Characterization of Small-Scale Farmers and Assessment of Their Access to Crop Production Information in Selected Counties of Kenya

Small-scale farming accounts for 78% of total agricultural production in Kenya and contributes to 23.5% of the country’s GDP. Their crop production activities are mostly rainfed subsistence with any surplus being sold to bring in some income. Timely decisions on farm practices such as farm preparation and planting are critical determinants of the seasonal outcomes. In Kenya, most small-scale farmers have no reliable source of information that would help them make timely and accurate decisions. County governments have extension officers who are mandated with giving farmers advisory services to farmers but they are not able to reach most farmers due to facilitation constraints. The mode and format of sharing information is also critical since it’s important to ensure that it’s timely, well-understood and usable. This study sought to assess access to geospatial derived and other crop production information by farmers in four selected counties of Kenya. Specific objectives were to determine the profile of small-scale farmers in terms of age, education and farm size;to determine the type of information that is made available to them by County and Sub-County extension officers including the format and mode of provision;and to determine if the information provided was useful in terms of accuracy, timeliness and adequacy. The results indicated that over 80% of the farmers were over 35 years of age and over 56% were male. Majority had attained primary education (34%) or secondary education (29%) and most farmers in all the counties grew maize (71%). Notably, fellow farmers were a source of information (71%) with the frequency of sharing information being mostly seasonal (37%) and when information was available (43%). Over 66% of interviewed farmers indicating that they faced challenges while using provided information. The results from the study are insightful and helpful in determining effective ways of providing farmers with useful information to ensure maximum benefits.

Empirical Research on E-commerce to Increase the Scale of Agricultural Products Trade: Taking Guangxi Hezhou Zhengfeng Modern Agriculture Co.,Ltd. as an Example

Agriculture is the foundation of the national economy.The periodicity of agricultural product output and prices,the asymmetry of information between buyers and sellers,and the inherent characteristics of small scale,high cost,and low profit have caused slow sales,which greatly hurt the enthusiasm of farmers to develop production and endanger social stability.Constructing an informationized and commercialized trading platform and an information sharing platform through e-commerce and establishing related systems and supervision mechanisms will help to promote the rapid growth of agricultural product sales.Research has shown that in the field of agricultural circulation,e-commerce has a significant effect on increasing the scale of agricultural trade.

Wear Resistance of CO_2 Corrosion Product Scale Formed at High Temperature

To investigate the correlation between structure characteristics and wear resistance of CO2 corrosion product scales at high temperature and high pressure, an autoclave was used to prepare CO2 corrosion product scales on N80 steel in carbon dioxide corrosion environment. The correlation between wear resistance of the scales and many other factors, such as temperature, pressure, morphology, structure, velocity of fluid medium, sand grain size, and so on, was comparatively analyzed by a self assembled wear device, and the scale morphologies before or after being worn were observed by scanning electron microscope （SEM）. And then the surface grain size and thickness of scale were measured. The results showed that the cross-section of the corrosion scale was of a double-layer structure, the outer layer of which was composed of regular crystals, whereas the inner layer was a thin scale of fine grains. The outer grain size and thickness of scale varied with temperature, and the initial wear loss was consistent with the surface grain size; at the same time, the total wear loss corresponded to the thickness of scale. Compared to wear resist- ance in different depths of the scale, it was found that the structure of scale was a double-layer structure in cross-section, and the wear resistance of inner layer was better than that of the outer layer; the closer the scale to the matrix, the greater was the wear resistance of scale; and the larger the size or the higher the rotary speed of solid grain in multiphase flowing medium, the more was the wear loss of scale.

Dendritic cells derived from pluripotent stem cells:Potential of large scale production

Human pluripotent stem cells(hPSCs), including human embryonic stem cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells, are promising sources for hematopoietic cells due to their unlimited growth capacity and the pluripotency. Dendritic cells(DCs), the unique immune cells in the hematopoietic system, can be loaded with tumor specific antigen and used as vaccine for cancer immunotherapy. While autologous DCs from peripheral blood are limited in cell number, hPSC-derived DCs provide a novel alternative cell source which has the potential for large scale production. This review summarizes recent advances in differentiating hPSCs to DCs through the intermediate stage of hematopoietic stem cells. Step-wise growth factor induction has been used to derive DCs from hPSCs either in suspension cultureof embryoid bodies(EBs) or in co-culture with stromal cells. To fulfill the clinical potential of the DCs derived from hPSCs, the bioprocess needs to be scaled up to produce a large number of cells economically under tight quality control. This requires the development of novel bioreactor systems combining guided EB-based differentiation with engineered culture environment. Hence, recent progress in using bioreactors for hPSC lineage-specific differentiation is reviewed. In particular, the potential scale up strategies for the multistage DC differentiation and the effect of shear stress on hPSC differentiation in bioreactors are discussed in detail.

