Clyde superficial deposits and bedrock models released to the ASK Network 2013 : a guide for users

This report draft provides an overview of the Clyde superficial deposits models to be released in 2013 and detail on the Central Glasgow Superficial Deposits Model currently released to the ASK network. The geological models are an interpretation of digital datasets held by the British Geological Survey. A summary of the construction and limitations of the models and a brief description of the modelled units is given. The report will be updated and revised as more models become available for release to the ASK network. More details on the models can be found in the previous reports Merritt et al. (2009), Monaghan (2012a) and Monaghan et al. (2012)

Assessment of on-farm, market and wild food diversity in three agro-ecological zones of Western Kenya

Poster presented at Tropentag 2014. International Conference on Research on Food Security, Natural Resource Management and Rural Development. "Bridging the Gap between Increasing Knowledge and Decreasing Resources" Prague (Czech Republic) Sep 17-19 2014

Integrated systems approach for enhancing resilience of arid farming systems in South Asia

This paper aims to share the methods and processes of designing resilient farming systems to improve livelihoods under the drylands in South-Asia. The study is based on 250 randomly selected farm households along the rainfall gradient from Jodhpur- Barmer-Jaisalmer districts in Western Rajasthan in India. Our analysis demonstrates that the dryland smallholder farming systems occur within diverse agro-ecological and socio-economic environments and develop different livelihood strategies driven by opportunities and constraints encountered. Multiple livelihood assets determine different land use patterns and agricultural management practices in dryland systems in south Asia. Well-designed household survey on socio-economic and agroecological variables and statistical approach helped capture the diversity of livelihood assets to categorize households into homogenous farm types. The follow up FDG’s with farmers and stakeholder were equally important to validate farm typologies and prioritization of interventions. Engaging the innovation platform for identification of potential innovation options and their prioritization at district level; involving farmers for each farm typology, and ex-ante assessment of promising options led to the on-farm assessment of farm type specific most appropriate interventions in the action villages. Landscape and community level options were prioritized with the village development committee and proactive farmers. The institutional platforms experimented at village to regional level has strengthened the capacity of the community/stakeholders to innovate to improve the farming systems resilience and economic viability. An ex-post assessment demonstrates significant increase in farming systems productivity, household income and development of value chains as well as sustainable management of natural resource including common pastures. This study contributes to the understanding of how research for development through integrated systems approach can contribute towards stabilizing farm incomes, sustainable intensification and smoothening livelihood of resource poor farmers in vulnerable dry regions

The geology of the A9 corridor between Luncarty and Ballinluig

This report is an initial review of data from a resurvey of the superficial geology of the A9 corridor between Luncarty and Ballinluig. The resurvey was conducted to improve understanding of the superficial deposits and ground conditions along a vital transport route linking southern and northern Scotland. During the resurvey, information from historic geological maps was supplemented by data from field surveys conducted in 2013 and analysis of borehole records from the BGS archive. Preliminary geological maps and cross-sections are included in this report. The production of new 1:10,000 scale digital geological maps based on these data is ongoing. Note this report was originally released as an internal report in 2014, and reissued as an open report in 2019

Climate risk, vulnerability and resilience: Supporting livelihood of smallholders in semiarid India

Using panel data from 256 smallholder households from 2006 to 2014 in three semiarid regions India, this study develops a framework for quantifying vulnerability and resilience by accounting for a smallholder household’s ability to adapt and respond to climatic risk. Findings indicate that although smallholders with smaller landholdings are more vulnerable to climatic risk (drought, in our case), they are also more resilient than their counterparts. Results reveal that cropping intensity and crop risk increase the vulnerability of smallholders to climatic risk, but large farms are less vulnerable. Diversification in on-farm enterprises, like livestock units, and off-farm income sources, play significant roles in increasing smallholder households’ resilience to climatic risk. Other drivers of resiliency include the choice of cash and risky crops, borrowing capacity, liquid investments, and the ability to regain yields

