Global market economy and the growing concern about environment have been moving agricultural production into the area of conflict between economy and ecology. Increased efficiency in agricultural productivity via plant breeding, mechanization, and management techniques have all been important factors in maintaining the balance between food supply and world demand. Necessary improvements in the...

Industrial or “Green Revolution” agriculture depends upon petroleum to manufacture and spread fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides and to power irrigation systems that act upon crops selected to increase agricultural yield. It has been criticized on the grounds that it has favored mainly rich farmers and caused serious environmental pollution. Now a second “Green Revolution” is being proposed...

The high cost of transportation fuels and the environmental risks associated with acquiring and using nonrenewable energy sources have created a demand for developing renewable bioenergy crops. Switchgrass ( L.), a warm-season perennial grass, is a promising feedstock due to its high biomass production under a wide range of growing conditions and its satisfactory forage quality and chemical com...

BACKGROUND: While recognizing the economic obstacles that currently block widespread use, many concerned with improving agricultural productivity and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are focusing on fertilizer as a remedy for declining soil quality and stagnant yields. Some have suggested that SSA needs to increase fertilizer use from 9 to at least 30 kg/ha during the next decade. Othe...

The environmental impact of agriculture cannot be ignored. In many countries, as much as 70 per cent of the land area is in agricultural use. Over a third of the global agricultural land area is in high-intensity, continuous cropping systems that use high levels of agrochemicals and reshape land and waterways. The rest is under such a farming system that uses far fewer inputs, but requires rela...

Climate is the primary important factor for agricultural production. Concerning the potential effects of climatic change on agriculture has motivated important change of research during the last decade. The research topics concentrate possible physical effects of climatic change on agriculture, such as changes in crop and livestock yields as well as the economic consequences of these potential ...

This article presents average agricultural yield data per hectare for key cereal, legume and root crops from 2001 until 2017. Data was obtained from the annual Agricultural Sample Surveys of the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) of Ethiopia. We present data at national, regional (SNNPRS) and zonal (Wolaita) levels. The data shows that average yields for all crops, at all levels, show increasing t...

Climate change might impact crop yields considerably and anticipated transformations of agricultural systems are needed in the coming decades to sustain affordable food provision. However, decision-making on transformational shifts in agricultural systems is plagued by uncertainties concerning the nature and geography of climate change, its impacts, and adequate responses. Locking agricultural ...

In India, expenditure on electricity subsidies for agriculture, an input subsidy aimed at improving agricultural productivity and the incomes of the agricultural work force, exceeds that spent on health or education. Yet the benefits and beneficiaries of these policies have been unexplored. This paper develops and empirically tests a model that describes the channels through which these subsidi...