Agriculture, livelihoods and climate change in the West African

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Agriculture,livelihoods and climate change in the West African Sahel

Kef?ng Sissoko ?Herman van Keulen ?

Jan Verhagen ?Vera Tekken ?Antonella Battaglini

Accepted:7October 2010/Published online:3November 2010

óThe Author(s)2010.This article is published with open access at https://www.sodocs.net/doc/ad8505645.html,

Abstract The West African Sahel is a harsh environment stressed by a fast-growing population and increasing pressure on the scarce natural resources.Agriculture is the main source of livelihood of the majority of the people living in the area.Increases in temperature and/or modi?-cations in rainfall quantities and distribution will substan-tially impact on the natural resource on which agriculture depends.The vulnerability of livelihoods based on agri-culture is increased and most likely exacerbate and accel-erate the current ‘downward spiral’of underdevelopment,poverty and environmental degradation.Notably,droughts,a short rainy season and/or very low rainfall will be felt by current systems.To cope with the dif?cult climatic situa-tion,farm households have developed a range of strategies

including selling of animals and on-farm diversi?cation or specialization.At regional level,early warning systems including an operational agro-meteorological information system already provide farmers with crucial information.Substantial political,institutional and ?nancial efforts at national and international level are indispensable for the sustenance of millions of lives.In terms of development,priority needs to be given to adaptation and implementation of comprehensive programs on water management and irrigation,deserti?cation control,development of alterna-tive sources of energy and the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices by farmers.

Keywords Agriculture áSahel áLivelihoods áClimate change áFood security

Introduction

The West African Sahel zone borders the extreme fringe of the Sahara.The name ‘‘Sahel’’is derived from the Arabic word sahil and means ‘‘border of the desert’’.The Sahel covers the nine countries Mauritania,Senegal,The Gam-bia,Guinea-Bissau,Mali,Burkina Faso,Niger,Chad and Cape Verde,has a total area of 5.4million km 2and a population of almost 60million.There are de?nitions of the extension of the Sahel zone that also include other countries,such as Sudan or the north of Ethiopia;the fol-lowing discussion is however based on the nine countries of the CILSS (Permanent Inter-States Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel).The Sahel is a transition zone between the arid north and the green tropical forest in the south and borders the maritime coast in the west.Its vegetation is primarily composed of savanna-typical bushes,grasses and trees with increasing density from

K.Sissoko

Comite

′permanent Intere ′tats de Lutte contre la Seche ′resse au Sahel (CILSS),Ouagadougou,Burkina Faso

H.van Keulen áJ.Verhagen (&)Plant Research International,

Wageningen University and Research Centre,

P.O.Box 616,6700AP Wageningen,The Netherlands e-mail:jan.verhagen@wur.nl

H.van Keulen

Plant Production Systems Group,

Wageningen University,Wageningen,The Netherlands V.Tekken

Climate Impacts and Vulnerabilities,

Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research,Potsdam,Germany

A.Battaglini

Transdisciplinary Concepts and Methods,

Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research,Potsdam,Germany

Reg Environ Change (2011)11(Suppl 1):S119–S125DOI 10.1007/s10113-010-0164-y

north to south,representing the change from semi-arid grasslands to thorny savanna.

Annual and decadal rainfall quantity and distribution vary greatly,but water and in particular,potable water is a scarce resource in all Sahel countries.Besides erratic rainfall patterns,poor soils and unfavorable socioeconomic conditions are key constraints to agricultural development (Breman1990).Especially in dry years,the livelihood, particularly of the rural population,is threatened,contrib-uting to a vicious circle of underdevelopment,poverty and resource depletion(Lu¨deke et al.2004).Changes in rainfall patterns,temperatures and/or in the frequency or severity of extreme events will have direct impacts on crop yields with possibly severe consequences for the food security situation.

The regional economies are strongly rooted in agricul-ture,including animal husbandry.More than half of the population is employed in this sector that contributes between35and60%to the respective national GDPs (CORAF/WECARD1998).Continuous growth of popu-lations,as well as a concomitant urbanization trend(Cour 2001),signi?cantly adds to the projected food insecurity for more than40%of the population(Verhagen et al. 2004).

