Economics of crop residue management

Vijesh Krishna Maxwell Mkondiwa (2023, [Artículo])

More than five billion metric tons of agricultural residues are produced annually worldwide. Despite having multiple uses and significant potential to augment crop and livestock production, a large share of crop residues is burned, especially in Asian countries. This unsustainable practice causes tremendous air pollution and health hazards while restricting soil nutrient recycling. In this review, we examine the economic rationale for unsustainable residue management. The sustainability of residue utilization is determined by several economic factors, such as local demand for and quantity of residue production, development and dissemination of technologies to absorb excess residue, and market and policy instruments to internalize the social costs of residue burning. The intervention strategy to ensure sustainable residue management depends on public awareness of the private and societal costs of open residue burning.

Crop Biomass Residue Burning Environmental Effects CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CROPS BIOMASS RESIDUES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CLIMATE CHANGE SMALLHOLDERS TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION

Demonstration of service provider model of solar irrigation system for smallholder farmers

Md Abdul Matin (2023, [Objeto de congreso])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA IRRIGATION SMALLHOLDERS IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

Climate robust soil fertility management by smallholders in Africa, Asia, and Latin America

Tek Sapkota (2023, [Objeto de congreso])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA SOIL FERTILITY SMALLHOLDERS FERTILIZERS NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

Salivary effector Sm9723 of grain aphid sitobion miscanthi suppresses plant defense and is essential for aphid survival on wheat

Yong Zhang Leonardo Abdiel Crespo Herrera Julian Chen (2022, [Artículo])

Cereal Aphid Salivary Protein Plant Immunity RNA Interference Aphid Performance CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA APHIDOIDEA PLANTS RNA PROTEINS

Metodología para evaluar la vulnerabilidad y el riesgo ante la sequía en los organismos operadores de agua potable (OOAPAS) de México

HEIDY VIVIANA CASTELLANO BAHENA (2021, [Tesis de doctorado])

Tesis (Doctora en Ciencias y Tecnología del Agua) -- Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua. Coordinación de Desarrollo Profesional e Institucional. Subcoordinación de Posgrado.

El objetivo de esta investigación es proponer una metodología para la evaluación de la vulnerabilidad, exposición y riesgo por sequía en áreas metropolitanas y sus respectivos OOAPAS. Para la evaluación del riesgo se adopta el enfoque contextual, que define el riesgo en función de la amenaza, exposición y vulnerabilidad. Para el cálculo de la amenaza se utilizó el Índice de Sequía de los caudales fluviales, y para calcular los índices de vulnerabilidad y exposición se utilizaron indicadores socioeconómicos, ambientales y de gestión institucional. Esta metodología se aplicó en el organismo operador Servicios de Agua y Drenaje de Monterrey, el cual le proporciona el servicio público municipal de agua y drenaje al área hidropolitana de Monterrey (AHM), y el Sistema Intermunicipal de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado de Guadalajara, que le proporciona el servicio público municipal de agua y drenaje al área metropolitana de Guadalajara (AMG). El periodo de estudio fue de 2008-2018. Los resultados mostraron que debido a que en las áreas metropolitanas bajo estudio el suministro de agua proviene más del 50% de fuentes superficiales, las hacen muy sensibles a las sequías hidrológicas, aunque la probabilidad de ocurrencia es mayor en las sequías moderadas con respecto a las sequías severas. La tendencia de la vulnerabilidad general del AMG y AHM va a la a baja en el periodo de estudio, sin embargo, al evaluar el tipo de vulnerabilidad por separado se observa que el resultado de la vulnerabilidad de gestión institucional en ambas áreas va en aumento. De acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos, se demostró que la metodología propuesta es factible y útil en la evaluación del riesgo por sequía en las dos áreas de estudio y puede ser aplicada en otras zonas urbanas del país.

