Hydroponics Technology: Farming Without Soil

The term soil less culture is synonymously used in Hydroponic technology. The word means ?the working water?.In other words, the cultivation of plants in water is referred as hydroponics. However in a broader sense, the cultivation of crops in any growing substrates, whether organic that is, peat moss, coconut fibre, straw bales, grapes residue, etc. or inorganic perlite, vermiculite, rock wool, sand etc., in the absence of soil is referred to as Hydroponics. The greenhouse structures are based on the available sources as the capital investment. These structures are constructed to control the growing climatic condition mainly including light, temperature, air circulation, humidity etc. for proper growth and development of the crops. The structures should be erected in such a manner that optimum advantage should be taken from the prevalent seasonal weather conditions. The direction of greenhouse is also important factor to make use of better crop production by consuming the sunshine entering into the structure from a certain direction. The structures are designed with a specific shape, viz. raised cutters and screen of green net is usually introduced to give shade to the plants during scorching heat or when the plants need less light for the proper growth.The rainwater consumed for crop production can efficiently be collected in the form of reservoir and this idea has negated the claim that Hydroponic crop production need surplus water. Rather this technique drastically saves the water and is a potential and practical application of modern but well established technique for getting higher and quality yield of a number of crops. The rain water falling in the surrounding area and dropped through the raised cutters of greenhouses are collected into the channels constructed nearby and is ultimately accumulated in the reservoirs. It should be kept in mind that if circumstances do not permit for water harvesting through such reservoirs, even then a limited amount of water could serve the purpose to canalize the production routine. In many a countries of the world, the drainage water after proper treatment based on latest technology, enables the water to be reused for crop production. The arrangement of irrigation can be manipulated by applying mist system; drip irrigation and also the controlled cooling pad system to maintain the requisite humidity in the greenhouse. In greenhouse production, the introduction of supplemental CO2 inside the plant growing environment is made to enhance the crop growth. The logical reasoning of CO2 that plants use this gas to manufacture their food under the action of a biological process called photosynthesis.The sources of plant nutrients (salts) for macro (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, etc.) and micro (zinc, sulphur, iron, cupper, molybdenum, manganese, etc.) elements are acquired from the reliable source. A suitable air system has to be installed to regulate the heating and cooling in accordance with the temperature requirement of the crop schedule. This is heavily practiced in most of the greenhouses. However, in the areas where energy crises prevail and the fuel cost is hard to bear, in such instances cold glasshouses (unheated glasshouses) are undertaken for production objective. And the use of energy for the sustainability of temperature inside the greenhouses is to the level at critical stage when temperature either very low or very high to operate the heating or cooling system. This kind of exercise is done to overcome the critical moments in plants to avoid the risk of high mortality under adverse climatic conditions. Some of the climatic components are automated with the help of computer and are very common and cost effective when compared with the manual routine where the labor charges come out exorbitant. The crops grown by hydroponics have a sizable volume of market within the country and a lot of prospects that have been explored to export the crop like tomato, lettuce, strawberry, cut flowers etc. For example, tomato is grown in thousand tonnes of volume around the world moreover different types of tomatoes including beefsteak, cluster, cherry etc. are produced by hydroponics. The seeds must be hybrid in nature to get the optimum yield. The crop can be obtained round the year without any break followed by a strict schedule.Hydroponics is the most intensive technology for growing plants in nutrient solutions (water containing fertilizers) with or without the use of an artificial medium to provide mechanical support. Food for plants are dissolved in water and fed directly to roots.Plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth.When mineral nutrients in soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant?s water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics, but some will do better than others. Hydroponics is also a standard technique in biology research and teaching and a popular hobby. There has been an increasing interest in the use of hydroponics or soil less techniques for the production of greenhouse horticultural crops but there is little commercial value because of it being more expensive than the traditional agriculture.The two main types of hydroponics are solution culture and medium culture. Solution culture does not use a solid medium for roots, just the nutrient solution. The three main types of solution culture are static solution culture, continuous flow solution culture, and aeroponics.The medium culture method has a solid medium for roots and is named for the type of medium, e.g., sand, gravel, or rock wool culture. There are two main variations for each medium, sub-irrigation and top irrigation. For all techniques, most hydroponics reservoirs are now built of plastic but other materials have been used including concrete, glass, metal and wood. The containers should exclude light to prevent algae growth in nutrient solution.The principle advantages of hydroponics include high-density planting, maximum crop yield, crop production where no suitable soil exists, freedom from the constraints of ambient temperatures and seasonality, more efficient use of water and fertilizers, minimal use of land area, and suitability for mechanized production and disease control. A major advantage of hydroponics, as compared with culture of plants in soil, is the isolation of the crop from the underlying soil which may have problems associated with disease, salinity, or poor structure and drainage. The costly and time-consuming tasks of soil sterilization and cultivation are unnecessary in hydroponics systems, and a rapid turnover of crops is readily achieved.In this system no soil is required and chances of soil borne diseases are virtually eliminated. The problems due to weeds are virtually eliminated with less or no use of pesticides.Edible crops are not contaminated with soil. Water use can be substantially less than with outdoor irrigation of soil-grown crops. Solution culture hydroponics does not require disposal of a solid medium or sterilization and re-use of a solid medium. Solution culture hydroponics allows greater control over the root-zone environment than soil culture. In solution culture hydroponics, plant roots can be seen. This system is considered high-tech and futuristic and so appeals to many people. Hydroponics is excellent for plant teaching and research.The principal disadvantage of hydroponics, relative to conventional open-field agriculture is the high cost of capital and energy inputs, especially if the structure is artificially heated and cooled by fan and pad systems. A high degree of competence in plant science and engineering skills are required for successful operation. This system usually requires more and more frequent maintenance than geoponics. If timers or electric pumps fail, or the system clogs or springs a leak plants can die very quickly in hydroponics system. Because of its significantly higher costs, successful applications of hydroponics technology are limited to crops of high economic value in specific regions and often at specific times of the year, when comparable open-field crops are not readily available. A weakness in any number of technical or economic links snaps this complex chain. Deficiencies in practical management or scientific and engineering support results in low yields of nutrient-deficient and unattractive crops; plant diseases; insect infestation; summer overheating; winter chilling; under-capitalization; and indifferent cost accounting, all of which, separately or together, have caused hydroponics businesses to fail. There is no margin for poor management or mistakes. Hydroponics has been exaggerated as miraculous. There are many widely held misconceptions regarding hydroponics, and the following facts should be noted. Hydroponics will not always produce greater crop yields than with good quality soil; plants cannot be spaced closer together than soil-grown crops under the same environmental conditions; produce will not necessarily be more nutritious or delicious than soil-grown produce. With hydroponics, capital costs are several orders of magnitude higher than those for open-field crops, and the types of food crops feasible for hydroponics are severely limited by potential economic return. Agronomic crops are totally inappropriate.A decade ago, it was calculated that the highest market prices ever paid would have to increase by a factor of five for hydroponics agronomy to cover the cost. Since then, hydroponics costs have more than doubled, while crop commodity prices have remained constant. Repeated pricing studies have shown that only high-quality garden type vegetables like tomato, cucumber, potato, sweet peppers, melon, and specialty lettuce can cover costs or give a return in hydroponics systems. As the consumer becomes increasingly aware of quality differences, especially the high quality of tomatoes, cucumbers, and leafy vegetables coming from hydroponics, the demand will increase. This, along with the increased emphasis on eating more vegetables for dietary and health reasons, will surely help the hydroponics industry. In Pakistan, the use of hydroponics for crop production is not promoted. This may be due to the lack of knowledge and awareness. The hydroponics introduction at commercial level has been introduced by an entrepreneur near Rawalpindi incurring heavy investment with good skill utilization. The trend indicates that people have started showing interest in this area of crop production which is a health sign on the part on implementation of new technology in Pakistan. But still a lot have to do to catch the real goal and objectivity. The work on hydroponics at university level can change the face of the agriculture sector in crop production technology. The present government has shown its seriousness to promote the intensive cultivation for increasing per acre yield. This is only possible if innovative technology of hydroponics is introduced and should be induced deep into the farmer community. Needless to say that introducing the hydroponics greenhouse production will raise the future column and can give a boost to such productive technologies in our country. In advanced countries, every component of greenhouse system is directly attached with the computer control, thus has been monitored in the office. Any fault in any part of the system in the greenhouse can certainly be identified instantly to rectify the problem within no time. As an example, the flow of feed provided to the plants in the greenhouse can give clear-cut indications for the level of pH, EC, amount of micro and macronutrients etc. If any interruption appears in the smooth channeling of the solution flow, it will be localized through computer screen, and the concerned individual will remove the chocking thus maintains the flow in the channel. Source : 2008-2011 Agrihunt.com - All Rights Reserved. ~ Powered by RYK I.T Solutions ~

