| 1. |
- Vågsholm, Ivar, et al.
(författare)
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Antimicrobial sensitivity-A natural resource to be protected by a Pigouvian tax?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Preventive Veterinary Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-5877 .- 1873-1716. ; 96:1-2, s. 41535-41535
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since their discovery more than 70 years ago antibiotic drugs have been efficient tools for treating bacterial infections, and their use has reduced the number of fatalities and the suffering from bacterial diseases. However, the use of antibiotics may lead to resistance to the same or other antibiotics. The risk of resistance appears to be larger in veterinary medicine, since antibiotics have been given as feed-additives in animal production, the amounts given are larger, and the risk of selecting the wrong antibiotic is higher due to lack of diagnostic facilities. Historically, as resistance developed, new classes of antibiotics were developed, but today however, the flow of new substances has slowed. The resistance that arises from antibiotic use is a negative externality or a cost that is not included in the price of antibiotics since it affects the public good of antibiotic sensitivity. The negative externality implies that antibiotic consumption becomes too high. Antibiotic use can be restricted by e.g., prohibiting the use in animal feeding stuffs, prescription only use, or banning the use for animals or by using economic incentives, but restrictions on antibiotic use could have negative effects on the development of new antimicrobials since restrictions might reduce the profitability of such efforts to the pharmaceutical industry. It is therefore of interest to see what economic theory can contribute towards a solution. The objective of this study is to examine if a Pigouvian tax is an option for balancing the externalities and incentives for veterinary drug use. However, as a practical solution, it is suggested to use the costs of developing new antibiotics for determining the tax. The magnitude the tax based on European Union numbers ranges between 29 and 287(sic) per kilogram active substance or between 9 and 86% of the average price of commonly used antibiotics depending on the foreseen period in years (1-10 years) between the development of a new antibiotic drug. Hence, the sensitivity of bacteria to antibiotics should be managed as a finite natural resource. A tax based on the expected costs of development new antibiotic substances may offer a practical option for balancing the incentives and externalities of antibiotic use and development. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Barrios Latorre, Sergio Alejandro, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring the benefits of intermediate crops : Is it possible to offset soil organic carbon losses caused by crop residue removal?
- 2024
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Ingår i: Agricultural Systems. - 0308-521X .- 1873-2267. ; 215
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- CONTEXT: Agriculture plays a central role as a feedstock provider for the bioeconomy. However, utilization competing with food production and associated land use change have previously been a matter of debate. Nonetheless, strengthening the productivity of agroecosystems through sustainable intensification can prevent the depletion of natural resources, enhance food security, and facilitate adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. OBJECTIVE: This study explores the effects of combining crop residue removal for use as biomass feedstock with the establishment of intermediate crops to compensate for organic carbon depletion in arable land in Sweden. METHODS: The analysis relied on Swedish national agricultural statistics at the highest available spatial resolution (yield survey district). Crop residue calculations factored in crop:residue ratios, and harvestable and recoverable potentials. A model was devised to estimate land availability for cultivating intermediate crops based on generalized crop rotation sequences, and a spatial interpolation was employed to determine oilseed radish yields as a model intermediate crop. Estimates of long-term soil carbon inputs hinged on biomass carbon content and humification coefficients dependent on soil clay content. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The total annual residual biomass availability in the country stands at approximately 2139 kt per year. The potential harvestable biomass production from intermediate crops was estimated at 383 kt per year. However, spatial differences were evident in total biomass production and effects on soil organic carbon inputs. For the majority of districts, the inclusion of intermediate crops could offset the negative effect of a complete removal of crop residues on soil organic carbon inputs. In other cases, establishing intermediate crops could not compensate for these negative effects, but some differences were observed when comparing the harvesting and the incorporation of the intermediate crops' biomass. Spatial disparities originated from variations in soil texture, intermediate crop yield, and rotation sequences. SIGNIFICANCE: This research is an attempt to address the challenge of maintaining and increasing the soil carbon stocks under the context of a growing biomass demand in a developing biobased economy. It highlights the divergent effects of combining crop residue removal with the inclusion of intermediate crops under distinct agroecological conditions in the Northern European context. By giving estimates on biomass availability and effects on soil organic carbon inputs, we provide information that can support decision making for bioeconomy planning and sustainable resource utilization. This also has long-term implications for preservation of soil fertility, agricultural productivity and climate change mitigation.
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| 3. |
- Englund, Oskar, et al.
