Understanding smallholder farmers' intention to adopt agricultural apps : the role of mastery approach and innovation hubs in mexico

While several studies have focused on the actual adoption of agricultural apps and the relevance of the apps’ content, very few studies have focused on drivers of the farmer’s intention and initial decision to adopt. Based on a survey of 394 smallholder farmers in 2019, this study investigated willingness to adopt an agricultural advice app in Guanajuato, Mexico. A structural equation modeling approach, based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), was applied. To understand the farmers’ adoption decisions, extended constructs were studied (e.g., mastery-approach goals) along with the farmers’ age and participation in an innovation hub. Results showed that the intention to adopt the app is predicted by how farmers appraise the technical infrastructure and acquire new knowledge by using an app. The multi-group analysis revealed that performance expectancy is a relevant predictor of the intention to adopt, whereas the mastery-approach goal is relevant only for younger farmers and farmers not connected to the innovation hub. This study provides valuable insights about the innovation hubs’ role in the intention to adopt apps, offering precision agriculture advice in developing countries. The findings are useful for practitioners and app developers designing digital-decision support tools

Hermetic storage technologies preserve maize seed quality and minimize grain quality loss in smallholder farming systems in Mexico

Reducing maize postharvest storage losses is a challenge for millions of smallholder farmers in Mexico. A previous study documented the effects of storage technologies on stored grain losses. The current study follows up on those experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of diverse storage technologies — polypropylene bags with and/or without insecticide, hermetic metal silos, hermetic bags, recycled plastic containers, silage plastic bags, micronized lime, and standard lime — in maintaining grain and seed quality during 2017 and 2018 at six sites: three agroecologies below 500 m above sea level (masl) and three agroecologies above 2000 masl. Maize samples stored using each of the above technologies were collected before and after six months of storage. Pest-free samples were analyzed for grain composition (starch, protein, oil, ether extracts, polyphenols contents), selected physicochemical parameters (fat acidity, an indicator of biochemical changes during storage; hundred kernel weight; flotation index, an indirect parameter of grain density; color; and germination. Storage technologies did significantly affect macronutrient content, but the quality of grain stored under non-hermetic conditions was reduced, as reflected in significantly increased fat acidity and flotation index. Seed germination was less affected by the type of storage technology at sites above 2000 masl but a significant effect was observed at sites below 500 masl. On average, the germination capacity of seed stored using non-hermetic technologies (polypropylene bags with or without insecticide or lime) dropped 56% at lowland sites, as compared to 2.8% for seed stored using hermetic metal silos or hermetic bags. Airtight technologies also minimized quality losses by reducing metabolic activities. By limiting insect and fungi infestation and reducing quantity and quality degradation in stored maize, hermetic technologies can contribute to Mexican smallholder farmers' food security

Nitrogen fertilizer application alters the root endophyte bacterial microbiome in maize plants, but not in the stem or rhizosphere Soil

Plant-associated microorganisms that affect plant development, their composition, and their functionality are determined by the host, soil conditions, and agricultural practices. How agricultural practices affect the rhizosphere microbiome has been well studied, but less is known about how they might affect plant endophytes. In this study, the metagenomic DNA from the rhizosphere and endophyte communities of root and stem of maize plants was extracted and sequenced with the “diversity arrays technology sequencing,” while the bacterial community and functionality (organized by subsystems from general to specific functions) were investigated in crops cultivated with or without tillage and with or without N fertilizer application. Tillage had a small significant effect on the bacterial community in the rhizosphere, but N fertilizer had a highly significant effect on the roots, but not on the rhizosphere or stem. The relative abundance of many bacterial species was significantly different in the roots and stem of fertilized maize plants, but not in the unfertilized ones. The abundance of N cycle genes was affected by N fertilization application, most accentuated in the roots. How these changes in bacterial composition and N genes composition might affect plant development or crop yields has still to be unraveled

Dataset of historic and modern bread and durum wheat cultivar performance under conventional and reduced tillage with full and reduced irrigation

Conservation agriculture (CA) is an agronomic management system based on zero tillage and residue retention. Due to its potential for climate change adaptation through the reduction of soil erosion and improved water availability, CA is becoming more important in many regions of the world. However, increased bulk density and large amounts of crop residues may be a constraint for early plant establishment. This holds especially true under irrigated production areas with high yield potential. Genotype × tillage effects on yield are not well understood and it is unclear whether tillage should be an evaluation factor in breeding programs. Fourteen CIMMYT bread (Triticum aestivum) and thirteen durum (Triticum turgidum) wheat genotypes, created between 1964 and 2011, were tested for yield and agronomic performance at CIMMYT's experimental station near Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, during nine seasons. The genotypes were subjected to different tillage and irrigation treatments which consisted of conventional and permanent raised beds with full and reduced irrigation. The dataset includes traits collected during the growing period (days to emergence, days to flowering, maturity, plant height, NDVI, days from flowering to maturity, grain production rate) and at harvest (yield, harvest index, thousand grain weight, spikes/m², grains/m², test weight) and weather data (daily minimum and maximum temperature, rainfall). Six years of data of 26 genotypes were published along with the Honsdorf et al. (2018) paper in Field Crops Research (DOI: s10.1016/j.fcr.2017.11.011). This updated dataset includes three additional seasons of data (harvest years 2016 to 2018) and an additional bread wheat genotype (Borlaug100)

Sixty years of irrigated wheat yield increase in the Yaqui Valley of Mexico: Past drivers, prospects and sustainability

