110 research outputs found
Multidimensional assessment of smallholder farming systems’ sustainability
A holistic systems-oriented approach is strongly recommended to address the intractable challenges of complex smallholder farm and food systems in different ecologies, and cultures. In the present study, we have developed and piloted a multidimensional framework for assessing farming systems sustainability and resilience (FSSR) which is easily measurable and comparable. It considers five major sustainability domains: environmental, economic, productivity, social and human well-being. Further each domain is divided into different themes, sub-themes and indicators. The indicators have been finalized with rounds of stakeholders’ consultations involving farmers, researchers, development actors besides literature. We identified 115 measurable indicators: environmental (34), economic (29), productivity (12), social (25) and human well-being (15) in the final framework which are aggregated into an index with a maximum value of 100 representing the level of sustainability and resilience at different scales. In our case study the overall sustainability index scores ranged between 42 to 47 across farm types. The overall and domain level sustainability scores varied widely across individual households and farm types. The present framework could be very useful tool for researchers, development actors and institutions to identify entry points to design context-specific strategies to improve sustainability and resilience of farming systems in vulnerable regions
Multidimensional framework for measuring sustainability and resilience of farming systems
Natural resources, are fundamental for the structure and function of agricultural systems and for social and
environmental sustainability in support of life on earth. Historically, global agricultural development has been
narrowly focused on increased productivity rather than on a more holistic integration of natural resource
management with food and nutritional security. Now it is strongly suggested that a holistic, or systems-oriented
approach, will be needed to address the intractable challenges associated with the complexity of food and other
production systems in different ecologies, locations and cultures. In the present study we have developed and
piloted a multidimensional framework for assessing farming systems sustainability and resilience (FSSR). The
quantification framework is easily measurable and comparable across farm households, farming systems and
beyond. It considers five major domains of the farming systems namely environmental, economic, productivity,
social and human well-being. In the subsequent stages of measurement each domain is divided into different
themes, then sub-themes and indicators. The indicators in our study have been finalized with rounds of stakeholders’
consultations involving farmers, researches, development experts besides literature. Finally, we identified a total of 115 indicators: environmental (34), economic (29), productivity (12), social (25) and human well-being (15)
in the final framework which are measurable and would be able to provide an index value representing level of
sustainability of farming systems at different scales: farm household, domain and farming system considering
appropriate weights of different domains. The FSSR framework could be a very useful tool for designing the
context specific strategies to address farm sustainability challenges
Entry Points to Improve Livestock Water Productivity in Selected Forage Based Livestock Systems
Agricultural production is challenged by increasing water scarcity and simultaneously growing demands for food and feed. Globally livestock feed sourcing is seen as one of the major causes for water depletion, and therefore increasing livestock water productivity (LWP) is necessary. Feed sources in Forage Based Livestock Production Systems [FLPS (grazing, mixed-irrigated and mixed-rain-fed)] largely consist of pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, and also plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals. In drylands (arid and semi-arid) eco-regions, FLPS are generally extensive and thus the scale of water depletion for feed production is a major concern. This paper synthesizes LWP-knowledge generated across different FLPS over time and systematically identifies entry points to enhance productive uses of fresh water resources. It draws on examples of grazing systems in Uganda (Nile basin), mixed-rainfed systems in Ethiopia (Nile basin), mixed-irrigated systems in Sudan (Nile basin), and mixed-irrigated systems in India (Indio-Gangetic basin). Although these systems vary by their degree of intensification, scale of water related problems, and therefore in their values of LWP, a number of common entry points to increase LWP can be identified. Based on empirical evidence from these systems, we systematically clustered these entry points as: i) improving the water productivity of feed; ii) improving livestock feed sourcing and feeding; iii) enhancing livestock feed use efficiencies; iv) enabling institutions and market linkages to facilitate adoption of relevant technologies. The paper concludes by discussing a comprehensive framework for entry points to improve water productivity in FLPS
Amélioration de la production fourragère de bétail grâce à une plus grande inclusion des femmes et des jeunes
Understanding farm trajectories and development pathways: Two decades of change in southern Mali
