19 research outputs found

    Managing manure for sustainable organic Basmati rice production : farm-level trade-offs in Uttarakhand, India

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    Employing an agroecological framework, the research addressed the interconnected ecological, social and economic aspects of manure management on small-scale organic farms, investigating manure management as central to achieving the potential sustainability and livelihood benefits of organic farming. The primary objective of the work was to contribute to the advancement of knowledge around the performance dynamics, potential, and constraints of three manure management strategies (farmyard manure, vermicomposted manure, and biogas slurry produced from manure) at the farm level on smallholder, mixed, organic farms, and thereby identify opportunities for action to support farmers in the design and management of farm systems that better meet locally relevant sustainability and livelihood objectives. In order to address this objective, the case of smallholders producing organic Basmati rice in Uttarakhand, India was examined. On-farm surveys were coupled with literature review and simple systems modelling to generate integrated assessments of the sustainability of three manure management strategies at the farm level. Both vermicompost and biogas slurry were found to be improved technologies compared to farmyard manure. Vermicompost performed best on most sustainability indicator scales with the exception of yield and gross margin, where biogas slurry performed best. Improving the crop-nutritive value of manure-based fertilizers was identified as a crucial point for system improvement in the research context, implying a necessary shift in focus away from raising bulk manure inputs and towards system improvements that do not hinge on increased manure availability. Minimizing losses during handling, storage, and application were identified as important pathways to improving the crop nutritive quality of the small amount of manure fertilizers that farmers already have available. Key recommendations for reducing losses include using animal bedding, collecting urine, covering manure stockpiles with plastic sheeting, and making vermicompost when possible. Advisory support should be directed towards disseminating information on these improved manure management techniques. Future research efforts should focus on solutions for improving biogas slurry storage, since making biogas has such notable social benefits and biogas slurry will likely be the primary source of manure fertilizer for farmers making biogas.M-A

    Redefining the field to mobilize three-dimensional diversity and ecosystem services on the arable farm

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    In this article we explore the concept and implications of three-dimensional (spatial, temporal, and genetic) infield crop diversification to inform systems redesign towards ecological intensification. We first present a conceptual framework for classifying diversity in arable contexts. We then apply the framework to analyse two longterm systems experiments in The Netherlands where spatial and genetic diversity measures were implemented via strip and mixed intercropping with the aim to increase ecosystem service delivery: incidence and spreading rate of late blight (Phytophthora infestans) in potato (Solanum tubersosum L.), and biocontrol control potential in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In the case of late blight, potatoes planted in strips had significantly lower disease incidence than the monoculture reference across all years, and adding cultivar mixing within the strip was more powerful in mitigating late blight than spatial diversification alone. In the case of biocontrol in wheat, strips supported significantly larger (for all but one taxonomic group) and significantly more diverse epigeic natural enemy populations than the sole culture reference in all years. However, the addition of species mixing within strips did not further increase biocontrol indices compared to sole-wheat strips. These results imply that compromises between management complexity and ecosystem service enhancement are achievable through strip cropping, an operable practice with current machinery, and one that does not require a thorough reconfiguration of the production system. The three-dimensional diversity framework proved useful for unpacking experimental outcomes in terms of diversity-mediated mechanisms, however it requires further development before it can be used to facilitate multi-objective optimization

    Designing strip intercropping systems (DiverIMPACTS Practice Abstract)

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    Strip cropping experiments have shown an increase in general biodiversity and beneficial insects, higher yields for various crops, slower development of pests and diseases, and less soil structural damage. By choosing strip widths compatible with the machines, a farmer already has, implementation on commercial farms can be realised without significant changes in equipment or management

    Spatial and genetic crop diversity support ecosystem service delivery: A case of yield and biocontrol in Dutch organic cabbage production

