苏丹吉齐拉农场

吉齐拉农场是苏丹最重要的农业基地,也是撒哈拉沙漠以南非洲最大的灌溉农业区。农场位处首都喀土穆以南青尼罗河和白尼罗河之间的河间平原上,耕地面积约80万公顷,全部是水浇地,占全国耕地面积的10.7％和水浇地面积的51.6％。农场所生产的棉花和小麦分别占全国棉花和小麦总产量的60％和一半以上。因此,这个农场是苏丹棉花出口和城市小麦消费的最大供应地,此外,农场还大量种植高梁、花生、蔬菜、瓜果等作物。

On-farm Conservation of Landraces of Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) through Cultivation in the Kumaun Region of Indian Central Himalaya

The Himalayan region is a known hot spot of crop diversity. Traditional varieties (usually called primitive cultivars or landraces), having withstood the rigors of time (including harsh climatic conditions as well as attacks of insects, pests and diseases), can still be found in crop fields in rural parts of Indian Central Himalaya (ICH). These landraces harbor many desired traits from which, for example, varieties that are tolerant/resistant to abiotic/biotic stresses could be developed. In addition to the above benefits, landraces provide a basis for food security and a more varied and interesting diet. Some landraces are also known to be of medicinal value. These, along with some lesser known hill crops, are often referred to by different names such as under exploited crops, crops for marginal lands, poor person crops, and neglected mountain crops. The Himalayan region continues to be a reservoir of a large number of landraces and cultivars whose economic and ecological potential is yet to be fully understood and/or exploited. Indians have had a history of rice cultivation since ancient times. Farmers, including tribals inhabiting the IHR, still cultivate a plethora of landraces of rice and thus directly contribute towardson-farm conservation of valuable germplasm and help in the preservation of crop diversity. The present paper looks at the on-farm conservation of rice germplasm, which is still practised in the Kumaun region of ICH.

Economic efficiency in fish farming: hope for agro-allied industries in Niagara

The challenge to increase the efficiency in food production level in Nigeria appears to be more urgent now than it has ever been in the history of the country. This is in view of the rapidly increasing population, the imminent decline in international economic and food aid and the need to conserve foreign exchange earnings through the production of raw materials to feed the growing industrial sector calls for urgent attention. The study was carded out in Ogun State. The descriptive statistics was used to determine the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. The stochastic frontiers production analysis was applied to estimate the technical, allocative efficiency and economic efficiency among the fish farmers in the state. The results of economic efficiency revealed that fish farming is economically efficient with a range of between 55% and 84% efficiency level suggesting a favourable hope for the agro-allied industry such as poultry and cottage industries etc in the state. The result of hypothesis of inefficiency sources models showed that years of experience of fish farmers is significant at 1% probability level indicating the factor contributing to the fish farming experience in the state. Thus, the efficiency is due to the fact that farmers are experienced and fairly educated. On the basis of findings, policy is suggested to be directed towards the encouragement of entrepreneurs in fish farming in the state by providing enabling environment like credit facilities, public enlightenment programme and provision of social amenities like feeder roads, pipe-born water etc and given the fact that an increase in the level of formal education variable leads to less inefficiency, government policy should be focused on adopting the best technology （e.g. fast growing species and equipment ） so as to improve the level of efficiency and investment which shall eventually lead to growth in output of fish fanning and a lead to the establishment of agro-allied industries in the state.

Systems of Agriculture Farming in the Uttranchal Himalaya, India

Agricultural practices are the main stay of the people of Uttranchal. Out of the total population, more than 75% people are engaged either with the main occupation of agriculture or its allied practices, dominated by traditional subsistence cereal farming. Among them, the main crops are rice, wheat, millet, barley, all types of pulses, all types of oilseeds and almost all types of fruits. The crops, vegetables and fruits of all varieties are grown in the different climatic zones such as tropical, temperate, and cold because, the region is characterized by the different altitudinal zones elevated from 200 m to more than 8000m. As a result, different climates are found from hot tropical to sub temperate and chilly cold. Pulses varieties are grown extensively. Among vegetables, potato, onion, carrot, all types of green leaf vegetables, brinzal, pumpkin, ladyfinger, pea, gram, radish, ginger, garlic, etc, are grown widely. All fruit varieties are grown in the different altitudinal zones. The main fruits are orange, malta (a big size of orange), elephant citrus, lemon and all other types of citrus, apple, stone fruits including peach and pears, many kinds of nuts, and the fruits which are grown in the low lying areas. In spite of feasible climatic conditions, agricultural dominant society, and availability of all types of crops, the production and productivity of these crops are very low, even they are unable to meet the grain-need of the people in Uttaranchal. Agricultural crops are grown almost in all the altitudinal zones — from the low-lying areas, which are called ‘Gangarh’, to the highly elevated region, where the legendary term is given as ‘Danda’. The growing seasons vary according to the heights. The present paper aims to discuss the agricultural practices including cropping season, cropping pattern, land use, production of crops and ecological aspect of agricultural system in this Himalayan state and suggest some measures for developing farming system, which could lead the sustainability, in terms of meeting the food grain needs of the people on the one hand and restoring the ecological balance on the other.

