Search results for: agricultural risks

Authors: Pascal Mwenge, Tumisang Seodigeng

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The increase in urbanisation in South Africa has led to an increase in water demand and a decline in freshwater supply. Despite this, poor water usage is still a major challenge in South Africa, for instance, freshwater is still used for non-drinking applications. The freshwater shortage can be alleviated by using other sources of water for non-portable purposes such as greywater treated with activated biochar produced from agricultural waste. The success of activated biochar produced from agricultural waste to treat greywater can be both economically and environmentally beneficial. Greywater treated with activated biochar produced from agricultural waste is considered a cost-effective wastewater treatment.  This work was aimed at determining the ability of activated biochar to remove Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Ammonium (NH₄-N), Nitrate (NO₃-N), and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) from greywater. The experiments were carried out in 800 ml laboratory plastic cylinders used as filter columns. 2.5 cm layer of gravel was used at the bottom and top of the column to sandwich the activated biochar material. Activated biochar (200 g and 400 g) was loaded in a column and used as a filter medium for greywater. Samples were collected after a week and sent for analysis. Four types of greywater were treated: Kitchen, floor cleaning water, shower and laundry water. The findings showed: 95% removal of TSS, 76% of NO₃-N and 63% of COD on kitchen greywater and 85% removal of NH₄-N on bathroom greywater, as highest removal of efficiency of the studied pollutants. The results showed that activated biochar produced from agricultural waste reduces a certain amount of pollutants from greywater. The results also indicated the ability of activated biochar to treat greywater for onsite non-potable reuse purposes.

Keywords: activated biochar produced from agriculture waste, ammonium, NH₄-N, chemical oxygen demand, COD, greywater, nitrate, NO₃-N, total suspended solids, TSS

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Authors: Supakij Saisopon

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The process of economic development incurs spatial transformation. This spatial alternation also causes environmental impacts, leading to higher pollution. In the case of Thailand, there is still a lack of price-endogenous quantitative analysis incorporating relationships among economic growth, land-use change, and environmental impact. Therefore, this paper aimed at developing the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model with the capability of stimulating such mutual effects. The developed CGE model has also incorporated the nested constant elasticity of transformation (CET) structure that describes the spatial redistribution mechanism between agricultural land and urban area. The simulation results showed that the 1% decrease in the availability of agricultural land lowers the value-added of agricultural by 0.036%. Similarly, the 1% reduction of availability of urban areas can decrease the value-added of manufacturing and service sectors by 0.05% and 0.047%, respectively. Moreover, the outcomes indicate that the increasing farming and urban areas induce higher volumes of solid waste, wastewater, and air pollution. Specifically, the 1% increase in the urban area can increase pollution as follows: (1) the solid waste increase by 0.049%, (2) water pollution ̶ indicated by biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) value ̶ increase by 0.051% and (3) air pollution ̶ indicated by the volumes of CO₂, N₂O, NOₓ, CH₄, and SO₂ ̶ increase within the range of 0.045%–0.051%. With the simulation for exploring the sustainable development path, a 1% increase in agricultural land use efficiency leads to the shrinking demand for agricultural land. But this is not happening in urban, a 1% scale increase in urban utilization results in still increasing demand for land. Therefore, advanced clean production technology is necessary to align the increasing land-use efficiency with the lowered pollution density.

Keywords: CGE model, CET structure, environmental impact, land use

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Authors: Yegnanew A. Shiferaw

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Background: commodity price volatility originating from excessive commodity price fluctuation has been a global problem especially after the recent financial crises. Volatility is a measure of risk or uncertainty in financial analysis. It plays a vital role in risk management, portfolio management, and pricing equity. Objectives: the core objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between the prices of agricultural commodities with oil price, gas price, coal price and exchange rate (USD/Rand). In addition, the paper tries to fit an appropriate model that best describes the log return price volatility and estimate Value-at-Risk and expected shortfall. Data and methods: the data used in this study are the daily returns of agricultural commodity prices from 02 January 2007 to 31st October 2016. The data sets consists of the daily returns of agricultural commodity prices namely: white maize, yellow maize, wheat, sunflower, soya, corn, and sorghum. The paper applies the three-state Markov-switching (MS) regression, the standard single-regime GARCH and the two regime Markov-switching GARCH (MS-GARCH) models. Results: to choose the best fit model, the log-likelihood function, Akaike information criterion (AIC), Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and deviance information criterion (DIC) are employed under three distributions for innovations. The results indicate that: (i) the price of agricultural commodities was found to be significantly associated with the price of coal, price of natural gas, price of oil and exchange rate, (ii) for all agricultural commodities except sunflower, k=3 had higher log-likelihood values and lower AIC and BIC values. Thus, the three-state MS regression model outperformed the two-state MS regression model (iii) MS-GARCH(1,1) with generalized error distribution (ged) innovation performs best for white maize and yellow maize; MS-GARCH(1,1) with student-t distribution (std) innovation performs better for sorghum; MS-gjrGARCH(1,1) with ged innovation performs better for wheat, sunflower and soya and MS-GARCH(1,1) with std innovation performs better for corn. In conclusion, this paper provided a practical guide for modelling agricultural commodity prices by MS regression and MS-GARCH processes. This paper can be good as a reference when facing modelling agricultural commodity price problems.