In this chapter,we analyze the potential effects of cli-mate change on agriculture and livelihoods in Sahelian Africa and provide recommendations for necessary action. It builds on the?ndings of the‘‘Impact of Climate Change on Drylands(ICCD)’’project,carried out in the framework of the Dutch National Programme on Air Pollution and Global Change(Dietz et al.2004).The project analyzed developments of the past with the objectives to understand the current situation and to identify successful adaptation strategies to future changes in climate(Dietz et al.2004). The multidisciplinary research group working in the pro-ject aimed at identifying different climate-related risk-coping strategies at farm household and individual level for sub-Saharan Africa.Taking the complex nature of adap-tation to climate change as a starting point,societal,cul-tural,geographical,biophysical and economic vulnerability were included in the analysis.

Climate characterization,variability and change

A main characteristic of the West African region is the strong variation(spatially and temporally)in rainfall quantity and distribution,long-term averages ranging from 150to1,200mm year-1:under150mm in the Saharan zone,150–400mm in the Sahelian zone,400–600mm in the Sudano-Sahelian zone,600–900mm in the Sudanian zone and900–1,200mm in the Sudano-Guinean zone (Penning de Vries and Djite`ye1982).Prolonged dry seasons(up to10months annually)with high evaporation rates rotate with short rainy seasons,but regularity is not assured.

For all West African arid environments,rainfall data for the period1960–1990show a rather dramatic decline in average precipitation(Dietz et al.2004;Put et al.2004) (Fig.1).Analysis of rainfall variability and drought risk for this period(based on data of172rainfall stations in West Africa)revealed a high drought risk due to reduced pre-cipitation(Dietz et al.2004;Put et al.2004).Also later research for the Sahel has shown substantial variations in rainfall in the second half of the twentieth century(Held et al.2005)and a decline for all dryland areas.

A result of the dry episode,that started in the1960s and culminated in severe droughts in1973,1984and1990,was a decline in rainfall in the range of20–30%in the Sahel region(Fig.1).This can be considered as the most dra-matic example of worldwide multi-decadal climate vari-ability(Diallo2000;Hulme2001).The prolonged dry period caused a shift in climatic zones from semi-arid to arid and from sub-humid to semi-humid(Put et al.2004), with serious consequences for agricultural output and human livelihoods(increased drought risk and unfavorable conditions for crops).

In the Sahel zone,a changing climatic situation is affecting the annual mean rainfall variability,its season-ality and its year-to-year trends(Verhagen et al.2004).A decline in annual rainfall has been observed since the end of the1960s,with a decrease of20–40%noted between the periods1931–1960and1968–1990(IPCC2007;Chappell and Agnew2004;Dai et al.2004).

Annual rainfall levels and their regional and temporal distribution have far-reaching impacts on water availability and quality,on crop yield and production and thus on food security at household and national level.

Changes in precipitation directly in?uence the risk of drought-related crop failure.ICCD used a drought risk index,building on work of Bailey(1979)and FAO(1980),

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based on monthly precipitation and mean monthly tem-peratures to differentiate between dry and wet months.The speci?c combination of dry and wet months during the growing season determines the degree of drought risk, which is differentiated in six classes(Dietz et al.2004).

Recent work indicates that a signi?cant component of the drying trend in the region in the late twentieth century is attributable to the combined effects of greenhouse gas increase and anthropogenic aerosols(Jenkins et al.2005; Biasutti and Giannini2006;Held et al.2005;Giannini et al. 2003).

Projections for future changes are mixed,however, ranging from a strongly reduced probability of droughts (Haarsma et al.2005;Paeth and Hense2004)to severe increases in drought(Cook and Vizy2006;Held et al. 2005;Paeth and Hense2004).There is still limited infor-mation on extreme events(Christensen et al.2007), although a recent model study using four GCMs for the Sahel region showed that the number of extremely dry and wet years will increase during the present century(Hun-tingford et al.2005).

