The contribution of strong and weak ties to resilience: The case of small-scale maize farming systems in Mexico

Tania Carolina Camacho Villa Ernesto Adair Zepeda Villarreal Julio Díaz-José Roberto Rendon-Medel Bram Govaerts (2023, [Artículo])

Social Network Analysis Farm Typologies Social Ties Strong Ties CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA INNOVATION NETWORKS PERSISTENCE SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS MAIZE FARMING SYSTEMS

Agricultural emissions reduction potential by improving technical efficiency in crop production

Arun Khatri-Chhetri Tek Sapkota sofina maharjan Paresh Shirsath (2023, [Artículo])

CONTEXT: Global and national agricultural development policies normally tend to focus more on enhancing farm productivity through technological changes than on better use of existing technologies. The role of improving technical efficiency in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction from crop production is the least explored area in the agricultural sector. But improving technical efficiency is necessary in the context of the limited availability of existing natural resources (particularly land and water) and the need for GHG emission reduction from the agriculture sector. Technical efficiency gains in the production process are linked with the amount of input used nd the cost of production that determines both economic and environmental gains from the better use of existing technologies. OBJECTIVE: To assess a relationship between technical efficiency and GHG emissions and test the hypothesis that improving technical efficiency reduces GHG emissions from crop production. METHODS: This study used input-output data collected from 10,689 rice farms and 5220 wheat farms across India to estimate technical efficiency, global warming potential, and emission intensity (GHG emissions per unit of crop production) under the existing crop production practices. The GHG emissions from rice and wheat production were estimated using the CCAFS Mitigation Options Tool (CCAFS-MOT) and the technical efficiency of production was estimated through a stochastic production frontier analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that improving technical efficiency in crop production can reduce emission intensity but not necessarily total emissions. Moreover, our analysis does not support smallholders tend to be technically less efficient and the emissions per unit of food produced by smallholders can be relatively high. Alarge proportion of smallholders have high technical efficiency, less total GHG emissions, and low emissions intensity. This study indicates the levels of technical efficiency and GHG emission are largely influenced by farming typology, i.e. choice and use of existing technologies and management practices in crop cultivation. SIGNIFICANCE: This study will help to promote existing improved technologies targeting GHG emissions reduction from the agriculture production systems.

Technical Efficiency Interventions CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA MITIGATION PRODUCTIVITY CROP PRODUCTION GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

Smallholder maize yield estimation using satellite data and machine learning in Ethiopia

Zhe Guo Jordan Chamberlin Liangzhi You (2023, [Artículo])

The lack of timely, high-resolution data on agricultural production is a major challenge in developing countries where such information can guide the allocation of scarce resources for food security, agricultural investment, and other objectives. While much research has suggested that remote sensing can potentially help address these gaps, few studies have indicated the immediate potential for large-scale estimations over both time and space. In this study we described a machine learning approach to estimate smallholder maize yield in Ethiopia, using well-measured and broadly distributed ground truth data and freely available spatiotemporal covariates from remote sensing. A neural networks model outperformed other algorithms in our study. Importantly, our work indicates that a model developed and calibrated on a previous year's data could be used to reasonably estimate maize yield in the subsequent year. Our study suggests the feasibility of developing national programs for the routine generation of broad-scale and high-resolution estimates of smallholder maize yield, including seasonal forecasts, on the basis of machine learning algorithms, well-measured ground control data, and currently existing time series satellite data.

Sentinel-2 Smallholder Agriculture Yield Prediction CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA INTENSIFICATION SMALLHOLDERS AGRICULTURE YIELD FORECASTING

Vital and viable services for natural resources management in Latin America

JOSE LUIS MARTINEZ RUIZ RICARDO VICTOR LOPEZ MERA (2014, [Documento de trabajo])

VIVACE se basa en la innovación técnica de los servicios vitales y viables, especialmente los de abasto de agua potable, saneamiento y manejo de residuos sólidos en áreas periurbanas, con la idea de integrar analíticamente los enfoques y herramientas para el soporte de decisiones. Se desarrolla mediante estudios de casos realizados en México y Argentina. El trabajo que compete al IMTA es un estudio en la zona periurbana de Xochimilco en la Ciudad de México.