(författare)
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Beneficial land use change: Strategic expansion of new biomass plantations can reduce environmental impacts from EU agriculture
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 60
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Society faces the double challenge of increasing biomass production to meet the future demands for food, materials and bioenergy, while addressing negative impacts of current (and future) land use. In the discourse, land use change (LUC) has often been considered as negative, referring to impacts of deforestation and expansion of biomass plantations. However, strategic establishment of suitable perennial production systems in agricultural landscapes can mitigate environmental impacts of current crop production, while providing biomass for the bioeconomy. Here, we explore the potential for such “beneficial LUC” in EU28. First, we map and quantify the degree of accumulated soil organic carbon losses, soil loss by wind and water erosion, nitrogen emissions to water, and recurring floods, in ∼81.000 individual landscapes in EU28. We then estimate the effectiveness in mitigating these impacts through establishment of perennial plants, in each landscape. The results indicate that there is a substantial potential for effective impact mitigation. Depending on criteria selection, 10–46% of the land used for annual crop production in EU28 is located in landscapes that could be considered priority areas for beneficial LUC. These areas are scattered all over Europe, but there are notable “hot-spots” where priority areas are concentrated, e.g., large parts of Denmark, western UK, The Po valley in Italy, and the Danube basin. While some policy developments support beneficial LUC, implementation could benefit from attempts to realize synergies between different Sustainable Development Goals, e.g., “Zero hunger”, “Clean water and sanitation”, “Affordable and Clean Energy”, “Climate Action”, and “Life on Land”.
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| 4. |
- Abu Hatab, Assem, et al.
(författare)
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COVID-19 risk perception and food security in the MENA region: evidence from a multi-wave household survey
- 2024
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Ingår i: Food Security. - : Springer Nature. - 1876-4517 .- 1876-4525. ; 16, s. 989-1008
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic had disruptive consequences for MENA countries’ agri-food value chains that exacerbated poverty and jeopardized food security. This study examines the relationship between individuals’ perception of contracting COVID-19 and their experience of food insecurity, using longitudinal data from the Combined COVID-19 MENA Monitor Household survey. It also investigates the underlying mechanisms of COVID-19 concerns and explores coping strategies employed by households to identify vulnerabilities in food security. The results provide compelling evidence of a strong association between individuals’ concern about the virus and various dimensions of food security, particularly reduced purchasing power and decreased meal frequency. Notably, this association follows an inverted U-shaped curve, with food insecurity initially increasing as worry grows, but declining after individuals contract the virus. High levels of concern were also linked to significant income decreases and worsening economic conditions. Moreover, individuals with higher concerns were more likely to rely on specific coping strategies, particularly spending savings and obtaining funds from relatives or friends. These findings underscore the need for government interventions during disease outbreaks and economic downturns to focus on alleviating individuals’ worry and fear to facilitate informed decision-making that minimizes food insecurity consequences. Additionally, the findings emphasize the need to strengthen social protection systems during public health and economic challenges to ensure food security for vulnerable populations.
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| 5. |
- Alexandridis, Nikolaos, et al.
(författare)
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Climate change and ecological intensification of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa – A systems approach to predict maize yield under push-pull technology
- 2023
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Ingår i: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. - 0167-8809 .- 1873-2305. ; 352
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Assessing effects of climate change on agricultural systems and the potential for ecological intensification to increase food security in developing countries is essential to guide management, policy-making and future research. ‘Push-pull’ technology (PPT) is a poly-cropping design developed in eastern Africa that utilizes plant chemicals to mediate plant–insect interactions. PPT application yields significant increases in crop productivity, by reducing pest load and damage caused by arthropods and parasitic weeds, while also bolstering soil fertility. As climate change effects may be species- and/or context-specific, there is need to elucidate how, in interaction with biotic factors, projected climate conditions are likely to influence future functioning of PPT. Here, we first reviewed how changes in temperature, precipitation and atmospheric CO2 concentration can influence PPT components (i.e., land use, soils, crops, weeds, diseases, pests and their natural enemies) across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We then imposed these anticipated responses on a landscape-scale qualitative mathematical model of maize production under PPT in eastern Africa, to predict cumulative, structure-mediated impacts of climate change on maize yield. Our review suggests variable impacts of climate change on PPT components in SSA by the end of the 21st century, including reduced soil fertility, increased weed and arthropod pest pressure and increased prevalence of crop diseases, but also increased biological control by pests’ natural enemies. Extrapolating empirical evidence of climate effects to predict responses to projected climate conditions is mainly limited by a lack of mechanistic understanding regarding single and interactive effects of climate variables on PPT components. Model predictions of maize yield responses to anticipated impacts of climate change in eastern Africa suggest predominantly negative future trends. Nevertheless, maize yields can be sustained or increased by favourable changes in system components with less certain future behaviour, including higher PPT adoption, preservation of field edge density and agricultural diversification beyond cereal crops.
