The Role of Biosecurity in the Control of Campylobacter: A Qualitative Study of the Attitudes and Perceptions of UK Broiler Farm Workers

Campylobacter is the leading cause of human bacterial diarrhoeal disease worldwide, with poultry meat products contributing to a large proportion of cases. Due to the ubiquitous presence of Campylobacter in the poultry farm environment, biosecurity is the main area for intervention to prevent colonisation of commercial broiler chicken flocks. However, research has repeatedly demonstrated that farmers' uptake of biosecurity recommendations is often poor. This study explored farmers' attitudes towards biosecurity and identified barriers to effective implementation of biosecurity protocols. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 1–3 members of staff on each of 16 broiler farms; 6 owned by, and 10 contracted to, 3 different UK poultry integrators. In total, 28 interviewees participated, including farm owners, managers, and workers, with a range of industry experience. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed high levels of recognition amongst broiler farmers of the importance of Campylobacter and the responsibility of the whole farm-to-fork chain within the poultry industry to reduce Campylobacter contamination of chicken meat for the benefit of public health. Participants' self-reported awareness and implementation of biosecurity has improved significantly following the industry-wide focus on Campylobacter control. However, there are frustrations with the industry's approach to tackling Campylobacter and the heavy burden of responsibility that has been put on interventions at the farm-level. There was also scepticism amongst participants as to the effectiveness of current biosecurity measures in the reduction of Campylobacter. Nevertheless, the interviewees' recognition of the benefit of improved biosecurity on broiler health and welfare and other important targets, such as reducing antimicrobial usage, leaves a legacy of which the UK broiler industry can be proud. There is scope for further farmer education about the evidence supporting biosecurity interventions, particularly in the control of Campylobacter, and a need to establish more effective channels of communication. Furthermore, to give all players within the industry agency and investment in industry targets, contributions from all levels should be permitted in the design of future biosecurity interventions. Biosecurity compliance may be improved through collaborative efforts, such as participatory and co-design practises, to facilitate knowledge co-creation and exchange.

Analisis Efisiensi Usahatani Padi di Jawa dan Luar Jawa, Kajian Prospek Peningkatan Produksi Padi Nasional

Rice can grow in almost all of the islands in Indonesia, but 57 per cent of it was produced in Java, which is less than 10 per cent of the national area in Indonesia. To anticipate the increasing need for rice consumption, it is important to study the prospects for increasing national rice production, especially by utilizing the potential of agricultural land outside Java island. The purpose of this study was to identify the prospects for the development of national rice, especially outside Java island, from the perspective of rice production factors and technical efficiency at the farm level. Using stochastic frontier analysis, the translog production function showed that the increasing use of inputs (land, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides) will not significantly increase rice production both in Java and outside Java island (inelastic). Technical efficiency analysis indicated that rice production in Java and outside Java island was 28 and 39 per cent below its frontier, respectively. Further analysis showed that irrigation, land status, farmer groups, and farmer education were significantly improved technical efficiency. This study concluded that the potential to increase rice production by increasing technical efficiency outside of Java island was greater than in Java island. However, increasing the efficiency of rice production outside Java may be constrained by the availability of irrigated agricultural land. To significantly increase national rice production both in Java and outside Java island, a breakthrough in new rice production technology is needed.

Factors Affecting the Adoption Level of Good Agricultural Practices by Cucurbit Farmers in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka

Aims: The primary focus of this empirical study was to investigate the factors influencing the level of GAP adoption for cucurbit vegetable in the Anuradhapura district of Sri Lanka. Study Design: Three-stage purposive and proportionate sampling Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the Anuradhapura district, North Central Province of Sri Lanka in 2018. Methodology: Primary and secondary data were used in the study. The primary data were collected mainly through a field survey using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire. The total sample size was 120. Key informant interviews (KII), and a focus group discussion (FGD) were conducted to triangulate data and information obtained from the questionnaire survey and to obtain additional qualitative information. Descriptive analytical techniques, analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, and the General Linear Model (GLM) were employed for the data analysis. Results: Results revealed that 40% of respondents are moderate level GAP adopters, whilst about 68% practiced more than half of the recommended GAPs. The results of ANOVA revealed that farmers who adopted a higher proportion of GAPs earned a higher farming income, than those who practiced a moderate or low proportion of GAPs. Similarly, when compared to moderate and poor level GAP adopters, the average cost of production of higher-level adopters decreased significantly (p < 0.05). The results of the regression analysis revealed that farmer awareness of GAPs, farmer education level, farming experience, farming income, and cost of cultivation have a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the level of GAP adoption by cucurbit farmers. Conclusion: Awareness of GAPs, farmer education level, farming experience, and farming income significantly affect the adoption level of GAPs. Policy priority should be given to planning for a long-term farmer awareness program on GAPs through proper training and extension programs.