Organismos operadores Sequía meteorológica Sequía hidrológica Análisis de vulnerabilidad Monterrey, Nuevo León Guadalajara, Jalisco INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA

Análisis regional de frecuencia de sequías basado en L-momentos para la cuenca del río Bravo, México

JESUS ALBERTO CEBALLOS TAVARES David Ortega Gaucin (2021, [Artículo])

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24850/j-tyca-2021-05-04

Se realizó el análisis regional de frecuencias basado en L-momentos, para determinar las características de los periodos de sequía meteorológica ocurridos en la cuenca del río Bravo durante el lapso 1984-2013. Para ello, se usaron registros de precipitación mensual de 90 estaciones climatológicas, que fueron sometidos a un proceso de control de calidad y homogeneización de datos. Mediante un proceso iterativo, se identificaron cinco regiones homogéneas de acuerdo con el criterio de precipitación media anual. Los resultados indican que en la cuenca se presentan eventos de sequía meteorológica con duración promedio entre 1.7 y 2.5 años, y con una recurrencia media de 3.9 a 4.5 años. El periodo de sequía más prolongado ocurrió entre los años 1993 y 2002; el periodo que presentó el mayor déficit de lluvia fue 2011-2012. Las regiones más afectadas se ubican en los estados de Chihuahua y Coahuila, donde los niveles de disminución de la precipitación pueden superar el 80% de déficit, lo cual indica que, para un periodo de retorno de 100 años, más de la mitad de la cuenca presentaría un grado de sequía extraordinaria, lo cual tendría graves repercusiones en los distintos sectores socioeconómicos.

Sequía meteorológica Análisis de frecuencias L-momentos Cuenca del río Bravo INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA

Farmers’ perspectives as determinants for adoption of conservation agriculture practices in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

Ajay Kumar Mishra ML JAT (2022, [Artículo])

Understanding the farmer's perspective has traditionally been critical to influencing the adoption and out-scaling of CA-based climate-resilient practices. The objective of this study was to investigate the biophysical, socio-economic, and technical constraints in the adoption of CA by farmers in the Western- and Eastern-IGP, i.e., Karnal, Haryana, and Samastipur, Bihar, respectively. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was administered to 50 households practicing CA in Western- and Eastern-IGP. Smallholder farmers (<2 ha of landholding) in Karnal are 10% and Samastipur 66%. About 46% and 8% of households test soil periodically in Karnal and Samastipur, respectively. Results of PCA suggest economic profitability and soil health as core components from the farmer's motivational perspective in Karnal and Samastipur, respectively. Promotion and scaling up of CA technologies should be targeted per site-specific requirements, emphasizing biophysical resource availability, socio-economic constraints, and future impacts of such technology.

Smallholder Farmers Agents of Change Technology Diffusion Climate-Smart Practices CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA SMALLHOLDERS SOCIAL STRUCTURE IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE

Strategies steering intensification pathways of farmers in central Malawi

Carl Timler Jeroen Groot Sieglinde Snapp Pablo Tittonell (2023, [Artículo])

Smallholder farmers face many challenges to improve their livelihoods and food security. Intensification of agricultural production can help to achieve these goals. Yet farmers are highly heterogenous in their strategies towards intensification, potentially following unsustainable intensification pathways. Using Q Methodology, we ascertain different strategies regarding farm improvement and intensification of smallholder farmers in the Dedza and Ntcheu Extension Planning Areas in Central Malawi. These strategies were associated to coherent sequential choices as expressed in “managerial intensification pathways” (MIPs). Three main strategies emerged: Seed Saving Peasants, Aspirant Modern Farmers and Entrepreneurial Business(wo)men. These were subsequently linked to four MIPs. Seed Saving Peasants focus strongly on local seed systems and post-harvest protection of grains, but also allocate more labour to improving crop residue use and manure quality, thus pointing to a labour-oriented MIP. Aspirant Modern Farmers willingly adopt hybrid seeds and inorganic fertilizers but require more extension support; these farmers follow a technology-oriented MIP. Entrepreneurial Business(wo)men are early adopters of new technologies and benefit from improved access to market information and suppliers of new technologies and follow a sustainable technology-based or techno-ecological intensification pathway. This study shows that strongly contrasting perspectives on intensification exist among smallholders and it is expected that their preferred intensification choices will have diverging impacts on the sustainability of their farms. A diversity of extension, advice and incentive instruments will be needed to support farmer decision making towards sustainably intensified farms.

