A participatory breeding on Arabica coffee involving farmers and plant breeders to select superior local varieties has been conducted at Lintong highland （North Sumatra）, Gayo highland （Central Aceh, Northern Suma...A participatory breeding on Arabica coffee involving farmers and plant breeders to select superior local varieties has been conducted at Lintong highland （North Sumatra）, Gayo highland （Central Aceh, Northern Sumatra） and Kendenan Plateau （Enrekang, South Sulawesi）. The aim of using this method was to find out superior varieties of Arabica coffee having appropriate specific traits and adaptable to such locations and accelerating the process of variety adoption by local farmers. Selection process was initiated by the farmer（s） based on high yielding performance by using their native experiences. The next step was conducted by plant breeder in collaboration with coffee farmers and other relevant scientists to evaluate more detail of cup quality, resistance to leaf rust and/or parasitic nematode as well as yielding potential and agronomic traits at different farmer＇s sites for several years observations. Research finding showed that three selected varieties namely Sigarar Utang, Gayo 1 and Gayo 2 had already been released by Minister of Agriculture for commercial planting at North Sumatera and Gayo highland. They performed excellent cup profile with high yielding ability （more than 1 t/ha） and tolerant to leaf rust disease. Therefore, it could support origin specialty coffee product at Gayo and Lintong highlands. However, observation over of selected local variety at Kendenan Plateau namely Salongge variety performed lower yielding ability （below 1 t/ha） and less stable yield over years as well as more heterogenous population in their offsprings than that of existing released varieties planted at the same location. Therefore, it could not be released as local varieties which adapted to specific location.展开更多
Arriving to the east African coast in the 16th century, Portuguese faced an important and well-structured commercial network dominated by Muslim merchants. Operating throughout the Indian Ocean and in articulation wit...Arriving to the east African coast in the 16th century, Portuguese faced an important and well-structured commercial network dominated by Muslim merchants. Operating throughout the Indian Ocean and in articulation with the inland African trade routes by way of the coastal settlements from Bazaruto up to the north of Mozambique, this network bustled luxury goods and basic goods benefiting either from a network of inter-personal relationships and kinship that supported the whole business, or from an ancestral knowledge on the techniques and particular procedures indispensable to navigating in the Indian Ocean. This trade made the prosperity of small southern ports, like Sofala or Mozambique long before the Portuguese arrival. However, this trade was so much dependent on the network＇s capacity of organisation and the supply demand relation of the goods involved, as well as on other factors such as the political stability of the African kingdoms, the environmental changes that shaped flows and trade routes or the actual knowledge of the region and of the different forms of organization of local communities. By focusing in the ports of Sofala and Mozambique and the information provided by the Portuguese documents we intend to analyse its evolution during the 16th century in order to understand its role in the Indian Ocean commercial network under Portuguese rule.展开更多
Bt cotton a genetically modified （GM） crop has provided higher yields and profits for the farmers in India since its introduction in 2002. The environmentalists across the globe have however expressed the concern on...Bt cotton a genetically modified （GM） crop has provided higher yields and profits for the farmers in India since its introduction in 2002. The environmentalists across the globe have however expressed the concern on the use of GM crops as they feel that they would cause environmental damage and they are not safe for human consumption. In the meantime, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee （the regulatory body for GM crops in India） evaluated the development process of Bt brinjal （eggplant） and has given its approval for commercial cultivation. This further aggravated the GM controversy; while the farmers are interested in cultivating Bt brinjal, the activists against GM crops have been protesting against the introduction of these hybrids stating that adequate tests have not been done to check on the safety of Bt brinjal. This controversy prompted the Minister of Environment of India Government to hold public consultations across India to access the views of the stakeholders. Based on the public consultations, the minister ＂put on hold the commercial introduction of Bt brinjal＂ on February 9, 2010. This paper analyses the view points of stakeholders collected at the public consultation held at Hyderabad on January 31, 2010. The analysis shows that the stakeholders develop different orientation based on the ＂stage of need hierarchy they are in＂ and the attributes they use to evaluate the outcome. The paper concludes that the views of the activist groups based on their limited understanding could get the introduction of Bt brinjal stalled as the companies failed in public communication and education. Policy implications are drawn for government consideration.展开更多
