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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"17db9b2cbf4490ca10c5533ca1c75a48","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/9831fb3b-736a-4d78-b0f4-5fd38e40d609/retrieve","id":"-959194587"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"59dd3ae6-5ad4-41ad-bf94-8a392788d420","pagecount":"88","content":"CIAT is a nonprofit orgamzation devoted to the agricultura! and economic development of the lowland tropics. The government of Colombia prov1des support as host country for CIAT and furnishes a 522-hectare site near Cali for CIA T's headquarters. In addition. the Fundac1ón para la Educación Superior (FES) makes available to CIAT a 184-hectare substation in Ouilichao and a 73-hectare substauon near Popayán. CIAT also comanages with the Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA) the 22.000-hectare Carimagua Research Center in the Eastern Plams of Colombia, and carries out collaborative work on several of ICA's expenmental stations in Colombia. Similar work IS done w1th national agncultural agencies in other Latín Amencan countries. CIAT 1S financed by a number of donors representad in the Consultative Group for lnternational Agncultural Research (CGIAR).The dry or common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important protein and carbohydrate source in human diets in Latin America, where middle-and low-income families often cannot afford sufficient animal protein . Traditionally, beans have comprised as muchas 10 percent by weight of diets in the region (Bressani, 1972), but per capita consumption is falling as production increases lag behind population growth rates (Sanders and Alvarez, 1978). lncreased production is urgently needed to maintain or increase the affordable protein supply, especially to lower income groups.What strategy should be employed to increase overall production? Beans are predominantly a subsistence crop produced mostly by small farmers with traditional cultural practicas (Silva et al., 1972;Alvarado and Sanders, unpublished). They usually are not adequately fertilizad or protected from diseases and insects. Finally, they have received only limited support from national research programs (Roberts, 1970;Hernandez-Bravo, 1973;Pinchinat, 1973 ). Therefore, increased production and productivity should be achieved by developing technology based on low inputs to meet the needs of current producers. Roberts (1970) reviewed grain legume yields throughout the world and concluded that multidisciplinary grain legume research programs should be established in the international agricultura! research centers. He suggested CIAT become the center for bean(P. vulgaris) research. An integrated bean research program was initíated in 1973, a lthough so me CIA T staff members had worked on beans prior to that time.The United Nations' Food and Agricultura Organization (FAO) has estimated world bean production at 14.4 million tons annually, during 1977-79. Latín America was the most important production zone with 4.0 million ton/ year, approximately 30 percent of the total. Eastern Africa, the second most important zone in the tropics, produced an average of 0.8 million ton/year. Other important bean-producing countries are China and India, according to the FAO. In Asia most of the principal bean types have now been reclassified as Vigna sp.In the last decade in Latín America bean production growth has been substantially below the population growth rate (Sanders and Alvarez, 1978). The annual production increase of 1.2 percent resulted from expanding the area about 1.3 percent annually, since yields have been decreasing (-0.16%). Bean production has lagged substantially behind the 2. 7 percent annual growth in population .While Brazil and Mexico produced almost 78 percent of the region's dry beans, their long-term total production has increased relatively little. Significant production increases were reportad, however, in Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala (Tabla 1 ). Argentina increased her bean production from 32,000 tons in 1964-66 to 194,000 m 1977-79. The sharp production gain and consequent increase in Argentina exports made Latín America a net exportar of grain legumes by the mid-seventies. Nevertheless, Brazil. Cuba and Venezuela have importad heavily in recent years and their total imports reached almost 238,000 t annually in 1976-78. Total imports of grain Yields and the rate of yield improvement were less than those obtained with cereal gra ins and soybeans ovar the same years (FAO, 1963(FAO, -1975)). Yields ovar the region have remained low, comparad, for example, to the U.S.A. average of1 509 kg / ha. Yields in Latin America have declinad from 580 to 559 kg/ ha, an annual rate of -0 .16 percent from 1962 to 1979.These statistics reflect a complex production situation. In Argentina and Chile, two of the major bean exporters, production is concentrated on relatively larga holdings receiving high levels of inputs (Hernandez-Bravo, 1973;INTA. 1977). Although other Latín American countries possess limitad areas where larga bean farms predominate, most beans are produced on smaller holdings, often on slopping land of low fertility. Bean producing farms in El Salvador and Haiti average less than one hectare in size (Aguirre and Miranda, 1973;Scobie et al., 1974). Under these circumstances the tendency is toward multiple cropping systems (Junqueira et al., 1 972;Pinchinat, 1977) using minimal inputs (Bazan. 1975; Ruiz de Londof'\\o et al., 1978). Beans have increasingly been displaced from the morefertile, mechanizable lands by crops such as sorghum and soybeanswhich have a more stable production and marketing situation.Bean seed color and size preferences vary widely (Moh, 1971 ;Flores et al., 1973;Scobie et al., 1974) and complicate the production and consumption pictures (see columns 4 and 5 of Tabla 3). Blackseeded cultivars have outyielded those of other seed colors (Moh, 1971 ;CIAT, 1978). However, in many countries black beans either are not consumad or receive a substantial price discount.Bean production increases of almost 3 percent annually are needed to match population growth ratas. Even if production were to increase 6 percent annually, an initial price decline would be partially offset by increased consumption in middle-and low-income familias (Pinstrup-Andersen et al., 1976). 1n contrast to the \"green revolution\" crops, rice and wheat. bean yield increases of that magnitude would need to occur in a predominantly subsistence crop which is rarely i rrigated, fertilizad or protected from pests, which is produced under many farming systems and in which grain color and size preferences will slow the rate of development and acceptance of improved cultivars.Under experimental conditions, bush bean yields as high as 5.0 t /ha have been reportad (Cartee and Hank, 1974;CIAT, 1975a), and climbing beans on artificial support systems have y1eldea even higher (CIAT, 1976). The gap, however, between experimental yields and mean farm yields (less than 600 kg/ha in association) is huge. A review of the factors responsible for this gap is essential in devising a strategy for increasing yields.The literatura and farm surveys clearly indicate that diseases and pests are the major factors responsible for extremely low yields. More than 250 pathogens and 450 insects attack P. vulgeris. Several of these are widely distributed and can reduce yields substantially (Wellman, 1969;Auppel and ldrobo, 1962;Vieira et  el., 1971 ;Mancia and Cortez, 1975). An attempt was made by researchers to identify major bean diseases in Latin America. Bean common mosa ic virus (BCMV), rust, anthracnose, angular leaf spot, powdery mildew and common bacteria! blight were, in that order, considerad major diseases in South America (Gutierrez et el., 1975).Various regional surveys of production losses support these overall priority estimates (Echandi, 1966;Schieber. 1970;Costa, 1972;Crispin and Campos. 1976). Losses to BCMV can ranga from 53-96 percent (Laborde, 1967;Costa, 1972;Crispin, 1974;Hampton, 1975;Crispin and Campos. 1976); to bean rust from 18-82 percent (Carrijo, 1975; CIAT. 1975a); and to anthracnose, as much as 97 percent (CIAT, 1975a).Severa! diseases are important under specific regional or clim atic conditions. As cotton and soybean production expanded in Brazil. populations of Bemesia tabaci, the bean golden mosaic virus (BGMV) vector, increased. This virus has become a serious problem in many regions of Southern Brazil, as it already was in Central America ( Gamez. 1971 ;Costa, 1972;Costa and Cupertino, 1976). In warm, humid regions web blight can devastate production (Crispin and Gallegos, 1963;Echandi, 1966 and1976). In cooler regions where anthracnose is important, various local fungal diseases, root rots and halo blight are often important as well (Cardona and Skiles. 1954;Costa, 1972;Crispin and Campos, 1976;Shands et al., 1964).In Eastern Africa, anthracnose and halo blight are the principal pathogens (leakey, 1970;Kenyan Ministry of Agricultura, 1975). Other diseases such as rust. BCMV, Southern blight, white mold, Fusarium root rot, Cercospora, Alternaría, Ascochyta, angular leaf spot and bean scab are also important in Africa (Rheenen, 1978; Edje and Mughogho, 1 974; CIA T. Regional Workshop on Potential for Field Beans in Eastern Africa, 1981 ). Bean scab so far has not been reportad in Latín America.Although diseases are considerad to be more important, insects can also reduce bean yields substantially and losses as high as 94 percent are reportad. Leafhoppers (Empoasca kraemeri), chrysomelids and cutworms are important in most Latín American bean production zones (Bonnefil. 1965;Gutierrez et al., 1975). Other insects such as the bean pod weevil(Apion godmani)and the Mexican bean beetle (Epilachna varivestis) are important in Central America and Mexico (Enkerling, 1957). In Africa, the beantly(Ophiomyia spp.) form the principal production limiting insect pest (leaky, 1970).CIAT conducted an in-depth study of bean yield constraints in Colombia to better define production systems and problems. This study was made during 1974 and 1975, when Colombia exported black beans produced in larga holdings in the Valle del Cauca and Huila regions. The survey indicated a greater potential productivity in the more fertile Valle del Cauca than in Huila and Narino. Actual farm yields were 905 and 598 kg/ ha, in Valle and Huila respectively. The former region was characterized by large farm~ while small farms were common in the other two regions. In spite of larga expenditures on inputs including fu ngicides and insecticidas (Tabla 2), di se ase and insect losses were still high in the large-farm, monoculture region of Valle. The combination of rust, common bacteria! blight, angular leaf spot, and leafhoppers reduced yields in Valle del Cauce by 500 kg/ ha, or 36 percent. Thus, in the Valle, mechanization, monoculture, high input levels and planting improved black-seeded cultivars such as ICA-Pijao and ICA-Tu i still did not increaseyields to 1 ton/ ha. In Huila and Narif\\o, input use was much lower and beans were produced prmc1pally 1n association with maize. The prevalence of diseases in trad itional bean production zonas implies that new varieties with higher yield potential but lacking the appropriate resistances would confront even largar potential yield losses than those reportad here. In summary, the Colombian farm data i ndicate the prevalence of many serious diseases in the principal bean regions, the importance and difficulty of controlling diseases and insects with chemicals, and the importance of incorporating disease resistance into new higher-yielding cultivars, so they can attain their yield potential.Based on the studies cited above and several years of work within the Latin American bean network, requirements for disease and insect resistance in varieties for the principal production zones of Latin America have been defined (Table 3). These requirements are always under review as new data and observations become available. The principal disease and insect problems and other important constraints to bean production are discussed more fully in the next section (see also Schwartz and Galvez, 1980).Bean common moaaic virua (BCMV). lt has bean reportad from all bean producing countries in Latin America and Africa (Gamez, 1977;Kulkarni, 1973). Most regionally important varieties, especially nonblack-seeded types are susceptible to the virus. This is transmitted in seed, by aphids, and mechanically. Several strains of the pathogen have been identified in Latin Amarica (Aivarez and Ziver, 1965;Guerra et al., 1971 );Gamez, 1973;Drijfhout et al., 1978) including strains which can cause systemic necrosis in sorne cultivars (Drijfhout. 1975). Two types of resistance to BCMV have been identified; those conditioned by recessive and strain-specific genes or by a dominant \" 1\" gene, which pravents chronic systemic infection (mosaic) and seed transmission of the virus.Breeders in Latin America have principally utilizad the dominant type of resistanca (Cafati and Alvarez, 1975). Naithar resistanca a lona may be sufficient for all Latín American conditions. lf plants possessing the dominant 1 gene are infectad by a necrosis-inducing strain of BCMV, systemic necrosis and plant daath can result. With limited quarantine control in most countries, introduction of new mosaic or necrosis-inducing strains of the virus is a real possibility.Recently, resistance to all known BCMV strains was identified in germplasm from temperate zones (Drijfhout, 1978). In farm trials in Colombia, virus-free seed of varieties susceptible to BCMV could not substituta for varietal resistance to the virus (CIAT, 1978 and1979). The Bean Program has therefore given its highest priority to incorporating resistance to BCMV i nto its new materials.Sean rust (Uromyces phaseoll) is endemic to Latin America and may be the most important beandisease in subtropical regions up to elevations of 2500 m above sea level. Many races have been identified (Echandi, 1966;Christen and Echandi 1967;Netto et al., 1969;Augustin and Costa, 1971 a;Costa, 1972). Major shifts in race prevalence have been observad between seasons (Antunes, cited by Costa, 1 972) a nd with the introduction of n ew cultiva rs (Aug usti n a nd Costa, 1971 a).Many rust-resistant cultivars exist (Costa, 1972;Coyne and Schuster, 1975) but few retain their resistance over long periods of time or in all regions (CIAT, 1979). Stable resistance to rust is one of the highest priorities of the Sean Program. Sasic studies are needed on alternative control strategies, such as gene pyramiding, development of more stable resistance and cultural practicas for reducing disease incidence.Anthracnose (Colletotrichum lindemuthianum). lt is a major pathogen in Argentina, Srazil, Mexico, and high altitude regions in Central Ame rica, the Andean Zone countries and Eastern Africa. One hundred percent field infection can occur (Shands et al., 1964;Augustin and Costa, 1971 b;Araujo, 1973;Echandi, 1976;INTA, 1977;Gutierrez et al., 1975). While race differentials and nomenclature rema in to be standardized, 1 O apparently distinct races of anthracnose have been identified.The cultivar Cornell 49-242 is resistant to important races in Latín America (Oiiari et al., 1973) and has been used in breeding for resistance. New and distinct sources identified by Bannerot et al. (1971 ), Fouilloux (1976) carry resistance against additional races (Kruger et al., 1977), sorne against all known races (Drijfhout, pers. comm.). Resistance to anthracnose isa requisitefor a JI newmaterials the Sean Program develops for cooler production zonas.Angular leaf apot (lsariopsis griseo/a). This is perhaps the most underrated of the major bean diseases. Despite intensiva efforts to develop control methods in Colombia (Barros et al., 1957;Bastidas, 1977), the disease continuas to cause appreciable losses there and in other countries, partly beca use it can be seed-transmitted (Diaz et al., 1965;Crispin and Campos, 1 976;Ruiz de Londono et al., 1978). Brock (1951). Clave (1958) and Santos-Filho et al. (1976) have identified sources of resistance to this disease with resistance controlled by a single recessive gene. Possible race relationships for this pathogen must still be studied. The Program isdeveloping resistanceto angular leaf spot in specific materials.Common bacteria! blight(Xanthomonas phaseoll).lt is one of the most imortant disease pathogens dueto its wide occurrence a nd seed transmission. Moreover, it is difficult to control chemically or through varietal resistance. Resistance has been identified in GN-Nebraska No. 1 Sel27 and Pl207 262 and appearstobe quantitatively inherited with different genes controlling resistance in each cultivar. The narrow adaptation of the above two cultivars (CIAT, 1977) will necessitate extensive breeding efforts to incorporate resistance into tropically adapted cultivars and to pyramid resistance 1 evels. Resistance in GN-Nebraska No. 1 Sel 27 was derived from i nterspecific hybridization with blight-resistant P. acutifolius and more such crossing should be done. lncorporation of common bacteria! blight in materials for the tropical production zonas is one of the priorities of the Program . In sect Pests Leafhopper. Of the insects attacking beans, the leafhopper (Empoasca kraemen) is considerad the most widespread and i njurious (Bonnefil. 1 965;Langlitz, 1966;Costa and Rosetto, 1972;Gutierrez et al., 1975). Gutierrez et al. (1975) reportad significant damage by this insect in 11 of 12 Latin American countries surveyed. Yield 1 osses of up to 96 percent have been reportad (Diaz-Castro, 1971;Miranda, 1971 ). Damage is generally greatest under dry conditions.While intermediate levels of tolerance have been identified (Wolfenbarger and Sleesman, 1961) current control methods usually emphasize 1nsect1cides (Costa and Rossetto, 1972). The leafhopper is the only insect to which the Program has given priority to incorporate resistan ce into i mproved lines.Bean pod weevil (Apion godmani) is major bean pest in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua (McKelvey et al., 1947;Enkerling. 1957; Mancia. 1973a) with pod infestation ranging from 20-95 percent (Enkerling, 1957;Diaz, 1970;Mancia, 1973a).While resistant varieties have been identified (Guevara, 1957 and1969;Mancia, 1973b), present control recommendations depend primarily upon insecticidas (Diaz. 1970;Mancia, 1973a). Resistance to Apion is be ing develop in new lines intended for Central Ame rica.Mexican bean beetle (Epilachna varivestis). 1 t is a major problem in Mexico, Guatemala andEl Salvador, where yield losses of up to 75 percent are reportad (Paz et al., 1975). Existence of resistant cultivars has been reportad (Campbell and Brett, 1 966; Garcia and Sosa, 1 973; Raina et al., 1978).Storage insects .. The principal insects attacking stored beans are two bruchids, Acanthoscelides obtectus and Zabrotes subfasciatus. Both are common throughout Latin America but direct loss estimates are surprisingly low (Schoonhoven, 1976). However, these insects m ay be indirectly more important as they force the rapid sale of beans after harvest, thereby contributing to post-harvest price collapses (CIAT, 1977).Nematodes. Nematodes have been studied relatively little in Latin America but are important in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru (Costa, 1972;Crispin and Campos, 1 976;Jimenez, 1976). lmportant genera in Colombia include Helicotylenchus, Pratylenchus and Meloidogyne. Weeds, especially Bidens pilosa, increased nematode populations according to studies by Riedel (CIAT, 1978).Given the major disease and insect problems mentioned, intensiva breeding efforts are needed to incorporate identified resistance genes into locally important varieties. Genetically improved varieties, such as rliacoi -Calima, ICA-Pijao, and Canario rlivex are available in sorne countries and have significantly improved yields, e.g ., in Colombia, Brazil and Mexico (Orozco et al., 1964;Vieira, 1970Vieira, , 1974Vieira, and 1977;;Cafati and Alvarez, 1975;Lopez and Andrade, 1975;Bastidas, 1977). However, most commercial varieties such as Flor de Mayo, Jamapa and Canario 101 (Mexico), Carioca and Rio Tibagi (Brazil), Alubia and Caballero (Argentina), Tacarigua (Venezuela), Pompadour (Dominican Republic), Rojo de Seda and Zamorano (Central America) and the Porrillos are mass or individual plant selections obtained from land race cultivars (Crispin, 1968;Ortega and Barrios, 1972;INTA, 1977); they are susceptible to most of the important diseases and insects.Besides diseases and pests, agronomic constraints, particularly problems of phosphorus or nitrogen deficiency and soil acidity contribute to poor bean yields. Analyses of 11 O Central American soils showed 20 percent hada pHof less than 6.0(Mulleretal., 1968), 66 percent were highly deficient in phosphorus (Fassbender et al., 1968) and 75 percent, deficient in nitrogen (Dfaz-Romeu et al., 1970).Central American bean fertilization trials, reviewed by Fassbender (1967) and Bazan {1975), showed wídespread responses to nitrogen and phosphorus but not to potassi u m. Malavolta ( 1972) reviewed232 bean fertilization trials in eight Brazilian states and reported responses to nitrogen (67 times), phosphorus (1 03), potassium (15), 1 ime (31 ), and micronutrient combinations ( 17). Aluminum (Buol et al., 1975) and manganesa toxicities associated with the low soil pH (Dobereiner, 1966) and molybdenum deficiency (Franco, 1977) complicate fertilizar recommendations. The observed large genetic variation in phosphorus requirements among bean cultivars, especially in those from Brazil (Whiteaker, 1975;CIAT, 1978 and1979) are being exploited as a method to partially overcome this soil constraint.Given the low nitrogen status of many soils it is unfortunate that many commercial cultivars of P. vulgaris have proved weak in symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Yield increases following inoculation have been reported (reviewed by Graham and Halliday, 1977) but inoculation failure is common . Currently, less than 1 percent of the bean seed planted in Brazil receives inoculation (Araujo, 1974). By exploiting the Rhizobium strain x bean cultivar interaction, the Bean Program attempts to reduce dependence on nitrogen fertilization.Majar bean pathogens such as BCMV, anthracnose, angular leaf spot and common bacteria! blight are seed -transmitted. Although beans have their center of origin in Latín America, the ability of seed transmission of most important diseases may be a major factor accounting for similar disease problems in Africa.In the U.S.A., certified seed is produced in relatively dry areas (e.g ., ldaho) with little disease pressure, to meet stringent quality standards (Copeland et al, 1975). Over an eight-year period in Michigan, bacteria! blight incidence on farms not using pathogen-free seed was 3 to 1 O times as high as that on farms utilizing such seed. Latin American bean-producing countries generally Jack effective systems of bean seed production and quality control. In both Colombia and Brazil, for example, fewer than 4 percent of the farmers use certified seed (Silva et al., 1972;Walder et al., 1977;Bastidas, pers. comm.).In Minas Gerais, Brazil, 59 percent of 338 farmers surveyed resowed harvested seed for between two and five years, while only 16 percent used pure line seed (Walder et al., 1977). In a Costa Rican study, Sanchez and Pinchinat (1974) obsprved an average germination of 68 percent for farmers ' seed . These studies indicate the importance of producing high-quality seed, and the Bean Program and CIAT's Seed Unit give great importance to improving seed production in Latin America.Sorne degree of water stress is common in most bean producing areas {CIAT, 1979). However, it is endemic in Northeastern Brazil and Coastal Peru and Ecuador; beans are seldom produced under irrigation in these areas. Moderate levels of tolerance to drought have been identified but it may be difficult to obtain materials resistant to extended dry periods. Short-season varieties may be needed for certain regions. Experience has shown that farmers have sought to compromise between disease presence and drought risk by planting beans so that they mature at the end of the rainy season.In Latín America beans are often grown in association principally with maize, but also with cassava, coffee, potatoes and other crops (Moreno et al., 1973;Andrade et al., 1974;Ruiz de Londoño et al., 1978). Many different cropping systems exist. Approximately 80 percent of the bean area in Latin America is sown in association (Gutierrez et al., 1975), and 75-90 percent of the area in Africa (Leakey, 1970). Associated culture-the growth of two or more crop species together for part of their lite cycles~oes lower yields of beans and the companion crop (Francis et al., 1977;Ruizde Londoño et al., 1978). However, there may be advantages to association such as reduced pest incidence, eros ion control and reduced economic risk (Lepiz, 1971 ;Moreno et al .• 1973;Andrade et al., 1974;Soria et al., 1975;Desir and Pinchinat, 1976). While experimental yíelds of about 2 ton/ ha of beans with 5 ton/ ha of maize have been reportad (Desir and Pinchinat,1 976), yields are generally m u eh less (Krutman, 1 968;Santa Cecilia and Vieira, 1977). Agronomic research is complicated in farming systems bythe largenumberofvariables, includingdensities of maize and beans, time of planting, fertilization, weed control and compatibility of cultivars.Relay croppi ng-where crops sha re the sa me a re a for pa rt of the ir growth cycle, but at different stages of development-is common with beans and maize. In Central America beans are plantad nearthe end of the rainy season and must face diminishing soil moisture during flowering and pod formation (Garcia and Zandstra, 1977). Development of later-maturing maize populations for these regions would aggravate the problem of raising bean yields (Garcra and Zandstra, 1977).In summary, beans in Latín America are produced mostly by small farmers as a cash crop. Due to uncertainty of production from high disease pressure or drought, farmers utiliza few inputs; consequently, bean supplies and prices fluctuate greatlyfrom year to year. On the other hand, increasing production stability by increasing environmental stress resistance enables farmers to use inputs. and beans may move back into the better lands. The low-input philosophy of the Bean Program is directed to achieving these objectives, althoug h the use of inputs is always expected to increase production.The Bean Program has the major objective of developing, in collaboration with national programs, technology that can lead to increased productivity of field beans. The Program formulated its first strategies following a 1973 conference on the potential of field beans in Latin America (CIAT, 1973). Literatura and economic surveys, and visits to and from national programs are continually usad to reevaluate and modify strategies. The Program's principal activities for attaining its objective are: (1) germplasm improvement; (2) development and validation of improved agronomic practicas; (3) training of national program scientists; and (4) international collaboration.The Bean Program plans to achieve its overall objective by concentrating upon germplasm improvement. Emphasis is upon development of scale-neutral production technology with bias to the needs of the small farmer. This is being achieved by development of germplasm resistant or tolerant to diseases and insect pests instead of making chemical control recommendations. Raducad dependence on chemical fertilizers and tolerance to water stress are sought; no research is done on practicas such as mechanization or irrigation. Work on improvement of climbing bean technology is directad exclusively towards small-scale farmers. The Program emphasis will stay on Latín America but outreach activities will include Eastern A frica .Development efforts are limitad to the common bean, P. vulgsris.Research on relatad species such as the scarlet runner bean (P. coccineus) and the tepary bean (P. scutifolius) is limitad to their contribution to improving the common bean through interspecific hybridization. The lima bean (P. lunatus) collection at CIAT will be evaluated, documentad and maintained for national program use but no breeding work will be undertaken.No major effort is made to adapt beans toare as outside their current production zones. such as the hot hum id lowlands. or the highly acid, infertile soils. Other legumes have comparativa advantages in adaptation to these areas, while the cost and time involved to adapt beans to these areas are prohibitiva.The Bean Program placas its major emphasis upon improving germplasm. This encompasses the collection, maintenance and evaluation-of germplasm and the development and distribution of genetically improved bean germplasm.Collection, maintenance and evaluation of bean germplasm. The CIAT germplasm bank currently stores around 30,000 accessions of -Phaseolus spp., primarily P. vulgaris, obtained from more than 20 countries. In collaboration with national institutions and the IBPGR, additional germplasm is periodically collected from those areas where numbers or diversity of materials are lacking. CIAT's Genetic Resources Unit is primarily responsible for the maintenance, morphological characterization and distribution of germplasm bank accessions.Staff of the Bean Program actively participate in evaluating accessions for resistance to various diseases and insect pests, for plant architecture and yield potential, and for their response to climatic and edaphic constraints. A common procedure is to screen accessions for desired variability in observation nurseries both at CIAT-Palmira and Popayan. Hill plots or small row plots are used to accommodate large numbers of entries. This is done especially for accessions which have not been screened before or when a new problem arises for which desired variability is needed.Accessions which appear promising are normally reevaluated for the same character and are enterad in the First Uniform Screening Trial (VEF) (Fig . 1) and tested for artditional factors if they are also homozygous resistant to BCMV.   Moreover, selected materials may be directly utilizad as parents in hybridization and/ or entered in international screening nurseries. This system assures the continuous flow of desirable variability from the bank to germplasm improvement projects.Development of genetically improved germplasm. The principal short-term goal of the Bean Program is to achieve yield gains under farmers ' conditions through breeding for resistance todiseases and insect pests . S imultaneously, research is being done to increase tolerance to stress environments and to improve plant architectural characteristics. Physiological traits possibly leading to improved yield potential have been identified in beans, and the search for these traits continuas. They include stem strength, tap root, differences in maturity, erect branches and narrow leaves. After incorporation into materials of good agronomic background, their true value can be determinad.lncorporating resistance to BCMV, rust, anthracnose, angular leaf spot. common bacteria! blightand leafhoppers intoagronomically and commercially acceptable lines is the primary objetive. The immediate goal is to consolidate resistance to multiple factors in materials with yield potentíal equal to or higher than present cultivars. They must fit into actual production systems and meet seed size and color preferences of consumers. Not all combinations of resistances are necessary in all materials (Table 3, pag. 17). Resistance to common bacterial blíght is not very important in beans for the Andean highlands. Anthracnose resistance is not necessary for many warm production regions in Central America, Coastal Peru, Ecuador and Chile.Genetic variation for tolerance of beans to stress environments, principally drought and low soil phosphorus, is sought. Architectural traits -stem strength to prevent lodging and disease accumulation due to soil contact of pods, and plant height, to increase numbers of pod-carrying internadas and photosynthetic capacity -are improved simultaneously. Breeding for improved protein content and qua\\ity and cooking properties is presently of low priority. Seed color and size of advanced materials must satisfy the requirementsofconsumers in the different regions.Two breeders in the Program dedícate full time to bush beans, and one, to climbing beans. One bush bean breeder concentrates on breeding for increased resistance levels to diseases and insects prevalent in warm climates. The other breeder works on improving yield potential through better plant architecture, increasing stress tolerance to climatic and edaphic factors, and improving resistanceto diseases prevalent in cooler regions (Table 4). For the genetic improvement of climbing beans, the same principies and priorities apply as for bush beans. Although noaccurate data exist on the relativa importance of climbing versus bush beans, one-third of the total breeding effort for climbers is estimated to be above the relative importance of this type, again indicating the Bean Program's bias towards small producers. As there is a variety by cropping system i nteraction for yields of climbing bean varieties, genetic improvement evaluations are done in the cropping system the material is intended for, that is, in direct association or in relay systems with maize. For direct association, a vigorous bean type is sought to provide an optimal yield combination in both maize and beans. For relay cropping, too vigorous a bean variety would cause maize lodging. Maior aspects of germplasm improvement activities are described below.Parental sources include national cultivars, germplasm bank accessions, introductions and experimental lines or selections in various stages of development and evaluation. The germplasm development and evaluation scheme used by the Bean Program is shown in Figure 1. Befare initiating each recombination cycle, the list of parents used in crossing is updated, based upon information available from prevíous nurseríes, progeny performance, specific requests of collaborators, and Program directions.In collaboration with CIAT's Data Services Unít, a computerized information system (SIFRI; see Fig . 1) is utilized to document the handling and evaluation of germplasm bank accessions, parents, crosses and selections. This helps avoid duplication of breeding efforts, assists in progeny management and facilitates responding to outside requests.Special attention is being given to rapidly improve widely grown cultivars, such as Jamapa, Canarios, Flor de Mayo, Zamorano, Pompadour, Diacoi-Calima, Cargamanto, Sangre de Toro, Favinha, Mulatinho, Roxinhos, lguacu, Alubia, and others. The basic adaptive features, grain and plant types of these cultivars are reselected while crossing them to : (a) sources of resistance to important disease and insect pests limiting their specific regional production potential ; {b} similarly, to sources of tolerance to adverse climatic and edaphic factors; and, (e) better plant architectural types to improve their yield potential.Germplasm improvement activities are d ivided into projects (Fig . 1 and Table 4) in which desired variability is recombined and built up further. When improving a particular character, parental combinations are sought which enhance and stabilize its expression as well as combine it with other desirable traits. For example, for common mosaic virus, sources of resistance to different strains of this virus are being crossed with tropically adapted parents possessing agronomic value and resistance to insects and other diseases. In general, parents are selected which combine overall performance with specific characteristcs that complement or contrastwith those of the other parent.Single but especially three -way crosses are commonly made. A limited number of backcrosses are made to improve selected national cultivars. In sorne projects selected F 3 and F4 familias are utilizad for early generation intermating and recurrent selection .Crosses are made manually in screenhouses or field-crossing blocks at CIAT -Palmira or Popayan. The latter site is primarily used for materials which are poorly adaptad at Palmira. The feasibility of utilizing male sterility and extrose stigma characters is being studied as a method for population improvement. The number of crosses in different projects takes into account Program priorities, availabilityof screening facilities and breeding methods employed.All segregating populations and early-generation familias are grouped together and managed separately for each project until their promising selections enter the First Uniform Nursery (VEF). For example, all crosses made for rust resistance are planted season after season in the rust evaluation nursery for screening, selecting and purifying until lines breeding true for their resistance are identified. Similar procedures apply for BCMV, leafhopper, common bacteria! blight, and anthracnose nurseries. For simultaneous improvementor incorporation of two or more characters, complementary parents possessing multiple desirable traits are crossed. Early generations are screened in one of the three following manners:1. Simultaneously, when and if inoculating, screening and selecting techniques are compatible, e.g., for anthracnose and angular leaf spot, common bacteria! blight and rust. ln sorne cases, several diseases are evaluated in the same nursery, in other cases, separate nurseries are needed for each d isease or pest.Alternetely, e.g., for anthracnose and low soil phosphorus tolerance, or anthracnose and leafhoppers in which the F 2 populations are first screened for resistance to anthracnose in Popayan and survivors evaluated at CIAT-Quilichao for low soil phosphorus or at CIAT-Palmira for leafhoppers. The sequential testing continuas until desired recombinants are identified.Divergently, in which the population is either divided for screening or first screened for the primary character or the character with high heritability-most frequently disease resistance -and then seed of selected plants is split. One part is u sed for its progeny confirmation test and the remainder is u sed for evaluation against the additional factor(s). The sequence is repeated until true-breeding recombinations are selected.All phases of germplasm development and evaluation are an integrated team activity. While severalteam membersworkcloselyin the initial stages of germplasm improvement in a particular project, all participate in evaluating advanced selections from any project or source entered in the uniform screening nurseries.Screening and selection activities are conducted in a few locations (mainly CIAT -Palmira and Popayan) which are representativa of major ecological bean production zonas (Tabla 5). Nearly 80 percent of the bean production zonas show average growing season temperaturas which fall between those of the two principal testing sites-CIAT-Palm ira and Popayan (Fig. 2). CIAT-Quilichao is used primarily to screen for low soil phosphorusand biological nitrogen fixation. The La Selva and Obonuco substations of the Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA) are principally used for climbing beans and associated technology su eh as inoculation in relay or association with maize. For climbing beans, in addition to the above factors, the F 3 and subsequent segregating populations are screened directly in the appropriate cropping system (relay or association). Selected progenies and yield trials are subsequently evaluated in associated and/ or relay cropping systems w ith regionally predominant maize cultivars.Screening for production constraints not occurring in Colombia, including BGMV, Apion and the bean fly, requires that crosses be made and verified at CIAT-Palmira before seed of segregating populations can be sent to collaborators for screening and selection. Seed of selected progenies is brought back toCIATto initiatethe next cycle of the improvement process.  The major growth habit types which exist, and are primarily being sought during germplasm improvement, are described in Tabla 6 .While a modified backcrossing system is used for improving important cultivars grown in principal production zonas, the pedigree breeding method ora modified pedigree system is extensively u sed to improve most other materials. Populations are handled in bulk before individual plant selections are made, e .g., for drought or low soil phosphorus. These are generally characters for which precise and dependable screening facilities are not presently available.In all stages of germplasm development and evaluation, relatively low inputs and moderate stress to nutrients, water, diseases and i nsect pests are emphasized. Once a line has been selected within a project, usually in F 6 or F 7 generations,it is coded and advanced to the VEF for uniform and multiple character evaluation.The Bean Program conducts two uniform evaluations each year, the First Uniform Nursery (VEF) and the Preliminary Yield Trial (EP). The term \"uniform\" refers to screening and evaluation, for any given character, under similar conditions and with equal emphasis on all entries irrespective of their source of origin, genetic constitution and stage of development. The VEF and EP form vital and essential links among different improvement projects and integrate activities of all team members and collaborators. Materials being testad in the lnternational Bean Yield and Adaptation Nursery (IBYAN), the lnternational Bean Aust Nursery (IBAN) and other international nurseries have to pass quality criteria set for these nurseries.Both the VEF and EP are complementary nurseries and have the following common objectives: (a) to demonstrate the relativa potentials and deficiencias of advanced selections from all sources; (b) to enable selection of candidatas for the IBYAN, IBAN, and other international nurseries; and (e) to enable selection of parents for subsequent germplasm improvement.The progression from VEF to EP and the characteristics evaluated in each take into account CIAT's research priorities as they relate to production problems, numbers of materials which can be handled, screening facilities, and the quantity of seed available.. lt is open to all collaborators working in dry beans. Entries are selected from the germplasm bank, from matertals provtded by collabora tors of national and internationa l programs and from lines developed by CIAT. VEF entries must possess homozygous resistance to BCMV and be uniform for plant growth ha bit and grain type, in addition to the primary character(s) for which they were selected. Principal features of the VEF are listed in Table 7 . Preliminary Yield Trial (EP). The Preliminary Yield Trial (EP) is the second stage of the uniform testing of experimental lines of dry beans. A ll entries ar'~ selected from the previous VEF. This is the first yield eva luat10n of experimentallines and is planted at CIAT-Palmira and Popayan.Besides yield, lines are testad for additional characteristics, many of which were not testad in VEF. Unlike the VEF, the EP is not restricted to Colombia but is evaluated at key sites around the world for specific adaptation and constraints not found within Colombia, e.g ., BGMV, Apion, the bean fly and strains of anthracnose. Seed of each EP entry is kept for short-and long-term storage by the Genetic Resources Unit. An annual catalog of EP results is printed for use by collaborators. Small quantities of seed of complete or partial sets of an EP are available to interested scientists.  The lnternational Bean Yield and Adaptation Nursery (IBYAN) is distributed internationally to key locations representing a wide ranga of major dry bean-producing areas. Objectives that were formalizad in an internationaiiBYAN workshop are to distribute and test. under a wide range of environments, outstanding commercial cultivars, germplasm bank accessions and experimentallines. Evaluation goals are: (a) to help identify high-yielding, stable materials for direct use as commercial cultivars; (b) to evaluate at each location a set of locally developed and adapted varieties representing a range of the best available materials in the region to be comparad with international bean improvement progress; (e) to assess specific and general adaptation of beans; and, (d) to select parents for further improvement.The IBYAN i s composed of four categories of materials: germplasm bank selections, experimental lines developed by either national institutions or CIAT, and check entries. With the exception of the Checks and entries selected from national programs, all other materials pass through the VEF and EP before entering the IBY AN. The check varieties include local varieties furnished by each collaborator, representing the best material available at each site; international checks -a group of varieties of known performance included in all trials over time; and elite checks -outstanding entries from previous IBYAN trials.The IBYAN trials take into account seed color and size preferences (consumer's requirements) and agronomic requirements of the different cropping systems (farmer's requirements). This dual approach is basic in bean improvement. Bush bean materials are of specific seed color and size groups, eg ., small seeded grouped into black, red, white nurseries, etc., medium or large white, red, canario, etc. Each group i ncludes plant types that m ay be grown in monoculture, association, or relay cropping but do not need support for climbing . Climbing beans requiring support are distributed in three groups -small blacks, small reds and large-seeded of all colors. The essential features of the IBYAN are listad in Tabla 9 .The IBYAN is intended as the bridge between research station studies of promising, stable and widely adaptad germplasm, and materials required for the on-farm trials and seed increase by national i nstitutions. Th is, like the other trials, are free of charge. Timely production of adequate quantities of pathogen-free seed is an integral part of the bean testing system (Fig. 1 ). Seed for IBYAN's is produced at Dagua, in a valley near Cáli, where absence of commercial bean production and semi-arid conditions guarantee seed free of pathogens.Additional germplasm exchange is accomplished by the international disease and insect resistance nurseries. These include nurseries for resistance to rust, BGMV, leafhoppers and Apion.Purposes of these nurseries are to distribute and evaluate sources of resistance to organisms orto races of pathogens not occurring in Colombia . lnternational nurseries are also distributed for evaluating materials for nitrogen fixation and for tolerance to drought and extreme temperaturas. Although no formal nursery is assembled, interested institutions can receive seed of segregating populationsat any stage of development.Severa/ components of agronomic research are best conducted by nationa/ programs. Most agronomic research such as fertilizar and herbicida response will be location-specific. Optimal plant density is specific to plant type, cropping system and location. lmproved varieties will not necessarily respond in the same way to inputs as traditional varieties. Since it will not be possible in the short term to incorporate resistance to all important local diseases, chemical control of sorne of these may be profitable in particular conditions. Hence, these types of applied research must also be done by national programs.On the other hand, research in agronomic practicas often as part of training which can be applied locally is done by the CIAT Bean Program. This includes methods and timing of fertilizar application, weed control and competition studies, and interactions of density on growth habit and nitrogen fixation.CIAT also conducts agronomic research on associated cropping, mainly the association of beans with maize, cassava and coffee, to study relative planting dates and influences of associations on disease and pest incidence and on nitrogen fixation. Farm•level •trials. Specific technological packages should be evaluated in farm • level trials by both CIAT and national programs. A principal problem in producing new bean technology, both involving new varieties and new agronomic practices, is that farm-level conditions are often much more adverse than those of the experiment station . Moreover, at the farm, specific bean types are required to fit into a production system. Hence, there must be continua! interaction between farmers and researchers, and this dialogue and feedback process is established through on•farm testing.With on• farm testing, both the effects of new varieties and associated technology can be tested under farmers' conditions. This provides researchers with a direct source of information on technical and economic problems impeding the functioning or the adoption of their experimental results. This is especially important since the principal dientele, the small producers, have more difficulty in communicating directly with researchers.Farm -level testing by the CIAT Bean Program is, therefore, notan extension activity but an integral component of the research process. and its focus is upon the feedback or measurement and evaluation of research performance and progress.Farm• level testing is also utilizad to develop and provide methodologies for other research institutions to verify their experimental results and farm-level constraints to the adoption of their new technology. The training component is an important aspect of this activity.lmproving bean productivity cannot be done by an international center alone. A center needs to work within a collaborative network for germplasm improvement and distribution 'and development of agronomic practicas.  In 1975 the Bean Team assumed responsibility for developing a Latin American network of bean research workers. This network is now being expanded into Eastern Africa. Bean Program scientists felt each national program presentad a unique situation, hence responsibility for coordinating activities with specific countries was divided between Program staff. While this concept has undergone some change with the naming of a regional network coordinator for Central America andan out-posted staff member in Peru, the scheme continues to function in most of South America.The bi-monthly newsletter \"Hojas de Frijol\" is designad to improve communication and information within the Latin American research network. Additionally, to enhance transfer on information, an i llustrated book, Field Problema of Beans in Latín America, and a monograph on disease, insect and other problemsof bean production have been published.To further intensify the network collaboration between national and international programs and among national programs, the Bean Team is planning to have additional regional out-posted staffoverthe next few years. Current plans are for one staff member in Eastern Africa (1982( ), one in Brazil (1983) ) and one in the Middle East (1985). These are in addition to the two now working in Central America and the Caribbean and in Peru. Their principa l responsibility is to strengthen collaboration between research programs. Activities include selection of trainees. enhancing germplasm flow and generally assisting national programs in their activities.The Team also collaborates with institutions outside of Latin Amertca (Table 11 ). These mst1tut1ons provide basic research and methodology development. for wich CIAT lacks facilities. adequately tramed personnel or the comparative advantage to conduct such studies. In 1974. in collaboration with the CIAT Library, a documentation and abstracting ser.vice was established to process and distribute citations and abstracts of bean literatura to interested i nstitutes and scientists. They are available on a monthly subscription basis andas annual compilations in book form (Fig. 3). More than 3000 articles have been processed and approximately 1000 abstracts continue to be processed and published annually in Spanish and English.A series of workshops continuas to be organizad on bean production topics with participants invited from national programs and international institutions. In these. scientific information is exchanged and program strategies are discussed with national programs. providing a feedback to the Bean Program on itsobjectives and strategies.    lnstead, a computerized summary of superior national and international breeding 1 ines and germplasm selections evaluated in each EP will be available annually, and seed of desired materials can be requested. All EP lines are resistant to BCMV and to at least one additional disease. Request for specific combinationsof characters in gerrt'4)1asm shipments can be met quickly, as a result of computerizing all data.Accesssions are regula rly evaluated for Program needs bythe tea m members. Observation nurseries are often plantad in CIAT-Palmira and Popayan, and are simultaneously screened for resistance to BCMV. All BCMV-resistant materials which are adaptad in one or both sitas enter the VEF for further testing as described in previous sections.   In addition to BCMV, valuable sources of resistance to rust, angular leaf spot, anthracnose, common bacteria! blight, bean golden mosaic virus and web blight (Tabla 13) or combinations of these (Tabla 14) ha ve be en identified. Although of lower priority, sources of resistance or tolerance to other diseases, such as root rots, halo blight, and various foliar pathogens were also identified. lnitial evaluations at CIAT -Palmira showed different rust resistance mechanisms -slow rusting, necrotic reaction and limitad pustulesand their stability is now being measured. A second level of germplasm screening for rust resistance in the lnternational Bean Rust Nursery (IBAN) has revealed cultivars with resistance to races of the pathogen in severa! areas, but none with resistance to rust at all locations testad (Table 1 5) (CIAT, 1979b). These and additional materials are being evaluated in subsequent IBRN's and used as parents.Similarly, the Bean Golden Mosaic Nursery demonstrated resistance sources to this importar.t virus disease. As a consequence, multiple-disease resistant fines including resistance toBGMV were developed and released in Guatemala as new varieties. Among insect pests, emphasis has been placad on the leafhopper (Empoasca kraemeri). All available bank accessions have been evaluatad for tolerance, and differences in the susceptibility of cultivars are evident (Fig. 7). Levels of resistance encountered this far are adequate to provide protection during average leafhopper attacks but nead to be increasad for protection during heavy attacks. Materials of sorne preferred grain types still lack adequate levels of resistance. Studies have also confirmad and/or identifiad sources of resistance to Apion, and spider mitas.Besides disease and insect resistance sources, other valuable genetic variability has been encounterad in the germplasm bank. High-yielding varieties such as ICA-Pijao, Porrillo Sintetico, Jamapa and non-black accessions such as Bico de Ouro and NEP-2 are usad as parents in the breeding program.ldentified accessions with erect plant type and variability in pod and leaf size may be of value in raising yield potential. Other characteristics used in parental selection include the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in symbiosis with Rhizobium, tolerance to drought stress, and to low soil phosphorus end extreme temperaturas, as well as insensitivity to photoperiod (Table 16).1t appears that tolerance to low soil phosphorus has to be measured by yield reduction in stressed versus non-stressed plots (Table 17) . as good vegetativa growth may occur but pods do not f ill. Leading brazilian commercial cultivars were among the most tolerant ones to low soil phosphorus. The Program selects entries efficient in phosphorus utilization and responsiva to phosphorus inputs (Fig . 8). Figure 8 also reflects the Sean Team 's general philosophy of seeking genetic variability which permits as high a yield as J><)ssible under low-input management but also provides a yield response to higher levels of management.Sorne desorable agronom1c charactenstics of selected lmes and cultivars that show these factors.  Va rietal improvement has evolved considerably since the modest effort initiated in 1974. Currently about 500 parents are utilizad in the crossing program and more than 1 500 different crosses are made annually (Fig . 9). These provide more than 200,000 F 2 plants to be evaluated under field conditions each year. Unes leaving the varietal improvement programs are coded and enter the VEF for adaptation and multiple disease and insect resistance testing and subsequent selection and testing in the EP. Table 18 shows sorne of the more prom ising breeding li nes combining multiple resistances in several seed colors that were identified during the 1979 evaluations.  Alllines leaving the Programare now resistant to BCMV. The Bean Team has incorporated the dominant 1 gene along with desirable strain-specific genes in sorne advanced lines. This is done in collaboration with the Plant Breeding lnstitute of the Netherlands. Progenies are tested in CIAT for adaptation to Latin American conditions.Since 1974 an active program of preliminary, uniform and international yield trials has been conducted in multiple locations. lnitially thesetrials included only germplasm accessions but nowthey consist predominantly of advanced breeding lines.ln initial selections from the germplasm bank, the high-yielding cultivars were principally black-seeded. Now, however, advanced breeding lines with other seedcoat colors equal or have surpassed the yield potential of blackseeded selections.While the 20 highest yielding materials in ttie 1979 EP yielded an average of 3.58 ton/ ha (ranging from 3.42 to 4.0 ton/ha) under intensiva management, more importance is given to lines' performances under more rustic management conditions approaching farmers' traditional practicas. Yield data of the 1978 and 1979 EP trials conducted under this management level are given in Tablas 19 and 20. In the 1978 yield trials, the bestCIAT line outyielded the best local variety by up to 43 percent and the best breeding linesoutyielded the best parents by 57 percent. Although the principal product of the Bean Program is finished breeding lines. national programs request specific crosses and select from among the best advanced lines identified each year. Network breeders have promoted CIAT crosses into promising advanced lines.One example is the Acacia lines selected out of early segregating materials by Honduran breeders. Three of these promising lines showed average yields of 2.32 ton/ ha, comparad to 1 .69 ton/ ha for f ive local varieties, a difference of 0 .63 ton/ ha. These lines combine resistance to BCMVand rust with increased yield potential and plant type, and one,Acacia 4,was recently released as a new variety. Sorne BGMV-resistant: selections made in Central America and Brazil have substantially outyielded their parents when subjected to the virus, while ma intaining their yield potential in the absence of the virus (Table 21 ). Three new BGMV varieties were recently released in Guatemala. Seed multiplication of such newly released varieties have been initiated.The best EP selections together with national program entries enter the IBYAN. Numbers and locations of IBYAN shipments over three years are given in Tabla 22 and include both bush and climbing trials. Whi le the f irst IBYAN of 1976 contained only germplasm bank accessions, current trials are principally composed of improved lines. Results of the first IBYAN (1976) from 50 locations ranging in latitude from 1 °5 (Boliche, Ecuador) to 55°N (Csmbridge, England) for both tropical and temperate locations, showed the mean yield of the best five lB Y AN en tries was 31 percent better than that of the best local cultivars (Table 23).  Yield stability of the 20 lB Y AN entries variad across locations. Five black-seeded type 11 cultivars (PI 309 804, Jamapa,ICA-Pijao, 51051 , and Porrillo Sintetico) not only showed high average yields, but also relatively stable performance between sites (Fig. 1   (1) a.(1) a: Unfortunately, these Type 1 vanet1es are often large-seeded commercial types whose market value is substantially higher than smaller-seeded varieties in many countries. Currently both bush and climbing bean IBYAN 's are divided in small sets of lines of one commercial color group. Thus a ny collaborator only w ill receive lines .Jf commercial seed type in an IBYAN.Most bean producers cannot make large expenditures for inputs, hence considerable emphasis is given to development of technology utilizing low fertilizar inputs.Many Latin American soils are deficient in phosphorus and fertilization is necessary to get good yields. Critica! levels of phosphorus for bean growth at Popayan have been determinad to be about 15 ppm (Bray 11). To keep applications as low as possible, varietal differences in tolerance to low phosphorus are sought. Larga genetic differences have been found in the ability to produce yields under low soil phosphorus levels. The Bean Program hasdirected part of its resources to incorporating and augmenting this characteristic in germplasm i ntended especially for Brazil. When fertilizers are applied, results have shown that band applications in phosphorusfixing soils was advantageous when triple super-phosphate was used. However, sorne rock phosphates. when broadcast, are more residual and economical.Atmospheric nitrogen fixation at seasonal rates in excess of 40 kg of N2 fixed/ ha has been achieved, both under conditions at Popayan and CIAT -Ouilichao (CIAT, 1979). Such fixation rates are at least equal to those reported for other grain legumes. Fixation by determínate. early-flowering cultiva rs has proved w eak, as shown in Figure 11 . In severa l experiments n itrogen fixatio n (as meas u red in C 2 H 2 reduction) has been positively correlated with ca rbohydrate supply to nodules, again w ith major differences apparent between cultivars (Fig. 12).   When the effect of cultural practices was studied, association with maize reduced nitrogen fixation in bush beans, but had littleeffecton the fixation rate of climbers. Optimum planting density for nitrogen fixation was near the optimal for maximum yields, however phosphate fertilization greatly increased nitrogen fixation .CIAT mamtains a documentad collection of sorne 300 cultures of Rhizobwm phaseo/1: which are available either as cultures or peat inoculants to other scientists. Currently, the best strains are tested in an lnternational Bean lnoculation Trial (IBIT) in many countries.Diseases. The production of pathogen-free foundation seed (clean seed) is an important research area of the Program. Studies of seed saved by farmers in Colombia 's Huila region showed low germination rates and many fungal contaminants. CIAT has stressed the \"c leaning \" of such seed to minimize the possibility of distributing pathogens in seed shipments and for increasing germination and early stand (Fig. 13). Various types of improved seed, including certified, protected and pathogen-free seed from Chile and from Dagua (CIAT's seed production site), did not have yield advantages over farmers' seed. when tested in on-farm trials. The principal reason appears to bethe difficulty of completely roguing BCMV in highly susceptible varieties. Since BCMV can substantially reduce yields and clean seed appears to be an inadequate substitute for resistance, the Bean Program only releases lines for testing that have resistance to BCMV.In such lines. seed free of other pathogens is expected to have a largar yield advantage and is tested again on farms. Additionally, farmers seem to select the best seed for future plantings. When new varieties are produced. the importance of improved seed production techniques is expected to substantially increase. The Seed Unit at CIAT is collaborating with several national programs to establish seed production schemes. lnsects. Several studies have been conducted to determine critica! insect pesf levels. Chrysomelid attack at the seedling stage can substantially reduce yields; however, in later stages its influence on yields is minimal. Studies relat ing leafhopper populations and damage with product ion costs ind icate an optimum return for the farmer by controlling Empoasca populations when they reach about 1 nymph/ leaf (Fig. 14). Empoasca control is most important during the flowering period. Mulching has been shown to reduce Empoasca attack in addition to reducing weed growth and preserving soil moisture.Treating harvested seed with small quantities of vegetable oils. a technique used earlier for cowpeas in Africa, has been highly successful in controlling the storage pests Zabrotes and Acanthoscelides. Only 5 mi of oil/ kg eliminated insect populations but did not affect germination or cooking quality (Table 24). Bean/ maize association Studies of the association of beans and maize have advanced considerably since their initiation in 1975. Associated cropping of beans and maize has reduced attacks of certain diseases and insect pests, while increasing others. Both leafhoppers and common bacteria! blight incidences appeared lower under this cropping system.Experiments have shown reduced yields of maize varieties even at lower bean densities. Although optimum densities for each species must be defined, density alone is not ah i mportant variable determining y1elds. Density response will depend upon the varieties of beans and maize, location, input use and other factors of weather and disease/pest incidence (Francis et al., 1978).In one series of trials, association with maize reduced bush and climbing bean yields 58 and 64 percent, respectively. Maize yields were reduced an average of 30 percent by association with beans. The hig hest association yield ach ieved in experimental plots was 2 .2 tons of beans and 5.5 tons of maize per hectare.Yields above 4 .5 t/ ha have been achieved in CIAT-Palmira and Popayan for climbing beans supported on mature maize stems and more than 5.0 t/ha on bamboo/ wire trellises. Numerous experiments to evaluate the genotype x system interactions for beans have indicated climbing bean lines should be selected under the cropping system for which they are intended. Specific and different types of beans and maize appear necessary, depending on whether direct association or relay cropping systems are utilizad. For planting in direct association, a vigorous climbing bean (Type IVb) should be sown with a maize variety intermediate in height (2.5m) and having narrow leaves and lodging resistance. A moderate climber (Type IVa) planted w ith a tall (2.5 m), lodge-resistant maize is better suited for relay systems.Whereas the genus Phaseolus has been studied intensively in temperate regions, physiological studies under tropical or semitropical conditions have been limitad. Growth analysis experiments (Table 25) helped identify yield-limiting factors in five varieties, from the tour growth habit groups defined by CIAT. The earliness of Type 1 plants limits the maximum leaf area and leaf area duration. lncreased node development and leaf area were strongly relatad to yield in all varieties. Flower and pod abscission has proved a major problem in beans with all cultivars tested showing almost 70 percent flower and pod abscission (Table 26). Abscission is greatest in flowersand pods high in the canopy, on branches, or in the higher positions within a raceme. Fir:;t-formed flowers are more likely to mature than those produced la ter. Growth habit groups have distinctly different patterns of flower production . This is an important f inding for beans produced under rainfed conditions (Fig. 15).The final test of experiment station technology occurs on farmers ' fields and in the marketplace. Farm testing was done in major bean zones in Colombia . Simple agronomic packages including chemicals, optimum plant support and better weed control substantially increased yields and farm income without larga increases in input costs (Table 27).Farm trials have shown potential gains of 1 t / ha of beans with improved agronomy. Approximately half of these grains can be obtained with low but specific input use, whi le the other half depends on higher input use (Fig. 1 6). Currently the first new improved fines from uniform yields testing are being testad at the farm leve!. Starting in 1979 all breeding lines being relea sed for international testing are resistant to BCMV, and in 1981 alllinas for areas in which anthracnose is a limiting factor will have resistance to this disaasa. Gradual improvamant will continua for resistanca/tolerance to tha leafhopper, angular leaf spot, common bacteria! blight, bean golden mosaic virus and other diseases and pests. lt is probable that resistances to other diseases such as Ascochyta, root rots, web blight and nematodes will become more important selection criteria once resistance to priority diseasas beco mes more frequent. For particular diseases such as rust, with its larga race variability, the stability of current resistance sources will determine whether greatar efforts will be necessary in seeking more stable resistance, possibly in collaboration with Title XII resaarch funding in the U.S.A.To the moment yield potential has been less emphasized than yield stability. Even so some significant gains have been made in yiald levels, and great variation in plant architecture and yiald components demonstrated. Thus, though crosses for enhanced yield potential currently contribute only a low percent of total crosses, greater emphasis will be given to this area in the future. Also limitad crossas will be made to develop improved snap bean cultivars.An expanded effort in the search for incraasad tolerance to adversa conditions such as drought, low phosphorus and acid soils will make new materials more ralevant to tha principal production zonas in Brazil, Latín America's largest producar of beans. Similarly, \"76 proteín content and cooking time will receive increased attention in selecting breeding lines. While the 1979 IBYAN stilllacked lines with proper seed sizes and colors, each year materials with a maximum number of resistances appropriate to their respective target zones will be approaching the seed characteristic requirements of national programs.Working with several national programs, the Bean Program will expand its utilization of farm trials as feedback mechanisms to determine constraints on introducing improved varieties and associated technology. In this respect, farm trials will increasingly complement the IBY AN.The size of national bean programs varíes from a few scientists to large multidisciplinary teams. Therefore, the Bean Program will maintain its present disciplinary mix, as sorne national programs will need finished varieties, while others request parental sources or segregating populations. The latter, for example, should become increasingly important as a consequence of CIAT's training efforts. National program personnel will be able to increasingly manage and fine-tune thenew germplasm and explore local adaptation and meet specific production problems and consumar preferences in their regions. To further strengthen this, regional outposted staff will be stationed in major bean production regions. In the future, IBYANs will contain an increasing number of locally improved materials.Once initial research objectives have been met, a change in emphasis will occur as the Bean Program moves towards cropping systems research. This will enable the bean crop to fit better into existing cropping patterns and, where necessary, provide for i mprovement of cropping systems.","tokenCount":"10692"}

data/part_1/0031577592.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"57feb2a1f41a79610b4006ffd863f392","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/3910876c-b68c-465e-abd9-d79ac487cf3c/retrieve","id":"636255923"},"keywords":["Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, through the Tropical Legumes III project cowpea, Cowpea market participation, food security, income, northern Nigeria, rural traders, urban traders C21","C26","Q12","Q13"],"sieverID":"90769d75-d19f-43e4-98f6-8c122edcb637","pagecount":"17","content":"This article evaluates the impact of cowpea market participation on household food security and income in northern Nigeria. Using household survey data from a representative sample of over 1,500 farm households and applying a combination of instrumental variable techniques and dose-response functions, we found that cowpea market participation had a statistically significant positive impact on household food security and income. Cowpea market participation increased food expenditure by 1.6% and household income by 0.7% with a 10 unit increase in the quantity of cowpea sold. These results underscore the importance of cowpea market participation for household food security and income improvement. We also found that selling cowpea to rural and urban traders significantly increased household income, food expenditure, and food security. Results show that selling cowpea to rural and urban traders increased household income by 17% and 13%, respectively. The results point to the need for an enabling policy environment and public infrastructure to enhance market participation of farmers and traders. Public infrastructure investments in the form of feeder road construction and maintenance in the distant villages are encouraged, which in the long run can translate into improved cowpea productivity and welfare of smallholder farmers.Although there is some progress in the fight against hunger in the world through increase in food production, many people are still food insecure and suffer from some form of malnutrition (FAO, IFAD, & WFP, 2015;Godfray et al., 2010;Sibhatu, Krishna, & Qaim, 2015). Globally, an estimated 821 million people were undernourished in 2017, with the majority living in the developing countries (FAO et al., 2018). Sub-Saharan Africa has the world's highest prevalence of undernourishment that was projected to be 23.2% during the same year (FAO et al., 2018). Nigeria remains a country with high levels of poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition. An estimated 54% 1 of Nigerians live on less than US$1.9 per day and about 37% of the children were malnourished in 2013 (NPC & ICF, 2014;World Bank, 2018). Northern Nigeria has the highest poverty and malnutrition rates (Amare, Benson, Fadare, & Oyeyemi, 2018;NBSN, 2010).Smallholder market participation has long been touted as a strategy to improve farmers' productivity, income, food security, and poverty (Barrett, 2008;Radchenko & Corral, 2018;Sibhatu et al., 2015). However, no conclusive evidence exists on its effect on food security and nutrition. On the one hand, there are studies which have shown that commercialization of agricultural produce is effective in improving food security and nutrition (e.g., Muriithi & Matz, 2015;Ogutu, Gödecke, & Qaim, 2017;Ogutu, Gödecke, & Qaim, 2019;Ogutu & Qaim, 2019;Radchenko & Corral, 2018). On the other hand, studies such as Carletto, Corral, and Guelfi (2017) found little evidence that agricultural commercialization has a positive effect on the nutritional status of smallholder farmers. We contribute to this debate on market participation by examining the impact of cowpea market participation on household food security and income in northern Nigeria using rigorous econometric approaches, and a unique and comprehensive household-level data collected from a nationally representative sample of over 1,500 cowpea producing households in the region. Understanding the relationship between cowpea (an important crop in the northern Nigeria) market participation and food security can have important policy implications.Most previous studies on market participation have mainly concentrated on understanding the factors that facilitate or hinder incidence and level of market participation (e.g., Bellemare & Barrett, 2006;Burke, Myers, & Jayne, 2015;Mignouna, Abdoulaye, Akinola, Kamara, & Oluoch, 2016;Olwande, Smale, Mathenge, Place, & Mithöfer, 2015). Others have gone beyond determinants and examined the effects of market participation on income, food security, and poverty (Muriithi & Matz, 2015;Ogutu & Qaim, 2019;Radchenko & Corral, 2018). Yet, to our knowledge, none of these studies considered the associated benefits of different market choices (rural and urban) on food security and welfare of smallholder farmers, with the exception of a study by Montalbano, Pietrelli, and Salvatici (2018). In this study, a household was considered to have participated in the market if they sold any amount of cowpea.We add to the growing literature on market participation in the following ways. First, unlike many previous studies on market participation which use the traditional discrete choice of market participation versus nonparticipation, this study uses a continuous variable, the quantity of cowpea sold, as an indicator of market participation. This enables us to measure the impact of the level or intensity of market participation on our indicators of food security (household dietary diversity [HDD] and food expenditure per capita) and household income per capita. Further, taking advantage of the continuous nature of our treatment variable, we assess the impact of cowpea market participation by estimating dose-response functions and their derivatives, the marginal treatment effects. Marginal treatment effects estimate the heterogeneous returns to market participation (Radchenko & Corral, 2018). Second, we examine the farmers' decisions of pursuing different market choices in the cowpea value chain. Specifically, we consider whether selling cowpea to rural traders or urban wholesalers/traders has a positive effect on HDD, food expenditure per capita (hereafter referred to as food expenditure), and household income per capita (hereafter referred to as household income). This is especially important in view of the scantiness of the literature on grain assembly in rural Africa, making it difficult for policymakers to better understand the effects of grain assembly on rural farm households (Sitko & Jayne, 2014). To achieve these objectives, we used instrumental variable (IV) techniques to a unique and comprehensive household-level data involving a nationally representative sample of over 1,500 cowpea farmers in Nigeria. The IV technique allowed us to control for both observed and unobserved characteristics that would otherwise bias our results.In summary, the main aim of the study was to examine the impact of cowpea market participation on household food security and income. Specifically, this study was done to understand the associated benefits of different market choices on food security and welfare of smallholder farmers. This information has particularly been lacking in the literature.The rest of the article is organized as follows. The following section briefly describes the structure of the cowpea market in Nigeria, followed by the empirical framework and data collection procedure. In this section, we outline the empirical models used to estimate the impact of cowpea market participation on HDD, food expenditure, and household income. The penultimate section presents the empirical results and discussion, and Section 4 draws conclusions and describes the implications of the results for policy.Nigeria is the largest cowpea producer in the world as well as the largest consumer and importer of cowpea in Africa (Alene & Manyong, 2007;Langyintuo et al., 2003;Mishili et al., 2009). The crop is important for small-scale farmers in terms of soil fertility management, and sources of cash income, high-quality protein food, and fodder for animals (Kristjanson, Okike, Tarawali, Singh, & Manyong, 2005;Mishili et al., 2009;Singh, Ehlers, Sharma, & Filho, 2002).The cowpea value chain 2 comprises traders that ensure the movement of grain from rural markets to urban wholesale markets and finally to consumer markets (Mishili et al., 2009). Most of the cowpea production is sold as grain although some cowpeas are purchased as green pods at harvest time, and in some regions, the leaves are eaten as greens (Mishili et al., 2009). In most cases, farmers sell their marketable surplus cowpea either in small quantities to rural assemblers and commission agents, who aggregate them into 100 kg bags which are then sold to urban wholesalers or sometimes sold in large quantities directly to urban wholesalers (Langyintuo et al., 2003;Lowenberg-DeBoer & Ibro, 2008;Mishili et al., 2009). The center for cowpea trade in Nigeria, which also happens to be the largest cowpea market in the world, is Dawanau market located in Kano state. The traders in Dawanau market support a well-developed collection system throughout northern Nigeria where they provide credit to buyers in local markets. The local traders buy cowpea in small quantities, which are later aggregated and stored until transported to Kano (Lowenberg-DeBoer & Ibro, 2008). A large quantity of cowpea sold by farmers in north central Nigeria pass through the Dawanau market where independent grain and cowpea traders operate (Langyintuo et al., 2003).In this trading system, rural traders play a vital role in buying cowpea from markets in remote areas which may not be accessible by the bigger traders in the urban areas. Notwithstanding, most studies argue that rural traders usually exploit farmers by offering them low prices. For example, Sitko and Jayne (2014) noted that most people have the view that unreliable market access conditions compel farmers to sell their produce to village-level grain assemblers who exploit their lack of formal markets by offering prices that are below the cost of production. In this study, we aim to assess whether selling to rural and urban traders influences the welfare of smallholder cowpea farmers in Nigeria.To assess the impact of cowpea market participation on HDD, food expenditure, and household income, we estimated the following linear equation where Y i represents the outcome variables (household dietary diversity scores [HDDS], 3 food expenditure, and household income), T i is our treatment variable, market participation represented by the quantity of cowpea sold, X i is the vector of control variables, and ε i is the random disturbance term. The parameter of interest is β i which measures the effect of cowpea market participation on our outcome variables. Market participation can be modeled as where Z i is a vector of the determinants of market participation. T i is, however, potentially endogenous such that the cov (T i , ε i ) ≠ 0. To correct this, we employed the IV regression that accounts for unobserved characteristics, yielding unbiased and consistent estimates. This, however, requires identifying an IV that satisfies the orthogonality condition (i.e., a variable that is strongly correlated with the level of market participation but not directly correlated with our outcome variables). Following Rao and Qaim (2011) and Rao, Brümmer, and Qaim (2012), we used the availability of public transportation in the village as an IV or exclusive restriction. Public transportation is likely to increase market participation, and this is plausible because in most cases, farmers must deliver their products themselves to the cowpea market. We therefore included the availability of public transportation in Zi.To test whether the instrument is relevant, we used the Anderson canonical correlations test (Baum, Schaffer, & Stillman, 2007).In addition to the IV approach outlined above, we also estimated the dose-response functions (DRFs) and their derivatives (marginal treatment effects) following Cerulli (2015). Unlike previous DRFs models, for example, Bia and Mattei (2008) which require the normality assumption to be satisfied, this model does not need the full normality assumption, and it is well-suited when many individuals have a treatment level of zero (Cerulli, 2015). For the sake of brevity, we do not present the estimation niceties of the DRF model, but Cerulli (2015) gives an overt description of the model.To test whether selling to rural or urban traders influences HDD, food expenditure, and household income, we used the control function approach (Rivers & Vuong, 1988;Wooldridge, 2015). Unlike the cowpea market participation indicator, which was a continuous variable, the decisions of whether to sell to rural or urban traders are dummy variables; hence, we used the appropriate modeling procedure that considers the binary nature of our indicator variables. We can redefine Equation 2 as where Z i is a vector of the determinants of the decision to sell to rural traders and urban traders; 1 [.] is an indicator function whose value is 1 if the statement inside the brackets is true, and 0 otherwise. Note that in this study, rural traders are defined as those traders who buy cowpea within the farmers' village/markets. Urban traders on the other hand are defined (1)as traders who buy cowpea directly from farmers and rural traders in the main district markets. Denoting the observed HDD, food expenditure, and household income of the participants in the rural or urban market and nonparticipants by Y i0 and Y i1 , then we can specify the potential outcomes as where X i is defined as above (Equation 1), β represent the parameters to be estimated, and μ i0 is unobserved random component. The observed treatment and outcome can be expressed as T i in Equation 6 is also potentially endogenous and this may arise because of unobserved heterogeneity, reverse causality, or measurement error, leading to biased estimates (Ogutu et al., 2019;Ogutu & Qaim, 2019). That is, the treatment variable T i may be correlated with the error terms in Equations 4 and 5. To break the correlation between the possibly endogenous treatment variable and unobservables affecting the outcome variable, we used the IV control function approach (CFA). In addition to the instrument mentioned above, we included ownership of donkey/ ox cart in the rural trader model as an additional exclusion restriction. Donkey/ox carts are importantin northern Nigeria where livestock rearing is an integral part of the farming system. Since they are usually used in the transportation of crop produce to the market, we envisage that this variable is correlated with our treatment variable but not directly with the outcome variables.The estimation of the CFA proceeds in two steps. In the first step, we estimated a probit model of the choice to sell cowpea to rural or urban traders (Equation 3, including the instruments) and obtained the generalized residuals. The predicted residuals were then included as additional covariates in the second-stage regression of the outcome variables (Equation 6). Since the outcome variables-HDD, food expenditure, and household income-are all continuous variables, we estimated the outcome equations using ordinary least squares regression (OLS). The final estimate that we get is the average treatment effect on the treated ATT, that is, the effect for only those households who sold their marketable surplus to rural and urban traders.The data for this study came from a nationally representative sample survey of 1,525 cowpea producing households conducted in 2017 by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) under the Tropical Legumes III project. A survey questionnaire was designed using computerassisted personal interviewing (CAPI) based software called Surveybe and administered by trained enumerators who collected data from households through personal interviews. The survey targeted 10 states-Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara-which represent about 75% of the total cowpea production in Nigeria. These states mainly fall within the Sudan Savanna, which is the major agro-ecological zone for cowpea production in Nigeria. A multistage stratified sampling procedure was used to select the households. In the first stage, the 10 states were grouped into two geopolitical regions-three states in northeast and seven states in northwest. Only three states were considered (Borno, Bauchi, and Gombe) from the northeast region due to the security problems experienced in other states in the region during the survey. A list of villages and Local Government Areas (LGAs) located in the 10 states of the two regions was obtained from the National Population Commission (NPC).In the second stage, 25 and 13 LGAs were selected in each region using probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling. In the third stage, five cowpea producing villages were then randomly selected from each of the selectedLGAs. Following the selection of the villages, a sampling frame was developed for cowpea-growing households in the selected villages with the help of the extension agents from the Agricultural Development Programs (ADPs). In the final stage, eight households were randomly selected from each selected village resulting in a total sample of 1,525 households (995 households in the northwest region and 530 households in the northeast region). 4  The survey collected valuable information on the socioeconomic characteristics of the sample households, quantity of cowpea sold, marketing costs, and type of traders to whom farmers sell their produce.Table 1 shows the definitions and descriptive statistics of the key variables in our study. Our market participation variable is represented by quantity of cowpea sold. Results indicate that on average households sold about 633 kg of cowpea to various players in the market with about 48% of them selling to rural traders and 15% to urban wholesalers. Considering that the average production in our sample was 927 kg, the results suggest that over 60% of the households sold their cowpea. The proportion of cowpea sold was much higher (4) than that reported by Gondwe et al. (2017) in Zambia and Mignouna et al. (2016) in Nigeria.The outcome variables used in the study are the HDD and food expenditure which are proxies for food security , and the total household income , a proxy for the welfare of the farm households. The household HDD was constructed following the guidelines provided by Kennedy, Ballard, and Dop (2010). During the survey, households were asked to mention the food items they consumed in the past 7 days ranging from cereals, vegetables, proteins to beverages and condiments. These food items were classified into 12 food groups, each with a score of 1. According to Kennedy et al. (2010), the HDD is a qualitative measure of food consumption that reflects household access to a variety of foods and is also a proxy for nutrient adequacy of the diet of individuals. It is also meant to reflect the economic ability of a household to access a variety of foods. Table 1 shows that the HDD ranged from 0 to 12 with a mean value of about 9. This implies that on average, most of the households had reasonably good access to a variety of foods. Food expenditure is an important measure of food security as it is an indicator of economic vulnerability, that is, it approximates the losses experienced when food prices rise (Lele, Masters, Kinabo, & Meenakshi, 2016;Moltedo, Troubat, Lokshin, & Sajaia, 2014;Smith & Subandoro, 2007). Food expenditure includes the total food purchased by the household, the consumption of food produced by the household, and any food received by the household either through aid or in kind. The results show that on average, households spent ₦78,425 on food purchases, accounting for two-thirds of the household income. The average household income was about ₦116,546. Household income which is an indicator of farmers' well-being includes income from crops, livestock and livestock products, and off-farm income (e.g., salaries, remittances, farm labor wage income, pension income, and income from business). Table 1 further presents the household characteristics such as age, sex, education, cultivated land, number of adults in the household, and access to off-farm income. About 96% of the sample households were male headed, with about 4% of the households attending junior secondary school education. The number of adult members of the household between the ages of 15 and 59 is used as a proxy for household labor endowment. On average, each household had about seven adult members. Almost 85% of the sample households had access to off-farm income. Off-farm income is an indication of the dependence on off-farm employment in the household's community and among neighboring communities and may affect the individual household's labor allocation and cash earnings (Smale & Mason, 2014). Kinship, number of years the head of the household has been living in this village, friends or relatives in leadership positions in formal or informal institutions and member of formal and informal groups/institutions are all important indicators of social capital. About 59% of the households owned a radio. Radio ownership is important especially for the decision to participate in markets because radio ownership can facilitate access to production, market and price information (Olwande et al., 2015). Following Aguilar, Carranza, Goldstein, Kilic, & Oseni, (2015), we constructed a wealth index using principal component analysis (PCA) in which we considered all the assets owned by the household such bicycles, motorbikes cars, and television sets.Households with more assets are expected to participate in the market more fully than those with fewer assets. Previous studies have shown that improved cowpea varieties out yield local varieties, implying that a household's marketable surplus can be influenced by productivity (Kamara et al., 2010;Olwande et al., 2015). To capture this, we included an improved cowpea adoption dummy, which shows that about 42% of the households planted improved cowpea varieties in the 2016 cropping season. In participating in the input and output markets, households also incur transaction costs (Alene et al., 2008;Barrett, 2008;Olwande et al., 2015). The average one-way transport cost to the main market, distance to the village market, and distance from the homestead to farm are proxies for transaction costs incurred by farmers in transporting their produce to the market. It takes an average of 43 min for farmers to transport produce to the nearest village markets. Lastly, about 62% of the households had access to public transport and about 15% owned donkey/ox carts.Table 2 shows the outcome variables disaggregated by cowpea market participation. Note in Table 2, market participation is defined by a discrete choice variable and not continuous variable. The results indicate that cowpea market participants had higher food expenditures and incomes as compared to their nonparticipants. Participants spent about ₦11,736 more on food purchases than nonparticipants. Similarly, cowpea market participants had on average ₦18,867 more income than nonparticipants. While these results may suggest that cowpea market participation can be beneficial to the households, it will be misleading to conclude that market participation had impact on food expenditure and household income since descriptive analysis does not control for both observed and unobserved characteristics. To effectively assess its impact, we turn to multivariate analysis presented in the subsequent sections.We estimated the impact of cowpea market participation on HDD, food expenditure, and household income considering both observed and unobserved characteristics using an instrumental variable regression outlined in Section 2. But first, we estimated the determinants of cowpea market participation using ordinary least squares (OLS), and the results are presented in Table A1 5 in the appendix. Availability of public transport in the village is the instrumental variable used in the estimation. The availability of public transport in the village is expected to influence market participation without directly affecting our impact variables, making it a good candidate to be used as instrument. Results in Table A1 show that the availability of public transport in the villages is an important determinant of level of participation in the cowpea market, suggesting that it can be a relevant instrument to identify our IV model. The Anderson canonical correlations likelihoodratio test of whether the equation is identified, that is, that the excluded instruments are relevant is reported in Table 3 and shows a rejection of the null hypothesis, suggesting that the model is identified and that the instrument is relevant.Table 3 shows the results from our IV model from Equation 1. Specifically, the first row of Table 3 shows the impact of quantity of cowpea sold on HDD, food expenditure, and household income. The results indicate that cowpea market participation significantly increasd HDD, food expenditure, and household income. A 10% increase in the quantity of cowpea sold increases the food expenditure and income by 1.6% and 0.7%, respectively. These results are consistent with the results found by Montalbano et al. (2018) and Muriithi and Matz (2015) who found that maize and vegetable market participation increased food consumption, nutrition and total household income in Uganda and Kenya, respectively.To evaluate the effect of cowpea market participation over the entire sample of the distribution, we also estimated the dose-response functions. The dose-response functions in a way can also be viewed as a robustness check for the IV results since the functions are estimated based on observed characteristics and ignore the unobserved characteristics. Coupled with the DRFs, we also estimated the derivatives of the DRFs, that is, the marginal treatment effects to capture the heterogeneity in treatment effects. Figure 1 shows the estimated dose-response functions (average treatment effect) of cowpea market participation on HDD, food expenditure , and household income . Each estimated DRF is accompanied by 1% confidence bands. The x-axis shows the dose, which is the quantity of cowpea sold, scaled to be between 0 and 100 while the y-axis measures the average treatment effect (ATE). The results show that as the amount of cowpea sold increases, so do the HDD, food expenditure, and household income. The results show that food expenditure increases from below zero to a maximum of around ₦25,000 with an increase in the quantity of cowpea sold. Likewise, household income increases, reaching a maximum of about ₦140,000 with an increase in the amount of cowpea sold. These results are quite consistent with the IV results presented in Table 3.The marginal treatment effects graphs (Figure A1 in the appendix) show that the returns to cowpea market participation are heterogeneous, and generally, the conclusions are comparable to the DRFs. The slopes of all the MTE curves are positive, indicating positive selection bias, that is, cowpea market participation is most effective in increasing HDD, food expenditure, and household income for farmers who sold a larger amount of cowpea. This is consistent with the results found by Manda, Khonje, Alene, and Gondwe (2017) for groundnuts in Zambia and Wossen et al. (2018) for cassava in Nigeria. To fully understand the benefits of participating in the cowpea market, we analyzed the effect of the farmers' choice of either selling to rural traders or urban wholesalers on the same outcome variables as above. We estimated an instrumented control function model as outlined in Section 2. We used the availability of public transport as an instrument to identify the urban trader choice model. To identify the rural trader choice model, we included the variable, ownership of donkey/ox carts in addition to the availability of public transport variable for reasons explained above. Tables A2  and A3 in the appendix present the results of the endogeneity tests for the treatment variables. We performed a Wald test to determine whether the estimated correlations between the treatment-assignment and potential-outcome models were different from zero. The null hypothesis is that the correlations are jointly zero and rejection of the null hypothesis suggests endogeneity. Results in Table A3 show that we can reject the null hypothesis of no endogeneity at 10% and 5% for the HDD, food expenditure, and income equations, implying that without controlling for this endogeneity, our results would be biased. This provides the justification for using the instrumented control function approach. Even though our main objective was to assess the benefits of either choice of the market, we discuss briefly the determinants of the choice of whether to sell to rural or urban traders in Table 4 (first stage control function results). 6 Results in Table 4 show that the determinants of the decision of whether to participate in the rural or urban markets are different in terms of both magnitude and direction. For instance, participation in urban markets increases with the age of the household head. Livestock ownership increases the participation in rural markets but reduces participation in the urban markets.Age of the household head −0.00 (0.00) −0.00 (0.00)Sex of the household head −0.17 (0.17 This is probably because livestock is usually used to transport produce to village markets where in most cases the roads are in bad conditions and public transportation is not available.On the other hand, in urban areas, transportation of produce to the market can easily be done using public transport because generally the roads are in better conditions than those in the rural areas. Likewise, access to off-farm income has a positive effect on the decision to sell to rural traders and has a negative effect on urban market participation. Generally, the social capital variables had statistically significant effects on the decision to sell to rural traders while insignificant for the urban traders. The distance to the nearest market had a positive effect on the decision to sell to rural traders and negative on the urban traders. This is probably because of high transaction costs associated with transporting the marketable surplus to the market. Most of the village markets are near farmers' residences while those in urban markets are quite distant from the farmers' residences. Previous studies (e.g., Alene et al., 2008;Barrett, 2008;Renkow, Hallstrom, & Karanja, 2004) have shown that transaction costs (e.g., distance to the nearest market) prevent some of the farmers from participating in the market and in our case, prevents farmers from accessing urban markets offered by the urban wholesalers. Finally, our instrumental variables were statistically significant in explaining the decision to sell to the rural and urban traders. After controlling for observed and unobserved characteristics, the impact of the choice of whom to sell cowpea (i.e., either to rural or urban traders) from the control function model is presented in Table 5 below. The results show that selling to rural traders increases HDD by 38%, food expenditure and household income by 17%, each. Similarly, selling to urban traders increased HDD by 55%, food expenditure by 16%, and household income increased by 13%. The magnitudes of the percentage increase were not very different between the two market outlets. These results are consistent with other studies (e.g., Asfaw, Lipper, Dalton, & Audi, 2012;Montalbano et al., 2018;Sibhatu et al., 2015;Stifel & Minten, 2017) which indicate that market access/participation increases the dietary diversity and well-being of farm households. There are two major pathways through which market participation can affect dietary diversity. One pathway is through an increase in agricultural production, followed by more marketable surplus and income. Market participation leads to an increase in agricultural production which in turn leads to more marketable surplus (Stifel & Minten, 2017). The market surplus increases income for farmers which consequently increase their ability to buy more diverse foods from the market (Sibhatu et al., 2015). The other pathway is through transaction cost reduction followed by more marketable surplus and income. That is, participation in the local markets provided by rural traders reduces the transaction costs associated with the marketing of cowpea produce, which in turn leads to more marketable surplus and more income for farmers which consequently increase their ability to buy more diverse foods from the market (Sibhatu et al., 2015). On the flip side, lack of local market access increases transaction costs and leads to less marketable agricultural surplus, thus resulting in less food and fewer food items purchased (Stifel & Minten, 2017).This study estimated the impact of cowpea market participation on household dietary diversity, food expenditure per adult equivalent, and household income per capita using data from a nationally representative sample of over 1,500 farm households in northern Nigeria. We used a combination of instrumental variable techniques and dose-response functions to achieve our objective. Using the quantity of cowpea sold as an indicator of cowpea market participation, we found that on average farmers sold about 633 kg of cowpea to various cowpea traders. The results from our study also showed that, ceteris paribus, cowpea market participation significantly increased household dietary diversity, food expenditure, and household income, consistent with other studies on market participation and commercialization of agricultural produce. Cowpea market participation increased food expenditure by 1.6% and household income by 0.7% with a 10% increase in the amount of cowpea sold. The results suggest that the contribution of cowpea market participation to household income led to higher food expenditures and a more diversified diet. The effects on income and expenditure are plausible and consistent with other studies, considering that we only looked at cowpea. Ogutu et al. (2019) for instance examined the impact of agricultural commercialization (including crops and livestock), on income and poverty in Kenya. They found that commercialization increased income by 17% and reduced the prevalence of poverty by 5.1 percentage points. Similar results were obtained by Radchenko and Corral (2018) on food security in Malawi and Seng (2016) in Cambodia. Unlike other studies which have not explored the benefits of different markets channels of smallholder market participation on household food security and income, we showed in this study that selling cowpea to rural traders on average increased food security as measured by the household dietary diversity scores by 38% while selling to urban traders increased food security by 55%. Specifically, the results suggest that farmers who sold to urban traders had more diversified diets than those who sold to rural traders. In urban areas, there is usually variety of foods that are available for purchase as compared to rural areas where there is a limited choice; hence, the likelihood of households who had to travel to urban areas to sell their cowpea of having a diversified diet is higher than those who sold within the rural areas. Contrary to the common view that rural traders exploit small-scale farmers, results show that selling cowpea to rural traders on average increased household income by 17% while selling cowpea to urban traders increased by 13%. Rural traders are economic agents performing a function for which they are being remunerated, and at the same time, this function provides benefits to farmers as shown by our results. The results from this study show that these traders can be one of the solution to the seemingly nonexistent structured grain markets in rural areas. In most parts of the rural northern Nigeria, the road infrastructure is not in a good condition, making it very difficult for farmers to access distant urban markets. It also makes it very difficult for farmers to access market information from extension agents. Rural traders fill in these gaps by providing local stable market-outlet services, lowered search and transport costs and through interlinked contracts and may provide credit, inputs, and information (Kassie, Jaleta, Shiferaw, Mmbando, & Mekuria, 2013;Sitko & Jayne, 2014). It is therefore important for the government to recognize that rural traders also play an important role in the marketing of agricultural produce and to create an enabling environment in which commodity traders are encouraged to participate in the cowpea market. Precisely, the provision of credit facilities would greatly encourage these traders to buy produce even from hard to reach areas where most of the big traders are not present. Second, availability of public transportation is important in encouraging farmers to access urban markets; hence, public infrastructure investments in the form of feeder road construction and maintenance in the distant villages are encouraged, which in the long run can translate into improved cowpea productivity and welfare of smallholder farmers in not only Nigeria, but sub-Saharan Africa as a whole where market access is particularly a problem.| 15 of 17 MANDA et Al.  ","tokenCount":"5691"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"39af61eaa1044f1c13ea6ddb9ef98601","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H026013.pdf","id":"834846742"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"b41ecfee-31ce-48b8-b328-0f5e3402cbb7","pagecount":"5","content":"The farmers in Punjab, especially in the southern part, are faced with constraints of low agricultural productivity due to utfit ground water. Besides, Bahawalnag? district is almost situated at tlie tail of the Puiijab's canal irrigation system. The only source of irrigation is the canal system. The performance of which has gone down over the years due to several economic and socio-political factors. In the given situation, neither the government nor the farmers alone cai. solve these problems. It was one of our long felt needs that the farmers should be organized to improve irrigated agriculture, a major source of our livelihood.There are five main criteria of selection:1 Hakra 4-R distributary comes under Fordwah Eastern Sadiqa South (FESS). It is a World Bank project on lining and drainage of canals. In addition, under this project, OFWM is doing the same organization work at Sirajwah distributary, so we coordinated with them for the organization of farmers. The farmers of the Distributary have diverse backgrounds such as local, Molijir and settlers etc.With little intervention by the agency, for development work there was an incentive for the farmers to be organized.It is a medium to large, 57-k.m long distributary with 124 irrigation outlets. The design discharge is 193 cusec, which was sanctioned in the 1966. The gross command area is 48250 acres and culturable coininand area is about 43400 acres. Presence of hydraulic structures, which would help the water users to monitor the discharge in terms of space and time '.These drop structures represent the five subsystems,The first sub-system falls from RD-0 to RD-46, with 25 irrigation outlets (Ghulab All zone); Tlie Second sub-system falls froin RD-46 to RD-72 with 24 irrigation outlets (Haroonabad Zone);The third subsysteni falls froin RD-72 to RD-112 (tail) with 27 irrigation outlets (Tail Zone);The fourth subsystem is 1Wininor with 15 irrigation outlets (Khatan Zone); Tlie fifth subsystem is 1R/ ininor with 33 irrigation outlets (1R Zone).The base line survey was conducted in thirteen sample watercourses, in July and August 1995. It covered socio economic and technical inforination of the area. The purpose of tlie base line survey was to use this information to interact with tlie water users for establishing the WUOs.Social Mobilization process is based on five dialogic steps. Each step is the base of next step. If one is weak then next cannot be obtained. It is iterative. Each step leads to tlie next step.The initial interactions with the people in tlie project area helped the field team to accomplish tlie following combination activities:Importance of the program; Explain tlie project objectives; Preliminary calibration exercise;Introduce llMl and its programs to the peopre;Collect or construct warabandi schedule; and ldetitificatioii of Social Organization Volunteers (SOVs)T1i process was launched froin September 1995 to May 1996. The purpose of tlie identification was to help tlie field team comprising of five members and to involve the community in the organization ivork. The internally generated demand for social organizatioii has a greater chance of making these organizations productive and sustainable. It was difficult for a small field team to interact with 4500 \\vater users, so 158 SOVs were identified. The selection of the SOVs was based on the following criteria:Referred by tlie majority; Knowledgeable; Honest; Educated;Have experience in spealung at public place; Already taking part in the collective action.The SOVs were trained for one day. In the training their role and interaction with the community was discussed.After the identification process, Series of the meetings were arranged. Here the SOVs were only the target. Tlie purpose of the meetings was to further clear their mind about the program and IIMI, so as they can interact with the community with great zeal and zest. Tlie role of the SOVs was also discussed in the meeting. The participation ratio in the meeting remained 70%. The process was four months.The meeting was held at the larger scale, at village level. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the tentative plan to establish water user organization, tiieiiiberslup of W A S , organizational structure and procedure for identifying organizational leaders. The meeting also worked as a follow up to the earlier awareness building meetings. The participation rate in the meeting was 39 %. This step was completed within the period of four months.A series of the meetings were conducted for discussing the process and finally taking the decisions for selecting the organizational leaders at watercourse level. There was considerable gap, [6][7][8] days, between the planing.and organizing of the meeting. The idea was to give maximum publicity and provide equal opportunity for all eligible water users to come forward for leadership. The average participation rate was 77 YO in the meeting. The members framed the informal coininittee that coniprised on 1 to 7 persons, with consensiis. They sent one person, who is the chairman of the committee, for the general body of the water user organization. The niiniber of general body of an organization (subsystem) depends upon the number of watercourses.The general body of each subsystem selected their own office-bearers, president, vice-president, general secretary, joint secretary, secretary information, and treasure. Each subsystem nominated five persons for federation members. This step took six niontlis to complete.The general body of 25 federation members in their two iiieetings selected five office-bearers 011 5 hlarch 1097. In this way, the organization process was completed.The approach fur social organizationThe approach was based on direct interaction with the community. Inforination was not one way, it was exchanged between SOs and community, SO and SOVs, SOVs and community and among commiinity niembers.Three tier organizational structure (WUAs, WUOs & WUF)First the farmers were organized at watercourse level into -124 WUAs, then they rvel-e orgaiii/ed at subsystem level covering five subsystems, a i d later they were federated at distributary le\\,el l'liet e were two main reasons of three tiered stnictures at the Hakra 4-R distributary. Firstly, 10 iiit,olve inaxiiniini water users in the irrigation management decision-making for the sustainability of the program. The office-bearers are comparatively inore active than the non-office-bearers. So in the three tiered structures, almost 600 hundred people collie ahead. If these office-bearers are active then there are inore chances of it sustainabilitySecondly, to increase tlie interaction among tlie water users, as the distributary is 57 kin long and it is very difficult for the headers and tail enders to interact with each other. Now they can interact easily through three tier organizational structure. ..1.2 . Disappointment among tlie community 3. and fanners Anarchy of legislation 6. Cultural Factors Propaganda by the people benefiting from status quo Low collaboration from relevant agencyThose people who were taking illegal benefits from the system started propagating against the activity. They not take part in collective action but get benefit fi-om it. They boosted the doubts a i d misinterpreted things. They propagated that meter would be installed on the outlets, privatization of the system and raise in water charges etc.This constraint is based on the past collective effort/actions and non-iinplementatioii of tlie programs. Some people related it with cooperatives and Uslier/Zakat where nominations are made from tlie top level and no value is given to public opinion. Therefore, some people were disinterest at the initial stagePeople were not sure of tlie implenientation of the program due to wide scale prevalence of corruption and political system. According to them tlie only solution was blood revolution.Low collaboration was only due to insecurity among tlie agency's staff. They thought that there was a chance of losing their jobs if the program is implemented. That's why they did participate in tlie farmers meetings.There was not any clear policy about the program due to lack of legislation. Tlie people felt it was useless without legal protection. If they organize themselves without recognition, tliere will be no incentive for tlie organization, so they showed disinterest initially.It is in our tradition to value tlie elder's role, to be lethargic, to ignore tenants and to build \"Chtidraht\" or izzat (class status). The reason for low participation rate (10% to 40%) in tlie meetings was that mostly people thought they were supposed to obey the elders' decisions and also \\vliat one committed on others behalf, would be acceptable to others. People wanted to show their \"Cliudrat\" status at all costs during site selection and selection of office-bearers. It happened only at few watercourses.Organize tlie workshop at initial stages and define the role of relevant operating agency. Also clear people's doubts by niaking them aware that joint management improves the system without damaging their interests.As it is a novel experience, there is need to publicize it through mass media. Tell people about the importance of the program, so they participate in the process with great zeal zest.The size should be manageable, so the SO can interact with the coniniunity regularly to avoid the mmors and keep it well aware about the existing situation.For the effectiveness of an organization, legal protection is very important. If an organization makes a decision, there should be legal protection for its implementation.The best way is the democratic way. It is nice if the process is completed with consensus, or through the election. The democratic way is the only way for the sustainability of the organization.We should m,&e the process free from the politics contacts. Agriculture is the backbone of our economy, so we should at least avoid politics and brotheryism.","tokenCount":"1549"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"d5aa5f865fa8195d1b4671cefa891043","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/db90efe4-a17d-4f1f-ba1c-5ccfeaa0397c/retrieve","id":"1615514643"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"d12bbcf1-c38d-4dba-b2f5-56fc24b448ab","pagecount":"33","content":"One of the major underlying reasons for poor agricultural performance in East and Southern Africa (ESA) is the low efficiency of agricultural value chains and lack of resilience against climate shocks. Many agricultural value chains are fragmented and characterized by instability of relationships between offtakers and smallholder and emerging farmers. The ones that suffer the most from these inefficiencies and threats are the farmers. There are significant hurdles to farmers and market systems. These include access to affordable inputs, advisories, logistics, finance, and market linkages. Agribusinesses are addressing these challenges through their products and services, and supporting farmers to improve productivity, incomes, and resilience to climate change. This is particularly important in East and Southern Africa, where farmers are engaged in maize production which is vulnerable to climate change and projected to face not only 15% climate-related declines in yield without adaptation, but also challenges from diminished cropland suitability and poor agronomic inputs and management; degraded environmental bases with declining soil fertility and degraded water systems 1 .The mission of Ukama Ustawi is to support developments that transform the ESA agrifood system through sustainable intensification to maize-mixed systems and crop diversification to de-risk other systems. In addition, to a) empower more women and young farmers, agribusiness owners, and value chain actors; b) promote healthier diets; and c) protect the natural environment from further degradation.Against this backdrop and based on what has already been conceptualized 2 , the goal of this project is to support Ukama Ustawi design a Climate-smart Agriculture (CSA) accelerator programme that can be implemented in East and Southern Africa. The overall objective of Ukama Ustawi is to develop an accelerator programme that is demand-driven, responsive to market needs, inclusive of gender and youth and targets high-growth, high-impact agribusinesses that require technical assistance and links to financing to strengthen food systems and advance sustainable and inclusive growth. The programme, named Food Systems Accelerator, will achieve this through 3 main areas to be implemented across select focus countries in East and Southern Africa over the duration of the initiative (2022 -2024):2.1. Provision of CSA Technical Assistance (TA): to provide agribusinesses with coordinated and specialized evidence-based TA support that encourages adoption and/or strengthens their CSA practices, as well as addresses concrete ecosystem challenges. CSA TA supports de-risking of agribusinesses (especially those involved in production) and improves their bankability. This TA support will be provided by CGIAR network of scientists.2.2. Provision of Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) Technical Assistance: Understanding how to effectively measure and manage impact is critical to ensuring agribusinesses achieve their desired result in contributing towards positive environmental and social impact. Companies use this data to improve business performance, identify areas where value can be created and make better decisions to maximise positive impact while minimising negative impact. Further, IMM strengthens the position of a company for investment by impact and/or responsible investors. This training will be provided by CGIAR network of experts.Assistance: Funding provides crucial resources that enable businesses to develop new products, expand production capacity and access new markets. Securing financing (especially from the private sector) is an essential step in establishing a foundation for long-term growth and sustainability. However, businesses must be investment ready to secure funding. Management teams must understand their growth plans and financing needs to ensure that new funding supports, rather than hinders, their path to sustainability. Further, they must understand how to position their business to potential investors and be equipped to negotiate with them. This TA support will be provided by IFDC-2SCALE and its network. Ultimately, by the end of 2024 Ukama Ustawi would have accelerated up to 30 agribusinesses (40% run by women and 40% by youth) and facilitated links to at least USD 5 million of new finance, that has been unlocked and invested, or in the process of being invested through debt, equity, or grants.The CGIAR Food Systems Accelerator is a work package in the Ukama Ustawi (UU) regional initiative of the CGIAR. The Initiative aims to support climate-resilient agriculture and livelihoods in 12 countries in East and Southern Africa by helping millions of smallholders intensify, diversify, and reduce the risks in maize-based farming through improved extension services, small and medium enterprise development, supporting governance frameworks and increased investment with a gender and social inclusion lens.The International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) is a public international organization addressing critical issues such as international food security, the alleviation of global hunger and poverty, environmental protection and the promotion of economic development and self-sufficiency. IFDC focuses on increasing productivity across the agricultural value chain in developing countries. This is achieved by the creation and transfer of effective and environmentally sound crop nutrient technology and agribusiness expertise. The IFDC-2SCALE program, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, is one of the most innovative incubator programs for inclusive agribusiness in sub-Saharan Africa.2SCALE develops a portfolio of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in several (10-15) target countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These partnerships aim to promote inclusive business in agriculture, through support to value chain development, agribusiness cluster formation and enabling business environments. The agribusiness cluster approach is designed to help rural smallholders move from subsistence farming to farming as a business and to supply agricultural products for local, national, regional, and international markets. The project partners with national and multinational agri-food companies as drivers to increase productivity and to improve efficiency and sustainability of supported agribusiness clusters and value chains. Specific attention is given to job creation (including for the youth), women entrepreneurship and \"base of the pyramid\" (BoP) consumers and producers; the latter are most people and therefore the largest market for food products in sub-Saharan Africa.In a world of abundant liquidity, access to finance to invest in working capital, capital expenditure and expansion for regional and international trade is increasingly challenging to procure for a wide range of cash-intensive business activities, and especially for agri-businesses in Africa. Private sector funders have a high perception of sector and country risk and do not have the ability to assess and manage these risks. Insufficient market data and high transaction costs hinder private sector's investment in agribusinesses.This concept paper will leverage on the breadth of agriculture financing expertise and experience to codesign a science-based accelerator programme with the Ukama Ustawi project team. This accelerator will address some of the challenges in unlocking investment by identifying high-impact and inclusive bankable businesses in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia, and de-risk them through the provision of technical assistance and grants. It will also be used as a practice guide to operationalize sciencebased accelerator programmes across Africa.5.1. Science-based -the accelerator leverages the portfolio of CGIAR innovations as well as the expertise of a wide network of international researchers from various disciplines. Agriculture and food systems knowledge is combined with social sciences to create systemic change while considering commercial parameters to ensure business success.5.2. Focus on Climate-smart Agriculture -CSA as a sector remains relatively underexplored in the agriculture funding landscape despite the potential of adaptive and mitigation effects to create stronger and more sustainable value chains 3 . Part of the challenge relates to the commercial viability of solutions compared to tried and tested alternatives. Apart from providing investment readiness support, this accelerator programme focuses on strengthening food, land and water systems through a value chain approach and the CSA practices of agribusinesses, de-risking them through provision of bespoke technical assistance from highly qualified experts and creating a strong investment pipeline of highimpact, high-growth companies. 5.3. Provides Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) technical support -the accelerator programme supports agribusinesses to effectively measure and manage impact which is critical to ensuring they achieve their desired result in contributing towards positive environmental and social impact. Companies use this data to improve business performance, identify areas where value can be created and make better decisions to maximise positive impact while minimising negative impact. Further, IMM strengthens the position of a company for investment by impact and/or responsible investors.5.4. Provides Investment Readiness technical assistance -supporting agribusinesses understand their growth plans and financing and how to position their business to potential investors and be equipped to negotiate with them. 5.5. Promoting gender, youth, and social inclusion -targeting female and youth-led agribusinesses, as well as strengthening gender and inclusion within business operations. 5.6. De-risking grant -following the conclusion of the accelerator programme and pitch day (demo day), companies with the top four scores will receive a grant of USD 20,000 each according to their business scaling plans. 5.7. Access to investor network, mentors, and experts -through networking events and technical assistance, agribusinesses will gain access to public and private investors, commercial partners, and industry experts. 5.8. PR and marketing support through existing marketing platforms for agribusinesses already working with Ukama Ustawi (e.g., Shamba Shape Up) and IFDC-2SCALE. The accelerator team will explore opportunities for PR and marketing support. 5.9. Access to Alumni Network and peer learning supportAs part of the first cohort, the Food Systems Accelerator will onboard 10 agribusinesses from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia that are aligned with the following priority areas: sustainable intensification of production through (i) Mechanization and Irrigation and (ii) Conservation Agriculture, (iii) improving Nutrition through crops that diversify from maize and promote alternative staples, legumes and other food and cash crops and add-value or process those crops and (iv) managing agriculture risks (Agriculture Risk Management) through access to financial services and adoption of climate information services. Applicants must be working with smallholder farmers as partners either by sourcing produce from them and/or customers by providing products and services to them. They must be for-profit, with at least 2 years of operations, legally registered with the relevant documentation, post revenue with paying customers, a demonstrated business case and commercially viable. Finally, applicants must have a need to scale and accelerate innovative and transformative climate solutions that make the food system more inclusive and resilient. To attract the most promising inclusive agribusinesses, the programme will leverage both physical and digital channels. This approach ensures that the search is inclusive and exhaustive, reaching agribusinesses that may not have a strong online presence.The Call for Applications will be a competitive application process that will be hosted digitally by VC4A.A dedicated campaign page for the Call for Applications will be created, including documents for download with additional information per priority area. There will be weekly reports on the progress of applications, and a final report when the application period ends. See Annex 2.1. for the Call for Application campaign and Annex 2.2. for the application form.With input from the IFDC-2SCALE team, VC4A will:• Set up the campaign page • Set up the application form page • Monitor the application process and provide insights on progress from the data • Provide an online adjudication tool for the selection process • Support promotion of the programme • Support post-selection cohort promotionIn addition to the promotional activities provided by VC4A, the IFDC-2Scale and CGIAR team will advertise the Call for Applications through the following channels to attract agribusinesses:6.2. Digital channels 6.2.1. Social media: sharing the Call for Application promotional material on 2SCALE, Ukama Ustawi and CGIAR social media pages such as: LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. The following are the CGIAR science centers that will be approached to assist with spreading the word: CIAT, IWMI, ILRI, CYMMYT and IITA. The Call will be shared three times per week from the launch date to the deadline. This will be coordinated by the 2SCALE team for their social media pages, including those of their partners. CGIAR team will coordinate for their social media pages.6.2.2. Ecosystem partners: promoting the Call by engaging key ecosystem partners to share the promotional materials with their mailing lists, in their newsletters, community sites and forums. See Annex 2.3. for partners that the Food System Accelerator will approach:6.3. Physical channels 6.3.1. Sending the Call promotional materials to selected networks and business associations on the ground to share with their members.6.3.2. Leveraging IFDC-2SCALE's large pipeline of agribusinesses to prospect opportunities. The following organizations will be instrumental: IFDC Global, IFDC ESA, 2SCALE, SNV, BoP Inc, ICRA, PrC amongst others 6.3.3. Leveraging Ukama Ustawi and CGIAR's network of agribusiness to prospect opportunities. The following science centers and initiatives will be approached to share within their networks: CIAT, IWMI, CYMMYT, IITA, PABRA, AICCRA and ClimBeR.The Call for Applications will be launched on 23 rd November 2022 and the deadline of submissions will be 23:59hrs CAT on the 22 nd of December 2022. The campaign will last for 4 weeks.This selection process will involve the following steps:The total applications received will be reviewed by the accelerator's core team members represented by 2SCALE and CGIAR UU WP 3 members. Members from the CGIAR Sustainable Finance team will support this step of the selection process.Shortlist applications to: 25 agribusinesses 7.2. Stage 2: Selecting 4 Agribusinesses to receive grant funding After the 10 agribusinesses selected for acceleration complete the 6-month programme, 4 agribusinesses from each of the target countries will be selected to receive grants and sign a partnership agreement. Each agribusiness will be scored against the following general criteria:• Full attendance of technical assistance training by member(s) of management team • Scoring of homework submissions (graded according to timeliness of submission, completeness, quality, and effort demonstrated) • Satisfactory performance of the enterprise participants in the technical assistance and agreed milestones.• Full attendance of networking events • Ability to showcase to judges and investors investment ready/scalable innovations • Pre-demo Day investor engagement activity scores • Live pitch at demo day scoresThe shortlisted applications will be reviewed by the accelerator's core internal team represented by 2SCALE, CGIAR UU WP 3 members and a panel of external experts. The external experts will be agribusiness experts from each of the target countries. A scoring tool will be developed and jointly reviewed by the core Food Systems Accelerator Team against the criteria above. A further screening on the areas below will provide more scores:• Ability of the innovation to scale Providing a needs-based and bespoke curriculum will assist the agribusinesses scale sustainably, increasing their impact, growing local economies, and reducing the risk of failure. As such, a quality technical assistance curriculum is an essential part of a successful accelerator programme.The Food Systems Accelerator programme curriculum will be guided by the needs of the agribusinesses in the cohort. The information for the needs assessment will be collected:• During the Call for Applications to get a general understanding of the applicant's needs • During onboarding of the cohort to get a more in-depth understanding of the agribusiness' needs However, given the experience of the core team we can generally anticipates the investment readiness needs to fall into some of the following areas:1. Technical Assistance -on IMM and CSA based on a CGIAR developed curriculum. 2. Business planning -understanding the importance of and how to build a business plan.3. Target market identification -understand your ideal customer and the size of the market opportunity, as well as how to identify opportunities to think bigger and scale to a larger audience. 4. Customer acquisition -learning how to engage key stakeholders. 5. Competition -understanding the competition that exists for your business, and how to use competitive analysis to identify and leverage your competitive advantages. 6. Identification of milestones and metrics -learning to create a plan for moving your business forward and identifying performance metrics that you will use to measure success. 7. Human Resource -build the organization chart for your business and identify when to hire, insource, outsource, as well as alignment to the company's overall vision and culture. 8. Governance -strengthen corporate governance of the company by learning how to build a board of directors, identifying and appointing Board of Directors, building a Board Charter and other key aspects. 9. Fundraising -learning how to determine how much financing is needed to achieve milestones and success and build a plan for investment funding. 10. Strategy and projections -building your growth plan and translating the company's business strategy into a financial forecast. Building an income statement, balance sheet and cashflow statement. 11. Accounting, legal, tax and other regulatory issues 12. Investor engagement -Building a pitch deck, identifying investors, how to pitch to investors, engaging with investors, negotiations and what to expect in a due diligence process.The Food Systems Accelerator Programme will offer technical assistance in three areas:8.1.1. Scientific excellence which will include:• Innovation specific climate-smart agriculture • Gender and social inclusion (GESI) -inclusion of GESI within company level, supply chain level and customer level 8.1.2. Investment Readiness which will include:• Fundraising -training on how to secure finance • Commercial sustainability -growing a business sustainably • Regulatory support -launching into exports, navigate industry regulatory issues, etc.There will be three phases of technical assistance delivery:8.1.4. Design and diagnostic: The technical team will organise an in-person design and diagnostic session for each of the agribusinesses within the cohort in February 2023. The design and diagnostic will identify the TA needs of the agribusinesses. The outputs of the design and diagnostics session will inform the design of the programme curriculum.8.1.5. Co-development: After the needs of the agribusinesses are identified, the technical team and the agribusinesses will co-design a curriculum and structure of TA delivery, including the number of sessions, duration, specific topics covered, type of trainers and the session outputs. Given the experience of the technical team we can generally anticipate 4 sessions per month for the period of implementation using a hybrid delivery method (both in-person and online), and a mix of group sessions for general trainings and one-on-one sessions per agribusiness for more specific needs. TA experts will receive a general guide and recommendations on how to best prepare for trainings and/or mentoring sessions from the accelerator team.8.1.6. Delivery: each agribusiness receives technical assistance along the 3 areas according to their identified needs. The accelerator programme will provide high-quality TA experts who have practical experience. Trainings will be execution-oriented with the agribusinesses delivering concrete results.There will be practical homework/assignments delivered monthly. These monthly milestones will be co-developed with the agribusinesses to ensure that the programme is not too demanding because the entrepreneurs need to work on their businesses. Monitoring of these milestones will be conducted monthly by the accelerator team.Some KPIs for each agribusiness will include:• Participating in all the training sessions • Completion of the homework/assignments given • Quality of completed homework/assignments • Timeliness of submission of homework/assignmentsCommunity building activities are an important aspect of an accelerator programme. Therefore, it is important to include community building services and activities within the programme. Besides all the formal training sessions, the Food System Accelerator will organise some community building activities.One important part of community building activities and post-programme support will be focused on alumni members i.e., all the agribusinesses that have successfully graduated from the Food Systems Accelerator programme. This is to maintain or enhance the agribusinesses' investment viability and provide more opportunities for business growth. In addition, satisfied agripreneurs are both the best promotors of the accelerator programme and a strong resource to build a great community.To build an alumni network, the Food Systems Accelerator programme will:• Build and maintain an alumni database • Organise annual networking gatherings between cohorts • Organise peer-to-peer mentoring: mentoring sessions between alumni members and incoming cohortsThe accelerator programme will offer the following post-programme support:• Fundraising support: invite successful graduates to participate in investor road shows • Presenting successful stories in the media: this will further promote the agribusinesses and the accelerator programme • Talent scouting: help alumni members attract talent and find key employees for their businessesOne of the key objectives of the Food Systems Accelerator is to link the agribusiness cohort to financing in the form of grants, equity, and debt. Therefore, the accelerator programme will:10.1. Identify -build and maintain a pipeline of suitable investors. This will include, leveraging both the existing network of IFDC-2SCALE and the investor mapping data in the market assessment conducted with Briter Bridges 4 to identify investors and financial institutions that are actively investing in agriculture in East and Southern Africa.The accelerator programme will work with the following:10.2. Prepare -create an investment pack which will include a deal book and all necessary material for engaging with donors and private sector funders, and an effective communication strategy.10.3. Engage: This will include:• organising an investor roadshow • inviting targeted investors to in-person events (kick-off/onboarding, pitch/demo day)• accelerator programme mid-cycle email updates to investors within the pipeline 10.4. Monitor: track and maintain on-going conversations with investors and other funders to monitor progress.The Food Systems Accelerator will conduct an impact assessment to measure the impact and performance of its programme and inform future programmes. A framework will be developed that will:•  The CGIAR Food Systems Accelerator aims to support agribusinesses scale climate-smart innovations among agrifood actors to solve pressing problems in food value chains and contribute to stronger and more sustainable food systems.The overall objective of the CGIAR Food Systems Accelerator Programme is to: • Access to finance through de-risking grants to scale CSA innovations and business models and matchmaking with private investors for follow-on capital.What are we looking for in participants?i. Priority innovation themes We are looking for user-centric innovation cases that will lead to broad and positive impacts in food security through the increase in productivity, climate change resilience and adaptation and mitigation of the negative effects on agriculture. We support innovations that are climate-smart and that have a strong case for commercial sustainability. Innovations can be digital, technical, financial, products, services processes, or business models.These can be existing or planned innovations in either of the four target countries as well as under one of the four priority innovation themes. Supported innovations should be designed to benefit smallholder farmers and associations in East and Southern Africa. Attention will be given to business models that promote agro-processing and provide aggregation services. Women and youth owned companies are encouraged to apply.The four priority innovation themes are as follows:• Mechanization and irrigation:Mechanization is the process of using agricultural machinery to mechanize the work of agriculture greatly increasing farm worker productivity. Mechanization encompasses production, distribution, and utilization of a variety of tools, machinery, and equipment for the development of agricultural land, planting, maintaining crop and livestock harvest and post-harvest operations. Irrigation is the system of applying water to crops and field by aid of machinery like pumps, sprinklers, drip hoses and any other mechanical means. Mechanized irrigation directly increases the water use efficiency leading to many indirect benefits in the climate action area. Some examples of innovations under this theme include, solar powered irrigation, supplementary irrigation, grading and sorting equipment, storage, and processing equipment.• Conservation agriculture is a farming approach that promotes minimum soil disturbance, maintenance of permanent soil covers and diversification of farmed plant species. It enhances natural biological processes and contributes to increased water and nutrient use efficiency reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and the disturbance they create in the environment. The approach is based on practical application of three interlinked principles: (i) continuous none or minimum mechanical soil disturbance (no-till seeding or planting and no-till weeding), (ii) permanent maintenance of soil mulch cover (crop biomass, stubble and cover crops), and (iii) diversification of cropping systems (crop rotations and/or sequences and/or associations involving annuals and perennials, including legumes for natural nitrogen fixation), along with other complementary good agricultural production and management practices. Some examples of innovations under this theme include, agriculture-based sustainable intensification management practices, Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM).• Nutrition-sensitive climate-smart agriculture are solutions decreasing the trade-offs between agricultural productivity, climate change, and human and animal nutrition. They make farming more climate sensitive and produce more nutritious food while maintaining productivity. Some examples of innovations under this theme include products such as legumes, cassava, livestock, dairy, oil seeds, horticulture (fresh produce and vegetables), and other staples.• Agricultural Risk Management (ARM) is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks in agricultural activities including coordinated and economic application to minimize, monitor and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events and maximize opportunities. They make farming more predictable and increase the resilience of farmers. Some examples of innovations under this theme include advisory services, market linkage services, digitizing the value chain and financial products (microinsurance, savings, lending, and credit guarantees).ii. Business stage • Early Stage: companies that have begun to market their products. Will require funding to market products. Funded by venture capitalists and growth equity investors (private equity) • Growth Stage: companies with increased demand for products, that require funding to increase production and are looking for debt or equity investors (venture capital and private equity). • Expansion Stage: companies looking to gain market share locally and/or for export funded by debt and equity (private and public equity).What do we have to offer to the selected participantsi. Provision of CSA Technical Assistance (TA); through this programme each agribusiness will collaborate with CGIAR scientists and experts to receive coordinated and specialised evidence-based TA support that encourages adoption and strengthens their CSA practices, addresses concrete ecosystem challenges, and improves their bankability. Agribusinesses will also have access to research and data. ii. Provision of Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) Technical Assistance:Agribusiness teams selected to this Programme will receive training on how to effectively measure and manage impact, use their data to improve business performance, identify areas where value can be created and achieve their desired result in contributing towards positive environmental and social impact. This training will be provided by CGIAR network of scientists and experts. iii. Provision of Investment Readiness Technical Assistance: Each agribusiness in this programme will collaborate with IFDC-2SCALE and its network to receive investment readiness and business development support to help secure financing from the private sector. iv. De-risking Grant: Following the conclusion of the accelerator program and Pitch Day, four companies will receive USD 20,000 each according to their business scaling plans.v. Access to investors and corporate partners to attract follow-on funding and potential business opportunities. iii. At least 2 contact details of company's references iv. Team composition v. Curriculum Vitae for management team vi. Tax Compliance Certificate and/or in the case of a startup tax exemption certificate b. A clear inclusive strategy for smallholder farmers, women, and youth within the business model in at least one of the following dimensions: ownership, management team, workforce and policies, supply chain and customers. c. Applicants must be a for-profit company and demonstrate commercial viability and either be profitable or on the path to profitability. NGOs, corporate companies, and consultants will not be considered. d. Operating in the following countries: Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.Team members who should have access to the page/applications they should have a VC4A member account and if they are to be shown on the page, a profile photo and additional info should be added to their profiles. The CGIAR Food Systems Accelerator is a work package in the Ukama Ustawi regional initiative of the CGIAR. The Initiative aims to support climate-resilient agriculture and livelihoods in 12 countries in East and Southern Africa by helping millions of smallholders intensify, diversify, and reduce the risks in maize-based farming through improved extension services, small and medium enterprise development, supporting governance frameworks and increased investment with a gender and social inclusion lensThe 2SCALE (www.2scale.org) is one of the most of IFDC (www.ifdc.org) influential incubator and accelerator program of inclusive agribusiness in sub-Saharan Africa. The program support partnerships and business models with significant potential to attract and employ the youth, to engage and empower women, and to improve food and nutrition security (at the consumer end of the value chain), also the program focus on replication of successful business models and on institutional factors that drive or constrain systematic and transformative change, to accelerate and scale inclusive agribusiness.The application form consists of 5 steps:1. Eligibility criteria 2. General company information 3. Commercial and financial information 4. Climate-smart agriculture 5. ProposalSteps 1 to 4 comprise of binary and drop-down answers so that the captured responses can be standardized and captured in an excel. Necessary entries are marked with an asterix (*)Step 5 should provide a download option for a proposal document (.doc) as well as an upload field.Step -will improve the human capital (technical skill levels) of producers in the target area -will increase the stability of agricultural production needed to help producers meet their own basic food security and income needs -will promote the diversification of the income and asset bases of users -will promote crop diversification in the target area -will involve the incorporation of site-specific knowledge in its application -will facilitate cooperation and networking among producers -will foster local and regional production and supply chains -will provide opportunities for feedback from extension workers -will narrow existing power differentials in the community -will contribute to reducing existing gender inequalities -will increase the resilience of the cropping system to drought -will increase the resilience of the livestock to drought -not applicable The team has the qualifications needed to make the business successful. Management team members have complementary expertise.10% 5The company is innovating in one of the following priority innovation themes (Mechanisation and irrigation, Conservation agriculture, Nutrition, Agriculture risk Management) 10% 5Gender Does the enterprise have women founders/ women in leadership/management team/ supporting women in its ecosystem?10% 5Is the company close to profitability (for growth stage companies) / does the company have revenues (startup companies)?10% 5Agribusiness 4 C'sCharacter: The motivation of the agribusiness and the extent to which the Agribusiness is adhering to minimal standards of Social Responsibility (SR)Competence: A review of the practicability and a check on whether the innovations adopted/applied for make economic/business sense thus making scalability possible. 10%","tokenCount":"4907"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"86cd93583900b22fde3c303e5fda141a","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/8801fa2c-1067-4c5c-b0a6-fbd07eab150f/retrieve","id":"1824745063"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"6b944979-98bf-437f-9779-115835c5fd15","pagecount":"4","content":"Benin is located on the Guinean coast of West Africa and has a mixed tropical and sub-equatorial climate with two rainy seasons. Beninoise farmers practice mixed rain-fed crop and livestock farming. Climate change puts the country at risk of food insecurity. Since the 1960s the mean average temperature has increased by 1.1ºC and that the average number of 'hot' days per year increased by 39 days between 1960 and 2003, from 38 days in the 1960s to 77 days in 2010, and the number of 'hot' nights by 73 nights from 53 nights in the 1960s (McSweeney et al, 2010). In contrast, the frequency of 'cold' days and nights annually has decreased significantly since 1960. There is a general decrease in annual precipitation of about 180 mm from a previous value of about 1480 mm in the 1960s to 1300 mm presently; and increased incidences of drought. There is erratic and intensified rainfall leading to floods and soil erosion. Climate models project an increase in annual temperature by 1.5 to 3°C by the 2060s and up to 5.1°C by the 2090s (Jalloh et al. 2013). As a result, farmers are already experiencing lower harvest yields, and food production is projected to decrease by 6% by the year 2025. Adaptive measures are necessary to avert further food insecurity. One adaptation strategy is to help farmers and plant breeders find and use genetically controlled plant traits that are suited to their changing climate conditions. Indeed, the 5 th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognizes the importance of strategies based on the use, conservation and management of genetic resources for climate change adaptation (IPPC, 2014). The report highlights the importance of improving crop tolerance to new conditions and improving access to genebanks to develop varieties with appropriate adaptive characteristics. It also notes the importance of using indigenous knowledge to identify adaptive strategies contributing to food security (ibid).CCAFS, with support from projects funded by the Darwin Initiative (Mutually support implementation of the ITPGRFA and the Nagoya Protocol), the Netherlands (Genetic Resources Policy Initiative) and GIZ (the ABS Capacity Development Initiative), supported the introduction in a group of communities called Tori-Bossito of participatory methods to identify potentially useful plant genetic resources for experimentation by farmers and plant breeders. The research teams focused on maize, which was selected by the farmers as it is particularly important for their food security in Tori-Bossito.A team of CCAFS Scientists from Bioversity International led a participatory capacity building initiative with a multistakeholder research team comprising farmers and local leaders from Tori-Bossito, scientists from Benin's national agricultural research organizations, including the national genebank, plant breeders, agronomists, climate specialists, and local civil society organizations. The objective was to analyze the impacts of climate change on food security crops in Tori-Bossito, and to identify potentially adapted maize genetic resources from local farmers, the Benin national genebank, other countries' genebanks and genebanks hosted by international organizations. A total of 20 scientists and 46 men and women farmers participated in action research and learning exercises.Through participatory action, research and learning (PAR&L), scientists and farmers discussed climate change-related challenges for their crops. They also identified desirable traits for maize (and other crops) that enable adaptation to those challenges. The teams conducted a 'four square analysis' whereby they charted out the richness and evenness of distribution of maize varieties used by the farmers (Rana et al, 2005). They identified some existing varieties that perform better under the current stressed conditions as well as varieties that they had lost which they considered worthwhile obtaining and re-introducing locally. The second and third stages of the PAR&L focused on identifying potentially useful maize materials in the Benin national genebank, other countries' genebanks, and genebanks hosted by international organizations. The teams were taught how to access and use publicly available climate data (from WorldClim at http://www.worldclim.org/) and national and international genebanks' accession level information, including passport data (from Genesys at https://www.genesys-pgr.org/welcome) and a range of computational programs. The teams were able to identify accessions conserved in those collections that are potentially adapted for use in Tori-Bossito under both present climatic conditions, and conditions that are predicted for Tori-Bossito in 2050.Data on maize accessions from the national gene bank and from Genesys database were screened using combination of GIS and climate datasets (current and future) from Worldclim to develop climate profiles (both current and 2050) for each accession, in order to develop a predictive tool to identify suitable varieties. A total of 19 bioclimatic variables were extracted using the BIOCLIM algorithm at 2.5 arc-minutes resolution, and using the program DIVA-GIS. Most of these variables were associated with the different precipitation and temperature regimes from WorldClim, characteristic of the different habitats of the selected crops.Agro-ecological variables at each locality were extracted using DIVA GIS. Each accession had a unique agroecological zone. The accessions were clustered based on three variables: annual average temperature, annual precipitation and agro-ecological Zone. The teams calculated the annual average temperature and annual precipitation variables derived from each month's minimum and maximum precipitation and temperatures using the formulas: ((tmin1+tmax1)/2 + (tmin2+tmax2)/2 + (tminn+tmaxn)/2)/12 and (prec1+prec2+precn) respectively and matched with the growing season at each reference site. Finally, the selected accessions from the national gene banks and international sources were mapped to provide a visualization of the change in the number and geographic spread of the sites of original collection of the accessions that are best candidates for use under present climate conditions, and predicted conditions in 2050.Additional factors-such as soil qualities, elevation, agricultural practices, and cultural preferences-beyond temperature and precipitation patterns need to be taken into consideration when determining whether an accession is potentially well suited for use in a particular area. Therefore, additional work is necessary to filter 'best bet' candidate materials from those identified by the research work reported here. Nonetheless, this project's focus on temperature and precipitation patterns provided useful leads for the research teams. It research results underscored the fact that farmers in Benin will be increasingly dependent on 'external sources' of plant genetic resources. It is clearly important to put systems in place to ensure that farmers in Tori-Bossito (and plant breeders who are developing materials for use by those farmers) will have access to the genetic resources they need for adapting their agricultural production systems to changing climates.Focus group discussions with farmers confirmed that there have been changes in rainfall patterns, with lower amounts of rains being experienced and shifting rainy seasons. Farmers also reported increased temperatures and an increased number of hot days with prolonged dry seasons and droughts. Ultimately these shifting climate patterns have led the two regular cropping seasons in one year to collapse into just one, as illustrated in Figure 1. This has been the situation for the last three years. Figure 1 might give the impression that the newly merged single growing season is almost as long as the other previously separated seasons put together so that farmers could sow and harvest twice during the single longer season; however this is not the case. Farmers are not only able to harvest once per year. As a result of these climatic changes, farmers have experienced maize yield losses. This is partly due to the fact that changing climate conditions are also contributing to increased incidence of pests and diseases. Maize prices have increased, and farmers reported feeling increasingly food insecure.Some adaptive strategies that farmers are currently employing include using earlier-maturing maize varieties.Those varieties are improved varieties. They require additional inputs such as fertilizer, which makes them prohibitively expensive for many of the farmers. Some farmers are replacing their maize with other crops such as cassava. As a last resort, some are abandoning farming to do off-farm activities such as motorcycle transport or petty trading.The four cell analysis of local maize diversity revealed that there are nine maize varieties actively being grown by the farmers in Tori-Bossito. The preference scoring indicated that the highest ranked variety (based on the following traits: yield, early/late maturity, resistance to pests and diseases, response to low input farming, drought, cooking characteristics and taste) possesses good cooking and storage qualities, it is high-yielding, relatively early-maturing and drought tolerant and is largely grown for the market (photo 3). It is an improved open-pollinated variety that was introduced into the community about 10 years ago.The other eight varieties will be less and less useful to the farmers as the climate changes. Three of them are improved, early maturing and high yielding, but they are not widely grown because they are susceptible to drought and do not possess desirable cooking qualities; they also attract low market price. Three other varieties are drought resistant, but are low-yielding, with poor cooking qualities.The remaining two varieties have longer maturity periods, making them vulnerable under the changing conditions. In recent years, farmers also lost three local varieties that were late maturing and could not withstand lower rainfall. Ultimately, they are increasingly reliant on just one maize variety. The research team underscored the importance of farmers being able to manage a broader portfolio of adapted varieties for their food security.Farmers listed the desired traits in the following order of priority: drought tolerance, early maturing, and high yielding.The process of finding adapted maize germplasm from beyond Tori-Bossito started with an analysis of national genebank collections. The national genebank has 225 accessions of maize collected from different parts of Benin. Of those accessions, 132 are potentially suited for growing in Tori-Bossito in present climate conditions (noting, of course, that they may not be useful for other reasons, e.g. low-yielding, disease susceptibility, poor taste, poor cooking qualities, etc). However, when looking forward to the predicted climate conditions in Tori-Bossito in 2050, only 37 of the accessions in the genebank appear to be potentially adapted.Over the same time period there will be an increase in the number of maize accessions conserved in other countries' and international genebanks that are adapted for Tori-Bossito's changing climateUsing information available through Genesys, the research team identified 39 accessions in other countries' genebanks and in international collections that are suited to Tori-Bossito's current climate. This number might seem to be rather low, given that more than half of the maize accessions in the national genebank appear to be well suited to current day conditions in Tori-Bossito. This is due to the seasons that have shortened then merged, the variability in temperature and rainfall during this merged season leads to few varieties that are matched.The number of accessions that are potentially adapted to Tori-Bossito's predicted 2050 climate actually increases to almost 150. This is consistent with the finding that Tori-Bossito's climate will change in ways that make it similar to the climates where those materials were collected at the time they were collected. Interestingly, many of the accessions identified through Genesys were originally collected not only in Africa, but also in Central and South America and parts of Asia.Climate change is already having a negative impact on maize production in Tori-Bossito. To be able to respond, farmers and plant breeders need to be able to take advantage of maize genetic diversity as a source of traits that are adapted to changing climate conditions: traits such as drought tolerance, and early maturity. Local maize diversity in Tori-Bossito is limited. As climates change, farmers will become increasingly reliant on genetic traits from materials originally collected elsewhere: either from within Benin or internationally.The proportion of maize materials currently included in the national genebank of Benin that are potentially suited to grow in Tori-Bossito's changing climate is decreasing. By contrast, there will be an increase in the proportion of materials conserved in other countries' and international genebanks that are potentially adapted to Tori-Bossito's changing climatic conditions. Therefore, farmers in Tori-Bossito and plant breeders hoping to develop materials for their use will be increasingly reliant on genetic diversity from other parts of the world as the source of adapted genetic traits.The MLS created by the ITPGRFA was designed to facilitate international availability and exchange of plant genetic resources as inputs into agricultural research, plant breeding and training. Benin ratified the ITPGRFA in 2015. Recently, Benin has also adopted interim measures-\"Decree on national guidelines on access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use in the Republic of Benin\"-to put systems in place to implement the ITPGRFA at national levels. The research presented in this Info Note highlights the importance of programs to train multi-stakeholder teams-with roots at farmer community levels-to use the MLS to access the diversity that farmers and plant breeders need to adapt to climate changes. ","tokenCount":"2094"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"3c2b899ce79eb6559600939031c9dfb7","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/b289ba21-f9fb-4a18-b6dc-c05f00ef2eae/retrieve","id":"-206743288"},"keywords":["future","meat substitution","plant proteins","stakeholders","backcasting","pathways"],"sieverID":"bc7f1aeb-e894-410e-80c2-1a678458bf38","pagecount":"22","content":"Global and European diets have shifted towards greater consumption of animal proteins. Recent studies urge reversals of these trends and call for a rapid transition towards adoption of more plant-based diets. This paper explored mechanisms to increase the production and consumption of plant-proteins in Europe by 2030, using participatory backcasting. We identified pathways to the future (strategies), as well as interim milestones, barriers, opportunities and actions, with key European stakeholders in the agri-food chain. Results show that four strategies could be implemented to achieve the desired future: increased research and development, enriched consumer education and awareness, improved and connected supply and value chains and public policy supports. Actions needed to reach milestones were required immediately, reinforcing the need for urgent actions to tackle the protein challenge. This study concretely detailed how idealized dietary futures can be achieved in a real-world context. It can support EU protein transition by informing policy makers and the broader public on potential ways to move towards a more sustainable plant-based future. The outputs of this analysis have the potential to be combined with dietary scenarios to develop more temporally explicit models of future dietary changes and how to reach them.A number of studies conclude that increases in animal protein production and consumption are unsustainable, contributing to degraded natural systems, biodiversity losses and climate change [1][2][3][4][5]. These changes are also implicated in an array of human health issues [6][7][8]. Global consumption of animal products has increased by almost 30% since 1961, whilst plant protein consumption has largely reduced [9,10]. Animal-proteins now account for at least 40% of dietary proteins [11,12]. These dietary changes are the manifestation of socio-economic transitions towards wealthier and urban populations [13][14][15][16][17]. These patterns are widely expected to continue, even in wealthier regions [16,17]. The impacts of these trends have led to suggestions that without future targeted dietary changes, the associated environmental and health impacts will be grave (e.g. Etemadi et al. [6], Springmann et al. [18]). These predictions have led to calls for sustainable diets rich in plant-based proteins to be encouraged (e.g. Willett [2], Springmann et al. [18], IPCC [19]).The potential for reversing current dietary trends and replacing animal proteins with plant proteins has been widely studied [11,20,21]. Adoption of the 'Mediterranean,' vegetarian or vegan diets have all been proposed as mechanisms for achieving such reversals [2,18,22,23]. The benefits of shifts towards diverse and largely plant-based diets could address the negative impacts of current dietary trends by reducing dietary based emissions, supplying adequate calories for growing global populations, averting diet related avoidable deaths and reducing agriculturally driven deforestation [2,18,22,23]. However, despite the considerable benefits that could be accrued from plant-based diets, they represent significant societal and agricultural systemic changes, with dramatic shifts in consumer attitudes needed [8,24,25]. Although consumer attitudes have shifted and increases in vegetarianism have been observed in wealthier countries [25,26], further shifts are still required to attain the idealized futures described in the literature (e.g. Springmann et al. [21]).These observations evidence a divergence in outlooks of the future, where idealized futures [18,22] are compared to business-as-usual projections [17]. The process of reaching idealized future conditions are often considered through dietary scenarios, where narrow mechanisms (e.g. meat taxation) and their impacts (e.g. reduced meat consumption) are analyzed (e.g. Springmann et al. [21], Cassidy et al. [22], Erb et al. [23]). The utility of such methods is unquestionable for framing the human health and environmental argument for dietary change and potential future conditions [27]. However, scenario-based analyses, in general, consider only limited variables, ignoring the wider challenges of how contemporary social and agricultural systems transition to a point where the idealized future becomes a societal reality [28].Characterization of potential strategies and the policy environments required to encourage and enable such wide-ranging systemic changes remain comparatively unexplored. A number of recent studies have begun addressing this, characterizing how consumption shifts could be made through education and policy interventions over time [29,30]. But their narrow focus ignores the wider social, agricultural and political environments within which these changes would need to be made. Graça et al. [31] go a step further, developing a framework for mapping the socio-economic barriers and enablers, which may discourage/encourage future dietary shits. Although this work is vital, it largely considers only one side of the problem-consumption. However, for dietary transitions to be made, simultaneous changes in production would also be needed. This therefore offers an opportunity to investigate how society and in particular high animal-protein consuming regions, like Europe, can address current trends and move towards the idealized futures envisaged in the literature. In particular, considering mechanisms and pathways for encouraging both increased consumption and production of plant proteins.To do so, we propose a participatory methodology to characterize pathways from the present towards an idealized dietary and production future, where plant-proteins are consumed and produced at the expense of animal proteins. In investigating idealized futures, the development of participatory normative scenarios (or backcastings) can be useful [32]. Participatory backcasting offers a framework for medium to long-term planning that includes development of mechanisms and strategies required for attaining desirable futures [33,34]. It is normative, goal-oriented and problem-solving and is characterized by involvement of heterogeneous stakeholders contributing to a consensual visioning [35].This analysis looks to: (i) understand the barriers and opportunities that may inhibit or enable dietary and production changes in the future; (ii) map policy actions and milestones needed to achieve a sustainable future; iii) develop stakeholder developed strategies for moving towards this sustainable future. This novel study ultimately aims to inform visionary policy-making about future strategies and possible shifts in consumption and production of proteins across the EU towards a more sustainable future and hopefully provide the impetus for future studies to provide greater detail to these strategies.This analysis has been developed within a five-year European research project: 'PROTEIN2FOOD' ( Development of high quality food protein through sustainable production and processing. Project No. 635727-2. Horizon 2020 Programme, under the Societal Challenge 2-Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine, Maritime and Inland Water Research and the Bioeconomy. EU Commission, 2015-2020.). The project aims to develop innovative, high quality, protein-rich crops and food products to sustain human health, the environment and biodiversity and help transition to more sustainable food systems in Europe. Stakeholders play a crucial role in the project forming a 'stakeholder forum,' an advisory body to the project. Stakeholder forum meetings are organized annually to gather stakeholders and partners to facilitate discussion about the project and future prospects. This study is devoted to the analysis of the results obtained in the 3 rd Stakeholder Forum meeting, held in Freising, Germany, in March 2018. More information of the PROTEIN2FOOD and the stakeholder forum and workshops can be found in Supplementary Material 'The Project.'The backcasting technique can be used to develop normative visions of the future [33]. It can assist in planning and decision-making by exploring the conditions required for realization of idealized visions [34]. It also presents the opportunity to explore the feasibility of alternative future conditions and formulate solutions for their achievement [36]. Including stakeholders as part of this technique allows them to work backwards from agreed end-points and outline barriers and opportunities, define milestones and describe actions required for the achievement of idealized end-points [37]. Backcasting can liberate stakeholders of the constraints of contemporary thinking, offering greater freedom in developing more creative solutions [38]. Stakeholder engagement can also expand the knowledge base and provide an opportunity for social learning [39], increase legitimization of outputs and allow for consensus building [40]. As an output, strategies from the future to the present can be mapped and characterized, aiding in planning processes [36].Participatory backcasting can be developed following variants of the five steps (e.g. Kok et al. [36]) presented in Table 1: Table 1. Methodological steps of participatory backcasting.Step ActivitiesBackcasting starts defining and describing the desired future in which the problems identified are expected to be solved by meeting a stated objective. Participants determine the spatial and temporal scale of the analysis and agree upon the final end-point (objective) of the backcasting and its timeline.Milestones are interim objectives that are required to achieve the desired objective from Step 1. Participants are asked to identify milestones and place them on a backcasting timeline (line from the year of the objective to the present). Also, they are invited to specify why the milestone is needed, what it entails and when it needs to be achieved.Barriers and opportunities for achieving the objective and milestones are identified (Steps 1 and 2). Participants are given the opportunity to present factors or processes that they consider to be a barrier for achieving the objective or milestones. Similarly, opportunities that can be taken advantage of to achieve the objective and the interim milestones are defined. As with the milestones, participants are asked to explain the barrier/ opportunity to other participants and then place it on the backcasting timeline.Participants are then invited to identify actions that are required to achieve the objective (Step 1) and milestones (Step 2), address the barriers or take advantage of the opportunities (Step 3). Participants are asked to describe the action and place it upon the backcast timeline. Likewise, they are requested to be as specific as possible, specifying what the action would entail, who would enforce them and when they would be implemented.Participants are then asked to develop pathways from the desired future objective back to the present. Milestones are connected with the policy actions that would be required for their achievement. These pathways connecting milestones and actions are called strategies.The backcasting exercise was implemented as part of PROTEIN2FOOD during the 3 rd stakeholder forum meeting. The stakeholder forum meeting consisted of a one-day workshop of 37 participants, which included key researchers from the project and representatives of the food production-processingconsumption chain (Table 2). The workshop included short plenary presentations on the EU plant-protein food challenge, the backcasting exercise and a final wrap-up discussion chaired by a research EU Policy Officer. The backcasting exercise was developed following the steps described in Table 1.Step 1 (defining a desirable future) was completed in a plenary session with all participants agreeing on a common desired future objective. Then, two groups of 18 and 19 participants were formed to develop Steps 2 to 5 (identification of milestones, barriers, opportunities, policy actions and strategies). As much as possible, the two groups were equally balanced in terms of stakeholder group and geographical representation (see Table 2). Steps 2 to 5 were simultaneously performed across the two groups to facilitate the process of developing backcasting maps and to explore alternative visions of how to reach the desired endpoint. As part of Step 4 (identifying policy actions), participants were asked to vote on which policy action was most needed to achieve the final objective. This voting was also weighted, with participants giving three votes to the most important, two votes to second and one to the third.As a result, two backcasting maps were produced. A summary overview in the form of strategies and most voted options was presented and discussed in the final wrap-up session.The two backcasting maps were comparatively analyzed in terms of structure and contents. The structure of the backcasts was analyzed using basic graph theory. To do so, the backcast maps were interpreted as graphs, which are mathematical structures that represent pairwise relationships between elements. We used Latapy et al. [41] as a basis to study the spatial structure (composition) of the maps (type and number of elements; barriers, opportunities, milestones and actions and links between them). As part of this analysis, two parameters were created: (i) 'M+A' that represents the sum of milestones and actions and is considered a proxy for measuring the proactivity and response to change of the system (backcast); and (ii) 'O-B' is the number of opportunities minus the barriers and is used as a proxy to measure the resistance to change of the system (backcast). Following Wu et al. [42], we also studied the temporal structure of the maps, in particular, the evolution of elements and links across time. The content of the backcasts was analyzed by looking across maps identifying different and common elements (milestones, barriers, opportunities, actions) and strategies. We used Kok et al. [36] to compare strategies and identify robust (common) strategies and policy suggestions. Strategies were considered robust if the themes they covered and the general content were identified in both groups.Stakeholders agreed on the following desired end-point (objective): \"To increase plant-protein production and consumption (by 25% and 10%, respectively) in the EU by 2030.\" This objective coincides with one of the key expected results of the PROTEIN2FOOD project. Participants believed that the project could incentivize protein crop production and consumption in the EU by developing new breeding techniques, optimizing crop and soil management methods and identifying appropriate market approaches. The new plant protein food ingredients and products developed in the project were expected to receive a high consumer acceptance, leading to a gain market share of these types of products and a reduction of meat consumption in the medium to long term. Meeting the desired objective was considered crucial to enhance protein transition from animal-based to plant-based protein and thus, promote a more sustainable plant-rich diet in the EU.A period of 15 years (2015-2030) was selected for the backcast timeline. The year 2030 was chosen as the reference point for the future due to the time horizon of the PROTEIN2FOOD project, its temporal proximity to facilitate participants' ability to imagine a future and to coincide with the targets of relevant policies and initiatives, such as the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the EU's FOOD 2030. Researchers and policy makers have become increasingly more aware that dietary change is central to meet the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2, 16 and 17)  [43] and the Paris Climate Change Accord [19].In total, 146 elements were generated across the two backcasts, with 82 (56% of the total) developed in the first group and 64 (44% of the total) in the second (Table 3). In general, elements were evenly distributed across groupings (milestones, barriers, opportunities and actions). Actions represent the largest number of elements, followed by milestones. Full backcasts can be found in the Appendices (Tables A3 and A4). The temporal positioning of elements was not evenly distributed (Table 4). Most elements were placed in the present (2015-2020) and the near future (2021-2025), with few elements placed in the most distant period (2026-2030). In Group 1, 39 elements (48% of the total) were included in the present (2015-2020), 30 (36%) in the near future (2021-2025) and 13 (17%) in the long-term future (2026-2030). Similarly, in Group 2, the present concentrates most of the elements (29, 45% of the total), followed by the near future (25, 39% of the total) and the long-term future (10, 16% of the total). Looking at the type of elements and their location on the timeline (Table 4), barriers were found in the present (2015-2020), actions in the present and near future (2015-2025) and opportunities and milestones more evenly distributed. Figures 1 and 2 show that, in the period covering the near past-present (2015-2020), barriers outnumber opportunities (O-B presents negative values), particularly in Group 2, which illustrate the difficulty to change the current situation. After 2020, stakeholders perceive a brighter future, with more opportunities than barriers (O-B positive values) and thus suggest less resistance to change. In both groups, barriers reduce to zero at the end of the period (2026-2030) but this is more noticeable in Group 1, where no barriers were identified after 2024. This may be explained by current barriers being more evident than those of the future. Years 2022-2023 and 2027-2030 are quite neutral, with the same number of opportunities and barriers (O-B is equal to zero).The proactive response to change, measured by the sum of milestones and actions (M+A), presents a more irregular and oscillatory pattern compared with the resistance to change (O-B) (Figures 3 and 4). Notably in Group 1, years with high M+A values are preceded and followed by years with low M+A values. In general, however, the present and near future (2015-2025) include high M+A values, suggesting stakeholders perceive that immediate action is required. The most distant period of time (2026-2030) shows low M+A values (e.g. in Group 2, neither actions nor milestones were defined in year 2027). Thus, how to act in the future is less clear in the eyes of stakeholders.  The number of links in both maps are similar, 51 in Group 1 and 52 in Group 2. Both groups show a high percentage of total links being between milestones and actions (67% and 44% respectively) (Table 5), showing the direct link between actions and milestone achievement. However, the more dispersed effects of milestones achieving milestones are noted by only 10% of all links being between these elements in Group 1 and 29% in Group 2. The number of connections that a year has in the future years implies the importance of that year in the backcast. For Group 1 years 2019, 2020 and 2026 have the highest influence in the flow of the process (Figure A1). In the case of Group 2 2018 and 2020 are the most influential ones (Figure A2).In total, 37 milestones were defined (19 in Group 1 and 18 in Group 2). In Group 1, the milestones were oriented towards technology, processing, products and crop management and breeding. In Group 2, themes also included consumer awareness, organic agriculture supports, value chain establishment and the organoleptic properties of plant-proteins. Common milestone themes included: In the first five years of the timelines, milestones regarding funding, development facilities and product availability are seen in both groups. This would suggest that stakeholders think of these being the easiest to achieve due to their temporal proximity. More temporally distant milestones include increased awareness of plant-proteins, improved management and development of varieties.Across the two groups, 36 barriers and 33 opportunities were identified. The 19 barriers identified by Group 1 are diverse and include technological, agronomic and societal awareness. Of the 17 barriers identified by Group 2, distinct themes like product cost and scale were proposed as important impediments to achieve the objective. Across the groups three similar barrier themes were identified:High prices of protein-rich processed products may limit greater consumption (2018-2022)Low demand and a lack of knowledge of products also hinder consumption (2015-2020) • Protein-rich product functional properties in terms of difficulty of protein extraction, lack of homogeneity in isolates and the organoleptic properties and anti-nutritional factors of represent processing barriers (2016-2025)In total, 33 opportunities were identified (19 in Group 1 and 14 in Group 2). In Group 1, dietary changes, market development, sustainable benefits of plant-proteins, increased awareness and innovation were cited as opportunities. In Group 2, access to information, international collaborations and increased value in value chains were suggested. Although opportunities were distinct between the groups, repeated themes were evident:Health and environmental benefits (2020-2025) • Dietary changes and increased consumer awareness (2021-2022) • Marketability of products and improved access to information (2022)In total, 39 actions (25 in Group 1 and 14 in Group 2) were defined. These actions are clustered across themes of consumer education, financial and information supports, lobbying and value chain restructuring. In Group 1, actions include increases in public supports, investments in breeding, creation of a plant lobby, consumer education, marketing and advertising and taxes of soya imports. In Group 2, actions included local supply chain development, certification, lobbying, biodiversity payments and labelling.In total, 6 common actions were defined by participants (Figure 3). Despite the commonality of these actions, their voted importance was quite different. The development of local supply chains, increased consumer information, increases in funding for research and creation of a plant-protein lobby were voted as the most important (Figure 3). Furthermore, it is interesting to note the creation of a plant-protein lobby, which in both backcasts was set for the period 2020-21. This implies the perceived urgency for the need of a concerted and organized effort to include plant-proteins in political decision making and the need for a counter-point to the perceived power of the meat and dairy lobbies (identified as barriers). In total, 13 strategies (7 in Group 1 and 6 in Group 2) linking milestones with actions were developed (different colored arrows in Figures 4 and 5). The strategies are presented from right to left, with the goal on the right and the stepwise milestones and actions needed from 2030 back to 2015 to attain the objective. These strategies are diverse and range from agricultural research and development, policy supports and consumer education. A number of these strategies are complex, requiring a number of actions and milestones before achieving the objective (e.g. Agricultural Research and Development and Marketing and Labelling of Figure 4; Consumer Education and Awareness and Development and Support of Supply and Value Chains of Figure 5), countered by a number of more simple strategies (e.g. Crop Management and Guidelines of Figure 4 and Agricultural Research of Figure 5). It is interesting to note that the groups perceived the strategy of Agricultural Research differently, one considering it complex, the other more simplistic.From Figures 4 and 5 it is evident that these strategies are similar not only in their content but also in the timelines for implementation. The similarity across the groups suggest that participants in both groups saw, in general terms, similar pathways of moving towards a more sustainable future. In both groups, the need for funding and support of protein products appear to be a key step in each of the strategies and for achieving the desired goal.  Following the workshop, 4 robust strategies for achieving the goal of increasing plant-protein production by 25% and increasing consumption by 10% were identified:Increased investment in research (~2018-22) for crop breeding (~2022) is implemented to improve protein-rich plant varieties for improved disease resistance (~2023) and higher yields (~2027), making these crops more attractive to farmers. Improved crop varieties result in increases in area dedicated to protein-rich crops across the EU (~2028). Expansion of new cultivars is dependent upon information and support for agricultural training (~2024). Means for achieving these increases in funding would be through the development of a protein-crop lobby (~2019).Formation of local supply chains (~2019) encourage creation of value chains for protein-rich crops (2024-26) and expansion in protein-rich crop area (~2028). The establishment and consolidation of these chains are supported and encouraged by supports for local protein-crop and organic production (2023-24), as well as through supports from the future reform of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (~2027).Advertising is expanded to increase exposure of protein-rich crop products (~2019), with labelling improved (~2019) to increase consumer information (~2019-21). Improved consumer education (~2021) is supported by dissemination of educational media to improve understanding of consumption and production benefits. Increased exposure to products and information drives greater consumption (~2023) and acceptance (~2025) of novel plant-based products.The formation of a protein-crop lobby (~2019) would encourage greater national public (agricultural) policy supports (~2022-24) directed towards protein-rich crops, leading to increased supports from the CAP (~2027). This results in a competitive protein crop market (~2028) and increases in areas dedicated to protein crops (~2029). Further support mechanisms are used to increase taxes on imported soya (~2026) and establish protective taxes to encourage greater use of EU-produced raw materials (~2023). Policies are also implemented to increase prices of animal protein products (~2025).We performed a participatory backcasting exercise to identify and explore potential strategies for enabling sustainable European dietary futures, with four robust strategies identified. The constituent parts of these strategies largely echo findings of the literature of sustainable dietary futures but formalize them into coherent and temporally mapped pathways.These normative strategies outline the need for greater production of plant-proteins in the EU. To do so, stakeholders stressed that formal investments in agricultural research should become a focus of future EU policies and could liberate protein-rich crop production. Particular attention is needed on investing in breeding programs to develop higher yielding and resistant protein-rich crop varieties. Such a suggestion is not without precedence within recent EU agricultural policies, where focused research investments were highly successful in stimulating pea production [44]. The cobenefits of such a policy could be wide-ranging and could help to address the agricultural barriers that currently affect legume production in Europe [45].However, greater production of plant-proteins would not be sufficient to guarantee their availability nor their affordability for the general public. Stakeholders suggested that the focus of EU policies should also shift towards supporting the supply and value chains of protein-rich crops. Magrini et al. [44] outlines the inhibitory effects of incomplete supply chains for crops such as legumes, a point reflected in the workshop and from the authors' experiences in Spain. Etemadi et al. [6] evidences the benefits of complete and well-resourced value chains, highlighting how investments in value chains can contribute to consumption increases. Henchion et al. [46] argues that the commercial production of novel proteins requires the establishment of new value chains capable of minimizing production costs and risks. This could contribute to overcoming a major barrier identified by the stakeholders-the high price of protein-rich processed products. This barrier follows that of previous studies [47], who identified that healthier foods are likely unaffordable for low income populations. A shift to healthier diets may therefore require higher incomes, nutritional assistance and lower prices, representing considerable social and economic transformations. In this context, Henchion et al. [46] stresses the necessity of developing new initiatives to involve wider stakeholders and key value chain actors, not traditionally working together, to support the aforementioned transformations. Stakeholders insisted the crucial role of multi-scale governments (regional-supra national) for achieving such transformations. Voisin et al. [48] demonstrates previous governmental successes of supply chain supports, through creation of niche markets and labelling.A decade after Schneider [49] posited that a lack of information of protein-rich crops had limited their production and consumption, de Bakker and Dagevos [50] noted the continued need for consumer education concerning plant-based products. Awareness of animal products' environmental impacts remains low amongst western consumers [51]. According to stakeholders, this lack of information continues to affect EU consumers. Ritchie et al. [8] states that without movement in consumer attitudes concerning animal-based products, consumption shifts are unlikely. Stakeholders noted and addressed these concerns stating that to reduce animal product consumption, increase animal replacement products' acceptance and shift towards greater plant protein consumption, would require EU-scale improvements in consumer education and access to and availability of, information. There continues to be a common notion amongst the general public that healthier diets may be unpalatable, low in variety and may be time intensive [31]. According to stakeholders, to address this misinformation the EU must step in and develop educational policies as a conduit for encouraging public opinion and consumption changes. Historically, governments have had policy successes in encouraging and promoting consumption shifts through educational activities [52]. Wellesley et al. [53] establishes that the general public expect governmental leadership to reduce the consumption of unhealthy products. Stakeholders suggest that marketing campaigns, which follow information and education campaigns, coupled with improved labelling and exposure to novel products, could assist in shifting consumer perceptions and increase awareness of the environmental and health impacts of animal products.Increases in public supports and implementation of taxes is another potential strategy presented for encouraging sustainable dietary changes. To increase production of protein-rich crops stakeholders noted that national or supra national agricultural policy supports were required. This is not without antecedence, where CAP supports have had direct and positive impacts upon EU legume cropping area [10]. Stakeholders reinforce the continued need of these supports for encouraging EU production of protein-rich crops. Stakeholders also stressed the need for taxation upon non-EU produced protein-rich crops, like soya, supporting calls from Wellesley et al. [53]. Protective taxes to encourage use of local raw protein-rich materials in plant-based products was also suggested as an enabling mechanism for transition. However, such protectionist taxation could have international trade implications, considering the EU's global trade agreements. Stakeholders summarized that application of taxes on animal-based products could also be used to reduce consumption. This is in line with calls from the literature for such measures (e.g. Springmann et al. [54]). Nordgren [55] argues the wide-ranging benefits of taxing meat consumption, with Springmann et al. [54] noting the benefits of carbon intensity related taxation, coupled with subsidies for food groups with positive health and environmental impacts. Saxe et al. [56], however, cautions the likely political, industrial and social opposition to such a strategy.Although these strategies are defined individually, it is evident that their application in the realworld could not be mutually exclusive, being in many cases interdependent and complementary. For example, lobbying for greater supports for plant proteins and increased investment in research may be far more successful with greater citizen awareness and interest in their benefits. Improved consumer education would also encourage the completion of the supply chains, as farmers and companies would recognize the benefits of following consumer demands. Proposed policy suggestions could be considered individually or as part of a meta-strategy, taking advantage of their interconnectedness, to encourage a series of a virtuous circles towards more sustainable futures. Sachs et al. [57] calls this meta-strategy a 'sustainable food transformation' and argues that to achieve it, interventions should be pursued in an integrated manner. In line with our results, the strategies identified by Sachs et al. [57], to operationalize this transformation would require deep structural changes, strong government action and the mobilization of stakeholders. Our findings and those of Willett et al [2] and Gerten et al. [58] suggest that it is crucial that adoption of less resource-intensive diets occurs in the upcoming decade. Stakeholders perceive that, in the next years, we will be facing more opportunities than barriers and a high number of actions and milestones, which may contribute to accelerate the EU protein transition up to 2030.Finally, this study has contributed to the extensive literature on dietary change by concretely detailing how shifts in diets and production could be achieved in the real world, where current trends are largely moving in an increasingly unsustainable direction. Through a participatory methodology we mapped the conditions required to transition towards a near-future Europe, where diets are more plant-based. We identified a suite of strategies that, if implemented, could shift the EU from its current pathways towards a more sustainable 2030. Encouragingly, these strategies in many cases were found to be robust across groups, which may point to their potential efficacy, if implemented. These stakeholder derived strategies could be combined with the dietary scenarios that dominate the literature, to develop more explicit scenarios, assisting policy making.This study is subject to some limitations. One shortcoming inherent to participatory backcasting exercises is that the proposed final objective is largely dependent on values and can therefore be potentially contested [59]. This can be mitigated when the topic addressed is of high political relevance [34], which is this is the case of the present study. Furthermore, working temporally backwards can be difficult for stakeholders [38]. Thinking backwards can be counterintuitive and requires high concentration, especially when end-points are chosen far into the future (25-50 years). This may diminish the inherent capacity of backcasting to deal with high uncertainty in distant situations [60]. To address this, a more immediate goal period (2030) was selected.In participatory backcasting, the distinction between milestones and actions is often described as too vague and dependent on the wording used [36]. Some examples that can be found in our study (e.g. 'optimizing crop management' as an action or 'crop management optimized' as a milestone) support this finding. Similarly, barriers and opportunities are in many cases difficult to distinguish (e.g. 'lack of public support' as barrier or 'public support' as opportunity) and can emerge as relevant items at different points in time (2015-2020 or 2020-2025). In these situations, good workshop facilitation is considered essential to clarify items, guide discussions and ensure an appropriate iterative process by looking at both the long and short term [38]. The authors tried to minimize these problems acting as facilitators due to their long experience in organizing, implementing and facilitating stakeholder workshops [61].Another critical aspect common to participatory backcasting is time constraint. As time is limited in the workshops, the backcasts produced usually do not reach the level of detail that is needed to be used directly into decision-making processes [36]. In the present study, there was not enough time to address important issues, such as responsibility, costs, impacts or implementation procedures. In subsequent workshops, these issues should be analyzed, along with mutual influences between steps and strategies.This study aimed to inform policymakers and the interested general public through the development of potential strategies and required actions to move towards a more sustainable dietary future in the EU. We used participatory backcasting to identify actions and develop strategies to transition EU protein-rich food production and consumption by 2030. Strategies developed revolved around increased funding for research, development and support of local supply chains, consumer education and awareness building and policy supports. These proposed strategies present a stepwise, time considerate and stakeholder derived conduit to a desirable future. Many of the developed strategies were dominated by actions required immediately, reinforcing the urgent need for actions to achieve necessary dietary changes and therefore avoid the health and environmental impacts of continuation of current dietary trends. This article complements previous studies that elaborate on the benefits of dietary shifts by enhancing understanding of near future barriers and opportunities, whilst providing stakeholder-based policy suggestions for encouraging sustainable dietary and production shifts. This study is, to our knowledge, the first to concretely detail how shifts in diets and production could be achieved in a real-world European context. The outputs of these stakeholder derived strategies could be combined with the dietary scenarios, that dominate the literature, to develop more temporally explicit models, to assist policy making and future scoping. Further, we propose as a next step, that further workshops should be performed, with a wider diversity of stakeholders (e.g. consumer groups), not only to validate the current strategies but to generate more detailed strategies. This would offer a greater learning opportunity for a wider selection of interest groups and would result in the development of highly structured and detailed strategies to be presented to policymakers. ","tokenCount":"5688"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"c895dda2ee27e6395b7b93b9699114df","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/9d85a4f1-7cb9-46bf-bae2-a8b5f5b43894/retrieve","id":"258119191"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"0d29b71b-cfd3-4422-925b-300e91a23ebb","pagecount":"4","content":"Vegetable growers in and around Accra, Ghana's capital, have felt their livelihoods being threatened by a city bylaw banning the use of polluted drain water, their main source of irrigation. Using diluted wastewater is a common practice in urban and peri-urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa and other low-income countries, and is known to pose health risks to people.CGIAR Challenge Program for Water and Food (CPWF) Project Number 38 \"Safeguarding public health concerns, livelihoods and productivity in wastewater irrigated urban and periurban vegetable farming, \" supported by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), built on past work by local universities in an effort to find solutions to reduce health risks without compromising the livelihoods of the producers and the health of the consumers.Reducing health risks from irrigation water Farmers were generally aware that the water they used was contaminated. Their knowledge of health risks resulting from direct exposure to wastewater from irrigation was however, quite low. They took few precautions on their farms to reduce those risks.Farmer and food vendor knowledge regarding health risks and implementation of risk reduction measures for increased food safety have increased National irrigation policy revised to reflect new stance on potential benefits of wastewater re-use Sedimentation ponds and filtration using sand filters were tested and found to reduce helminth eggs to acceptable levels. Lowering the watering height and using a rose or spray head on the watering reduced helminth egg and coliform counts.Simple adjustments in water practices, such as reduced splashing from the soil to the vegetables, lowered contamination levels. Cessation of irrigation before harvesting was also effective, with longer periods being more effective, though some yield reduction was noted. This led to various follow up projects (e.g. by WHO, IDRC and FAO) and the founding of the Ghana Environmental Health Platform, which continues the work started by local universities and CPWF partners.Project researchers were also asked to provide inputs to the WHO guidelines for wastewater use in agriculture.In close collaboration with the Resource Centre on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF), researchers initiated the revision of the Accra bylaws banning the use of polluted drain water.In 2010, the national irrigation policy was launched, which stated that, with certain precautions, the re-use of wastewater could be beneficial.\"About 800 million people are engaged in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) worldwide, contributing about 30% to the world's food supply (UNDP 1996).UPA is an effective way of alleviating poverty. It provides jobs for the poor. In Africa 65% of the people involved in UPA as farmers or traders are women.\"showing vegetables displayed on the ground Photo: IWMINow Accra's urban vegetable farmers can continue to make a living, while helping ensure the city's food security.Most Significant Innovations 1. Health risk reducing options tested and verified on farm, in markets and in the fast food sector.2. Advice to WHO on options for risk reduction using a multi-barrier approach from farm to fork as per WHO guidance.3. FAO using the results for the production of farmer field school modules.4. Influence on Ghana National Irrigation Policy.","tokenCount":"503"}

data/part_1/0121545354.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"152ea2ed990357ad8745706f3fe1414a","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/d4e24cc5-7985-445b-b88c-6eb1968b1ff4/retrieve","id":"-1127095540"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"e9f45007-4780-44c1-bbe1-4ec84edd8aa1","pagecount":"4","content":"Very little ia known of the general phyaiology oí eaasava. Consequently the initia! program is intended to give a haaie underatanding oí the growth eyele of the plant and how this ia affeeted by factor s known to be of major importan ce in other erops.Growth cycle of the plant fu. most crops assimilation during the búÍking.:periOd (the period when economic.\" yield ia formed) aecounta for more than 80 percent of the yie1d. lt has been repeatedly , \". \"found in a variety of other crope tOOt the primary factor influeneing rate of assimilation ls having sufficlent leaf area to intereept more than 90 percent of the incoming light.In the Iriah potato, yield la dire~ly related to the integral.of the lea! area index wit~ tlme during the bulking period (when lea! area index la greater than 3 lt la taken as 3), Henee a study of the pettern of lea! area index ls easentia! to understanding the erop. 300 N split so as to be 100 a.t planting, 100 at 3 months and 100 at 6 months • 200 K20 )) at planting 200 P 2 0 5 )Weed oontrol: Inseot oontrol:By hand as neoessary Inseotioides as neoessaryHarvests at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, lO, 11, 12 months after.planting. At eaoh harvest the following measurements wiIl be made:.1. Lea!: Areá, width, weight, angle, number., nitrf)gen oontent., ..'2. PetioIe: Length, weight.3. stem: Node number, branohing habit, sugar and staroh oontent, dry weight.4. Roets: Fresh weight, dry weight, sugar and starch, nitrngen oontent, number.5. Ught: ,L. T.R .• totallncident radiation, profile radiation.Expected information .l. Dependence of growth rata on lea! area index and radiation: presence or absence oí optimum L. A. I. for C. G. R.3.5.Contributi~ of carbohydrate stored in the atems before tuber bu1king tb final yield.ReIationship between yield and growth rate after tuber formation.Differenoes in growth associated with broad and fine leaves and their effeet on light penetration. .-1 -1There are several reporte suggesting tbat there is little tf any response to 'N' in eassava. As a erop physiologist 1 find this somewhat surprising. However, casaava ia normal1y grown on light free-draining soils where nitrogen losses will be large. 1t Expected information 1. Nitrogen response x time of application interaction.2. Effects of time of application on nitrogen content of roots. rilte oi plantingThe response oí yuca to climatic changeIJ. particuIarly solar radiation, is not known.To gain preliminary information a series oi monthly plantings using the best known available agronomíc techniques wiIl be grown in simple yield trials.At present the rate of multiplication of planting material is quite low in ,cassava, somewhere in the regíon of 10 times per annu~, For a successful breeding and selection program a much faster rate of reproduction ls requlred.Tbis problem wlll be approached in two ways:1. An assessment oi the feasibility of mist propagation as a means of rapid multiplicatlon using single node cuttings. During this study hormonal and fertilizer treatments wiIl be investigated .2. Investigation of rapid methods of propagation in the field.******.,","tokenCount":"502"}

