Report on application of SWAT model for soil conservation planning. A study was undertaken to evaluate the soil erosion parameters using semi-distributed
basin scale SWAT model in different watersheds of Chakwal and Attock districts. The
model was calibrated and validated for a small watershed without any soil conservation
structures. For this purpose four sub-catchments of Dhrabi watershed were selected and
model setup was done using Arc SWAT interface for each sub-catchment independently.

Despite the increasing acknowledgment of scholars and practitioners that many large-scale agricultural land acquisitions in developing countries fail or never materialize, empirical evidence about how and why they fail to date is still scarce. Too often, land deals are portrayed as straightforward investments and their success is taken for granted. Looking at the coffee sector in Laos, the authors of this article explore dimensions of the land grab debate that have not yet been sufficiently examined.

Cette journée de réflexion a été consacrée à la place de l’enjeu foncier en milieu rural dans les conflits civils contemporains dans les pays en développement. Elle a mobilisé le réseau élargi du Comité, avec plus d’une cinquantaine d’experts, de chercheurs et de décideurs venus contribuer au débat. Jean-Pierre Chauveau et Éric Léonard de l’IRD-Pôle foncier de Montpellier ont assuré le cadrage général et l’identification des principaux intervenants.[…]

The ‘region’ has increasingly become an entry point for inducing a transition towards sustainable food provision, environmental quality for living and recreation, and/or economic competitiveness. Regional projects and strategies have assembled politicians, entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, and researchers in joint endeavours, with ambitious names such as Food Valley, Energy Valley, Health Valley, or Greenports. This report labels such endeavours as ‘regional transitions’.

A feasibility study has been worked out for an integrated advisory system for precision agriculture on the production of forage (grass and maize) for dairy farming in the Netherlands. Technology is not restrictive anymore to apply precision agriculture on important cultivation measures. It is now about achieving an effective integration of sensor data, models, metrics and equipment in a comprehensive advice system. It has been advised how a practical advice system for operational decisions can be realized on the dairy farm in the foreseeable future (

Cette publication d’Options Méditerranéennes (OM) réunit les travaux du réseau Foncimed présentés au séminaire de Cargèse d’octobre 2011 et de Montpellier de juillet 2013. Foncimed est un réseau méditerranéen pluridisciplinaire et interinstitutionnel d'échanges et de comparaisons d'expériences sur la question foncière. Il fonctionne depuis 2007 animé conjointement par le CIHEAM-IAMM et l'INRA-SAD.

On the eve of independence from the Soviet Union, a process of destatization, promulgated into Soviet law in early 1990, was proceeding under Gorbachev’s leadership. Yet, significant shortcomings in vision, influenced by historical ideology and contemporary friction, mitigated the full development of private land ownership. Leasing of land from collective (Kolkhoze) and state (Sovkhoze) farms was legally permitted and proceeded accordingly.

Renato and Hecinta are raising six young
children in a rural area of Mozambique’s northern Nampula
Province. On just half a hectare, they grow rice, maize,
beans, cashew, peanuts, cabbage, and tomatoes, selling what
they can and eating the rest. But, like many of the 475
million smallholder household’s worldwide, agricultural
production is just one of their many income-generating
activities. They balance several sources of income, within

The growing availability of free or
inexpensive satellite imagery has inspired many researchers
to investigate the use of earth observation data for
monitoring economic activity around the world. One of the
most popular earth observation data sets is the so-called
nighttime lights from the Defense Meteorological Satellite
Program. Researchers have found positive correlations
between nighttime lights and several economic variables.