Agriculture Commons^™

Analysis Of The Effects Of Nafta On Rural Farmers In Mexico: Agriculture And Immigration, Kevin Xavier Garcia-Galindo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper examines the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on agricultural workers in rural Mexico and immigration rates from those regions. The paper aims to investigate the validity of claims regarding the impact of NAFTA on immigration and agriculture, which are often interconnected. By focusing on the rural farming communities of Mexico, the study incorporates ethnographic perspectives to complement existing academic research on NAFTA. The research question explores how NAFTA affected agricultural workers in rural Mexico and its implications for immigration patterns. Through a comprehensive literature review and interviews with individuals involved in rural farming, …

Los Impactos Del Cambio Climático En Las Comunidades Aymaras En Putre, El Valle De Azapa Y Arica, Lindsey Kaufman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: How is climate change affecting Aymara communities in Putre, the valley of Azapa, and Putre?

Objectives: To understand the effects of climate on communities by 1) describing which environmental problems exist and their impact on agriculture and ranching, 2) understanding the patterns of migration away from the ancestral land, 3) exploring the connections to the social determinants of health that exist with these change, and 4) analyzing the significance of these changes in the agriculture for the communities’ traditions and connection to the land.

Background: Aymara communities have historically inhabited agricultural and ranching lands in …

Conservation And Variation In Agricultural Landscapes: A Survey Of Insect Populations Across Naranjilla Cultivation Methods In The Eastern Andean Cloud Forest, Ian Zakelj

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study compared insect biodiversity among five sites in agricultural landscapes and natural forest in the El Placer community in the valley of the Rio Pastaza in the eastern Andean cloud forest. The area is of vital importance to conservation, as it falls in the ecological corridor between the Sangay and Llanganates national parks. The primary crop produced by the residents of El Placer is naranjilla, and it is cultivated in a variety of manners, mostly with intensive chemical use. The goal of the study was to find out which types of practices were the least harmful to the insect …

A Biological Assessment Of Water Quality In El Placer, Ecuador: The Effect Of Agriculture On Stream Health And The Quality Of Historical Versus Current Drinking Water Sources, Danielle Kleinberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although fresh water is one of Ecuador’s most abundant resources, high quality drinking water for its inhabitants is scarce (Wingfield et al., 2021). The most prevalent sources of water pollution in Ecuador are domestic waste, silver and gold mining, oil production, and agricultural chemicals (Buckalew et al., 1997). El Placer, a village located in Tungurahua, Ecuador, is highly dependent on agriculture as a source of income. The first objective of this study was to determine the effect of agriculture on the El Placer’s Tía Anita Stream through comparing the water quality at three sites with varying agricultural influence. The second …

Sin Acceso A Alimentos Seguros, Saludables Y Económicos: El Modelo Agroindustrial Dominante Y Sus Efectos En Los Consumidores En Salta, Argentina / Without Access To Safe, Healthy, And Affordable Food: The Dominant Agroindustrial Model And Its Effects On Consumers In Salta, Argentina, Sara Paulsen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper analyzes the effects of the hegemonic food system on low income consumers in Salta, Argentina. Results from previous literature indicate a relationship between the dominant agroindustrial model in Argentina and the concentration of power in the food production system. This paper seeks to contextualize the reports of malnutrition in Salta, a province in northwest Argentina, within larger social, cultural, and nutritional trends. To answer the question of how the hegemonic food system affects access to safe, healthy, and affordable food in Salta, I analyzed reports of various health outcomes (including malnutrition, cancer, birth defects, and obesity) and contextualized …

Ecological And Economic Benefits And Risks Of Using Botanical Insecticides In Tanzanian Farms, Lilia Garcia

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Insect damage is a major concern for smallholder farmers in developing countries like Tanzania. Synthetic insecticides can tame infestations, however they can be expensive, inaccessible, and their misuse can threaten farmer health and ecological conditions. Botanical insecticides are cheap alternatives to treat infestations while preserving beneficial insects such as pollinators, predators, and parasitoids. This study assesses how both synthetic and botanical insecticides affect beneficial insects, crop yield and profit/costs. This study finds botanical insecticides slightly less harmful towards non-target insects. Botanical insecticides seldomly improve crop yields but usually result in a higher profit/lower cost. Due to high variation in ecological …

Climate-Smart Agriculture: Building Resilience For Women Farmers In Kalchebeshi, Nepal, Annika Ruben

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This case study outlines women’s involvement in climate-smart agriculture and key climate adaptation strategies which are being implemented in the town of Kalchebeshi, Nepal. Kalchebeshi is considered a Resilient Mountain Village because of the town’s integrated approach to addressing climate change and building resilience for farmers. Key findings examined gender differences in farming responsibilities and the significance of farmers’ groups in women’s overall decision making and community involvement. Additionally, changes in water management and pesticide use have been shown to have a positive impact on the lives of women farmers in Kalchebeshi. This paper reinforces the importance of involving vulnerable …

Abejas Silvestres (Himenóptera: Apoidea) En La Neblina: Análisis De La Diversidad, Interacciones, Y Potencial Para Miel En Un Remanente De Bosque Nublado, Jen Hayes

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Las abejas (Himenóptera: Apoidea) se encuentran en casi cada una de las bioregiones en el mundo. Su composición es muy diversa en los neotrópicos. Las abejas silvestres (no-Apis) representan casi el 90% de las especies de abejas en todo el mundo (Parra, 2005). Los objetivos principales de este estudio fueron realizar un inventario de las especies de abejas al final de la estación seca, observar sus interacciones intra-específicas, y determinar el potencial de producción de miel medicinal de las abejas sin aguijón (Apidae: Meliponini). El estudio fue realizado en la Reserva Inti Llacta, un remanente de bosque nublado …

Working With Locals To Restore Biodiversity To A Rubber Dominated Landscape, Francis Commercon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Xishuangbanna, in Yunnan,China, contains the country’s highest concentration of biodiversity. Since the 1980s,rubber plantations have replaced a significant portion of the prefecture’s lowland Seasonal Tropical Rainforest, leading to wildlife habitat loss and other environmental issues.Monoculture farming practices also leave farmers economically vulnerable to market fluctuations. To learn the best solutions for increasing ecosystem services and income stability in rubber-dominated areas, the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) project Green Rubber engages smallholders directly in establishing and maintaining scientifically rigorous intercropping experiments in their villages.

Using Man’e village and the Green Rubber project as a case study, I asked to what degree and …

A Portrait Of A Farm: A Short Film Documenting Small-Scale Livestock Production On Hayters Hill Farm In Byron Bay, Noah Throop

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the past two-hundred years, the industrialization and mechanization of agriculture has slowly dissolved the centuries-old bond between human beings, the land and their food. Today, this disconnect threatens to exacerbate wide scale environmental degradation and a wide array of chronic diseases. However small, local farms that sell their produce directly to consumers are in a position to reverse this trend and reconnect consumers with their food. Small-scale farmers are able to see the health of the environment as instrumental to their economic and personal wellbeing and are able to be held accountable for their farming practices by their customers. …

Developing A Space For Children: An Internship With The Mullumbimby Community Garden, Eden Olsen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper aims to demonstrate my independent study project internship at the Mullumbimby Community Garden (MCG), an interactive learning site for the citizens of Byron Shire. As an intern I spent 152.5 hours from October 29^th to November 23^rd planting, planning projects, attending meetings, and helping to educate about the importance of sustainable food production. More specifically, I focused on the development of the Children’s Garden, building vertical garden beds, planting the sensory garden, attending meetings, and helping to design and analyze costs for new structures to be implemented in the near future.

This study reaches further than …