data/part_1/0123276722.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"633b06e590120d4108f1d23170e92daa","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/be30b19d-a28d-4bd5-8af9-7c52d8171609/retrieve","id":"-1901374098"},"keywords":["global barley panel","genetic diversity","barley breeding toolbox","population structure","phenology","association mapping (AM)"],"sieverID":"1a89740f-cc65-46a8-abd3-b3e93b5559d2","pagecount":"18","content":"Breeding programs in developing countries still cannot afford the new genotyping technologies, hindering their research. We aimed to assemble an Association Mapping panel to serve as CGIAR Barley Breeding Toolbox (CBBT), especially for the Developing World. The germplasm had to be representative of the one grown in the Developing World; with high genetic variability and be of public domain. For it, we genotyped with the Infinium iSelect 50K chip, a Global Barley Panel (GBP) of 530 genotypes representing a wide range of rowtypes, end-uses, growth habits, geographical origins and environments. 40,342 markers were polymorphic with an average polymorphism information content of 0.35 and 66% of them exceeding 0.25. The analysis of the population structure identified 8 subpopulations mostly linked to geographical origin, four of them with significant ICARDA origin. The 16 allele combinations at 4 major flowering genes (HvVRN-H3, HvPPD-H1, HvVRN-H1 and HvCEN) explained 11.07% genetic variation and were linked to the geographic origins of the lines. ICARDA material showed the widest diversity as revealed by the highest number of polymorphic loci (99.76% of all polymorphic SNPs in GBP), number of private alleles and the fact that ICARDA lines were present in all 8 subpopulations and carried all 16 allelic combinations. Due to their genetic diversity and their representativity of the germplasm adapted to the Developing World, ICARDA-derived lines and cultivated landraces were pre-selected to form the CBBT. Using the Mean of Transformed Kinships method, we assembled a panel capturing most of the allelic diversity in the GBP. The CBBT (N=250) preserves good balance between row-types and good representation of both phenology allelic combinations and subpopulations of the GBP. The CBBT and its genotypic data is available to researchers worldwide as a collaborative tool to underpin the genetic mechanisms of traits of interest for barley cultivation.The new advances in genotyping technologies and genomic research applied to breeding (Genome Wide Association Studies and more recently Genomic Selection) have the potential to bring the largest yield productivity increase and stability improvement since the Green Revolution. The efficient use of these new tools is important to attain the production needed to feed the increasing population in a scenario of climate instability. These new approaches have been widely adopted thanks to new low-cost and high throughput genotyping technologies (Paux et al., 2010;Rimbert et al., 2018). However, despite the reduced cost, many public and private breeding programs, mostly in developing countries, still cannot afford them and as a result, a new technological gap between the developing and developed world has arisen.Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) covers 50Mha worldwide, ca. 20Mha of them in developing countries (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2022). Its drought tolerance and integration in the traditional crop-livestock farming systems make this crop an integral part of the strategies to cope with Climate Change, especially in the Dry Areas (Sanchez-Garcia, 2021). With the mandate to develop new barley varieties and cutting-edge research for the developing World, the CGIAR Global Barley Breeding program of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), in collaboration with national partners, has successfully developed, since 1977, more than 250 cultivars released and adopted by farmers. Genomic studies have been an integral part of the research carried out in the program to underpin the genetic control of traits of interest such as drought tolerance (Varshney et al., 2012), disease resistance (Visioni et al., 2018;Visioni et al., 2020) and nutritional and malting quality (Gyawali et al., 2017;Bouhlal et al., 2021) among others. This research has been integrated into the breeding program and the new germplasm developed carries novel QTL for traits of interest, benefiting partners Worldwide. However, despite the large network of testing locations and phenotyping capacities that the program uses -mostly in Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, Lebanon and Indiathe capacity to identify new QTL is still limited, especially for stresses not occurring at the testing locations. A collaborative network of scientists, particularly from the developing world, testing the same germplasm across local conditions and stresses and for traits of interest could help identifying new relevant alleles that will then be available to the whole network.Several highly diverse barley populations have been assembled in the last 30 years to study the genetic control of traits. Most of these populations consisted in core collections of major genebanks (Van Hintum et al., 1995;Igartua et al., 1998;Muñoz-Amatriaıń et al., 2014) or even multilateral efforts such as the International Barley Core Collection in 1989  (Knüpffer and van Hintum, 2003). Also, collections of modern varieties and elite germplasm have been used (Looseley et al., 2020), however, many of these populations are not representative of the barley varieties adapted to the developing world or are too large to be grown with limited resources. In addition, only a limited number of them take advantage of the new genotyping technologies that allow the use of large number of representative stable markers such as the 50k Illumina Infinium iSelect genotyping array for barley (Bayer et al., 2017) or are not freely available to the international community.When studying subpopulation genetic differentiation, Muñoz-Amatriaıń et al. (2014), found that many differentially selected genomic regions are coincidental with, or near to known loci involved in flowering time and spike row number. Russell et al. (2016) reported similar differentiation between two and six-row germplasm close to the location of VRS1 on c h r o m o s o m e 2 H ( K o m a t s u d a e t a l . , 2 0 0 7 ) and INTERMEDIUM-C on chromosome 4H (Ramsay et al., 2011) known as controlling the number of fertile florets in barley. In fact, the two spike morphologies have traditionally been separated geographically, and this separation has been reinforced by modern plant breeding (Muñoz-Amatriaıń et al., 2014). Therefore, any efforts in producing new mapping populations have to take into account the balance between row-types as well as other morphological or genetic traits that can impact the population's genetic structure.The main objective of the present study was to identify and assemble an Association Mapping panel of 250 barley genotypes to serve as a barley breeding toolbox, especially for the Developing World. To this aim, we took advantage of the extensive expertise of ICARDA on germplasm exchange through its network of international collaborators, on the consistent use of genebank material in the breeding program and recent efforts to develop relevant association panels to assemble and genotype a Global Barley Panel (GBP) of 530 barley entries. This panel includes entries representing the different barley uses (feed, forage, malt and food), morphophysiological traits and phenology patterns and local and regional preferences. It is using the information gathered from this Global Barley Panel that we aim to constitute a barley breeding toolbox that represents the global diversity in the GBP and: i) is representative of the germplasm grown in the Developing World; ii) covers a wide range of genetic variability, morphophysiological traits and phenology groups and iii) is of public domain or international public goods to facilitate germplasm exchange.A Global Barley Panel (GBP) of 530 genotypes mainly considered of spring-type, including elite lines, cultivars, and landraces from different geographic origins was assembled. The GBP includes a significant number of elite lines and cultivars from the ICARDA Global Barley Breeding Program of the CGIAR, both from the ICARDA program previously based in Syria, now in Morocco and Lebanon, and from the ICARDA/ CIMMYT Latin-America program based in Mexico, merged during the first decade of the 2000s. The set represents a worldwide spectrum of barley genetic variance with diversity of row-types, end-uses, growth habits and geographical and environmental distribution. Out of the 530 genotypes (292 two-row and 238 six-row types), 288 are from the ICARDA Global Barley Breeding Program, 61 from the United States of America (USA), 48 from Europe, 40 from India, 23 from Australia, 19 from Canada, 12 from Africa, 6 from Latin America and 16 from other countries across the globe. The Panel also includes 17 landraces from different countries (Figure 1). A detailed list of the genotypes used is provided in Supplementary Table S1.The genotyping work was done in two events. The first 266 entries were genotyped as described in Verma et al. (2021). For the second event, genomic DNA was isolated from lyophilized 2week-old leaf tissue from a single plant from each genotype as described in (Slotta et al., 2008). The GBP was genotyped using the recently developed barley Infinium iSelect 50K chip (Illumina, San Diego, California, USA) (Bayer et al., 2017) by TraitGenetics GmbH using the manufacturer's guidelines. Out of 43,461 scorable SNP markers (Bayer et al., 2017), 40,342 were polymorphic (Supplementary Table S2). A final set of 36,253 SNPs was obtained after removing markers with minor allele frequencies (MAF) < 5% and markers with > 10% of missing data. The distribution of the filtered SNPs across the seven barley chromosomes was illustrated using the CMplot package (Yin et al., 2021) for R statistical software (R Core Team, 2019).From the set of 40,342 SNP markers, a subset of 40,256 polymorphic markers with known physical positions was selected to perform the linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis for each chromosome using TASSEL 5.0 software (Bradbury et al., 2007) and a sliding window of 50 SNPs. The LD for locus pairs within the same chromosome was estimated as the squared allele frequency correlations estimates (R 2 ) and significant corresponding p-values ≤ 0.01. The R Statistical Software (R Core Team, 2019) was used to estimate the extent of LD by nonlinear regression analysis based on all intrachromosomal R 2Characterization of the 530 genotypes used based on row number (A, C) and geographic origin (A, B). values as described in Hill and Weir (1988) and implemented in Remington et al. (2001). After analyzing the distribution of the observed R 2 values, the critical R 2 value was set to 0.1, which refers to the minimum threshold for a significant association between two loci. The distribution and extent of LD were visualized by plotting the R 2 values against the genetic distance between same-chromosome markers (Mb).To estimate the genetic diversity within the GBP, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted with the filtered SNP marker set using TASSEL version 5.0 (Bradbury et al., 2007), and the first two eigenvectors were considered. The unrooted neighbor-joining (NJ) clustering algorithm under the Provesti's absolute genetic distances was applied using the R package poppr (Kamvar et al., 2015) to investigate the relationship among barley accessions. The R packages, ggtree (Yu, 2020) was used to visualize the NJ phylogenetic tree. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) implemented in the R package poppr (Kamvar et al., 2015) was used to assess the genetic diversity between and within major clusters (row types and geographic origins) defined by PCA and the NJ clustering. For AMOVA of geographical origin, we excluded the \"Other\" group since it includes cultivars from different origins. The population differentiation was assessed based on population pairwise Fst calculated using hierfstat package (Goudet, 2005). Diversity indices analyses including Nei's unbiased gene diversity (Nei, 1978) and allelic richness were calculated using the \"locus_table\" and \"poppr\" function of poppr R package (Kamvar et al., 2014).AMOVA was used to assess the extent of genetic diversity existing within the 530 barley genotypes based on flowering genes. For it, SNP markers associated with major flowering time genes in barley were selected: BK_05 (T/C) associated to HvVRN-H3 (FT1) gene, BK_14 (A/G) associated with HvPPD-H1 gene, BK_17 (C/G) associated to HvVRN-H1 gene, and BOPA2_12_30265 (A/G) associated with HvCEN gene (Comadran et al., 2012). AMOVA tests were used to calculate the variation explained by each of the SNP markers associated with flowering genes and the 16 allelic combinations (AC) of the 4 markers. The list and detailed information of the selected SNPs are provided in Supplementary Table S4. AMOVA was conducted using the R package poppr (Kamvar et al., 2014). The AC obtained from the SNPs were used to identify germplasm classes based on their earliness and lateness. LD parameter (R 2 ) calculated by TASSEL software (Bradbury et al., 2007) was used to test whether the selected SNPs were in LD with each other (Supplementary Table S3).The 36,253 filtered SNP markers were used to calculate individual admixture coefficients using the sparse Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (sNMF) algorithm implemented in the R package LEA (Frichot and Francois, 2015). This method was specifically developed to estimate individual admixture coefficients on large genomic datasets. The sNMF algorithm estimates ancestry independently for each individual and does not require prior assumptions about population membership. We used the cross-entropy criterion from the snmf function (Alexander and Lange, 2011;Frichot et al., 2014) to test several putative populations (K) ranging from K=2 to K=15. For each K we set the number of runs to 10, alpha to 10, tolerance to 10 -5 , and the iterations number to 200. Lines with strong admixture were defined as those showing less than 70% of identity (membership) with any ancestry in the model (Supplementary Table S5).To select a subset that represents the diversity of the population and at the same time provides an optimized set of entries for association mapping studies we used the R package GeneticSubsetter (Beukelaer et al., 2012;Graebner et al., 2016). For it, we used the Local Search subsetting option that produces single-genotype replacements repeatedly to multiple random starting subsets, until no more single-genotype replacements can be made with 100 iterations. The subsetting criteria used was Mean of Transformed Kinships (MTK) which measures the kinship of genotypes in a subset and identifies the most dissimilar set of genotypes, a favorable trait for GWAS studies.A total of 40,342 polymorphic SNP markers were retained after removing monomorphic markers and used for further genetic analysis. Only 86 SNP lacked chromosomal and physical map position information. The highest number of markers per chromosome was observed in chromosome 5H followed by 2H with 7,545 and 6,718 SNP respectively while chromosome 1H had the lowest number of SNPs amongst the seven chromosomes with 4,415 SNP. The MAF ranged from 0.26 to 0.28 with chromosome 4H having the lowest average MAF. The PIC values ranged from 0.34 to 0.36 among chromosomes and an average density of 8.54 SNPs per Mbp was calculated (Table 1). Diversity statistics computed for each SNP are summarized in (Supplementary Table S3). The minimum PIC value for SNPs was 0.003 with an average of 0.35. Most of the markers (66.12%) displayed PIC values exceeding 0.25, indicating the informativeness of the genotyping in our population. The SNPs density along the seven barley chromosomes was higher in proximal and distal portions compared to pericentromeric regions (Figure 2A). The mean R 2 values for the whole genome decreased with increasing pairwise distance. In general, LD showed a fast rate of decline, and the decay distance was approximately 0.3 Mb (Figure 2B).We conducted PCA using the filtered set of 36,253 SNP markers to evaluate the genetic diversity of the 530 barley genotypes. The PCA of the GBP showed a clear differentiation based on row type and geographic origin. The first axis of the PCA, explaining 8.6% of the genotypic variance, separated the genotypes according to their row type, being the 2-row genotypes located towards the negative side of the axis and 6row ones in the positive (Figure 3A). The same separation was observed with the phylogenetic tree (Figure 3C). In addition, two-rowed genotypes were grouped into five subgroups, the first was composed mainly of entries from Australia and ICARDA; the second was mostly from USA; the third grouped genotypes from Canada, USA and ICARDA; the fourth was predominantly from Europe, and the subgroup 7 was composed mainly of ICARDA entries. The six-rowed barley genotypes were split into three groups, with the first one (subgroup 5) composed of ICARDA, India, North and South America, the second (subgroup 6) and third (subgroup 8) represented two genetically different subgroups of ICARDA genotypes, as observed in the two-rowed genotypes (Figure 3B). Landrace genotypes were not grouped in distinct group while presented in separated clusters together with genotypes from other origins.The genetic variation between and within groups was further explored through AMOVA tests and the analysis of genetic diversity parameters (Tables 2, 3, respectively). AMOVA revealed that the row type grouping accounted for more than 10.6% of the whole genetic variation (Table 2). This result supports the grouping defined by the first PC in the PCA (Figure 3A). The six-rowed genotypes contributed to a higher share of genetic variation within populations as compared to two-rowed genotypes (Table 2). Six-rowed genotypes contained a higher number of polymorphic loci (Npl), higher MAF and PIC values than two-rowed genotypes. The allelic richness (Ar) and the number of private alleles were higher in two-rowed genotypes. However, equivalent values were observed between row types for Nei's unbiased gene diversity (He) (Table 3).To better describe the pattern of genetic diversity across the geographic origins, the \"Other\" group was removed and nine subgroups (Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe, ICARDA, India, Landraces, Latin America, and USA) were considered for analysis. The cultivated landraces were considered as a separate group to avoid distorting the genetic integrity of the geographic groups, as the rest of the lines are either released varieties or advanced breeding lines. The AMOVA of this grouping explained up to 12.32% of the total genetic variation (Table 2). The genotypes from ICARDA, USA, and Africa groups contributed the most to the genetic variation as reflected by the mean squares. The genotypes from ICARDA contained the highest number of polymorphic loci and of private alleles. The lowest value of allelic richness was found in the Latin America population (1.4), probably due to the low number of entries in the group, while the ICARDA population showed the highest value (1.65). The Nei's gene diversity varied from 0.26 (Europe) to 0.34 (ICARDA and Africa). The lowest MAF (0.17%) and PIC (0.24) were obtained for the Latin America population, while the Africa population showed the highest values with 0.28 and 0.37, respectively (Table 3). However, in pairwise differentiation among geographic groups, the highest Fst and therefore the highest difference was found for India vs Europe (Fst = 0.26) followed by Landrace vs Europe comparison (Fst = 0.25). Large differences were also found between, Australia vs Landrace (0.23) and Australia vs India (Fst=0.22) (Table 4). These results confirm the distinctiveness of European population from the other populations as reflected also by the PCA (Figure 3B). The ICARDA group showed generally lower pairwise Fst values, and therefore genetic distance as compared to all the other groups, despite the relatively higher Fst values shown with the European, Canadian and Australian groups (Table 4).Population subgrouping using sNMF, cross-validation and the cross-entropy criterion approaches gave further information regarding the genotypic structure of the GBP. The cross-entropy criterion did not exhibit a minimum value or a clear plateau and steadily decreased at higher k values (Supplementary Figure 1). However, substantial reductions of the criterion could be observed from cluster 2 to 8. Using 70% membership as a threshold, entries were assigned to different subpopulations at each K. Individuals whose highest ancestry coefficient is less than 70% were considered as admixed. Germplasm groups defined by sNMF with the number of ancestral populations corresponded USA and SubPop8.7 representing India. Over half of the genotypes placed in SubPop8.1 (SubPop7.5) were \"PETUNIA 1\" and its derived genotypes. Genotypes assigned to SubPop8.5 (SubPop7.7) were mostly issued from crosses with the cultivar \"Rihane-03\". Similarly, genotypes included in SubPop8.8 (SubPop7.3 and SubPop4.3) were mainly derived from crosses with the cultivar \"CANELA\". Most of the unassigned entries (admixed; n=356) observed in the collection were from ICARDA (58%) and to a lesser extent from USA (9.83%), and India (7.02%).In addition to the genetic structure of the population, the diversity based on four SNPs previously identified as linked to major flowering genes (HvVRN-H3 (FT1), HvPPD-H1 HvVRN-H1 and HvCEN) and generating sixteen allelic combinations (AC) was studied. The AMOVA of the genetic differentiation between and within each flowering locus and their allelic combinations was conducted (Table 5). The marker associated to HvCEN explained the highest variation (11.11%) among populations followed by those associated to VRN-H3 (4.33%), while the VRN-H1 explained the lowest (2.53%) variation among populations. The sixteen allelic combinations explained 11.07% of total genetic variation. Fifteen genotypes with missing SNP data were not considered when calculating AMOVA based on allelic combinations. The sixteen allelic combinations were classified from the latest flowering (AC1) to the earliest (AC16; Figure 5A) on the base of the mean values of heading date recorded in 20 environments across Morocco, Lebanon, and India (data not shown).All sixteen allelic combinations were present in the 275 genotypes from ICARDA origin. Thirteen allelic combinations were detected in USA group, eight in European, Australian and \"Other\" barleys, and seven in Indian genotypes. The most frequent allelic combinations in the germplasm were the early flowering AC15 (21.17%), AC12 (12.62%) and AC16 (12.43%). AC11 and AC13 were less frequent and unique to the ICARDA and Landrace populations. (Figure 5C; Supplementary Table S5). The PCA showed a clear distribution pattern of allelic combinations based on their effect on phenology. Genotypes associated with late allelic combinations were grouped on the negative side of the first PC while the early ones were more widespread (Figure 5A). Allelic combinations with late flowering characterized most two-rowed European, Canadian and USA genotypes and, to a lesser extent, the two-rowed African, Australian and Other origins (Figures 5A, B). The distribution of different allelic combinations within germplasm origin groups is shown in Figure 5C.Figure 5D shows the assignment of allelic combinations to different clusters in the phylogenetic tree. The group of 2-rows genotypes comprises entries carrying late or intermediate flowering allelic combinations, mostly from USA, Canada and Europe origins belonging to groups 2,3 and 4, respectively. On the other hand, genotypes from ICARDA and Australia (cluster 1) carry early to intermediate flowering allelic combinations. Interestingly, Cluster 7, mainly composed of ICARDA entries, is characterized by early allelic combinations, with few genotypes having late flowering allelic combinations. The 6-row genotypes are mostly grouped in Clusters 5, 6 and 8 that are mostly composed of entries from ICARDA, India and other origins carrying early flowering allelic combinations. mostly USA, Canada and Europe origins respectively. In particular, the allelic combinations showing the earliest average flowering (AC15 and AC16) were most frequent in ICARDA genotypes, while most European and USA barleys carried the allelic combinations associated to the latest average flowering (AC1 and AC2). Two-rowed genotypes from USA carried mostly late flowering allelic combinations while in the six-rowed genotypes early flowering allelic combinations predominated. Frequent allelic combinations within Australian barleys were of the intermediate flowering AC9 (36%) and the early flowering AC12 (27%). Indian genotypes and Landrace included in this study carried predominantly the early flowering AC15 (28.2%; 43.8%), AC12 (10.8%; 18%) and AC10 (28.2%; 18%) respectively. These results indicate that the materials used in the analysis are carrying specific flowering allelic combinations linked to their geographic origins.To assemble a collection of diverse barley germplasm representative of the germplasm grown worldwide and with particular emphasis on Developing World a subset of the full collection was selected. Instead of considering the whole GBP for the subset, where many lines are proprietary, we used the 312 entries mostly from CGIAR origin (including cultivars released in developing countries) and the landraces. The reason for this was to fulfill the three objectives of the present study, that is, that the panel developed is of public domain and free to use; that is relevant to the developing world and that it represents a wide genetic diversity (Figure 6). The subsetting was done using the Mean of Transformed Kinships method aiming at a final number of 250 entries. Up to 99.72% of the polymorphic markers present in the GBP set were also polymorphic in the new CGIAR subset. The distribution of the missing markers showed chromosome 7H as the one with less coverage (31) while chromosome 1H showed the highest coverage with only 3 markers missing. Moreover, 426 of the 471 rare alleles (alleles carried by <1% of the lines) of the total population are present in the subset. After filtering for minor allele frequency (MAF≥5%)and missing data (<10%), the number of polymorphic markers in the CGIAR set was 35,854, that is, 89% of the total number of polymorphic markers and 98.9% of the ones present after filtering in the GBP.The subset continues to preserve a good balance between the row type with a slightly larger proportion of 6-row types (55% of the 250 entries) over the 2-rowed types as compared with the Global population (46% 6-row and 54% 2-row) (Figure 6). The selected subset showed a good coverage of most of the PCA spectra except the most negative values in PC1, where the European, Canadian and USA varieties are located (Supplementary Table 6). In fact, entries from all the SubPopulations identified in the present study are enclosed in the subset. The proportions are similar in the subset as compared to the Global Panel except for SubPopulation 1, 3 and 6 in which the subset shows a smaller proportion as compared with the GBP (Figure 6). These 3 SubPopulations are characterized by harboring entries from USA, Canada and Europe, the 3 origins identified as some of the least related to ICARDA material (Table 3). It is noteworthy to mention that all the Allelic Combinations identified at the most important phenological loci are represented in the subset (Figure 6).  The characterization and dissection of genetic diversity and structure present in current germplasm collections help the breeders to meet breeding goals through the identification of beneficial alleles for traits of interest associated to molecular markers (Tester and Langridge, 2010;Al-Abdallat et al., 2017;Mazzucotelli et al., 2020). With this aim, in this study we explored the genetic diversity of a large global barley panel, comprising two-and six-rowed barley, from nine geographic origins and with different end-uses. The size and diversity of the panel used makes it a relevant tool for exploring the genetic diversity available for breeders.Out of the 43,461 scorable SNPs markers of the 50k iSelect SNP array (Bayer et al., 2017), 40,342 SNPs were found polymorphic in the global barley panel. Thus, 92.5% of all potential markers were segregating in our panel and 89.8% of them did so in a significant number of genotypes (MAF>5%) and with minimum data loss (missing data<10%).This result is similar and often higher than other reports of 39,733 SNPs (Darrier et al., 2019);33,818 SNPs (Novakazi et al., 2020) and 37.242 SNPs (Cope et al., 2020). The highest number of SNPs was found on chromosomes 5H and 2H, respectively, while chromosome 1H contained the least number of SNPs accordingly with Bayer et al. (2017). Using the filtered set, we reported high gene diversity (0.35) and PIC (0.35), which indicates a similar level of genetic diversity as compared to previously studied collections. Higher PIC values have been reported for 170 Canadian cultivars and breeding lines (PIC=0.38; Zhang et al., 2009) and wild and cultivated barley (PIC= 0.38 and 0.35 respectively; Dai et al., 2012). Recent genomic studies reported lower gene diversity and PIC values in diverse germplasm collections including landraces, wild and cultivated barley (Pasam et al., 2012;Bengtsson et al., 2017;Amezrou et al., 2018;Verma et al., 2021). The high level of genetic diversity reported is probably a result of the wide range of worldwide germplasm collected across years and of the different objectives of the breeding programs. Particularly, the large proportion of ICARDA Global Barley Breeding Program elite lines (54.3%) contributed greatly to genetic diversity. This is probably due to its extensive use of genetic resources from the ICARDA Genebank and from the extensive breeding efforts and international collaborations and germplasm exchange needed to address the needs of a global breeding program.Principal components analysis (PCA) and the NJ clustering partitioned the 530 entries into two clearly defined groups based on row-type (2-row vs 6-row) and highlighted the presence of subgroups characterized by common or closely related origins. Furthermore, AMOVA analysis indicated that germplasm origin could also explain a significant part of genetic diversity. The variation explained by geographic origin was higher than the value reported by Jilal et al. (2008) for a worldwide collection of 304 barley landraces from seven countries. The row type grouping captured 10.6% of the total genetic variance, which was lower than Malysheva-Otto et al (2007) for 504 European barley cultivars released during the 20th century suggesting that the diversity of this panel goes beyond the row type genepools. Row type in barley has been shown in the past to be one of the main determinants of the genetic structure, both due to the inherent nature of the trait which is associated to major regional preferences and its association to the different barley end-uses (Komatsuda et al., 2007;Saisho et al., 2009;Zhou et al., 2012). Most European countries exclusively use two-row barley for malt, while in North America, six-row varieties have played an important role in brewing (Verstegen et al., 2014;Milner et al., 2019). When comparing the genetic diversity, the six-row group showed more Npl, Nua, Ar, MAF, PIC values and genetic diversity relative to the number of genotypes as compared to the 2-row group. Higher MAF and PIC of six-row barley was also reported for a global barley panel (Hill et al., 2021), while the opposite was true for a Canadian barley collection (Zhang et al., 2009).The group of ICARDA germplasm showed high genetic diversity as revealed by the number of polymorphic loci, number of unique alleles and Nei's unbiased gene diversity. Moreover, 99.72% of the 40,342 polymorphic SNPs in the panel were so in the ICARDA population too. Interestingly, the lower differentiation between ICARDA germplasm and most of the other origins evidenced the long-lasting collaborations between the Global Program and national and regional breeding programs. In fact, more than 250 spring and winter 2-row, 6row and naked barley varieties of ICARDA origin have been released in 46 countries since 1979, including USA (5 varieties), Canada (15 varieties), Australia (4), India (8 varieties) and some African (70) and Latin American (27) countries among others. ICARDA germplasm has in addition being extensively used in crosses in the National programs. Interestingly, the Indian germplasm is closely related to the groups of Landrace, ICARDA and Africa, while distinct from the other groups. Landrace group exhibited the lowest Npl, MAF and PIC values which may be explained by the under-representation of Landrace genotypes during the development of the 50K SNP array (Bayer et al., 2017;Darrier et al., 2019).Latin American germplasm exhibited the highest He, MAF, PIC although having the lowest number of individuals (5) as compared to other origins. This could be due to the diverse source of genotypes originating from different countries (Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Uruguay). Despite American malting varieties being obtained through hybridization with European accessions, the national industrial standards for malting and brewing have led to the development of germplasm with specific characteristics (Matus and Hayes, 2002). The European barley germplasm showed the lowest allelic richness and genetic diversity as compared to other geographical origins. Similar findings were achieved in a previous study by Malysheva-Otto et al. (2006) when conducting a genetic diversity study with 953 barley accessions and 48 SSR markers. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the replacement in Europe of six-row spring barley by two-row spring barley during the 18th and 19th centuries led to a loss of diversity (Backes et al., 2003). In addition, the European varieties used were also the least related to the ICARDA germplasm. This could be due to the type of environments these varieties target in Europe. Most of the European varieties used in the present study were released in West, Central and Northern Europe where the type of environment and stresses associated differ from the main target areas of the Global Barley Breeding Program. In fact, while there have been collaborations between ICARDA and research groups from these countries both nowadays and in the past, practically all 25 ICARDA originated varieties released in Europe have been so in countries of the Mediterranean Basin.In the current study, we also analyzed the allelic diversity at four SNPs associated with key flowering genes (HvCEN, HvVrn-H3, HvPpd and HvVrn-H1) and their additive effect on the phenology and adaptation of the panel studied. These highly polymorphic (PIC > 0.4) loci were not in LD (Supplementary Table S2) and showed to be associated to the genetic structure of the population. The different allelic combinations of the four markers used explained 11.07% of the total variance and the distribution of HvCEN was the main driver of the association between the flowering genes and genetic structure of the population with minor effects of the other flowering genes studied. This influence was even more evident in the PCA graph which, in addition, shows clear geographical structuring based on earliness/lateness of the constructed allelic combinations. Comadran et al. (2012) and Russell et al. (2016) found that the patterns of single and multiple-flowering gene combinations contributed to a wide range of ecogeographical adaptation in barley.The ICARDA group contained all sixteen allelic combinations indicating high allelic variability that could provide adaptation to different environments and farming practices. Notably, in the rest of the germplasm, most of the genotypes harboring early-flowering allelic combinations are six and two-row barleys from India, ICARDA and Australia, while most of the accessions with late allelic combinations grades are two-rowed barleys from Europe, USA, Canada and Latin America. However late-flowering allelic combinations were also present in low frequencies in two-rowed genotypes from Africa, Australia, and ICARDA. Alqudah et al. (2014) found a similar separation of a spring barley collection based on the response to photoperiod and reduced photoperiod sensitivity (Ppd-H1/ppd-H1) at heading time. In this study, most of the accessions in the PpdH1-group were six-rowed barleys from West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region and East Asia (EA), while most of the accessions in the ppd-H1 group were two-rowed barleys from Europe. Spring barley accessions originating from regions where the growing season is short and with a dry summer (WANA, India e.g.) tend to carry photoperiod responsive Ppd-H1 alleles, causing early heading under LD, while late-flowering allelic combinations in European and North American accessions of spring barley could be due to reduced photoperiod sensitivity, ppd-H1, alleles as reported earlier by (Turner et al., 2005;Wang et al., 2010;Alqudah et al., 2014). Saisho et al. (2011) highlighted the geographic distribution of vernalization requirements in domesticated barley; western regions including Turkey, Europe, North Africa, and Ethiopia were strongly associated with a higher degree of spring growth habits, while the extreme winter growth habits were localized to Far Eastern regions including China, Korea and Japan. In the European-cultivated germplasm, most variation in vernalization requirement is accounted for alleles at the VRN-H1 and VRN-H2 loci, as the majority of European varieties are thought to be fixed for winter alleles at the VRN-H3 locus (Cockram et al., 2007). In the Landrace group predominated early-flowering allelic combinations and showed an allelic profile similar to India and six-rowed genotypes representing CWANA region. The barley landraces have adapted to seasonal photoperiod and temperature by changing their growth habit from a facultative winter-planted species in its center of origin to a short-season spring-planted crop on the northwestern fringes of Europe and highland plateaus of Central Asia (Comadran et al., 2012).It is generally agreed that the principal sources of structure in diverse collections of barley germplasm are spike row number, growth habit, and geographic origin (Cuesta-Marcos et al., 2010;Hamblin et al., 2010;Comadran et al., 2012). The results obtained through population structure, principal component analysis, neighbor-joining clustering analysis indicate a separation based on inflorescence type, geographic origin and phenology. Generally, PCA does not always classify accessions into discrete clusters, especially not when admixed accessions and accessions of various geographical origins are included (Glaszmann et al., 2010). In our case, subpopulations defined by sNMF correspond to discrete clusters in the PCA space. At K=2, a division according to row type was the main driver. Finer subdivisions at higher K could be interpreted based on geographical origin, phenology and row type generally within the discrete clusters established by the phylogenetic tree. Earlier studies reported similar population divisions (Muñoz-Amatriaıń et al., 2014;Al-Abdallat et al., 2017;Bengtsson et al., 2017;Amezrou et al., 2018;Milner et al., 2019;Verma et al., 2021).Two-row cultivars from Australia, USA and Canada alongside two-rowed varieties from Latin America and Europe were mostly grouped in the first, second, third and the fourth clusters, respectively. This relatedness can be explained by the European origin of American cultivated barley that was introduced in the continent from Europe nearly 500 years ago. Then after, the similar climate and continual human migration has likely led to subsequent introductions and exchanges (Casao et al., 2011). This relatedness could be seen already since the K=2 separation population structure. However, at higher Ks, the USA and Australian, most of them malting barley types, formed relatively distinct and stable groups within the diversity observed across the panel and had little overlap with the genotypes from other groups. This was especially true also for the European two-rowed barleys. Malysheva-Otto et al. (2006) suggested that the lower genetic diversity existing in European barley may be explained by the fact that exotic varieties were very rarely involved in the breeding programs in Europe. It is also important to note that two-rowed barleys are mostly malting types which may lead to specialized breeding gene pools. Two-rowed genotypes grouped in cluster 7 were from ICARDA origin and showed also distinctiveness at least from K=4 (SubPop4.3). These lines included the cultivar CANELA and its derived crosses (Supplementary Table S4). CANELA is a 2-row malt barley resistant to at least 7 diseases, issued from the ICARDA/CIMMYT Latin America breeding program where the focus on malt barley was particularly strong as compared to the Syrian program.Cluster 5, 6 and 8 assembled most of the 6-row barley lines of the panel. Although in this case, the phylogenetic clustering did not completely overlap with the subpopulations at K=4, at larger K these three clusters were evident. Cluster 5 grouped two subpopulations at K=8. The first subpopulation consisted of USA and Canada 6-row feed barley entries. The second grouped mostly 6-row Indian varieties. Cluster 6 instead consisted of a distinct subpopulation from ICARDA origin (SubPop7.7 and SubPop8.5). Genotypes of this group were mostly derived from crosses with the cultivar RIHANE-03, a mega-variety from the ICARDA Syria program released in several North African and West Asian countries characterized by its drought tolerance. Cluster 8 harbored one subpopulation (SubPop7.5 and SubPop8.2). This subpopulation assembled almost exclusively the 6-row ICARDA lines issued from the ICARDA/CIMMYT Latin America program, notably the lines derived from the cultivars PETUNIA-1 and, especially, 'DOÑA JOSEFA' (aka V-MORALES) a widely adapted 6-row malt barley line. The last subpopulation consisted of genotypes mostly issued from crosses between entries from the Syrian and Mexican programs. Despite this differentiation, the PCA showed some level of overlap in Clusters 5, 6 and 8 suggesting that these subpopulations may have some genetic overlapping that goes beyond the origin.Admixed genotypes at K=8 belonged to nine geographical origins and 57.6% of them were ICARDA breeding lines (47% two-row and 53% six-row). The higher number of admixed genotypes among the ICARDA lines can be explained by their largest population size (53.6% of genotypes present in the collection) and its extensive use of two-by-six row crosses for germplasm improvement (Amezrou et al., 2018;Visioni et al., 2018;Verma et al., 2021). Likewise, two-by-six row crosses hybridization is routinely practiced in India for improving the adaptability of exotic two-row barleys with indigenous six-row cultivars (Verma and Sarkar, 2010).The main objective of the present study was to identify and assemble an Association Mapping panel of barley genotypes that represented the diversity of the Global Barley Panel to serve as a CGIAR barley breeding toolbox (CBBT) especially for the Developing World. For it, the main criteria to select among the lines in the Global panel was: i) to be representative of the germplasm grown in the Developing World; ii) to cover a wide range of genetic variability, morphophysiological relevant traits and phenology groups and iii) be of public domain or international public goods to facilitate germplasm exchange.In order to meet these criteria and due to their large diversity, the CGIAR entries, including landraces hosted in the ICARDA genebank were pre-selected for a total of 241 lines. The Developing World representativity requirement was met due to the global target of the CGIAR Global Barley Breeding program especially in terms of adaptation and end-uses. In fact, most of the CGIAR lines included in the panel have been shared with and selected by National Partners as part of the Barley International Nurseries. These sets of diverse and elite barley genotypes distributed upon request to more than 70 collaborators in 20 countries in America, Europe, Africa and Asia (Sanchez-Garcia et al., 2021) annually have resulted in the release of more than 250 varieties since 1977, mostly in the Developing World. Moreover, these genotypes are transferred as International Public Goods under a Standard Material Transfer Agreement that allows their free use for research, education, and breeding. The CGIAR lines also showed wide diversity and representativity of the whole population. This group of lines showed the largest number of polymorphic loci and together with the landraces covered most of the diversity in the population. Moreover, the CGIAR origin lines are present in all the subpopulations and showed all 16 allelic combinations of phenology genes.However, to facilitate future phenotyping studies and reduce redundancies a core subset of 250 entries was selected using Mean of Transformed Kinships method. The use of this method differs from others like the PIC based one used in other studies such as Muñoz-Amatriaıń et al. (2014) due to the different aim of the subset. In the case of the CBBT, the primary aim is to serve as an Association Mapping panel for researchers that do not have access to one and rare trait discovery is only a secondary objective. However, the subset chosen kept most of the diversity of the Global panel and its morphophysiological traits' proportions suggesting that rare trait discovery is still possible. In summary, the CBBT is a solid and diverse representation of the barley grown in developing countries but also significant in the developed World.The genotypic data of the population is available in Supplementary Table 7 and in Germinate Database (https:// germinateplatform.github.io/get-germinate/). All the data generated on this population will be freely available in Germinate for the global barley community to use.The main objective of the present study was to assemble a collection of diverse barley germplasm representative of the germplasm grown worldwide and with particular emphasis on Developing World. The results showed that the Global panel used in this study is highly diverse and covers a wide range of both genetic variability of cultivated barley and phenology groups. The CBBT assembled represents with fidelity the genetic diversity and key morphophysiological traits of the Global panel. This collection will be made available, together with the genotypic data, to breeders and researchers worldwide to serve as a collaborative tool to underpin the genetic mechanisms of traits of interest for barley cultivation. In addition, the collaborative approach to gene discovery will make this collection a toolbox for breeders that will be able to use the germplasm and the markers identified by researchers worldwide in their own breeding programs.","tokenCount":"7197"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"6a7e21522193e40a5e884ac8db80e7fc","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://dataverse.harvard.edu/api/access/datafile/:persistentId/?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/NKH9SW/ICTHC1","id":"181458374"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"01cfba10-3533-4976-9c4c-b92fd5d4171f","pagecount":"22","content":"Ask the respondents if we can interview them for a few minutes. If YES, then obtain informed consent and then proceed with the interview.Hello. My name is _____________________. We are here on behalf of the Alive and Thrive (A&T) and Integrated Family Health Program (IFHP) to have some understanding about the health extension program and the services aimed at improving infant and young child feeding being provided in the health posts.Your kebele has randomly been selected to participate in this study. We will be asking you several questions about the types of services that you provide; the kind of training you received and your interaction with health extension workers, volunteer community health workers. The information you provide us will be used by the RHB and organizations supporting services in your facility, for planning service improvements or further studies of services. The information you share may also be provided to researchers for analyses, however, any reports that use your data will only present information in aggregate form so that neither you nor the facilities can be identified. We will also inform you regarding the survey results. You may refuse to answer any question or choose to stop the interview at any time. Do you have any questions about the survey? Do I have your agreement to proceed? If you have any questions or queries regarding this survey, please contact Dr. Disha Ali (0911 4664601) of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)/ Alive and Thrive or Prof Yemane Berhane (0014-168207) of Addis Continental Institute of Public Health (ACIPH).How long have you been working as supervisor?If less than 1 year, write 0 ","tokenCount":"269"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"54966a7b399cad3302b91b34aa2760c4","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H041591.pdf","id":"1760525304"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"a8ac51aa-7091-40ba-9c63-f14d54442b80","pagecount":"13","content":"Management of land, soil and water are intimately related and complementary to each other. Land degradation, and in particular soil quality degradation, is a major factor limiting agricultural water productivity and is often neglected in water management circles. When degradation of agricultural soil resources results in productivity declines that are more limiting than water, then water productivity declines. The best existing evaluation of the extent of soil degradation worldwide is still the Global Assessment of Land Degradation (GLASOD) by Oldeman (1991). Based on this assessment we can infer that on 50% of arable land worldwide, water productivity is below what could have been expected before degradation occurred (Wood et al., 2000; see also Eswaran et al. (2001) for more detailed treatment of yield impacts from land degradation). Soil degradation limits water productivity in cases where absolute quantities of water are not the most limiting factor. This situation is widespread, considering that nutrients can be more limiting than water even in very dry areas, such as the Sahel (Penning de Vries and Djiteye, 1982;Breman, 1998). Addressing these constraints is critical if improvements in water productivity are to be achieved. Increasing awareness of a 'global water crisis' recognizes that the scarcity of clean water does affect food production and conservation of ecosystems. It is predicted that by 2025, most developing countries will face either physical or economic water scarcity, while at the same time global demand for food will increase (Molden, 2007). Because irrigated and rainfed agriculture is by far the largest human consumptive use of fresh water, improving the productivity of water used in agriculture can assist in increasing food production while maintaining water-related ecosystem services. Tackling human-induced degradation of agricultural lands is therefore central to addressing the 'water crisis'.This chapter reviews a range of studies and concepts regarding options for improving water productivity through improved land management that mitigates soil degradation, and aims to highlight its importance as part of a comprehensive strategy to address global water scarcity. The focus is primarily on crop water productivity at the field scale, but the importance of taking a landscape-scale perspective when evaluating impacts of changes in water use is also discussed.Soil and land degradation can be identified and described in terms of physical, chemical and biological changes from some ideal state brought about by natural or man-made influences. Soil degradation is often assessed as the amount of soil material that has been removed from a landscape by water and wind erosion, since these physical changes are obvious and quantifiable. The effects on fundamental chemical properties, soil nutrient supplies and soil biological activity are, however, often less obvious and more insidious in nature. All of these forms of degradation significantly influence water productivity in both rainfed and irrigated production systems (Table 2.1). The degree of impact will depend on the type and level of degradation.The impact of soil chemical degradation on water productivity is predominantly direct. By reducing yields, chemical degradation reduces water productivity. One form and cause of chemical degradation is the loss of soil organic matter, which is a ubiquitous and underappreciated form of degradation. Soil organic matter (SOM) both acts as a substrate upon which the macro-and micro-flora and fauna depend, and also mediates the cycling of nutrients within ecosystems and imparts important chemical attributes to soils, such as cation exchange capacity (CEC) and buffer capacity. When ecosystems are disturbed through changed land use and continuous cultivation, the productivity of most agricultural soils declines rapidly, particularly under humid climatic conditions, due to a loss in SOM (Kang and Juo, 1986;Aweto et al., 1992;Noble et al., 2000Noble et al., , 2001)), accelerated acidification (Gillman et al., 1985;Noble et al., 2000) and a reduction in CEC, thereby limiting the ability of the soil to hold important nutrients.Chemical degradation, including loss of soil organic matter and nutrient depletion, is a form of degradation that has been underappreciated for decades in high-input systems, as inputs can be increased to offset the yield impacts of degradation. For example, yield declines in rice-rice systems in the Indo-Ganges plain were only recently revealed through long-term yield data analysis. These analyses showed a yield decline of 37 kg/ha/year over 20 years (Padre and Ladha, 2004). This represents a 15% decline over the study period, undetected in shorter-term studies. The decline could be reversed through the application of NPK fertilizer and farmyard manure, thus indicating that soil chemical degradation through organic matter and nutrient depletion was the primary cause of observed yield declines (see Penning de Vries, Chapter 5, this volume).The impacts of salinization and waterlogging in irrigated systems are better appreciated. In the irrigation systems of arid and semi-arid zones, one of the largest threats to sustained agricultural production and water productivity is secondary salinization. Although data are poor, estimates indicate that 20% of irrigated land worldwide suffers from secondary saliniza-  (Oldeman, 1991).tion and waterlogging (Wood et al., 2000), induced by the build-up of salts introduced in irrigation water or mobilized within the soil profile. Currently, the FAO estimates that 29% of the irrigated land in six countries of the Near East had salinity problems between 1990and 1994(Martinez-Beltran and Manzur, 2005)  (Sakthivadivel et al., 1999). Although it is relatively easy to link salinity to poverty, limited information is available that places a monetary value on the social and economic impacts (Ali et al., 2001). Available information addresses mainly crop yield losses on salt-affected soils, revealing estimates of an annual global income loss in excess of US$12 billion (Ghassemi et al., 1995).The impact of physical degradation on water productivity is mainly indirect. By interfering with the soil water balance and the ability of plants to access soil water, physical degradation reduces water productivity. Physical degradation includes soil erosion, crust formation, structural decline, compaction and waterlogging, all of which have a negative impact on yields and hence water productivity. As with chemical degradation, loss of soil organic matter is one of the primary causes of physical degradation because it is vital to the maintenance of soil structure.Soil erosion is one of the most severe forms of soil physical degradation and results in the irreversible removal of fertile surface layers. A decrease in soil depth due to erosion will result in a loss of clay and organic matter, and thereby reduces the water-holding capacity of the soil and soil depth (Stocking, 1994). Both of these impacts will significantly reduce the productivity potential of soils and the physical attributes of the solum. Likewise, the formation of surface crusts will result in a dramatic decline in the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil surface, thereby impeding the intake of water into the soil profile and reducing its recharge (Nishimura et al., 1990;Miller and Radcliffe, 1992). Moreover, crusts are known to inhibit the seedling emergence of crops as the crust dries out and develops its hardness (Nabi et al., 2001).As a result of compaction, the total porosity and the proportion of large pores (macropores) diminishes while the proportion of smaller pores increases (Cruse and Gupta, 1991). A decrease in porosity, with an associated increase in soil bulk density, induces an increase in the mechanical impedance of the soil, thereby limiting root proliferation (Oussible et al., 1992;Dunker et al., 1995). Based on field experiments using upland rice, Hasegawa and Kasubuchi (1993) illustrated the water extraction patterns of plants. When a soil profile is thoroughly wet, plants extract most soil water from shallow, densely rooted layers. With a decrease in surface-layer water content, water retained in deeper layers begins to make a larger contribution to transpiration. If a crop has a sparse root system in these deeper layers, the crop ceases to extract soil water, even though there may be sufficient soil moisture at depth. Thus, crops with a poor root distribution system are more susceptible to drought when compared with crops that do not have this limitation.Global water scarcity analyses generally agree that a large share of the world population -up to two-thirds -will be affected by water scarcity over the next few decades (cf. Shiklomanov, 1991;Alcamo et al., 1997Alcamo et al., , 2000;;Raskin et al., 1997;Seckler et al., 1998;Vorosmarty et al., 2000;Wallace, 2000;Wallace and Gregory, 2002). While views diverge as to whether or not this constitutes a 'crisis', it is clear and inescapable that as the global population grows, there will be proportionally less water available per capita, given that the resource base is more or less constant. It is often assumed that such water scarcity means that people will have insufficient water for their domestic use, but this is not necessarily the case. At a minimum water requirement per capita of 50 l/day, the annual domestic requirement is less than 20 m 3 per capita. In fact, the total amount of water required for domestic purposes is small compared with the water required for other basic needs, such as to produce their food (Rijsberman, 2006).People require thousands of litres of water per day to produce their food, depending on their dietary and lifestyle preferences. On average, it takes roughly 70 times more water to grow food for people than people use directly for domestic purposes (cf. SIWI and IWMI, 2004). In addition, the large majority (up to 90%) of the water provided to people for domestic purposes is returned after use as wastewater and can be recycled, while most of the water (40-90%) provided to agriculture is consumed (evapotranspired) and cannot be reused, until it falls again as precipitation.There is broad agreement that future increases in water scarcity will turn water into a key, or the key, limiting factor in food production and livelihood generation for poor people throughout much of rural Asia and most of Africa, with particularly severe scarcity in the breadbaskets of north-west India and northern China. Competition for water is cause for considerable political tension and concern already, for example on the Euphrates and Jordan, and these tensions have little to do with domestic water demand but are driven by water demands for the agricultural sector (Phillips et al., 2006). The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to halve the proportion of poor and hungry by 2015 will require feeding 900 million more people and improving the dietary composition of 400 million others. It is estimated that this will require a 50% increase in freshwater use in agriculture by 2015, and a doubling of freshwater consumption by 2050, if production is to keep pace with population growth (Rockström et al., 2005). Analysis of future water requirements also suggests that a large proportion of this increased food production will have to be met in the rainfed agricultural sector (Rockström et al., 2005), due to limitations to the continued development of irrigated agriculture. In Asia especially, new irrigation development faces increasing competition from other sectors of the economy, including industry, urban centres and the environment.Given increasing conflicts over fresh water, and considering that the production of food is the largest consumptive user of fresh water, it is now appreciated that efforts to improve the productivity of water in agriculture can result in significant savings in water diverted or used to produce food. Agricultural water productivity can be a very broad concept, expressing the beneficial output per unit of water input, and encompassing biophysical and social aspects of the relationship between production and water use (Molden et al., 2007). This concept would then have various values at different spatial scales (plant, field, farm, irrigation network, river basin and agroecological zone) and different stakeholders (farmers, system managers, policy makers). Here, we will focus on agricultural water productivity at the plant and field level, where the primary stakeholder is the farmer. Thus, we will concentrate on crop water productivity (CWP), defined as the agronomic yield per unit of water used in transpiration, evapotranspiration (ET), or applied (including precipitated) water. This concept is equally valid for irrigated and rainfed systems and thus also provides a vehicle for exploring water-use options at the basin scale, where a variety of systems and options for development exist.Increasing agricultural water productivity can significantly reduce the total amount of water we will need in the future to produce food. Thus, agricultural water productivity estimates are an important component in scenarios that have been explored to try to estimate future water requirements. For example, under a base scenario that included optimistic assumptions on yield increases and efficiency, Seckler et al. (1998) estimated a 29% increase in irrigated land would be required by the year 2025 to produce enough food to feed the population. But because of gains in water productivity, the increase in water diversions to agriculture would only need to be 17%. FAO (2002aFAO ( , 2003a,b) ,b) and Shiklomanov (1998) had comparable results. FAO (2002b) estimated a 34% increase in irrigated area and a 12% increase in irrigation diversions, and similarly Shiklomanov (1998) projected a 27% increase in irrigated diversions. More recently, scenarios taking into account both irrigated and rainfed agriculture projected that 30-40% more water will be used in agriculture by 2050 than is used today (De Fraiture et al., 2007). This optimistic scenario was based on the assumption of balanced investments in water management in rainfed and irrigated areas, and increased water productivity. Without improved water management the overall increase is projected to be 70-90%. Because of the importance of rainfed agricultural production now and in the future, we are interested in water productivity in both irrigated and rainfed systems.A fundamental but somewhat technical discussion is required to understand how CWP can be improved. For a given crop variety, there is a near linear relationship between plant biomass (leaves, stems, roots, grain, etc.) and transpiration (Tanner and Sinclair, 1983), depending on plant variety and climate (Steduto and Albrizio, 2005). Since the mid-1960s, breeding strategies that increase the harvest index (the proportion of grain to total biomass) have resulted in larger increases in water productivity than any other agronomic practice. These gains, however, are not based on a decrease in transpiration per unit of biomass produced, but instead on an increase in the proportion of biomass that is marketable or consumable produce (usually grain). Thus, the amount of biomass per unit transpiration has not changed through breeding strategies that increase harvest index. This illustrates the perceived 'biological imperative' that to produce more biomass, more water is required for transpiration. Given that it is now thought that the scope for further increases in harvest index seems small, even with biotechnology (Bennett, 2003), where might we identify opportunities to continue to increase water productivity in agriculture?The difference between actual water productivity and this limit represented by plant physi-ology demonstrates the enormous opportunities to increase water productivity. Taking wheat as an example, Fig. 2.1 shows the significant variation that exists in CWP (Sadras and Angus, 2006). The solid line in Fig. 2.1 may represent the biological limits along which increased biomass production requires increases in water use, while most systems surveyed achieved much lower water productivity. The mechanisms to achieve improvement are related to reducing evaporative losses of water or increasing transpiration efficiency, both of which can decrease ET per unit of biomass produced, thus increasing water productivity. Both of these factors can be strongly affected by land management and soil quality. In particular, increased infiltration rates and soil water-holding capacity can reduce evaporative losses, and soil fertility improvement can increase transpiration efficiency. Understanding a simple water balance of a typical farm helps guide an analysis of where opportunities lie to increase water productivity. Water which either falls as precipitation or is applied to any particular field can have several fates: transpiration, evaporation, storage or drainage (Fig. 2.2). Storage and drainage water can still be used productively either on-site or downstream, and is not 'lost' unless its quality declines (through, for example, being drained off into a saline aquifer). Evaporation, however, is a significant by-product of agricultural practices, and does not contribute to biomass production. Evaporation depends on climate (thus CWP is generally higher at northern latitudes with lower temperatures) and soil shading (by leaves of the crop canopy), and can thus be high in rainfed systems in the tropics, with high temperatures and low plant densities. In degraded tropical systems, evaporation is even higher, as infiltration into the soil and soil waterholding capacity are reduced, runoff is rapid and plant densities are very low. Transpired water can also be wasted if crop failure occurs after significant biomass growth. Thus, practices that reduce evaporation and prevent crop failure, such as mulching and fertilizer to increase soil water retention, plant vigour and leaf expansion can significantly increase CWP. Losses due to pests also limit harvestable yields, and hence managing these limitations can also increase water productivity.Transpiration efficiency -the biomass produced per unit of water transpired -is also highly dependent on soil nutrient availability. In fact, it has only recently been appreciated that the linear relationship between transpiration and biomass production only holds at a constant level of nutrient availability. Soil degradation therefore, particularly poor soil fertility, is a primary cause of low water productivity. A recent modelling study by one of us (Nangia), undertaken to understand the role of nitrogen fertilizer in enhancing water productivity, particularly highlights the role of soil nutrient availability as a determinant of water productivity. While a lot of agronomic studies have been conducted investigating crop response to nutrients and water, they were primarily aimed at understanding land productivity and not water productivity. This work, aimed at bridging this gap, concluded that more biomass and harvestable products can be produced per unit of transpired water given adequate nitrogen availability (Fig. 2.3), and that maximizing water productivity was not equivalent to maximizing land productivity. The improvement is most successful when trying to raise productivity from very low levels, such as are common in many degraded rainfed farming systems.The basis for understanding how much CWP can still be improved in practice is provided by a few recent reviews that have quantified CWP variability in irrigated and rainfed systems.These reviews indicate that significant improvement to CWP can be achieved. On irrigated land, Zwart and Bastiaanssen (2004) estimated the variability in WP for major crops based on measurements of actual ET on fields across five continents (Table 2.2) from 84 published studies conducted since the early 1980s. This variability, often up to threefold differences between low and high water productivity, is encouraging since it gives an idea of the tremendous potential that exists to increase CWP. These authors concluded that, if constraints were removed, increases of 20-40% in CWP could easily be achieved. The variation was primarily attributed to climate, irrigation water management and soil management. Similarly, Fig. 2.1 demonstrates the significant variation in CWP for wheat (Sadras and Angus, 2006). In semi-arid zones of sub-Saharan Africa Falkenmark and Rockström (2004) found CWP for maize, sorghum and millet to range from about 2.5 to 15 kg/mm water per/ha. As with Zwart and Bastiaanssen (2004), improving soil management was one of several factors identified that affect CWP.This gap between actual water productivity and potential is largest in rainfed farming systems in semi-arid areas. Falkenmark and Rockström (2004) review the theory and data supporting the significant opportunities that exist to improve water productivity in these rainfed systems. They highlight the tremendous potential to shift from unproductive evaporative losses to productive transpiration. Figure 2.4 shows the relationship between actual CWP as measured by ET and grain produced across a large range of sites in sub-Saharan Africa. Hatfield et al. (2001) support this conclusion, based on an extensive review of studies that examined the potential of soil management practices alone to improve water-use efficiency. Hatfield et al. (2001) estimated that CWP could be increased by 25-40% through soil management practices, such as 'no till', to improve infiltration and soil water storage, and between 15 and 25% with nutrient management.  summarizes the idea that, although the biological relationship between water use and biomass may be linear, soil management could significantly push the line towards increased production at the same level of water use, such as illustrated in detail for wheat (Fig. 2.1). Likewise, poor soil management and soil limitations move the line down, limiting water productivity.In another recent review of case studies of resource-conserving agriculture projects (Pretty et al., 2006), it was estimated that improvement in water productivity ranged from 70 to 100% in rainfed systems, and 15 to 30% in irrigated systems (Table 2.3). These estimates were made based on reported crop yields and average potential evapotranspiration (ETp) for each project location during the relevant growing season. Actual evapotranspiration (ETa) was assumed to equal 80% of ETp, and ETa to remain a constant at different levels of productivity. Impacts are attributed primarily to land management changes such as removing limitations on productivity by enhancing soil fertility, and reducing soil evaporation through conservation tillage. The variability was high due to the wide variety of practices represented in the dataset, but do demonstrate gains in WP are possible through the adoption of sustainable farming technologies in a variety of crops and farm systems (Bossio et al., forthcoming).A few detailed field studies from Australia, Africa and Asia serve to highlight these potential impacts. Smith et al.'s (2000) careful study demonstrated this shift from evaporation to transpiration as influenced by soil fertility in a   rainfed wheat/lucerne production system in New South Wales, Australia. By increasing fertilizer (i.e. nitrogen) inputs, they were able to demonstrate increases in water productivity of wheat grain as measured by crop evapotranspiration from 8.4 to 14.6 kg/mm of water (Table 2.4). Some interesting trends can be gleaned from these results on improving the CWP of rainfed production systems when limited by the fertility status of the soil. In annual cropping systems, evaporation decreases and transpiration increases with increasing leaf area. As a consequence, the total amount of water consumed through the sum of evaporation and transpiration (ET) in a crop with low leaf area may be similar to that consumed in a crop with high leaf area. In this case, ET of 404 and 439 mm, respectively, was measured between these two contrasting crops. This study therefore clearly demonstrates that it is erroneous to assume that the water use of a high biomass crop will be proportionately greater than that of a low biomass crop, when leaf areas are very different (Smith et al., 2000). In this case, a doubling of grain yield only required a further 35 mm of ET (less than 10% increase) (Table 2.4).Field results from a low-yielding rainfed system in Africa (Barron and Okwach, 2005) demonstrated that water productivity could be dramatically increased and also highlighted the importance of synergistic water and nutrient management to achieve this impact on farmers' fields. Water productivity in a smallholder maize production system in semi-arid Africa was increased from 2.1 to 4.1 kg grain/mm/ha, almost a 100% increase, by using supplemental irrigation to mitigate dry spells. But this increase was only achieved when supplemental irrigation was applied in combination with nitrogen fertilizer (Barron and Okwach, 2005).In cases where soil chemical and physical degradation is extreme, rehabilitation of degraded soils can have an even greater impact, as demonstrated in recent studies on rainfed production systems in north-east Thailand (Noble et al., 2004). Sandy soils in NE Thailand have severe nutrient and carbon depletion after 40 or more years of agricultural production. Low nutrient-supplying capacity, poor water-holding capacity and the presence of a compacted layer at 20-30 cm are the dominant constraints to ensuring yield stability under rainfed conditions. Crop failure is now the norm owing to the extremely low availability of both nutrients and water. Annual precipitation is about 1100 mm, and sufficient for rainfed farming. Adding fertilizers or supplemental irrigation cannot stabilize yields, owing to the soil's very low capacity to retain water and nutrients. A novel approach of adding clay materials to these soils has ensured yield stability, as well as significantly enhancing crop yields (Noble et al., 2004;Noble and Suzuki, 2005). A measure of water productivity in these studies was estimated from the biomass produced per unit of rainfall over the growing season. Water productivity increased from a mere 0.32 kg/mm under the degraded situation to 14.74 kg/mm where constraints such as low nutrient supplies and water-holding capacity were addressed through the application of clay-based materials. These dramatic results are partly attributed to a 28% increase in soil water-holding capacity (Noble and Suzuki, 2005).The primary focus of this chapter has been CWP at field level and the opportunities that exist to improve CWP by mitigating soil degradation through improved land management.We have demonstrated that the potential gain in water productivity through land management interventions, particularly to improve soil  quality, is large and, we suggest, generally underappreciated. Various studies estimate that water productivity in irrigated systems could be improved by between 20 and 40%, primarily through land management approaches. In rainfed systems in developing countries, where average crop production is very low and many soils suffer from nutrient depletion, erosion and other degradation problems, potential improvement in water productivity is even higher, and may be as high as 100% in many systems. This is particularly important given that a large share of the needed increases in food production will have to come from rainfed systems.We have emphasized the importance of reducing real losses in the water balance, such as evaporation, by improving soil physical properties, and increasing transpiration efficiency through improved nutrient management as the key entry points through which desired improvements in water productivity can be achieved. This point is particularly important in the watershed or landscape context. If increases in biomass production on site are achieved simply by using more water, without reducing unproductive losses or increasing transpiration efficiency (i.e. water productivity remains constant), this would then simply represent an increased diversion of water from runoff or deep percolation to biomass production on site. This type of diversion would be a reallocation of water that may have been valuable downstream either to maintain aquatic ecosystems or for other productive purposes in a different location. It is not necessarily an increase in water productivity at the landscape or basin scale if water is simply used in a different location. The important entry point for water productivity improvement at larger scales is to reduce real losses of water that occur through evaporation, losses to saline sinks, ineffective transpiration, or useless transpiration resulting from crop failure.The diverse set of studies discussed above clearly demonstrate that improved land management is a very promising way to increase water productivity, particularly in lowyielding rainfed systems. To put this in perspective, the recent Comprehensive Assessment on Water Management in Agriculture reviewed the opportunities to improve agricultural water productivity and found that alternatives such as genetic improvements can be expected to yield only moderate water productivity improvements, although genetic improvements may play an important role in reducing the risk of crop failure (Molden et al., 2007). Synergistic interventions, including improved water management and maintenance of soil quality, have the greatest potential to improve water productivity. There is every indication, therefore, that investing in the rehabilitation of degraded agricultural lands should be taken up as a priority in efforts to mitigate the 'water crisis'. There are additional gains to be had in such an intervention, including maintenance of terrestrial ecosystems, and also the preservation of aquatic ecosystems and their accompanying services, all of which are linked directly to how agricultural land is managed and maintained.","tokenCount":"4542"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"f65d0aa4f89c7f97d5fb9ccba7b3034b","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://repository.cimmyt.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/bbdbc9db-640e-4a06-b093-3f6980b2002e/content","id":"-892140292"},"keywords":["Wheats","soft wheat","Triticum aestivum","dwarfs","varieties","genera","taxa","land races","ancestry","provenance. AGRIS category codes: F30 Dewey decimal classification: 633.1123 KLRF/4,IB&cAl/IVZBZ CHIRYA CHIRYA CatAG.CUlIGLEW<VALLVPVl'V CIGM87Bl CHIRYA 1992 CIMMYT 4JNINGMAl NO.4t'OLESONl/ ALIVYANGMAl NO.4 CHIRYA.l CHIRI CatAG.CU/IGLEW<VALLVPVl'V4,I CIGM87Bl•110B CHIRYA 1992 CIMMYT NINGMAl NO.4t'OLESONl/ALI¥ YANGMAI NO.4 CHIRYA.2 CHIR2 CatAG.CU/IGLEW<VALLVPVl'V4,I CIGM87Bl•113B CHlRYA 1992 CIMMYT NINGMAI NO.4t'OLESONI/ALI¥ YANGMAl NO.4 CHIRYA.3 CIDR3 CatAG.CU/IGLEW<VALLVPVl'V4,I CIGM97Bl•116B CHIRYA 1992 CIMMYT NINGMAl NO.4t'OLESONl/ALI¥ YANGMAl NO.4 CHIRYA.4 CIDR4 CatAG.CU/IGLEW<VALLVPVl'V4,I CIGM87B1-122B CIDRYA 1992 CIMMYT NINGMAl NO.4t'OLESONl/ALI¥ YANGMAl NO.4 CHIRYA.5 CHIR5 CatAG.CUlIGLEW<VALLVPVl'V4,I CIGM87Bl•l006B CHIRYA 1992 CIMMYT NINGMAI NO.4t'OLESONl/ALI¥ YANGMAl NO.4 CHIRYA.6 CHlH8"],"sieverID":"ca0faa54-b29a-4ac8-84cf-d7833b34b77b","pagecount":"85","content":"CIMMYf is an internationally funded, nonprofit scientific tesearch and ttaining organization. Headquartered in Mexico, the Center works with agricultural research institutions worldwide to improve the productivity and sustainability of maize and wheat systems for poor farmers in developing countries. It is one of 16 similar centers supported by the Consultarive Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The CGIAR comprises over 50 partner countries, intemational and regional organizations, and private foundations. It is co-sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the International Bank for Reconsrruction and Development (World Bank), [he United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).O ne of CIMMYf's primary functions is to produce germplasm for use by cooperating national crop improvement programs. In the development of wheat germplasm, emphasis is given to producing advanced materials that can be readily integrated into national wheat-breeding programs. Early generation segregating materials are also made available to cooperators.Each year, CIMMYT makes thousands of bread wheat crosses and generates hundreds of advanced lines. These materials are distributed annually to national programs by way of our international nursery system; nearly 50 nurseries consisting of advanced yield trials, screening nurseries and F2 segregating populations are distributed annually to over 200 cooperators around the world. National programs are free to use the germplasm in these nurseries in any way that best suits their needs. Options range from crossing with local varieties to placing entries directly into multiplication for eventual release as varieties.The reader should note that CIMMYf does not release or name varieties; that is the right and responsibility of cooperating national programs, and each national program has its own system for naming released cultivars. CIMMYf does name its advanced bread wheat breeding lines, and our system for differentiating among these lines currently utilizes the names of land birds only. At one time, however, the names of mountains, lakes, rivers, islands and certain phonetic combinations were used; some of these earlier names remain in use today. The CIMMYT/ICARDA program continues to use phonetic combinations or combinations of parental names.This revised bulletin contains a compilation of all semidwarf bread wheat cultivars and advanced lines produced by CIMMYT and by the Mexican National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIFAP); it also contains the names and pedigrees of cultivars with CIMMYT parentage that have been released since 1962 by cooperating national programs. Our purpose in publishing this bulletin is to facilitate the exchange of more exact information among wheat researchers working with these materials, and to assist them in their note taking and record-keeping activities.CIMMYT uses the Purdy nomenclature (Purdy et al. 1968) for writing pedigrees. Thus, if parent A is crossed with parent B and the F1 hybrid is crossed with parent C, its pedigree would be designated as N BIIe. Subsequent crosses with parental material D,E,F and G would be indicated as:The female parent is designated by listing it first (to the left side) followed by the pollen parent (placed to the right side of the cross). Thus, A is the female and B is the pollen parent in the first cross.The line AlB is the female and C is the pollen parent in cross two, etc.Backcrosses are designated with an asterisk (*) and a number indicating the dosage of the recurrent parent. The asterisk and the number are placed next to the crossing symbol that divides the recurrent and donor parents. The following are examples involving one backcross (two doses):A is the recurrent parent: B is the recurrent parent:AlB is the recurrent parent: C/D is the recurrent parent:Each pedigree name begins with an alphabetic designation of the cross origin (Table 3), followed by a cross number. After the cross number there is either a letter or number-letter combination. For top and double crosses, a letter is assigned to each plant selected in the F1 generation. In number-letter combinations, the number identifies the individual plant and the letter indicates the location of selection (see Table 4). The zero-letter combinations (OM, OY, etc.) are reserved for populations carried as bulk in that generation. Examples of each are presented at the top of the next page. Because of the large number of crosses made annually at CIMMYT and cooperating institutions, this type of information needs updating continually. Therefore, included in the back of this bulletin is a 3 and 1/2 inch diskette with the most recent update of the information contained in this bulletin.In addition, CIMMYT is contributing to the development of two data management systems that bring pedigree information together: the Genetic Resoutce Information Package (GRIP I) for wheat (Mackay et al. 1996) and the International Wheat Information System (IWlS) (Fox et al. 1996). GRIP I collates pedigree information for more than 100,000 wheats. IWlS is a system that manages and integrates information pertaining to bread wheat, dutum wheat and triticale. The body of data on these crops is large and intricate. By providing a common language to identify individual wheat and triticale germplasm uniquely, IWlS seamlessly joins conservation, utilization and exchange of genetic materials.U na de las funciones primordiales del CIMMYT es la producci6n de germoplasma para los programas nacionales de mejoramiento de cultivos que cooperan con el Centro. AI crear el germoplasma de trigo, se busca producir materiales avanzados que puedan ser integrados sin dificultad a los programas nacionales de mejoramiento de trigo. Ademas, el Centro pone a la disposici6n de cientificos colaboradores materiales segregantes de generaci6n temprana.Cada ano, el CIMMYT lleva a cabo miles de cruzamientos de trigo y produce cientos de lfneas avanzadas. Estos materiales se distribuyen anualmente a los cientificos colaboradores mediante el sistema de viveros internacionales del Centro. Se envian cerca de 50 ensayos de rendimiento avanzados, viveros de selecci6n y poblaciones segregantes F2 a mas de 200 investigadores de todo el mundo. Los programas nacionales estan en libertad de utilizar el germoplasma de estos viveros en la forma que mas les convenga. Sus opciones van desde el cruzamiento con variedades locales hasta el inicio inmediato de la multiplicaci6n de las entradas para liberarlas posteriormente como variedades.Ellector debe tomar nota de que el CIMMYT no libera ni nombra las variedades cultivadas, pues estas funciones son derecho y responsabilidad de los programas nacionales. Cada programa tiene su propio sistema para nombrar las variedades que libera. El CIMMYf si designa los nombres de las lfneas avanzadas de trigo harinero y el sistema que utiliza actualmente para caracterizar estas Hneas se basa en los nombres de aves terrestres. Anteriormente se usaron nombres de montafias, lagos, dos, islas, asi como ciertas combinaciones foneticas, algunas de los cuales se siguen usando hoy dia. El programa CIMMYfIICARDA continua utilizando combinaciones foneticas, 0 combinaciones de nombres de progenitores.Este boletin revisado contiene una recopilacion de todas las variedades cultivadas y lineas avanzadas de trigo harinero semi-enano del CIMMYf y del Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias (INIFAP), asi como tambien los nombres y genealogias de las variedades provenientes del CIMMYT que han sido liberadas desde 1962 por los programas nacionales. El objeto de publicar este boletin es facilitar el intercambio de informacion mas exacta entre los investigadores de trigo que trabajan con estos materiales y ayudarles a realizar sus anotaciones y llevar sus registros.EI CIMMYT utiliza la nomenclatura de Purdy (Purdy et aL 1968) para las genealogias. Por tanto, si el progenitor A se cruza con el progenitor B yel h{brido F1 se cruza con el progenitor C, su genealogia se indicarfa as{: NBI Ie. Los cruzamientos subsecuentes con material progenitor D, E, F y G se manifestarfa como sigue: NBIIC/3/D/4/E/5/F/6/G EI progenitor hembra se indica poniendolo primero (dellado izquierdo) seguido del progenitor polinizador (dellado derecho del cruzamiento). As{ pues, A representa el progenitor hembra y B, el progenitor polinizador en el primer cruzamiento; la Hnea NB representa el progenitor hembra y C, el progenitor polinizador en la segunda cruza, yas{ sucesivamente.Los retrocruzamientos se designan con un asterisco (*) y un numero que indica la dosis del progenitor recurrente. EI asterisco y el numero se colocan junto al simbolo de cruzamiento que separa a los progenitores recurrentes de los progenitores donadores. En seguida aparecen algunos ejemplos de retrocruzamiento (dos dosis):A como progenitor recurrente: B como progenitor recurrente: NB como progenitor recurrente: C/D como progenitor recurrente:Cada genealogfa comienza con la designaci6n alfabetica del origen del cruzamiento (Cuadro 3), seguida por un numero de cruzamiento. Despues del numero de cruzamiento, aparece una letra 0 una combinaci6n de numero y letra. En los cruzamientos dobles y de FIx variedades se asigna una letra a cada planta seleccionada de la generaci6n Fl. En las combinaciones de numero y letra, el numero identifica la planta individual y la letra indica ellugar donde se realiz6 la selecci6n (Cuadro 4). Las combinaciones de cero y letra (OM, OY, etc.) se refieren exclusivamente a las poblaciones que fueron avanzadas en masa en esa generaci6n. A continuaci6n se presentan ejemplos de cada caso. Debido al gran numero de cruzamientos que se hacen anualmente en el CIMMYT y en las instituciones que cooperan con este, es necesario actualizar y revisar el boletfn de manera continua. Por consiguiente, en este boletfn se incluye un diskette de 3 y 1/2 pulgadas con la informaci6n mas reciente.£1 CIMMYf tambien colabora con el desarrollo de dos sistemas de manejo de datos que recopilan informacion sobre genealogias: el Paquete de Informacion de Recursos Geneticos del Trigo (GRIP 1) (Mackay et al. 1996), Y el Sistema Internacional de Informacion sobre el Trigo (IWIS) (Fox et al. 1996). £1 GRIP 1 contiene informacion genealogica de mas de 100,000 trigos.£1 IWIS es un sistema de manejo de datos que integra muchos tipos de informacion sobre el trigo harinero, el trigo duro y el triticale. £1 acervo de informacion sobre estos cultivos es vasto y complicado. AI proporcionar un lenguaje comun para identificar de manera inequivoca los trigos y triticales, el IWIS integra la conservacion, la utilizacion y el intercambio de materiales geneticos.£1 IWIS se compone de software e informacion que:     Aumentan el valor de la semilla relacionandola con extensos datos genealogicos y de comportamiento Proporcionan a los programas nacionales acceso a datos provenientes de muchos paises Reunen datos de instituciones de investigacion de trigo de todo el mundo Integran disciplinas colocando datos de diversas Fuentes en una sola base de datos Suministran datos necesarios para el mejoramiento de trigo.•    !CARDA• Table 1..'\\'aml'.\\hhPnlig\"l\"(-'l' Sl'iedioll                                 ","tokenCount":"1714"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"771c97cef88261c67f309c6231919e64","source":"gardian_index","url":"http://awm-solutions.iwmi.org/Data/Sites/3/Documents/PDF/Country_Docs/West_Bengal/National%20Consultation%20Brief%20West%20Bengal.pdf","id":"-310418481"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"d25d862f-b59f-4499-9d9c-5a9951cb79d1","pagecount":"2","content":"The AgWater Solutions Project is helping to unlock the potential of smallholder farming through agricultural water management (AWM) solutions. This includes technologies and approaches, such as soil moisture management, drip irrigation and water harvesting techniques, as well as the supporting policies, institutions and business models. Partnerships are key to the success of the project. As such, the project promotes collaboration at all levels with, and between, a range of stakeholder groups including researchers, policymakers, investors, farmers and implementers.The National Consultation Workshop was an opportunity for such engagement and for participants to share their opinions on AWM solutions that would be appropriate for West Bengal and could be out-scaled. This briefing note provides a short summary of the discussions held during the Workshop and the AWM solutions that were prioritized. For more information on the AWM solutions currently being used in West Bengal the reader is referred to the Situation Analysis Briefing Note, which is also available on the website.The consultation workshop was attended by 34 participants representing government organizations, research and academic institutes, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society bodies, farmers and farmer organizations.In West Bengal 78% of all farmers are smallholders with less than 2 ha of land each. Irrigation is very important but the Project team and discussions that followed with the workshop participants.area under canal irrigation has declined from 886,000 ha to 560,000 ha, while groundwater irrigation has increased over the past 50 years. This rapid adoption of shallow tube wells paved the way for agricultural growth in the 1980s and 1990s. Around 10% of these shallow tube wells are powered by electricity and the rest by diesel. The reason for the preference for diesel is the government of West Bengal's electricity policy.In India as a whole there are concerns about overexploitation of groundwater and this appears to be driving water policies.In West Bengal, the high rainfall and the alluvial aquifer make it less likely that overexploitation will occur. However, the government policies of groundwater certification and rural electrification make it difficult for farmers to get connected to the grid, leading to economic scarcity of groundwater. The groundwater potential and policies will be researched further by the AgWater Solutions Project.The type of AWM strategies being utilized in the State varies by agroecological zone, and this should be taken into account when developing AWM solutions. In North 24 Parganas, shallow tube wells with diesel pumps are the main source of irrigation; in Hugli, deep tube wells with submersible pumps are most prevalent; in Uttar Dinajur, diesel-operated shallow tube wells and occasional treadle pumps are found to operate; and in the drier district of Purulia, tanks and ponds are the most important sources of water for agriculture.The participants were asked to share their opinions on AWM in West Bengal and to provide suggestions for refining the research and selecting case studies for in-depth analysis.It was suggested that the project take a holistic view of AWM solutions, rather than focusing on specific aspects such as groundwater and electrification. The research should also take into account the agroecological zones and the existing conditions. For example, in drier and highland parts of West Bengal, such as Purulia, Medinpur, Bankura and Birbhum,awm-solutions.iwmi.org there could be investment in rainwater harvesting and storage in small ponds dug on individual plots of land.Coupling this with low lift pumps could further increase access to water. In the southern parts of West Bengal, groundwater is a good option and could be utilized through shallow tube wells. Drip irrigation rather than flood irrigation could be implemented where possible to preserve water resources. In Cooch Bihar, International Development Enterprises (IDE) has had some success with treadle pumps and System of Rice Intensification (SRI). Critically, the project team must ensure that all recommendations are supported by sound evidence that does not lead to the overexploitation of water resources.The participants also felt that improvements in AWM could be achieved through better training and ensuring that AWM was an integral part of the micro-planning process adopted by the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).Specifically, the participants were asked to put forward their ideas for desirable agricultural AWM investments in West Bengal. These suggestions are provided here:• Training and dissemination of various AWM options will be essential if they are to reach smallholder farmers. Manuals on the various AWM solutions and an inventory of best practices from other locations should be developed. These should be part of the standard kit for all extension workers and they can be disseminated by extension workers, NGOs and farmers' organizations. This would strengthen the extension service, which could be supported by grassroots organizations, especially if a consortium of NGOs, national agricultural universities and government departments are formed to address AWM.• Make it easier to obtain electricity connections, provide a one-time capital cost subsidy and remove compulsory State Water Investigation Directorate (SWID) certification.• Renovate surface tanks and ponds and use them for multiple purposes, especially aquaculture. This could also lead to groundwater recharge.• Invest in extension services and demonstrate optimal AWM to farmers, especially for crops with low water requirements.• Invest in water harvesting structures and groundwater recharge to avoid over-dependence on groundwater. Use the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) funds to build or rehabilitate storage and irrigation infrastructure.• Introduce and test \"smart voucher\" diesel-based subsidy for diesel-pump owners.• Collaborate with national partners and local agricultural universities on technological innovations. Then provide funds and support for dissemination and uptake.• Strengthen agricultural output markets, especially in areas that grow nontraditional market-oriented crops.• Support livelihoods diversification, especially in drier parts of West Bengal through watershed development, soil moisture conservation and rainwater harvesting. Improving forward market linkages for niche crops such as spices would be beneficial, as would investing in off-farm job creation to ease pressure on land and water.The suggestions raised in the workshop are being taken forward in the choice and design of the in-depth case studies and in the ongoing stakeholder dialogue process.","tokenCount":"985"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"88838b50dd278d8d621d8d41e60f3390","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/b5d27c20-92c6-4519-a44f-489d31a17bd6/retrieve","id":"-1475868734"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"2a39119e-101d-4c55-a96d-31ece5f64a3c","pagecount":"13","content":"Luz Adriana Jiménez [email protected] Sandra Marcela Vargas [email protected] Natali Rendón, [email protected] Sonia Gallego, [email protected] Octubre, 2024 [LOGO] [LOGO] Eslabón comercial………………………………………………………………….7Recomendaciones para la comunidad de AgroZapatero……………...…8Desde el año 2022 y como parte de las acciones de la Iniciativa AgriLAC Resiliente del CGIAR, se llevó a cabo en el departamento de Bolívar en Colombia, la implementación de la metodología para explorar las condiciones del mercado de arroz con el fin de contribuir al fortalecimiento de las asociaciones de productores de Leticia y Zapatero que producen el arroz biofortificado Fedearroz BioZn035, estas actividades han sido desarrolladas en alianza con la Fundación Canal del Dique COMPAS con el apoyo de actores locales como el SENA y la Unidad Municipal de Asistencia Técnica Agropecuaria (UMATA).Esta metodología incluyó la implementación de una serie de acciones tendientes a analizar el funcionamiento de la cadena de valor, los actores, la demanda, la oferta, las oportunidades y riesgos en la comercialización del arroz, lo cual se convirtió en el insumo para el desarrollo del presente documento el cual tiene como objetivo proponer acciones y recomendaciones para que la comunidad de productores de Zapatero pueda tener mejores resultados en su proceso productivo y comercial.Zapatero es una vereda ubicada en el corregimiento de la Boquilla, con acceso por el kilómetro 10 en la vía que conduce de Cartagena a Barranquilla (Alcaldía Distrital de Cartagena, 2023). La vereda tiene aproximadamente 300 habitantes y es reconocida por su vocación arrocera. En la comunidad de Zapatero no existen productores organizados como asociación, no obstante, son parte del Consejo Comunitario de Zapatero, el cual tiene como objetivo el desarrollo de las comunidades y administración de los territorios colectivos.Como lo destacan sus moradores, su principal actividad productiva se centra en el cultivo del arroz, con una tradición de más 50 años entre generaciones. También realizan la producción de cultivos como: corozo, mango y melón.En el proceso de fortalecimiento propuesto en el marco de la iniciativa AgriLAC, la participación de los productores ha variado, manteniéndose en un promedio de 20 miembros involucrados, distribuidos así:12 mujeres 8 hombresCon el fin de contribuir en la mejora del desempeño tanto productivo como comercial de la comunidad de Zapatero participante en el proyecto, desde el año 2022 se realizan actividades que comprenden los eslabones productivo, de transformación y de mercados. Entre las acciones implementadas se han llevado a cabo ensayos en campo para el cultivo de arroz, usando prácticas de agricultura sostenible, así como se ha contado con la asesoría de un equipo técnico para el eslabón de poscosecha y transformación de alimentos, con lo cual se busca mejorar la calidad del producto que llevan al mercado. Finalmente, y con el objetivo de mejorar el acceso a los mercados, han participado en el desarrollo de estrategias que buscan fortalecer su competitividad comercial.Tras dos años de implementación, se realizó el seguimiento a la adopción de las prácticas bajo un esquema de entrevistas individuales a cinco personas y se desarrolló un grupo focal que contó con la participación de 25 personas (14 hombres y 11 mujeres), obteniendo resultados que han sido claves para la definición del presente plan de fortalecimiento.El cultivo del arroz es uno de los productos agrícolas más sembrados en el departamento de Bolívar, está presente en 26 de los 44 municipios, destacándose 3 sistemas de siembra: secano manual (en 21 municipios), secano mecanizado (en 11 municipios) y riego (en 7 municipios).Se destacan los pequeños y medianos productores, en el caso de los primeros poseen áreas destinadas para la siembra que pueden variar entre 0,5 y 20 hectáreas, éstos se caracterizan por cultivar bajo el sistema secano manual, donde la mayoría no hace uso de paquetes tecnológicos ni semillas certificadas, en consecuencia, se presentan bajos rendimientos (menos de 3 ton/ha). Parte de la producción de sus cultivos se destina para el autoconsumo y los excedentes se comercializan en el mercado local.En cuanto a la producción, el sistema que genera mayor productividad es el secano mecanizado con 55% (71.625 ton), seguido por el secano manual con 30% (39.139 ton) y por último el arroz de riego con 15% (19.585 ton) (García Botina, et al., 2023) Mapa de producción de arroz de acuerdo con el sistema productivoFuente: Exploración de demanda de arroz local frente a las condiciones productivas de la Asociación de productores de Leticia-BolívarAl comparar los rendimientos de los tres sistemas de siembra, el de riego es el que presenta los mayores valores con 5,3 ton/ha.Una de las características de este sistema es el uso de semillas certificadas, el empleo de tecnología y maquinaria agrícola para la adecuación de terrenos (curvas de nivel), prácticas de control de malezas y fertilización. Seguido, se encuentra el sistema secano mecanizado con 4,1 ton/ha y por último el sistema secano manual con 3,2 ton/ha (Fig. 3), ambos sistemas en ocasiones también incluyen el uso de semillas certificadas, pero a diferencia del sistema de riego estos dependen de los factores climáticos para la siembra. Según testimonios de molineros de la región (Vargas Gonzalez, et al., 2023), el arroz producido en sistema secano manual y mecanizado de riego de las zonas de centro y sur Bolívar es acopiado principalmente en Magangué (15 molinos), y en otros molinos en Montería, Planeta Rica, Sahagún, Ayapel y Caucasia. También parte del arroz de Bolívar es acopiado por los molinos de mayor envergadura ubicados en Barranquilla como Granos y Cereales, Inversiones Lache, y FC&C Arrocera del Litoral. Otros arroces son procesados en pequeñas plantas que tienen las asociaciones, y otra parte es comprado por intermediarios que acopian en las zonas y venden a los molinos. Aunque los intermediarios no son tan comunes en el sector arrocero, según algunos testimonios, este actor aún juega un papel en la cadena de arroz en el Bajo Cauca.La mayoría de los molinos compran el paddy verde como materia prima para luego transformarlo a arroz pulido, pero hay algunos casos como el del Molino Majagual (Sucre), cuyo objetivo es solo prestar el servicio de secado y trilla por COP$ 140 el kilo de arroz paddy. Una vez trillado, el agricultor comercializa el arroz individualmente.Existe otro tipo de molineras, quienes se dedican a la compra de grano partido para la transformación en subproductos como la harina de arroz, coladas, batidos, panadería, espesantes y base para mezclas.El eslabón de transformación es muy importante para el sector arrocero porque es el primer paso comercial con el que se encuentra el productor, y asegura la compra y posterior distribución y comercialización del arroz pulido seco y subproductos, y representa el 17% de los costos del arroz blanco. En Bolívar y en casi todo el Bajo Cauca prima la informalidad en este eslabón. Los molinos no están registrados ante la cámara Induarroz, suelen abrir y cerrar según el éxito del ciclo productivo, hecho que repercute en la seguridad financiera y comercial de los productores.El arroz es un producto básico de la canasta familiar colombiana, en cifras, el consumo per cápita nacional de este cereal es de 43 kilogramos, cifra que es considerablemente mayor en la Costa Caribe pues asciende a 50 kilogramos en la zona urbana y más de 70 kilogramos en la zona rural, lo cual demuestra el arraigado consumo de arroz en la dieta de las familias de la región.La comercialización está concentrada principalmente en cuatro molinos que lideran el mercado no solo del departamento sino también de la región los cuales son: Arroz Diana, Granos y Cereales (arroz Sabrosón), Inversiones Lache (arroz leopardo) y Arrocera del Litoral (arroz extra), en algunos casos estas empresas tienen sus propias extensiones de cultivo para la transformación y comercialización, sin embargo, en otros casos como Arrocera del Litoral e Inversiones Lache compran el arroz paddy directamente a los productores o importan desde Estados Unidos cuando no se alcanza a suplir la demanda.En cuanto a la oferta de productos, manejan diferentes líneas de acuerdo con la calidad del arroz (ej. Premium, Integral) sin embargo, el más vendido en la región es la línea básica o económica que tiene alrededor del 20% de granos partidos, las presentaciones más comunes son las de 500gr y las pacas que contienen de 15 a 20 unidades de 500gr. (García Botina, et al., 2023).LDe acuerdo con la identificación de necesidades, con la comunidad de Zapatero se abordó un proceso de fortalecimiento integral que comprendió todas las etapas de la cadena desde la siembra, poscosecha y comercialización, las cuales se detalla a continuación:El fortalecimiento en el módulo de agricultura sostenible en la comunidad de Zapatero tuvo los siguientes procesos: El fortalecimiento en el componente de poscosecha y procesamiento para asegurar la calidad e inocuidad del arroz producido en la comunidad de Zapatero, se implementó siguiendo el siguiente esquema:Para el fortalecimiento en el componente de comercialización y mercados de la comunidad de Zapatero se implementó el siguiente esquema:En general para todos los cultivos, no se llevan registros de los costos de producción. En el ejercicio de costos realizado con la comunidad para el cultivo de arroz se encontraron los siguientes resultados: el costo de producción de una hectárea asciende a COP$ 6´590.000 dónde el 47% es destinado a insumos, seguido de mano de obra 34%.Al realizar un análisis de los costos de producción actuales y los ingresos que se tienen por la actividad productiva de arroz se encontraron los siguientes resultados:Conceptos y análisis interno Comercialización arroz paddy (actual)• El precio de venta de arroz paddy es de COP $1,900/Kg.• Los ingresos por la comercialización de arroz paddy son de COP$9,500,000/ Tonelada.• La rentabilidad de este negocio es de 48%.• El precio de venta de arroz blanco (con características diferenciales) según análisis de mercado es de $7,000/kg• Los ingresos por la comercialización de arroz blanco serían por COP$ 35,000,000/Tonelada.• La rentabilidad de este negocio teniendo en cuenta los costos asociados para la transformación es del 65%De acuerdo con la información, los productores de la comunidad de Zapatero tienen una gran oportunidad si incursionan en la venta de arroz blanco porque, aunque implica un proceso adicional de transformación, ofrece una rentabilidad significativamente mayor que la comercialización de arroz paddy, lo que representa una oportunidad para mejorar sus márgenes de ganancia y agregar valor a su producto final.De acuerdo con el análisis de la capacidad productiva y de transformación de la asociación se definieron dos perfiles de clientes los cuales cumplen con características que permitirán una articulación efectiva y una oportunidad de negocio sólida:El perfil del cliente I describe a los restaurantes de tipo gourmet cuya filosofía se centra en el uso de productos de base local:El segundo perfil de clientes describe el segmento de tiendas saludables, quienes buscan proveer a sus clientes con productos nutritivos y amigables con el medio ambiente:Posterior a la definición del perfil de clientes que podrían generar un mayor impacto en los ingresos de la comunidad de Zapatero, se hizo la identificación de potenciales empresas según estas dos categorías, identificando un total de seis restaurantes y cuatro tiendas saludables, de las cuales se seleccionaron dos para realizar el proceso de conexiones comerciales que se describe a continuación: Las conexiones comerciales fueron diseñadas con el fin de propiciar un espacio de acercamiento entre compradores potenciales y la comunidad de Zapatero. Además, para que tanto oferentes como demandantes tuvieran la oportunidad de exponer los principales aspectos relacionados con el proceso comercial. Los lugares seleccionados para esta conexión comercial fueron: Restaurante Pepina, Restaurante la Picúa y Restaurante bar el Barón.Durante la visita al restaurante La Picúa se identificaron los siguientes aspectos:• Interés del restaurante en productos locales: los administradores del restaurante La Picúa expresaron su interés en adquirir productos locales como arroz, corozo, plátano y guanábana para incorporar en sus propuestas gastronómicas.• Enfoque en el arroz como producto clave: durante la reunión, se discutió la capacidad productiva y los volúmenes de arroz disponibles para la venta. Los productores mencionaron la posibilidad de comercializar arroz blanco, identificando una gran oportunidad en este mercado.• Importancia de la organización de los productores: los administradores del restaurante enfatizaron la necesidad de que los productores se organicen para facilitar procesos de comercialización exitosos, destacando la relevancia de la búsqueda activa de nuevos mercados.• Reconocimiento al trabajo colaborativo: los productores de Zapatero destacaron el enfoque colaborativo en sus actividades agrícolas, con una mención especial a la participación de las mujeres en estos procesos.• Compromiso del restaurante con los productores locales: La Picúa reafirmó su propósito de trabajar con asociaciones de productores y pescadores del municipio para resaltar el valor de los productos locales en sus platos.La conexión comercial realizada entre el Cafe Bar el Barón y los productores de la comunidad de Zapatero dejó los siguientes resultados:• Interés en el arroz biofortificado: el administrador del restaurante El Barón expresó su interés en incorporar arroz biofortificado en sus recetas tras realizar pruebas sobre el peso, tamaño de los granos y tiempo de cocción.• Evaluación del producto: el restaurante El Barón recibió una muestra del arroz biofortificado para conocer su calidad y hacer pruebas antes de la reunión, lo que evidenció una disposición para experimentar con productos locales.• Interés en una relación comercial a corto plazo: ambas partes manifestaron su interés en establecer una relación comercial a corto plazo, no solo para incluir el arroz en los platos del restaurante, sino también para contribuir a la seguridad alimentaria de los trabajadores del Bar.