Agro-ecological Settings Research Articles

Requisite Variety in Adaptation Strategies: Case Studies from Two Regions Prone to Climate Change, Brandenburg, Germany and Semi-arid Bekaa, Lebanon

Climate change has become a main driver for institutional change, prompting the need for comprehensive adaptation strategies and impacts assessment (Biesbroek et al., 2010; Elasha 2010). The agriculture sector is affected simultaneously by intertwined challenges that comprise ensuring food security, adaptation to changes in environmental conditions and contributing to climate change mitigation (FAO 2013; Parry et al., 2004). Berman et al. (2012) propose a framework for assessing institutional adaptation capacity by linking the two concepts of vulnerability and resilience.The objective of this study was to understand and describe defining elements of resilience in crop adaptation and agro- environmental management. Three case studies were conducted on local farmerś adaptation strategies across two regions identified with production systems subject to very different institutional and agro-ecological settings, but equally considered highly vulnerable to climate change. Complex implications are expected for the maintenance of food production in the traditionally agriculture based regions, with subsequent socio-economic effects.1.Horticultural production: Due to strict regulations regarding chemical treatment, conventional and organic farmers who generally have limited possibilities to avoid infested sites are dependent on innovative measures for crop adaptation and soil treatment.2.Large-scale organic farms: Production sites are facing decreased crop yields due to deficiencies in nitrogen supply due to low of farmyard manure and decrease of microbial nitrogen mineralization exacerbated by increasing pre- summer droughts.3.Agro-pastoral systems: Small ruminants production systems are managing environmental constraints by reducing overall flock size, reducing the movement to grazing sites and decreasing feed supplements. Herders are also diversifying their sources of income.Comparative analysis is conducted across case studies. Research questions address the role of local farmerś knowledge in contributing to requisite variety in local food production systems, existing measures for diversification at the farm level and provisions in case of failure in existing regional and national strategies.

Assessing Weather Forecasting Needs of Smallholder Farmers for Climate Change Adaptation in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, climate change is set to hit the agricultural sector adversely and cause considerable negative impacts particularly for smallholder farmers. Weather information is one of the requirements for effective climate change adaptation in Ethiopia, where Agriculture is the back bone of the economy. This study made during 2011/12 investigates whether smallholder farmers, development agents and organizations in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia have access to weather information and consequently use it in their agricultural activities to overcome adverse impacts of climate change. For this study, data were collected and analyzed from 200 randomly selected households, 34 development agents and 18 experts of different organizations in four districts (Meki, Melkassa, Miesso and Ziway) representing the same agro-ecological settings in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. The result revealed that the adaptation capacity of farmers in using weather information are constrained by language problems, difficulty in understanding forecast terminology, absence of a center for coordination and downscaling weather information at local level and inconsistency in the time of information provision were the common problems identified in the study area. A new weather information delivery system is proposed which enables effective and location and purpose specific weather information delivery to farming communities and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector.

Kisan Call Centre: A New Vista for Indian Agricultural Extension System

Given its range of agro-ecological setting and producers, Indian Agriculture is faced with a great diversity of needs, opportunities and prospects. The well endowed irrigated areas which account for 37 percent of the country's cultivated land currently contribute about 55 percent of agricultural production, whereas, rain fed agriculture which covers 63 percent accounts for only 45 percent of agricultural production. In these less favorable areas, yields are not only low but also highly unstable and technology transfer gaps are much wider as compared to those in irrigated areas. If it is to respond successfully to these challenges, greater attention will have to be paid to information-based technologies. Strengthened means of dissemination will be needed to transmit this information to farmers. Both technology generation and transfer will have to focus more strongly than ever before on the themes of optimization in the management of their available resources by producers, sustainability, coping with diversity by adapting technology more specifically to agro-ecological or social circumstances and raising the economic efficiency of agriculture. To make information transfer more effective, greater use will need to be made of modern information technology and communication among researchers, extension workers and farmers.

