This study examines the development and trends of China’s alfalfa market and imports, identifies key factors for the rapid increase in China’s alfalfa imports, and discusses potential impacts of the U.S.-China trade...This study examines the development and trends of China’s alfalfa market and imports, identifies key factors for the rapid increase in China’s alfalfa imports, and discusses potential impacts of the U.S.-China trade dispute and retaliations on the alfalfa markets and trade in both nations. China’s rapid transition toward larger-scale commercial dairy production, with enhanced feed and cost management as well as quality and safety control, and its limited resources for high-quality alfalfa production are key factors for the dramatic increase in its alfalfa imports, from 19 601 metric tons in 2008 to 1.38 million metric tons(mmt) in 2018. While the United States dominated China’s alfalfa imports with an average share of 97.01% from 2007 to 2017, the share dropped to 83.76% in 2018 and 63.28% in January 2019 due to the trade dispute and retaliations started in 2018. China will likely remain a large importer of alfalfa because of both its growing demand and the comparative advantages of imported alfalfa in quality and price, but the imports from the United States will be highly affected by the ongoing trade dispute and negotiations. China is also expected to make more efforts to reduce its dependence on U.S. alfalfa through increased investment in domestic alfalfa production and identification of alternative sources of alfalfa and other hay imports.展开更多
The purposes of this study are to assess the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the dairy industries in China and the United States and to derive policy recommendations for enhancing the diary industries’resilience to p...The purposes of this study are to assess the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the dairy industries in China and the United States and to derive policy recommendations for enhancing the diary industries’resilience to pandemics and other market shocks.Specifically,data from the two nations are used to analyze and compare the mechanisms through which the pandemic has affected their dairy industries and to discuss potential lessons from their experiences.The findings suggest that this pandemic has heavily affected the dairy industries in both China and the United States through similar mechanisms,such as decreased farmgate milk prices,disruption and difficulties of moving milk within the supply chains,worker shortages,increased production costs,and lack of operating capital.There were also significant differences in the affecting mechanisms between the two nations,including transportation difficulties from widespread road closures and significant reduction in holiday sales of dairy products in China,and the shutdown of many dairy processors in the United States due to the closing of schools,restaurants,and hotels.While government financial reliefs are highly needed to help many dairy farms and processors survive this pandemic in the short term,the dairy industries and governments need to work together to develop long-term strategies and policies to balance the industries’efficiency and flexibility,product specialization and diversification,supply chain integration and local food systems,and market mechanisms and policy regulations and interventions.展开更多
As of May 6,Rwanda has reported 268 cases of COVID-19 with zero death,130 recovered cases and 138 active cases since the first case on 11 March 2020.The World Health Organization(WHO)mentioned some of the challenge fo...As of May 6,Rwanda has reported 268 cases of COVID-19 with zero death,130 recovered cases and 138 active cases since the first case on 11 March 2020.The World Health Organization(WHO)mentioned some of the challenge for many countries in dealing with COVID-19 including struggling with a lack of capacity,resources,and lack of resolve[1].Preparedness and response to COVID-19 have differed among East African countries.Rwanda has drawn on its experience with Ebola virus Disease(EVD)in collaboration with the WHO[2]in the use of ThermoScan checks for every person entering the country and availability of hand washing stations.展开更多
This paper has examined how the resources of the White Volta River are enhancing food availability for riparian communities in northern Ghana despite climate change and its associated effects on food security. Using p...This paper has examined how the resources of the White Volta River are enhancing food availability for riparian communities in northern Ghana despite climate change and its associated effects on food security. Using participatory methods such as focus group discussions and interviews, data was collected from households and institutions in three riparian communities. The result of the study indicates that, all things been equal, cultivation of food crops along the river bank in the rainy season gives significantly high yields as compared to yields from farms farthest from the river under rain fed agriculture. Higher organic content and moisture retention capacity of river bank soils explains the yield differential and adaptability to climate change. In addition, farmers now irrigate cereal crops which were hitherto, reserved for only rainy season production. However, inappropriate irrigation practices are accelerating erosion and sedimentation of the river and thus, threaten the sustainability of agriculture and food security in the White Volta Basin. The paper therefore, recommends the adoption of IWRM （integrated water resources management） and the participation of local communities, Government and Civil Society organisations for sustaining the productive capacity of the White Volta Basin for enabling adaptation of agriculture to climate change in the riparian communities of the basin.展开更多
The third UN World Congress on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Sendai, Japan in March 2015, agreed on a new framework to guide disaster risk reduction policy and practice for the next 15 years. The Sendai Framework f...The third UN World Congress on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Sendai, Japan in March 2015, agreed on a new framework to guide disaster risk reduction policy and practice for the next 15 years. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030(SFDRR) leaves important implementation issues unspecified and potentially creates both problems and opportunities for complex,multilevel governance systems in coping with hazards and disastrous events. Early warning systems(EWS), if built into the mainstream of planning for development and disaster relief and recovery, could present a significant opportunity to realize many SFDRR goals. We explore the complexities of using hydrometeorological EWS to prepare for drought and flood disasters in the densely populated communities of Pakistan’s Indus River Basin in contrast to the African Sahel’s less densely settled grasslands. Multilevel governance systems are often dominated by a topdown, technocentric, centralized management bias and have great difficulty responding to the needs of peripheral and vulnerable populations. People-centered, bottom-up approaches that incorporate disaggregated communities with local knowledge into a balanced, multilevel disaster risk management and governance structure have adramatically better chance of realizing the SFDRR goals for disaster risk reduction.展开更多
基金the Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station at the University Vermont,USA,and the National Social Science Fund of China(17ZDA067)for financial support of this project。
文摘This study examines the development and trends of China’s alfalfa market and imports, identifies key factors for the rapid increase in China’s alfalfa imports, and discusses potential impacts of the U.S.-China trade dispute and retaliations on the alfalfa markets and trade in both nations. China’s rapid transition toward larger-scale commercial dairy production, with enhanced feed and cost management as well as quality and safety control, and its limited resources for high-quality alfalfa production are key factors for the dramatic increase in its alfalfa imports, from 19 601 metric tons in 2008 to 1.38 million metric tons(mmt) in 2018. While the United States dominated China’s alfalfa imports with an average share of 97.01% from 2007 to 2017, the share dropped to 83.76% in 2018 and 63.28% in January 2019 due to the trade dispute and retaliations started in 2018. China will likely remain a large importer of alfalfa because of both its growing demand and the comparative advantages of imported alfalfa in quality and price, but the imports from the United States will be highly affected by the ongoing trade dispute and negotiations. China is also expected to make more efforts to reduce its dependence on U.S. alfalfa through increased investment in domestic alfalfa production and identification of alternative sources of alfalfa and other hay imports.