Keywords: commodity prices, MS-GARCH model, MS regression model, South Africa, volatility

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Authors: Oto J. Okwu, Ornan Henry, Victor A. Otene

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The agricultural sector contributes a great deal to the sustenance of Nigeria’s food security and economy, with an attendant impact on rural development. In spite of the relatively high number of farmers in the country, self-sufficiency in food production is still a challenge. Farmers are faced with myriad problems which hinder their production efficiency, one of which is their access to agricultural inputs required for optimum production. To meet the challenges faced by farmers, the government at the federal level has come up with many agricultural policies, one of which is the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA). The Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) is one of the critical components of ATA, which is aimed at ensuring the effective distribution of agricultural inputs delivered directly to farmers, and at a regulated cost. After about 8 years of launching this policy, it will be necessary to carry out an assessment of GESS and determine the impact it has made on rural farmers with respect to their access to farm inputs. This study was carried out to assess the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) in Adamawa State, Nigeria. Crop farmers who registered under the GESS in Adamawa State, Nigeria, formed the population for the study. Primary data for the study were obtained through a survey, and the use of a structured questionnaire. A sample size of 167 respondents was selected using multi-stage, purposive, and random sampling techniques. The validity and reliability of the research instrument (questionnaire) were obtained through pilot testing and test-retest method, respectively. The objectives of the study were to determine the difference in the level of access to agricultural inputs before and after GESS, determine the difference in cost of agricultural inputs before and after GESS, and to determine the challenges faced by rural farmers in accessing agricultural inputs through GESS. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing the collected data. Specifically, Mann-Whitney, student t-test, and factor analysis were used to test the stated hypotheses. Research findings revealed there was a significant difference in the level of access to farm inputs after the introduction of GESS (Z=14.216). Also, there was a significant difference in the cost of agro-inputs after the introduction of GESS (Pr |T| > |t|= 0.0000). The challenges faced by respondents in accessing agro-inputs through GESS were administrative and technical in nature. Based on the findings of the research, it was recommended that efforts be made by the government to sustain the GESS, as it has significantly improved the level of farmers’ access to agricultural inputs and has reduced the cost of agro-inputs, while administrative challenges faced by the respondents in accessing inputs be addressed by the government, and extension agents assist the farmers to overcome the technical challenges they face in accessing inputs.

Keywords: agricultural policy, agro-inputs, assessment, growth enhancement support scheme, rural farmers

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Authors: Elmo Thiago Lins Cöuras Ford, Valentina Alessandra Carvalho do Vale

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With the evolution of the productive processes, demonstrated mainly by the presence every time larger of the irrigation and to crescent it disputes for water, accompanied by your shortage (distances every time larger), there is need to project facilities that can provide supply of water with larger speed and efficiency. Being like this, the presence of hydraulic pumps in an irrigation project or water supply for small communities, is of highest importance, and the knowledge of the fundamental parts to your good operation it deserves the due attention and care. Hydraulic pumps are machines of flow, whose function is to supply energy for the water, in order to press down her, through the conversion of mechanical energy of your originating from rotor a motor the combustion or of an electric motor. This way, the hydraulic pumps are had as generating hydraulic machines. The objective of this work was to project and to build a radial centrifugal pump for agricultural application in small communities.

Keywords: centrifuge pump, hydraulic energy, agricultural applications, irrigation

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Authors: Ricardo Andrés Márquez Ortiz

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Objective: The objective of this literature review is to compile updated information from studies that have addressed the association between dental pathologies and agriculture. Materials and method: The research carried out corresponds to a documentary study of ex post facto retrospective, historiographic, and bibliometric design. An exhaustive bibliographic review search was carried out in databases and the Internet, books and articles on dental anthropology, archeology, and dentistry, on the relationship between dental pathologies and agriculture in prehistoric and current populations from different parts of the world. Subsequently, data collection was carried out through the ATLAS.ti computer program. Conclusions: In an influential article by Turner, which addresses the correlation between caries and the way of subsistence of both prehistoric and modern populations (hunting and gathering, mixed and agricultural economies), an average of 1.3% was found in hunter-gatherer societies, and 10.4% in agricultural societies. Sreebny compared global grain supply data (rice, wheat and corn) with DMF (spoiled, lost and blocked) rates. He concluded that rice has no association with dental caries, corn has a negative correlation, and wheat has a positive correlation. Additionally, intensive monoculture agricultural production systems cause an increase in dental pathologies. Meanwhile, polyculture agriculture, which leads to a more varied diet, generates a better state of dental health.

Keywords: dental pathologies, agricultural production systems, extensive agriculture, dental anthropology

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Authors: Nadeem Munawar, Tariq Mahmood, Paula Rivadeneira, Ali Akhter

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In this paper, we review on rodent species which are common inhabitants of agricultural landscapes where they are an important prey source for a wide variety of avian, reptilian, and mammalian predators. Agricultural fields are surrounded by fallow land, which provide suitable sites for shelter and breeding for rodents, while shrubs, grasses, annual weeds and forbs may provide supplementary food. The assemblage of rodent’s fauna in the cropland habitats including cropped fields, meadows and adjacent field structures like hedgerows, woodland and field margins fluctuates seasonally. The mature agricultural crops provides good source of food and shelter to the rodents and these factors along with favorable climatic factors/season facilitate breeding activities of these rodent species. Changes in vegetation height and vegetative cover affect two important aspects of a rodent’s life: food and shelter. In addition, during non-crop period vegetation can be important for building nests above or below ground and it provides thermal protection for rodents from heat and cold. The review revealed that rodents form a very diverse group of mammals, ranging from tiny pigmy mice to big capybaras, from arboreal flying squirrels to subterranean mole rats, from opportunistic omnivores (e.g. Norway rats) to specialist feeders (e.g. the North African fat sand rats that feed on a single family of plants only). It is therefore no surprise that some species thrive well under the conditions that are found in agricultural fields. The review on the population dynamics of the rodent species indicated that they are agricultural pests probably due to the heterogeneous landscape and to the high rotativity of vegetable crop cultivation. They also cause damage to various crops, directly and indirectly, by gnawing, spoilage, contamination and hoarding activities, besides this behavior they have also significance importance in agricultural habitat. The burrowing activities of rodents alter the soil properties around their burrows which improve its aeration, infiltration, increase the water holding capacity and thus encourage plant growth. These properties are beneficial for the soil because they affect absorption of phosphorus, absorption zinc, copper, other nutrients and the uptake of water and thus rodents are known as indicator species in agricultural fields. Our review suggests that wide crop field’s borders, particularly those contiguous to various cropland fields, should be understood as priority sites for nesting, feeding, and cover for the rodent’s fauna. The goal of this review paper is to provide a comprehensive synthesis of understanding regarding rodent habitat and biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.