The pulse of imperial China: a quantitative analysis of long‐term geopolitical and climatic cycles

AbstractAimThe long‐term cyclical patterns of China's geopolitical shifts are of great interest to scholars and the public, but to date there has been no satisfactory explanation for the alternating occupancy patterns of the country's pastoral and agrarian polities. We fill this gap by differentiating the agroecological settings of these polities over time and quantitatively analysing the relationships between climate change and historical geopolitical variations.LocationChina.MethodsOur dataset comprised 38 palaeohydroclimate reconstructions, the historical boundaries of China's empire and the changes in its size, and 1028 wars and 2737 battle locations over the past 2300 years. China‐wide precipitation during the period was reconstructed using the ‘weighted composite plus scale’ method. Time‐series analyses were performed to identify the strength of the associations between climate change and the geopolitical variables. Granger causality analysis and wavelet analysis were performed to verify the hypothesized causal links. Wavelet analysis was also used to identify the possible interactions (i.e. frequencies, significance, consistency and synchrony) between the signal components of the climatic and geopolitical variables at different temporal scales.ResultsChina's mean precipitation fell into three multicentennial cycles. The geopolitical variables corresponded to those cycles in the imperial era. The spatial–temporal frequencies of the boundaries and size of the agriculturalist empires and its frontiers with pastoralist empires were regulated by the long‐term (low‐frequency) precipitation fluctuations at the multicentennial scale. Wars of aggression were an important explanatory factor driving the land‐occupancy patterns of the two ecoempires under climate change, and caused most of the territorial shifts. Short‐term (high‐frequency) geopolitical changes were not associated with climate change.Main conclusionsPrecipitation‐induced ecological change was an important factor governing the macrogeopolitical cycles in imperial China. Long‐term territorial expansion favoured the polity (agriculturalist or pastoralist) that was better adapted to the changing ecological conditions in the country's heartland.

Allometry and partitioning of above- and below-ground biomass in farmed eucalyptus species dominant in Western Kenyan agricultural landscapes

Farmers in developing countries are one of the world's largest and most efficient producers of sequestered carbon. However, measuring, monitoring and verifying how much carbon trees in smallholder farms are removing from the atmosphere has remained a great challenge in developing nations. Devising a reliable way for measuring carbon associated with trees in agricultural landscapes is essential for helping smallholder farmers benefit from emerging carbon markets. This study aimed to develop biomass equations specific to dominant eucalyptus species found in agricultural landscapes in Western Kenya. Allometric relationships were developed by regressing diameter at breast height (DBH) alone or DBH in combination with height, wood density or crown area against the biomass of 48 trees destructively sampled from a 100 km2 site. DBH alone was a significant predictor variable and estimated aboveground biomass (AGB) with over 95% accuracy. The stems, branches and leaves formed up to 74, 22 and 4% of AGB, respectively, while belowground biomass (BGB) of the harvested trees accounted for 21% of the total tree biomass, yielding an overall root-to-shoot ratio (RS) of 0.27, which varied across tree size. Total tree biomass held in live Eucalyptus trees was estimated to be 24.4 ± 0.01 Mg ha−1, equivalent to 11.7 ± 0.01 Mg of carbon per hectare. The equations presented provide useful tools for estimating tree carbon stocks of Eucalyptus in agricultural landscapes for bio-energy and carbon accounting. These equations can be applied to Eucalyptus in most agricultural systems with similar agro-ecological settings where tree growth parameters would fall within ranges comparable to the sampled population.

Impact of crop cycle on movement patterns of pest rodent species between fields and houses in Africa