Smallholder Farmers Q Methodology CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA SMALLHOLDERS STRATEGIES SUSTAINABLE INTENSIFICATION

Analyzing antifragility among smallholder farmers in Bihar, India: An assessment of farmers' vulnerability and the strengths of positive deviants

Roos Adelhart Toorop Santiago Lopez-Ridaura ML JAT Deepak Bijarniya Jeroen Groot (2023, [Artículo])

Farmers around the world are increasingly vulnerable: climate variability is identified as the primary stressor, but unfavorable biophysical circumstances and disturbances in the socioeconomic domain (labor dynamics and price volatility) also affect farm management and production. To deal with these disturbances, adaptations are recognized as essential. Antifragility acknowledges that adaptations and volatility are inherent characteristics of complex systems and abandons the idea of returning to the pre-disturbance system state. Instead, antifragility recognizes that disturbances can trigger reorganization, enabling selection and removal of weaker system features and allowing the system to evolve toward a better state. In this study, we assessed the vulnerability of different types of smallholder farms in Bihar, India, and explored the scope for more antifragile farming systems that can 'bounce back better' after disturbances. Accumulation of stocks, creation of optionality (i.e., having multiple options for innovation) and strengthening of farmer autonomy were identified as criteria for antifragility. We had focus group discussions with in total 92 farmers and found that most expressed themselves to be vulnerable: they experienced challenges but had limited adaptive capacity to change their situation. They mostly made short-term decisions to cope with or mitigate urgent challenges but did not engage in strategic planning driven by longer-term objectives. Instead, they waited for governmental support to improve their livelihoods. Despite being confronted with similar challenges, four positive deviant farmers showed to be more antifragile: their diverse farming systems were abundant in stocks and optionality, and the farmers were distinguished in terms of their autonomy, competence, and connectedness to peers, the community, and markets. To support antifragility among regular farmers, adaptations at policy level may be required, for example, by shifting from a top-down toward a bottom-up adaptation and innovation regime where initiative and cooperation are encouraged. With a more autonomous orientation, farmers' intrinsic motivation is expected to increase, enabling transitions at the farm level. In this way, connected systems can be developed which are socioeconomically and biophysically adaptive. When practices, knowledge, and skills are continuously developed, an antifragile system with ample stocks and optionality may evolve over time.

Autonomy Adaptive Capacity Smallholder Farmers CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA POLICIES SMALLHOLDERS AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

Agroecology can promote climate change adaptation outcomes without compromising yield in smallholder systems

Sieglinde Snapp Yodit Kebede Eva Wollenberg (2023, [Artículo])

A critical question is whether agroecology can promote climate change mitigation and adaptation outcomes without compromising food security. We assessed the outcomes of smallholder agricultural systems and practices in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) against 35 mitigation, adaptation, and yield indicators by reviewing 50 articles with 77 cases of agroecological treatments relative to a baseline of conventional practices. Crop yields were higher for 63% of cases reporting yields. Crop diversity, income diversity, net income, reduced income variability, nutrient regulation, and reduced pest infestation, indicators of adaptative capacity, were associated with 70% or more of cases. Limited information on climate change mitigation, such as greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration impacts, was available. Overall, the evidence indicates that use of organic nutrient sources, diversifying systems with legumes and integrated pest management lead to climate change adaptation in multiple contexts. Landscape mosaics, biological control (e.g., enhancement of beneficial organisms) and field sanitation measures do not yet have sufficient evidence based on this review. Widespread adoption of agroecological practices and system transformations shows promise to contribute to climate change services and food security in LMICs. Gaps in adaptation and mitigation strategies and areas for policy and research interventions are finally discussed.

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CLIMATE CHANGE CROPS FOOD SUPPLY GAS EMISSIONS GREENHOUSE GASES FARMING SYSTEMS AGROECOLOGY FOOD SECURITY LESS FAVOURED AREAS SMALLHOLDERS YIELDS NUTRIENTS BIOLOGICAL PEST CONTROL CARBON SEQUESTRATION LEGUMES