Keywords: agricultural landscapes, food, indicator species, shelter

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Authors: Kazeem Adesina Dauda, Waheed Babatunde Yahya

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To design a tree that maximizes within-node homogeneity, there is a need for a homogeneity measure that is appropriate for event history data with multiple risks. We consider the use of Deviance and Modified Cox-Snell residuals as a measure of impurity in Classification Regression Tree (CART) and compare our results with the results of Fiona (2008) in which homogeneity measures were based on Martingale Residual. Data structure approach was used to validate the performance of our proposed techniques via simulation and real life data. The results of univariate competing risk revealed that: using Deviance and Cox-Snell residuals as a response in within node homogeneity classification tree perform better than using other residuals irrespective of performance techniques. Bone marrow transplant data and double-blinded randomized clinical trial, conducted in other to compare two treatments for patients with prostate cancer were used to demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed method vis-à-vis the existing ones. Results from empirical studies of the bone marrow transplant data showed that the proposed model with Cox-Snell residual (Deviance=16.6498) performs better than both the Martingale residual (deviance=160.3592) and Deviance residual (Deviance=556.8822) in both event of interest and competing risks. Additionally, results from prostate cancer also reveal the performance of proposed model over the existing one in both causes, interestingly, Cox-Snell residual (MSE=0.01783563) outfit both the Martingale residual (MSE=0.1853148) and Deviance residual (MSE=0.8043366). Moreover, these results validate those obtained from the Monte-Carlo studies.

Keywords: within-node homogeneity, Martingale residual, modified Cox-Snell residual, classification and regression tree

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Authors: Viana Hassan

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Each year, 600 million tourists travelled abroad to practice several types of tourism. Nowadays, whatever is the type of tourism practiced it considered as a real public health problem which can contribute the spread of several diseases such as AIDS, H1N1, NDM1 With regard to HIV/AIDS, Lebanon is always considered as a low HIV prevalence country. However, the potential risks associated with the mobility of the population, migration and tourism. The total number of cases reported by the ministry of health since 1989 until the end of 2011 is of 1455 cases, with an average of 85 new cases per year over the last three years. The main reason of the increased number is Travel and migration which represent 50% of the risks reported by cumulative cases. Given the interest of this kind of epidemic it would be interesting to study the Evolution of HIV/ AIDS and its relation with travel and tourism The main aim of this research is to study in general the relation between tourism and health, more specific to understand the relation between Tourism and AIDS, the problem of the transmission of HIV in Lebanon, the ways of contamination and the countries in which these people are contaminated.

Keywords: AIDS, tourism, health, Lebanon

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Authors: Safia Hasan Varachhia, Neela Badrie, Marsha Singh

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Genetic modification of food is an innovative technology that offers a host of benefits and advantages to consumers. Consumer attitudes towards GM food and GM technologies can be identified a major determinant in conditioning market force and encouraging policy makers and regulators to recognize the significance of consumer influence on the market. This study aimed to investigate and evaluate the extent of consumer awareness, knowledge, perception and acceptance of GM foods and its associated health risks and benefit in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. The specific objectives of this study were to (determine consumer awareness to GM foods, ascertain their perspectives on health and safety risks and ethical issues associated with GM foods and determine whether labeling of GM foods and ingredients will influence consumers’ willingness to purchase GM foods. A survey comprising of a questionnaire consisting of 40 questions, both open-ended and close-ended was administered to 240 shoppers in small, medium and large-scale supermarkets throughout Trinidad between April-May, 2015 using convenience sampling. This survey investigated consumer awareness, knowledge, perception and acceptance of GM foods and its associated health risks/benefits. The data was analyzed using SPSS 19.0 and Minitab 16.0. One-way ANOVA investigated the effects categories of supermarkets and knowledge scores on shoppers’ awareness, knowledge, perception and acceptance of GM foods. Linear Regression tested whether demographic variables (category of supermarket, age of consumer, level of were useful predictors of consumer’s knowledge of GM foods). More than half of respondents (64.3%) were aware of GM foods and GM technologies, 28.3% of consumers indicated the presence of GM foods in local supermarkets and 47.1% claimed to be knowledgeable of GM foods. Furthermore, significant associations (P < 0.05) were observed between demographic variables (age, income, and education), and consumer knowledge of GM foods. Also, significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed between demographic variables (education, gender, and income) and consumer knowledge of GM foods. In addition, age, education, gender and income (P < 0.05) were useful predictors of consumer knowledge of GM foods. There was a contradiction as whilst 35% of consumers considered GM foods safe for consumption, 70% of consumers were wary of the unknown health risks of GM foods. About two-thirds of respondents (67.5%) considered the creation of GM foods morally wrong and unethical. Regarding GM food labeling preferences, 88% of consumers preferred mandatory labeling of GM foods and 67% of consumers specified that any food product containing a trace of GM food ingredients required mandatory GM labeling. Also, despite the declaration of GM food ingredients on food labels and the reassurance of its safety for consumption by food safety and regulatory institutions, the majority of consumers (76.1%) still preferred conventionally produced foods over GM foods. The study revealed the need to inform shoppers of the presence of GM foods and technologies, present the scientific evidence as to the benefits and risks and the need for a policy on labeling so that informed choices could be taken.

