Diversification Of Crop Production Research Articles

Nutrition profiles of farm households across different farming systems in Ethiopia: Unpacking the determinants and implications for nutrition‐sensitive interventions

AbstractTackling nutrition insecurity remains a critical challenge in developing countries. In the predominantly rain‐fed and smallholder‐based farming systems of Ethiopia, production diversity and livelihood strategies of the farm households vary across geographic areas. However, the effects of household socioeconomic characteristics, production diversity, and household incomes on nutrition profiles in distinct settings have been inadequately understood. Therefore, this study was undertaken to examine the association of farming system type, sources of income, and household wealth status with household nutrition profiles in three remote locations such as Mennisa, Welmel Tiqa, and Agam Wuha that represent root crops‐based farming, maize‐based semi‐pastoral farming, and teff‐based cereal farming systems, respectively. A combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques was employed. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select a total of 265 smallholder households for the structured survey interviews. Standard statistical tests and Tobit regression analyses were performed after determining the wealth category of each household. Results revealed a diversity of income sources used by each of the farm households with average values of 9 in Mennisa, 10 in Agam Wuha, and 11 in Welmel Tiqa, with the contributions of each income source varying by household wealth category and location. As expected, expenditures on food significantly exceeded those on non‐food categories for poor households and vice versa for rich wealth households. The average total food variety score (FVS) for Welmel Tiqa was twice that for Agam Wuha, confirming the need for site‐specific nutrition profile assessments. Despite the observed differences in household nutrition profiles among wealth categories and locations, the apparent intakes of vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and calcium were consistently below the population‐level estimated average requirements across all locations. The number of adequately consumed nutrients by farm households was negatively associated with family size, age of household heads, livestock holdings, wealth categories, and irrigation use, and positively associated with crop production diversity, income diversity, and FVS. The negative association between irrigation use and nutrition security was likely due to the focus on producing crops with a high market value on land under irrigation, coupled with ineffective allocation of generated income for enhancing household nutritional outcomes. Therefore, programs that include irrigated agriculture investments should consider adopting a more integrated nutrition‐sensitive interventions, including consideration of locally adapted nutritious crops, such as orange‐flesh sweet potato, to address critical deficiency of Vitamin A, nutrition training coupled with development of recipes and cooking demonstrations, and marketing and promotion for nutritious crops.

Agrobiological methods of fertility rehabilitation of degraded irrigated lands of the south-east of Kazakhstan

The results of the research open up fundamentally new directions in the use of water resources, in the study of the fertility of saline and secondarily saline lands, in the development of agrobiological and agro-reclamation methods for their improvement, in the development of effective methods for the environmental sustainability of irrigated agriculture. The developed system will significantly reduce costs and allow the widespread introduction of drip irrigation technology over large areas and in many farms in the region. The developed system of irrigated agriculture can be the basis for the adaptation of agriculture in the Ili-Balkhash basin to global climate change with the introduction of a drip irrigation system for rice, diversification of crop production with the introduction of new salt- and drought-resistant crops, and the development of effective methods of amelioration of secondary saline lands. The results of the conducted studies show that in the experimental area under the studied crops, before drip irrigation, there was a slight salinity. Thus, the dense residue under crops varies in the arable 0-20 cm layer within 0.15-0.39 %, and in the subarable 20-40 cm layer in the range of 0.13-0.58 %. After drip irrigation, the content of dense residue under the studied crops slightly increased to 0.34-1.48 % in the arable layer to 0.12 -0.88 %, that is, to the level of low and medium salinity. The results of studies on the study of various methods of irrigating rice on takyr-like soils indicate an increase in rice yields with drip irriga tion. In 2021, with drip irrigation with mulching film, the rice grain yield was 38.5 c/ha. The introduction of 100 kg of ammophos during the row sowing of rice increases the grain yield by 42.2 c/ha. With drip irrigation without a film, the greatest efficiency of nitrogen fertilizers is manifested. With double fertilization with irrigation water of 30 kg/ha in the phase of tillering and panicle ejection, the yield of rice increases by 45.7 c/ha. 651-478 c/ha of green mass of Sudanese grass and 325-287 c/ha of sorghum were obtained, with drip irrigation the soybean grain yield was 51.5 c/ha, which indicates the high ameliorative properties of these crops for cultivation on saline and secondarily saline soils of Akdalinsky irrigation array for fodder purposes. The best reclamation crops for cultivation in saline takyr-like soils of the Akdala irrigation array are soybean, Sudanese grass and sorghum.