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Competitiveness and prospects of Greek asparagus: the European context. INTRODUCTION The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of EU, with the governmental protectionist interventions is accountable for the structural distortions in agriculture (1). A consequence of CAP in Greek agriculture was the abandonment of actual traditional cultivations with effective superiority in favor of others. Over time, these "others" cultivationswere baptized "traditional" and the government interventions directed and determined both the agricultural production and trade (2). The CAP's revisions, under the commitments from the negotiations in the context of WTO for the gradual liberalization of markets and trade, aswell as the accession of new members with competitive agricultural activities in the EU (3), (4) have caused restlessness to growers for the future (5) of "traditional" cultivations. "Alternatives or new" crops were promoted as solutions to confront the shrinkage of producers' prices and their incomes. The "alternatives" were transubstantiated in "concrete" cultivations just for a small number of cases (6). Although asparagus cultivation cannot be considered as a "new" one, due to the fact that set off its route in Greece from the decade of60', however the product concentrated the growers' interest throughout the decade of 90' constituting a "healthy" outlet for the agricultural areas. On average from 1995-2003 the cultivated, with asparagus land, covered the 5.66% of the total of vegetables, with a peak at 8.037 ha approximately in 1998 (7). The contribution of value of exported asparagus in the formation of the Standard International Trade Classifications (SITC) categories, during the period 1996-2004, reached on average at 2.15% of the exports value of food and live animals (section 0 of SITC), at 1.42% of the exports value of agricultural products (sections 0,1,4 of SITC) and at 0.35% of the total value of products and services that exported from the country (7), (8). Taking for granted the numerousness of existing economic activities, the number of agricultural or non-agricultural products and services that are produced and traded and the proportion of cultivated with asparagus land to the total arable land of Greece, the contribution of Greek asparagus exports in the formation of national exports is significant. The asparagus, without government interventions, has been transformed at one of the more promising cultivations in exports terms for Greece. During the decade 1996-2005, in Greece was produced the 11.26% of EU's production, taking into consideration all the 27 members thatthe EU numbered in our days, with an average output at 4,095.04 kg [ha.sup.-1] (9). This study is an empirical study based on post-trade and post-production data for the diachronic evolution of competitiveness (10), (11) of white fresh Greek asparagus and its prospects. In the first session of the study methodology is presented. The following session refers to Greek asparagus within the European context. The third session composes the core empirical part with the resultsfor the competitiveness of white fresh Greek asparagus and the last session constitutes a summary of conclusions. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study has been based on diachronic estimations for a scheme oftrade indices in respect that, in the literature, there is no index with general acceptance to examine the competitiveness for a product (1), (12). The statistical data comes from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (9), (13) (FAO), the National Statistical Service of Greece (7) (NSSG) and the Panhellenic Exporters Association (8) (PEA). The focus group consists of countries with a percentage of white asparagus at least 80% of their total annual production of the productor/and present significant trade flows of white fresh asparagus withGreece or/and belong to the main competitors for the Greek product. Particularly in Greece, this percentage share of white fresh asparagus to its total asparagus production reaches at 95% (9), (13-16). The estimated trade indices for the analysis are the exporting andimporting penetration indices (EP, IP), the net trade index, a type Michaelly Index, a specialization of Revealed Symmetrical ComparativeAdvantage index (RSCA) and exporting prices indices. The exporting and importing penetration indices (EP, IP) are estimated as: [[E.P.].sub.j] = [X.sub.j]/([Pr.sub.j] + [M.sub.j]) (1) [[I.P.].sub.j] = [M.sub.j]/([Pr.sub.j] + [M.sub.j]-[X.sub.j]) (2) in which: [Pr.sub.j] is the asparagus production in country j, [M.sub.j] and [X.sub.j] are the respective imports and exports, ([Pr.sub.j] + [M.sub.j]) is the total "illusive" supply in the domestic market of country j and ([Pr.sub.j]+[M.sub.j]-[X.sub.j]) is the respectivedomestic "illusive" demand. The sums ([Pr.sub.j]+[M.sub.j]) and ([Pr.sub.j]+[M.sub.j]-[X.sub.j]) are characterized as domestic "illusive"supply and demand respectively, because they compose only estimates for the real magnitudes, e.g., includes the waste and the quantities that does not end up as fresh product abroad but as frozen or proceeding kind. However their use helps the estimation of EP and IP indiceswhich reveal the countries with highly exporting orientation or withan important role as importers. The methodology for the study of revealed comparative advantage was fastened by Balassa (5). The concept is to distinguish the competitive products of a country in the international trade (10), (11), (17), (18). In this paper three terms have been used (12): the net trade index ("Normalized Balassa") [NT.sub.j] for the study of consequencesfrom the external asparagus trade on national trade balance (19), (20), a specialization of Michaelly index (21), (22) for bilateral (23), (24) analysis [BM.sub.[GR[left and right arrow]j]] and a specialization of revealed symmetrical comparative advantage index (4), (21), (25) for study of tripartite competitiveness-penetration relations [TRSCA.sub.[GR(Vs)j][right arrow]k]] regarding one of the three participated countries as a common target market for the other two. These indices have been derived from the following equations: [NT.sub.j] = ([X.sub.j] - [M.sub.j])/([X.sub.j] + [M.sub.j]), [NT.sub.j] [member of] [-1,1] (3) [BM.sub.[GR[left and right arrow]k]] = ([X.sub.[GR[right arrow]k]]/[TX.sub.GR])-([M.sub.[k[right arrow]GR]]/[TM.sub.GR]) [BM.sub.[GR[right arrow]j]] [member of] [-1,1] (4) [TRSCA.sub.[[GR(Vs)j][right arrow]k]] = ([TRCA.sub.[[GR(Vs)j][right arrow]k]]-1)/([TRCA.sub.[[GR(Vs)j][right arrow]k]] + 1), TRSCA [member of] [-1,1] (5) with a specialization of TRCA as: [TRCA.sub.[[GR(Vs)j][right arrow]k]] = ([X.sub.[GR[right arrow]k]]/[TX.sub.GR])/([X.sub.[j[right arrow]k]]/[TX.sub.j]), TRCA [member of] [0, + [infinity]) (6) In which: [X.sub.[GR[right arrow]k]] indicates the annual exports of Greek asparagus to country k and [TX.sub.GR] the total annual exports of Greek asparagus worldwide, [M.sub.[k[right arrow]GR]] is the annual asparagus imports in Greece from country k and [TX.sub.GR] the total annual asparagus imports in Greece from abroad, ([X.sub.[GR[right arrow]k]]/[TX.sub.GR]) indicates the share of Greek asparagus in market k and ([X.sub.[j[right arrow]k]]/[TX.sub.j]) country's j asparagus share in market k and [TRCA.sub.[[GR(Vs)j][right arrow]k]] is thetripartite revealed comparative (dis)advantage of Greek asparagus incomparison to the product of country j into a common target market k. If [NT.sub.j] = 0, then the imports value of the product are equalwith its exports value and the product neither improve nor surchargethe trade balance of the country. If [NT.sub.j] [right arrow] +1, then the product improves the trade balance and presents highly exporting orientation and vice versa when [NT.sub.j] [right arrow] -1 The [BM.sub.[GR[left and right arrow]j]] and [TRSCA.sub.[[GR(Vs)j][right arrow]k]] indices fluctuate in the same range with the [NT.sub.j] index. Both these indices take into consideration the relevant trading size of each country, using either quotients of exports to a target market k or quotients of imports from a country j in relation tothe respective worldwide trading flows of compared countries. The first is specialized to study the bilateral trade (23), (24), with Greece as benchmark of comparisons, comparing the proportion between the Greek asparagus exports to the country k with the respective imports of this country in order to ascertain bilateral competitive (dis)advantages. The latter is specialized with the target market as comparator and compares the export shares of two countries (Greece as benchmark and country j) into a common target market k in order to determine the comparative (dis)advantage of Greek asparagus in this market within of a tripartite relation. Although, the [NT.sub.j] index is estimated from values data due to the fact that the trade balance are affected both from the volume and the value of imports and exports, however the estimations of [BM.sub.[GR[left and right arrow]j]] has been based on quantities data owing to the both exports and imports usage so that the values does not affect on the bilateral (dis)advantage. As far as the index of [TRSCA.sub.[[GR(Vs) j][right arrow]k]] is concerned, which is defined exclusively by exports, its estimations were based on value of data takinginto consideration the price influence (26). The price indices were estimated as the quotient between the totalannual value of asparagus exports from a country j and the respective annual exported quantity. The price indices reveal the annual average price of exports from country j to country k. The Greek asparagus into the European context: The asparagus plants, during the period of 1995-2003, has been corresponded to 5.66% of cultivated with vegetables land of Greece, with a peak of 8,037 ha approximately in 1998 (7). The asparagus production in Greece has been rising until year 2001 (31,000 tones) and then, presented a loss of about 9.5 thousand tones until year 2006 which implied a falling tendency (below the average) to its contribution in the formation of SITC categories. During the period of 1996-2005 over than 99.22% (which is the smallest percentage in 2000) of exported Greek asparagus ended up to destinations in EU-27 (13). The bulk of exported Greek asparagus follows the traditional route for many Greek agricultural products to the market of Munich. In the decade of 1996-2005, on average 84.2% of Greek asparagus exports has been absorbed by the German market, only with small annual fluctuations. Although, in 1996, the apportionment of exported Greek asparagus was similar among the Dutch, France and Spain markets (2.38, 2.36 and 2.05%, respectively), diachronic the concentration has been enlarged only to the Dutch market (13). An increasinglyexporting percentage to the Netherlands was recorded with annual percentages to be bigger (between 7.58 and 13.43%) than the decade average (7.57%) after year 2000 (13). The exports to France were restricted both as quantities and proportion and was considerably decreased from 1999 (8.50)-2005 (1.90%), while, after year 1999 (except from the year 2003) the share of exports to the Spanish market dropped below from the unit (13). The great dependency of Greek asparagus from the German market does not leave alternative choices and this is a risk for the future of cultivation in Greece and for the producers' income. It must be pointed out that the imports of Germany, in the period of 1996-2005 were diminished 17.979 tones, -42.1% (9). At the moment, Greek exports setsout an outlet only to the Dutch market, but a satisfactory penetration into new markets in foreseeable future is indispensable. The increase of asparagus production in Germany has already conduced at the diminution of Greek asparagus production. After year 2003, an attempt to find new markets for the Greek asparagus has been focused on new members (CEEC) of EU-27 (4), (27) but it remains weak, 6.11% in 2005 (13), owing to the structural restrictions of Greek supply chains and the lack of suitable