Is the cost of producing genetically modified plants worth it for Swiss farmers? If the production of genetically modified (GM) plants was authorized in Switzerland, it is likely that costs would be driven up because of legislative measures. Given these conditions, would it be worthwhile for Swiss farmers to cultivate GM plants side by side with traditional varieties? Background If GM and conventional plant varieties were to be grown alongside one another, farmers would have to ensure along the whole production chain that seeds and products do not mix. This would entail a series of technical and administrative measures whose cost has so far not been accurately determined. Objectives The project's goal is to determine the costs at every production stage and for each farm of letting GM and traditional crops grow side by side. It also aims to determine the importance of neighbouring farms' reactions. With this analysis, it should be possible to estimate if and under which conditions the introduction of GM plants in the agricultural sector is worthwhile. Methods Farms from a selected representative test area in Canton Geneva lie at the heart of the complex analysis. The costs linked to the production of GM plants for each farm will be estimated first: these can include work time (for example for the clearing of vehicles or of storage areas) as well as changes to the way the farm is run (establishing a buffer zone around GM crops, for example). In a second stage, these extra costs will be compared with the profits farmers expect from GM plant production. The farmers will then be able to decide individually if and under which conditions they would be prepared to commit to GM crops. Based on all their decisions, it should be possible to determine how much arable land would be turned over to GM plants. The results from the test region will then be extrapolated to all of Switzerland. This will allow for a cost-benefit analysis for each farm, given that if more GM crops are planted, the related costs will drop. Significance The results could play a major role in the political decision process leading to the possible authorization of GM crops in Swiss agriculture.
Water, soil, air and genetic resources are the four major natural resources that society depends upon for food, clothing, shelter, and medicament. The sustainable use and conservation of biological resources is a topical research, conservation and development issue. Ethiopia is among the economically poor countries but still rich in biological diversity. Even though the country has an enormous genetic resource stock, the diversity is dwindling due to technologyinduced incentive forces. Among the different ex situ and in situ options for conserving these resources, conservation on farmers fields has recently received a considerable attention by governments, NGOs and the international community. Many issues regarding its implementation are yet unknown though. Since farmers are the major actors in on-farm conservation, their contribution to crop diversity and the role of diversity to their livelihoods have to be understood. Hence, the principal objectives of the study are to: - examine the farm household related contextual factors motivating farmers to diversify on local varieties; - study farmers variety attribute preferences and examine their demand forlocal varieties; and - quantify the opportunity costs of growing local varieties and analyze thecontextual factors affecting the opportunity costs. To address its objectives, the study uses household survey data from Ethiopia concerning coffee, sorghum and wheat. It examines the above objectives using a variety of microeconomic theories (like the characteristic model, the random utility theory, theory of impure public goods, and the theory of joint production) and econometric techniques (like poisson regression, multinomial logit and switching regression). The results show that local varieties are maintained de facto mainly by poor, subsistent and marginalized farmers with limited access to markets, roads, and extension. Farmers multiple concerns, yield insurance considerations, land heterogeneity, relative importance of sorghum and coffee, and labor endowment have been found to be the most important factors promoting the use of multiple varieties of local varieties. On the contrary, farmers experience in improved varieties is found to be detaching the link between de facto on-farm conservation and household livelihood strategies. The attribute preference analysis shows that farmers in more accessible (to markets and road) areas with less income-shock vulnerability conserve high yielding and marketable varieties de facto. On the contrary, varieties with more stable yield and environmentally adaptable features are most demanded by farmers with higher income-shock vulnerability found in less accessible localities. usw.
Mit dem Anbau von Energie- und Industriepflanzen soll eine sinnvolle Nutzung gefährdeter Flächen erreicht werden. Die Untersuchungen erstrecken sich im Einzelnen auf die Problemfelder: - hochwassergefährdete Zonen (Überflutungsflächen) - Erosionsrinnen und Verminderung von Bodeneintrag in Gewässer - Nutzung geogen mit Schwermetallen belasteter Flächen - Anbau von Topinambur und Energiehirse zur stofflichen und energetischen Nutzung für leichte Standorte Sachsens Durch diese pflanzenbaulichen Vorsorgestrategien wird gleichzeitig ein Beitrag zur Erfüllung der Klimaschutzziele in Sachsen geleistet. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass schnellwachsende Baumarten und Gräser mehrtägige Überflutungen gut überstehen und auch auf belasteten Flächen anbauwürdig sind. Das Erntegut kann hier im Non-Food-Sektor wirtschaftlich verwertet werden.
