Does access to improved grain storage technology increase farmers' welfare? Experimental evidence from maize farming in Ethiopia

Hugo De Groote Bart Minten (2024, [Artículo])

Seasonal price variability for cereals is two to three times higher in Africa than on the international reference market. Seasonality is even more pronounced when access to appropriate storage and opportunities for price arbitrage are limited. As smallholder farmers typically sell their production after harvest, when prices are low, this leads to lower incomes as well as higher food insecurity during the lean season, when prices are high. One solution to reduce seasonal stress is the use of improved storage technologies. Using data from a randomised controlled trial, in a major maize-growing region of Western Ethiopia, we study the impact of hermetic bags, a technology that protects stored grain against insect pests, so that the grain can be stored longer. Despite considerable price seasonality—maize prices in the lean season are 36% higher than after harvesting—we find no evidence that hermetic bags improve welfare, except that access to these bags allowed for a marginally longer storage period of maize intended for sale by 2 weeks. But this did not translate into measurable welfare gains as we found no changes in any of our welfare outcome indicators. This ‘near-null’ effect is due to the fact that maize storage losses in our study region are relatively lower than previous studies suggested—around 10% of the quantity stored—likely because of the widespread use of an alternative to protect maize during storage, for example a cheap but highly toxic fumigant. These findings are important for policies that seek to promote improved storage technologies in these settings.

Hermetic Storage Randomised Controlled Trial CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA STORAGE PILOT FARMS SEASONALITY WELFARE MAIZE

Gráfica de protesta: PuntosB, Lapiztola y La Guillotina. Un análisis entre el cuerpo y el espacio en la imagen de protesta

Jorge Gabriel Ortiz Leroux (2023, [Capítulo de libro])

Capítulo número 5 de la Sección Imágenes y representaciones.

El objetivo del presente texto es el de mostrar como la obra emanada de colectivos de análisis del espacio social de la protesta, permite reconocer las claves que relacionan al espacio con los actores que lo ocupan. Asimismo, se pretende abordar cómo el conflicto que se interpone entre los actores de la protesta define sus magnitudes y reelabora sus disposiciones y sus formas de entrecruzamiento en relación con la presencia de la imagen. Asimismo, la representación imaginaria y visual del espacio permite ver a la ciudad como un laboratorio, que puede también ser registrado, interpretado y resituado respecto a los discursos hegemónicos. Los proyectos visuales que aquí abordamos representan un trabajo que a través de los años ha expresado su visión sobre las realidades sociales y políticas de nuestro país, en las que el conflicto aparece como telón de fondo de la creación e interpretación visual de esas realidades. La interacción entre política y estética tiene como escenario el espacio público y la ciudad, que fungen como trasfondo para la expresión de formas imaginarias y que conforman en sí mismas el sentido de los reclamos y las transformaciones gestadas. Mirando a la ciudad, observamos sus cambios y las formas de relación, cada vez más complejas, que se viven en ella.

Public spaces--Social aspects--Mexico. Dissident art. Protest movements--Mexico--Posters. Graphic arts--Political aspects--Mexico. Political posters, Mexican--20th century. Espacios públicos -- México. Arte disidente. Movimientos de protesta. Carteles políticos mexicanos. HT185 HUMANIDADES Y CIENCIAS DE LA CONDUCTA CIENCIAS DE LAS ARTES Y LAS LETRAS TEORÍA, ANÁLISIS Y CRÍTICA DE LAS BELLAS ARTES

Mapas y esferas que redibujaron el mundo: el arribo de Cristóbal Colón a Cipango

JUAN ANTONIO LAVIADA (2023, [Capítulo de libro])

Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (México). Unidad Azcapotzalco. División de Ciencias y Artes para el Diseño. Departamento de Evaluación del Diseño en el Tiempo. Área de Estudios Urbanos.

Desde su arribo a las islas, Colón estaba convencido de estar en las cercanías de Cipango, nada parecía convencerlo de lo contrario; todo lo que observa lo interpreta desde su convicción de estar en Asia. En el primer apartado de este capítulo se intentará demostrar tomando como referencia los escritos del propio Cristóbal Colón que éste consultó cartas de navegación, esferas e incluso tenía la firme intención de realizar una carta de navegación con el fin de mostrar la ubicación de Cipango. El segundo apartado refiere al hecho de que la única fuente documental sobre Cipango de la cual se tenía noticia dependía exclusivamente de narraciones de Marco Polo y se debatirá si Colón conoció o no dichos relatos.

Cartography--America--History. America--Discovery and exploration. Columbus, Christopher--Influence. Cartografía -- Historia. GA401 CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO GEOGRAFÍA CARTOGRAFÍA GEOGRÁFICA

Populismo y democracia. Proximidad y lejanía

ROBERTO GARCIA JURADO (2023, [Artículo])

"La caída del Muro de Berlín en 1989 fue un acontecimiento mundial significativo, con importantes implicaciones en todos los campos de la vida social, en especial en el de la política. Parecía señalar el triunfo indiscutible de la ideología y las instituciones democráticas, tal y como se les entendía en el mundo occidental. Además, sea entreveía la consolidación definitiva de las llamadas democracias occidentales, que habían sobrevivido a la fuerte crisis económica de los años setenta, así como a todas sus secuelas sociales y políticas de los ochenta".

