Jatropha developments in Mozambique: analysis of structural conditions influencing Nicheregime interactions

Published: 27 October 2014This article investigates the transition dynamics related to Jatropha developments in Mozambique. The analysis focuses on how structural conditions (infrastructure, institutions, interaction and collaboration and capabilities and resources) enable or constrain interactions between niche-level Jatropha experiments and incumbent energy, agriculture and rural development regimes in Mozambique. Investors in agro-industrial Jatropha projects focused on establishing projects in areas with relatively good infrastructure, rather than in remote rural areas. Furthermore, they predominantly focused on Jatropha production instead of investing in the entire Jatropha value chain, which turned out to be a challenge in itself, as growing a productive Jatropha crop was much more complex than initially anticipated. The development of institutions that could nurture and protect Jatropha projects from the prevailing regimes lagged behind Jatropha project establishment, leading to an insecure investment climate. Strong inter-ministerial collaboration and organized civil society interaction and representation contrasted with non-organized private sector and rather isolated smallholder Jatropha projects. The global financial crisis and limited adaptive capacity reduced the time and space for experimentation and learning to overcome disappointing crop performance. Together, this hampered Jatropha’s potential to challenge the energy, agricultural and rural development regimes. Nevertheless, the Jatropha experience did initiate the development of policy and regulation and stimulated interaction and collaboration between specific groups of stakeholders, which could provide the basis to capture future biofuel momentum in Mozambique

Oil Palm Agroforestry Can Achieve Economic and Environmental Gains as Indicated by Multifunctional Land Equivalent Ratios

Driven by increased global demand for vegetable oil in the food and biofuel sectors, oil palm plantations based on monoculture technology have expanded into lowland tropical forests. Interest in diversified, mixed oil palm systems is increasing as these might increase efficiency of the use of land and other resources, reduce farmer risk, and decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit product. Land Equivalent Ratio for provisioning services (LERP) values above 1.0 show that at least some diversified systems use land more efficiently than monocultures and are thus “land sparing,” where monoculture LERP cannot exceed 1.0. Diversification also modifies climate and water regulating functions (“land sharing”) relative to a forest reference, as indicated in the LERR index. A “multifunctional” LERM indicator combines both; land sparing plus land sharing effects jointly determine expected regulating services. Empirical assessment of multiple ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes is assisted by models that synthesise process-based knowledge, especially for perennial systems where well-designed experiments require a full production cycle, and are costly and scarce. Agroforestry models explore spacing, intercropping and soil management options, predicting harvestable yields, impacts on water flows, nutrient leaching, and greenhouse gas emissions. We used the process-based Water, Nutrient and Light Capture in Agroforestry System (WaNuLCAS) model to explore mixed oil palm + cocoa and oil palm + pepper intercrop systems with modified (“double row”) planting patterns for Indonesian contexts and estimated consequences for the carbon footprint. The oil palm + cocoa intercrop provided a high LERP (1.4), while also replenishing more ground water and having a lower C footprint. This combination also has a return to labour equal to that in oil palm monocultures and a higher benefit cost ratio than the oil palm + pepper combination that maximizes Net Present Value. Oil palm + cocoa systems are also less sensitive to price uncertainty for oil palm, and buffer for oil palm and cocoa production risks, assumed to be independent of each other. Considerable economic and environmental system improvements appear to be feasible through mixed oil palm systems and diversification as a pathway to intensification deserves full attention of research and policy development.</p

Influence of weather and endogenous cycles on spatiotemporal yield variation in oil palm

Oil palm is the major source of vegetable oil in the world and Indonesia is the main palm oil producing country. There is limited knowledge on the factors accounting for spatial and temporal variation in fresh fruit bunches (FFB) yield. Here we investigated relationships between weather and endogenous factors with FFB yield and its components (bunch number and individual bunch weight) using data collected from well-managed plantations in Indonesia. The database included many sites and years (total of 136 block-years observations), portraying a wide range of FFB yield and environmental conditions. We used average annual values to detect spatial variations in yield associated with weather, and monthly values to detect temporal yield variations in yield associated with weather and endogenous cycles. We found that water stress was the key factor accounting for the spatial and/or temporal variation in FFB yield. Our analysis also highlights the importance of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) as a stress factor in oil palm, with this study being the first to demonstrate the negative relationship between yield and VPD and yield and water-use efficiency at the block level. Meteorological anomalies during the bunch failure, anthesis, and sex differentiation periods had the largest impact on yield. Besides climate factors, we confirmed the existence of endogenous yield cycles, with high-yield cycles typically followed by low-yield cycles and vice versa. Our findings extend current knowledge about sources of variation in oil palm yield, providing useful information to describe oil palm production environments and improve oil palm modeling and yield forecasting.Fil: Monzon, Juan Pablo. Universidad de Nebraska - Lincoln; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Jabloun, Mohamed. University of Agriculture Wageningen; Países BajosFil: Cock, James. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical; ColombiaFil: Caliman, Jean Pierre. Smart Research Institute; IndonesiaFil: Couëdel, Antoine. Universidad de Nebraska - Lincoln; Estados UnidosFil: Donough, Christopher R.. Universidad de Nebraska - Lincoln; Estados UnidosFil: Vui, Philip Ho Vun. Wilmar International; IndonesiaFil: Lim, Ya Li. Universidad de Nebraska - Lincoln; Estados UnidosFil: Mathews, Joshua. Research Centre Pt Bumitama Gunajaya Agro; IndonesiaFil: Oberthür, Thomas. Mohammed Vi Polytechnic University; MarruecosFil: Prabowo, Noto E.. Jln. A. Yani No. 2; IndonesiaFil: Rattalino Edreira, Juan Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad de Nebraska - Lincoln; Estados UnidosFil: Sidhu, Manjit. Tebing Tinggi Deli; IndonesiaFil: Slingerland, Maja A.. University of Agriculture Wageningen; Países BajosFil: Sugianto, Hendra. Universidad de Nebraska - Lincoln; Estados UnidosFil: Grassini, Patricio. Universidad de Nebraska - Lincoln; Estados Unido