coordination with foreign partnerships (26). The diachronic evolution of exporting and importing penetration indices (EP, IP) in Table 1 indicates high exporting orientation for the Greek, Dutch and Spanish asparagus. In the case of Greece, on average, 66.5% of estimating domestic supply was sold abroad and this measurement was considerably bigger rather than the corresponding averages for the other countries, 35.5 and 30.8% for the Netherlands and Spain respectively. An explanation is that the asparagus, until the end of the previous decade, was not yet included in the nourishment habits of Greek consumers. The dependency of exported Greek asparagus fromthe German market (especially in the case that the Greek producers have not achieved earliness) in combination with the increase of relevant German production have caused the stabilization's absence for theEP index of Greece. Table 1: Diachronic evolution of EP and IP Indices of asparagus per Country 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) EP: Greece 94.8 71.3 82.8 78.7 54.7 62.3 80.1 38.5 58.1 Netherlands 53.6 38.9 32.0 39.3 36.4 27.3 34.9 28.2 30.7 Spain 22.7 34.8 32.2 29.8 29.6 37.7 33.0 28.3 30.9 France 14.8 17.2 14.2 13.2 15.5 18.8 17.8 19.4 14.0 Germany 0.5 0.7 0.8 1.6 0.9 2.8 1.6 1.3 1.2 IP: Greece 9.1 1.0 2.7 5.0 0.4 0.2 0.6 1.0 6.6 Netherlands 36.5 46.4 32.5 54.0 31.7 33.7 51.1 45.2 45.4 Spain 3.1 6.3 6.2 7.6 8.0 8.7 10.2 14.3 14.9 France 26.5 33.0 32.9 29.3 43.3 49.4 54.2 47.7 49.2 Germany 54.1 49.5 48.6 47.8 38.0 42.0 34.4 31.3 26.7 2005 (%) Average (%) EP: Greece 43.6 66.5 Netherlands 33.3 35.5 Spain 28.8 30.8 France 13.4 15.8 Germany 1.4 1.3 IP: Greece 6.2 3.3 Netherlands 47.3 42.4 Spain 22.8 10.2 France 43.7 40.9 Germany 23.3 39.6 Note: Authors' Calculations (9), (13) France which was a traditional exporter in the decade of 60', the continually decrease of its production had as a result the fall of its E.P. index to low levels. For the period in question, although the production of France was diminished -37.3%, its E.P. index had a relevant short fluctuation range (from 19.4-13.2%) with an average at 15.8% and this means that the proportion between exports and estimating domestic supply has been kept at similar levels due to the faster increase of French imports in order to cover the domestic consumption. The fast increase of French imports was recorded from the IP index which was fluctuated between 26.5 and 33% in the period of 1996-1999 but, after year 2000, its annual percentages were over than 43.3%. The IP index was high, on average 42.4%, for the Netherlands as well. The difference between Netherlands and France is that the first had a remarkable steady domestic production in all these years. Both high levels of the exporting and importing penetration indices for theNetherlands create the impression that the country performs a "middleman" role for the trade of white fresh asparagus in West Europe. A particular interest present the increasingly trend of IP index of Spain, from 3.1 in 1996 to 22.8% in 2005 with a similar rationalization as in the case of France and a loss of Spanish asparagus production at - 38.6% in the studied time series. Greece presents the lower IP index, on average 3.3%, due to the fact that the domestic production overcomes the low, in comparison withthe other countries, domestic consumption and permits the rising fluctuation of its exports without significant effects on its imports. Germany, which is one of the big importers and producers of white fresh asparagus worldwide, in 2006 became the biggest asparagus producer in EU-27 with a percentage 32.1% (Spain 18.7, Italy 16.7, Greece 8.5, France 7.5, the Netherlands 5.9, Bulgaria 5.9, Others 4.7%). Germany, on average for the period of 1996-2005, exported only 1.3% of its estimating domestic supply and imported almost 2/5 of the corresponding estimating domestic demand, owing to the insufficiency of German production to satisfy the domestic consumption. The difference between France and Germany was that the I.P. index for the later was decreasing and its average was bigger than the annual estimations after year 2001. The average conceals a significant alteration, from 1996, when Germany had to import more than half of its domestic consumption,to 2005 when its imports were restricted at 1/4 of estimating domestic consumption. The intense fall of IP index of Germany elucidates the unsteadiness and the annual reductions of Greek EP index because ofGreece's vital dependency from the German asparagus marketplace. However, Germany continues to be unable to cover the consumers' requirements and confronts earliness difficulty. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Figure 1 depicts the evolution of Net Trade (NT) index for the studied countries. Greece, Spain and the Netherlands have positive rates. France reveals negative rates after year 1998 and Germany for all the period. In the case of Germany, the petty improvement of the NT index (Fig. 1) is consorted with the increase of its production and thefall of IP index (Table 1). The high domestic consumption in connection with the low EP index of Germany (Table 1) prevented the further improvement for country's NT index and loaded to an almost absolute disadvantage from the asparagus external trade for the German trade balance. Specifically, the index has been estimated near to -1 for all the years of time series with an average -0.934 that indicates the surcharge of trade balance of Germany. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] The NT index of France corroborates the view that the role of France for the asparagus trade has been modified from exporter to importer. The surcharge of French trade balance has been enlarged from 1998 (-0.025)-2005 (-0.355) and the average for the NT index was -0.118 due to the positive rates of 1996 and 1997. In the same period the benefits for the Dutch trade balance from the asparagus trade was vanished. The NT index from 0.612 in 1996 had tumbled down to 0.005 in 2003 (Fig. 1). After year 2002, the index fluctuated between 0.015 and 0.077 (Fig. 1). Under the repercussion that the Netherlands has undertaken a "middleman's" role in West Europe (Table 1) in asparagus external trade, after the year 2002 this role has secured employment positions for the country without giving benefits to its balance. Spain and Greece remain the only countries of the group which continue to enjoy such benefits from the asparagus external trade. Takingthe relevant stability of EP index of Spain for granted, the fallingof its NT index can be interpreted through the hurling of IP index (Table 1). The NT index of Spain recorded a decrease equal to -69.3% from 1996 (+0.875) to 2005 (+0.269), whereas the average (+0.655) was bigger than the annual rates after the year 2001. The Greek trade balance obtains more benefits from the asparagus external trade than the Spanish one. The small volume of imports in combination with the high exporting orientation of Greek asparagus (Table 1) provide to Greece an almost absolute advantage for its balance as it seems from the rates of NT index of Greece which was close to +1 for all the years of the studied period with an average at +0.971 (Fig. 1). The falling of the NT index after year 2002 is correlated with the falling of the Greek EP index (Table 1). The Table 2 shows the results of BM index. Although Greece has more benefits than Spain from the asparagus external trade (Fig. 1), from the focus on their bipartite trading relation is ascertained that none of them success a competitive advantage, as it is proven from theannual rates of BM index. Except from the year 1999 in which the index was negative (affecting the average), for all the other years from1996-2005 the rates are almost zero (Table 2). Table 2: Diachronic evolution of BM index, with Greece as benchmark of comparisons Diachronic evolution 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Greece-Germany 0.745 0.247 -0.001 0.383 0.205 0.845 Greece-France -0.705 -0.267 0.049 0.085 0.070 0.033 Greece-Spain 0.020 0.059 0.001 -0.192 0.032 0.001 Greece-Netherlands -0.046 -0.030 -0.054 -0.058 -0.257 -0.695 Diachronic evolution 2002 2003 2004 2005 Average Greece-Germany 0.795 0.800 0.777 0.763 0.556 Greece-France 0.037 -0.070 -0.408 -0.295 -0.147 Greece-Spain 0.007 0.021 0.002 0.003 -0.004 Greece-Netherlands -0.533 -0.122 0.022 0.050 -0.172 Note: Authors' calculations (13) Greece had presented competitive disadvantage in the bilateral trade with the Netherlands until year 2003 and only after that, reversedthis situation owing to the increase of its export share into the Dutch market. An interpretation of the negative rates, especially in the period of 2000-2003 (Table 2), is the consequences of the geographic dispersion of large foreign retailing chains, taking into account the Greek market. The extension of Dutch-German and French retailing chains functioned in favor of the asparagus imports from the Netherlands and France. As a repercussion, despite the decrease of French production, the Greek asparagus gained no advantage from the bilateral trade with France (Table 2). On the contrary the decrease of Greek exports to the French market created a disadvantage after year 2002 in terms of bilateral trade. The parallel between Greece and French indicates the trade problem for the Greek product due to the lack of Greek large retailing chains with considerable geographic dispersion in West Europe (28), (26). Greece maintains a bilateral trading advantage vis-a-vis to Germany (Table 2). The gathering of Greek asparagus in German market can bejustified from the distributional and promotional activities of great Greek colony. The earliness of Greek product in comparison with theGerman constitutes one more reason. Table 3 shows the results of tripartite specialized index of revealed symmetrical comparative advantage (TRSCA). Under the apportionment criterion of exported Greek asparagus, marketplaces of Germany, France and Holland used as the set of the target markets. The Swiss market, as the most important market for the Greek asparagus exports which is outside the EU-27, has been added into the group. Each one of the above target markets have been used as a comparator in order to estimate the comparative (dis)advantage of Greek asparagus (which is thebenchmark) in a specific target market in comparison with their competitors. The direct parallel of competing countries, regarding their exporting shares in each target market in comparison to their worldwide exports, has taken into consideration the relevant size among the competitors. Price indices in Table 4 have been estimated to fortify the results. Table 3: Diachronic evolution of TRSCA index with Greek asparagus as benchmark and its main European target markets as comparators Diachronic evolution 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 German market: Greece-Spain 0.374 0.334 0.451 0.374 0.417 0.443 Greece-France 0.365 0.340 0.420 0.344 0.452 0.441 Greece-Netherlands 0.057 0.026 0.057 0.047 0.080 0.108 French Market Greece-Spain -0.909 -0.857 -0.797 -0.718 -0.807 -0.913 Greece-Germany -0.427 -0.268 -0.080 -0.385 -0.156 -0.796 Greece-Netherlands -0.002 -0.266 0.213 0.440 0.303 -0.300 Dutch market: Greece-Germany -0.860 -0.484 -0.010 -0.803 -0.381 -0.422 Greece-Spain -0.539 0.292 -0.292 -0.022 0.599 0.772 Greece-France 0.552 0.767 0.465 0.364 0.490 0.482 Swiss market: Greece-Spain -1.000 -0.986 -0.996 -0.956 -0.680 -0.035 Greece-France -1.000 -0.999 -0.999 -0.992 -0.952 -0.848 Greece-Netherlands -1.000 -0.950 -0.979 -0.825 -0.439 0.197 Greece-Germany -1.000 -0.997 -0.999 -0.978 -0.896 -0.579 Diachronic evolution 2002 2003 2004 2005 Average German market: Greece-Spain 0.396 0.397 0.422 0.393 0.400 Greece-France 0.694 0.655 0.771 0.786 0.527 Greece-Netherlands 0.234 0.252 0.308 0.384 0.155 French Market Greece-Spain -0.892 -0.867 -0.897 -0.940 -0.860 Greece-Germany -0.693 -0.850 -0.728 -0.811 -0.519 Greece-Netherlands -0.596 -0.488 -0.446 -0.760 -0.190 Dutch market: Greece-Germany -0.428 0.358 -0.011 -0.294 -0.334 Greece-Spain 0.802 0.821 0.847 0.705 0.398 Greece-France 0.765 0.894 0.859 