A Bioeconomic Rationale for the Expansion of Tree Planting by Upland Philippine Farmers

Upland farmers have long been cast as key actors of deforestation, but in the wake of timber scarcity brought on by deforestation and logging restrictions, many have adopted a new role--tree planters. Responding to market signals, upland farmers in Mindanao have spontaneously been planting fast-growing timber species on parcels going out of annual crop production. Research was conducted in Bukidnon province to compare the potential returns from trees and annual crops, and determine whether the typical farm forestry practice of intercropping trees and crops conferred efficiencies that could make it competitive with larger scale plantation projects. A bioeconomic model was developed from the research. The paper suggests that farm forestry is economically efficient, environmentally advantageous, and socially empowering, and that policy should be pursued to facilitate its expansion by providing information such as best management practices and by removing disincentives to tree planting such as harvesting restrictions and tenure insecurity. It also suggests that forestry investment should be directed at protecting and enhancing the nonmarket benefits of complex forests.bioeconomy, upland farming, tree planting, farm forestry

A Bioeconomic Rationale for the Expansion of Tree Planting by Upland Philippine Farmers

Upland farmers have long been cast as key actors of deforestation, but in the wake of timber scarcity brought on by deforestation and logging restrictions, many have adopted a new role--tree planters. Responding to market signals, upland farmers in Mindanao have spontaneously been planting fast-growing timber species on parcels going out of annual crop production. Research was conducted in Bukidnon province to compare the potential returns from trees and annual crops, and determine whether the typical farm forestry practice of intercropping trees and crops conferred efficiencies that could make it competitive with larger scale plantation projects. A bioeconomic model was developed from the research. The paper suggests that farm forestry is economically efficient, environmentally advantageous, and socially empowering, and that policy should be pursued to facilitate its expansion by providing information such as best management practices and by removing disincentives to tree planting such as harvesting restrictions and tenure insecurity. It also suggests that forestry investment should be directed at protecting and enhancing the nonmarket benefits of complex forests.bioeconomy, upland farming, tree planting, farm forestry

CRP commissioned external evaluation of CGIAR Research Program on Grain Legumes

Executive Summary The CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Grain Legumes (referred to as Grain Legumes) is one of 15 CRPs. The Grain Legumes is led by the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), which combines and coordinates the Research-for-Development (R4D) activities of eleven principal partners: four CGIAR centres (ICRISAT-lead centre, CIAT, ICARDA and IITA), a CGIAR Challenge Program (Generation), four major national agricultural research systems (EIAR, Ethiopia; EMBRAPA-Brazil, GDAR-Turkey and ICAR-India) and two USAID-supported legume Cooperative Research Support Programs, all of whom are leaders in grain legume research and development. Established in mid-2012, the program aimed to achieve five Intermediate Development Objectives (IDOs - Food Security, Income, Nutrition & Health, Productivity and Environment). The program was structured around eight Product Lines (PL) (i.e. technological innovations) intersecting five Strategic Components (SC), but in 2015, it was restructured along a more R4D output model into eight Flagship Projects (FP): 1) Managing Productivity; 2) Trait determination; 3) Trait deployment; 4) Seed systems, post-harvest processing and nutrition; 5) Capacity-building and partnerships; 6) Knowledge, impacts, priorities and gender organisation; 7) Tools and platforms for genotyping and bioinformatics; and 8) Management. Five FPs focus on R4D; FPs 5 and 6 are considered cross-cutting; FP 8 has an overarching objective. Over the three year period since its inception in July 1012, Grain Legumes has had a total budget of $140 million. The CRP Commissioned External Evaluation (CCEE) aims to provide an independent assessment of the Grain Legumes, including retrospective analyses of performance against the aims and objectives set out in the initial CRP proposal; and a forward-looking element that will examine the likelihood of success of the second funding phase. As such, the evaluation may guide decision-making internally by the Grain Legumes and externally by donors; as well as feeding into decisions on the next phase of CRPs, to start in 2017. Six criteria are being considered within the evaluation, from the point of view of the activity per se and the extent to which the CRP assists in the implementation of the activity: Relevance; Efficiency; Quality of science; Effectiveness; Impact; and Sustainability. Three cross-cutting issues: Gender, Capacity-building, and Partnerships, will be explored to gauge added value of the programme-integrating activities among participants and impact outcomes for its intended beneficiaries. The scope encompasses all activities, structures and institutions within the Grain Legumes. This evaluation of Grain Legumes has been commissioned by CRP management, managed by a CRP staff member specifically provided with the authority to manage evaluations, and overseen by an oversight body, which is set up specifically for the evaluation and includes independent members. To ensure the confidentiality of participants in the evaluation, information, e.g. from interviews and surveys, is kept in a secure location. The evaluation will use a variety of methods to address the evaluation criteria, including semi-structured interviews of Grain Legumes researchers and stakeholders; country field visits; review of a sample of Grain Legumes projects; focus group discussions; self-evaluation exercises; short E-surveys; and an examination of documentation. The evaluation team consists of four independent evaluators looking specifically at the scope and focus of the CRP. The initial evaluation and the inception report were prepared over a short time period; given the size, complexity and numbers of crops in the CRP, this mitigates against a clear cut outcome from the evaluation. A further shortcoming is the lack of “management and evaluation” data. The team has also had no access to an IEA Evaluation Analyst. These limitations reduce the team’s ability to collect and analyse information. Additionally, the Management Entity has still not provided the Evaluation Team with consolidated details of contacts within the CRP, of external partners, of meetings and other events suitable for capturing multiple actors/stakeholders for interview. Key dates and activities in the evaluation include: late-April 2015 and ongoing: Desk-top review of research projects and SKYPE interviews with Product Line Coordinators and other key actors; May 2015: Country visit to INRA (Morocco) and IITA/INRAB (Benin); June 2015: Attend meeting in Montpelier and country visit to ICRISAT (India – Hyderabad and New Delhi); end June/July 2015: Country visit to Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Malawi; June2015: Grain Legumes scientist E-survey; July 2015: Data analysis and additional data collection as required; Draft report and recommendations circulated for comments; August 2015: Presentation of findings - to CGIAR in Hyderabad; Final report. This inception report sets out the proposals of the independent evaluation team regarding the purpose, objectives and scope of the evaluation, its target audiences and use; the evaluation objectives and approach; and the timeline and work-plan. This final draft incorporates stakeholder comments on the first draft