Agriculture

In most sub-Saharan countries,overuse of land for agri-cultural purposes has contributed to environmental degra-dation.Averaged for the whole region,the contribution of the primary sector(arable farming and animal husbandry) to the local economies mostly exceeds40%of the national GDP(CORAF/WECARD1998).However,soils are fragile and infertile,with very low levels of organic matter,par-ticularly in the semi-arid zones.The main cause of soil degradation is soil mining,i.e.removal of soil nutrients without replenishment(Gachimbi et al.2005;Hilhorst and Muchena2000;Ramisch1999;Van der Pol1992).Studies on land degradation in sub-Saharan Africa(Crosson and Anderson1995;Oldeman et al.1991)indicate that in the region,320106ha are affected by various types of human-induced degradation.Of this area,34%is moderately to severely affected by water erosion and23%by wind ero-sion(Pieri et al.1998).Furthermore,the rapid population growth further increases the need for food production, which imposes additional stress on limited available land. The livestock population has also increased substantially, as a result of veterinary programs and of investments of farmers in livestock(primarily as a spin-off of successful cash crop programs).The increased livestock densities have contributed to a large extent to ecosystem degradation in the region(Powell et al.2004;Struif Bontkes and Van Keulen2003).By undermining the natural resource base on which agriculture depends,the vulnerability of livelihoods based on agriculture is increased.In most of the countries,programs and policies to stimulate agricultural develop-ment have been implemented.

Climate change:in?uence on livelihood

and development

In recent years,climate change has evolved from an environmental to a complex development issue(Halsn?s and Verhagen2007;Dietz et al.2004).Since the devas-tating drought of the early1970s,the emerging environ-mental and socioeconomic problems have been the subject of intensive study and debate.Realization of the impacts and implementation of actions to alleviate immediate threats and to overcome at least some of the problems have most likely prevented the development of a far worse sit-uation.The Sahel countries created a sub-regional organi-zation for drought control(Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel,CILSS)as an institutional response to the crisis.

Adaptation strategies that are already common in the agricultural sector refer to measures that mitigate negative impacts,such as adoption of speci?c varieties of crops to cope with Sahelian conditions,and/or diversi?cation of agricultural production to reduce the risk of losses.

For a large part of the population in sub-Saharan West Africa,subsistence farming is the main activity on which its livelihood depends.These arid and semi-arid regions are among the harshest and most vulnerable production environments in the world.Less and/or more variable precipitation,higher temperatures and associated higher evaporative demand would threaten crop production and yield,and lead to a decrease in food availability.

Projected climate change is likely to affect farm household livelihoods in the West African Sahel primarily by reducing agricultural production(Ben Mohamed et al. 2001).In addition to climatic factors,other biophysical (soil characteristics,both physical and chemical,inci-dence of pests and diseases)and socioeconomic(popu-lation growth rate,migration,low education level, extension and research,market conditions,use of chem-ical fertilizers)factors in?uence the actual level of agri-cultural production.

Even without climate change,the task of agricultural development in the region is daunting.And although cli-mate change is not recognized as an immediate threat,in many cases,it is expected to exacerbate immediate development stresses through temperature increases,water scarcities and through increased weather variability and more frequent extreme events.

Integrating projected climate change and climate vari-ability into current plans and programs to de?ne adequate adaptation strategies to counteract negative impacts and

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exploit possible opportunities is perhaps the most logical action to take.The ICCD study tried to identify different strategies to cope with changes,building on the experi-ences in the Sahelian region.

Adaptation perspectives and strategies

Climate change is likely to create additional stress to this region,which is already under severe pressure as a result of unfavorable environmental conditions and mounting social challenges.Early identi?cation of potential impacts of climate change(including changes in climate variability) and of possible adaptation strategies is important for the sustainable development of the Sahelian region(Dietz et al. 2004).Clearly,the Sahelian population is highly resilient: changes and variations in climate and other environmental factors have always been part of their lives,forcing farmers to adopt speci?c production strategies,e.g.,the choice of speci?c crops/crop varieties and/or variety mixtures (adapted to the erratic Sahelian conditions)and/or diver-si?cation of cropping systems to reduce and spread risks.