CIENCIAS SOCIALES CIENCIA POLÍTICA SISTEMAS POLÍTICOS SISTEMAS POLÍTICOS: AREA AMERICANA SISTEMAS POLÍTICOS: AREA AMERICANA

Nitrogen fertilizer application alters the root endophyte bacterial microbiome in maize plants, but not in the stem or rhizosphere soil

Alejandra Miranda Carrazco Yendi Navarro-Noya Bram Govaerts Nele Verhulst Luc Dendooven (2022, [Artículo])

Plant-associated microorganisms that affect plant development, their composition, and their functionality are determined by the host, soil conditions, and agricultural practices. How agricultural practices affect the rhizosphere microbiome has been well studied, but less is known about how they might affect plant endophytes. In this study, the metagenomic DNA from the rhizosphere and endophyte communities of root and stem of maize plants was extracted and sequenced with the “diversity arrays technology sequencing,” while the bacterial community and functionality (organized by subsystems from general to specific functions) were investigated in crops cultivated with or without tillage and with or without N fertilizer application. Tillage had a small significant effect on the bacterial community in the rhizosphere, but N fertilizer had a highly significant effect on the roots, but not on the rhizosphere or stem. The relative abundance of many bacterial species was significantly different in the roots and stem of fertilized maize plants, but not in the unfertilized ones. The abundance of N cycle genes was affected by N fertilization application, most accentuated in the roots. How these changes in bacterial composition and N genes composition might affect plant development or crop yields has still to be unraveled.

Bacterial Community Structure DArT-Seq Bacterial Community Functionality Genes Involved in N Cycling CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES MAIZE RHIZOSPHERE STEMS NITROGEN FERTILIZERS

Biofortification to avoid malnutrition in humans in a changing climate: Enhancing micronutrient bioavailability in seed, tuber, and storage roots

Ana Luisa Garcia-Oliveira Mahalingam Govindaraj Rodomiro Ortiz (2023, [Artículo])

Bioaccessibility and Absorption Biofortified Crop Cultivars Genes and Genetic Markers Nutrient Acquisition Transport and Storage CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA BIOAVAILABILITY ABSORPTION CLIMATE CHANGE GENETIC MARKERS GENETIC ENGINEERING NUTRIENTS TRANSPORT STORAGE

Transpiration of a tropical dry deciduous forest in Yucatan, Mexico

EVELYN RAQUEL SALAS ACOSTA José Luis Andrade Torres Jorge Perera ROBERTH ARMANDO US SANTAMARIA bernardo figueroa-espinoza Jorge M. Uuh-Sonda EDUARDO CEJUDO ESPINOSA (2022, [Artículo])

The study of forest hydrology and its relationships with climate requires accurate estimates of water inputs, outputs, and changes in reservoirs. Evapotranspiration is frequently the least studied component when addressing the water cycle; thus, it is important to obtain direct measurements of evaporation and transpiration. This study measured transpiration in a tropical dry deciduous forest in Yucatán (Mexico) using the thermal dissipation method (Granier-type sensors) in representative species of this vegetation type. We estimated stand transpiration and its relationship with allometry, diameter-at-breast-height categories, and previously published equations. We found that transpiration changes over time, being higher in the rainy season. Estimated daily transpiration ranged from 0.562 to 0.690 kg m–2 d–1 in the late dry season (April–May) and from 0.686 to 1.29 kg m–2 d–1 in the late rainy season (September–October), accounting for up to 51% of total evapotranspiration in the rainy season. These daily estimates are consistent with previous reports for tropical dry forests and other vegetation types. We found that transpiration was not species-specific; diameter at breast height (DBH) was a reliable way of estimating transpiration because water use was directly related to allometry. Direct measurement of transpiration would increase our ability to accurately estimate water availability and assess the responses of vegetation to climate change. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

SAP FLUX SEASONALITY STAND TRANSPIRATION EVAPOTRANSPIRATION DRY DECIDUOUS FOREST BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL

Genetic diversity and population structure of African sorghum (sorghum bicolor L. moench) accessions assessed through single nucleotide polymorphisms markers

Hussein Shimelis Baloua Nébié Chris Ojiewo Abhishek Rathore (2023, [Artículo])

Heterotic Grouping Breeding Population Development Marker-Assisted Cultivar Development CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA POPULATION STRUCTURE GENE FLOW SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS SORGHUM BICOLOR BREEDING PROGRAMMES

Relocation of Sr48 to chromosome 2D using an alternative mapping population and development of a closely linked marker using diverse molecular technologies

Naeela Qureshi Mandeep Randhawa Peng Zhang Urmil Bansal Harbans Bariana (2023, [Artículo])

Fluorescent in Situ Hybridization Genomic in Situ Hybridization Ug99 CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA MARKER-ASSISTED SELECTION STEM RUST TRANSLOCATION WHEAT

Population genetic structure of the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, in southern Mexico

Michael Jones Martha Willcox (2023, [Artículo])

Maize Weevil Genetic Structure CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURAL WORKERS FILTRATION GENE FLOW MAIZE SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISM SITOPHILUS ZEAMAIS CURCULIONIDAE