Keywords: genetically modified foods, income, labeling consumer awareness, ingredients, morality and ethics, policy

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Authors: Vasudha Thapa, Kiran Chappa

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There is a pressing need to prepare cities in the developing countries of the global south such as India against the chaos created by COVID 19 pandemic and future disaster risks. This pandemic posed the nation with an unprecedented challenge of dealing with a wave of stranded migrant workers. These workers comprise the most vulnerable section of the society in case of any pandemic or disaster risks. The COVID 19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of migrant workers in the urban form and the need for capacity-building strategies against future pandemics. This paper highlights the challenges of these migrant workers in the case of Mumbai city in lockdown, post lockdown, and the current uncertain scenarios. The paper deals with a thorough investigation of the existing and the recent policies and strategies taken by the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), state, and central government to assist these migrants in the city during this mayhem of uncertainties. The paper looks further deep into the challenges and opportunities presented in the current scenario through the assessment of existing data and response to policy measures taken by the government organizations. The ULBs are at the forefront in the response to any disaster risk, hence the paper assesses the capacity gaps of the Urban local bodies in mitigating the risks posed by any pandemic-like situation. The study further recommends capacity-building strategies at various levels of governance and uniform policy measures to assist the migrant population of the city.

Keywords: urban resilience, covid 19, migrant population, India, capacity building, governance

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Authors: Samaneh Abolli, Mahmood Alimohammadi

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The survey analyzed 71 bottled water brands in Tehran, Iran, examining 10 physicochemical parameters and 16 heavy metals. The water quality index (WQI) approach was used to assess water quality, and methods such as carcinogen risk (CR) and hazard index (HI) were employed to evaluate health risks. The results indicated that the bottled water had good quality overall, but some brands were of poor or very poor quality. The study also revealed significant human health risks, especially for children, due to the presence of minerals and heavy metals in bottled water. Correlation analyses and risk assessments for various substances were conducted, providing valuable insights into the potential health impacts of the analyzed bottled water.

Keywords: bottled wate, rwater quality index, health risk assessment, contamination degree, heavy metal evaluation index

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Authors: Masese Chuma Benard, Martin Onsiro Ronald

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Businesses have been using cloud computing more frequently recently because they wish to take advantage of its advantages. However, employing cloud computing also introduces new security concerns, particularly with regard to data security, potential risks and weaknesses that could be exploited by attackers, and various tactics and strategies that could be used to lessen these risks. This study examines data security issues on cloud computing amongst sme’s in Nairobi county, Kenya. The study used the sample size of 48, the research approach was mixed methods, The findings show that data owner has no control over the cloud merchant's data management procedures, there is no way to ensure that data is handled legally. This implies that you will lose control over the data stored in the cloud. Data and information stored in the cloud may face a range of availability issues due to internet outages; this can represent a significant risk to data kept in shared clouds. Integrity, availability, and secrecy are all mentioned.

Keywords: data security, cloud computing, information, information security, small and medium-sized firms (SMEs)

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Authors: Sara Muslat Alsahali, Nout Mohammed Alqahtani

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Digital technology has changed the world, and with the increasing number of children accessing the Internet, it has now become an integral part of children's lives from their early years. With the rapid development of digital technology, the risks children face on the internet also evolve from cyberbullying to misuse, sexual exploitation, and abuse of their private information over the Internet. Digital technology, with its advantages and disadvantages, is now a fact of our life. Therefore, knowledge of how to reduce its risks and maximize its benefits will help shape the growth and future of a new generation of digital citizens. This paper will discuss access control techniques that help to create secure cyberspace where children can be safe without depriving them of their rights and freedom to use the internet and preventing them from its benefits. Also, it sheds light on its challenges and problems by classifying the methods of parental controlling into two possibilities asynchronous and synchronous techniques and choosing YouTube as a case study of access control techniques.

Keywords: access control, cyber security, kids, parental monitoring

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Authors: Ahmed Elwaleed, Huiho Jeong, Ali H. Abdelbagi, Nguyen Thi Quynh, Koji Arizono, Yasuhiro Ishibashi

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Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) poses substantial risks to both human health and the environment, particularly through contamination of soil, water, and air. Prolonged exposure to ASGM-contaminated soils can lead to acute or chronic mercury toxicity. This study assesses the human health risks associated with mercury-contaminated soils and tailings in the Alebediah mining community in Sudan. Soil samples were collected from various locations within Alebediah, including ASGM areas, farmlands, and residential areas, along with tailings samples commonly found within ASGM sites. The evaluation of potential health risks to humans included the computation of the estimated daily intake (AvDI), the hazard quotient (HQ), and the hazard index (HI) for both adults and children. The primary exposure route identified as potentially posing a significant health risk was the volatilization of mercury from tailings samples, where mercury concentrations reached up to 25.5 mg/kg. In contrast, other samples within the ASGM area showed elevated mercury levels but did not present significant health risks, with HI values below 1. However, all areas indicated HI values above 1 for the remaining exposure routes. The study observed a decrease in mercury concentration with increasing distance from the ASGM community. Additionally, soil samples revealed elevated mercury levels exceeding background values, prompting an assessment of contamination levels using the enrichment factor (EF). The findings indicated that farmlands and residential areas exhibited depleted EF, while areas surrounding the ASGM community showed none to moderate pollution. In contrast, ASGM areas exhibited significant to extreme pollution. A GIS map was generated to visually depict the extent of mercury pollution, facilitating communication with stakeholders and decision-makers.