Institutional support for smallholders has been the motor for the expanding cotton production sector in southern
Mali since the 1970s. Smallholder farms exhibit diverse resource endowments and little is known on how they
benefit from and cope with changes in this institutional support. In this paper we explore farm trajectories during
two decades (1994 to 2010) and their link with farm resource endowment and government support. We distinguished
a favourable period for cotton production and an unfavourable period during which institutional support
collapsed. A panel survey that monitored 30 farms in the Koutiala district in southern Mali over this period was
analysed. Based on indicators of resource endowment and using Ascending Hierarchical Classification (AHC),
farms were grouped into four types: High Resource Endowed farms with Large Herds (HRE-LH), High
Resource Endowed (HRE) farms, Medium Resource Endowed (MRE) farms and Low Resource Endowed (LRE)
farms. Average yield, labour productivity and food self-sufficiency status of each type were calculated. Farms remaining
in the same type were classified as ‘hanging in’, while farms moving to a type of higher yields, labour
productivity and food self-sufficiency status were classified as ‘stepping up’, and farms following the opposite trajectory
of deteriorating farming conditions were classified as ‘falling down’. The LRE farms differed from all other
farm types due to lower yields, while both LRE and HRE farms differed from the MRE and HRE-LH farm types due
to a combination of less labour productivity and less food self-sufficiency. During those two decades, 17% of the
farms ‘stepped up’, while 70% of the farms remained ‘hanging in’, and only 13% of the farms ‘fell down'. We found
no obvious negative impact of the collapse of government support on farm trajectories. For MRE, HRE and HRELH
farms, average N and P use intensity increased from 1994 to 2004 and then decreased during the following
cotton crisis. On the other hand, organic fertilizer use intensity increased continuously over the entire monitoring
period for HRE-LH and MRE farms. Crop yields did not change significantly over time for any farm type and labour
productivity decreased. We discuss how technical options specific for different farm types (increase in farm
equipment, sale of cereals, incorporation of legumes and intensification of milk production) and broader institutional change (improvement in finance system and infrastructure, tariffs) can enhance ‘step up’ trajectories for farming households and avoid stagnation (‘hanging in’) of the whole agricultural sector
Simulation of water-limited growth of the forage shrub saltbush (Atriplex nummularia Lindl.) in a low-rainfall environment of southern Australia
Old man saltbush (Atriplex nummularia Lindl.) is a useful forage shrub for livestock in the low-rainfall areas of the world, and particularly in Australia. In these semi-arid and arid environments, saltbush is valuable for increasing the production from otherwise marginal areas of the farm and during drought periods when there are few feed alternatives. The ability to predict the growth and development of perennial forages such as old man saltbush in response to rainfall, soils and farm management is necessary for farming system planning and design purposes. A field experiment was conducted at Waikerie, South Australia, to inform the development of a new forage shrub model for use in the APSIM framework. The model takes into account the common setup of saltbush plantations in alley systems, by simulating light interception and water uptake for interacting shrub and inter-row zones separately. This is done by modelling the canopy and root system development. Field data across three soil types along a landscape catena showed that the model was able to satisfactorily predict daily biomass accumulation, partitioning into leaf and woody biomass, and regrowth after grazing. The model was sensitive to properties associated with the root system, and with limited parameterisation can be tailored to simulate different clonal cultivars. The model can now be used in the APSIM framework to assess temporal and spatial dynamics of forage systems combining shrubs with herbaceous pasture components
Climate change impacts and adaptation for dryland farming systems in Zimbabwe: a stakeholder-driven integrated multi-model assessment
Decision makers need accurate information to address climate variability and change and
accelerate transformation to sustainability. A stakeholder-driven, science-based multimodel
approach has been developed and used by the Agricultural Model Intercomparison
and Improvement Project (AgMIP) to generate actionable information for adaptation
planning processes. For a range of mid-century climate projections—likely to be hotter,
drier, and more variable—contrasting future socio-economic scenarios (Representative
Agricultural Pathways, RAPs) were co-developed with stakeholders to portray a sustainable
development scenario and a rapid economic growth pathway. The unique characteristic
of this application is the integration of a multi-modeling approach with
stakeholder engagement to co-develop scenarios and adaptation strategies. Distribution
of outcomes were simulated with climate, crop, livestock, and economic impact assessment
models for smallholder crop livestock farmers in a typical dryland agro-ecological
zone in Zimbabwe, characterized by low and erratic rainfall and nutrient depleted soils.