Traditional farming in the mountainous region of Bangladesh and its modifications

Shifting cultivation is a traditional farming system practiced in the tropical mountainous areas. Although it has been widely perceived as an economically inefficient and environmentally harmful agricultural production system, recent science reviews, however, indicate that the deleterious impacts of shifting cultivation on environment may have been overestimated. Despite the pressures of agricultural intensification in areas where shifting cultivation occurs, farmers across the tropics still maintain this traditional farming system. The objective of this study was to explore existing traditional shifting cultivation practices and their various modifications including the innovative farming techniques developed by farmers in the Chittagong Hill Tracts(CHTs), the mountainous region of Bangladesh, and examine their importance with respect to recent socio-economic and environmental changes. The study revealed that shifting cultivation still exists as the most dominant farming method which supports livelihoods and culture of the hill ethnic people. However, demand for more food and household income to meet livelihood needs of an increasing population combined with a rapid deterioration of soil and water quality over decades contributed to development of innovative farming practices through fallow land farming, crop substitution, agroforestry and homestead gardening in the CHTs. Through these farming techniques farmers maintain a strong relationship with traditional knowledge system embedded in the ageold shifting cultivation practices. Today state policies and market forces act in favor of replacement of traditional farming with intensive cash crop agriculture. It seems that disappearance of traditional farming practices from the hills may threaten local biodiversity and food security. It may be recommended that shifting cultivation should be encouraged in areas where they have potential for contributing to preservation of native biodiversity and ecosystem services, and protection of local peoples' food security and cultural identity.

Automatic Guidance of an Agricultural Tractor along with the Side Shift Control of the Attached Row Crop Cultivator

This paper presents the automatic guidance system of an agricultural tractor and the side shift control of the attached row crop cultivator using electro-hydraulic actuators. In order to simulate the dynamic behaviour of the tractor along with the attached cultivator, the modified bicycle model was adopted. Steering angle sensor, fibre optic gyroscope （FOG） and RTK-DGPS technologies are assumed for measurements of the steering angle, yaw rate and the lateral position of the tractor, respectively. The kinematics model was used for the implement. In this study four cascade controllers were designed and simulated for tractor guidance which consists ofPD, PD, P and PID controllers. Other PI and PID controllers also had been designed for implement side shifting purpose. Then, these two systems were combined and the performance of the whole system was evaluated through the simulation results. According to the results tractor reaches the desired path after less than 10 seconds. Simulations showed that the maximum deviation of the tractor from the desired path was about 5 cm within this period. And the cultivator blades would follow the predetermined path with steady state error of about 5 cm too.

Structured Graduate Programs Design Proposal for UNEXPO Institutions System

The UNEXPO （National Experimental Polytechnic University） system is a public institution dedicated to teaching and researching in engineering area. It was formed to bring together three main institutes located in Venezuelan cities and three more institutes located in rural areas, so that to collectively and collaboratively serve the regions in optimal ways. The academic activity started in 1982 graduating engineers and technicians, although less effort has shown by authorities to develop programs in graduate engineering areas. A proposal for designing a structured graduate program is presented. The structured program presented, will hopefully set the basis to develop graduate and doctoral studies in engineering and related areas to the whole university system, and to achieve academic and social development to the country.

Harnessing the Potential of Community Radio in Empowering Rural Women in Malawi

This paper examines the extent to which community radio has the empowering and transformation potential. It draws on Nkhotakota community radio station in Malawi to analyze how community radio can empower women especially in rural areas. Although the whole of the rural population can be considered as marginalized, women are the most affected as they face marginalization in the family and village setting. Based on the data drawn from semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, document analysis, and participant observation, the paper observes that inequality and high illiteracy rate are the major hindrances among rural women which prevent them from accessing information necessary for their improvement. This paper argues that community radio has the potential to empower women in rural areas by providing them with access to information necessary to empower and transform their lives and enable them to participate in development activities.

