Abstract
Land fragmentation is widespread in traditional field systems of the Mediterranean region. A typical case for high fragmented properties is the Valley of Ricote. It is dominated by smallholder agriculture. To promote smart sustainable development in rural areas it is important to address the specific needs of these small agricultural producers; especially considering that agriculture is the most important consumer of water worldwide and that the great majority of farms are small production units extending over <2 ha. Indeed, high land fragmentation, resulting from traditional land inheritance and transmission systems, may cause loss of water and productive land, entropic governance and superfluous emissions. In particular, drip-irrigated systems suffer from higher costs for irrigation due to high land fragmentation.In this study, we develop a Fragmentation Index for Drip Irrigation and Distance Assessment (FIDIDA) using Geographic Information Systems. FIDIDA quantifies farms considering their transaction costs. Based on these costs, FIDIDA brings together mean plot size, degree of separation and degree of dispersion of land parcels on farm level. The index can be used to compare the individual fragmentation of farms or the land fragmentation between different study areas. The definition of FIDIDA aims at supporting the management of reasonable land fragmentation thresholds in the context of communities made of traditional small farms, while suggesting possible pathways for a gradual inversion of high land fragmentation trends through agreed plot fusion where necessary.
Highlights
Irrigated agriculture is fundamental to address current and future alimentary needs (Cárdenas et al, 2017) because it provides 40% of the global food production using only 20% of the global agricultural land (Anderies, 2017)
Considering the need to assess land fragmentation in the specific context of drip-irrigated agriculture, our main research question is: How to assess agricultural land properties considering the influence of land fragmentation in traditional Mediterranean agro-ecosystems predominantly made of small farmers? To answer this question, we developed a Fragmentation Index for Drip Irrigation and Distance Assessment (FIDIDA)
The fragmentation index we propose is adapted to drip-irrigated agriculture and uses a standardised measure for distance to include the costs of the irrigation system in terms of travel time and associated emissions
Summary
While several fragmentation indices can be found in the literature (Gonzalez et al, 2004; King and Burton, 1982; Tan et al, 2006; van Dijk, 2003; Vijulie et al, 2012), there is no land fragmentation index adapted to drip-irrigated agriculture of traditional field systems. The fragmentation index we propose is adapted to drip-irrigated agriculture and uses a standardised measure for distance to include the costs of the irrigation system in terms of travel time and associated emissions. This measure for distance is integrated in the proposed fragmentation index, which has been conceived considering the need for mitigation strategies in agriculture within the context of climate change (IPCC, 2012). Otherwise the net income per farm decreases contributing to the abandonment of food production activities
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
