Assessing the performance of a nucleus estate and smallholder scheme for oil palm production in West Sumatra: a stochastic frontier analysis

In this paper, we study the performance of smallholders in a nucleus estate and smallholder (NES) scheme in oil palm production schemein West Sumatra by measuring their technical efficiency using a stochastic frontier production function. Our results indicate a mean technical efficiency of 66%, which is below what we would have expected given the uniformity of the climate, soils and plantation construction among the sample farmers. The use of progressive farmers as a means of disseminating extension advice does not appear to have been successful, and more rigorous farmer selection procedures need to be put in place for similar schemes and for general agricultural extension in future. No clear relationship was established between technical efficiency and the use of female labour, suggesting there is no need to target extension services specifically at female labourers in the household. Finally, education was found to have an unexpectedly negative impact on technical efficiency, indicating that farmers with primary education may be more important than those with secondary and tertiary education as targets of development schemes and extension programs entailing non-formal education. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Economic incentives for farmers in the Philippine uplands to adopt hedgerow intercropping

Land degradation in the Philippine uplands is severe and widespread. Most upland areas are steep, and intense rainfall on soils disturbed by intensive agriculture can produce high rates of soil loss. This has serious implications for the economic welfare of a growing upland population with few feasible livelihood alternatives. Hedgerow intercropping can greatly reduce soil loss from annual cropping systems and has been considered an appropriate technology for soil conservation research and extension in the Philippine uplands. However; adoption of hedgerow intercropping has been sporadic and transient, rarely continuing once external support has been withdrawn. The objective of this paper is to investigate the economic incentives for farmers in the Philippine uplands to adopt hedgerow intercropping relative to traditional open-field maize farming. Cost-benefit analysis is used to compare the economic viability of hedgerow intercropping, as it has been promoted to upland farmers, with the viability of traditional methods of open-field farming. The APSIM and SCUAF models were used to predict the effect of soil erosion on maize yields from open-field farming and hedgerow intercropping. The results indicate that there have been strong economic incentives for farmers with limited planning horizons to reject hedgerow intercropping because the benefits of sustained yields are not realized rapidly enough to compensate for high establishment costs. Alternative forms of hedgerow intercropping such as natural vegetation and grass strips reduce establishment and maintenance costs and are therefore more economically attractive to farmers than hedgerow intercropping with shrub legumes. The long-term economic viability of hedgerow intercropping depends on the economic setting and the potential for hedgerow intercropping to sustain maize production relative to traditional open-field farming. (C) 1998 Academic Press.

Dysregulated hematopoiesis and a progressive neurological disorder induced by expression of an activated form of the human common beta chain in transgenic mice

Previously we described activating mutations of h beta(c), the common signaling subunit of the receptors for the hematopoietic and inflammatory cytokines, GM-CSF, IL-3, and IL-5. The activated mutant, h beta(c)FI Delta, is able to confer growth factor-independent proliferation on the murine myeloid cell line FDC-P1, and on primary committed myeloid progenitors. We have used this activating mutation to study the effects of chronic cytokine receptor stimulation. Transgenic mice were produced carrying the h beta(c)FI Delta cDNA linked to the constitutive promoter derived from the phosphoglycerate kinase gene, PGK-1. Transgene expression was demonstrated in several tissues and functional activity of the mutant receptor was confirmed in hematopoietic tissues by the presence of granulocyte macrophage and macrophage colony-forming cells (CFU-GM and CFU-M) in the absence of added cytokines. All transgenic mice display a myeloproliferative disorder characterized by splenomegaly, erythrocytosis, and granulocytic and megakaryocytic hyperplasia. This disorder resembles the human disease polycythemia vera, suggesting that activating mutations in h beta(c) may play a role in the pathogenesis of this myeloproliferative disorder. In addition, these transgenic mice develop a sporadic, progressive neurological disease and display bilateral, symmetrical foci of necrosis in the white matter of brain stem associated with an accumulation of macrophages. Thus, chronic h beta(c) activation has the potential to contribute to pathological events in the central nervous system.

Progressive dysgraphia in a case of posterior cortical atrophy

Dysgraphia (agraphia) is a common feature of posterior cortical atrophy (PCA). However, detailed analyses of these spelling and writing impairments are infrequently conducted. LM is a 59-year-old woman with dysgraphia associated with PCA. She presented with a two-year history of decline in her writing and dressmaking skills. A 3D T-1-weighted MRI scan confirmed selective bi-parietal atrophy, with relative sparing of the hippocampi and other cortical regions. Analyses of LM's preserved and impaired spelling abilities indicated mild physical letter distortions and a significant spelling deficit characterised by letter substitutions, insertions, omissions, and transpositions that was systematically sensitive to word length while insensitive to real word versus nonword category, word frequency, regularity, imagery, grammatical class and ambiguity. Our findings suggest a primary graphemic buffer disorder underlies LM's spelling errors, possibly originating from disruption to the operation of a fronto-parietal network implicated in verbal working memory.

