Farm business survey 2008/09: horticulture Production in England

The report gives an overview of the horticultural industry in the United Kingdom, including a snapshot of the different sectors of production, together with other information of interest about the business of horticulture. The data includes the economic performance of horticultural businesses in Ebgland during 2008/09.

Farm business survey 2009/10: horticulture production in England

Thereport gives an overview of the horticultural industry in the United Kingdom, including a snapshot of the different sectors of production, together with other information of interest about the business of horticulture. The data includes the economic perforamnce of horticulture businesses in England during 2009/10

Farm business survey 2008/09: poultry production in England

The report provides a commentary on the UK poultry industry focusing on its structure, development and contribution to the UK agricultural economy. It also includes data on the economic performance of poultry businesses in England during 2008/09.

Farm business survey 2009/10: poultry production in England

A commentary on the UK poultry industry focusing on its structure, trends and development. Analysis includes the economic performance of poultry businesses in England during 2009/10.

Achieving production and conservation simultaneously in tropicalagricultural landscapes

Increasing population size and demand for food in the developing world is driving the intensification ofagriculture, often threatening the biodiversity within the farmland itself and in the surrounding land-scape. This paper quantifies bird and tree species richness, tree carbon and farmer’s gross income, andinteractions between these four variables, across an agricultural gradient in central Uganda. We showedthat higher cultivation intensities in farmed landscapes resulted in increased income but also a declinein species richness of birds and trees, and reductions in tree carbon storage. These declines were particu-larly marked with a shift from high intensity smallholder mixed cropping to plantation style agriculture.This was especially evident for birds where significant declines only occurred in plantations. Small scalefarming will likely continue to be a key source of cash income for the rural populations, and ensuring‘sustained agricultural growth’ within such systems while minimising negative impacts on biodiversityand other key ecosystem services will be a major future challenge.

Outsourcing and benchmarking in a rural public hospital : does economic theory provide the complete answer?

INTRODUCTION: The ideology and pronouncements of the Australian Government in introducing 'competitive neutrality' to the public sector has improved efficiency and resource usage. In the health sector, the Human Services Department directed that non-clinical and clinical areas be market tested through benchmarking services against the private sector, with the possibility of outsourcing. These services included car parking, computing, laundry, engineering, cleaning, catering, medical imaging (radiology), pathology, pharmacy, allied health and general practice. Managers, when they choose between outsourcing, and internal servicing and production, would thus ideally base their decision on economic principles. Williamson's transaction cost theory studies the governance mechanisms that can be used to achieve economic efficiency and proposes that the optimal organisation structure is that which minimises transaction costs or the costs of exchange. Williamson proposes that four variables will affect such costs, namely: (i) frequency of exchange; (ii) asset specificity; (iii) environmental uncertainty; and (iv) threat of opportunism. This paper provides evidence from a rural public hospital and examines whether Williamson's transaction cost theory is applicable. d into an analysis that relies solely on transaction

Are rural health professionals also social entrepreneurs?

Social entrepreneurs formally or informally generate community associations and networking that produces social outcomes. Social entrepreneurship is a relatively new and poorly understood concept. Policy promotes generating community activity, particularly in rural areas, for health and social benefits and ‘community resilience’. Rural health professionals might be well placed to generate community activity due to their status and networks. This exploratory study, conducted in rural Tasmania and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland considered whether rural health professionals act as social entrepreneurs. We investigated activities generated and processes of production. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted with general practitioners, community nurses, primary healthcare managers and allied health professionals living and working rurally. Interviewees were self-selecting responders to an invitation for rural health professionals who were ‘formally or informally generating community associations or networking that produced social outcomes’. We found that rural health professionals initiated many community activities with social outcomes, most related to health. Their identification of opportunities related to knowledge of health needs and examples of initiatives seen elsewhere. Health professionals described ready access to useful people and financial resources. In building activities, health professionals could simultaneously utilise skills and knowledge from professional, community member and personal dimensions. Outcomes included social and health benefits, personal ‘buzz’ and community capacity. Health professionals' actions could be described as social entrepreneurship: identifying opportunities, utilising resources and making ‘deals’. They also align with community development. Health professionals use contextual knowledge to envisage and grow activities, indicating that, as social entrepreneurs, they do not explicitly choose a social mission, rather they act within their known world-view. Policymakers could consider ways to engage rural health professionals as social entrepreneurs, in helping to produce resilient communities.

Wool industry : a decade of turbulence : an examination of some of the factors contributing to the crisis within Australia's wool industry, and the resulting economic, social and demographic effects on a small isolated rural community

A central issue of this thesis has been an examination of the effects that the current wool crisis has had on the Balmoral district, an area almost solely devoted to the production of wool and wool sheep. Examines the methods being utilised to try to alleviate some of these effects.

Unintentional needlestick injuries in livestock production : a case series and review

Livestock producers and their employees sometimes experience unintentional needlestick injury (NSI) while vaccinating or injecting medications into animals. There is little published regarding the medical complications that can develop from this occupational exposure. The objectives of this study were to (1) perform a retrospective review of animal-related NSIs treated at a tertiary medical center of a rural state; and (2) review the risks of NSI and measures to decrease their occurrence. Medical records of patients with NSI related to animal injection were identified from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics database from 2002 to 2008 and reviewed. Nine patients received medical care for NSI that occurred while vaccinating farm animals. Most common NSI site was the nondominant hand and most occurred while attempting to inject the animal. Soft tissue infection was common and all nine received oral and/or intravenous antibiotics. Two thirds required hospital admission. Three required surgery and one had a bedside incision and drainage procedure. One patient had a serious inflammatory reaction with necrosis in the leg due to the oil adjuvant in the animal vaccine. Another case had a probable mycetoma with osteomyelitis and soft tissue infection due to the bacteria Streptomyces, which is a NSI complication not previously reported. Although medical complications from farm-related NSIs do not appear to be common, this case series illustrates how these injuries can be debilitating, costly, and lead to loss of work time and productivity. Producers and employees who inject livestock need to be aware of the risks and utilize measures to decrease unintentional NSI.

