Journal of the Austrian Society of Agricultural Economics (JASAE)

Abstract : The spring roll is a quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine that is enjoyed by many different cultures around the world. Nowadays, there are 3 types of spring rolls in the markets: Rice paper spring roll, Bia spring roll, and net-wrapper spring roll. As of now, net-wrapper is either manually made or produced on semi-automatic machines, which only automate the forming process, so that workers are still needed in the production process. This study deals with the design of a robotic manipulator that connects to the semi-automatic machine to take the net-wrapper out of the mold instead of manual operation. The experimental results with the developed prototype demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design. This study contributes to improve the semi-automatic production and improve productivity from 28% to 80% depending on the net-wrapper’s diameter as well as workers’ working conditions. This new solution will greatly contribute to food industries in the world as well as a working environment for agricultural production in Viet Nam.
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Abstract : Silage is a type of feedstock that had undergone several steps of forage fermentations that served as an alternative feedstock for ruminants. Hence, the project aimed to formulate Napier grass silage formulation that suitable to maintain the weight and health of goats during the monsoon season. Napier silage was formulated without adding any imported crops. Goats’ body weight gain was measured as indicators of the feed formulation efficiency and goats’ performance. A total of twenty adult goats with bodyweight approximately 30-40 kg were fed with Napier silage formulation for 3 months (October to December). Bodyweight and daily milk production were measured on Day 7, 14, 21 and 28 of every month. The goats fed with Napier silage were able to maintain healthy weight and health during the monsoon season. The findings found that the Napier silage formulation is recommended as fodder conservation for goats during monsoon season.
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Abstract : The success of goat’s milk and meat production relied on the types of feeding materials. The use of imported crops is common leading to underutilization of local crops. Local crops or new feed was formulated to compare with the existence of imported crops or old feed used by the goat farmers. Goats’ body weight gain and daily milk yield were measured as indicators of the feed formulation efficacy and goats’ performance. Twenty adult female Saneen goats (30-35 kg) were fed with two different feed formulations for six months. The goats were fed with imported feed (Diet 1) for the first three months and continued with local crops feed (Diet 2) for the next three months. The goats fed with Diet 2 showed higher body weight gain and milk production than Diet 1. The implementation of feed formulation using local crops is recommended as it increases goats’ milk and meat production.
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Abstract : The role of extension can be realized through the performance of extension and the effectiveness of extension in increasing production in the corn intensification program. Performance and effectiveness are the roles of extension in changing the behavior of farmers as the main actors in agricultural cultivation. The performance will produce work effectiveness that will have a good impact on increasing agricultural output. The research was conducted in Gorontalo Utara Regency, Gorontalo Province, from October 2018 to January 2019. The research sample was 91 agricultural extension workers taken by simple random sampling technique. Research data were analyzed using the semantic differential method. The results showed that the extension performance a good and very effective role in the corn intensification program.
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Abstract : Philippines soil condition varies accordingly due to the geospatial distribution of land causes crop constraints of nutrient uptake. One of these islands is the Samar region wherein soil is predominantly derived from sedimentary rocks. Very little information was conducted about its nutrient and fertility status in agricultural land areas. This study was conducted to evaluate the nutrient and soil fertility status of different agricultural land areas and to assess the crop suitability of soil in different municipalities of Samar. Results revealed that lowland agricultural areas of Samar possessed the greater potential for crop production relative to the upland agricultural areas as the latter has a higher amount of sand indicating the greater possibility of persistent mudstone formation. Generally, Samar has a deficient amount of phosphorous P and K as attributed by a high amount of Ca enable to displace P and K from the crops soil environment. The lowland agricultural areas are highly suitable for crop production than in upland areas. A greater amount of production inputs of P and K containing fertilizers are highly recommended in growing various types of fruit-bearing plantation crops, especially in upland agricultural areas. Adaptation of soil conservation practices is important to restore the availability of essential nutrients such as crop cover cropping, contour farming, terracing, crop rotation, mulching, green manuring, minimum tillage, and crop diversification..
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