Factors influencing food consumption dagger Bahrain
The food consumption pattern of Bahraini households is affected by many factors. Industrialization led to a decline in the agricultural and fishing products with the result of more dependence on imported foods. Income and prices of foods limited the purchasing power of the households, particularly low social classes. The high population growth and family size affect the quantity of food consumed by different household members. Educational level of housewife and husband has also a potent effect on the food consumption pattern. Immigrants have their influence too. They introduced many dishes which have become popular in the Bahraini community. Television advertising of food products and utensils also plays an important role in modifying the food consumption of Bahraini households. This paper discusses some of the factors influencing food consumption in Bahrain.
Dietary Habits of School-Children in Bahrain
A multistage stratified sampling procedure was used to select 1673 Bahraini school children (871 boys and 802 girls) to study their food habits. The results revealed that breakfast was more often skipped than lunch and supper by both sexes. Significant differences in the food consumption between boys and girls were noticed at morning snack; beefburgers, liver and egg sandwiches were more consumed by boys, while girls preferred carbonated beverages, cheese, uncarbonated canned drinks and broad beans. The foods consumed at lunch were very similar to those of the adult population in Bahrain. However, the percentage of fresh fruits consumed at lunch was almost double by girls (31.9%) than boys (17.1%). Corn-puffs, carbonated beverages, chocolates, uncarbonated canned drinks and fruits were the main foods consumed at afternoon snack. Boys were more likely to consume tea, meat, eggs, cheese and rice at supper, while girls preferred cheese, corn-puffs and carbonated beverages. Age has also a significant influence on dietary habits. The consumption of bread at breakfast decreased with age while the consumption of carbonated beverages at morning snack increased remarkably with age. In general the meal and snack patterns of school children vary considerably with age and sex.
PRECISION FARMING APPROACHES TO SMALL-FARM AGRICULTRUE
Precision farming implies a management strategy to increase productivity and economic returns with a reduced impact on the environment. It is based on the application of information technology to a description of variability in the field, variable-rate operations and the decisionmaking system. There are three technology levels and three strategies in the development of precision farming. Precision farming practices can be used on small farms as well as big ones, and they play a core role in rural development programs which are integrated with industry. A real-time soil spectrophotometer was developed to describe soil variability in farmers' fields, to be used in precision farming.