Smallholder agriculture in the Sahel is characterized by an enormous spatial heterogeneity(de Ridder et al.2003). In the least-favorable parts of the region,agricultural sys-tems are characterized by poverty-induced resource over-use(Lopez-Ridaura et al.2007;Breman1990).In these conditions,expansion of agricultural activities,necessary because of the poor natural resource quality and the lack of sources of alternative income,leads to land degradation and gradually declining yields and creates therewith a spiral of non-sustainable development(Petschel-Held et al. 1999).When considering different farm types,smaller and poorer farms are characterized by higher risks for food insecurity,even in climatically‘normal’years(Struif Bontkes and Van Keulen2003;Kruseman2000;Sissoko 1998).In general,the production levels are low and buffer stocks for poor years cannot be created.Wealthier and larger farm households are more likely to be in a position to implement adaptive strategies,such as storage of food, technical measures to increase and stabilize food produc-tion,either by expansion of the land resources or by intensi?cation,or outside agriculture through marketing of non-agricultural products,or selling services and/or labor to reduce or avoid future likelihood of stress and food shortages(Dietz et al.2004).Although technical options to improve water use ef?ciency have been developed and could be applied without major?nancial inputs,adoption levels of such technologies remain low(Amadou et al. 1999).The major reason for low adoption rates lies in the relatively high labor requirements of these technologies. Adaptation strategies are fundamental to reduce the risk of primary production failure,to diversify the sources of food and livelihoods and to create a buffer against future food and livelihood stress.

Typical characteristics of drought situations are a late start and early cessation of the rainy season,i.e.short rainy season and/or very low rainfall.Agricultural production in dry seasons is restricted by low water availability,high temperatures and very low air humidity.The consequences for farm household livelihoods can be serious and may contribute to increased vulnerability and poverty.

To cope with the dif?cult climatic situation,farm households have developed a range of strategies(Davies 1996;Reardon et al.1988),which among them are selling of animals and on-farm diversi?cation or specialization.

Risk-coping strategies may involve self-insurance (through precautionary savings)and informal group-based risk sharing.They deal with the consequences(ex post)of income risk(‘consumption smoothing’).Households can insure themselves,by building up assets in‘good’years,to use these stocks in‘bad’years.Alternatively,informal arrangements can develop among members of a group or village to support each other in case of hardship.These mechanisms often operate within extended families,ethnic groups,neighborhood groups and/or professional networks. Risk-coping strategies also include attempts to earn addi-tional income in times of hardship,through reallocation of labor,including renting out manpower to bigger farms,out-migration of especially the young skilled male household members,earning income from collecting wild foods(also for own consumption),gathering activities(such as increased?rewood collection),etc.Group-based insurance mechanisms are geared toward insuring idiosyncratic shocks,affecting some members,but not all.They obvi-ously cannot provide insurance to deal with shocks com-mon to all members.Self-insurance can,in principle,deal with any type of shock,as long as suf?ciently large resources have been built up ex ante.Such short-term coping strategies allow some to survive dif?cult periods, but do not address the problems in a sustainable way and clearly highlight the high vulnerability of the Sahel popu-lation to climate variability and climatic changes.

In order to stabilize and improve livelihoods,as well as responding to the critical impacts of climate change,a number of measures can be initiated and/or developed. Among the possible adaptation measures are identi?cation of drought tolerant crop varieties,irrigation and water management.An operational agro-meteorological infor-mation system can provide farmers with advice and warning during the planning phase and the growing season (Roncoli et al.2003;Roncoli et al.2001;Konate′2004; Ingram et al.2002;FAO1996).

At regional and national level,policies need to con-centrate on food security and economic development. National decision-makers have to develop food aid policies

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to support vulnerable populations,including programs for food crisis prevention and management.The current cross-border migratory process in case of worsening conditions relocates the problem without solving it,and thus,it is crucial to mitigate negative impacts at regional level.

In terms of economic development,priority needs to be given to adaptation and implementation of comprehensive programs on mainly water management and irrigation, deserti?cation control,development of alternative sources of energy and the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices by farmers(Toulmin2005;Brooks et al.2005; Ruben et al.2004;UNEP2002).For agriculture,both food and cash crop production should be considered to address the dual targets of food security and economic growth. Impacts on farm household livelihoods should be exam-ined.Policies at the national level should contribute to achieving food security for the majority of the population, regulate and manage water resources and address the issue of energy security and increase the contribution of agri-culture to the national GDP.

