There are millions of hectares of land in the Ukraine which either have been abandoned, or are farmed with a low land productivity due to severe land degradation. The Netherlands Embassy has requested a study to assess the opportunities and benefits of restoration of degraded steppe areas. The goal of this project is the restoration of degraded land and to develop more sustainable land use with a higher biodiversity. Innovative farming systems are proposed which are both economically and environmentally sustainable agricultural production systems.

In de Albrandswaard wordt de komende jaren door de provincie Zuid-Holland een natuur- en recreatiegebied van ongeveer 600 ha in omvang ontwikkeld, getiteld 'Landschapspark Buytenland'. Dit in het kader van de PKB Mainport ontwikkeling Rotterdam. De provincie Zuid-Holland heeft nu aan LEI, Alterra en CLM gevraagd om enkele bedrijfsconcepten te ontwikkelen voor 'natuurakkers'. Het gaat hierbij om de concepten voor het samengaan van akkerbouw en natuur onder regie van de akkerbouwer.

A survey that gathered information about farm structure, grazing system, feeding and reproductive management was conducted in 181 farms. Parda de Montaña is the main breed regarding cows (92.4%), heifers (95,3%) and calves (84,1%). Bulls belong to Parda de Montaña (65%) breed but also Limusine, Charolaise and Blonde d'Aquitaine. Farms had an average size of 53.6 cows. Feeding depends largely on grazing in different forage resources, from June to October in high mountain ranges, in spring and autumn in natural meadows and forage crops.

Surveys were conducted to 141 farmers registered in the FERPAM at Asturias (A), Cantabria (C) and Castilla and Leon (CL) regions, with the aim to know animal production system characteristics. Racial diversity was high (57.4% of the cows are "Parda de Montaña" (PM) and the 25.2% are cross with other breeds) and only 24.1% of farms have PM pure-breed animals. The average herd size was 32.1 cows in A, 35.3 in C and 64.6 in CL. The 95% of farms are located in mountain areas. The animals are kept indoors 3.7 months/year, as average. The average age of calves weaning was 5.8 months.

8 flocks of Ojinegra ewes (n=5634) were studied during a productive cycle (2007-2008) in Teruel (Spain), a low-mountain dry and harsh area. Ojinegra ewes belong to a local breed, of small-medium size, reared under a semi-extensive system of management. Throughout three seasons (autumn, winter and spring) weight and BCS of 5634 ewes at lambing and weaning were recorded and 5786 lambs were weighed fortnightly form birth to weaning. Season had a significant (p>0.01) effect on weight and BCS of ewes and on lambs average daily gain.

ABSTRACTED FROM INTRODUCTION: This paper traces the implications of key agrarian transformations −particularly the reforms in land policy and emerging land relations− for livelihood security and vulnerability. Part of a broader societal transformation and globalization of economies, these new development trajectories include commercialization of farmers’ produce, contract farming, cooperative sector reform, rising landlessness and tenant farming, and the end of exclusive dependence on land for earning a living.

Een verkennend onderzoek naar de ruimtelijke impact van multifunctionele landbouw (MFL) op het landschap. De analyse richt zich op de fysieke veranderingen in het landschap als gevolg van MFL en de factoren achter de ontwikkeling van MFL. De sturende factoren zijn te verdelen in omgevingsfactoren, ondernemersfactoren en overheidsfactoren. Het onderzoek behelst een literatuurstudie, een regionale analyse en aan de hand van interviews en veldbezoeken zijn 4 casestudie gebieden onder de loep genomen. Dit zijn: Gelderse vallei, Walcheren, Bellingwolde en Waterland.

Deze quickscan onderzoekt of en hoe het voor bestaande melkveehouders aantrekkelijk kan zijn om deels − of geheel − over te schakelen op rietteelt. Het concept is bedoeld om de overstap aantrekkelijk te maken naar ‘natte landbouw’ in (landbouw)gebieden die vernatten. Wanneer wordt het interessant om over te stappen op rietteelt in een gebied waar de traditionele landbouw niet meer kan ondernemen

In het gebied Heemskerkerduin en Noorddorp is onduidelijkheid over de toekomst. Vorig jaar moest het bestemmingsplan herzien worden. Werkgroep ‘Van Duin tot Dorp’ merkte dat er veel onrust heerst bij de tuinders over de toekomst van het Heemskerkerduin en Noorddorp. De werkgroep heeft daarom in 2008 contact gelegd met de Wetenschapswinkel Wageningen UR met de vraag advies en onafhankelijk onderzoek te doen naar de toekomst en inrichting van het gebied. Allereerst hebben de onderzoekers van LEI vanuit bestaande data bestanden gekeken naar de economische vitaliteit van het gebied.

The Agriculture Strategic Development Plan is a national policy with a multi-sectoral approach. The Timeframe of this Plan is 3 years between 2010 and 2012.

The issue of climate change was already being discussed in the 1980s as scientists raised alarm over the world's increasing emission of manmade green house gases (GHGs), the main cause of global warming. In 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), began to look into the effects of manmade GHG emissions on climate change. Following the release of the IPCC findings in 1990, the United Nations initiated the process of convening countries with the goal of reducing man-made GHG emissions and helping countries adapt to climate change.

ABSTRACTED FROM INTRODUCTION: Lao PDR is the least densely populated country in Asia and has long been remote and isolated from the rest of the continent. This role has only recently begun to change. The geographic location of Laos between the booming economies of Thailand, Vietnam, and China has led to the perception of Laos as a potential crossroads of the tightly integrated GMS an organization promoting trade, tourism, and development between countries through which the Mekong River runs. However, this is a role it has been somewhat reluctant to accept.