• Compromiso social del Barón: El Barón reafirmó su enfoque en la compra local, destacando su interés en apoyar la producción local de alimentos a través de la adquisición de productos de la comunidad de Zapatero.Como parte del fortalecimiento comercial y de acuerdo con las limitantes identificadas en los ejercicios, se destacó la falta de una marca que los representara como asociación y como comunidad con gran experiencia y oferta productiva, es así como con información recopilada junto con las personas de la comunidad y el apoyo de la Fundación Canal del Dique COMPAS se logró el desarrollo de la marca Agrozapatero, con la cual esperan posicionarse no solo a nivel local sino regional como productores de arroz y otros cultivos a través de la venta directa a restaurantes, tiendas saludables y en mercados locales.Basados en la creación de la marca, la comunidad participante decidió dar un paso más para fortalecer el proceso de comercialización, para lo cual con el apoyo de la Fundación Canal del Dique COMPAS crearon el empaque para la comercialización del arroz:Gracias a la intervención realizada en el marco de la iniciativa AgriLAC y al acompañamiento de la Fundación Canal del Dique COMPAS, los productores de Agrozapatero comenzaron a participar en ferias y eventos para promover sus cultivos, destacándose el arroz biofortificado. Entre estas actividades, participaron en el primer mercado campesino organizado por el Distrito de Cartagena, donde lograron vender todo el arroz disponible en su primera participación, además de otros productos como el melón.Actualmente los productores de Agrozapatero siguen participando en este mercado con diferentes productos agrícolas y están a la espera de tener cosecha de arroz biofortificado para seguirlo comercializando.Por otro lado, los productores también participaron como observadores en la segunda Rueda de Negocios convocada por la Secretaría de Agricultura de la Gobernación de Bolívar. Este evento se realizó en cumplimiento de la Ley 2046 de 2020 y el Decreto reglamentario 248 de 2021, que establecen las condiciones e instrumentos para que las entidades públicas y privadas que contraten con recursos públicos para la adquisición, suministro y entrega de alimentos, en cualquiera de sus modalidades de atención, estén obligadas a adquirir localmente alimentos de pequeños productores agropecuarios y/o de la Agricultura Campesina, Familiar y Comunitaria, así como de sus organizaciones. Este porcentaje mínimo debe ser del treinta por ciento (30%) del valor total del presupuesto de cada entidad destinado a la compra de alimentos.Lo anterior representa una oportunidad clave para los productores de Agrozapatero pues este requisito garantiza un mercado asegurado y estable, lo que les permite acceder a nuevas oportunidades comerciales, mejorar sus ingresos y fortalecer sus capacidades productivas. Además, al fomentar la compra local, se impulsa la economía rural y se promueve un desarrollo agrícola más inclusivo y sostenible.Con el fin de validar con la comunidad de Zapatero sobre la adopción de las prácticas en sus procesos, se diseñó una herramienta de seguimiento que consistió en la implementación de entrevistas individuales a cinco personas y se desarrolló un grupo focal que contó con la participación de 25 personas (14 hombres y 11 mujeres). A continuación, se presentan los resultados:• Tras la participación durante estos dos años en el proceso de fortalecimiento, los participantes reconocen los beneficios y la diferenciación del arroz biofortificado, indican que el principal beneficio al consumir el arroz biofortificado es el contenido de zinc que los otros arroces tradicionales no tienen, algunos dijeron \"la vitamina la trae en el grano, no se la aplican\", también se refirieron a que el consumo de arroz biofortificado ayuda al buen desarrollo de los niños.• En relación con el proceso productivo, los participantes mencionaron que \"se necesita menos semilla para sembrar, la producción es mayor, macolla más, echa más granos\"; en este punto la señora Amparo Nisperuza expuso su experiencia donde expresó que \"obtuvo 14 bolsas de arroz de 5kgd e la siembra que hizo en el patio de la casa\", lo cual considera como un excelente rendimiento. • A la fecha, la comunidad lleva 2 años sembrando arroz biofortificado de la variedad Fedearroz BioZn035, también han aprendido sobre la rotación de cultivos y la importancia que tiene tanto para el cuidado del suelo, como que les ha permitido contar también con frijol para el auto consumo. • Otro aspecto a destacar fue el interés que el grupo de mujeres de la comunidad tuvo frente a la nueva variedad de arroz y al proceso de siembra siguiendo parámetros de agricultura de conservación: los hombres del grupo hoy reconocen cómo gracias a este proceso, las mujeres participan activamente en el cultivo del arroz.BioZn035 la productividad ha aumentado, antes solo tenían una cosecha al año, ahora tienen dos. • Indicaron que prefieren sembrar de la forma tradicional, es decir, al voleo, si bien reconocen que la siembra con semillero trae mejores resultados, el esfuerzo y tiempo empleado es mayor al de la siembra tradicional.\" Se necesita menos semilla para sembrar, la producción es mayor, macolla más, echa más granos. Amparo Nisperuza productora de la comunidad de Zapatero.• Aunque participaron en talleres de agricultura de conservación, aún no están dispuestos a cambiar algunas prácticas agronómicas que generan menos impacto ambiental porque les implica mayor inversión en mano de obra. • Sin embargo, han adoptado prácticas como la rotación de cultivos y el uso de bioinsumos, con las cuales están contribuyendo con la restauración del medio ambiente.• Según el seguimiento realizado, los procesos poscosecha que se realizan dentro de la comunidad son mínimos, el arroz lo venden en verde o paddy, es decir que no realizan algún proceso de secado o molienda para el arroz que venden. • El arroz que destinan para autoconsumo lo secan al sol en los patios de las casas y lo pilan, generalmente esta última labor la realizan las mujeres y una vez pilado lo almacenan en tanques sellados, procesos que aún carecen de seguir las normas de buenas prácticas de manufactura. • Al analizar en laboratorio muestras de arroz paddy que produce la asociación, los resultados obtenidos lo clasifican como un arroz tipo \"premium\". • Aunque cuentan con un molino, no tienen la infraestructura requerida para el proceso de molienda, afectando la calidad del producto final. • El arroz pulido no se produce bajo prácticas adecuadas de manufactura, lo que afecta la calidad e inocuidad del producto.• El proceso de comercialización lo realizan de forma individual, aun no venden como colectivo, su principal comprador se encuentra en Barranquilla, es arrocera el Litoral y venden al arroz por bultos; sin embargo, desde el último acompañamientode AgriLAC en la zona, manifiestan haber participado en dos mercados campesinos en los que han sido invitados por la UMATA y por la Fundación Canal del Dique COMPAS, donde han comercializado a pequeña escala el arroz y el melón. • Dentro de los retos a los que se enfrentan, mencionan que no cuentan con un transporte propio y que el precio del arroz es estándar y establecido por el mercado, por lo cual hay poca o nula capacidad de negociación. • Actualmente se evidencia que tienen un negocio rentable con la venta de arroz paddy. • Aunque tiene interés en comercializar arroz pulido, no cuentan con las condiciones organizativas y comerciales.• Después de las conexiones comerciales en las que participaron no se han establecido acuerdos con los compradores porque manifiestan que la calidad que exigen es alta y ellos aun no la cumplen, tienen presente que es una gran oportunidad, sin embargo, deben fortalecerse en algunos aspectos (calidad del arroz) para cubrir estos mercados.• La comunidad de AgroZapatero tiene un alto potencial para abastecer de arroz pulido a los restaurantes locales de Cartagena y a tiendas de alimentos saludables. Así mismo se ha identificado potencial para comercializar el arroz pulido en ferias y mercados locales de la ciudad, para ello deben seguir una serie de pasos que les permitan tener un arroz pulido de alta calidad:• Certificarse en la producción de arroz pulido, para ello pueden asesorarse del SENA.• Realizar las adecuaciones de infraestructura para el molino artesanal con el fin de cumplir con la normativa técnica.• Otra alternativa que la comunidad podría evaluar es contratar un servicio de maquila para su arroz en paddy para que puedan comercializarlo bajo su propia marca siguiendo los parámetros de calidad y del mercado.• Si bien actualmente no cuentan con las condiciones necesarias para la venta de arroz a los restaurantes con los que se establecieron conexiones comerciales, se recomienda avanzar con la venta de otros productos ofrecidos durante esos encuentros, como melón, mango y corozo. Esto permitirá establecer una relación comercial sólida con los clientes, generando confianza y manteniendo abiertas las oportunidades para, en el futuro, comercializar el arroz biofortificado. Además, esta estrategia diversifica los ingresos de los productores y fortalece su posicionamiento en el mercado.• En cuanto a la organización de la comunidad, se recomienda la constitución como asociación de productores, ya que ello les permitirá contar con la documentación que requieren algunos potenciales compradores para poder cerrar las transacciones.• A nivel organizacional, es fundamental crear diversos comités y asignar responsabilidades específicas para garantizar que los procesos dentro de la comunidad sean más fluidos y que las actividades no recaigan solo en unas pocas personas. La distribución equitativa de tareas no solo mejora la eficiencia, sino que también fomenta una mayor participación. Se recomienda que estos comités sean liderados por mujeres y jóvenes de la comunidad, ya que su inclusión en roles de liderazgo puede fortalecer el sentido de pertenencia y compromiso, además de promover la equidad y la innovación en las iniciativas comunitarias.• En el componente técnico, se recomienda adquirir semilla certificada que garantice las características del cultivo. Establecer rotaciones de cultivos en los lotes para disminuir el banco de malezas y hacer un uso racional de herbicidas, permitiendo el uso de productos pre-emergentes que disminuyen la incidencia de estas hierbas y generan menos contaminación al medio ambiente. También se recomienda seguir fortaleciendo la preparación de bioinsumos, ya que, como han comprobado los mismos productores y los datos recolectados, el uso de estos insumos tienen un alto impacto en el rendimiento y la calidad del suelo. Además de contribuir a la sostenibilidad ambiental al reducir el impacto sobre el medio ambiente, el uso de bioinsumos puede considerarse un valor agregado al momento de comercializar el arroz, lo que podría mejorar su competitividad en el mercado. To learn more about this Initiative, please visit this webpage.","tokenCount":"3930"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"6e6493c146648596c629a5262b0ba14b","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/ecddcc54-f06b-4dde-b774-a99ac0f70d5d/retrieve","id":"2009687384"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"e686327d-7b2f-4c4a-ad7b-145b57d54d58","pagecount":"2","content":"Although many countries in Southeast Asia are evolving an urban-and market-based economy, rural poverty persists. More than 200 million rural people live on less than US$1 a day, the majority depending on mixed crop-livestock agriculture for their household income, food security and asset accumulation. Pig production is an important livelihood option in China, Vietnam and parts of Thailand.With rapid economic growth, knowledge about how to adapt small-scale farming systems to change is an essential tool in the fight against poverty. The project aims to improve smallholders' incomes by improving collaboration and strengthening links throughout the market chain. The project examines the use of modelling and simulation tools as a means of developing novel feeding strategies for small-scale croplivestock producers. These strategies are based on the feed potential of improved sweet potato varieties and other feed resources, complemented with efficient techniques of silage making and a smallholder-based industry of protein extraction from sweet potato leaves.The aim is to identify sustainable feeding strategies based on local resources managed by the smallholders themselves. By improving on-farm feed resources, including sweet potato, legumes and others, the project aims to ensure that farmers have year-round feed availability, better livestock productivity and higher household income. Production of value-added local products (e.g. sweet potato-based silage and high-protein supplements derived from sweet potato and legume leaves) will improve employment opportunities, household income and livestock nutrition. The project also aims to strengthen local feed market linkages for these value-added local products.Project teams in each country have received training in management of the sweet potato crop and in the use of various livestock modelling tools. They also helped redesign the tools to make them more interactive. As suggested by the model, using sweet potato silage as the main diet for fattening pigs reduced production costs, resulting in a greater gross margin for the households. This technology represented a better option for farmers than purchasing the more expensive commercially available concentrates.Feeding sweet potato silage and home-made concentrate feed to pigs gave farmers higher gross margins compared with those achieved using commercial concentrates and no silage. Although including sweet potato silage in theSystem analysis and modelling tools to develop improved feeding strategies for small-scale crop-livestock farmers in Southeast Asia The SLP-funded project Using system analysis and modeling tools to develop improved feeding strategies for small-scale crop-livestock farmers in Southeast Asia (2007)(2008)(2009) was conducted by CIP and the national research institutions of China (SASA), Vietnam (NIAH) and Thailand (DLD) with scientific contribution from the Production Systems and the Environment Division of CIP.ration tended to lead to a lower final live weight, it resulted in a more uniform weight gain, which increased the gross margin by 37%. Therefore, sweet potato silage is a good alternative to supplementing concentrate feed with other locally available resources, since it gives a higher gross margin and better total farm income.A ration for fattening pigs requires a good quality supply of protein. Through laboratory analysis, the team identified the most profitable combination of sweet potato and legume. Protein extracted from sweet potato vines appears to have an adequate amino acid balance and the extraction method can be adapted for use on a small farm.Project staff will also test and validate various livestock production models as a means of further improving the use of local resources for smallholder pig production. By training extension workers and other development practitioners in the use of such tools, it is hoped to disseminate the idea more widely, resulting in more efficient use of resources and greater income for poor farmers.Some adaptive on-farm research, training and dissemination activities will continue and a strategy for long-term technology dissemination will be designed with the local partners.Sweet potato has proved to be a valuable feed resource for smallholder crop-livestock systems in the tropical and subtropical lowlands of Southeast Asia. This novel strategy for sweet potato conservation can be used on most small farms. Protein extraction from sweet potato vines has proven to be a feasible option, providing good quality protein that can be used as both food and feed.Novel sweet potato silage making in smallholder pig farms","tokenCount":"679"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"fbedc51e3ce88a0356d8f77564cc3460","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://repository.cimmyt.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/b7020912-2c79-44c3-9590-d239a2f20e89/content","id":"-2008423597"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"8c2459d4-2b7b-4d12-9a89-38fdaf635d5f","pagecount":"47","content":"Table 1. (continued)•r c:ov.atry CJUJU\"s• CY.UU\"S\" • IGC/Tl11 x:-14536-ltr-1 r-1 Y-1a-1 r-1910 JIBXlCO 1a-or Cl UC.VO CV c KAGll&IBl '\"S \"/BR\" S\" / /110/]/CENTElfO ALTO X-lSO•Cl 1978 KEXICO CINNAJllON CIN • IUA X-2•02-61N-JH-O• 1)10 MIX I CO CINUEl'I CillUtM ' PW121/P&OLIPIC ' 1i13 MIXICO CIVi:T\"S\" CIVET\"s• c MUS\" S \"//DRI&A/l.GI. 8-2651 1912 MIXICO COOR.ONG cao • tA x-1•&f1-sa-211-or-2B-OY 1910 S-AUSTllALIA CUIUt£NCY CHY c MlA/BGL\"S\" X-15.5 5 2-3 3H-2Y-2Y-1M-OY 1911 S-AUSTRALIA CUYO CUYO ' IISS/CIK\"R\" X-1S69l-l06Y-1M-Oll: 1919 KIXICO DACHSHOtlD DACH oTable 1. (continued)One of CIMMYT's primary functions is to produce germplasm for use by national crop improvement programs and other collaborators. In the development of triticale germplasm, emphasis is given to producing advanced materials that can be readily integrated into these collaborating breeding programs. Early generation segregating materials are also made available to cooperators.Each year, CIMMYT makes thousands of triticale crosses and generates hundreds of advanced lines. These materials are distributed annually to cooperators by way of our international nursery system. National programs and other cooperators are free to use the germplasm in CIMMYT nurseries in whatever ways best suit their needs. Options range from crossing with local cultivars to placing entries directly into multiplication for eventual release as cultivars. The reader should note that CIMMYT does not release nor name varieties; that is the right and responsibility of cooperating national programs, and each has its own system for naming released cultivars. CIMMYT does assign names to advanced triticale breeding lines (using the names of animals). This is done to differentiate promising lines, and to simplify our pedigree recording system and the making of crosses. This bulletin contains a compilation of all triticale cultivars and advanced lines produced by CIMMYT and by the Mexican National Institute of Agricultural Research (!NIA); it also contains the names and pedigrees of cultivars that have been released by cooperating programs. Our purpose in publishing this bulletin is to facilitate the exchange of more exact information among triticale researchers working with these materials, and to assist them in their note-taking and record-keepinf! activities.With the publication of this bulletin, CIMMYT has opted for a change in its system of indicating the order of crosses in each pedigree so as to conform with the system now used by most other crop breeding organizations. Not only will this make it easier to trade data, but the system itself is easier to use. The table below contains a comparison of the old and new systems. Thus, if parent A is crossed with parent B and the F1 hybrid is crossed with parent C, its pedigree would be designated as A/B/ IC. Subsequent crosses with parental material D,E,F and G would be indicated as:A/B//C/3/D/4/E/5/F/6/GThe female parent is designated by listing it first (to the left side) followed by the pollen parent (placed to the right side of the cross). Thus, A is the female and B is the pollen parent in the first cross. The line A/B is the female and C is the pollen parent in cross two, etc.Backcrosses are designated with an asterisk ( •) and a number indicating the dosage of the recurrent parent. Because of the large number of crosses made annually by CIMMYT and cooperating institutions, this bulletin requires updating and revision periodically to accomodate additional entries. We welcome contributed information and suggestions designed to make this compilation more comprehensive and useful to triticale researchers the world over.(JI            El>A\"S\"ELAtfD ELD s M.2A//K.LA /Bllll\"S\".X:-.>.   HIPPO\"S\" s PND\"S \"/SPD\"S \"/4./TGE\"S\" /1/PG\"S\" /CENT.  .... • lTOC lt32 = TJ/BGL\"S\"BTA\"S'//PHD\"S\"/YE 75/5/El/ARM\"S\"/ /1'12.A/l/AJ>X \"S \"/4/NY\" S \"/BGL\" S\" C llUS\"S\" /JLO\"S\" K2A/CKL t\"J/IRA PTR\"S\"//CIH /FS 651 BGL DEi.IV ./AHTEATEJ.\"S\" lllA/BGL\" S \"//M2A\"' 2/ClN M2A/9ULX E2//CHL\"S\"    \"\"\"UJtON 11 S• U&ON\"S\" c OCTO llY/HAB.E//BCH\"S\"/SPY llY.E VACA\"S\" YACA\"S\" s K2A/Cill//PllD\" S\"WHALE\"S\" c W74. 103/ADX\" S \"/3/BGL\"S \"/M2A//lllA WOLP'\"S\" WOLP'\"S\" s CML\" s II /l:AL/ /LOBO\" s II /l/GPR .. s .. /RM\" s.WOMBAT\"S\"WBT\"S\", PG \"S \"/CEMT. BULK//A8N,. S \"/l/JRA/CML   3. Triticale cultivars and advanced lines sorted according to cross numbers.MEllINO\"S\" ltERillO\"S\" c M2A/TCL WHEATY/ /Il!IIA/l/BGL• S\"     s PRD\"S \"/MPE 11 $ \"/ /GPR\" S \"/YAK \"S\" X-50 40 8-B-5Y-2Y-1K-l Y-0 WOLP'\"S\" WOLF\"S\" s CML\" s .. /ICAl./ /LOBO .. s \"/ 3/GPR\" s \"/RM\" s II X-50 59 8-A KATZE\"S\" KATZE\"S\" s DACK/WLOSZANOWSKIE//M2A• 2 X-!.3260REH\"S\" REH\"S • s SRL\"S \"//M2A/CAL/5/BUEY/BGL\" S •I X-S4032-B /MFS \"S \"/l/IA/IllA/4/ADX\" S HIPPO\"S\" HIPPO\"S\" s PRD\"S .. /SPD 11 5 .. /4/TGE II s .. /l/PG. s .. IX.-6201 C&KT llULlr.//ABN\"S\" MUSTANG\"$\"MST\"S\" s Al•\"S 11 //M2A /IRA/l/PND\"S\"/CASTOB./ X-6 l l 77-l-2Y-2K-OY 4/416/SPY//TED\" S\" LAMM\"S\" LAHM\"S\" s LMG\"S \"/SPD\" S \"/4/BGL\" S \"/MUS\" S \"/      •... ","tokenCount":"756"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"39d0bec6436442a8309ad3576ed66a45","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/47b74df8-5ff6-4d7a-ab5e-8698479c39e2/retrieve","id":"1510427520"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"094ad089-6e43-4905-88cb-b1e6ff94c9eb","pagecount":"5","content":"The impacts of climate change in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), are already well known to farmers. Climate change affects women more negatively compared to men in five impact areas: (i) agricultural production; (ii) food and nutrition security; (iii) health; (iv) water and energy; (v) climate-related disaster, migration, and conflict. Over 2 million people in Kenya face the threat of food insecurity due to climate change.Maize production is particularly vulnerable to climate change. It is projected to face not only 15% climate-related declines in yield without adaptation but also challenges from diminished cropland suitability and poor agronomic inputs and management; degraded environmental bases with declining soil fertility and degraded water systems are already apparent.Given that maize-mixed systems cover over 75% of the cropping land in many places, it is critical to build climate resilience and derisk through diversification.Crop diversification seeks to promote crop diversity by crop rotation, multiple cropping, or intercropping, with the goal of improving productivity, sustainability, and supply of ecological systems.Ukama Ustawi (UU): Diversification for Resilient Agri-food in East and Southern Africa: This aims to help millions of smallholders intensify, diversify and de-risk maize-mixed farming through improved extension services, institutional capacity strengthening, targeted farm management bundles, policy support, enterprise development and private investment.The Gender Equality Initiative (HER+): Tackles gender inequality in agri-food systems to build climate change resilience in the Global South. We aim to co-Identify and model diverse scenarios for bundling climate-smart technologies to empower women and men to be partners and drivers of climate-change solutions.In Kenya, Ukama Ustawi and HER+ are implemented in 5 counties: Nakuru, Narok, Kakamega, Embu and Makueni. Map showing UU and HER+ sites in KenyaThe project promotes Conservation Agriculture and promotes the three principles of CA that help to regenerate soils while at the same time building resilience to climate change.Crop diversification involves integrating legumes such as beans, green grams, pigeon peas, cowpea into the cereal based cropping systems.In Nakuru County, KALRO Njoro is collaborating with the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Participatory Approaches For Integrated Development (PAFID) and the County Governments of Nakuru to scale out sustainable intensification and climate smart agriculture practices to build resilience in the maize based system. The interventions are in 3 Sub-Counties: Njoro, Rongai and Gilgil where 6 mother demos have been established to enable learning by farmers and researchers.Interventions revolve around the following areas:• Climate Smart Agriculture ","tokenCount":"393"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"d4f04a3c819bc10a627c18204c6e2e32","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/234cbe58-05c1-4428-a85f-77827d7b9244/retrieve","id":"-2030203693"},"keywords":["nutrient balance","legumes","biological nitrogen fixation","manure","soil fertility ORCID iDs"],"sieverID":"d1a4eab4-e12b-4e38-a6da-fa20e175eb13","pagecount":"16","content":"Can farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) boost crop yields and improve food availability without using more mineral fertilizer? This question has been at the center of lively debates among the civil society, policy-makers, and in academic editorials. Proponents of the \"yes\" answer have put forward the \"input reduction\" principle of agroecology, i.e. by relying on agrobiodiversity, recycling and better efficiency, agroecological practices such as the use of legumes and manure can increase crop productivity without the need for more mineral fertilizer. We reviewed decades of scientific literature on nutrient balances in SSA, biological nitrogen fixation of tropical legumes, manure production and use in smallholder farming systems, and the environmental impact of mineral fertilizer. Our analyses show that more mineral fertilizer is needed in SSA for five reasons: (i) the starting point in SSA is that agricultural production is \"agroecological\" by default, that is, very low mineral fertilizer use, widespread mixed crop-livestock systems and large crop diversity including legumes, but leading to poor soil fertility as a result of widespread soil nutrient mining, (ii) the nitrogen needs of crops cannot be adequately met solely through biological nitrogen fixation by legumes and recycling of animal manure, (iii) other nutrients like phosphorus and potassium need to be replaced continuously, (iv) mineral fertilizers, if used appropriately, cause little harm to the environment, and (v) reducing the use of mineral fertilizers would hamper productivity gains and contribute indirectly to agricultural expansion and to deforestation. Yet, the agroecological principles directly related to soil fertility-recycling, efficiency, diversity-remain key in improving soil health and nutrient-use efficiency, and are critical to sustaining crop productivity in the long run. We argue for a nuanced position that acknowledges the critical need for more mineral fertilizers in SSA, in combination with the use of agroecological practices and adequate policy support.Agriculture is at the cross-road of sustainability issues related to food security, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and climate change. Alternative approaches to \"industrial\" or \"conventional\" agriculture (Sumberg and Giller, 2022), such as regenerative agriculture and agroecology are gaining momentum, as noticeable from the rising number of scientific papers dealing with these topics (Giller et al., 2021b;Wezel and Jauneau, 2011). Success stories of farmers in the tropics who shift away from mineral fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemical inputs also abound on social media and communication materials of nongovernmental organizations. These are increasingly being populated with testimonies of farmers diversifying their cropping systems with cover crops, investing in livestock keeping, producing high-quality compost, and improving their cropland with the use of legumes, often with claims of great positive impact on income, food security, and soil fertility maintenance.These promises of diversified and \"fully-integrated\" farming systems where the need for external inputs to sustain soil fertility and crop productivity is reduced or eliminated, along with abundant scientific literature on the farmlevel impact of resource recycling and improved efficiency, have certainly inspired the \"input reduction\" principle of agroecology: \"Reduce or eliminate dependency on purchased inputs and substitute conventional inputs that have negative impacts on the environment, replacing them by making use of agroecological alternatives\" (Wezel et al., 2020).Agroecology can be defined in numerous ways. A broad definition is \"the science of the relationships of organisms in an environment purposely transformed by man for crop or livestock production\" (Martin and Sauerborn, 2013). More recently, agroecology has been defined as the application of ecological concepts and principles to optimize interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment while taking into consideration the social aspects that need to be addressed for a sustainable and fair food system (Wezel et al., 2020). A key focus has been increased reliance on knowledge and management of ecological processes, complementing and reducing the use of external inputs, like mineral fertilizers and pesticides. Agroecology revolves around a set of 10 elements (FAO, 2018) or 13 principles (HLPE, 2021), among which the recycling, input reduction, soil health, biodiversity and synergy principles are directly relevant to soil fertility maintenance. 1 These principles can be operationalized through a wide range of agroecological practices, among which are intercropping, agroforestry, rotation with legumes and crop-livestock integration. Decades of scientific work in the tropics have shown that these agroecological practices can contribute to replenishing and maintaining soil fertility, i.e., \"the ability of a soil to sustain plant growth by providing essential plant nutrients and favorable chemical, physical, and biological characteristics as a habitat for plant growth\" (https://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/areas-of-work/ soil-fertility/en/).Here, we question the \"input reduction\" principle of agroecology: what does it mean in resource-limited farming contexts, such as those commonly experienced by smallholder farmers throughout sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)?The aforementioned success stories often seem based on conducive individual circumstances, for example, high remittances and above-average farm size, thus neglecting the constraints faced by the majority of smallholder farmers in SSA. Farm sizes have been shrinking in SSA, and soils are generally nutrient-depleted, due to low inherent fertility and decades of continuous cropping with low nutrient inputs, leading to low crop productivity (Sanchez, 2002). Huge productivity gains need to be achieved to match a growing food demand (van Ittersum et al., 2016). Yet, in the development community, particularly in SSA, an emerging viewpoint considers the use of mineral fertilizers as \"climate stupid.\" 2 Advocates of this perspective argue that governments should stop subsidizing them, due to their rising costs and their negative impact on the environment, including the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Instead, they advocate for the promotion of low-cost agroecological alternatives that are expected to revitalize the soil and protect the ecosystem. Within the scientific literature, there is a debate at the science-policy interface harnessing current knowledge to build views on the possible future of agricultural systems: some authors claim that there is \"a growing consensus that sustainable intensification in Africa will be […] fertilizer intensive\" (Jayne et al., 2019;Vanlauwe et al., 2014), while others assert, that \"reducing the dependency on purchased inputs can reduce food insecurity especially for small-scale food producers\" (Wezel et al., 2020) and that \"the challenges farmers face can be met with appropriate management […] making the addition of external inputs largely unnecessary\" (Gliessman, 2014). Côte et al. (2022) propose a reconciling view of agroecology that does not exclude \"the use of […] exogenous inputs when yield gap is important,\" insisting that \"an in-depth agroecological transformation […] should be free of synthetic pesticides and should be parsimonious in the use of synthetic fertilizers.\" Donor agencies, notably the European Union and its member countries, increasingly support development projects in SSA that engage with the agroecological transition and transition to green economies (DG DEVCO, 2020), without necessarily being clear on the role that external inputs and mineral fertilizer play.In this article, we critically examine the input reduction claim made by agroecology in the context of smallholder farmers in SSA. Our objective is to evaluate the feasibility and desirability of this principle for SSA, specifically concerning the maintenance of soil fertility and the role of mineral fertilizer. Our analysis leads to five arguments: (i) the starting point in Africa is \"agroecological\" by default, meaning very low fertilizer use, that has over the years led to poor soil fertility as a result of widespread soil nutrient mining, (ii) the nitrogen (N) required by crops cannot be adequately fulfilled solely through biological N fixation from legumes or through recycling of animal manure, (iii) other nutrients like phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) need to be replaced and are also key for biological N fixation, (iv) mineral fertilizer, if used appropriately, causes little harm to the environment, and (v) reducing the use of mineral fertilizer would hamper crop productivity gains and contributes indirectly to agricultural expansion. We then discuss the role that agroecological principles can play in improving soil health and nutrient use efficiency, and in sustaining crop productivity.Our analyses focus on rainfed annual cropping systems in SSA. This category regroups the maize crop-livestock, root and tuber crop, and cereal-root crop-livestock farming systems (Dixon et al., 2001) that predominate on the continent. Our analysis does not focus on irrigated systems (e.g., rice, vegetables) and perennial systems (e.g., coffee, cocoa, oil palm), that represent a relatively smaller share of the agricultural production area (Vanlauwe et al., 2023).Starting point in SSA: Agroecological \"by default\"Maintaining soil fertility through agroecological practices has been a common feature of mixed crop-livestock farming systems in SSA where livestock plays a great role in soil fertility maintenance. For example, in the cotton basin of southern Mali, the income earned from cotton production has been used by farmers to increase the size of their cattle herd-they can recycle amounts of manure as high as three tons per hectare per year (Falconnier et al., 2015). Farmers also rely on legumes and biological N fixation: in central Senegal, farmers have cultivated millet in rotation with groundnut for decades (Noba et al., 2014). Across the semiarid and subhumid zones of the continent, from the groundnut basin of central Senegal and the cotton basin of southern Mali, to central Ethiopia (Sida et al., 2018) and the mid-Zambezi valley in Zimbabwe (Baudron, 2011), farmers have deliberately retained native trees in their fields, creating the so-called \"parklands.\" Some of these trees are N-fixing trees, for example, the well-known Faidherbia albida (Delile) A. Chev. (Peltier, 1996). In the Sahel region, farmers have traditionally maintained long-term fallows that help replenish soil fertility and offer an additional source for livestock nutrition and manure production (Schlecht et al., 2004).As a result of these long-standing agroecological practices, manure and biological N fixation have been estimated to be the largest sources of N input to cropland when considering the African continent as a whole (Billen et al., 2014). In fact, Africa is the only region of the world where mineral fertilizer is not the first source of N input to cropland (Billen et al., 2014). This conclusion also holds when looking at N inputs to cropland at the farm and village level: despite considerable variations among farms in, e.g., Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Mali, organic inputs from outside the farm/village are the primary source of N, followed by biological N fixation, atmospheric deposition and mineral fertilizer, in that order (Figure 1). The main sources of P input to cropland in Africa are manure and mineral fertilizer, which contribute approximately the same amount, around 2.5 kg P/ha/year. This is in contrast to the other regions of the world where the main P source is mineral fertilizer (>10 kg P/ha/year) (Ringeval et al., 2017).Fertilizer use on cropland (including perennials) is currently very low in SSA, on average 13 kg N/ha/year, 3 kg P/ ha/year, and 3 kg K/ha/year (FAOSTAT, 2023). This contrasts sharply with other regions of the world, e.g., Northern America with 73, 11, and 21 kg/ha/year for N, P, and K, and China with 170, 29, and 54 kg/ha/year for N, P, and K, respectively. The numbers for Africa mask, however, a great diversity across countries and agroecological regions within countries (Vanlauwe et al., 2023). In Africa, fertilizers are predominantly used in horticultural systems and large commercial farms, whereas their use is extremely limited in smallholder farms. Southern Africa has witnessed a sharper increase in mineral fertilizer use in the 1960s compared with East and West Africa, possibly because of the thriving large-scale farm sector in the region. In the 1980s, the phasing-out of governmental subsidies for inputs, as a result of structural adjustment programs, has caused mineral fertilizer use to decrease in several countries of SSA (Jayne et al., 2018).One could therefore argue that smallholder mixed crop-livestock farming systems across SSA do not need to engage in an \"agroecological\" transition, given their limited dependency on external inputs in the form of mineral fertilizer, and their reliance on biological N fixation and recycling of plant biomass. Yet, a close look at the nutrient balances of cropping systems across the region suggests that long-term agro-environmental sustainability is not granted. Soil nutrient mining is widespread: Smaling et al. (1997) estimated that the cultivated land in SSA was losing annually 22 kg of N, 2.5 kg of P, and 15 kg of K per hectare. These negative balances have continued to increase over time (Vanlauwe et al., 2023). A comprehensive literature review indicated that more than 75% of nutrient balance studies across SSA concluded on negative balances for N and K, and about 60% of studies for P (Cobo et al., 2010). Long-term experiments conducted across the region also point to substantial soil nutrient mining over time; even the biennial rotation system of millet and groundnut in the F. albida parklands in central Senegal has shown evident negative N and P balances (Pieri, 1989). Similarly, the millet cropping system of western Niger with fallowing and strong livestock-mediated nutrient transfers was found to lose nutrients (Powell et al., 2004). The nutrient inputs derived from agroecological processes, as currently harnessed by smallholder farmers in SSA, combined with the current low fertilizer use, cannot compensate for nutrient exports and losses, that mainly occur in the form of crop harvest products, animal removals, leaching, and soil erosion. Demographic pressure and the related cropland expansion at the expense of rangelands and fallows add further constraints on soil fertility maintenance with current agroecological practices (Schlecht et al., 2004).This happens in the context of low crop yields compared to the yield potential that could be achieved based on the region's climate and soil properties (Affholder et al., 2013). This discrepancy can be largely attributed to low nutrient availability in the soils (Sanchez, 2002). Yields need to substantially increase to meet the current and future food demand and alleviate rural poverty in SSA while minimizing deforestation and other forms of land-use change. Narrowing yield gaps in SSA can contribute to increasing food security at household, national, and continental levels (Gérard et al., 2020;Giller et al., 2021a;van Ittersum et al., 2016). For example, modest increases in maize yield were found to greatly contribute to improved food security in Tanzania and Uganda, though this depended strongly on local contexts (Falconnier et al., 2023). Yet, increases in cereal productivity can only be achieved if nutrient inputs increase substantially (ten Berge et al., 2019). Across several case studies, the estimated maize grain yields that are compatible with food security ranged from 3.5 to 11.9 t/ha (median 6.5 t/ ha, Table 1). This translates into N uptake (grain + straw) that ranges from 54 to 228 kg N/ha, with a median of 113 kg N/ha (Table 1 and Figure 2A). For a maize-based cropping system to be sustainable, these crop exports need to be compensated by some form of nutrient inputs. If mineral fertilizers were to be reduced as per the \"input reduction\" claim of agroecology, other forms of input need to be drastically increased. In the next sections, we examine to what extent legumes and biological N fixation, and the recycling of plant biomass through composting and use of cattle manure, can help bring the N, P, and K required.Most legumes obtain N from the atmosphere through a symbiotic relationship with rhizobia bacteria. Plant N originating from biological fixation, if not exported from the field, is a net input to the soil-crop system. Four types of legumes can be distinguished: trees and shrubs, green manures (i.e., legumes primarily cultivated for biomass to be incorporated into the soil), grain legumes (legumes primarily cultivated for food), and fodder legumes (legumes primarily cultivated to provide feed and fodder to livestock). Figures 2B-C clearly demonstrate that on average, the potential net input from biological N fixation is greatest for legume trees and shrubs, and green manures, followed by grain legumes and fodder legumes. In what follows we scrutinize the constraints to fully achieve high levels of net N inputs with the integration of legumes into cropping systems.Legume trees and shrubs could contribute as much as 100 kg N/ha/year through N fixation (median of 13 studies, Figure 2B). The net N inputs vary considerably, owing to the way perennials are integrated into cropping systems, and which plant parts are left on or incorporated into the soil (Figure 2B). Trees and shrubs can be integrated into cropping systems in at least three different ways. The first is improved woody legume fallows (Sileshi et al., 2008), where trees are planted to give a large amount of high-quality biomass that can be incorporated into the soil to release nutrients for the subsequent crop. Improved fallows usually take two years to be implemented and can be considered a short-term benefit for soil fertility, but with a strong trade-off with food security because food crops cannot be grown during the fallow period. Labor for planting trees and weeding can also be a constraint to the adoption of these systems by farmers (Giller, 2001). A second option to integrate trees are parklands, i.e., the deliberate retention of scattered trees in farmers' field so that mature trees coexist with crops. In the parklands of the Sahel region, it is common to find F. albida trees, that shed their leaves during the growing season, so that competition with the annual crop for light, water and nutrients is limited (Sida et al., 2018). However, only mature trees aged 20-40 years fix substantial amounts of N (Giller, 2001), which makes it a longterm investment for farmers. Although more observations are needed, net N inputs from parklands seem also lower than those from improved woody legume fallows (Figure 2B). Besides, there is a threshold beyond which the increase in tree density in parklands no longer benefits the crop (Leroux et al., 2020). A third option is alley cropping, where trees or shrubs are planted in rows alongside the crops, and their prunings can be left on or incorporated into the soil (Sileshi et al., 2011). Farmers' adoption of  Boxplot of (A) estimated maize nitrogen (N) uptake (in grain + straw) for grain yield compatible with food security in four selected studies (see Table 1 for details of the four studies), (B) Net N input from biological N fixation from trees (13 studies), (C) Net N input from biological N fixation from green manures (21 studies), grain legumes (59 studies) and fodder legumes (60 studies), (D) Net N input from manure (four studies). For grain legumes, we assumed that all grain was exported and only stover was returned to the field, with a harvest index of 0.4 for soybean and groundnut and 0.35 for other grain legumes (Herridge et al., 2008). For fodder legumes, the studies are the same as for green manure (excluding those that are not palatable), but we assumed that only roots were returned to the soil. N fixed in roots was estimated using a root: shoot ratio of 0.3 for the majority of studies where it was not quantified. The dotted horizontal bar in B, C, and D is the median maize uptake (see A). In B, two outliers are not displayed (1063 and 1026 kg/ha, Peoples et al., 1996). See Table S1 for details on the reviewed studies.alley cropping has been generally low (e.g., Swinkels and Franzel, 1997), unless employed on contours and used as fodder (see section on fodder legumes). Although alley cropping offers the prospect of alleviating the trade-off between food security and environmental sustainability, because food crops and trees can be mixed, trees often compete strongly with the crops for light and water, especially during dry years (Rao et al., 1991).Nitrogen fixation by green manures, grain and fodder legumesGreen manures have similar potential net N inputs to cropland compared with trees and shrubs (median of 91 kg N/ha/year across 20 studies, Figure 2C). Although green manures rotated with cereals can bring a substantial yield benefit to the cereal (e.g., Ripoche et al., 2021), this comes at the cost of foregoing a part of the cereal yield, similar to woody fallows. The increase in cereal yield from the green manure often does not sufficiently compensate for this yield penalty (e.g., Ojiem et al., 2014;Ranaivoson et al., 2022). The small farm sizes exacerbate the challenge of losing a growing season for cereals, thereby becoming a major obstacle to the adoption of green manures. This concern has been very often voiced by farmers, along with the lack of consumable or marketable products derived from green manures (Vanlauwe et al., 2003). Additional labor is also another constraint, as incorporating the biomass from green manure into the soil can take as much as 80 persons per day per ha for a prolific Mucuna in Malawi (Vanlauwe and Giller, 2006), i.e., 40 times more than what is required to apply mineral N fertilizer (Ojiem et al., 2014).Grain legumes offer directly consumable and marketable products, e.g., the grains of cowpea, soybean, common beans, and groundnut and are therefore preferred by farmers over woody fallows and green manures. However, the benefits in terms of soil fertility are smaller because the grains are removed from the field (Figure 2C). Franke et al. (2018) showed that on average grain legumes increase cereal yield by 0.49 t ha −1 via their precrop effects. Such yield increase is considerable, but far below the strong cereal yield increases needed to reach food security in SSA (see the first section). There is a strong trade-off between legume grain yield and the residual soil nutrient benefits (Giller et al., 1994). High-yielding soybean varieties with high N-harvest index can even be \"net removers\" of soil N (Vanlauwe and Giller, 2006). Overall, the grain productivity of legumes is far below that of cereals, for a labor demand that is generally greater (Ojiem et al., 2014), which is a major impediment to the adoption of grain legumes by smallholder farmers.Plant residues, including prunings from shrubs and trees, as well as the stems and leaves of grain legumes, are often of great value as fodder for livestock (except some green manures with toxic components like in some species of Crotalaria). For example, farmers in East Africa adopted the cultivation of fodder shrubs like Leucaena trichandra on contours (Wambugu et al., 2011). However, with fodder legumes, all aboveground biomass is exported from the fields, and only roots remain, representing a small N source for the following crop (Figure 2C). On the other hand, part of the fodder biomass and its nutrients can be returned to the field in the form of manure (see the section on manure).Grain legume intercropping can be a promising alternative to cereal-legume rotations, as it allows for the maintenance of cereal production. Although the proportion of N uptake by the legumes through biological fixation is usually similar in intercropping compared with sole cropping (e.g., Namatsheve et al., 2020), the absolute amounts, and the potential net inputs to the cropping system, are smaller (Figure 2C). This is due to the lower plant density of the legume in intercropping compared with the sole cropping, but also because of competition for light and water with the cereal crop (e.g., Traoré et al., 2022). For example, Namatsheve et al. (2020) found that the grain productivity of intercropped cowpeas was on average around 50% of that of sole cowpeas, whereas the yields of the intercropped cereals were around 80% of those of the sole crops.Only the legume options that compete strongly with food production (woody fallows and green manure) can bring substantial N inputs from biological N fixation (Figure 2B) in the range of what would offset the N exports (grain + straw) of a maize crop with a yield level (∼6.5 t/ha) that is compatible with food security objectives (Figure 2A). Other options that compete less with food production and/ or offer direct value for farmers (grain and fodder legumes, Figure 2C) can only bring a fraction of what would be required to offset the N exports by maize.The estimated contributions of biological N fixation to the net N inputs to cropland, as shown in Figure 2, are possibly overestimated. Firstly, this is because only a small fraction (less than 30%) of the N in green manure and legume tree prunings is effectively recovered by the following cereal crop. Part of it can be leached, volatilized or immobilized by soil microorganisms (Giller and Cadisch, 1995). Secondly, high levels of N fixation can only be achieved if P is not limiting, and if appropriate inoculation is performed when the legume nodulates poorly. These conditions are usually observed in on-station and/or researchermanaged trials (corresponding to most of the estimates of Figure 2) but do not necessarily hold true in farmers' fields. Thirdly, pests and diseases, usually controlled in research experiments, are an additional barrier in farmers' fields that must be overcome for the full realization of the potential benefits of legume N fixation.In conclusion, although legumes can contribute substantially to N input to cropping systems, it is unlikely that they alone can sustain agricultural productivity at the high level that is required for food security.A simple calculation indicates that about 9 t manure (dry matter) per ha per year would be required to balance the N exports by a maize crop yielding 6.5 t/ha with a corresponding export of 125 kg N/ha in its grain and stover (see Table 1), considering that manure from smallholder farms in SSA contains on average 1.4% N (Pieri, 1989). This is largely beyond the 4 t/ha typically applied by cattle owners on a portion of their cropland in, e.g., Zimbabwe (Rusinamhodzi et al., 2013;Zingore et al., 2008). Nine Tropical Livestock Units (TLU), corresponding to approximately 13 cattle or 90 goats, are required to produce 9 t of manure (considering that one TLU produces 2.8 kg of manure per day, Berre et al., 2021). This number of TLU is far beyond what smallholder farmers typically own: for example, the average TLU across nationally representative household samples (Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture, LSMS-ISA data) was 1.39 in Uganda and 1.43 in Tanzania (Figure 3). Because it is not feasible to collect all the produced manure and part of its N is lost during storage, composting and transport (Vayssières and Rufino, 2012), farmers recycle far less than what is theoretically possible. Even farmers owning 12 TLU or more cannot recycle the required 125 kg N/ha (Figure 3). Thus, recycling of N through manure falls short of what is required to sustain the necessary levels of cereal yields (Figure 2A, 2D).During the cropping season, livestock cannot access fields and feed mainly on rangelands. One TLU-250 kg liveweight-consumes a maximum of 3% of its liveweight daily (Moran, 2005). Based on a simple calculation, it is estimated that 1.4 ha of rangeland would be required for feeding one TLU in the Sudano-Sahelian environment of West Africa, corresponding to a livestock carrying capacity of 0.7 TLU/ha. This estimation assumes that one TLU requires around 1400 kg of biomass over a six-month growing season and that rangelands produce about 1000 kg of biomass (dry matter) per hectare with 600 mm of rainfall, considering a rainfall productivity of 1.7 kg biomass (dry matter) per millimeter rain (Rufino et al., 2011). In many areas of the Sudano-Sahelian region, livestock density is far beyond this estimated carrying capacity of 0.7 TLU/ha, e.g., 4.8 TLU/ha in western Burkina Faso (Andrieu et al., 2015) and 1.3 TLU/ha in the Senegalese groundnut basin (Grillot et al., 2018). It is also important to note that high grazing pressure often leads to a decline in rangeland productivity (Hiernaux et al., 2009). The above estimations indicate that available feed resources are a strong constraint to maintaining the large herds that would be necessary to produce the manure required to sustain high cereal yields. Furthermore, manure represents a direct transfer of nutrients from rangelands to croplands. For example, Andrieu et al. (2015) estimated that N loss from the rangeland could be as high as 25 kg N/ha/year in western Burkina Faso. Enriching cropland with nutrients from manure therefore comes at the expense of soil nutrient mining in rangelands (Powell et al., 2004).For P and K fertilization, agroecological practices rely on the transfers of biomass through manure and compost. It should, however, be noted that with these lateral transfers, the places of origin of the biomass (e.g., rangelands, hedgerows, fields of farmers who do not own cattle and where crop residues are left) are progressively impoverished in P and K. Therefore, we argue that P and K need to be brought by mineral fertilizers if long-term agro-environmental sustainability is to be guaranteed.In addition, biomass transfers are also often insufficient to meet crop requirements. One reason is that low P and K contents in soil translate into low P and K concentrations in recycled plant materials. Soils of SSA have typically low plant-available P due to low P concentration in the parent material and extended weathering, and because of low soil pH and binding of phosphates by Fe 3+ and Al 3+ cations (Margenot et al., 2016). Similarly, plant-available K in soils of SSA is generally low because of prolonged weathering over time and insufficient external inputs (Majumdar et al., 2021).As a result, P and K concentrations in manure and compost are rarely above respectively 0.2 and 0.6%, in SSA (Blanchard et al., 2014;Fall et al., 2000;Zingore et al., 2008). This means that manure inputs of respectively 8 and 14 t/ha would be required to sustain a maize yield of 6.5 t/ha, corresponding to P and K uptake demands of 16 kg P ha −1 and 83 kg K ha −1 . It is clear that these P and K requirements for crops are difficult or even impossible to achieve by smallholder farmers, given their current herd sizes and feed resource limitations (see previous section and Schlecht et al., 2004).Relying solely on biomass transfers in combination with the ongoing depletion of soil P and K might also have implications for the potential of legumes to efficiently fix N. In particular, insufficient availability of P can constrain biological N fixation, as adenosine triphosphate is needed in larger quantities for N-fixing legumes than for other crops (Giller, 2001). Besides, soil K deficiency affects the growth of rhizobia, nodule formation and functioning, resulting in a depressing effect on biological N fixation (Divito and Sadras, 2014).Mineral fertilizers are often and rightly blamed for environmental pollution (Gruber and Galloway, 2008). Pollution arises from both their use and their production. In what follows, we analyze opportunities to address the negative environmental outcomes of mineral fertilizer, firstly related to their use, and secondly to their production.In general, fertilizer use contributes to four negative environmental outcomes. First, direct soil emission from the application of mineral fertilizers is the most important source of N 2 O emission from agriculture, together with emissions from organic fertilizer (Tian et al., 2020). The estimations regarding these two emission sources carry considerable uncertainty, making it challenging to distinctly differentiate between them (IPCC, 2022). Second, NH 3 volatilization from fertilizer application can have serious consequences for human health, acidification, and eutrophication of ecosystems (Liu et al., 2023;Paerl et al., 2014), and is also a source of indirect production of N 2 O. Third, the global increase in N and P fertilizer use has led to the eutrophication of water (Paerl et al., 2014;Peñuelas and Sardans, 2022). Fourth, N fertilizers have resulted in global soil acidification that can undermine soil carbon (C) sequestration and climate mitigation efforts (Raza et al., 2021). Yet, these negative outcomes do not come from the fertilizers per se, but from their excessive or inappropriate use. It is important to note that there are no chemical differences between NH 4 + or NO 3 − ions coming from organic or mineral fertilizers. Plants equally absorb both these two ions regardless of their source while the origins of negative environmental impacts of nutrients vary. For example, N 2 O emissions are very high in Europe, North America, and East and South Asia, which together consume over 80% of the world's mineral N fertilizers (Guenet et al., 2021;Tian et al., 2020), while it is manure application that is currently the main source of agricultural N 2 O emissions in SSA (Davidson, 2009;Guenet et al., 2021).Global N-use efficiency in croplands has dramatically dropped over the last decades and is now only about 40% (Lassaletta et al., 2014;Zhang et al., 2015). The potential to improve fertilizer-use efficiency and reduce pollution in regions of intensive agriculture is therefore large, with a limited negative impact on crop yield (Wuepper et al., 2020). For example, it has been reported that N-use efficiency in Greece increased from 30% in 1990 to more than 70% in 2010 (Lassaletta et al., 2014). In SSA, the scope to improve N-use efficiency is also large, as the current average agronomic efficiency of N is estimated at 14 kg maize grain per kg N applied, compared with the global average of 30 kg kg −1 (Vanlauwe et al., 2023). In general, improvement of nutrient-use efficiency can be achieved by widely adopting the 4R principles (the right nutrient source at the right rate, right time and right place) (Penuelas et al., 2023). In the context of SSA, site-specific nutrient management tailored to the high spatial heterogeneity of smallholder farming systems will be key (Chivenge et al., 2021). An analysis of 11 published studies showed that the addition of N fertilizer increased N 2 O emissions compared to the no input control, but there were no differences among the different rates of N fertilizer application (Vanlauwe et al., 2023). In addition, even with the high N fertilizer rates, N 2 O emissions remained below 1 kg N 2 O-N ha −1 . Nitrogen fertilizer application at a rate four to five times greater than the current average in SSA (i.e., 60 kg N/ha), using one basal application and two top dressings, led to low N 2 O emissions in Zimbabwe, far below the IPCC default values (i.e., 0.5 to 1% of applied mineral N) (Shumba et al., 2023).With regard to production, the synthesis of NH 3 to produce mineral N fertilizers accounts for about 0.8-1.2% of the global anthropogenic CO 2 emissions and 2% of global energy (Gao and Serrenhoo, 2023;Smith et al., 2020). Ammonia emissions during fertilizer production are also responsible for indirect N 2 O emissions. These GHG emissions could, however, be largely reduced by the production of NH 3 using hydrogen from water hydrolysis with renewable energy instead of fossil fuels (Smith et al., 2020;Wang et al., 2018). This prospect is currently significant enough for the IPCC to consider NH 3 as a potential low-or zero-carbon fuel similar to hydrogen (IPCC, 2022). The current expansion of fertilizer manufacturing witnessed across Africa could also largely reduce GHG emissions due to transport, besides increasing the sovereignty of the region for access to fertilizer.Overall, it is estimated that GHG emissions from N fertilizer production and use could be reduced by up to one-fifth of current levels by 2050 with currently available technologies, increasing N-use efficiency being the most effective one, as about two-thirds of GHG emissions from fertilizers actually take place immediately after their application in croplands (Gao and Serrenhoo, 2023). The excess of fertilizers currently being used in regions where overapplication is prevalent could be redistributed to SSA (less in the Global North, more in the Global South), possibly without the need to produce more fertilizers at the global scale.Eutrophication is a rising issue throughout Africa, particularly around large and rapidly expanding cities (Nyenje et al., 2010), but it is currently most probably driven by untreated sewage waste and erosion deposits rather than by the excessive fertilizer use in agriculture (Vanlauwe and Giller, 2006). However, if fertilizer use is to increase, its contribution to eutrophication has to be carefully monitored. Relevant \"4R\" fertilizer practices that are crucial to increase profitability and reduce gaseous losses will also contribute to limit N and P leaching and their contribution to eutrophication.The impacts of a strategy where the use of mineral fertilizer is reduced or eliminated, as purported by the \"input reduction\" principle of agroecology should be carefully evaluated, and weighed against the negative environmental impacts associated with fertilizer use. Because nutrient limitations constrain crop yields (see the first section), reducing fertilizer use will further lower crop yields, and inevitably drive cropland expansion to meet the demands of a fast-growing population in SSA. Although increased fertilizer use for higher crop productivity will cause an increase in N 2 O emissions (e.g., Leitner et al., 2020), cropland expansion into natural ecosystems would trigger an even greater ecological footprint. Conversion of natural ecosystems into cropland is associated with accelerated vegetation and soil C loss, and loss of biodiversity (Searchinger et al., 2015). Kehoe et al. (2017) showed greater biodiversity losses with cropland expansion than with agricultural intensification, globally and in SSA in particular. Van Loon et al. (2019) projected greater GHG emissions associated with cropland expansion than with agricultural intensification to meet food security in SSA by 2050. In addition, even though SSA is generally considered as having abundant land, accounting for about 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land, this abundance is primarily concentrated in less than 10 countries. Most countries in the region are facing land scarcity. This makes cropland expansion a limited option, emphasizing the need for production intensification on existing cropland. For a net positive effect of intensification and fertilizer use on the GHG balance of Africa to take place, public policies and stronger governance of natural resources will have to be put in place to prevent rebound effects (i.e., increased deforestation due to increased profitability of farming) (Byerlee et al., 2014). In this context, it is noteworthy to highlight that a number of countries in the South, such as Vietnam, India, Bhutan, El Salvador and Chile, have successfully achieved a land-use transition in recent decades through sound policies and innovations, which has led to the simultaneous increase of their forest cover and agricultural production (Lambin and Meyfroidt, 2011).It is clear from what precedes that harnessing only biomass fluxes and biological N fixation cannot bring all the nutrients required to increase food production and meet the food demand of an increasing population. However, these processes and the related practices are key to maintain or improve soil health in general, and soil organic C, in particular (Vanlauwe et al., 2023). Soil health is one of the 13 HLPE principles of agroecology, and is reflected in three of the ten FAO agroecology elements, namely diversity, synergy and resilience (Wezel et al., 2020). Degraded soils, i.e., soils with poor health and with chemical and physical properties of low quality are estimated to occur in 25% of croplands globally, across all environmental conditions (Le et al., 2016). In what follows we show that two agroecology principles (recycling and biodiversity) and associated practices (the use of organic amendments and agroforestry) are key to maintain and improve soil health.Degraded soils tend to be poorly responsive to mineral fertilizers (Nezomba et al., 2015). The application or retention of organic resources is critical to maintain or restore soil health (Laub et al., 2023). Crop residues are the most abundant and available organic resource, and their retention in croplands can play a significant role. However, due to other competing demands for animal feed, fuel and construction, amounts of crop residues returned to cropland are usually low (Valbuena et al., 2012). In this context, manure is often the most critical resource to maintain soil health, but required application rates may be prohibitive to smallholders (see section on manure). On the other hand, there is a large potential to increase the biomass and nutrients being recycled through manure by adopting better herd management (e.g., cattle housing) and improved manure storage (e.g., heap coverage) (Rufino et al., 2007). Improved recycling is thus required if soil organic matter is to be maintained in soils. Manure application can also mitigate soil acidification resulting from the continuous application of N fertilizers on soils with low cation exchange capacity and low pH buffering capacity (Vanlauwe et al., 2001).Agroforestry-defined in its broad sense as \"land-use systems and practices in which woody perennials are deliberately integrated with crops and/or animals on the same land management unit\" (Leakey, 1996)-can also maintain and improve soil health. Agroforestry is based on the biodiversity principle. Compared to annuals, some perennials have deeper root systems and fix more C, capture nutrients from deeper soil layers and produce biomass and litter for a longer period of time; their inclusion in cropping systems can thus contribute to a greater input of organic C to the soil (Corbeels et al., 2019), but also lead to nutrient cycles (e.g., N, P) that are more tightly coupled to the C cycle (by stoichiometric relations in plant biomass, organic matter and microbial biomass), and thus are less leaky (Lemaire et al., 2014).Efficiency is a key principle of agroecology (captured in both 13 HLPE principles and the 10 FAO elements), but also a concept that is central to the ecological and economic sustainability of any agricultural production system, whether agroecological or not (Kumar et al., 2020).Long-term improvement of soil health as described above can lead to more nutrients being supplied by the decomposition of soil organic matter, complementing or substituting some of the nutrients that need to be supplied by mineral fertilizers (Myers et al., 1994). Although nutrients other than N \"need to be imported and replaced continually\" (see section on P and K), agroecological practices help maximize their use efficiency. In the case of P in particular, the inclusion of legumes (principle of biodiversity) can lead to higher nutrient-use efficiency, as legumes tend to have greater rates of P acquisition than cereals (e.g., Tang et al., 2021). Often, the efficiency of mineral fertilizer improves with the use of agroecological practices. For example, the incorporation of Crotaliaria-Mucuna green manures into the soil improved N-use efficiency of the subsequent upland rice in Madagascar (Ranaivoson et al., 2022); the use of cattle manure was responsible for increased maize response to mineral fertilizer in Kenyan smallholder farms (Njoroge et al., 2019); intercropping maize with soybean gave greater fertilizer N-use efficiency across 106 observations in Africa (Xu et al., 2020). More generally, experimental evidence suggests that increased plant diversity-in particular functional diversity tends to lead to higher nutrient-use efficiency (Furey and Tilman, 2021). Biomass recycling (through manure, crop residues; principle of recycling) also leads to P being retained in the labile organic soil pools, which may lead to higher P-use efficiency (Drinkwater et al., 2017). Similarly, nutrient-use efficiency was shown to be promoted by nutrient recycling through livestock grazing (e.g., Hiernaux and Turner, 1996). Finally, better nutrient-use efficiency also decreases the risk of negative cost-benefit ratios when farmers invest in fertilizers (Bielders and Gérard, 2015).Maintaining other ecosystem services for sustained crop productivity Bommarco et al. (2013) highlighted the link between supporting and regulating ecosystem services, crop productivity and yield gaps, both in low-input and intensively cultivated production systems. Soil fertility maintenance and nutrient cycling are key supporting ecosystem services for agriculture and have been reviewed in the previous sections of this article. Biological pest and weed control, and crop pollination are two regulating ecosystem services that are equally critical for food production.Crop losses due to pests are projected to increase with climate change (Deutsch et al., 2018) while the use of insecticides in agriculture is increasingly regulated and its cost-benefit ratio is declining globally (Zhang, 2018). Weeds also contribute substantially to yield gaps globally for a range of crops (maize, wheat, cotton, soybean) (Oerke, 2006). As a result, biological pest and weed control is becoming more critical, in both low-input and intensively cultivated production systems. Similarly, the global pollinator decline is threatening all regions of the world. Yield losses due to pollinator decline have been recorded globally for crops with a moderate dependence on pollination. On the other hand, yields of crops with a high dependence on pollination may have been maintained by their stronger reliance on domestic honeybees, whose stocks are, however, growing slower than the demand for pollination (Aizen and Harder, 2009;Garibaldi et al., 2009).Biological pest and weed control, and pollination may be stimulated by increasing on-farm diversity, a key agroecology principle. For example, the populations of wild pollinators, and predatory and parasitoid arthropods may increase following the retention of natural and semi-natural patches in cropland, that provide nectar, alternative preys, and overwintering and nesting habitats (Bianchi et al., 2006). These patches may also host and provide cropland with insectivorous birds and bats (Sow et al., 2020). Natural areas may also provide agricultural areas with herbivores feeding on weeds, and with pathogens attacking crop pests (Blitzer et al., 2012). The optimal amount of noncrop habitat and the optimal spatial arrangement are species-specific, and depend on the dispersal ability and sensitivity to disturbance (including edge effects) of the species of interest (Ekroos et al., 2016). With regard to weeds, diversified crop rotations including legumes can help decrease weed pressure and its impact on cereal yield (e.g., Ripoche et al., 2021). Appropriate biological pest and weed control is a critical step to ensure appropriate crop growth and improved nutrient-use efficiency (ten Berge et al., 2019).The analysis of existing scientific literature on nutrient balances in SSA, biological N fixation of tropical legumes, and manure production and use in smallholder farming systems shows that agroecological practices have a clear role to play when it comes to maintaining and improving soil fertility in the context of smallholder farmers in SSA. However, further reducing the already low use of mineral fertilizeras per the \"input reduction\" principle of agroecology-may aggravate the current challenge of nutrient depletion in croplands and rangelands throughout SSA. Our analysis shows that biophysical production factors, but also shortages of land and farm labor, constrain the opportunity to close crop nutrient gaps and increase productivity by relying solely on N fixation and transfers of biomass using manure. More research at the farm and landscape level where issues of nutrient availability and sustainability operate, is needed to explore the benefits and constraints of agroecology. It is, however, clear that agroecological practices can improve nutrient-use efficiency and should complement the use of mineral fertilizer, provided that financial and physical access to fertilizer is guaranteed through adequate market development. Moreover, effective policy support to agroecological practices that deliver great environmental benefits for the society, but often limited short-term benefits to farmers, requires urgent attention.François Affholder, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Faculdade de Agronomia e Engenharia Florestal, Maputo.","tokenCount":"7663"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"91a20c3fc47d121d9ba4f062d305f300","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/9ce59150-8f25-48e3-a148-ed75acd4829e/retrieve","id":"-1865844048"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"bfc9d58f-bd61-4c41-957f-23f2edf1f50e","pagecount":"51","content":"Vitamin A deficiency, drought, low soil nitrogen (low N) and Striga hermonthica parasitism of maize (Zea mays L.) cause malnutrition and food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. The objectives of this study were to determine combining abilities of extra-early provitamin A (PVA) lines, classify them into heterotic groups (HGs), identify testers, and determine yield stability of hybrids under contrasting environments in two trials. In trial 1, 20 extra-early PVA lines were inter-mated in a diallel mating scheme to obtain 190 F 1 hybrids. The 190 F 1 hybrids plus six checks were tested under Striga infestation, drought, and stress-free environments in Nigeria from 2015 to 2017. In trial 2, 35 extra-early yellow hybrids were evaluated under low-N, Striga-infested and stress-free environments in 2018. Provitamin A concentrations of 23.98 and 22.56 µg g -1 were obtained for TZEEIOR 202 and TZEEIOR 205. TZEEIOR 197 × TZEEIOR 205 (20.1 μg g -1 ) and TZEEIOR 202 × TZEEIOR 205 (22.7 μg g -1 ) contained about double the PVA level of the commercial check, TZEEI 58 × TZEE-Y Pop STR C5 (11.4 μg g -1). Both general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining ability variances were statistically significant for most agronomic traits, although GCA was much larger than SCA effects, indicating that additive genetic effects primarily controlled the inheritance of those traits.TZEEIOR 97 and TZEEIOR 197 were identified as inbred testers. TZEEIOR 197 × TZEEIOR 205 (20.1 μg g -1 ) was identified as a single-cross tester as well as the most stable and highestyielding hybrid across environments. TZEEIOR 202 and TZEEIOR 205 should be invaluable resources for breeding for high PVA. PVA level was independent of hybrid yield potential, indicating that selection of superior hybrids with elevated PVA levels should be feasible.Abbreviations: ASI, anthesis-silking interval; ATC, average-tester coordinate axis; DA, days to anthesis; DAP, days after planting; DS, days to silking; EASP, ear aspect; EHT, ear height; EPP, ears per plant; EROT, ear rot; ESP, emerged Striga plants; GCA, general combining   ability; YIELD, grain yield; HGs, heterotic groups; HPVA, PVA levels of the hybrids; VAD, vitamin A deficiency; HUSK, husk cover; IITA, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture; MP, mid-parent; PASP, plant aspect; PHT, plant height; PVA, provitamin A; RL, root lodging; RMHT, Regional Maize Hybrid Trial; SCA, specific combining ability; SDR1, Striga damage syndrome ratings at 8 WAP; SDR2, Striga damage syndrome ratings at 10 WAP; SL, stalk lodging; STMA, stress tolerant maize for Africa (STMA), SSA, sub-Saharan Africa; WAP, weeks after planting; WCA, West and Central Africa.MALNOURISHMENT OCCURS AMONG MILLIONS OF PEOPLE worldwide with the larger proportion being in developing countries, especially in Asia and Africa -sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in particular (Jauhar, 2006). According to Swaminathan (2012), in some \"hunger hot spots\" of the world where agriculture is the backbone of survival, as in SSA and South Asia, mainstreaming nutrition in agriculture programs is the most effective and low-cost method of eliminating malnutrition. During the past two decades, tremendous efforts have been made to improve the nutritional status of crops consumed in SSA, but the region still has the largest number of malnourished people in the world. For instance, in West and Central Africa (WCA), a large proportion of the population has limited access to nutritionally balanced food to support a healthy life (Badu-Apraku and Fakorede, 2017). Maternal and childhood malnutrition results in underweight, causing millions of deaths in the sub-region. The World Health Report of 2002 ranked malnutrition first among the top globally preventable health risks, with the dreaded HIV/AIDS ranking fourth, an indication that greater attention should be focused on improving nutrition to minimize the impact of preventable diseases. Cereal-based diets on which most Africans subsist, have low levels of vitamin A (VA). According to West (2002), about 33 million preschool-age children suffer from sub-optimal VA, which has contributed to their vulnerability to several major diseases, including river blindness (onchocerciasis), anemia, diarrhoea, measles, malaria, and respiratory infections (Villamor and Fawzi, 2000). Menkir et al. (2014) reported that in SSA, vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects more than 45 million children five years old or less. Furthermore, VAD impairs the functionality of the immune system, increases susceptibility to diseases, increases the chances of death from severe illnesses, andcauses night or complete blindness (Sommer, 2008).Maize is the most important staple food crop in SSA. It is the most widely consumed cereal in WCA, where it is eaten as green maize, processed grain, popcorn and sweet corn. Quality improvement (biofortification) of this crop, therefore, has a crucial nutritional role in solving some of the problem of malnutrition in Africa. Kernels of some types of maize, especially yellow and orange maize, contain pro-vitamin A (PVA) in the form of carotenoids in the endosperm, for which there is a high level of genetic variation and which makes it possible to increase accumulation of the vitamin through plant breeding. In a study involving 39 maize inbred lines, Blessin et al. (1963) obtained 0.9 to 4.1 μg g -1 of carotenes, and 18.6 to 48.0 μg g -1 of xanthophylls. Ortiz-Monasterio et al. (2007) reported a variation of 0.24 -8.80 μg g -1 in total PVA and a range of 5 to 30 % in the proportion of PVA to total carotenoids among 1000 tropical maize genotypes obtained from the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) in Mexico. Therefore, increasing the level of PVA in maize through breeding is a feasible approach for alleviating malnutrition related to its deficiency. A study was conducted in Zambia by Palmer et al. (2016) to investigate the impact of PVA maize consumption on dark adaptation, an early functional indicator of VAD. Results revealed that children with deficient or marginal VA status showed increased pupillary responsiveness following consumption of PVA maize thus providing evidence of the functional health benefits of consuming PVA maize.In addition to VAD, parasitism by Striga hermonthica, low soil nitrogen (low-N) and drought are among other constraints in maize production in SSA. Striga parasitism can lead to complete crop failure when the infestation is very severe (Kroschel, 1999). On the other hand, drought could reduce maize yield by up to 90% when it coincides with flowering (anthesis and silking) and/or grain-filling periods (NeSmith and Ritchie, 1992). Furthermore, the savanna soils, where maize potential could be easily maximized, are low or completely deficient in certain nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, several micronutrients as well as in organic matter. In SSA, low-N stress reduces maize grain yield by 10 to 50% year -1 (Logrono and Lothrop, 1997). Genetic enhancement of maize is the most economic, affordable and sustainable option for mitigating the adverse effects of S. hermonthica parasitism, drought and low-N in SSA (Badu-Apraku et al., 2015a, b, c). The development and commercialization of multiple-stress-tolerant maize with high levels of PVA content is urgently required to mitigate VA malnutrition and food insecurity in SSA. Substantial progress has been made in increasing the PVA in maize through conventional breeding (Menkir et al., 2013). Menkir et al. (2013), indicated that the identification of adapted orange maize inbred lines from diverse genetic backgrounds and with varying carotenoid concentrations is critical to facilitating the development of superior PVA hybrids and establishing a successful PVA hybrid program. Suwarno et al. (2014) demonstrated the effectiveness of grouping PVA lines based on maximum molecular marker-based genetic distance between the lines to achieve heterosis.However, little or no information is available on the development and commercialization of multiple-stress-tolerant PVA maize hybrids.Cultivation of hybrid maize in SSA has occupied center stage in the past decade and emerging seed companies have relied on existing outstanding germplasm in the public domain for commercialization. However, a successful hybrid development program is a function of the heterotic patterns of the parental lines used in the development of the hybrids and their ability to combine well with most other inbred lines, or specific lines to develop productive and superior hybrids (Fan et al., 2009). Thus, heterotic groups (HGs) are formed among sets of developed inbred lines, such that those with genetic similarity are placed in the same group, whereas those genetically dissimilar are categorized in opposite groups (Fan et al., 2009;Badu-Apraku et al., 2015a, b). This increases the chances of developing outstanding hybrids for commercialization, since crosses are made only among inbred lines from opposite HGs.Information on inter-trait relationships guides a breeder on the choice of traits to consider for improving the performance of a primary trait, such as grain yield, under diverse environmental conditions (Talabi et al., 2017). Breeders routinely investigate how grain yield and secondary traits of maize interact, especially when new sets of genetic materials are developed, to ascertain that the existing interrelationships among the traits have not been altered by the genetic constitution of the newly developed materials or by climate change. Several researchers have documented inter-trait relationships in maize. Number of ears per plant (EPP), anthesissilking interval (ASI), and stay-green characteristic (STGR) were identified by Bänziger et al. (2000) as the most reliable secondary traits for improvement of grain yield under drought-stress and low N conditions. Badu-Apraku et al. ( 2011) also identified EPP and ASI, along with plant aspect (PASP) and ear aspect (EASP) as the secondary traits for yield improvement under both drought and low N stresses. They also found days to 50% silking (DS), days to 50% anthesis (DA), plant height (PHT), and STGR as indirect selection criteria for grain yield under low-N environments (Badu-Apraku et al., 2011).Since 2007, several inbred lines with varying levels of PVA and reactions to stresses are being developed in the IITA maize improvement program. However, there is dearth of information on the heterotic patterns of the extra-early PVA inbred lines and on the performance and intertrait relationships of derived hybrids in multiple environments. In addition, only few PVA hybrids in the extra-early maturity group have been developed and released for commercialization in the sub-region. The studies reported here were therefore conducted to (i) determine the GCA and SCA effects for grain yield and several other agronomic traits of extraearly PVA inbred lines, (ii) assign the inbred lines to appropriate heterotic groups, (iii) identify inbred lines and single-cross hybrids for use as testers for producing high-yielding single-cross and three-way hybrids, (iv) evaluate grain yield performance and stability of the hybrid combinations of selected inbred lines in drought-affected, Striga-infested, low-N, and optimal growing environments, and (v) examine inter-trait relationships among the PVA hybrids. , a source of high PVA, from the IITA Maize Improvement Program in an effort to transfer the genes for high beta-carotene into the cultivar.The F 1 was backcrossed to the extra-early cultivar and kernels of the BC 1 F 1 with deep orange color were selected and advanced to F 2 and F 3 stages through selfing. At the F 3 stage, lines with intense orange color were selected and recombined to obtain the extra-early PVA cultivar '2009 TZEE-OR1 STR', from which a new set of extra-early inbred lines were extracted starting in 2011. By 2014, a total of 224 S 6 inbred lines, selected for deep orange color, had been developed from the variety. This set of PVA inbred lines were assessed for tolerance to induced drought at Ikenne, Nigeria, in the 2014/2015 dry season. Thereafter, the PVA inbred lines were advanced to the S 7 /S 8 stages, from which the kernels were sampled and subjected to chemical analyses at the Food and Nutrition Laboratory of IITA-Ibadan for the determination of their PVA contents. Results of the chemical analyses were used as the basis for selecting the PVA inbred lines evaluated in the genetic studies reported here.Two trials (Trial 1 and Trial 2) were conducted in the present study. In Trial 1, 20 extra-early S 7 PVA inbred lines selected for moderate to high levels of beta-carotene content (Table 1) were inter-mated in the IITA-Ibadan breeding nursery in 2015 according to the diallel mating scheme (Sprague and Tatum, 1942) and 190 F 1 hybrids were obtained. The PVA hybrids and six yellow hybrid checks were used for combining ability studies in Striga-infested (Experiment 1), drought (Experiment 2), and optimal growing environments (Experiment 3) from 2015 to 2017. Trial 2 comprised 34 extra-early-maturity genotypes, including PVA and non-PVA hybrids, which were selected from a number of preliminary maize hybrid trials. The 34 hybrids and a commercial check were evaluated in the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) Regional Maize Hybrid Trial (hereafter referred to as Regional Maize Hybrid Trial or RMHT) in Striga-infested, low-N and optimal growing environments in Nigeria, in 2018.This trial consisted of three independent experiments conducted under different management conditions. Experiment 1 involved evaluation of the 190 PVA hybrids plus six extra-early hybrid checks (42-49 days to flowering) at Mokwa (9•18 N, 5•4 E, 457 m above sea level, 1100 mm mean annual rainfall) under artificial Striga infestation during the 2016 and 2017 growing seasons. Residual Striga seeds were eliminated by inducing their suicidal germination through the injection of ethylene gas into the soils two weeks prior to manual Striga infestation. The artificial Striga infestation followed the procedure proposed by Kim (1991). Fertilizer application was delayed until about 25 days after planting (DAP) when 30 kg ha -1 was applied as NPK 15:15:15. Delay in fertilizer application and the low rate were aimed at subjecting the maize plants to a required stress level to trigger the production of strigolactones, hormones responsible for the stimulation of germination of Striga seeds. The Striga plants that emerge, being parasitic, grow in the maize field for as long as the host plant (maize) is growing and supplying the required nutrients for the growth and development of Striga plants.In Experiment 2, the 196 hybrids were planted during the dry seasons of 2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 under managed drought at Ikenne (6•53'N, 30•42'E, 60 m above sea level, 1200 mm mean annual rainfall). The soils at Ikenne are characterized as Alfisols (Soil Survey Staff, 2007), which are fairly flat, uniform and typically have high water-retention capacity. The experiments were established during the dry seasons of each year, starting from November to March of the following year. Water was provided to the trials through a sprinkler irrigation system, which made available about 17 mm of water to each plant every week. Drought was imposed in the trials at about 25 DAP, during which water supply was discontinued. As such, growth and development of plants till harvest were dependent on the moisture stored in the soil. Basal fertilizer was applied as 60 kg each of K, P and N at sowing. Topdressing was carried out by applying 30 kg of N ha -1 at 3 weeks after planting (WAP).Experiment 3 involved evaluation of the 196 hybrids in optimal growing environments at Mokwa in 2016, Ikenne in 2016 and 2017, and Bagauda (lat.12°00'N, long. 8°22'E, with 580 m above sea level and 800 mm mean annual rainfall) in 2017. In the optimal environments, there was adequate supply of water and nitrogen and the plots were Striga-free. About 60 kg each of N, P and K ha -1 was applied as basal fertilizer at 2 WAP, with additional 30 kg N ha -1 top-dressed 4 WAP.Each of the three experiments was conducted using a 14 × 14 lattice design, with two replications. In the three experiments, 3 m long single-row plots were used, with inter-and intra-row spacing of 0.75 and 0.40 m, respectively. Three seeds were sown per hill and emerged seedlings were thinned to two per hill at about two WAP to attain the target population density of approximately 66,667 plants ha −1 . Atrazine (Primextra) was applied for pre-emergence weed control in all the fields, whereas Paraquat (Gramoxone) served as a post-emergence herbicide in drought and optimal fields. Following the emergence of maize plants, Striga fields were kept weed-free through hand pulling.Entries of Trial 2 were evaluated in Striga-infested environment in Mokwa, during the 2018 growing season. In addition, the trial was conducted in low and high-N environments at Ile-Ife and Mokwa, and in optimal environments in Ikenne, Mokwa,Zaria (11•11'N,7•38'E,640 m) above sea level, 1200 mm mean annual rainfall) and Bagauda in 2018. The experimental design used was a 5 × 7 lattice with three replications. Two-row plots, each measuring 4 m long, with inter-row spacing of 0.75 m and within-row spacing of 0.40 m, were employed. Other experimental procedures used in the Trial were as given for Trial 1.The soil of the field used for the low-N experiment in Mokwa was characterized as Luvisol and that of Ile-Ife as fine-loamy, isohyperthemic Plinthustalf (Soil Survey Staff, 2007). The fields had been previously depleted of N by continuous planting of maize crop without application of N fertilizer, in addition to the removal of plant residue after each harvest, for a period of two years. Prior to planting, soil samples were collected for determination of N level by the Kjeldahl digestion and colorimetric method using Technicon AAII Autoanalyser (Bremner and Mulvaney, 1982). The soils had very low residual N, varying from 0•21 to 0•53% N. Based on the soil test results, urea, triple super phosphate and muriate of potash were used to formulate fertilizer, which was applied 2 WAP at the rate of 15, 60 and 60 kg ha -1 each of N, P and K to the low-N experiments, whereas 45, 60 and 60 kg ha -1 of N, P and K were applied to high-N experiments. The N-treatment fields were top-dressed at 4 WAP with the amount of urea required to increase the total available N to 30 and 90 kg ha -1 for low-N and high-N experiments, respectively. Herbicides, followed by manual weeding as needed, were employed for weed control in the trial. Evaluation of the hybrids in the RMHT under optimal environments followed the standard agronomic practices, as described for Trial 1 under optimal environments.Seed samples used for the carotenoid analyses were produced, as described by Suwarno et al. (2014) by self-pollinating the first and last two plants per plot in the 196 hybrid trial involving the 190 PVA and six normal endosperm extra-early yellow hybrid checks as well as 20 selected S 8 plants of PVA inbred lines evaluated under optimal growing conditions at Ikenne and Mokwa in 2016 and 2017. The self-pollinated ears of the inbred lines and hybrids in each year were harvested per plot, dried under ambient temperature and shelled (Azmach et al., 2013).The seed samples were stored in the long-term storage facility of IITA at 4°C. Seed samples of the 20 inbred lines used for the diallel cross, along with top yielding 13 PVA hybrids and two checks obtained from composite grains harvested separately from the inbred lines and hybrid trials of each year, were drawn from the long-term storage. The carotenoids were extracted and quantified at the Food and Nutritional Laboratory of IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria. The High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method, based on the extraction protocol described by Howe and Tanumihardjo (2006), was employed for the carotenoid analysis. The five carotenoids, β -carotene (cis and trans isomers), α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, and lutein, were determined based on calibrations using external standards. Total carotenoids were computed as the sum of concentrations of α-carotene, β-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin and β-cryptoxanthin. PVA was computed as the sum of β-carotene, and half of each of βcryptoxanthin and α-carotene contents, because β-cryptoxanthin and α-carotene contribute about 50% of the β-carotene as PVA according to the US Institute of Medicine (2001). Two independent measurements were taken to represent each sample. In addition to the PVA levels of the hybrids (HPVA) determined by chemical analysis, those of the mid-parent (MP) were estimated as the average of the sum of PVA levels of parental inbred lines of a specific hybrid.Data were recorded on days to anthesis (DA) and silking (DS), anthesis-silking interval (ASI), plant height (PHT), ear height (EHT), plant aspect (PASP), ear aspect (EASP), root lodging Combined analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed for agronomic traits of Trial 1 (genetic study) across year-location combinations in Striga-infested, drought and optimal growing environments using the SAS codes for GLM and the RANDOM statement with the TEST option (SAS Institute, 2011). Genotypes were considered fixed effects, whereas test environments, replications, genotype by environment interaction and all other sources of variation were treated as random effects.For Trial 2 (RMHT), ANOVA was done separately across stress (Striga-infested and low-N) and non-stress (Striga-free, high-N and optimal) growing environments. The statistical model employed for the combined analysis in the present study has been previously described by Badu-Apraku et al. (2015b). Broad-sense heritability (H 2 ) of the traits was estimated as the proportion of the phenotypic variance contributed by the genetic variance based on the hybrid means, following the method of Hallauer et al. (2010). Repeatability (R 2 ) of grain yield and other measured characters was computed for individual environments using the following formula:The standard errors for heritability and repeatability estimates (Hallauer et al. 2010) were computed and used for pair-wise comparison of calculated estimates of the two parameters.Excluding the checks from the analysis of Trial 1, the GCA effects of the PVA parental lines and the SCA effects of F 1 hybrids as well as their mean squares under each and across research conditions were estimated according to Griffing's Method 4 model 1 (fixed effects) (Griffing, 1956), using the DIALLEL-SAS program (Zhang et al., 2005) in SAS software version 9.3 (SAS Institute, 2011). The significance of the GCA and SCA effects were tested using t-statistic. The square root of the GCA and SCA variances provided an estimate of the standard errors corresponding to their effects (Griffing, 1956). The relative importance of GCA and SCA was examined following the method proposed by Baker (1978), as modified by Hung and Holland (2012). The importance of the combining ability effects was examined by expressing the GCA effects as the ratio of the total genetic effects (i.e., 2GCA + SCA). The closer the ratio to unity (equivalent of 100%), the greater the predictability of hybrid performance based on GCA effects alone (Baker, 1978).The PVA lines were assigned to the HGs across test environments using the GCA effects of multiple traits (HGCAMT) grouping method (Badu-Apraku et al., 2013). This was accomplished by standardizing GCA effects of measured traits that showed significant mean squares for genotypes across test environments and subjecting the dataset to Ward's minimum variance cluster analysis based on the Euclidean distance obtained from HGCAMT, employing SAS software 9.3 (SAS Institute, 2011). To qualify as a tester, an inbred must (i) have a high, statistically significant positive GCA effect for grain yield, (ii) belong to a heterotic group, and(iii) possess a high per se grain yield (Pswarayi and Vivek, 2008). Single-cross testers were also identified according to the criteria established by Pswarayi and Vivek (2008), which included (i) parental inbred lines involved in the development of the hybrids must have positive and significant GCA effects for grain yield, (ii) parental lines of hybrid must belong to the same heterotic group, and (iii) the single-cross hybrid must have a reasonable grain yield.The ANOVA was performed on plot means of grain yield across test environments to determine whether the G × E interaction was significant. For traits with significant G × E interaction mean squares, the genotype main effect plus G × E interaction (GGE) biplot was used to determine the performance and stability of selected top 15, middle five and worst five PVA maize hybrids plus five yellow hybrid checks across test environments. All the hybrids in the RMHT were also subjected to GGE biplot analysis. The GGE biplot is a Window's application software that fully automates biplot analysis (Yan, 2001). Information on the GGE biplot program may be accessed at www.ggebiplot.com (Accessed 13 February 2019). The relationships among traits were investigated using the stepwise multiple regression analyses (SPSS, 2007) and illustrated with sequential path diagrams (Mohammadi et al., 2003;Badu-Apraku et al., 2014). In this method, HPVA, considered the primary trait, was regressed on MP of grain yield and other traits. Traits with significant contributions to HPVA were identified as first order traits. Subsequently, each first order trait was regressed on traits not in the first order category to identify those with significant contributions to HPVA through the first order traits.These were grouped as second order traits. The procedure was continued till all measured traits had been categorized. The standardized b values of the regression analysis provided an estimate of the path co-efficient, which was tested for significance using the t test at 0.05 probability level (Mohammadi et al., 2003;Badu-Apraku et al., 2014).The PVA levels of inbred lines used in this study were significantly different, ranging from 7.88 μg g -1 for TZEEIOR 27 to 23.98 μg g -1 for TZEEIOR 202 (Table 1) with an overall mean of 10.91 μg g -1 and SEM of 0.91. Eight (40%) of the lines had PVA value greater than 10 μg g -1 and two of them, TZEEIOR 202 (23.98 μg g -1 ) and TZEEIOR 205 (22.56 μg g -1 ), had values significantly higher than the overall mean. Similarly, the hybrids resulting from the crosses of the 20 inbred lines had significantly different PVA values with two of the hybrids, TZEEIOR 197 × TZEEIOR 205 (20.1 μg g -1 ) and TZEEIOR 202 × TZEEIOR 205 (22.7 μg g -1 ), having values much higher than the target of 15 μg g -1 proposed by HarvestPlus (Table 1). Here also, relatively few hybrids had PVA values greater than 10 μg g -1 .Theoretically as well as in practice, most traits of maize inbred lines display hybrid vigor or heterosis in single crosses. Results of the inbred lines and their resulting hybrids seemed to deviate from the expected trend that PVA values of hybrids would be higher than the midparent value. For the inbred lines and their hybrids summarized in (2008) examined tropical yellow maize inbred lines sampled from four trials in one location and a fifth trial conducted in two locations and found that carotenoid concentrations of lutein, zeaxanthin, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, α-carotene and total PVA contents were not strongly affected by the differences in replications or locations or GEI. In another study conducted by Menkir and Maziya-Dixon (2004), no significant GEI was obtained for β-carotene of 17 maize genotypes evaluated in three locations for 2 years.Environments (E), genotypes (G), and G × E interaction (GEI) sources of variation significantly affected YIELD and most other traits of the PVA hybrids in the Striga-infested, drought, and optimal environments (Table 2). Some traits, such as DA, PHT, EHT, RL and EROT, wereconsistently not affected by one or more of the three sources of variation in the three environmental conditions of the study (Table 2). The proportion of total variation due to the environment varied among the field trial conditions. Grain yield, for example, had much larger proportion due to the environment for optimal (45%) than Striga (28%) and drought (6%)conditions. Similar values for G were 15, 25, and 37%; and for G x E were 12, 14, and 25%for the three field trial conditions, respectively. The stress environments, Striga-infested in particular, had more traits with non-significant G and GEI mean squares than the optimal environmental conditions. However, significant differences occurred among the hybrids for grain yield and some other traits, an indication that real variability existed among the hybrids which could be exploited during selection for these traits under the stress factors (Badu-Apraku et al., 2015a, b, c). Significant GEI effect detected for grain yield and some other measured traits is also desirable; an implication that PVA hybrids adapted to specific stress and nonstress environments are potentially available in the extra-early PVA maize germplasm at IITA (Badu-Apraku et al., 2008). The consistent expression of ASI, PHT, EHT, RL, SL, HUSK and EROT irrespective of the environments in which the hybrids were tested, if confirmed in further studies, could be an advantage to the breeder to minimize evaluation costs by reducing the number of environments in which data are obtained on these traits for PVA hybrids.Under optimal conditions, the much larger proportion of total variation caused by the environment (45%) relative to proportions due to G (15%) and G x E (12%) calls for attention.First, the results show that the recommendation that hybrids be tested over multiple environments for several years prior to promotion for release and commercialization (Badu-Apraku et al., 2007;Ifie et al., 2015) is also applicable to PVA hybrids. Second, although significant differences observed among the hybrids for all measured traits in this study would facilitate the identification of hybrids with desired attributes (Bhatnagar et al., 2004), it seems the environment would greatly regulate the response to selection, an observation similar to that made for some modified-endosperm opaque-2 tropical maize inbred lines (Pixley and Bjarnason, 1993). Third, coefficient of variation and repeatability, which are some of the parameters used as indicators of reliability of production estimates (Badu-Apraku et al., 2012), varied widely among traits and evaluation conditions (Table 2). Although the grain yield CV was lower and repeatability estimate higher for optimal relative to Striga and drought environments, the values call for more stringent management conditions to optimize production of PVA hybrids, an indication that the genotype x environment x management interaction is operating in PVA hybrid maize production. However, heritability estimates for grain yield ranged from 30 to 69% under contrasting environments used in the present study (Supplementary Table 1). This observation, along with CV≤30 for most traits under all environments in this study indicated that the data set from the test locations were reliable with minimal or no systematic error. Although the test environments used in the present study were consistent in discriminating among the agronomic traits of the hybrids, the results suggest that the type of environmental condition used by scientists would depend on the breeding strategies and product target.As indicated by significant GCA and SCA mean squares under each evaluation condition, both additive and non-additive gene actions were involved in the inheritance of most measured traits of the genetic materials evaluated in this study (Table 2). Across all test environments, >60%of the total genetic effect was attributable to GCA for YIELD and other traits (Fig. 1). These results support the general evidence in the literature; that is, additive gene action controls inheritance of most traits of maize although non-additive gene action, along with environmental effects could also be important but to a lesser extent. In other words, PVA inbred lines are not different from other inbred lines in terms of quantitative inheritance. Under optimum conditions, GCA x E and SCA x E were also statistically significant for all traits except ASI.This was not the case under the stress environments where relatively few GCA x E and SCA x E interactions were significant. In fact, under Striga infestation, GCA x E interaction was not significant for any trait, including grain yield. These results suggested that the inheritance of the PVA maize traits controlled by both additive and non-additive gene action was not dependent on the environment within each evaluation condition to much appreciable extent (Wegary et al., 2013). This is desirable because it indicates that the performance of the hybrids produced from the inbred lines in this study could be reliably predicted based, to a large extent, on the GCA effects alone (Baker, 1978). Contrarily, significant GCA x E and SCA x E interaction effects for most traits under optimal conditions and some of the traits under the stress conditions indicated that mode of inheritance of the traits could vary under different environmental conditions, as observed in earlier studies (Badu-Apraku et al., 2011a).GCA effects of inbred lines. Among the lines evaluated in the study, eight (TZEEIOR 97,TZEEIOR 142,TZEEIOR 197,TZEEIOR 202,TZEEIOR 205,TZEEIOR 209,TZEEIOR 250 and TZEEIOR 251) had significant positive GCA effects for grain yield across test environments and mostly under each environmental condition (Table 3). These inbred lines are likely to produce high YIELD in hybrid combinations (Badu-Apraku et al., 2015a). However, none of the inbred lines consistently had significant GCA effects for all the other traits assayed in the study. The effects were significant for some traits, ranging from two for TZEEIOR 209 to nine for TZEEIOR 197 and TZEEIOR 250 ( It is noteworthy that the inbreds TZEEIOR 97 and TZEEIOR 251 had significant positive GCA effects for YIELD across environments as well as significant negative GCA effects for STGR under drought. The inbred TZEEIOR 251 had significant and positive effects of GCA for YIELD across test environments and significant negative GCA effects for STGR in drought as well as in Striga-infested environments. The performance of inbred line TZEEIOR 197 was particularly striking. Across all environments, the line showed significant positive GCA effects for YIELD but significant negative effects for STGR under drought as well as for SDR2 and ESP1 under Striga-infested environments. This suggested that TZEEIOR 197 could serve as a potential source of beneficial alleles for improved grain yield, drought tolerance and Striga resistance/tolerance in PVA hybrids. The line could also be introgressed into consumer acceptable tropical PVA germplasm that are otherwise susceptible to drought and Striga infestation. In addition, inbred line TZEEIOR 197 may be a potentially good tester for PVA single-cross hybrid production.The HGCAMT method (Badu-Apraku et al., 2013) assigned the inbreds into two HGs across environments at 40% level of dissimilarity (i.e. R-squared value of 40%), with 11 and 9 of the lines in HG 1 and HG 2, respectively (Table 4 and Supplementary Figure 1). The placement of the inbred lines into two heterotic groups increased the chances of developing high-yielding hybrids through inter-mating of inbred lines belonging to opposing HGs. The inbred TZEEIOR 97 was identified as tester for HG 1 and TZEEIOR 197 for HG 2, while TZEEIOR 197 × TZEEIOR 205 was identified as single-cross tester for HG 2. The identification of inbred testers TZEEIOR 97 and TZEEIOR 197 for HGs 1 and 2 would not only fast track the development of outstanding hybrids but also support a conservative approach to hybrid development, as testers identified for each HG could be crossed to lines of opposing HGs. Of interest was the inbred TZEEIOR 197 which was identified as possessing genes for high YIELD, drought tolerance and Striga resistance/tolerance, and as one of the new inbred testers.This inbred would definitely be invaluable in the development of high yielding, multiple-stress tolerant PVA hybrids for commercialization in SSA.In the GGE biplot view, the thick single-arrow red line passing through the biplot origin and the average tester is referred to as the average-tester coordinate axis (ATC). The double-arrow line (ATC ordinate) separates hybrids with yield less than the average (to the left side of the line) from those with yield greater than the mean (to the right side of the line) (Figs 2 and 3).The average performance of a hybrid is approximated by the projection of its marker on the ATC. The stability of the hybrids is measured by the projection onto the ATC y-axis singlearrow line (ATC abscissa). The shorter the absolute length of the projection of the hybrid, the more stable it is (Yan et al., 2007). In the GGE biplot, hybrid TZEEIOR 109 × TZEEIOR 197 was promising in terms of YIELD but relatively less stable (Fig. 2). The PVA hybrid TZEEIOR 142 × TZEEIOR 197, which ranked third in YIELD, was very stable across test environments.However, hybrid TZEEIOR 197 × TZEEIOR 205 in the genetic study had the highest above mean YIELD as well as the shortest projection onto the average-tester coordinate y-axis and was, therefore, the highest yielding and most stable hybrid across test environments (Fig. 2).Based on the genetic studies, this hybrid was identified as a single-cross tester for HG 2 and Results of ANOVA for extra-early yellow and PVA hybrids evaluated in RMHT revealed significant differences among the hybrids for all measured agronomic traits across stress and non-stress environments except for SDR2 under Striga infestation (Table 5). The environment effects were significant for all measured traits assayed separately across stress and non-stress environments. In contrast, hybrid × environment interaction effects were significant for YIELD and STGR under stress and for DS, ASI, HUSK, PASP and EASP across non-stress environments. Furthermore, the results revealed TZEEIOR 197 × TZEEIOR 205 as the highest yielding hybrid across stress (3554 kg ha -1 ) and non-stress (5655 kg ha -1 ) environments, outyielding the commercial PVA check, TZEEI 58 × TZEE-Y STR C5 by 67 and 61%, respectively. In addition, TZEEIOR 197 × TZEEIOR 205 was superior to the commercial hybrid check in terms of HUSK, STGR and SDR2 under stress, and PASP, EASP and EPP across stress and non-stress environments.The GGE biplot revealed TZEEIOR 197 × TZEEIOR 205 in the RMHT as having the most outstanding above mean YIELD performance and was therefore considered the highest yielding hybrid across test environments (Fig. 3). However, the hybrid had a long projection onto the average-tester coordinate y-axis. Other promising hybrids in terms of YIELD stability across test environments included TZEEIOR 125 × TZdEEI 7 and 2009 TZEE-OR2 STR × TZdEEI 7.Information on the interrelationships among traits plays a key role in the choice of secondary traits a breeder would consider for inclusion in the selection index. In the present study, causal relationships among the hybrid PVA levels, mid-parent levels, YIELD and other measured agronomic traits were illustrated using stepwise regression as well as path analyses under Striga-infested and drought environments (Mohammadi et al., 2003;Talabi et al., 2017). The stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed MP as the sole trait in the first order category accounting for 93% of the observable variation in the PVA levels of hybrids under managed drought environments (Fig. 4). This implied that the PVA content of a hybrid is largely dependent on those of the parental lines used to develop it. Husk cover was the only second order trait while EASP, DS and PHT fell in the third order category of traits contributing to the variation in the hybrid PVA levels. Plant aspect, STGR, DA, ASI, EHT and EROT were categorized as fourth order traits while YIELD and SL were classified as fifth order traits. EPP was in the sixth order category of the traits.Across Striga-infested environments, MP and RL were identified as the first order traits explaining about 96% of the observable differences in the hybrid PVA levels (Fig. 5). This implied that mid-parent PVA and RL were the primary traits that influenced the HPVA under artificial Striga-infested environments. About 96% of the variation could be attributed to these traits, indicating that the PVA content of a hybrid is a function of the PVA levels of the parental inbred lines as well as the lodging resistance of the PVA hybrids under artificial Striga-infested environments. The traits in the second order category included DS, EPP and PHT. Days to anthesis, ASI and YIELD were classified as third order traits while EASP and ESP1 fell in the fourth order. Striga damage syndrome rating at 10 WAP was the only trait in the fifth order whereas HUSK and SL were among sixth order traits. The seventh order category comprised EROT, ESP2 and SDR1. Ear height was the sole trait in the eighth order under Striga-infested environments. The identification of YIELD as fifth and third order traits under induced drought and Striga-infested environments, respectively, implied that the PVA level of hybrids is independent of their yield performance. Thus, simultaneous selection for high YIELD and elevated PVA levels would suffice when the development of hybrids with these characteristics is the goal of a breeding program.When the HarvestPlus Challenge Program was initiated, the yellow kernel maize, on average, had 1.5 μg g -1 PVA content while the orange color maize had 3-8 μg g-1 (HarvestPlus, 2014).Maize breeders then considered maize germplasm with orange kernels as a possible source of PVA and focused attention on the materials for PVA improvement. By implication, PVA genes must have been present in the landraces, although in low frequencies at best. The WECAMAN program subjected the populations developed from the composite of the landraces to genetic enhancement of resistance/tolerance to drought, Striga, and low-N, along with improved quality protein and PVA content, both of which are more recent projects. Stress tolerant maize varieties that have relatively high nutritious value are now being released to farmers in SSA.The genetic studies and breeding efforts for improved PVA that are presented in this paper were based on the orange kernel materials. Indeed, inbred lines with relatively high PVA have been developed and used as parent materials for hybrids. Among the inbred lines are TZEEIOR         TZEEIOR 22,TZEEIOR 24,TZEEIOR 26,TZEEIOR 27,TZEEIOR 28,TZEEIOR 41,TZEEIOR 45,TZEEIOR 30,TZEEIOR 97,TZEEIOR 233 and TZEEIOR 234 TZEEIOR 109,TZEEIOR 197,TZEEIOR 209,TZEEIOR 250,TZEEIOR 251,TZEEIOR 140,TZEEIOR 142,TZEEIOR 202 and TZEEIOR 205  ","tokenCount":"6757"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"4ec6a9e63a91ec427a5f57e0c11467b1","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/927f90e0-ace8-4114-9ffa-00c9f0cca3dd/retrieve","id":"1724078304"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"221f178d-4aac-4b8a-adb8-a1955291a62e","pagecount":"55","content":"This synthesis was written based on essays produced by the following youth:• Sangwani Rebeccah Gondwe, Malawi, Southern Africa • Aristide Z. Adaha, Benin, West Africa • Maureen Agena, Uganda, Eastern Africa • Isaac Chanda, Zambia, Southern Africa • Riten Chand Gosai, Fiji, Pacific • Gabriel Dacko Goudjo, Cameroon, Central Africa • Tyrone Hall, Jamaica, Caribbean The full versions of essays can be read on the ARDYIS website http://ardyis.cta.intThe energy of youth can spark economies … The future belongs to them and they have a clear vision of the world we need to build together: peace, the preservation of our beautiful planet, the opportunity to make a better life.