An Empirical Assessment Of Poverty, Food Security And Nutritional Status Of Former Enclave People In A Selected Area Of Bangladesh

This article empirically investigates poverty, food security and nutritional status of selected former enclave households. Binary logistic regression was carried out to find out the factors affecting food security of the households. Following simple random sampling technique, a sample of 80 households from two villages of Dibiganj upazila of Panchagarh district of Bangladesh was surveyed in January 2020. On an average, they consumed 20 food items of which their daily per capita intake was 1414.52 gm. Mean of daily per capita protein and calorie intake was 63.14 gm. and 1619.67 Kcal, respectively. Rice occupied the major contributing source of protein and calorie intake as per capita consumption of rice was highest among all other food items (609.35 gm.). Among the respondents, 61.25% belonged to ultra-poor following by hard core poor (20%) and absolute poor (7.5%). Based on FCS, 81.25% of them were in poor diet clusters but consequently 91.25% of them belonged to high dietary diversity as indicated by household dietary diversity score. Assessment of CSI and HFIAS indicated that most of the sample households were suffering from moderately to severely food insecure. But based on MAHFP, 20% of the respondents were found to be food insecure as they had food provisioning for 0- 9 months out of 12 months. At the same time, 51.25% of the sample households were underweight based on their BMI. There was no household member whose physical feature was found to be obese based on BMI characterization. The result of the binary logistic regression shows that food security is positively correlated with total land size and family consumption of food. So, diversification of crop production and diversification of family consumption can be the recommended steps for the enclaves’ households to upgrade their food and nutrition security status
 Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 46(4): 353-372, December 2021

Adherence to EAT-Lancet dietary recommendations for health and sustainability in the Gambia

Facilitating dietary change is pivotal to improving population health, increasing food system resilience, and minimizing adverse impacts on the environment, but assessment of the current ‘status-quo’ and identification of bottlenecks for improvement has been lacking to date. We assessed deviation of the Gambian diet from the EAT-Lancet guidelines for healthy and sustainable diets and identified leverage points to improve nutritional and planetary health. We analysed the 2015/16 Gambian Integrated Household Survey dataset comprising food consumption data from 12 713 households. Consumption of different food groups was compared against the EAT-Lancet reference diet targets to assess deviation from the guidelines. We computed a ‘sustainable and healthy diet index (SHDI)’ based on deviation of different food groups from the EAT-Lancet recommendations and modelled the socio-economic and geographic determinants of households that achieved higher scores on this index, using multivariable mixed effects regression. The average Gambian diet had very low adherence to EAT-Lancet recommendations. The diet was dominated by refined grains and added sugars which exceeded the recommendations. SHDI scores for nutritionally important food groups such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, dairy, poultry, and beef and lamb were low. Household characteristics associated with higher SHDI scores included: being a female-headed household, having a relatively small household size, having a schooled head of the household, having a high wealth index, and residing in an urban settlement. Furthermore, diets reported in the dry season and households with high crop production diversity showed increased adherence to the targets. While average Gambian diets include lower amounts of food groups with harmful environmental footprint, they are also inadequate in healthy food groups and are high in sugar. There are opportunities to improve diets without increasing their environmental footprint by focusing on the substitution of refined grains by wholegrains, reducing sugar and increasing fruit and vegetables consumption.