Indian agriculture: The route post-CoP 26

India’s pledge of Panchamrit (five-fold strategy) to fight climate change, announced during the 26th Conference of the Parties (CoP26) at Glasgow, Scotland, has caught global attention. The country’s new commitments include reaching 500 giga-watt (GW) of non-fossil fuel energy capacity by 2030; producing 50 per cent of energy requirements via renewable energy sources by 2030; a reduction of 1 billion tonnes of carbon by 2030; reducing the carbon emission intensity of the GDP by 45 per cent by 2030; and most importantly, achieving the target of net-zero emissions by 2070. A basket of agreements was signed by groups of countries during the Glasgow Summit. Here, we focus our discussions on agriculture and food systems and how India should prepare and act to fight the challenge of climate change in light of CoP26. As many as 26 countries signed the Sustainable Agriculture Policy Action Agenda at the summit to set a course of action to protect food systems and prevent loss of biodiversity against climate change. The countries laid down their commitments with a pledge “to use land sustainably and put protection and restoration of nature at the heart of all”. India did not sign the agenda as its Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), one of the missions within the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), is already operational to deal with the issue of climate change in the agriculture sector. At the present inflection point, when the agricultural sector in these countries, and for that matter across the planet, is threatened by the adversities brought by climate change, these initiatives seem to be a good way to reinvigorate efforts to promote and practice sustainable agriculture technologies. While Indian agriculture is adversely impacted by the vicissitudes of climate change, the sector also is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As per the Third Biennial Update Report submitted by the Government of India in early 2021 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the agriculture sector contributes 14 per cent of the total GHG emissions (energy 75.01 per cent; industrial process and product use 8 per cent; and waste 2.7 per cent, as per 2016 data). Within the sector, 54.6 per cent of GHG emissions were due to enteric fermentation, followed by 17.5 per cent from rice cultivation, 19.1 per cent from fertiliser applied to agricultural soils, 6.7 per cent from manure management, and 2.2 per cent due to field burning of agricultural residues. Therefore, effective mitigation measures and appropriate adaptation technologies must be taken to reduce GHG emissions from the agriculture sector. India’s approach has been a balancing act between growth and sustainability in its climate change policies and it is leading the developing nations to place agriculture in the ongoing negotiations. The National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture, as part of National Action Plan on Climate Change for more than a decade now, has focused to make Indian agriculture sustainable, considering likely risks arising from climate variability. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research and International Agricultural Research Centres of the CGIAR system (a France-headquartered public agricultural innovation network), including International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), have developed climate smart agricultural technologies and approaches to assist the agricultural sector to be less vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change

Multi-criteria analysis and ex-ante assessment to prioritize and scale up climate smart agriculture in semi–arid tropics, India

The strategies that integrate food security, adaptation and mitigation options in agriculture are of high importance to manage the increasing risk of climate change in vulnerable semi-arid regions for the livelihood security of poor agriculture-dependent people. To address the growing problems of food security and climate change, multiple institutions and programs have demonstrated evidences for developing Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) across regions which can act as a sustainable model for adapting to changing climate and improve farmers’ welfare. However, it remain a major challenge to upscale CSV approach. This paper presents a framework and evidence based designing of a strategy for scaling up Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) in Telangana State of India. Climate risk and vulnerability mapping at disaggregate level; Inventory of CSA practices and respective technical coefficients; multicriteria analysis for participatory prioritization of location specific CSA practices and identification of barriers and incentives; ex-ante impact analysis of potential adoption and investment and infrastructure needs to implement CSA practices at local level and strategy for CSA integration into district level plans have been the key steps of this CSV approach. Local level vulnerability assessments and participatory prioritization based on index calculated for climate smartness and ease of adoption for each proposed practice, formed the basis of prioritizing CSA interventions suitable for particular location. Further the ex-ante impact analysis of selected climate smart interventions in different regions of Telangana was the next step. We also generated relevant geospatial maps for irrigated as well as rainfed major crops under vertisols and light soils. These maps helped in identifying context specificity of CSA interventions. Based on participatory prioritization, five CSA practices such as Ridges and Furrows, Broad bed and furrow for soil and moisture conservation and drainage, Farm pond for critical/supplemental irrigation, Crop residue management (cotton) and drip irrigation system were considered for ex-ante assessment considering district wise actual area and yields of major crops and rainfall level for 5 years from 2010-11 to 2014-15. The proposed framework and different tools help to understand the district wise potential for promotion of CSA practices/technologies, public and private investment needs, economic impacts of the interventions to enable informed decision making for climate smart agriculture. Stakeholders’ consultations during different stages of this process was very important for integrating their perspective and creating ownership. Piloting of evidence based scientific framework guides investments and policy making decisions on scaling up CSA in Telangana state

Contour bunding technology-evidence and experience in the semiarid region of southern Mali