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| 6. |
- Ebitu, Larmbert, et al.
(författare)
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Citizen science for sustainable agriculture : A systematic literature review
- 2021
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Ingår i: Land use policy. - : Elsevier. - 0264-8377 .- 1873-5754. ; 103
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Farmers as volunteers in research could potentially provide a rich resource for exploring sustainable agricultural research questions. To discern emerging patterns in citizen science-based studies on topics with relevance for sustainable agriculture and reveal salient challenges and opportunities for conducting such studies, we conducted a literature review of 27 articles from the period 2004–2019 of 250 publications screened from Google Scholar. These articles were thematically grouped under the topics: Soil health, climate adaptation, pest/pathogen monitoring, invasive species, inputs and outputs and pollination. Participants’ characteristics, motivations, study design and project outcomes in the reviewed articles were summarized and discussed. Both observational and experimental studies were represented in the articles, while emerging trends point towards field experimentation and ‘Large-N′ trials by lay farmers. Crowdsourcing lends itself to projects where the main role of the public is local visual observations and reporting, such as in pest/pathogen monitoring. Challenges included methodological issues such as validation procedures, but above all motivation, recruitment, and retention of volunteers. Despite the importance of participatory approaches for deeper citizen involvement for sustainability transitions and for the quality of knowledge outcomes, the role of citizens was overall restricted to data collection. Several of the methodologies proposed would be difficult to implement in low-income countries, and relatively few studies pertained to agricultural concerns of the global South. To lend value to farmers' time, we recommend projects relevant to livelihoods, health issues or local farming problems, accompanied by well-structured data feedback protocols, routing study results back to farmers.
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| 7. |
- Happe, Anne-Kathrin, et al.
(författare)
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Predatory arthropods in apple orchards across Europe : Responses to agricultural management, adjacent habitat, landscape composition and country
- 2019
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Ingår i: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-8809 .- 1873-2305. ; 273, s. 141-150
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Local agri-environmental schemes, including hedgerows, flowering strips, organic management, and a landscape rich in semi-natural habitat patches, are assumed to enhance the presence of beneficial arthropods and their contribution to biological control in fruit crops. We studied the influence of local factors (orchard management and adjacent habitats) and of landscape composition on the abundance and community composition of predatory arthropods in apple orchards in three European countries. To elucidate how local and landscape factors influence natural enemy effectiveness in apple production systems, we calculated community energy use as a proxy for the communities' predation potential based on biomass and metabolic rates of predatory arthropods. Predator communities were assessed by standardised beating samples taken from apple trees in 86 orchards in Germany, Spain and Sweden. Orchard management included integrated production (IP; i.e. the reduced and targeted application of synthetic agrochemicals), and organic management practices in all three countries. Predator communities differed between management types and countries. Several groups, including beetles (Coleoptera), predatory bugs (Heteroptera), flies (Diptera) and spiders (Araneae) benefited from organic management depending on country. Woody habitat and IP supported harvestmen (Opiliones). In both IP and organic orchards we detected aversive influences of a high-quality surrounding landscape on some predator groups: for example, high covers of woody habitat reduced earwig abundances in German orchards but enhanced their abundance in Sweden, and high natural plant species richness tended to reduce predatory bug abundance in Sweden and IP orchards in Spain. We conclude that predatory arthropod communities and influences of local and landscape factors are strongly shaped by orchard management, and that the influence of management differs between countries. Our results indicate that organic management improves the living conditions for effective predator communities.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Nilsson, Kajsa, et al.
(författare)
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Characterisation of non-coagulating milk and effects of milk composition and physical properties on rennet-induced coagulation in Swedish Red Dairy Cattle
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Dairy Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 0958-6946 .- 1879-0143. ; 95, s. 50-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Non-coagulating milk is a serious problem in the cheese industry, since it decreases cheese yield, resulting in decreased economic output. This study evaluated rennet-induced coagulation properties and composition of milk from individual Swedish Red Dairy Cattle. Milk samples from 679 individual cows were rheologically evaluated, of which 18.1% of the cows produced non-coagulating milk and 18.9% produced poor-coagulating milk. This resulted in 37% of the milk samples being non-optimal in cheese production, which is an alarmingly high figure. A comparison between non-coagulating and coagulating milk showed a significantly lower calcium content and less free Ca 2+ in non-coagulating milk. The results provide more information about non- and poor-coagulating milk and will be further used to understand the genetic background of non-coagulating milk and breed against this undesired milk property.
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