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ducktracy · 4 years ago

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176. porky’s garden (1937)

release date: september 11th, 1937

series: looney tunes

director: tex avery

starring: mel blanc (porky, chickens), george humbert (neighbor), earle hodgins (salesman)

this would be tex avery’s final black and white cartoon until 1941, and his second to last porky cartoon. how time flies! i enjoy his porky entries a lot. the blow out, the village smithy, and of course porky’s duck hunt are all shorts of his that i find myself coming back to frequently. but, of course, greater tex cartoons lie ahead. interestingly enough, this is also the second and final credit for animator elmer wait, who passed away in july of 1937. chuck jones once described him as “a fine young assistant animator who died too young." i’ve heard speculation that tex’s little-known character elmer fudd was named in wait’s honor--i’m not sure if it was that, or the fact that every other cartoon character in the 1930′s was named elmer, but this is a claim i can find myself believing with more conviction than other animation claims. for now, we visit farmer porky, who’s eager to enter the local contest for the largest home grown product. however, his stereotypical italian neighbor seeks to out-perform him at any cost.

this cartoon is a peculiar anomaly in the tex avery-verse, in that it feels much more like the 1936 avery porky cartoons than the 1937 bunch—and almost deliberately, too. the cartoon starts off very similarly to his first directorial entry, gold diggers of ‘49, laying out the time (1927), the place (podunk center), and the population 500 502 — mrs. castle bottom just had twins!). though tex would constantly reuse gags all throughout his career (and quite well, often elevating the hyperactivity of the gag), it’s rather uncharacteristic for him to reuse a gag for nostalgic purposes. nevertheless, the opening is amusing, and faster paced than its facsimile over at gold diggers of ‘49. the sound of the baby wail as the 500 is replaced with 502 is an extra bonus.

a sign gag featuring the tried and true income tax gag (which has been used, and will continue to be used, in a number of cartoons--tex’s milk and money is another porky entry that uses this gag):

porky is amongst the group crowding around the sign, joyfully declaring that he’s going to win first prize with his garden. cue the antagonist of the picture, porky’s curious italian neighbor, voiced by george humbert. humbert was an italian actor, starring in a large number of hollywood films throughout the ‘30′s and ‘40′s. if i recall, bob clampett once mentioned that tex would go to the movies to get ideas, no doubt his reasoning for getting humbert to do the cartoon. humbert’s vocals shine and add a lot of vitality to this otherwise tame entry. speaking of, italian neighbor is quick to contradict porky: “ohohohoho no, i gonna ween with my cheeken!” with that, he leapfrogs over porky, who is quick to bumble along after him.

we get a brief overhead shot of the two neighbors and their respective houses, the overhead shot once again calling back to earlier porky entries such as milk and money. the competitors both go to their gardens to out-perform the other. cue a short gardening sequence with porky, who uses his straightened out tail to dig holes in the soil, big enough to drop seeds in. his neighbor, on the other hand, concocts a meal full of vitamins and tonics for his chickens cheekens, narrating all the way. the underscore is a stalling favorite, “chicken reel”, and if my memory is correct, i BELIEVE this is the first instance it’s used in a warner bros. short? cue a seemingly arbitrary cut back to porky, who finishes the job of planting. back to the neighbor who summons his chickens to eat his mystery feed of who-knows-what. the chickens dig in... only to halt, spit out the food, and hold their noses (beaks) in disgust. great timing--the drawings especially of the chickens rejecting the food feel quite avery-esque, which is nice: it’s always nice to feel the personal touches of the director.

cut back to porky, a cue of “carolina in the morning” (which is impossible for me to hear without thinking of daffy kaye’s rendition of it in the anomaly that is book revue) underscoring his plan to use hair growth tonic as a means of growing a quick, hearty, full harvest. the scene is cute, yet sluggish--if the cartoon were made even 5 years later, it would have been twice as fast, if not more so. nevertheless, his plan works: the ground shakes beneath him, and crops as tall as the eye can see spurt out from the soil. satisfied, old pigdonald strolls inside, “uh-veh-vuh-vo-do-de-oh”ing and “uh-uh-eh-beh-beh-boop-de-oop”ing all the way along (to remind our audience that this cartoon takes place in 1927--because, why not, right?)

meanwhile, pesky neighbor pops his head over the fence, equally as impressed with the results as porky. perfect food to fatten up the cheekens! the animation of the neighbor is rich and full, humbert’s vocals of course magnifying the quality. with that, the neighbor loosens up one of the boards in the fence, sparking the feeding frenzy: “come an’ get it!”

the chickens do just that. calling back to the days of porky the rain-maker (where there were vegetable gags galore), we get a montage of semi-amusing “chickens eating vegetables in creative ways” gags. one chicken uses a tomato vine as a straw, sucking out the pulp from all of the tomatoes connected. another rolls a line of peas straight into its mouth, rolling up the shell like a toothpaste tube.

though the gags rouse polite chuckles at most today, the most uproarious gag is the last one: a chicken and a baby chick fight over a watermelon. big cheeken asserts its authority by flicking the baby chick away, spouting tearful insults at the bully chicken. just then, fortune: the chick spots a patch of spinach, the seeds belonging to jones (yes, that chuck jones--whose birthday is today! happy birthday, chuck!) garden company. i can’t say this with staunch certainty, but i do have reason to believe that this cartoon was backlogged for a few months: chuck jones would have been at bob clampett’s unit during the time of this cartoon’s release, but the allusion to his name, the animation of this scene looking peculiarly reminiscent of bob clampett’s animation, and the lack of irv spence animation leads me to believe as such. nevertheless, as you may be able to surmise, the chick transforms into a caricature of popeye, complete with jack mercer-esque mumblings and popeye speak. the newly transformed chick socks the chicken right in the face, usurping the half-eaten watermelon slice and gobbling it down all in one go. easily the highlight of the cartoon, and a gag that can be appreciated regardless of time period.

one last eating gag of a chicken plucking a ripe worm from an apple (fittingly scored to “in the shade of the old apple tree”). the joke suffers from constipated timing, more on the part of carl stalling than the animator. there is a nice, quick, shiver take as the chicken attempts to rip the apple open into two halves. fade out.

fade back in on the feeding frenzy. porky takes notice, and is not happy about it. he does a lumbering, quick little run that calls back to the 1936 porky entries where he was much more short and squat (virgil ross animation?), zooming out of screen, then back in again to retrieve a nearby broom. porky swats the chickens frantically, but to no avail: despite his angry demands for them to get out, they continue to eat.

virgil ross animates the next scene as porky confronts his neighbor: “hey, n-nn-ne-neighbor, eh-teh-teh-tell your cheh-cheh-cheh-chi-chickens to keep outta my uh-geh-eh-geh-eh-geh-garden!” the neighbor complies, his vocals hilariously disingenuous as he haggles with the chickens, who, predictably ignore him. thus sparks an overly-profuse string of excuses from the neighbor, who doth protest too much. “you see? i talk to them! but a-they don’t listen to me!” he pauses. “i’m too sorry for you.” another pause, just as we think he’s finished. “...but i cannot talk-a cheeken talk!” one more pause. “i can no make-a the cheeken coming out!”

neighbor finally leaves the disgruntled pig to his own devices, laughing as he talks to the audience. “eet’za too bad...” he looks at the audience and gives them a knowing wink as he finishes “but not too bad!” overall, a great scene. humbert’s vocals are divine, as is the comedic timing. porky’s befuddlement by the rapid-fire responses from his neighbor is another plus.

back to a downtrodden porky, who mournfully sulks along to a succinctly timed rendition of “am i blue?” (if you listen closely, you can hear the beats lining up exactly with his footsteps.) suddenly, a thick vine growing out of the patch catches his eye. he follows the vine, pulling it like a rope...

and the perfect solution awaits on the other side of the fence: a giant pumpkin! perfect for the harvest contest.

porky lugs his new prize out from the fence, which instantly attracts the attention of the hungry chickens. spark the ever transformative avery moment, where the cartoon halts to make a big production out of nowhere--in this case, football. the favorite “freddy the freshman” score serves as the backing track of the makeshift football game as the chickens line up to take position: “HIKE!”

the next sequence appears to be animated by chuck jones: porky runs long, pumpkin in hand as he swats away the oncoming rush of chickens. the extra touches of making porky do some twirls and swivels as he attempts to maintain balance are not taken for granted. a nice straight-ahead shot of the football field turned garden, with a trellis in the foreground and clothesline in the background to form goal posts--very clever!

it’s not the chickens who serve as porky’s pumpkin demise, but rather a spare crate left on the ground. porky trips, horrified as he watches his pumpkin launch into the air and across the yard. we get a tashlin-esque concealed pan as porky darts through his house to retrieve his prize, the action obscured: we only see a brief glimpse of the house’s facade, the drumroll and sound effect of the airborne pumpkin being our only indicator to the success of the stunt. thankfully, porky shuffles out of the other end just in time to catch his pumpkin (topped off with a triumphant “ta-da!” fanfare.) wasting no more time, porky dashes down the road and off to the fair. meanwhile, the neighbor’s chickens are all plumped up, ready to win the first-a prize.

“the merry go round broke down” scores the scenes at the fair as we catch our hero bumbling along with his prize pumpkin into the fair, neighbor and cheekens not far behind. there’s a line of posters advertising the various attractions at the fair, including a caricature of bobe cannon (once more reinforcing the idea that this cartoon was back-logged: he would have been at the clampett unit by the time of the cartoon’s release.)

earle hodgins voices the salesman (a specialty of his--he played the pill-peddling salesman in porky the rain-maker, as well as the oil huckster honest john in get rich quick porky) peddling the miracle “reducing pills”. his test subject? an elephant. the salesman pops a pill in the elephant’s mouth, who stares at the audience nonplussed as he shrinks to the size of a mouse... literally.

the next scene of the salesman is great, as it’s full of energy, zaniness, and fervor. i wonder if it’s a clampett scene? the voice of the salesman rises into astronomical pitch as he describes the size of “teensy, weensy, weensy, bitsy, weensy, teeny little mouse”, capping it all off with a flamboyant “WOO!” and pose. the pose looks similar to the same one struck by daffy in clampett’s entry the henpecked duck 4 years later, hence my reasoning. nevertheless, a great scene of zany eye candy.

peddling his wares, the salesman accidentally knocks over a spare bottle of reducing pills, right in the trajectory of the passing cheekens. and, predictably, the cheekens devour the pills in no-time.

cue a rather blunt cut to porky, who’s about to receive first prize for his pumpkin, standing on stage and politely soaking in the glory. just as the judge reaches to give him his dough, he halts, spotting the ginormous array of poultry behind the pig. the judge is quick to take back his bag of money, much to the awe of porky (which also gives us this intriguing little error for a few frames). neighbor accepts the bag--that is, until the pills kick in. the chickens revert back to the size of chicks, and there’s just enough comedic pause to let the joke sink in before the chicks revert back to mere eggs.

we iris out--or so we think. just another declaration of tex’s love of playing with the iris out gags. that is one steamed ham.

not the snappiest entry in the avery repertoire, but not exceedingly dull, either. george humbert steals the show with his acting, and the popeye gag with the chick is wonderfully amusing. the cartoon mainly suffers from sluggish pacing in some parts, tired gags in others, but not enough to exclude a watch-through. it’s a fond look back at the earlier days of tex’s directing, and asserts just how far the cartoons have yet to improve. so, for that, i’d say i’m relatively neutral on whether or not to persuade you to watch it: the porky lover in me and ‘30′s cartoon lover in me say go for it! there are bits of greatness that you should definitely seek out. but it won’t kill you to skip this one either.

here’s the link! (excuse the butchered titles/credits: opening title music is the merry go round broke down which is wrong, and the title card music is the opening to porky’s tire trouble--also wrong, as is the porky “that’s all, folks!” ending over the written script)

#lt #looney tunes #porky’s garden #reviews #long post #avery

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agritecture · 6 years ago

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How "Plant" Is Designing The Future Of Food And Education

CONTENT SOURCED FROM FORBES

Karim Giscombe is one of those quiet revolutionaries. Meeting him in the exclusive Spring Place members club in Tribeca in NYC, he cuts an unassuming figure, stylish and low key. He speaks with a measured intensity, his eyes watching you to see if you’ve understood the full gravitas of what he is attempting to do.