-United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (ACP) countries faces many chal lenges. De spite their countries' heavy reliance on this sector for economic growth, food security and employment, young people perceive agriculture as an unattractive career option.Agriculture accounts for over 50% of GDP in some countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. This, coupled with the high level of unemployment, means that the need to secure the continued interest of youth in agriculture is imperative.The majority of farmers today are older. A research study by the Caribbean Farmers' Network (CaFAN) found that the average age of farmers in the Caribbean is 45 years, with the majority being over 60 years of age 1 . With a lack of youth to replace them, the future of agriculture is uncertain. Youth unemployment is a critical problem. In several countries the number of young people out of work exceeds 50%.It is therefore evident that a well-supported agricultural sector could present the ideal solution if it is transformed in the eyes of the younger generation. It must become attractive, viable and offer real opportunities for income.ICTs offer a good avenue for achieving this objective. These technologies are reaching every socioeconomic segment, even in remote rural areas. They offer efficient tools for transforming the agriculture sector. As it's recognized that young people spearhead the development of innovations 1 Caribbean Farmers' Network -Source: www.cafan.org, CaFANYouth in Agriculture Regional Workshop, 2010 in ICT, there are therefore, new rationale and opportunities for linking agriculture and youth. Moreover, in rural areas, ICTs can help improve youth livelihoods and reduce rural exodus.The ARDYIS (Agriculture, Rural Development and Youth in the Information Society) project is one of CTA's recent initiatives with ACP partners, notably created to improve ICT access for ru ral youth. Its aim is to raise awareness and streng then the capacity of young people, allowing them to contribute to agriculture and rural development through the use of ICTs. This booklet provides an overview and the results of the essay competition «Youth finding solutions to challenges in agriculture and rural development using ICTs!», one of the many ARDYIS activities. Entries submitted demonstrated that youth are more and more interested in the agricultural sector and supporting them will definitely have a strong impact in attracting more youth to rural areas.In addition to the ARDYIS project, CTA has also embarked on other initiatives such as a project with the FANRPAN (Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network) to develop policies for youth in southern Africa and initiatives to target young scientists. Through its youth initiatives, CTA will contribute to the efforts of ACP governments to create employment and income for the youth in agriculture and related rural economies.Fostering youth solutions...T he essay compe tition «Youth finding solutions to challenges in agriculture and rural development using ICTs!» was an initia tive of the ARDYIS project, a frame work of actions, which aims to improve oppor tunities for youth in agri culture and rural develop ment through the use of ICTs.Youth, aged from 18 to 25 years old, were re quired to submit entries in four categories. The first category asked them to present two agricultural challenges and discuss how ICTs could be used to address them; the second category offers to analyze how ICTs could be used for effective advocacy and lobbying to promote agriculture; the third category targeted the use of ICTs to improve access to markets and the last category allowed them to tell the story of a young person living in a rural area who has used ICT successfully or in an innovative way (even if the experience was not a success) for his/her work. The summaries of essays published here are grouped into three sections, based on the initial four categories.We have decided to share summaries 2 of 18 of the best essays to highlight the solutions and perspectives of some of the best young entrants. Showcasing successful youth exposes those to new opportunities, motivates them, ultimately boosting their interests and those of their peers. We are certain that among these 18 young people, whose essays have been highlighted in this booklet, we have future leaders of ACP agricultural and rural development. Some of them are already making a difference in their communities and they will certainly achieve more in the future. They are people to watch! 2 For more information about the contest and to read the full versions of the best essays, please check: http://tinyurl.com/ ardyis-essay-documents Launched in June 2010, the competition has helped to create a collaborative framework for hundreds of young people and youth organizations who are active or interested in the farming sector, in rural development and in the use of ICTs in that context. Different activities have been organized since then, including: training and exchange on the use of web 2.0 tools in agriculture and rural development; a workshop on agricultural entrepreneurship through ICTs, the Youth In Agriculture Blog Competition (YoBloCo Awards; see Appendix); the adoption of an advocacy document entitled \"Call for Stronger Support for Youth Involvement in Agriculture and ICT\"; and networking and information dissemination on opportunities. Many youth have attended conferences to strengthen their knowledge, and some even have secured employment opportunities as a result.The ARDYIS initiative is still at its early stages and is refining its strategy and actions. We are open to collaboration with all organizations interested in these issues. I would like to seize this opportunity to thank the institutional members of the project's advisory committee, whose constant support has been crucial to the success of this project. Thanks must also go to my colleagues at CTA, in particular, Mrs Oumy Ndiaye (who as head of department at CTA, played a central role in the establishment and operation of the initiative), Thilda Chevouline, Giorgio Bellinzas, Therese Burke and Jenessi Matturi. Some encouraging results have been achieved so far and more will be accomplished in the future. PART 1Agricultural theft, crop pests and unpredictable weather con-ditions… these are just some of the challenges facing today's ACP producers. Information and communication technologies tailored to their needs and budgets can offer some solutions -and help farmers introduce more sustainable practices, improve record-keeping and plan more efficient farm strategies. My favourite quote: \"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible -and achieve it, generation after generation.\" -Paul S. Buck My blog: http://www.ictworks.org/news/tyrone-hallD usk is approaching in the sleepy Jamaican village of Glengoffee, and farmer Leslie makes his usual evening rounds to check his property. He patiently counts his cattle, scans his crops and makes a mental note of all his tools and other assets. The evening patrol has become an essential ritual ever since agricultural theft -or praedial larceny to use its technical name -began to spiral out of control. More than 1 in 10 Jamaican farmers have been victims of agricultural theft, losing cattle, crops and equipment to crimes that are increasingly the work of organised gangs.More than one million farmers have suffered indirect losses such as damage to crops by intruders. Each year, an estimated J$5 billion ( 43 million) worth of crops and livestock is stolen. Responses have ranged from hiring security guards to installing trained guard dogs and the government has put in place stiffer penalties with a traceability system to track the movement of food and animals. But these measures can only be taken once the theft has happened and many exasperated producers have either been discouraged from investing in their businesses or have given up farming altogether.Tyrone Hall, Jamaica, Caribbean My main goal is to pioneer a consultancy that specializes in using communication to improve development processes with respect to health, the environment and rural development.Technology may offer some solutions. An electronic laser fence security alert system is one such innovative proposal. It consists of an invisible laser fence installed around a property, which triggers SMS messages or voice calls to mobile phones when an intruder crosses the line. Invisible to the naked eye, it is undetectable by outsiders and uses a medium that is both familiar and widely available. Nearly two-thirds of the population now has access to a mobile phone.Mobile phones may also hold the key to solving another problem critical to Jamaican farmers -poor market information and inadequate links between producers and buyers. An SMS information database (SMS ID) would put the two sides in touch, enabling farmers to post the price of their products via SMS or voice calls and retailers and middle-men or consumers to request the lowest prices for various products using the same simple system. For example, farmer Leslie could text prices for his produce that week: yam $100 or carrot $50. Meanwhile, buyers could request prices by punching in the name of the product and a given price range -perhaps carrot minimum $? Or potato average $? Another buyer might want to ask: who has min carrot $? And the answer will quickly come back: farmer Leslie  has the lowest priced carrots @ $10. Farmers need never be out of touch with market prices again if they use SMS ID.Based on the original essay: \"Tackling Jamaica's two main agricultural plagues with ICT: Praedial larceny and information asymmetries/poor marketing\" by Tyrone Hall.As a proud 20-year-old Jamaican young lady, I take pride in reminiscing on the achievements in my life so far. I grew up in the rural community of Sandy Bay, Hanover. While attending secondary school [The Montego Bay High School for Girls] I adopted a spirit that was geared towards volunteerism. This continued throughout my tertiary level institution where I aligned myself with the Junior Chamber International (JCI) organization to further fulfil service needs.I hope that the government will seek to enhance this vital sector (which serves as a means of added employment), resulting in a reduction in the levels of poverty.\"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.\" -AristotleF armers need to be more united if agriculture is to thrive in the Jamaican parish of Hanover. That is the verdict of the chairman of the Green Island Cane Farmers' Association, who claims producers lack tools to communicate with each other and with authorities and organizations that could support them. The once high levels of productivity in the parish are now in decline. Farmers in Hanover complain of being neglected by the Ministry of Agriculture and say that they have no reliable channel through which to negotiate conditions that affect their incomes. A 2009 study found that more than half of the Jamaican farming community has access to a mobile phone. However, this system of communication has not proved sufficient to answer the needs of local producers.A more effective solution could be a small telecentre in the parish of Hanover, with access to an Intranet system to offer a constant, lowcost link between the Ministry and farmers. Skype could be part of the package, opening A UNITED FRONT FOR FARMERS Samantha Kaye-Christie, Jamaica, Caribbean While pursuing a degree in psychology at the University of the West Indies, I realized that the poverty levels in Jamaica have got worse. I think this is due to the lack of interest in the government in the agricultural sector.the way to video conferences. The Intranet link would also be a platform for farmers to exchange experiences and good practices, in order to boost output.One important consideration is that farming in Jamaica is not considered to be a profession for young people. Farmers are generally not well educated. A 2006 survey found that 50.8% of Hanoverian small-scale farmers were aged 54 or more, and that none had continued their education beyond primary school. In order for ICTs to be effectively used, most farmers will require training. One solution is to use touch screens with icons, far simpler than standard systems. If well presented, the new technology may even attract more young people to the farming sector in Hanover.ICTs also offer hope in addressing other problems, caused by the development of tourism facilities in the area. The building of hotels and other infrastructure needed to welcome visitors robs the farming sector of valuable land and resources. The use of glass-bottomed boats to view coral reefs causes damage to them, depleting fisheries and other marine resources as a result. Use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) could do much to mitigate both problems. GIS helps users to capture, store, analyse and present data for a specific location and would offer a means of viewing variables that affect crop yield, soil erosion and drought risk. This data could be translated into information useful to farmers and relayed to them via the Internet. For example, data on soil assessment would help them to plan their planting strategies and manage their land in a more efficient manner. For coastal management, GIS could play a useful role in locating and quantifying coral reefs, to improve conservation and protect fishery habitats. Naturally, all these initiatives will require investment and commitment. But as a popular Jamaican saying goes: \"If you want good yuh nose haffi run\" [If you want good, you really have to sacrifice and work for it].Based on the original essay: \"ICTs -Are they really the solution to challenges faced by Hanoverian farmers?\" by Samantha Kaye-Christie. I am young, dynamic and versatile Vincentian who is committed to the cause of advancing my country, and the Caribbean region. I am passionate about bettering the lives of young people through capacity building and will continue to champion the cause of under-privileged youth.I am pursuing a Bachelors of Laws at the University of the West Indies, but I'm scheduled to graduate in a couple of months. In reality however, my passion is I.T. / computer science. In any event, given that I am already in the profession, I promise to do my best to better the lives of those whom I interact with.My blog: http://ictandthelaw.blogspot.com/ My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ super.starjasonP est infestations and lack of reliable market information are two major hurdles for producers in the Caribbean, preventing them from realising the full potential of agriculture in this fragile region. With 23 island states spread over a wide area, the Caribbean is highly fragmented. ICTs offer considerable scope for addressing some of the region's key problems, providing uniform solutions to even the most isolated areas. An agricultural information system (AIS) could do much to improve farmers' access to information on trends for prices and product demand. This would improve their negotiating position, make them less vulnerable to over-pricing for seeds, fertiliser and other inputs, and help them become better placed to make strategic decisions about which crops to grow and where to sell them. A regional price information system could collect data from main national markets and filter it out to local level through small information centres equipped with computers and Internet access. In more isolated communities, two-way or rural radio could be used to broadcast market prices to a wider target audience. Similar systems have already proved effective in some developing countries.Jason Haynes, St Vincent and Grenadines, Caribbean I appreciate the use of ICT in agriculture and rural development and will accordingly continue to foster closer ties between my profession and those important areas.A case in point is Ghana's e-Commerce project which collects commodity prices in key markets and makes the data available to rural farmers through a network of provincial offices. Add-on components to such a system might include an information and online purchasing options for farm implements, advice on how to cultivate and manage certain crops and weather forecasts to help producers plan for extreme conditions. Over the past 6 years, hurricanes have destroyed entire crop plantations in Antigua and Barbuda and caused US$305 million ( 224 million) worth of damage to agriculture in Belize.To combat pest damage and crop diseasewhich have led to what the Caribbean Agricultu ral Re search De velopment Institute (CARDI) describes as a \"frightening situation\" -Internet-based decision support systems can be useful tools for farmers. They can provide all the information needed to help producers select the most appropriate pest control strategy, including pest identification, life cycles and pest distribution models linked to weather monitoring systems. For maximum effect, such systems could offer details of bio-control methods, backed up by 'intelligent' functions such as e-learning tools and dynamic simulations of crop ecosystems.The sterile insect technique (SIT) is recommended environmentally friendly option for farmers. The technique involves sterilising factory-reared male Caribbean fruit flies by irradiation and releasing large quantities into infested areas. When they mate with female fruit flies, no offspring are produced, so populations are gradually reduced and sometimes wiped out. The Caribbean fruit fly causes massive damage to tropical and subtropical fruits across the region. CARDI research has revealed that the pest is found in nearly one-hundred fruit species, including citrus, guava, mangoes, French cherry, rose apple, peach and tropical almond.My name is Nawsheen Hosenally. I'm 21 years old and from Mauritius. I'm a final year student at the University of Mauritius, where I'm studying agriculture and specializing in agricultural extension. I joined the Agricultural Society of the University of Mauritius as secretary for 1 year and after that I wanted to go further and joined AIESEC.Youth expect to have entrepreneurial opportunities in agriculture,, where they get the support of the government/other organizations to start a business and contribute to the economy or get a job in the agricultural sector. Many youngsters have studied agriculture and have many ideas, but due to lack of opportunities and incentives, they have simply changed their field of study.Participating in the ARDYIS project has been one of the best decisions I have taken in my life so far. It started with the submission of the essay, after which all participants were registered in a group for discussion forums where participants shared our opinions/ideas on specific topics. This has increased my knowledge and interest in ICTs, youth and agriculture. Then, we took part in training on the use of Web 2.0 tools in Accra, Ghana which has proven to be very useful as I find I am regularly using what I have learnt there in my studies and other professional work. We are being notified about different opportunities for internship/scholarship/ competition, which is exactly what we need.My blog: http://nawsheenh.blogspot.com/ Essay summary I CTs could do much to help Mauritius achieve its goal of increasing agricultural output, while keeping production costs low and using more sustainable farming methods. The small island state is highly dependent on imports, producing just 23% of the food it needs. But a national campaign launched in 2008 to lower this level of dependence must be flanked by a strategy to use communication technologies if it is to have any real impact. Crucially, the ICTs must be matched to the conditions -and the budgets -of farmers.For smallholder producers, the mobile phone is the ideal tool. Most smallholders have a small plot of land and are either illiterate or only attended primary school. The mobile phone answers their needs perfectly, being simple andThe reason I'm studying agriculture is because I'm interested in global issues such as hunger, poverty and climate change, and my field of study enables me to contribute to making a positive impact on society.inexpensive to use, with good network coverage in all rural areas. Yet to date, the only mobilebased agricultural service in use on the island is the SMS disease alert, provided by the Agricultural Research and Extension Unit. It sends SMS messages to registered planters, warning when an outbreak of disease threatens a particular crop. Why stop with plant disease? How many more services could be offered to farmers using mobile phones? What about adapting the system to provide information on the price of inputs, weather updates, good agricultural practices, animal health and husbandry and help with marketing agricultural products? A good place to start would be a database for quality seeds, so that any farmer wanting a particular seed would only have to send a simple SMS to ask about availability and price.Other applications could include using the organiser of a farmer's mobile phone to keep records of farm details, such as chemicals used and the date of application. Most small-scale farmers are notoriously lax about record-keeping. Mobile phones could also increase interaction between extension services and farmers on radio shows. Farmers could send questions via SMS, prompting a dialogue with extension experts about problems and ways to solve them.Co-operatives, entrepreneurs and sugar planters, who generally have larger budgets and a better education, could take advantage of more sophis-ticated ICTs. Farming software can be used to record and save farm records on computers, helping producers to plan their farms and lower their production expenses. GPS technology, already adopted by two sugar estates in Mauritius, can be used to guide tractors in auto-pilot mode, cutting labour costs and making precision agriculture possible. The Internet can enable farmers to check market prices and weather reports download technical guides and share information. With a blog or wiki, farmers can easily interact with each other and find solutions to mutual problems. If the goal of making Mauritius more food secure is to be achieved, all stakeholders involved in agriculture -the public sector, NGOs, research and extension -must make more use of ICTs. ICTs offer the chance for them to work together with farmers and find real solutions for Mauritian agriculture.Based on the original essay: \"Two challenges experienced in Mauritius related to agriculture or rural development, and the use of ICTs to address them.\" by Nawsheen Hosenally Bibi. As many farmers find to their cost, the toughest link to crack in the value chain is often the last one. Finding buyers for their products or services can be a daunting business for many smallscale producers. But ICTs can play a valuable role in linking them to markets.My name is Sangwani Rebeccah Gondwe. The name Sangwani is \"Tumbuka\" and it means \"Rejoice\" in English. I love this name. I was born 25 years ago to Malawian parents. I come from the Northern part of Malawi but I spent most of my time in the capital city, Lilongwe. I hold a BSc in agribusiness management and I just finalized working on my MSc in agricultural and applied economics. My Master's thesis was in agricultural marketing. One set-back to the enhancement of agricultural marketing in Malawi and most African countries is poor access to information and ICTs.My favourite quote: \"Communication is the grease that makes the wheel of marketing go round\".In my article, I referred to a case where a 100 km stretch of road could take you 3 hours to travel instead of an hour because it is so poor. Therefore most agricultural products would deteriorate before you could find a prospective buyer for your products, if you are to depend on road transport. On the other hand, a phone, email or radio message may take one minute and they are connected.Email: [email protected] aronga district, in Malawi's northern region, is just 110 km from the neighbouring district of Chitipa. The journey should take no more than an hour, but the road is in a poor state and often the trip takes well over three hours. The daily newspaper regularly arrives a day late.. Mobile phone networks in Chitipa are erratic and Internet connection is unreliable in both districts. Yet both communities have a vital need to stay in touch with each other. Maize is the predominant crop in Chitipa, while farmers in Karonga produce mostly rice. Trading between the two districts is essential and farmers need to be connected so they have real-time information on markets and product availability.The close ties but poor links between Chitipa and Karonga are echoed in many other parts of rural Malawi. Liberalisation in both the communication and agriculture sectors has led to massive scope for improved market information for smallholder producers. In theory, these developments should have enabled small-scale producers to plan which crops to grow and how best to sell them. In practice, poor access to reliable market infor-As youth are most likely to embrace the technologies and use them, then they are the best agents to ensure maximum and efficient use of such and I strongly advocate for their involvement.mation, compounded by inefficient markets, continue to make it difficult for producers to place their products to the best effect.Some recent initiatives have had positive impacts on the ability of farmers to access markets, though these results have been poorly documented. Institutions have been set up to link smallholder farmers to markets through ICT interventions using FM radio, mobile phones, the Internet and emails. One such system is the Initiative for Development and Equity in African Agriculture (IDEAA), which is part of the Malawi Agriculture Commodity Exchange (MACE) project and disseminates prices for a range of products on a weekly basis. The Agriculture Commodity Exchange (ACE) programme, introduced recently by the National Association of Smallholder Farmers in Malawi (NASFAM) publishes updated farm prices on the Internet.But large numbers of farmers in Malawi remain cut off from such innovations, especially in remote areas such as Chitipa and Karonga. Small-scale farmers in Malawi are already facing massive challenges, grappling with under-sized plots and low-yielding varieties among other difficulties. Although smallholder farmers account for 25% of the country's total GDP, an estimated one-third of the country's population is perpetually unable to produce enough food to feed the family. Many farmers rely on sales of other agricultural products to buy the food they need. Efficient commodity markets are critical to all smallholder households in Malawi. And the use of modern ICTs to connect farmers to market information has now become an imperative.Based on the original essay: \"When the use of modern ICT becomes a requisite: The case of Malawi.\" by Sangwani Rebeccah Gondwe. Now aged 22, I grew up on my parents' farm in the west of Cameroon in a predominantly agricultural region. After graduating from high school in 2007, I moved to the capital, Yaoundé, where I passed the competitive entrance exam to the School of Telecommunications Engineering. The importance, and the instability, of telecommunications in my country are both key reasons for my choice of this sector for my future career. In 2010, after obtaining my degree in civil engineering, I learned of the ARDYIS project organized by CTA via the discussion group of Engineers Without Borders -Cameroon. I entered the essay contest and won the prize for central Africa. Through my research for the project, I was able to identify the challenges, solutions and opportunities within the agricultural sector. From this moment on, I decided to focus my telecommunications studies and my career on agriculture. I am currently working as a volunteer at Engineers Without Borders -Cameroon, where I am in charge of the programme: \"Bridging the digital divide to improve efficiency in agricultural systems\".My blog: http://afriqueenor.over-blog.com/ Essay summary R eorganization of Cameroon's telecommunications sector has already led to several interesting developments -a number of them favouring the country's rural communities. An e-government project has been launched to improve the efficiency of public administration, extending virtual services to areas where there are no offices. A network of multipurpose community telecentres (MCTs), in more than 150 locations, has done much to improve communications in isolated areas. With more and more graduates considering agriculture for their future, and the growing trend to form farming co-operatives, there is scope for ICTs to bring wide-ranging benefits to this important sector. A four-pronged strategy could do much to address the most serious challenges facing farmers, which include low productivity, insufficient credit, poor organization and weak market access.First would be a weekly radio broadcast, to be called \"Agri-Info\" and hosted by an extension expert in local languages. It would discuss prices on national and local markets, outlets, process-My dream is to continue my studies in a top-class university, to deepen my knowledge in Telecommunications which will enable me contribute more effective solutions to the agricultural sector in my country.ing and storage techniques and management and sales skills. Specialists could be featured on the programme, and farmers invited on to air their views about their problems and share solutions. A second component would be a deal with a mobile phone operator to secure a low-cost package offering unlimited phone calls and SMS messages between farmers. The service could also supply audio messages on technical issues of interest to producers. Village information centres, using material made available by the MCTs, could be a useful channel for making knowledge on key issues available to rural communities. The centres would cover a wide range of subjects and would make use of a variety of media, including posters and videos.A third initiative would be an Internet platform offering a geo-referenced database, using GIS, voice, data and video in a virtual community salon, staffed by someone well-informed in both agriculture and ICTs, who would help producers to explore the Internet and all it has to offer them.Once these three initiatives have been up and running for 3 years, and producers have become familiar with using ICTs, a community WIFI network for rural areas could be launched. This lowcost service, which can be made with local materials such as old sardine cans, would enable farmers to connect with each other, as well as with local radio and MCTs. Producers could buy second-hand computers and use freely downloadable software. The system could be powered by solar panels in areas with no access to electricity. Support from government and NGOs would be crucial to ensuring the success of these initiatives, but the opportunity of using ICTs to provide real benefits to rural producers is one that should not be missed.Based on the original essay: \"Comment les TIC peuvent-elles être utilisées pour améliorer l'accès au marché des produits agricoles au Cameroun?\" by Gabriel Dacko Goudjo.I grew up in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State of Nigeria. My family was involved in agriculture. From the age of 10, I had learned how to till the soil and sow staple crops such as maize, groundnuts and rice. At one stage I owned my own small soybean farm.When I was 14, I maintained a small poultry farm, rearing birds such as broilers and turkeys. I intend to invest in agriculture. My love for the sciences informed my decision to do engineering in school. I graduated with a degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria in 2009. In high school I dreamt of winning a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. I still hope to win one in literature as I pursue my love in poetry and story writing.ARDYIS brought intelligent young people to gether and the network I have created with these brilliant young minds has been very beneficial in my day-to-day endeavours.Favourite website: I would choose www.google. com, because for me it is the gateway to other sites, besides its versatility in terms of Google maps, docs, reader, etc.My blog: http://poeticfarmer.wordpress.com Contact: [email protected] practical approach to linking farmers with new information technologies has the potential to improve the small-scale agriculture sector in Nigeria. Using ICTs to map land resources and markets could help solve some of country's most pressing agricultural problems, which include low productivity and scant opportunities for farmers to sell their produce at decent prices. Geo-mapping, used to identify the potential of land for farming and its suitability for specific crop and livestock production, canYouth can play a huge role in the development of their communities. We have an imminent food security challenge when young people shy away from agriculture, leaving this sensitive field to an ageing population.be a powerful tool for increasing agricultural output. Mapping markets for various products could help farmers decide where best to place their products. The same service could supply information on re quire ments for accessing particular markets, especially for export.Ineffective extension services pose major difficulties for Nigerian farmers, and here too, ICTs can help. Distance learning can offer valuable information to producers. Farmers living anywhere in the country can go to ICT centres to sign up for online courses that will give them the technical knowledge they need to adopt sound agricultural practices, as well as business management skills such as book-keeping. Manuals, containing practical information about production and marketing methods, can be offered online or as CDs. Video podcasts offer farmers an easy way of learning about crop and livestock production. Instead of the top-down system, why not use a two-way extension service method? The ask-the-expert approach, successfully used in a number of countries and known by various names, enables producers to ask specific questions and receive answers via a feedback platform, generally a website. Farmers can use Internet blogs to share their experiences with other farmers, swapping problems and solutions with each other.An online database, containing names, phone numbers, websites, email and contact addresses for all agricultural extension centres, would be a useful service, especially if supplemented by details of community focus groups, NGOs, credit suppliers and development partners. Communication between these groups would open the door to more opportunities for introducing high-yielding and innovative practices and linking farmers to markets.In order to set these kinds of services in place, changes will have to be made at policy level. Local government will need to do more to en sure the provision of basic ICT facilities for communities. One idea is to form partnerships with private organizations to set up ICT centres in rural areas. With 65% of Nigerians under the age of 25, youth will be a powerful force in developing the country's agriculture sector. Youth interest in the sector could be stimulated by forming young farmers' clubs in secondary schools, while the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) -a mandatory one-year scheme for graduates in Nigeria -could be an effective tool for fostering ICT development in rural communities. Who better to pass on ICT skills and training than young educated members of NYSC? And what would be a better gift for the new generation of farmers?Based on the original essay: \"Using ICTs to bridge the agricultural extension Gap and improving market access for rural farmers in Nigeria: A practical approach\" by Itodo Samuel Anthony. Perhaps the vitality of agriculture to the Pacific region and the world really convinced me to endorse this field as a top priority; where my utmost interest and dedication lies. Currently I am working for the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji and advocating for youth to adopt agriculture via CTA's ARDYIS project. It has been the first ever project (of its kind) that I have been involved with... My favorite quote: \"Man despite his historic pretensions, his sophistication and art, owes the fact of his existence to a 6-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains\"… Anonymous Favourite website: http://www.facebook.com/agrifiji -my initiative and commitment to spread the gospel and attract youth to agriculture.A griculture continues to be the bedrock of the Fijian economy, accounting for 14% of the country's GDP and two-thirds of its almost 320,000 strong workforce. However, with a drastic decline in sugar cultivation and production, the agricultural focus has now shifted towards diversifying into high-value cash crops for the domestic market, as well as tourism and exports. Information poverty continues to be one of the main obstacles to more modern, marketoriented farming practices in Fiji, whose 330 islands are scattered over 1.3 million square kilometres. Farmers are isolated, from each other, and from information and markets that could help them earn better incomes. As a result, they are reluctant to commercialise production. Most of Fiji's 86,680 rural households -54% of the population -are engaged in subsistence agricultural or fishing activities.It is a common fact that people prefer the so-called luxurious life and are slowly moving to urban centres, leaving behind a declining rural population where majority farming takes place. Hence the onus is on the youth to avoid succumbing to the age-old stereotype that agriculture is hard labour and not a reputable profession and a white collar job is a preferred career choice.ICTs can provide the essential link in bridging this information gap, but to date the agriculture sector has failed to take advantage of these new technologies. The potential is certainly there, and other developing countries have already paved the way, showing how ICTs can bring tangible benefits to farmers. Widespread use of mobile phones offers massive scope for spreading agricultural information. Software has already been developed to do just this. Take the example of Uganda, where a suite of mobile applications is being used to give farming advice. Rural telecentres, equipped with computers and Internet and using solar power for energy, can be valuable channels for transmitting information, as seen in a number of African countries. Useful agricultural information on the Internet can be accessed via mobile phones that support Internet connections. Video conferencing with farmers via satellite or over the Internet is another innovative use of ICTs, which can be especially helpful in remote areas.With many Pacific islands threatened by climate change, it is important that farmers are kept informed of new techniques. In Burkina Faso, farmers' organizations have used digital photos and video to teach new growing techniques, leading to a nine-fold rise in output. ICTs can also be used to increase the efficiency and sustainability of small-scale farms, making information available on crucial issues such as pest and disease control and early warning systems. Up-to-date market information can dramatically improve farmers' negotiating position, and simple websites that match supply and demand can be a start to more sophisticated trade systems.ICTs can help with stock and quality control, essential for some domestic and most export markets, and important when it comes to applying for credit. Global positioning system (GPS) technology, still relatively new to Fiji, can provide valuable support to marketing and distribution. In Ethiopia, it has been used to map rural roads, helping NGOs, extension services and farm ers to plan their trans porta tion needs. Tradi tional electronic media, such as radio and tele vision, which have more than 80% coverage in Fiji, should not be forgotten. But more could be done to broadcast qua lity pro grammes and provide a plat form for feed back from farmers.Based on the original essay: \"The use of information and communication technology to address information poverty and reluctance of farmers to commercialize in the Fiji Islands.\" by Riten Chand Gosai. My own dream is to become a leader on the international scene to defend African interests and those of the most marginalized communities. My goal is to bring together the qualities and competences necessary to nurture my ambition.My blog: http://www.toundeblog.blogspot.comD espite its relatively recent rise, it is clear that the contribution of ICT to agricultural development and poverty reduction is becoming increasingly significant. In particular, mobile telecommunications are of special interest because of their capacity to empower rural African communities. Although mobile phones were once considered luxury goods for well-todo urban populations, they have come to be increasingly used as the standard means of accessing information and of communication among rural populations.The humiliating and thankless place of agriculture in ACP countries today discourages interest from the younger generations. Their dream is to have a modern macroeconomic and institutional environment in which to develop their ideas and build an up-to-date agricultural sector that is capable of facing current challenges. It is only the youth that will be able to develop a fresh, modern image of agriculture in ACP countries.However, many mobile telephone applications remain underused in the rural sector, thereby limiting the potential of this tool to boost to primary development. Short text messaging (SMS), for example, is little known or used among rural populations, despite being a relatively cheap and effective means of communication. Furthermore, the multiple SMS function and synchronization via PC allow the user to reach a wider target group, and can, for example, improve access to markets and provide producers with more accurate price information.Unfortunately, at present only a small number of umbrella organizations are using multiple SMSs to communicate with the leaders of farmers' organizations. Yet, given the current rate of mobile phone penetration in the rural sector, and the increasing need for improved market access for small-scale producers, as well as meteorological information, the time is ripe for an expansion of this service to a wider public, in particular, to those at the beginning of the value chain. For this expansion to succeed, however, it will be important to lift the institutional and socio-linguistic barriers that currently limit SMS use in the rural agricultural sector. Expanding the use of multiple SMSs via PC, for example, requires simplified instructions and the creation of support structures drawn from the local population.An additional potentially limiting factor in upscaling its use is linguistic competence. Special attention should therefore be paid to schooling for children and literacy among rural populations in their local languages. ICT localization, in particular, the development of mobile telecommunications in local languages, constitutes a major strategic opportunity to improve market access for farmers through the widespread use of SMSs.Based on the original essay: \"Comment les TIC peuvent-elles être utilisées pour améliorer l'accès au marché des produits agricoles du Bénin?\" by Babatoundé Rivaldo Alain Kpadonou.Stienen, J., Bruinsma, W and Neuman, F. ( 2007) \"How ICT can make a difference in agri cultural liveli hoods\", International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD).I am from Burkina Faso, aged 25. I grew up in a village in the Boucle du Mouhoun Region in Burkina Faso, where I attended primary school and part of my secondary school education. I completed my secondary school studies at Lycée Ouézzin Coulibaly in Bobo Dioulasso, the economic capital of Burkina Faso.After graduating from high school with a specialization in mathematics, I decided to continue my studies in economics and management at the University of Ouagadougou. I have already completed the first stage of graduate school, specializing in applied macroeconomics, and am currently working on my doctorate at the Laboratory for Economic Policy and Analysis at the University of Ouagadougou II.The decision to analyse the issue of market access for agricultural products from the perspective of access to information is linked to my training as an economist, and to a number of studies I carried out using databases. Furthermore, according to economic theory, information plays a vital role in all market mechanisms.In the last few years, I have also carried out a lot of research on the role of ICT. This is why I entered my essay for the ARDYIS contest and ended up finalist for West Africa.My favourite quote: My favourite quote comes from my father, who always writes it at the end of his letters to me: \"Where there's a will, there's a way (A coeur vaillant, rien d'impossible)\".My blog: http://traoreinoussa.blogspot.comA griculture dominates daily life in much of Burkina Faso, where 80% of people live in rural areas. But lack of market access is one of the major hurdles facing producers, trapping the majority of them in subsistence farming and preventing them from taking that crucial stepInoussa Traoré, Burkina Faso, West Africa I believe that the real wealth of our nations is our youth. We are the future! on the path to becoming small-scale entrepreneurs. ICTs are becoming more widely available in rural areas of this West African country, despite problems posed by poor infrastructure and illiteracy. And the slow but steady march of new technologies is bringing important changes to the agriculture sector on which most people depend for their livelihoods.In the early stages, in Burkina Faso, ICTs were mainly used to help farmers improve crop farming practices and obtain forecasts about the weather. Then, gradually, the scope began to widen and new communication tools were introduced to open up market access. These days, agricultural information is available through a host of channels, including the Internet, television and radio, as well as on DVDs and CD ROMs. Some initiatives have become household names. TV Koodo runs a popular service broadcasting commodity prices on television and the Internet. A system launched by NGO APROSSA -Afrique Verte also sends out regular bulletins on the situation in agricultural markets. A market information system managed by SONAGESS publishes cereal prices on a website.GPS offers scope for tracking products in the value chain, a prerequisite for some markets and an important stepping stone on the path to certification. Several women's producer organizations have succeeded in obtaining certification using this technology.The Internet has made it possible to sell -and buy -at the click of a mouse, opening up new markets for producers. A number of producers' organizations have been swift to seize this opportunity, setting up websites to promote their products. Some women's groups are successfully using this strategy to sell the shea butter that they produce.When there is no Internet, the mobile phone can be used to distribute market information and make deals with buyers. The Burkina Faso Chamber of Commerce has launched a project called Mobile Business which uses SMS messages to provide producers and traders with the latest details on local and international market prices. Much progress has been made in using ICTs to spur the agriculture sector. But there is scope for a great deal more, although parallel improvements must be made in raising literacy and education levels if the strategy is to achieve the best effect. A market intelligence unit would be an invaluable tool for farmers and traders alike. Powered by software that ensures regularly updated market information from a range of different sources, such a system would be a significant help in decision-making. More information means more business, and that is good news for everyone in Burkina Faso's agriculture sector.Based on the original essay: \"Comment les TIC peuvent-elles être utilisées pour améliorer l'accès au marché des produits agricoles du Burkina Faso?\" by Inoussa Traoré. Thanks to ARDYIS, I received a wealth of information including training in Web 2.0. I gained a fuller understanding of the significance of rural development and how ICTs play their part. It helped me get a clearer picture of my personal dream for Africa. I had the opportunity to present my ideas and to be heard by an international jury. That was quite an honour and I travelled to countries I have never been to before.The agriculture and rural development sector must be managed professionally just like any other sector such as the financial sector or the tourism sector, so that they feel proud to be professionals involved in achieving something meaningful.My blog: http://theafrodream.blogspot.comI t is 7 am, and a 28-year-old woman farmer is getting ready for the busy day ahead. This season, she expects to harvest 500 tonnes of high quality potatoes. Today, she is still wondering where she will sell them, but she takes out her mobile phone, sends an SMS and soon smiles as she receives confirmation of an order to supply a weekly tonne of potatoes for the next twelve weeks. The transaction has been made possible by a service introduced by a local software company, in partnership with mobile phone service provider. Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe's communal lands, a 16-year-old boy walks into a telecentre, leaving his ox-drawn cart full of vegetables outside. After searching through the database, he sends an email to a potential buyer. The answer comes back almost immediately, with details of when the client will come to collect the produce.I am more determined to see my vision/dream, the Afro Dream, become a reality, whereby any inhabitable place in Africa provides its inhabitants with any product or service that is locally developed/ produced and can be found anywhere in the world.These two scenarios are projections rather than real examples. But they could soon become a reality if ICTs are used to improve access to markets for farmers in Zimbabwe. It is important to match the right technologies to the right producers and markets. Producers in Zimbabwe range from newly resettled farmers, with average computer literacy, to communal farmers -mostly very young -and the elderly, who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, but whose literacy levels are very low. Then there are commercial farmers, mostly young or middle-aged, whose literacy levels are high.Zimbabwe now has an affordable mobile phone service and good network coverage, making this tool the obvious choice since mobile phones are widely available and easy-to-use. With locally developed software, mobile phones can be used to match farmers' offers to buyers' needs and notify farmers about the latest market prices. With the help of experts from the Agricultural Research Extension (AREX), there is scope for building information systems to offer market prices over the Internet. Computer prices are coming down and in Zimbabwe customs duties on all ICT goods have been scrapped. To attract buyer interest, farmers could use mobile phones or computers to upload details of produce and expected yields. This information could be relayed, via the Internet or SMS, to screens located in public market places, or directly to mailboxes of agents, agriprocessing companies and importers of Zimbabwean produce.We need better Internet support infrastructure and affordable services. Broadband over power line (BPL) technology, already available in South Africa, could make a significant contribution to developing this area in Zimbabwe. It relies on the existing electricity power lines and has bandwidth speeds of up to 200 Mbps. Telecentres can be valuable in rural areas, offering a variety of services (e.g. fax, Internet, typing, printing, scanning and information, including details from online agricultural databases). Even computer illiterate farmers can walk in here and get help in securing buyers for their produce.\"How can ICTs be used to improve access to market for agricultural products in Zimbabwe?\" by Gerald Mangena.Colle, R.D. ( 2005 T oday's agricultural challenges need modern solutions -ones that are producer-driven, affordable and adapted to local communities. ICTs hold the key to development in Zimbabwe's rural areas, where 70% of the population is based. At national level, communication technologies are well integrated into government administration, and all ministries and state corporations have their own ICT structures and personnel. NGOs have also come on board. One popular initiative is the Freedom Fone launched by the Kubatana Trust, which uses interactive voice response (IVR) technology. Anyone can call the service to leave a voice message, listen to messages from others, or hear the information provided by Kubatana Trust. This is a social platform but could also be adapted for agriculture. Private companies looking for out growers and contract producers could use the network to link up with farmers and their organizations.Youth must be relevant to their specific disciplines. Youth should use whatever avenues they have to make a difference. Youth must learn from experienced farmers and persons involved in agriculture. \"Mere talk\" is unacceptable. Youth must do it.Mobile phones offer a quick and inexpensive channel for marketing perishable agricultural products such as tomatoes, eggs and milk. Producers can use SMS and multimedia messages to link up with buyers and form groups to meet up with them when larger quantities are involved. On the Internet, farmers can use Google Earth to map and plan their fields and crops and Skype and Yahoo Messenger to talk to each other, as well as to potential buyers. Video conferencing gives farmers the opportunity to hook up live with producers in other parts of the country, or even the world.Producers can create and subscribe to websites that promote marketing activities through e-bulletins and updates. E-newsletters can be used to document farmer success stories. Through social networking platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Google Chat, and by running their own blogs, producers can communicate, share experiences and penetrate new markets, using community Internet facilities if they do not have their own. Virtual producer forums offer exciting opportunities for farmers to market seasonal prod-ucts, linking up with local, regional and global markets. Such systems can enable suppliers and buyers to compare prices and producers to market lesser known products such as mushrooms and grain amaranth, alongside popular commodities such as maize, soybeans, tobacco and roses. E-marketing zones can be created, covering similar geographical, administrative, livelihood, and agro-ecological zones, boosting investor confidence and securing new markets for producers.Roadshows showcasing ICTs are a good way of putting rural communities in touch with developments in agriculture. Held at rural business centres, community halls and schools, such events offer a chance for producers to congregate and show off their crops and livestock. One unusual feature of agriculture in Zimbabwe is that both young and old are involved in the sector. ICT roadshows are an effective way of reaching both ends of the generation spectrum.Based on the original essay: \"How can ICTs be used to improve access to market for agricultural products in Zimbabwe?\" by Raymond Erick Zvavanyange. Despite not having an agricultural background, I would like to contribute to the development of this sector because of its great importance to the economy of my country.My favourite quote: \"Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.\" -Charles F. KetteringL ack of policy support, inadequate extension services, weak land tenure and limited access to inputs, credit, new technologies and markets. These are some of the factors acting as a brake on the rural economy of Benin, a country where more than 50% of the population is engaged in the agriculture sector. Poor market linkages pose one of the major hurdles to better yields and incomes for the country's producers. Farmers lack knowledge about market prices, new outlets, transport and trade rules. With little or no reliable information, small-scale producers in many parts of Benin are totally isolated from the positive impacts of globalisation and often fall prey to middle-men. Links between producers' organizations and other important partners such as extension services and research are often sadly lacking.Improving access to information about markets, production techniques and important factors such as traceability and quality standards can make a significant contribution to increasing revenues for farmers. An agritrade website designed to help producers keep abreast of market trends and prices could be an important first step on the path to securing higher sales volumes and profit margins. The Indian initiative e-Choupal is a case in point. In a local context, the website of Benin's National Chamber of Agriculture would be the obvious choice for hosting such a platform, backed up by information centres to provide support, Internet access and ICT training in rural areas.Today's youth wants (…) a new form of agriculture that uses modern techniques and that will create a high number of jobs in the service and ICT sectors.As Burkina Faso cotton producers' association UNPCB has already shown, there is scope for negotiating a fixed fee with mobile phone operators for unlimited calls between subscribers and an SMS service to give updated market prices and connect buyers and sellers. This virtual market would allow online transactions to take place, making valuable savings in time and transport costs for producers. An effective ICT-based market platform, such as Prix par SMS run by RESIMAO-WAMIS-NET, can help producers plan their farm strategy well in advance, choosing which crops to grow when, depending on forecasts of likely demand. The platform could subsequently be developed to supply other services such as information on crop technologies and good practices or ICT training.More traditional technologies also have their role to play. Radio and television broadcasts can be valuable channels for relaying information in local languages and letting producers know who is looking for which product. Farmers' organizations can use Internet radio to download pod-casts on marketing or modules for training and compilations can be made, stored and distributed on CD-ROM. Any such initiative will be doomed to failure unless local people are involved in developing and managing it and the service is designed to be self-financing. But all the evidence points to the fact that Benin's large rural population has a great deal to gain from more investment in ICTs.Based on the original essay: \"Amélioration de l'accès au marche des produits agricoles par les TIC au Bénin.\" by Aristide Z. Adaha. I am a 25-year-old Jamaican, currently working in an agricultural research organization. I was exposed to agriculture from an early age; as my parents kept a small backyard farm and my grandparents raised poultry on a small-scale. I expect that as we continue to develop new technologies to improve efficiencies, the world will see that the only thing constant is change.The challenges faced in market access in my country and in the Caribbean region, are very real issues and in my opinion the key limitations toward development. Highlighting some of these challenges in this forum would allow these concerns to reach a wider audience.Contact Info: [email protected] ruit, vegetables, fish, sugar, cocoa, peppers, coconuts and poultry -the Caribbean has a wealth of often exotic agricultural products to offer, both as raw and value-added items. But lack of reliable markets is hindering agricultural development in the region. Problems include inadequate market information, poor standards of training and informal farming systems, with little formal structure or planning.Reliable market information is difficult to obtain because of the seasonal nature of many prod-The youth are the future. To aid in the progress toward rural development as it relates to agriculture, there is a wealth of knowledge and experience from current farmers that will need to be transferred to another generation of farmers. In this technological age, it is expected that the youth will use these skills to increase efficiency in production practices and have access to more information than earlier farmers.ucts. Prices are constantly changing on these volatile markets, and the picture is made even more difficult by the geographical spread. The same commodity may have a different price in different locations, regardless of quality. And with no sound source for market information in the Caribbean, keeping one's finger firmly on the pulse is an uphill struggle. A public database system generated by a regional body and published as a website or mailing list could do much to improve the situation. With data fed into the system by local authorities, and regular updates of market information, consumers and suppliers would have a clearer idea of prices, leading to increased trade and more scope for placing new products and tapping into unfamiliar markets.ICTs can also be used to improve producers' knowledge of quality standards and give guidance to farmers before they enter a production chain. With increasingly rigorous standards, both for international and some local markets, small-scale Carib bean farmers who don't have adequate systems in place are finding themselves unable to sell their goods or to reap the rewards. Audio-visual and other multimedia packages, backed up by practical training exercises, could do much to improve farmers' understanding of quality requirements. As mobile phones are used by most Caribbean farmers, follow-up tutorials could be conducted via daily voice or text messages. Disease prevention, high-yielding techniques and technologies to prolong shelf-life are all areas where ICTs can play an important role in helping farmers to find out about more effective practices. Jamaica's Agricultural Business Information System (ABIS), launched by the Rural Agricultural Development Agency (RADA) is a useful model for mainstreaming informal markets. The system aims to register all farmers on the island on a district basis, listing critical information such as acreage, crops and harvest dates. The goal is to improve market access and help with planning, avoiding market gluts and lower prices --a common problem for farmers in the region.Regional organizations could greatly increase collaboration and strengthen linkages and dialogue using ICTs. Throughout the region there are a host of organizations dedicated to agriculture, in both public and private sectors. But their impact is often not as strong as it might be, partly because synergies are weak or non-existent. ICTs could help to synchronise activities, leading to open networking among stakeholders and more effective interventions for development and production.Based on the original essay: \"Improving market access of Caribbean agricultural products with information and communication technologies.\" by Lloyd Johnson Jr. Agriculture needs to attract more young people if it is to move ahead and develop in the future. ICTs can be an effective way of helping young rural entrepreneurs to launch a business or improve production in their day-to-day work. And since many of them enjoy using high tech tools, it all adds up to the perfect match.I have spent most of my life in a rural area of Nakuru district, Kenya where we have our fair share of social and economic problems. When local residents complained of having to travel several miles into town to get access to their money to pay for: food, shelter, education and health care, I realised that there was potential to use ICT to improve local money access. I introduced one of the youth to of the idea of setting up an M-Pesa (mobile money transfer) shop which he did. This initiative allowed members of the community to get easy access to their money and they were able to buy household consumables and farm inputs without travelling. This example can be used as a model for the transformation of life in other rural areas.Engagement of the youth in agriculture is minimal. But youth could make great contributions in agriculture and rural development.My blog: http://gbiportal.net/members/ chrisngige/ Email: [email protected] amau is a young Kenyan in his late twenties, who lives in a small farming community in the Central Rift Valley. Four years ago, he became an agent for local company Safaricom, whose services include the mobile phone money transfer system M-Pesa, which literally means 'mobile money'. Convinced of the potential, Kamau set up an M-Pesa kiosk in his rural community. Business flourished, and using his profits, the enterprising young Kenyan then ventured into farming. He rented several fields and planted potatoes using methods from the Organic Farmer, an e-bulletin on sound farming practices published by the International Centre for Insects, Pests and Ecology (ICIPE) which he got on his General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)-enabled mobile phone.Kamau also planted maize and beans and obtained healthy yields, but when it came to harvest time, he was determined not to fall into the clutches of middle-men, as his parents' generation had done. Everyone knew they offered low prices. TheThe story was on a successful and inspiring experiences of a young person who use of ICTs transformed his life and benefited his community. If this model is used in other places, it could impact positively on young rural people lives.savvy entrepreneur opted for a high-tech solution, turning to 411 Get it, a joint ven ture be tween Sa faricom and the Kenya Agri cultural Commodity Exchange (KACE). Using his mobile phone to access up-to-date commodity prices, Kamau identified a favourable market.But Kamau's farming success was only the beginning -not just for him, but for the entire rural community. He invested in M-Kesho, an electronic savings account which also offers short-term loans to farmers. Other villagers started to open M-Kesho accounts with the proceeds of crop sales, using Kamau's kiosk to make the transactions. Kamau's one-stop e-banking kiosk has simplified money access, increasing the amount of cash available to be spent in the local economy. Producers no longer need to travel to towns, so are more likely to spend their money closer to home. Farm owners in the nearby town of Nakuru no longer have to commute to Kamau's village to pay their casual labourers, using the young businessman's M-Pesa kiosk instead. Agro-vet and other traders use M-Pesa to pay their suppliers and spend the cash saved on transport costs buying local stock and inputs. The entire local economy has benefited as a result.Like any good entrepreneur, Kamau has a knack for spotting business opportunities, so when he saw that his operating capital was declining during the planting and weeding season, he decided to diversify. Taking out a soft loan, he bought a motorcycle, an ideal mode of transport for the poor local roads, and as he was soon to find out, an excellent way of making extra income. Teaming up with a partner, the young Kenyan launched a taxi service, a thriving business in rural Kenya and one mainly dominated by youth. Banker, farmer, taxi operator -Kamau has spread his business interests over a wide range of sectors. But the common denominator is ICTs. He would never be where he is now if he had not made them work for him.Based on the original essay: \"Impacts of ICT on livelihoods: Experiences of a Kenyan rural youth.\" by Chris Mwangi. My favourite quote: \"Putting a price on water will make us aware of its scarcity and make us take better care of it.\" -Agnel Gurria, Secretary-General of the OECD.My blog: http://dignityinpoverty.blogspot.com/ Essay summary I CTs, including mobile phones and web 2.0, can be an effective tool for drawing more young people into agriculture. Twenty-fiveyear-old Gilbert Egwel is proof of that. This small-scale fruit farmer from Akere parish in Uganda's Maruzi county has used community radio, telecentres and his mobile phone to launch a lucrative career based on mango and lemon trees. It all started when Gilbert heard a community radio talk show. The theme was nursery beds, and it gave the school leaver the idea of tapping into the growing market for fruit juice from manufacturers in the capital Kampala.Maureen Agena, Uganda, Eastern Africa I want to be a role model and icon to all the young women who think that technology or technical courses are not meant for them.Gilbert bought 50 grafted mangoes and 60 lemon seedlings, and was pleased with the results of his first harvest, resolving to expand production. However, daunted by the 3000 sh ( 1) cost of buying each new seedling, he decided to produce his own, selling the surplus to other local farmers who were beginning to show an interest in his fledgling fruit business. With information gleaned from an agricultural radio talk show aired by local telecentre the Kubere Information Centre (KIC), Gilbert started a nursery, mobilising village children to collect mango and lemon seeds from the neighbourhood. The young farmer planted 100 seedlings of local mangoes (known locally as Ayembe) and 50 of lemon (Acungwa), using banana fibre as potting bags. Most of them failed to grow, but using the profits from his now thriving seedling nursery, he bought better quality potting materials from Kampala.This time Gilbert was more successful, and he set about finding markets for his now flourishing fruit tree venture. Earlier this year, he attended a web 2.0 training session run by the Busoga Rural Open Source Development Initiative (BROSDI), and joined two online platforms at Facebook and Twitter. It was becoming increasingly clear that this approach held the key to tapping into a wider market. He received further training from the CTA-supported Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), learning how to find information on the Internet and use ICTs to connect with buyers.Today, Gilbert runs a booming fruit seedling nursery and is the sole supplier of grafting materials to the National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO) in Kawanda, with whom he makes regular contact via his mobile phone. He also uses his phone to receive payment, through the Mobile Money service run by Mobile Telephone Network-MTN (Uganda). And he has subscribed to MTN updates to receive the latest market prices.The path to success has not always been easy and challenges include poor infrastructure such as roads, processing and storage facilities. But Gilbert is confident that ICTs can help overcome most difficulties.\"The only solution to all the agricultural-related problems we face is access to the right information at the right time\" says the fruit farmer, who now owns 15 acres of land bought with his savings. Gilbert's goal is to launch a juice processing venture and provide jobs for more young people from his village.Based on the original essay: \"Increasing agricultural productivity through technology: A story of a young modern fruit grower in Apac, northern Uganda\" by Maureen Agena.Mukibi, J.K. ( 2001) Agriculture in Uganda, Vol II. Fountain Publishers Limited, Uganda. Verheij, E. ( 2006) \"Fruit growing in the tropics\", Agrodok Series, No. 5. Digigrafi, Wageningen, the Netherlands.I am a 24-year-old male Zambian. I am a social worker and ICT trainer and consultant and currently the Executive Director for Ndola Youth Resource Centre, an organization that specialises in using ICT for youth development. As I grew up, I came to learn that what separates a successful youth from another is simply the availability of relevant information. My desire is to have a skilled young generation that rely on ICTs to make well-informed decisions for sustainable livelihood development.Contact: www.facebook.com/Isaac.chandaW ith high youth unemployment in Zambia, government schemes are offering young people in the Copperbelt province easier access to agricultural land, inputs, livestock, training opportunities and in some areas, start-up capital. But limited market exposure continues to be a serious obstacle for many young farmers, whose lack of experience makes them an easy target for unscrupulous buyers and middle-men.One practical solution lies in an Internet-based platform designed to showcase young farmers and their products and to link them to markets. The Find the Young Farmer website could offer both audio and visual information and be developed using free and open source software such as Dreamweaver and easy Php for web design, MySQL for databases and Wikipedia for blogs and wikis.The platform would serve as a directory for agricultural commodities and services, allowing young farmers to advertise what they have to offer and consumers to search by agricultural product, service or location, using general or more refined criteria. As well as the name and contact details of young farmers and organizations, the website would offer space to post photographs of produce and links to blogs or Youtube videos.Isaac Chanda, Zambia, Southern AfricaICTs and particular sectors of development.The marketing tool would automatically connect interested buyers to the young farmer concerned and would also supply contact information such as mobile or fixed phones, as well as email and physical addresses. Links to social media networks would enable users and farmers to exchange knowledge and experiences and a separate section would enable visitors to download useful agricultural material and information such as research documents and newsletters.Circulated to government ministries, telecentres, organizations and via press and other media, the website would target both local and international audiences. As its popularity grew, so too would its power as an instrument for putting young farmers in touch with buyers.Young farmers in the Copperbelt province would be encouraged to receive training in basic ICT literacy before being invited to upload details including the nature of their business, type and category of products and contact information, as well as photos and videos of themselves and items offered for sale. To make the service sustainable, farmers would be expected to pay for space, in order to cover the cost of developing and managing the website. Expected results would be better market linkage for young farmers, more competition, more standardised prices for agricultural products and time savings for buyers looking for farm products and services.Based on the original essay: \"Find the young farmer: Locating young farmers without limitations\" by Isaac Chanda. T he prospects looked bleak when young Ivorian Euphrèm N'depo set out to launch his career after graduating in food chemistry and engineering. N'depo, 26, knocked on many doors to find his first job, but all were in vain. The odds were stacked against him. Jobs are increasingly scarce in both the public and private sectors of Côte d'Ivoire, and unemployment in the 15-24 age groups has risen to over 24%. For the 25-34 age range, the rate is 17.5%. In N'depo's sector the picture is even more grim. The jobless rate among graduates like him is now 42%. One in two Ivoirians are officially classed as living in poverty.Undaunted, N'depo decided to launch into the small livestock business, opting for rearing poultry and cane rats (grasscutters). Realising that he would need some technical knowledge to help him in his new venture, he set about investigating how to obtain some training. As the cost of the centres offering courses were way beyond his means, and the distances much too far, N'depo decided to turn to the Internet. Easier said than done in the rural community of Irobo where he lived, about 100 km from Abidjan. Here there was no landline connection to the Internet. The nearest one was at Dabou, 50 km away.N'depo has never been one to give up easily and is a young man full of resources. He resolved to get round the latest obstacle using bluetooth technology and a GPRS-enabled mobile phone to line to the Internet. He soon found all the information he needed.Euphrèm Akaffou N'depo, Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa Founder and owner of a poultry and cane rat farm set up with a group of young entrepreneurs. The income generated has financed my studies to become an agrifood engineer.\"The website of the Agromisa Foundation, through its downloadable publications, enabled me to become self-taught in poultry keeping, co-operative management and marketing farm products,\" he said. \"The website of Vétérinaires sans Frontières (Vets Without Borders) enabled me to find out about rearing agoutis.\"The young graduate's business plan was so impressive that he won funding from the local authorities and technical help from rural development agency ANADER to build chicken coops and cages for the cane rates and buy animal feed and breeding livestock to get started. With help from ANADER, N'depo launched a co-operative of young livestock keepers -nine young men and five women --all of them jobless graduates like himself. The venture was soon making enough to pay a small regular salary to each member of the co-operative. But there was no time for complacency. Faced with exorbitant costs for fodder to feed their growing livestock venture, the young farmers once again turned to the Internet, and once more they were rewarded, finding a better, less costly formula based on maize, soya, fishmeal, salt, bone-meal and snail shells, enriched with vitamin concentrates. The group is now busy planning other improvements, using information found on the Internet, of course.Based on the original essay: \"L'histoire d'un jeune producteur agricole vivant en milieu rural en Côte-d'Ivoire qui utilise les TIC avec succès, de manière novatrice pour son travail : leçons apprises et alternatives envisages.\" by N'depo Akaffou EuphrèmAgromisa Foundation : www.agromisa.org Vétérinaires sans Frontières : www.vsfe.org","tokenCount":"12467"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"c9eb528a780e2aadd1ab734af03f6339","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/5c05e75f-8fc6-49fa-85f3-effd53062358/retrieve","id":"-952517651"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"94cf460c-3fa1-48f8-8d8b-d2560a339617","pagecount":"35","content":"The que.tion most commonly asked by CIA rs supporters and collaborators Is \"What 15 CIAT dolng to eosure !hat the technology it i. develOPing will be put to productlve use? \", Indeed !his Is !he que$tion we coostantly ask oorselve., since our stated goal of increased productian and productivity cannot be achleved unl ... !he technology i. transt'erred throogh Its various stoyes in arder to be utilized by farmers, However, perallel to this question i, the Irequently expressed COnc8m !hat, in the;r rusll and ameiety to see !he fruits 01 !heir labor applied, the International Agricultural Research Centers will over-extend themsal ... , ovar'r.sthing their administrativa capacity, diluting !heir research efforts and moving into areas in which thay have less competenee .nd can perform le .. elfectively. Thus, there exists the dual coneero thet tho Intomational Centen will do too tittle and !hat !hev wíll do too much in !he are. 01 technology transfer, commonly referred to as \"outre .. h\". This underscores the nsed fO( CIAT to define what i. its strategy as a basi, lar deciding what it will do, or, probably even more important, what it will not do in this area, It i. partlcularly important to do so at this time when the Ceno ter has reached the ego at whieh !he growing amount 01 exciting new techoology belng generated by lIS programs needs to be effectively validated lo on•farm trials, adaptad by national institutions to local conditions, and tran.ferred to farmers.Tha purposo 01 thi. paper is to inform CIAr. Board 01 Trustee\" clientcountrie\" and the Consultati.e Group for loteroational Agricultural Re.eareh (CGIARl, 01 !he basic principies embodied in CIAT'. philosophy on !his subject, the strotagie, for achieving its technology transfer objectives, and plans for executing the stra• tegy during !he next five yaar. (T actie,).A clear understanding of our terminology is 6tsential. WhiJe we consíder the terms Uoutreach services u and Utechnology transfer\" practicaUy interchangeable far the discussion that follows, we have nol used the latter tarm In the title specifieally because it is often understood in the narrow sanse of Hextension\" to farmen. Ac• tual/y, !he teehool09Y tronsfer activities of an International Center are ehiefly thos. relatad 10 !he transfer 01 its technology to local institutions, along with sueh actívities as relate to strengtheníng these institutions to better perform their tasks 01 local adaptl.a rese.<eh and extension in the areas 01 competenee 01 the Ceoter. The word Itseryicesu has been added to make it clear that the Canter is reaching out to cOllaborating in.titutions, with the attitude of serviee to the region in the spirit of horizontal transfer.The outraach ,ervice, philo,ophy 01 CIAT must be viewad within the Context 01 the overafl objectives of the Center whích are summarlzed as fúllows:To generate and deliver 6 in coUaboration with national institlltions. improved technology whien will contribute to increMed production, productivity and qua&itv of specific basie food commadltles in th. tropics--prínclpally cpuntrie. of Latin Ameríca and the Carlbbe.n-thereby enabling producers and consume .. , _ially those with limited resources, 10 inc, ... e thalr purch •• -¡ng powar and improv8 their nutrition.It is essential that the work of an 1nternat¡onal Center be sean as but one part in the contfnuum of activities which begins with new scientif¡c discoveries and ends with the eventual application of science~based technology by the farmer to improve his productivity and welfare. Th¡s continuum with reference to the commodíties dealt with by CIAT is ,chematically illustrated in Figure 1. Suceassful accomplishment of the end result ¡nvolves the cooperation of various national, regional and ¡nternatianal agencies, of which an lnternational Center ¡s but one. Such a Center can be effectíve only to the extent that it cooperates as a partner with these various ¡ns• titutions and 5ees its role as camplementary to the activities of other insthutions rather than competitive or substitutionary.Of the var!ous institutions particípatíng in agricultural development none is more important tnan the natianal institutíons ¡nvolved in agricultural research and development. It is only through strong national programs that the technology gener~ ated by CIAT can be evaluated under variad local conditions, modified as necessary and eventually transferred to the farmers along vyith the essential services and ín~ put, requíred to mak. it use!ul for the producer, It i$ a keystone 01 CIAT', philosophy that cordial and productive cotlaboration be maintained with sucn institution,. and that. in the area 01 CIA T's competen ce and within the limits of ils resources, every effort be made to strengthen the capacity of these institutions. to carry out these functions as fuI! and effective partners. CIAT's portnership with n.tionol programs is enhanced and lacilitated bV coopera• tion with various regional and international organizations, A brial description of these rel.tionships is given in Appendix A,The PrincipIe of Comparative Advantage An important corollary of the principie of complementarity, and sn essentisl con, sideration in avoiding over-reaehing CIAT'. capacity o. undulv diluting it. aetivities, is to question everv activitv and new proposal from the viewpoint 01 comparati ... advantaga to make the mast useful contribution, CIAT onlv engages in those aetivities within i1$ mandate in which it has a unique capabillty to do the ¡ob belter than some other institution.The Need for Regional Adaptadon and On-farm Validation An Important component of CIAT', outreach services philoSOPhV is the re.lization that the Center canno! provid. linishOO technology for !he manv ecological lones, the varied socio-economie condltlon. and the different quality preteronees within It' ara. of responsibility, Ther. is no a\"uranee that a glven technological package is good just becau .. it porfonms well on a CIAT experlment station, Seforo mo ta,k 01 technology generation is complete, new varietles and practico, muS! b. evaluated on a regional hasi\" madifled where necessary to meet local raquirements and testOO under the real lerming conditions repre .. nting the largost number 01 producers and eeo,v,tem. possible_ Such activiti •• cannot be carried out bV CIAT alone_ When they are conducted on the .\"periment .tation. of local institutions or on individual farmo, thay must be done by, or in cooperation wlth, the appropriate local or9Oni-zation_ Such regional te$llng and on•larm validation not onlv plav. on important role in the technology transfer process, but serves as a vital source of information l....:llng back into elA T's eommadity programs to influence technology designoWithin the framework 01 o •• rall objactive. and general philosophy described above, it is essential to delineate more specifíc operationaf objectives against which activi~ ties will be evaluated. These are: 1.To develop improved technology for selected commodities which hl$ the potenti.1 to greatlv increase tIle production and income of a large segment of farme .. ; 2.To tr.nsfer tIlis technology to local institutions;Te help strengthen th. capacity of local institutions to adapt, evalu• ate, validate and transfer thi, technologv so that it will be utilized lo the benefit of producers and consumers.CIArs ,trategy for outreach services is characterized by a description of tIle components of its teehnology transter and tIle criteria to be utilized in selecting v.rious activitie. as described below. These must be understood in the context of their retationship to tIle technology generation tunctions. (2) Bilateral eontract. These .taff are appointed as local campan.nts 01 natlonsl agricultural researen teams at the raquest of individual eountñes. They serve on a temporary {usually three to tlve yeanl basi., and their purpose is lo strengthen the institution they are assigned to In their tield of eetlvlty while natlonal stall complete thelr training lo liII such posltions. Bilateral contract staft will normally be worklng chlofly with ano 01 the commodities lar whlch the Center h .. responslbiliti .. , will have close ti •• with the respective program in CIAT, and will partlclpate in the annua, revlew of that programo Neverthele •• , their responsibilities will not extend beyond the boundaries of the country to which they are assigned, and they will be eXp€cted to work within the administrative structure of the national program.Funding PrincipIes far Outposted Staff. As a general principIe regional servic€s ,Iaff should be funded from the eore budget of the Center and bilateral contrae! staff ,hould b. ,peeial project-funded. Mast frequently, ,pecial project funds to cover the costs of bilateral contraet staft wiJl be part of a multilateral agency's or bilateral donor's techn¡ca! assistance contributlon to a partIcular country. CIAT regional servíces 5taft are currently funded entírely from special project contribut¡ons. However l al! those which are required on a long-term basrs should eventually be included in the eore budget in order to provide continuity and more accuratety re• flect tneir integral role in the total international responsibilities of the Center. Once these regional service staff haya been approved as part of the core budget. spe\" clal contributions fer such 5taff should be considered as \"restricted core\" and dOT nors hav¡ng a specíal ¡nterest in a given region shoutd be encouraged to consider this funding in addition to whatever may be their contdbution to the \"unrestricted core\" budget 01 the Ce'flter. In the rare instances when a particular donor can provide funds for certain regional serv¡ces but, because of its internal fiscal restraint, can not consider them pan of tlcore\" contríbutions, such financing.can be considered as speeial projeet funding, with the understanding tha! tha,. ca,t. will be incorporated ¡nto the core budget. if and when that part¡cular donor support expires.Principies of Locating Out¡Josted Regional Serviees Staff. Selection 01 the country in whích such staff are stationed wiJI be based on the strategic loéation in relation to the region servad and will depend on the hast country's willingness to provide such facilities as are required to facílitate ease of ínternational movement and ato tract capable staft. Whenever possíbte such staff shouid be physicaHy or admin¡stratively attac:hed to an international agency with appropriate responsibilities In that regioo.For each set of outreach services activitíes it is important to consider the criterla which will be used in determining whether or not to engage in 11, and what prioríty it has in relation to other desirable activities. CIAT will not have the resources to do everything that it is asked to Or would like to do, It is therefore important to know how a decísion will be made to say \"yes\" or \"no\" tú a partícular request or suggestioo. The important criteria which will be takeo into account in mak¡ng sueh decisions are described below. While it would be desirable to quantify these in such a manner that a computer could consider the various facts and give a clear \"yes\" or \"no\" in each instance, in reality these criteria will, for the foreseable future, remain highly subjective, and sometimes even contradictory, so that a great deal of personal judgment needs to be exercised. A description of the criteria to help make such judgmental decisions more systematic follows.Training Proportion of Resources Devoted to Training. Th is refers both to the financial resources available as well as the time of individual program scientists which can be dedicated to this important function. There is, unfortunately, no magic formula which indicates what proportion of the Center resources shauld be dedicated to this task. Nevertheless, the fallawing factars shauld be considered.(1) The stage af the technology generation process in a particular programo bath in relation to the amount af information available to be used in training, as well as the need for adequately trained personnel at various stages in the technology adaptation and transfer process.(2) In the case of individualized research training, the number of trainees already assigned to an individual scientist as a function of the supervisarv capacity of that scientist.(3) The trado-off between the time of a seientist invested and the eontribution the individual training participant will make to the on-going re-search program and/or the future callahorative research effort that can be expected to result from such training.Overall for the present stage of CIATs development, the rough formula 0115 to 20 percent of the Center's budget and 2. to 3 man-years of training participants per senior scientific staft member seems to be the appropriate arder of magnitude. pected that this ratio of core vs. external funding will continua into the future, Some special interest trainíng (e,g, seed production techo nologyl will continua to be funded principally as part 01 special projects.(21 Scholarship Recipient.. Cor.•budgeted training funds will normally be utilized only far participants from lesser-deve1oped countries. In the case of research traínees from developed countries in which the research to be conducted by the scholar is considered an important contribution to CIAT's research actívitíes a portion of the costs may, in special cases, be covered from elAT's resources. However, such trainaas will not be fully lunded by CIAT. Individualizad in•service (6 to 12 monthsl training, either degre. or non-degree relatad, will be utilized in all cases where a commodity/discipline research approaeh is raquirad ( •. 9., bean pathologyl. Structured eourses. on the other hand. are organized on a commodity basis 10 provide multídisciptinary training experiences to groups of 20 to 40 professionals.An adequate balance between individual in•service training, med¡um-term (6 months) training courses and short (1 month) courses will be continuously sought, Whíle no one set criterion is universally applicable, the point of balance shifts wíth the evolulion 01 each commodíty program and the damand Imm clíent countrí\",. In the latter hall 01 the decada 01 the 80s, it is anticipated that there will be a gradual evolution to higher level, research In--country Tralning, C1AT has definite limitations as to the size of its training programo Certain types of trair'linfL especially for extension personnel, can best be con-duete<! in the countries. Thus, on a limited basis l CIAT uses ¡ts comparatíve advantage in providíng training in methodology and new teehnology to assist country programs in conducting courses to further strengthen their technoiogy validation and transfer capabilfties in the area of erA T's commod¡ties.Due to budget constraints and límitations of adm¡nistrative capaciW. the number of regional services staff of CIAT should remain modest, probably not to exeeed 15 to 20 for the entire Center. Consequently, far each commodity program, only program 5t3ff for areas that are mast strategically important for successfully attaining that program's obiective, should be budgeted in thi, category. To determine these areas, the foliowíng critería should be carefully weighed:(a) Percentage 01 the world afea devoted to that commodity that i, located in the region.lb) The potential for e.pansion of production larea and vield,) of that commodity in the regioo.(e) The importanee 01 the commodity in the diet' 01 the people 01 that regíon, especially those w!th limited resources, (d) The importance of that eommodity as a component al the larming systems of producers in that region, especially those with limited resources.(e) The expressed interest 01 regional and national agriculturalleeders lor me development 01 mat commodity and for stationing CIAT ,taff in the region, (f) The representadveness of the eeosystem in terms of other production areas, or as a critical sita for research essential to adaptatton of CIAT•generated technology to that or similar regions, (g) A comparativo advantage for CIAT's involvement over that 01 other organizations. ¡a) The particular commodlty lo Important in lhe diet. 01 the people of that country, aspecially thos. in the low•income sector.lb) The commodity l. important ín the productlon sy.tern. 01 faro mers 01 that country, especially farmers wllh Ilmited rescurces.¡e) TOOr. is. potenlial lor slgnillcant and rapld productíon Increase 01 the particular commodlty in that country.(d) There is an expr.solon 01 political will and commitment to con• duct an actíve program of technology v.lidatlon, adoption and transfer for the partícular commodity t as well as the establish• meot of appropriate policies relatad to infrastructure t input availabiHty, remunerative markets, and eredit. Prelerably, the commodlty ín question should have been given high priority for development in the country, and a vertically íntegrated national program to promote its productlon should be well-plan• ned.(e) The national prograrn and donor agencies are commítted to the funding 000 posting 01 the CIAT staff m.mbe .. for a suffícient• Iy long period of time and to providing such financíal and man• power support as are required for them to make a significant contríbution.(1) The hest country i. wíllíng to designat. personnel for lurther training and/or counterpart functions so as to faeilitate the continuity 01 lhe .. activítios following the expiratíon of the CIAT staff members' contracts.(9/ The host country ís willing to provido the necessary exemptlons• and perquisites commensurate with internatíonal technical assistance '!aff.In choosing between the various bilateral contraet oppOrtunities CIAT will normal• ty decline such involvement under the following circumstances.(a) The task is overall institution building rather than devefopment of á commodíty for which CIAT í, responsible.lb) The ta,k ;, chieflv related to e\"tension rather than research or research/extension linkage.(e) Tha research instítutian is isolated from the extension organiza~ tion and/or has nttla or no work in farmers' fields and there ap~ pears to be no desire to changa this situation.{d) The administrative or salary structure of the hast institution is such that ;t ;s unlikelv to be able to retain híghly qualified 'taff trained under the programo TACTICS 11979-1983)CIAT's commodity programs are still quite young and are just now arrivíng at theír full, planned .!affiog levels. Today, the programs are building on the foundalions of germplo,m .,sessment, ond methodology development ¡oid in the early year., and are functíoning as well•integrated interdisciplinary taams working towards efearly defined objectives. Thís is a periad when a rapidiy increasing amount of highly promising teehnology is beginnlng to emerge tram these programs in a manner which national programs can adapt to local condítions and utiHze ¡n their national production afforts. This is a time when the growth of the commoditY programs should begin ta level off and outreach services take on an increasingly important role. It i, likelv, therefore, that the proportíon of the Center', total 3vailable resources dedícated to technology transfer activities wil ¡ ¡ncrease duríng the nex! five years.Number and Types of Gourses to be Held st G/A T. The following group CQurses are presently planned as regular (yearly) and special events in the next five years.Beans: Two yearly 5•week intensive courses for 30 participants each on re• search for bean production (in Spanish). Starting in 1980~ in alternate years one of the courses will be given in English for participants from As¡a, Africa aod me Caribbeao.Cassatte: One yearly 4-week intensive course for 30 participants on research for cassav. production (in Spanish).Two 2~week courses for 15 participants each on tissue culture, one In English (1979), and one in Spanish (19801.Tropical Pastures: One yearly 5•month course tor 20 participants on re. ,earch for forage production (in Spanishl.Speclalized 2•week courses in specific disciplínes may be added.Ríce: One yearJy 5~month Course for 10 participants on rice research and production (in Spaníshl.One yearly 4-week intensive course for 30 participants on rice production.Seed Teehnology: On. yearly 8•week course for 25 participant, on ,e.d production technology (in Spanish aod English).  received attention. Table 3 shows the countries or reg¡ons which have requested assistance and are likeiy candídates in the next few years.Audiotutorial Unirs. These uníts developed at C1AT fm the use ¡n its training activ~ it¡es will also be distributed to national training programs, Table 4 shows a projection of units to be made available on different subjects. for each commooity.A basic pattero of workshop events common to all commodity programs has been devefoped. This pattern ¡neludes a commodity research network meeting every other year and a special topie workshop in alternate years, These are indicated in the schedule below lor  -Policí •• for Food and Faed Crop Productíon (Octobar 1979).. Plant Pathogeníc Bacteria (1980).Other scheduled yearly events that are important components of elA T's outreac:h tactics are:-Pr ... ntatíon D.y.: CIAT. Advance. in Research (yearly in April) .. Annual Program Revíews (yearly ín Decomber). Based on the criteria desc,ibed on page 14 above, CIArs four major commodity programs plan to outpost regional servíces staff, listed in Table 5, in the geographic areas indicated, during the next five years.Current Staff Assignments Prc;ections. Since these types of appointments will depend on speeial project fund availabifity and are of a temporary nature$ it is neither possíble, nor desírable, to proj.ct precisely fo, which countri.s fund, will become av.ilable and which countries will mee! the criteria described aboye. However, it is Important to set some limits on the general magnitude 01 ,uch invol.ement. lt will be CIAr, policy to try to be continuously i\"volved in a few ,ueh bilateral contraet activities, These provida a very important feedback mechanism to the Center by putting eommodity program seientists in touch with the various problem, of national commodity programs working under real condition,; and by providíng vertical integratíon tram the research laboratory to the farmers' fields. Parti• cipation should remain modest 000 will be a dynamie involvem.m as individual country programs are completed and new ones are initiated. It is antic\\pated, there~ TABLEe Current oUlpo.ted bilateral contract staff Bolivia, and Venezuela.The combined projection. for total outpo.ted staff, including both re.earch and outreach se .. ices personnel, and taking into consideration .ery rough projection. 