Determinants of smallholder farmers’ livelihood trajectories. Evidence from rural Malawi

ABSTRACT This paper examines the determinants of livelihood trajectories of households surveyed in rural Malawi in 2007 that were tracked in 2018. Using a set of indicators, including income source diversification and participation in social assistance programmes, households were placed in different trajectories, namely, dropping out, stepping up, hanging in and stepping in. A multinomial logit model was used to analyse factors explaining placement in a livelihood trajectory. We find that the explanatory factors are not the same for farmers in different pathways. The stepping-up of households is likely with increasing commercialization and significant asset accumulation. Furthermore, the stepping-in trajectory is constrained by initial land holding sizes but is more likely if a household has had experience with the cultivation of several different kinds of crops. We find that crop diversification reduces the chance of dropping out but also increases the possibility of hanging in, implying that the blanket recommendation to farmers to diversify crop production may not attain the same benefits to all farmers. This may well be complemented with useful extension services, especially for young farming households. Overall, the study findings point to the complexity and the need for context-dependent development approaches to provide sustainable escapes from poverty.

Adherence of Gambian Diets to EAT-Lancet Diet Recommendations for Health and Sustainability

ObjectivesWe assessed deviation of the Gambian diet from the EAT-Lancet guidelines for healthy and sustainable diets and identified leverage points to improve nutritional and planetary health. MethodsWe performed secondary analyses using the recent Integrated Household Survey dataset comprising food consumption data from 12,713 households. Consumption of different food groups were compared against EAT-Lancet reference diet targets to assess deviation from the guidelines. We computed a “sustainable and healthy diet index” based on deviation of different food groups from the EAT-Lancet recommendations and modelled the socio-economic and geographic determinants of households that achieved higher scores on this index, using multivariable mixed effects regression. ResultsThe average Gambian diet had very low adherence to EAT-Lancet recommendations. The diet was dominated by refined grains and added sugars consumption which exceed the recommendations. Consumption of important food groups such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, poultry, and beef and lamb were much lower than the EAT-Lancet targets. Family characteristics associated with higher healthy and sustainable diet index scores included: being a female headed household, having a relatively small household size, having a schooled head of the household, having a high wealth index, and residing in an urban settlement. Furthermore, seasonality and crop production diversity played an important role in the diet, with healthier and more sustainable diets reported in the dry season as compared to the rainy season, and increased adherence with high crop production diversity. ConclusionsWhile the Gambian diet may be less healthy, it is low in components known to impact most on the environment such as beef, lamb, dairy, and pork. There are opportunities to improve on healthiness of diets by focussing on the substitution of refined grains by wholegrains and reducing added sugar consumption. Given the important role of poverty, education, and agricultural diversification in dietary quality, it would be important to consider these as an integral part of decision making around dietary sustainability in The Gambia. Funding SourcesWellcome Trust.

When crop producers face dynamic climate risks in Ethiopia: exploring determinants behind choices of adaptation strategies

Farmers in Ethiopia frequently adopt different combinations of local adaptation strategies to fight against climate change and other economic stresses. This study contributes to the existing research by identifying determinants behind the choice of adaptation strategies in 2 districts of Ethiopia. Data on demographics, socio-economics, biophysical characteristics as well as adaptation strategies were collected through in-depth household surveys using structured and semi-structured questionnaires. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 340 households for the interviews. Data were analysed through the application of a multinomial logistic regression model. The results show that male-headed households who recognize climate change as a result of having access to weather information delivered by extension agents, are more likely to choose improved crop varieties compared to female-headed households. Such characteristics of farmers also significantly influence the choice of using crop diversification strategies, including mixed use of maize with legumes. Farmers who have large landholdings are less likely to diversify crop production and income strategies compared to farmers with smaller landholdings. The results suggest that farmers can significantly contribute to local-based adaptation policy formulation and support resilience building. However, more socio-economic and institutional support for farmers in terms of research, innovation and awareness creation should be provided.

