Introducing wild crops and plants complements intentions for improved biodiversity outcomes in agricultural landscapes; and provides opportunity for in-situ conservation of a diverse range of wild plants and crops, and improved connectivity between conserved areas. This opinion article considers definitions and common value of conserving wild crops and plants, and crop wild relatives, in-situ and ex-situ. Rewilding definitions and common uses for policy and practice are described. The Ecological Sensitivity within Human Realities (ESHR) concept was developed to guide human natural-environment interactions in agricultural systems and landscapes for improved functional biodiversity outcomes. It is used to assess possible appropriateness of rewilding for agricultural systems and landscapes. The assessment demonstrates how agricultural systems and landscapes are often excluded, despite appearing a useful term to encourage such conservation efforts. The importance of a more specific term rather than a more specific definition and use of rewilding is suggested. Agricultural wilding is introduced as a more specific term for introducing and conserving wild crops and plants for agricultural purposes, as wild productive systems, useful for policy or other approaches the guide human natural-environment interactions. The conceptual approach to the article provides theoretical suggestions for minimum proportions of wild crops and plants for wild productive systems according to native and non native landscapes. From a conceptual to applied discussion, relevance of agricultural wilding for coffee farming landscapes is explained in some depth, and for an existing biodiversity campaign and an EU agricultural policy, briefly.

Abstract Background Cannabis is one of humanity’s oldest crops with several uses, from food to clothing and medicine. It remains one of the most controversial crops whose production, possession, and usage are regulated differently across jurisdictions. Academic research and advocacy have resulted in the redefinition of the legal status of cannabis in several countries. Ghana recently reviewed its laws on cannabis, allowing for the cultivation of industrial hemp. The legislation paves the way for Ghana to benefit from industrial hemp and include it in the agricultural cash crop list. This paper looks at the economic prospects of industrial hemp in the wake of the new law. Methods A systematic electronic research was conducted to identify journal articles, reports, news, blogs, and other relevant materials on cannabis, marijuana, and industrial hemp. The electronic search was done primarily on Google, Google Scholar, Bing, and “Baidu Xueshi” to identify cannabis-related publications. The search was expanded beyond Ghana to find other perspectives on cannabis. The search began in January 2020 on Google using search terms like “cannabis in Ghana” and “which countries have legal cannabis.” Materials on history, financial prospects, industrial uses, and legislations on cannabis and industrial hemp were reviewed. Results Existing research on cannabis in Ghana has focused on the psychotic effects of cannabis other than its industrial aspects, which has potentials for the economy. Industrial hemp has CBD with no psychotic effects and is very useful in making medicine, paper, and textiles. Ghana has both the land and workforce to produce hemp to feed local industries and the international market. Conclusion The new legislation can put Ghana in a position to benefit from the current cannabis industry. Therefore, policymakers should implement a registration regime that would favor local investors and farmers to reduce illegal production. The regulatory framework should establish a well-equipped agency that will supervise production and research into hemp development.

Excerpt from the report: This publication is addressed to civic leaders who are interested in the establishment of manufacturing enterprises as a means of increasing local jobs and incomes. It is designed to help them determine whether an agricultural processing plant would be a practicable enterprise in their communities.

Fertilizers and manure applied to cropland to increase yields are often lost via surface erosion, soil leaching, and runoff, increasing nutrient loads in surface and sub-surface waters, degrading water quality, and worsening the ‘dead zone’ in the Gulf of Mexico. We leverage spatial and temporal variation in agricultural practices and precipitation events to examine how these factors affect stream total phosphorus (TP) concentrations and loads in the Sugar River (Wisconsin), recently listed as impaired. To perform our analysis, we first collected water quality data from 1995 to 2017 from 40 sites along the Sugar River and its tributaries. Starting in 2004, three dairy farms expanded to become concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in this watershed. We then estimated how time of year, stream position, discharge volume, and proximity to the newly expanded CAFOs affected TP concentrations and loads. Total P concentrations, which ranged from 0.02 to 1.4 mg/L and often exceeded the EPA surface water standard of 0.1 mg/L, increased with increases in stream discharge and proximity to dairy operations, peaking in early spring to mid-summer coincident with extreme precipitation events. Our empirical analysis also shows that TP concentrations downstream from the newly permitted CAFOs increased by 19% relative to upstream concentrations. When examining total daily phosphorus loads (concentration × discharge) from this 780 km² watershed, we found that loads ranged from 5.88 to 4801 kg. Compared to upstream TP loads, those downstream from the CAFOs increased by 91% after the expansions – over four times that of concentration increases – implying that the rate of downstream phosphorus transfer has increased due to CAFO expansion. Our results argue for standards that focus on loads rather than concentrations and monitoring that includes peak events. As agriculture intensifies and extreme rainfall events become more frequent, it becomes increasingly important to limit soil and TP runoff from manure and fertilizer. Siting CAFOs carefully, limiting their size, and improving farming practices in proximity to CAFOs in spring and early summer could considerably reduce nutrient loads.