01 bilateral contract stall, are summarized in Table 7. ID8. The In ter-American Development Bank is not only a valued source of financing to CIAT's care budget but is also an important contact because of the large number of agricultural proiects it financ:es with loans and grants throughout Latin America. A growing number of contacts haya becn made wíth the: headquarten and regional offices in order to strengthen'-cooperatfon and ensure that CIAT technoro* gy is made available for its vadou$: projects, and that ¡nformation gained in these projects provídes feedback te aid in technology desígn of the Center.CA TIE. The Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigadon y Enseñanza, a regional rasearch and training institution servin9 Central Ameriea, is actively involved in cropping s'fstems research, working chiefly with sm311 farmers in that regíon. Cooperation with these on~farm activitíes provides an excellent opportunity for testing and feedback in relation to the usefulness of e lA T technology for improvement of small farmer croppin9 systems. An agreement has been signed between CATIE and CIAT and it is antlcipated that there will be grow¡ng collaboratíon rn this important activ.ty,•PCCMCA. The Programa Cooperativo Centroamericano para el Mejoramiento de Cultivos Alimenticios is an organization of Central American and Panamanian scientists that has been meeting annually for many years to exchange information on results of regional testing of a number of basjc toad crops. el A T participates actively in it5 annual meeting and has responded to this organization's request to províde coordinators for rice and treans for that region,  CIAT Documentation ServicesAbstracts of sil documents processed by me Documentatían Cenrer.Those are printed on 3 x 5\" .ard. which are airmaíled monlhly to \"p.proximately 1800 subscribers in the world.T ables of Cantents. Sei_\"ti,t, in Latin America receíve the contenls pages 01 those journal. recoived by the Library every month.Photocopyíng SBrvíce. The Mo ,e .. ices above are backed by a pholo• copying servi •• whích fulfills lhe importanl function of document de• I ivery to users.Specialized Litef8WfJ!J Searches. CIATs mechanized system allow. for highly spocifie literature s.arches to be performed in an average of 15 to 20 mínutes, permitting r.quests 10 be answered the same day they are received.Annual Cumulatíve 8íbllographíes. Al! .rticles processed in lhe Documentation Center are, at the end of the year# índexed into spe.ciflc categoríos and publlshed in book formoMonographs and Manual.. To give a complete rango of information serviCf¡s. broad areas of research are chosen and a weU•known specialist is give-n the task of making a state-of•the-art reporto which is published as a monograph.","tokenCount":"3914"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"058923c6d7e67cfe9037048f3a583e7d","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/0379457b-fe11-48d8-b0c2-cbf212197be0/retrieve","id":"-762543128"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"2d7aa7a3-6c32-4c5f-b139-01cabed1bc2d","pagecount":"18","content":"No solo es conveniente desarrollar una tecnología clave para lograr el potencial de producción en yuca (costos bajos, rendimientos altos) I también es necesario su adopción por los agricultores (2).Las nuevas variedades, componentes importantes de tecnología mejorada, son seleccionadas por los mejoradores basados en producciones estables comprobadas durante varios años y en múltiples sitios; además de tolerancia a plagas, enfermedades y estres edafoclimáticos (componentes básicos de estabilidad). Sin embargo, la experiencia indica, que no siempre se adoptan cuando entran al sistema de producción del agricultor, contrastando con variedades regionales, ampliamente difundidas en áreas de cultivo del pais, con producciones inestables e inferiores en algunos casos a las experimentales. Mientras más tradicional es la agricultura, más fuertemente están impresos en ella los caracteres de la sociedad que la practica. Para una situación de esta naturaleza, en la que la producción se lleva a ~abo con 'un enfoque de medios-propósitos, el desarrollo de tecnologia usando los principios de la investigación agrícola, basados a su vez en principios de causa-efecto, no tendrían en realidad tanta validez como se ha creído hasta el momento (Dillon, 1976). Asi entonces, para que la tecnología y su transferencia tengan éxito deben emplearse nuevos métodos dentro de enfoques también novedosos. La Investigación Participativa en Yuca aparece como la mejor alternativa propuesta hasta el momento; es una metodologia complementaria a la investigación tradicional, que integra Criterios de productores-mejoradores y maximiza la eficiencia de selección de variedades. La diversidad de respuestas a prácticas agronómicas, tolerancia a plagas y enfermedades, estabilidad, etc. de las variedades, frente a diferentes condiciones de producción de la yuca, conforman la base de un progama de mej oramiento (4). A través de Bancos de Germoplasma (in vitro y en Campo), evaluaciones completas de caracteristicas agronómicas en cada introducción, pruebas avanzadas con mejores materiales en condiciones representativas y finalmente Programas de Hibridación que recombinan características deseables, conforman en términos generales los esquemas tradicionales de mejoramiento en yuca (Programa de Mejoramiento de Yuca-CIAT, Figura 1). La participación de productores de yuca en el proceso mismo del desarrollo y evaluación tecnológica, fuá postulado hace cúatro años para el caso especifico de la Costa Atlántica de Colombia, actividad llevada a cabo en búsqueda de nuevas opciones de selección de mejores cultiva-, res.Variedades provenientes de Ensayos de Rendimiento (ER) I son establecidas por los cultivadores dentro de su area de producción, usando los procedimientos de siembra y cultivo normal en la finca.Basados' en la combinación de métodos participativos que captan opiniones de los agricultores, con métodos tradicionales de investigadores para obtener información sobre el comportamiento de variedades, se desarrolló la metodología IPY.El análisis de las razones para diferenciar una variedad buena de una que no lo es, permitió identificar objetivos de agricultores que sugieren implementar la IPY en etapas preliminares de selección. (Fiqura 1). en sus planes de comunicación, transferencia de recomendaciones y asistencia técnica, basados en criterios políticos, macroeconómicos y técnicos. La caracterización de los dominios de recomendación en Colombia, identificó municipios y/o veredas que caen dentro de áreas prioritarias de la Regional 2 del lCA (Departamentos de Atlántico, Bolívar, Sucre y Córdoba) y Magdalena. lPY, en su etapa inicial de diagnóstico determinó aspectos relacionados con precocidad, asocio, características de variedades locales y época de siembra.La mayoria de Instituciones de Investigacion están organizadas según programás por disciplinas y por cultivos. Es recomendable que l~ conducción propiamente dicha, de las pruebas y encuestas, se delegue a equipos multidisciplinarios r asignados a regiones o áreas geográficas específicas.La experiencia hasta el momento, indica que profesionales del Programa de Tuberosas de lCA (Grupo de Yuca y AsociadOS) y Secretaria de Agricultura de Bolívar, son actualmente practicantes eficientes de IPY en Colombia. El equipo asignado a cada subregión trabaja en investigación ajuste transferencia de tecnología y en algunos casos la docencia (Universi--4 -dades); interactuando con agricultores de fincas pilotos, de plantas de procesamiento, productores de almidón, productores pequeños, medianos y miembros de cooperativas. La se-lecci6n de los agricultores participantes está basada en la experiencia local de cada investigador, teniendo encuenta aspectos relacionados con el interés en la prueba, disponibilidad de area, habilidad de comunicación, fácil acceso a los mercados existentes en la reqi6n y representatividad regional.Los productores comparten objetivos comparables, que los llevan a identificar características similares en relaci6n a variedades deseadas, así tenqan criterios especificos en la finca. IPY estudi6 las reacciones de los productores frente a las nuevas variedades estableciendo una red de mas de 90 pruebas y 200 agricultores participantes (1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)). Por el poco control de la variabilidad, se requiere de un número de 15 a 20 fincas por ciclo; el análisis reqional determina el nivel de estabilidad de las nuevas variedades y el grado de homoqenidad del dominio de recomendación.El aqricul tor toma un papel activo en la investiqación al movilizar toda su experiencia para evaluar la aceptabilidad de las variedades'. Una técnica adecuada consiste en darle una función de enseñanza centrada en el uso de herramientas tradicionales, métodos de siembra, prácticas de manejo, ta-I les como deshierbas o métodos de cosecha, etc de particular utilidad para el diseño de entrevistas de evaluación que conlleva conocer la terminoloqía local. Por ser los agricultores los evaluadores principales de variedades en IPY, se tiene en cuenta el •uso de sus recursos\", para que comprendan las implicaciones de las alternativas, además de un Bdiseño simple\" que les permita observar diferencias medibles con sus propios medios de medición. Así, los cultivadores establecen, dentro de su área de producción, parcelas de 30 a 50 plantas de cada variedad experimental y/o tradicional (parcela testigo), usando sus procedimientos de siembra y cultivo normal en la finca (Prácticas culturales tradicionales). Con libertad en deciciones de distancia de siembra, intercultivo, posición de la estaca, manejo en general etc, el agricultor evalúa el desarrollo del cultivo desde las primeras etapas, mientras que el profesional orienta la demarcación de parcelas, distribución e identificación de las variedades. En las regiones de caracteristicas de ambiente similares, el grupo de variedades experimentales fué idéntico variando únicamente los cultivares locales. La selección de las variedades para las pruebas se acordó con los programas de mejoramiento de las entidades participantes.-Evaluaciones Abiertas Formular preguntas es una técnica clave en la evaluación con productortes.Hay tres tipos de preguntas: dirigidas (o condicionadas), cÚrectas y abiertas. Las primeras no deben usarse en evaluaciónes con productores, pues llevan implí-, cita la respuesta esperada; las directas están generalmente orientadas a obtener aspectos específicos de información razón por la cual tienen más uso en encuestas; las preguntas abiertas muy útiles en evaluaciones con productores, son aquellas que los estimulan a expresar y explicar ideas y opiniones, por consiguiente una evaluación abierta es un método para captar y consignar reaciones espontáneas de los a través de sus criterios.La técnica de productores diálogo con preguntas abiertas se apoya en interrrogantes como: por qué?, qué?, cómo?, cuando?, usted cree, usted que opina? etc. Las entrevistas abiertas, definen dimensiones relevantes de la investigación a nivel de fincas: producción, demanda por tecnología y mercadeo. como resultado de funciones especificas por función homogenea. Las experiencias obtenidas en el primer paso, indicaron la necesidad de un profundo estudio de términos usados en cada región, lo cual es posible caracterizando las expresiones empleadas para definir los atribUtos de las variedades y adaptar métodos de comunicación con agricultores (Tabla 1). La técnica de ordenar entre alternativas estableciendo un orden de preferencias, (variedades locales y clones experimentales), combinada con preguntas abiertas que permitían explicar al productor cada posición seleccionada, fueron herramientas útiles en el conocimiento de los criterios. Este procedimiento integró la evaluación absoluta en subgrupos de opciones promisorias (agrupación de variedades en rangos de buenas, regulares y malas) con la comparación entre pares de cada una de (juzgando cada variedad como mejor o peor las razones de los juicios (Figura 2). Con \"Métodos participativos\" (Ashby, 1986) parámetros de aceptación basados en lo que las alternativas que otras, dando se midieron los percibe el agricultor, comerciante y consumidor. Tabulando las veces que un criterio es mencionado espontáneamente, se encontró la importancia relativa de cada uno en la evaluación de las va-I riedades (-criterios de Selección\").-Evaluaciones agronómicas El otro componente de IPY lo constituyen las evaluaciones agronómicas, comunes en los programas de mej oramiento cuya información ayuda a la interpretación técnica de las preferencias. La metodología IPY conformó un manual de instru-cciones con diez puntos claves, que constituyen el soporte del procedimiento.Evaluaciones propias de lo agricultores La aceptación o rechazo es una clasificación subjetiva en rangos de alto, intermedia o baja. Dichos rangos los definen las evaluaciones de cosecha y precosecha a través de criterios de selección. Estos calificados como buenos, regulares o malos discriminan los rangos cuando la característica observada es contrastante en un intervalo. El análisis de regresión, donde preferencia se define como la variable dependiente y los criterios como las independientes, es una herramienta útil que determina el \"peso\" de los criterios de selección de los agricultores.Las evaluaciones abiertas suministraron un listado de términos diferentes para definir el mismo aspecto. Por ejemplo, almidón, harina, aguada, seca, vidriosa, rucha, etc., son expresiones referidas a contenidos de almidón de la raíz: carga, número de raíces, rendimiento, parir, producción, son sinónimos.Con las técnicas mencionadas, expresiones como \"Buena para el mercado\" que integra principalmente el color de la cáscara, la pulpa y la corteza fueron correctamente interpretadas (Tabla 1). El siguiente paso fué el estudio de frecuencias de posibles r \"criterios de selección\", expresadas según la etapa de evaluación. Los datos iniciales mostraron mayores proporciones de conceptos referidos a la raíz, sugiriendo la necesidad de evaluaciones iniciales e intermedias en el ciclo vegetativo. Por ejemplo, la retroinformación obtenida del clon CM 1355 -2, con 4 meses de edad, mostró más susceptibilidad a ácaros en las pruebas del norte de Bolivar con respecto a las de -8 -Córdoba, Bucre y Magdalena. Los estudios indicaron también qúe los productores aceptan o rechazan teniendo encuenta el mercado fresco, basados en criterios referidos a color (cáscara, corteza, y pulpa); grosor, tamaño y número de raíces comerciales. Variedades como CM 3306-9, MCol 72, CM 681-2, fueron rechazadas por el color claro de la cáscara de la raíz. El análisis del criterio indicó que cambios ligeros en la intensidad del color disminuía la aceptación.Esto fué confirmado con CM 3555-6 en algunas localidades. Cambios en el contenido de almidón por estrés han disminuído calidad culinaria y aceptación de la variedad, como fué el caso de CM 523-7. Por colores crema o amarillos de la pulpa los productores rechazaron variedades como CM 3408-1, CM 3750-5 Y MCol 72 (Tabla 2). Variedades con promedios inferiores a 4 raíces comerciales/ planta y evaluaciones regulares del grosor y tamaño tienen aceptación intermedia. Por esta razón Venezolana y P-12 han ocupado posiciones intermedias a bajas en el orden de preferencia, en algunas localidades. La tecnología IPY, aplicada con los propios recursos del agricultor, ha permitido que ellos comprendan las implicaciones de las alternativas en los distintos sistemas de producción. La arquitectura de la planta, relacionada con manejo del cultivo (asocio, control de malezas, competencia, etc.) fué estudiada de la información de las pruebas. Los datos de la Tabla' 3 explican la acep,tación de los crones de prelanzamiento en asocio con maíz, otros cultivos y monocultivo. Los promedios indican que con el manejo del agricul-, tor, los rendimientos de raíces frescas en monocultivo comparado con los de las asociaciones con maíz, se reducen en 35% para Venezolana mientras que en CM 3306-4 Y CG 1141-1 la reducción es del 30%; contribuyendo a explicar la aceptación tanto en monocultivo como en asociación. DISCUSIOH IP en Yuca, en la Costa Atlántica de Colombia tuvo como enfoque el conocimiento de \"Criterios de Selección\" de productores basado en la retro información Investigador agricultor. Sin embargo, las técnicas y principios desarrollados pueden emplearse para realizar evaluaciones con productores en otras tecnologias y lugares (Ej: Estación Experimental). De este modo la retro información en un sentido amplio ha tenido las siguientes implicaciones: l. El análisis de las razones para diferenciar una tecnologia buena de una que no lo es, permite identificar objetivos de agricultores que sugieren tenerlos encuenta en etapas tempranas de selección, \"evaluación temprana\".En la práctica para estudios oportunos de competencia y manejo del asocio podría incluirse el maíz como intercultivo en etapas iniciales de selección en mejoramiento. Asi, el ligar la información de la Estación Experimental con la de la finca, conlleva un proceso iteractivo para programas de mejoramiento. Por esto se recomienda la participación de productores en la evaluación de primeras alternativas a través de localidades y años.2. Lograda una retro información confiable y validada (nuevas posibilidades a la tecnología actual de los productores), son posibles evaluaciones más detalladas con pocas \"alternativas promisorias\". IPY evalúa con los productores variedades más rélacionadas con sus espectativas según la retroinformación de ciclos anteriores.3. La retro información agricultor-investigador, genera , y comparte una información sistemática, sobre las reacciones de los productor'es a las preferencias de \"variedades\" en los ensayos. La identificación de estos componentes tecnológicos antes de su promoción, incrementa el éxito de los métodos de transferencia de tecnología tanto formales como informales (agricultor a agricultor). El enfoque inicial de IPY fué desarrollar métodos de evaluación con productores para ayudarlos en el proceso de expresión de \"criterios\" frente a alternativas tecnológicas (variedades); pero su evolución llevó a la preselección de \"variedades prototipo\" como trabajo conjunto de productores y científicos. La verificación de criterios de selección ha determinado la etapa de validación y adaptación donde profesionales de ajuste y transferencia de tecnología identifican posibles variedades de prelanzamiento. En resumen, IPY no fué diseñado para liberar variedades, pero el enfoque de aceptabilidad del productor en el modelo, ha permitido este resultado como producto importante de la metodología.Las evaluaciones con productores pueden ser empleadas en cualquiera de las etapas del proceso de generación tecnológica, con métodos aplicables a diferentes momentos del proceso de investigación: diagnóstico, planeación y diseño experimental, adaptación y validación. Las técnicas de evaluación con productores podrian usarse en programas de investigación por especialidades o por cultivos.Por ejemplo, los científicos de suelos pueden obtener información diagnóstica sobre el manejo y conservación que hacen los productores, mediante el.~so de los métodos de interrogación desarrollados. Así I conocerían prácticas locales, manej o, uso de fertilizantes, etc.En ensayos de mejoradores que incluyan variedades con características por incorporar, I podrían los agricultores ayudar a identificar características varietales de mayor (o menor) aceptación. En un manejo integrado de plagas y enfermedades seria de interés para fitopatólogos y entomólogos evaluar las reacciones de productores frente a las nuevas alternativas. En resumen, IPY en el futuro tendría como áreas de acción la integración de criterios agronómicos, económicos y de agri-cultores; una mejor colaboración investigador-agricultor y la difusión de ideas agricultor a agricultor.  Ejemplo hipotético de evaluación en la fase final del ciclo vegetativo. (Establecimiento de orden de preferencia) ","tokenCount":"2454"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"d13254711aa5978dba6be91ecc785eb1","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/06337196-645b-46bc-8714-86d7a9039118/retrieve","id":"-1860047743"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"f98b500c-f2f7-4dc5-8d65-b68d91318607","pagecount":"1","content":"What exactly is One Health and what does it cover? These points are frequently debated. The OHHLEP definition of One Health (2021) has greatly helped, but discussions continue. Other fields do not have the same uncertainty about identity and membership, so why do we?A One Health approach is needed when different sectors need to work together for better results. This applies to the following: 1) Combined Economic Assessments -When a threat impacts in more than one sector a siloed approach only captures effects in a single sector, ignoring others. Unfortunately institutional structures have largely evolved to only consider their own sector. An example would be a crop mould, like fusarium or aflatoxin causing food and livelihood losses, as well as human and animal health risks through contaminated food and feeds. To make decisions in the interest of wider society, all impacts must be considered. 2) Coordinated Control -This is needed when control is more effective and cost-effective when implemented across sectors in a coordinated manner. Failings often arise due to budgets being allocated to the sector experiencing the impact, excluding other sectors that need to be engaged for effective control. Examples include the control of zoonotic diseases such as rabies, anthrax and many foodborne diseases, with control in food systems, animals and environment neglected, resulting in greater preventable human health burden and greater global costs. 3) Collateral Consequences -Changes in one sector can lead to changes in another. This interdependence of sectors through system-wide effects and connections must be considered when deciding on a plan of action. The anticipation of consequences in other sectors is a key aspect of good One Health governance. There are many examples, one being in food systems where intensification may improve productivity, livelihoods and food security, but may have collateral impacts on local ecosystems and conservation, and even increase socio-economic inequality.Ultimately the inter-connectedness of systems may explain all the above, with sector divisions being a societal management construct superimposed upon a planetary continuum that calls for One Health.One Health is certainly an effective slogan, capturing the buzz for oneness and harmony. These two words reflect the holistic connectedness of the health of the planet and those that live upon it. This is something that chimes with both systems scientists, and something more spiritual concerning how we increasingly see man's relationship with the world around us in the human dominated Anthropocene epoch, that man brought about but had not planned for.Traditional siloed approaches to global threats could be described as shortsighted with many blind-spots. Although not explicit, One Health champions the need for reform and new approaches given established discipline-specific approaches have left society unarmed when faced with the big, complex problems that increasingly affect our lives.Beyond a slogan, the One Health approach is one where there is collaboration and coordination between the many disciplines and sectors that can influence the health of humans, animals and the environment. Initially applied by health professionals it previously focussed on intersectoral collaboration needed to better protect health, particularly human health. But the need for transdisciplinarity to effectively address more complex problems is universal, and an expanded definition of One Health is now used, working for healthy systems that can sustain healthy humans, animals, plants and ecosystems.When is a One Health approach needed?Theo Knight-Jones International Livestock Research Institute [email protected] I One Health is not a profession Many delegates at One Health conferences come from professions such as veterinary or medicine. Professions have strictly defined membership criteria, x years training, pass the exam, register with the professional body, which then allows the professional to do expert actions others cannot legally perform. Some then look for the equivalent criteria for being a One Health expert, but none exist.One Health is not a discipline Scientists are typically specialised experts within a specific discipline. Detail, rules and clarity are important for good science, and scientists look for that in the definition of One Health. But we find that it concerns all disciplines that play a role in the collective management of healthy humans, animals and environments. This covers a big, diffuse confederation of disciplines.The position of an institute or individual within One Health can have big implications. We see Ministries and Departments cajoling for position to claim One Health funding and authority that may come with being centre stage for One Health. ","tokenCount":"718"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"06d8accf043d37de69c2edab6d3279a2","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/9b4f8274-3d2c-44f1-86b0-a01c8c758333/retrieve","id":"-2026276373"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"97a64107-79d5-4097-8352-dc9a45cfdf63","pagecount":"10","content":"The First International Forum on Water and Food of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) was held in Vientiane, Laos from November 12 to 17, 2006. The Forum had two overarching objectives:• to link people together to discover what they are doing within the CPWF and in the world of water and food beyond the Program; • to articulate the links between research, policy and practice.The Forum was designed to maximize the opportunities for people who usually work far away from one another to come together for a meaningful exchange of ideas, experiences, and techniques for improving water productivity. The core of the Forum's program was made up of 18 (6x3 parallel) working sessions, where short introductions on topics of relevance to the CPWF were followed by structured and facilitated debate. Reports of the workings sessions were afterwards shared and discussed among all participants in 'Open Forum' sessions.The 'Policy and Practice Panel' (PPP) comprised policy-makers from developing countries, development specialists, members of donor agencies and researchers closely connected to policy. Its key role was to contribute to the discussion, and in particular to draw out the practical consequences of the research being discussed. Panel members attended all parallel sessions. Each evening the members met to discuss and distil key issues raised during the day. The Panel had 10 members. 1   Since for many of the Panel members exposure to the CPWF was limited to the Forum itself, the PPP can only reflect and provide feedback on the CPWF by using the knowledge that was shared with its members during the Forum. It should be noted that the PPP did not attempt to review the CPWF or provide advice based on a through examination of all its thematic and basin focal research. Rather it drew lessons and implications from the discussion and knowledge that was shared and gained during the various sessions. These did not provide comprehensive coverage of the CPWF's activities; moreover, they did often address broader themes. The PPP does not aim to provide an inclusive summary of all ideas generated during the Forum regarding Policy, Innovation and Development or Research, but focuses on a number of key issues as they transpired over the days. These key issues are discussed here with the aim to contribute constructively to the track record and achievements of the CPWF and to provide strategic support and guidance to CPWF management and governing bodies in their way forward.The following main issues will be discussed: the evolving research agenda and research approaches of the CPWF; the opportunities for the CPWF in transnational water management; the need for strong communication, information and knowledge sharing approaches; the importance of capacity building approaches that complement the ongoing research activities; and suggestions for making its research more relevant to policy makers and development agencies. The paper will conclude with an assessment of the evolution of the challenge program as could be gauged from the Forum. The panel hopes that its report further energizes the CPWF community in its many activities.Based on the discussions throughout the Forum, the PPP concluded that certain issues regarding the way research is conducted can be further improved for the sake of effectiveness and synergy. These suggestions address both generic/holistic issues and recommendations for specific future strategic research areas.A general observation by the PPP is that many of the sessions were closely linked to each other and that it can be of advantage to the CPWF to build a more coherent research portfolio based on integrating the outcomes of the different sessions. This research portfolio should be realistic and achievable and should strive to improve water and food issues within a framework of integrated resource management. Another general observation is the need to improve the linkages between the outcome of the Comprehensive Assessment and the CPWF research agenda. This was clearly evident in the sessions addressing trade, capacity building and other global factors but could be of value in other areas of research.Studies reported in the Forum have demonstrated multi-disciplinary research to a varied extent. However, it was agreed that more emphasis should be given in order to accelerate the existing momentum and improve the effectiveness of such integration. The PPP maintains that research on water and food touches many natural and social scientific disciplines. This is especially important where institutional arrangements are of concern. Therefore improved integration will enhance synergy and result in outcomes with more positive impact. This can be achieved through dedicated funding mechanisms that will support such integration as a prerequisite for any research proposal. In addition, certain research areas are core to all CPWF research activities and should also be included as a prerequisite. Examples are gender and cultural issues, inclusion of economics, political ecology and other elements of social sciences. Another related suggestion is that the CPWF should invest in policy research, understanding the formulation of policies and processes related to implementation of policies (see also below).The PPP strongly support the partnership that the CPWF has built between CGIAR institutions and many national and regional players, including the NARES, ARIs and academic institutions. It is suggested that this could be improved further by better understanding the role of CGIAR in relation to national and local research institutions when designing the research agenda as well as conducting the actual research and its dissemination. This will allow improvement in the production of both national and international public goods, i.e. knowledge.Many of the Forum sessions addressed the issue of scale, be it scaling up from local to basin level, or from basin to global level. The PPP recommends that this issue should be researched further. There is a need to better understand the tension between different scales and improved outcomes of both local/downstream and upstream scale studies and their integration. It is suggested that the CPWF should develop generic frameworks for various topics related to water management (utilisation of water in agriculture).It is suggested that the CPWP should establish a database of best practices and case studies to be used by researchers and for developing an impact framework across the CGIAR.It is suggested that the CPWF should consider the following strategic research areas:• Clarify the term 'water poverty', which is often interpreted differently by various researchers. This may lead to confused information within and across the basins. • Biofuel production has importance both for water productivity and energy production. It can provide alternatives to fossil fuel and create employment for many in cultivation and processing. At the same time, the cultivation of the raw plant matter for biofuel production requires large amount of water and the production processes result in further water consumption and highly polluted waste-water that may pollute the environment. The links between trade and biofuel production should also be addressed, along with the relationship between trade, water and poverty current and future implications. • The CPWF is currently addressing livestock production but there is a need to integrate livestock closely with water for crop production • Research into free trade agreements, investment agreements and local water rights will greatly add value to the CPWF as it will allow other thematic and basin focal projects to be better informed as for the macro environment. Other global issues to be addressed are issues related to climate change, WTO, globalisation and virtual water trade. Trade in virtual water can be also researched in relation to ecosystem resilience and poverty alleviation. • A key issue raised by the PPP is the need for research to understand \"what water means?\" Is it an economic good or a human right and how should this issue be resolved? • It is necessary to address the significance of the CPWF programme in policy terms.Numerous linked issues regarding water and food were discussed in separate sessions. The question arises as to how we can clarify the focal points to be the priorities for the CPWF second phase? • It is necessary to consider integrating the policy issues for CPWF. It might be necessary to address the following focal aspects: 1) security of drinking water quality and quantity in rural areas and for animals; 2) food security in terms of water quality and quantity for irrigation, and 3) the environmental flows policies for maintaining ecological functions which provide the goods and service for human being must be stressed as a critical and strategic target. • For synthesis of policy components, further research is necessary. In order to do this I think that scientifically better understanding of the concept/ terms might need study on lexicon for CPWF.Additional Negotiations over river waters between countries at the governmental level often reach deadlock either because of bureaucratic woodenness and absence of flexibility, or because of other irritants in the relationship between the two countries. Non-official dialogues between NGOs or academic institutions on either side, or at the people-topeople level, can play a significant role in bringing the governments together. Success stories and failures of this kind could be useful subjects of research in order to seek to persuade governments (a) to look beyond boundaries, and (b) to actively enlist the cooperation of NGOs.Whatever principles or methods are evolved in the context of inter-country disputes will have a degree of applicability even in water-related conflicts between political or administrative units within a country. Case studies of such instances could be valuable.Inter-use disputes, such as agriculture-industry, rural-urban or irrigation-drinking water, tend to become intractable in the absence of a clear set of priorities and principles. The priorities and principles that could lead to equitable resolutions in such cases might be a valuable subject of study.It is important to move beyond conflict resolution towards positive bilateral or multilateral co-operation, and a project examining successful and failed case studies would make a valuable contribution.Very few water researchers and policy makers are aware that water resources and water services may be subjected to the terms of investment and trade agreements, the circumstances and conditions of trade accords change perceptions about national jurisdiction and control of water resources and public utilities in ways that are often not anticipated and can have negative social and economic impacts on water.Many countries are currently being sued under the terms of investment and trade agreements for conflicts resulting from water utilities and control of water resources. These cases are not heard by national courts but by arbitration tribunals, which apply international investment law and procedure.There is a connection between local water management, and trade and investment agreements. Trade and investment agreements can seriously affect local water rights and management, unless appropriate caveats are built into agreements and legislation.Domestic institutional capacities that guarantee the quality of domestic decision making on most countries are not sufficiently well developed. Therefore, there is a need to upgrade national capabilities, this includes monitoring and controlling basic water resources as well as regulating the services associated to water.The Challenge Program by means of research, capacity building and international lobbying may help countries to establish a better balance to guarantee citizen and national rights, including the duties and obligations of investors vis-à-vis in countries where investments take place.An important issue that has been observed is the need for satisfying communication needs and for developing information tools related to basin management. The CP's ability to communicate and share accumulated knowledge, including traditional knowledge, is of great importance.Regarding information sharing with development practitioners and policy makers, the CPWF should consider the development of an online database that shares best practices.Another opportunity for the CPWF is to develop concise formats for sharing the information essential to allow improved user participation and policy dialogue, and matrixes where, for example, mapping of water and water related issues is the entry point to help solve poverty.The use of proper language among stakeholders is necessary. Policy makers probably have different codes than, lets say, mountain livelihoods. The CP already has accumulated valuable information on themes and regions where language and culture are quite different. In the near future, even more information will be available. So the efforts to communicate effectively and share data with different stakeholders will require a team of communication specialists that can make this information available in the best presentation possible to different audiences.The definition of capacity building may vary, depending on the context. This was demonstrated in Session 15 where numerous key words were attributed to it. Capacity building is simply the creation of an enabling environment for an individual or institution to deliver the mandate effectively. This can be achieved by training, professional exchange programmes and by providing the necessary infrastructure.Hydrological basins are ecologically diverse and complex in nature and often cut across national boundaries. Understanding their ecology requires a multi-disciplinary and multinational research and syntheses. It is therefore, very important that basin countries should share a common vision of sustainable management of basin resources, so that environmental and livelihoods gains may be realised. This can be achieved through the capacity building of principally the resource scientists, researchers and the resource users. Therefore, the Panel recommends:• developing a Capacity Development Policy or Strategy at national and / or regional level.and South -South countries and regions. • integrating capacity development across disciplines and devise complimentary strategies on data generation, integration and application. • exchanging national scientists across basins.This section reflects on the relationships between research, policy and practice as aired at the Forum and offers recommendations for enhancing them in line with current best practice. These suggestions apply equally well to research under the aegis of the CPWF and independent of it.Most research reported and discussed at the Forum has been applied rather than pure, in that it was designed to influence policy and practice on water and food in pursuit of the relevant Millennium Development Goals. However, undertaking and publishing the results of applied policy-relevant research will not, in itself, get the research into the policy process. There is no guarantee that ideas will be adopted; however, these best practice guidelines will greatly enhance the prospects for having an impact on practice.Traditionally, the dissemination and uptake of research results were often thought to be the separate responsibility of others (communications and media liaison officers, or even the actual or potential users themselves); indeed such views have been heard this week. Nowadays, however, most researchers and research organisations understand that this is inadequate. Researchers themselves must be in direct communication with research users, and not just as an afterthought at the end of a project but as part of a coherent strategy. After all, the measure of success of applied research is not the completion of the research as such but its assimilation and application by users.Very widespread this week has been vague reference to 'policy' and/or 'policy-makers' as if these are homogeneous and clearly defined concepts. However, research needs to be carefully targeted at influencing particular policies and the specific relevant actors who formulate, modify, apply and enforce those policies.Identification of the users (or 'audiences') of particular research results and what specific problem, prolicy or legal instrument to target is therefore the starting or entry point of what is now often called an uptake pathway.There are many different categories of research users, e.g. particular categories of local actors, community-based organisations, private firms, NGOs (local, national, international), government departments, parastatal organisations, and intergovernmental and international organisations such as the World Bank, IMF, UN agencies, regional development banks, World Trade Organisation and International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. They are diverse -both within and between categories and spatial scales of operation -and hence are often referred to collectively as community/ies of practice rather than 'users'. Ultimately, any person or organisation affected by, or with an interest in, the research and its results is a stakeholder; users are important stakeholders and the suggestions here are a key form of stakeholder engagement.Users/practitioners have different information requirements, while the most appropriate ways to engage them also vary. These need to be ascertained early on -ideally before the start of a project and certainly long before its completion. This requires reconnaissance to liaise and understand the priorities, needs, institutional or corporate processes (including decision-making, policy development, legislative and/or budgetary cycles) of the respective research users. Such needs include the appropriate form (including the degree of technical detail, layperson's language and style) in which results are presented. In a nutshell, researchers must understand and fit in with these requirements.Sometimes it is possible -even appropriate -to address research users at the end of a project or even afterwards, provided that this is done effectively and meets a particular need. This then becomes an effective entry point. Good examples of this are crises (e.g. flood, drought, hurricane, conflict, pollution accident) when a user is required to respond quickly but lacks the information, tools and/or policy advice to do so. Such users will then be particularly receptive and this could be the start of a more enduring relationship.Generally, however, applied research is most effective when the users are engaged and involved from inception. This is as true of a local community group as an official body or company. The most appropriate form of engagement will vary according to specific circumstances but as a rule, the greater the consultation, collaboration, participation and other forms of active engagement, the greater will be the 'buy-in' or sense of 'ownership' by the users and hence the greater the likelihood of results being in appropriate forms, fed in at appropriate times and to the right people in the institution, and hence being understood, assimilated and acted upon.Large organisations may not wish to be directly involved in the actual research but representatives may readily agree to serve on a reference or review group, or to hold periodic briefing meetings.In other circumstances, where active engagement is desirable and desired, action research may be an effective form of engagement. This is where an intervention or innovation (e.g., a well or borehole, sanitation improvement, new farming technique, new crop or livestock variety, introduction of aquaculture, or a new institutional policy) is introduced as part of the research project and its impacts are then studied collaboratively with the beneficiaries.It is always helpful, even essential, to identify particular 'champions' in the user group or institution and to embed them firmly in the research process. This is particularly so with local community groups which may have very different identities and social / economic / political positions from the outside researchers. Such champions greatly increase the prospects for project success during its lifetime but also its longer term sustainability, once funding and support end. Even after the end of a project, follow-up and monitoring should continue, in order to maintain relationships and keep the doors open.There is now a growing literature on these issues, while organisations like the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) and the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP) have considerable relevant experience. The current issue of IHDP Update (3/4.2006) is devoted specifically to this subject (downloadable from www.ihdp.org).The Forum proved to be an excellent venue to generate ideas and to encourage creativity. In this respect it is very important that the session convenors digest the many ideas that were brought up towards a synthesis that may be shared with their colleagues and with CPWF management. The Forum was less effective for sharing progress within the CP. The format did not allow the detailed presentations that this requires. It could not do justice to the many activities of the CPWF community.At present, harvesting ideas and generating a sense of belonging may be more important than assessing results, but one would expect that over time this will change. The Panel would recommend that in future the creativity-focused approaches be combined with approaches for taking stock of the progress that the CPWF has achieved.Fuzziness: In many sessions, the Panel came away with the impression that there was considerable fuzziness in the underlying concepts. The session on 'water poverty' was on the link between water management, availability and productivity on the one hand and poverty on the other; while the concept of landscapes was not clearly defined. The content of several sessions was hard to guess from their titles.The conceptual fuzziness then combined with loose ends, making it difficult to conclude sessions and draw up clear implications for future actions. At this stage the fuzziness may be effective (e.g., the \"water poverty\" session was delightful) to generate further ideas, and to think outside the box. For future communication and knowledge exchange purposes, it is, however, important that the guiding concepts of the CPWF be gradually approximated towards clearly defined terms. This is all the more important to avoid miscommunication among the many nationalities, disciplines and approaches participating in the CPWF.The CPWF as a learning organism: The Panel was delighted to find several sessions where the main intention was to learn and to think about ways for increasing future effectiveness. The session on Political Ecology, for example, was included in order to address a perceived weakness (the difficulty to engage with policy makers), and to develop ideas on how to overcome those. As we all know, one is never too old to start learning. However, for such sessions to be effective, the presentational and organisational issues mentioned above must be addressed.The Panel was also pleased with the focus in several of the sessions on 'factors for success-obstacles -strategies'. Science for development needs to take social, economic, political and any other type of constraint into consideration from the start and cannot start thinking about strategies for impact once the research is concluded.The CPWF is built on a partnership of NARES, CGIAR centres, Advanced Research Institutes and other institutions. When the Challenge Programs were conceived, one of the considerations of this design was that it would be better able to take advantage of the capacities that nowadays exist in many developing countries. In the Forum the collaboration between the different partners is taken forward to a very equal level, where NARES fully participate in the development of the priorities, the management and the governance of the main activities, and the intellectual leadership of the program. The Panel recommends that the leadership of national partners be further consolidated and reflected in future events. One concrete suggestion is to explore the possibility of exchanging scientists, between countries in basins, or between basins, in order to take advantage of specific expertise.The CPWF was launched with a clear focus to contribute to the Millennium Development Goals. However, in the Forum programme, attention to the Millennium Goals was more implicit than explicit. The Panel suggest that the CPWF maintains a clear focus in all of its activities on how they will contribute to the MDGs. As one participant in the Open Forum observed, relating to policy makers requires that we speak their language, of which the MDGs are an important part.Nurture the blossom, let the fruit set: A final impression of the Panel is that the CPWF is starting to blossom, with many interesting activities taking place and much enthusiasm being generated. However, in most cases the fruit is only just starting to be formed. A key challenge for the Program management is to now ensure that the fruit grows and matures. While the Panel has not assessed the design of the CPWF in great details, its impression is that the design, if not somewhat scientific (e.g., little explicit attention to knowledge management), is sound. The Panel encourages the CPWF to pursue the direction that is has taken, before considering any major re-orientation in subsequent phases. Meanwhile, certain activities may be modified for managerial or operational reasons, and some activities may be added to take account of new perspectives, but the principal design should remain as it is.The way forward for the CPWF will occasionally be bumpy, as it apparently has been over recent months. That is only to be expected for a programme with such novel design, focus and management principles. The Panel therefore wishes the CPWF, its participating organizations and all the individual members of its community good luck.","tokenCount":"3982"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"f7a3c412d9b8b657b2dd3d50d6f775b5","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/635b2073-e44c-4efb-b63c-f3743ca32f19/retrieve","id":"-472095704"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"9042e90d-9a64-4ade-8d83-917af56e4960","pagecount":"31","content":"Climate change and gender norms are interwoven, with women frequently being more vulnerable due to preexisting social and economic inequalities (Awiti, 2022) In Nigeria, gender norms and the tradition of giving more privileges to men are prevalent (Makama, 2013;Olonade et al., 2021) These norms shape women's access and control to issues pertinent to successful participation in agrifood systems (AFS) The norms are slow to change, restrictive, and limit the capacities of women's AFS actors to build economic resilience to climate change Nigeria, as a climate change hotspot, presents a compelling situation for understanding how gender norms influence women's economic resilience (Akinsemolu and Obafemi, 2019) Source: CGIAR System Organization's albums | Flickr Critiques have discouraged using such approaches because they address the visible gender gaps, not the underlying structural barriers that create gaps, such as unequal attitudes, norms, and power relations (Cole et al., 2015).Most efforts at addressing gender inequality have been limited to the use of gender accommodative approaches, which most times concentrate efforts on increasing awareness of women's needs and treating the symptoms of inequality, such as individual access to land, credits, technology, and other resources Effective design and application of GTAs: Designing effective GTAs in addressing normative constraints requires a better understanding of the existing norms at different institutional levels and the associated constraintsEvidence Gap: there are critical evidence gaps in the design, use, and application of GTAs that can address normative constraints Recently, Gender Transformative Approaches (GTAs) have been forwarded to address the root causes of gender-based inequalities by tackling unequal norms, attitudes, and power relations.The study addresses four main objectives which are:Objective 1: To identify the major climate-related events affecting AFS actors in the cassava, catfish, and chicken value chains Objective 2: To understand how climate-related events have affected the performance and livelihoods of the AFS actors;Objective 3: To understand the gender norms that shape the activities of women value chain actors across the three value chains and Objective 4: To understand how gender norms affect women's economic resilience to climate change challenges across the three value chainsProvide insights into the normative constraints that limit women's capacities to build economic resilience to climate change (CC) challengeslearning from Casava, Catfish and Chicken value chains in Nigeria.As part of its Work Package 1 (TRANSFORM: Reducing normative constraints that limit women's economic resilience to climate change (CC) challenges),The Harnessing Gender and Social Equality for Resilience in Agrifood Systems (HER+) Initiative:• Implemented comprehensive qualitative assessments of gender norms with women and men operating at different nodes of the cassava, catfish/fish, and chicken value chains in Nigeria and Tanzania. This study presents the methodology and preliminary findings of the qualitative assessment that was carried out with women and men operating at the different nodes of the cassava, catfish, and chicken value chains in Nigeria. Objective 1 -Main climate-related events affecting AFS actors by genderAlthough men and women reported being affected by similar climate events, our study observed gender differences. Women's activities were affected by all the climate-related events reported. However, men's activities were affected by three main climate eventsflooding/excessive rain, inadequate/infrequent rain, and drought/excess heat.In some ways, this finding confirms men's concentration in the production nodes of the value chains, while for women, there is a high possibility of participation in post-harvest handling, processing, and distribution; thus, they are affected by more climate events transcending those experienced by men. This finding is supported by Akinsemolu and Obafemi (2019). Their study observed that women and girls' involvement in more domestic activities exposes them to more extreme weather events.Objective 2 -Impact of CC challenges on the performance and livelihoods of AFS actors across the value chains • 1: When there is flooding, processors (fish), who are mostly women, do not have access to fish to process • 2: During excessive heat and a long dry spell, the cost of fish goes up, which also affects business for fish processors • 3: During the rainy season, when there is excessive rain, it takes longer to smoke fish using charcoal• 1: Men are more into fish production than women. As a result, climate events such as flooding, excessive heat and dry spell will affect the pond condition and the production capacity of the male catfish producers Impacts on women and men in catfish value chain• Reduced productivity and profitability • Reduced income with attending impact on household food security, livelihoods and climate resilienceObjective 2 -Impact of CC challenges on the performance and livelihoods of AFS actors across the value chainsWomen and Men• 1: When there is a flood, it is difficult for some chicken farmers to access their farms leading to the loss of birds and equipment.• 2: However, when there is too much heat, chicken farmers need to find a way to cool down their chickens; otherwise, they experience poor egg production, reduced meat production, and high mortality and morbidity of chickens• 3: When it is too hot, vaccines fail, and the quality of vaccines received cannot be assured, which increases death and disease for chickens• Reduced productivity and profitability • Reduced income with attending impact on household food security, livelihoods and climate resilienceObjective 2 -Impact of CC challenges on the performance and livelihoods of AFS actors across the value chainsAlthough men and women AFS actors reported they experience the same impacts of CC challenges. However, our studies found gender differences in the impacts especially in line with the nodes/activities actors are engaged in.Also, for men and women, CC challenges are compounded by poor infrastructure such as poor roads and lack of drainage.\"When it is the rainy season, the river is full, then it affects our pond, and our fish are washed away\" Many of the women and men AFS actors presented an attitude of fatalism and helplessness in their responses to CC challenges 'Exactly, we know that it is from God, and we can do nothing about it' (Male Producer, Cassava Value Chain, FGD)-'There is always flood. The rivers are full, and there is no repair, in my own opinion, that's it…. when it's rainy season the river is always full so it affects our ponds to the extent that it carries away our fish. So, the carrying away of the fish brings loss for most of the farmers. The extent that from there some farmers do collapse due to losses' -(Male catfish producer -FDG).-'What I can see in those events is excess heat. That is why we plant banana trees to protect the water flowing in and out of the fishpond. The excess heat is the major challenge, as we have taken care of the flow of excess water and dirt, making the fish safe because nets are over the fishpond. It is the excess heat that poses a big challenge to the fish' (KII Female community Fish Value Chain) Slow onset climate events (SOEs), especially changes in climate variability and increased extreme weather, have disproportionately greater negative impacts on the well-being of smallholder farmersObjective 3: Gender norms that shape the activities of women value chain actors across the three value chainsParticipants confirmed the prevalence of discriminatory gender norms that serve as barriers to women's in:• • Norms that prevent women from owning major assets such as landlimit women's ability to expand their businesses and, finally, their ability to be resilient to climate change impacts• Norms that restrict women's mobility and demand that women are responsible for caring for the children -prohibit women from engaging in other non-domestic and productive activities• Norms that restrict women from speaking in public -affect their ability to voice out issues of concern to them and their livelihoodsObjective 4: How gender norms constrain women's economic resilience to CC challenges• Norms about technology adoption and use -prohibit women's free access and use of some technology/equipment. It limits their participation in some activities of the value chain• Norms about access to credits and loans -prohibit women from getting loans without their husbands' approval. This increases the bureaucratic process of women's accessing loans and restrictions on their financial capacities• Norms relating to the gender division of labourassign domestic roles to women, thereby increasing their workload; such norms also restrict women from taking up some activities in the value chain which are presumed to align with women's domestic role e.g., washing, peeling, processing• Restrictive gender norms widen structural gender inequality in AFS.• These norms further limit the capacity of women in AFS to build economic resilience to CC challenges.• Actors in AFS should focus on designing and implementing gendertransformative interventions that tackle structural norms that limit women's economic resilience to CC challenges.• These and evidence from other diagnostic work under the One CGIAR HER+ initiative will inform the design of interventions to overcome the normative constraints towards women's economic resilience to climate change impacts.","tokenCount":"1453"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"406fe0859f83cd1b43cc67fa10ca1956","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://repository.cimmyt.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/86762db0-f713-4db3-b004-2510159c8c73/content","id":"-344382767"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"c12396f5-3c1b-4bcb-aed6-f92d5853fbee","pagecount":"2","content":"Que es la enfermedad MLN? n Necrosis Letal del Maíz o MLN (por sus siglas en inglés, Maize Lethal Necrosis) es una enfermedad viral que afecta al maíz. n MLN es causada por una co-infección del Virus del Moteado Clorótico del Maíz (MCMV), y cualquiera de los siguientes virus: Virus del Mosaico de la Caña de Azúcar (SCMV), Virus del Mosaico del enanismo del Maíz (MDMV) y Virus del Mosaico Rayado del Trigo (WSMV).n Esta enfermedad es el mayor problema en la producción del maíz y es considerada una amenaza para la seguridad alimentaria de África porque ha causado pérdidas en el rendimiento de hasta el 100%.Cómo se transmite el MLN?Los insectos son vectores y transmiten el virus MLN; estos vectores incluyen trips, afidos, escarabajos foliares y gusanos de la raíz.MLN también es transmitida a través de semilla (i.e. la semilla producida en una planta enferma puede llevar el virus).La gente, los animales, la maquinaria e implementos agrícolas, también pueden acarrear el virus a través del movimiento en los campos infectados.Las hojas severamente dañadas pueden marchitarse, torcerse y presentar manchas amarillas y un secado prematuro. Los científicos se refieren a esto como clorosis severa y necrosis foliar.Pobre llenado de grano, o no desarrollo de grano en las mazorcas.Secado prematuro de las hojas que cubren las mazorcas.12 pasos para controlar la enfermedad MLN en los campos de los agricultores Que pueden hacer los campesinos para prevenir la enfermedad MLN?Los agricultores pueden evitar la transmisión siguiendo los siguientes doce pasos 1.7.8. 9.10.12.Conocer el historial de cultivos y enfermedades del campo donde de planea sembrar. Practicar la rotación de cultivos entre maíz y otro cultivos cuando sea posible.Verificar que el terreno agrícola siempre este fertilizado correctamente. Esto asegura que las plantas estén sanas y puedan luchar contra enfermedades.3. Usarsemilla certificada comolibre de MLN.No siembre grano de su propia cosecha.Limpiar maquinaria e implementos agrícolas usando desinfectantes, antes y después de su uso, para eliminar la contaminación por el virus.Mantener la granja limpia eliminando pastos y malezas que puedan ser hospedantes alternativos en el campo.Revisar el campo semanalmente para detectar poblaciones de insectos vectores. Una población alta de insectos incrementa la posibilidad del desarrollo de una enfermedad.Realizar el control químico de insectos vectores usando insecticidas recomendados (una vez cada 1-2 semanas).Inspeccionar semanalmente las plantas para detectar los primeros síntomas de MLN y controlar a los insectos vectores.Arrancar las plantas que presentes síntomas de MLN, destruirlas mediante incineración y enterrar los residuos fuera del campo de cultivo para evitar la diseminación de la enfermedad. No alimentar al ganado con estas plantas, ya que animales como las vacas, pueden transmitir el MLN a campos de maíz sanos.Practicar rotación de cultivos por al menos una estación, con cultivos que no sean cereales, preferiblemente leguminosas (frijol, soya, chicharos, etc.). Evitar la siembra continua de maíz, asegurando un periodo de al menos dos meses sin maíz en el campo.Sembrar temprano al inicio de la temporada de lluvias.","tokenCount":"487"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"5ee6dd30d7d6ce91811ca2c55d3d132e","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/0da279fa-85e5-4975-8945-06624c4f5310/retrieve","id":"-1619843607"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"db0eaf93-0267-4252-ae7d-86a55be9c3fd","pagecount":"36","content":"Demo 1.2. Hilling-up ............................................................................................. Demo 1.3. Identification of pests and diseases ..................................... Demo 1.4. Roguing ................................................................................................ Demo 1.5. Dehaulming ........................................................................................ Demo 1.6. Harvesting and grading ............................................................... DEMO 2. Positive selection ................................................................................................................... DEMO 3: Small plot technique .............................................................................................................This guide is a complementary tool that supports other training materials on ware potatoes and seed potato multiplication. Therefore, it is not meant to be used alone. The objective of this demo guide is to help the trainer to organize and facilitate hands-on demonstration sessions in the field. It contains three demos: crop husbandry, positive selection and the small plot technique for seed multiplication. For each demo, the guide tries to answer the following questions: What, Why, When, For how long, With what, and How. The How contains both text and images to clearly illustrate each demo session.For each demo session, the trainer should take into account the following four successive steps: (i) an introduction or brief reminder on the subject; (ii) the practical demonstration in accordance with this guide; (iii) a question-and-answer session; and finally (iv) an update for the next training session.Several demos on crop husbandry will be carried out through a field trial with the aim to show farmers the importance of using good quality seeds. To do this a field trial will be installed with two seed plots using seeds of two contrasting qualities: good seed versus bad seed. It is recommended, for fair comparison, to use, as far as possible, the same variety for both plots.Demo 1.1.Setting up the field trial.Provide hands-on training on potato planting.At the beginning of the growing season.For how long? 120 minutes for planting, but the trial spans the entire cropping season.• Many small/thin hoes (one per participant),• 1,100 seed tubers (35-55 mm diameter) of high quality seed (G1 or G2),• 1,100 seed tubers from the market,• 500 kg of animal manure,• Mineral fertilisers (32 kg of YaraMila and 8 kg of YaraLiva),• Fungicides (see training manuals),• Insecticides (see training manuals),• 1 measuring tape, and • 1 rope for marking the borders of the plots (delimination).Prepare two small plots of 20 m x 12 m each. Preferably use a terrain that has not been used for potato or any other crop in the same family for the past three years. Ensure that there is a distance of at least 2 m between the two plots.For each plot, open 15 furrows with a spacing of 80 cm. If the terrain is steep, make the furrows perpendicular to the slope to minimize the effects of erosion and maintain run-off water within plant rows. In each furrow, place successively the manure, mineral fertilisers and tubers at 30 cm. For each tuber, place about 125-250 g of manure. In practical terms, the manure collected with the two hands of an adult is applied to 2-3 seed tubers. For the mineral fertilisers, mix 32 kg of YaraMila with 8 kg of YaraLiva. Add the equivalent of the content of a Fanta cap of this mixed fertiliser on the top of the manure. A second cap of the mixed fertiliser is applied as topdressing right after plant emergence.Once the fertilisers have been applied, carefully place the tubers so as not to break the sprouts. If possible, avoid putting the tubers in direct contact with manure and fertiliser. In total, each plot will need 1,000 tubers which must be well covered with enough soil (10-15 cm above the tuber). Do not waste your time placing tubers with the sprouts in upright position. The sprouts emerge without any noticeable delay regardless of their position. Hilling-up potato crop.Avoid tuber yield reduction.When 2 -3 weeks after plant emergence.With what Small (thin) hoes (one per participant).The hilling-up of the potato crop is done with a small hoe, narrower than a normal hoe.Stand between two adjacent potato rows. Move backwards as you remove soil from the furrow onto the rows/hills to the two sides. After the demonstration, ask the participants to practice in turn. To avoid risks of contamination, hilling must begin in the plot with healthy seeds and end with the bad seed plot. Demo 1.3.Field identification of pests and diseases as described in the training manual.Pest and diseases reduce yields and spoil the quality of the potatoes.When 5 -6 weeks after plant emergence.• Pieces of white paper (one per participant),• 1 clean glass,• 1 small sharp knife, and • Clean water (250 ml).This demo on identification of pests and diseases is done in the bad seed plot. This is indeed where we expect to find more pests and diseases compared to the plot planted with healthy quality seeds. Please use the Trainer Guide to help identify the different pest and diseases. Carefully observe and discuss with the participants the identification and management of any pest and disease present in the plots.Some diseases can be easily identified in the field. This is the case for late blight, bacterial wilt, blackleg, leafroll virus and mosaic viruses. Late blight, blackleg and leafroll virus can be identified with the naked eye. For the mosaic symptom, pass a piece of white paper under a leaf with the suspected symptom. Diseased leaflets will appear translucent and yellowish whereas healthy ones remain opaque and dark green. This test is usually done in full sunlight.To accurately identify bacterial wilt, uproot the wilting plant and cut a small piece of the stem base (e.g., 5 cm long) using a sharp knife. Hold the piece of stem base with the hand or the tip of the knife partially immersing it in a glass of clear water. Hold still and wait approximately 2 minutes. If the bacteria ooze out of the end of the stem and move downward like a white smoke it means that the plant is infected by bacterial wilt as there is no other disease known to produce this phenomenon.1 Identify a wilting plant 2 Check that the plant stems are not cut 3 Uproot a stem 4 Cut off a piece of stem base 5 Immerse the stem base into water 6 Hold still and observe if the bacteria ooze out of the end of the stem Maintain a high-quality crop.To be combined with the identification of pests and diseases (Demo 1.3).• 1 normal hoe,• 1 bucket/basket or any other container that does not permit soil to leak, and • 1 peg (1.5 m long).The practice consists of inspecting the field, identifying and uprooting any abnormal plants, including tubers and roots. The plants to be rogued are either diseased (e.g. bacterial wilt) or off-types caused by varietal mixture at planning and volunteers growing from unwanted tubers. Field inspection works well when done early morning, while walking away from the sun for better identification of abnormal plants. It is not recommended to inspect the field in the afternoon as the leaves may naturally appear wilting without any diseases.If a plant is confirmed to be infected with bacterial wilt by the glass test, uproot the entire plant along with the soil in which it was planted (all foliage, roots, tubers and soil). Take it out of the field and throw it into a deep pit. In case there is no pit available for disposal of diseased plants, ensure that the plant and soil are put in a place where there is no risk of contaminating agricultural land, including your neighbours' fields. Demo 1.Removing or destroying the potato foliage before its natural death.To ensure that high quality seed tubers are harvested and that they maintain quality after storage.When 2 weeks before harvest, when the foliage begins to turn yellow in the plot that used quality seed.With what 1 sickle or machete.This demo is done in the plot with quality seed. Smallholder farmers may dehaulm using tools such as a sickle. Others pull out the potato plant while stepping around its base to prevent tubers from coming out as well. Tubers remain in the soil while the potato foliage is removed from the field. Since the field trial aims at comparing yields, do the practice on a small corner of the plot. To do this, invite each participant to pull out a plant and then cut a second plant with a sickle. For a fair comparison of yields between the two plots, ask the participants to do the same in the second plot. This means that they must dehaulm the same number of plants in both plots.Before concluding the demo, give the participants an opportunity to discuss and to learn from each other. Information related to tuber size and quality is analysed and discussed at harvest (Demo 1.6). Demo 1.6.Harvesting the trial.Comparison of yields obtained.Just after total death of the foliage.With what • 50 empty bags, size for 50 kg,• 1 weighing scale with a capacity of 100 kg,• 1 potato grading device (Hole diameters: 30 and 55 mm),• 2-3 hoes, and • 50 small pegs (30 cm long)Before organizing a demo on harvesting, make sure it is not going to rain. This demonstration corresponds to the harvest of the two trial plots, starting with the one planted with quality seeds. Harvest the plants by hand, one by one. If the soil is too hard, use a hoe to loosen it.Once the tubers are dug up be careful to ensure that tubers from different plants do not mix and leave them on the ground before collecting them. This makes it easier to inspect tubers systematically and signal, using pegs, the plants that have diseased or abnormal tubers. Count the number of healthy-looking plants to be harvested before collecting the tubers. Tubers from diseased plants must be collected last and used for consumption and not for seed.To take yield data, collect all tubers from healthy plants and separate them into two main groups according to size: marketable tubers (≥ 30 mm in diameter) and non-marketable tubers (the rest). Then separate the tubers in the first group into two subgroups: a 30-55 mm size and the larger tubers that are normally appreciated for processing. Count and weigh the tubers to determine the total number and total weight of each of the three categories. Use this information from both plots to make a comparative analysis of tuber yields and quality.Before leaving the field, collect all crop residues, including rotten foliage and tubers. This creates good conditions for planting the following crop. On-farm bulking of high-quality seed sourced from trusted seed producers.• 200 medium sized seed tubers (less than 40 mm in diameter) of high quality,• 27 kg of manure • Mineral fertilisers (2.4 kg of YaraMila and 0.6 kg of YaraLiva),• Fungicides (see training manuals),• Insecticides (see training manuals),• 1 measuring tape,• 1 rope for delimitation of plots,• 5 hoes,• Wooden boards/pieces of timber, and • 2 shovels.The small plot of seed is a triple clean-technology (clean seeds, clean soil and clean agricultural practices) carried out on a small plot of land. Therefore, select and prepare a 12 m x 4 m area where the potato or another crop from the same family has never been grown or at least not for the last 5 years. Also, choose a site that is not downstream of other potato fields that could be a source of contamination through runoff water.After a deep plough, delimit a small plot of land in the middle measuring 9 m x 1.5 m. Clear this plot to a depth of 15 cm by setting the soil aside. Then spread 27 kg of manure and 1.5 kg of mixed mineral fertilisers (YaraMila + YaraLiva). Refill the plot with the dug soil cleared from the plot. Then draw planting lines at a regular interval of 30 cm and make small holes about 10-15 cm deep on the lines at a regular spacing of 25 cm. Use small sticks or the end of the hoe handle to dig these holes. In principle, the entire plot will need 180 tubers, corresponding to the number of holes dug. Use the same stick, hoe handles, or hands to cover the tubers with soil.Since it is not possible to make ridges as it is done in normal fields, hilling-up is done by hand by adding clean soil from the area around the plot. The plot should be raised above the ground surface from the time of planting. This can be aided by wooden boards or pieces of timber. As you hill up with more soil, protect the edges to maintain the top of the plot at a higher level than the ground surface (more than 15 cm).After the plants have emerged, maintain the plot as you do in a normal field, whether it is for disease and pest control, top dressing or other good agricultural practices. It is extremely important to take precautions to prevent any entry of diseases and pests into the plot, including the use of clean agricultural tools.5 Spread the fertilisers 6 Refill the plot with soil","tokenCount":"2137"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"83709bdd98be14b18b0b161dac9f0fea","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/4ef23961-c63b-4b9a-aee7-832e06b68aac/retrieve","id":"771247024"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"84d46508-1c37-4988-92a8-c5cbb44d07fa","pagecount":"14","content":"Home to 177 million people, the Asian Mega-Deltas are biodiverse, fertile, and productive food baskets dominated by rice, fisheries, and aquaculture that support millions within and beyond the deltas. However, deltaic food systems are impacted significantly by climate change. There are more frequent floods and with increasing intensity, salinization is a key challenge particularly along the coastal deltas, and there are challenges with water quality and quantity. Climate extremes pose significant challenges to Bangladesh's steady progress on economic growth and food production and security, and impacts are likely to trigger new poverty traps and emerging hotspots of food and nutrition insecurity, with consequential impacts of increased urbanization and migration.CGIAR's Asian Mega Deltas initiative aims to support relevant stakeholders in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam, India and Myanmar in working towards resilient, inclusive, and productive deltas that are better adapted to climatic and other stressors while supporting livelihoods well-being and maintaining socioecological integrity.One of the focus areas of the AMD Initiative is to strengthen inclusive, gender-equitable governance of land, water, and other natural resources on which integrated food systems depend. Food systems policies in Bangladesh are transitioning towards climate-resilient agri-food systems, however there is room for greater synergy in how different sectoral policies adopt this approach, and overall attention to building capacity of local implementation actors to implement policies more effectively and enable better translation of policies to practice. Supported by the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), the apex organization of National Agricultural Research Systems in Bangladesh, this workshop focus was inclusive governance in Bangladesh's agri-food systems.The workshop aim was to bring together key stakeholders and initiate the co-development of an inclusive food systems governance framework focusing on the Southwestern deltaic part of Bangladesh. The workshop outcome was to identify actionable pathways to climate resilient food systems that prioritize food and livelihood security of the most marginalized in the face of escalating climate risks.• Validate findings of the Policy Brief, \"Towards Inclusive Governance for Resilient Agri-food Systems in Bangladesh.\"• Discuss pathways to action for achieving inclusive governance in food systems in the face of climate impacts in the southwestern delta regions of Bangladesh.There were 39 participants, including 10 women, two of the four panelists were women.Workshop Content  The following points were made:Bangladesh's success in ensuring agricultural productivity, food security and poverty reduction are all considerably threatened by climate change and other anthropogenic factors, as the 7th most climate-vulnerable country globally. Bangladesh has transitioned to a lower-middleincome status and future economic growth will rely increasingly on sectors beyond agriculture. However, sustaining agricultural productivity directly affect the lives, livelihoods, and food security of nearly 80% of Bangladesh's rural agrarian population, and climate change impacts put at risk the three goals of sustained economic growth, food security and poverty reduction.Under the AMD Initiative, a team of CGIAR and local researchers examined how food systems policies and key planning strategies interpret and integrate inclusive governance, gender equality and social inclusion and sustainability. These findings were presented during the workshop.The presentation underscored three critical challenges: engagement with women and disadvantaged groups at local levels is constrained by multiple factors; institutional capacity for inclusive governance needs to be strengthened, and mechanisms for fiscal checks and balances on inclusive governance need to be better monitoried. To tackle these challenges, five pathways for action were proposed:• Intentional and consistent representation of marginalized communities in policy processes • systemic change on issues of social inclusion amongst relevant food systems institutions and actors. • effective mechanisms for review of financial allocations on gender equality • co-production of knowledge -so that experiential knowledge of local communities informs expert knowledge and interventions, and • incentivizing inclusive and sustainable innovations.Special Guest: Ms. Keya Khan, Director General, Women's Affairs Ms. Keya Khan, Director General (DG) of the Department of Women Affairs at the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, highlighted Bangladesh's consistent efforts towards gender equality in South Asia. She discussed the Ministry's initiatives for women's empowerment, including food subsidies, mother and child nutrition programs, small-scale loans, and capacity-building activities. Ms. Khan emphasized the importance of addressing social norms and structures to empower women effectively and advocated for systematic monitoring and evaluation of interventions, such as gender budgeting implementation. Additionally, she stressed the significance of coordination across sectors and levels, involving men, religious leaders, and social leaders at the local level to ensure gender inclusivity.The Special Guest, Dr. Md. Mahmudur Rahman, Joint Secretary -Planning Wing at the Ministry of Agriculture, acknowledged that the findings of the AMD study reflect challenges already recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture, and steps are being taken to address them. Dr. Rahman acknowledged the necessity of intentionally including women and highlighted that 40% of the total beneficiaries in their programs are women.Panelist 1: Prof. Ainun Nishat, C3ER, BRAC University Dr. Nishat expressed his appreciation for a workshop on inclusive governance mechanism towards a resilient agri-food system in the country. He emphasized the importance of comprehensive water management, particularly in coastal areas and highlighted that global discussions on the \"water-energyfood security nexus,\" should include risks posed by climate change. Dr. Nishat also pointed out that the focus of food security discussions in the country tends to remain narrowly centered on rice production, and that policy-making processes are not participatory or integrated enough.Panelist 2: Dr. Mokhlesur Rahman, CNRS Drawing from several years of field-based experience, Dr. Mokhlesur Rahman emphasized the need for inclusive participation of marginal farmers and women in local-level water management. He expressed concern about minimizing elite capture, particularly in community-level water management in coastal areas. In these regions, facing challenges such as high salinity, cyclones, erosion, and extensive shrimp farming, traditional livelihoods like agriculture, livestock, and capture fisheries are severely limited due to water stress. Policies and Act enabling land and water leasing have resulted in a capture of about 70% of functional water canalsessentially a privatizing of common pool resources (CPR), a situation where leaseholders prioritize aquaculture, and severely restrict productive water access for smallholders and landless groups. This excludes communities from their traditional rights and increases their vulnerability. Despite being under Polders 5 and 15, areas like Shyamnagar lack formal water management groups due to the dominance of canal leasing processes. However, efforts to rehabilitate canals and ponds for rainwater storage have shown promise. The Center for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS) had successfully demonstrated the cultivation of Rabi crops and the revival of capture fisheries in restored canals, indicating potential for diverse agricultural and fisheries practices. To address the detrimental effects of canal leasing, Dr. Mokhlesur advocated canceling leases and rehabilitating canals under community management, enabling diverse water use, particularly for transforming agri-food systems and revitalizing capture fisheries and livestock management. He stressed the necessity for policy and legal interventions to support local communities in their rights to common pool resources, and also emphasized a more comprehensive approach in recognizing water as a vital resource for multiple livelihoods.Panelist 3: Dr Benoy Kumar Barman, Senior Scientist, World Fish Dr. Benoy K. Barman, Senior Scientist at WorldFish, presented recent work done by World Fish in contributing to the revision of the National Fisheries Policy of 1998. He presented the outcome of extensive participatory discussions undertaken by World Fish in diverse regions of the country, which highlights several challenges and opportunities for sustainable aquatic food production systems in Bangladesh. The National Fisheries Policy of 1998 is currently being revised and the focus is to double fish production, support food security, generate employment, and improve livelihoods, especially in light of climate change challenges. The new Fisheries Policy applies a co-creation policy approach through extensive discussions with multiple actors, as well as local communities, and also aligns with relevant national policies, strategies, and plans, including the Bangladesh 8th Five Year Plan 2025, Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2041, and Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100. Dr Burman presented evaluation criteria and thematic areas established to gather information through a consultation process, covering aquatic food systems, social and economic inclusion, nutrition and public health, and climate resilience and environmental sustainability.Alongside WorldFish, FAO and Chemonics International also participated and contributed to these meetings.Panelist 4: Prof. Sayema Huq Bidisha, Dhaka University Prof. Bidisha spoke on the topic of gender-budgeting system in ministries and its role in facilitating gender inclusion. She highlighted several key points:In the context of prevalent patriarchy and a disadvantaged position for women, resource allocation through a gender-sensitive budget is a vital tool.Since FY10, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has annually presented a gender budget report, expanding from 4 to 44 ministries.In FY24, approximately 38.2% of the budget was allocated to gender budgeting. However, disparities exist within ministries, such as the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Fisheries, where the operating budget plays a key role. However, a significant proportion of this supports operational, rather than programmatic spending.Regular monitoring and evaluation of programs are essential for effective gender budget implementation. Addressing existing gender norms requires investment and incentives for private sector participation.Gender budgeting methodology mandates ministries to allocate resources based on 14 specific criteria, but challenges remain in ensuring effective gender disaggregation. Ministries like Women Affairs focus on women's empowerment but receive limited funds, necessitating more gender-responsive projects and budget allocations.Challenges in the agriculture sector include limited access to inputs, training, and technology, alongside gender-restricted norms and market constraints. Linking small-scale projects to ministries like MoA and enhancing agricultural marketing facilities are crucial steps.Beyond numerical allocations, evaluating the impact of the gender budget on women's lives is essential. Qualitative analysis is essential to assess achievements in agriculture and related sectors, emphasizing the need for context-specific approaches and gender-segregated data.Ministries such as Water Resources and Agriculture should prioritize direct development projects aligned with women's needs, fostering inclusivity and empowerment.Dr. Shamsul Alam, the chief guest at the event and Former State Minister of Planning of Bangladesh, Government of Bangladesh, elaborated on how the current government has facilitated Bangladesh's remarkable economic growth and consistent progress in meeting human development goals. He emphasized the importance of consultative, inclusive planning and policies in achieving these milestones. Dr. Alam underscored the significance of consultative processes, ensuring the involvement of local actors, institutions, and experts in all planning processes, particularly in initiatives like the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100.Dr. Alam also highlighted several challenges on how sectoral silos pose a significant problem, both on the ground and at the ministry level, making coordination challenging. Conflicting provisions in sectors often arise due to the interdependence between different sectors. Addressing structural challenges requires a holistic approach that considers the interconnectedness across various sectors.In response to Dr. Mokhles's presentation, Dr. Alam mentioned the emergence of water problems in Satkhira due to shrimp cultivation blocking canals. He emphasized that such issues are interconnected across different levels of the system and can only be resolved through decisive political actions.Dr. Alam emphasized the critical need for Bangladesh, one of the most hazard-prone countries among the ten deltaic regions of the world, to address the increasing adversities posed by climate change and rising temperatures. He highlighted that the country should prioritize the implementation of the first-phase action plans outlined in the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP 2100), which were specifically designed for various climate hotspots. Dr. Alam stressed that these action plans should be integrated into the upcoming Ninth Five Year Plan (2026-2030) and fully executed by 2030 to effectively mitigate climate risks and enhance resilience.In his closing remarks, Dr. Sheikh Md. Bokhtiar, Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council and the Chair of the workshop, reflected on Bangladesh's journey since independence. Despite facing challenges such as food security and poverty, Bangladesh has made significant strides, emerging as South Asia's fastest-growing economy. This progress is particularly remarkable considering Bangladesh's vulnerability to climate and anthropogenic impacts, compounded by its high population density. Dr. Bokhtiar emphasized that these achievements underscore the country's commitment to inclusive governance, which will continue to guide Bangladesh's transition to more resilient and sustainable food systems. Furthermore, Dr. Bokhtiar highlighted the complexity of inclusive governance, acknowledging the opportunities for improvement. He referenced a 2023 report on the status of women in the agriculture system, which showcased substantial progress. However, gender disparities persist across various aspects. Dr. Bokhtiar also mentioned the recent launch of the PARTNER project supported by the World Bank, aimed at contributing to the implementation of agricultural policies. Moreover, Dr. Bokhtiar underscored the importance of leveraging existing, proven agri-food technologies that are well-suited for coastal communities facing the impacts of climate change. He pointed out that despite their effectiveness, these technologies have not yet been widely adopted. Dr. Bokhtiar called for concerted efforts to promote these technologies on a larger scale, ensuring that they become more socially inclusive. He emphasized that this expansion should be guided by the recommendations outlined in the policy brief, along with practical considerations discussed during the workshop.At the conclusion of the workshop, Ms. Indu Kumari Sharma extended her gratitude to all the participants, including the Chief Guest, Special Guests, panelists, and the Chair, as well as the AMD team based in IRRI office -Bangladesh for their assistance and enthusiasm. She emphasized that without their collective efforts, the workshop would not have been possible.The workshop concluded successfully, marked by active participation from all attendees who discussed a range of challenges and proposed solutions for governing a socially inclusive agri-food system. The interactions between government officials, civil society activists, and academia during the workshop led to a productive exchange of ideas and experiences, highlighting the collaborative spirit of the event. Contributions from the Chief Guest and Special Guest were particularly impactful, setting a forwardlooking tone for future progress.","tokenCount":"2243"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"9c399e45d8027dbbdca0703023ea6397","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/135c4493-8b0b-4ac3-ac14-0e3477236a21/retrieve","id":"1493319224"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"5b0f64db-b730-45e6-9c5e-865033887cd0","pagecount":"40","content":"With a vision to 2020, it is intended to provide guidance to research and development practitioners and investors from the public and private sector, helping them to identify areas of possible intervention and collaboration. The document was developed through a consultative process. It was drafted in January 2006 by the International Centre for Underutilised Crops (ICUC), with input from the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species (GFU). In early February 2006, a cross-section of over 200 experts in underutilized plant species research and development -representing universities, national agricultural and horticultural research systems, international research centres, government institutions, non-governmental organisations, regional networks, donor organisations and the private sector -was invited to provide feedback on the draft document. In addition, the draft document was posted on several relevant listservers, including FAO's NTFP Newsletter, the Forest Information Update, the Global NTFP Partnership listserver and the Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn listserver, as well as on the websites of ICUC (www.icuc-iwmi.org) and GFU (www.underutilized-species.org).1. The world is presently over-dependent on a few plant species. Diversification of production and consumption habits to include a broader range of plant species, in particular those currently identified as 'underutilized', can contribute significantly to improved health and nutrition, livelihoods, household food security and ecological sustainability. In particular, these plant species offer enormous potential for contributing to the achievement of the MDGs, particularly in combating hidden hunger and offering medicinal and income generation options. They are also closely tied to cultural traditions, and therefore have an important role in supporting social diversity.2. Recognition of the cultural, economic and food value of indigenous biodiversity is growing. Yet while there is increasing interest in research and development activities with underutilized plant species, these efforts require heightened direction and focus.3. This paper provides a Strategic Framework for underutilized plant species research and development activities. Developed through wide consultation, it aims to avoid duplication of effort and to help cover gaps in current knowledge, while allowing outputs and approaches to be synthesised regionally. The Framework acts as a roadmap to guide stakeholders as they develop the work plans needed to generate new knowledge, lobby policy makers, or develop markets, for example. It will also guide efforts to set both research and funding priorities.4. Focusing on the differing needs and circumstances of two world regions -Asia and the Pacific, and Sub-Saharan Africa -the Strategic Framework outlines the outstanding challenges and opportunities to be considered in promoting increased use of these plants; growing urbanisation, international trade, climate change, and health care are major areas of direct relevance. Although underutilized plant species have great potential for helping to address important concerns in these areas, the full development of their potential is hampered by lack of awareness in society, as well as by lack of relevant capacity within the research community. At the same time, these plant resources -and the land they are grown on -are increasingly threatened by global and local pressures.5. An integrated, partnership approach is proposed, focusing on the following intervention areas to generate maximum impact: knowledge generation, communication, capacity building, policy improvement and market development.6. Because of the complexities involved in developing the potential of underutilized plant species, clear concepts for action need to be formulated and made widely known, and consortia of complementary partners need to be formed. The roles of the diverse partners must be clarified and coordinated. Such partners include international and national agricultural and horticultural research organisations, advanced research institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community based organisations (CBOs), private companies, national governments, regional and international organisations, and donors and funding agencies.Regular discussion with the relevant desk officers in such funding agencies is recommended -to raise awareness of underutilized plants' value, and to devise new research paths jointly.7. The document reviews current activities, provides examples of success and emphasizes the need to improve resource mobilization in support of underutilized plant species research and development, including urgent work to collect baseline information and formulate meaningful indicators to guide future action.Maintaining the genetic diversity of grains such as fonio (Digitaria exilis) in community seed banks is an important contribution to food security.The underlying problem can be formulated as:Over-dependence on a few plant species exacerbates many acute difficulties faced by communities in the areas of food security, nutrition, health, ecosystem sustainability and cultural identity.Wild fruits provide vitamins and minerals especially to women and children.Box 2: Definition of 'underutilized species'It is difficult to define just what qualifies as an 'underutilized species'. Terms such as 'underutilized ', 'neglected', 'orphan', 'minor', 'promising', 'niche' and 'traditional' are often used interchangeably to characterise the range of plant species that are the focus of this document. For this Strategic Framework, we have used the following definition: those species with under-exploited potential for contributing to food security, health (nutritional/medicinal), income generation, and environmental services.This definition of underutilized plant species can also be illustrated by examples of success:Species for fighting hunger and malnutrition -In South Asia, the little millets provide nourishing flour that can be mixed with rice flour, offering longer shelf-life, and made into healthy snacks. Millets have a higher micro-nutrient content -including calcium and iron, vitamins like niacin, and sulphur-containing amino acids -and contain more soluble fibre than rice or wheat. These grains also have a low glycaemic index, making them attractive health foods (MSSRF, n.d.).Species for medicinal use -Artemisia annua is a plant with anti-malarial properties that has been used for over two millennia in Chinese traditional medicine. Each year, there are over 500 million cases of malaria worldwide; of the more than 1 million people whose deaths are directly linked with malaria, 90 percent are children. Because synthetic products are unaffordable for most of the rural poor, people naturally revert to herbal drugs. And although the efficacy and the potential associated risks of Artemisia products have not yet been fully studied, the potential of Artemisia and other species has generated much interest amongst research institutions in the West and international agencies such as WHO. In the first quarter of 2006, a twomonth electronic discussion forum dedicated to Artemisia was moderated by the Dutch Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and a workshop on herbal antimalarials was convened by the World Agroforestry Centre (Simons et al., 2006). Furthermore, several locally-made Artemisia products have been released.Species for income generation -Myriad tropical fruits, such as Annona spp. (soursop, sweetsop, cherimoya etc.), Aegle marmelos (beli), Feronia limonia (wood apple) and Choerospondias axillaris (lapsi), can be processed by small-scale entrepreneurs into juices, jams, candy etc. and sold in community shops or local supermarkets. Dhammika Perera is a Sri Lankan who currently earns Rs 50,000 (USD 500) monthly from his fruit processing enterprise -more than half of the family income. He started this enterprise after attending an ICUC training course in 2004 on processing and marketing underutilized crops. Mr Perera now employs ten staff to meet the demand for his products, and because his business has increased the demand for fresh beli, wood apple and soursop, local producers have increased their household income as well. On July 12 2006, Mr Perera received the Sri Lanka Standards certification for his fruit juice products, thus further strengthening his position amongst local competitors.The Aztecs believed that amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) seeds had supernatural powers and used them in ceremonial dishes associated with human sacrifice.In the 16th century, amaranth was forbidden by the Conquistadores, who wanted to root out these practices; amaranth grain was reduced to only a few remote areas of Mexico and the Andes. Today it is highly valued culturally in Peru, where during carnival festivities women dancers often use the red amaranth flower to paint their cheeks; they then dance carrying bundles of amaranth on their backs as if they were babies. The genus is receiving increasing attention because of the nutritional properties of the grain and leaves and can now be found throughout the world (Stallknecht and Schulz-Schaeffer, 1993).Species for ecological protection -Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) is used for soil stabilisation: when grown in contours along a slope, its dense root system acts as a 'living soil nail'. Vetiver roots, which have an average tensile strength of 75 MPa, improve the shear strength of soil by between 30 and 40 percent. The ability of vetiver to protect vital infrastructure in the face of extreme weather events has been demonstrated globally, for instance during Hurricane Mitch in Central America in 1998 (TVN, n.d.). In addition, vetiver is used for thatching, rope making, basket weaving etc., and its roots contain a valuable oil that is used in the perfume industry as a base for aftershaves.In recent years, underutilized plants have come out of the shadows and are moving fast into the limelight of rural development (see Annex 1 for some milestones and Box 3 for factors influencing today's interest in such species). Several national research systems are supporting work on these plant species, though not to the same extent as research on industrial and staple crops such as oil palm, rubber, cocoa, tea, wheat, rice etc. Policy makers and funding agencies are now recognising the value of indigenous biodiversity for diversification of farming systems, which will in turn help to buffer the risks of environmental and economic disasters (CGIAR, 2005). However, these efforts need direction and focus. This is not the first strategy paper for underutilized crops (IPGRI, 2002;Gündel et al., 2003). Nonetheless, the need for a revised joint framework for activities with neglected and underutilized plant species was aired at several gatherings of partners in 2005. The partners identified several reasons for this: the importance of avoiding duplication of activities on these highly promising species; the desire to avoid leaving gaps where a potential for utilisation is more difficult to perceive; and the need for more regional syntheses of outputs and approaches. The formulation of the strategy began with an electronic consultation process initiated by ICUC, GFU and IPGRI in February 2006. This was followed by workshops of experts in Colombo (March 16-17, 2006) and in Nairobi (May 24-25, 2006). A group of volunteers drawn from these meetings contributed to the further revision of the strategy document. In drafting this Strategic Framework, we were guided by the principles outlined in Box 4.Work on underutilized species, whether in research or development, requires a collaborative, open minded spirit that recognises and respects the complexity and interaction of social, economic and environmental factors in the development of underutilized-crop products.Our approach is people-centred, pro-poor and gender-sensitive. It is founded on respect for the intellectual property of communities and adheres to relevant international codes of conduct, national legislation and international treaties governing germplasm access, movement and exchange.Our research will contribute to improving livelihoods through a high-quality sciencebased approach. Global food security has become increasingly dependent on a handful of crops. Over 50 percent of the daily global requirement of proteins and calories is met by just three crops -maize, wheat and rice (FAO, 1996) -and only 150 crops are commercialised on a significant global scale. On the other hand, ethnobotanic surveys indicate that, worldwide, more than 7,000 plant species are cultivated or harvested from the wild (Rehm and Espig, 1991;Wilson, 1992). The very existence of these species may be threatened by their relative neglect by science and development, and by the increase in area under production to higheryielding and better researched crops. In Africa, for example, exotic fruit trees are taking over land once planted to indigenous fruit trees (Antoine Kalinganire, pers. comm.) Studies also demonstrate the replacement of local varieties by improved, high-input varieties (FAO, 1996); this may lead to a narrowing of livelihood options for the poor.There are major gaps in our knowledge about these neglected and underutilized species and their ecology. Our capacity to conserve them and improve their yield and quality is also limited. Little has been done to identify the most effective means of commercialisation or the best marketing and policy frameworks to enable us to promote their use and maximise their economic value.All of these factors represent obstacles to the successful promotion and conservation of underutilized plant species.Although theories vary as to why certain plant species are underutilized, most widespread amongst them is the belief that this resulted from a combination of serendipity and chance selection processes that took place several times in human history; this, coupled with a few crops' adaptability to varying climatic conditions, made these few crops agricultural favourites (Janick, 1991). Once these favourites gained a head start on their competitors, selection and seed exchange concentrated on them, speeding up their domestication. Nonetheless, it was only during the mechanisation of agriculture in the 19th century that the real reduction to only a handful of major crops took place. The reduction in hunger that has been achieved worldwide to date is a great accomplishment. Nonetheless, there are nutritional issues that still have not been addressed. In particular, hidden hunger, or the lack of micronutrients, vitamins and other essential dietary components, is greatly neglected (Frison, 2004). Close to 120 million children suffer from vitamin A deficiency and its many effects, the most serious amongst them being blindness. About a third of the world's population is anaemic as a result of iron deficiency. Although dietary supplements can help in combating these deficiencies, they are beyond the reach of the poorest people. On the other hand, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and type II diabetes are on the increase, even in developing countries, because of oversimplified diets.The challenge of the MDGs is not only to halve hunger by 2015, but also to attack hidden hunger. For most people, dietary diversity represents the most effective answer to this problem. Many underutilized grains, fruits and vegetables will have a crucial role to play in providing the solution (IPGRI et al., n.d. b), not only in the developing world but in high-income countries as well.Similarly The Population growth will continue Agricultural land will be increasingly converted to non-agricultural purposes, thus increasing competition for the remaining land area Globalisation will allow more international exchange of knowledge and goods More people with better educations will enter the work force (especially in Asia) Diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, will continue to kill tens of thousands of productive people (especially in Africa) Domestic markets for new products will be increasingly influenced by international market forces, such as quality standards Growing urbanization may lead to an increased demand for convenience food and thereby to increased health problems associated with simplified diets (especially in Asia) Interest in ecotourism and in ethnic foods will increase Dependence of commodity crop farmers on the world market for inputs and sale of products will increase Awareness of intellectual property rights/access and benefit sharing policies will grow Effects of climate change will become more pronounced.Box 6: AssumptionsThe regions addressed by this Strategic Framework (Asia and the Pacific, and Sub-Saharan Africa) are vast and represent a wide diversity in terms of status, speed and direction of development.Eleusine coracana is one of the so-called minor millets that are enjoying something of a renaissance in parts of India and Nepal.Farmers and consumers are coming to appreciate the better qualities of the minor millets, which are being successfully re-branded as nutritious millets.In the Kaski district of Nepal, a pilot project examined all aspects of the production chain, from the farmers' choice of varieties to consumer preferences. The project aimed to identify the best options for adding value to finger millet whilst promoting its benefits to consumers and policymakers. In two villages, Kalabang and Ralmare, farmers identified their favoured traditional varieties and then worked with researchers to evaluate several improved lines. Of these, three in particular impressed the farmers because of their high yields and plump grains.Now, the emphasis is on working in a participatory fashion with the modern lines to improve some of the traditional landraces, which people prefer for particular foods but that are difficult or unprofitable to grow.Whilst farmers were working on production, others worked on public awareness, disseminating the good news about millets through radio, print, fairs and festivals, workshops and school programmes across the Kaski district. Surveys revealed that as a result of these efforts some groups of people -amongst them intellectuals, diabetics, the younger generation and foreigners -increased their demand for millet. Micro-entrepreneurs told the same story.After the publicity efforts, department stores and others increasingly came looking for millet-based foods to sell in Pokhara, the main town of Kaski. Demand for millet grain quadrupled between 2001 and 2004. Sales of millet cookies increased even further: one micro-entrepreneur reported a leap from 50 to more than 600 packets a month in just 18 months. Whole new types of foods, such as millet namkin, a savoury snack, appeared on the market, with sales increasing twenty-fold over the course of a year.The Kaski project is an example of successful collaboration amongst groups that run the gamut from international research centres to cooperatives and individual farmers, offering a series of lessons for consideration elsewhere. Farmers picked their preferred varieties and worked to improve local landraces, preserving the environmental benefits of the crop. Improved quality and supply made it attractive for industry to use millet. Microentrepreneurs played an essential role in the valueadding process. Finally, wide-ranging public awareness activities underpinned the whole effort by sensitizing urban and rural populations to the benefits of millet.