Potential for increasing groundnut production in Tanzania by enhancing technical efficiency: A stochastic meta-frontier analysis

Groundnut crop is one of the major sources of financial and food security for a large number of Tanzanian smallholder farmers. However, the production of groundnuts in Tanzania is underdeveloped, and yields are reportedly 2.5 to 3 times lower than in other African nations such as Nigeria. There are a number of factors that contribute to lower yields including the cultivation of outdated plant varieties, increased climate variability, the infestation of pests and diseases, and the use of outdated farming techniques. To analyze the scope for increasing groundnut production, this study investigates and compares the technical efficiencies (TEs) and technological gap ratios (TGRs) in Tanzania’s four main groundnut-producing regions, namely the Central zone, Lake Zone, Southern zone, Southern highland zone, by using a two-step meta frontier model. We used ICRISAT data collected under the Tropical Legume-III project during 2017–18. Our results show a very low level of technical efficiency of groundnut production in the regions and significant regional differences in TEs, TGRs, and Meta Technical Efficiencies (MTEs). The study identifies a tremendous scope to increase groundnut productivity and production in Tanzania by enhancing its production efficiency and the key drivers that may help harness this potential

How Accurate are Adoption Rates? Testing a Protocol for Pigeon pea in northern Tanzania. Socioeconomics Discussion Paper Series 30.

High rates of outcrossing make it difficult to obtain accurate adoption rates of improved varieties for often cross-pollinated crops. We developed and tested a protocol for identification of improved varieties of pigeonpea in northern Tanzania. The study was conducted in the 2012 season, in collaboration with the Selian Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) and covered 34 villages in 6 districts, for 704 cases. Each sample of pigeonpea plant was identified twice, once by the farmer and once by the enumerator using the protocol. A sub-sample of 51 plants was photographed in the field for later identification by experts. For improved varieties, the convergence between the farmers’ identification and the protocol was 74 percent. For local varieties, the convergence was 65 percent. For mixed varieties, the convergence was only 33 percent. We also compared the identification of improved varieties using the protocol with visual identification by pigeonpea experts using the photographs of the 51 sampled plants. The convergence between the experts’ identification and the revised protocol ranged from 41 to 71 percent. A simulation exercise based on a revised protocol significantly increased this convergence, but it remained below 90 percent. Hence, accurate identification of improved varieties of pigeonpea is more complex than previously thought. Protocols based on phenotypic traits are a potential solution to the problem of identifying improved varieties in self-pollinated crops, but more reliable protocols are needed to improve the accuracy of adoption rates for improved pigeonpea varieties in Tanzania

Estimate of Heritability and Correlation Analysis for Nitrogen Fixation, Yield and Associated Traits in Chickpea (Cicer Arietinum L.)

Chickpea is one of the most cultivated grain legumes in Ethiopia for grain production and amelioration of soil fertility through N-fixation, and income generation. This study was conducted to estimate the heritability and correlation analysis of N-fixation in chickpea. Six F1 crosses were evaluated in lath house during the year 2014/15 using randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two replications at Debre Zeit Research Center. Heritability of the characters was estimated in F1 generations from the combining ability analysis of a di-allele cross using fixed model expectations of mean squares for GCA and SCA . The calculated narrow sense heritability was high (>0.50) for all traits except for seed filling duration, number of pod per plant, shoot nitrogen fixation, grain harvesting index and grain production efficiency. All symbiotic traits such as number of nodules, shoot nitrogen fixation, N fixed in biomass, N fixed in grain, Nitrogen harvest index (NHI), Grain N yield, Shoot N yield, Biomass N yield, Nodule dry weight, Shoot and grain protein contents and Nitrogen showed strong positive association with yield and other agronomic traits, indicating the improvement of symbiotic traits results in the improvement of other agronomic traits of the crop. The prevailing high heritability indicates the possibility of improving the traits either by selection or crossing of selected parents. This study is first of its kind in Ethiopia, and helps the future breeding and genetics in chickpea dealing with the nitrogen fixation processes

Effective Utilization of Local Genetic Diversity of Pigeonpea, Sorghum and Finger Millet in Eastern and Southern Africa: Impacts and Prospects

Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) is the centre of genetic diversity for pigeonpea, sorghum and Finger millet. ICRISAT regional bank located in Nairobi-Kenya maintains about 6000 germplasm accessions that are of greater use in ESA. ICRISAT-Nairobi is regularly collecting local diversity existing in the region and thus collected germplasm characterized/evaluated to identify locally adapted germpalsm with highly desirable traits. Local diversity captured in ESA has unique traits with respect to local agro-ecological adaptation, farmer and consumer preferred grain traits, tolerance to drought and region specific diseases. ESA regional germplasm also contributed to global genetic diversity maintained ICRISAT-Patancheru in several ways. During recent years 30 new varieties of pigeonpea (8), sorghum (10) and Finger millet (12) were released in eight ESA countries and occupying huge area in respective countries. Pigeonpea is an example crop with great success recorded during last 15 years when breeding program started using local germplasm. Pigeonpea improvement in ESA started in 1992 by mostly relying on native germplasm and through this 33 high yielding varieties that are belonging to short(8), medium(13) and long(12) maturity group were released. A strong region specific genetic enhancement program is in operation with major breeding thrust on high grain yield, inter-cropping compatibility, photoperiod insensitivity, grain quality, resistance and/or tolerance to Fusarium wilt and Helicoverpa pod borer and resilience to climate change. Most of the cultivated germplasm is susceptible to insects but regional germplasm contributed develop that are insect-cum-drought tolerant, high yielding and big seeded (28 g/100 seed mass). ESA region has huge untapped potential with respect to genetic diversity and its use in genetic enhancement

Heterosis for Nitrogen Fixation and Seed Yield and Yield Components in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Chickpea is one of the most cultivated grain legumes in Ethiopia for grain production and amelioration of soil fertility with less attention in research on N-fixation. Therefore, this study was conducted to estimate the magnitude of heterosis for nitrogen fixation and yield and yield associated traits in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Six F1 crosses obtained from crossing of four parents (two nodulated and non-nodulated) in a half diallel fashion were evaluated in 2014/15 season in lath house using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two replications at Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center. Significant (P<0.05) differences were exhibited among entries for all traits studied. Considering all traits, relative to the mid parent (MPH), better parent (BPH) and standard heterosis (SH) in percent ranged from 0.009 to 59.8, 0.009 to39.9 and 0.009 to58.8, respectively. The highest degrees of MPH were noted for nodule dry weight and of BPH and SH were noted for number of pods per plant, while the lowest was observed for grain yield (0.009). The hybrid obtained from nodulated parents (ICC5003 x ICC19180) showed high heterosis for number of nodule on the basis of MPH and BPH, while ICC4918x ICC19181 exhibited low heterotic effect which exhibited positive and significant MPH for nitrogen fixed in grain, BPH for seed filling duration and SH for days to 50% flowering, days to 90% maturity and shoot dry weight at maturity traits

Unlocking opportunities in African Pulses Production through Public-Private Partnerships

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in 1998that the number of classically undernourished people in Africa had more than doubled between 1948 and 1998 (WHO, 1998). The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) followed 3 years later with a projection of 18% rise in the number of malnourished children in Africa by 2020 (IFPRI, 2001)..

Assessment of Interrelationship among Agronomic and Yield Characters of Chickpea

This study was conducted to analyze the association among agronomic traits and with seed yield for fifty eight chickpea genotypes including two check varieties under field conditions. Alpha lattice design with three replications was used. Data agro-morphological traits were recorded using descriptors for chickpea and analysed using Genstat 2015. The results showed there was positive and significant correlation of seed yield with biomass, pod filling period, pod plant -1, number of primary and secondary branches plant -1. These traits could be improved simultaneously and given prior emphasis for indirect selection of high yielding chickpea genotypes. Principal component analysis indicated that the existence of genetic variation among the evaluated genotypes. The first four principal components explained significant proportion of the total variations and accounted for 77.04 %. The first principal component was positively associated with days to flowering, plant spread, plant height, number of primary and secondary branches plant -1, days to maturity, pods plant -1, pod length, biomass and seed yield. The second principal component was positively related with plant spread, pod length, plant height, pod filling period, pod plant -1, seed yield and 100 seed weight. These could be a good indication for significance of both agronomic and yield traits attributed substantially to the overall variations among genotypes. The presence of substantial genetic variations, positive and highly significant correlated characters can be exploited in breeding programmes for improvement of chickpea in the regio