Economic and environmental studies of conservation agriculture on dryland in Central Lombok, Indonesia

Agricultural development needs to pay attention to environmental issue since the economic only focus of the development threatens. One of the moves into this environmental awareness is by practicing conservation agriculture. This paper aims to analyze the economic and environmental impacts of implementing conservation agriculture practices which is implemented with the application of manure, mulch of previous crop residue and legumes as cover crop comparing to non conservation agriculture which is implemented high chemical fertilizer, herbicide, no mulch and plants only maize on dryland in Central Lombok, Indonesia. Economic and environmental impacts of conservation agriculture are identified by comparing conservation agriculture with non-conservation agriculture practices. Data were collected through observations by researchers, farmers, and extension workers. The primary data are accompanied by data from secondary sources, such as literatures and research reports. Data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively, providing figures as well as descriptive explanation. The result of analysis showed that Conservation agriculture, implemented with the application of manure and mulch of previous crop residues, economically was able to reduce the purchase of herbicides and chemical fertilizer, save labor costs and time in plant maintenance. Conservation agriculture practice is environmentally friendly because was able to reduce air pollution, retain groundwater and add soil organic matter. In addition, farmers income increase in conservation agriculture through diversification of crop production and savings in production cost. The positive impact of conservation agriculture, economically and environmentally leads to the recommendation to expand the practice of conservation agriculture, in the location or elsewhere.

Biological technology of barley cultivation in zone 1 of Western Kazakhstan

Within the framework of increasing the export potential of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the most 4 priority areas for the development of agriculture have been identified, among them it is important to diversify crop production. In this regard, in the near future, the crop production industry will continue to work on diversification, replacing part of the wheat area with more demanded crops (fodder and oilseeds), which is also important for reducing the dependence of crop productivity on weather conditions. According to the morphological characteristics of the genetic horizons of the profile and the agrochemical parameters of the arable layer of the soil of the experimental plots, they are characteristic for dry steppe zone 1 of Western Kazakhstan. The area of the plots during the cultivation of barley is 50 m 2 , the repetition is threefold, the arrangement of the plots is systematic. In the experiments the zoned barley variety “Donetskaya 8” was used. Seeding rate was used asrecommended for the dry-steppe zone of WKO. In the system of biologized agriculture, microbiological preparations and bioorganic fertilizers recommended and available on the market were used for the study of pre-seeding treatment of seed material and spraying during the growing season of barley. As a result of the study, an agroecological and bioenergy assessment was carried out for barley of the harvest of 2020, cultivated in biologized raw material conveyors for the production of concentrated feed, used in the diversification of crop production.Pre-seeding treatment and the use of biological products and biofertilizers during the growing season promotes the activation of a number of growth, physiological and biochemical processes of plants, which leads to an increase in barley yield. With the combined use of the biological product Biodux, biofungicide Orgamica S and biofertilizers Organit N, Organit P (biologized technology), the maximum indicators of productivity and feed, energy-protein value of feed barley were obtained.

Structural Changes in Agricultural Cooperatives Following Bulgaria’s European Union Integration

The article aims to analyze the structural changes in agricultural cooperatives in Bulgaria, in terms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU) and, on this basis, outline the main trends in their development. The analysis is based on official statistical information from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Forestry (MAF) “Agrostatistics”, primary data “Agricultural and Accounting Information System” (FADN) National Strategic Institute (NSI). The trend of changing the following indicators is investigated: number of agricultural cooperatives in Bulgaria, changes in the utilized agricultural area (UAA,); changes in arable land, average size of UAA, labor force, dynamics of the production structure (crop and livestock) for the 2007-2016 period. The results show that, as a consequence of the implementation of the CAP for the 2007-2016 period, structural changes in agricultural cooperatives are reported. They are expressed in the lasting tendency to decrease both their number and the land they manage. The analysis shows that the incentives under the various CAP support schemes have positive effects on the diversification of crop production. In general, the areas with cereals and oilseeds have decreased over the years. In 2016, there was an increase in the production of fresh fruits and vegetables as a result of the implementation of CAP measures resulting from coupled payments. Despite the CAP subsidies to support the livestock sector, including the support of farms included in selection control schemes, at the end of the period the number of cooperatives developing cattle breeding was almost halved. Despite the negative results in general, at the level of the production unit the result is in the consolidation of production.