Continued global wheat yield increase (about 1.3% p.a. for 2000–2019) remains an essential condition for greater world food security. Relevant to this challenge is the rise in average farm yield (FY) of irrigated spring wheat in the Yaqui Valley of northwest Mexico from 2 to 7 t/ha between 1960 and 2019. Since the early 1950s the region has been the prime target of wheat research by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and its predecessors, research still having significant impact on wheat in the developing world, a grouping that today delivers more than half the world's wheat. FY increase was investigated in detail by dividing the interval into three 20-year periods, correcting FY for the strong influence of inter-annual variation in January to March minimum temperature (Tmin J-M, warming lowering yield around 7%/°C) and measuring the remaining linear increase in FY (Fischer et al., 2022). Total yield increase, corrected for Tmin J-M and CO2 rise, relative to average yield in each period, was 4.17%, 0.47%, and 1.59% p.a. for 1960–79, 1980–99, and 2000–19, respectively. The breeding component, estimated by the increase in the Varietal Yield Index in farmers’ fields, rose at 0.97%, 0.49%, and 0.71% p.a., respectively. The remaining yield change (3.16, −0.02% and 0.87% p.a., respectively) comprised the net effect of improved crop management (agronomic progress) plus that of off-farm changes, together here called agronomy+. Major changes in agronomy included: a large increase in fertiliser N use, benefitting early on from a large positive variety × N interaction; in the second period a switch to planting on raised beds and a decline in rotational diversity; and in the final period, consolidation of operational crop units and probably more skilful and timely management. Off-farm developments saw strong government financial support in the first period, but in the second period breakdown of the traditional small holder land system and withdrawal of government support. The last period saw better prices and improved access to technical advice. Breeding progress is expected to continue in the Yaqui Valley but at a slowly diminishing rate (currently 0.66% p.a.), while progress from new agronomy appears limited. Although FY gaps are small, some gap closing remains possible, and 1.2% p.a. FY progress is estimated for the next 20 years in the absence of new technologies. World wheat food security without area increase will increasingly depend on developing countries where yield gaps are generally wider and gap closing prospects better. Biophysical sustainability of the Yaqui Valley wheat system is moderately good but N management and diversity can be improved

Avances en agricultura sustentable: Resultados de plataformas de investigación Hub Pacífico Norte 2010-2021

Esta edición presenta los resultados de la red de plataformas en el Hub Pacífico Norte, misma que resulta de la colaboración entre el CIMMYT; el Patronato para la Investigación y Experimentación Agrícola del Estado de Sonora A.C. (PIEAES); el Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP); la Asociación de Agricultores del Río Sinaloa Poniente (AARSP); la Asociación de Agricultores del Río Fuerte Sur (AARFS); la Asociación de Agricultores del Río Culiacán (AARC); la Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa (UAS); Servicios Agrofinancieros del Norte S.A. de C.V. (SAFINSA); el Club de Labranza de Conservación del Valle del Évora; Granera del Noroeste S.A. de C.V; y el Instituto de Ciencias Agrícolas de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (ICA-UABC). Los lectores podrán encontrar en este libro los resultados de las plataformas con más tiempo de operación, en donde ya se han podido generar suficientes datos para sacar conclusiones basadas en evidencias sólidas. Esperamos que el libro pueda servir de inspiración a los productores para que busquen que sus actividades en el campo sean más productivas, rentables y sustentables

Multiyear Maize management dataset collected in Chiapas, Mexico

For several decades, maize (Zea mays L.) management decisions in smallholder farming in tropical regions have been a puzzle. To best balance alternative management practices' environmental and economic outcomes, an extensive dataset was gathered through CIMMYT's knowledge hub in Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico. In a knowledge hub, farmers, with the support of farm advisors, compare conventional and improved agronomic practices side-by-side and install demonstration fields where they implement improved practices. In all these fields data on on-farm operations and results is collected. The dataset was assembled using field variables (yield, cultivars, fertilization and tillage practice), as well as environment variables from soil mapping (slope, elevation, soil texture, pH and organic matter concentration) and gridded weather datasets (precipitation, temperature, radiation and evapotranspiration). The dataset contains observations from 4585 fields and comprises a period of 7 years between 2012 and 2018. This dataset will facilitate analytical approaches to represent spatial and temporal variability of alternative crop management decisions based on observational data and explain model-generated predictions for maize in Chiapas, Mexico. In addition, this data can serve as an example for similar efforts in Big Data in Agriculture

Effect of storage technologies on postharvest insect pest control and seed germination in Mexican maize landraces

Smallholder farmers who grow maize landraces face important challenges to preserve their seed biodiversity from one season to another. This study was carried out in the central highlands of Mexico to compare the effectiveness of two seed storage practices—specifically, polypropylene woven bags (farmers’ conventional practice) vs. hermetic containers—for minimizing seed losses and maintaining germination. Four Mexican landraces were stored for three and six months. Data on moisture content and kernel damage were collected at the beginning and the end of the storage period. Pest-free samples collected were also analyzed for seed germination. Moisture content was below 13% overall and was not significantly affected by storage technology or storage time. Samples from the polypropylene woven bags suffered significant damage from Sitophilus zeamais and Prostephanus truncatus, with the percentages of insect damage and weight loss reaching 61.4% and 23.4%, respectively. Losses were minimal in seed stored in hermetic containers, with a maximum insect damage of 4.1% and weight loss of 2.2%. Overall, the germination rate of samples stored in these airtight containers was greater than 90%. This study provides additional evidence on the effectiveness of hermetic containers at maintaining Mexican landraces’ seed quantity and quality during storage in smallholder conditions in central Mexico