Willingness of Sri Lankan farmers to pay for a scheme to conserve elephants: An empirical analysis

This paper explores the feasibility of adopting an integrated economic approach to raise farmers’ tolerance of the presence of elephants on their farming lands. Responses to this approach were sought from a sample of farmers in the areas affected by human elephant conflict in the northwestern province of Sri Lanka. Results from a contingent valuation survey of their willingness to pay for a scheme to conserve elephants are also reported. Two separate logit regression analyses were undertaken to examine the factors that influence the farmers’ responses for the payment principle question and their opinions on the integrated economic approach. Although found that the majority of the respondents expressed their willingness to pay for the proposed scheme and supported for the implementation of the integrated approach, we have insufficient data yet to determine if their support and financial contribution would be sufficient to set up this programme and also to predict its economic viability. Nevertheless, the overall finding of this study provides an improved economic assessment of the farmers’ attitudes towards the wild elephant in Sri Lanka. At the same time the study shows that, contrary to commonly held assumptions, farmers in this developing country, do support wildlife conservation.

Wildlife damage, insurance/compensation for farmers and conservation: Sri Lankan elephants as a case

The interference with agriculture has been recognised as the main cause for the current conflict between farmers and wild elephants in Sri Lanka, as elsewhere in the Asian elephant range. Thus compensating farmers for the damages caused by elephants is essential, if this endangered species is to survive in the long run. This paper explores the practicality of establishing an improved publicly funded insurance/compensation scheme to recompense farmers for the elephant damages. It does so by analysing results from two contingent valuation surveys undertaken in Sri Lanka. We find that possible public support of farmers plus urban dwellers significantly exceeds the financial requirement of the insurance scheme proposed in this study for perpetuity. The article also shows that it is often inappropriate from an economic viewpoint to analyse crop insurance as if it only involves the insurance of a private good because important positive externalities can arise from ‘crop’ damages by wildlife, e.g. elephants. The use of agricultural land by some species is essential for their long-term survival and this is often positively valued by the community as a whole.

Crocodile farms and management of saltwater crocodiles in Northern Territory: Results of a survey of NT crocodile farmers plus analysis of secondary information

After outlining some relevant background information about the NT crocodile farming industry and explaining the purpose of our survey of NT crocodile farmers conducted in the first half of 2005, this paper reports the results of the survey. The information received from the survey is supplemented by secondary data and by information from secondary sources. This report covers the location of respondents; the size of crocodile farms; farmers’ stated knowledge of and attitudes towards the NT Crocodile Management Plan; the involvement of farms in the harvesting of crocodile eggs and the costs involved; views of crocodile farmers about whether the NT Crocodile Management Plan encourages landholders to conserve crocodiles and their perceptions of the benefits to landholders; predicted production trends and trends in the number of farms operating in NT; economic characteristics of crocodile farms producing in NT including the economic advantages and disadvantages of crocodile farming in NT. Concluding comments provide, amongst other things, an overview of the structure of the crocodile farming industry in the NT gleaned from a consideration of data available from the NT Government’s Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development.

Why farmers continue to use pesticides despite environmental, health and sustainability costs

Use of chemical inputs such as pesticides has increased agricultural production and productivity. However, negative externalities from such use have increased too. These externalities include damage to agricultural land, fisheries, fauna and flora. Another major externality is the unintentional destruction of beneficial predators of pests thereby increasing the virulence of many species of agricultural pests. Furthermore, increased mortality and morbidity of humans due to exposure to pesticides are recorded especially in developing countries. The costs from these externalities are large and affect farmers' returns. However, despite these high costs, farmers continue to use pesticides and in most countries in increasing quantities. In this paper, we examine this paradox and show why farmers continue to use pesticides despite the increasing costs. We also emphasize 'lock-in' aspects of pesticide use. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Submandibular gland aplasia and progressive dental caries: A case report

When severe caries occurs in mandibular permanent incisor teeth, the clinician should consider the possibility of associated submandibular gland aplasia or salivary hypofunction. Early diagnosis of submandibular gland disease is essential, as operative problems involving restoration of mandibular incisor teeth are considerable. Furthermore, progressive severe dental caries can present a dilemma for the clinician in affected individuals, despite intensive preventive and restorative therapy. A case report describing severe progressive dental caries and enamel demineralization of the permanent mandibular incisor teeth in a young girl is presented. Further investigation revealed absence of functional bilateral submandibular salivary glands contributing to the rapid breakdown of the teeth despite intensive preventive measures.

Progressive Age-Related Changes Similar to Age-Related Macular Degeneration in a Transgenic Mouse Model

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the major cause of blindness in the developed world. its pathomechanism is unknown and its late onset, complex genetics and strong environmental components have all hampered investigations. Here we demonstrate the development of an animal model for AMD that reproduces features associated with geographic atrophy, a transgenic mouse line (mcd/mcd) expressing a mutated form of cathepsin D that is enzymatically inactive thus impairing processing of phagocytosed photoreceptor outer segments in the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Pigmentary changes indicating RPE cell atrophy and a decreased response to flash electroretinograms were observed in 11- to 12-month-old mcd/mcd mice. Histological studies showed RPE cell proliferation, photoreceptor degeneration, shortening of photoreceptor outer segments, and accumulation of immunoreactive photoreceptor breakdown products in the RPE cells. An accelerated photoreceptor cell death was detected in 12-month-old mcd/mcd mice. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated presence of basal laminar and linear deposits that are considered to be the hallmarks of AMD. Small hard drusen associated with human age-related maculopathy were absent in the mcd/mcd mouse model at the ages analyzed. in summary, this model presents several features of AMD, thus providing a valuable tool for investigating the underlying biological processes and pathomechanism of AMD.