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This research explores changes in staple food price trends and their impact on the Farmers' Term of Trade (FTT) as a primary indicator of farmer prosperity. Utilizing secondary data analysis, the study processes monthly staple food price data from January 2018 to July 2023 and FTT data from January 2019 to July 2023. This analysis employs a coefficient of variation method to track food price changes and calculates the FTT value based on the comparison of the price index received by farmers to their expenses, serving as a marker of farmer welfare. The study's findings reveal a significant influence of food price alterations on FTT and farmer welfare. There is a marked difference in the dynamics of staple food prices and FTT across various regions in Indonesia. These price variations are influenced by changes in agricultural input costs, such as fertilizers and labor wages, impacting the FTT value. Sectoral analysis indicates that during the Covid-19 era, food crop farmers have a lower level of prosperity (>100) during the pandemic. This study highlights the importance of farmers' understanding and adaptation to the dynamics of food prices and FTT. Adaptation strategies may include changes in production strategies, government support, crop diversification, and the adoption of new technologies, even amidst external challenges such as climate change. The interaction between food price dynamics, FTT, and its relation to farmer welfare provides essential insights for formulating more effective policies to support farmer welfare and food security in Indonesia.

The price of red chilies in surplus and deficit areas in Indonesia is interrelated because an excess supply of red chilies in surplus areas can affect prices in deficit areas and vice versa. The study wants to provide information on the shape of price dynamics and price relationships between surplus and deficit markets. Using red chili price data for the weekly period from January 2019 to December 2021. The price of red chilies in the East Lombok market, West Nusa Tenggara Province (WNT) is a surplus area, and Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara Province (ENT) is a deficit area. Data source from the National Strategic Food Price Information Center released by Bank Indonesia. Data were analyzed using the coefficient of variation (CV) and the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) method. The study found that there are significant differences in price dynamics and there are price linkages in both the short and long term between markets in surplus and deficit areas. The differences in geography, distance, marketing infrastructure, and market information systems also contribute to price linkages between markets in surplus and deficit areas. Collaboration between market players, the government, and accurate and easily accessible market information is required to create effective price linkages throughout Indonesia.

Poor agricultural practices among small-scale sub-Saharan African farmers can lead to soil erosion and reduce agricultural productivity. However, information on such practices is normally not well documented, making it challenging to design future mitigation strategies. We conducted a fine-scale agricultural survey on 200 farm households within the transboundary Sio Malaba Malakisi River Basin (SMMRB) between Kenya and Uganda to quantify the frequency and type of soil conservation practices (SWCPs) implemented. Information on farm sizes, ownership, crops grown, soil fertility, soil erosion, soil water conservation practices, and the decision-making processes was collected. Descriptive and chi-squared statistics were used to present trends in land use, decision-making processes and the extent of adoption of SWCPs, as well as to analyse the relationship between the SWCPs and the farmers’ perceptions on soil erosion. The region showed highly fragmented farms (mean area: 0.6 ha), primarily practising rain-fed subsistence farming. The principal decision-makers of each farm were mainly (63%) male. Various farmers (28%) lacked soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs). However, most farmers (35%) implemented one type of soil and water conservation practice, while 37% practised a combination of two to five soil and water conservation practices. Extensive soil and water conservation practices such as intercropping were widely practised as they were more affordable than intensive measures. Results on the farmers’ perceptions on soil erosion showed that most farmers in the SMMRB reported soil erosion (60%) and even more (92%) reported to have experienced a loss of soil fertility over the last 5 years. There was a significant positive correlation (X2 (2, n = 198) = 92.8, p = < 0.001) between the perception of soil erosion and the perception of the change in soil fertility, suggesting that reducing soil erosion could result in a reduction in the loss of soil fertility. Thus, there is still a need for strategies and measures to address the soil erosion risks currently faced by Sio Malaba Malakisi River Basin farmers. This study is a baseline study that shows the importance of farmers’ perceptions on the practice of soil and water conservation measures in the Sio Malaba Malakisi River Basin and therefore becomes an important avenue for improving the currently practised soil and water conservation measures as well as developing adoption programs as well as future studies that combine scientific and farmers’ perception/knowledge for sustainable agriculture. Further research into the efficiency of currently adopted SWCPs as well as the extent of the farmers’ knowledge and the accuracy of their perceptions is recommended.