0.809 0.645 Swiss market: Greece-Spain 0.540 -0.794 0.611 -0.019 -0.432 Greece-France -0.951 -0.985 -0.948 -0.982 -0.966 Greece-Netherlands -0.597 -0.906 -0.572 -0.771 -0.684 Greece-Germany -0.674 -0.960 -0.868 -0.944 -0.890 Note: Authors' calculations (13) Table 4: Diachronic evolution of annual average prices of exported asparagus per target market ($/kg) Diachronic evolution 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 German market: Greece 2.321 2.367 2.140 1.819 2.111 2.251 2.091 Spain 4.104 3.460 3.516 3.451 2.796 2.777 2.864 France 5.482 4.492 4.645 3.951 4.134 3.553 3.296 Netherlands 4.220 4.611 4.212 3.657 3.480 3.813 2.883 French market: Greece 1.072 1.383 1.464 0.949 1.077 1.094 1.324 Spain 3.288 2.764 3.030 2.809 2.158 1.983 2.249 Germany 4.167 4.333 1.750 1.046 1.871 -- 2.247 Netherlands 4.352 3.720 3.068 3.122 2.355 2.044 2.145 Dutch Market Greece 2.203 2.103 2.195 1.442 1.766 1.681 1.667 Germany 3.561 1.950 1.443 1.997 1.720 2.020 1.820 Spain 4.852 3.592 3.869 4.073 2.552 2.413 2.364 France 1.794 2.611 3.266 2.767 2.883 2.603 3.031 Swiss market: Greece -- -- -- 2.103 2.581 3.081 3.436 Spain 1.972 1.268 1.312 1.155 1.091 1.066 0.936 France 5.861 4.828 4.739 4.302 3.808 2.851 3.418 Netherlands 5.461 5.368 3.848 4.419 3.556 4.128 3.696 Germany 5.143 3.825 3.171 3.886 2.874 3.394 3.835 Diachronic evolution 2003 2004 2005 Average German market: Greece 2.509 2.343 3.020 2.297 Spain 3.537 4.141 3.849 3.449 France 4.934 5.724 5.103 4.531 Netherlands 4.030 4.383 4.147 3.944 French market: Greece 1.498 2.007 1.774 1.364 Spain 2.968 3.714 3.423 2.839 Germany 2.493 2.806 2.874 2.621 Netherlands 2.832 2.906 2.594 2.914 Dutch Market Greece 1.700 2.810 2.465 2.003 Germany 2.903 2.726 3.170 2.331 Spain 3.315 3.483 4.383 3.490 France 3.548 4.105 4.525 3.113 Swiss market: Greece 4.316 4.290 3.737 3.363 Spain 3.393 2.448 1.753 1.639 France 4.726 4.896 4.789 4.422 Netherlands 4.465 4.524 4.549 4.401 Germany 4.210 4.395 4.225 3.896 Note: Authors' calculations (13) Greek asparagus had an advantage in German market where it presented its bigger gathering. Concretely, from the comparison between the Greek and the French product, the average of TRSCA index was 0.527 with positive annual rates for all studied years and annual rates bigger than the average after the year 2001 (Table 3). Comparing the Greekwith the Spanish product the average was 0.400 with positive annual rates and relevant stability for the whole of the studied period, whereas in the case of Greek vis-a-vis to Dutch product the average was 0.155 smaller than the annual rates after year 2001 (Table 3). Greek asparagus seems to have a steady diachronic comparative advantage in comparison with the Spanish one and improves its position incomparison with the French and Dutch products (Table 3). Taking intoconsideration the fact that the exporting quantities of white fresh asparagus to German market has been diminished for the studied countries for granted, most likely seems that the penetration of Greek asparagus into the marketplace of Germany is more durable than the relevant of its competitors (especially from those of the Netherlands and France). The average of annual average prices of exported Greek asparagus in period 1996-2005, 2.279 $/kg (smaller than the measurements after the year 2002), have diachronic been kept at more competitive levels than the relevant prices of exported Spanish, French and Dutch asparagus to Germany (3.349, 4.531 and 3.944 $/kg, respectively). The lower labor cost of Greek production and the trading of the Greek homogeny in Germany have played their part in this, permitted satisfactory incomes for the Greek producers as well. On the contrary, the diminution of German imports due to the growth of German production has hit seriously the imports from the Netherlands and France which were being presented the bigger averages in terms of annual averages prices. Greek asparagus, concluding from the estimations of TRSCA index (Table 3), have not succeeded competitive penetration in France, where the Greek product has been at a disadvantage compared to the Spanish,German and Dutch products (except for the triennium 1998-2000 in thecase of the comparison with the Netherlands) notwithstanding its lower prices (Table 4). A potential explanation for the price of Greek product in connection with its poor penetration in French market can be considered, the almost exclusive conveyance of precocious Greek asparagus to Germany, with a consequence that the French market has beenconsidered as a supplementary target market from the Greek exporters. This means that the Greek exporters turn to French market in the period when cultivated the bulk of asparagus production in Germany while the French crop has not been sufficient. Although in the bilateral trade with the Netherlands, the BM indexreveals a disadvantage for Greece until 2003 (Table 2), however intothe Dutch market the Greek asparagus have gained comparative advantage in comparison with the French (all the period 1996-2005) and Spanish (after the year 2000) products (Table 3). After year 2000, the increasing absorbability of Greek asparagus in Dutch market has consolidated its comparative advantage. In the same market the Greek product had a disadvantage compared to the German asparagus (average: -0.334), with a small improvement after year 2002. The annual average price of exported Greek asparagus to the Dutch market has been recorded lower than the corresponding price to the German market (expect from theyears 1998 and 2004) and higher than the corresponding price to the French market (Table 4). This observation is in deal with the manner that the Greek exporters look at the target markets of Germany and France, as well as deal with the moving of a part of Greek exports fromGerman to Dutch market after year 2000. As concerns the comparison among the Greek price and the competitors' prices, the Greek product has been absorbed in Dutch market at higher prices than the Spanish and French asparagus (Table 4). Switzerland is the most important importer among the non-EU countries. The Swiss market imports similar quantities of white and green fresh asparagus. The French-speaking and the German-speaking part of the country are traditionally provided with French and German white fresh asparagus. The TRSCA index (Table 3) shows that the Greek asparagus possessed a comparative disadvantage in the Swiss marketplace vis-a-vis to French, German and Dutch products (averages: -0.966, -0.890 and -0.684, respectively). For the couple of Greek and Spanish asparagus has not observed an advantage for any of these products. The exported Greek asparagus in Swiss market recorded higher average annual prices than the rest markets under study (Table 4), but the price of Greek product compared with the averages annual prices of German, French and Dutch asparagus (except for years 2001 and 2002 for the case of French product) was lower. CONCLUSION The empirical results end up that Greek asparagus take an advantage of its competitors only in German market and it cannot achieve a satisfactory penetration into other markets, except for the Dutch one. Spain and Greece are the only competitors among the European countries with significant quantities of production and exports that continueto gain benefits at their trade balance. The problem of exporting dispersion of Greek asparagus does not come from an advantage of Spanish product. The weak penetration in other markets except for that of Germany and the Netherlands cannot be considered as quality weakness for the Greek asparagus and it is interpreted as a problem at the channels of trade. The advantage of Greek asparagus in the German marketplace has been connected with the distributional and promotional activities of Greek colony and reveals the weakness of Greek exporters to create trading chains in other markets on abroad where does not exists Greek homogeny. The lack of Greek large retailing chains with considerable geographic dispersion in West Europe contributes to the trading problem (28), (26). The dependency of Greek exports from Germany is anticipated to cause negative consequences (some of them have already recorded) in asparagus production of Greece, while the production of Germany will be enlarged and its imports will be diminished. The Greek asparagus must maintain and improve its earliness and quality in order to maintain the penetration in the German market. The improvement of earliness of Greek asparagus can secure its exports not only in Germany but in other markets as well. High quality, the freshness, perfect standardization and the competitive earliness must be the differentiation agents (29) for the Greek asparagus. The brand names of the exported quantities must indicateits origin (29). The Greek asparagus needs trading connections that will improve its penetration abroad to more markets and will contribute to gain its independency from the German one, creating alternativechoices (26). A significant disadvantage for the asparagus cultivation in Greeceis the lack of a strong domestic consumption base that exposes the producers if their production cannot be exported. The external trade of asparagus creates benefits for the Greek trade balance but this is a macroeconomic benefit which must not be confused with the microeconomic benefit of securing a satisfactory income for the Greek producer. The trade balance of Germany is being surcharged from the asparagusexternal trade in macro terms, but the independent German producer from the changes of foreign markets will understand that with high certainty the sale of his/her production to the domestic German market will obtain more security from the Greek producer in micro terms. The further promotion of asparagus in Greek market and its inclusion intothe Greek nourishment (29) constitutes one more key-agent for the future of the cultivation in Greece particularly after the awaited abolition of CAP. The above observations can incite a discussion for further study in order to adopt a long term trading pattern (4) that will improve and expand the future prospects for the Greek asparagus. REFERENCES (1.) Ferto, I. and L.J. Hubbard, 2003. Revealed comparative advantage and competitiveness in hungarian agri-food sectors. World Econ., 26: 247-259. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9701.00519 (2.) Wesley, E., F. Peterson and S.R.K. Valluru, 2000. Agricultural comparative advantage and government policy interventions. J. Agric. Econ., 51: 371-387. DOI: 10.1111/j.1477-9552.2000.tb01237.x (3.) Bojnec, S. and I. Ferto, 2001. European enlargement and agro-food trade. Can. J. Agric. Econ., 56: 563-579. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7976.2008.00148.x (4.) Bojnec, S. and I. Ferto, 2008. Agro-food trade sustainabilityin central and Eastern Europe. Int. J. Sustainable Econ., 1: 100-112. DOI: 10.1504/IJSE.2008.020019 (5.) Balassa, B., 1965. Trade liberalization and "revealed" comparative advantage. Manchester School, 33: 99-123. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9957.1965.tb00050.x (6.) Gavruchenko, T., G. Baltas, F. Chatzitheodoridis and S. Hadjidakis, 2003. Comparative marketing strategies for organic olive oil: The case of Greece and Holland. Cahier Options Mediterraneennes, 61: 247-255. http://ressources.ciheam.org/om/pdf/c61/00800167.pdf (7.) National Statistical Service of Greece, N.S.S.G., 1999-2007. Agricultural Statistics of Greece for the Years 1995-2003, Annual Bilingual (English-Greek) Editions of N.S.S.G, Athens. Also available (in Greek) at: http://www.statistics.gr/anaz.asp (8.) Panhellenic Exporters Association, P.E.A., 2006. Statistical Series of Greek Exports: 1945-2005. Athens, Special Bilingual (English-Greek) Edition for the Sixty Birthdays of P.E.A. Export Research Centre. PEA's. http://www.pse.gr/eng/main.htm (9.) Faostat, F.A.O., 2008a. ProdSTAT [on line]. Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations. http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/default.aspx#ancor (10.) Ballance, H.R., [0397]. Forstner and T. Murray, 1987. Consistency tests of alternative measures of comparative advantage. Rev. Econ. Stat., 69: 161-161. http://www.jstor.org/pss/1937916 (11.) Amador, J., S. Cabral and J. Ramos-Maria, 2007. Export specialization over the last four decades: How does portugal compare with other cohesion countries? Econ. Bull. Banco De Portugal, 13: 145-159. (12.) Iapadre, L., 2003. A taxonomy of statistical indicators for the analysis of international trade and production. Proceedings of the 4th International Trade Statistics Expert Meeting, Apr. 7-9, Paris,France. http://www.oecd.org/document/41/0,3343,en_2649_34241_2498857_1_1_1_1,00.html (13.) Faostat, F.A.O., 2008b. TradeSTAT [on line]. Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations. http://faostat.fao.org/site/535/default.aspx (14.) Nigh, L.E.Jr., 1999. The explosion of new asparagus production worldwide and what it means. Proceedings of the ISHS Acta Horticulturae 479: IX International Asparagus Symposium, Pasco, Washington, USA., pp: 11-15. http://www.actahort.org./books/479/479_0.htm (15.) Nichols, A.M., 2002. Year-round asparagus production. In: ISHS Acta Horticulturae 589: X International Asparagus Symposium, Proceedings, Niigata, Japan, pp: 29-32. http://www.actahort.org./books/589/589_2.htm (16.) Benson, L.B., 2002. Update of the world's asparagus production areas, spear utilization and production periods. Proceedings of the ISHS Acta Horticulturae 589: X International Asparagus Symposium, Niigata, Japan, pp: 33-40. http://www.actahort.org./books/589/589_3.htm (17.) Hinloopen, J. and C. van Marrewijk, 2001. On the empirical distribution of the balassa index. Rev. World Econ., (Weltwirtschaftliches Arch.), 137: 1-35. DOI: 10.1007/BF02707598 (18.) Havrila, I. and P. Gunawardana, 2003. Analyzing comparative advantage and competitiveness: An application to Australia's textile and clothing industries. Aust. Econ. Paper, 42: 103-117. DOI: 10.1111/1467-8454.00189 (19.) Webster, A. and M. Gilroy, 1995. Labour skills and the UK's comparative advantage with its European union partners. Applied Econ., 27: 327-342. DOI: 10.1080/00036849500000117 (20.) Tung, A.C., 2003. Beyond flying geese: The expansion of EastAsia's electronics trade. German Econ. Rev., 4: 35-51. DOI: 10.1111/1468-0475.00072 (21.) Laursen, K., 1998. Revealed comparative advantage and the alternatives as measures of international specialization. Danish Research Unit for Industrial Dynamics (DRUID-Research Program), Working Paper no. 98-30, Copenhagen, IVS, Copenhagen Business School. http://ideas.repec.org/p/aal/abbswp/98-30.html (22.) Daskapan, S., 2008. The reliability of trade performance indicators in the new e-economy. The Changing Structure of the Telecommunications Industry and the New Role for Regulation, e-Proceedings of 17th Conference of International Telecommunications Society, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. http://www.canavents.com/its2008 / (23.) Wu, Y. and Z. Zhou, 2006. Changing bilateral trade between China and India. J. Asian Econ., 17: 509-518. DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2006.04.007 (24.) Zhou, Z.Y., Y.R. Wu and W. Si, 2007. Evolving patterns of agricultural trade between Australia and China. Aus. Agribus. Rev., 15:27-45. http://www.agrifood.info/review/2007/Zhou_Wu_Si.html (25.) Dalum, B., K. Laursen and G. Villumsen, 1998. Structural change in OECD export specialization patterns: de-specialization and "stickiness". Int. Rev. Applied Econ., 12: 423-443. DOI: 10.1080/02692179800000017 (26.) Mashabela, T.E. and N. Vink, 2008. Competitive performance of global deciduous fruit supply chains: South Africa Versus Chile. Agrekon, 47: 240-257. http://econpapers.repec.org/article/agsagreko/37632.htm (27.) Gorton, M. and S. Davidova, 2001. The international competitiveness of CEEC agriculture. World Econ., 24: 185-200. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9701.00351 (28.) Vlachos, P.I. and P.G. Patsis, 2004. Exports of Greek fresh produce to UK: An analysis of the barriers to and the conditions for successful export performance. Agric. Econ. Rev., 5: 36-46. http://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/aergaa/26407.html (29.) Theodossiou, G. and C. Kourti, 2007. Marketing research merely reflects the needs and wants of consumers. Am. J. Applied Sci., 4:587-591. http://www.scipub.org/fulltext/ajas/ajas48587-591.pdf (1) Argyrios D. Kolokontes and (2) Anastasios Semos (1) Technological Education Institute of Western Macedonia, Department of Agricultural Products, Marketing and Quality Control, Facultyof Agriculture, Florina, 53100, Greece (2) Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Thessaloniki, 54006, Greece Corresponding Author: Argyrios D. Kolokontes, TEI of Western Macedonia, Terma Kontopoulou-53 100 Florina-Greece Tel: +30-23850-54610 Fax: +30-23850-46630 Source: http://www.allbusiness.com/economy-economic-indicators/economic-indicators/13079938-1.html#ixzz1bwLC6hO6 Copyright © 1999 - 2011 AllBusiness.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Dryland farming From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Question book-new.svg This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Discussion about the problems with the sole source used may be found on the talk page. (June 2009) Globe icon. The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (November 2009) Dryland farming in the Granada region in Spain Dryland farming is an agricultural technique for non-irrigated cultivation of drylands. Location Dryland farming is used in the Great Plains, the Palouse plateau of Eastern Washington, and other arid regions of North America, the Middle East and in other grain growing regions such as the steppes of Eurasia and Argentina. Dryland farming was introduced to southern Russia and Ukraine by Russian Mennonites under the influence of Johann Cornies, making the region the breadbasket of Russia.[1] In Australia, it is widely practiced in all states but the Northern Territory. [edit] Crops Winter wheat is the typical crop although skilled dryland farmers sometimes grow corn, beans or even watermelons. Successful dryland farming is possible with as little as 9 inches (230 mm) of precipitation a year; higher rainfall increases the variety of crops. Native American tribes in the arid Southwest subsisted for hundreds of years on dryland farming in areas with less than 10 inches (250 mm) of rain.[citation needed] The choice of crop is influenced by the timing of the predominant rainfall in relation to the seasons. For example, winter wheat is more suited to regions with higher winter rainfall while areas with summer wet seasons may be more suited to summer growing crops such as sorghum, sunflowers or cotton.[2] [edit] Process Dryland farming has evolved as a set of techniques and management practices used by farmers to continually adapt to the presence or lack of moisture in a given crop cycle. In marginal regions, a farmer should be financially able to survive occasional crop failures, perhaps for several years in succession.[citation needed] Survival as a dryland farmer requires careful husbandry of the moisture available for the crop and aggressive management of expenses to minimize losses in poor years. [edit] System Dryland farming caused a large dust storm in parts of Eastern Washington on October 4, 2009. Courtesey: NASA/GSFC, MODIS Rapid Response[3] Dryland farming is uniquely dependent on natural rainfall, which can leave the ground vulnerable to dust storms, particularly if poor farming techniques are used or if the storms strike at a particularly vulnerable time. The fact that a fallow period must be included in the crop rotation means that fields cannot always be protected by a cover crop, which might otherwise offer protection against erosion. [edit] Key elements Capturing and Conservation of Moisture - In regions such as Eastern Washington state, the average annual precipitation available to a dryland farm may be as little as 8.5 inches (220 mm). Consequently moisture must be captured until the crop can utilize it. Techniques include summer fallow rotation (in which one crop is grown on two seasons' precipitation, leaving standing stubble and crop residue to trap snow, and preventing runoff by terracing fields. "Terracing" is also practiced by farmers on a smaller scale by laying out the direction of furrows to slow water runoff downhill, a practice known as contour plowing. Moisture can be conserved by eliminating weeds and leaving crop residue to shade the soil. Effective Use of Available Moisture - Once moisture is available for the crop to use, it must be used as effectively as possible. Seed planting depth and timing are carefully considered to place the seed at a depth at which sufficient moisture exists, or where it will exist when seasonal precipitation falls. Farmers tend to use crop varieties which are drought and heat-stress tolerant, (even lower-yielding varieties). Thus the likelihood of a successful crop is hedged if seasonal precipitation fails. Soil Conservation - The nature of dryland farming makes it particularly susceptible to erosion, especially wind erosion. Some techniques for conserving soil moisture (such as frequent tillage to kill weeds) are at odds with techniques for conserving topsoil. Since healthy topsoil is critical to sustainable dryland agriculture, its preservation is generally considered[citation needed] the most important long-term goal of a dryland farming operation. Erosion control techniques such as windbreaks, reduced tillage or no-till, spreading straw (or other mulch on particularly susceptible ground), and strip farming are used to minimize topsoil loss. Control of Input Costs - Dryland farming is practiced in regions inherently marginal for non-irrigated agriculture. Because of this, there is an increased risk of crop failure and poor yields which may occur in a dry year (regardless of money or effort expended). Dryland farmers must evaluate the potential yield of a crop constantly throughout the growing season and be prepared to decrease inputs to the crop such as fertilizer and weed control if it appears that it is likely to have a poor yield due to insufficient moisture. Conversely, in years when moisture is abundant, farmers may increase their input efforts and budget to maximize yields and to offset poor harvests. [edit] See also An example of a dryland farming paddock * International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas * Sustainable agriculture * Xeriscaping * Irrigation * Seawater Greenhouse [edit] Notes 1. ^ Smith, C. Henry (1981). Smith's Story of the Mennonites. Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press. pp. 263–265. ISBN 0-87303-069-9. 2. ^ Malcolm, Bill; Sale, Peter"; Egan, Adrian (1996). Agriculture in Australia - An Introduction. Australia: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 19 553695 9. 3. ^ "Dust Storm in Eastern Washington : Image of the Day". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40590. Retrieved 2009-10-10. [edit] Further reading * Henry Gilbert, Dryland Farming: January 1982-December 1990 (Beltsville, Md.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, 1991). * Mary W. M. Hargraves, Dry Farming in the Northern Great Plains: Years of Readjustment, 1920-1990 (Lawrence: University of Kansas, 1993). * Oklahoma State Board of Agriculture, Report (Guthrie, Okla.: N. p., 1908). * Dr. John A. Widstoe,Ph.D. Dry-Farming, A System Of Agriculture For Countries Under A Low Rainfall (NY: The MacMillian Company, 1911) * Victor Squires and Philip Tow, Dryland Farming: A Systems Approach - An Analysis of Dryland Agriculture in Australia (Sydney: Sydney University Press, 1991) [edit] External links * Media related to Dryland farming at Wikimedia Commons * Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Dry Farming * 4th International Crop Science Congress September 2004 * Crop Science Society of America * P. Koohafkan and B.A. Stewart, Water and Cereals in Drylands published by The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Earthscan # This page was last modified on 14 October 2011 at 04:08. # Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