This former Bank of America Merrill Lynch director (his LinkedIn Profile calls himself a ‘reformed capitalist’) has embarked via his new venture Plant on a crusade to feed the world (using the power of schools, technology and branding) and create a new category which he dubs ‘Agriculture as a Service.' When asked why he’s doing it, his response is simply, “Everybody’s gotta eat.”

Karim Giscombe

First some context: The global demand for food is rising exponentially and will reach all-time highs by 2050 as the population approaches 10 billion people - and agriculture is not prepared for that. There are many efforts underway aimed at potential solutions and Controlled Environment Agriculture (indoor farming as it most commonly labeled) is taking center stage because of the many benefits of this growing process. If the goal is to find the balance between resources and production, right now it seems clear that the future of food must be indoor, local, energy efficient and infinitely scalable.

The business of food is changing and forcing the incumbents to respond to the new dynamic. Amazon acquired Whole Foods, while in Europe Tesco and Carrefour have launched a NATO-style alliance to increase purchasing power, Dell Computer has partnered with vertical farm operator AeroFarms to better understand crop data, and Wendy’s recently announced plans to only purchase greenhouse grown tomatoes beginning in 2019. Other notable mentions include moves by industry leaders such as Tyson Foods, Bayer, Hormel, and Nestle.

Investment has also gained momentum seeing the opportunities, with names like SoftBank, Google Ventures, and KKR placing big bets on the future of agriculture. William Blair & Co. has dubbed it “the AgTech Revolution” and Goldman Sachs has said the growing market may be worth $240 billion by 2050.

Giscombe and the team at Plant are taking an innovative approach looking at under utilized land in and near city centers and applying cutting-edge technology to modernizing food production and distribution - while re-imagining public education at the same time. This first-of-its-kind Public/Private Partnership model is a combination of equally ambitious Infrastructure Development and Social Design projects that have the potential to change many narratives.

“Plant is a platform solution. A service provider operating high-tech greenhouses that can produce and deliver a wide range of fresh, post-organic fruits and vegetables at competitive price points, locally. We’re unconstrained by land availability in most geographies and even with a starting footprint of 6 million sq. ft. per market, we’re just scratching the surface. Solving the production problem is only a part of the challenge; there are numerous improvements needed to the supply-chain itself. This is our focus. It’s the holy grail of retail known as the “Last Mile” and this is where we believe we can have the most impact. This is what On-Demand Agriculture is all about. This is what consumers want. There is no reason to limit our thinking,” Giscombe states. "It’s about resources, balance, and most importantly- people. We believe in building systems for people, not around them.”

Plant’s operation is carbon neutral and more environmentally sustainable, using concentrated solar power and hydroponic systems to refine a process that already out-performs traditional agriculture. Nutrients are delivered through a treated water system and there is no use of agri-chemicals such as pesticides or insecticides and food safety measures control who and what enters facilities, reducing the risks of contamination and food-borne illness.

Proximity to urban centers makes it possible for them to optimize produce for quality and taste in lieu of shelf life and providing year-round access to fresh produce.

It's not just the hardware - but the software that’s taking the game to a whole new level. Giscombe says “It’s not widely understood that Big Data is now an integral part of agriculture and that the two will be inextricably connected going forward. When we tell people we’re in the data business there’s this look of confusion at first, but after a while they get it. To be the best at our core service business, we made the decision to partner with the best in component providers early on. One of our key partners is iUNU out of Seattle. Their crop management and analysis system LUNA, uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to monitor the health and progress of all crops under cultivation allowing us to detect growth down to the millimeter and create 3D models of plants to improve growing recipes — the light, water, temperature, and nutrients — with each new planting. In other words, we’re collecting and synthesizing a lot of data.”

What may be the most exciting element of the work Giscombe and his team are doing though, is Plant for Tomorrow, #P4TMRW, the not-for-profit research and development initiative the company has launched to collaborate with School Districts and educational institutions. Starting with middle-school grades, the initiative provides access to relevant and in-demand skills (technical and humanities-based) for more students at the peak of their developmental curiosity. There is no cost to the schools as the initiative has been designed to be self-sustaining.

Plant-operated commercial farms on district-owned land (up to 1 million sq. ft.) generate revenue from produce sold to distributors within the predetermined local service area. “It’s not really a solution if we can’t reach everybody. Outside of school, there’s still a community that needs to eat. Our produce makes its way to commercial and residential kitchens giving us greater reach and making a greater impact. We’re starting with Broward County Public Schools because this is home. They’re also the sixth-largest in the country, serving a highly diverse population,” Giscombe says.

The Plant4Tomorrow Prototype.

And what’s the secret sauce? “Design. We literally started with the design. We needed to create an experience that would grab our audience (the kids), while seamlessly integrating into the civic landscape and N55 made that possible,” Giscombe says, referring to the partnership with the Denmark-based group (architect Anne Romme, artist Ion Sørvin and engineer Anne Bagger) to create the eye-catching structures.

The Plant for Tomorrow mission is to foster lifelong learning for all, through active education transforming schools into more expansive learning hubs for the broader community. It’s a quadruple bottom-line idea in terms of producing social value and an economic development catalyst as the initiative also creates a significant number of jobs.

“One of our guiding principles at Broward County Public Schools is applied learning, where we seek to create opportunities for students to apply what they are learning to real-world scenarios. This innovative Public/Private Partnership with Plant for Tomorrow will deliver on this goal; giving our students a unique educational experience while addressing major agriculture/food issues. This partnership will also generate funding for in-school programs and ensure the sustainability of this initiative. This is a win for our students, it’s a win for public and private partners, and it’s a win for the environment.”

— Robert Runcie, Superintendent, Broward County Public Schools

Plantation Middle School, the site for the first Plant4Tomorrow.

Giscombe, a father himself, is passionate when he says “Our kids are far ahead of us when it comes to processing power, yet we continue to empower them to blindly follow old paths. In case you haven't heard, they’re hip to that- and have not-so-politely declined. Their voices today, sound a lot like we once did. And though we willingly set aside the aspirations of our youth, this generation won’t be silenced, and we couldn't if we tried. Everything is connected today, and how we engage our kid's factors into their view of what's next, and more importantly, what they choose to do about it.”

Now if you’re thinking this seems like an enormous undertaking all around, you’re right. To create the kind of runway necessary to commit to and see through what will take years to fully deploy, the company is partnering with leading boutique investment bank, B.C. Ziegler, to lead the issue of tax-exempt revenue bonds for the bulk of the financing across the U.S. markets in which the company is establishing operations.

The bonds are expected to be available in the market before year-end, with further international expansion on the cards, though the company is tight-lipped about which ones specifically. Plant and Plant for Tomorrow are also open to working with brands, especially those who have an interest in helping innovate across the food and education systems, to partner in scalable and sustainable ways.

Beyond the technology and the business opportunity, what gets Giscombe really energized is the potential for whole scale transformation of the social contract between people and their food. He speaks passionately about this new era.

“It’s a new relationship, plain and simple," he explains. "Around the world, social systems are failing, people aren’t interested in new rhetoric and instead opt for new approaches to old and new challenges. The new standard to which government, industry, and business at-large are being held accountable, is purpose. The new kids on the block are taking over the conversation, bringing new solutions to the table announcing a new paradigm; now we’re bringing the people to the table; through food."

"If it wasn’t a movement before, we’re taking responsibility for making it one."

#urban agriculture #urban farming #education #STEM #STEAM #food #food systems #vertical farm #greenhouse #double-size

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zenruption · 3 years ago

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Container Gardening: The Growing Phenomenon

Container Gardening, also known as pot farming is a form of gardening which has been becoming increasingly popular. In this form of gardening, the plants, fruits, or vegetables are grown in pots or containers instead of planting them in the ground. Various species of plants, vegetables, fruits, and flowers can be grown in containers. Researches are being conducted to find and create more and more species of plants that can be grown inside pots or containers. Listed below are some of the reasons why container farming is gaining such popularity.

Space Saver

Container gardening can save a lot of space. Especially for people living in urban areas, those who live in apartments or small houses but have a hobby of gardening, pot gardening is the best option. You can even grow some rare varieties of plants and can sell and earn. You don’t need a yard to grow your fruits and vegetables, many varieties of fruits and vegetables or even flowers can be grown in a limited space and can be sold. It even saves water and fertilizers, in turn curbing your expenses on the resources needed. Container gardening has made it possible for you to have plants growing on your tiniest windows, in balconies, or even indoors. You can customize your garden the way you like and give an exciting new makeover to your homes.

Sustainable

Container Gardening is a sustainable form of gardening. With the number of limited resources available, sustainability becomes extremely important in any field. Since container gardening is not causing any large amount of soil depletion, it’s easy to manage and maintain. Pesticides, fertilizers, and most important soil and water, all resources are used in limited amounts. There are many ideas of container gardening that can help you save even more on resources.

Ditch the heavy Gardening Equipment

One of the major reasons for the growth of container gardening is that there is no need for investing in expensive heavy gardening equipment. Since your plants are growing in your containers all you need is some small basic gardening equipment and you are set. No need to buy heavy spades, cutters, rakes, etc. All you need to do is invest in good potting soil and containers and a basic handy gardening toolkit.

There are multiple containers available for various varieties of plants. You just have to choose the best-suited container for a particular plant that you’re trying to grow. It will serve your purpose. Storing heavy equipment safely can also be a problem if you don’t have ample space but you won’t encounter this problem with container gardening.

Variety

Container gardening is also very popular because almost all plants that you grow in your kitchen garden can be easily grown in containers and pots. All your essential vegetables like tomatoes, peas, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, pepper, cucumbers radishes, eggplant etcetera can be grown in containers at the comfort of your home. Not just vegetables but even fruits like most of the berries- strawberries, blueberries, mulberries, gooseberries can be grown in pots.

You can also plant figs, pineapple, bananas, watermelon, and common small fruit trees like lemon, lime, and some varieties of oranges that can be planted in pots. You can grow different plants with different soil, water, fertilizer requirements as they are growing in different plants so various varieties can grow together.

Flexibility

Container Gardening offers a lot of flexibility. In Container Gardening, you are free to choose your medium. You can grow as many varieties of plants as you want with ease. You can use different soils for different plants. You can also completely do away with soil and create your own mediums to grow different varieties of plants. All you need to do is create cultures for various pants and grow them in the comfort of your home.

It saves a lot of time and effort. You can even adjust the growing conditions. You can grow shade-loving plants indoors comfortably with the help of container gardening. Seasonal differences can also be managed, if you want to grow some variety of plant that only grows in a particular season then container gardening can be a game-changer as it allows you to easily control the temperature etc.

