While there has been a number of consumers' studies looking at factors that influence individuals' attitudes and behavior toward GM foods, few studies have considered agricultural professionals' intentions in this regard. This study illuminates agricultural professionals' insights toward GM foods in Southwest Iran. A random sample of 262 respondents was studied. The results indicated that the m...

Preservation of biodiversity, and particularly agricultural biodiversity, has been recognized as being critical to sustaining productive ecosystems, and has been suggested as a viable strategy to promote adequate human nutrition and food security (1). In sub-Saharan Africa, farm sizes are generally small, have been declining and are expected to continue to decline over the next decades. At the ...

Adolescent childbearing has undesirable consequences. Dropping out of school, high rates of abortion, maternal mortality and morbidity are noted consequences of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing. The objective of this study, which is based on the 2005 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey data, is to analyze the levels, trends and differentials of adolescent motherhood in Ethiopia. A mult...

Microorganisms play an important role in the recycling of agricultural wastes. The compost generated by bioconversion of agroresidues offers several benefits such as enhanced soil fertility and soil health which can lead to increased agricultural productivity, improved soil biodiversity, reduced ecological risks and a healthier environment. These virtues make composting an ideal option for proc...

Keeping workers safe is a continuing challenge in agricultural production. Risk assessment methodologies have been used widely in other industries to better understand systems and enhance decision making, yet their use in production agriculture has been limited. This article describes the considerations and the approach taken to measure the difference in worker injury risks between two agricult...

Transgenic crops, a new product of agricultural biotechnology has its own share of environmental risks and benefits. Present agricultural management practices and new ecosystems have their own impacts on the environment and further any additional negative effect of transgenic crops may mitigate their positive impacts as well as increase the background value of negative impacts due to new agricu...

Policy makers and practitioners are in need of useful tools and models for assessing ecosystem service outcomes and the potential risks and opportunities of ecosystem management options. We utilize a state-and-transition model framework integrating dynamic soil and vegetation properties to examine multiple ecosystem services-specifically agricultural production, biodiversity and habitat, and so...

Advocates of biotechnology affirm that the application of genetic engineering to develop transgenic crops will increase world agricultural productivity, enhance food security, and move agriculture away from a dependence on chemical inputs helping to reduce environmental problems. This paper challenges such assertions by first demystifying the Malthusian view that hunger is due to a gap between ...

This study investigates the impact of internationalization on the results achieved by agricultural cooperatives in the State of Parana, at the same time examining strategies for diversification of markets as well as diversification of products aimed exclusively at international markets. Of the 28 cooperatives to be included in the study, 67.9% returned valid structured questionnaires. The colle...

This study examines the productivity and resilience of agroecosystems in the Korean Peninsula. Having learned valuable lessons from a Chapman University project funded by the United States Department of Agriculture which concentrated on the semi-arid region of southwestern United States, our joint Korea—Chapman University team has applied similar methodologies to the Korean Peninsula, which is ...