Industrial hemp for sustainable development

This article analyzes the potential for growing and processing of industrial hemp in accordance with the goals and objectives of sustainable development. Of the 17 sustainable development goals, they meet at least nine. Today it is a niche crop grown by small agricultural enterprises, and the organization on their basis of simple value chains for processing seeds and stems allows to diversify crop production, create new jobs and appropriate economic development of rural areas. The total costs for growing and processing hemp raw materials from 100 hectares of crops directly in the agricultural enterprise amount to UAH 5,7 million, and the income from the products produced by a simple value chain will amount to UAH 12,9 million. Industrial hemp seeds and products made from it are a valuable source of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the optimal combination, so they serve as a basis for the development of the food industry for both regional and international markets. It is appropriate to involve the high nutritional potential of hemp seeds in the organization of a balanced diet, including children of different ages. The cannabinoid system of industrial hemp has a therapeutic and prophylactic effect on the human body, so the world community is actively involved in the raw materials of industrial hemp in the manufacture of biologically active additives and drugs. The development of this area in Ukraine requires appropriate changes in legislation. A hectare of industrial hemp is capable of forming more than 12 tons of dry biomass, containing up to 80 % of cellulose suitable for the production of various types of paper. The use of hemp in this direction contributes to the preservation of forests and is an effective measure to combat climate change and its consequences. Hemp is a traditional agricultural crop in Ukraine, the cultivation of which contributes to the conservation of biodiversity and agrobiocenoses. Their cultivation has a minimal environmental impact on the environment, and the processing of raw materials is characterized by waste-free production.

Three Decades of Changes in Brazilian Municipalities and Their Food Production Systems

Agricultural systems are heterogeneous across temporal and spatial scales. Although much research has investigated farm size and economic output, the synergies and trade-offs across various agricultural and socioeconomic variables are unclear. This study applies a GIS-based approach to official Brazilian census data (Agricultural Censuses of 1995, 2006, and 2017) and surveys at the municipality level to (i) evaluate changes in the average soybean farm size across the country and (ii) compare agricultural and socioeconomic outcomes (i.e., soybean yield, agricultural production value, crop production diversity, and rural labor employment) relative to the average soybean farm size. Statistical tests (e.g., Kruskal–Wallis tests and Spearman’s correlation) were used to analyze variable outcomes in different classes of farm sizes and respective Agricultural Censuses. We found that agricultural and socioeconomic outcomes are spatially correlated with soybean farm size class. Therefore, based on the concepts of trade-offs and synergies, we show that municipalities with large soybean farm sizes had larger trade-offs (e.g., larger farm size was associated with lower crop diversity), while small and medium ones manifest greater synergies. These patterns are particularly strong for analysis using the Agricultural Census of 2017. Trade-off/synergy analysis across space and time is key for supporting long-term strategies aiming at alleviating unemployment and providing sustainable food production, essential to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Managing climate risk through crop diversification in rural Kenya

Climatic variability and change continue to militate against efforts to increase agricultural productivity and food and nutrition security in many developing countries. Several studies propose crop diversification as a climate risk management strategy to increase production and food security. Most of the empirical studies are based on cross-sectional data that do not account for unobserved factors that may affect crop diversification. A disaggregated analysis of the influence of climatic variability and change on crop diversification by agroecological profiles is less explored. Panel studies also do not combine more than one climatic variability and change indicator as we do. We employ panel data models on farm household and 31-year rainfall and temperature data to analyze the effects of climatic variability and change on crop diversification among small-scale farmers disaggregated by agroecological zones in Kenya. We find widespread crop diversification among small farms in warmer regions as a risk management strategy. Results further show that smaller farm size, limited use of inorganic fertilizer, low household incomes, and limited access to off-farm livelihood options influence the decision to diversify crop production. However, crop diversification is not a one-size-fits-all strategy and should be adopted in situations where it gives maximum benefits, consistent with existing land use policies and known benefits of a specified crop portfolio. Crop diversification should not crowd-out specialization, particularly among resource-endowed farmers.