(Adapted from IPGRI et al., n.d. a)Climate change forces people in many low-lying areas to migrate to higher ground, where they must cope with saline soils, tropical storms of greater ferocity, precipitation, and extended spells of drought (IPCC, 1998). Whilst niche plants are often thought of as being hardier, more resilient and better adapted to extreme conditions, this needs to be demonstrated and verified, and their value to rural livelihoods must be assessed.Communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, are particularly prevalent in Africa. In both Africa and Asia, the majority of the rural population consults traditional healers for medical advice and health care. Mr Pallagyo has concentrated on quality and marketing. He employs local women to harvest his crops, which must be done even when demand is low, as leaving fruits on the plant inhibits the formation of flowers. Each day the women pick about 10 to 15 buckets of eggplant, earning around USD 2.50. Mr Pallagyo also buys from other farmers before passing the whole harvest on to workers who sort, grade and pack the eggplant. The workers carefully evaluate the fruits on the basis of colour: creamy white fruits are preferred, whilst reddish and yellowish ones are rejected, as are mottled, rusted and immature fruits. The use of two grades -one for the largest, undamaged, cream-coloured fruits and the other for the restensures that Mr Pallagyo gets the best possible price for the produce.Access to markets is a problem for all rural farmers. Initially, Mr Pallagyo used local transportation to reach the Tengeru market, where he sold his produce to retailers. His initial success enabled him to invest in a bicycle, which cost TShs 28,000. Better transport brought bigger profits and a permitted further investment of TShs 700,000 in a motorbike. As the business grew, he was able to afford a second-hand pick-up truck, which has further enhanced his capacity to collect the harvest and deliver the sorted and graded produce. A mobile phone has also become an essential business tool, enabling Mr Pallagyo to stay in touch with his customers and to keep on top of market fluctuations.In addition to his family's improved standard of living, Mr Pallagyo has added an extra half a hectare to his land. His enterprise has also benefited his neighbours, who now have employment and a market for their own produce. Finally, in the markets, customers are assured of a steady supply of high-quality African eggplant.(Adapted from IPGRI et al., n.d. a) Yet while many traditional plants have medicinal properties, their natural resource base is often threatened by unsustainable harvesting techniques that are prompted by population pressure, land conversion or other factors. Indigenous knowledge also needs to be mapped before it is lost, and research into active compounds and sustainable harvesting methods is necessary.Against this background, the development of underutilized plant species is still hampered by a general lack of awareness in all sectors of society and a lack of the necessary capacity within the research community.Challenges and opportunities continued...In Africa and Asia, the majority of the rural population uses traditional medicines for health care.It is crucial to ensure that underutilized plants are part of pilot initiatives, development projects and entrepreneurial endeavours. Rather than thinking of a list of priorities that need to be ticked off from the top downwards, we see the needed activities as part of a large puzzle. Numerous partners will need to participate in diverse activities, each contributing to the completion of the overall picture according to their particular strengths and capacities.In this respect, work on traditional crops that are relatively important economically (such as jackfruit in Asia or bambara groundnut in Africa) is just as important as work on traditional species that have their greatest potential in local and informal markets, and that are important for household food security and other needs of the poor (such as some of the minor vegetables). Work towards food security is equally as important as work to develop new sources of income from non-food products/species. Each of these activities increases the value of these plant resources and ultimately allows the poor to strengthen their livelihoods. This joint effort, together with the implementation of favourable policies, will allow underutilized plants to make significant contributions to improved food security, nutrition, health and incomes amongst the rural and urban poor. The use of these plants will also contribute to the sustainable management of fragile ecosystems.Specifically, research and development with underutilized plant species will contribute to: better health amongst vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, children and the elderly better educations for children thanks to school feeding programmes using products from underutilized plants that will result in better health and therefore in improved attendance and performance in school reduction in the incidence of malnutritionrelated non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes II and cardiovascular diseases availability of improved health care options through better knowledge amongst health practitioners of the medicinal properties of a wide range of plants increased income opportunities through the development of micro-enterprises for processing and selling food and non-food products from underutilized species and the encouragement of special micro-credit systems for this purpose well-maintained and well-used in situ and ex situ germplasm collections of underutilized species, in recognition of national and regional responsibilities to conserve these unique genetic resource for future generations adoption of more sustainable and diverse land-use systems, allowing farmers to harness existing biodiversity without eroding valuable existing genetic resources.Appropriate information and germplasm exchange protocols will help to protect individual, national and regional intellectual property rights, underpinning this effort. This Strategic Framework attempts to highlight specific fields of activities, and by doing so to promote coordinated efforts to tackle as many parts of the puzzle as possible. Linkages between public and private organisations, advanced and less-advanced institutions, major and minor crop researchers, as well as research with practical applications, are the centrepiece of this Framework.Problem trees (Annex 2a and b) have been developed to demonstrate how various challenges are interlinked in causal chains. These trees were developed separately for the Africa and Asia-Pacific regions to ensure that regional differences were not lost. Entry points for maximum impact can be identified at the branch tips of the trees for each of the two regions. A diagram of global intervention points (Figure 1) has been developed to facilitate the quick visualisation of opportunities for intervention by the research and development community dealing with underutilized plant species. These trees and diagram will be further refined as more dialogue and information exchange takes place. The main intervention areas for maximum impact are:1. These intervention areas are supported by improved interaction and partnerships amongst all stakeholders.Figure 1 shows the links between these intervention areas and their expected effects. The diagram also indicates potential barriers that are beyond the immediate control of the primary stakeholder group. These are primarily areas of human behavioural change: whilst we can create an enabling environment, we cannot force increased demand or consumption of underutilized plants and their products per se.The following are the key steps:1. The global knowledge base will be enhanced by scientific research, mapping of indigenous knowledge and documentation of existing information that at present may not be accessible.2. Through targeted communication in a variety of formats, this information will raise the awareness of the general public about the value of underutilized plants; relevant information will feed into curriculum development to inform the next generation and will also contribute to capacity building amongst the primary stakeholders: the underutilized plant species community itself.3. Two special cases of 'communicating knowledge' have been highlighted. Firstly, lobbying among policy makers and other influential interest groups in order to remove existing barriers -for example trade barriers -and arrive at appropriate policies; increased public awareness will also contribute to this goal. Secondly, market development in order to improve the supply of quality products; increased capacity will also contribute to this goal. A 'barrier' has been inserted in Figure 1 to indicate that, whilst every effort will be made to achieve a positive outcome through policy lobbying, the final result depends on a variety of factors outside our immediate control. Market development, which includes the development of functioning market chains, provision of relevant training and support for business development, is more predictable, and success in this area is more likely.4. The prerequisites for continuing targeted research and development activities that will use and further increase the global knowledge base include increased capacity amongst the primary stakeholders and a better educated younger generation. This will produce an iterative process that will enable sustainable growth in the production of and demand for underutilized plants and their products.5. Finally, assuming that appropriate policies, increased demand, sustainable production and increased/better supply coincide, the goal of increased consumption/use of underutilized plant species to address the overall development problem will be reached. To achieve this, however, the aforementioned potential barriers need to be overcome; to this end, more effort, interaction and lobbying will be required.Some examples of possible short-to-medium term interventions are given below. Nonetheless, the initiators of this consultation hope that the process itself has fostered closer collaboration and a sense of 'pulling the same string' so that increased cohesion and coordination will follow. ICUC, IPGRI and GFU will, as global actors, honour their responsibility to continue to support regional and national underutilized plant species research and development through their partnership programmes.Whereas it is recognised that increased funding is essential to enable increased activities with underutilized plant species, any request for financial support to any agency needs to be built upon a solid case. Therefore, clear concepts for action need to be formulated and made readily available, and consortia of complementary partners need to be formed.Examples are provided in Boxes 10 and 11. Informed ongoing dialogue with funding agencies is necessary to ensure that underutilized species research is not carried out in reaction to calls for proposals (often small ones), but rather is shaping the funding agenda of donor agencies.If feasible, institutions will prioritise activities and develop operational plans in accordance with this Strategic Framework. National coordinating offices could be named to ensure greater visibility and voice within the national agricultural research and development systems.Research and development activities with underutilized plant species are primarily carried out by international and national agricultural and horticultural research organisations, NGOs, CBOs and university departments.There are many small, medium-sized and large private companies that are interested in developing underutilized species for their enterprises, some with a clear focus on community development and others through their corporate social responsibility departments.This Strategic Framework is meant to provide a roadmap for actors in underutilized plant species research and development.PAGE 18There are many small, medium-sized and large private companies that are interested to develop a grater variety of underutilized species products.Box 10: A champion for partnerships \"Bambara groundnut is a rare example of a long-term, multidisciplinary and international research commitment to any underutilized crop. By integrating research partners in Africa, India and Europe we now have a coherent body of knowledge and expertise that spans the genomics, physiology, agronomy, nutrition, socio-economics and marketing of the crop. We also have a basis to advocate further research on bambara groundnut and apply our collective experience to many other underutilised species.We started in 1988 at the University of Nottingham using departmental funds to support MSc projects. Then in 1991 we approached the EU and got our first major 4year project in 1992. We got some support from other donors for short periods of time, but not before the first EU project had shown results in 1996. It then took four years until we got our second EU project which finished in 2004. BAMLINK, the follow-up, started in 2006, but by then the team was strong enough to keep the momentum up between projects.\" Sayed Azam-Ali, University of Nottingham, UK Box 11: An example of an integrated approach to tackling the problem of HIV/AIDS (adapted from Garí, 2004) Public-private partnerships are beginning to emerge, such as for the domestication of Allanblackia. Here fruits are selected for propagation studies in a community nursery.PAGE 19Public-private partnerships are beginning to emerge and may have a major role to play in overcoming proprietary concerns (intellectual property rights) when using new technology -such as biotechnology -for research and commercialisation (Dawson and Jaenicke, 2006). There may also be a need for advanced research institutions to collaborate with less advanced ones in order to ensure the smooth transfer of methodologies developed during advanced research. Furthermore, there is a need for centres working on major crops to link with institutes working on minor crops so that lessons can be transferred from major to minor crops, and perhaps vice versa (Naylor and Manning, 2005).The need for increased collaboration is evidenced by the number of networks formed over the past ten years (Williams and Haq, 2002). Important regional networks include dedicated plant genetic resources networks (for example the Pacific Agricultural Plant Genetic Resources Network, coordinated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community), networks on a variety of specialty underutilized crops (such as the Bambara Groundnut Network) or commodity groups (such as UTFANET, for underutilized tropical fruits, in Asia). Few survive, however, beyond the first few years of enthusiasm and external funding. In Africa, NEPAD, FARA and the Sub-Regional Organisations ASARECA, CORAF-WECARD and SADC-FANR can play a facilitating role in supporting underutilized plant species networks, or assist in integrating relevant activities into existing networks.Regional and international organisations such as AVRDC, GFU, ICRAF, ICUC and SPC have the mission for and are active in coordinating, where appropriate, research prioritisation and impact assessment, research and technology development, and information dissemination and exchange. Research and development with underutilized plants has concentrated so far on a small number of key activities: database inventories of useful species and experts, bibliographic resources, priority lists of species, germplasm collections of locally or regionally important species, horticultural/agronomic studies to improve productivity (domestication), and in some cases, post-harvest and processing studies. Very few have taken on the support of biotechnology methods (for propagation) and/or are studying species at the molecular level (for characterisation). There are a limited number of actors involved in marketing and business development activities specifically designed for products from underutilized plants. Often, these activities have been part of someone's 'hobby' or personal priorities. Whereas this has contributed to the establishment of very important collections (both data and germplasm), little of these resources have contributed thus far to larger rural development projects.Annex 4 provides information about ongoing activities from some of the contributors to this consultation. This list, however, cannot provide a complete picture of ongoing activities; additional information about underutilized species experts can be found at www.underutilized-species.org. Further contributions are welcomed and will be included in later editions of this document.Over the past decade, research and development with underutilized plants has been supported by a handful of dedicated organisations and foundations, for example ACIAR (Australia), BMZ (Germany), CTA, DFID (United Kingdom), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Mac Knight Foundation, the Syngenta Foundation and USAID 1 . Although as a rule, individual countries have provided limited support, in some countries government support has been substantial, to the point that their national personnel capacity is now the main factor limiting further progress. The private sector's contribution is currently difficult to assess.In order to tap into the funding available from these and other sources, continuing dialogue with the relevant desk officers is recommended; this dialogue should aim at raising awareness about the value of underutilized plants and jointly conceptualizing and facilitating the development of relevant projects with the funding organisation. Partner organisations within countries or across regions will form consortia that will be ready to assemble and develop project concept notes and proposals when relevant calls are issued. Networks and fora, such as ACUC in Asia and FARA in Africa, are particularly valuable in developing critical mass and coordinated research agendas amongst partner institutions.There is great potential for increasing private-sector interest in supporting work on products form underutilized plants. Dialogue with relevant companies, including the multi-nationals, is required. ICUC, GFU and IPGRI will provide guidance in identifying promising funding sources and will endeavour to circulate relevant information to as wide a network of recipients as possible.We see donors and funding agencies as integral partners in the development and promotion of underutilized plant species.At present, very little baseline information is available against which the progress and possible success of strategies and activities with underutilized species can be measured. In particular, because of the complex mandate of research and development with underutilized plant species, which touches on several livelihood areas, secondary indicators such as number of children attending (and finishing) school may be used; these, however, are of questionable relevance. The number of new research and development projects undertaken by partner organisations is a similarly vague indicator, as this may demonstrate improved political will but not necessarily impact at the grass-roots level. Data on the number of new enterprises in processing and marketing of underutilized crop products may be collected from various national enterprise development agencies, but this information may not include informal businesses, and thus provides an incomplete picture. As a matter of urgency, baseline information needs to be collected and meaningful indicators need to be formulated.The number of successful new enterprises in processing and marketing of underutilized plant products will be an indicator for impact.This document provides a framework within which stakeholders will be able to develop their work plans to contribute to specific parts of the puzzle, whether in the generation of new knowledge, communication, policy lobbying or market development. It provides guidance for the leaders of regional and sub-regional organisations and the directors of national agricultural and horticultural research systems in developing their research priorities. It also provides guidance for donor agencies and investors who may want to revisit their funding priorities.The framework highlights the complexity involved in the promotion of underutilized plants. Activities are interlinked and happen simultaneously. ICUC, IPGRI and GFU are committed to supporting their partners, but it is up to every individual and institution to contribute to implementing the strategy by lobbying and raising awareness amongst the general public, donors and policy makers.Many respondents requested a forum to exchange scientific information and research results; beyond hosting an e-information bulletin, we plan to organise an international conference on underutilized plant species, but funds need to be raised for this.Although a considerable number of people involved in research and development with underutilized plants have been able to contribute during the consultation process, many have not been reached. For example, Latin America and the CWANA region have not had the opportunity to contribute through a regional workshop. Funds -and champions -are being sought to include these regions.The process that has led to the development of this Strategic Framework is a starting point in the promotion of increased partnership and dialogue amongst stakeholders. Consultation began at the beginning of 2006. Since then a variety of processes have been observed (some of which resulted from the enhanced dialogue initiated by ICUC and GFU).Examples include the emergence of a number of new mechanisms for information exchange and the launch of new initiatives, such as the AVRDC-led Global Horticulture Initiative. ICUC and GFU have also set up a working group on underutilized plants within the International Society for Horticultural Science. In addition, the INBAR-led GFAR Global Partnership on Non-Timber Forest Products is also now beginning to take shape.This framework, and the action that will follow, allow us to draw new attention to the important contributions that underutilized plants can make to improved health and nutrition, income generation and ecological sustainability, through the diversification of production and the consumption of a broader range of plant species.Let's continue to work together to make our vision a reality!The way ahead A strategy paper is not an end in itself. Once written, it needs committed actors for its implementation. So, how can we make the vision of increased awareness and utilisation of underutilized plants a reality?The consumption of a broader range of plant species will be an important contribution to health and nutrition, income generation and ecological sustainability.   BAIF Development Research Foundation, India, is engaged in generating gainful employment for small and marginal farmers by facilitating the use of degraded natural resources in several parts of India. Promotion of tree-based farming on degraded lands is an important programme, through which farmers are provided with various inputs to establish fruit species and multipurpose tree species on their holdings.Under this programme, the participating families are given the necessary guidance and critical inputs to establish fruit orchards on 0.4 ha. The major fruit crops, which are promoted on the basis of soil productivity, moisture availability, demand for the produce and economic returns, are mango, cashew, sapota and Indian gooseberry. Apart from the above crops, many other underutilized fruit-tree species have been introduced on a small scale, mainly on field borders and bunds, serving as windbreaks, and thereby contributing to income and food security. The inter-space is used by farmers for the cultivation of vegetables and food crops. These intercrops support families to a great extent during the gestation period.The families maintaining such orchards on 0.4 ha are able to earn over USD 500 per annum when the trees begin to bear, generally after five to six years. Thus, the programme has demonstrated the feasibility of promoting biodiversity and ecological restoration whilst ensuring sustainable livelihoods for the local communities.Various underutilized fruits are being popularised under this programme, including custard apple (Annona squamosa), ber (Zizyphus mauritiana), tamarind (Tamarindus indica), jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) and Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis). The advantages of these crops are their ability to grow in harsh and adverse agroclimatic conditions. The products of these species are consumed by local people and often considered delicacies. Many of these species have good nutritional and medicinal value. Efforts are now being made to process these fruits for value addition and establish close linkages amongst consumers and producers.The MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, India, is working with farming communities in a participatory manner to promote the cultivation and consumption of underutilized crops, largely nutritious millets, so as to increase farmer income. They are using pathways such as participatory variety selection to increase yield; community conservation of traditional varieties; introduction of appropriate technology; community capacity building for value addition; product development; and marketing of value-added products to enhance income generation.The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Fiji, coordinates the Pacific Agricultural Plant Genetic Resources Network, which links plant genetic resources programmes and scientists in the Pacific who are working on underutilized species such as taro, breadfruit, yams, pandanus and local fruits and nuts. SPC also maintains a regional in vitro conservation facility, the Regional Germplasm Centre, which conserves and distributes virus-free materials of important Pacific crops. IPGRI has also been successful in raising the profile of underutilized species by increasing publicity at highlevel fora, such as the Convention for Biological Diversity (see 9th meeting of SBSTTA 2003 and www.iisd.ca/biodiv/cop8/enbots/20mar.html).Resources Programme (SGRP), IPGRI has commissioned a study to survey the number of species and collections that are held in the CGIAR Centres' genebanks, as well as the level to which they have been characterized. The study will also revise the existing literature to identify cases where the use and conservation of underutilized species have or have not benefited the poor. Based on these results, IPGRI will make recommendations to SGRP and the CGIAR System as to how best to strategise their work on underutilized species for the benefit of the poor.The Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species (GFU) is a service provider to other actors in the field and has a strong advocacy role. Its activities are, therefore, focussed on providing information, connecting actors, and creating greater awareness of the role that underutilized species play in improving livelihoods, as well as on policy recommendations aimed at creating an enabling environment for wider use of underutilized species.The International Centre for Underutilised Crops (ICUC) has supported national germplasm collections for a limited number of underutilized crops such as pummelo (Citrus maxima), jackfruit (Artocarpus PAGE 33 ANNEX 4heterophyllus) and tamarind (Tamarindus indica). It has produced a series of monographs and extension materials on 10 priority species and has organised relevant training courses. It has also been instrumental in the creation of several dedicated regional networks (UTFANET, SEANUC, UTVAPNET and ACUC).The University of Nottingham, UK has been associated with bambara groundnut for 17 years, with activities that cover the gamut from molecular research to marketing, in Africa, India and Europe. U Nottingham also conducts research on African yam bean and has a network of partners with experience in lupin, triticale and finger millet.The Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) is involved in many activities related to research for development, ranging from biotechnology to social sciences. Recently, a new area of research is being implemented which is highly relevant to this consultation. CIAT now has a Tropical Fruits project and is developing activities with mainstream species as well as with species with strong local markets that by definition are considered underutilized. CIAT has several projects for the improvement of regional species, but the criterion to work on these species is that they have an established market.The World Vegetable Center is the principal international centre dedicated to vegetable research and development. AVRDC develops varieties, such as the African eggplant, and technologies that increase vegetable production and consumption in developing countries. This leads to more economic opportunities, higher incomes and healthier diets for the poor.The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has long-standing work related to biodiversity for food and nutrition, including specific initiatives with underutilized plants and related indigenous knowledge. This work covers policy initiatives, pilot actions and publications aimed at catalysing the wide use of plant resources for food, nutrition and livelihoods. The FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is the intergovernmental forum for genetic resources, with a notable focus on plant resources and underutilised species. Furthermore, FAO negotiated and hosts the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources, which is a global agreement that, amongst other goals, endorses national and global efforts \"promoting the expanded use of local and locally adapted crops, varieties and underutilised species\" (art. 6.3). FAO has also an Interdepartmental Working Group on Biological Diversity, which coordinates research, awareness and development initiatives on plant resources, including underutilised species, from diverse approaches. Some of these initiatives highlight the nutritional value of less-known plants and cultivars, whilst others have raised awareness of the role of underutilised plant species in mitigating AIDS impact and in enhancing the livelihoods of rural and poor urban populations.National, regional and international collaboration can support researchers and farmers in the development of improved varieties, such as this taun (Pometia pinnata) in Papua Guinea.","tokenCount":"7292"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"6ce28dc8f113b27084a3c82d75d370c0","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/8b744f4b-e45d-4e04-9a48-f607d8c0de5e/retrieve","id":"1615202500"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"d8f96acb-25a8-43fe-a4bb-42880fbdf0e6","pagecount":"30","content":"Introduction to the sustainable intensification assessment framework Intended use of the framework Assessing trade-offs and synergies -Indicator selection Application of SI Assessment framework to field and household data Way forward Questions and comments Sustainable Intensification Indicator Project -Project initiative conceived based on a series of stakeholder meetings on SI indicators held in Africa and USA 2012-2014.-The goal of the project is to develop and recommend indicators and metrics for SI within a framework of five domains at four scales.• Use by agricultural scientists working in research for development projects --but is flexible and can be used by scientists interested in sustainable intensification.• Synthesis of literature and stakeholder expertise to obtain list of indicators, metrics and methods at the four scales and identify gaps. • Engage scientists and project managers involved in SI to curate the list of indicators and methods.-Meeting and field visit in Mali (October 2015)• Discussion and meeting with steering committee and AfricaRISING scientist.  ","tokenCount":"156"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"1eed4f5975a5240e22b7c44f120c5d10","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/69d0a585-069b-44ee-9332-e64541c1da67/retrieve","id":"-1091629556"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"2427252f-b862-4f15-8cfb-d720b8d13815","pagecount":"4","content":"The information in this guide can be freely reproduced for non-commercial use, if credited as coming from CTA.Reproduction for commercial use requires prior authorisation from CTA.Every sheep grazing on pasture is infested with one type of worm or the other. The effect of these in the animal depends on:The type of worm  There are many types of worms that can infest sheep. However, some important ones in the Eastern Africa region are mentioned in Table 1 against their symptoms. The level of worm infestation is related to climate and the seasons. It is therefore possible to treat animals at particular times of the year or in response to weather patterns and break the life cycle of the parasites. Points to note:Stocking rate: • If you have too many animals per unit area, pasture contamination is enhanced and frequent re-infections occur.","tokenCount":"140"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"5b8083be6a525e8dff1331110d2319f2","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/assessment/files_new/publications/Discussion%20Paper/CADiscussionPaper1.pdf","id":"982824648"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"4bd16472-b8ae-41b0-834f-7d1d3d12ade5","pagecount":"30","content":"The purpose of this review was to evaluate the extent to which the current scientific literature allows us to determine and quantify the ecological costs and benefits of irrigated agriculture in wetland ecosystems of the developing countries, and to establish quantitative relationships between anthropogenic activities and ecological responses. The following are the main points that emerged:• Irrigation or activities associated with agricultural irrigation can and do cause adverse impacts to wetland ecological resources ranging from localized and subtle, to long-distance and severe.• Irrigation or activities associated with irrigation can also result in the creation or enhancement of important wetland ecological resources.• Depending on the irrigation activity and scale, irrigated agriculture and ecological resources can sustainably coexist.• The confounding effects of \"natural\" or other anthropogenic stressors are not often evaluated when the effects of irrigation on wetlands are being assessed, and it can be difficult to partition the effects due to irrigation.• The potential long-term ecological benefits of water storage schemes are rarely investigated.Any measurement of impact usually stops once the project is implemented.• Because of the above (bullets 4 and 5), \"quantitative\" information on the relationships between irrigated agricultural activity and ecological effects is sparse to non-existent. This severely impairs our ability to learn from previous failures or successes and, importantly, to design future activities and projects so as to minimize environmental impacts.• If we are to minimize the potential for ecological injury and enhance the likelihood of benefits in future projects, it is crucial that the existing data base be enormously expanded. Specifically, we need to treat each new project and scheme as a \"natural experiment\" where the ecological resources and effects are quantified from before the project is implemented until long after implementation. Until this is accomplished, we run the risk of repeating the same mistakes that have been made in the past.The relationship between irrigated agriculture and its effects on wetland ecosystems has often been portrayed as one of a direct tradeoff between the human need for food versus nature. The reality, as revealed by this literature review, is much more complex, as both systems human and nature may be adaptive. Where nature might adapt automatically, such as a waterfowl adapting to paddy rice as a replacement for natural wetland habitat, humans too adapt consciously. For example, as humans have learned about the valuable services wetlands provide, the response has been to find ways to preserve and restore wetlands. This is relatively achievable in the developed countries, which has access to funds and the institutional and legal capacity to impose no loss of wetlands, but it is much more difficult in the developing countries where there are pressing needs for increased food production with the limited funds available. In such situations, nature may have to absorb the full costs of change, rather than humans modifying their expectations and requirements in the face of natural needs. The goal of this literature review is to assess the knowledge available to developing countries in supporting decisions on alternative future strategies for irrigation implementation, and to assist in mitigating potential future ecological impacts of irrigation development. The focus of this review has been on developing countries because it is there, rather than in the developed countries, that the potential for large-scale adverse impacts is severe.A brief discussion of the status and importance of both wetlands and irrigated agriculture is given in the next section. This is followed by a discussion of our approach in reviewing the literature. Finally, we present the results of our review in the form of six key conclusions that capture the state of knowledge of the effects of irrigated agriculture on wetland ecosystems in the developing countries. A set of recommendations for future research is given at the end of the paper.There is a long history of development leading to the complete destruction of massive areas of wetlands, particularly in the developed countries. In a generalized overview, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD 1996) stated: Some estimates show that the world may have lost 50 percent of the wetlands that existed since 1900; whilst much of this occurred in the northern countries during the first 50 years of the century, increasing pressure for conversion to alternative land use has been put on tropical and sub-tropical wetlands since the 1950s.No figures are available for the extent of wetland loss worldwide, but drainage for agricultural production is the principal cause; by 1985 it was estimated that 56 65 percent of the available wetland had been drained for intensive agriculture in Europe and North America; the figures for tropical and subtropical regions were 27 percent for Asia, 6 percent for South America and 2 percent for Africa, making a total of 26 percent worldwide. Future predictions show the pressure to drain land for agriculture intensifying in these regions.We begin this review with a definition of wetlands as well as some observations about the value or the services wetlands provide to human society. Agriculture, and irrigated agriculture in particular, have been critical to supplying the food needs of an ever increasing human population. Clearly we cannot eliminate irrigated agriculture. The road ahead must include ways of farming that recognize the value of wetlands.The global wetland area is generally estimated to be 7 to 9 million km 2 (4 6 percent of the land surface of the Earth) (Mitsch and Gosselink 2000). While there are many definitions to the term wetland many would agree that these are areas with high water tables contributing to a specific ecology. The most broadly accepted definition of wetlands is: Areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed 6 meters (Ramsar Convention 1971; Articles 1.1 and 2.1).Wetlands are increasingly gaining global attention, bringing together many scientists from different disciplines to study these unique ecosystems. One example of such attention is the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, adopted in 1971 and as of December 2002 has 1230 wetland sites distributed in six regions (Europe, Asia, Africa, Neotropics, Oceania and North America) recognized as wetlands of international importance (Wetlands International Ramsar sites database, 2002). However, there are likely to be many more wetlands to be identified and recorded as many countries have only recently begun identifying important wetlands.The functional value of wetlands depends on their size and placement within the landscape, as well as their relationship to adjacent water areas. Wetlands can be natural or artificial or mixtures of both. There is general agreement that the existence of wetlands is due to specific hydrology, soil type, and vegetation and animal communities, and that their functions depend on the context of their relative placement within the ecosystem. Some of the services wetlands provide include:• Habitat for aquatic birds, other animals and plants, fish and shell fish production;• Biodiversity;• Food production;• Water storage, including mitigating the effects of floods and droughts;• Groundwater recharge;• Shoreline stabilization and storm protection;• Water purification;• Nutrient cycling;• Sediment retention and export;• Recreation and tourism;• Climate change mitigation;• Timber production;• Education and research; and• Aesthetic and cultural value.Few attempts have been made to calculate the economic value of the goods and services provided by wetlands. Although the accuracy and precision of these attempts may be debatable, they have merit in that they draw attention to and emphasize their enormous economic importance. Previous estimates include: between US$8,977 and US$17,000 (1983) for the goods and services provided by each acre of Louisiana wetlands (Costanza et al. 1989), and between US$19 million and US$70 million per year for a 45 mile stretch of the Platte River, Colorado (Loomis et al. 2000). In the developing countries, the existence and functioning of wetlands can be crucial for adjacent agricultural and extractive economies (e.g., Hollis et al. 1993b).While the functional and economic values of wetlands are increasingly recognized, development projects continue to lead directly or indirectly to their loss. As presented in the following section, irrigated agriculture has been destructive in the past, and has the potential to continue to do so in the future unless better management processes are established in the developing countries.Irrigation has been practiced for at least 4,000 years, primarily because it allows for increased productivity through more optimal timing of water application. More recently, irrigated agriculture in combination with improved crop varieties and chemical inputs has led to 24 percent more food per person between 1961 and 1997, despite the population increase (Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems 2000). In addition to increase food security, there is a net increase in economic gains to farmers.It is estimated that around 5 percent of agricultural land globally (264 million ha) is irrigated, with South Asia (35%), Southeast Asia (15%) and East Asia (7%) showing a high dependency on irrigation. China and India represent 39 percent of the global irrigated area and Western Europe and United States have 13 percent, while sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania have less than 1 percent of their agricultural land irrigated (PAGE and Wood 2000). Irrigation accounts for approximately 70 percent of the water withdrawn from freshwater systems for human use. Only 30 60 percent is subsequently used downstream, making irrigation the largest net user of freshwater. Estimates also show that the share of cropland that is irrigated has grown by 72 percent from 1966 1996. Developing countries tend to have scarce water resources and relatively larger agricultural demands; and as such will have greater water extractions, which in turn can have greater impacts on associated wetlands (Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems 2000).While environmental impacts have been recognized as important in assessing agricultural projects, and assessment processes exist, active monitoring against baseline pre-project conditions have not kept pace with developments in productivity. Some aspects often regarded as important in assessment are hydrology, water and air quality, soil properties, erosion and sedimentation, biological and ecological change, socio-economic impacts, ecological imbalances and human health (FAO 1995), although all aspects are not often covered for a given project, due to external factors affecting project implementation. The classic example is that of dams, which have been constructed to control the natural variations of the hydrological cycles, so that the water is made available on demand for agriculture. Often the effects of flooding downstream and their benefits were not contemplated. The importance of natural flooding to fisheries and recession agriculture and groundwater recharge have been realized only recently (Acreman 1996). Some of the established effects of agriculture on wetlands include:• Direct loss of wetlands due to draining and conversion to agricultural land;• Indirect loss of wetlands area due to water withdrawal from rivers and streams for irrigation;• Loss of wetland area and function due to damming for water storage;• Loss of seasonal wetlands due to changed hydrologic cycle from water storage;• Loss of wetland function due to salinization, sediment deposition, erosion, eutrophication;• Pollution from use of pesticides and other chemicals; andExamples of many of these effects are described with specific examples in subsequent sections of this review.Relevant documents were identified by first conducting a literature search under the keywords: irrigation and wetlands. This computerized search identified an initial total of 1096 references. The majority of these were rejected from further consideration either because: a) they did not apply to developing countries; b) they were obviously journalistic or nonscientific in nature; or c) they were derived from primary studies, the results of which were reported in original documents that could be obtained. This left a total of approximately 180 reports that were potentially useful. Hard copies of these reports were obtained from various libraries, or by contacting the authors directly. Once obtained, the reference list for each report was examined to determine if additional and pertinent reports that had not been found in the original search were available. These were then obtained, whenever possible.An additional search procedure was to contact known participants in the field and ask them to identify documents and/or data sets that they considered important. The individuals who were contacted and their affiliations are aknowledged in the copyright page.A total of approximately 200 documents were obtained and reviewed. Of these, 37 contained information pertinent to our study. These are listed in the References List in section 7, with notes on their findings in Appendix A to this paper.We have reviewed only documents that apply to developing countries; no thorough or systematic review of the developed country literature has yet been performed. This is important, as it may introduce a bias into our results: most of the practical attempts to integrate agricultural and ecological concerns have taken place in the developed countries, and most of studies of the ecological benefits of irrigation have also been carried out there (e.g., the wildlife resources associated with the irrigated farmland in the Central Valley of California, or the rice fields of Louisiana). On the other hand, costs, rather than benefits, have been the main foci of studies in the developing countries.Thus, focusing entirely on the information of developing countries may bias the results of any review toward the ecological costs of irrigation and downplay the potential benefits.Within the general charge of reviewing the scientific and gray literature to evaluate the extent to which irrigation has been shown to affect wetland ecosystems in developing countries, we concentrated on providing answers that may be useful in developing alternative future strategies for irrigation implementation, and assisting in mitigating potential future ecological impacts. Each reviewed document was evaluated in terms of the information that it provided pursuant to eight questions:1. What were the ecological effects that were caused by irrigation and could they be distinguished from effects due to other anthropogenic or natural stressors (i.e., how confident can we be that the observed effects were due to agricultural water use?)2. Did the project described result only in ecological costs, or were there also benefits?3. Are there taxonomic relationships between costs/benefits and project types, scales, and management regimes?4. Do the data and information presented in the paper facilitate the identification of quantitative relationships between intensity of use (e.g., amount of withdrawal) and degree of ecosystem impact?5. Which components/activities of the project contributed most to the costs and/or benefits? And did the project find ways to mitigate or enhance certain effects?6. Did the resulting end-use of the irrigation water (i.e., the crop type) affect the costs and/or benefits?7. Did the surrounding habitat matrix (i.e., arid versus non-arid) matter in whether costs or benefits were incurred?8. Is it possible to identify indicators of ecological costs and benefits that could be used either at small or large spatial scales, or at both?To the extent possible we attempted to focus on all potential types of impacts of irrigation on wetlands. These include both the effects of water withdrawals upstream of the wetland, and irrigation activities within the wetland, itself.Much pertinent information is contained in gray literature sources that are difficult to identify and locate. Thus, the process of reviewing all potentially relevant documents is not yet complete. Indeed, it is unlikely to ever be so. However, we believe that the most important documents have been reviewed and the main results have already emerged (particularly in the areas of data gaps and information needs). We anticipate that these results will contribute to the knowledge base of IWMI s Comprehensive Assessment.Six main results have emerged from the literature review:1. Irrigation or activities associated with agricultural irrigation can and do cause adverse impacts to wetland ecological resources ranging from localized and subtle, to long-distance and severe.2. Irrigation or activities associated with irrigation can also result in the creation or enhancement of important wetland ecological resources.3. Depending on the irrigation activity and scale, irrigated agriculture and ecological resources can coexist in potentially sustainable fashions.4. The confounding effects of natural or other anthropogenic stressors are not often evaluated when the effects of irrigation on wetlands are being assessed.5. The potential long-term ecological benefits of water storage schemes are rarely investigated. Any measurement of impact usually stops once the project is implemented.6. Because of the above (4 and 5), quantitative information on the relationships between irrigated agricultural activity and ecological effects is sparse to non-existent. This severely impairs our ability to learn from previous failures or successes and, importantly, to design future activities and projects so as to minimize environmental impacts.Each of these conclusions is examined in greater detail below.Irrigation schemes or water diversions for irrigation have undoubtedly caused adverse effects to wetland ecosystems. At their most severe, these effects have included the submersion of wetlands, or their replacement by upland vegetation communities (or by essentially unvegetated land in the case of the Aral Sea), with consequent effects on the biota that depend on these wetlands and the services that humans hitherto derived from the systems. Documented examples of these extreme cases include the Aral Sea literature (Kotlyakov 1991;Micklin 1988;Precoda 1991) The ecological impacts of irrigation or water diversions for irrigation can occur a short distance from the dam or irrigation site, or many miles downstream. Examples of the latter include the construction of the High Dam at Aswan, which, by reducing sediment transport, is contributing to the erosion of wetlands in the Nile Delta 800 km downstream (Penvenne 1996). Also, the size of the marine harvest of prawns off the coast of Mozambique is positively correlated with the flow entering the sea from the Zambezi River (GammelsrØd 1996). Recent declines in marine prawn populations and impacts to the commercial prawn fishery have been ascribed to reduced flows from the Zambezi River due to barrages and dams in Mozambique (GammelsrØd 1996). The damming of the Indus in Pakistan, like the Nile example, has also reduced sediment transport with subsequent die-off of mangrove forest communities in the downstream delta (Meynell and Qureshi 1995).When viewed against the backdrop of wetland hydrologic needs, the ecological impacts caused by schemes such as the Aral Sea diversions, the damming of the Indus, or the Kano River Irrigation Project are not unexpected. They are largely a function of the scale of water diversion. Large projects that divert the majority of the flow of the feeder streams will necessarily result in large impacts to the associated wetlands.Although no quantitative relationships have been established, and the resilience of any particular wetland ecosystem will vary depending on other anthropogenic and natural stresses, it may be likely that relatively small percent diversions (10% or less?) may be ecologically sustainable in some wetlands (though perhaps not all), whereas larger diversions as have occurred in many schemes, are more likely than not to be unsustainable. Also, it is at least possible that the relationship between the scale of the withdrawal or diversion and the ecological impact may not be linear. The first quartile of the flow diverted may have much less effect than (say) the second or third. This, if so, is both good and bad news: up to a certain limit, withdrawals may be sustainable; however, exceeding that limit might result in disproportionate, unexpected, and potentially irreversible effects. Also, the ability of a wetland to withstand a level of diversion may be partly a function of the intrinsic variability of the wetland itself: wetlands that go through marked natural cycles of water inflow may be more resilient than more stable wetlands (since the biota of the former may be better adapted to water shortage). However, given that so little quantitative information concerning ecological impacts has been generated by past irrigation projects, the above considerations are largely speculative.Unfortunately, too few rigorous studies have been performed to determine the levels of withdrawals that may be adequately protective of the environment. Nevertheless, this is the crucial question determining the likelihood of coexistence of ecological resources and irrigated agriculture. Assuming that we can define an acceptable level of impact, how much water can be diverted and used without the risk of unacceptable ecological impacts? This question automatically focuses attention on the resilience of wetland ecosystems (i.e., the ability of wetland systems to resist and recover from a stressor). Resilience will be a function of a number of important site-specific factors, including the type of wetland and its intrinsic robustness, and the existing level of stress (natural and anthropogenic). Unfortunately, while resilience is an important and much-discussed ecological principle, how to measure it has not received enough attention. By failing to monitor the ecological consequences of the implementation of irrigation projects, we have lost an important opportunity to understand the relationships between levels of stress (e.g., water withdrawals) and ecosystem resilience and impacts.Apart from failing to realize the ecological consequences of the scale of diversions (or realizing, but ignoring them), the other main problem that has contributed to impacts is a failure to plan at the level of the watershed or larger scale. Were the effects of the Aswan Dam on the Nile Delta 800 km away or the effects of the Zambezi flows on the marine prawn fishery adequately considered when the potential impacts of the dams were being evaluated? Obviously, the extent of the environmental disaster caused by the Aral Sea scheme came as a surprise to planners who focused at the local or, at best, the regional level.Almost all of the literature reviewed concerned situations in which upstream withdrawals had affected downstream wetlands. However, in some cases, extractions may take place in the wetland itself, to irrigate either surrounding upland areas or other parts of the same wetland (the situation that may pertain in many Southern African dambos). To what extent do these activities have similar effects as upstream extractions? If the water being extracted from the wetland is for irrigation of adjacent uplands, but return flows are large, the impacts may be less severe. And if the water is being shunted around different parts of the wetland (rather than being moved to nonwetland habitats), the consequences may also be less severe. In these situations, a number of important site-specific considerations arise: what is the loss to evaporation of the return flow? To what extent are different parts of the same wetland ecosystem functionally equivalent and does removing (or returning) water to one or more parts preserve the whole wetland ecosystem? Unfortunately we do not yet have information or data that could be used to answer these important questions.In addition to the installation of new dams and irrigation schemes, changing traditional management practices at long-established projects can also result in ecological impacts. Switching from ditch-fed irrigation to concrete channels and metal pipes in the Kanto Plain rice paddies in Japan resulted in population reductions in two species of frogs that depended for their spawning habitat on the traditional, inefficient ditches that helped create pools of standing water during the frog spawning season (Fujioka and Lane 1997).Water withdrawals for irrigation in some cases can act to exacerbate the effects of other stressors on the wetland ecosystems, resulting in effects that exceed those that would be expected from dewatering, alone. Lake Kus in western Turkey is under stress from a growing use of the lake by the local human population. One of these stresses is the increasing pollution of the lake by organic materials. This, in conjunction with dewatering for irrigation, has resulted in the increasing eutrophication of the lake and changes in the aquatic biota toward an assemblage more characteristic of nutrient rich systems (Altinsacli and Griffiths 2001). Wildlife responses to the implementation of irrigation schemes can, in turn, result in stress to wetlands. In and around the Waza National Park in Cameroon, dewatering of the Logone River has resulted in the loss of prime grazing habitat for wildlife. Populations of some ungulates such as reedbuck and kob have been lost or severely reduced. Elephants have responded differently: they have been displaced from their traditional areas, resulting in damage to wetland habitats (and more frequent interactions with farmers) (Tchamba, et al. 1995).Few published examples have been found where water storage for irrigation unambiguously created valuable wetland habitat in the developing countries. This does not mean that such benefits do not occur (see the discussion in Section 2.1 of the bias inherent in focusing only on developing world studies). Water storage tanks in Sri Lanka undoubtedly provide functional and valuable habitat for wetland organisms. Observations over only a few hours at one such tank during December 2000 resulted in 22 species of herons, shorebirds and waterfowl being recorded (Hector Galbraith unpublished data). Tanks elsewhere in Sri Lanka are known to support a similar diversity of wetland birds (Galbraith unpublished data), which matches that found on natural wetlands in Sri Lanka and Asia.While there are few studies of such benefits in the developing countries, data from the developed countries give some indication of types and scope of benefits that may accrue: for example, the rice fields in the Central Valley of California and in Louisiana, USA, provide important habitat for waterbirds and shorebirds (Day and Colwell 1998;Remsen et al. 1991, respectively). The populations of birds that these areas support are likely to be of at least national importance. Similarly in Mediterranean countries, rice agriculture has created internationally important habitat for wading birds (Fasola and Ruiz, 1996). In the UK there are over 500 reservoirs. These provide habitat for birds and other water-associated organisms and are particularly valuable because of the extensive areas of wetland that have been drained. The general importance of these reservoirs for wildlife is indicated by the designation of 174 as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (Moore and Driver 1989). It is likely that such benefits to birds and mammals may be greater in otherwise arid areas, rather than in areas where natural wetlands are more plentiful.By its nature, rice farming is most likely among the various uses to which irrigation water is applied to result in new valuable wetland habitats. The instances cited above lend support to this. However, as yet, these ecological benefits have not been catalogued in any systematic way.The examples in Section 3.1 notwithstanding, not all irrigation schemes have adversely affected associated wetland ecosystems. Examples may include the cultivation of dambos (shallow, channelless, seasonally inundated depressions) in southern Africa, where up to 30 percent of dambo area may be irrigated without obvious adverse ecological impacts (Faulkner and Lambert 1991). However, since this conclusion has not yet been rigorously tested through ecological analysis, this conclusion must remain speculative. Also, Lankford and Franks (2000) argue that coexistence of wetlands and irrigation for rice is possible in at least some parts of Tanzania, providing that the spatial and temporal variability in the water needs of the wetland are understood and accommodated into the agricultural planning. The key in this case is flexibility in being able to change seasonal allocations of water based on flow data; during dry years, a greater proportion of the flow may be allocated to protect wetland core areas. During wet years, irrigation may be increased without jeopardizing the wetland ecosystem. In both cases, adverse impacts are avoided by allocating an adequate amount of water to the wetland and by planning for the entire watershed.A modeling study conducted by De Voogt et al. (2000) predicted that for the important Turkish wetland bird breeding site, Kus Cenneti, irrigated agriculture and wetland ecosystem resources could coexist. Currently the wetland is being adversely affected by low flows due to diversions during the bird breeding season (also the main irrigation period). De Voogt et al. (2000) estimate that the wetlands could be maintained by allocating river water flow to them. This would result in a predicted loss of yield in the agricultural system of a few percent during dry years and no loss in wet years. In this model, the water needs of the wetland were not estimated in great detail. It is possible that if temporal and spatial estimates of nature s demand were studied more closely, the integration of agriculture and wetland values could be made more compatible and the small predicted yield losses reduced even further. Also, the crops that are currently grown in the area are thirsty cotton and grapes. Institutional encouragement to switch to other crop types might make enough water available for both the farmers and the wetlands.Natural factors such as drought may confound the evaluation of the ecological impacts of water withdrawal and use for irrigation. An example is the ecological impact to the Hadejia-Nguru wetland complex in Nigeria (Hollis et al. 1993a;Lemly et al. 2000). The latter study reports declines in the avian populations using the area and implicates water storage schemes as the main cause. However, this area suffered severe droughts during the 1980s and 1990s when precipitation was markedly reduced (Hollis et al. 1993a), after many years of above average rainfall in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The extent to which these natural events contributed to the waterbird population reductions has not been assessed. In the Logone floodplain in Cameroon (Tchamba et al. 1995) acknowledged that climatic variability and drought played a part in the observed impacts to floodplain habitats and wildlife populations. They estimated that in normal rainfall years the damming and irrigation schemes probably contributed less than 40 percent of the observed impacts. However, in dry years the human use of the water contributed a much larger portion of the observed impacts. Also, Tchamba et al. (1995) point out an important fact that while droughts may come and go, the dewatering schemes are permanent. This, in the long-term, could have more fundamental impacts on the wetland ecosystems than the estimated 40 percent or less on a year-to-year basis.Anthropogenic stressors unrelated to irrigation may also complicate the evaluation of water management and ecological costs and benefits. For example, the barrage schemes on the Zambezi River may well be contributing to reductions in marine prawn harvests. However, no attempt has yet been made to determine the extent to which overfishing is also important. To what extent does overgrazing contribute to the decline in the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands? Any evaluation of the effects of irrigation must, necessarily, include the examination of the contributions by all major stressors. This has important practical applications: if the costs associated with all stressors at a site are additive, perhaps the costs that could, potentially, be incurred by irrigation could be mitigated by lessening the effects of other stressors.Usually, the measurement of impacts or benefits due to irrigation project implementation ends with the project installation. However, one study shows that under some circumstances ecological benefits may accrue in the long term. Masundire (1996) documents initial impacts and long-term consequences of the Kariba Dam (built primarily for hydropower, but it also supplies agricultural needs). The creation of the Kariba Dam was preceded by an intensive effort to capture and relocate wildlife whose home ranges would be inundated by the dam. In this sense, the building of the Kariba Dam was an adverse ecological impact. However, once the area was flooded, it became an important water source for wildlife in an otherwise arid environment. Indeed, so successful has it become in attracting grazing animals and their predators during the dry season that it is now a major site for ecotourism. Thus, the Kariba Dam has been both an ecological cost and a benefit. This illustrates the difficulty in easily assigning cost-benefit scores on the basis of change from pre-impact conditions, without also taking into account the post-impact conditions.One of the main findings of this review has been that despite the multitude of opportunities that have been presented by past irrigation schemes to provide data on activities and ecological effects, the actual data base is extremely limited. The literature that currently exists allows us to determine, at best, that adverse and beneficial effects to wetland ecosystems have occurred due to irrigation and associated activities; however, many of the questions raised in Section 3 of this review cannot be addressed. This is because few detailed and long-term studies of the costs and/or benefits of irrigation schemes have been performed in developing countries. Beyond determining that extracting or diverting too much water is likely to have deleterious effects, most existing studies do not provide information that is detailed enough to allow us to describe cause-effect linkages or to assist in avoiding future mistakes.Important questions that remain unanswered include:• What environmental factors affect how much water can be withdrawn for human use without unacceptable adverse ecological impacts being incurred (see Section 4.1)?• What environmental cues (indicators) may tell us whether or not we are stressing the wetland-watershed system to the extent that significant costs may be incurred?• In drought-prone areas, how could water resources planning be integrated with the protection of wetland ecosystems?• While existing schemes may have caused adverse ecological impacts during their implementation, what benefits (see the Kariba Dam illustration in Section 4.2) have accrued since then, i.e., in the long term?• How can we ensure that small is beautiful? Specifically, in localized and small-scale systems such as dambos we have an opportunity to merge ecological and agricultural functions. How do we do so?• Existing data show that rice irrigation may also provide opportunities to conserve (or create) important ecological attributes. What tools and approaches can be developed that will facilitate this?The implementation of existing irrigation projects could have provided important data to address the above questions. Yet, unfortunately, they did not do so. The reasons for this lack of follow-up are interesting as the following quote by White (1988) illustrates:To my knowledge there has not yet been a thorough, comprehensive post-audit of any major water project.Any such effort is impeded by factors that work in combination to discourage comprehensive study. Public criticism ... tends to narrow or muffle the study of impacts by proponents. Once the project is completed, critics lack incentives for study ... they have lost the battle and have little interest in learning that any attacks were unfounded. Proponents tend to look only for vindication ... The only way in which we can redress this balance and fill important data needs is to treat future irrigation schemes as natural experiments that should be studied from before implementation to completion and beyond to gather data that will help us determine cause-effect relationships. Also, existing schemes should be revisited in a case-study approach to fill in some of the information gaps that should have been addressed during project planning and implementation. The IWMI proposed Comprehensive Assessment (in particular, using case studies to develop the Knowledge Base component) provides us with an opportunity to answer some of the important questions that the existing literature cannot address and begin to move forward toward more effective planning and implementation of irrigation schemes.Ø Area of natural lakes in Syr Dar ya delta decreased from 500 km 2 to few tens of km 2  and 11 out of 25 largest natural lakes in Amu Dar ya delta dried up.Ø Area of riparian Tugay forest in Amu Dar ya delta reduced by about 50 percent as depth to watertable increased by 3 8 meters.Morimoto, Y., Morimura, A.;Ogar, N. 1997 Ø Prior to water diversions, an important fishery for sturgeon, carp, and bream existed, over 1 million musk rat pelts were taken annually, reeds provided raw materials for building and cardboard/paper manufacture, and Tugay riparian forest provided year-round grazing.Ø Before 1960s agriculture was local in scale and confined to river valleys where moisture was abundant. This may have resulted in local loss of wetland habitat but not great reduction in water going into the Aral Sea.Ø Reed-swamps that once covered 700,000 ha are now confined to about 30,000 ha close to man-made lakes.Ø Withdrawal canals may be creating new wetlands (e.g., Karakum and Bolshoy Andizhansk Canals). However, these may be highly salinized.Penvenne, L.J. 1996. Disappearing delta. American Scientist. 84:438 439.Ø Decreased sediment deposition is leading to erosion of the Nile Delta wetlands.Ø Reduced sediment loads due to High Dam and trapping of sediments in delta irrigation canals.Ø Irrigation of delta is causing eutrophication and contamination of wetlands.Ramsar, 1991. Ramsar advisory missions: Report No. 26, Egypt. Lakes Bardawil and Burullus. http://ramsar.org/ram_pt_26e.htm.Ø Both sites are designated as of international importance by Ramsar.Ø Highly important for migratory bird populations (most of which breed in Europe).Ø Sedimentation and closing off of channels connecting wetlands to sea is resulting in drying up of wetlands.Ø Heavy fertilizer and pesticide loads are now entering wetlands associated with the two lakes.Ø Effects on bird populations or wetland habitats are unclear as yet.White, G.F. 1988. The environmental effects of the High Dam at Aswan. Environment 30:5 40.Ø After closure, fish species diversity downstream of dam decreased from approximately 47 species to 14 25 species.Adams, W.M. 1993. The wetlands and conservation. In: The Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands: environment, economy and sustainable development of a Sahelian floodplain wetland, G.E. Hollis,; W.M. Adams: M. Aminu-Kano (eds). Glanz, Switzerland. IUCN.Ø Baturia wetland reserve within the Hadejia-Nguru wetland complex is being impacted by reduced seasonal flooding due to drought and water storage schemes.Ø Vegetation (trees and shrubs) is showing signs of water stress.Ø No evidence is presented that any additional ecological injury being inflicted. Ø Prior to the construction of the dam 300-2,000 km 2 was flooded in the wet season.Ø Highly important for migratory birds 320,000 numbers in 1997.Ø Fifth most important wetland site for Palearctic migrant birds.Ø Tiga Dam completed in 1974. Supplies water to Kano River Irrigation Project (14,000 irrigated ha). Hadejia Valley Project barrier under construction will irrigate 8,000 ha.Ø Flooding to wetlands already reduced by 17 percent.Ø Seasonally flooded wetlands drying up (e.g., Baturai Wetland Reserve) and depth to groundwater increasing.Ø Waterbird diversity and numbers falling, particularly cranes, storks and pelicans. No attempt made to distinguish between effects of recent droughts and water storage.Ø Plans for the new dam at Kafin Zaki may reduce flows by a further 50 percent.Masundire, H. 1996. The effects of Kariba Dam and its management on the people and ecology of the Zambezi River. In: Water Management and Wetlands in Sub-Saharan Africa, M.C Acreman; G.E. Hollis (eds). Glanz, Switzerland: IUCN-World Conservation Union.Ø Populations of large wildlife species were displaced by flooding of their ranges during the construction of the Kariba Dam.Ø The dam subsequently became an important water source for wildlife.Ø The wildlife attracted to the dam in the dry season is the basis for a local ecotourism industry.Scoones, I. 1991. Wetlands in drylands: Key resources for agriculture and pastoral production in Africa. Ambio 20:366 371.Ø Valley bottom wetlands (fadamas, dambos, bas fonds, and wadis) comprise 5 10 percent of the land in the African savanna.Ø Provide opportunities in arid areas to diversify crops, increase yields, and complement dryland farming.Ø Typical management involves building small dams at head waters, berms and raised beds further down to manage water flow.Ø Ecological costs of irrigation in these areas are uncertain needs to be studied more effectively at the catchment level.Meynell, P.J. Water diversion schemes from the Indus are among the largest such diversions in the world. Total irrigated area covers 12 million hectares. Of total annual inflow of 180 billion m 3 , 129 billion is diverted for agriculture. In dry years virtually no water reaches the delta. The delta supported highly important ecological resources including 260,000 ha of mangrove forests. Through dewatering and sediment trapping, the diversions upstream have had the following effects on the mangroves: Ø Erosion of the delta and loss of mangroves to the sea.Ø Replacement of mangroves by salt-tolerant species.Ø Reduction in area of mangroves from 260,000 to 160,000 ha.2) Chowilla Floodplain.Ø Ramsar site.Ø Seventeen thousand seven-hundred hectares in extent.Ø Dependent on water flows from the upstream.Ø Diversions for agriculture have reduced flows to wetland by >50 percent.Ø The area flooded has been reduced from 33 percent of the site to 5 percent.Ø Salinity has increased killing trees in some areas.Ø Biomass and abundance of aquatic invertebrates (e.g., 18 gastropod species) have declined.Ø Native fish populations also have declined (no data cited).3) Gwyder Wetlands Ø Proposed for Ramsar designation.Ø Twenty-four thousand hectares in extent.Ø Dependent on water flows from the upstream.Ø Mainly sedge/rush swamp.Ø Fifty-five percent of inflow diverted for irrigated agriculture (mainly cotton).Ø Cover by hydrophytic vegetation has decreased by 66 percent (converted to upland plant communities).Ø Ramsar site.Ø One-hundred and thirty thousand hectares in extent.Ø Dependent on the flow from the upstream.Ø The most important wetland site for waterbirds in Australia.Ø The dams were installed beginning in the 1960s.Ø Seventy percent of the flow was regulated for agriculture (mainly cotton).Ø Flow reaching wetlands reduced by 60 percent.Ø Marshes have shrunk by 50 60 percent.Ø Abundance and species richness of waterbirds has been reduced. Smaller colony sizes and less frequent breeding.Ø Hydrophytic woodlands area reduced by 14 percent. Water diversions to supply large-scale irrigation schemes upriver have led to the following ecological effects downstream:Ø Transformation of floodplain grasslands hitherto dominated by perennial species to communities dominated by annuals. This has meant loss of important grazing habitat for domestic livestock and for wildlife.Ø Population reductions in many ungulate species including reedbuck and kob.Ø Displacement of elephants into suboptimal habitat.Ø An increased frequency of negative human-elephant interactions.Ø Major reductions in fish populations and declines in fish catches. Ø Coexistence of rice irrigation and wetlands is feasible if the temporal and spatial dynamics of the wetland flows are acknowledged and irrigation planning accommodates them.Ø In wet years there is water for both uses. In dry years enough water must be allowed to reach wetlands to maintain core areas irrigation may have to be cut back in dry years.Remsen, J.V.; Swan, M.M.; Cardiff, S.W.; Rosenberg, K.V. 1991. The importance of the ricegrowing areas of south-central Louisiana to winter populations of shorebirds, raptors, waders and other birds. Journal of Louisiana Ornithoogy. 1:37 47.","tokenCount":"6910"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"34c707436c9a39811a3403dfab3077d2","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/24aaab70-9722-4e55-9203-0cfb67978738/retrieve","id":"1732413274"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"f71f7fe9-5cd4-4653-9cff-11aafce36116","pagecount":"9","content":"Fair dealing and other rights are in no way affected by the above. The parts used must not misrepresent the meaning of the publication. ILRI would appreciate being sent a copy of any materials in which text, photos etc. have been used.The Epi in the Mara epidemiology workshop took place from 10 to 21 November 2014 at the Governor's Camp in Maasai Mara, Kenya. This was a follow-on from the Epi on Safari workshop that was held from 24 April to 3 May 2013 in Nyeri, Kenya.The Epi in the Mara workshop was targeted at postdoctoral scientists and researchers from the Food Safety and Zoonoses program of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The workshop was led by Prof Ian Dohoo, professor emeritus from the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada.The agenda of the workshop is provided in Annex 1 and the list of participants in Annex 2.The main objective of the workshop was to strengthen the capacity of the participants to effectively carry out epidemiology research at ILRI. The other objective was to provide a forum for the participants to present and discuss their draft manuscripts and datasets, through a guided peer review process, to improve and make the manuscripts suitable for publication.Lecturer: Prof Ian DohooThe workshop was divided into the following three major themes:1. Multilevel modelling: This was a mixture of lectures and labs with 'assigned' data plus some time for participants to work on their own data with presentations of analyses and challenges from these data on the second-last day. 2. Confounding_Bias_Missing Data: This was a mixture of lectures and labs with 'assigned' data 3. Participant Co-pilot Presentations: Each participant was assigned a 'co-pilot' to review the participant's draft manuscript and work with the participant to maximize the feedback obtained from the discussion following the presentation of the study.The reference text for the workshop was Veterinary Epidemiologic Research (2009), Second Edition (http://www.upei.ca/ver).The main software programs used during the course were: Stata (including the -gllamm-and -episens-packages)  MLwiN (http://www.cmm.bristol.ac.uk/MLwiN/), specialized software for multilevel modelling  Spreadsheets (MS Excel or Open Office Calc)There was no instruction in R but, where possible, attempts were made to provide R code for most of the exercises.The participants prepared the following materials in advance of the workshop: a draft manuscript (or a detailed outline of their projects)  a presentation about their projects, highlighting any challenges faced (and overcome) or still being faced  a one-page description of their data (data with a multilevel structure were described using the template shown in Annex 3) the dataset to be used during the training Prof Dohoo had earlier provided the following suggestions to assist the participant to prepare their datasets:(a) One record per observation at the lowest level of the hierarchy (e.g. if the dataset contained data from lactations within cows within herds, the dataset should have one record per lactation) (b) Make sure that each observation is uniquely identified (e.g. herd id, cow id and lactation number) ","tokenCount":"493"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"562e35d41161746ae2f719c1d002e34e","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/43af46ae-4708-4c58-ba73-41b8310247f0/retrieve","id":"-455185431"},"keywords":["Sweet potato silage","Gas production","Pig faecal inoculum"],"sieverID":"56e994fb-d2f8-4139-b00d-80b235f51d18","pagecount":"3","content":"Vine, tuber and whole plant silages from five cultivars of sweet potato (Hapur local, Indonesia Boger (IB) 97-6/7, IB 12/24, IB 12/7 and CIP SWA-4) were investigated for nitrogen content, in vitro digestibility and metabolizable energy content and rate and extent of in vitro gas production using fresh pig faecal matter as inoculum (1 part faeces: 50 part buffer). Except for nitrogen content, significant cultivars dependent differences were only observed for total plant silages (TPS) but not for vines and tuber silages. In total plant silages nitrogen content, in vitro digestibility and metabolizable energy content ranged from 1.0 to 1.5%, 63.4 to 71.3% and 9.3 to 10.7%, respectively. Highest and lowest extent of in vitro gas production from TPS were 63.8 ml/200 mg DM and 56.3 ml/200 mg DM respectively. No significant differences were observed for rate of in vitro gas production from TPS, however rates of gas production from tubers and vines differed significantly between cultivars.Sweet potato is widely used as a food -feed crop that supplies food for human consumption and fodder for the livestock. Silages made from vines, tubers and whole plants of improved cultivars contributed substantially to increased productivity in pig systems in Asia (Pezo, 2004;Fuglie et al. 2005). Pigs are monogastric animals and use of sweet potato silage will occur at least partially through microbial fermentation in the hindgut. These microbes are still intact in fresh faecal matter and can potentially be used to inoculate in vitro systems for estimating for example fodder digestibility, metabolizability and rate and extent of fermentation. The objective of the present work was to test an in vitro system inoculated by fresh pig faecal matter using silages prepared from vines, tubers and whole plant of five different cultivars of sweet potato. This in vitro system could then support further improvement of sweet potato for food-feed traits in plant breeding programs.Fresh faecal matter was collected from five male crossbred pigs (c. 35 kg live weight) kept on a diet containing sweet potato. The vitro gas production systems of Menke and Steingass (1988) was used for the incubations and also for the calculation of in vitro digestibility and metabolizable energy content from in vitro gas production. The adoption of this in vitro system to using faecal inoculum instead of rumen fluid has been described by Pandian (2003). In vitro gas production was recorded from 0 to 96h and extent and rate of gas production was described based on the exponential model y = B (1-e -c(t-lag) ) where B is the asymptote of gas production, c the rate of gas production and lag a delay in the onset of fermentation.Except for nitrogen content and rate of in vitro gas production, silage fodder quality traits did not significantly differ in vines and tubers of the five cultivars (Table 1 and 2). In vitro digestibility, metabolizable energy and in vitro gas production measurements showed higher fodder quality for tubers than for vines, however nitrogen content was higher in the vines than in the tubers. Except for nitrogen content cultivars differences in fodder quality traits was essentially due to differences in vine to tuber proportions. The observed variation in fodder quality traits was appreciative for whole plant silage and nitrogen content, in vitro digestibility and metabolizable energy content ranged from 1.0 to 1.5%, 63.4 to 71.3% and 9.3 to 10.7%, respectively. Some cautions is advised as in vitro digestibility and metabolizable energy estimates were based on equations that uses in vitro gas production in rumen fluid and various chemical constituents such as nitrogen and ash. (Menke and Steingass, 1988). Exact values for digestibility or metabolizable energy content of the silages for pig nutrition will therefore differ from the ones reported in Table 1 and 2, but the ranges reported hold probably true. Ramakrishna et al. (2006) reported the biomass yield of the silages used for the present work. A comparison of the whole plant biomass dry matter yield with the silage quality data reported in this work (Table 1 and 2) showed that there was no significant relationship between silage quality traits and sweet potato biomass yield. These findings suggest that high biomass yield and high biomass quality are not necessarily exclusive traits. It should therefore be feasible to further improve quantity and quality traits in sweet potato breeding and selection programs. The in vitro technique tested here will be useful in such breeding and selection work. ","tokenCount":"732"}

data/part_1/0383072407.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"43347c369349b6d8c6463cd3af382603","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://repository.cimmyt.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/0fb2221a-e200-441c-b38e-98a5526f2ea8/content","id":"-1153957592"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"01bd180d-a58f-4355-97be-33a4125f7c96","pagecount":"8","content":"Calidad industrial de trigos harineros mexicanos para temporal. II. Variabilidad genética y criterios de selecciónThe genetic variability and heritability of quality-related parameters and the selection criteria for bread making quality useful for breeding of mexican rainfed bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), were determined in a set of 15 genotypes representing diverse breadmaking quality. The evaluation was done in 11 locations which represent the environmental variability of rainfed wheat-producing area of Mexican highlands. It was found that quality traits: test weight, grain and flour protein, bread loaf volume, kernel texture, and sedimentation volume (gluten strength-related parameter), showed a very low genetic variability. Gluten extensibility (alveographs-P/L and P/G) and enzymatic activity associated with grain preharvest germination, showed intermediate genetic variability. Gluten strength (Al-veograph-W) and dough mixing time showed the highest levels of genetic variability. Alveograph-W, mixing time, sedimentation volume and kernel texture showed the highest heritability values. Alveograph-W, mixing time, sedimentation volume, alveograph-P/L and alveograph-P/G, showed a positive and significative association with bread volume. Considering genetic variability and heritability, the former variables are adequate for indirect selection for improving bread-making quality. Index words: Triticum aestivum L., genetic variance, heritability, genetic variation coefficient, Pearson´s correlations, bread making quality, gluten strength.La superficie de trigo harinero (Triticum aestivum L.) de riego en México se ha reducido drásticamente debido principalmente a la escasez de agua y a la reconversión hacia cultivos más rentables y de exportación. Esto ha contribuido a que la industria recurra a la importación de trigo para suplir la demanda nacional. La siembra de trigo de temporal o de secano en México es una posibilidad para reducir el déficit que actualmente tiene el país, ya que hay alrededor de un millón de hectáreas de temporal donde el trigo es una opción viable. Un factor que ha impedido incrementar las siembras de trigo en temporal, es que los productores frecuentemente enfrentan problemas para comercializar el grano, porque la industria molinera prefiere importar trigo del mercado internacional, con el argumento de que los trigos mexicanos no poseen la calidad de panificación requerida (Villaseñor et al., 2000).La calidad industrial del trigo se caracteriza mediante el análisis de parámetros físicos, químicos y reológicos relacionados con la calidad molinera y de panificación. El análisis físico incluye rendimiento harinero, textura de grano y peso hectolítrico; el análisis químico incluye al contenido de proteína en grano y harina, volumen de sedimentación y actividad enzimática (alfa-amilasa) asociada con germinación en la espiga, las cuales están relacionadas directamente con la calidad panadera (Finney et al., 1987;Seleny, 1988;Peña et al., 2002;Souza et al., 2002). El análisis reológico de la masa incluye características como fuerza de gluten (alveograma-W), extensibilidad de gluten (alveogramas-P/L y P/G), propiedades de amasado (tiempo de amasado y tolerancia al amasado en el mixógrafo), entre otras, porque están relacionadas con las propiedades viscoelásticas de la masa que determinan las propiedades de panificación de la misma (Chen y D´Appolonia, 1985;Finney, 1989;Wooding y Walker, 1992;Peña et al., 2002;Souza et al., 2002). En la prueba de panificación se miden aspectos como volumen de pan y estructura y apariencia de la miga, variables importantes en la caracterización de la calidad panadera de un trigo (Hoseney, 1994;Qarooni, 1996).El conocimiento de la variabilidad genética utilizada en programas de fitomejoramiento, es de primordial importancia para el establecimiento de estrategias de selección. Dicha variabilidad se expresa con varianzas fenotípica y genotípica; sin embargo, el coeficiente de variación genética es el mejor parámetro para tal propósito (Ehdaie y Waines, 1989). Peterson et al. (1992) registraron valores de varianzas genéticas de: 998 para proteína en la harina, de 2.2 para tiempo de amasado, 24.3 para volumen de sedimentación y 0.11 para dureza de grano. Por su parte, Graybosch et al. (1996) encontraron varianzas de 2107 para proteína en la harina y 275 para volumen de sedimentación, mientras que Espitia-Rangel et al. (1999a, b) reportan varianzas de 0.01 a 0.02 para peso hectolítrico, de 1.2 a 5.1 para proteína en la harina y de 0.003 a 0.008 para tiempo de amasado.La heredabilidad es un parámetro genético que determina si las diferencias entre individuos se deben a diferencias genéticas entre éstos ó a diferentes respuestas a los factores ambientales. Los valores de heredabilidad varían ampliamente para proteína en harina, proteína en grano, peso hectolítrico y volumen de sedimentación (0.30 a 0.40, 0.30 a 0.60, 0.12 a 0.44 y 0.19 a 0.56, respectivamente), pero son altos y consistentes (0.75 a 0.83) para textura de grano (Loffler et al., 1983;O'Brien et al., 1989;Fenn et al., 1994;Peterson et al., 1998).Las relaciones existentes entre parámetros de calidad son relevantes para el fitomejoramiento, sobre todo cuando la selección está dirigida al mejoramiento simultáneo de varios factores, o al manejo de caracteres de difícil cuantificación o de baja heredabilidad. Por ejemplo, se han detectado asociaciones entre volumen de pan y proteína en el grano, proteína en harina, volumen de sedimentación, tiempo de amasado y alveograma-W (Trethowan et al., 2001); entre el peso hectolítrico y alveograma-P/L, alveograma-W y volumen de sedimentación (Gupta et al., 1992;Peterson et al., 1992;Graybosch et al., 1996); y entre la textura del grano y peso hectolítrico, alveograma-P/L, alveograma-W y volumen de sedimentación. De igual forma, las características reológicas como alveograma-P/L han resultado asociadas positivamente con tiempo de amasado, alveograma-W y volumen de sedimentación (Peterson et al., 1992;Graybosch et al., 1996).Con respecto a las características físicas, químicas, reológicas y de calidad panadera de trigos harineros mexicanos para temporal, poco se conoce de los efectos genéticos y ambientales sobre la variabilidad en caracteres de calidad, así como de las asociaciones entre parámetros de calidad bajo condiciones ambientales diversas. Con el propósito de generar el conocimiento necesario para hacer más eficiente el mejoramiento de la calidad de trigo en el Altiplano Central de México, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo determinar la variabilidad genética, la heredabilidad, la asociación entre caracteres y los criterios de selección para diferentes parámetros de calidad industrial de trigos harineros mexicanos para temporal.Loss 15 genotipos de trigo de temporal usados representan la diversidad genética del germoplasma utilizado en la región objetivo, e incluyeron cuatro variedades recientemente liberadas: Juchi F2000, Náhuatl F2000, Tlaxcala F2000 y Rebeca F2000; cuatro variedades testigo Gálvez M87, Temporalera M87, Batán F96 y Romoga F96; cuatro líneas avanzadas del programa de trigo de temporal; y las variedades Zacatecas VT74, Arandas F90 y Pavón F76 que han sido utilizadas ampliamente para siembras de temporal. Se sembraron en el ciclo primavera-verano de 1999 en once localidades de temporal: Juchitepec, Tecamac y Coatepec en el estado de México; Nanacamilapa y Apizaco en Tlaxcala; Santiago Tillo en Oaxaca; Jesús María en Jalisco; Cuyuaco en Puebla; Roque en Guanajuato; Buenavista en Morelos y Amealco en Querétaro. Este conjunto de localidades representa la diversidad ambiental de las regiones mexicanas de trigo de temporal.Los genotipos se distribuyeron en un diseño de bloques completos al azar con dos repeticiones. La parcela experimental consistió de cuatro surcos de 4 m de largo separados a 30 cm. Las siembras se realizaron de acuerdo con las recomendaciones del Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias para cada región. Las parcelas experimentales fueron cosechadas para determinar el rendimiento, en kg ha -1 . Los análisis de calidad fueron realizados en el Laboratorio de Calidad de Trigo del Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT).El análisis físico del grano consistió en la evaluación de peso hectolítrico (kg HL -1 ) determinado en una muestra de 500 mL con una balanza volumétrica (Seedburo Equipment Co., Chicago IL.), y la textura del grano (índice de dureza, %) determinada con un analizador por reflectancia en el espectro infrarrojo cercano (NIR, por sus siglas en inglés) Infralyzer 300 (Technicon, N. Y.) calibrado (método 39-70A; AACC, 1995) con base en el índice de tamaño de partícula (método 55-30; AACC, 1995), en el cual una mayor proporción (%) de partículas finas presentes en una muestra de harina integral indica mayor suavidad del grano.La harina refinada se obtuvo de muestras de grano acondicionado a 14 % de humedad, con reposo de 24 a 36 h previo a la molienda, la cual fue efectuada en un molino Brabender Quadrumat Sr. (Brabender, Alemania) El análisis químico consistió en la determinación del contenido de proteína en el grano y en la harina, del volumen de sedimentación (parámetro relacionado con la fuerza de gluten) y la actividad enzimática (alfa-amilasa) asociada con la germinación en espiga. El contenido de proteína (g kg -1 ) en grano y en harina se midió con el analizador NIR Infralyzer 300 (método 39-10; AACC, 1995). La actividad enzimática se determinó indirectamente por el método viscosimétrico de índice de caída (FN, por sus siglas en inglés) con un aparato Falling Number AB 1400 (Falling Number, Suecia) en una muestra de 7 g de harina con 14 % de humedad (método 56-81B; AACC, 1995). El volumen de sedimentación (mL) se determinó en una muestra de 1 g de harina a la que se agregó dodecil sulfato de sodio (SDS, por sus siglas en inglés) de acuerdo con el procedimiento descrito por Peña et al. (1990), en el que a mayor volumen mayor es la fuerza de gluten.El análisis reológico consistió en la determinación de variables de fuerza de gluten (alveograma-W), extensibilidad de gluten (alveogramas-P/L y P/G) y tiempo de amasado en el mixógrafo. Las variables alveográficas W, P/L y P/G se obtuvieron con un Alveógrafo de Chopin (Trippette & Renaud, Paris, Francia) en una muestra de 50 g de harina, de acuerdo con el método 54-30 de la AACC (AACC, 1995), utilizando el criterio de consistencia constante (absorción variable, 50-57.5 %) y ajustando el tiempo de mezclado (7-9 min) hasta obtener una masa tersa. El alveograma-W es un medida de la fuerza de la masa (10 -4 J) en el que a mayor valor de W, mayor es la fuerza de gluten. Los alveogramas-P/L y P/G son la relación entre la altura y longitud del alveograma y entre la altura y el índice de expansión, respectivamente, e indican la extensibilidad del gluten. A menores valores de P/L y P/G, mayor extensibilidad del gluten. El tiempo de desarrollo de la masa (Tiempo de amasado, min) se determinó en un mixógrafo (National Manufactiring Co., Lincoln, NE.), en una muestra de 35 g de harina a 14 % de humedad, y absorción de agua variable, de acuerdo con el contenido de proteína en la harina (método 54-40; AACC, 1995), de modo de que a mayor tiempo de amasado mayor es la fuerza de gluten. La calidad panadera (representada por el volumen de pan, mL) se evaluó en 100 g de harina a 14 % de humedad, mediante el método de panificación de masa directa (método 10-09; AACC, 1995); el volumen de pan se determinó por desplazamiento de semilla de colza (Brassica sp.).Previo al análisis estadístico de los datos porcentuales de textura de grano, se realizó una transformación logarítmica. Ambientes y genotipos se consideraron como factores aleatorios. Los componentes de varianza para cada una de las fuentes de variación se estimaron mediante el procedimiento VARCOMP del SAS (SAS, 1994). En el Cuadro 1 se presenta la estructura del análisis de varianza y esperanzas de cuadrados medios.Cuadro 1. Estructura del análisis de varianza combinado y esperanzas de cuadrados medios de 15 genotipos de trigo en 11 ambientes de temporal. Primavera-Verano 1999.Rep(A) a(r-1) SCr(a)Genotipo (G) (g-1) SCg CMg σ 2 e + r σ 2 ag + ra σ 2 g G x A (g-1)(r-1) SCag CMag σ 2 e + r σ 2 ag Error a(g-1)(r-1) SCe CMe σ 2 e Total arg-1 FV, G L, SC, CM y ECM, son fuentes de variación, grados de libertad, suma de cuadrados, cuadrados medios y esperanzas de cuadrados medios, respectivamente σ 2 g, 2 ga y 2 e, son componentes de varianza de genotipos, genotipos por ambientes y error, respectivamente Los componentes de varianza se calcularon al igualar la esperanza matemática de los cuadrados medios con los estimadores de éstos en el análisis de varianza. El coeficiente de variación genética (CVG) de todas la variables, se calculó al dividir la desviación estándar genética entre la media (CVG < 20 = variabilidad genética alta; CVG=12 a 20 = variabilidad genética intermedia; CVG > 10 = variabilidad genética baja). La heredabilidad se estimó al dividir la varianza genética entre la varianza fenotípica. Las correlaciones de Pearson se obtuvieron con el procedimiento CORR del SAS (SAS, 1994).La varianza entre genotipos fue la principal fuente de variación para peso hectolítrico, textura de grano, proteína en la harina, volumen de sedimentación, alveograma-W, tiempo de amasado y volumen de pan mientras que los efectos de interacción genotipo x ambiente fueron los más importantes para actividad enzimática, alveogramas-P/G y P/L (Cuadro 2). Los efectos de localidades, genotipos y su interacción fueron significativos para todas las variables estudiadas (datos no mostrados). En actividad enzimática, alveogramas-P/G y P/L y rendimiento de grano, el efecto genético fue similar al efecto de la interacción genotipo x ambiente. En la textura de grano, volumen de sedimentación, alveograma-W y tiempo de amasado, la varianza genética correspondió a más de 54 % del valor de la varianza fenotípica, lo que muestra que los efectos genéticos son importantes en estas variables.Cuadro 2. Componentes de varianza estimados para 11 variables de calidad y rendimiento de 15 genotipos de trigo en once ambientes de temporal. Primavera-Verano 1999. Los coeficientes de variación genética más altos correspondieron a las variables reológicas alveograma-W y tiempo de amasado (Cuadro 3), las cuales presentaron una amplitud de 763 x 10 -4 J y de 4.5 min, respectivamente. La amplitud de la variación del tiempo de amasado fue mayor a la observada (2.5 min) por Peterson et al. (1992) para trigo rojo de invierno cultivado en condiciones de temporal errático. Esto sugiere que es necesario aplicar selección para reducir la amplia variabilidad en tiempo de amasado que ocurre en condiciones de temporal. Los coeficientes de variación genética para alveogramas-P/G y P/L y actividad enzimática fueron intermedios (Cuadro 3), pero todavía permiten efectuar selección. La amplitud de la variación para alveograma-P/G (1.4 a 8.2) y alveograma-P/L (0.3 a 2.2) y sus medias de 3.8 y 0.8, respectivamente, indican que los trigos mexicanos para temporal presentan buena extensibilidad para panificación, comparable a la de trigos duros de primavera cultivados en condiciones variables de temporal (Addo et al., 1990). La actividad enzimática varió de 72 a 700 s, con una media de 560 s, valores que indican que los trigos mexicanos de temporal presentan buena tolerancia a la germinación en espiga. Los coeficientes de variación genética más bajos (2 a 10.7) correspondieron a volumen de sedimentación, rendimiento de grano, textura de grano, volumen de pan, proteína en grano y en harina y peso hectolítrico; es decir, estos trigos mexicanos de temporal poseen una reducida variación genética para rendimiento de grano, acumulación de proteína y textura de grano.Las heredabilidades más altas correspondieron a alveograma-W (0.70), tiempo de amasado (0.64), textura de grano (0.54) y volumen de sedimentación (0.54) (Cuadro 3), lo cual sugiere que estos caracteres pueden ser mejorados más fácilmente porque la variación observada en estas variables se debe principalmente a efectos genéticos. En contraste, rendimiento de grano, peso hectolítrico, actividad enzimática, proteína en grano y harina, alveogramas-P/G y P/L y volumen de pan, tuvieron heredabilidades bajas (< 0.50), que indican una mayor dificultad de su mejoramiento al tener influencia considerable de la interacción genotipo x ambiente. Los valores de heredabilidad encontrados en este estudio concuerdan con los reportados anteriormente para caracteres de calidad de trigos rojos de invierno (Loffler et al., 1983) y trigos australianos de primavera (O'Brien et al., 1989).El volumen de pan presentó las correlaciones más altas con proteína en grano y en harina, y con los alveogramas-W y P/L (Cuadro 4), similar a lo observado por Trethowan et al. (2001) en trigos cultivados con riego. Esto indica que tanto en condiciones de temporal como en riego, la calidad panadera está determinada principalmente por la cantidad y la calidad de la proteína del gluten. Aunque significativa, la relación entre volumen de pan y tiempo de amasado fue baja. Por otro lado, el tiempo de amasado tuvo una correlación relativamente alta con alveograma-W, pero baja con los alveogramas-P/G y P/L (Cuadro 4); por tanto, el tiempo de amasado está influenciado principalmente por la fuerza del gluten y no por su extensibilidad. Entonces, el tiempo de amasado por sí solo no es una variable suficientemente efectiva para seleccionar por calidad panadera.Alveograma-W presentó la correlación más alta con el volumen de pan, y también presentó asociación positiva con tiempo de amasado, proteína en grano y en harina, volumen de sedimentación, y actividad anzimática. Esto confirma los resultados reportados por Bettge et al. (1989) y Addo et al. (1990). El volumen de sedimentación presentó asociación positiva con proteína en grano y harina, mientras que su asociación con los alveogramas-P/G y P/L fue negativa. Resultados similares han sido reportados anteriormente (Peterson et al., 1992;Graybosch et al., 1996). El tiempo de amasado presentó una relación positiva con alveograma-W, mientras que su asociación con los alveogramas-P/G y P/L y con volumen de pan su asociación fue relativamente baja, lo cual coincide con resultados reportados anteriormente (Bettge et al., 1989;Addo et al., 1990;Peterson et al., 1992).Las variables alveograma-P/L y P/G, que expresan la extensibilidad de una masa, estuvieron asociadas negativamente con volumen de pan, con proteína en grano y harina, y con volumen de sedimentación.La proteína en grano y harina presentaron una relación positiva con volumen de pan, volumen de sedimentación y alveograma-W. Peso hectolítrico, textura de grano y actividad enzimática no mostraron asociación significativa con el volumen de pan como era de esperarse pues estas variables están relacionadas más bien con la calidad molinera del trigo. Estos resultados confirman lo encontrado anteriormente (Bettge et al., 1989;Addo et al., 1990;Peterson et al., 1992).La respuesta a la selección dependerá de la variabilidad genética, la heredabilidad y a la asociación del carácter de interés con otras variables. Si se quiere mejorar la calidad molinera (rendimiento harinero) de los trigos mexicanos cultivados en temporal, se tendrá que seleccionar hacia valores más altos de peso hectolítrico, el cual depende de la forma, tamaño y llenado del grano (Seleny, 1988). Pero la reducida variabilidad genética detectada para peso hectolítrico en los trigos mexicanos de temporal sugiere la necesidad de introducir germoplasma que permita mejorar este parámetro de calidad. Es necesario seleccionar trigos con tolerancia a la germinación en espiga, sobre todo en regiones temporaleras (de secano) donde las lluvias coinciden con la madurez del grano. Es importante también seleccionar para obtener grano de endospermo duro a semiduro, ya que mayor dureza resulta en niveles relativamente altos de almidón dañado durante la molienda, lo cual incrementa la absorción de agua de la harina. La proteína en el grano es frecuentemente considerada en la comercialización de trigo; los trigos mexicanos de temporal incluidos en este estudio mostraron poca variabilidad y una baja heredabilidad para este carácter, por lo que se deberá introducir germoplasma que posea, además de las características ya mencionadas, mayor eficiencia en la utilización de nitrógeno disponible y mayor habilidad para acumular proteína en el grano.En los trigos mexicanos cultivados en temporal, la variabilidad genética y la heredabilidad para volumen de pan, presentaron valores bajos por lo que se deberá introducir variabilidad para este carácter. En cambio, los caracteres como proteína en grano, proteína en harina, alveogramas-P/L y W, volumen de sedimentación, alveograma-P/G y tiempo de amasado, además de estar asociadas con volumen de pan, presentaron mayor variabilidad genética y heredabilidad que el volumen del pan, por lo que es posible utilizar tales caracteres como criterios para la selección indirecta del mismo. La variabilidad genética de los trigos temporaleros mexicanos es baja para las variables de calidad como peso hectolítrico, proteína en grano, proteína en la harina, volumen de pan, textura de grano, rendimiento de grano y volumen de sedimentación. En variables como alveograma-P/L, actividad enzimática (tolerancia a la germinación en la espiga) y alveograma-P/G, la variabilidad genética es baja pero aceptable; mientras que para alveograma-W y tiempo de amasado la variabilidad genética es alta. Las variables alveograma-W, tiempo de amasado, volumen de sedimentación y textura de grano presentaron los valores más altos de heredabilidad. Las variables alveograma-W, tiempo de amasado, volumen de sedimentación, proteína en grano, proteína en la harina y alveograma-P/G presentaron asociación positiva y significativa con volumen de pan, lo que aunado con sus altos valores de variabilidad genética y heredabilidad, las hace las variables más adecuadas para la selección indirecta del volumen de pan.Los autores agradecen al CONACYT (Proyectos: I29928B y 34718-B) y Alianza para el Campo del estado de México (Proyecto: 3553) el financiamiento otorgado para la realización de la presente investigación.","tokenCount":"3424"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"4dd377b4c929189b46774575d64034e8","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/ef752aba-8427-4e5d-a40c-d6f05dcd0d54/retrieve","id":"1494524602"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"3f10c9fc-2d89-4f1e-b85a-6e0def0cb0b6","pagecount":"25","content":"AOOut 300 million famers in the tropics practice shifting cultivation and related bush fallow systems. With increasing pressure of p::>pulation, the ratio of fallCM to cultivation period declines rapid! y and so does the fertility and produc-• tivity of the soil. It has l::een estimated that to meet the increasing demands for food prodl):::tion in the various tropical regions, the rate of land developrent rrey have to be as much as 6 to 10 million hectares per armum.'lb solve this problem, an approach which is often preferred by many regional am national planners is to bring new land into large scale rrechanized fanning. However, the conclusions drawn recent! y fran a critical appraisal of large-scale agricultural developnent schares in savanna. arxj forest regions of Africa and elsewhere in the tropics are not encoura9ing. Plarming and execution of such schares, with utter disregard of the soil conditions and other envi.ro.nrrental and socio-econanic factors, have led to widespread barren arxj unproductive land where lush green forest once prevailed.Recent advances in agronanic and soil research have helred to diste1 many misconceptions of the agricultural p::>tentials of land and soil resources in different tropical regions. 