Keywords: mercury pollution, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, health risk assessment, hazard index, soil and tailings, enrichment factor

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Authors: Amir Nourbakhsh Habibabadi, Alireza Ashori

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Context: The growing concern over the management of plastic waste and the high demand for wood-based products have led to the development of wood-plastic composites. Agricultural residues, which are abundantly available, can be used as a source of lignocellulosic fibers in the production of these composites. The use of recycled polymers and nanomaterials is also a promising approach to enhance the mechanical and physical properties of the composites. Research Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE), polypropylene (rPP), and agricultural residues fibers for manufacturing wood-plastic nano-composites. The effects of these materials on the mechanical properties of the composites, specifically tensile and flexural strength, were studied. Methodology: The study utilized an experimental approach where extruders and hot presses were used to fabricate the composites. Five types of cellulosic residues fibers (bagasse, corn stalk, rice straw, sunflower, and canola stem), three levels of nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, nano silica, and nanoclay), and coupling agent were used to chemically bind the wood/polymer fibers, chemicals, and reinforcement. The mechanical properties of the composites were then analyzed. Findings: The study found that composites made with rHDPE provided moderately superior tensile and flexural properties compared to rPP samples. The addition of agricultural residues in several types of wood-plastic nano-composites significantly improved their bending and tensile properties, with bagasse having the most significant advantage over other lignocellulosic materials. The use of recycled polymers, agricultural residues, and nano-silica resulted in composites with the best strength properties. Theoretical Importance: The study's findings suggest that using agricultural fiber residues as reinforcement in wood/plastic nanocomposites is a viable approach to improve the mechanical properties of the composites. Additionally, the study highlights the potential of using recycled polymers in the development of value-added products without compromising the product's properties. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: The study collected data on the mechanical properties of the composites using tensile and flexural tests. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the significant effects of the various materials used. Question addressed: Can agricultural residues and recycled polymers be used to manufacture wood-plastic nano-composites with enhanced mechanical properties? Conclusion: The study demonstrates the feasibility of using agricultural residues and recycled polymers in the production of wood-plastic nano-composites. The addition of these materials significantly improved the mechanical properties of the composites, with bagasse being the most effective agricultural residue. The study's findings suggest that composites made from recycled materials can offer value-added products without sacrificing performance.

Keywords: polymer, composites, wood, nano

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Authors: Ogunwole Cecilia Oluwakemi, Timothy Ayomitunde Aderemi

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Provision of sufficient food and elimination of abject poverty have usually been the conventional benefits of agriculture in any society. Meanwhile, despite the fact that Nigeria is an agrarian society, food insecurity and poverty have become the issues of concern among both scholars and policymakers in the recent times. Against this backdrop, this study examined the nexus among agriculture, food security, and poverty reduction in Nigeria from 1990 to 2019 within the framework of the Cointegration and Granger Causality approach. Data was collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin and the World Development Indicators, respectively. The following are the major results that emanated from the study. A long run equilibrium relationship exists among agricultural value added, food production index, and GDP per capita in Nigeria. Similarly, there is a unidirectional causality which flows from food production index to poverty reduction in Nigeria. In the same vein, one way causality flows from poverty reduction to agricultural value added in Nigeria. Consequently, this study makes the following recommendation for the policymakers in Nigeria, and other African countries by extension, that agricultural value added and food production are the important variables that cannot be undermined when poverty reduction occupies the central focus of the policymakers. Therefore, any time these policymakers want to reduce poverty, policies that drive agricultural value added and food production should be embarked upon. Therefore, this study will contribute to the literature by establishing the type of linkage that exists between agriculture, food security, and poverty reduction in Nigeria.

Keywords: agriculture, value added, food production, GDP per capita, Nigeria

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Authors: Henry Lau, Dilupa Nakandala, Li Zhao

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In today’s business, it is well-recognized that risk is an important factor that needs to be taken into consideration before a decision is made. Studies indicate that both the number of risks faced by organizations and their potential consequences are growing. Supply chain risk management has become one of the major concerns for practitioners and researchers. Supply chain leaders and scholars are now focusing on the importance of managing supply chain risk. In order to meet the challenge of managing and mitigating supply chain risk (SCR), we must first identify the different dimensions of SCR and assess its relevant probability and severity. SCR has been classified in many different ways, and there are no consistently accepted dimensions of SCRs and several different classifications are reported in the literature. Basically, supply chain risks can be classified into two dimensions namely disruption risk and operational risk. Disruption risks are those caused by events such as bankruptcy, natural disasters and terrorist attack. Operational risks are related to supply and demand coordination and uncertainty, such as uncertain demand and uncertain supply. Disruption risks are rare but severe and hard to manage, while operational risk can be reduced through effective SCM activities. Other SCRs include supply risk, process risk, demand risk and technology risk. In fact, the disorganized classification of SCR has created confusion for SCR scholars. Moreover, practitioners need to identify and assess SCR. As such, it is important to have an overarching framework tying all these SCR dimensions together for two reasons. First, it helps researchers use these terms for communication of ideas based on the same concept. Second, a shared understanding of the SCR dimensions will support the researchers to focus on the more important research objective: operationalization of SCR, which is very important for assessing SCR. In general, fresh food supply chain is subject to certain level of risks, such as supply risk (low quality, delivery failure, hot weather etc.) and demand risk (season food imbalance, new competitors). Effective strategies to mitigate fresh food supply chain risk are required to enhance operations. Before implementing effective mitigation strategies, we need to identify the risk sources and evaluate the risk level. However, assessing the supply chain risk is not an easy matter, and existing research mainly use qualitative method, such as risk assessment matrix. To address the relevant issues, this paper aims to analyze the risk factor of the fresh food supply chain using an approach comprising both fuzzy logic and hierarchical holographic modeling techniques. This novel approach is able to take advantage the benefits of both of these well-known techniques and at the same time offset their drawbacks in certain aspects. In order to develop this integrated approach, substantial research work is needed to effectively combine these two techniques in a seamless way, To validate the proposed integrated approach, a case study in a fresh food supply chain company was conducted to verify the feasibility of its functionality in a real environment.