Paradigm and Ecological Implication of Changing Agricultural Land-use:A Case Study from Govind Wildlife Sanctuary,Central Himalaya,India

The paper scrutinizes that the changes in any sub-system(i.e.agriculture,livestock and forest) have direct impact on biophysical and social processes in village ecosystem of the central Himalayan region.In view of this,we studied the changes in spatial patterns of agricultural land use and dependency of agroecosystem on forest and animal husbandry over a period of two decades.Based on data analysis it was found that the cultivation of some traditional crops has either been abandoned in the area or declined by 25%-85% due to introduction of cash crops viz.,potato,kidney bean and apple farming with acreage increased up to 51%-72% in the last three decades.Livestock population of different categories has declined drastically by 17%-75%,and has resulted shortage of farmyard manure,deterioration of soil quality and fertility which leads to un-sustainability of agriculture system.The changes in agrobiodiversity have led to the dramatic increase in soil loss and runoff from the croplands together with the increase pressure on forests.The economic evaluation of each crop showed higher monetary benefit from cash crops as compared to traditional crops.Among all the evaluated crops,the monetary output/input ratio was found highest(3.04) for kidney bean and lowest(1.26) for paddy.Changes in land use and management have improved household income but at the cost of forest degradation,less productive animal husbandry and loss of agrodiversity in the region.Therefore,there is an urgent need to bring desirable changes in agricultural policy,research,land use and efficient management of the resources for maintaining sustainability in agro and Himalayan forest ecosystem.

Chinese Plants in the Persian Agricultural Manual Asar va Ahyā’,and a Discussion of Rashīd al-Dīn’s Chinese Knowledge and Agricultural Practice

The Asar va Ahyā’is a manual of agricultural production written in the early fourteenth century by the famous Iranian vizier and scholar Rashīd al-Dīn.Only chapter 6 to chapter 13 of the original work survive,dealing with agriculture and horticulture,and nearly a third of the pages of which are devoted to introducing Chinese plants and related knowledge.In addition to introducing botanical knowledge,the book also covered information on all the aspects of the Yuan dynasty(1271–1368),including the taxation system,monetary system,military system,economy and trade,manufacturing techniques,ethnic customs,food culture,and other fields,providing important materials for research on the dissemination of species,exchange of technologies,communication of ethnic groups,and integration of cultures between China and the world during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.Rashīd al-Dīn,the book’s author,took advantage of his identities as a statesman and a businessman to collect rich information about plants all over the world.Motivated by his specific interest in Chinese culture,he included a huge amount of Chinese information in the book.Meanwhile,records in the Asar va Asyā’reflect the author’s practice of researching,planting,and cultivating plants,making the book not only a compilation of agricultural knowledge,but also a report that recorded the author’s agricultural practice.

Land Leveling with Modern Machinery for the Implementation of Agricultural Activities in Greece

Incorporating modem and advanced technology （various electronic devices） to excavational machinery led to become more efficient, better quality and cost effective. The continuous development of equipment is also very important in the earth moving procedures which require significant time and expense to achieve the so-called ＂precision agriculture＂ or rather ＂precise management of agricultural inputs＂. One of the ＂precision agricultural＂ works is the land leveling. In recent years, land leveling is done with the use of a scraper （blade） mounted on the agricultural tractor. An electronic system controls the height of the blade automatically, without any operator intervention. In this paper, the field efficiency of the tractor MF6290, of 135 Hp horsepower, is calculated with a leveling blade of 4 m width, in the land leveling of rice cultivation, and in the rotation of different crops in different land preparation conditions （initial and final slope） in the area of Thessaloniki, northern Greece. The raw data revealed that the performance of the tractor ranged from 0.402 to 0.82 lha/h, on a slope 0%, while for surfaces with different initial and final slope, it ranged from 0.107 to 0.118 ha/h.

An Assessment of Eco Driving System for Agricultural Tractor

In this study, tractor power output, fuel consumption rate and work performance were indirectly predicted in order to develop an eco driving system. Firstly, equations were developed which could foretell tractor power output and fuel consumption rate using characteristic curves of tractor power output. Secondly, with actual engine revolution per minute （rpm） determined by initial engine rpm and work load, tractor power output and fuel consumption rate were forecasted. Thirdly, it was possible to foresee tractor work performance and fuel consumption rate by the speed signals of Global Positioning System （GPS）. Lastly, precision of the eco driving system was evaluated through tractor Power Take-Off （PTO） test, and effects of the eco driving system were investigated in the plowing and rotary tilling operations. Engine rpm, power output, fuel consumption rate, work performance and fuel consumption rate per plot area were displayed on the eco driving system. Predicted tractor power outputs in the full load curve were well coincided with the actual power output of prototype, but small differences, 1 to 6 kW were found in the part load curve. Error of the fuel consumption rate was 0.5 to 3 L/h at the part load curve. It was shown that 69% and 53% of fuel consumption rates could be reduced in plowing and rotary tilling operations, respectively, when the eco driving system was installed in tractor.