Biomass stocks in Ghanaian cocoa ecosystems: the effects of region, management and stand age of cocoa trees

Determination of biomass produced in cocoa ecosystems is an important step towards quantifying the carbon sequestration potential of cocoa production systems. This study provides data on the biomass of cocoa systems being influenced by management, cocoa stand ages and region. Eight cocoa farms were sampled on the basis of three variables: region (Eastern, Western region), shade management (shaded, unshaded) and stand age (15 years). Allometric equations (R2 > 0.94) were developed to estimate the biomass of live cocoa trees, while the biomass of non-cocoa trees was estimated using an existing equation by FAO. Generally, biomass stocks were higher in the Eastern than Western region, shaded than unshaded, and in stands >15 years than those <15 years. The total cocoa ecosystem biomass range was, 48.1 ± 6.5 to 101.6 ± 12.6 Mg/ha. The high biomass estimates reveals a potential of system to restore appreciable biomass losses resulting from deforestation and forest degradation in Ghana

Leaf Litter Decomposition and Mitigation of CO₂ Emissions in Cocoa Ecosystems

Studies simultaneously quantifying litter weight losses and rates of CO2-C evolved are few, though essential for accurate estimates of forest carbon budgets. A 120-day dry matter loss and a 130-day carbon emission experiments were concurrently conducted at the soil laboratory of the University of Reading, UK. Leaf litters of tree species comprising cocoa (Theobroma cacao), Newbouldia laevis (dominant shade tree in Eastern region (ER)) and Persea americana (dominant shade tree in Western region (WR)) of Ghana were incubated using a single tree leaf litter and/or a 1:1 mixed species leaf litters to determine and predict the litter decomposition and C dynamics in cocoa systems with or without the shade trees. Decomposition and C release trends in the ER systems followed: shade > mixed cocoa-shade = predicted mixed litter > cocoa; and in the WR, the order was: cocoa = mixed cocoa-shade > predicted mixed > shade. Differences between released C estimated from litter weight loss and CO2-C evolution measurement methods were not consistent. Regression analysis revealed a strong (R2 = 0.71) relationship between loss of litter C and the CO2-C evolution during litter decomposition. The large C pool for shaded cocoa systems indicates the potential to store more C and thus, its promotion could play a significant role in atmospheric CO2 mitigations

Carbon storage in Ghanaian cocoa ecosystems

Background: The recent inclusion of the cocoa sector as an option for carbon storage necessitates the need to quantify the C stocks in cocoa systems of Ghana. Results: Using farmers’ fields, the carbon (C) stocks in shaded and unshaded cocoa systems selected from the Eastern (ER) and Western (WR) regions of Ghana were measured. Total ecosystem C (biomass C + soil C to 60 cm depth) ranged from 81.8 to 153.9 Mg C/ha. The bulk (~89 %) of the systems’ C stock was stored in the soils. The total C stocks were higher in the WR (137.8 ± 8.6 Mg C/ha) than ER (95.7 ± 8.6 Mg C/ha). Conclusion: Based on the cocoa cultivation area of 1.45 million hectares, the cocoa sector in Ghana potentially could store 118.6–223.2 Gg C in cocoa systems with cocoa systems aged within 30 years regardless of shade management. Thus, the decision to include the cocoa sector in the national carbon accounting emissions budget of Ghana is warranted

Chinese waterchestnut

Chinese waterchestnut (Eleocharis dulcis (Burm. f.) Trin. ex Henschel) is a tropical member of the sedge family and as its name implies it is an aquatic species. Plants consist of four to six upright tubular stems approximately 1.5 m tall. Vegetatively propagated, the corms (or tubers), the edible portion, are produced at the end of underground stems (or rhizomes). A botanical novelty ten years ago, although in its wild form it was reputedly harvested by Aboriginals, it is now produced and marketed commercially in Australia, substituting for the importation of canned produce. For Australia, the Australian produce has the advantage of being marketed fresh (the tinned product lacks quality and consumer appeal) but it is only available over the period June to November, thereby limiting the effectiveness of import substitution. Premium Australian waterchestnuts are > 4.0 cm in diameter (Photo 1), and better than those from traditional production zones in Thailand (Suphanburi), China (Guai Lin) and Taiwan (Tainan County); but according to connoisseurs, Australian produce at times lacks sweetness and tastes starchy. The crispy texture, which is retained after processing or cooking, is due to the presence of the ferulic acid-containing hemicelluloses in cell walls of the chestnuts. The product is favoured for `fresh' stir-fry mixes, and currently the tinned form is used to supply this product line in supermarkets. It also forms the basis for heavily sweetened drinks in Asia, and is sold in syrup for use as a desert. A tradition of production in Taiwan and China and the recent introduction of a canning industry in Thailand underpin the world trade in waterchestnut, and the US is the major importer of the canned form. To assist new and prospective growers, an Australian Aquatic Vegetables Development Committee (Midmore, 1997) has been established to provide information on cooperative establishment of quality assurance, grading, marketing opportunities and coordination of planting and production goals