The Use and Fate of Pesticides in Vegetable-based Agro-ecosystems in Ghana reviews current knowledge on pesticides use in vegetable farming in Ghana and establishes the fate of pesticides in situ in tropical vegetable-based agro-ecosystems as well as their environmental and public health impacts on selected population groups. A field survey showed

Thus, water, waterbed sediment and vegetable crops (viz.

This book investigates pesticide compliance in China in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of compliance and offers some feasible and adaptable suggestions for enhancing the effectiveness of this compliance. It discusses the weak implementation of Chinese laws and rules and emphasizes the necessity and importance of a compliance perspective in China that focuses on why laws are obeyed or broken. It examines how vegetable farmers’ perceptions of amoral calculation affect their pesticide compliance behavior and analyzes how the legitimacy of law is related to compliance to better explain how all the variables interact to shape compliance. It discusses both qualitative and quantitative methods, and uses a large-N qualitative approach, which allows for systematic analysis and in-depth exploration. This book will help readers to understand compliance in developing China by adopting and developing compliance theories which are broadly developed in the West.

Soils play multiple roles in the quality of life throughout the world, not only as the resource for food production, but also as the support for our structures, the environment, the medium for waste disposal, water, and the storage of nutrients. A healthy soil can sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality, and promote plant and animal health. Understanding the impact of land management practices on soil properties and processes can provide useful indicators of economic and environmental sustainability. The sixteen chapters of this book orchestrate a multidisciplinary composition of current trends in soil health. Soil Health and Land Use Management provides a broad vision of the fundamental importance of soil health. In addition, the development of feasible management and remediation strategies to preserve and ameliorate the fitness of soils are discussed in this book. Strategies to improve land management and relevant case studies are covered, as well as the importance of characterizing soil properties to develop management and remediation strategies. Moreover, the current management of several environmental scenarios of high concern is presented, while the final chapters propose new methodologies for soil pollution assessment.

The coastal tropics comprise some of the most sensitive and yet the most understudied ecosystems in the world. Coastal plains and river valleys are also home to agriculture on a vast scale, and it is not surprising to find that streams and rivers receive the majority of agricultural runoff, carrying the residues of insecticides, fungicides and other pesticides into estuaries and coastal zones. There is a growing awareness of the urgent need to develop strategies to help productive, healthy and economically viable agriculture to coexist with natural resources. Pesticide Residues in Tropical Coastal Ecosystems brings together toxicology experts from around the world to assess pesticide burdens in many of the major food-producing tropical countries. It provides a unique set of case studies, chronicling pesticide usage and its ecotoxicological impact in coastal regions. A practical guide to recent research findings and applications, it is essential reading for environmental professionals, ecotoxicologists, marine chemists and agrochemists.

Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.