"Beyond previous more simplistic approaches, this book takes a giant step towards understanding and translating into people-centered policies the actual position and complexity of fish production in Southeast Asian economies. Tackling how fi sheries and aquaculture are embedded in local and household economies and linked through dynamic supply chains to more distant, even global markets, the book makes essential policy and analytical recommendations. SEARCA and ISEAS have made a major contribution to the intellectual debate and action agenda for Southeast Asian fisheries." Dr Meryl Williams, Chair of the Commission of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research

This book presents the Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) paradigm for modelling agricultural decision-making in three parts. The first part, comprising two chapters, is philosophical in nature and deals with the concepts that define the underlying structure of the MCDM paradigm. The second part is the largest part consisting of five chapters, each of which presents the logic of a specific MCDM technique, and demonstrates how it can be used to model a particular decision problem. In the final part, some selected applications of the MCDM techniques to agricultural problems are presented and thus reinforce the development of an understanding of the MCDM paradigm.

The book has been designed for use at different levels: as a textbook for final year undergraduate and postgraduate courses in modelling for decision-making; as a manual for researchers and practising modellers; and, as general reference on the application of MCDM techniques. Readers with basic appreciation of algebra and linear programming can easily follow the contents of this book.

In recent decades, Canada's agricultural industry, one of the world's largest, has had to adjust to global trade developments such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization. Internationalization and Canadian Agriculture examines the patterns of continuity and change in Canadian agricultural policy making in important areas like farm income support programs, prairie grain marketing, supply management, animal and food product safety, and the regulation of genetically modified crops and foods.

Arguing that the effects of internationalization have been mediated by Canada's political institutional framework, Grace Skogstad demonstrates how the goals and strategies of authoritative political actors in Canada's federal and parliamentary systems have been decisive to policy developments. Skogstad details the interaction between agriculture and the political economy of Canada, shows how international and domestic trade shape Canadian agricultural policies, and argues that while agricultural programs have changed, the post-war state assistance agricultural paradigm has persisted.

A thorough political analysis and history of late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century Canadian agricultural policy and policy-making, Internationalization of Canadian Agriculture is an important contribution to political economy and public policy.

The Global Diamond Industry: Economics and Development brings together a collection of papers covering various aspects of the diamond industry including economics, law, history, sociology and development across two volumes.

Written by an internationally-recognized team of natural gas industry experts, the fourth edition of Handbook of Natural Gas Transmission and Processing is a unique, well-researched, and comprehensive work on the design and operation aspects of natural gas transmission and processing. Six new chapters have been added to include detailed discussion of the thermodynamic and energy efficiency of relevant processes, and recent developments in treating super-rich gas, high CO2 content gas, and high nitrogen content gas with other contaminants. The new material describes technologies for processing today's unconventional gases, providing a fresh approach in solving today's gas processing challenges including greenhouse gas emissions. The updated edition is an excellent platform for gas processors and educators to understand the basic principles and innovative designs necessary to meet today's environmental and sustainability requirement while delivering acceptable project economics.

The book gives an overview of the organic sector, both in Italy and in the US, and to show how agricultural economists are performing analyses dealing with organic produce on different points in the supply chain. The book covers economic issues raised by organic farming, taking into account the consumer's needs but also the managerial and budget constraints experienced by the farmers. Farm management methodologies, as well as marketing analyses have been applied to specific research topics involving several industries in the agri-food sector. The papers strive to answer questions that have a managerial relevance: e.g. Are the producers ready to adopt organic farming techniques, and are the consumers willing to pay a premium price for a certified organic produce? Most of the contributions were presented during the 8th Padova-Minnesota Conference on Food, Agriculture, and the Environment, held in Stout's Lodge, Red Cedar Lake, Wisconsin, on August 26-28, 2002. The editors have added authors to round out the subject.

Currently, there is a need for new management practices for fruit orchards in order to sustain the growth and productivity of various fruit crops. In addition, due to the continuous growth in the world's population, there is a demand for adequate food which is produced from the same sources of water and soils. The main factors limiting agricultural production are droughts and the population growth; this makes it important to prevent fruit production from being subject to climatic hazards. This book enhances the growth and productivity of fruit trees through different techniques, such as artificial intelligence optimization for soil conditioner, site-specific nutrient management in orchards in fertilizing as an application of smart agriculture, irrigation, modeling of parameters of water requirements in fruit orchards, and up-to-date trends in vineyard practices. The book also explores pest control on orchards to increase the efficiency of pesticides and protect the environment and discusses the shading of citrus orchards to avoid negative impacts such as rising temperatures and heatwaves on citrus productivity. Finally, the book discusses the carbon and water footprint for various fruit orchards. This book is ideal for researchers and academics of horticultural science, agricultural organizations, fruit growers, and economics and data analyzers.

