@masterthesis{Hoang, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Hoang, Le Duy}, title = {A look into the importance of social capital in agriculture extension of developing countries: A case study of the black carp project value chain extension in Hoa Binh, Vietnam}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {Agriculture extension is an important tool for development, especially in many developing countries where a large part of their economy and population depends on the agriculture industries. As such, many studies have been conducted on how to best utilize an organization available resource to trigger developments with extension activities, but often overlook other available resources that are less tangible, such as social capital - the social relationship value of an individual or organization. This thesis presented how social capital such as linkage and connection from influential actors in society can be utilized by extension projects to trigger development in less well-off communities, via a case study of a value chain extension project in Hoa Binh, Vietnam. The study examines the economic results of the project to identify aspects of the chain that are able to deliver value, and expand upon it with interviews of involving actors to investigate the reasoning for their cooperation. The result strongly suggests that the participants of the project were able to enjoy economic benefit due to the project ability to utilize existing social capital of local businesses to facilitate the cooperation of the value chain, which are capable of generating higher profit than regular channels for the participant involved. Keywords: agriculture extension, aquaculture, social capital, value chain, Vietnam, Hoa Binh.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Poeytaeniemi, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {P{\"o}yt{\"a}niemi, Pinja}, title = {Communication for development: The case of promoting organic farming in northern Ghana}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {This case study uses a participatory approach to evaluate challenges in communication for development in an agricultural market-based project located in Northern Ghana, "Organic Markets for Development," The project engages rural communities around Ghana's largest National Park Mole. The four research questions were 1) How do the communication methods used in the OM4D project influence the adoption process of organic farming among small- scale farmers? 2) What is the communication structure and flow of information within the OM4D project social network? 3) What are the challenges in communication that are hindering the adoption process? and 4) Which recommendations can be made to tackle the challenges faced, improve communication, and build organizational communication capacity based on the learnings of this research? The findings indicate that such interventions have high levels of conflict that are essential to moderate by using effective communication methods. The formal third-party organic certification system forces the OM4D project to use the top-down approach. Also, attitudes originating from a top-down approach were observed, where low adoption is accounted for on farmer characteristics rather than limiting socio-economic factors. Overall, the project succeeded in disseminating information and awareness-raising, but the communication methods were insufficient to facilitate the adoption process and establish a shared understanding and practical problem-solving. The recommendation is to include participatory methods in the project to promote effective community capacity building and engagement.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Mizane, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Mizane, Amal}, title = {Implementation of organic agriculture and sustainability thinking in higher agricultural education in Uganda}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {Several significant reforms have been implemented by the Ugandan government in the last few years aimed at converting conventional agriculture into organic agriculture. To analyze the impact of organic agriculture policies on the education system in Uganda, in this study, it has been assessed the number of courses, training institutions, and University programs available during the past years. The researcher also examined from the students' perspective the limitations and possible improvements of the organic agriculture courses to identify possible gaps and develop better strategies. Furthermore, the researcher interviewed students from Uganda Martyrs University, a leading African University in Agro-ecological solutions, with top-rated courses in Organic Agriculture and Agroecology. The research revealed there are several courses available in Uganda based on the policies found. Most programs are dealing with Agroecology and Organic agriculture.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{Camacho, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Camacho, Monica}, title = {Urban Agriculture: an alternative to alleviate poverty and food insecurity in Panama}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {There is an evident global rapid urbanization which has also impacted Panama. People immigrate from rural areas to the cities because they are seeking for better economic opportunities and stability. Agriculture in the countryside, is in Panama a sector with low productivity and incentives. However, with an increasing urban immigration, issues such as food insecurity, in already vulnerable cities emerge. The interest of the study is to analyze the current scenario of Urban Agriculture in Panama and to link the existing gap with studies from different countries in the region that were selected. To measure the impact of Urban \& Peri-Urban and Family agriculture, studies which used the 'Food Insecurity experienced-based scales' as an assessment indicator, were included. Four out of five studies showed a positive correlation between households who produced their own food, and their Food Security levels. It is concluded that Urban Agriculture \& Peri-Urban and Family agriculture may not be systems that can substitute the traditional system on supplying enough food to feed everyone but with support from the estate and enough public policies it has the capability of supplying a good portion that can help alleviate food security and poverty levels.