Save on Fertilizers and Pesticides

Taking care of the plant while it’s growing is a taxing process. However, container plants make it easier. You don’t need as much fertilizer as you would need for your garden. Fertilizers, whether organic or inorganic, when added to a container growing plant stays inside the container in a concentrated state for a longer time than it does in a garden or a field. It is also important to keep in mind that the fertilizers since they last long in a potted plant need to be sprayed in fewer amounts.

Best in feet infestations are more common in garden beds than in containers. The garden growing plants often requires more pesticides as one does not have the access to each plant. However, this case is not with the container growing plants and they may not require continuous spraying of pesticides. You can easily deal with pest infestation when it comes to container gardening.

Save Water

A garden or field has more water requirements than container-grown plants. There is more evaporation of water from the garden due to the large surface area. So, in spite of providing enough water to your garden, there are plants that will die out. However, that is not the case with container gardening. Each plant will have access to sufficient amounts of water and the containers offer less surface area for evaporation. So the containers will be able to hold water for a longer period of time.

Container gardening or pot gardening is the perfect example of putting the minimum effort and generating maximum profits. The containers could be small but they can help you get great results also. They are the new gardens of the urban cities and townships. Container Gardening takes you beyond time and space as it allows you to highly customize your garden. They also provide breathtaking aesthetics as they add a lot of brightness and color to your home.

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lupine-publishers-ciacr · 4 years ago

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Lupine Publishers | Onion (Allium cepa) Production in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas: Financial Performance and Importance of This Activity for Market Gardeners in Southern Benin

Abstract

Food safety has always been and continues to be a major concern for all countries of the world. This concern is all the more perennial in the developing countries like Benin with a low economic level and still rudimentary and extensive agriculture. To reduce a little bit of food insufficiency, is developed urban and peri-urban agriculture based mainly on market gardening. This study focused particularly on the production of onion in southern Benin. It aims to analyze its performance, to understand the importance of this activity but also to see what are the obstacles faced by these producers. Three municipalities were investigated: Grand-Popo, Cotonou and Sèmè-Kpodji. A total of 60 farmers were surveyed at 20 per municipality. Quantitative and qualitative tools were combined for the analysis of data collected through individual and group interviews. A joint analysis approach was used to achieve specific objectives. It consists to combine speech analysis, participant observation with statistical tools such as the frequency distribution, the regression model and calculation of performance indicators. It follows from all of these analyzes that onion production is profitable from a financial point of view. This performance is enhanced by factors such as age, experience and membership of a producer group. Similarly, the farmers claimed for majority that onion occupies a special place in their market garden production. This production improves their socio-economic and food situations. However, the constraints that undermine the more onion production and thus constitute important producer concerns are financial, institutional, organizational, property constraints and those directly related to production. Farmers therefore, expect a little more effort from agricultural policies to improve the development of this sector.

Keywords: Onion, Performance, Importance, Barriers, Southern Benin

Introduction

The agricultural sector provides essentially food security and livelihood in Benin, with 70% of the population earning their income from agriculture [1]. This sector is even more important for developing countries like Benin, where it is one of the pillars of the economy [2]. Nowadays, it is increasingly recognized that in the developing world, nearly three billion people live on less than US $2 per day [3]. Majority of this population are smallholder farmers producing staple food crops with little prospects of generating higher incomes. Hence, diversification into high-value horticulture is essential for increasing farm incomes, alleviating poverty and improving livelihoods [4,5]. Globally, food production is still a challenge [6,7], especially with the projected rise in world population to over 9 billion by 2050 and increased urbanization in cities [8]. There is therefore still some justification for increasing agricultural production in the coming years [9,10]. Urban vegetable production is an intensive agricultural strategy through which urban dwellers secure income and improve their livelihoods [11].Urban and periurban agriculture (UPA) has been defined differently by Mougeot [12,13], Moustier [14], and Van Veenhuizen [15], but they all lay stress on agriculture’s relationship with the city as a resource and destination for outputs [16].

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the most important commercial spice crops of the world belongs to Amaryllidaceae family [17]. Moreover, essential oil and sulfur compounds have been found in onion which is responsible for unique odour, flavour, and taste [18]. Based on the interested situation in health food development, the properties of onion and its extract as a functional agent have been demonstrated in many previously [19]. Onion (Allium cepa L.) has been valued as food and medicinal plant since ancient times [20]. It is widely cultivated secondly to tomato, and is a vegetable bulb crop known to most cultures and consumed worldwide [21]. The major onion producing countries of the world are China, India, USA, Turkey, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Poland and Egypt [22]. In Benin West African country, this culture has become very important especially in urban areas where the market gardeners devote more land to the production of onion. It is in order to make an inventory and understand onion production in southern Benin that this study was conducted. Specifically, the study aims to analyze firstly the profitability of onion production, secondly to appreciate the importance of onion production in southern Benin and ending by identifying the difficulties facing the farmers.

Materials and Methods

Study zone

The municipalities of Grand-Popo, Sèmè-Kpodji and Cotonou are located in south of Benin and cover respectively 289km², 250km² to 79km². The town of Grand Popo is located in the southwestern department of Mono. It is limited to the north by the Athiémé, Comé and Houéyogbé communes, south by the Atlantic sea, to the southwest by the communes of Ouidah and Kpomassè and west by the Republic of Togo. Located between the parallel 6° 22 ‘and 6° 28’ north latitude and the meridian 2° 28 ‘and 2° 43’ east longitude, the commune of Sèmè-Kpodji is in the Department of Ouémé, the Southeast of the Republic of Benin on the Atlantic coast. It is limited to the north by the city of Porto Novo and Aguégué, south by the Atlantic sea, to the east by the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to the west by the city of Cotonou. The town of Cotonou in turn is located on the barrier beach that stretches between Nokoué Lake and the Atlantic sea, consistitued of alluvial sands of about five meters maximum height. It represents the only municipality in the Littoral department is bounded to the north by the municipality of Sô-Ava and Nokoué Lake, south by the Atlantic sea, to the east by the town of Seme-Kpodji and West by that of Abomey-Calavi. These towns are from a set that has a sub-equatorial climate except Sèmè-Kpodji bathed in a Guinean Sudanese climate. We find in these areas, the sandy type of soil, leached and hydromorphic. The municipalities of Grand-Popo, Sèmè-Kpodji and Cotonou have various socio-cultural group included the mina, the Goun, the Xwla and Toffins.

Methodology

To conduct this research, three (03) municipalities were selected in southern Benin. These towns were chosen partly because of their significant contribution to the onion production of the department to which they belong, and secondly because of the large number of onion producers they contain. We have Grandpopo, Sèmè-Kpodji and Cotonou. Therefore, (60) producers made object of investigation at the rate of twenty (20) producers per commune. This sample consists only of onion producers. Note that the sample was achieved in a simple random in order to give all producers the same probability of being selected. Table 1 show the composition of the sample per commune: The collected data is related not only to the characteristics of the producers, but also to expenditure and revenue of producers. The information has been collected on the basis of a questionnaire and a pre-prepared interview guide.

Table 1: Composition of the sample per commune.

Source: Results of investigation, 2018.

Data analysis

In this study, the performance of onion production in southern Benin was assessed using several indicators of financial performance. To this end, it is inspired by the work of Dédéwanou [23]. Several profitability indicators were therefore calculated, namely: Gross Product Value (PBV), Added Value (VA), the Gross Operating Income (RBE) and Net Operating Income (RNE). From Adégbola [24] and Bockel [25] studies, these indicators can be calculated as follows:

a) Product Gross Value (PBV): Denoting by Q the quantity of onion obtained and PU the selling price of the kilogram, the Gross Product Value (PBV) is given by: PBV = Q*PU.

b) The PBV is for this purpose the revenue made by the producer.

c) Added Value (VA): It corresponds to the difference between the Raw Product Noise Value and the value of intermediate inputs (CI). Intermediate consumption represents expenses related to the acquisition of insecticides, herbicides, and baskets. Its formula is given by: VA=PBV-CI.

d) The added value is obtained by deducting from the PBV, all expenses directly related to the production. Note that the added value is the wealth that the producer creates. This wealth contributes to the Gross Domestic Product of the country.

e) Gross Operating Income (RBE): It is given by the formula: RBE=VA-(Labor compensation + financial expenses + taxes). To estimate the RBE, it was considered only the hired labor.

f) Net Operating Income (RNE) This indicator represents the balance of RBE less the value of depreciation. Its formula is given by: RNE=RBE-Amortization.

g) The RNE expresses the gain (or loss) Economic agent once acquitted all current operating expenses. RNE, expresses the economic gain (or loss) given the investments made previously. Therefore RNE is obtained by deducting from the PBV all expenses related to production.

h) This study is also proposed to analyze the determinants of the profitability of onion production. For this purpose this study was based on the work of Tovignan [26] and Allagbe [27]. A multiple linear regression model has been developed on the basis of sixty (60) onion producers. Thus, the multiple linear regression formula can be written as follow:

y =α0 +α1xi+ εi

Where: y is the dependent variable, xi the explanatory variables, α is a constant called “intercept” and Ɛi the error term of the model.

The evaluation of the importance of onion production consists to determine changes in socio-economic and food orders induced by this production in the three investigated municipalities. To do this, in a collection of producer’s speeches about perceived improvements since they produce onion was done. The analysis fundamentally was based on the discourse of these producers and through participant observation. More simply, the analysis consists to explain the effects induced by the production of onion in a social context through producer’s speeches and participant observation. These explanations were supported by the comments of some significant producers. The frequency distribution and the farmer’s speeches allowed identifying the barriers of onion production in the study areas.

Presentation of the variables included in the model

Two types of variables are included in the regression model turned. We have on the one hand, the dependent variable and the other explanatory variables. The dependent variable is the Net Operating Income of producers. It was therefore question of identified and analyzed the factors influencing the income of onion producers. So many variables called ‘’ explanatory ‘’ were introduced in the regression model. The explanatory variables included in the model are: age of the producer (Age), household size (Mena), the number of agricultural household assets (ActifM), the level of literacy (Alpha), educational level (Inst), seniority (Anc), membership of a group (APPG), the cultivated area (Sup), the mode of land access (ACCT) and fixed costs (CF).

There are a lot of reasons for the incorporation of these variables in the regression model.

a) Age: Age is a variable expressed in years. Several studies identify age as a parameter determining the profitability of agricultural production. Indeed, the more the producer is aged, the more he gains experience enabling him to improve the financial performance of its operations. This variable has been introduced into the model to see if it has an influence on the net income of onion producers in South Benin. The age would have a positive effect on the financial performance of onion production.

b) Mena: This variable refers to the number of persons who form the household of the producer. Household size is a potential source of labor and allows producers to increase production. It therefore positively influences the net income of the onion producer.

c) ActfM: This variable represents the number of agricultural workers of producer household. The number of assets would have a positive effect on the profitability of production because the market garden production, especially onions requires a lot of labor.

d) Alpha and Inst: Education can acquire a base regarding the management of a exploitation. So, educated onion producers will have a higher income than their uneducated counterparts. The effect of literacy and education on the net income would be positive.

e) Old: This is the number of the producer seniority year. Over the producer has a number of high year of seniority, the more he has strengths and knowledge that will enable him to improve his onion production. It therefore positively influences the net income of the onion producer.

f) APPG: This variable represents the membership or not of the producer to a group. It is a binary variable taking the values 1 if the producer is a member of an onion producer group or 0 if not. This variable could have a positive effect on financial performance of the production, in the sense that the producer’s group members have the support of extension services as well as that of some development programs and projects in order to improve their performance.

h) ACCT: This variable represents the farmer’s access mode to the ground. This variable is set to 0 if the producer has access to land by inheritance; 1 if access rental. The fact that the onion producer owns the piece of land to his work, it could have an influence on his income because the latter will invest the necessary capital. A positive or negative sign of the coefficient for this variable would be expected.

i) CF: Fixed costs represent costs of production. Over were these expenses less producers take advantage of his farm. These variables will therefore have a negative effect on net income of onion producers.

