The rapid increase in global biofuel production and consumption, particularly of ethanol, has an associated derived demand for crops to produce the necessary feedstock. This working paper assess the implications of global biofuel expansion on Brazilian land usage at the regional level.The document reveals that most of the expansion in global ethanol consumption outside the US is met by Brazilian ethanol production.

Fertilizer use in Thailand has become an integral part of agriculture due to the declining availability of arable land and the increasing role of rice and other agricultural exports in the economy. Approximately 47 percent fertilizer is used on rice, production of which has increased from 13.4 million MT to 36 million MT from 1970 to 2010 coinciding with a rise in fertilizer consumption from .2 million MT to 2.6 million MT.

The agricultural sector plays a crucial role in Cambodia’s economy, and accounts for approximately 27.3 percent of GDP. Crop cultiva-tion on Cambodia’s 4 million ha of agricultural land has become more challenging with each passing year due to low soil fertility (White et al., 1997). Fertilizer application is crucial for nutrient replenishment, increased crop yield and elevated crop biomass which is necessary for moisture retention and nutrient efficiency (Bumb, 1996).

The Philippines is an island nation, comprised of 7,107 islands that are split into 3 geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. In 2013, agriculture contributed 10.45 percent to GDP (PSA-NSCB, 2014) and 31 percent to employment (PSA-BLES, 2014). More im-portantly, its contribution to national and household food security is significant. Cereal production increased from 7.6 million tons in 1970 to 22.1 million tons in 2010. During the same period, fertilizer use increased from 201,000 nutrient tons to 771,000 nutrient tons (FAOSTAT).

"This paper presents an empirical case study about farmer management of rice genetic resources in two communities of Nepal, drawing on interdisciplinary, participatory research that involved farmers, rice geneticists, and social scientists. The decision-making process of farm households is modeled and estimated in order to provide information for the design of community-based conservation programs.

This study aims to explore and quantify systematic similarities and differences between four major global cropping systems products: the dataset of monthly irrigated and rainfed crop areas around the year 2000 (MIRCA2000), the spatial production allocation model (SPAM), the global agroecological zone (GAEZ) dataset, and the M3 dataset developed by Monfreda, Ramankutty, and Foley.

This study assesses whether the recent public and private efforts to improve farmers’ access to mechanical power in Ghana have had the intended effects on the country’s agricultural sector. Using panel survey data, this paper analyses the drivers of farm mechanization and its net impacts on cropland expansion and farming system intensification in northern Ghana. Several factors explain the use and use intensity of agricultural mechanization, including landholding size, total labor and fertilizer use per hectare, chemical use, and amount of land left fallow.