Context Rodent pests can have severe impacts on crop production in sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, the multimammate mouse Mastomys natalensis severely damages agricultural crops in southern and eastern Africa, leading to significant losses. Both its population ecology and breeding biology have been studied in agricultural and natural habitats. Population numbers erupt depending on the timing and amount of rainfall and may reach plague proportions, especially in agricultural settings, where it may become a serious pest. However, the ecology of this species, in particular its interactions with other species within the context of human settlement, is poorly understood. It may occasionally enter houses, but the degree to which it does so and the factors influencing this movement are not known. Aims We investigated the relationship between Rattus spp. and M. natalensis entering buildings in an agro-ecological setting. We predicted that M. natalensis would enter houses more readily when food availability was lowest in the surrounding fields, and when the larger Rattus spp. were absent. Methods We followed 40 individuals of M. natalensis in Swaziland and Namibia by radio-telemetry. Mice were captured in maize fields within 50 m of a homestead and fitted with radio-transmitters at three different times corresponding to different stages of crop development: pre-harvest, post-harvest and pre-planting. To corroborate the findings of the telemetry study, a non-toxic marker, rhodamine B, was mixed with standard bait and left at bait stations inside houses in 10 homesteads in Swaziland and Tanzania. Key results Mice remained in the fields during the entire period of study in Swaziland, but entered buildings in Namibia during the post-harvest stage, which may represent a period of food shortage for these mice in the field. Rodents captured after baiting with rhodamine B demonstrated that Rattus spp. predominated within the houses. A small number of rhodamine B-marked M. natalensis were captured outside the houses, the proportion declining with distance away from the houses. Conclusions These results suggest that in a typical rural African setting dominated by subsistence agriculture, Rattus spp. (when present) competitively exclude the smaller M. natalensis from entering houses. Implications Interactions between rodent pest species may be important in determining which rodent species enter houses in rural African landscapes. Consideration of such interactions may play an important role when developing pest management strategies.

The System of Rice Intensification: Time for an empirical turn

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is claimed to be a new, more productive and more sustainable method for cultivating rice. These claims have proved controversial. One dimension of the controversy has centred on the imprecision with which SRI's component practices have been defined. The supporters of SRI suggest that the system has been designed to satisfy the needs of rice itself, implying that it is a set of integrated, mutually reinforcing practices that need to be implemented as a package in order to obtain the best results. However, they also argue that the system should be understood as a suite of flexible principles to be adapted to particular agro-ecological and socio-economic settings – the antithesis of a fixed package. This poses a conceptual and practical challenge for scientific evaluation of SRI methods. However, this apparent difficulty is chiefly an artefact created by conceptualizing agricultural methods as standardized packages. A process of translation is always necessary to convert theoretical models or norms into farming practices. Smallholder farming practices, being intrinsically constrained and contingent, rarely conform precisely to abstract norms. As an alternative, the notion of performance offers a useful way to frame a methodological and analytical approach to understanding what is going on in SRI. Such an approach calls for close technographic observation of farming activities and the interaction between farmers and their fields, plants and tools.

Perception of and adaptation to climate change by farmers in the Nile basin of Ethiopia

SUMMARYThe present study employed the Heckman sample selection model to analyse the two- step process of adaptation to climate change, which initially requires farmers' perception that climate is changing prior to responding to changes through adaptation. Farmers' perception of climate change was significantly related to the age of the head of the household, wealth, knowledge of climate change, social capital and agro-ecological settings. Factors significantly affecting adaptation to climate change were: education of the head of the household, household size, whether the head of the household was male, whether livestock were owned, the use of extension services on crop and livestock production, the availability of credit and the environmental temperature.

Anopheles larval abundance and diversity in three rice agro-village complexes Mwea irrigation scheme, central Kenya