Abastecimiento de agua Tratamiento de aguas residuales Zonas urbanas Tecnología apropiada Informes de proyectos Xochimilco, Distrito Federal CIENCIAS SOCIALES

La construcción social del indígena en espacios urbanos latinoamericanos

Patricio Barrientos Pereira (2005, [Tesis de doctorado])

Lo que van a leer en las siguientes páginas, básicamente es un ejercicio de carácter teórico y etnográfico, donde se busca plasmar aspectos del mundo indígena urbano en relación con el entorno social vigente en ciudades como Guadalajara y Santiago. Originalmente partió como un trabajo etnográfico, pero al paso del tiempo y de las dudas que iban surgiendo, se transformó en un intento de visualizar el proceso de la construcción de la nación vigente en Chile y México...

Migración Rural-Urbana Desarrollo de la Comunidad Estructura Social Etnología HUMANIDADES Y CIENCIAS DE LA CONDUCTA ANTROPOLOGÍA ETNOGRAFÍA Y ETNOLOGÍA ETNOGRAFÍA Y ETNOLOGÍA

Las nuevas redes de centros de desarrollo tecnológico aplicado. Una aproximación al caso británico

Germán Herrera Bartis Patricia Gutti (2023, [Artículo, Artículo])

Este trabajo lleva a cabo un análisis de la experiencia de Catapult, un programa guberna­mental del Reino Unido surgido una década atrás consistente en la creación y sosteni­miento de una red de nuevos centros de desarrollo tecnológico aplicado destinados a atender las demandas y requerimientos de los actores productivos privados de dicho país. A través del análisis de numerosos documentos oficiales, auditorías del programa y entre­vistas a actores clave el artículo analiza las características centrales de la política en cues­tión, incluyendo los elementos que definen la gobernanza del sistema, el esquema de fi­nanciamiento vigente, el alcance de las actividades tecnológicas de los centros y su vínculo con las empresas privadas.

Tecnología Innovación Desarrollo tecnológico Política industrial Reino Unido CIENCIAS SOCIALES CIENCIAS SOCIALES

Hacia una gestión de las aguas urbanas basada en la naturaleza

LAURENT GUILLAUME COURTY (2021, [Artículo])

DOI: doi.org/10.24850/b-imta-perspectivas-2021-06

La urbanización galopante del siglo XX hizo que las redes de drenaje diseñadas en las décadas anteriores colapsaran, causando inundaciones más frecuentes. La respuesta fue construir obras cada vez más grandes. Por los años setenta comenzó a ser claro que este enfoque había llegado a sus límites, por múltiples razones. Primero, la económica, pues el costo del manejo de las aguas pluviales por estas grandes obras se había encarecido cada vez más. También, los sistemas de redes de drenaje habían modificado el equilibrio hidrológico de las cuencas, creando problemas colaterales. Un ejemplo de estos efectos negativos es el sistema de drenaje de la zona metropolitana del valle de México. Las aguas que precipitan en la cuenca del valle de México, y que antiguamente se escurrían hasta el lago de Texcoco, ahora son evacuadas por una serie de túneles y canales hasta el valle del Mezquital, contribuyendo tanto a la reducción de la recarga de los acuíferos de la cuenca del valle de México, como a la desaparición del lago.