For a very long time, the areas available for continuous long-distance trade were limited to territories of Braudel＇s Mediterrande （1949）. Whatever the commercial organizations （merchants in the Roman or the Fatim...For a very long time, the areas available for continuous long-distance trade were limited to territories of Braudel＇s Mediterrande （1949）. Whatever the commercial organizations （merchants in the Roman or the Fatimid Empires, the Hanseatic League, the Florentine Companies） were, their trade was not able to directly handle branches more than a month＇s sailing from their main base （in the best conditions）. During the three centuries after Vasco de Gama had reached India, European trading areas dramatically expanded to the shores of Asia, and a long period of harsh competition set the East India Companies of the main European powers of the time against one another. What were the elements that allowed these companies to maintain transactions over such vast areas？ And why were some of these companies far more successful than the others？ A large set of secondary sources focusing on one company or on a particular aspect of trade （Chauduri, 1978; Israel, 1989; Subrahmanyan, 1993; Ames, 1996） exist, however, none of them treat their successive successes and failures. The aim of this paper is to briefly review these sources, to extract information from them and to compare the economic adaptations and innovations that allowed these companies to be the greatest of their time.展开更多
FRESH FACE Your interview with Michael Bedner [Face to Face, August 2007] was something you don＇t see a lot in business rags （interior decorators in black turtlenecks!）. It＇s refreshing to read about someone who t...FRESH FACE Your interview with Michael Bedner [Face to Face, August 2007] was something you don＇t see a lot in business rags （interior decorators in black turtlenecks!）. It＇s refreshing to read about someone who thinks about more than a balance sheet. I also thought that it was interesting that in his discussion of India, he criticized their democracy because of [how it gives rise to] opposition to projects. What candor!＂展开更多
Merchants from many countries went to China to trade in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, including Portuguese, Spanish, English, French, Flemish, Armenians, Muslims, Parsees, Dutch, Danish, Austrians, Ital...Merchants from many countries went to China to trade in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, including Portuguese, Spanish, English, French, Flemish, Armenians, Muslims, Parsees, Dutch, Danish, Austrians, Italians, and Americans. Many of these travelers kept detailed records of their encounters with China. Their documents can be very helpful in unraveling parts of the history that are silent in Chinese sources. These records can be divided into three basic groups, those of： East India companies, private traders, and private travelers. East India companies kept massive volumes of records and tended to be very systematic in the type of information they recorded from one year to the next. Private trade records were much less sophisticated than those of the companies, and often consisted of miscellaneous bundles of receipts, reports, letters, contracts, and journals. Private travel records were written by persons who sailed on merchant ships but were not necessarily merchants themselves. They recorded what they saw and heard along the way, which is information that often does appear in other records. Taken as a whole, company records, private trade records and private travel journals add much detail to the history of China that cannot be found in Chinese language sources.展开更多
文摘A participatory breeding on Arabica coffee involving farmers and plant breeders to select superior local varieties has been conducted at Lintong highland （North Sumatra）, Gayo highland （Central Aceh, Northern Sumatra） and Kendenan Plateau （Enrekang, South Sulawesi）. The aim of using this method was to find out superior varieties of Arabica coffee having appropriate specific traits and adaptable to such locations and accelerating the process of variety adoption by local farmers. Selection process was initiated by the farmer（s） based on high yielding performance by using their native experiences. The next step was conducted by plant breeder in collaboration with coffee farmers and other relevant scientists to evaluate more detail of cup quality, resistance to leaf rust and/or parasitic nematode as well as yielding potential and agronomic traits at different farmer＇s sites for several years observations. Research finding showed that three selected varieties namely Sigarar Utang, Gayo 1 and Gayo 2 had already been released by Minister of Agriculture for commercial planting at North Sumatera and Gayo highland. They performed excellent cup profile with high yielding ability （more than 1 t/ha） and tolerant to leaf rust disease. Therefore, it could support origin specialty coffee product at Gayo and Lintong highlands. However, observation over of selected local variety at Kendenan Plateau namely Salongge variety performed lower yielding ability （below 1 t/ha） and less stable yield over years as well as more heterogenous population in their offsprings than that of existing released varieties planted at the same location. Therefore, it could not be released as local varieties which adapted to specific location.
