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Glossary | 221
farmers and other stakeholders along the food chain are involved with researchers in the selection of varieties from formal and farmer-based collections and trials, to determine which are best suited to their own agroecosystems’ needs, uses and preferences, and which should go ahead for finishing, wider release and dissemination. The information gathered may in turn be fed back into formal-led breeding programs. Pesticide A toxic chemical or biological product that kills organisms (e.g., insecticides, fungicides, weedicides, rodenticides). Poverty There are many definitions of poverty.
Absolute Poverty: According to a UN declaration that resulted
from the World Summit on Social Development
in 1995, absolute poverty is a condition characterized by
severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food,
safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter,
education and information. It depends not only on income
but also on access to services.
Dimensions of Poverty: The individual and social characteristics
of poverty such as lack of access to health and
education, powerlessness or lack of dignity. Such aspects
of deprivation experienced by the individual or group are
not captured by measures of income or expenditure.
Extreme Poverty: Persons who fall below the defined poverty
line of US$1 income per day. The measure is converted
into local currencies using purchasing power parity (PPP)
exchange rates. Other definitions of this concept have
identified minimum subsistence requirements, the denial
of basic human rights or the experience of exclusion.
Poverty Line: A minimum requirement of welfare, usually
defined in relation to income or expenditure, used
to identify the poor. Individuals or households with incomes
or expenditure below the poverty line are poor.
Those with incomes or expenditure equal to or above the
line are not poor. It is common practice to draw more
than one poverty line to distinguish different categories
of poor, for example, the extreme poor. Private Rate of Return The gain in net revenue to the private firm/business divided by the cost of an investment expressed in percentage. Processes A series of actions, motions, occurrences, a
method, mode, or operation, whereby a result or effect
is produced. Production Technology All methods that farmers, market
agents and consumers use to cultivate, harvest, store,
process, handle, transport and prepare food crops, cash
crops, livestock, etc. for consumption. Protected Area A geographically defined area which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives as defined by society. Public Goods A good or service in which the benefit received
by any one party does not diminish the availability of
the benefits to others, and/or where access to the good
cannot be restricted. Public goods have the properties of Public R&D Investment Includes R&D investments done by government agencies, nonprofit institutions, and highereducation agencies. It excludes the private for-profit enterprises. Research and Development (R&D) Organizational strategies |
and methods used by research and extension program to
conduct their work including scientific procedures, organizational
modes, institutional strategies, interdisciplinary
team research, etc. Scenario A plausible and often simplified description of how
the future may develop based on explicit and coherent
and internally consistent set of assumptions about key
driving forces (e.g., rate of technology change, prices)
and relationships. Scenarios are neither predictions nor
projections and sometimes may be based on a “narrative
storyline”. Scenarios may be derived from projections
but are often based on additional information from Science, Technology and Innovation Includes all forms of useful knowledge (codified and tacit) derived from diverse branches of learning and practice, ranging from basic scientific research to engineering to local knowledge. It also includes the policies used to promote scientific advance, technology development, and the commercialization of products, as well as the associated institutional innovations. Science refers to both basic and applied sciences. Technology refers to the application of science, engineering, and other fields, such as medicine. Innovation includes all of the processes, including business activities that bring a technology to market. Shifting Cultivation Found mainly in the tropics, especially in humid and subhumid regions. There are different kinds; for example, in some cases a settlement is permanent, but certain fields are fallowed and cropped alternately (“rotational agriculture”). In other cases, new land is cleared when the old is no longer productive. Slash and Burn Agriculture A pattern of agriculture in which existing vegetation is cleared and burned to provide space and nutrients for cropping. Social Rate of Return The gain to society of a project or investment in net revenue divided by cost of the investment, expressed by percentage. Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) A combination of appropriate
technology and successful approach. Technologies
promote the sustainable use of agricultural soils by
minimizing soil erosion, maintaining and/or enhancing
soil properties, managing water, and controlling temperature.
Approaches explain the ways and means which
are used to realize SWC in a given ecological and socioeconomic
environment. Soil Erosion The detachment and movement of soil from the land surface by wind and water in conditions influenced by human activities. Soil Function Any service, role, or task that a soil performs, especially: (a) sustaining biological activity, diversity, and productivity; (b) regulating and partitioning water and solute flow; (c) filtering, buffering, degrading, and detoxifying potential pollutants; (d) storing and cycling nutrients; (e) providing support for buildings and other structures and to protect archaeological treasures. Staple Food (Crops) Food that is eaten as daily diet. Soil Quality The capacity of a specific kind of soil to function, within natural or managed ecosystem boundaries, to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air quality, and support human health and habitation. In short, the capacity of the soil to function. |
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