The quest for improving soil fertility : Why an integrated approach is needed

Improving the productive capacity of lands has been on the international development agenda for many years. Yet, to date insufficient progress has been made. Although there have been successes, they tend to be of limited impact, and spontaneous spreading of good practices is low. In this article, different intervention paradigms are reviewed. It is concluded that interventions differ in their fundamental view of drivers for change. We found interventions that aim to increase the total amount of nutrients within the soil, either through increasing inputs or through increasing demands, but seldom both at the same time.We also found interventions that aim to increase the efficacy of existing soil nutrients through either increasing the nutrient holding capacity (e.g. through mulching) or the release of nutrients (e.g. through liming). The differentiation of these approaches has strong effects on the institutional organization of the intervention. This article makes the case for integrating these different approaches and for more collaboration at institutional levels to facilitate this process

The quest for improving soil fertility : Why an integrated approach is needed

Improving the productive capacity of lands has been on the international development agenda for many years. Yet, to date insufficient progress has been made. Although there have been successes, they tend to be of limited impact, and spontaneous spreading of good practices is low. In this article, different intervention paradigms are reviewed. It is concluded that interventions differ in their fundamental view of drivers for change. We found interventions that aim to increase the total amount of nutrients within the soil, either through increasing inputs or through increasing demands, but seldom both at the same time.We also found interventions that aim to increase the efficacy of existing soil nutrients through either increasing the nutrient holding capacity (e.g. through mulching) or the release of nutrients (e.g. through liming). The differentiation of these approaches has strong effects on the institutional organization of the intervention. This article makes the case for integrating these different approaches and for more collaboration at institutional levels to facilitate this process

Farmers’ Perceptions and their Implications to Climate-Proof Food Security Programmes

The role of farmers’ perception on climate change and their willingness to adapt are known. However, farmers’ perceptions are rarely considered in policy program approaches to improve food security. The research focuses on Ethiopia, which has been supported by many food security programs over the past decades, including the globally funded the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) that provides cash or food transfer to eight million chronically food-insecure people in periods of drought. Many of these food security programs are now exploring how to climate proof their approaches. Better understanding of the complex dynamics between farmers’ perceptions on climate change, the adaptation they are taking, and the socio-economic, geographical, and institutional context is helpful to recommend to climate-proof food security programs and interventions. The Ethiopian lowlands of the Arsi Negele district located in the Oromia Regional State are known for its bimodal rainfall. Farmers’ majors sources of livelihood are rainfed crop production and livestock. In this district, all interviewed farmers noticed changes at least in one of the climate variables over the past 30 years. In agreement with meteorological data, most farmers perceive an increasing trend in temperature. On the other hand, the common perception of increasing rainfall amounts conflicts with the observed data. In particular female farmers and farmers that are not member of farmer association have more conflicting perceptions on actual climate change. Perception and behavior are correlating with on-farm income, gender, and access to institutional services like farmers’ cooperative membership, and these elements should be included in food security approaches to become more climate proof. The different adaptation measures like application of pesticide and herbicide, fertilizer use, crop diversification, and adopting improved crop varieties were examined, and the key channels that may have encouraged farmers to adopt these mechanisms have been explored. These adaptation measures were mainly taken by farmers that were member of cooperatives, could access weather, and were located in specific areas. This implies the need to design targeted developmental interventions that consider the diversity of perceptions within the lowland agroecology of the Arsi Negele district

Soy transition- Ethiopia and The Netherlands

This study looks at the potential of using soy to support a plant-based protein transition in the Netherlands and Ethiopia. These two countries represent two very different socio-economic contexts and have contrasting starting points for a potential protein transition. Currently, the Dutch diet is high in protein and mainly consumed via meat and milk. Ethiopia’s subsistence-oriented agriculture on the other hand is largely based on cereal crops, resulting on average in a low protein diet. For the research, the impacts of hypothetical protein transition are calculated. Ten percent of the protein consumed through cereal was replaced by soy protein for Ethiopia. For the Dutch case ten percent of the cow milk protein was interchanged by ten percent of soy protein drink. The effect of the soy protein transition is calculated for greenhouse gas emissions, water, and land use changes. The calculations were done with a mixed approach. The models WOFOST and Global LPJML combined with literature review. Despite the different contexts of both countries, some similarities arise in the conclusion. For both nations interchanging ten percent of protein consumption to soy protein will result in a reduction of land use. Both countries currently experience a great pressure on land use. Replacing a small part of the protein to soy will therefore be considered as a positive development. In addition, overall small impacts on the other indicators a consequence of the transition. Nonetheless, differences also have been found which focus mostly on the impact on diet and climate change. While in the Netherlands overconsumption of calories and fat is becoming a problem, Ethiopia still encounters areas with food insecurity. A decline therefore in fat and calories due to the soy protein transition is a beneficial effect for the Netherlands. However, in Ethiopia this would not be the case. With respect to climate change, in Ethiopia it seems the yields will increase for soy. A changing climate is expected to be more favorable for growing soy in Ethiopia. In the Netherlands, the soy yield will increase but with less protein content and higher fat content. This could counter the aforementioned initial positive impact of decreasing fat. Follow-up research is needed on both further developing the methodology and calculating other hypothetical scenarios

Weather information and shocks : Policy implications to ensure food security in Tigray Region of Ethiopia

The study found out significant differences on the agronomic practices decision of the households. There were clear influence of weather information dissemination on the farmers' farming decisions. The adoption level of improved varieties by the farming households on their plots increased tremendously. Weather information dissemination had enhanced the food security status of the PSNP households significantly