Browsing by Author "Gray D"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Integrating ecosystem services with geodesign to create multifunctional agricultural landscapes: A case study of a New Zealand hill country farm
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2023-02) Tran DX; Pearson D; Palmer A; Dominati EJ; Gray D; Lowry J
    An ecosystem-based management approach (EBM) is suggested as one solution to help to tackle environmental challenges facing worldwide farming systems whilst ensuring socio-economic demands are met. Despite its usefulness, the application of this approach at the farm-scale presents several implementation problems, including the difficulty of (a) incorporating the concept of ecosystem services (ES) into agricultural land use decision-making and (b) involving the farmer in the planning process. This study aims to propose a solution to overcome these challenges by utilising a geodesign framework and EBM approach to plan and design a sustainable multifunctional agricultural landscape at the farm scale. We demonstrate how the proposed approach can be applied to plan and design multifunctional agricultural landscapes that offer improved sustainability, using a New Zealand hill country farm as a case study. A geodesign framework is employed to generate future land use and management scenarios for the study area, visualize changes, and assess the impacts of future land use on landscape multifunctionality and the provision of associated ES and economic outcomes. In this framework, collaboration with the farmer was carried out to obtain farm information and co-design the farmed landscapes. The results from our study demonstrate that farmed landscapes where multiple land use/ land cover types co-exist can provide a wide range of ES and therefore, meet both economic and environmental demands. The assessment of impacts for different land use change scenarios demonstrates that land use change towards increasing landscape diversity and complexity is a key to achieving more sustainable multifunctional farmed landscapes. The integration of EBM and geodesign, is a transdisciplinary approach that can help farmers target land use and management decisions by considering the major ES that are, and could be, provided by the landscapes in which these farm systems are situated, therefore maximising the potential for beneficial outcomes.
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    Measuring farmers’ self-efficacy for managing perennial summer forages
    (Austraasia Pacific extension network, 10/10/2017) Drysdale D; Hartnett MK; Sewell A; Gray D; Kemp P; Wood B
    Farmers’ self-efficacy beliefs impact on their learning and decision-making processes, and as such provide vital information to agricultural extension providers. Self-efficacy is measured as an individual’s perception of what they ‘can do’, rather than what they ‘actually do’, providing an indication of their present efficacy to carry out a specific future task. This paper reports on the design, development and pilot study of a tool to provide quantitative measures of farmers’ self-efficacy when considering the introduction or management for perennial summer forages. Preliminary results indicate that this tool provides a robust means of measuring changes in self-efficacy beliefs within this specific domain of managing perennial summer forages. Understanding farmers’ efficacy beliefs may guide the design of more effective agricultural extension activities to better assist farmers in their learning and decision-making when adopting innovative agricultural practices.
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    The impacts of the COVID-19 shock on sustainability and farmer livelihoods in Sri Lanka.
    (Elsevier B.V., 2022) Rathnayake S; Gray D; Reid J; Ramilan T
    The COVID-19 pandemic and its handling in Sri Lanka has affected vegetable farmers in numerous ways and these impacts will constrain the country's move towards sustainable development. A field level study with vegetable farmers and key informants was carried out using exploratory research to understand, describe and analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the livelihoods of vegetable farmers and its relevance in achieving SDG 1. Data were supplemented by an extensive literature review. The analysis showed that the pandemic's impact on vegetable farmers in Sri Lanka is multidimensional and will increase vulnerability among vegetable farmers, for the long run. Adapting alternative inputs and marketing strategies, provision of immediate financial support, promoting innovative technology and service provision, and implementing intervention strategies tailored to farmer heterogeneity will improve farmer livelihoods and the prosperity of the sector.