Multidisciplinary design optimization on production scale of underground metal mine

In order to ensure overall optimization of the underground metal mine production scale, multidisciplinary design optimization model of production scale which covers the subsystem objective function of income of production, safety and environmental impact in the underground metal mine was established by using multidisciplinary design optimization method. The coupling effects from various disciplines were fully considered, and adaptive mutative scale chaos immunization optimization algorithm was adopted to solve multidisciplinary design optimization model of underground metal mine production scale. Practical results show that multidisciplinary design optimization on production scale of an underground lead and zinc mine reflect the actual operating conditions more realistically, the production scale is about 1.25 Mt/a (Lead and zinc metal content of 160 000 t/a), the economic life is approximately 14 a, corresponding coefficient of production profits can be increased to 15.13%, safety factor can be increased to 5.4% and environmental impact coefficient can be reduced by 9.52%.

An intelligent system for calculating the scale of rational,enlarged production of an underground non-ferrous metal mine

The enlarged production scale of underground non-ferrous metal mines is affected by many uncertain factors difficult to describe mathematically with any level of accuracy.The problem can be solved by a synthesis of artificial intelligence.Based on the analysis of the major factors affecting the scale of enlarged production,we first interpreted in detail the design principles and structure of the intelligent system.Secondly,we introduced an ANN subsystem.In order to ensure technological and scale efficien- cies of the training samples for ANN,we filtrated the samples with a DEA method.Finally,we trained the intelligent system,which was proved to be very efficient.

Robust Corner Detection Based on Multi-scale Curvature Product in B-spline Scale Space

这份报纸在 B 花键弯曲规模空间的框架论述一种多尺度的弯曲产品角落察觉技术。规模产品功能在不同规模从轮廓的弯曲产品被导出。角落被 thresholding 作为本地最大值构造越过几规模的弯曲产品结果。通过规模产品，本地化精确性和察觉表演能显著地以 CNN 标准被改进。实验也证明那个建议方法显示出坚韧性到高频率细节并且提供有希望的察觉结果。

A TIME FILTERING SCHEME FOR THE SHORT RANGE CLIMATE PREDICTION MODEL PRODUCTS AND ITS REAL CASE ANALYSIS

A filtering / extracting scheme for various timescale processes in short range climate model out-put is established by using the scale scattering method. And the climatological meanings as well as the impor-tance of the filtered series are discussed. In the latter part of work, the effectiveness of the filtering method and the performance of the prediction model are analyzed through a real case.

An Empirical Study on the Moderate Scale of Food-production-based Family Farm in Guangxi

The moderate scale family farm is the future agricultural business entity in China,and the scale of family farm is a key factor affecting its development.With Guigang City in Guangxi as a point for the study,from the perspective of maximizing income of rural households,this paper uses production function model to calculate the moderate scale of food-production-based family farm at 5.7 ha,and makes policy recommendations.

Evaluation of Bitterness Intensity of Citrus Products by an Untrained Panel Using Relative-to-Reference Rating

In order to estimate the bitterness intensity of citrus products we applied an adaptative sensory evaluation method, using naringin as the reference for bitterness. Twenty-five untrained subjects participated in this study. Firstly they tasted and positioned 2 naringin references on an unstructured relative-to-reference scaling to define their own bitterness scales. They then evaluated the bitterness intensity of 2 types of bitter orange products (3 distillates and 2 cold-pressed essential oils of bitter orange peels) according to their own perceptions on their own scales. We observed that 2 types of scale use could be distinguished that might be related to subjects’ sensitivity or/and consumption habits to bitterness. As a result, we observed a significant difference in bitterness intensity between the crude cold-pressed essential oil and the debittered one of bitter orange, whereas there was no significant difference between the 3 distillates. This approach makes it possible to take inter-individual differences in subjects’ sensitivity into account. It also provides a way to very simply rate bitterness intensity with subjects who have received no prior training in sensory evaluation.

Consumers＇ Preferences for Quality and Safety Attributes of Milk Products in Niger： A Best-Worst Scaling Approach

The overall objective of this research was to determine consumers＇ preferences for quality and safety attributes of milk products using advances in the best-worst scaling approach. A list of 16 quality and safety attributes of milk products based on previous studies was compiled and used in this study. The balanced incomplete block design technique was used to build the questionnaire administered to respondents in the data collection. The multinomial mixed logit was employed to analyze the data. Results suggest that nutritive value, shelf life, availability, purity and safety are the most important attributes of milk product; while origin, fat content, food miles, packaging and handling convenience are the least importance attributes of milk products to consumers The study concludes that demand for dairy products can be significantly stimulated in the study area when these most important attributes have been considered by producers, processors and marketers.