Fostering a climate-smart intensification for oil palm

Oil palm production in Indonesia illustrates the intense pressure that exists worldwide to convert natural ecosystems to agricultural production. Oil palm production has increased because of expansion of cultivated area rather than due to average-yield increases. We used a data-rich modelling approach to investigate how intensification on existing plantations could help Indonesia meet palm oil demand while preserving fragile ecosystems. We found that average current yield represents 62% and 53% of the attainable yield in large and smallholder plantations, respectively. Narrowing yield gaps via improved agronomic management, together with a limited expansion that excludes fragile ecosystems, would save 2.6 million hectares of forests and peatlands and avoid 732 MtCO2e compared with following historical trends in yield and land use. Fine-tuning policy to promote intensification, along with investments in agricultural research and development, can help reconcile economic and environmental goals

Shortening harvest interval, reaping benefits? A study on harvest practices in oil palm smallholder farming systems in Indonesia

CONTEXT: Smallholders are responsible for a large share of global palm oil production. Yet, in Indonesia, the main palm oil producing country, smallholders’ yields remain low. Better management practices, including short harvest interval (HI, the number of days between two harvest rounds), could help to raise smallholder yields. However, at present, HI is long in smallholder fields and the drivers underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: We explored agronomic, socio-economic, and institutional factors that underlie harvesting practices in independent oil palm smallholder farming systems in Indonesia to assess scope for sustainable intensification through shorter HI and reduced harvest losses. METHODS: Combining methods from agronomy and anthropology, we followed harvest interval of 950 farmers in six representative locations across Indonesia via farmer diaries over a period of two years to establish a correlation with yield. To quantify this relationship, we conducted post-harvest field measurements, and to explain which underlying factors impact HI we did qualitative interviews and surveys. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The HI of smallholders in our study ranged from 10 to 39 days (average: 17-d). Half of the farmers followed long HI (\u3e16-d). Key factors impacting HI include annual fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield, total palm area per farmer, trusted labor availability, plantation accessibility, and FFB price. Farmers responded to low yield by prolonging HI to increase labor productivity and optimize labor and transportation costs. SIGNIFICANCE: This study contributes to a better understanding of the relation between HI and yield in smallholder farming systems, by uncovering how socio-economic and institutional factors sometimes override agronomic considerations. Long HI can potentially lead to harvest loss from loose fruits and missed bunches, and reduce oil quality from overripe bunches. However, to obtain the benefits of shorter HI requires collective action and incentives along the supply chain to streamline the harvest and sale process

Influence of weather and endogenous cycles on spatiotemporal yield variation in oil palm

Oil palm is the major source of vegetable oil in the world and Indonesia is the main palm oil producing country. There is limited knowledge on the factors accounting for spatial and temporal variation in fresh fruit bunches (FFB) yield. Here we investigated relationships between weather and endogenous factors with FFB yield and its components (bunch number and individual bunch weight) using data collected from well-managed plantations in Indonesia. The database included many sites and years (total of 136 block-years observations), portraying a wide range of FFB yield and environmental conditions. We used average annual values to detect spatial variations in yield associated with weather, and monthly values to detect temporal yield variations in yield associated with weather and endogenous cycles. We found that water stress was the key factor accounting for the spatial and/or temporal variation in FFB yield. Our analysis also highlights the importance of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) as a stress factor in oil palm, with this study being the first to demonstrate the negative relationship between yield and VPD and yield and water-use efficiency at the block level. Meteorological anomalies during the bunch failure, anthesis, and sex differentiation periods had the largest impact on yield. Besides climate factors, we confirmed the existence of endogenous yield cycles, with high-yield cycles typically followed by low-yield cycles and vice versa. Our findings extend current knowledge about sources of variation in oil palm yield, providing useful information to describe oil palm production environments and improve oil palm modeling and yield forecasting