Development of a Data Acquisition System to Optimizing the Agricultural Tractor Performance

A novel data acquisition system was successfully integrated on-board the Massey Ferguson 3,000 series agricultural tractors for measuring tractor-implement performance. A commercial load cell was incorporated into the existing system for the needed tractor-implement performance, measurements. This system is capable of measuring, displaying and recording, in real-time, the tractor＇s theoretical travel speed, the actual travel speed, the engine speed, the fuel consumption rate, and the drawbar pull. Static calibration tests on various associated sensors for the required measurements show excellent linearity with correlation coefficients that are close to 1. The developed system was extensively and successfully field demonstrated for tractor-implement performance with offset disc harrows on dry, undisturbed loamy soils. Under these conditions, a ratio of tractor power to implement width is suggested. The data also show the existence of a linear relationship between fuel consumption per hectare and specific draught, for the 4 to 9 kN m^-1 range, which suggests the possibility of extending the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers model of draught prediction to forecast fuel consumption. The configuration of the tractor-harrow combination, based on the measurement of the draught required under operational conditions, provides the manufacturers with a reliable indication of the recommended power required for each harrow model. With this type of information farmers can make decisions regarding selection of a suitable tractor-implement combination for their farms. As a consequence, there is improved tractor-harrow productivity and field efficiency.

Distribution Boswellia sacra in Dhofar Mountains, Sultanate of Oman： Economic Value and Environmental Role

Boswellia sacra from Burseraceae family, grows is limited and the land unsuitable for traditional agriculture wild in dry hot lands of southern part of Oman （Dhofar）, where the water purpose. Boswellia sacra is a multipurpose tree, but more famous for its high value olibanum. The olibanum is used for ritual and in church ceremonies worldwide, traditional medicines, pharmaceutical, perfumery, cosmetics, chewing, painting, food flavouring. In addition to this, the species has other numerous environmental, historical, and socio-economical benefits. This study is based on literature reviews, and on the interview local people, as well as on personal field experiences. The objective is to introduce the importance of the species and to study the native habitats, the distribution, and the harvesting techniques. The soil is carbonitic, isohypertherrnic, lithic torriothent, poor in mineral elements. The olibanum produces when the tree tapped by making a thin vertical slicing into the tree trunk. Initial size should be about 18 cm2 （3 × 6 cm） and 1-2 mm in depth and the diameter tree trunk should be not less than 10 cm. Tree tapping should be stopped 2-3 weeks before the rain season. The method of tree tapping and olibanum collection need to be revised for long-term tree protection.

Root Structure,Distribution and Biomass in Five Multipurpose Tree Species of Western Himalayas

【Title】【Author】【Addresses】1The tree root distribution pattern and biomass of seventeen year old trees of Grewia optiva, Morus alba, Celtis australis, Bauhinia variegata and Robinia pseudoacacia were studied by excavation method. B. variegata roots penetrated to a maximum depth of 4.78 m, whereas, M. alba roots were found down to 1.48 m depth. Lateral spread was minimum in B. variegata （1.10 m）and maximum inR. pseudoacacia （7.33 m）. Maximum root biomass of 6.30 kg was found in R. pseudoacacia and minimum （2.43 kg） was found in M. alba. For four species viz.,G. optiva, M. alba, C. australis andR. pseudoacacia, 68%-87% root biomass occurred within top 0-30 cm soil depth, but forB. variegata this was only45%. The soil binding factor was maximum in G. optiva and minimum in B. variegata. Soil physico-chemical properties also showed wide variation. The study suggests thatB. variegata with a deep root system is the most suitable species for plantation under agroforestry systems. R. pseudoacacia and G. optiva with deep root systems, more lateral spread and high soil binding factor are suitable for plantation on degraded lands for soil conservation.

Evaluation of Environmental Impacts in the Wood Skidding with Tractors in Greece

The contemporary demands of the forestry exploitation for quantitative and qualitative increase of timber production are directly related with the mechanization of the wood skidding works. In Greece, the suitable machinery for wood skidding are those with low amortization, operation and installation expenses, are flexible, and may also be used for other farming works （since they are not used very often for wood skidding） and cause the smaller damages to the wood, the forest, the soil and the environment in general. In this paper, it studies the environmental impacts in the remaining stand as much as during the pre-skidding as well as during the main wood skidding with tractor in the forest of Arnaia, Prefecture of Halkidiki, in order to draw out useful conclusions for the improvement of the machinery application methods and the protection of the environment.

