Publications by authors named "Karl Rich"

Pesticide use in Bangladesh is disproportionately high in vegetable farming compared to other crops like cereals, pulses, and cash crops. This study delves into the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding pesticide use among vegetable farmers, focusing on the impact of a digital aggregation service implemented by Digital Green. Based on interviews with 120 vegetable farmers in the LOOP aggregation scheme and 120 non-LOOP vegetable farmers this study indicates that the farmers using the aggregation service have a moderately higher level of food safety knowledge.

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This study delves into the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of vegetable handlers in Jashore Sadar, Bangladesh, specifically focusing on the crucial significance of food safety across the entire farm-to-fork process. Integrating quantitative and qualitative data provides a multifaceted depiction of this pivotal component within the food supply chain. Ten focus group discussions were conducted, and in total, 50 vegetable handlers were interviewed separately.

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Significant progress has been made in cereal production in Bangladesh due to an agricultural policy environment that prioritizes the productivity of staple crops over fruit and vegetables (F&V). However, many smallholder farmers remain poorly connected to markets, which may lead to a limited supply response of F&V that can reduce opportunities for sufficient intake in neglected, consumer-facing, smaller retail markets. To address this issue, aggregation schemes have been conceived that collect and transport F&Vs on behalf of multiple farmers.

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African Swine Fever (ASF) causes high mortality and often results in strict culling policies for affected pigs and international market restrictions. It took more than 25 years for swine inventories in Haiti and the Dominican Republic to recover from an ASF outbreak that took place from 1978 to 1984. The 2021 outbreaks in the Dominican Republic and Haiti pose threats to animal health, livestock markets, and producer livelihoods.

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Endemic foot and mouth disease (FMD) in East African cattle systems is one factor that limits access to export markets. The probability of FMD transmission associated with export from such systems have never been quantified and there is a need for data and analyses to guide strategies for livestock exports from regions where FMD remains endemic. The probability of infection among animals at slaughter is an important contributor to the risk of FMD transmission associated with the final beef product.

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Small-scale pig farming is highly important to the economic and social status of households in Timor-Leste. The presence of an African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak in Timor-Leste was confirmed in 2019, a major concern given that around 70% of agricultural households practice pig farming. This research used a virtual spatial group model building process to construct a concept model to better understand the main feedback loops that determine the socio-economic and livelihood impacts of the ASF outbreak.

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Article Synopsis
  • There has been a significant global shift towards increased consumption of livestock-derived foods, raising questions about health, environmental impacts, and livelihoods.
  • Scenario-based modeling predicts a worldwide increase in protein demand (14% per person and 38% in total) for red meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from 2020 to 2050, especially in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
  • In high-income countries, per person red meat demand may decline by 2.8% by 2050 due to rising prices and changing income elasticities, while an overall decline in income elasticity globally could actually increase red meat demand in these countries by 8.9%.
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  • * This study involved veterinarians from Kenya and Uganda to collect local knowledge for a better risk assessment of FMD among cattle in four beef production systems.
  • * Findings illustrated that risk factors vary by management system and that events affecting disease transmission are influenced by the actions of those involved in the livestock value chain.
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  • The 2019 African swine fever outbreak in Vietnam led to the death or culling of nearly six million pigs, significantly impacting the pig sector and resulting in over a 20% loss in the pig population.
  • A comprehensive impact assessment revealed severe economic losses for medium- and large-scale farmers, while also affecting other actors in the pig value chain due to decreased trading volumes.
  • The modern pig sector, benefiting from advanced biosecurity and technology, managed to grow despite the outbreak, while the overall national economy faced reduced GDP and job losses, highlighting the need for improved ASF compensation and risk-sharing mechanisms.
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The livestock sector plays an important socioeconomic role in the Somaliland economy, particularly through revenues from exports. The partial ban on livestock imports from Somalia imposed by Saudi Arabia due to animal health concerns has resulted in significant negative economic impacts for the government and the value chain actors involved. In previous years, the ban was lifted during the Hajj season to meet the increased demand for sheep and goats.

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Despite large volumes of cattle stocks in the Sahel, most exports of cattle products remain as live animal sales rather than meat. However, there is increased interest amongst donors and governments to increase value-added exports of beef. In this paper, we provide results from a simulation analysis that explores the prospective competitiveness and benefits of exporting beef from Burkina Faso to Ghana rather than live animals.

