Walter R. Butcher

Soil, water and crop management alternatives in rainfed agriculture in the Sahel: an economic analysis

Most agriculture in the Sahel Region is carried out under rainfed conditions where low and uncertain soil moisture levels limit productivity. Improved soil, water and crop management practices are required to reverse the steady decline in per capita food production and sustain output over the long term. Several technological innovations and related farm management practices are evaluated in a case study of a typical farm in Mali. Through use of a soil-water balance model and a whole-farm economic model an optimal mix of these measures is identified. Compared to a base case where no modern inputs are utilized, the combination of animal traction (oxen team), low levels of NPK fertilizer, tied-ridges, traditional long-season food grain crops and early planting was most effective: food grain output was 35% higher than with the traditional base case; soil erosion was reduced by 72%; and even with residual future soil erosion damage capitalized into current income, net farm income was larger by a factor of almost 45.

Landowner Characteristics: A Basis for Locational Decisions in the Urban Fringe

Discontiguous urban growth is explained more by landowner characteristics than by parcel characteristics. Discriminant analysis of the sell/hold decisions of owners of undeveloped parcels demonstrated the greater importance of landowner characteristics in determining urban fringe sales. Sales, in turn, exhibit a high degree of association with development in the near term. These results suggest that discontiguous patterns of urban growth arise largely from the scattered availability of sites owned by persons with reservation prices below market value. Institutional constraints on development that rely on rent changes induced by subsidies and penalties will be ineffective.

Economic analysis of the long-term consequences of farming practices in the barley cropping area of Jordan

Abstract The sustainability of agricultural practices is an important determinant of the ability to meet the growing food needs of future generations in developing countries. But sustainable agricultural practices will not be adopted by farmers unless current farm income levels are maintained. The Erosion Productivity Impact Model (EPIC), a whole-farm model, and budget analysis are used to evaluate both the short-run profitability and the long-run sustainability of a number of agricultural practices in the Mafraq region of Jordan. While only a few technologies exceed current practices in terms of short-run benefits, a number of technologies provide long-term benefits due to enhanced soil productivity. A combination of technologies, such as a fertilized barley-vetch rotation (instead of the traditional barley-weedy fallow rotation), may provide the most feasible means of maintaining current farm incomes while also enhancing the sustainability of area agriculture.

Influence of Environmental Contamination with PCBs on Human Health

Statistical data on different sicknesses have been processed to evaluate the dynamics of human health in Serpukhov City (an administrative centre in the Moscow region of Russia) and to estimate the contribution of ecological factors to the total level of morbidity. Chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) appear to be among the most dangerous contaminants of the ecosystem that includes the urban areas and those lands, which are actively used for vegetable production. A preliminary health risk calculation for PCBs has been done using soil contamination data. We estimated the share of cancer attributable to soil contamination with PCBs to be approximately 6% of the value of total cancer morbidity in Serpukhov. The highest level of soil pollution by PCBs occurred in the district of the city where the highest values of some other sicknesses also were located. The results of this study could be useful for decision-making and planning of environmental policy in the city.

Risk Analysis of PCB Exposure via the Soil–Food Crop Pathway, and Alternatives for Remediation at Serpukhov, Russian Federation

A risk assessment was conducted to determine the likelihood of certain health risks resulting from exposure to soils and food crops contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs). PCBs have contaminated soils, river sediments, and air in the past as a result of industrial activities at a capacitor plant located in the City of Serpukhov, Russian Federation. This risk assessment and suggestions for remediation are designed to aid in decision-making efforts by a joint Russian-American research team developing a community, national, and international response to industrial contamination. Bobovnikova et al. (The Science of the Total Environment 139/140, 357-364, [1993]) have reported that PCBs are elevated in soils and sediments, breast milk, and locally grown foods in the Serpukhov area. Data from these and other investigators have been used in this risk assessment to calculate a potential cancer risk resulting from exposure to PCBs. Our assessment indicates that members of the local population may be at increased risk of cancer, and possibly other adverse health effects, as a result of PCB contamination of their environment. Because previously unassessed environmental contamination is a common problem in the former Soviet Republics, as well as many other areas of the world, we believe this type of evaluation, using known methods, can serve as a model for assessment efforts in other parts of the globe and result in remediative efforts in regions constrained by faltering economies.

Individual Income Redistribution and Publicly Provided Irrigation: The Columbia Basin Project

The performance of publicly provided irrigation as a method of income redistribution is examined by applying fiscal incidence analysis to a representative area in the Columbia Basin Project. Results indicate the redistributional impact of public irrigation is clearly not in favor of lower income classes.

Economic Evaluation Of Farmers' Alternatives During Irrigation Water Deficit

This study evaluated the expected impacts that water shortage will have on crop production and farm net income on a typical private farm in Namangan region, Uzbekistan. A Linear Programming (LP) model is used to find the combination of responses that will leave the farmer with the highest possible net income given the levels of water available. If improved irrigation practices are not a realistic alternative, farmers are left with no ways to avoid deficit irrigation when water is short, and cotton production and farm net income both fall almost in proportion to the water deficit. However, if improved irrigation practices are adopted, the model indicates that full production and income can be sustained with about 20% less water in the critical period. The improved methods also give more timely and uniform irrigation that, according to research results, will increase yields and income by more than enough to pay for the extra labor required.