Umfassende technologische Entwicklung von Farbstoffen aus nachwachsenden Rohstoffen von der Pflanzen- und Saatgutauswahl bis zu anwendungsfähigen, marktreifen Produkten Ziel des Forschungs- und Entwicklungsvorhabens ist es, die Färbepflanzentechnologie von der Pflanzenauswahl, über Anbau, Ernte, Lagerung und Aufarbeitung bis zu technisch einsetzbaren Farbstoffen, soweit marktreif zu entwickeln, daß sowohl Landwirtschaft als auch Industrie in den Produktions- und Verarbeitungsprozeß von Farbstoffen aus hier wachsenden Pflanzen einsteigen können. Das Forschungs- und Entwicklungsvorhaben ist deshalb als eindeutig umsetzungs- und anwendungsorientiert zu charakterisieren. Der Schwerpunkt liegt zunächst auf der Entwicklung von Farbstoffen für den Textilbereich. Großer Wert wird gelegt auf die Entwickling und Anwendung umwelt- und gewässerschonender Extraktionsverfahren.
Objective: Vegetable oils are among the most prominent biological raw materials for non food uses at the moment: The world production of natural fats and oils amounts to 96 million tons. Around 12 million tons are used in different non-food applications, such as surfactants, lubricants, paints, coatings or biofuels. In Western Europe, official and industrial sources estimate that between 1,7 and 2,7 million tons of natural fats and oils are used in the chemical-technical sector. The European Union is one of the main oilseed producers and crushers in the world. Non-food production on set-aside land amounted to 650.000 ha oilseeds in 1996. The European Commission and several Member States have realized the importance of this sector and support research and development activities in the whole production and processing chain of vegetable oils. However, European vegetable oils have only a minor share of the current industrial utilisation To find new market outlets for these oils in existing and new applications, requires a better co-ordination of research efforts and more exchange of information on a European level. This project has the following objectives: 1. Linkage of R&D activities on national and EU level related to the production and utilisation of vegetable oils in the chemical-technical sector. 2. Identification of industrial needs in this sector, in an effort to increase the utilisation of European vegetable oils in established and new applications. 3. Determination of ecological benefits of vegetable oil based products, in relation to petrochemical products. 4. Definition of future research needs in the field of chemical-technical utilisation of vegetable oils. The major means to achieve the objectives will be sectoral workshops, including experts from all European countries, as well as coordinators from relevant EU and nationally funded projects. The following sector groups, consisting of experts from universities, research institutes and industry, are envisaged: - New applications for vegetable oils (e.g. Plastics). - Valorisation of by-products, especially glycerol. - Genetic engineering, biotechnology and industrial oilseed crops. Results of these workshops will be published as working papers. In addition, the project will be promoted on Internet and linked with other EU funded networks, such as NF-2000 and IENICA.