Keywords: fresh food supply chain, fuzzy logic, hierarchical holographic modelling, operationalization, supply chain risk

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Authors: Thomas Ogilegwu Orohu

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This paper presents agricultural education as a vocational study, an impetus for youths, economic empowerment. The survival of Nigeria’s agriculture rests squarely on the youth who are the farmers and leaders of tomorrow. Hitherto, the teaching and learning of agriculture has proceeded in such a manner that graduates of such programs have failed to make the successful launch into the world of agricultural enterprises (entrepreneurship). Major constraints that predisposed this anomalous situation were identified to include poor policy framework, socio-economic pressures, undue parental and peer influences, improper value orientation and of course, the nature of curricula. In response to the situation, some programs and/or initiatives aimed at inculcating entrepreneurial skills were proposed by this paper with identified target beneficiaries. The initiatives bordered on curricular reorientation that integrate entrepreneurship/enterprise education, retraining of graduates, financial support system among others.

Keywords: Program initiatives. vocational agriculture, youths’ empowerment, introduction

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Authors: Soretha Beets, Izanette Van Schalkwyk, Doret K. Kirsten

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Children in middle childhood are exposed to various risks, for example, risks associated with poverty and/or dysfunctional families, that may threaten their social functioning. The aim of this study was to develop and design a programme that can be presented to children in middle childhood in order to enhance their social functioning towards better wellbeing. The skills and competencies needed to be included in the programme were identified by means of a literature review and 4 focus groups with educators from 4 sub-areas in a certain district in the North-West Province of South Africa. The programme consists of 8 sessions, presented in a certain order. The sessions cover the following aspects: self-esteem and gratitude, self-regulation and goal-setting, values and relationships, communication and listening, conflict management, emotional competence, and resilient coping. These aspects may benefit children in the middle child’s wellbeing and live on the short-term and may also hold long-term benefits.

Keywords: middle childhood, programme development, social functioning, wellbeing

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Authors: Nadia Arikat, Katharine Blain

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During the worst of the COVID pandemic, only essential treatment was provided for patients needing urgent care. With the prolonged extent of the pandemic, there has been a return to more routine referrals for paediatric dentistry advice and treatment for specialist conditions. However, some of these patients and/or their carers may have significant medical issues meaning that attending in-person appointments carries additional risks. This poses an ethical dilemma for clinicians. This project looks at how a secure video conferencing platform (“Near Me”) has been used to assess the need and urgency for in-person new patient visits, particularly for patients and families with additional risks. “Near Me” is a secure online video consulting service used by NHS Scotland. In deciding whether to bring a new patient to the hospital for an appointment, the clinical condition of the teeth together with the urgency for treatment need to be assessed. This is not always apparent from the referral letter. In addition, it is important to judge the risks to the patients and carers of such visits, particularly if they have medical issues. The use and effectiveness of “Near Me” consultations to help decide whether vulnerable paediatric patients should have in-person appointments will be illustrated and discussed using two families: one where the child is medically compromised (Alagille syndrome with previous liver transplant), and the other where there is a medically compromised parent (undergoing chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant). In both cases, it was necessary to take into consideration the risks and moral implications of requesting that they attend the dental hospital during a pandemic. The option of remote consultation allowed further clinical information to be evaluated and the families take part in the decision-making process about whether and when such visits should be scheduled. These cases will demonstrate how medically compromised patients (or patients with vulnerable carers), could have their dental needs assessed in a socially distanced manner by video consultation. Together, the clinician and the patient’s family can weigh up the risks, with regards to COVID-19, of attending for in-person appointments against the benefit of having treatment. This is particularly important for new paediatric patients who have not yet had a formal assessment. The limitations of this technology will also be discussed. It is limited by internet availability, the strength of the connection, the video quality and families owning a device which allows video calls. For those from a lower socio-economic background or living in some rural areas, this may not be possible or limit its usefulness. For the two patients discussed in this project, where the urgency of their dental condition was unclear, video consultation proved beneficial in deciding an appropriate outcome and preventing unnecessary exposure of vulnerable people to a hospital environment during a pandemic, demonstrating the usefulness of such technology when it is used appropriately.