Study region: West Africa. Study focus: The objective of this study was to quantitively evaluate streamflow previously simulated by the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model in an ungauged basin (Ogun River) that was calibrated/validated using GLEAM (v3.0a) AET data (Odusanya et al., 2019). To evaluate this simulated streamflow in the ungauged Ogun River Basin, a gauged basin (Ouémé River) was selected based on proximity and on similar catchment attributes. Firstly, the non-unique parameter sets from the SWAT set-up in the ungauged Ogun River Basin were transferred to SWAT that was setup in the neighbouring gauged Ouémé River Basin (referred to as the regionalisation method). Secondly, the SWAT model in the Ouémé River Basin was setup by calibrating the model using the observed streamflow data (referred to as the conventional method). New hydrological insights for the region: In the gauged Ouémé River Basin, using the conventional method, a higher streamflow performance was obtained for all non-unique SWAT simulations, compared with the regionalisation method. However, a satisfactory streamflow performance was obtained with the regionalisation method in the south of Ouémé River Basin (Save gauge: highest NSE = 0.79, R2 = 0.81, PBIAS = 2.1, KGE = 0.85) and at the Ouémé River Basin outlet (Bonou gauge: highest NSE = 0.79, R2 = 0.84, PBIAS = −4.5, KGE = 0.84) that had the most similar attributes to the Ogun River Basin. The study findings show that using satellite-based AET data to calibrate a hydrological model can lead to an acceptable model performance in ungauged basins. The regionalisation method was useful for assessing the simulated streamflow in the ungauged basin, especially when catchment similarity is ensured, and parameter non-uniqueness is applied. This research contributes to advancement in alternative means of modelling and evaluation of hydrologic model simulations in an ungauged basin.

Chili is a very important food ingredient for a large part of the population in Asia including Indonesia, so it is sensitive to price changes. Research on market cointegration and red chili price behavior between wholesalers and traditional markets in NTT has not been found. This study uses the Johansen model cointegration approach and Granger causality with 96 time series price data for red chilies. This analysis measures the relationship between price changes in wholesalers and price changes in traditional markets. Using graphical methods and coefficient of variation (CV) to observe and measure price behavior patterns. This study contributes to the decision making to face the risk of price volatility. The results of the study found that changes in the price of red chili in traditional markets have an effect on prices in wholesalers. but it does not happen otherwise, meaning that there is no causality relationship. Wholesalers control the price of chili in traditional markets to the end consumers and the price variations in wholesalers are higher than in traditional markets. Price behavior in wholesalers and traditional markets exhibits the same pattern. Seasonal influence is not the main determinant of price fluctuations. It is suspected that the market infrastructure and the smoothness of the shifting chains are one of the determinants of price fluctuation. Improvements in infrastructure and market information are needed in order for market players to plan and make the right decisions.

Study region: Republic of Benin. Study focus: In the Ouémé River Basin (48 292 km2), we investigate if the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model can satisfactorily simulate streamflow when observed data is not available and when SWAT is calibrated using monthly AET data from GLEAM. Thus, we compare the performance of SWAT by applying two different calibration and validation procedures (i) using time series of observed streamflow (Q-proc); (ii) using GLEAM (v3.0a) AET data (AET-proc). New hydrological insight for the region: The streamflow simulations from AET-proc did not perform as well as with Q-proc. The highest NSE values from AET-proc for streamflow were obtained in 2 catchments; 0.45 and 0.66, with Q-proc these NSE values were 0.55 and 0.72, respectively. In fact, with Q-proc, acceptable streamflow NSE and R2 values were obtained at all four gauges. Yet, the Q-proc simulation of AET was poor, with only 3 and 1 gauges showing satisfactory PBIAS and KGEs, respectively. The AET-proc however simulated AET very well, with satisfactory KGE and PBIAS statistics at all four gauges, and satisfactory NSE and R2 values at 2 gauges. For streamflow, only the R2 values were satisfactory at all gauges.Comparing further simulated variables, such as the soil moisture, water yield, and crop yields from Q-proc and AET-proc, the result showed the use of GLEAM AET data for calibration can reproduce the temporal dynamics of the rainfall-runoff behaviour. Further research is required to fine-tune the AET-proc for improved streamflow simulation, conceivably by including soil moisture products.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas stemming mainly from nitrogen (N)-fertilizer application. It is challenging to quantify N2O emissions from agroecosystems because of the dearth of measured data and high spatial variability of the emissions. The eco-hydrological model SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) simulates hydrological processes and N fluxes in a catchment. However, the routine for simulating N2O emissions is still missing in the SWAT model. A submodule was developed based on the outputs of the SWAT model to partition N2O from the simulated nitrification by applying a coefficient (K2) and also to isolate N2O from the simulated denitrification (N2O + N2) with a modified semi-empirical equation. The submodule was applied to quantify N2O emissions and N2O emission factors from selected crops in two agricultural catchments by using NH4NO3 fertilizer and the combination of organic N and NO3− fertilizer as N input data. The setup with the combination of organic N and NO3− fertilizer simulated lower N2O emissions than the setup with NH4NO3 fertilizer. When the water balance was simulated well (absolute percentage error 2O emissions was captured. More research to test the submodule with measured data is needed.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a long-lived greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Emissions of N2O mainly stem from agricultural soils. This review highlights the principal factors from peer-reviewed literature affecting N2O emissions from agricultural soils, by grouping the factors into three categories: environmental, management and measurement. Within these categories, each impact factor is explained in detail and its influence on N2O emissions from the soil is summarized. It is also shown how each impact factor influences other impact factors. Process-based simulation models used for estimating N2O emissions are reviewed regarding their ability to consider the impact factors in simulating N2O. The model strengths and weaknesses in simulating N2O emissions from managed soils are summarized. Finally, three selected process-based simulation models (Daily Century (DAYCENT), DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC), and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)) are discussed that are widely used to simulate N2O emissions from cropping systems. Their ability to simulate N2O emissions is evaluated by describing the model components that are relevant to N2O processes and their representation in the model.