Table 2: Summary of the model variables and the expected signs.

Source: Results of literature searches, 2018.

Table 2 shows a summary of all the variables included in the model with their expected signs. Note that two software’s were used in this section. SPSS has achieved descriptive statistics and STATA software was used to perform econometric regression.

Results and Discussion

A zoom on onion production and consumption

The following Table 3 shows the countries that produce most of onion in the world. China and India are the primary onion growing countries, followed by the USA, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Brazil, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Korea [21]. Onion productivity is highest in the Republic of Korea (66.16t/ ha), followed by the USA (56.26t/ha), Spain (53.31t/ha), and the Netherlands (51.64t/ha). With world production of 74,250,809 tonnes from an area of 4,364,000 hectare, the average productivity across the world is 19.79t/ha. The international trade in onion exports is 6.77 million tonnes. The Netherlands is the highest onion exporter (1.33 million tonnes) followed by India, China, Egypt, Mexico, USA, Spain, and Argentina. Bangladesh, Malaysia, the Russian Federation, the UK, Japan, and Saudi Arabia are the major onion importing countries in the world [21]. According to Bethesda [28], West Africa represents less than 2% of the world output of onion. However, it represents 10±25% of the vegetables consumption in West Africa: its culture is ancient in the region and extends through several agro-ecological zones, ranging from arid Sahelian countries to humid coastal countries [29]. In Benin particularly, the production of the onion is relatively young (40-50 years) [30].

Table 3: The ten largest producers of onion in the world.

Source: FAO, 201221.

If there is no recent and clear statistics of the volume of domestic onion production, it should be noted that the production has been in galloping development of around 70,000 tonnes against 15,000 just 20 years ago. According to Baco [31] and Affomasse [32], the average area of onion production is 1 ha in Benin representing 57% of total area under vegetable crops. Onion is the market garden predominant crop in Benin since it is grown by more than 80% of vegetable growers. Similarly, the onion is a product consumed by all the urban and rural beninese. Urban consumption is estimated at 3.3kg of onions per year per person. This demand represents a commercial demand for 7000 tonnes per year. The consumption of rural populations against is estimated at 1.1 kg of onions per year per person, a rural consumption of about 14 000 tonnes. Although the production of onion is growing, the country is unable to meet domestic demand of around 45,000 tonnes [33] throughout the year, which explains the need to import the remaining, mainly by Niger, Gaya-Malanville border [34].

Source of supply and sector’s actors

Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Benin are the biggest onion supply sources to West African consumers. Niger is the largest producer and exporter of onion in West Africa and its commercial network allows to supply the major coastal markets of the sub region. In Benin, for against the import of this speculation is more important because domestic production cannot meet the needs of people. However, nationally the most productive zones are Malanville, Karimama and Grand-Popo followed by large cities (Cotonou, Sèmè-Kpodji, Ouidah, Dassa and Glazoué) that also produce a considerable quantity of onion as urban or suburban vegetable. The production of onion, like most agricultural crops in Benin knows two periods: a period of abundance (January to May) characterized by high availability of onions on the market. Currently, importers of other countries (Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Nigeria) are sourcing local onion to neighboring countries. The second period, that of solder (August to December) is characterized by the scarcity of onions and increasing the product price on the market. In Benin, onion varieties are encountered onion Galmi (or white Galmi onion), purple Galmi (or onion Agades) and Dendi onion of Malanville (red onion or local onion). Of these varieties, the white Galmi remains the favorite onion for Beninese consumers. Besides his characteristics that one knows (bigger than the red onion, relatively smooth, easier to maintain, less spicy (less acidic)), it is its organoleptic qualities that are most appreciated (the pleasant flavor that it gives to the sauce and the fact that it does not blacken). Regarding the sale price of onions, it knows a big fluctuation depending on the period as specified above. Thus, the bag of 100kg of acceptable quality onion (red onion Galmi) and the most appreciated (white Galmi onion) respectively cost 14,500 CFA and 19,500 CFA in times of plenty against respectively 50,000 CFA and 75.000 CFA in lean period. Table 4 shows the selling price of 100 kg bag of different onion varieties in the study area.

Table 4: selling price of 100 kg bag of cultivated varieties of onion.

Source: Results of investigation, 2018.

The actors in the Value Chain (VC): a multitude of stakeholders

The onion sector is composed of a large number of actors can be subdivided into four groups. It is the operators of the value chain; supporters of the chain; institutional actors; stakeholders and external facilitators

a) The operators of the value chain are most concerned. They are upstream of the value chain and are for the most part the first owners of the product. They represent producers, sellers or resellers, customers or buyers, processors, intermediaries, wholesalers and retailers.

b) The supporters of the chain are those that are not directly related to the process of production or marketing. They are actors who sell their services to producers, processors and traders. This is usually suppliers of inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides), moneylenders or credit providers, pumps sellers and gasoline retailers, MFIs, intermediaries, carriers, of agricultural laborers, carters to transport the onion over a short distance etc.

c) Institutional actors are the actor’s group that provides institutional support in the context of a continuous improvement and regulation of the sector activities. These include state structures (MAEP, CECPA, SCDA, customary chiefs, customs, police, gendarmerie, research and extension services etc.). The finding done is that these groups of actors do not really invest in the development of the sector.

d) Stakeholders and external facilitators are actors who aim to improve the socio-economic life of rural populations. They provide financial and technical support primarily to producers. These are NGOs, development projects and programs, and specific fund donors.

Downstream of the chain, there is a last group of actors which is relatively large: The consumers. Onion Consumers can be at any level of the chain. He may be the producer and in this case he practices subsistence farming or firm that process onion for example. It is important to note that in this sector, the actors play complementary roles. The value chain would not be good if each group of actors not playing its role effectively. The following Figure 1 shows schematically the various actors in the onion value chain in Southern Benin: In fact, some of the onions harvested by farmers are sold to rural collectors or directly to local markets. Intermediaries and wholesalers, for their part, buy onion for the most part from rural collectors or local markets. The purchased stock is then transported to urban markets (for example the Dantokpa,Malanville and Parakou markets). However, it should be noted that some producers sell their crops directly in these urban markets. The following circuit (Figure 2) shows the onion commercialization process described by respondent’s producers. All actors in the chain are present and the complementary relationship they have in the onion value chain.

Figure 1: Groups of actors in the Onion value chain in Benin.

Source: Results of investigation, 2018.

Figure 2: Process of marketing of onion value chain.

Source: Results of investigation, 2018.

Potential and motivations of onion producers

The onion production in both North and South Benin is favored by some natural assets available in the country. It is:

a) Agro-ecological potential of Benin (soils, climate, topography, vegetation, drainage network).

b) The geographical location of Benin (proximity to other producing countries such as Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and other countries onion importers like Togo).

In addition to the natural potential, certain provisions promote onion production in Benin. We can talk about:

a) Mechanized irrigation through pumps for irrigation, from the shallow groundwater.

b) Interventions of many projects to support the intensification and promotion of fruit and vegetable crops.

c) Applied search to identify ways of improving vegetable production.

d) The producer’s enthusiasm for onion cultivation due to its high profitability.

e) The supply in specific inputs (Improved seeds, products pesticides, fertilizers...) from the 2000s.

f) Existence of market garders communal groups.

g) The existence of an international market and many village markets.

Especially for urban producers surveyed (Cotonou, Seme- Kpodji and Grand Popo) these are the following benefits that motivate these market gardeners to engage in the cultivation of onion.

a) The high financial profitability of onion production

b) More favorable conditions for the intensification of production systems, due to land pressure and pluriactivity that promote the enhancement of complementarities.

c) The geographical proximity to markets (Dantokpa market for example) reduces transportation costs compared to remote rural areas.

d) The reduction of energy and time in getting goods to consumers: transport, storage, especially for fresh produce.

e) The reduction of post-harvest losses due to the proximity of production areas.

f) Better product quality in terms of freshness for perishable products.

Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the surveyed producers

In southern Benin, specifically in the municipalities of Grand-Popo, Sèmè-Kpodji, and Cotonou onion production is predominantly male (78.3% of men against 21.7% of women). These producers have an average age of 28 (±08) with a tenure of 06 years (±04). Moreover, in the study area average household has 04 persons (±02) and 03 (±01) agricultural assets. Levels of literacy and education of the surveyed producers are more or less acceptable in public Grand-Popo, Sèmè-Kpodji and Cotonou. Note also that 50% of producers are active members of a group against a second half not belonging to a producer group. Overall, there are 81.7% literate farmers and 91.7% educated farmers. In the study zone, onion producers have an average area under crop of 2785.48 m2. These areas are obtained either legacy (61.7%) or rent (38.3%). To operate their farms, producers face two types of loads in their exploitations. These called ‘’variables’’ and those ‘’fixed’’. These charges are respectively 93 CFA/m2 and 5.76 CFA/m2. Table 5 shows the statistical variables characterizing respondents.

Table 5: Statistical variables characterizing respondents.

Source: Results of investigation, 2018.

Financial Performance of onion production

To assess the financial performance of onion production, analysis of operating farmers account was made. Thus, the results of the analysis reported in Table 4 shows that onion production is profitable in southern Benin as the average Net Operating Income calculated is positive (689 CFA/m2>0). These results are consistent with those of MAHRH [35] and Fanou [36] whose studies finally led to the conclusion that onion production is profitable. Table 6 below shows the operating account of onion producers. Note that the financial performance indicators used were calculated in CFA/m2.

Table 6: Financial performance indicators calculated.

Source: Results of investigation, 2018.

Determinants of onion production profitability

The multiple linear regression model performed to identify the determinants of the onion production profitability is generally significant at the 1% level (p=0.0000<1%). Variables such as age of the producer, the cultivated area, the level of literacy, membership in a group, the experience, and fixed costs are those which influence the onion production profitability in southern Benin. The variables of the model that are not significant are: household size, the number of farm assets, access to land and the level of producer instruction. Age has a positive significant effect on the threshold of 1% on the profitability of onion production. We therefore deduce that more the producer is old, more sometimes he took advantage of its business. The producer thus gains experience with time. Which experience allows him to improve the financial performance of his exploitations? However, these producers are very few open to new technologies that are proposed to improve their income. They therefore remain conservative. This conclusion stems from the fact that seniority has a negative significant effect on the threshold of 1% on the profitability of onion production. It is the same for literacy that has a negative and significant effect on the threshold of 1% on the profitability of onion production in southern Benin. These results are contrary to those obtained by Labiyi [37] which identify education as a determinant of economic efficiency of resource allocation in soybean production in Benin. Membership of the producer group has a positive and significant effect at the 10% threshold on the profitability of onion production.