Keywords: COVID-19, paediatrics, triage, video consultations

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Authors: Yilin Liao, Hewen Li, Paula McConvey

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Concussion for speed skaters often occurs when skaters fall on the ice and impact the crash mats during practices and competition races. Gaining insight into the impact of interactions is of essential interest as it is directly related to skaters’ potential health risks and injuries. Precise concussion measurements are challenging and very difficult, making computer simulation the only reliable way to analyze accidents. This research aims to create the crash mat and skater’s multi-body model using Solidworks, develop a computer simulation model for skater-mat impact using ANSYS software, and predict the skater’s concussion degree by evaluating the “head injury criteria” (HIC) through the resulting accelerations. The developed method and results help understand the relationship between impact parameters and concussion risk for speed skaters and inform the design of crash mats and skating rink layouts more specifically by considering athletes’ health risks.

Keywords: computer simulation modeling, concussion, impact, speed skater

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Authors: Catalina Iticescu, Lucian Georgescu, Mihaela Timofti, Dumitru Dima, Gabriel Murariu

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The amounts of sludge resulting from the treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater can create serious environmental problems if no solutions are found to eliminate them. At present, the predominant method of sewage sludge disposal is to store and use them in agricultural applications. The sewage sludge has fertilizer properties and can be used to enrich agricultural soils due to the nutrient content. In addition to plant growth (nitrogen and phosphorus), the sludge also contains heavy metals in varying amounts. An increasingly used method is the incineration of sludge. Thermal processes can be used to convert large amounts of sludge into useful energy. The sewage sludge analyzed for the present paper was extracted from the Wastewater Treatment Station (WWTP) Galati, Romania. The physico-chemical parameters determined were: pH (upH), nutrients and heavy metals. The determination methods were electrochemical, spectrophotometric and energy dispersive X–ray analyses (EDX). The results of the tests made on the content of nutrients in the sewage sludge have shown that existing nutrients can be used to increase the fertility of agricultural soils. The conclusion reached was that these sludge can be safely used on agricultural land and with good agricultural productivity results. To be able to use sewage sludge as a fuel, we need to know its calorific values. For wet sludge, the caloric power is low, while for dry sludge it is high. Higher calorific value and lower calorific value are determined only for dry solids. The apparatus used to determine the calorific power was a Parr 6755 Solution Calorimeter Calorimeter (Parr Instrument Company USA 2010 model). The calorific capacities for the studied sludge indicate that they can be used successfully in incinerators. Mixed with coal, they can also be used to produce electricity. The advantages are: it reduces the cost of obtaining electricity and considerably reduces the amount of sewage sludge.

Keywords: agriculture, incinerators, properties, sewage sludge

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Authors: Ali Asgary, Haopeng Zhou, Ghassem Tofighi

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Use of virtual (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality technologies for training and education has increased in recent years as more hardware and software tools have become available and accessible to larger groups of users. Similarly, the applications of these technologies in earthquake related training and education are on the rise. Several studies have reported promising results for the use of VR and AR for evacuation behaviour and training under earthquake situations. They simulate the impacts that earthquake has on buildings, buildings’ contents, and how building occupants and users can find safe spots or open paths to outside. Considering that considerable number of earthquake injuries and fatalities are linked to the behaviour, our goal is to use these technologies to reduce the impacts of building contents on people. Building on our artificial intelligence (AI) based indoor earthquake risk assessment application that enables users to use their mobile device to assess the risks associated with building contents during earthquakes, we develop a virtual reality application to demonstrate the behavior of different building contents during earthquakes, their associate moving, spreading, falling, and collapsing risks, and their risk mitigation methods. We integrate realistic seismic models, building contents behavior with and without risk mitigation measures in virtual reality environment. The application can be used for training of architects, interior design experts, and building users to enhance indoor safety of the buildings that can sustain earthquakes. This paper describes and demonstrates the application development background, structure, components, and usage.

Keywords: virtual reality, earthquake damage, building content, indoor risks, earthquake risk mitigation, interior design, unity game engine, oculus

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Authors: Eszter Hamza

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The competitiveness of economic operators is based on interoperability, which is relatively low in Hungary. The development of co-operation is high priority in Common Agricultural Policy 2014-2020. The aim of the paper to assess co-operations in Hungarian agriculture, estimate the economic outputs and benefits of co-operations, based on statistical data processing and literature. Further objective is to explore the potential of agricultural co-operation with the help of interviews and questionnaire survey. The research seeks to answer questions as to what fundamental factors play role in the development of co-operation, and what are the motivations of the actors and the key success factors and pitfalls. The results were analysed using econometric methods. In Hungarian agriculture we can find several forms of co-operation: cooperatives, producer groups (PG) and producer organizations (PO), machinery cooperatives, integrator companies, product boards and interbranch organisations. Despite the several appearance of the agricultural co-operation, their economic weight is significantly lower in Hungary than in western European countries. Considering the agricultural importance, the integrator companies represent the most weight among the co-operations forms. Hungarian farmers linked to co-operations or organizations mostly in relation to procurement and sales. Less than 30 percent of surveyed farmers are members of a producer organization or cooperative. The trust level is low among farmers. The main obstacle to the development of formalized co-operation, is producers' risk aversion and the black economy in agriculture. Producers often prefer informal co-operation instead of long-term contractual relationships. The Hungarian agricultural co-operations are characterized by non-dynamic development, but slow qualitative change. For the future, one breakout point could be the association of producer groups and organizations, which in addition to the benefits of market concentration, in the dissemination of knowledge, advisory network operation and innovation can act more effectively.

