Production of the Persian lime (Citrus latifolia tanaka) has been the main objective of several studies related to the problem of low performance of yield and fruit quality in the orchard, attributed among different technological factors to the minimal application of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and to the cultural aspects of the producer. This paper contributes to the recognition of the behavior patterns of GAP for seasonal orchard (SO), to allow the Persian lime producers to make the right decisions assessing and improving the management of their orchards. To identify the behavior patterns in the Persian lime production process an expert system (ES) based on fuzzy logic proposed by Fernández et al. (2014) has been used, in which a set of inference rules based on the knowledge of experts in this field is encoded to explain the interrelationship of the agricultural practices and uncertainties in the production of Persian lime: Pruning, Soil nutrition, Pests Control, Planting density, Tree production, Wind, Rainfall. The ES simulates from agricultural practices and uncertainties, the Persian lime production system in three stages of fruit growth, which represent the fuzzy models of the ES: flowering, bud, and fruit. The manipulation of the agricultural practices in the ES allowed to model production scenarios for SO of Persian lime, and helped to identify behavior patterns in these practices with production yield and fruit quality. The results demonstrate that if prior to fertilization, the practice of "pruning" the tree is performed, orchard productivity increases. However, when the "pruning" (aesthetics or stressful) is performed less than 50mmmonth-1 of rain, even in optimal conditions of application of nutrients and pest control, the production yield is similar. The modeling scenarios of the ES provide information regarding behavior patterns to the producer, and the interrelation of agricultural practices in uncertain environments of rain and wind in order to improve the decision-making process in Persian lime production.
In this publication, the four authors provide several solution directions to shape that transition to a new, sustainable agricultural system. With a different relationship between food production and nature and the environment. It is the - necessary - basis for a good agricultural agreement. And the way to work towards a sustainable future for our agricultural sector and food system.
MULTIFILE
Agricultural by-products, that is primary residue, industrial by-products and animal manure, are an important source of nutrients and carbon for maintaining soil quality and crop production but can also be valorised through treatment pathways such as fermentation, incineration or a combination of these called bio-refinery. Here, we provide an overview of opportunity to reduce environmental impact of valorising agricultural by-products. We estimate the available by-products in Northwestern Europe as a case study and the maximum and realistic greenhouse gas reduction potentials. Availability, collectability, the original use and environmental impact including land use changes, soil carbon sequestration and pollution swapping are discussed as critical factors when valorising agricultural by-products.
MULTIFILE
In June 2016, two Dutch SME companies which are active in the area of urban solid waste management approached the International Environmental Sciences department of Avans about the current R&D activities on urban solid waste management in cooperation with the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) Brazil. The companies had interest in developing activities in Brazil, since they are aware of the great potential for exporting both knowledge and technology. Solid waste poses a major problem in Brazil which affects 200 million residents. The Brazilian municipalities collect around 71 million tons solid municipal waste on a yearly basis and only a tiny percentage of this collected waste gets recycled. As such. the overwhelming majority of the collected urban solid waste goes to landfills. Within the State of Minas Gerais there are 850 towns of which 600 have less than 20.000 residents and are agriculturally oriented. Current organic waste composting practices take place under very poor conditions (pathogens and weeds still remain in the compost) and most often the resulting compost product is not well received by its residential and agricultural consumers. As such there is huge room for improvement. The SME companies work with Avans and UFMG to address these challenges. The joint research team consisting of the two Dutch SME companies and the two Research and educational institutes have defined the following research question: What is the current status of organic solid waste management in Minas Gerais and how can cooperation between Brazil and the Netherlands result in a win-win for both countries? Two individual KIEM VANG proposals have been defined in order to address these challenges. The planned activities are a joint effort with professor R. T. de Vasconcelos Barros of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) and are executed within the Living Lab Biobased Brazil program (www.biobasedbrazil.org).
In line with the ‘Natuur- en milieubeleidsplan Caribisch Nederland 2020-2030 (NMBP)’ the consortium intends with this research proposal to contribute to a prosperous society with a resilient population and healthy natural environment. The Caribbean Netherlands are dealing with a situation where imported vegetables and fruits are mostly imported and hardly affordable. This leads to consuming unhealthy food and high obesities rates as a consequence. A lack of good agricultural practices with regard to water-smart and nature inclusive agriculture, as well as limited coping capacities to deal with hazards and climate change, results in very limited local production and interest. Initiatives that focused only on agrotechnological solutions for food resilient futures turned out to be ineffective due to a lack of local ownership, which jeopardizes sustainability. Moreover, the ‘green’ and ‘blue’ domains are not seen as attractive career perspectives among youth, hampering a bright future for those domains. The aim of this research is to contribute to water-smart and nature inclusive food resilience embedded in a local participatory perspective in the Caribbean Netherlands. To address the above challenges, a living lab approach is adopted, where youth will be trained as (co)-facilitators (WP1) who will contribute to a participatory envisioning process and an articulation of food resilient futures (WP2). Finally, based on the envisioning process local stakeholders will select and implement experiments for food resilient futures followed by dissemination of results among key stakeholders as well as children and youth at the BES islands (WP3). This project strategy will lead to a network of a living lab where professionals and youth work together on food resilient futures. Training manuals and the results of experiments with regard to water and food system alternatives will be used actively to encourage youth to be involved in sustainable agriculture and consumption.
In het kader van het Hoogwaterbeschermingsprogramma (HWBP) neemt de vraag naar klei voor het versterken van dijken toe, echter is het aanbod beperkt. Dit voorstel richt zich op ontwikkelen van nieuwe duurzame en kosteneffectieve technieken die het mogelijk maken om zout sediment uit estuaria in te kunnen zetten voor de dijkversterkingsopgave. Gebiedseigen materiaal, met name het zoute slib, kan worden ingezet voor klei productie in lokale dijkverzwaring en draagt bij aan duurzaam grondstoffenverbruik, klimaatadaptatie en de ecologische kwaliteit van estuaria. Met het project “Ontzouten rijpend slib voor Deltabescherming” gaan het lectoraat Sustainable River Management van de HAN, Ecoshape, Netics in samenwerking met partijen verenigd in het interbestuurlijk project IBP-VLOED onderzoeken hoe zout slib (kosten)effectief kan worden ontdaan van het zout, zodat het gebruikt kan worden in de regionale dijkversterkingsopgave. In IBP-Vloed zijn alle relevante nationale en regionale (semi)overheden, kennisinstellingen en belangenorganisaties vertegenwoordigd die zich richten op hergebruik van slib uit het Eems-Dollard estuarium. Beoogd wordt om een geschikte kosteneffectieve en schaalbare ontzoutingsmethode (strategie) te ontwikkelen die rekening houdt met de samenhang van de governing parameters en de heterogeniteit in samenstelling en structuur van het zoute slib uit estuaria zoals het Eems-Dollard gebied. De resultaten worden gepresenteerd tijdens een workshop en gebundeld in de vorm van best practices.
