Digital Commons Network^™

Policy Developments And Trade Prospects For Grassland-Based Products, Graeme H. Tie, Jayantha P. Kottege, Brian S. Fisher

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The economic outlook for grassland-based products over the next decade will be influenced by a range of factors. Important among these will be the outcome of the agricultural negotiations in the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Failure to achieve satisfactory agricultural reform in the Uruguay Round could result in an acceleration in the trend toward the formation of regional trading arrangements. This could, in turn, lead to increased fragmentation of the international trading system. Such fragmentation reduces the global economic gains available from trade which stem from specialisation and the associated exercise of comparative advantage. …

European Grassland Farming: Future Prospects, David R. Harvey, Caroline Saunders

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The paper reviews recent policy reforms and current pressures in Europe, including the CAP reforms, GATT considerations, the potential for European and CIS integration, and the environmental pressures on policy. The possible consequences of these reforms are then considered, illustrated by estimates of European grassland product market conditions in the event of multilateral free trade in form products. Finally, the implications of these trends for farming practices are considered, with special reference to the UK and European Community. In spite of rather glacial progress towards trade liberalisation, Che conclusions are: i) that future· strategic planning at both national and farm …

The Future Of Sustainable Agriculture In The United States, Dennis R. Keeney

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

In the United States, sustainable agriculture remains complicated and controversial as a concept, particularly to define and apply in terms of practices and policies to achieve sustainability. Many consider current agricultural practices to be sustainable in the near term with regard to the dependable, affordable supply of food and fibre, but unsustainable in terms of environmental quality and social costs. Production agriculture hos been linked to soil erosion and water pollution, and the emphasis on efficiency has contributed to the loss of many farmers and increasing instability in rural communities. Many of agriculture's dilemmas can be linked to policies of …

Land Subdivision In The Falkland Islands, O W. Summers, W.J R. Haydock, A Kerr

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The Falkland Islands agricultural industry depends mainly on wool production. This paper reviews the structure of an induslry which has changed radically in the last 10 years. Lord Shackleton completed his economic survey of the Falkland Islands in 1976 when there where only 36 fanns, most of which were owned by companies based mainly in the UK, and an absentee-landlord system prevailed. Shackleton advocated that the Falkland Islands Government should purchase large fanns and split them into smaller family units for sale to local people. Presently (1991-92) there are 92 farms and most of the Islands is in local ownership. …

Policy Options For Decreasing N And P2o5 Losses From Grassland Based Dairy Farms, P.B M. Berentsen, G.W J. Giesen

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Policy instruments for reducing nutrient losses include extension and education, research, financial incentives such as subsidies and levies, and regulations. The potential of these instruments for reducing nitrogen (N), phosphate (P2O5), and ammonia (NH3) losses is examined for Dutch specialized dairy farms on sandy soils. A linear programming model is used to estimate policy impacts. Results indicate that efficiency improvements through extension, education, and research alone have the potential to decrease total N losses to government target levels in 2005 and to erase 92% of the gap between base and target P2O5 losses, but only 24% of the corresponding NH3 …

Biodiversity In Grassland: Bangladesh Perspective, B. Hossain

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The rapidly increasing human population in Bangladesh has caused widespread damage to and disturbance of natural habitats and a loss of indigenous wildlife. There are now very few, if any, extensive patches of grassland in Bangladesh and any that might remain are inundated for two-thirds of the year with no alternative refugia available. Most remaining grassland areas are fragmented, heavily used and harvested up to three times a year. Furthermore, the reed lands of northeast Bangladesh were leased out for paper production and are reported to have been entirely destroyed and settled by encroachers. Tall grasslands around rivers and lakes …

Decision Support For Grassland Systems In Developing Countries, P. K. Thornton

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Key points

1. Information flows in complex systems are often themselves highly complex, and decision support approaches based on linear input-output processes may have only limited impact.

2. How decisions are made, and how they can be appropriately supported, is often incompletely understood, in part because of inadequate understanding of the objectives and attitudes of all the decision makers involved.

3. Much of the developing world faces daunting problems in the coming 30 years, and appropriate information could play a critical role in dealing with these.

4. System complexity, household variability, and institutional intricacies have to be embraced rather than …

Water Resources, Agriculture And Pasture: Implications Of Growing Demand And Increasing Scarcity, M. W. Rosegrant, R. A. Valmonte-Santos, S. A. Cline, C. Ringler, W. Li

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

1. Water availability for irrigation is threatened in many regions by rapidly increasing demand for nonagricultural water uses in industry, households, and the environment. The scarcity of irrigation water will not only impact crop production, but also meat production, as much of the pasture used to feed livestock is irrigated.
2. Grassland is caught between two countervailing forces: a requirement for increasing meat demand that boosts the need for additional pasture to support livestock production, and rapidly increasing water scarcity that makes pasture irrigation uneconomical.
3. The most effective means of dealing with water scarcity is likely to be conserving water in existing …