基金The authors would like to thank the Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Vermont,USA,and earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System(CARS-36)for financial support of this study.
文摘The purposes of this study are to assess the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the dairy industries in China and the United States and to derive policy recommendations for enhancing the diary industries’resilience to pandemics and other market shocks.Specifically,data from the two nations are used to analyze and compare the mechanisms through which the pandemic has affected their dairy industries and to discuss potential lessons from their experiences.The findings suggest that this pandemic has heavily affected the dairy industries in both China and the United States through similar mechanisms,such as decreased farmgate milk prices,disruption and difficulties of moving milk within the supply chains,worker shortages,increased production costs,and lack of operating capital.There were also significant differences in the affecting mechanisms between the two nations,including transportation difficulties from widespread road closures and significant reduction in holiday sales of dairy products in China,and the shutdown of many dairy processors in the United States due to the closing of schools,restaurants,and hotels.While government financial reliefs are highly needed to help many dairy farms and processors survive this pandemic in the short term,the dairy industries and governments need to work together to develop long-term strategies and policies to balance the industries’efficiency and flexibility,product specialization and diversification,supply chain integration and local food systems,and market mechanisms and policy regulations and interventions.
文摘As of May 6,Rwanda has reported 268 cases of COVID-19 with zero death,130 recovered cases and 138 active cases since the first case on 11 March 2020.The World Health Organization(WHO)mentioned some of the challenge for many countries in dealing with COVID-19 including struggling with a lack of capacity,resources,and lack of resolve[1].Preparedness and response to COVID-19 have differed among East African countries.Rwanda has drawn on its experience with Ebola virus Disease(EVD)in collaboration with the WHO[2]in the use of ThermoScan checks for every person entering the country and availability of hand washing stations.
文摘This paper has examined how the resources of the White Volta River are enhancing food availability for riparian communities in northern Ghana despite climate change and its associated effects on food security. Using participatory methods such as focus group discussions and interviews, data was collected from households and institutions in three riparian communities. The result of the study indicates that, all things been equal, cultivation of food crops along the river bank in the rainy season gives significantly high yields as compared to yields from farms farthest from the river under rain fed agriculture. Higher organic content and moisture retention capacity of river bank soils explains the yield differential and adaptability to climate change. In addition, farmers now irrigate cereal crops which were hitherto, reserved for only rainy season production. However, inappropriate irrigation practices are accelerating erosion and sedimentation of the river and thus, threaten the sustainability of agriculture and food security in the White Volta Basin. The paper therefore, recommends the adoption of IWRM （integrated water resources management） and the participation of local communities, Government and Civil Society organisations for sustaining the productive capacity of the White Volta Basin for enabling adaptation of agriculture to climate change in the riparian communities of the basin.
基金funding from the National Science Foundation for EPS-1101317 project on ‘‘Research on Adaptation to Climate Change’’NSF-SESYNC/NIMBIOS DBI-1052875 project on ‘‘Integrating Human Risk Perception of Global Climate Change into Dynamic Earth System Models’’
文摘The third UN World Congress on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Sendai, Japan in March 2015, agreed on a new framework to guide disaster risk reduction policy and practice for the next 15 years. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030(SFDRR) leaves important implementation issues unspecified and potentially creates both problems and opportunities for complex,multilevel governance systems in coping with hazards and disastrous events. Early warning systems(EWS), if built into the mainstream of planning for development and disaster relief and recovery, could present a significant opportunity to realize many SFDRR goals. We explore the complexities of using hydrometeorological EWS to prepare for drought and flood disasters in the densely populated communities of Pakistan’s Indus River Basin in contrast to the African Sahel’s less densely settled grasslands. Multilevel governance systems are often dominated by a topdown, technocentric, centralized management bias and have great difficulty responding to the needs of peripheral and vulnerable populations. People-centered, bottom-up approaches that incorporate disaggregated communities with local knowledge into a balanced, multilevel disaster risk management and governance structure have adramatically better chance of realizing the SFDRR goals for disaster risk reduction.