Case Study #3-6 of the Program: ''Food Policy For Developing Countries: The Role Of Government In The Global Food System''

12 pp.©Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. All rights reserved. This case study may be reproduced for educational purposes without express permission but must include acknowledgment to Cornell University. No commercial use is permitted without permission.About 800 million people suffer from hunger, but even more suffer from micronutrient malnutrition, also called “hidden hunger.” Iodine, vitamin A, iron, and zinc malnutrition are major concerns. About 2 billion people, mainly women and young children, suffer from deficiencies of iron and zinc, which lead to impaired growth and development, low daily work output, and increased mortality. The supply of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) falls short when people suffer from food shortages, when consumed foods have a low Fe or Zn content, or when absorption of Fe and Zn from consumed food is inhibited by the presence of antinutritional factors such as phytic acid and polyphenols in the diet. Current interventions are dietary diversification, supplementation, and fortification. In West Africa alone more than 80 percent of children and up to 66 percent of women suffer from iron deficiency. In Benin and Burkina Faso the prevalence of micronutrient malnutrition is also high. In these countries the interventions mentioned have only moderate chances of success owing to the low purchasing power of households, lack of elementary logistics, lack of central processing of food, and the high heterogeneity in production and consumption conditions. In 2000 biofortification was introduced as a new policy option at the global level. Biofortification consists of breeding for micronutrients in staple crops. In 2001 the approach was extended to a food chain approach by Wageningen University. This approach to biofortification offers additional opportunities to alleviate micronutrient malnutrition in West Africa, as illustrated by the cases of Benin and Burkina Faso. Preliminary experiences in these two countries challenge current policies toward crop cultivation and nutrition, but also reveal a number of questions to be solved. Your assignment is to advise national policy makers in Benin or Burkina Faso about which strategy or combination of strategies they should choose to solve iron and zinc deficiencies in rural and urban sorghum-growing and -consuming areas of these countries.Cornell University Division of Nutritional Science

Jatropha Developments in Mozambique: Analysis of Structural Conditions Influencing Niche-Regime Interactions

This article investigates the transition dynamics related to Jatropha developments in Mozambique. The analysis focuses on how structural conditions (infrastructure, institutions, interaction and collaboration and capabilities and resources) enable or constrain interactions between niche-level Jatropha experiments and incumbent energy, agriculture and rural development regimes in Mozambique. Investors in agro-industrial Jatropha projects focused on establishing projects in areas with relatively good infrastructure, rather than in remote rural areas. Furthermore, they predominantly focused on Jatropha production instead of investing in the entire Jatropha value chain, which turned out to be a challenge in itself, as growing a productive Jatropha crop was much more complex than initially anticipated. The development of institutions that could nurture and protect Jatropha projects from the prevailing regimes lagged behind Jatropha project establishment, leading to an insecure investment climate. Strong inter-ministerial collaboration and organized civil society interaction and representation contrasted with non-organized private sector and rather isolated smallholder Jatropha projects. The global financial crisis and limited adaptive capacity reduced the time and space for experimentation and learning to overcome disappointing crop performance. Together, this hampered Jatropha’s potential to challenge the energy, agricultural and rural development regimes. Nevertheless, the Jatropha experience did initiate the development of policy and regulation and stimulated interaction and collaboration between specific groups of stakeholders, which could provide the basis to capture future biofuel momentum in Mozambique

Can good Agricultural practices sustain oil palm yields for bioenergy production in northeast Thailand?

The government of Thailand aims for sustainability of palm oil production in the Northeast for bioenergy and farmers’ income. This study investigated whether producers in Northeast Thailand managed their oil palm according to good agricultural practices (GAP) and if not, what effects this has on yield. A survey was conducted amongst 108 randomly selected farmers. For 25 selected plots, management and yields were monitored twice a month for two full years. Compliance to GAP was high for weeding, harvesting, pruning and pest and disease control but not for irrigation (40%) and fertiliser application (20–40%). GAP adoption scores per households positively correlated with income from other crops, tree age and degree of training. We showed that rainfall was insufficient for good oil palm growth between October and April. In the monitored group, use of irrigation and amounts of N, P, K and Mg applied were strongly correlated. The yield was significantly greater with irrigation and fertiliser, reaching similar levels as in the South of Thailand (up to 25–30 Mg Fresh Fruit Bunches: FFB ha−1), but did not differ with soil texture. This allows us to conclude that better application of GAP, especially including a combination of irrigation and fertilisers overcame the unsuitable soil and rainfall conditions in the Northeast of Thailand. However, the costs of fertilisers compared to the price of FFB affected the profitability of FFB production, which may affect farmers’ motivation to apply GAP, especially on unsuitable soils. When the government aims for sustainable palm oil production in the Northeast it needs to invest in frequent technical support, irrigation infrastructure and affordable fertilisers. Otherwise, farmers may not apply GAP because of low returns on investments and yields will remain very modest.</p