}, language = {en} } @misc{Lemmen, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Lemmen, Samuel}, title = {Operational Effectiveness of Means Reducing Food Losses and Waste in Food Retail}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {Around the globe, high quantities of produced food do not meet their initial purpose of nourishing humans. Food losses and waste occur throughout food supply chains for various reasons, resulting in unsustainable economic, social and environmental behaviour. Several actors in the supply chain have responsibility to transfer food products from farm to fork, whereas each of them holds potential to reduce food losses and waste. Compared to other actors in the chain, retailers are in the exceptional position of selling items to consumers, commonly offering a huge variety of products. Retailers have power in the chain and are therefore seen as a promising stage where "means" tackling food losses and waste can be implemented. Besides the quantities that can be mitigated by the implementation of means, the adoption of these must be realistic in practice, too (i.e. practical feasibility). Together, the quantities mitigated and the practical feasibility are the determinants of the "operational effectiveness". Hence, the research objective is to analyse the operational effectiveness of means that can be applied by food retailers to reduce food losses and waste. The objective has been addressed by analysing ten individual means through a literature review, namely (1) improved forecasting, (2) lower order quantities, (3) avoiding rejections, (4) technologies enabling improved shelf life, (5) selling loose products, (6) price-reducing strategies, (7) reducing promotions, (8) alternative distribution pathways, (9) offering a reduced product range and (10) consumer education. Six means showed to "highly" mitigate food losses and waste, whereby five of these exhibit either a "low" or "inconclusive" practical feasibility. Alternative distribution pathways as well as price-reducingstrategies are frequently applied means by retailers and hold a "moderate" practical feasibility. Yet, the evaluation of means related to the use of packaging was mainly inconclusive, which can to some extent be explained by the lacking evidence and disagreements in previous research. Means like reducing promotions or offering a reduced product range appear to reduce food losses and waste, but stand in conflict with the marketing strategy of retailers and offer only a low practical feasibility. The same holds true for avoiding rejections. In that case, although retail standards are higher than required, these could also mitigate a transfer of waste. One of the key findings is that consumer education occurred to hold great future potential, because it showed to indirectly influence other means considered in this thesis, i.e. consumer understanding and acceptance are crucial for various means. Research concentrating on means tackling food losses and waste is limited, especially with focus on studies examining the (potential) impacts on retailing and suggests considerable research backlog.}, language = {en} } @misc{Vahrenhorst, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Vahrenhorst, Nele Sarah}, title = {How to initiate transformative research on permaculture in the Lower Rhine valley? A framework developed based on the analysis of previous experiences}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {As climate change continues to have negative effects on agriculture, the European Commission calls for sustainable farming approaches as solutions to challenges associated with climate change and therefore propose living labs as a transformative, transdisciplinary and participatory research mode in order to enforce the resilience of farming systems. Permaculture is considered as an approach for the living lab at the Lower Rhine as it aims at integrating sustainable management practices and ethical principles to provide the framework for a holistic approach that could provide an alternative to current management practices and their negative effects on the region. The thesis at hand aims at establishing a living lab framework that allows involvement of regional stakeholders from a range of sectors in a regional network that is part of a trinity of projects that additionally include an on-site test area and a digital knowledge platform. By performing literature research and interviews with regional primary producers and experts of the field, the thesis proceeds to place the permaculture living lab in the currently available context of living lab categorizations and provides a detailed framework with step-by-step instructions to follow as well as a selection of aspects to keep in mind in order to initiate transformative research on permaculture in the form of a living lab in the Lower Rhine region. Apart from the needs of regional primary producers, existing networks and organizations relevant for the living lab are identified, as well as successfully implemented living labs in Zurich, Lisbon, Bern and New York whose objectives align at least partially with those of the future permaculture living lab that can provide experience and suggestions for the planning process.}, language = {en} } @masterthesis{PhamTran, type = {Bachelor Thesis}, author = {Pham Tran, Duc Anh}, title = {A Meta-Analysis of Fish and Crop Yields of Coupled and Decoupled Aquaponics}, school = {Hochschule Rhein-Waal}, abstract = {Aquaponics is an alternative farming method that has recently gained popularity and research attention due to its potential to solve resource-related issues such as water and land scarcity. Currently, no study comparing plant and fish yields cultivated in coupled aquaponics (cAP) and decoupled aquaponics (dAP) could be identified. Meta-analyses were conducted to synthesize data extracted from studies reporting fish and plant performance in cAP and dAP. Three databases were used to identify relevant research papers published in English between 2016 and 2021. The effect size of each study was calculated using the standardized mean difference. The summary effect size and heterogeneity (I2) were computed using a mixed-effects model. However, a meta-regression or a sub-group analysis was not conducted to analyze and describe heterogeneity in greater detail. The results of the meta-analyses indicate that dAP is superior to cAP mainly in fish yields, whereas no significant difference in crop yields between cAP and dAP was observed. However, due to the presence of moderate heterogeneity in some meta-analyses, conclusions derived from the summary effect sizes of such meta-analyses should be carefully interpreted. Therefore, the conclusions should only provide an overall picture of how yields in cAP compare to yields in dAP.}, language = {en} }