LINKING LAND QUALITY, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, AND FOOD SECURITY

Land quality and land degradation affect agricultural productivity, but quantifying these relationships has been difficult. Data are limited, and impacts are sensitive to the choices that farmers make. Summarizing new research by economists, soil scientists, and geographers, this report explores the extent to which land quality and land degradation affect agricultural productivity, how farmers' responses to land degradation are influenced by economic, environmental, and institutional factors, and whether land degradation poses a threat to productivity growth and food security. Results suggest that land degradation does not threaten food security at the global scale, but does pose problems in areas where soils are fragile, property rights are insecure, and farmers have limited access to information and markets.Land quality, land degradation, soil erosion, agricultural productivity, food security, Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis,

Climate and Land Degradation

On the occasion of the Seventh session of the Conference of Parties, The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has prepared this brochure which explains the role of different climatic factors in land degradation and WMO's contribution in addressing this important subject. Educational levels: Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division, Graduate or professional, Informal education, General public

PREPARATION OF ACTION PLAN FOR PROTECTION OF LAND IN ALBANIA

The degradation of Albania's land resources is a serious impediment to the welfare of the people of Albania as well as that of future generations. Resolving land degradation requires the concerted action of governmental and nongovernmental agencies. The purpose of this paper is to describe how a Land Protection Action Plan could be developed. There are three general types of land degradation which this Land Protection Action Plan would attempt to solve: excessive soil erosion, contamination of surface and ground water, and unguided urbanization on high-quality agricultural land. The paper goes on to describe the steps to be taken to prepare the action plan, including documenting problems, identifying high-risk areas, identifying and carrying out needed research, designing educational programs, reviewing and preparing legislation, developing an investment program for land protection, and monitoring the evolution of different types of land degradation. The paper also describes the implementation of such an action plan.Agricultural conservation -- Albania, Land use -- Albania -- Planning, Land degradation -- Albania -- Prevention, Land Economics/Use,

Land Degradation – Its Extent and Determinants in Mountainous Regions of Himachal Pradesh

The study has been undertaken with the objectives of finding the extent of land degradation and its determinants in the mountainous regions of Himachal Pradesh by dividing the state into four zones. Multistage random sampling technique has been adopted to select the sample farmers from each zone. Logit analysis has been carried out to find the probability of different factors affecting land degradation. The factors whose effect on land degradation has been reported are: total owned land, land fragmentation, family labour, non-farm income, farm income, migration, leasing-out of land and education level of members in a household. The study has suggested some measures to minimize land degradation and consequently increase production and income levels in this difficult terrain of the country.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Testing the orthodoxies of land degradation policy in Swaziland

This paper explores Swaziland's National Action Programme (NAP) to combat desertification; the country's main strategy for implementing the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). It considers whether this policy tackles real problems supported by micro-level scientific evidence and local experiences, or whether it further reinforces popular orthodoxies about land degradation. Data from one case study chiefdom in Swaziland are used to test two key orthodoxies identified within the country's NAP: (1) the presentation of degradation as a neo-Malthusian problem resulting from population pressure and (2) the assumption that the poor are responsible for degradation of their environment, in particular, the over-use of forest areas and the degradation of soils. It is found that diverse rural livelihoods inherently deliver patches of degradation at the micro-level but it is not necessarily population pressure or poor people that cause the degradation. Households with varying assets simultaneously degrade and conserve different parts of the land resource through pursuing different livelihood activities. The data indicate that while the NAP focuses on mythical problems grounded in the orthodoxies, policy attention is directed away from the more serious land degradation issues affecting rural livelihoods. The findings of this study provide a more nuanced understanding of the gaps between land degradation policy, local conservation practice and environmental and livelihood outcomes, and suggest that policymakers need to evaluate more critically the outdated and simplistic degradation orthodoxies on which much current policy is based. Stronger links need to be made between scientific and policymaking communities, while more credence should be given to land users’ own knowledges, perspectives, concepts and categories surrounding issues of soil conservation and degradation. It is suggested that steps need to be taken towards the development of broadly applicable benchmarks and indicators that bring together local and scientific knowledges across levels. Without this, popularised orthodoxies will continue to provide a basis for inappropriate land policy

STRATEGIES TO INCREASE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCE LAND DEGRADATION: EVIDENCE FROM UGANDA

This paper estimates a structural econometric model of household decisions regarding income strategies, participation in programs and organizations, crop choices, land management, and labor use, and their implications for agricultural production and land degradation; based upon a survey of over 450 households and their farm plots in Uganda. The results generally support the Boserupian model of population-induced agricultural intensification, but do not support the "more people-less erosion" hypothesis, with population pressure found to contribute to erosion in the densely populated highlands. Agricultural technical assistance programs have location-specific impacts on agricultural production and land degradation, contributing to higher value of crop production in the lowlands, but to soil erosion in the highlands. By contrast, NGO programs focusing on agriculture and environment are helping to reduce erosion, but have mixed impacts on production. We find little evidence of impact of access to markets, roads and credit, land tenure or title on agricultural intensification and crop production, though road access appears to contribute to land degradation in the highlands. Education increases household incomes, but also reduces crop production in the lowlands. We do not find evidence of a poverty-land degradation trap, while poverty has mixed impacts on agricultural production: smaller farms obtain higher crop production per hectare, while households with fewer livestock have crop production. These findings suggest that development of factor markets can improve agricultural efficiency. Several other factors that contribute to increased value of crop production, without significant impacts on land degradation, include specialized crop production, livestock and nonfarm income strategies, and irrigation. In general, the results imply that the strategies to increase agricultural production and reduce land degradation must be location-specific, and that there are few "win-win" opportunities to simultaneously increase production and reduce land degradation.Agricultural productivity, land degradation, agricultural development strategies, Uganda, farm size-productivity, Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis,