However,while the resilience of farm households in the Sahelian region is high,adaptive capacity is low and investments will have to be made to reduce the negative impacts of climate change.To stimulate and support the initiatives of farm households,appropriate policies should be implemented at local,national and international scale. Conclusion

The analyses provided in this chapter have shown the West African Sahel to be a harsh environment,stressed by a fast-growing population and consequently increasing pressure on the scarce natural resources.Increases in temperature and/or modi?cations in rainfall quantities and distribution will substantially impact on ecosystems and livelihoods in the region and most likely exacerbate and accelerate the current‘downward spiral’of underdevelopment,poverty and environmental degradation.While increases in rainfall as projected in some models would not produce unam-biguous bene?ts,it is clear that a substantial increase in drought frequency and severity would have very damaging consequences.Human coping strategies in response to increasing uncertainty in food supply as a result of climate change and the associated negative effects on the envi-ronment put additional and disturbing pressure on the natural resources,leading to accelerated land degradation and deserti?cation and thus create a‘vicious circle of underdevelopment’(Lu¨deke et al.2004;Brooks2004; Petschel-Held et al.1999).

Great political,institutional and?nancial efforts at national and international level are indispensable for the sustenance of millions of lives and to conserve ecosystems and their services.It seems plausible that if some of the climate change projections become reality(severe increase in drought),then international efforts to reduce poverty and to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in this region will be lost,if global warming cannot be con-tained and/or reversed.Any level of climate change that leads to more drought in this region could be considered dangerous,as it would likely signi?cantly exacerbate the unfavorable conditions in an already very unstable and fragile environment.As a consequence,regional food security,economic development and ecosystems are likely to be further endangered.While the discussions on the‘limits of warming’take their time,the Sahel—representing one of the earths’key vulnerable regions—is in need of the appre-ciation of its exposure to environmental vulnerability and, therewith,an ampli?ed exposure to human catastrophes. Every degree of warming caused by an increasing green-house effect,if accompanied by increased drought in this region,might lead to the loss of unique ecosystems and human beings.Implementation of adaptation strategies is urgent in the Sahel region,but still this remains a?nancial issue and will not be able to compensate or retract damages or human live losses.It seems urgent that the ambiguity in current model projections of climate change in the Sahel is resolved,so that proper adaptation and response measures can be put in place.

Acknowledgments The Dutch National Research Programme on Climate Change and the Dutch ministry of Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality are acknowledged for providing the funding of the research.

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which per-mits any noncommercial use,distribution,and reproduction in any medium,provided the original author(s)and source are credited. References

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Agriculture,livelihoods and climate change in the West African Sahel S125

Unit-10-Agriculture新编大学英语第二版第一册课文翻译

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Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment

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All rights reserved. 1.Introduction Considerable research has demonstrated the bene?cial environ-mental impacts of crop rotation (cf.Crookston,1984;Crookston et al.,1991;Bullock,1992;Porter et al.,1997;Piorr,2003;Leteinturier et al.,2006).Crop rotation patterns can have vari-ous positive effects on soil quality (Bullock,1992;Karlen et al.,2006),reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (Halvorson et al.,2008),decrease the presence of invasive species (Liebman and Dyck,1993),and the occurrence of crop diseases and pests (Meese et al.,1991;Porter et al.,1997;Thenail et al.,2009).For example,in the United States rotating soybeans with corn in landscapes provid-ing feedstock to biofuel plants may increase the ability of farmers to use biocontrol measures as an integrated pest management strat-egy (Landis et al.,2008).Crop rotation can also impact the ef?ciency and economics of the production system,since high annual yields can still be achieved with low fertilizer and other chemical inputs ?Corresponding author.Tel.:+17654962215;fax:+17654962422. E-mail addresses:jplourde@https://www.sodocs.net/doc/ad8505645.html, (J.D.Plourde),bpijanow@https://www.sodocs.net/doc/ad8505645.html, (B.C.Pijanowski),bpekin@https://www.sodocs.net/doc/ad8505645.html, (B.K.Pekin). (Leteinturier et al.,2006).It has been reported that crops grown in rotation will produce higher yields for each crop than if grown in monoculture under the same nutrient conditions (Porter et al.,1997)–this yield enhancement from rotation has been referred to as the “rotation effect”(Pierce and Rice,1988).Porter et al.(1997)found that rotating crops with fallow land produced the greatest bene?ts for a single year production in the Central United States.They also reported that soybeans in continuous monoculture (i.e.,successive years of a crop)and second year corn (i.e.,the second year of a crop grown in an area at least two times in a row)had the lowest yields of any rotation or monoculture patterns examined. Crop rotation has been practiced by farmers for centuries (Bullock,1992)although recently needs have changed.Crop rota-tions can be simple,where two crops are alternated every year.Corn–soybean rotation,for example,is a very common practice of alternating crops in the Corn Belt region of the Central U.S.(Mitchell and Entry,1998).Rotation patterns may also depart from an alternating sequence of crops by following a more complex pattern (Castellazzi et al.,2008)where several crops are rotated in a ?xed or ?exible order.Before the 1940s,crop rotation and intercropping were commonly used to control insect infestations,reduce weed problems and as a soil conservation measure to 0167-8809/$–see front matter ? 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.https://www.sodocs.net/doc/ad8505645.html,/10.1016/j.agee.2012.11.011

翻译三级笔译实务-农业发展(Agriculture)

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Industrialization of agriculture industrialization thinking（工业化农业工业化思维） Industrialization of agriculture industrialization thinking Industrial modernization achievements of 30 years of rapid economic growth in China, industrial information technology and services, it is under the direction of a sustainable development. Industry to support agriculture, technology, equipment, only the surface of the support, resources integration awareness, enterprise management thinking, industrial development layout, is the industrialization of agriculture industrialization seeds take root in the soil, leafy growth hormone. But the present industrialization of agriculture, cultivation or breeding toward stereotyped single, industry chain patchwork, capital policy hatching to flashy, product packaging and so on heresy bolted over, ignoring the needs of agriculture and industry Outsider inherent in the law, Even the desire to eventually come to nothing industry, agriculture can only be three lane, into non-industrialization joke. Mechanization, technology, scale, in the end is not the core of the industrialization of agriculture? How leveraging the industrialization of 1 agriculture industrialization thinking? These two issues can not be ignored, they are the Gate of the industrialization of agriculture. Face big proposition, we may relax thinking. Nervous thinking, easily transferred to their own cliches

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高中英语试题高一英语Modernagriculture试题 各位读友大家好，此文档由网络收集而来，欢迎您下载，谢谢 习题精选 一.单项选择 ___ourplanforapicnic. 2.______othergoodstudents,theteacherthin ks,hankis____student. ;;themostsatisfied ;;amoresatisfying ,fortypercentofwhich____,___15﹪inthelastthr3eeyears. ;;;;hasbeenreducedtry ___thefirstclockwithafaceandanhourhandw asmade.

____twoAmericansgottothemoonbyspaces hip. _____fortheposition. ____abouthisplan,hesaidhehadn’tmadeany. ____toseekate,whatwouldyoutellyou? ____still,buttheykept____outofclass. ;;;;moving ___ripple’sbehavior. ,theprojectfail,____goodtheot6he rideasmightbe. _____ofthetimeoftheplane. _____todecidethenatureofherillness. 14.____wecontinuetoworkhard,wecanacco mplishourtaskintime. _____Iquiteenjoyit. 二.完型填空

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*此W ord包含大纲与讲稿两部分，与同名的PPT文档结合使用 Agriculture Industrialization By Robot (Zhou Ji) H09000424 Outline Introduce The traditional agriculture The industry type agriculture Problems To environment: Lands and water To society: Do farm work for money so that some area lack of food but some area have a lot of waste Lead to large scale spread of disease (H5N1 avian influenza,Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)) To humans: Farm chemical is harm for the health Product chemical spawned food without nutrition Solution Ecological agriculture (Biogas circulatory system) No use farm chemical and develop the organic agriculture