Effects of the Produced Water from a Sour Oilfield in South Kuwait on the Production Tubing

Kuwaiti oil production faces a growing challenge in the increasing quantities of produced water generated in the production of oil. The high water cut of the produced fluid from the wells and the high salinity of the produced water lead to significant degradation of subsurface equipment, specifically the production tubing. Debris generated through the degradation of the inner part of the tubing becomes a constituent of the scaling that deposits in the tubing and blocks the flow of the production fluid, inducing higher maintenance costs. This paper looks at the characteristics of the scaling in regard to the produced water and outlines the economic impact of the produced water induced degradation of the tubing structure.

Study on the Production Benefit of Large-scale Tobacco Growers

The tobacco growers with the growing area of greater than or equal to 100 mu,have become an important subject of tobacco production in Weng'an County of Guizhou Province. Regulating and developing the production and business activities of large-scale tobacco growers, plays an important role in stabilizing tobacco production,reducing costs and increasing efficiency in Weng'an County. Through the field survey of large-scale growers' production activities,this article analyzes the input and output levels,and explores the key factors influencing benefit, in order to provide a basis for further regulating the tobacco growing practices and improving the flue-cured tobacco production benefit.

Impact of Small-scale Production Mode on Citrus Industry of Hunan Province,China——Based on the Investigation on Citrus Industry in Shimen County

Small-scale farmer is defined by the domestic and foreign experts and scholars.They point out that since the fragmentation of production and the diseconomy of scale in small-scale farmer is inconsistent with the characteristics of scale and technology of modern agricultural production,it is necessary to eliminate the adverse effects of existing mode in order to provide theoretical references for the relevant researches.Citrus industry in Shimen County,Hunan Province,China is introduced from the aspects of natural geographical condition and socio-economic benefit.Impact of small-scale production mode on citrus production in Shimen County is discussed.Firstly,blindness of small-scale production is the main reason leading to overproduction of citrus.Secondly,small-scale production mode has limitation on the acceptance of new technologies,restricts the operation of geographical trademark,and constraints the enthusiasm of enterprises in entering the agricultural field.Finally,suggestions are put forward,such as encouraging the circulation of rural land,improving the organization degree of farmers,changing the work function of grass-roots government and perfecting the agricultural financial credit system.

Sustainable Potato Production in the Mountain Area of Ecuador, an Approach to Increase Productivity with Small Scale Farmers

Ecuador potato crop is family based production system. Potato production has two roles in their economy, the first is providing food for their families and the second is a source of income for the household. However small scale farmers have limited access to local markets and most of the sales are through intermediates’ who purchase directly in the field at the lowest price possible. Potato production challenges for the small-scale farmers are among others availability of quality potato seed, direct sales, purchase of agrochemical inputs to maintain their crops and lack of education. In 2021, only 4% of potato farmers used certified seed. Potato yield is still low around 16.1 t·ha-1, in the last 10 years the total potato cultivated area was reduced by at least 50%. The farmers produce “Bokashi” and other organic fertilizer and these are effective to improve soil fertility and plant health. Homemade bio-pesticides reduce agrochemical pesticides. The Decision Support System (DSS) is a handheld device to control late blight, minimizes fungicide applications and improve fungicide rotation. In 2018 Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (Lso), the causal agent of zebra chip, and its vector, the potato psyllid Bactericera cockerelli, together created havoc for farmers and researchers. Promotion of early potato varieties INIAP—Libertad is an alternative to lower the impact of this newest pest.

中药饮片产业发展现状及供给侧问题与对策

分析了中药饮片产业及市场规模现状,相关法律、法规、政策等,从供给侧剖析产业发展瓶颈,解析中药饮片生产标准化、规模化程度低,技术及产品创新不足,缺少协调供需平衡的宏观统筹问题,提出加强炮制理论基础研究、提高中药饮片生产标准化水平的对策措施,包括提高中药炮制技术的标准化水平、完善质量控制标准、建立等级标准等,倡导提高产业规模化水平、实施大品种战略、鼓励科技创新、组建创新联合体,加快中药饮片数字化、智能化生产管理研发及新产品研发,并从调控供需平衡角度提出了推进中药饮片区域化生产与流通的措施等,以期构建以高品质中药饮片为核心的创新型产业发展格局,探寻振兴中药饮片产业高质量发展之路。