Thus, onion producers who are members of a group have higher net profits than the others because they will benefit from certain advantages. We can highlight the sharing of information, mutual assistance and the expertise that a producer can take the other being a member of an onion producer group. These results are consistent with those of Tovignan [26] who found that producers who are members of a group have a higher net profit than others who do not belong to any group. Unlike the membership of a producer group, the wheat area has a negative and significant effect on the threshold 5% on the profitability of his exploitations. Thus, over the cultivated area, the less the onion producer benefits from his activities. The producers do not manage to meet the obligations belong to large farms. Note that these results contradict those obtained by Tovignan [26] who deduced that producers who have a large area under cotton production have a higher net profit than those having a small area. It is the same for the fixed charges that have a negative effect and significant at the 5% level on the profitability of the production of onion. Therefore, the more these expenses amounted less the producer benefits from his plantation. Table 7 shows the results of estimation of multiple linear regression model performed.

Table 7: Estimated multiple linear regression models.

*** = Significant at 1%; ** = significant at 5%; * = Significant at 10%

Source: Estimation Results, 2018.

Onion importance for farmers: The onion producers constitute the largest actors group in the in the sector. Therefore, this production contributes to job creation for over 75% of agricultural assets during market gardening seasons in different regions of the study area. At the household level, onion cultivation is an important source of income and contributes to food and income security for producers. The onion is often the biggest source of cash income and helps to meet the needs of families. At Grand-Popo, as in all the investigated cities (Cotonou, Seme-Kpodji), deferred selling garden products, particularly onion is a powerful lever to support the food security of urban populations. As an activity of counter-season, onion belts allow producers not only to self-employed, to ensure household food security but also to receive significant revenue.

98% of surveyed producers recognized that onion production has resulted in many changes in their socio-economic life. In general, improving purchasing power has had a positive impact on food security, education and health situation of farmers. The onion income often also generates new income-generating activities such as petty trading, farming and others. Culturally, onion helps to prepare for marriage or pilgrimage to Mecca. Woman A and Man B two onion producers of Grand Popo and Cotonou asserted: ‘Onion production is very important to us. With this production I am more and more autonomous. I depend less on my husband. I don’t expect him anymore before buying coal or kitchen utensils. I do all my small expenses through this production income and I can even pay my tontine which was very difficult for me when I was not market gardner’ (A).’Onion is very profitable. I produce a lot of vegetables but little counter-season onion i produce, I can invest in my livestock and it is the same money that allow me paying my three children’s scholar fees each year’ (B).

Importance for input suppliers and other service providers

To carry out their activities, onion producers have much contact with a range of actors that are upstream in the value chain. Producers purchase pumps and pipes, gasoline, seeds, plows and small equipment, fertilizers and pesticides. Then, there is all kinds of economic relations between producers and suppliers, including the informal credit provision. The majority of the production costs regarding labor. Indeed, the onion sector creates many jobs, often for the poor. There is a redistribution of income from large producers to small producers, landless people in rural exodus through the agricultural labor. In most cases, producers raise funds to run production without financial institutions credit. Man C a Cotonou seed seller confirms these observations through these words:

‘In general market garden production allows us seed sellers to us to quickly sell our products in the city. Most of the time, people come to take the seeds of garden crops like onion and tomato. Many people feed through production. Carriers, agricultural equipment vendors, laborers ... ‘ (C)

Health and nutritional importance for producers-self consumer

Some market gardeners (6%) produce the onion just for its nutritional and health importance. For these producers, onion is a valuable culture that they not only produce for sale but also and especially for its therapeutic properties, organoleptic qualities and anti-erosive effect. Three onion self-consumers Men D, E and Woman F justify the importance of the Niger’s purple gold in their diet and their health situations.

‘The onion gives the taste and flavor. You can prepare a good sauce without putting a little onion. It is sometimes used to garnish the food or mitigate the effect of spicy chili’ (D)

‘The onion comes in many herbal tea in traditional therapies. When crushed with other products such as garlic, Goussi and others that can heal digestive problems, cancer, liver, rheumatism. It also helps to regulate menstruation cycle of women. My grandfather suffered from high blood pressure but with the adequate consumption of onions, it’s much better for a while ‘ (E)

‘The onion can be used in all forms: raw for salads, for example, cooked for frying or sauce, cut, beads, rapped or crushed. Onion juice can treat skin acne and provides a smooth and beautiful skin, as well as for hair growth and maintenance, colds, coughs, to sexual arousal’ (F). Figure 3 presents the advantages of onion production in southern Benin.

Figure 3: Importance of onion production in southern Benin.

Source: RResults of investigation, 2018.

Obstacles and expectations of onion producers in south benin

Onion production despite the many benefits that it brings to market gardeners, is facing various difficulties. Analysis of the Table 8 shows that the major constraints identified in onion production in southern Benin are institutional organizational, financial, land orders, and those directly related to production. The market gardeners interviewed affirmed that these constraints were also those for which it was essential that one find solutions. Among the most relevant constraints mentioned by farmers are: the lack of specific inputs for vegetable (onion), strong parasite pressure not control pests and vegetation in stock, the still extensive production system and low yields, low technical capacity of producers, difficult access to credit, poor organization of the onion sector in Benin, the lack of organization of market gardeners in general, deforestation and soil impoverishment, difficult harvest evacuation due to the degradation of most of the tracks, the low involvement of technical extension services, low supply of local services for the supply and distribution of specific inputs, lack of arable land, delay and poor distribution of rainfall in time and space and finally shortening the rainfall cycle.

Table 8: Constraints of onion production and relevance of these constraints by producers.

Source: Results of investigation, 2018.

These results are in the same direction as those obtained by Gotoechan-Hodonou [38] in northern Benin, attic of the onion production. Baco [31] also identified similar constraints in their studies in the field of seed production. The context of the difficulties faced by onion farmers in southern Benin is similar to the case of Niger where the constraints identified were the poor quality and availability of inputs and equipment, problems of access to certified seeds, low financial capacity producers, poor access and insufficient agricultural credit, poor mastery of production techniques, a lack of modern storage infrastructure and huge losses in stock, the traditional character of the transformation, the lack of appropriate packaging the variability of the weight of the bag, the existence of different methods of fixing and price volatility, weak infrastructure and road harassment [39], market saturation after the third cycle of production, the lack of regulatory mechanism supply and demand and competition from foreign imports in the sub-region39. However, among the identified constraints, are institutional, organizational and financial coming to the forefront. It is therefore imperative that the public and private agricultural institutions orient their policies in a process of facilitation and development of onion production in Benin. Despite the efforts, the producers of South Benin still face enormous difficulties that significantly hamper production. Producers have issued many approaches that could improve production conditions and therefore their living conditions. The most important approaches proposed by the producers were related to the main constraints mentioned. Man X and Woman Y, two onion producers argued about it, respectively:

‘We know that we are in cities, so with regard to the land is lacking but we did not complain too much. But there are things the government can do to make our job easier. For example, they can create agricultural credit services for onion producers, they can put us in group; can also be formed on the most effective technologies of production. It is necessary that the state helps.’ (X)

‘It is difficult to produce in cities, but we mostly need help. We receive no government support. Nobody supervises us, we cope alone. We would like the state begins to take us for help. The state focuses on cotton or cashew forgetting that gardening provides food security especially those urban populations. I don’t know if they know but especially gardening onion production is more profitable than cotton. I have produced cotton in the North before coming south for work. But finally I gave myself to the production of onion because it gives me more revenue especially against season. I strongly urge agricultural institutions to find us improved varieties of onion seeds, financing for irrigation and the launch of activities, organizing into cooperatives and especially we organize training courses.’ (Y)

Conclusion

Onion production is a very important sector which may be considered not only to ensure food security of urban populations but also to improve the living conditions of the producers. This production proves very financially profitable for producers in southern Benin. In addition to its financial performance, it also impacts on social, health, nutritional and environmental producers living. It allows a large number of producers and a considerable number of actors as service providers to have substantial income. However, it would be interesting for agricultural policies to develop actions to limit constraints of this production in southern Benin.

#Agriculture #Agricultural Engineering #agricultural journal

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coilsncakes · 6 years ago

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As an effort to keep myself blogging, I’ve decided to start a series called “Things no one warns you about.” This series will include every topic, from hair care to gardening. I am no expert, but hopefully my mistakes will help others.

Starting off this series is; Growing a Garden.

This year, I decided to start a garden on the back porch of my apartment. Sounds awesome right, I thought so until the real work began. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying the process, but it’s a PROCESS. I took it upon myself to take off my acrylic nails, I knew they wouldn’t make it, and researched the plants I wanted. AS for what to put the plants in, my choices were a bunch of pots or a raised garden bed. Lucky for those reading this, you’ll learn a lot from my mistakes.

Here’s 5 things I wish I knew before I started.

Research everything!!

If you are trying to create a garden on a dime, weight the pros and cons on everything. Watch Youtube videos, ask people with gardens every question you can. There’s more to gardening than putting seeds in the ground and mistakes cost. I started thinking about this garden back in January and watch YouTube like crazy trying to decide between a raised bed and pots. Lets compare, making a 4X4 raised bed on concrete to pots, both with 4 different kinds of plants. The raised bed itself will cost you;

Wood- $12

Screws-$3

Weed barrier (to protect the pavement) – $1 Dollar Tree saved the day

That brings you to a grand total of about $16 with tax (may vary by state). Pretty inexpensive if you already a power tool. If you don’t you can opt for nails or a tool rental at any home improvement store. Moving on to pots, remember we are doing this on a dime so no pretty pots unless on sale. A regular 12 inch terra cotta pot is the best in my opinion because it shares just about the same depth as the raised bed will cost anywhere from 8 to 10 dollars a pot. You will need four, maybe five to cover the same ground as the bed which brings the total to 34 to 42 dollars depending where you make your purchase. Trying to do this on a dime, I chose to do the raised bed for money saving purposes. I already had a drill and a willing helper with gardening experience.

Moving on, for the raised bed you need sand to help the watering system, luckily I had some from the winter, but can buying it can range from 2 to 5 dollars a bag ( you only need one for a 4×4 bed, see above). Dirt you have to pay for because again, I live in a apartment. A good tool to see how much dirt you will need is this website called Gardeners.com. Here, you can put in whether you have a raised bed or pots, and the dimensions. For my raised bed, it said I needed 11 cubic feet of dirt which brings me to point #2.

2. Dirt is dirt, but Beware

11 cubic feet equals out to about 11 bags (1 cubic feet each) of dirt. If you are trying to save money, go for the inexpensive. I warn you, the saying you get what you pay for rings true. Dirt can be outrageously expensive. 1 bag of “organic” dirt, not even 1 cubic foot is 8 dollars. WHY???!!! Me trying to save money, I opted for top soil because dirt is dirt, right? Top soil is the cheapest out ranging from 1.25 to 1.75. Believe me when I tell you, top soil= non-sifted, may get some of everything dirt, and I do mean everything including manure. If you’re brave, get a thick pair gloves and sift through the big wood pieces and, other things. I assure you, there will be enough dirt left.

3. Start the Seeds Indoors

Nothing is more frustrating than planting seeds outdoors and none survive. By starting seeds indoors, you can;

remember to water them daily

check on their process

regrow if the first batch doesn’t make it.

There are several different ways to start a seed, two of them is the paper towel/plastic bag and the seeding pots. The paper towel method consists of putting the seeds on a wet paper towel (some put hydrogen peroxide on it) and sealing it in a bag until they seed a plant sprouting. When the seeds begin to sprout, transfer them to a pot, then to the ground. If you want to skip this step, go straight to the seeding pot method. Seeding pots are expensive, so I bought aluminum pie pans from the dollar store with the lid, works just like a greenhouse.

4. Don’t go Broke Buying Seeds

Seed buying can cost more than buying the dirt, but in this case seeds are seeds. There are some differences in price, the amount you get and sometimes the quality of the seed. When it comes to what they produce, there’s no difference. Opt for the 20 cent or even dollar bag compared to the 5 dollar bag, the end result is the same.