文摘Arriving to the east African coast in the 16th century, Portuguese faced an important and well-structured commercial network dominated by Muslim merchants. Operating throughout the Indian Ocean and in articulation with the inland African trade routes by way of the coastal settlements from Bazaruto up to the north of Mozambique, this network bustled luxury goods and basic goods benefiting either from a network of inter-personal relationships and kinship that supported the whole business, or from an ancestral knowledge on the techniques and particular procedures indispensable to navigating in the Indian Ocean. This trade made the prosperity of small southern ports, like Sofala or Mozambique long before the Portuguese arrival. However, this trade was so much dependent on the network＇s capacity of organisation and the supply demand relation of the goods involved, as well as on other factors such as the political stability of the African kingdoms, the environmental changes that shaped flows and trade routes or the actual knowledge of the region and of the different forms of organization of local communities. By focusing in the ports of Sofala and Mozambique and the information provided by the Portuguese documents we intend to analyse its evolution during the 16th century in order to understand its role in the Indian Ocean commercial network under Portuguese rule.
文摘Bt cotton a genetically modified （GM） crop has provided higher yields and profits for the farmers in India since its introduction in 2002. The environmentalists across the globe have however expressed the concern on the use of GM crops as they feel that they would cause environmental damage and they are not safe for human consumption. In the meantime, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee （the regulatory body for GM crops in India） evaluated the development process of Bt brinjal （eggplant） and has given its approval for commercial cultivation. This further aggravated the GM controversy; while the farmers are interested in cultivating Bt brinjal, the activists against GM crops have been protesting against the introduction of these hybrids stating that adequate tests have not been done to check on the safety of Bt brinjal. This controversy prompted the Minister of Environment of India Government to hold public consultations across India to access the views of the stakeholders. Based on the public consultations, the minister ＂put on hold the commercial introduction of Bt brinjal＂ on February 9, 2010. This paper analyses the view points of stakeholders collected at the public consultation held at Hyderabad on January 31, 2010. The analysis shows that the stakeholders develop different orientation based on the ＂stage of need hierarchy they are in＂ and the attributes they use to evaluate the outcome. The paper concludes that the views of the activist groups based on their limited understanding could get the introduction of Bt brinjal stalled as the companies failed in public communication and education. Policy implications are drawn for government consideration.
文摘For a very long time, the areas available for continuous long-distance trade were limited to territories of Braudel＇s Mediterrande （1949）. Whatever the commercial organizations （merchants in the Roman or the Fatimid Empires, the Hanseatic League, the Florentine Companies） were, their trade was not able to directly handle branches more than a month＇s sailing from their main base （in the best conditions）. During the three centuries after Vasco de Gama had reached India, European trading areas dramatically expanded to the shores of Asia, and a long period of harsh competition set the East India Companies of the main European powers of the time against one another. What were the elements that allowed these companies to maintain transactions over such vast areas？ And why were some of these companies far more successful than the others？ A large set of secondary sources focusing on one company or on a particular aspect of trade （Chauduri, 1978; Israel, 1989; Subrahmanyan, 1993; Ames, 1996） exist, however, none of them treat their successive successes and failures. The aim of this paper is to briefly review these sources, to extract information from them and to compare the economic adaptations and innovations that allowed these companies to be the greatest of their time.
文摘FRESH FACE Your interview with Michael Bedner [Face to Face, August 2007] was something you don＇t see a lot in business rags （interior decorators in black turtlenecks!）. It＇s refreshing to read about someone who thinks about more than a balance sheet. I also thought that it was interesting that in his discussion of India, he criticized their democracy because of [how it gives rise to] opposition to projects. What candor!＂
文摘Merchants from many countries went to China to trade in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, including Portuguese, Spanish, English, French, Flemish, Armenians, Muslims, Parsees, Dutch, Danish, Austrians, Italians, and Americans. Many of these travelers kept detailed records of their encounters with China. Their documents can be very helpful in unraveling parts of the history that are silent in Chinese sources. These records can be divided into three basic groups, those of： East India companies, private traders, and private travelers. East India companies kept massive volumes of records and tended to be very systematic in the type of information they recorded from one year to the next. Private trade records were much less sophisticated than those of the companies, and often consisted of miscellaneous bundles of receipts, reports, letters, contracts, and journals. Private travel records were written by persons who sailed on merchant ships but were not necessarily merchants themselves. They recorded what they saw and heard along the way, which is information that often does appear in other records. Taken as a whole, company records, private trade records and private travel journals add much detail to the history of China that cannot be found in Chinese language sources.