Antioxidants and flavonoids are beneficial compounds used in the pharmaceutical and food industries that are derived from natural sources. A two-year field experiment was undertaken to investigate the effect of agricultural management practices on the trigonelline content, antioxidant activity measured with DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl) and FRAP (Fe+++-Reduction, Ferric reducing antioxidant power), total phenolic content, total flavonoids content, and specific flavonoid contents of fenugreek seeds. The treatments examined were sole fenugreek (Sole F) and three intercropping ratios with buckwheat (B) (F:B = 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2), each with three types of fertilizer (chemical fertilizer, integrated fertilizer, and broiler litter). The highest trigonelline content of fenugreek seeds was obtained in F:B = 2:1 fertilized with broiler litter. Compared to Sole F, the fenugreek seeds harvested in the intercropped treatments had higher antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, vitexin, isovitexin, orientin, and isoorientin. The treatment F:B = 2:1 enhanced the antioxidant activity and the content of bioactive compounds. Overall, the addition of organic manure to fenugreek seeds was highly effective at promoting all compounds analyzed in both the sole and the intercrop systems. Our study found that harvested fenugreek seeds from plants that were intercropped with buckwheat and with the application of organic fertilizer enhanced the seed content of antioxidants and flavonoids.

Abstract Background The maintenance of genomic integrity is essential for cell viability. Complex signalling pathways (DNA integrity checkpoints) mediate the response to genotoxic stresses. Identifying new functions involved in the cellular response to DNA-damage is crucial. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae SLT2 gene encodes a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade whose main function is the maintenance of the cell wall integrity. However, different observations suggest that SLT2 may also have a role related to DNA metabolism. Results This work consisted in a comprehensive study to connect the Slt2 protein to genome integrity maintenance in response to genotoxic stresses. The slt2 mutant strain was hypersensitive to a variety of genotoxic treatments, including incubation with hydroxyurea (HU), methylmetanosulfonate (MMS), phleomycin or UV irradiation. Furthermore, Slt2 was activated by all these treatments, which suggests that Slt2 plays a central role in the cellular response to genotoxic stresses. Activation of Slt2 was not dependent on the DNA integrity checkpoint. For MMS and UV, Slt2 activation required progression through the cell cycle. In contrast, HU also activated Slt2 in nocodazol-arrested cells, which suggests that Slt2 may respond to dNTP pools alterations. However, neither the protein level of the distinct ribonucleotide reductase subunits nor the dNTP pools were affected in a slt2 mutant strain. An analysis of the checkpoint function revealed that Slt2 was not required for either cell cycle arrest or the activation of the Rad53 checkpoint kinase in response to DNA damage. However, slt2 mutant cells showed an elongated bud and partially impaired Swe1 degradation after replicative stress, indicating that Slt2 could contribute, in parallel with Rad53, to bud morphogenesis control after genotoxic stresses. Conclusions Slt2 is activated by several genotoxic treatments and is required to properly cope with DNA damage. Slt2 function is important for bud morphogenesis and optimal Swe1 degradation under replicative stress. The MAPK Slt2 appears as a new player in the cellular response to genotoxic stresses.

Abstract Background Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is shown to be effective in many psychiatric illnesses, but its distorted projection by the Pakistani media and its unregulated use by many physicians across the country have adversely affected its acceptability. Given this situation we aimed to assess the awareness and perceptions regarding ECT as a treatment modality among the psychiatric patients. Methods This was a questionnaire based cross-sectional study carried out at 2 tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Results We interviewed 190 patients of which 140 were aware of ECT. The study showed that the level of education had a significant impact on the awareness of ECT (p = 0.009). The most common source of awareness was electronic and print media (38%), followed by relatives (24%) and doctors (23%). Physical injuries (42%) and neurological (12%) and cognitive disturbances (11%) were the commonly feared side effects. The most popular belief about ECT was that it was a treatment of last resort (56%). Thirty-nine percent thought that ECT could lead to severe mental and physical illness and 37% considered it inhumane. Patients' willingness to receive ECT was dependant on whether or not they were convinced of its safety (p = 0.001) and efficacy (p = 0.0001). Conclusion We identified a serious lack of dissemination of information regarding ECT by the psychiatrists and the mental health care providers. This may be the result of an inadequate postgraduate training in Pakistan or just a lack of concern about the mentally ill patients. The media seemed to be the major source of information for our patients. We also saw the prevalence of a variety of myths regarding ECT in our society, which we feel may be responsible for the patients' adverse attitudes. Given the widespread applicability of ECT there is a dire need to dispel these misconceptions and improve its acceptability.