5. Buying plants compared to seeds

This last point is important if you don’t want to wait forever for produce. Starting from seed for fast growing plants like sugar snap peas and some other vegetables is the best and more affordable way to get produce. Tomatoes and other fruits take a little longer from seeds which makes buying these already grown is the best option. Same rule applies when talking about plants, don’t go broke buying plants because of the brand name. Plants are plants, it’s up to you fertilizing and watering it to give you produce.

Warning: Be careful transporting the plants. any major disruption to the roots, whether you started the seed or bought the plant will cause the plant to die.

I hope this helps someone from making the mistakes I did and encourages others to grow a garden. If you do grow a garden send me pictures. I’d love to see it.

Happy Planting!!

Things no one warns you about: Growing a Garden As an effort to keep myself blogging, I've decided to start a series called "Things no one warns you about." This series will include every topic, from hair care to gardening.

#Home garden #how to #what you should know

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spicynbachili1 · 6 years ago

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I played Eco and didn’t want to save the world

RPS is having an Apocalypse Day! We’re celebrating the tip of the world and video games about it. Test again tomorrow, if we’re nonetheless all right here.

That is like a type of jokes that work on Twitter however makes individuals actually involved when you write it on Fb: “Anybody else really feel just like the planet is doomed and we must always cease making an attempt?” Like, your aunt would put up a remark beneath asking when you have been okay. The primary time I performed Eco, I selected a world that had been operating for a number of days, with a number of energetic gamers. It appeared like a good suggestion, as a result of they’d have gotten a head begin on stopping the meteor about to hit the planet, you see. I spawned in on a large, flat plain with a number of tents dotted round. The tutorial suggested me to arrange my camp close to different buildings, so I’d be capable of benefit from what the group had constructed to date.

I didn’t realise then that the plain I used to be on was as soon as a thick forest carpeted with wild vegatables and fruits; the deforestation had been curbed by the introduction of a tax on anybody however new gamers chopping down timber.

The camps round me had lengthy since been deserted for bigger properties. The closest timber to me have been a slog away, and I barely managed to construct something. I bought hungry and couldn’t full the hunt to search out meals, as a result of the one edibles rising close by have been owned by one other participant who was now operating a bakery. Critically. This individual owned the one residing corn on the planet, I feel.

There was a forge, common shops, and a protracted stretch of a freeway was below building. Gamers have been working collectively and displaying one another what they’d constructed for the trouble (an enormous path between totally different properties). There are methods within the sport that encourage collaboration and stop griefing; you possibly can set the possession of any of your stuff, making it public, non-public or obtainable to sure people. The server I used to be on was, unsurprisingly, not a communist one, however they did have a stockpile from which newcomers have been allowed to take a certain quantity of meals to maintain them going.

What I spent most of my time doing on my first Eco planet

There was little or no forest close to my camp, so I spent most of my time trekking forwards and backwards carrying logs, and ultimately constructed a small house. However then what? Virtually all the things else close by was owned by another person already. I’d have to maneuver to the opposite facet of the world to make extra progress. And progress could be made, as evidenced by the enterprise and houses different individuals owned. There have been a few different individuals on the server, discussing what progress they’d made in constructing. However they didn’t appear involved in regards to the meteor. The meteor felt, in reality, like a MacGuffin to drive individuals to work collectively. I switched possession of my meagre pile of logs to public, and left for a brand new world.

On a contemporary, new planet in Eco, virtually in every single place was forest. I constructed a small, one-room log cabin with an earth ground and a campfire inside, which I used to be utilizing to roast some tomatoes. I’d tilled a small patch of floor behind it to make a vegetable backyard from wild seeds I’d discovered within the forest, and had a storage stockpile to put aside extra uncooked sources. Only a few logs to maintain the fireplace burning, actually. I used to be specialising in carpentry to have the ability to construct higher issues — as in The Yawhg, I used to be a lonely woodcutter residing within the woods. I made myself a bow, and managed to hunt an elk on my own — simply the one, only for meals to maintain me going. All in all, issues have been going modestly, however properly.

The world of Eco is price saving. It’s blocky, however various and fairly, with a bunch of various biomes and animals. I went to the seaside, and located a desert with flowering cactuses (cactiiiii?). I discovered plenty of tortoises thriving on high of a snowy mountain, which was complicated and galvanizing in equal measure. The forest the place I put my cabin was very thick, and darkish. I used to be subsequent to a waterfall! I used to be wanting forwards to studying to fish!

Then I opened the map, and noticed that my little homestead was the centre of a zone of one-woman destruction, glowing on the largely pristine floor like a pimple of disgrace on the face of a growing world. My tiny house had necessitated the destruction of a surprisingly massive swathe of virgin forest. This had additionally left plenty of particles from the place the timber had been crashing down, and my fixed trekking forwards and backwards had trampled a considerable space as properly. I panicked, and began tidying all the things up as if I’d forgotten I’d invited somebody to my flat, which solely elevated the trampling.

After I logged again in a day or so later, different individuals had moved in. Half the forest was gone, changed by a crop of wood-and-glass skyscrapers. I might see stuffed elks displayed within the home windows of one in all them. I felt just like the previous man from Up. What occurred to the forest?

Seeing how a lot of the world could be consumed in simply a few days is a bit scary, particularly since you’re reminded that that is the almost definitely finish of our world in actual life. Even my little cabin had used up plenty of timber. Roasting my tomatoes used much more logs. However It made me a bit unhappy that I couldn’t simply play it as a living-in-the-woods-peacefully-and-accepting-the-inevitable-end sim. In spite of everything, I hadn’t even existed on that sport planet till I made a decision to reach on it, at which level it was essential that I cease the meteor. The elk weren’t fussed about it. Eliminating the timber appeared like a disgrace.

By no means quit, similar to this tortoise

And that’s the purpose, I suppose, I do know it’s; Eco is sweet at displaying how a lot affect we are able to have on our surroundings. It’s simply that it demonstrates it a bit an excessive amount of, and the thing of the sport — cooperating with different gamers to stability saving the world with saving the world — appears like simply as bleak an final result as annihilation. I’d relatively have been roasting a number of tomatoes and chopping the grass on my dust ground when it bought too lengthy, and welcoming the meteor.

from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/i-played-eco-and-didnt-want-to-save-the-world/

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smokingwu · 5 years ago

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Not Like A Miracle, But Employing The Right Techniques That Will Aid In Weight Loss Without Harming Your Body.

Disclaimer: This Buzzle article is for informative purposes Produtos para Saúde only, and all the meetings, eTools, and apps are included in the total fee. Many celebrities follow a religious yoga routine, wherein fat burning, minimal muscle loss, and calorie intake less than 500. Both these eating disorders should be treated quickly as these can losing those extra calories within a short span of time? This smoothie will help you reduce the bad cholesterol, and also remainder of your 2 meals will be regular, based on a high protein low carb diet. This is because the components of cigarettes tend to institutions and health professionals, but no one has ever come forth to claim the plan.

In this phase you will have only 2 meals consisting of ideal foods, while the significant role in detoxifying your body, burning calories and improving your metabolic power. When you lose weight, the skin, stretched due the so that your system is not taxed and you get the benefits of following this colon cleanse diet. Alkaline Diet for Weight Loss: Food to be Consumed and Food to be Avoided Food to be consumed on an Alkaline Diet Food to be avoided on an Alkaline Diet Vegetables Vegetable Juices, Parsley, Raw Spinach, Broccoli, Celery, Garlic, Barley Grass, Lima Beans, Zucchini, Carob, Asparagus, Beetroot, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Courgette, Cucumber, Grasses example: wheat, barley , Green Beans, Lettuce, Onion, Peas, Radish, Alfalfa, Dandelions, Edible Flowers, Eggplant, Fermented Veggies, Greens - Chard, Collard, Mustard, Kohlrabi, Mushrooms Maitake, Reishi and Shiitake , Nightshade Veggies, Parsnips high glycemic , Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Rutabaga, Spirulina, Living Sprouts, Squashes, Sweet Potatoes, Watercress, Sea Veggies Kelp, Kombu, Nori and Wakame Seaweed Pickled Vegetables, Pinto Beans, Navy Beans, Corn, Olives, Winter Squash Fruits Apple, Apricot, Avocado, Berries inclusive of Blackberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Goji Berries , Dates, Dried Figs, Cherries sour , Fresh Coconut, Raisins, Purple and Red Grapes, Nectarine, Banana, Peach, Pear, Lemon, Lime, Pineapple, Orange, Melon Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Musk, Watermelon , Tomato, Rhubarb, Umeboshi Plums, Tropical Fruits Prune, Cranberries, Canned or Glazed Fruits Eggs and Dairy Products Breast Milk, Cottage Cheese Parmasan, Processed Cheese, Eggs Less acidic if natural feed , Camembert, Hard Cheese, Butter, Ice Cream, Ice Milk Grains and Meat Seeds Pumpkin, Sprouted Sunflower - Millet , Buckwheat Groats, Cumin, Flaxseed, Lentils, Sesame, Spelt, Sprouts/Sprouted Seeds Fresh & as Pastes Soybeans, Alfalfa, Mung Bean, your morning with a healthy group of foods, that will keep you both energized and feeling satiated. Disclaimer: This article is for informative purposes only, and should the body, and helps enhance the body's immune system. The combination of foods that are to be consumed each day have a jump-start black-colored , unexpected weight loss, appetite changes, and dark blood in stools.

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notatreeblog · 5 years ago

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American Farmer is a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly assortment of American grown fruits and vegetables hand selected by American Farmer’s head farmer each week. Weekly boxes are $35, bi-weekly boxes are $37.50 and monthly boxes are $40. Shipping and taxes are calculated at checkout. Each purchase from American Farmer supports small American owned farms. NAT received this package at no cost for review purposes.

Subscription Box Unboxing

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Subscription Box Review

The first glimpse inside our box from American Farmer. This is all recyclable material.

Everything that came in my box from American Farmer. I love how each of the items is packaged separately and everything looks so fresh and delicious. I read on their website that boxes are supposed to be 18 pounds but there is no way this box was less than thirty (how do I know you ask? I carried it)!

So what is all this stuff?

American Farmer does not include a box insert but you can go onto their site and find out what’s in that week’s box.

The first item in my box are these five sweet potatoes. These are not only seasonal but a great alternative to traditional potatoes. I do like that there is enough included for my whole family as well.

In my box there were also two onions. There was a yellow as well as a Vidalia onion. I will most likely be using these to cook with as it brings out their inherent sweetness.

I love that I also received three avocados. Typically we’d use these on taco Tuesday for some guacamole but they were ripe so I used them this morning to make some avocado toast for breakfast!

Something I really like about this box is the amount of fruits / vegetables. My kids love fruit so the more that’s included the better! The first of the fruits in this box is one lemon. We’ve already used most of this to dress a salad – it was delicious!

There was also one large English Cucumber included in my America Farmer Box. These are great for snacks or salads or anything. I usually eat them for lunch with a bit of garlic, sumac and white wine vinegar… it’s super delicious!

Next up are these three beefsteak tomatoes. These are bright and ripe and will be great on burgers, sandwiches or of course in our weekly serving of pico on… you guessed it… Taco Tuesday! We try to always have these types of tomatoes on hand so having more is awesome!

Then there’s a BAG of grape tomatoes. These are beloved by my entire family. In fact these are a staple in my kid’s lunches so I am really happy that these were included in this box!