How does women's empowerment in agriculture affect household food security and dietary diversity? The case of rural irrigation schemes in Limpopo Province, South Africa

ABSTRACTThe link between the empowerment of women in agriculture and food security, was investigated in Limpopo Province. Data were collected in three irrigation scheme communities. Respondents were largely food secure, however, empowerment in agriculture and food and nutrition security were moderately associated. This was partly attributed to the importance crop diversification and markets for accessing other nutrient-dense food and the status quo of purchasing food versus own food production. It was concluded that pursuing crop diversification and women market-oriented empowerment by improving farmers skills in agriculture would likely improve food and nutrition security. It was recommended that a more transformative and empowering system that allows farmers to diversify crop production and access more markets be sought. Nutrition education and advocacy would also improve household dietary diversity.

Диверсификация растениеводства — важный резерв повышения эффективности АПК Урала

В статье показана необходимость совершенствования структуры посевов и повышения почвенного плодородия за счёт биологических факторов: навоза, соломы, сидератов, расширения посевов однолетних и многолетних бобовых культур. Особую актуальность приобретает увеличение посевов засухоустойчивых кормовых культур: высокобелковой люцерны и высокоэнергетической кукурузы. В 2015‒2017 годах их площади в Свердловской области достигли соответственно 19,4‒22,4 и 19,3‒21,0 тыс. га (5,2‒5,8 и 5,0‒5,6 % кормового клина). Высокой продуктивностью отличаются сорта люцерны селекции Уральского НИИСХ Сарга, Уралочка, Виктория и гибриды кукурузы с ФАО 120‒150 (Кубанский 101 СВ, Обский 140 СВ, Росс 130 СВ, Машук 150 МВ). С 2011 по 2017 год наблюдается постоянное увеличение площади посевов гречихи (с 431 до 1261 га, в 2,9 раза). За последние годы в ряде регионов наметилась тенденция увеличения посевов высокорентабельных масличных культур. В Свердловской области площадь посева рапса на маслосемена возросла с 9,6 (в 2011 году) до 20,6‒22,9 тыс. га (в 2015‒2017 годах), в 2,1‒2,4 раза. В 2017 году посевные площади льна достигли 4839 га (17,5 % от всех масличных культур). Ценность отмеченных культур с мощной корневой системой (клевера, люцерны, донника, рапса и др.) ещё и в том, что они обогащают верхний слой почвы кальцием и магнием. The paper reports on the improvement of sowing composition and soil fertility, using biological factors: manure, straw, green manure crops, wide cultivation of annual and perennial legume crops. Increase in land area for drought-resistant forage crops (high-protein alfalfa and high-energy maize) becomes of great relevance. In 2015‒2017 areas, growing alfalfa and maize, reached 19.4‒22.4 and 19.3‒21.0 thousand ha, respectively. Alfalfa varieties “Sarga”, “Uralochka” and “Viktoriya”, developed by the Ural Agricultural Research Institute, and maize short-season hybrids “Kubanskiy 101 SV”, “Obskiy 140 SV”, “Ross 130 SV” and “Mashuk 150 MV” show high productivity. From 2011 to 2017 buckwheat fields constantly increase (from 431 to 1261 ha, by 2.9 times). For the last years the number of regions tends to raise cultivation of high-profitable oil crops. In the Sverdlovsk region rapeseed fields increased from 9.6 (in 2011) to 20.6‒22.9 thousand ha (in 2015‒2017), by 2.1‒2.4 times. In 2017 flax area reached 4839 ha (17.5 % of total oil crops). Value of crops, having strong root system (clover, alfalfa, melilot, rapeseed etc.), is also in top soil enrichment by Ca and Mg.

The influence of crop production and socioeconomic factors on seasonal household dietary diversity in Burkina Faso.