Determinants on the adoption of modern agricultural technology at farm household level: a case study in Dong Anh District, Hanoi city, Vietnam

This paper aims to identify the determinants on the adoption of modern agricultural technology at farm level in Dong Anh district, Hanoi city, Vietnam. A total of 300 farm households from Dong Anh district were randomly interviewed face to face for the necessary data collection. Logit regression model was used to explore the impact of different factors on the adoption of the modern agricultural technology. Findings indicated that the farmer’ education, households’ income, farm size, access to extension services and access to credit had statistically significant and positive impacts on the adoption. Meanwhile the number of land plot reflected the negative impact on the adoption. To foster the level of adoption, this study urges stimulating land accumulation for larger farm size and reduced number of land plots. In addition, demonstration models and more training courses for the farmers emphasizing on how to apply the modern agricultural technology and credit program providing loan with preferential interest rate should be provided for the farm households in the district.

Dinamika Kelompok Perkumpulan Petani Pemakai Air (P3A) Sumber Mulyo dalam Kegiatan Pengelolaan Jaringan Irigasi di Desa Pereng Kecamatan Mojogedang Kabupaten Karanganyar

<p><em>The purpose of this research are to know the factors of that affect group dynamic, the result of activities, and the best strategy in development object of this research. This research use indept revew, observation, and document analyst to collecting the datas. And then, the datas will be thought in input stage until the researcher fing the strengths and the weakness of the object. The researcher can find the opportunities and the treats of thi object by using IFE (Internal Factor Evaluation) matrix and EFE (External Factor Evaluation) matrix. The researcher use SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) matrix to determine the strategies that will be use in the next stage. The result of the research is the most important strength factors are high farmer participation and participatory of the leadership (0,727). While, the weaknesses are low farmer education and the existence of multiple positions in management (0,409). The highest opportunity is attention from the government at the beginning of P3A activities (1,333). While the threat factor is the lack of government attention to the current P3A activities (1,000). The result of this research is the strategies can be used for P3A Sumber Mulyo’s activities are optimizing P3A Sumber Mulyo activities to faced the problem. The researcher hope to P3A Sumber Mulyo can solve the problem about primary, secondary, and tertiary waterways management and manufacturing and processing of organic fertilizer.</em></p>

Antimicrobial Use in Animals in Timor-Leste Based on Veterinary Antimicrobial Imports between 2016 and 2019

Monitoring veterinary antimicrobial use is part of the global strategy to tackle antimicrobial resistance. The purpose of this study was to quantify veterinary antimicrobials imported into Timor-Leste between 2016 and 2019 and describe the antimicrobial import profile of importers. Data were obtained from import applications received by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) of Timor-Leste. Import quantities were analysed by antimicrobial class, importance for human medicine, recommended route of administration and type of importer. An average of 57.4 kg (s.d. 31.0 kg) and 0.55 mg/kg (s.d. 0.27 mg/kg) animal biomass of antimicrobials was imported per year. Tetracyclines (35.5%), penicillins (23.7%), and macrolides (15.9%) were the commonly imported antimicrobial classes. Antimicrobials imported for parenteral administration were most common (60.1%). MAF was the largest importer (52.4%). Most of the critically important antimicrobials for human medicine were imported by poultry farms for oral administration and use for growth promotion could not be ruled out. In conclusion, the use of antimicrobials in animals in Timor-Leste is very low, in keeping with its predominantly subsistence agriculture system. Farmer education, development of treatment guidelines, and strengthening of the veterinary service is important for addressing the potential future misuse of antimicrobials especially in the commercial poultry industry.