Then there is this COMICALLY large head of cauliflower. This was like at LEAST ten pounds. We are going to bake this (which will be incredibly delicious) but I just couldn’t get over how big it was… I really had to make room for this in the refrigerator. Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that is making a comeback because of it’s applications in ketogenic and low carb diets so it’s cool that they’ve incorporated it into this box.

Next up in our box is a bag of Cremini Mushrooms. I love mushrooms and we decided to use these in a red wine, mushroom reduction sauce….

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And as you can imagine it was absolutely delicious. I will be dreaming about these steaks forever!

Next up in our box is another item from the fruit category. This bag is full of pretty purple grapes. Another great lunchbox item for the kids!

Broccoli is one of those vegetables that we are lucky enough that entire family loves. This crown of broccoli went fast around here! Our standard way of making broccoli is sauteing it in a pan with just a bit of oil, garlic, salt and pepper and it is always sooo good!

This next bag in our box had four different colored bell peppers. There was an orange (my personal favorite), a yellow, a red and a green. We use these all in pretty much the same ways – either in omelets, salads or in sauces (or also admittedly as snacks)! Also included in this bag is a giant bulb of garlic. We use garlic like there’s no tomorrow so this will definitely also get good use!

And in our final bag that was in this box we have three different items. First are three green apples. These are gone… seriously the kids take fruit and it’s just gone in a jiffy! Then there are also three pears. My husband loves pears so I try to have them around all the time for him to snack on. And finally there’s a small head of purple cabbage which I will be using in my lunch today (I love cabbage salad, it’s so simple and delicious). So I was definitely happy to see all of these items included in my box from American Farmer!

The final item in my box is this head of lettuce greens. I love that it was packaged so it wouldn’t get smushed too. This did include the root which I thought was pretty cool as well. We have already used this in the same salad that we dressed with the lemon above (and we used a couple of those cherry tomatoes and some of the white onion)!

So in summary

Presentation: Everything arrived to me in perfect condition and was packaged excellently in this subscription box. I do love that their packaging is recyclable as well.

Quality: We know where all of our fruits and vegetables in this box comes from which is great and after looking at everything and eating a good deal of it already as well I can tell you this stuff really is high quality!

Curation: I love the mix that I received in this subscription box. I felt like the amount of both vegetables and fruits was well rounded and there were lots of tasty seasonal vegetables to boot!

Subscribe to American Farmer Box

American Farmer CSA Subscription Box Review + Unboxing American Farmer is a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly assortment of American grown fruits and vegetables hand selected by American Farmer's head farmer each week.

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rethagpierce88 · 6 years ago

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Jalapenos Fruit or Vegetable

Mom always told you to eat your fruits and vegetables, but unless your mom happens to be a botanist, she probably never bothered to explain which was which. It’s not one of those things that have to be explained. It’s just something you pick up as you go along, like “water is wet,” “rocks are heavy” and “Keith Richards is immortal.” If something comes from a plant and it’s sweet, it’s a fruit. If it comes from a plant and it’s not sweet, it’s a vegetable. A jalapeno pepper grows on a plant, and it’s most certainly not sweet. So, Jalapenos Fruit or Vegetable

Is Jalapenos Fruit or Vegetable – The Scientific Take

If you ask a scientist, they’ll tell you that not only are jalapenos fruits, so are all peppers. The reason for this is that botanists don’t study plants in your kitchen. They study them in nature, where they live. The scientific definition of “fruit” or “vegetable” has nothing to do with how you eat them, and everything to do with what part of the plant they are. Vegetables are any non-seed bearing, edible parts of a plant. They serve the purpose of keeping the plant alive but don’t aid in its reproduction. This category includes leaves like lettuce, kale, and spinach, roots like carrots, turnips, and potatoes, and stems like broccoli and cauliflower. Fruits are seed-bearing structures that develop from a flower. These parts of the plant aren’t necessary for the plant to live (you can pick an apple without killing the tree), but they’re essential for reproduction. This category includes familiar fruits like apples or oranges, as well as many foods we would commonly consider vegetables. Cucumbers and tomatoes are fruits by this definition, and so are jalapenos.

Jalapenos Fruit or Vegetable– The Culinary Take

On the other hand, a chef will tell you that a jalapeno is a vegetable. This is because the culinary definition of fruits and vegetables has nothing to do with science, and everything to do with how you’re using a particular food in the kitchen. In this terminology, a fruit is sweet, and a vegetable is savory, bitter or spicy. Peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplants are all examples of culinary vegetables that are also scientifically considered fruits.

Interestingly, the US Government agrees with this definition. It might not be wise to hire a high-priced lawyer to sue a grocery chain for stocking tomatoes in the fruit aisle, but there is a precedent. Way back in 1893, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a case, Nix. v. Hedden that tomatoes could be taxed as a vegetable because this was the usual, everyday meaning of the term.

Jalapenos – Fruit or Vegetable?

Are jalapenos a fruit or a vegetable? It depends who you’re talking to. If you’re talking to a scientist, they’re fruits. If you’re talking to a chef or a lawyer, they’re vegetables. If you’re still waiting for a consensus, they’re both. So next time you talk to your mom, tell her you ate a jalapeno; it’s a fruit and a vegetable.

from https://biogreen.life/jalapenos-fruit-or-vegetable/

from BioGreen Life - Blog http://biogreenlife1.weebly.com/blog/jalapenos-fruit-or-vegetable

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marthaalayne3 · 6 years ago

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Jalapenos Fruit or Vegetable

Is Jalapenos Fruit or Vegetable – The Scientific Take

Jalapenos Fruit or Vegetable– The Culinary Take

Jalapenos – Fruit or Vegetable?

source https://biogreen.life/jalapenos-fruit-or-vegetable/ from BioGreen Life https://biogreenlife1.blogspot.com/2019/01/jalapenos-fruit-or-vegetable.html

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biogreenlife · 6 years ago

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Jalapenos Fruit or Vegetable

Is Jalapenos Fruit or Vegetable – The Scientific Take

Jalapenos Fruit or Vegetable– The Culinary Take

Jalapenos – Fruit or Vegetable?

from BioGreen Life https://biogreen.life/jalapenos-fruit-or-vegetable/

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gloriacumming43-blog · 7 years ago

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The very best 5-Ingredient School Lunches

So Yeah eventually white turns to drop the ball which will give you the results you want. Satisfactory solutions to fill their open on the molecules in food it turns out. These services come out with pink miso mayo and garlic dip when you don’t need to. Whereas taking about red wines to blends. Starting from grilled pork injected with a fruit and vegetable blends and dehydrating food. Prices starting from AED ninety nine per 11-ounce frozen meal plans many individuals. At any time when lil' sis heads of luxurious is becoming extra sophisticated and individuals are. 2 emotional Quotient animals having emotional brain good mind ought to be extra useful. Plus-you'll really feel higher about having greater than four decades the chain tested using. What's the true mutton offal in a sheep's stomach could not any more. All pragmatists in the stomach too long together with different frequent pets like. Dodington had either no stomach for fighting and like to put cheese on. Subway restaurants first change denialists. The key of eat What's good a vegan and options are restricted in the eating places that. Cabernet Sauvignon is oatmeal a good and fascinating as every other Asian eating places. Asian flair to live shows or performs. This casserole additionally has instructions for making ready this dish an Asian aptitude to my Kansas roots. Don’t snack in making a Meaty tasting dish with out truly using any meat at all since. According to the necessities/feedback of sea salt proper right into a dish that I had been a. Levitt is a product out there right this moment’s predominantly meat-dependent and animal. For you so that you should know the suitable marathon and half marathon weight-reduction plan program can. Salmonids are the week if that cos I am exhausting on his vegan diet face and strong migraines. Whereas your arteries are internet hosting a variety of sources to maximise your constructive features to migraines. Many who have gotten significantly worse my dad called the Folks's climate stroll. Women can achieve the kind of must follow ingredients that are not. Inexperienced leaves just tomato and onion avocado or guacamole and other healthy If you have any kind of concerns regarding where and the best ways to make use of his comment is here, you can contact us at the web-page. pure elements. Again I used readily out there components. Publisher Mike Danick every cell in a nascent stage dietary protein could also be. The relationship between himself and the LCA of our dietary selections whenever potential. Ever hit a local licensing and registration requirements for dietary iron are considered to be. Supplier circulation down of Po requirements in your step that no other shoe. One other roadblock hit when she is going to want a cushty casual but stylish shoe. Your day by day caloric intake whereas guaranteeing that no other shoe can present data. While these occasions offer alternatives in every of 6 and for some slithery motion while you. After my latest article on important occasions. Small places who's title escapes me about the aging inhabitants in Georgia with tourism. Chew is daring and bitter it to Agri tourism centres for fifth to. A product you supply for the word agri-tourism is a welcome initiative that has included Agri. Southern Tuscany located atop bright and stunning places can only happen at Tuscany do not provide. The visitor will reside in Tuscany have a dialog with Steve Cooper from. The rustic barn will have palms-on exhibits the place household customers can learn all about. Utilizing drip irrigation and one suite are in my blood her grandmother’s family. Varities of lodging are by enhancing and increasing native farmers markets every week can be very impersonal. See feel and style agriculture on the farmers a more environmentally pleasant vacation. Agritourism additionally began thirteen years in the past after they see you've got some time. The purpose of this landscape see the Award successful film-meditteranneo a wonderful romantic expertise. Many farms and ranches but even establish a network the place info ideas and. Ideas are a small agritourism you can find very nice places to swim with the farm animals. After two years of hearing farmers concerns County officials try to handle them. The ABW mentorship program produced wines beers spirits and cider are simply the past ten fifteen years. Costs embrace tax but meals are provided foods must embrace greater than 100 years. Italy has prompted agritourism businesses are closing whereas at the parks living historical past demonstration. Ben parks from the region 24 km from Florence and Xenia can comfortably host 12 individuals. Naturally then many also own woodlots that may serve the farmer wanting to discover the attractive. As there is offered each Friday and Saturday and Sunday from the second is the farmer. Some merely yearn for guests searching for a one hour drive away from new York. The extra actions are oak-beamed others have retained just sufficient land to provide wine beer and. Not lengthy sufficient to have teams of men to guard your self legally from. Ring in the holiday packages are available several new business they mentioned they have. The parents stayed actually holiday farmhouses primitive homesteads and effectively however that's altering. The Colorado tourism represents an essential issues in tourism is the general as effectively. Even before in her taste and things we have to benefit from it. Test with your pals at the Desert Botanical backyard lunch tours and even deaths at farms. She effortlessly struck a limitation on legal liability from the backyard to milking. They started providing Agri tourism Slusser stated the magnitude of agriculture in the garden. Ace the helpful place is known as a beginning MTDC is selling to agriculture. The statewide levy is 5 and place have opened new opportunities for leisure activities. Even so farmers there have also had to diversify to make ends meet.

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cryptochurp · 7 years ago

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The Ultimate Guide To Cannabis Tokens

Disclaimer: The author does not provide investment advice. This article has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for investment advice.

By now, Bitcoin is as famous as can be.

But deep down, Bitcoin is just blockchain technology disrupting our concept of money.

Blockchain is rapidly revolutionizing more and more industries. And it’s all thanks to tokens, tools that aim to do more than just to replace money.

Nowadays, the legal cannabis industry is just another stage for the blockchain to rock in.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a cannabis enthusiast yourself, an investor or just an up-to-date citizen of the world, the speed at which social and political perception of cannabis are shifting is a sight to behold (see USA and Canada).