With rapid urbanization, the negative external effects of urban agriculture have been gradually highlighted. A quantitative description of environmental loss is the precondition of environmental pollution control. Meanwhile, the scenario analysis settings based on model simulation and different control schemes have guiding significance for mitigating the current status of agricultural non-point source pollution (ANSP). In this study, we choose the Jinjiang River basin as the study area, and the denitrification decomposition (DNDC) model was used to simulate the nitrogen cycle in the paddy ecosystem and the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model was used with a nitrogen pollution load to construct the framework of risk assessment in agricultural nonpoint source pollution in ANSP. In addition, the best management practice (BMP) of agricultural nonpoint source pollution control was discussed. Our results are as follows: (1) The average annual soil erosion is 3161 t/km², which equates to moderate erosion. The average value of the nitrogen pollution load is 0.33 t/hm², and the total nitrogen loss load in the catchment is 1.66 × 10⁵ t/a. High-level risks are distributed on both sides of the river system. (2) Based on the scenario simulation of continuous cropping using traditional management practices (TMPs), the average loss of nitrogen leaching in 2030 is 67.74% higher than in 2017. (3) A comprehensive BMP with regional differences is proposed. Under the premise of guaranteeing the amount of nitrogen absorbed by crops, this scheme can reduce the nitrogen loss by about 40.72% in 2030. The current status of ANSP cannot be underestimated. Reasonable and differentiated measures to improve agricultural management can effectively alleviate the risks of nitrogen leaching from farmland.

Structural change is a cornerstone of long-term economic development, according to economic theory and as borne out by international experience. Urbanization and industrial growth are key features of structural change. Urbanization and industrialization helped fuel the remarkable acceleration of economic growth in East Asia and parts of Southeast Asia over the past half-century. However, strong agricultural productivity growth and agrarian change were also essential ingredients of these economic ‘miracles,’ particularly during the initial stages of rapid economic acceleration, or “take-off”. The Green Revolution, reforms of agricultural and rural institutions, and public investment in rural infrastructure have been critical factors in the economic take-off of early and late successful transformers. In subsequent stages, the industrial sector, and later the service sector became the dominant drivers of overall growth. But, economic acceleration also pushed agriculture and rural economies to deeper transformative change. The expansion of cities, rising incomes and other factors led to major changes in diets that require a more industrial organization of food systems. These processes have also been taking place in South Asia and less developed parts of Southeast Asia, although they began later and are moving at a slower pace. In India and other South Asian countries, structural impediments to development including land scarcity, water stress, and weak institutions, initially constrained agricultural growth and broader economic development. As some of these impediments were lifted faster growth was unleashed. Some of the lessons from East Asia may not apply to India and South Asia. However, certain patterns will likely remain the same. In all countries, agricultural employment will decline in importance, while that of non-farm segments of the agrifood system will rise along with urbanization, income growth and dietary change. Farm efficiency and rural employment opportunities are already increasingly influenced by what happens beyond the farmgate and by the relative strength of rural–urban linkages. However, countries in the early to intermediate stages of agricultural transformation face additional challenges. Land scarcity combined with continued population pressures have led to further fragmentation of landholdings and increasing stress on already degraded land and water resources. Countries that follow past development pathways will eventually run into environmental constraints. Likewise, while structural change has dramatically reduced poverty and undernourishment in Asia, dietary and food-system changes have created new malnutrition challenges: overweight and obesity are on the rise. Policies have been critical in determining the speed of agricultural transformations in Asia. Moving forward, the focus on promoting agricultural productivity growth will have to change. Policymakers must strike a balance. They must improve farm efficiency and food value-chain development. Yet, they must also reduce food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition, while preserving environmental sustainability. | PR | IFPRI4; Food Security Portal; CRP2; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies | MTID; PIM | CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