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    A single focus on yield in agroecosystems comes at the expense of other ecosystem services, for instance, biocontrol of pests. In this study, we investigated the potential of intercropping to improve the delivery of ecosystem services by cropping systems. Intercropping was expected to deliver a higher yield through facilitation and complementarity while simultaneously suppressing pests via pest habitat dilution and habitat provision for natural enemies. Utilizing a network of experiments on crop diversification with different spatial arrangements and different levels of genetic crop diversity across the Netherlands in 2018, we analyzed the effect of seven intercropping designs on crop injury by pests, yield and quality in cabbage. Individual cabbage leaf injury by herbivorous pests was assessed using a newly developed diagrammatic scale. Provisioning services were measured as individual cabbage fresh weight and yield per unit area. We found a significant negative relationship between crop diversity and herbivore feeding injury per cabbage: intercropping designs with more species, accessions and/or cultivars exhibited lower feeding injury. The presence of flower strips significantly reduced overall injury in the adjacent cabbage strip, despite higher injury found in the rows closer to the flower strip. There was no clear relationship between crop diversity and fresh marketable weight per cabbage, however five out of seven intercropping designs were able to maintain total yield per area when compared with the sole crop reference. Our results show that crop diversification can simultaneously support the production ecosystem service by maintaining fresh marketable weight per cabbage plant and productivity per unit area, as well as the regulating ecosystem service of pest control. These results provide a basis for redesigning large-scale arable fields into diversified productive systems, and thereby facilitate the transition towards more sustainable farming systems. A better understanding of crop functionality and management needs in diverse arrangements is relevant for such redesign

    Socio-cognitive constraints and opportunities for sustainable intensification in South Asia:Insights from fuzzy cognitive mapping in coastal Bangladesh

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    Appreciating and dealing with the plurality of farmers’ perceptions and their contextual knowledge and perspectives of the functioning and performance of their agroecosystems—in other words, their ‘mental models’—is central for appropriate and sustainable agricultural development. In this respect, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) aim to eradicate poverty and food insecurity by 2030 by envisioning social inclusivity that incorporates the preferences and knowledge of key stakeholders, including farmers. Agricultural development interventions and policies directed at sustainable intensification (SI), however, do not sufficiently account for farmers’ perceptions, beliefs, priorities, or interests. Considering two contrasting agroecological systems in coastal Bangladesh, we used a fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM)-based simulation and sensitivity analysis of mental models of respondents of different farm types from 240 farm households. The employed FCM mental models were able to (1) capture farmers’ perception of farming system concepts and relationships for each farm type and (2) assess the impact of external interventions (drivers) on cropping intensification and food security. We decomposed the FCM models’ variance into the first-order sensitivity index (SVI) and total sensitivity index (TSI) using a winding stairs algorithm. Both within and outside polder areas, the highest TSIs (35–68%) were observed for effects of agricultural extension on changes in other concepts in the map, particularly food security and income (SI indicators), indicating the importance of extension programs for SI. Outside polders, drainage and micro-credit were also influential; within polders, the availability of micro-credit appears to affect farmer perceptions of SI indicators more than drainage. This study demonstrated the importance of reflection on the differing perspectives of farmers both within and outside polders to identify entry points for development interventions. In addition, the study underscores the need for micro-farming systems-level research to assess the context-based feasibility of introduced interventions as perceived by farmers of different farm types.</p

    A model-based exploration of farm-household livelihood and nutrition indicators to guide nutrition-sensitive agriculture interventions

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    AbstractAssessing progress towards healthier people, farms and landscapes through nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) requires transdisciplinary methods with robust models and metrics. Farm-household models could facilitate disentangling the complex agriculture-nutrition nexus, by jointly assessing performance indicators on different farm system components such as farm productivity, farm environmental performance, household nutrition, and livelihoods. We, therefore, applied a farm-household model, FarmDESIGN, expanded to more comprehensively capture household nutrition and production diversity, diet diversity, and nutrient adequacy metrics. We estimated the potential contribution of an NSA intervention targeting the diversification of home gardens, aimed at reducing nutritional gaps and improving livelihoods in rural Vietnam. We addressed three central questions: (1) Do 'Selected Crops' (i.e. crops identified in a participatory process) in the intervention contribute to satisfying household dietary requirements?; (2) Does the adoption of Selected Crops contribute to improving household livelihoods (i.e. does it increase leisure time for non-earning activities as well as the dispensable budget)?; and (3) Do the proposed nutrition-related metrics estimate the contribution of home-garden diversification towards satisfying household dietary requirements? Results indicate trade-offs between nutrition and dispensable budget, with limited farm-household configurations leading to jointly improved nutrition and livelihoods. FarmDESIGN facilitated testing the robustness and limitations of commonly used metrics to monitor progress towards NSA. Results indicate that most of the production diversity metrics performed poorly at predicting desirable nutritional outcomes in this modelling study. This study demonstrates that farm-household models can facilitate anticipating the effect (positive or negative) of agricultural interventions on nutrition and the environment, identifying complementary interventions for significant and positive results and helping to foresee the trade-offs that farm-households could face. Furthermore, FarmDESIGN could contribute to identifying agreed-upon and robust metrics for measuring nutritional outcomes at the farm-household level, to allow comparability between contexts and NSA interventions

