of inputs, 2) decrease the cost of inputs, or 3) improve the quality of ...
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Optimizing Irrigation Efficiency with Smart Soil Sensor Systems
In the face of growing water scarcity and the pressing need for sustainable agricultural practices, optimizing irrigation efficiency has become a paramount concern for farmers worldwide. Traditionally, irrigation scheduling has relied on estimates and fixed schedules, often leading to overwatering or underwatering, resulting in wasted water, nutrient leaching, and reduced crop yields. The advent ...
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Bt-cotton boosts the gross margin of small-scale cotton producers in South Africa
This paper explores some of the issues involved in the Genetic Modification (GM) debate by focusing on one crop that has been modified for pest resistance, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), and commercially released to small-scale farmers in the Makhathini Flats, KwaZulu Natal, the Republic of South Africa. This was the first commercial release of a GM variety (Bt-cotton) in Sub-Saharan Africa, and ...
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The problems with the arguments against GM crops
New evidence shows that arguments against GM crops are unfounded, says Margaret Karembu. The year 2013 marked the 18th consecutive year of commercial cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or now commonly referred to as biotech crops. And in just under two decades, the volume of land on which biotech crops are grown has increased from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 — the first ...
By SciDev.Net
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GM cotton and its possible contributions to environmental sustainability and rural development in Turkey
Cotton farming in Turkey faces economic, environmental and socioeconomic challenges. Organic cotton has been a successful response that greatly benefited low-input farmers; but, worldwide, it will eventually become a mature niche market with limited growth potential. Since no Genetically Modified (GM) varieties have been approved so far in Turkey, we want to find out how the potential adoption of ...
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Chetna Organic Agriculture Producer Company – India - Case Study
Chetna Organic Agriculture Producer Company was established with the primary aim of enhancing the livelihood of tribal smallholder farmers dependent on rain-fed agriculture through making their farming systems more profitable and sustainable. Chetna promotes organic cotton farming and alongside undertakes participative research on the best package of practice depending on the agro-climatic ...
By SourceTrace
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How technology helps trace cotton from farm to consumer?
Cotton in numbers and why they matter Every year 27 million tons of cotton is produced globally and it is also the most often used natural fibre according to Statista. The WWF reports cotton production employs almost 7% of all labour in developing countries and provides income for over 250 million people worldwide. They also raise the concerns of the industry’s environmentally ...
By Farmsio Ltd.
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Farming Cotton In A Water-Scarce World
One of the least discussed aspects of the climate emergency is the water crisis, but as the realities of water stress and scarcity around the world really start to bite, there can be no doubt that it will soon become a hot topic of conversation, hitting headlines with increasing regularity as time goes on. Because water underpins every aspect of society in the 21st century, it is immediately ...
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Farmers fine-tune research, spread their own innovations
Smallholder farmers can aid the uptake of research fruits and drive grassroots innovations. Joel Winston reports. The 1960s' Green Revolution demonstrated how technological innovations can transform agriculture. High-yielding crop strains, irrigation, fertilisers and pesticides were brought into developing countries, including India and the Philippines, increasing yields by more than 250 per ...
By SciDev.Net
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Re-evaluating the rationale for irrigation technology adoption through an integrated trade-off analysis: case study of a cotton farming system in Australia
While the prevailing rationale for new irrigation technology adoption is improved water use efficiency, this study evaluated trade-offs between water savings, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and economic gain associated with the conversion of a furrow irrigation system to a sprinkler irrigation (lateral-move) system on a cotton farm in eastern Australia. Trade-offs were evident when conversion ...
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Agricultural biotechnology in India: ethics, business and politics
This paper deals with the case of Bt cotton in Gujarat, India, as an illustration of how public policy chickens out when large-scale violation of ethical and scientific norms takes place with positive business outcomes. Entrepreneurial spirit has created a unique case of farmer participatory research whereon farm crosses are being made between Bt cotton varieties and other released varieties. New ...
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The complex nature of GMOs calls for a new conversation
An honest discussion of genetically modified organisms must move beyond narrow concepts of human health to the wider social and environmental impacts of engineered crops. The GMO debate is one from which I’ve kept a purposeful distance. For one thing, it’s an issue that has already garnered more than its fair share of attention. For another, when you consider that many domesticated ...
By Ensia
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