There is no sustainable alternative to increase local food security more effective than producing more affordable quality foods locally. The Soil and Land Management Division of the Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador have identified late spring or early fall frost, low soil organic matter, sandy soil textures and soil acidity as the primary problems impacting crop production in Happy Valley-Goose Bay area. Among these factors, we have no ability to control weather and soil texture, but can effectively manage soil organic matter contents, and correct soil acidity to increase soil fertility and enhance crop productivity. Topsoil organic matter content for this region generally varies between 0.75-1.5 percent. Due to cold climatic conditions, the mineralization rate of organic matter is low and, hence, the supply of mineral nutrients to crops from soil organic matter is limited. The combination of sandy soil texture and low organic matter also restrict the nutrient holding capacity of soil. Therefore, crop and soil management practices must be implemented to ensure a sufficient supply of essential nutrients when considering growing requirements.
AbstractThis article analyzes the role of soil in the making of authoritarian regimes and illustrates twentieth-century practices and discourses related to fertility across the globe. It compares two different approaches to and understandings of soil fertility: the first emerged in North Libya under Italian Fascist rule (1922–1943), the second in Central Brazil during the civil-military dictatorship (1964–1985). We compare two soil-forming processes that changed physical and chemical properties of the original matter and were embedded within specific ideologies of modernization. In both cases, state agendas of agrarian production played a paramount role not only in socioeconomic projects but also as an instrument to suppress opposition. Technocratic and political aspects of building and maintaining fertility were interwoven, although in different patterns in the two countries. We show how the rejuvenation of land bled into the regeneration of communities through processes that anchored the self-definition and development of these authoritarian regimes, and argue that attempts at landscape transformations through agricultural activity and strategies of fertilization are inescapable features of dictatorships. In so doing, we elaborate the concept of "authoritarian soil." The juxtaposition of these non-synchronous cases reveals how agricultural modernization developed throughout the twentieth century. Our study is rooted in environmental history and contributes to the ongoing dialogue between that field and science and technology studies. Its cross-temporal, comparative methodology draws upon sources and historiographical debates in English, Italian, and Portuguese.
First published online: 25 March 2021 ; This article analyzes the role of soil in the making of authoritarian regimes and illustrates twentieth-century practices and discourses related to fertility across the globe. It compares two different approaches to and understandings of soil fertility: the first emerged in North Libya under Italian Fascist rule (1922–1943), the second in Central Brazil during the civil-military dictatorship (1964–1985). We compare two soil-forming processes that changed physical and chemical properties of the original matter and were embedded within specific ideologies of modernization. In both cases, state agendas of agrarian production played a paramount role not only in socioeconomic projects but also as an instrument to suppress opposition. Technocratic and political aspects of building and maintaining fertility were interwoven, although in different patterns in the two countries. We show how the rejuvenation of land bled into the regeneration of communities through processes that anchored the self-definition and development of these authoritarian regimes, and argue that attempts at landscape transformations through agricultural activity and strategies of fertilization are inescapable features of dictatorships. In so doing, we elaborate the concept of "authoritarian soil." The juxtaposition of these non-synchronous cases reveals how agricultural modernization developed throughout the twentieth century. Our study is rooted in environmental history and contributes to the ongoing dialogue between that field and science and technology studies. Its cross-temporal, comparative methodology draws upon sources and historiographical debates in English, Italian, and Portuguese. ; This article was published Open Access with the support from the EUI Library through the CRUI - CUP Transformative Agreement (2020-2022)
"How to restore and maintain the productivity of the soil is the most important phase of the conservation problem. We are no longer a new nation. We have deluded ourselves with the idea that we have unbounded resources in land, in forests, in mineral wealth. We have been prodigal in the utilization of these resources. We must pay the penalty of this prodigality. In many of our older communities soil fertility has been reduced below the point of profitable production. Nation-wide effort at the present time, through federal and state agency, is directed toward the restoration of fertility in these localities. On the prairies of the West fertility is beginning to wane. In order that our heritage in the prairie country may not follow the descent of the East and the South, it is necessary that intelligent and vigorous effort be made to farm correctly. We must cease abusing the soil. The renting of land on short leases for the purpose of growing grain for market is one of the surest means of reducing the productive power of the soil. The domestic animal, with well-managed pastures and rational systems of crop rotation, is preeminently adapted to the development of permanent systems of profitable farming. Landowners must realize this and must take steps to improve renting methods by stocking farms with a full complement of domestic animals, where the renter is not able to do this for himself, and by giving longer leases, whereby the renter may reap the reward of intelligent management."--Introduction (p.5). ; Cover title. ; Disposal of land by the government -- Importance of cheap and abundant food -- Steps in agricultural development -- Difficulties in changing types of farming -- Exploitive farming too long continued -- Decrease in population and abandonment of land in the older states -- The present situation -- Conditions in older countries -- The solution of the problem -- Effect of live stock on soil fertility -- Effect of legumes -- Dependence on our own resources -- Examples of successful farming. ; "How to restore and maintain the productivity of the soil is the most important phase of the conservation problem. We are no longer a new nation. We have deluded ourselves with the idea that we have unbounded resources in land, in forests, in mineral wealth. We have been prodigal in the utilization of these resources. We must pay the penalty of this prodigality. In many of our older communities soil fertility has been reduced below the point of profitable production. Nation-wide effort at the present time, through federal and state agency, is directed toward the restoration of fertility in these localities. On the prairies of the West fertility is beginning to wane. In order that our heritage in the prairie country may not follow the descent of the East and the South, it is necessary that intelligent and vigorous effort be made to farm correctly. We must cease abusing the soil. The renting of land on short leases for the purpose of growing grain for market is one of the surest means of reducing the productive power of the soil. The domestic animal, with well-managed pastures and rational systems of crop rotation, is preeminently adapted to the development of permanent systems of profitable farming. Landowners must realize this and must take steps to improve renting methods by stocking farms with a full complement of domestic animals, where the renter is not able to do this for himself, and by giving longer leases, whereby the renter may reap the reward of intelligent management."--Introduction (p.5). ; Mode of access: Internet.
Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) has been widely promoted by research and philanthropic organizations as well as governments to increase crop yields and improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa. Therefore, it is surprising that there is still scant information on its impact on crop yields and household income. This paper uses a counterfactual model to assess ISFM impact on yields and total household incomes using far household data from Tamale (Northern Ghana) and Kakamega (Western Kenya). The analyses reveal that ISFM adoption leads to an increase in maize yields by up to 27% in Tamale and 16% in Kakamega. Increasing the number of ISFM components, however, does not improve yields. Despite the effect on yields, adoption of ISFM does not increase total household incomes at both locations. Some implications for future research are discussed.
Climbing bean is the key staple legume crop in the highlands of East and Central Africa. We assessed the impact of interactions between soil fertility characteristics, crop management and socio-economic factors, such as household resource endowment and gender of the farmer, on climbing bean productivity and yield responses to basal P fertiliser in northern Rwanda. Through a combination of detailed characterisations of 12 farms and on-farm demonstration trials at 110 sites, we evaluated variability in grain yields and responses to fertiliser. Grain yields varied between 0.14 and 6.9 t ha−1 with an overall average of 1.69 t ha−1. Household resource endowment and gender of the farmer was strongly associated with climbing bean yield, even though these were partly confounded with Sector. Poorer households and women farmers achieved lower yields than wealthier households and male farmers. Household resource endowment and gender were likely to act as proxies for a range of agronomic and crop management factors that determine crop productivity, such as soil fertility, current and past access to organic manure and mineral fertiliser, access to sufficient quality staking material, ability to conduct crop management operation on time, but we found evidence for only some of these relationships. Poorer households and female farmers grew beans on soils with poorer soil fertility. Moreover, poorer households had a lower density of stakes, while stake density was strongly correlated with yield. Diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser application led to a substantial increase in the average grain yield (0.66 t ha−1), but a large variability in responses implied that its use would be economically worthwhile for roughly half of the farmers. For the sake of targeting agricultural innovations to those households that are most likely to adopt, the Ubudehe household typology – a Rwandan government system of wealth categorisation – could be a useful and easily available tool to structure rural households within regions of Rwanda that are relatively uniform in agro-ecology.
Climbing bean is the key staple legume crop in the highlands of East and Central Africa. We assessed the impact of interactions between soil fertility characteristics, crop management and socio-economic factors, such as household resource endowment and gender of the farmer, on climbing bean productivity and yield responses to basal P fertiliser in northern Rwanda. Through a combination of detailed characterisations of 12 farms and on-farm demonstration trials at 110 sites, we evaluated variability in grain yields and responses to fertiliser. Grain yields varied between 0.14 and 6.9 t ha−1 with an overall average of 1.69 t ha−1. Household resource endowment and gender of the farmer was strongly associated with climbing bean yield, even though these were partly confounded with Sector. Poorer households and women farmers achieved lower yields than wealthier households and male farmers. Household resource endowment and gender were likely to act as proxies for a range of agronomic and crop management factors that determine crop productivity, such as soil fertility, current and past access to organic manure and mineral fertiliser, access to sufficient quality staking material, ability to conduct crop management operation on time, but we found evidence for only some of these relationships. Poorer households and female farmers grew beans on soils with poorer soil fertility. Moreover, poorer households had a lower density of stakes, while stake density was strongly correlated with yield. Diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser application led to a substantial increase in the average grain yield (0.66 t ha−1), but a large variability in responses implied that its use would be economically worthwhile for roughly half of the farmers. For the sake of targeting agricultural innovations to those households that are most likely to adopt, the Ubudehe household typology – a Rwandan government system of wealth categorisation – could be a useful and easily available tool to structure rural households within regions of Rwanda that are relatively uniform in agro-ecology. ; Peer Review