BackgroundThe diversity and abundance of Anopheles larvae has significant influence on the resulting adult mosquito population and hence the dynamics of malaria transmission. Studies were conducted to examine larval habitat dynamics and ecological factors affecting survivorship of aquatic stages of malaria vectors in three agro-ecological settings in Mwea, Kenya.MethodsThree villages were selected based on rice husbandry and water management practices. Aquatic habitats in the 3 villages representing planned rice cultivation (Mbui Njeru), unplanned rice cultivation (Kiamachiri) and non-irrigated (Murinduko) agro-ecosystems were sampled every 2 weeks to generate stage-specific estimates of mosquito larval densities, relative abundance and diversity. Records of distance to the nearest homestead, vegetation coverage, surface debris, turbidity, habitat stability, habitat type, rice growth stage, number of rice tillers and percent Azolla cover were taken for each habitat.ResultsCaptures of early, late instars and pupae accounted for 78.2%, 10.9% and 10.8% of the total Anopheles immatures sampled (n = 29,252), respectively. There were significant differences in larval abundance between 3 agro-ecosystems. The village with 'planned' rice cultivation had relatively lower Anopheles larval densities compared to the villages where 'unplanned' or non-irrigated. Similarly, species composition and richness was higher in the two villages with either 'unplanned' or limited rice cultivation, an indication of the importance of land use patterns on diversity of larval habitat types. Rice fields and associated canals were the most productive habitat types while water pools and puddles were important for short periods during the rainy season. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that presence of other invertebrates, percentage Azolla cover, distance to nearest homestead, depth and water turbidity were the best predictors for Anopheles mosquito larval abundance.ConclusionThese results suggest that agricultural practices have significant influence on mosquito species diversity and abundance and that certain habitat characteristics favor production of malaria vectors. These factors should be considered when implementing larval control strategies which should be targeted based on habitat productivity and water management.

Agricultural water management and poverty linkages

Water is critically important to the livelihoods of more than 1 billion people living on less than $1 a day, particularly for the 850 million rural poor primarily engaged in agriculture. In many developing countries, water is a major factor constraining agricultural output, and income of the world's rural poor. Improved agricultural water management can contribute to poverty reduction through several pathways. First, access to reliable water improves production and productivity, enhances employment opportunities and stabilizes income and consumption. Secondly, it encourages the utilization of other yield-enhancing inputs and allows diversification into high-value products, enhances nonfarm outputs and employment, and fulfils multiple needs of households. Third, it may contribute either negatively or positively to nutritional status, health, societal equity and environment. The net impact of agricultural water management interventions on poverty may depend individually and/or synergistically on the working of these pathways. Improved access to water is essential, but not sufficient for sustained poverty reduction. Investments are needed in agricultural science and technology, policies and institutions, economic reform, addressing global agricultural trade inequities, etc. But how best to match the agricultural water management technologies, institutions and policies to the needs of the heterogeneous poor living in diverse agro-ecological settings remains unclear. This article provides a menu of promising pathways through which agricultural water management can contribute to sustained poverty reduction.

Determinants of farmers’ choice of adaptation methods to climate change in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia

This study identifies the major methods used by farmers to adapt to climate change in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia, the factors that affect their choice of method, and the barriers to adaptation. The methods identified include use of different crop varieties, tree planting, soil conservation, early and late planting, and irrigation. Results from the discrete choice model employed indicate that the level of education, gender, age, and wealth of the head of household; access to extension and credit; information on climate, social capital, agroecological settings, and temperature all influence farmers’ choices. The main barriers include lack of information on adaptation methods and financial constraints.

History of malaria control in Tajikistan and rapid malaria appraisal in an agro-ecological setting

BackgroundReported malaria cases in rice growing areas in western Tajikistan were at the root of a rapid appraisal of the local malaria situation in a selected agro-ecological setting where only scarce information was available. The rapid appraisal was complemented by a review of the epidemiology and control of malaria in Tajikistan and Central Asia from 1920 until today. Following a resurgence in the 1990s, malaria transmission has been reduced considerably in Tajikistan as a result of concerted efforts by the government and international agencies. The goal for 2015 is transmission interruption, with control interventions and surveillance currently concentrated in the South, where foci of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum persist.MethodsThe rapid malaria appraisal was carried out in six communities of irrigated rice cultivation during the peak of malaria transmission (August/September 2007) in western Tajikistan. In a cross-sectional survey, blood samples were taken from 363 schoolchildren and examined for Plasmodium under a light microscope. A total of 56 farmers were interviewed about agricultural activities and malaria. Potential Anopheles breeding sites were characterized using standardized procedures. A literature review on the epidemiology and control of malaria in Tajikistan was conducted.ResultsOne case of P. vivax was detected among the 363 schoolchildren examined (0.28%). The interviewees reported to protect themselves against mosquito bites and used their own concepts on fever conditions, which do not distinguish between malaria and other diseases. Three potential malaria vectors were identified, i.e. Anopheles superpictus, Anopheles pulcherrimus and Anopheles hyrcanus in 58 of the 73 breeding sites examined (79.5%). Rice paddies, natural creeks and man-made ponds were the most important Anopheles habitats.ConclusionThe presence of malaria vectors and parasite reservoirs, low awareness of, and protection against malaria in the face of population movements and inadequate surveillance may render local communities vulnerable to potential epidemics. To attain malaria transmission interruption in Tajikistan by 2015, there is a need for rigorous surveillance along with strengthening of primary health care facilities for effective case management, and possibly a more differentiated vector control strategy based on additional local evidence.

