n every society, there are different kinds of resources for good health. For instance, social capital matters – formed in networks by members of the local community and supported by concerned public and private institutions. Finding ways to understand these processes, which are the most vulnerable groups and why it happens is a major theme for the following narrative. An analysis of the relatio...

Based on a survey of 897 farming households in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, our results show that while farming households had high demands for capital, 47.7% have experienced having their application for a Rural Credit Cooperative (RCC) loan denied because of their low income. Agricultural production and income are significantly influenced by weather risks, and agricultural income accounts for...

This paper innovates as it tests two different hypotheses regarding climate impacts on agricultural markets in Brazil: farmers only observe the average climate conditions of their region when deciding the type and amount of crop/animal to grow/raise; and weather diversions from normal climate conditions deviate farmers from their optimal profits. Both hypotheses are not rejected by the data. Th...

Aquaculture, the farming of fish and aquatic crops such as kelp and algae, is classically done in natural bodies of water. In land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), however, tanks or raceways contain the farmed species and the water is circulated through a treatment system. Benefits compared to traditional farming in open cages include reduced emissions of nutrients, less risk of i...

Johne’s disease (JD) is a chronic, production-limiting disease of ruminants. Control programs aiming to minimize the effects of the disease on the dairy industry have been launched in many countries, including Canada. Those programs commonly focus on strict hygiene and management improvement, often combined with various testing methods. Concurrently, organic dairy farming has been increasing in...

Here we argue that, based on evolutionary, ecological and agronomic considerations, climate change could not have been a suitable background nor a probable cause of plant domestication in the Near East. This thesis is developed based on the year-to-year yield dynamics in traditional rainfed grain farming in semi-arid environments, on the genetic basis that underlies temporal yield dynamics in n...

Examining characteristics of traditional nomadic herding cultures and traditional sedentary farming cultures, both of which are deeply established in Central Asian history, this paper provides evidence on the persistence of gender roles in culture, spillovers from one culture to another, and the impacts of efforts promoting gender equality. First, I investigate whether differences in gender rol...