Forecasting mammal population dynamics can assist management to keep pest species at acceptable densities. We used 29-years of monthly monitoring Apodemus agrarius in cropland in Yuqing County, Guizhou Province, China to develop a Bayesian hierarchical model of trap catch data that was composed of observation (capture) and population sub-models. The aim was to empirically understand the effects of environmental variables (rain, temperature, and crop types) on the population dynamics, and then to use estimated parameters to predict population outbreaks at the site level before they occur. Our population models, which include variables of temperature and proportion cover of crop types, were able to forecast A. agrarius outbreaks 3 months in advance. The presence of trees had a negative impact on mouse density. The predictive strength of all models was better than using historical mean monthly trap catch data. The model that included the mean temperature for the 3-month period 4–6 months prior to the current month had the best predictive strength for A. agrarius density. The observation model revealed that the capture probability of mice in a given month increased with increasing rainfall. The forecasts can contribute to planning and deployment of control measures to avoid crop damage. The models indicate the population dynamics of this species could be affected by climate change, changes in the agricultural system, and combinations of both factors, which are consistent with global trends. This generic modelling approach can be adapted to predict likely trends in the density of other species, for which there are long-term monitoring data.

Excerpts from the Preface: This report is a compilation of selected references concerning agricultural rents in the United States and Great Britain. A list of sources consulted is supplied. However, it is realized that references may have been omitted either because the publications were not available or because their titles did not suggest that they contained information on the subject. Descriptive studies of prevailing rental practices are cited in the section, "Empirical Studies on Rent at the Firm Level." The primary intent of the bibliography is to serve as a reservoir of information for those who may have use for material pertaining to rent in theory and in practice. Such information may provide a valuable guide for further research on rent, and facilitate the exchange of ideas among researchers. It should also provide a basis for appraising the contributions to rent theory and analysis in specific areas of study that have been made over the last two centuries. No other such bibliography was found to exist. The bibliography is arranged by specific areas of rent analysis. Attention is focused on areas that have had the least development. This investigation was directed toward rent analyses and is only indirectly concerned with analyses of leases, land tenure, and land use.

Structural change is a cornerstone of long-term economic development, according to economic theory and as borne out by international experience. Urbanization and industrial growth are key features of structural change. Urbanization and industrialization helped fuel the remarkable acceleration of economic growth in East Asia and parts of Southeast Asia over the past half-century. However, strong agricultural productivity growth and agrarian change were also essential ingredients of these economic ‘miracles,’ particularly during the initial stages of rapid economic acceleration, or “take-off”. The Green Revolution, reforms of agricultural and rural institutions, and public investment in rural infrastructure have been critical factors in the economic take-off of early and late successful transformers. In subsequent stages, the industrial sector, and later the service sector became the dominant drivers of overall growth. But, economic acceleration also pushed agriculture and rural economies to deeper transformative change. The expansion of cities, rising incomes and other factors led to major changes in diets that require a more industrial organization of food systems. These processes have also been taking place in South Asia and less developed parts of Southeast Asia, although they began later and are moving at a slower pace. In India and other South Asian countries, structural impediments to development including land scarcity, water stress, and weak institutions, initially constrained agricultural growth and broader economic development. As some of these impediments were lifted faster growth was unleashed. Some of the lessons from East Asia may not apply to India and South Asia. However, certain patterns will likely remain the same. In all countries, agricultural employment will decline in importance, while that of non-farm segments of the agrifood system will rise along with urbanization, income growth and dietary change. Farm efficiency and rural employment opportunities are already increasingly influenced by what happens beyond the farmgate and by the relative strength of rural–urban linkages. However, countries in the early to intermediate stages of agricultural transformation face additional challenges. Land scarcity combined with continued population pressures have led to further fragmentation of landholdings and increasing stress on already degraded land and water resources. Countries that follow past development pathways will eventually run into environmental constraints. Likewise, while structural change has dramatically reduced poverty and undernourishment in Asia, dietary and food-system changes have created new malnutrition challenges: overweight and obesity are on the rise. Policies have been critical in determining the speed of agricultural transformations in Asia. Moving forward, the focus on promoting agricultural productivity growth will have to change. Policymakers must strike a balance. They must improve farm efficiency and food value-chain development. Yet, they must also reduce food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition, while preserving environmental sustainability.