Application of GIS-based computer modelling to planning for adaption to climate change in rural areas

A GIS-based computer modelling methodology was developed and applied to identify climate change adaptation issues arising in regional agricultural production systems (including forestry). Agricultural production in Australia is very susceptible to the adverse impacts of climate change due to projected shifts in rainfall and temperature. The methodology integrates land suitability analysis with uncertainty analysis and spatial (regional) optimisation to determine optimal agricultural land use at a regional scale for current and possible future climatic conditions. The approach can be used to recognise regions under threat of productivity decline, identify alternative cropping systems that may be better adapted to likely future conditions, and investigate implementation actions to improve the sub-optimal situations created by climate change. An example of how the methodology may be used is outlined through a case study involving the South West Region of Victoria, Australia. The case study provides information on the tools available to support the formulation of a regional adaptation strategy.

The role of rice in poverty dynamics in rural Vietnam: 2002–2008

Using the Vietnamese Household Living Standards Surveys of 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008, this paper investigates the role of rice in poverty dynamics in the recent context of Vietnam. We find that sizeable changes in rice prices in the 2000s, which were driven largely by the country's integration into the world markets, have not helped rural households escape poverty, even for households with large-scale rice production. Our results also document that changes in rice output and productivity did not help mitigate poverty either. The paper provides evidence to explain why a substantial exogenous increase in the rice prices between 2006 and 2008 did not help rural households to move out of poverty, while similar changes did help in the 1990s.

Alternativas ao Crédito Rural Tradicional

The subject of the current work was to analyze the subject of the adequacy of Brazilian's agricultural activity financing model, as an alternative for the traditional agriculture credit. The main basis for this research is the evidence that the official resources for new loans, wherein it is analyzed a period within 30 years, had their highest peak in the final 70's decade and beginning of the80¿s had experimented a consistent trajectory of decline, returning to the initial levels of the final decades of the 60¿s. In parallel with the situation above, it is evidenced the increase of the Brazilian agriculture production by the official data, mainly grain plowing, followed by diverse problems like high levels of default in and continuously debt roll over, indicating depauperation from the traditional model which was institutionalized in 1965, under the Law n. 4829. A survey of official data regarding those loans, their default and field research with banks that deal with agriculture loans, from a broad Bibliographical research, ,was made in order to verify their managing strategy and willingness to use new financing mechanisms. The main proposed alternatives were: a) Cédula de Produto Rural (Rural Product Bill) b) Cédula de Produto Rural, financial modality c) Bolsa de Mercadorias e de Futuro¿s proposal d) Agricultural Receivable on Security e) Model based on Local Credit Agencies The best instrument for leveling resources were the first four alternatives, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of each proposal. The creation of a system based on local branches for credit had not shown to be viable as for the difficulties for implementation and functioning. The work also points out a need to review the segmentation concerning rural clients. The traditional format for segmentation distinguishes 2 groups of producers: commercial agriculture and familiar agriculture. A third group is in eminence, which is the survival agriculture, with needs and distinct characteristics, indicating that the requirements for their needs must not have to be made by credit forms, but as aid programs, education and social welfare.

Organização de produtores rurais para a gestão da cadeia produtiva da mandioca no nordeste paraense: um estudo de caso na Associação de Desenvolvimento Comunitário e Rural Bom Jesus

A mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) é uma planta cultivada predominantemente para a subsistência dos trabalhadores rurais sendo uma das principais fontes de carboidratos disponíveis aos estratos sociais de baixa renda e tem importante participação na geração de emprego e renda. O Estado do Pará destaca-se pelo volume de produção de mandioca, mas o cultivo ainda está voltado essencialmente para a subsistência sendo pouco explorado como matéria prima em derivados industriais e insumo para enfrentar problemas globais como a fome, a degradação ambiental e a produção de energia, gerando emprego e renda para comunidades locais e rurais. Este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar como está se desenvolvendo a organização de produtores rurais de mandioca da Associação de Desenvolvimento Comunitário e Rural Bom Jesus, através do modelo de gestão de cadeia produtiva e compreender em que medida se justifica economicamente o cultivo de mandioca. A pesquisa é de natureza exploratória e descritiva e por meio do questionário e entrevista aplicado a 17 produtores rurais juntamente com a fundamentação teórica sobre o entendimento contemporâneo de cadeia produtiva foram percebidos evidências que justificam economicamente, em parte, o cultivo da mandioca. A geração de postos de trabalhos para as mulheres, a utilização de resíduos como incremento no arranjo produtivo, a apoio da extensão e do crédito rural, e as vantagens advindas da organização dos produtores rurais proporcionando renda e produção constantes no campo, foram os fatores considerados. Porém, a necessidade de inovações tecnológicas, parcerias com os setores industriais, arranjos produtivos mais rentáveis, mecanização do plantio e da colheita, os problemas ambientais (resíduos tóxicos e desmatamento) e de acesso à pesquisa, o nível de escolaridade, e a cooperação entre os agricultores, são desafios reais a serem enfrentados e o fator decisivo é o apoio governamental. Este estudo demonstra a realidade de uma sociedade quase sempre marginalizada e esquecida pelas políticas públicas. Além da variável econômica, a avaliação das culturas produtivas deve passar pelos filtros de análise social e ambiental, pois assim, nos permite com maior exatidão compreender os problemas reais da nossa sociedade, em especial da vida na Amazônia.