A critical analysis of challenges and opportunities for soil fertility restoration in Sudano-Sahelian West Africa

Since the 1970s, research throughout West Africa showed that low soil organic matter and limited availability of plant nutrients, in particular phosphorus and nitrogen, are major bottlenecks to agricultural productivity, which is further hampered by substantial topsoil losses through wind and water erosion. A few widely recognized publications pointing to massive nutrient mining of the existing crop–livestock production systems triggered numerous studies on a wide array of management strategies and policies suited to improve soil fertility. Throughout Sudano-Sahelian West Africa, the application of crop residue mulch, animal manure, rockphosphates and soluble mineral fertilizers have been shown to enhance crop yields, whereby yield increases varied with the agro-ecological setting and the rates of amendments applied. In more humid areas of Western Africa, the intercropping of cereals with herbaceous or ligneous leguminous species, the installation of fodder banks for increased livestock and manure production, and composting of organic material also proved beneficial to crop production. However, there is evidence that the low adoption of improved management strategies and the lack of long-term investments in soil fertility can be ascribed to low product prices for agricultural commodities, immediate cash needs, risk aversion and labour shortage of small-scale farmers across the region. The wealth of knowledge gathered during several decades of on-station and on-farm experimentation calls for an integration of these data into a database to serve as input variables for models geared towards ex-ante assessment of the suitability of technologies and policies at the scale of farms, communities and regions. Several modelling approaches exist that can be exploited in this sense. Yet, they have to be improved in their ability to account for agro-ecological and socio-economic differences at various geographical scales and for residual effects of management options, thereby allowing scenario analysis and guiding further fundamental and participatory research, extension and political counselling.

Sustainability assessment of cotton based intercropping systems for productivity and profitability using different quantitative indices under semi-arid vertisols

Field experiments were conducted to evaluate cotton (Gossypium spp.)-based intercropping systems with greengram [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilezek], blackgram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper], pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill.] as intercrops in semi-arid (moist) Vertisols at Khedbrahma (Gujarat) and soybean and pigeonpea as intercrops in semi-arid (moist) Vertisols at Akola during rainy seasons of 200809, 200910 and 201011. The intercropping systems were evaluated for superiority based on cotton equivalent yield (CEY), rainwater use efficiency (RWUE), monetary returns, sustainability yield in- dex (SYI) and three competition indices, viz. land equivalent ratio (LER), relative crowding coefficient (RCC) and competition ratio (CR). At Khedbrahma, cotton + blackgram (1:1) was found to be an efficient system with signifi- cantly higher mean CEY (983 kg/ha), net returns ( 18,893/ha), benefit: cost ratio (2.68), RWUE (2.23 kg/ha-mm), higher SYI (70.4) and LER (1.44) and lower total CR (2.17). At Akola, cotton + soybean (1:1) was found to be effi- cient with significantly higher mean CEY (1,609 kg/ha) besides higher net returns ( 35,177/ha), benefit: cost ratio (2.94), RWUE (3.68 kg/ha-mm), higher SYI (34.1) and LER (1.31) and lower total CR (2.19). Further, the multi-tier system of cotton + soybean + pigeonpea + soybean (3:2:2:2) was the second best with higher productivity, ben- efit: cost ratio and RWUE. Cotton + blackgram (1:1) at Khedbrahma and cotton + soybean (1:1) at Akola were identified as efficient intercropping systems and could be adopted under similar agro-ecological settings in the re- spective domains.