Keywords: agriculture, co-operation, producer organisation, trust level

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Authors: Siwapong Dheera-Aumpon

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Resource misallocation is known to be prevalent in many countries. Such misallocation in the manufacturing sector is large and has a considerable negative effect on aggregate productivity. Thailand is one of the countries having large resource misallocation in the manufacturing sector. Resource misallocation is also known to be widespread in the agricultural sector. It is, therefore, likely that resource misallocation exists in the agricultural sector of Thailand as well. This study aims to evaluate the extent of resource misallocation in Thai rice farming. Using household-level data from 2013 Thai Agricultural Census, this study calculates farm total factor productivity (TFP) controlling for land quality and rain. Similar to the case of Malawi, marginal products of land and capital are found to be related to farm TFP implying large resource misallocation. The output gain from a reallocation of resources to their best use is 67 percent. The gain from reallocation is highest for farms in the southern region and followed by the northeastern region.

Keywords: agriculture, misallocation, productivity, rice

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Authors: Arianne V. Julian, Michael R. Umagat, Renato G. Reyes

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Pleurotus ostreatus, which is one of the most widely cultivated mushrooms, is an excellent source of protein and other minerals but inherently contains low calcium level. Calcium plays several vital functions in human health; therefore, adequate daily intake is necessary. Supplementation of growth substrate is a significant approach in mushroom production to improve nutritional content and yield. This study focused on the influence of varying concentrations of Ca supplementation derived from natural sources including agricultural lime, eggshell and oyster shell in rice straw-based formulation for the production of P. ostreatus. The effect of Ca supplementation on the total yield and Ca content were obtained. Results revealed that these natural sources increased both the yield and Ca of P. ostreatus. Mushroom grown in substrate with 8-10% agricultural lime and 6% eggshell powder produced the highest yields while using oyster shell powder did not vary with the control. Meanwhile, substrate supplementation using agricultural lime and eggshell powder in all concentrations have increased Ca in fruiting bodies. However, Ca was not absorbed in the oyster shell powder-supplemented substrate. These findings imply the potential of agricultural lime and eggshell powder in the production of Ca-enriched mushrooms resulting in higher yield.

Keywords: calcium fortification, mushroom production, natural sources, Pleurotus ostreatus

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Authors: Sairoel Amertet, Girma Gebresenbet

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Smart mechatronics systems in agriculture can be traced back to the mid-1980s, when research into automated fruit harvesting systems began in Japan, Europe, and the United States. Since then, impressive advances have been made in smart mechatronics systems. Furthermore, smart mechatronics systems are promising areas, and as a result, we were intrigued to learn more about them. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to examine the smart mechatronic systems that have been applied to agricultural areas so far, with inspiration from the smart mechatronic system in other sectors. To get an overview of the current state of the art, benefits and drawbacks of smart mechatronics systems, various approaches were investigated. Moreover, smart mechatronic modules and various networks applied in agriculture processing were examined. Finally, we explored how the data retrieved using the one-way analysis of variance related to each other. The result showed that there were strongly related keywords for different journals. With the virtually limited use of sophisticated mechatronics in the agricultural industry and, at the same time, the low production rate, the demand for food security has fallen dramatically. Therefore, the application of smart mechatronics systems in agricultural sectors would be taken into consideration in order to overcome these issues.

Keywords: mechatronics, robotic, robotic system, automation, agriculture mechanism

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Authors: Isaac Kwaku Adu, Jacob Doku Tetteh, John Joseph Puthenkalam, Kwabena Effah Antwi

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The continuous increase in population implies increase in food demand. There is, therefore, the need to increase agricultural production and other forest products to ensure food security and economic development. This paper employs the three-level intensity analysis to assess the total change of land-use in two-time intervals (1986-2002 and 2002-2017), the net change and swap as well as gross gains and losses in the two intervals. The results revealed that the overall change in the 31-year period was greater in the second period (2002-2017). Agriculture and forest categories lost in the first period while the other land class gained. However, in the second period agriculture and built-up increased greatly while forest, water bodies and thick bushes/shrubland experienced loss. An assessment revealed a reduction of forest in both periods but was greater in the second period and expansion of agricultural land was recorded as population increases. The pixels gaining built-up targeted agricultural land in both intervals, it also targeted thick bushes/shrubland and waterbody in the second period only. Built-up avoided forest in both intervals as well as waterbody and thick bushes/shrubland. To help in developing the best land-use strategies/policies, a further validation of the social factors is necessary.

Keywords: agricultural land, forest, Ghana, land-use, intensity analysis, remote sensing

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Authors: Pattamaphorn Phuangngamphan, Rewadee Anuwattana, Narumon Soparatana, Nestchanok Yongpraderm, Atiporn Jinpayoon, Supinya Sutthima, Saroj Klangkongsub, Worapong Pattayawan

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This research aims to utilize the agricultural waste and plastic waste in Thailand in a study of the optimum conditions for preparing composite materials from water hyacinth and oil palm fiber and plastic waste in landfills. The water hyacinth and oil palm fiber were prepared by alkaline treatment with NaOH (5, 15 wt%) at 25-60 °C for 1 h. The treated fiber (5 and 10 phr) was applied to plastic waste composite. The composite was prepared by using a screw extrusion process from 185 °C to 200 °C with a screw speed of 60 rpm. The result confirmed that alkaline treatment can remove lignin, hemicellulose and other impurities on the fiber surface and also increase the cellulose content. The optimum condition of composite material is 10 phr of fiber coupling with 3 wt% PE-g-MA as compatibilizer. The composite of plastic waste and oil palm fiber has good adhesion between fiber and plastic matrix. The PE-g-MA has improved fiber-plastic interaction. The results suggested that the composite material from plastic waste and agricultural waste has the potential to be used as value-added products.

Keywords: agricultural waste, waste utilization, biomaterials, cellulose fiber, composite material

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