1st mod, crop sci

• The key molecules that are required to build structures that enable organisms to function are: Carbohydrates, Proteins, Lipids, Nucleic Acids, Water
• Monomers


  Smaller units from which larger molecules are made
• Synthetic polymers


  • nylon, polyethylene, polyester, Teflon, epoxy
• Enzyme catalysis


  1. Substrate binding

  2. Transition state facilitation

  3. Catalysis

  4. Release
• Enzymes


  • They increase the rate of chemical reactions without themselves being consumed or permanently altered by the reaction
  • They increase reaction rates without altering the chemical equilibrium between reactants and products
• As temperature increases


  The rate of reaction increases
• When analysing markets, a range of assumptions are made about the rationality of economic agents involved in the transactions
• The Wealth of Nations was written

  1776
• Rational


  (in classical economic theory) economic agents are able to consider the outcome of their choices and recognise the net benefits of each one
• Consumers act rationally by


  Maximising their utility
• Producers act rationally by


  Selling goods/services in a way that maximises their profits
• Workers act rationally by


  Balancing welfare at work with consideration of both pay and benefits
• Governments act rationally by


  Placing the interests of the people they serve first in order to maximise their welfare
• Rationality in classical economic theory is a flawed assumption as people usually don't act rationally
• Demand curve shifting right

  Increases the equilibrium price and quantity
• Marginal utility


  The additional utility (satisfaction) gained from the consumption of an additional product
• If you add up marginal utility for each unit you get total utility
• Farms in the Philippines: Number increased by 63% from 1980 to 2012, while area decreased by 25%. Average farm size decreased from 2.8 to 1.3 hectares
• 57% of farms in the Philippines are less than 1 hectare, 32% are between 1 and 2.9 hectares, 11% are 3.0 hectares or more
• 70% of farms in the Philippines have 1 parcel, 22% have 2 parcels, 5% have 3 parcels, 3% have 4 or more parcels
• Individual proprietors own the largest total area and have the largest average farm size of holdings/farms in the Philippines
• 49% of farm parcels in the Philippines are under permanent crops, 27% are under temporary crops, 23% are homelots, 1% are others
• The top temporary crops in the Philippines by number of parcels are: rice, corn, cassava, sweet potato, eggplant
• The top permanent crops in the Philippines by area of compact planting are: coconut, banana, rubber
• The Philippines has the most scattered trees/vines/hills of coconut, banana, mango, abaca, and rubber
• Around 50,000 farms in the Philippines are engaged in contract growing of trees, 20,000 grow ornamental and flowering plants for sale, and 24,000 are engaged in other activities like orchid growing, vermiculture, bee culture, and sericulture
• The top agricultural crop exports of the Philippines are: fresh banana, coconut oil, pineapple and products, desiccated coconut, tobacco, rubber, and copra
• The value of production in Philippine agriculture and fisheries decreased by 1.3% in the second quarter of 2023 at constant 2018 prices
• At current prices, the value of production in Philippine agriculture and fisheries grew by 3.4% in the second quarter of 2023, with crops at 52.5%, livestock at 16.4%, poultry at 15.8%, and fisheries at 15.2%
• Key problems of Philippine agriculture include limited diversification, low productivity, climate change impacts, natural resource degradation, and low investment in technology and innovation
• Key actions to improve Philippine agriculture include greater balance in sectoral priority-setting and budget allocation, scaling up climate-smart agriculture, promoting affordability of nutritious foods, shifting from protecting specific products to improving overall resilience and competitiveness, improving budget priority for programs that overcome barriers to farm consolidation, ensuring procedural improvements on government budgeting institutions, and promoting climate resilience and green agriculture
• Key Actions to Improve the Effectiveness of the Current Spending

  • Shifting from protecting a specific product (e.g., rice) to improving the overall resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability of the sector
  • Focusing on programs that fund public goods that are currently underfunded (e.g., agricultural research and extension, Farm-to-Market Roads)
  • Improve budget priority to programs that overcome barriers to farm consolidation and achievement of economies of scale
• Key Actions for Achieving Efficient Devolution

  • Ensuring procedural improvements on government budgeting institutions
  • Improving evidence- and results-based monitoring and evaluation through enhanced and targeted capacity development for LGUs
  • Investing on extension services ensuring greater thrust on capacity development for LGUs
• Key Actions to Promote Climate Resilience and Green Agriculture

  • Promote climate-smart rice cultivation
  • Adopting a package of improved irrigation methods (e.g., "alternative wetting and drying"), improved seeds and cultivation practices - to lower GHG emissions, reduce irrigation water use and fertilizer costs, to increase yields and incomes for rice farmers
  • Foster sustainable livestock production: increase productivity and reduce agricultural emissions through improved breeding and nutrition and animal health services, pasture management and husbandry practices
  • Support development of green agriculture value chains, through sustainable sourcing, traceability, and certification of agricultural products and establishment of necessary infrastructure and regulatory standards
• Land Resources


  • Philippines is one of the largest island-groups in the world consists of 7,100 island and islet
  • It cover's 2% of the total land area of the world and ranks 57th among the 146 countries in terms of physical size
  • The country is bounded in Northwest with Philippine Sea, East with Pacific Ocean, and South with Celebes Sea
  • The Philippines has a total land area of 30 million hectares
  • It consists of three major islands (Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, 18 administrative regions, 81 provinces, 139 cities and 1,633 municipalities, and 5,697 urban barangays and 36, 328 rural barangays
  • The agricultural land area of the Philippines comprised 23% (6.9 million hectares) of its total land area
• Climate Situation


  • Type I: Two pronounced seasons with maximum rain period from June to September and a dry season which lasts from three to six or seven months
  • Type II: No dry season with a very pronounced maximum rain period from December to February
  • Type III: No pronounced maximum rain period with a short dry season lasting only from one to three months
  • Type IV: Rainfall more or less evenly distributed throughout the year
  • The tropical cyclone season in the country is from June to December, with the months from July to September having the most frequent occurrence of more than 3 cyclones each month
• Farmer Profile


  • The ratio of female farm operators to male farm operators is 16:84
  • The median age of farm operators is 47.2 years for both sexes, 52.4 years for females, and 46.3 years for males
• Agriculture


  The science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide grain, fur, and other things
• Fields of Study in Agriculture

  • Crop Science
  • Soil Science
  • Crop Protection
  • Agronomy
  • Horticulture
  • Animal Science
  • Economics
  • Marketing
  • Farm Management
• Diversity


  The variation or differences of life forms present in different ecosystems