Households in low-income settings are vulnerable to seasonal changes in dietary diversity because of fluctuations in food availability and access. We assessed seasonal differences in household dietary diversity in Burkina Faso, and determined the extent to which household socioeconomic status and crop production diversity modify changes in dietary diversity across seasons, using data from the nationally representative 2014 Burkina Faso Continuous Multisectoral Survey (EMC). A household dietary diversity score based on nine food groups was created from household food consumption data collected during four rounds of the 2014 EMC. Plot-level crop production data, and data on household assets and education were used to create variables on crop diversity and household socioeconomic status, respectively. Analyses included data for 10,790 households for which food consumption data were available for at least one round. Accounting for repeated measurements and controlling for the complex survey design and confounding covariates using a weighted multi-level model, household dietary diversity was significantly higher during both lean seasons periods, and higher still during the harvest season as compared to the post-harvest season (mean: post-harvest: 4.76 (SE 0.04); beginning of lean: 5.13 (SE 0.05); end of lean: 5.21 (SE 0.05); harvest: 5.72 (SE 0.04)), but was not different between the beginning and the end of lean season. Seasonal differences in household dietary diversity were greater among households with higher food expenditures, greater crop production, and greater monetary value of crops sale (P<0.05). Seasonal changes in household dietary diversity in Burkina Faso may reflect nutritional differences among agricultural households, and may be modified both by households’ socioeconomic status and agricultural characteristics.

Agriculture of Horodok District: Environmental and Economic Analysis and Perspectives

The article analyzes the state and dynamics of the main indicators of agricultural development in the Horodok district. The national economic and ecological aspects of the development of the complex and the factors influencing its condition were studied. It was indicated on the connection of the efficiency of agricultural production with the state of soils, water, infrastructure provision and the general state of the economy of the territory. The main negative impacts of intensive agricultural development on natural ecosystems and the state of the environment are outlined. The basic link of agrosphere in the region is agriculture. In the conditions of the Horodok distric, the main risks of the development of agriculture are related with a high proportion of land involved in agriculture, and a high indicator of their rooting: environmentally sustainable systems account for less than half of all land. In addition, the aggravated structure of agro industrial production is associated with the dominant role of plant growing, which is mainly represented by monocultures, which increases the need for mineral fertilizers and pesticides, enhances instability of agro ecosystems and increases the risk of contamination of surface water in the district. In terms of efficiency and productivity, the agro complex of the district is close to the regional average. Attention is need to the poor state of infrastructure provision and the potential problems of labor resources. Strategic directions of agrosphere development today are connected with the formation of rational, ecologically safe and sustainable land use development, and from the economic point of view it is necessary to develop the most effective directions. In order to ensure sustainable growth of the agricultural complex of the region, attention should be paid to the diversification of crop production, balanced support to the animal sub-sector, social and infrastructure problems, and to outline the directions of exit of enterprises of the district into world markets.

Potential of conservation agriculture (CA) for climate change adaptation and food security under rainfed uplands of India: A transdisciplinary approach