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The Importance of Agriculture in Australia According to the National Farmers Federation, there are 140,704 farms in Australia, with 125,594 of these solely dedicated to agricultural production. It is clear that agriculture is an important factor for the Australian economy and the farmers who work hard to harvest top quality produces should be acknowledged for their efforts. Australian farmers produce almost 93% of Australian daily domestic food supply and agricultural produce account for 60% (in volume) in total agricultural production. Agricultural exports earned the country $27.5 billion in 2007/08. Agriculture has many important linkages with other segments of the economy and the knock on effects of successful agricultural production boosts many sectors. The employment sector is an obvious beneficiary of a strong agricultural system. Agricultural supports the jobs of 1.6million Australians in farming and relating industries, accounting for 17.2% of the national workforce. The benefits to Australia from agriculture are not all fiscal. Farmers have also led the sustainability surge, leading primary industries in reducing greenhouse gas by 40% between 1990-2006 and placing an important emphasis on Natural Resource Management, Farmers work relentlessly in areas such as weed prevention, pest, land, soil, natural vegetation and water related issues. Australian Farmers also invest heavily in research and development so that they may be a step ahead of international competitors, get the best from the land and contribute to the economy. According to the NFF, Australian Farmers invest $237 million a year in R&D to enable them to stay a step ahead of international competition. As NFF president David Crombie states “Australians know the resilient nature of our farmers and value the quality of our farm fresh produce”. Australian farmers make important economic and environmental contributions to Australia and are at the forefront of pioneering new technology and practices to aid their efficiency and competitiveness. Agriculture in Australia continues to be a driving force creating new jobs, boosting the economy and encouraging innovation. To recognise the achievements of Australian farmers the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) is calling for nominations under its second annual national Innovation in Agriculture Awards, recognising and encouraging excellence in modern farming. The 2010 Innovation in Agriculture Awards Entry Guide – providing details and examples on each Award, the criteria for entry and guidance on application format, is available from the NFF’s National Congress website at: http://congress.nff.org.au/awards.html. Nominations close Monday 31 May 2010. © 2010 www.agcareers.com

