The rainfall pattern in the Sahel is very erratic with a high spatial variability. We tested the often reported hypothesis that the dispersion of farmers' fields around the village territory helps mitigate agro-climatic risk by increasing yield stability from year to year. We also wished to evaluate whether this strategy had an effect on the yield disparity among households in a village. Based on a network of approximately 60 rain gauges spread over 500km² in the Fakara region (Southwest Niger), daily rainfall was interpolated at 300m×300m resolution over a 12-year period.

Using a nationally representative survey of 263 farm operators in Ireland, this study develops a typology of private forest landowners' objectives for forest ownership. It is important to understand farmers' forest ownership objectives as this will enhance economic analysis in general, but also to formulate more effective policies that take into account the range of motivational profiles of landowners. Using principal component analysis, three core motivations for forest ownership are identified representing economic, lifestyle and multifunctional benefits.

Biomass will play a role in the UK meeting EU targets on renewable energy use. Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) and miscanthus are potential biomass feedstocks; however, supply will rely on farmer willingness to grow these crops. Despite attractive crop establishment grants for dedicated energy crops (DECs) in the UK, uptake remains low. Drawing on results from an on-farm survey with 244 English arable farmers, 81.6% (87.7%) of farmers would not consider growing miscanthus (SRC), while respectively, 17.2% (11.9%) would consider growing and 1.2% (0.4%) were currently growing these crops.

Despite continued efforts to eradicate black‐backed jackals (Canis mesomelas), they are considered an abundant mesopredator on agricultural land across South Africa, resulting in ongoing human–wildlife conflict and concern for farmers and wildlife managers. We conducted a questionnaire survey and semi‐formal interviews with farmers throughout KwaZulu‐Natal, examining farmers’ livestock husbandry, land‐use changes and perspectives towards jackals as a perceived threat to livestock.

This paper investigates how farm-households would dispose of farms following a decision by the farm-household to exit from farming, and in particular when a decision is made to sell the land The paper builds on data from a survey of stated intentions carried out in 9 EU countries at the beginning of 2009, using a probit Heckman model, where the model is applied to explain stated intentions to sell land in the case of farm-households that have decided to exit from farming activities, under two extreme Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) scenarios.

There are many different images of the livestock industry and many persons are unhappy with the outcome of the market process. Instead of explaining why the market leads to the current outcomes, it is wise to be prepared that politics will rearrange the property rights in order to produce different outcomes of the market mechanism. In this essay, I show that there are market processes that contribute to a more sustainable way of farming, and that these processes can be reinforced. There are also unsustainable public policies that can be liberalized.

Agriculture and animal husbandry are important contributors to global emissions of greenhouse (GHG) and acidifying gases. Moreover, they contribute to water pollution and to consumption of non-renewable natural resources such as land and energy. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology allows evaluation of the environmental impact of a process from the production of inputs to the final product and to assess simultaneously several environmental impact categories among which GHG emissions, acidification, eutrophication, land use and energy use.

Land degradation in the Little Karoo is extensive. Overstocking of breeding ostriches on natural veld has been among the main causes of this. The National Department of Agriculture has set a general stocking rate of 60 ha LSU ⁻¹ as a guideline for livestock on natural veld in the Little Karoo, which equates to 22.8 ha ostrich ⁻¹.

Understanding agricultural ecosystems and their complex interactions with the environment is important for improving agricultural sustainability and environmental protection. Developing the necessary understanding requires approaches that integrate multi-source geospatial data and interdisciplinary relationships at different spatial scales. In order to identify and delineate landscape units representing relatively homogenous biophysical properties and eco-environmental functions at different spatial scales, a hierarchical system of uniform management zones (UMZ) is proposed.

Changes affecting livestock farming systems have made farm work a central concern for both the sector and for farmers themselves. Increased pressure on farms to be competitive and productive together with farmers’ demand for greater autonomy, holidays or time to spend on private activities and the family converge to underline the two key dimensions of work – productivity and flexibility – required for the assessment of work organization.

Numerous agro-environmental indicators have been developed to assess the impact of farming systems on biodiversity. They can be combined into logistic models for predicting the presence of species of ecological interest. In general, several models are available for a given species and their practical value depends on their accuracy and the cost of measurement of their input variables.