Land and water management practices have been widely implemented in rural Mali since the 1980s to improve agricultural productivity and erosion control. Under conditions of recurring droughts, these practices are expected to increase farmers’ ability to cope with shocks. One of the most common practices applied in the central and southern parts of Mali is contour bunding (CB). In this study the impact of the CB technology is evaluated with a focus on biophysical and socio-economic benefits. Data were collected in two agro-ecologies of southern Mali and were generated through field experimentation and household survey. Field experimentation involved implementation of contour lines with farm ridges, agronomic trails and runoff and erosion measurements. Agronomic data was collected on sorghum, maize, groundnut and millet for three consecutive years (2015 to 2017). Socio-economic data on the use of CB was obtained from individual farmer surveys. CB involves the layout of contour lines with land leveling devices to identify points of equal elevation and construction of contour lines with draught animals and human labor. The majority of the labor input to construct and maintain the CB comes from adult men who are head of the household (58%) and youth male (33%). Results indicate that with the application of CB yield of crops was higher with the highest increase in grain yield and biomass obtained for maize and millet (P < 0.01). CB application was useful in retaining soil water and reduced erosion rate. In treatment fields, 162mmof rainfall per year was saved as soil moisture and on average 13,090 kg per hectare of soil was lost from farm fields without CB, and CB implementation significantly reduced the soil loss by 163% (P < 0.01). The improvements in crops yield and biomass, and the retention of soil nutrients positively changed farm level productivity conditions. The majority of farmers (78%) perceived higher income from the sale of crops grown on CB plots. These results suggest the landscape wide application of CB

Integrated ecosystems approach for sustainable intensification of community based silvo-patoral systems in arid western Rajasthan, India: implications for upscaling

The common pastures in arid Rajasthan, India though are critically important for sustaining livestock dominant smallholder rural livelihoods and ecosystems services, but have been severely degraded due to several factors. Among others, the stakeholders’ perception of low returns on any investment of time or other resources for restoring these degraded common property resources (CPRs) is resulting into their continuous neglect. Generating sufficient on-farm evidence of enhanced biomass productivity and returns from CPRs employing integrated natural resource management and appropriate governance mechanisms are suggested strategies for enhancing community participation and influencing policies for their sustainable development. The present study aims to understand the key drivers of CPRs management and assess the potential of sustainable intensification of community silvo-pastoral systems for increased biomass production and returns in arid western Rajasthan, India. The study was undertaken in Jodhpur, Barmer and Jaisalmer districts across the annual rainfall gradient from 170 mm to 280 mm. The case-study analyses and the group-discussions were used as a starting point for facilitated community elaborations on how to adopt appropriate by-laws and identify opportunities and challenges of sustainable intensification of community pastures. Action-sites of 10 ha degraded common pastures were identified in each of the three communities to test silvo-pastoral rehabilitation options. Participatory Mozer-framework matrix accounted for local preferences and climate in selecting the plant species. The community was involved in in-situ and ex-situ water and soil conservation, species selection and monitoring, fencing, cut and carry systems and output sharing. The biomass assessment with respect to yield, species diversity, share of edible and non-edible species was carried out in pasture and control plots. The integrated ecosystems approach for rehabilitation of severely degraded community silvo-pastoral systems under arid region resulted in many-fold increase in biomass yield from 0.25-0.40 t/ha to 1.6–4.6 t/ha in the second year. The proportion of edible species increased from 15 -24% to 55 – 73%. The ex-ante analysis for a 10 year time horizon indicates payback period of about three years and over 30% IRR. Paper explores the potential to upscale the approach to at least one quarter of the common lands in west Rajasthan (1 m ha) producing about 2.5 million tons additional biomass. The study highlights the role of the structure and functions of the production system as well as social ecological system in designing appropriate NRM interventions, species selection, grazing system, market integration and institutional mechanisms

Pathways to Sustainable Intensification: Participatory Designing of Adapted Farming System Innovations

Most farmers in Western Rajasthan, India face an uncertain, impoverished future. The region is affected by frequent droughts, over-exploitation of groundwater, deteriorating soil and water quality, low productivity, weak institutions, malnutrition, continuously decreasing landholding size, and a burgeoning population of 28 million. With negative water balance for all but a few months of the year, Rajasthani farmers are on the cutting edge of climate change. In this situation, common property resources, such as fodder, herbs, and water, ease stress on livelihoods. By the same token, the social and environmental cost of the poor management of these resources is keenly felt. That is why the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), as part of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Program on Dryland Systems, has teamed up with rural dryland communities to find integrated approaches to resource management..