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Intensive Farming Types

Intensive farming involves production of high yield crops in a small area with use of lot of fertilizers and pesticides. There are different types of modern intensive farming types that is covered in the following article.

Over the years, agriculture systems have diversified and helped in increasing the production of the crop yield. There are different types of agriculture production systems that includes extensive farming and intensive farming. The intensive farming techniques involves extensive input of capital, labor as well as pesticides and fertilizers to raise crops on a smaller land area. Intensive farming not only involves horticulture, but also livestock farming. There are many advantages and disadvantages of intensive farming. Advantages include high yield that helps in decrease of prices related to farm and poultry produce. It also includes production of more crops from a smaller land area. But, the number of disadvantages of intensive farming is more than the advantages. Intensive farming causes use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers that could lead to pollution and poisoning. It also leads to soil erosion and contamination of nearby water bodies by the chemical fertilizers. Animals are grown in small spaces and breeders indulge in unsafe breeding practices, and many more. However, we shall not concentrate on the pros and cons in thus Buzzle article, but the intensive farming types. Let us move over to the following paragraphs that will introduce us to the various types of intensive farming techniques.

Types of Intensive Farming Techniques

There are different intensive farming techniques. Pre-mordern era of intensive farming included terracing, rice paddies as well as aquacultue (aquafarming). With industrialization, modern intensive farming techniques have been introduced. The techniques help in production of the highest yield at the lowest possible cost. Some of the types of intensive farming are as follows:

Factory Farming
Factory farming involves intensive farming of livestock in confinement. The farm actually functions as a factory for raising animals for meat, milk as well as eggs for commercial use. However, the animals are forever kept in closed confined areas like cages and crates. They are not allowed to carry on with their natural behavior like foraging or exploratory nature. Their life span is reduced considerably due to the poor living conditions in which these animals are kept.

Aquaculture
Cultivation of fish, shellfish, algae, seaweed, etc. under controlled conditions is called aquaculture or aquafarming. This type of intensive farming may also involve use of tanks or systems that help in boosting the production of the aquatic yields. However, over farming is causing extensive damage to the ecosystem as there is increase in completion between the farm animals and the wild animals.

Sustainable Agriculture
The practice of farming that the study of relation between organisms and their environment. This is a biointensive agriculture that causes increase in yield per unit area, yield per energy input, yield per water input, etc. It involves use of intercropping as well as vertical farming.

Management Intensive Rotational Grazing
Managed intensive rotational grazing (MIRG) involves use of ruminant and non-ruminant herds to graze and forage on a portion of pasture, farm or paddock. This helps the vegetation on the field to renew its energy reserves, deepen the root system as well as help in long-term increase of biomass production. The animals in turn obtain the natural nutritional requirements from grazing, eliminating the need for supplemental feed sources.

From the above information related to intensive farming types, you can understand that it helps produce high yields than one would do so normally. Animals are kept in smaller spaces, thus reducing the requirement for more energy, food as well as space. This helps the farmer cut down on his cost of production and increase his profit. Also, animals are allowed to move less and their activity level decreases considerably. This helps them build up extra meat and fat, thus increasing higher yield of meat and meat products. Similarly, crops are grown in smaller lands. Mechanical help increases the rate of production as well as crop yield. Thus, profit margin increases for the farmer.

However, intensive farming causes considerable chances in the biology of the land mass as well as water bodies. Use of pesticides tends to kill other useful plants and beneficial insects. These chemical fertilizers and pesticides pollute the soil as well as water sources, causing harmful effects on animals, plants as well as humans. As the chemical fertilizers and pesticides are non-biodegradable, they tend to accumulate in the soil, rendering it as infertile after a few years. Even if intensive farming helps save on costs, it requires use of intensive labor. Thus, one has to pay for a large workforce that cuts down the profit margin considerably.

Even though the modern intensive farming types help increase the production of crops and animals, they lead to considerable effects on the natural environment. The only advantage for intensive farming is that the cost of green vegetables as well as milk and meat products reduces considerably, helping people who cannot afford costly food products.

By Batul Nafisa Baxamusa
Published: 6/21/2011

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Pupuk Organik

Bahan baku hasil dari pengolahan belum dapat disebut pupuk organik. Untuk dapat diolah menjadi pupuk organik maka harus diberikan pengolahan lebih lanjut. Pengolahannnya adalah mencampur dengan bahan-bahan lainnya, misalkan cocopeat yang mempunyai C lebih tinggi, sehingga menghasilkan C/N ratio yang lebih baik.. Kemudian nutrisinya juga ditambah  untuk menghasilkan kandungan yang lebih baik bisa dengan fish meal, blood and bone dan lain-lainya.

Setelah menjadi pupuk kemudian dikemas dengan ukuran yang dikehendaki oleh pasar,umumnya ukuran 20 kg atau ukuran 40 kg. Pengguna pupuk organik ini cukup banyak jika dijual dengan harga yang wajar.

Harga jual per karung Rp, 10.000,-/ 20 kg, untuk Partai mendapatkan discount pembelian. Kami dapat melayani dari berbagai daerah di Indonesia.

 

Pengolahan Daur Ulang

Dari hasil pengolahan sampah, juga dihasilkan  plastik dengan berbagai jenis. Ada 6 jenis plastik yang sangat laku di pasaran meliputi HD,PE, HDPE, PP dan beberapa jenis lainnya. Plastik-plastik tersebut jika dilakukan pengolahan yang meliputi sortir berdasarkan jenisnya lalu kemudian berdasarkan warnanya maka sudah ada penampungnya

Tetapi jika diolah hingga lebih lanjut ,maka harga jual dari produk daur ulang tersebut menjadi lebih tinggi. Untuk plastik yang sudah dirobek , dicuci dan dikeringkan bisa mempunyai harga dari Rp. 2.000,- per kg hingga Rp, 6.000,- per kg tegantung dari  jenisnya.

Hasil akhir dari daur ulang plastik, berupa biji plastik yang digunakan oleh industri dengan mutu yang lebih rendah. Ember hitam untuk bangunan contohnya, gagang sapu, pengki dan lain-lainnya. Industri daur ulang ini secara terpisah dan serius harus dikembangkan karena selain dapat memberikan lapangan pekerjaan, juga dapat mengatasi problem lingkungan.  Selain plastik lembaran, maka plastik lainnya seperti botol aqua, botol shampo maupun botol lainnya dapat diproses daur ulang dengan teknis yang berbeda.

Kendala yang dihadapai adalah network sudah ada sulit ditembus oleh pemain baru, dan pabrik pengolahan yang besar hanya berada di beberapa kota besar seperti Surabaya, Jakarta, Bandung dan Medan. Mengatasinya adalah dengan menggunakan pengepresan hingga 5:1 untuk menghemat biaya transportasi. Tetapi dalam mengelola bisnis tidak harus cepat putus asa, semua itu dapat diatasi melalui pehitungan dan inovasi yang

 lebih baik.