The Influence of Asset and Access Poverty on Crop Production and Land Degradation in Uganda

This study investigated the linkages between poverty, agricultural productivity and land degradation in Uganda. Results show that farmers in the study region of Uganda deplete about 1.2% of the nutrient stock stored in the topsoil per year, leading to a predicted 0.2% annual reduction in crop productivity. Replacing the depleted nutrients using the cheapest inorganic fertilizers would cost about 20% of farm income on average. Land investments such as soil and water conservation structures and agroforestry trees were found to increase agricultural productivity and reduce land degradation. We observed an inverse farm size crop productivity relationship. Larger families are more productive but use more erosive practices in crop production. Participation in agricultural extension, especially the new National Agricultural Advisory Services program, and access to credit and markets are associated with increased productivity but have insignificant impacts on land degradation. Education is associated with greater productivity, but also with more soil nutrient depletion. Access to roads is associated with less soil nutrient depletion. We find no significant differences in crop productivity associated with differences in land tenure systems, though land degradation is greater on mailo than freehold land. Our results show that promotion of agricultural modernization through technical assistance and credit programs, investments in infrastructure and education can improve agricultural productivity. However, they also show that many of these investments do not necessarily reduce land degradation, and some may contribute to it. Thus, investing in agricultural modernization should be complemented by greater efforts to address land degradation.Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use, Q24,

Land Degradation, Desertification "Most Critical Challenges" in West Asia, as Rolling Conflicts Damage Environment, Human Health

The spread of land degradation and desertification and its economic and environmental consequences are the "most critical challenges" facing West Asian countries. The scarcity of the region's renewable water resources also poses a major challenge, denting the region's ability to produce enough food to meet the growing population's needs.DriversArable land degradation is caused by mismanagement, climate change and water scarcity.Climate scenarios project changes in the region's temperature, rainfall and sea level, which will have impacts on both the availability and use of water resources.High population growth and continuous conflicts and wars mean that the carrying capacity of the land has become too low to support people with freshwater and food.Shrinking of agricultural lands is caused by population growth, urbanization, land degradation and desertification.Increasing water demand has exacerbated the region's serious water scarcity and exerted pressure on groundwater extractions rates.West Asia has been recognized as one of the major regions where sand and dust storms originate causing environmental, social and economic impacts.ImpactsFood security in the region will be increasingly at risk, especially in the Mashriq countries and Yemen.Land degradation has accelerated the rise of soil salinity, increased the rate of soil erosion and converted wetland to dryland.Overexploitation of groundwater resources has resulted in a deterioration of water quality, seawater intrusion, depletion and salinization of aquifers, and rising pumping costs.A prevalence of climate extremes and forecasted climate change may exacerbate the extent of land degradation and water scarcity in the region.Water demand in West Asia has been increasing, resulting in a diminishing per-person availability of water. Only 4 out of 12 countries in West Asia are above the water scarcity limit of 1,000 cubic metres per person per year.Due to its aridity and water scarcity, the region has already surpassed its natural capacity to meet its own food and water demand.Examples97 per cent of Iraq's total area is arid, about 50 per cent of which is desert. Desertification affects 39 per cent of the country's surface area with an additional 54 per cent under threat.Although Iraq has the largest area of available farmland in the region, it suffers the most from soil salinity and wind erosion.Rangeland in Jordan covers more than 80 per cent of the country's total area, mainly used for pastoralism and agriculture. Conflicts over land-use and general mismanagement have led to overgrazing, land degradation and ultimately desertification. Livestock overgrazing is, possibly, the main cause of land deterioration and means that the land is no longer able to support the livestock that used to graze there.ResponsesReuse domestic wastewater and recycle agricultural drainage water, groundwater inter-basin transfer, seawater and brackish water desalination.Use of brackish and sea water for bio-saline and halophyte agriculture desalination can enhance the water availability throughout the region.Integrated monitoring is essential to understanding the causes and consequences of desertification.Efforts to combat land degradation and desertification in the region should capitalize on advances in science and technology for devising and up-scaling remedial and preventive measures.Regional cooperation is key for combatting desertification, drought and dust storms

Land Degradation and Climate Change in Africa

Land degradation is rampant in Africa, accounting for 46% of the total land area. Land degradation at the current pace is projected to render more than half of the cultivated land in Africa unusable by 2050. Land degradation and climate change mutually reinforce each other, creating serious implications for food security, biodiversity and livelihoods in Africa. Effective early warning systems are an essential and important alert mechanism for addressing land degradation. An integrated landscape approach is a promising way to address the broad and multi-faceted nature of land degradation across Africa’s different agro-ecological zones

Land degradation: links to agricultural output and profitability

To understand land degradation and assess policy responses, knowledge is needed of the bio-physical causes, the economic effects on farms and the incentives farmers face to avoid or ameliorate the degradation. An empirical study of land degradation in the Australian state of New South Wales is presented in this article. The results suggest that there are incentives for farmers to co-exist with certain forms of degradation, while there are also incentives to avoid some other forms.Land Economics/Use,