Historically, the relationship between towns and surrounding farm families has ranged from suspicion to benign neglect. This book shows that rural America can be revived by uniting the interests of both farm and non-farm populations through value-added enterprises, especially those based on the principles of New Generation Cooperatives (NGCs). Instead of sending agricultural commodities out of the region to be processed, farmers and communities can collaborate to process the commodities locally, thereby adding value to the local rural economy.

In this edited volume, nationally recognized scholars discuss the on-going challenges to the agricultural sector such as declining farm subsidies and commodity prices, and the strategies used by rural communities to respond to economic decline. Specific attention is paid to the role of NGCs as a specific form of value-added agriculture which has helped some rural communities to prosper. The NGCs, however, extend well beyond traditional agriculture to include grocery stores, day care centers, and other businesses that have not always been profitable in small towns. The broader objective of the book is to show how increased collaboration among farm producers, small businesses, and community leaders can promote economic development in rural regions.

If we are what we eat, then, as Christopher D. Cook contends in this powerful look at the food industry, we are not in good shape. The facts speak for themselves: more than 75 million Americans suffered from food poisoning last year, and 5,000 of them died; 67 percent of American males are overweight, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States and supersizing is just the tip of the iceberg: the way we make and eat food today is putting our environment and the very future of food at risk. Diet for a Dead Planet takes us beyond Fast Food Nation to show how our entire food system is in crisis. Corporate control of farms and supermarkets, unsustainable drives to increase agribusiness productivity and profits, misplaced subsidies for exports, and anemic regulation have all combined to produce a grim harvest. Food, our most basic necessity, has become a force behind a staggering array of social, economic, and environmental epidemics. Yet there is another way. Cook argues cogently for a whole new way of looking at what we eat—one that places healthy, sustainably produced food at the top of the menu for change. In the words of Jim Hightower, “If you eat, read this important book!”

In the current era, there are many environmental and energy challenges facing the agricultural sector, which negatively impact the climate, business, industry, and society. Through modern technologies and engineering, however, these challenges are now able to be met with solutions. There is a need for research in this area so that the industry can continue to be sustainable. Human Agro-Energy Optimization for Business and Industry presents research on humanized optimization approaches for smart energy and the agro-business industry. It is a critical scholarly resource that examines the efficient use of modern smart farming and renewable energy sources, which have a positive impact on sustainable development. Covering topics such as biomass characterization, energy efficiency, and sustainable development, this premier reference source is an essential resource for agricultural scientists, engineers, government officials, software developers, managers, business leaders, executive officers, students and educators of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

Grazing animals need to be managed in order to accommodate desired results in terms of animal, plant, land and economic responses. Grazing Management, 2nd Edition integrates principles and management techniques that apply to all grazing lands and to all grazing animals. This comprehensive volume provides authoritative review on a wide range of relevant topics: animal nutrition and nutritional balance when fed on different sorts of grazing lands; seasonal variation and limits placed on ecosystems by grazing; the effects of grazing on grazing lands; the various sorts of grazing behaviors; selecting plants and managing grazing lands, as well as many other important topics bearing upon the methods, practises and procedures for properly managing grazing lands and animals.
* Animal nutrition and nutritional balance when fed on different sorts of grazing lands
* Seasonal variation and limits placed on ecosystems by grazing
* The effects of grazing on grazing lands
* The various sorts of grazing behaviours
* Selecting plants and managing grazing lands

This book employs different parametric and non-parametric panel data models which have been used in history of developed panel data efficiency measurement literature. It assesses the differences of models based on characteristics and efficiency scores measurement using a systematic sensitivity analysis of the results. On the whole twelve parametric and four nonparametric models were studied. Parametric models are classified in four groups in terms of the assumptions made on the temporal behavior of inefficiency. A common issue among all the parametric models is that inefficiency is individual producer-specific. This is consistent with the notion of measuring the efficiency of decision-making units. Non-parametric models are divided into partial and full frontier models. A main contribution of this volume is that it helps to understand differences between parametric and non-parametric models. On empirical part of the volume, technical efficiency of two agricultural strategic crops (cotton and sugar beet) in different provinces of the Iran are analyzed. Using different models, the most efficient and inefficient provinces in cotton and sugar beet production of Iran are recognized.

