Assessment of on-farm, market and wild food diversity in three agro-ecological zones of Western Kenya

Poster presented at Tropentag 2014. International Conference on Research on Food Security, Natural Resource Management and Rural Development. "Bridging the Gap between Increasing Knowledge and Decreasing Resources" Prague (Czech Republic) Sep 17-19 2014

Institutional and Technological Options for Sustainable Intensification of Community Based Silvi-pasture Systems in Arid Eco-regions of South Asia

In arid eco-region of Rajasthan, India, common pool resources (CPRs) like common pastures and village water bodies provide ecosystem services such as fodder, fuel, timber, water and medicinal plants which are crucial for the livelihoods in particular of the poor. In western Rajasthan livestock keeping is the most important and resilient component of the agricultural systems which strongly depends on common pastures. However, the grazing areas have become severely degraded making the rural poor more vulnerable. A number of efforts have been made to improve the management of and rehabilitate the community pastures (Conroy and Lobo, 2002). The success of such initiatives was unreliable and even the strong involvement of elected village councils (Panchayats) has not helped. Post-project sustainability of new management practices remains uncertain due to cumbersome social dynamics, neglect of institutional arrangements as well as an overemphasis on technical and externally controlled interventions (Jodha, 2001; Mishra and Kumar, 2007). Previous empirical research using the social-ecological systems thinking and framework (Ostrom, 1990; Wade, 1988; Baland and Plateau, 1999) has helped to better understand CPR governance challenges. Nevertheless, there is still no clear answer to the question why common pasture management works out in some Rajasthan communities and fails in others. As part of the CRP Dryland Systems, this study was conducted on the people’s perceptions on the causes leading to degradation of common pastures and the factors hindering sustainable management and rehabilitation efforts and to facilitate the participatory assessment of NRM and institutional options for sustainable intensification of community silvipasture systems in western Rajasthan

Experimental Trials and Simulation Modelling Indicate that Summer-Growing Perennial Grasses Are a Potential New Feed Source in the Mallee Region of Southern Australia

In the Mallee region of southern Australia, the dry and variable climate results in frequent summer-autumn feed gaps, restricting the profitability of farms that combine livestock and crop enterprises. To assess the suitability of summer-growing perennial grasses to fill these feed gaps, 2 replicated field trials with different cultivars were conducted. The data also served to validate a C4 grass model, which was then used in a simulation experiment comparing 2 different soil types and 3 locations. Most grass cultivars established well except on sandy, non-wetting soils. Four out of 5 cultivars persisted over 6 years, producing 1000 – 9000 kg/ha in response to summer rainfall, with little differences between the cultivars. Model performance was satisfactory (R2: 0.82-0.93; RMSD: 476-1673 kg/ha, depending on cultivar). Simulation results indicated that biomass production closely followed seasonal trends in temperature and moisture availability. Grazing potential in 3 locations was highest in summer and early autumn, with differences according to rainfall and soil type. It was concluded that summer-growing perennials are a promising option to alleviate feed gaps on mixed crop-livestock farms

Diversification for sustainable and resilient agricultural landscape systems

This virtual issue comprises papers that address diversification for providing sustainable solutions at different scales from cropping and grassland to food systems. The authors investigated processes in case studies at the landscape scale where synergies and trade-offs between social and environmental objectives become the most tangible. Contributions from all continents highlighted regional specificities related to diversification and include research from natural and social sciences, with inter- and transdisciplinary approaches including synthesis of knowledge (reviews), empirical studies with experiments as well as assessments with interviews in case studies: Model-based design of crop diversification, the role of digitalization for achieving sustainability in the European context, ecological engineering for rice pest suppression in China, the role of cereal species mixtures in Ethiopian smallholder farmers, diversified planting in arid irrigation areas in northwestern China, integration of legumes in European and Canadian cropping systems, screening of native forage legumes for northern Swedish grassland systems, cropping system diversification of smallholder farmers in south-central Bangladesh, identification of how farmers imagine diversified landscapes in southern Idaho in the US, farm diversification affecting impacts from COVID-19 across Europe, the role of diversified farming in Mato Grosso Brazil, diversification and soil management measures in Germany, value chain formation for the scaling of crop diversification, and the design process with farmers and scientists for the transition toward legume-supported farming in Europe. A key finding from these examples is that agricultural intensification has led to the simplification of cropping systems and landscapes in terms of species diversity and ecosystem function. To instead move towards sustainable transformation, all system levels (i.e. from the plot, farm, landscape, governance and overall food systems) need to interact and reinforce each other for diversification to deliver the desired outcomes