    Connecter game-design et évaluation de moyen/long terme dans les jeux sérieux agrienvironnementaux.: Une proposition théorique exploratoire basée sur les affordances et le NWKM

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    International audienceL’évaluation des jeux sĂ©rieux est une question critique. Elle l’est d’autant plus dans les jeux Ă  vocation agroenvironnementale oĂč l’impact des jeux est attendu sur les joueurs (reprĂ©sentations, attitudes, pratiques), mais aussi les (agro)Ă©cosystĂšmes (Andreotti et al., 2020 ; Garcia et al., 2022 ; Vervoort et al., 2022). Dans ce cadre, mesurer comment un jeu sĂ©rieux agit est bien souvent problĂ©matique et beaucoup d’auteurs dĂ©laisse cette Ă©valuation (Dernat et al., 2022 ; Dernat et al., under review). L’objectif des auteurs de la prĂ©sente communication est de mettre en dĂ©bat un modĂšle thĂ©orique d'Ă©valuation des jeux basĂ© sur la thĂ©orie des affordances et le NWKM. Dans un futur proche, ce modĂšle sera mis Ă  l’épreuve sur le terrain lors du dĂ©ploiement de jeux en accompagnement agricole. Il s’agit donc de discuter des potentialitĂ©s et limites dĂ©jĂ  identifiables sur le modĂšle afin de pouvoir l’amĂ©liorer

    A model to examine farm household trade-offs and synergies with an application to smallholders in Vietnam

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    Farm models have the potential to describe farming systems and livelihoods, identify trade-offs and synergies, and provide ex-ante assessments of agricultural technologies and policies. We developed three new modules related to budget, labor, and human nutrition for the bio-economic whole-farm model ‘FarmDESIGN’. The expanded model positions the farming enterprise within the farm household. We illustrate the model's new capabilities for farm households in two villages in Northwest Vietnam, where we conducted multi-objective optimization to identify options for improving the farm households' current performance on key sustainability and livelihood indicators. Modeling results suggest trade-offs between environmental, economic, and social objectives are common, although not universal. The new modules increase the scope for modeling flows of resources (namely cash, labor, and food) between the farm enterprise and the farm household, as well as beyond the farm gate. This allows conducting modeling explorations, optimization routines, and scenario analyses in farming systems research.PRIFPRI3; ISI; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; CRP4; CRP2; CRP3.4EPTD; A4NH; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM); CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH); CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tuber, and Bananas (RTB

    Prospects for increasing the resolution of crop diversity for agroecosystem service delivery in a Dutch arable system

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    Finding a balance between the agroecological benefits of in-field crop diversification and the associated management demands, while maintaining expected production levels, is essential for making crop diversity work for farmers. The aim of this study was to find a workable resolution of diversity within the context of an on-station organic arable cropping systems experiment in the Netherlands. The experiment tested a gradient of crop diversity treatments from sole-crop references to strip cropping (3 m x 54 m strips sown in adjacent crop pairs of varying complexity) and pixel cropping (0.25 m2 plots each sown with one out of six total crops and arranged in 7.5 m x 12 m grids). In these treatments we assessed the performance of multiple agroecosystem service (AES) indicators (soil fertility, crop yield and quality, weed cover and diversity, and natural enemy activity density) for three focal crops (cabbage, wheat, and potato) using three years of field data and a three-part analysis. First, we used linear mixed models to assess the effects of each diversification treatment on the AES indicators. We found no clear indication that one treatment performed better than the rest across AES indicators. Second, we developed a novel method for quantifying the temporal, spatial, and genetic structural diversity of the tested treatments into compound diversity scores, and used these scores to analyze response relationships between increasing in-field diversity and AES delivery. Here we found that increasing compound diversity had a positive effect on the indicators weed species diversity and natural enemy activity density. For production indicators, we observed an inflection point between the most diverse strip cropping treatment and the pixel cropping treatment, with pixel cropping performing notably poorly. Third, we used a multivariate analysis approach to assess the contribution of temporal, spatial, and genetic diversity to AES delivery, but found no clear effects of individual diversity dimensions on AES delivery. These findings suggest that prospects for strip cropping are better than for pixel cropping when it comes to balancing production aims with increases in other AES while also maintaining management feasibility. Reconciling management shortcomings in highly diverse cropping systems (e.g. through the development of appropriate technologies) may be one way to mitigate trade-offs between ecological and production aims at resolutions of diversity higher than strip cropping
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