Outlook on Agriculture

The enormous demand for wood for paper-making has created serious and still growing environmental problems. This has led to a revival of interest in the possibility of making greater use of a variety of agricultural fibres as a source of paper pulp. This article reviews the present situation and explores the prospects for a substantial expansion, particularly in the utilization of sugarcane bagasse.

Organisms of the genus Salmonella have for nearly a century been recognized as a serious health hazard. At the farm level they can cause very substantial losses among farm animals and poultry: the symptoms range from debility to dysentery, reduced milk yield, and abortion. Such infection can be transmitted to man, leading to serious outbreaks of food poisoning. In Britain, the incidence of the infection has been closely monitored for many years. This article reviews the control measures that have already been introduced and others that need to be considered for the future.

Cassava is grown in 31 African countries and consumption per capita averages just over 100 kg/year. This article reviews traditional cassava processing and utilization as now practised by small-scale farmers and processors in Africa, and examines the opportunities for improving post-harvest operations in the African continent.

Aquaculture, the controlled rearing of fish for the table, has long been practised, latterly on an increased scale, as a complement to agriculture. The Chinese dyke–pond system – which has attracted worldwide attention during the last decade – is unique, however, in integrating agriculture and aquaculture within a single self-contained system. It is particularly appropriate to the present climate of opinion, requiring minimal input of energy and materials and being environmentally acceptable.

The connection between trace element deficiencies and specific animal diseases, such as white muscle disease and swayback, has long been recognized, but the nature of the underlying mechanisms and the consequences of subclinical deficiency are only just beginning to be understood. This article considers the dietary significance of copper, selenium, cobalt, and iodine in ruminants, and concludes with a review of practical methods for preventing or correcting deficiencies.

Siam Weed was introduced to Nigeria in 1937, through the importation of timber species from Sri Lanka. It is now a serious weed of both arable and plantation crops in the country. Efforts to control it through manual, mechanical, chemical and biological means have met with little success. At present, the weed seems uncontrollable and suggestion is made that the new research focus should be on its possible industrial and pharmaceutical uses.