 

HASIL DARI RECYCLE PLASTIK AND PAPER

1. HDPE  sudah cuci dan press

2. PP bersih sudah press

3. Recycle paper berbagai jenis.

4. HDPE CACAH SIAP UNTUK GRANULE

DICARI MITRA KERJA PENAMPUNGAN HASIL DAUR ULANG                                                      
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New Urban Agriculture Manager promotes city farming and community gardens

New Urban Agriculture Manager promotes city farming and community gardens

Tara Tracy has been named the Urban Agriculture Manager at the Delaware Center for Horticulture, following a rigorous national search by the nonprofit based in Wilmington's Trolley Square neighborhood.

As head of Urban Agriculture, Tracy is responsible for developing and implementing food production and community gardening programs, including: TheDCH's Urban Farm at 12th & Brandywine on Wilmington's northeast side, the greater Wilmington area's Urban Farm Coalition; and 23 community gardens in New Castle County. With a BS in Plant and Soil Science from the University of Maine at Orono and a Master's Certificate in Geographic Information Technology with a soil science concentration from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, the Certified Professional Soil Scientist has three decades of professional experience in farm planning, land preservation, and environmental policy with government, non-profit, and for-profit organizations.

Tracy says she is thrilled to be managing the program.

"TheDCH is Delaware's leading horticultural organization," she said, "and this position fulfills my commitment to and passion for the close connection that locally grown food can create between people and their environment."

In her new position, Tracy says it is a priority to make the fruits and vegetables produced at the Urban Farm available in more community venues. In addition, promoting greater Wilmington's network of farmers and community gardeners - and others who aspire to produce their own food - is important, she said, so that the locally grown, organic movement continues to grow, literally and figuratively.

© Copyright 2011, Cecil Whig, Elkton, MD. Powered by Blox CMS from TownNews.com.

City Farming

City farming produces an economic return from the unused or underutilized space that exists in many cities

Intensive methods of small-scale food production are potentially more efficient than the traditional farming methods used in rural areas.

City farming is critically important for making city more sustainable and less dependent on important supplies.

There is a huge demand for leafy vegetables as they accompany he tradtional maize porridge (ugla) as vitamin supplement.

Green spaces are maintained in otherwise completely built up areas

Open spaces are not encroached on easily but are respected by city dwellers. This helps to prevent the spread of unplanned squatter houses. Productive open spaces can serve as place-markers for alternative future uses.

A production site will hardly be turned into haphazard public dumpsites.

Home food production in city communities is more likely to supply needed nutrients (essential vitamins and considerable protein and calories) than the existing market system since he variety of food for sale is often limited and quality and freshness may be impaired

Many new migrants to cities come from farming areas and alread possess agricultural skills.

City food production activities can employ poor city residents generating incoome and fostering a sense of achievement and hope.



Benefits at Micro Level

Creative Pleasure

Highly tasty, nutritious, fresh vegetables and fruits.

Good Health

Eco-friendly, pollution free environment.

Optimal use of available space.

Recycling organic waste.

Reduces stress and brings peace and tranquility.


Benefits at Macro level

Waste management: Decreases urban waste management costs.

Environment: Improves urban environment

Economic: Increases economic and entrepreneurial activity in the city.

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Farming's big business, say Valley FCC pros

It's not all heirloom tomatoes, alpacas and farm markets; getting into agriculture takes money and solid planning

By Lexi Bainas, Citizen July 22, 2011

Farm Credit Canada.

If the name sounds familiar, it should.

They've been around for 50 years across the country and have had an office in the Cowichan Valley since 1998.

FCC is a federal crown corporation that offers financing for farmers, all the way from small operations just starting up to massive agri-businesses that have been around for generations.

The Citizen talked to FCC's relationship managers Barry Remus and Pat Durose at their office at 202-2700 Beverly St. in Duncan about financing, farming, and related subjects.

Remus and Durose both have long histories in farming and are proud of their corporation's traditional ties to one of Canada's most important communities.

FCC's roots are deep, according to Remus.

"When the Second World War veterans started to come back in 1945, the [federal government of the day] set up the Veterans Land Act. It helped veterans who wanted to buy a house or a farm or a business. The Veterans Land Act would actually lend them money at a good rate to do so, to get them started. It created employment when all the soldiers came back. Then, in 1961, the Farm Credit Corporation actually took over the Veterans Land Act and administered the portfolio and turned it more towards the direction it's taking today," he said.

FCC is national, with offices strategically placed throughout Canada and offers services to all kinds of farmers, not only those producing primary products like dairy and berries or chickens but also those working in areas that include processing, like vineyards and cheese plants, said Durose.

Prior to the late 1990s, FCC would send an account manager over from Abbotsford to handle Valley accounts and queries.

"He'd come over once a month or so and do a blitz, handling enquiries. But since October 1998 our doors have been open here," she said.

Remus said the Cowichan Valley office has grown from there.

"Even though it may seem that there's a lot of consolidation in agriculture and farms are getting larger, there are a lot of small operations starting out with five or 10 acres, which could be market gardens or whatever offering higher value crops. If you've been watching the farmers' market downtown, you'll remember there wasn't that much volume of product at the start but when you look at it today, you can buy almost anything there from homemade bread and baked goods to jams and produce. It's exciting," he said.

Vancouver Island is somewhat unique because there are many small parcels of land that can be farmed and the price of land itself here is also a factor, he said, agreeing that some of the Valley's farmland could also be described as the most appealing residential land in all of Canada.

Can farming pay enough to pay that price?

"I think that is a challenge that agriculture producers are faced with all across Canada. They try and establish an agriculture business in a rural residential area in competition with rural residents who don't look for production off the land to pay all their mortgages and bills. Basically, we [FCC] fill that gap. The nice thing about Vancouver Island is that we can grow 230-240 different agricultural crops whereas in the rest of Canada they're curtailed.

"Some areas can only collectively grow five or 10 crops plus livestock. People on the prairies aren't growing truffles or things like that; those are high value crops that are paying for high value land." Remus said.

Vancouver Island is a unique area. There are lots of different eco-systems. One person can grow something here and another person two miles down the road can't grow it, he said, adding that on the Island, the Cowichan Valley is one of three main pockets of agricultural land. The others are the Saanich peninsula and the Comox Valley; there's also a little area in the Parksville/Coombs region.

Both Durose and Remus said that agriculture is huge here in the Cowichan Valley and that knowing where food comes from is becoming more and more important to local residents.

Remus pointed out that films like Nick Versteeg's Island on the Edge have enhanced consumer support of agriculture on Vancouver Island by showing how little food supply is actually available here, if the offshore supplies ceased.

People are even looking at producing older varieties of fruits and vegetables on smaller farms and finding interest among buyers.

Remus said there are two sides to that and both can benefit.

"There is a reason for their popularity at markets. A lot of the heritage varieties were bred for taste, rather than shelf life. And nowadays, many varieties grown in big farms are bred for volume production to help pay for the price of land."

This is opening a window for a different kind of agriculture, for smaller operators, options that are even increasing on the prairies along with places like the Cowichan Valley.

So, how do clients find their way to FCC?

Durose said a lot of it is word-of-mouth. Everyone in the industry knows about the corporation. "We understand agriculture. We understand their business and we have access to resources."

Think tanks at FCC cover subjects like the beef industry, the poultry industry, and what's happening in wineries. There's a knowledge base there, and it's community-based within that special group, she said.

The Internet and booths at agricultural conferences, trade shows and other events also spread the word.

People trying to get into agriculture for the first time learn, while doing their due diligence, preparing a business plan, researching and talking to farmers in the area, that Farm Credit is around and helpful, Remus said.

"That's all we specialize in. Once you have a large enough critical mass, you can learn by experience. When you finance as much of agriculture as we do, you create your own understanding within the industry. There are other financial institutions that finance agriculture but it's our total focus and we believe we have an understanding of the area."

Durose agreed.

"We're known. We cater to our people, work from a farming perspective."

Still, one of the biggest challenges is helping people who've never been involved in farming before.

"It's because the market value of land and the amount of capital involved is so large. But we do offer some different programs. We have a transition program in which the vendor will carry some of the funding but we'll guarantee the funding to the vendor. That lets the new farmer start with enough equity. We have a number of different programs for people in different situations. But, at the end of the day, we're like all financial institutions: we lend out money and we expect to get it paid back," Remus said.

Are people able to move into agriculture in the Cowichan Valley if they want to?

It depends on the industry, according to Remus.

"Some industries are a lot easier. If people have the drive to do something, they will get there. It used to be that if you couldn't get a job, you could always go back to the farm," he said. "Well, those days are gone in agriculture. Now, it needs passion and drive."

Durose emphasized that there is plenty of planning needed, too.

Anyone who wants to get into farming really has to set it up like a business, with a business plan that shows where they are now, where they hope to be in five years time and how they are going to make that happen.

The Cowichan Valley is also attracting families or couples who want a career change and see farming as a viable opportunity.

"The capitalization, all the management strategies and techniques to be successful are no different than any other business out there. Agriculture's changing as fast as any other industry out there."
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