Gestión del agua Zonas urbanas Desarrollo sostenible Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA

Contaminación difusa, el reto para la gestión del agua en ciudades

ADRIAN PEDROZO ACUÑA (2021, [Artículo])

DOI: doi.org/10.24850/b-imta-perspectivas-2021-20

La contaminación difusa comprende la incorporación de contaminantes disueltos en el agua de las ciudades que son capturados a través de procesos hidrológicos como la precipitación, la infiltración y el escurrimiento en calles, azoteas, áreas comerciales y suelos urbanos altamente modificados. Dichas sustancias nocivas tienen impactos negativos en la calidad del agua superficial y subterránea. Es necesario distinguir este tipo de contaminación difusa de aquella que se origina de forma puntual por descargas asociadas con actividades industriales o plantas de tratamiento. En el pasado, la solución planteada para la contaminación del agua en ciudades industrializadas era la construcción de un sistema de drenaje general. Sin embargo, existe una preocupación manifiesta que resulta del hecho de que, a pesar de la implementación de estos sistemas en el mundo, aún se registra un continuo deterioro de la calidad del agua en ciudades.

Contaminación del agua Contaminación difusa Abastecimiento de agua Zonas urbanas INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA

Abduction according to Peirce: reflections from the south on the crisis of representation brought on by COVID-19

Paulina Aroch (2023, [Artículo, Artículo])

In this article, I reflect on the importance of abductive thinking for processes of material and conceptual reinvention in the context of the current public health crisis. Inseparable from the climate change engulfing the planet, this crisis provides the basis for a semiotic revolution. Therefore, I interrogate Peirce’s work without losing sight of my own time and place of interlocution. COVID-19 has brought with it a crisis of representation which, in contrast to that unleashed by the Holocaust and World War II, and to which the Frankfurt School responded, demands responses from the Global South. Beginning from Dussel’s call to defend life as a matter of ethical urgency in the face of its irresponsible objectification within colonial capitalist modernity –which arguably triggered the pandemic–, I trace a “nocturnal map” that registers the present meaning-making crisis, and allows for a reimagining and remaking of the world from elsewhere.

estudios de la comunicación semiótica crítica Sur Global crisis de representación COVID-19 HUMANIDADES Y CIENCIAS DE LA CONDUCTA HUMANIDADES Y CIENCIAS DE LA CONDUCTA Critical theory interdisciplinarity Global South crisis of representation

Multicriteria assessment of alternative cropping systems at farm level. A case with maize on family farms of South East Asia

Santiago Lopez-Ridaura (2023, [Artículo])

CONTEXT: Integration of farms into markets with adoption of maize as a cash crop can significantly increase income of farms of the developing world. However, in some cases, the income generated may still be very low and maize production may also have strong negative environmental and social impacts. OBJECTIVE: Maize production in northern Laos is taken as a case to study how far can farms' performance be improved with improved crop management of maize with the following changes at field level: good timing and optimal soil preparation and sowing, allowing optimal crop establishment and low weed infestation. METHODS: We compared different farm types' performance on locally relevant criteria and indicators embodying the three pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic and social). An integrated assessment approach was combined with direct measurement of indicators in farmers' fields to assess eleven criteria of local farm sustainability. A bio-economic farm model was used for scenario assessment in which changes in crop management and the economic environment of farms were compared to present situation. The farm model was based on mathematical programming maximizing income under constraints related to i) household composition, initial cash and rice stocks and land type, and ii) seasonal balances of cash, labour and food. The crop management scenarios were built based on a diagnosis of the causes of variations in the agronomic and environmental performances of cropping systems, carried out in farmers' fields. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that moderate changes in crop management on maize would improve substantially farm performance on 4 to 6 criteria out of the 11 assessed, depending on farm types. The improved crop management of maize had a high economic attractiveness for every farm type simulated (low, medium and high resource endowed farms) even at simulated production costs more than doubling current costs of farmers' practices. However, while an improvement of the systems performance was attained in terms of agricultural productivity, income generation, work and ease of work, herbicide leaching, improved soil quality and nitrogen balance, trade-offs were identified with other indicators such as erosion control and cash outflow needed at the beginning of the cropping season. SIGNIFICANCE: Using farm modelling for multicriteria assessment of current and improved maize cropping systems for contrasted farm types helped capture main opportunities and constraints on local farm sustainability, and assess the trade-offs that new options at field level may generate at farm level.

Bio-Economic Farm Model Smallholder Farms CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CASH CROPS INDICATORS SMALLHOLDERS CROPPING SYSTEMS MAIZE