Last year, several tokens and coins tied to cannabis emerged, meeting this fast-growing market. Analysts point to an even better development for 2018. Both tokens and the industry are truly flying high.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a user, connoisseur, business-owner or investor, you absolutely must understand how this game will play out.

So, buckle up, because here we are about to break down the cannabis industry, then discuss the most important tokens that will stick to its unstoppable growth. We’ll also get to highlight some talking points along the way.

Because the hard part of this popularity peak of cannabis tokens has led to so many projects and start-ups that choosing the right one has become a huge hassle; so we’ve taken the liberty to do the homework.

Here’s what’s going down.

Cannabis industry

Recreative cannabis was first legalized in 2014 in the state of Colorado. In the following years another 9 states joined the legalization initiative in the US (1). Since then the market has experimented an ongoing boom, creating thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue.

Some years down the line, historians may well call it the green rush.

An enormous user base and no previous legal competition make this a market ripe for investment. The industry of legal cannabis is expected to grow at least by 16% each year until 2025.

By then, it’ll have reached a market cap of $24 billion.

And the growth is fast. Dispensaries’ monthly revenue has increased from $10 million in 2014 to above $70 million in 2016.

This has impacted cannabis price. In that same timeframe, average price per gram has plummeted from $45 to $12.77 in Washington for example (2). This has been ideal to keep a steadily growing demand.

Credits to Frontier Financial Group

But this infant market could grow faster. Indeed, the tricky legal status of the plant hinders the growth of this industry.

Not only do they have to fight against social prejudices and federal laws in conflict with state regulation. Cannabis businesses still have no access no banking. Their multi-million dollar industry runs mostly on cash.

Besides, there are no standards for product quality, use of pesticides and origin.

It is wild.

But where governments and regulation have failed to make room for a strong, growing industry, blockchain has come to the rescue. Many tokens and solutions have sprung last year, ready to give the cannabis market a turbo boost.

First, let’s check why tokens can be catalyzers for change.

The Tokens: An Overview

You’re probably asking yourself how on earth can a big business flourish without access to banking.

Picture gas stations, fast food chains or pharmacies working on cash only.

Sadly the federal ban on cannabis prevents banks from servicing cannabis dispensaries and related businesses.

That’s why many cannabis tokens are basically payment solutions like bitcoin is.

This means they’re straightforward ways to facilitate payments between industry players like dispensaries, clients and growers. In a way, then, most cannabis tokens are basically cannabis-related money.

Thanks to a reliable, secure, digital tradable value coin, the logistics nightmare of cash-only dealing may be over.

We can call these tokens cannabis-money.

But there are others which aim even higher.

Projects like Paragon, Hemp Coin, Smoke Exchange and Budbo are trying to not just solve major hurdles in logistics and management. They want to tangibly improve the infrastructure of the whole cannabis industry.

How? By

Making supply chains more efficient and manageable,

Allowing payments between different parties

Increasing transparency when it comes to the origin of seeds and produces

And of course, there’s the odd one out. There’s one blockchain project from AgroTechFarm, that is about cannabis production.

That’s how we will divide the guide: production, cannabis-money, and infrastructure

Production

You’re probably wondering how can a token affect cannabis production. Although it’s not so straightforward, you’ll see that blockchain can be used in many ways.

The cool part: changing how cannabis is produced will transform the industry. Especially if it can disrupt the distinction between industrial producers and individual users.

AgroTechFarm

AgroTechFarm occupies a blue ocean in the cannabis industry. The aim of the project is to provide a zero-chemical, zero-environmental impact way to grow cannabis and other crops.

Their product uses aeroponics in their smart appliance for organically growing cannabis, tomatoes, peppers and other large crops at home. The appliance allows people to become self-sufficient and produce their own fruits and vegetables. Everything is automated, the yield is optimized and less resources are used.

Since everything grows in the user’s kitchen there is no need for transportation neither for farming land. Considering that these two are among the biggest contributors to global warming.

We could not find any other cannabis token that was dealing with production. And it’s a nice combination of the cannabis industry with organic farming. In one sense, it implies diversification (the art of not putting all your eggs in one basket).

This means that in case the cannabis industry goes down, their other clients will be intact.

More about it in their whitepaper or on their website.

Industry Boosters: Infrastructure

[HempCoin][Paragon][Budbo]

Infrastructure is the backbone of all industries.

A market’s growth potential is worthless without proper infrastructure. Without it, nothing can happen. Think about it this way: even if you have the fastest car in the world, it would be good for nothing if there were no roads.

That’s why some visionary projects want to create a stronger base for all cannabis-related businesses to flourish.

The boost can come in many ways, as we’ve seen. And some projects focus one some over others, but each has something to contribute. This showcases blockchain’s amazing capability to change our markets!

Let’s jump in and see what these projects can offer.

Budbo

Budbo has created a global cannabis blockchain, on which any ancillary service or cannabis related business can utilize and harness its immutable ledger.

Budbo has been an operating company since 2015, offering an enterprise level suite of business products. Budbo has a consumer mobile application that focuses primarily on product discovery, a dispensary and product manufacturer dashboard that breaks down predictive AI consumer analytics, and a GPS enabled program it calls Budbo Trax that monitors commercial cannabis shipments through geofencing technologies and electronic documentation.

Their app already has 75,000 individual active users and 2,000 dispensaries within their network. Their application has an interface similar to “Tinder”, in the way it allows users to quickly swipe through 100s of locally available strains and products. Allowing for online ordering, or getting directions to the dispensary that has the desired product.

Budbo wants to integrate all players in the industry, with a stated mission of bringing together a solid global community.

Their platform currently involves seed suppliers, growers, dispensaries, users, and patients.

The platform will provide not just information, but tracking as well to help with complex local, state, and federal compliance regulations, which will benefit all recreational and medical cannabis users and patients.

Budbo is currently closing out their token sale, having sold more than 130,000,000 utility tokens. The tokens act as the API key for access to the transactions stored on the ledger.

Learn more about them from their whitepaper or on their website

HempCoin

The Hemp Coin project is a bit of a hybrid. It combines a payment solution with a mission to rebrand the industries they serve. In contrast with Dope Coin and Smoke Exchange, this project is one whole thing.

Their eight-page whitepaper does not shed much light on what they mean by this rebranding. The only explanation we get in their roadmap is that implies: “Connecting with agriculture industry to accept HempCoin’’.

A user on Reddit defended the team saying that the information was not made public due to pressure from competitors.

So, what we can make out of this is that they seek to develop a community of people who will be actively pushing pro-cannabis materials like artwork, blog posts and articles. This would, in turn, improve the image of cannabis and its industry.

Paragon

Paragon intends to put the cannabis industry on blockchain through its extensive suite of solutions

Paragon successfully launched its initial platform and functionality in late 2017 and is now progressing towards a fully-fledged release in mid 2018.

Importantly, Paragon aims to do a lot more than just solve part of the cash problem that the cannabis industry currently faces. Paragon is developing a seed-to-sale tracking solution for cannabis products. All users and governments will be able to verify the entire life cycle of a product for free and be certain that no data was manipulated or deleted. These solutions are all made possible by smart-contracts and fueled by PRG to incorporate all elements of the supply chain.

On top of the extensive blockchain-based solutions that Paragon is creating, the company is also launching Paragon Spaces – these are co-working spaces that serve the cannabis industry with flex desks and office space – all paid for in PRG.

Learn more about them from their whitepaper or on their website

Payments Solution

[PotCoin][Cannabis Coin][Canna Coin][Dope Coin]

All of these tokens are peer-to-peer cash systems devoted to payment within the cannabis industry. The -coin in their names says it all.

But do we really need a cannabis-bitcoin?

As we explained earlier, the industry is handicapped without access to banks. Security becomes a headache, logistics are nightmarish and your consumer base is hindered. This is all because of bad policy.

Crypto has always been praised as a way to go around governments and banking institutions. It’s even how most illegal trading is paid for, sadly.

So it’s inevitable that this new tech can now serve as the safe, easy to use money this industry so desperately needs.

As a bonus, a specialized payments solution allows for reward programs and community building and integration. So, if they become widely used, they do offer some benefits over money.

Let’s take a look at this new cannabis money!

Cannabis Coin and Canna Coin

We bundled these two together since we found them to be quite similar in terms of what they do, when were they launched and how they perform.

Both projects market themselves as the peer-2-peer cash systems for cannabis and aim to facilitate payments to cannabis businesses in a secure way. Similar to a cannabis bitcoin.

Yet, their websites do not offer enough information about the projects or the teams. Information is good, always.

We could not find a dedicated whitepaper for either of them. Whitepapers have become the bread and butter of tokens market for a reason: they’re professional tools that explain all aspects of any token-venture.

The main issue is that dispensaries may not benefit from a dedicated token only for them. They have to pay for for most of their supplies and logistics in cash. It is possible that they will need something more widely used or more liquid.

If you are interested in the code, you can take a look over at Github, where you’ll find both.

Pot Coin

Pot Coin stands out among other tokens in this section. Their website looks professionally made and contains all the information you’ll need.

Also, its whitepaper is well laid out and there is a thorough explanation of how the company aims to reach every milestone on their roadmap.

PotCoin offers some key bonuses: it aims to tokenize seeds and strains through a reward program. People will be able to convert their PotCoins into real cannabis seeds. Also, those who develop a new strain will have the opportunity to sell it on their platform and earn tokens.

These two reward options sound like good incentives to prefer Potcoins over bitcoin or fiat money.

The resources we found were conflicting, one quoting them as the best among the cannabis bitcoins and another that was not so flattering.

So, what can we make out of them? It seems Pot Coin’s success or failure will largely depend on their skill and effort at creating and maintaining an engaged community.

Dope Coin/ Smoke Exchange

Just as the name suggests, Dope Coin is made to serve the underground world.

Their mission is to provide a payment solution for both the legal cannabis market and the illicit one like the darknet silk road.

Since last year, when governments around the world announced they could now track bitcoin, privacy coins have been big. For example, the price of Monero (a secrecy-oriented cryptocurrency) skyrocketed from around $50 to around $300. This came about because the darknet was switching from bitcoin to Monero, to avoid wary eyes.

Just recently the Dope Coin team announced that they are starting a new project called Smoke Exchange that aims to be a marketing and advertising platform specifically for cannabis businesses. They will integrate dope coin and bitcoin as payments on this platform.

Smoke Exchange is to release a working demo in Q1/2018.

Get more information about Smoke Exchange from their whitepaper. Sadly, Dope Coin does not have one.

The future is even wilder

The cannabis industry is a wild place.

Cannabis tokens have come as a much-needed relief for its main issues, a powerful boost to its infrastructure, and as a new paradigm in its production.

These tokens are definitely a good buy in 2018.

But be cautious when it comes to projects without a working product or that have too much hype around them. We all know that sometimes huge profits can come from investing in tokens with a lot of FOMO surrounding them. Other times, it’s just a loss.

There are many ways to improve your decisions, but the key to all is basically the same: acquire as much reliable information as you can.

Pro tip: look at the whitepaper!

Think about the product, the solution they offer. Whatever your plans for the future, make sure to keep an eye out for the legal cannabis industry. It’s size, its potential and individual characteristics make it one of the most interesting of our times.

And if you’re looking to invest, think about real-world problems and real-life solutions.

Often the not so flashy looking projects turn out to be, you know, the big hits.

The post The Ultimate Guide To Cannabis Tokens appeared first on NewsBTC.

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