Changes in Agricultural Biodiversity: Implications for Sustainable Livelihood in the Himalaya

Himalayan mountain system is distinguished globally for a rich biodiversity and for its role in regulating the climate of the South Asia. Traditional crop-livestock mixed farming in the Himalaya is highly dependent on forests for fodder and manure prepared from forest leaf litter and livestock excreta. Apart from sustaining farm production, forests provide a variety of other tangible and intangible benefits, which are critical for sustainable livelihood of not only 115 million mountain people, but also many more people living in the adjoining plains. Extension of agricultural land- use coupled with replacement of traditional staple food crops by cash crops and of multipurpose agroforestry trees by fruit trees are widespread changes. Cultivation of Fagopyrum esculentum, Fagopyrum tataricum, Panicum miliaceum, Setaria italica and Pisum arvense has been almost abandoned. Increasing stress on cash crops is driven by a socio-cultural change from subsistence to market economy facilitated by improvement in accessibility andsupplyofstaplefoodgrainsatsubsidizedpriceby the government. Farmers have gained substantial economic benefits from cash crops. However, loss of agrobiodiversity implies more risks to local livelihood in the events of downfall in market price/demand of cashcrops,terminationofsupplyofstaplefoodgrains at subsidized price, pest outbreaks in a cash crop dominated homogeneous landscape and abnormal climate years. Indigenous innovations enabling improvement in farm economy by conserving and/enhancing agrobiodiversity do exist, but are highly localized. The changes in agrobiodiversity are such that soil loss and run-off from the croplands have dramatically increased together with increase in local pressure on forests. As farm productivity is maintained with forest-based inputs, continued depletion of forest resources will result in poor economic returns from agriculture to local people, apart from loss of global benefits from Himalayan forests. Interventions including improvement in traditionalmanureandmanagementofon-farm trees, participatorydevelopmentofagroforestryindegraded forestlandsandpoliciesfavoringeconomicbenefitsto local people from non-timber forest products could reduce the risks of decline in agricultural biodiversity and associated threats to livelihoods and Himalayan ecosystems.

An Autonomous Electric Powered Tractor--Simulation of All Operations on a Swedish Dairy Farmagricultural m machinery. This s study investig gated the feasib bility of an au utonomous batte ery electric tra actor through simulation. The e

For a conventional agricultural tractor the main environmental effects origina ates from the usage phase, more specifically from the diesel use and exhausts. To decre ease the environ nmental effect, it is vital to find a substitute for fossil diesel as a fuel for agricultural machinery. This s study investig gated the feasib bility of an autonomous battery electric tractor through simulation. The simulated farm is an organic dairy farm of 200 ha with five crops in the crop rotation cycle and a traditional plough among the used implements. Based on the res sult from the simulation cost calculations, sensitivity analysi is and a limited life cycle analysis （LCA） was made. The results show that it is in theory possible to replace a conventional tractor （160 kW） with two autonomous battery powered machines （36 kW engine, 113 kWh battery） with 15% lower costs. Energy consumption would be red duced by 58% a and greenhouse gas emissions by 92% compared to diesel when energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from battery manufacturing were included. Today the technology for autonom mous control is under fast development, but there are yet no systems on the market that can handle all machinery tasks like assumed in this study. Challenges yet to solve are , among others, legislative, relevant sensors, logistics and fleet management. Further rese earch is needed to verify the results in practical farming.

The Snake Goddess as Woman： De-Mythologization in a Folk Epic

This paper deals with the Mangal Kavyas of Bengal, folk epics arising out of an oral tradition practiced by rural women. The female deities to whom these epics are devoted, like the snake goddess Manasa, are also part of the folk tradition, far removed from the Hindu pantheon of gods or the Vedic ways of worship and are related to the particular fears of village life. There is therefore, a de-mythologized version of these deities represented in these epics, a crystallization of the desires, wants, and ways of life of the rural population through the figure of the goddess, a version these village women can readily empathize with, making these epics rich in social documentation of contemporary village life.

The Impact of Ethanol as a Fuel in the Gas Emissions

This work deals with the examination of farm tractor with diesel engine from the viewpoint of power and gas emissions, using as fuel diesel-ethanol mixtures. A series of laboratory instruments was used for the realization of the experiments. The tractor engine is functioning under full load conditions. The experimental results have shown small reduction of power engine with simultaneously remarkable reduction of CO and HC emissions.