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Context: There is growing recognition that food systems must adapt to become more sustainable and equitable. Consequently, in developing country contexts, there is increasing momentum away from traditional producer-facing value chain upgrades towards efforts to increase both the availability and affordability of nutritious foods at the consumer level. However, such goals must navigate the inherent complexities of agricultural value chains, which involve multiple interactions, feedbacks and unintended consequences, including important but often surprising trade-offs between producers and consumers.

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Understanding the patterns and drivers of antibiotic use in livestock is crucial for tailoring efficient incentives for responsible use of antibiotics. Here we compared routines for antibiotic use between pig farms of two different levels of intensification in Khon Kaen province in Thailand. Among the 113 family-owned small-scale farms (up to 50 sows) interviewed did 76% get advice from the pharmacy about how to use the antibiotics and 84% used it primarily for treating disease.

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We present scientific perspectives on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and global food security. International organizations and current evidence based on other respiratory viruses suggests COVID-19 is not a food safety issue, i.e.

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PPR remains a major challenge to smallholder farmers in Mali. To understand the drivers of low adoption of vaccination by farmers, we analyzed the socio-economic factors influencing farmer WTV during and in the absence of vaccination campaigns. Given that the costs associated with vaccination are largely borne by farmers, we assessed factors that associated with farmer willingness to pay (WTP) more than the current price (150 XOF per dose) by considering two attributes of improvement of the vaccines empirically highlighted as potential leverage points for intervention: access of farmers to vaccines (reducing the distance to the vaccine) and availability of information about the quality of the vaccine (introducing a vaccine viability detector).

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Aquaculture systems are highly complex, dynamic and interconnected systems influenced by environmental, biological, cultural, socio-economic and human behavioural factors. Intensification of aquaculture production is likely to drive indiscriminate use of antibiotics to treat or prevent disease and increase productivity, often to compensate for management and husbandry deficiencies. Surveillance or monitoring of antibiotic usage (ABU) and antibiotic resistance (ABR) is often lacking or absent.

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Traditionally, cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) focus on the direct costs of animal disease, including animal mortality, morbidity, and associated response costs. However, such approaches often fail to capture the wider, dynamic market impacts that could arise. The duration of these market dislocations could last well after an initial disease outbreak.

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Animal diseases are global issues affecting the productivity and financial profitability of affected farms. Johne's disease is distributed on farms worldwide and is an endemic contagious bacterial infection in ruminants caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. In cattle, the clinical disease manifests itself as chronic enteritis resulting in reduced production, weight loss, and eventually death.

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Article Synopsis
  • HPAI remains a significant issue in Western Java's poultry sector despite control efforts, necessitating a detailed analysis of the region's poultry value chains to understand governance impacts on disease control.
  • The study identifies four distinct poultry value chains in Western Java, with varying levels of coordination and market power among actors, illustrating the integrator chain as the most organized and powerful compared to less formal chains.
  • Research shows that the effectiveness of biosecurity measures and HPAI control is closely linked to the governance structure of each value chain, indicating the need for tailored approaches to enhance disease management in the region.
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Predictive models have been used extensively to assess the likely effectiveness of vaccination policies as part of control measures in the event of a foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. However, the availability of vaccine stocks and the impact of vaccine availability on disease control strategies represent a key uncertainty when assessing potential control strategies. Using an epidemiological, spatially explicit, simulation model in combination with a direct cost calculator, we assessed how vaccine availability constraints may affect the economic benefit of a "vaccination-to-live" strategy during a FMD outbreak in Scotland, when implemented alongside culling of infected premises and dangerous contacts.

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  • East Coast Fever (ECF) poses a significant economic challenge for beef cattle farmers in Zambia, with cases on the rise despite existing control measures.
  • The study employed system dynamics modeling and a participatory method called spatial group model building (SGMB) to analyze the complex socio-economic, cultural, and ecological factors influencing ECF.
  • Findings highlighted that targeted policies, such as fostering stable cattle markets and increasing household income, could enhance ECF control, while a one-size-fits-all solution may not be effective across diverse agricultural regions.
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Understanding the practices of traditional cattle farmers in developing countries is an important factor in the development of appropriate, pro-poor disease control policies, and in formulating regional-specific production incentives that can improve productivity. This paper describes the production, husbandry practices, economics, and constraints of traditional cattle farming in Zambia. A cross-sectional study design was used to obtain data from traditional cattle farmers (n = 699) using a structured questionnaire.

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