Measurement and Determinants of Technical Efficiency in Crop Production: A Review

Output is determined by the efficiency with which available technologies are used i.e. with the improvement in technical efficiency. There are extensive numbers of studies focusing on efficiency as a means of fostering agriculture production. The article reviews the literature devoted to technical efficiency analysis in various countries and its applications to agricultural production. The studies reviewed focused particularly on rice and wheat making them the most studied agricultural product by researchers. The review of efficiency analysis shows that agricultural output can be increased without additional inputs with given existing technology. Technical efficiency of agricultural crops like wheat, paddy, cotton etc grown in different countries of the world like India, Pakistan, Ethopia, Srilanka were reviewed and it was found that except for farm size, the variables like farmer education and experience, contacts with extension personnel and access to credit, tend to have a positive and statistically significant impact on technical efficiency.

Structural equation modelling of perception for sustainable agriculture as climate change mitigation strategy in Ghana

Background Ghana’s agriculture sector has contributed significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the past decades even though there has been persistent decline of about 12.8% in the last 7 years. It decreased from 31.8% in 2009 to merely 19% as of September 2015, a period of 7 years. In spite of these trends, sustainable agriculture has been observed to be a game changer in agricultural development and growth globally. Sustainable agriculture is partly dependent on the attitude of the present agriculture students who represent the potential officers to impart sustainable agriculture knowledge to farmers. It is therefore relevant to assess the perception of students toward the concept of sustainable agriculture on climate change to inform policy decisions and interventions. Methods To assess the perception of students’ toward sustainable agriculture, this study sampled 120 final year undergraduate students’ in the School of Agriculture at the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon. The study used a well-structured questionnaire to solicit students’ perception for sustainable agriculture, its’ adoption barriers and perceived strategies to address the barriers in Ghana. Results Findings indicated that students’ perception for sustainable agriculture is positive. Majority of the students (78.00%) were of the view that sustainable agricultural practices would help protect the environment and our natural resources, therefore could mitigate adverse effects of climate change on agricultural activities. Conclusions Students ranked perceived barriers to sustainable agriculture adoption as; economic costs, lack of knowledge and land tenure constraints. Strategic ways to address the barriers were identified as farmer-to-farmer education, provision of financial incentives, developing training and partnership programs, and participatory learning.

Technical Efficiency of Independent Oil Palm Smallholder In Indonesia

This study assesses technical efficiency and possible sources of inefficiency of independent smallholder oil palm production in Indonesia with stochastic frontier approach. The result show all the input variables is positively affect the oil palm production and exhibit decreasing returns to scale . The farmers have mean technical efficiency (TE) values 0.6541, however about 53 % farmers have TE above 0.70. Factors such as age of farmer, education, extension services, member of farmer group, land ownership and funding sources have a positive and significant effect on technical efficiency. It is suggested that by improving factors such as input used, education level, technical assistance on farming practice and accessibility to credit facilities should be increase the productivity and technical efficiency of oil palm production. The farmers who have plant over 30 years old, which the TE and productivity are the lowest values, should be thinking about replanting

HUBUNGAN VARIABEL PENDAPATAN PETANI ALIH GUNA LAHAN SAWAH KE KARET (Studi Kasus di Desa Nusaraya Kecamatan Belitang III) KABUPATEN OKU TIMUR

<p><em>Analysis of the Correlation between Factors Influencing Farmers' Income to Change the Function of Rice Fields to Rubber in Nusaraya Village, Belitang III District, OKU Timur Regency. The purpose of this study is (1) to identify the process of land conversion to rubber plants. (2) Calculate how much farmers' income after the conversion of rice fields to rubber plants. (3) Analyzing the level of closeness of the income relationship of farmers after transferring the function of paddy fields to rubber trees on factors that affect income. The method used in this research is the case study method, with data analysis using the Spearman Rank Correlation. Based on the results of research that has been done, the following conclusions can be drawn: (1) Identification of the process of changing the function of paddy fields to rubber plants in Nusaraya Village, Belitang III District, Ogan Komering Ulu Timur Regency is determined by the rubber price factor which is higher than the price of rice . (2) The average income of farmers who convert rice fields to rubber is higher because of the two commodities being cultivated, namely rice and rubber. (3) Factors that are highly correlated in influencing the income of the conversion of paddy fields to rubber plants, namely factors of income and amount of rubber production, income and area of rubber land, income and expenditure of farmers, amount of rice production and area of paddy land, amount of rubber production and rubber land area, the amount of rubber production and farmer expenditure, rubber land area and farmer expenditure, while the age of farmers and farmer education are very small correlated with farmers' income to change the function of rice fields to rubber plant.</em></p>