Rainfed agro-ecosystems, the purported grey patches untouched by the Green Revolution or most technological advances, occupy a prominent position in Indian agriculture. Cropping intensities and crop yields are low and unstable in these areas due to unpredictable patterns of rainfall, a host of biotic and abiotic stresses and adherence to traditional farm practices. This precarious food security situation is especially dangerous in the central Indian tribal belt (also known as the poverty belt) which is a typical rainfed area dominated by tribal communities. More than 90% of the tribal people are totally dependent on agriculture and produce much of what they eat. Small land holdings and their low productivity, along with uncertainties in rainfall patterns, increases economic and social risks for these farmers. With degraded soils and unreliable weather patterns, return on investment is uncertain and likely to be much lower overall than under irrigated conditions with better soils. Under such conditions, one approach to achieve improved crop production is to minimize soil and other natural resource degradation by adopting a set of crop-nutrient-water-land system management practices, such as conservation agriculture (CA). To assess the effect of introduced technology under local ecological and socio-economic conditions, the study focused on two ecosystem services: a) provisional, and b) regulatory through five treatments consisting of farmers' traditional practice (FP) which was conventional tillage with broadcast of local variety maize (Zea mays L.); and four CA treatments viz., conventional tillage with sole cropped maize using line sowing of the improved maize cultivar ‘Nilesh’ (CT-M); conventional tillage with maize intercropped with the improved cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. cultivar ‘Hariyalli Bush’) (CT-M+C); reduced tillage with sole cropped maize (MT-M); and reduced tillage with maize+cowpea (MT-M+C). After harvest of maize and cowpea, mustard was planted as a post rainy season crop and all the mustard plant residues were returned to their respective plots as residue cover except FP. Under provisional ecosystem services, performance of CA on crop yield, and profitability was assessed through maize equivalent yield and partial budget analysis, respectively. Results showed that reduced tillage combined with maize-cowpea intercropping (MT-M+C) followed by mustard residue retention had higher system productivity and net benefits, an increase of 200% and 230%, respectively over FP. Under regulatory ecosystem services, the soil quality was assessed through calculation of soil quality index (SQI) which was highest under MT-M+C followed by mustard residue retention and lowest under farmers' practices. In terms of CA treatment preference, 35% of the farmers indicated a strong preference for MT-M+C compared to 14% for FP. Combined, these results clearly demonstrate the potential of CA to simultaneously increase yield, diversify crop production and improve soil quality which should support a move towards sustainable intensification of crop production to improve future household income and food security. Additionally, using a transdisciplinary approach fully engaged all stakeholders in co-designing the CA treatments appropriate for the farmers and local environmental conditions leading to significant impacts on economic livelihoods, environmental sustainability and food security.

Performance of improved sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L.) cultivars under different soil types of Samoa

There is need to diversify crop production in Samoa which currently depends mainly on taro crop, that has proved to be susceptible to fungus and other diseases, to as safeguard against risks of crop failures and adapt to climatic changes. The potential of introducing sweetpotato as a second staple food in Samoa is explored in this study. The study analyses the suitability of sweetpotato cultivars in Samoan agro-environment and major soil types. For this purpose a twenty week pot experiment was conducted to investigate the performance of three improved sweetpotato cultivars (IB/PR/12, IB/PR/13 and IB/PH/03) on four different types of soils in Samoa (Savaia calcareous sandy loam, Matafa’a red acidic, Faleula silty clay and Saleimoa silty clay) in a factorial arrangement of treatments in randomised complete block design with three replications. Results revealed that soil type had a significant effect on vine growth, and storage root yield with the best yield obtained in the silty clay soils having high K content. Retarded plant growth observed under the acidic soil having low K content resulted in lowest storage root yield. A significant varietal difference was recorded in sweetpotato growth and yield. IB/PH/03 was inferior in vine length, but produced comparatively highest number of vines per plant, and storage root yield attesting its adaptability in all the four tested soil types of Samoa and has potentiality to be promoted for wider adoption. A follow-up field study is needed to verify our preliminary results under pot culture on different soil types of Samoa.

Adaptation of agriculture to climate change in semi-arid Borena, Ethiopia

Livestock production is very risky due to climate variability in semi-arid Sub-Saharan Africa. Using data collected from 400 households in the Borena zone of the Oromia Region, we explored what drives adoption of agricultural practices that can decrease the vulnerability of agro-pastoralists to climate change. Households with more adaptive capacity adopted a larger number of practices. The households’ adaptive capacity was stronger when the quality of local institutions was high. However, adaptive capacity had less explanatory power in explaining adoption of adaptation options than household socio-economic characteristics, suggesting that aggregating information into one indicator of adaptive capacity for site-specific studies may not help to explain the adoption behaviour of households. Strong local institutions lead to changes in key household-level characteristics (like membership to community groups, years lived in a village, access to credit, financial savings and crop income) which positively affect adoption of agricultural practices. In addition, better local institutions were also positively related to adoption of livestock-related adaptation practices. Poor access to a tarmac road was positively related to intensification and diversification of crop production, whereas it was negatively related to the intensification of livestock production, an important activity for generating cash in the region. Our findings suggest that better local institutions lead to changes in household characteristics, which positively affect adoption of adaptation practices, suggesting that policies should aim to strengthen local institutions.