Promoting rural entrepreneurship is a necessary step to limit the negative effects of classical agricultural policy based on a linear process and attracting secondary resources to the economic process. The analysis of agricultural policy and rural development in conjunction to entrepreneurship in terms of production may represent a further step in understanding the role and importance of diversifying the rural potentials in contemporary economies. The Handbook of Research on Agricultural Policy, Rural Development, and Entrepreneurship in Contemporary Economies is an essential publication of academic research that examines agricultural policy and its impact on shaping future resilient economy in rural areas and identifies green business models and new business patterns in rural communities. Covering a range of topics such as entrepreneurship, product management, and marketing, this book is ideal for researchers, policymakers, academicians, economists, agriculture professionals, rural developers, business investors, and students.

This book profiles various cases that are emerging in addressing global challenges in the context of SDGs for society in the era of climate change and covers case studies of projects being undertaken to tackle biodiversity, food security, climate change, energy and water security. The book is written by 37 authors, and will appeal to various stakeholders including academics working within the identified thematic areas, policy planners, development agencies, governments and United Nations agencies. The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 ushered a new era in the global development agenda as the world transitioned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The new era of SDGs that are all-inclusive, unlike the MDGs with the focus now being on ensuring human success that is predicated on environmental protection. The year 2020 marked five years post the adoption of the SDGs with increased calls for stock-taking of progress made amid strong calls for a decade of action to accelerate the delivery of the SDGs by 2030. These calls have been louder now given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which reset the global economy and increased intensity of extreme weather events across the world. Since climate change has emerged as one of the biggest threats to the achievement of the SDGs, there has been growing concerns on its impact on biodiversity loss and the extinction of some species. There are also concerns regarding increased food insecurity at the household level in some parts of the world, particularly in Asia and Africa. With the demand for climate change action on the increase, there have also been growing calls for the big carbon emitters to drastically cut their emissions and invest in clean energy to save the planet by following development pathways making emissions stay under the 1.5 DegreesC increase in temperature.

This is a comprehensive handbook focused on geospatial applications used to study, assess, and monitor the Himalayan mountains. As a region of high relevance and very vulnerable regarding geohazards, it is crucial to detect landscape changes and understand the drivers behind the changes. With advanced remote sensing and GIS tools, in-depth analyses, and interdisciplinary approaches, the Handbook of Himalayan Ecosystems and Sustainability, Two Volume Set studies forest and agriculture ecosystems, urban sprawl and air pollution, geo and other hazards, and provides a breadth of data to support decision making and to aids in the preservation of the landscapes in a sustainable way. Features: Uses geospatial technology for studying fragile Himalayan ecosystems and their sustainability Includes 21 case studies from Indian Himalayan, Nepal, and Afghanistan regions Provides satellite data and geospatial modelling tools for assessing and monitoring all Himalayan landscapes Addresses cryospheric studies and related ongoing geohazards and potential climate change impacts Discusses ecology of the Himalayan rivers, biodiversity, and floristic shifting of endemic species, and landscape restoration

Food Crop Production by Smallholder Farmers in Southern Africa: Challenges and Opportunities for Improvement evaluates traditional cultivation practices used by smallholder farmers, providing a synthesis of the latest information on increasing crop yield through adoption of research innovations. The book catalogs smallholder cultivation practices and recommends innovative strategies for improving the agriculture sector including: management practices that reduce net carbon emissions; technologies that improve soil structures and conserve the natural resources base; means of empowering female resources along value chains; and government commitment to adopt policies that enhance agriculture productivity by encouraging farmers to use environmentally sound cultivation technologies. Traditional farming techniques often produce negative impacts on the environment and ecosystem resulting in outbreaks of diseases and pests. In addition to the region's recurrent droughts, these outbreaks of numerous diseases and pests, weeds and other invasive plants put thousands at risk of poverty and hunger, as well as malnutrition. This book presents enhanced agricultural production technologies for ensuring adequate food production, safety and nutritional quality for the population of Southern Africa and forms the basis for an increased SADC regional effort in food production through which financial and trade institutions can improve stakeholder capacities, encourage micro-enterprise development and enhance employment and regional trade.

This collective book is a multidisciplinary approach on a key-topic for our common future: overfishing. The focus is addressed to the "Atlantic World", considering the main oceanic geography in which this problem born in the early 20th century. The volume offers a wide range of contributions from experts on the topic covering the most relevant areas of the Atlantic and explaining important case studies on overfishing recent history. Written in a historical perspective, the book looks for institutional regulatory solutions based on multilateral solutions and scientific advising. Founders thought on the topic and the understanding's evolution of the overfishing problem are mainly considered. This book is an accessible synthesis on overfishing history especially recommended for social scientists, historians, biologists, decision-makers and committed citizens.