Results showed that in Nkayi District, Western Zimbabwe, climate change would
threaten most of the farms, and, in particular, those with large cattle herds due to feed
shortages. Adaptation strategies that showed the most promise included diversification
using legume production, soil fertility improvement, and investment in conducive market
environments. The switch to more legumes in the farming systems reduced the vulnerability
of the very poor as well as the more resourced farmers. Overall, the sustainable
development scenario consistently addressed institutional failures and motivated productivity-
enhancing, environmentally sound technologies and inclusive development approaches.
This yielded more favorable outcomes than investment in quick economic
wins from commercializing agriculture
Economic trade-offs of biomass use in crop-livestock systems: Exploring more sustainable options in semi-arid Zimbabwe
In complex mixed crop-livestock systems with limited resources and biomass scarcity, crop residues play an important but increasingly contested role. This paper focuses on farming systems in the semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe, where biomass production is limited and farmers integrate crop and livestock activities. Conservation Agriculture (CA) is promoted to intensify crop production, emphasizing the retention of surface mulch with crop residues (CR). This paper quantifies the associated potential economic trade-offs and profitability of using residues for soil amendment or as livestock feed, and explores alternative biomass production options. We draw on household surveys, stakeholder feedback, crop, livestock and economic modeling tools. We use the Trade-Off Analysis Model for Multi Dimensional Impact Assessment (TOA-MD) to compare different CR use scenarios at community level and for different farm types: particularly the current base system (cattle grazing of maize residues) and sustainable intensification alternatives based on a CA option (mulching using maize residues ± inorganic fertilizer) and a maize–mucuna (Mucuna pruriens) rotation. Our results indicate that a maize–mucuna rotation can reduce trade-offs between CR uses for feed and mulch, providing locally available organic soil enhancement, supplementary feed and a potential source of income. Conservation Agriculture without fertilizer application and at non-subsidized fertilizer prices is not financially viable; whereas with subsidized fertilizer it can benefit half the farm population. The poverty effects of all considered alternative biomass options are however limited; they do not raise income sufficiently to lift farmers out of poverty. Further research is needed to establish the competitiveness of alternative biomass enhancing technologies and the socio-economic processes that can facilitate sustainable intensification of mixed crop-livestock systems, particularly in semi-arid environments
Living income benchmarking of rural households in low-income countries
Open Access Article; Published online: 28 Sept 2020The extreme poverty line is the most commonly used benchmark for poverty, set at US PPP 4.04/AE/day, in Isingiro District, rural Uganda, 3.82 and in Sidama Zone, rural Ethiopia, 3.60. In all cases, the extreme poverty line of US$ PPP 1.90 per capita per day is insufficient to meet the basic human rights for a decent living in low-income countries. The Living Income Methodology provides a transparent local benchmark that can be used to assess development opportunities of rural households, by employers in rural areas, including farmers hiring in labour, while respecting basic human rights on a decent living. It can be used to reflect on progress of rural households in low-income countries on their aspired path out of poverty. It further provides a meaningful benchmark to measure progress on Sustainable Development Goal 1, eliminating poverty, and 2, zero hunger and sustainable food systems, allowing for consideration of the local context
Crop–Livestock Intensification in the Face of Climate Change: Exploring Opportunities to Reduce Risk and Increase Resilience in Southern Africa by Using an Integrated Multi-modeling Approach
The climate of Southern Africa is highly variable at most time-scales and follows
a pronounced gradient with arid conditions in the west and humid conditions in
the east. There is also a marked latitudinal rainfall distribution pattern, with the
southern part having a low rainfall index and high variability and the northern part
having higher annual rainfall and lower interannual variability (Kandji et al., 2006).
Over the last 100 years, temperatures have increased by about 0.5â—¦C in the region
and downward trends in rainfall have also occurred (Kandji et al., 2006; Morton, 2007).
There has also been an increase in drought eventswith over 15 drought events
reported in the region between 1988 and 1992. The frequency and intensity of El
NinËœo episodes have increased. Prior to the 1980s, strong El NinËœo events occurred
every 10–20 years; between 1980 and 2000, the region experienced five episodes
with the 1982–1983 and 1997–1998 episodes being the most intense of the century
(Reason and Jagadheesha, 2005; Rouault and Richard, 2005). These episodes have
contributed to stagnant or decreasing agricultural production and worsening food
insecurity in the region (Kandji et al., 2006). Unfavorable climatic conditions and
projected climate change are among the major obstacles to achieving food security
in the region and also have dire consequences for macro-economic performance
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