Building resilient crop-livestock farming systems in Senegal

The Senegalese agricultural and livestock sector is the main economic activity representing approximately 17% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employing 70% of the population. Around 350,000 families nationwide carry out livestock breeding activities, representing nearly 30% of Senegalese farmers. Limited agricultural production conditions, characterized by poor soils and weather conditions, limited access to advisory services, and poor-quality agricultural inputs and insufficient infrastructure contribute to Senegal’s inability to satisfy its food needs. Consequently, the country depends on food imports

CIS impacts on farmer wellbeing in Senegal: evidence and opportunities

Climate information services (CIS) enable farmers and pastoralists to better understand, anticipate and manage climate risks. At a national level, Senegal’s foundation for CIS is among the strongest in West Africa. Yet the potential contribution of CIS to the wellbeing of the country’s farmers and agropastoralists remains underexploited and inequitably distributed. Impediments include economic and gender-based disparities, inadequate integration of climate information into agricultural advisories, weak capacity to communicate and interpret probabilistic information at a climate time scale, and lack of climate knowledge among agricultural professionals who support farmers and agropastoralists with information and advisories. This InfoNote summarizes available evidence of the use and impact of CIS for Senegal’s farmers, and discusses what AICCRA is doing to alleviate impediments and enhance the benefits of CIS to Senegal’s farming population

Meta-analysis of crop responses to conservation agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa

Conservation agriculture involves reduced or no-tillage, permanent soil cover and crop rotations to enhance soil fertility and crop yields. Conservation agriculture practices are increasingly promoted on smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa as a means to overcome continuing poor-profitability and soil degradation. In recent years a growing number of studies have been carried out in sub-Saharan Africa comparing conservation agriculture practices to conventional tillage-based practices. These studies have been conducted under a range of conditions (climate, soil, management, cropping system) gaining variable results on crop yield responses. The aim of this study is to compare and combine the results from different conservation agriculture experiments using meta-analysis in the hope of identifying patterns among study results, sources of disagreement among those results, or interesting relationships that may come to light in the context of the different studies

Exploring Niches for Short-Season Grain Legumes in Semi-Arid Eastern Kenya — Coping with the Impacts of Climate Variability

Climate variability is the major risk to agricultural production in semi-arid agroecosystems and the key challenge to sustain farm livelihoods for the 500 million people who inhabit these areas worldwide. Short-season grain legumes have great potential to address this challenge and help to design more resilient and productive farming systems. However, grain legumes display a great diversity and differ widely in growth, development, and resource use efficiency. Three contrasting short season grain legumes common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] and lablab [Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet] were selected to assess their agricultural potential with respect to climate variability and change along the Machakos-Makueni transect in semi-arid Eastern Kenya. This was undertaken using measured data [a water response trial conducted during 2012/13 and 2013/14 in Machakos, Kenya] and simulated data using the Agricultural Production System sIMulator (APSIM). The APSIM crop model was calibrated and validated to simulate growth and development of short-season grain legumes in semi-arid environments. Water use efficiency (WUE) was used as indicator to quantify the production potential. The major traits of adaptation include early flowering and pod and seed set before the onset of terminal drought. Early phenology together with adapted canopy architecture allowed more optimal water use and greater partitioning of dry matter into seed (higher harvest index). While common bean followed a comparatively conservative strategy of minimizing water loss through crop transpiration, the very short development time and compact growth habit limited grain yield to rarely exceed 1,000 kg ha−1. An advantage of this strategy was relatively stable yields independent of in-crop rainfall or season length across the Machakos-Makueni transect. The growth habit of cowpea in contrast minimized water loss through soil evaporation with rapid ground cover and dry matter production, reaching very high grain yields at high potential sites (3,000 kg ha−1) but being highly susceptible to in-season drought. Lablab seemed to be best adapted to dry environments. Its canopy architecture appeared to be best in compromising between the investment in biomass as a prerequisite to accumulate grain yield by minimizing water loss through soil evaporation and crop transpiration. This lead to grain yields of up to 2,000 kg ha−1 at high potential sites and >1,000 kg ha−1 at low potential sites. The variance of observed and simulated WUE was high and no clear dependency on total rainfall alone was observed for all three short-season grain legumes, highlighting that pattern of water use is also important in determining final WUEbiomass and WUEgrain. Mean WUEgrain was lowest for cowpea (1.5–3.5 kggrain ha−1 mm−1) and highest for lablab (5–7 kggrain ha−1 mm−1) reflecting the high susceptibility to drought of cowpea and the good adaptation to dry environments of lablab. Results highlight that, based on specific morphological, phonological, and physiological characteristics, the three short-season grain legumes follow different strategies to cope with climate variability. The climate-smart site-specific utilization of the three legumes offers promising options to design more resilient and productive farming systems in semi-arid Eastern Kenya