Socioeconomic Assessment of Pigeonpea and Groundnut Production Conditions – Farmer Technology Choice, Market Linkages, Institutions and Poverty in Rural Malawi. Market Institution and Policy Research Report no.6

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (2008) reports that about 850 million people worldwide went hungry each year from the years 2002 to 2007. Furthermore, the United Nations (2008) reports, as the international financial crisis deepens, for the first time in history, one billion people were expected to go hungry in 2009. Agricultural growth is said to be the most effective means of addressing poverty. Consistent with this notion, the Department for International Development (2003) estimated that a 1% increase in agricultural productivity could reduce the percentage of poor people living on less than 1 dollar a day by between 0.6 and 2 percent. No other economic activity generates the same benefit for the poor. In Malawi, agriculture remains an important component of the economy; employing 85 percent of the labor force, accounting for about 39% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 83% of Malawi’s foreign exchange earnings (Chirwa 2007). The agricultural sector is subdivided into sub-sectors; estates and smallholder farmers. The latter accounts for 78% of the cultivated land and generates about 75% of Malawi’s total agricultural output, suggesting that Malawi’s agriculture is largely smallholder agriculture. More than 72% of the smallholder farms are less than one hectare, a size too small to achieve food self sufficiency at the household level with the current rudimentary farming methods. This notion is consistent with the Benin et al.(2008) report, that Malawi is the third most densely populated country in mainland sub-Saharan Africa (at 2.3 rural people per hectare of agricultural land) after Rwanda (3.8 people per hectare) and Burundi (2.7 people per hectare). Such small land holdings are a serious challenge to the transformation of Malawi’s agriculture. The principal crops grown in Malawi are maize, tea, sugarcane, groundnut, cotton..........

Images of the Early Universe from the BOOMERanG experiment

The CMB is the fundamental tool to study the properties of the early universe and of the universe at large scales. In the framework of the Hot Big Bang model, when we look to the CMB we look back in time to the end of the plasma era, at a redshift ~ 1000, when the universe was ~ 50000 times younger, ~ 1000 times hotter and ~ 10^9 times denser than today. The image of the CMB can be used to study the physical processes there, to infer what happened before, and also to study the background geometry of our Universe

Monitoring Changes in the Cultivation of Pigeonpea and Groundnut in Malawi Using Time Series Satellite Imagery for Sustainable Food Systems

Malawi, in south-eastern Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. Food security in the country hinges on rainfed systems in which maize and sorghum are staple cereals and groundnut and pigeonpea are now major grain legume crops. While the country has experienced a considerable reduction in forest lands, population growth and demand for food production have seen an increase in the area dedicated to agricultural crops. From 2010, pigeonpea developed into a major export crop, and is commonly intercropped with cereals or grown in double-up legume systems. Information on the spatial extent of these crops is useful for estimating food supply, understanding export potential, and planning policy changes as examples of various applications. Remote sensing analysis offers a number of efficient approaches to deliver spatial, reproducible data on land use and land cover (LULC) and changes therein. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products (fortnightly and monthly) and derived phenological parameters assist in mapping cropland areas during the agricultural season, with explicit focus on redistributed farmland. Owing to its low revisit time and the availability of long-term period data, MODIS offers several advantages, e.g., the possibility of obtaining cloud-free Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) profile and an analysis using one methodology applied to one sensor at regular acquisition dates, avoiding incomparable results. To assess the expansion of areas used in the production of pigeonpea and groundnut resulting from the release of new varieties, the spatial distribution of cropland areas was mapped using MODIS NDVI 16-day time-series products (MOD13Q1) at a spatial resolution of 250 m for the years 2010–2011 and 2016–2017. The resultant cropland extent map was validated using intensive ground survey data. Pigeonpea is mostly grown in the southern dry districts of Mulanje, Phalombe, Chiradzulu, Blantyre and Mwanza and parts of Balaka and Chikwawa as a groundnut-pigeonpea intercrop, and sorghum-pigeonpea intercrop in Mzimba district. By 2016, groundnut extent had increased in Mwanza, Mulanje, and Phalombe and fallen in Mzimba. The result indicates that the area planted with pigeonpea had increased by 29% (75,000 ha) from 2010–2011 to 2016–2017. Pigeonpea expansion in recent years has resulted from major export opportunities to Asian countries like India, and its consumption by Asian expatriates all over the world. This study provides useful information for policy changes and the prioritization of resources allocated to sustainable food production and to support smallholder farmers