A contribution towards simplifying area-wide tsetse surveys using medium resolution meteorological satellite data.

A raster or grid-based Geographic Information System with data on tsetse, trypanosomiasis, animal production, agriculture and land use has recently been developed in Togo. The area-wide sampling of tsetse fly, aided by satellite imagery, is the subject of two separate papers. This paper follows on a first paper, published in this journal, describing the generation of digital tsetse distribution and abundance maps and how these accord with the local climatic and agro-ecological setting. Such maps when combined with data on the disease, the hosts and their owners, should contribute to the knowledge of the spatial epidemiology of trypanosomiasis and assist planning of integrated control operations. Here we address the problem of generating tsetse distribution and abundance maps from remotely sensed data, using a restricted amount of field data. Different discriminant analysis models have been applied using contemporary tsetse data and remotely sensed, low resolution data acquired from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Meteosat platforms. The results confirm the potential of satellite data application and multivariate analysis for the prediction of the tsetse distribution and abundance. This opens up new avenues because satellite predictions and field data may be combined to strengthen and/or substitute one another. The analysis shows how the strategic incorporation of satellite imagery may minimize field collection of data. Field surveys may be modified and conducted in two stages, first concentrating on the expected fly distribution limits and thereafter on fly abundance. The study also shows that when applying satellite data, care should be taken in selecting the optimal number of predictor variables because this number varies with the amount of training data for predicting abundance and on the homogeneity of the distribution limits for predicting fly presence. Finally, it is suggested that in addition to the use of contemporary training data and predictor variables, training and predicted data sets should refer to the same eco-geographic zone.

Significance of wild vegetables in micronutrient intakes of women in Vietnam: an analysis of food variety.

The association between food variety and nutrient intake/health status among rural women was tested in two agro-ecological settings in Vietnam. Special emphasis was placed on the significance of wild vegetables 'Rau Dai' in micronutrient supply and on the usefulness of food variety analysis in determining their current role. Data from 7-day food frequency interviews and a nutrition/health survey with 93 and 103 rural women in the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands, respectively, were used in the analysis. Energy and nutrient intakes in the groups with the highest food variety score (FVS) (high = > or = 21) in the two regions were compared to those with the lowest food variety score (low = < or = 15). The high FVS groups in both regions also had a more diversified diet in terms of food categories. With the exception of low iron and riboflavin intakes in all groups, the high FVS groups had relatively adequate diets. A large variety of vegetables was used and only approximately half of the vegetable species were cultivated. In both regions the high FVS groups used a significantly greater variety of vegetables than the low FVS groups. Wild vegetables contributed significantly to the overall micronutrient intakes, mostly carotene, vitamin C and calcium intakes, but only the contribution to carotene intake was significantly higher in the high FVS group. Overall, we conclude that a food variety analysis is a useful tool in capturing the dietary role of wild vegetables.

A systematic approach to area-wide tsetse distribution and abundance maps

AbstractA raster or grid-based Geographic Information System with data on tsetse, trypanosomosis, animal production, agriculture and land use has recently been developed in Togo. This paper describes the generation of area-wide digital tsetse distribution and abundance maps and how these accord with the local climatic and agro-ecological setting. Results include: (i) a spatial demarcation of ecologically distinct areas, producing a seasonal cluster map based on seasonal weather data and temporal series of satellite derived National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) AVHRR and METEOSAT variables: (ii) tsetse distribution maps of Glossina tachinoides Westwood, G. palpalis palpalis (Robineau-Desvoidy), G. morsitans submorsitansNewstead, G. longipalpis Wiedemann, G. medicorum Austen and G. fusca fusca (Walker); and (iii) tsetse abundance or ‘risk’ maps, corrected for within database seasonal fluctuations, for G. tachinoides and G. p. palpalis. It is concluded that grid-based sampling is the ideal method for rapid assessment of the current vector and disease situation within any country or region, and that remote sensing has an important role to play in planning such a sampling system.