Agriculture Industrialization Details Page 1 Good evening everyone, today I want to talk about agriculture industrialization. Page2 So what is agriculture industrialization? Page3 As we know in the past farmers work with simple tools and animals. This picture tells us a very famous word about ancient China agriculture - Men do farm work and women engage in spinning and weaving (男耕女织). This is the traditional agriculture. Page4 After The Industrial Revolution in the middle of 18th century, many agricultural machines, chemical fertilizer （化肥）and farm chemical （农药）were invented and produced. Page5 Farmers can use agriculture machines and chemical to do their farm works. And people can feed a lot of chickens like the factory produce the goods. So the traditional agriculture changed to the agriculture industrialization. Page6. But are all the things of agriculture industrialization good? Does all the food from it save for us? Page7 The answer is No. Nowadays excessive (过度的) agriculture behavior and using too much farm chemical cause the environmental problems. For example the land erosion (土地侵蚀) and the water pollution. (过量使用土地，不合理的修建各种工程设施，砍伐树木做耕地导致水土流失，围湖造田导致洪涝等) Page8

Agriculture 农业

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英国农业 English Agriculture

English Agriculture Britain's agriculture is characterized by a small proportion of the population engaged in agricultural activities with a high degree of mechanization. Farming used to employ a great many people in Britain, but nowadays, with advanced machinery, just a few people can run a farm consisting of thousands of hectares. The climate of Britain is classified as temperate, with warm summers and cool winters and plentiful precipitation throughout the year. The mild climate provides the country with a favorable environment for agriculture and stock raising. The development of Britain’s agriculture is from the neglect agriculture into modern agricultural. 18th century, the capitalist mode of production is in the absolute dominance of agriculture, agriculture in the UK at that time a leading position in Europe. To the early 19th century, Britain was still a relatively well-developed agriculture, food self-sufficiency in the country. Known as the "world factory" in the United Kingdom, and then transformed into the "British industry, agriculture in other countries," the international division of labor. Neglect of agricultural policy in the induction, gradual decline of agriculture, the United Kingdom in the food supply is heavily dependent on world markets. 70s in the 19th century, the domestic production of food to supply 79% of the population at that time, but during the First World War, the British produced food to feed only 36% of the population. During World War II, Blocked transport of food imports to make it difficult for the domestic food supply. British government have to introduced food rationing had in favor of intervention to strengthen the agriculture, take measures to the attention of agriculture. After the war, Britain spent nearly 15 years, reversing the situation of the agricultural recession, the progressive realization of agricultural modernization. After World War II, the development of United Kingdom’s agricultural mechanization is very rapid. In 1944, only 173,400 agricultural tractors, 2500 combine harvesters in Britain. In 1993, the United Kingdom has more than 50 million units of agricultural tractors, 47,000 combine harvests, the average agricultural labor force has a tractor, combine harvester 0.5 units. Currently, the farm of grow vegetables and chicken farms and pig farms in the United Kingdom have achieved mechanization. Supporting the British agricultural machinery, agricultural machinery and complete, from cultivation to harvest, into the warehouse, each program has a corresponding machinery. Cultivator, planter, mower, bundles of grass machines, threshers and other agricultural machinery has been widely used. Britain now use tractors, most of the big horsepower and hydraulic drive, and equipped with electronic surveillance and air conditioning equipment. Sugar beet and potato harvesting operations and a single multi-line operating segments and other machinery, can be adapted to operate in a variety of conditions. More emphasis on the Britain’s agricultural land productivity and increased yield per unit area, wheat, barley, oats and potato yields have increased substantially. In 1992, the United Kingdom the average yield of 6,940 kg grain pre ha, higher than the corresponding yields in Europe and the United States. The structure of English agricultural production, stock raising is the largest share, ant then the planting. From the production perspective, stock raising accounts for about 2 / 3, farming accounts for only 1 / 5. Planting grain crops, horticultural crops, tuber crops and forage crops are the main planting of Britain. High value horticultural crops grown in the UK industry occupies an important position. The development of Britain’s stock raising industry was from the16th century "enclosure movement". The earliest development in the sheep industry is to provide raw materials for the domestic textile industry, and later with the increase of urban