城市创新创业活力与新兴产业核心技术:空间极化、规模门槛与中介效应

城市新企业、新资本和新发明涌现是孕育新兴产业核心技术的活力源泉,对加快形成新质生产力具有重要意义。利用中国城市面板数据考察创新创业活力对新兴产业核心技术的影响及作用机制。研究发现:(1)城市创新创业活力显著促进新兴产业核心技术数量提升,在考虑一系列稳健性检验后结论仍然成立。(2)创新创业活力对新兴产业核心技术活动的影响存在“边际递增”的城市规模门槛特征,而对邻近城市产生显著的抑制作用,存在“马太效应”和“虹吸效应”。(3)城市创新创业活力对新兴产业核心技术活动的影响存在区域和梯度异质性,不同地理位置和文化区的城市存在显著差异,而资源型城市、智慧城市和创新型城市的分组回归体现了梯度性特征。(4)创新创业活力通过提升城市多样性,特别是专业化部门的多样性程度,促进新兴产业核心技术数量增长。

多向加权Tsallis熵最大化导向的自动阈值分割方法

受噪声或随机细节、目标和背景的大小比例、成像时的点扩散等不同因素的影响,许多图像的灰度直方图呈现为无模态、单模态、双模态或者多模态样式.为了在统一框架内处理这4种不同模态情形下的自动阈值选择问题,本文提出了一种多向加权Tsallis熵最大化导向的自动阈值分割方法(Multi-directional Weighted Tsallis Entropy,MWTE).基于新设计的反正切方向性卷积核的多尺度乘积效应,该方法将不同模态的灰度直方图转化为统一的单模态右偏灰度直方图.在4个不同方向上提取出这种特殊的单模态右偏灰度直方图后,通过多向加权策略构建出与原始图像灰度值紧密相关的加权Tsallis熵目标函数,并以该目标函数取最大值时对应的灰度值作为最终分割阈值.本文将提出的方法和3个阈值分割方法、1个软分割方法、1个活动轮廓分割方法以及1个自动聚类分割方法进行了比较.在4种不同模态情形下的4幅合成图像和50幅真实世界图像上的实验结果表明,本文提出的方法虽然在计算效率方面不占有优势,但它对不同模态的测试图像具有更稳健的分割适应性,且在量化分割精度所用的马修斯相关系数方面优于其他6个分割方法.

Kenyan Counties Geospatial Data Knowledge to Monitor Crop Production

Climate change effects have had negative effects on most farmers, both small and large-scale, with weather patterns increasingly becoming unpredictable, such that farmers are unable to plan well for their farming, resulting in reduced harvests and sometimes losses for farmers. Better availability of information such as weather patterns, suitable crops, nutrient requirements based on soil types and conditions would greatly alleviate these challenges. While geospatial information is being developed and improved continuously by researchers, its accessibility and use by the counties has not been established and cannot be identified as contributing to better crop production outcomes. The aim of this study, therefore, was to assess the awareness and status of geospatial data availability and use for crop production, and the level of the relevant capacities, both human and infrastructural, in selected Counties of Kenya. A survey was conducted in the four counties of Vihiga, Kilifi, Wajir and Nyeri and key informant interviews were conducted with both management and technical County Agricultural Officers, as well as sub-county agricultural extension officers. From the results of the survey, out of the four counties, only one has adequate infrastructure in terms of hard-ware, software and connectivity to conduct useful geospatial data acquisition and processing. While most indicated awareness of the existence of geospatial data, limited resources, low skills and knowledge have restricted any meaningful sourcing of and access to data, with only 38% moderately or highly skilled in acquisition, 48% in processing and 57% in interpretation and use of geospatial data. The study concludes that moderate skills and capacities available within the counties have considerable potential to make use the available geospatial data to inform farmers accordingly and improve their farming outcomes.

我国畜牧业发展现状、存在问题及对策

畜牧业是我国农业农村经济的重要组成部分,对保障国家粮食安全和提高居民生活水平具有重要意义。近年来,我国畜牧业发展的内外部环境正在发生深刻的变化。本文分析了我国肉牛、生猪、肉鸡、肉羊产业的发展现状,发现我国畜牧业目前存在养殖场动物疫病风险加大,畜禽行业养殖环境约束趋紧,畜禽良种繁育能力不足,科技创新及人才支撑不足的问题。针对这些问题提出了构建完善的公共服务监管体系,科学提高疫情防控能力;推进规模化养殖和标准化生产;强化科技支撑,加快推进科技育种工作;提升技术研发能力,健全产业发展支撑体系等发展对策,以期为我国畜牧业健康发展提供理论参考。