Search

The phenomenon of the desertification has an important role in spaces and environment of the less favored and economically outlying, dependent countries. The causes of the recent increment of the aridity should be looked for in the over exploration of the ecosystems linked to the inadequate anthropogenic treatments. Through this descriptive study, the characteristics that define and condition the main arid or semi arid areas of the world they are compared in their dynamics. The objective is to understand the bases of the desertification process from the point of view of the political rural economy. The analysis relies mainly on the semi-arid Brazilian ecosystem that is included among the most extensive regions in the globe. In the Brazilian case, the economic anachronic structures of their semi-arid region characterized by the articulation of the latifundio-capital mercantile agriculture-exporter are considered the biggest responsible for the socio-economic setback of the region, since they absorb the capacities of transport, services and credits for the export activities. Those dry areas need with urgency of economic new focuses based in the analysis and micro-economic planning that allow the development of public policies with priority in the regional integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to identify the technological level used by dairy farmers in the northeastern region of Michoacán, Mexico, through a characterisation of small-scale dairy production units, as well as to learn about the socioeconomic conditions that have enabled them to survive in the current context. A semi-structured interview was applied to 114 production units, chosen by stratified random sampling. The interview included technological, production and socioeconomic aspects. Twenty-eight variables were initially explored and 12 were used for multivariate analysis, which included Principal Component Analysis, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and K-means Cluster. The characterisation carried out showed that the production units that predominate in northeastern Michoacán have survived with a low technological level, having as strengths the diversification of their activities and the use of family labour. On the contrary, production units with a high technological level and high productivity are few and less diversified. This shows the need to generate differentiated public policies for each cluster, aimed at strengthening the aspects that have allowed them to survive and guaranteeing a market for their production, before promoting the use of technologies.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of breed, breed and sex of the calf, farm, calving number (CN), type of calving, and their interactions on CI using records from four different beef breeds performing in the humid tropical environment of Mexico. The influence of these factors on CN was also evaluated. CI and CN varied with farm, breed of the dam, and with breed of the dam by calf breed interaction (P<0.001), while CI also varied with CN. Significant differences between Bos indicus and Bos taurus breeds for CI (432 vs. 488 days) and for CN (2.13 vs. 1.92) were observed (P<0.001). The interaction effects observed between breed of the dam by breed of the calf on CI and on CN were due to a favorable F(1) calf effect on CI observed only in Angus cows, although with an apparent unexpected negative impact on CN.