General Information: Objectives - To develop a technically practical and economically feasible technology for the bioremediation of heavy metal contaminated land using biomass fuel crops - To develop and test the environmental credentials of a closed loop system using biomass fuel crops to remove heavy metals from contaminated land, separation of the heavy metals into the smallest ash fraction during combustion for energy production allowing recovery and reuse of the metals and recycling of the wood ash as a fertiliser at the site of wood production. - To facilitate the breeding of biomass fuel crops specifically for the decontamination of heavy metal contaminated land through the characterisation of heavy metal uptake by a wide number of clones and the development of a rapid screening technique for inclusion in a breeding programme. - To modify and test the environmental assessment tools, LCA and EIA specifically for use for contaminated land and thereby provide a through assessment of the environmental consequences at local and global scale of the use of bioremediation technology. - To develop a computer based tool for use by local government planning officers, land developers, industry and regulatory agencies in the planning and execution of bioremediation of contaminated land. Project outline: Land on the urban fringe can be contaminated with heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, arsenic and zinc as a result of industrial activity, posing a risk both to human health and the environment and restricting the use to which the land may be put. Remediation of contamination may be possible by chemical treatment but this is highly expensive and seldom undertaken for large areas suffering from low level contamination. Biomass fuel crops take up and tolerate, to a greater or lesser degree, heavy metals into their harvestable parts. Technology is being developed which allows almost total recovery of that metal in the smallest ash Fraction during combustion for energy production, minimising releases to the atmosphere and permitting beneficial recycling of bottom ash. Expansion of the adoption of biomass fuels is being limited by competition with other uses of agricultural land. Industrially contaminated land is low value and utilised; fuel production on these site represents an opportunity to remediate or stabilise contaminants, gain economic return from the land, stimulate employment in areas of industrial decline and accelerate the market penetration of biomass fuels. Project elements: - Screening and breeding of woody and gramineceous biomass fuel crops for heavy metal take up and metal tolerance. - Development of soil treatments to increase the bioavailable fraction of metals present. - Characterisation and evaluation of parameters controlling fractionation of metals is ash during combustion. - Thorough LCA and EIA of remediation by the proposed bioremediation technology. ... Prime Contractor: WRC plc; Marlow-Buckinghamshire; UK.
Das Ziel des Vorhabens ist die Entwicklung von Industriepflanzen mit Hilfe der Biotechnologie, welche eine preiswerte und umweltschonende Produktion von Cyclodextrinen als nachwachsende Rohstoffe auf keimenden Gerstenkörnern unter Verwendung der industriellen Mälzungstechnologie ermöglichen soll. Das neue Produktionsverfahren verwendet bestimmte Gene, die unter keimungsspefizischer Regulation mittels der biolistischen Transformationsmethode in Gerstenpflanzen eingebracht werden. Die Konversion der Gerstenstärke in Cyclodextrine soll im Korn selbst durch den gesteuerten Keimungsvorgang während des Vermälzungsprozesses erfolgen.Bei der Weissheimer Forschung wurde im Projektverlauf die Agrobakterien-vermittelte Gerstentransformation etabliert. Es konnten in Vorversuchen über 100 unabhängige fertile Gerstenlinien mit verschiedenen Reportergenen erzeugt werden. Transgene Gerstenpflanzen, die im Genom das Gen der Cyclodextrin-Glykosyltransferase aus Bacillus macerans enthalten, konnten nur mit deutlich geringerer Effizienz erzeugt werden. In den Körnern mindestens einer Linie konnte ein Genprodukt verifiziert werden, welches im SDS-PAGE die gleiche Mobilität aufwies wie die Cyclodextrin-Glykosyltransferase aus Bacillus macerans und mit spezifischen Antikörpern gegen dieses Enzym markiert werden konnte. Die erzeugten transgenen Gerstenlinien werden im Gewächshaus vermehrt, um das rekombinante Protein zu isolieren und auf seine Aktivität hin zu untersuchen.
Alternativen zur Stillegung von Flaechen durch Anbau von Industriepflanzen oder Gruenbrache zur Landschaftsgestaltung.
Vom Februar 1991 bis Juni 1993 ist in der Bundesrepublik eine Technikfolgenabschaetzung durchgefuehrt worden, die erstmals nach dem Modell eines 'runden Tisches' organisiert war. Ueber 50 Vertreter aus Industrie, Umweltverbaenden, Behoerden und Wissenschaft haben gemeinsam versucht, die Risiken und Chancen herbizidresistenter Pflanzen in der Landwirtschaft abzuschaetzen. Die Beteiligten haben insgesamt ueber 10 Tage miteinander diskutiert; 18 wissenschaftliche Gutachten wurden vergeben und ausgewertet. Die Gutachten und die Verhandlungen des Verfahrens, in denen die sachlichen Kontroversen und die unterschiedlichen politischen Wertungen der Beteiligten dargestellt sind, werden vom Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin herausgegeben.
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