'Ihe completion of the Soil Map of the Ybrld by FAO/UNESCO and the subsequent developnent of various technical soil and land evaluation systEms have provided us with nnre reliable information which can now re used for soil and land assessnent. h:Jricultural land developnent in developing countries, therefore, is to be based on the following prerequisites:(i) soil and land suitability, (ii) ~ kind of farming system to be adopted, and (iii) the socio-econ:xnic inplications.In the hood and per-hunid regions of the low al ti tude tropics (Le. Precipitation ~ Potential Evapotranspiration (P ~ ET) for period betweell 6 to B rronths, or nore than B rronths of the year, respectively), the luxurious rainforest is often supported by the extrerel y infertile 90ils (i.e. strongly leached Ultisols and O>ciEOls). Land covered wi th such soils, are rrore sui table for agro-forestry or tree crop plantations, particularly in areas where population ~ssure is low.'!he traditional bush fallow system of cultivation in such envi.ror1nents, th:>~h subsistence ~ is an effective and stable metlnd of soil managenent when lam availabU i ty is unlimited. ltbre penre.nent :focxi crop cultivation on such land is only possible through frequent applications of nrulti-elE!'l'l9l1t fertili~s and l:ilning. 'Furthemore, periodic tree crop fallow may be required rot only to recycle the plant nutrients leached ~ the surface rorizon but also to inprove the deteriorated subs::lil st:r\\x:ture. Large scale ny:ciianised forest clearing of 1800 <:x::rJ1?riSing the strongly acidic and kaolinitic soilsmay be prohibitive. '!his is particularly ~ for land with a rolliIXJ topogratny and steeper slates.In the hunid/sub-hunid tt:'ansitJ.On zone of west Africa CLe. oouth-\\oJest.ern Nigeria), the less leached Alfisols are the aCundant soi'ls lUlder the predcminanUy secondary forest vegetation. Land-form in the region is characterized by a rolling top:>graphy with snall V-shafed valleys. rb-till rnaize farming with crop residue mulch has teen shown to be a pramsing system of crop production on lar1d newly cleared fran forest.Sub-humid and Semi-arid Regions 111 the sub-humid and semi-arid regions of Africa Ci.e. p ~ ET for 4-6 and 2-4 JIDnths for the year, respectively), the upland areas are generally daninated by the \"lateritic\" and naturally COITpacted soils (i.e. kaolinitic Alfisols and Inceptiools), while the rrore fertile hydrorrorphic soils and vertisols are found in restricted areas of inland depressions and river valleys.'!he upland soils in these regions are intensively cultivated in areas where rainfall is nore reliable or where supplimental irrigation is available. On the other hand, the lowland areas are generally under-utilized. In the savannah regions of West Africa, the lowland areas are mainly used for vegetable crop production such as tanato and pepper during the dry season.IbNever, much of the land is left uncultivated thrOugOClUt the rainy season because of lack of pro~r drainage and flood water control system. Such lowland areas could be develo~d for intensive rice production with better \\vater managerrent practices.The tropical highlands of Fast and Central Africa comprise pJtentiall y the rrost productive land in tropical Afr ica . 'The fine-textured, oxidic Alfisols and Oxisols (or, Eutric Nitosols, FAO ) derived fran ferranagnesian rocks are widely occurrinq soils in the region. Such soils generally have little physica l limitation and extensive food crop production systems can be develo~ wi t.h appropriate fertilizer use. I.arge sca:io rrechanized agriculture is quite suitable for such soils, provided that supportive agro-industries are readily available.A technical soil evaluation system for highly ~athered soils (or, soils with variable charge) is being developed at 11Th. The principal objective of the system is to provide agricultural planners in the tropics wi til a set of simple guidelines for agricul tural soil utilization and land developtent. Such soil quality and limitation guidelines are to be used in conjunction with necessary information on land-forms and agro-clirnatic condi tions in order to assess the ultimate roils and land sui tabili ty .The technical soil evaluation system classifies highly weathered soils in the tropics into four mineralogical groups and tv.D chemical sub-groups which are supplimented by a set of soil physical and fertility 'rondition rrodifiers'. '!he systan nay be briefly summarized as follows: Table 1. A Technical soil evaluation system based on soil mineralogy (Juo , 1981). In traditional systens and for SIT611 size holders clearing is usually done by hand using machete, axe, hoe and other indegenous tcols. In orde:c to ensure regrowth during the next fallowing period, stumping is qenerall y not done. 'Ibis rrethod of clearing causes the least soil disturbance, and the problem of nm-off and soil erosion is generally minimal. H0M8ver, this system cannot be used for large scale mechaniZed farminq, since, it is slow, and exp2I1sive to carty out.Land clearing for plantation crops and pastures can also be done manually by \"ring ba.rking\". '!his rrethcrl is generally effective for eradication of trees up to certain size. Ringred trees, generally take long tine to die, and the shading by standing trees can be detrirrental in establishing gcod pastures.ii) Chemical Poisoning:with high risks of JXllluting the environrrent, sorre chemicals can be used for killing existing vegetation cover for establishrrent of plantation crops or pastures. The cooice of the suitable chemical smuld take into consideration the health hazards to human and animals. The persistence of • the chemicals in soils and natural waters is also an :i.r£lrortant factor to be considered. Compared with mechanized clearing, manual clearing operations are slow and inefficient. C€pending on the vegetation cover and tree density, TI1aI1ual clearing operations may require up to 200 rran-days/ha for carplete clearing of a semi -d.ecidoous rain forest (Table 2). Out of which 54 percent of the tirre is needed for cutting and falling, and 34 ~cent for stunping and burning.On the other hand, it required a1:xmt 2 ~rking hoursjha to clear with the shear blade attadrre.nt ~ with 2. 70 ~rking hours/ ha required with the tree pusher/root rake conbination (Table 3).Accordingly, the fool consumption is also al:x:mt 50 };:ercent less for the shear blade than for the tree pusher attachrrent.Shear blade followed by no-tillage offers good protection against soil erosion, therefore, subsequent post-clearing land developnent (terracing, grass waterways etc.) are not necessary.'!he post-clearing land developrent costs, de~ding on the rrethod of land clearing and the roil and slope characteristics, rray be as high as us $450jha.  4). It is interesting to p:Jint out that the roil loss/grain yield ratio ranged from 0.02 for traditional land clearing and mmaganent to 11.2 for tree pusher/root rake clearing followed by conventional tillage.'lhe fX)st-clearing larrl nanagement and cropping systans sh:mld rmintain or ilrprove the soil productivity in order to ensure a sustained and econonically viable production system.During the past decade, nTh has been oonducting research as part of the effort to replace or improve tram tional bush fallow rrethXis with rrore productive systems. No-tillage is essentially farming without plowing, where seeds are planted in a narrow slit or trench opened mechanicall y in the killed sod or previous crop residue. Weed and other competing vegetation are oontrolled by chemical herbicides I and plant roots are left in the soil to deCOf'lFOse.In the forest zone of West Africa, where the highly erosive Alfisols with low nutrient and water rolding capacities are daninant, the no-till maize production with crop residue mulching on newly cleared forest land has shawn distinct advantages over oonventional till age. In comparison with conventional tillage, the no-till system has the following advantages:(i) Soil erosion caused by water or wind is drastically reduced.(ii) Sloping lands that cannot otherwise te used for raw crops can be used with a minimun risk of soil erosion and degradation. 'The cost of installation and of maintenance of traditional soil erosion oontrol measures (terraces) is reduced.(iii) Energy requirements are reduced.(iv) The time required for land preparation is reduced, that provides more flexibility in planning farm operations.(v) The investIrent in machinary is reduced.(vi) Soil-water and nutrient reserves are used rrore efficiently.Research conducted at rrm and elsewhere have shown that if the vegetation caver is rerroved for arable landuse, a crop residue mulch of 4 to 6 t/ha provides adequate protection to tie soil against the impacting raindrops and prevent soil erosion. 'lhe effectiveness of residue mulch is considerably enhanced if the soil surface has not been disturbed by ro;clrurical manipulations such as caused by plowing and intercul tivation. These requirements for soil and water conservation can benet through the use of the \"notill\" system.l'!xperirrents o:mducted at 11Th for the last ten or !TOre years have indicated that, at least on slopes upto 15 percent, rontinuous maize production can be practiced without serious erosion risks (Table 5), provided that zero tillage is used together with crop and weed residues maintained as a mulch.M:iize yield (total of 2 crops per yearJ with zero tillage have proven to be superior than the oonventional tillage (Fig. 1). But the significant yield decline after the fourth year •under both tillage systems are due to a variety of factors.Soil compaction and soil acidification are among the important ones. 'Illese data. :rcint out the limitations for the utilization of the so-called \"kaolinitic\" or \"low activity clay\" soils for continuous fcxXi crop cultivation. 'Ib overccme such soil limitations, periodic chiselling ,returning land to planted fq.llow with deep rooted perennials, or ploughinq at the end of the rainy season are currently being studied.M:>reover, for the no-tillaqe system to be successfully adopted, a package of aqronanic practices must be developed for different soils, crops and aqroeaological environments. The cultural practices reccxrrrended for the conventional plCMing system are rpt always suitable for the no-tillage system. Agroncmic and eo::manic studies on the following spects are being developed and strengthened at rITA (i) effective control of insects and disease-producing organisms, and the rodents that are likely to be rrore in rntillage than in conventional tillage system.(ii) al ternative methods of adequate weed control if appropriate herbicides are lY)t available I and (iii) suitable cropping systans to rreet the resid~ requirements for soil and water conservation and f or alternot~ uses (fuel, fodder, fences etc) •Alley cropping is a systan, in which arable crops are grown in the spaces be~en rows of planted ~y shrubs or tree f allows in which the fallow species is periodically pruned during the cropping season to prevent shading and provide green manure f or the cc:mpanion crop.The alley cropping system retains the basic features of bush fallow. It offer s an attractive alternative and may be easily adopted by the small f~rs in tropical Africa. Major rrodi f icat i ons are as follow:Selected species of fast-growing small trees and shrubs (usually legunes with nitrogen-fixing ability) are used to replace the variable species of t;e naturally-regenerated bush fallCM.(ii) 'The small trees or shrubs are planted in ravs with interrow spacing wide enough to aHCM the use of rrechanized equiprent.(Different Sp3.cings ~re tried -2, 4, 6 and 8 ffi. There are drawbacks to toth the too narrow and the too wide sp3cings). 'The nitrogen contribution by Ieucaena rrrulch on maize grain yield was equivalent to al:xmt 100 kgjha for every 10 t/ha of fresh prunnings (Table 6). The continoous addition of pnmed material to the soil along with the barrier fonned by the Leucaena raws also reduces run-off and soil erosion. '!he systan of contimxms bush fallow as observed in Halley cropping\" is expected to retain soil productivity for a long period and permit rrore effective use of the land. ---------------------------------------------------------------   ","tokenCount":"2069"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"656ee938a10ac7937efcfa905b38250d","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/f1b33d6d-87f9-457f-ac23-3d80e3ca80c2/retrieve","id":"-2098302771"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"245544fa-65f6-4396-9791-8076ef41d886","pagecount":"8","content":"Climate change research must be nationally relevant for research outputs to be used broadly. This is why CIMMYT-CCAFS conducted its research in close collaboration with the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and other stakeholders in Ethiopia. The climate research outputs generated were used as inputs during the development of Ethiopia's National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. The collaboration with national stakeholders also helped in building national climate research capacity in Ethiopia where climate change information is limited.• CIMMYT-CCAFS research played a crucial role in building national climate research capacity in Ethiopia.• CIMMYT-CCAFS research outputs informed the national and regional climate change development initiatives in Ethiopia.Ethiopia is a diverse country with different agroecological and crop production systems (MoARD 2005;Georgis et al. 2012). The natural resource base is rich with different ecosystems encompassing huge biodiversity, water and soil resources. However, an increase in both human and livestock populations is exerting heavy pressure on the natural base (land, water and vegetation) leading to natural resource degradation. In addition, the potential for feeding a growing population is being challenged by environmental shocks that are becoming more severe under climate change. These conditions have led to low productivity and food insecurity in the country (Georgis 2010).Ethiopia is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its low level of economic and social development, low levels of income per capita, limited disaster risk management and weak institutional capacities. The agricultural production systems in the country mainly depend on rainfed agriculture which is sensitive to the negative impacts of climate variability and change. Agriculture is of particular concern in Ethiopia not only because the sector is most vulnerable to climate change but also because it is practiced by smallholder farmers who have poor starting conditions, weak adaptability, and limited adaptation options (NMSA 2007). A large proportion of the population (>80%) of Ethiopia is employed in the agricultural sector which is mainly based on human and animal energy. The methodologies used include gathering information through key informants such as interviews with experts at relevant government ministries, research and academic institutions, and review of reports. The major ones include:• Interviews with high level experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry on climate change policy and strategy issues.• Interviews with CIMMYT-CCAFS researchers and research managers at EIAR.• Discussions with regional policy makers and research staff of relevant regional research centres particularly those involved in maize and wheat research in Oromia regional state, and higher learning institutes (e.g. Haramaya University).• Review of relevant documents which include:- The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) is mandated by the government to provide research-based evidence on agricultural issues in the country, develop improved agricultural technologies and recommendations and advise policy makers on issues affecting agriculture such as natural resource management, climate change, mechanization, socio-economics and extension. The Biometrics, GIS and Agro-meteorology Directorate (BGAD) of EIAR in particular is tasked to generate research information on climate and related issues in the country. BGAD has distinct roles in climate change initiatives in Ethiopia and has been a member of the national taskforce that developed the Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) which became a focal point for climate change initiatives that require research-based information. BGAD is also currently leading and coordinating a team of experts in the Ethiopian panel of climate change. Therefore, the collaboration between EIAR/BGAD and CIMMYT-CCAFS on climate change research is an excellent approach to link research outputs to national and regional policy needs.Historically, the two organizations, EIAR and CIMMYT, have been conducting collaborative research on wheat and maize through the development of improved crop varieties with high nutritional and good market value. CGIAR centres such as CIMMYT have high-level capacity in research and development and are well placed to assist national programmes such as EIAR with research skill development and capacity building. The EIAR-CIMMYT-CCAFS collaboration on climate change research which covers maize and wheat systems was based on the analysis of past and future climate data from 50 stations located in the maize-and wheat-based farming systems in the country. The major outputs of the research are:• Regional downscaling of future climate for Ethiopia;• Past and future climate extremes;• Past and future frequency and distribution of droughts;• Seasonal and intra-seasonal climate characteristics relevant for agricultural purposes;• Validation of global datasets for local purposes;• Establishment of a national climate database management toolkit that provides climate data and analysis results (ACERO).The close collaboration between CIMMYT-CCAFS and the national research system of Ethiopia can be considered as a new approach in building the research skills of local researchers. This facilitates the process of ownership which consequently leads to the uptake of research outcomes by the government in policy development (Takele et al.Mr. Andualem Shemeles, Director of BGAD, lists the main achievements of the CIMMYT-CCAFS-EIAR collaboration as follows:1 • EIAR-CIMMYT-CCAFS provided continuous input to the development of the National Climate Adaptation Strategy. EIAR-CIMMYT-CCAFS scientists were part of the consultative meetings and workshops held on strategy development and provided feedback on the draft document.• The output of the EIAR-CIMMYT-CCAFS research indicated that extreme weather has a major impact on the Ethiopian economy and recommended to prioritize this in the Strategy.• The Climate Resilient Green Economy Unit (CRGEU) in charge of the mitigation and adaptation activities at MoA, was able to broaden their knowledge base through active participation in climate change meetings, workshops and briefings organized by EIAR.• The Extension Directorate of MoA collaborated with EIAR/BGAD to forecast the 2014/2015 rainfall season and developed a strategy for regional governments to take precautionary measures incorporating the drought frequency indices developed by CIMMYT-CCAFS.• The findings of EIAR-CIMMYT-CCAFS climate researchers were incorporated in the seasonal climate outlook strategy which was used to develop crop management practices.• Regional governments are using the findings of EIAR-CIMMYT-CCAFS to incorporate in their regional climate change policy and adaptation strategies.• NGOs are keen participants of EIAR-CIMMYT-CCAFS climate change workshop and are now putting more emphasis on climate and environmental issues in their interventions.Ethiopia is a land of diversity and opportunity. The country has many different agro-ecologies and farming systems that vary within short distances. The EIAR-CIMMYT-CCAFS partnership is a good example of how collaboration at the national/local level builds capacity and generates research outputs that influence national and regional policy and action. EIAR-CIMMYT-CCAFS researchers are drafting articles for journal publication. However, preparing policy briefs and organizing policy workshops would be advisable in order to utilize the full potential of the research outputs.OU TCOM E ST U DI E S 7In its annual report to Management response","tokenCount":"1083"}

data/part_1/0409999806.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"c5af73e08090445a4ccd4df1c3a798c7","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/09c3b78f-841f-4dde-9caf-75156e3795f4/retrieve","id":"625508083"},"keywords":["intensification","land speculation","frontier","Latin fm-erica","c~ttle ranching. ¡","' 1"],"sieverID":"083f4080-e57d-4064-80ab-c1b0b1d7828f","pagecount":"44","content":"Frontier areas in Latin America have been characteriz~d-';:b-y~/a::'\"n~d~s\"\"p-e\"\"c\"\"u-''''a'''tt!':o'''n-,' abandonment and exploitation. This paper analyzes a frontier cattle ranching area in the savanna where intensification has occurred in spite of land speculation. A whole farm livestock production model is used to quantify the determinants of intensification.Results show that land speculation has simultaneously increased the profitability of cattle ranching while sfowing down intensification and impeding the adoption of sustainable practices. Intensification occurred because the production gains offered by improved pastures over native grasses were large enough to overcome the negative effect of land speculation on intensification. By contrast, in the Amazon, improved technologies have to overcome the high fertility of newly deforested land. Thus, technology, land speculation and characteristics of the resource base interact in a complex way to determine the speed and nature of intensification .The sustainable management of frontier areas is of increasing importance in a world characterized by growing populations and increasing pressure on the natural resource base. Latin America, in particular, has turned increasingly to its frontier areas to provide food, export earnings and employment. Examples abound however, of Latin American frontier occupation being characterized by massive resource degradation, with minimal compensating contributions to agricultural production, (World Bank, 1993;Aramburu, 1984;Hecht, 1988). This paper analyzes a frontier cattle ranching region in the Colombian savanna, where substantial increases in agricultural productivity have occurred. While intensification has undoubtedly been accompanied by resource degradation, the compensating increases in production and carrying capacity imply that this is a frontier that offers the possibility of sustainable increases in production. The paper analyzes the determinants of intensification in the savanna, and draws implications about the lack of intensification in the Amazon. The results reveal that speculative land price increases, technology, and the nature of the resource base in the savanna have been key determinants of the pace and nature of intensification. While land speculation in the Amazon has led to mining of the native soil fertility, the poor production potential of native vegetation in the savanna largely precludes land mining. This, combined with improved pastures which provide strikingly better returns than native savanna grasses, has induced intensification instead of land exploitation. Also, while in the Amazon penetration roads increased the supply of new land, in the savanna infrastructure improvement occurred within areas that were \" • already accessible. Speculative land price increases have been a double edged sword in the savanna, on the one hand contributing substantially to the profitability of cattle ranching, and on the other hand slowing down the intensification process, and impeding the adoption of sustainable technologies.The process of intensification in the savanna is particularly interesting because the neotropical savannas of Latin America are recognized as one of the last significant agricultural frontiers in the world. As a result, their potential for contributing to world food supply is now widely acknowledged (Borlaug andDowsdell, 1994, Macedo, 1994). It has also been argued that development of the savanna could alleviate pressure on the Amazon rain forest (CIAT, 1991 al. Recently, there has also been more awareness about the ecological implications of intensification in the savannas (Solbrig, 1993;Macedo, 1994;Smith, et al. in press), particularly biodiversity losses from degradation of native savanna grasses and gallery forests (Klink, et. al., 1993;Rippstein and Girard, 1994), and siltation and pollution of watercourses and neighboring wetlands (Alho, et. al., 1988). Thus, a sound understanding of the driving forces behind intensification is required if the savanna is to fulfill its agricultural potential, while simultaneously protecting the environment.The study area covers the municipalities of Puerto Lopez and Puerto Gaitan, an area of 2364 sq. km. in the department of Meta, in the Colombian savanna (Figure 1). The region is characterized by highly acidic soils (pH 3.8 -5), with high levels of aluminum (> 80%). Annual rainfall is 1700 -2500 mm., with a dry season of 3 -4 months. The vegetation consists primarily of native savanna grasses, with clumps of woody areas.Small water courses are found throughout the region, along the banks of which are gallery forests.The analysis of land use change presented in this paper, draws on a rich data seto In 1995 the authors carried out a survey of 98 randomly selected farmers, which had been preceded by earlier surveys in 1979, 1989, and 1992. Bio-physical case studies of small samples of farms were carried out in 1977-1979, and in 1988 -1991. In addítíon on-statíon and on-farm tríals have been on-going ín the area since the early 19705.In the 19705, the regíon was still a frontíer area, Le. the natural ecosystem was just beginníng to be brought under human íntervention. Although the native savanna grasses were grazed, the number of animals per ha. (0.09) was too low to alter the natural vegetation. The majority of holdings lacked officíal land títles and physícal boundaries, and the native savanna grasses were open to communal grazíng (Tamayo, 1975). Rivers were the main form of transport, the dirt tracks running through the area beíng vírtually ímpassable during the wet season (Sere and Estrada, 1985).Major changes in land use have taken place in the last fifteen years, the most   • notable being the shift from extensive cattle ranching on native savanna grasses, to semi-extensive cattle ranching, in which a small but increasing proportion of the farm is planted to improved pasture (Table 1). Survey data from 111 farms in the municipalities of Puerto Lopez and Puerto Gaitan show that there was virtually no planted pasture in 1979 (Sere and Estrada, 1985). Adoption increased steadily to 9% of the total area in 1989, 17% in 1992 (Cadavid, 1995). andreached 20% in 1995. During this period the number of animal s per ha. tripled and fertilizer users increased from 3% to 53% of farmers. Accompanying this intensification in land use, has been a decline in the average farm size from over 5000 ha. to under 2000 ha. in 1995.A dramatic increase in land prices has al so taken place during this periodo In the 1995 survey, farmers were asked to value land in native savanna,in the vicinity of their farms, at current market prices. Comparing these values to estimates for 1979 ¡Sere and Estrada, 1985) shows that land prices increased at an annual rate of approximately 15% in real terms. In 1995, land in improved pasture was reported to be selling at 2.5 to 5 times the price of native savanna. A very active land market has accompanied these changes: only 9% of sample farmers in 1995 inherited their land.The rest purchased their farms, fifty four percent having acquired them within the last 12 years. Presumably these new owners purchased land because they had better access to capital or management ski 115, and could therefore get higher returns from the land than previous owners. Considerable progress in the legalization of land titles has also occurred: in 1995 88% of farms had legal title deeds. In spite of the intensification, cattle ranching remains the dominant enterprise, with a few farmers (15%) having small plots of annual or perennial crops, the most dominant among these being watermelon .Although improved pastures occupy only a small part of the area, they appear to have resulted in significantincreases in land productivity and carrying capacity.Production data from on-farm sources show that beef production is around 12 kg/ha on native savanna (Kleinheisterkamp and Hiibich, 1985). and increases to around 200 kg/ha on improved grass pastures under farmers' management (CIA T, 1994).Weighting this data by the reported extent of improved pasture implies that beef production/ha. has more than tripled between 1979 and 1995. Data from the intensive case studies carried out in the late 1970s (Sere and Estrada, 1985) indicate also that with 20% of the area converted to improved pasture, and the current stocking rate on improved pasture of about 1 AU/ha. (Hoyos et al., 1992), the potential herd size has increased by 80% (Table 1). Consistent with this, the cattle inventory of sample farmers increased at an annual rate of 2. 9% between 19799% between and 19899% between (Cadavid, et. al., 1991)), which is considerably higher than the increase in the national inventory of 0.93% over the same period (Lorente, 1994).The key role played by land values in inducing land use intensification is widely accepted. Intensification increases the returns per hectare of land, but requires investment in farm infrastructure and/or inputs.Farmers may prefer therefore to practice unintensified techniques, and use the foregone investment to acquire more • land. This may give a higher total income if land is cheap relative to capital and labor.Thus intensification increases with land values. While so me authors have related this phenomenon to population pressure, which increases the scarcity and therefore the value of land (Boserup, 1965;Binswanger and Mclntire, 1987), others have emphasized transport infrastructure and distance from market centers (Binswanger and Mclntire, 1987, Smith et. al, 1994, Katzman, 1974). Improved access to markets lowers input/output price ratios, and thus increases the discounted present value of expected future returns from the land.In frontier areas a number of authors (World Bank, 1993;Kaimowitz, 1994) have pointed out that intensification is unlikely as long as the frontier is open, i.e. as long as construction of penetration roads ex poses previously inaccessible public land to private occupation, thus increasing the supply of economically usable land and exerting a downward pressure on land values. Another impediment to intensification particularly in frontier areas, is the lack of government law and order services, particularly poor enforcement of property rights, leading to illegal encroachment and violence (World Bank, 1993).Thus a considerable literature linking high land values to intensification exists.Very little is known however about the impact of land price appreciation on intensification. Recently a number of authors have hypothesized that land speculation is an impediment to intensification, particularly in frontier areas (World Bank, 1993;Brandao and Rezende, 1992;Kaimowitz, 1994;Smith et. al., in press). Where creditand risk markets are incomplete, or macroeconomic instability exists, land values exceed the present value of capitalized agricultural profits. In frontier areas when infrastructure improves and land prices increase rapidly, this speculative component gains importance relative to productive use. Available capital is therefore likely to be used more for increasing land holdings, than for intensification (Lowenberg -DeBoer and Boehije, 1986).Technological advances also interact with incentives to intensify (Smith et. al., 1994). If a new technology results in a major increase in land productivity, farmers may obtain a higher total income by changing to the new technology on their current land holding, rather than augmenting their land holding with the old technology. The lower the land price the larger will be the extra land that can be acquired if the new technology is not adopted. Thus only a very major technological advance induces intensification when land prices are low. Conversely, the greater the technological advance, the lower the land price at which intensitication occurs.High interest rate regimes in Brazil have been blamed tor the current pattern of land use in the Amazon, in which new land is opened up after existing land is \"mined\" and abandoned (World Bank, 1993). The logic behind this is that high interest rates increase the preference for current income relative to future income. Thus land is exploited tor high initial incomes, with mini mal investment in inputs for sustaining future productive capacity. The extent to which this argument is valid will depend on biophysical conditions which determine the scope for land mining. As pointed out \\ • • earlier this may be much higher in the Amazon (where native fertility after deforestation is high). compared to the savanna where possibilities for short term exploitation are severely limited by the poor quality of native grasses. It should be also be recognized that high interest rates increase the cost of acquiring new land, and thus have the opposite effect of discouraging extensification. This aspect may be less important in the Amazon where penetration roads lower the cost of land acquisition, but is likely to hold more weight in the savanna, where the frontier is closed.We now carry out a descriptive analys•,s of data from the Colombian savanna, in order to develop hypothesis about the relative importance of the various factors which may have induced intensification. Intensification in this area appears to be related closely to land values. The smallest farms, with the highest proportion of area in improved pasture and with the highest stocking rates are located in parts of the savanna where land values are highest (over $500/ha.) (Table 2). This is an area which is electrified, located relatively close (100 km) to the capital of Meta (Villavicencio). and connected to it with a paved road. In addition it has a flat topography whích permits mechanizatíon, thus makíng it more economically fe asible to sow improved pasture. By contrast, plains with poor infrastructure, have a significantly lower degree of land use change, with 19% of the area in improved pasture, and land values under $300/ha. Intensification is even lower in remote areas wíth an undulating topography.Considerable improvements in infrastructure have occurred, startíng in the early 1980s. Currently about 45% of the road between Villavicencío and Carimagua is , • • paved, and the road between Puerto Gaitan and Carimagua is passable for most of the year. The road between Villavicencio and the nation's capital (Santafé de Bogotá) is al50 being significantly improved. Majar oil discoveries in the eastern part of this regian, which have more than doubled Colombia's oil reserves, are expected to lead to further improvements in infrastructure. Thus improvements in infrastructure appear to have stimulated an increase in land prices, which in turn have induced intensification. The role of infrastructure in the savanna has been very different from its role in the Amazon, where penetration roads made new land available for human intervention, ie the frontier was 'open' . By contrast, land in the savanna had long been accessible. Infrastructure improvements increased the viability of economic activity, rather than increasing the supply of land as in the Amazon. Thus infrastructure stimulated intensification in the savanna, and impeded it in the Amazon.Improvements in infrastructure undoubtedly increased the profitability of cattle ranching by permitting producers to take advantage of seasonal differences in cattle prices. However, the extremely high degree of land price appreciation (15% p.a. over the last 15 years) makes it likely that land is also being acquired as a speculative financial asset. Macroeconomic developments since the mid 1980s have favored the attractiveness of land as a financial asset. During the latter part of the 19805 asevere structural adjustment program led to a rapid increase in inflatíon (from 20% in 1980to 32% in 1990;IMF, 1995). During this period there were few investment opportunities other than land that cauld keep up with inflation. The 1990s have been characterized by high levels of capital inflows averaging $1.7 billion during 1991-1993 , 1995). This was due both to high levels of foreign direct investment in the oil sector, and to the repatriation of profits from the iIIegal drug trade, which increased the demand for land. Although the recent political crisis and crackdown on the drug trade has led to currency depreciation, and an uncertain outlook for land prices, it is likely, in the medium term, that land will continue to be regarded as a trusted financial asset. Thus, expected appreciations in land values are likely to play a part in the intensification decision. This is borne out by the reported objectives of ranchers. The majority of farmers (52%) claim that they hold land both because of its productive capacity, and because of expected increases in land values. Twenty eight percent of farmers are interested primarily in the land's productive value, while the rest (20%) claim they are holding land primarily as a financial asset.Turning next to technology, the productivity of the traditional technology of grazing animals on native savanna grasses is severely limited by the inherent nature of the forage on offer, characterized by low levels of dry matter yield (which enforce low stocking rates), and poor digestibility which limits liveweight gains per animal (Fisher, et. al., 1992). Thus in the savanna, expanding to a new area with traditional technology gives a very minor increase in benefit. In this situation improved grass pastures are able to offer spectacular increases in land productivity, with more than 1 6 fold increases in beef production per ha, as shown earlier. By contrast in the Amazon, cultivation with traditional technology on newly deforested land gives high retUrnS for a few years. Improved technologies have to significantly surpass these returns in the first few years in order to be adopted (World Bank, 1993). Thus the poor Price changes appear to have resulted in a high degree of variability in the ratio of output to input prices, without displaying any clear trend. Cadavid (1995) shows that during the 1978-1992 period cyclical changes in cattle prices were accompanied by a high degree of variability in a weighted composite of input prices. Real interest rates however increased steeply from 5% p.a. in the early 1980s to 13% p.a. during 1985-1994(lMF, 1995)). Thus intensification occurred during a period of unstable prices and high and increasing interest rates.Turning finally to population pressure, the colombian savanna is clearly a manifestation of intensification occurring in a land abundant area. In 1985, population density was as low as 3.5 persons/ sq. km in Puerto Lopez, and even lower (0.46 persons/sq. km) in Puerto Gaitan (DANE, 1989).Summing up therefore, the descriptive analysis leads to the hypotheses that the most significant factors driving the process of intensification decision have been technology, land price appreciation, and the nature of the natural resource base. These factors are incorporated in the quantitative analysis given below .Let the returns to cattle ranching on native savanna be = the discount rateL 1 = -=---'-----'-------'-.........•....................•.......... ( 4)(1 + r)'and..... ( 5)where v= annual rate ot land price appreciation in real terms l/E (equation 9) is the incremental discounted income from improved pasture.Thus the more profitable the current technology relative to current practices, and the higher the land price, the greater will be the degree of intensification. Since l and E are also functions of v, intensification is determined by the interplay between technology, land price, the rate of land price appreciation, and the resource base. The relative importance of these factors will be quantified in the empirical analysis.A whole farm livestock production model is used to simulate annual changes in beef production over the planning period, resulting from cumulative changes over time in the establishment of improved pasture. The structure of the livestock production model is based on Gittinger's (1982)   (Kleinheisterkamp and Habich, 1985). As the area in improved pasture increases, certain key technical coefficíents are changed in accordance with trial results, synthesízed in Botero (1989).With 50% in improved pasture, for example, the calving rate íncreases from 46% to , 70% (Kleinheisterkamp and Habich, 1895), and the calf mortality rate falls from 12% to 7% (Botero, 1989). The breeding enterprise al so progressively includes a fattening component starting with 8% of the herd, when 20% of the area is planted to improved pasture. Typical stocking rates on improved pasture and native savanna are achieved via cattle purchases and sales as required. Data on year by year lWG per animal on native savanna and improved pasture is obtained from a long term trial carried out over 16 years and summarized by lascano and Euclides (1994).We begin by quantifying the nature of the relationship between intensification and its determinants.Taking the case of a rancher who purchases 500 ha. in native savanna in time period O, we simulate the returns to intensification and extensification over a time horízon of 15 years, at the end of which period the capital gains on land are realized by disposíng of the farm. Farm size remains constant at 500 ha.throughout the planning period under the intensífícation strategy, but is augmented under the extensification strategy by purchasing land with the foregone expenditure requíred for intensification. The discount rate is taken as 5% (equivalent to the real interest rate in the early 1980s). and improved pasture is assumed to sell for 2.5 times the price of native savanna. land price is varied from $1 O/ha. to $200/ha., and the rate of land price appreciation from 0% p.a. to 15% p.a. in real terms.The case of extensification is represented by a farm containing only native savanna. Gíven that adoption of improved pasture occurred very slowly in the early 1980s, the intensíficatíon strategy is represented by a farm that converts 10% of the Thís índicates that intensification is unlikely unless land príces are at least $1 OO/ha.Figure 2 al so shows that with land appreciation held constant at 15%, the incentive tor íntensification (ie the positive difference between INT15 and EXT15l, increases with the price of land. This is consistent with the positive relation between pasture adoption and land price shown in Table 2. In 1995 average land prices were aboye the threshold level for intensificatíon ín all parts of the study area. Therefore it ís not surprising that 93% ot tarmers had at least a part of theír farms in improved pasture, and that the proportion of improved pasture averaged 10% or greater in all parts of the study area (Table 2). Figure 2 also shows that it improved pastures had been about 30% les s productive, causing INT15 to shift downwards to INT' 15, the threshold land príce tar íntensífícatíon would have risen to T' 15 (just under $200/ha.). Thus the dramatically higher productivity of improved pastures over native savanna appears to have induced earlíer intensificatíon.Figure 3 analyzes the impact of land price appreciation on intensification.Given the negative returns to native savanna, the strategy of extensification is represented in the rest of the paper as a slow rate of adoption of improved pasture, resulting in 10% of the farm being converted to planted pastures by the end of the planning periodo Intensification is represented as a more rapid adoption, resulting in 50% of the farm being converted by the end of the planning periodo As before, the foregone expenditure required for intensification, is used to acquire addítíonal land in the extensification strategy. Figure 3 shows that when land prices appreciate at 15%, the threshold intensification price (T15) is > $1 50/ha. If the expectation of land appreciation drops to 5%, intensification occurs at T5, ie at land prices > $50. Thus a high rate of land price appreciation slows down the process of intensification. This occurs because when land prices appreciate rapidly, capital gains dominate income gains from intensification. Therefore farmers with relatively cheap land are better off purchasing more land in order to capture capital gains, rather than investing in intensification. At higher land prices les s land can be acquired by foregoing intensification, and therefore the opportunity for capturing capital gains on additional land declines.The higher the rate of land price appreciation, the slower the rate at which this phenomenon occurs. This quantifies the negative effect of land speculation on intensification, and shows that the high rate of land price appreciation in the study area explains why intensification has progressed relatively slowly. Intensification can be expected to progress slowly as long as expectations about land appreciation remain high.Figure 4 holds land appreciation constant at 15% and varies the discount rateo At a higher discount rate of 10%, the intensification threshold (T*15) is around $75/ha., which is lower than at a discount rate of 5% (T15). Both the INT and EXT curves shift downwards at higher discount rates, but the downward shift in EXT is greater than that for INT particularly at lowland prices, because EXT involves buying more land, an expenditure that is incurred at the beginning of the planning period, and therefore penalized when discount rates are high.Figure 4 indicates how sensitive NPVs are to discount rates. In fact Figure 5 shows that with interest rates at 15% in real terms, even 50% in improved pasture is • Intensification in the savanna appears to have had both positive and negative effects on the environment. On the positive side, Fisher et. al (1994) show that improved pastures sequester substantially more carbon than native savanna grasses. On the negative side, farmers and scientists report considerable resource degradation, some aspects of which appear to be systematicaily related to intensification. In the sample as a whole a little over 60% of farmers report degradation of native savanna, which results in changes in plant communities, and threatens biodiversity (Rippstein and Girard, 1994). Table 3 compares reported degradation between areas of moderate and poor infrastructure in the plains. Reported degradation of native savanna appears to be significantly lower in areas of moderately good infrastructure where 50% of the area is in improved pasture, compared to areas where improved pastures occupy only 19%. Native savanna degrades because the common practice for coaxing higher productivity out of native grasses is trequent burning, and continuous grazing of young regrowth after burning. The lower incidence of native savanna degradation in intensified areas implies that when farms increase the area in improved pasture, the pressure to produce more from native savanna declines.To the extent that land speculation slows down intensification, it prolongs the pressure on native savanna. On the other hand, intensification may ultimately lead to only small pockets of native savanna remaining. Thus it is important to study the spatial variability in plant communities in native savanna, in order to identify suitable protected areas as intensification proceeds.Other widely reported ecological changes include degradation of gallery forests reported by 60% of farmers. and declines in bird. animal and fish species each reported by around half the farmers. Gallery forests appear to be under greater threat in the more intensified are as (Table 3). 90% of farms that report degradation of gallery forests relate this to the extraction of 5pecies for fencing paddocks of improved pasture.27% of farmers had also cut down ga/lery forests in arder to plant improved pastures. Thus the adoption of improved pastures appears to threaten gallery forests.Thirty five percent of farmers report that logs are extracted for sale from gallery forests. This is likely to be more prevalent in intensified areas because infrastructure is better. and therefore the cost of getting lag s to market is lower. Table 3 shows that whíle fish species and supplies have declined uniformly in all areas, birds and animals are under greater threat in areas of better infrastructure. Farmers relate this to uncontro/led hunting and fishing. and degradation of gallery forests, both of which appear to be more prevalent where infrastructure is more developed.A little over 60% of farmers report degradation of improved pastures, mainly 1055 of ground cover, which could result in wind and water induced soillos5. Pasture degradation al so results in significant declines in animal production. Data from trials on two farms, under farmers' management show that beef production per ha. declined by a third within three years on one farm, and declined to a negative value in the other farm (CIAT, 1994). An intensive monitoring of pasture management practices indicates that overgrazing may partially account for the degree of pasture degradation. Improved pastures are grazed for about 67% of the year, with grazing pressures particularly high during the dry season. when instantaneous stocking rates are about 0.8 to 1.6 • • AU/ha. (Hoyos, et al, 1992). Unlike in the Amazon rain forest however, degraded pastures are not abandoned. Forty four to sixty percent of paddocks are renovated at least every four years. Sixty six percent of farmers renovate by harrowing, with or without the application of small quantities of P fertilizer, while 5% use fertilizer alone .Seventy eight percent of paddocks were reported to have been attacked by splttle bug which is commonly controlled through overgrazing followed by mechanical renovation (eIAT, 1991 b). Thus overgrazing, nutrient deficiencies (particularly Nl, and pest problems appear to contribute to pasture degradation. Rotation with annual crops has been proposed as a means of renovating degraded pastures, the cost of renovation fertilizer being paid out of crop sale proceeds (Vera, et. al., 1992). However only 2%of the pasture area is renovated with this technology.Technologies for preventing pasture degradation include mixed grass-Iegume pastures which maintain soil N levels (Thomas, 1992), and increase soil carbon in sand fractions (Guggenberger et. al., 1995) and earthworm populations (Decaens et. al., 1994). Adoption however remains disappolnting. Only 2% of the pasture are a contains legumes, and 88% of farmers who plant legumes report that legumes fail to persist under farmers' grazing pressures.The relative profitability of pure grass, and grass-Iegume pastures is compared in Table 4. As before we simulate the case of a rancher who purchases 500 ha. in native savanna, progressively converts a part of it to improved pasture, and disposes of the farm at the end of the planning period of 15 years. Land price appreciation is •• assumed to be 15% p.a. in real terms, and improved pasture (whether pure grass or grass-Iegume) sells tor 2.5 times the price of native savanna. The first two rows of Table 4 present results based on data from on-farm trials under farmers' management.In the first trial LWG was lower on the grass-Iegume pasture than in the pure grass pasture. In the second LWG was 30% higher on grass-Iegumes. In both trials legumes effectively disappeared after 3 years, and had to be resown, while the grass persisted.Results show that the Internal Rate of Return (lRR) for grass-Iegumes was at best only marginally higher than tor pure grass. Thus there is clearly a need to improve the performance of currently available legumes under farmers' management. In the third row of Table 4 a controlled trial with best practices is analyzed, in which the legume persisted tor 16 years. Here the LWG on grass-Iegumes was 34% higher than on grasses, and no expenditure on replanting legumes was required. Even in this tri al however IRR was only 8% higher than for grass pastures. The fourth row simulates a further 30% increase in LWG for grass-Iegume pastures compared to the data in the third row, giving a total increase of 74% over pure grass pastures. Under these condítíons a considerable increase of 20% in the IRR ís achieved. In the last row LWG remains at the level of the third row, but the rate of land price appreciation declines to 5%. The results show that in this situation the inclusion of legumes can increase IRR by 23%. Thus when land appreciates rapidly, the productivity gains of improved technology are overwhelmed by the capital gains from land sales, which dominate the IRR. Thus technologies have to offer spectacular increases in productivity before they are adopted. Recent data indicate that a newly released legume, Arachis pintoí, offers significant gains in productivity while persisting under farmers' management (Lascan o,• 1994). However adequate data are not yet available to quantify whether it is sufficiently productive to make a significant impact on profitability. under high rates of land price appreciation. Thus land speculation may impede the adoption of technologies which have the potential to prevent resource degradation .The above results indicate that technology, land speculation and biophysical conditions have all been key determinants of the process of intensification in the savanna. These results are used to take a first step towards formulating a tentative development path for frontier cattle ranching areas in the savanna (Thomas, et. al.. in press). In emerging frontier areas when land price is stagnant at very low levels, extensive production systems based on native savanna grasses are likely to prevai!. With very low stocking rates and minimal infrastructure resource degradation is unlikely. This is similar to the situation prevailing in the Colombian savanna in the 1970s, and is depicted as phase I in Figure 6. As infrastructure improves land prices may increase very rapidly if conditions in the larger economy encourage speculative land purchases. In this situation capital gains on land investment dominate profitability, and overwhelm technological advances which offer but moderate production increases. Thus only technologies which lead to spectacular increases in productivity are likely to be able to induce intensification. Thus the speculative motive slows down the pace of intensification and technology adoption. On the other hand it may support the productive use of land by maintaining the viability of cattle ranching under unfavorable economíc conditions.This scenario is similar to the current situation in the Colombian savanna (phase 11 in Figure 6). in which the dramatic production increases obtained with grass pastures has stimulated their adoption, and consequent intensification.Sustainable technologies, such as grass-/egume pastures have not however be en Frontier areas in Latin America have been rife with land speculation, abandonment and exploitation. Intensification has been an elusive commodity. Our analysis indicates that intensification can occur even in frontier areas. Intensification occurred in the savanna because improved pastures offered spectacular production increases over native grasses, the gains being large enough to overcome the negative effect of land speculation on intensification. The implication is that biophysical conditions may be one factor contributing to the lack of intensification in the Amazon.Improved technologies in the Amazon have to out perform the high native fertility of newly deforested land. Also, in the Amazon the supply of new land has been progressively augmented by the construction of penetration roads, while in the savanna infrastructure has increased the economic viability of already accessible land.Thus technology, land speculation and characteristics of the resource base interact in a complex way to determine the nature and speed of the intensification process.These crucial elements should be taken into consideration in the development of      ","tokenCount":"5562"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"f73ae7c77ba122ec4b822d467ff8fd0b","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/0e1a2954-7af6-4f96-9ca6-774e3468b6ab/retrieve","id":"-500612107"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"e6dd2f2a-5823-4ba7-b5e8-2d15fa06c86b","pagecount":"32","content":"Bioversity International undertakes, encourages and supports research and other activities on the use and conservation of agricultural biodiversity, especially genetic resources, to create more productive, resilient and sustainable harvests. Bioversity International's aim is to promote the greater well-being of people, particularly poor people in developing countries, by helping them to achieve food security, to improve their health and nutrition, to boost their incomes, and to conserve the natural resources on which they depend. Bioversity International works with a global range of partners to maximize impact, to develop capacity and to ensure that all stakeholders have an effective voice. Bioversity International is part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, which works to reduce hunger, poverty and environmental degradation in developing countries by generating and sharing relevant agricultural knowledge, technologies and policies. This research, focused on development, is conducted by a Consortium of 15 CGIAR centres working with hundreds of partners worldwide and supported by a multi-donor Fund.The world faces an enormous challenge of ensuring that the global community has access to a safe and nutritious diet, while simultaneously combating the rising number of health problems related to overnutrition such as obesity and diabetes. Agriculture and the global food system are capable of playing a key role in addressing this challenge, yet agriculture needs to be designed with nutrition in mind. The recent food price volatility crisis, climate change and the rise in cost of petroleum-based inputs shine a light on factors that contribute to the unsustainable nature of our agricultural system. But within these challenges lie opportunities to change the way we do business at the same time as making an important contribution to better nutrition security for the future. There is also a clear recognition that the agriculture, health and nutrition sectors will make considerable advances in nutritional security when working together. The time to act is now, building upon the momentum to improve nutrition around the world with examples such as the 1000 Days and Scaling Up Nutrition movements.Bioversity International is the leading research organization dedicated to the use and conservation of biodiversity in agriculture and is part of the Consortium of International Research Centres of the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research (CGIAR). The CGIAR has a new institutional model designed to improve its delivery of research results in a rapidly changing external environment, as well as a new strategy that includes one important outcome that focuses on nutrition and health. During the 40 years of the CGIAR's existence, the organization has provided innovative research and impacts that have helped to change lives on a large scale. The CGIAR, we expect, will be even more efficient in providing crucial solutions to the problems faced by smallholder farmers globally. We are determined to build on past accomplishments and expertise in order to ensure this result. This nutrition strategy presented here defines the initial ten-year road map for a comprehensive research programme that will provide increased insight and evidence that can be used to improve nutrition in more sustainable agricultural systems for smallholder farmers and their beneficiaries.We are excited by the task ahead and we believe we can meet the challenge we face. We aim to show that agricultural biodiversity, underutilized crops and local and traditional foods can be powerful tools to combat poverty and malnutrition while preserving healthy ecosystems. With this innovative strategy, we seek to build on Bioversity's experience in agricultural research and in the conservation of genetic resources in order to provide an efficient and life-changing service to smallholder farming communities across the globe. This strategy will be used to channel and focus our efforts but it will retain an inherent flexibility as we seek to improve and expand it. We see this as the beginning of a new and exciting journey during which we hope that the work we do benefits our partners, the larger development community and, most of all, the communities who are our beneficiaries.August 2011One of the world's greatest challenges is to secure adequate food that is healthy, safe and of high quality for all, and to do so in an environmentally sustainable manner. Burdened by the growing demands of an ever-increasing human population, it remains unclear how our current global food system can sustain itself. This challenge is further compounded by climate change, ecosystems and biodiversity under stress, population growth, increased urbanization, social conflict and extreme poverty. For these reasons, there has never been a more urgent time for collective action to address food and nutrition security on a global scale.Redirecting the global agricultural system as the supplier of the world's food in order to ensure better nutrition is crucial so that we can operate from a better understanding of our global agricultural system. It is imperative that research and development start to think about new and sustainable approaches to improving the quality and variety of food produced and consumed around the world. The role that agriculture plays in dietary diversity and nutrition outcomes is central, and nutrition must be front and centre as a major outcome and goal of agriculture and production systems, as a potential avenue to improving dietary diversity, food quality and human health as well restoring or preserving ecosystems.One area that requires further understanding is the role of agricultural biodiversity in improving dietary diversity and quality. Agricultural biodiversity-the diverse traits exhibited among crops, animals and other organisms used for food and agriculture, as well as the web of relationships that bind these forms of life at ecosystem, species, and genetic levels-is the basis of the food and nutrient value chain and its use is important for food and nutritional security.Bioversity International's nutrition research over the past several years has focused on the role and impact of traditional foods on dietary diversity and livelihoods. The research agenda is being expanded under Bioversity's 2011-2021 Nutrition Strategy to develop strong methodological and empirical evidence on how agricultural biodiversity contributes to dietary diversity and nutrition with downstream livelihood and ecosystem benefits. The new strategy focuses on food and nutritional system approaches to improving human nutrition and health. The major goal of the strategy and subsequent programme is to promote the use of agricultural biodiversity within food production systems and provide nutritionally-rich food sources that contribute to dietary diversity and, potentially, better nutrition and health. Our major focus is in rural and peri-urban communities in the developing world.The strategy has four major objectives:1. To strengthen the evidence base for the role of biodiversity in nutrition and health and the means of incorporating agricultural biodiversity, specifically, into food and nutritional systems approaches; 2. To ensure the production of more nutritious foods through commercial pathways that reflect agriculturally biodiverse practices and cultural preferences; 3. To determine which agricultural biodiversity practices and delivery systems work on the ground in development programmes to improve nutritional security; 4. To mainstream the role of agricultural biodiversity into public health and nutrition policy and practice by sharing evidence and providing local solutions.Bioversity International will ensure that the role of agricultural biodiversity is monitored, evaluated and enhanced within food and nutritional systems of different communities that adhere to different socio-cultural traditions within diverse agro-ecosystems in a range of economic and political situations. There will also be a focus and emphasis on the preservation, conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity and protection of ecosystems in the developing world, because these provide communities with the resources for productive and resilient food and nutritional systems. We hope that through this nutrition strategy and Bioversity International's global research agenda that we can provide useful evidence, tools and products for use by governments, development programmers, value chain and food sector actors, academic and research institutions, health and agriculture workers, farmers and communities.Stevie Mann / Bioversity Stevie Mann / BioversityThe global malnutrition burden and addressing the challenge One of the world's greatest challenges is to secure adequate food that is healthy, safe and of high quality for all, and to do so in an environmentally sustainable manner (Pinstrup-Andersen 2009). With the growing demand of an ever-increasing human population, it remains unclear how our current global food system will sustain itself. Compounded with climate change, ecosystems and biodiversity under stress, population growth and urbanization, social conflict and extreme poverty, there has never been a more urgent time for collective action to address food and nutrition security globally. This burdened food system impacts the most vulnerable people, as statistics clearly show. There are currently an estimated 925 million people suffering food and nutrition insecurity (FAO 2010a). However with food price increases, these estimates may now be conservative. In addition to those who are hungry, there are also 195 million children under five years of age who are stunted in their growth (UNICEF 2009) and of those children, 90% live in just 36 countries (Black et al. 2008). Malnutrition takes its toll; it is responsible for 35% of all child deaths and 11% of the global disease burden (Black et al. 2008). Micronutrient deficiencies, known as hidden hunger, undermine the growth and development, health and productivity of over two billion people (Micronutrient Initiative 2009). At the same time, an estimated one billion people are overweight and another 300 million are obese in both the developed and developing world (WHO 2006), which contributes to the risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. With over-nutrition, many countries and urban communities in the developing world are experiencing the nutrition transition-going from undernutrition to obesity related to insufficient exercise, sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets (Doak et al 2005;Popkin 2008).The global community has responded to the malnutrition crisis by focusing on interventions that aim to impact 90% of the global population burdened by stunting and that largely address inadequate dietary intake, disease burden and poor childcare practices (Bhutta et al 2008). There has been a particular focus on the window of opportunity, specifically, the first 1000 days of a child's life from the nine months in utero to two years of age (Barker 2007;Golden et al 2009;Victora et al 2008). This window is critically important because nutritional setbacks during this time can result in irreversible losses to growth and cognitive potential and can reduce educational attainment and earning potential (Martorell et al 1994;Shrimpton et al 2001;Victora et al 2008). The Scaling Up Nutrition Framework for Action (SUN), recently endorsed by more than 100 global partners and policy makers, highlights the need for early childhood and maternal nutrition-specific interventions (Bhutta et al 2008), which aim to: − Promote good child-feeding and hygiene practices; − Provide micronutrient supplementation for young children and their mothers; − Support the provision of micronutrients through food fortification; − Treat acutely malnourished children with therapeutic feeding.While highlighting core interventions, the four aims listed above will be further strengthened with a multi-sectoral approach that incorporates nutrition-sensitive interventions from other sectors, such as agriculture, education and social protection that address underlying causes of malnutrition. However, practical operational strategies for localizing and applying sensitive interventions must be further clarified and defined as to how such interventions impact nutritional outcomes. Some suggested agriculture-related nutrition-sensitive interventions include (UNSCN 2010): − Agricultural extension services promoting better crop diversity and biodiversity for improved nutrition; − Integrated agro-forestry systems that reduce deforestation and promote the sustainable exploitation of nutrient-rich non-timber forest products; − Integrated farming systems exploiting the synergies of horticulture, aquaculture and small livestock rearing to reduce waste and expenses on agricultural inputs and increase food production diversity; − Improved household food production and livelihoods (i.e. diversification of household food production for selfconsumption in order to improve the nutritional quality of the family diet); − Education and communication for development and social marketing strategies that strengthen local food systems and promote cultivation and consumption of local micronutrient-rich foods; − Improved post-harvest management (food storage, transformation, handling and processing) to reduce losses in terms of quantity and nutrient content, which also contributes to nutrition security.While the underlying determinants of malnutrition have been well understood for decades, the design, testing and scaling of more holistic multi-sectoral packages that combine child and maternal care and disease control with these nutrition sensitive, and largely agriculture-focused approaches, have been limited in their development and implementation. With the tools and knowledge that are currently at our disposal, there is a renewed global focus on interventions that address the root causes of food and nutrition security-both under and over-nutritionas part of a wider multi-sector approach, which should include agriculture.Redirecting the global agricultural system to ensure better nutrition is important as the supplier of the world's food. The current global agricultural system is producing enough food, in aggregate, but access for all to enough food that is affordable and nutritious has been more challenging. Agricultural systems have largely become efficient at producing a handful of staple grain crops, mainly maize, rice and wheat. In developing countries and particularly those in nutrition transition, people obtain most of their energy from these staple grains along with processed oils and fats and sugars, resulting in diets that often lack micronutrients and other necessary dietary and health components.Agricultural systems vary across the world spanning large-scale monocrop landscapes to smallholdings of farmers who typically live on less than two hectares of land. Smallholder farmers often work marginal lands without the tools, knowledge and resources to improve production, yet in places such as sub-Saharan Africa, 90% of farmers are subsistence smallholder farmers. In the developing world, the majority of smallholder farmers are net food buyers and rural households make up a substantial majority of the world's 900 million-plus hungry (FAO 2009). Because these individuals buy more than they sell, their access to affordable, nutritious food is an issue.It is necessary to understand how our agricultural system can promote positive nutrition outcomes. Big drivers of trends in food consumption globally are the private sector, markets, processed food and diet shifts. Research and development practitioners must start thinking about new and sustainable approaches to improving the quality and variety of food produced and consumed around the world and to develop innovative new roles that agriculture can play that will improve dietary diversity and nutrition outcomes. To do this, nutrition must be a central goal of agriculture and production systems and be recognized as a potential avenue to improving dietary diversity, quality and health as well as a means of restoring and preserving ecosystems. But one size does not fit all and this approach must ensure that agriculture -the backbone of food production -is tailored to respond adequately to the diverse conditions of major agro-ecological, socioeconomic and epidemiological situations.Agriculture is the bedrock of the food system and biodiversity is important to food and agricultural systems because it provides the variety of life (Tansey and Worsley 1995). Biodiversity includes the variety of plants, terrestrial animals and marine and other aquatic resources (species diversity), along with the variety of genes contained in all individual organisms (genetic diversity), and the variety of habitats and biological communities (ecosystem diversity). Biodiversity is essential for humanity, providing food, fibre, fodder, fuel, and medicine in addition to other ecosystem services.Agricultural biodiversity refers to the biological variety exhibited among crops, animals and other organisms used for food and agriculture, as well as the web of relationships that bind these forms of life at ecosystem, species, and genetic levels. It includes not only crops and livestock directly relevant to agriculture, but also many other organisms that have indirect effects on agriculture, such as soil fauna, weeds, pests and predators.FAO (2010b) estimates that of a total of 300,000 plant species, 10,000 have been used for human food since the origin of agriculture. Out of these, only 150-200 species have been commercially cultivated of which only four-rice, wheat, maize and potatoes-supply 50% of the world's energy needs, while 30 crops provide 90% of the world's caloric intake. Intensification of agricultural systems has led to a substantial reduction in the genetic diversity of domesticated plants and animals. Some on-farm losses of genetic diversity have been partially offset by conservation in genebanks (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2008). Even so, the implications of this loss of agricultural biodiversity for the biodiversity and quality of the global food supply are scarcely understood, especially from the perspective of nutrition.Agricultural biodiversity is the basis of the food and nutrient value chain and its use is important for food and nutritional security (Frison et al 2006), where it can potentially act as: − A safety net against hunger; − A rich source of nutrients for improved dietary diversity and quality; − A basis for strengthening local food systems and environmental sustainability.Agricultural biodiversity furthermore includes species with under-exploited potential for contributing to food security, health, income generation, and ecosystem services. Terms such as underutilized, neglected, orphan, minor, promising, niche, local and traditional are frequently used interchangeably to describe these potentially useful plant and animal species, which are not mainstream, but which have a significant local importance as well as a considerable global potential for improving food and nutrition security. Even so the research of Bioversity International and others reveals that the major causes of neglect and underuse of these important species are often related to factors that include poor economic competitiveness with commodity cereal crops, a lack of improved varieties, enhanced cultivation practices, inefficiencies in processing and value addition, disorganized or non-existent market chains as well as a perception of these foods as being \"food of the poor\" (Jaenicke et al 2009).Interspecies and intraspecies variability represents a considerable wealth of local biodiversity and, with a better understanding of their contributions and use, could have potential for contributing to improved incomes, food security and nutrition. They also have considerable potential for enhancing adaptation to global climate change. Some of these species are highly nutritious and have multiple uses. For example, some are strongly linked to the cultural heritage of their places of origin, while some are highly adapted to marginal, complex and difficult environments and have contributed significantly to diversification and resilience of agro-ecological niches. Many such species are collected from the wild or are produced in traditional production systems with little or no external inputs (Padulosi et al 2011;Bharucha and Pretty 2010).The role of agricultural biodiversity in improving dietary diversity and dietary quality is an area that requires further understanding. The lack of diversity is shown to be a crucial issue, particularly in the developing world where diets consist mainly of starchy staples with less access to nutrient-rich sources of food such as animal proteins, fruits and vegetables. Dietary diversity is a vital element of diet quality and the consumption of a variety of foods across and within food groups and across different varieties of specific foods more or less guarantees adequate intake of essential nutrients and important non-nutrient factors. Research has demonstrated a strong association between dietary diversity and diet quality and nutritional status of children (Arimond and Ruel 2004;Kennedy et al 2007;Rah et al 2010;Sawadogo et al 2004). It is also clear that household dietary diversity is a sound predictor of the micronutrient density of the diet, particularly for young children (Moursi et al 2008). Studies have also shown that dietary diversity is associated with food security and socioeconomic status, and links between socioeconomic factors and nutrition outcomes are well documented (Arimond and Ruel 2004;Hoddinott and Yohannes 2002;Ruel 2003;Thorne-Lyman et al 2010;World Bank 2006;World Bank 2007).It is essential to understand how the global agricultural system and the benefits derived from agricultural biodiversity influence the drivers of global dietary consumption patterns, nutrition and health status in particular in the developing world. The 2011-2021 Nutrition Strategy focuses on food and nutrition system approaches to improving human nutrition and health.The major goal of the strategy and subsequent programme is to promote the use of agricultural biodiversity within food production systems in order to provide nutritionally rich food sources that contribute to dietary diversity and, potentially, better nutrition and health. Our major focus is on rural, peri-urban and urban communities in the developing world.Bioversity International's nutrition research over the past several years has focused on the role and impact of traditional foods on dietary diversity and livelihoods. The research agenda is now expanding to develop strong methodological and empirical evidence on how agricultural biodiversity contributes to dietary diversity and nutrition with downstream benefits for livelihoods and ecosystems.There will be a particular focus on the role of local and traditional foods (LTFs) and neglected and underutilized species (NUS) amongst rich ecosystem and landscape sources of agricultural biodiversity for nutrition security.Bioversity International will ensure that the role of agricultural biodiversity is monitored, evaluated and enhanced within food and nutrition systems of different communities living by various socio-cultural traditions within diverse agro-ecosystems in a range of economic and political arrangements. There will also be a focus and emphasis on the preservation, conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity and on the protection of ecosystems in the developing world, which, in turn, can provide communities with the resources for productive and sustainable food and nutrition systems.There are important, yet unanswered, questions about agricultural and ecosystem biodiversity and its role in improving dietary diversity and quality and which will help to ensure nutrition security and increased health benefits. We hope that through this nutrition strategy and Bioversity International's global research agenda, answers to key research questions will become available and will provide clarity for governments, development programmers, value chain and food sector actors, academic and research institutions, health and agriculture workers, farmers and communities. These key research questions include:− How does on-farm agricultural biodiversity contribute to household consumption and to dietary diversity and quality? − How can we link agricultural diversity to improved nutrition and health outcomes and benefits and do these links have an impact? − Can agricultural biodiversity be scaled for commercial use while maintaining biodiversity and ecosystems and improving human health? − What does agricultural biodiversity imply for peri-urban and urban markets and what do trends in urban markets imply for potential success of agricultural biodiversity? − How can we better use and promote local knowledge of agricultural biodiversity to improve the health of households? − What new tools and methodologies can be created and validated that measure agricultural biodiversity associated with dietary patterns?The Nutrition Strategy is divided into two categories with two sub-objectives each:Research and evidence-oriented:− To strengthen the evidence base for the role of biodiversity in nutrition and health and the means of incorporating agricultural biodiversity into food and nutrition systems approaches; − To ensure that the production of more nutritious foods through commercial pathways reflects agriculturally biodiverse practices and cultural preferences.− To determine which agricultural biodiversity practices and delivery systems work on the ground in development programmes to improve nutrition security; − To mainstream the role of agricultural biodiversity as a standard consideration in policies and practices regarding public health and nutrition by sharing evidence and by providing local solutions.Women produce 60-80% of the food that is consumed Bioversity's work will mainly focus on agro-ecosystems that have agricultural biodiversity potential in areas with a high burden of malnutrition in developing, transition and middle income countries. The key priority countries will be drawn from the 36 countries where 90% of the world's stunted children live and which either have a functioning agricultural system or the potential for improving their agriculture, as well as countries with readiness to accelerate action in nutrition (SCN 2009).The beneficiaries of the strategy will include:Rural smallholder farmers in the developing world.At least half of the world's food-insecure people are smallholder farmers living in poverty. Many of these farmers are women, who are disproportionately poor and vulnerable to malnutrition, which affects not only themselves but their children as well.Although women and children remain the most vulnerable to the consequences of malnutrition, beneficiaries of Bioversity International's work will include entire smallholder household families.With the world's population expected to grow significantly in the next 30 years and many more people migrating to urban centres, there will be a need to increase the nutritional quality and environmental sustainability of food production and to ensure that food distribution and access is more equitable. Sustainable agricultural intensification complemented with improvements in the nutritional quality of foods will need to be considered with the growing needs of the global urban population. Working with private sector and value chain actors will be essential to ensure that peri-urban and urban consumers have access to affordable foods coming from agriculturally biodiverse food systems.Communities at risk of traditional food system loss.These communities have derived a subsistence base from the natural resources available in specific ecosystems. Some of these ecosystems and traditional food systems are threatened or in transition. These beneficiaries, include farmers, pastoralists, forest communities and fisher folk, who are some of the most nutritionally vulnerable, particularly in poverty stricken, foodinsecure communities.Objective one:To strengthen the empirical evidence of agricultural biodiversity's role in nutrition and health.The major objective of this research will be to generate a better understanding of the links among agricultural biodiversity, diet quality, and nutrition and health, as well as the overall role of nutrition within agricultural systems. By establishing a robust set of interdisciplinary projects in relevant agro-ecological systems, research will determine the main drivers of agricultural biodiversity and the role of agrobiodiverse practices and landscapes in dietary quality and diversity, and in health and nutrition outcomes for rural communities.Together, the two major research components will reinforce evidence of the vital role and impact of agricultural biodiversity and local traditional foods in improving diets and, by extension, human health and nutrition. Bioversity International will explore the interactions of these two components at individual, household, and community levels.Component one: Agricultural Biodiversity in Diets, Health and Nutrition. To describe and define the role of agricultural biodiversity in diets, health and nutrition, including the nutritional value, usage and consumption patterns of foods derived from agriculturally biodiverse landscapes, and their impact on human nutrition and health outcomes.Large-scale evidence is necessary in order to chart the impact of agricultural biodiversity on health in diverse developing world settings. Another under-researched area is the impact of a long-term approach towards diversification of nutrient-dense crops and the effects of such diversification on deficits in micronutrients and other important health factors in global communities. For many populations, LTFs and NUS, wild foods, and biodiversity in particular plant species like lesser-known grains and legumes, leafy green vegetables, tubers, crop wild relatives and forest fruits play an important role in traditional diets and, in some cases, income generation. However, little is known about nutritional value, use and consumption patterns for most traditional plant foods, and their subsequent impact on human health, chronic under-nutrition, over-nutrition and risks of non-communicable diseases.This component of Bioversity International's research will address the gap in empirical evidence that links conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity to improved nutrition and health outcomes. With this in mind, the research will: − Develop and apply research tools to understand the composition and consumption of foods from agricultural biodiversity (local, traditional, NUS, varieties of major staples); − Assess the effectiveness of the use of agricultural biodiversity use on dietary diversity and quality; − Assess the impact of agricultural biodiversity and local and traditional foods on nutrition and health outcomes; − Determine how agricultural biodiversity and local and traditional foods can mitigate the nutrition transition; − Define the linkages between the conservation of genetic resources on farm and in genebanks and the benefits to human health through characterization of nutrients and health-promoting non-nutrients of plants; − Quantify the cost of and access to diets sourced from agrobiodiverse systems.Component two: Nutritional anthropology and sociology of agricultural biodiversity. To explore food sovereignty and the socio-cultural and traditional roles of foods sourced from agricultural biodiversity in communities and households, and to understand why we eat what we eat, the right to high-quality foods, and the role of traditional food systems in those decisions.Supporting the use of biodiversity within traditional and indigenous food systems and local cuisines and diets may provide a buffer against the decline of healthful dietary behaviours. The anthropology of food is the study of eating habits, that is, the ways in which individuals or groups of individuals respond to social and cultural pressures and how and why they choose, consume and make use of certain specific aspects of the food supply including nutrition (Garin 2001;Guthe and Mead 1945). It is essential to understand the way food supplies are affected by changes in market structure, public policies, family composition, household income, and women's roles, along with the socio-cultural, behavioural and political and economic factors related to food and nutrition. Understanding inequities in food access and how cultural contexts influence food production, allocation and use are all critical to creating better nutritional outcomes. Sadly, these factors are often overlooked.Food sovereignty concerns what Via Campesina, an organization representing smallholder farmers around the world, describes as the \"right of peoples to define their own food, agriculture, livestock and fisheries systems, in contrast to having food largely subject to international markets\" (Via Campesina 2007). It is an important concept which should be taken into account in efforts to improve nutrition in less-developed countries (de Schutter 2011). It is crucial, in order to achieve long-term food security and adequate nutrition, that the production and distribution of food in developing countries remains, at least in large part, under the control of local populations and national institutions. Although international markets are essential in providing an efficient alternative to the local production of food, especially staple commodities, they cannot be seen as the sole method of feeding people. The concept of food sovereignty ensures that food is produced locally, according to national or regional customs, preferences and tastes, by taking advantage of local crops and varieties and sustaining a biodiverse agricultural paradigm. This not only helps empower local people, allowing them to choose how to produce food as well as what food to produce, but also helps generate valuable income for smallholder farmers and national enterprises.Research in this component will focus on understanding why we eat what we eat and the role of traditional food systems in those decisions. In this component, Bioversity International will: − Analyze and document the knowledge, practices, and value of traditional food culture both within households and at the community level as well as safeguard or improve upon these cultures; − Assess how urbanization, migration and the availability of new foods are changing food decisions and choices, particularly towards traditional food and diets; − Promote education and knowledge of agricultural biodiversity in traditional health and nutrition practices; − Strengthen food sovereignty principles in the context of agricultural biodiversity and nutrition for local communities without sacrificing self-reliance and income generation.To ensure that the production of more nutritious foods through commercial pathways reflects agriculturally biodiverse practices as well as cultural and consumer preferences.The links between what is produced on the farm, the consumer who buys that food, and the income received by the producer does not stop at production (Hawkes and Ruel 2010). Food is stored, distributed, processed, retailed, prepared and consumed in a range of ways that affect the access, acceptability and nutritional quality of foods for the consumer. Value chains are thus fundamental to consumption, dietary and nutrition perspectives and not only in terms of the supply of foods. Little emphasis has been given to how consumers can play a role in influencing value chains and how changes in the demand for specific local foods can influence the processes and outputs of value chains. There has also been little attention to how actors along the value chain can be better informed on enhancing the nutritional value of local foods. Food and nutrition systems need to be rethought by creating new business paradigms that demonstrate the value of biodiversity while promoting improved diet and nutrition outcomes.The research undertaken in this objective aims to understand the role markets and value chains play in improving nutrition and dietary diversification both directly, through an increase in the production of nutritious foods sourced from biodiverse systems, and indirectly, through an increase in income for smallholder farmers. Similarly, smallholder farmers can diversify their diet and improve their nutritional status either by producing more biodiverse foods directly or by accessing more nutritious and diverse foods in markets through a rise in their disposable incomes. The research will emphasize understanding the role that nutritious LTFs and NUS play in creating demand for biodiverse products from rural and urban consumers and in boosting disposable income for smallholder farmer producers.Component one: Consumer demand, knowledge and access as drivers for smallholder farmers to produce and consume more nutritious, diversified foods. To improve our understanding of how local and international consumer behaviour can increase the demand for nutritious food produced by smallholder farmers and how smallholder farmers, as net buyers of food, can access nutrient-rich foods sourced from agriculturally biodiverse farming systems in informal and formal markets.It is essential to understand how consumer demand for nutritious foods sourced from agriculturally biodiverse systems drives up production of these products among smallholder farmers in developing countries. It is also important to understand the reverse -how increased production of nutritious foods sourced from agricultural biodiverse landscapes can increase knowledge of and demand for these foods. With this component Bioversity International, working in partnership with value chain actors, will: − Define the mechanisms and incentives available to smallholder famers to increase their incomes and competitive advantages by producing nutritious LTFs sourced from agrobiodiverse systems; − Determine how women farmers can be linked in as producers and processors of nutrient-rich foods along the value chain or as ingredient suppliers to commercial manufacturers of specialized, local, commercial products for nutritionally vulnerable populations; − Identify ways to link smallholder farmers and the nutritious products sourced from agrobiodiverse farms to peri-urban and urban consumers, with a detailed analysis of the trends in peri-urban markets that determine potential success of agricultural biodiversity; − Collect and preserve traditional knowledge of smallholder farmers relating to the production, storage and marketing of nutritious products from agrobiodiverse systems.To determine best practices and delivery systems for agricultural biodiversity in nutrition and health development programmes.This objective seeks to understand how to integrate and implement agricultural biodiversity tools and methodologies in order to positively impact nutrition development programmes and food assistance on the ground. Bioversity will undertake operations research on delivery system approaches used by development agencies on food systems approaches in different regional agro-ecosystem hubs through rigorous monitoring and evaluation. The ultimate goal is to ensure that dietary quality and diversity and, ultimately, health and nutrition outcomes improve through integrated development work.Component one: Integration of agricultural biodiversity in development programmes. To design, collaborate, monitor and evaluate development programmes that implement agricultural biodiversity with agriculture and nutrition interventions and generate evidence of the health and nutrition benefits and cost effectiveness of these programmes.A new generation of food security and development programmes, which integrate nutrition and health goals has risen to the forefront. Currently there is limited evidence documenting the operational issues, impact and cost effectiveness of these new programmes and few have integrated these biodiverse agricultural practices (Fanzo and Pronyk 2010). Similarly, community-based agriculture programmes designed to improve human nutrition and health have rarely been scaled up successfully (Bushamuka et al 2008;Iannotti et al 2009). Research in this area is needed to inform the design of new programmes through the collaboration of agriculture, health and nutrition experts who effectively integrate interventions and foster synergies through an agricultural biodiversity lens.In this component, Bioversity International, in partnership with development workers, will: − Develop best practices that allow development programmes to use agricultural biodiversity to provide nutritional and dietary benefits to their target groups; − Define the added role of local and traditional foods and ingredients in the development of specialized and therapeutic food products for complementary feeding programmes for children under two, for nutritional therapy programmes aimed at HIV/AIDS patients and for acute malnutrition treatment programmes; − Identify the ways that foods sourced from agriculturally biodiverse landscapes can be incorporated effectively into school meal programmes and school garden projects; − Demonstrate the cost effectiveness and health impact of locally-produced, nutritious foods distributed in food aid and assistance programmes as well as in other food-based social safety net programmes.Component two: Value of agricultural biodiversity in food and nutrition systems. To assess the added value of agricultural biodiversity when integrated with other components of a food system approach such as ecosystem services, water and sanitation, health care, education, infrastructure and agriculture production systems.This research component will focus on qualifying and quantifying the added value of agricultural biodiversity within food and nutrition systems. A food and nutrition system is the sum of the actors and processes involved in transforming raw materials into foods and nutrients into building blocks for better health outcomes, all of which function as a system within the constraints of biophysical and socio-cultural contexts. Robust food systems can address underlying causes of food and nutritional insecurity by integrating agriculture, healthcare, water and sanitation, ecosystem services, gender empowerment and education, all of which are crucial for long term human development. These systems involve people, who as consumers are the central focus of the work. They ensure that environmental integrity, economic self-reliance and social well-being are maintained and emphasized. A healthy food and nutrition system is accessible, safe, sustainable and resilient. It ensures that links are made between food production and food consumption (Sobal et al 1998). There is also an additional role for biodiverse non-agricultural sustainable ecosystems that are important in dietary diversity and quality for local populations. This component will undertake research to understand and address the added value of agricultural biodiversity for nutrition and diets amidst the complexities of food systems in environments with vastly different diets, cultures, traditions, livelihoods, vulnerabilities and levels of marginalization.In To mainstream the role of agricultural biodiversity into public health and nutrition policy and practice by sharing evidence and providing local solutions.While a few organizations have been actively involved in promoting food-system approaches, generally they have suffered from lack of convincing evidence without providing a local context. As a consequence, there remains insufficient evidence to support well-defined, scalable agricultural biodiversity interventions that might be linked to improvements in outcomes for maternal or child health. Not surprisingly, this translates to a rather ineffective environment for policy and mainstreaming, which might lend support to these food-based approaches. Bioversity International will undertake the sharing of its experience and knowledge in research for development to guide and support policy at international, national and local levels.Bioversity's nutrition programme, through its assessment of nutritional and livelihood benefits from local food products derived from the rich agricultural biodiversity in the developing world, will certainly contribute to international efforts to address global food concerns such as the response to soaring food prices across the globe, food sovereignty, the effect of globalization of diets on health and the need to promote the effective conservation and use of this globally significant resource.Through the establishment of cross-sectoral policy platforms to promote the mainstreaming of biodiversity, the programme will create synergies with relevant global initiatives and provide linkages with national programmes and policy frameworks. Bioversity International share the evidence gathered with partners, governments and organizations for mainstreaming and integration into larger public health and agriculture policy forums and large-scale programming.In this component, Bioversity International will: − Strengthen international development initiatives that incorporate agriculture biodiversity linked food system approaches in food and nutrition security, global health and social protection policies and programmes; − Promote conservation of agricultural biodiversity and its role in improving nutrition security in national nutrition and agriculture plans and policies.It will be essential to advocate the importance of biodiversity on healthy diets and to educate the scientific community, the general public and practitioners in health and agriculture on evidence as it becomes available.With this in mind, Bioversity will: − Increase public awareness of the importance of nutrition and health; − Organize and participate in international, regional and national meetings with action outcomes that target Bioversity's beneficiaries; − Publish research findings in high impact, peer-reviewed journals as well as in popular outlets including high profile newspapers and influential blogs; − Mainstream nutrition into sectors that are not typically accustomed to considering nutrition in their research, policy or practice.Successful cases of promotion of food biodiversity at local and national levels can be scaled up regionally through the development of educational methods that address the conservation of agricultural biodiversity, sustainable development, traditional food culture and nutrition and health. Compilation of best-practice case studies and success stories will also be pursued to promote models and options for mainstreaming biodiversity into food systems across developing regions and agro-ecosystems.DElIVERING ThE STRATEGY Dominic Sansoni / World Bank Dominic Sansoni / World Bank Bioversity International will undertake thorough research and analysis of food and nutrition systems and how they function in different settings. The aim is to better understand the challenges and identify the opportunities, pinpointing the gaps that can be addressed to improve system resiliency.To carry out this research, Bioversity International will assemble a diverse team of scientists and practitioners from different disciplines including nutrition, public health, ethnobotany, economics, ecology, agronomy and anthropology. Most of the nutrition focus will be in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where food system experts are staffed in Bioversity's regional offices. As the programme diversifies and grows, Bioversity International will continue to boost its nutrition research capacity.Bioversity International works in collaboration with partners to ensure that research results are then translated into better development practices and policies that can have an impact across multiple sectors. An integrated global framework for enhancing the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity for dietary diversity, nutrition, health and sustainable development requires working towards further collaboration and convergence of priorities among agriculture, health, business and environment. Bioversity International will work with research organizations and universities in the developed and developing world. Work will also be expanded within the CGIAR reform process to ensure better collaborations within the CGIAR system on joint research initiatives. The research Bioversity International undertakes will involve the UN system and will complement their work at country and global levels. Bioversity International will ensure that the ultimate beneficiaries of our work, including communities, farmers and women, are involved in every facet of the research. Bioversity International will also ensure that the knowledge gained as result of this programme of research will be shared with the Scaling Up Nutrition movement for incorporation into country-scale plans.United Nations agencies -Bioversity International will continue to contribute within the United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition and will work to direct biodiversity and nutrition objectives in support of convergent policies in relation to climate change, food insecurity and poverty. We will also contribute at a global level to food and nutrition security issues and work in line with the Scaling Up Nutrition framework, the Committee on World Food Security and the United Nations High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis. Academic and research institutions -Bioversity International will ensure that empirical evidence is built in partnership with academic and research institutions with the capacity for rigorous research that amplifies and complements the CGIAR's own work. Academic and research bodies have a vast capacity for robust research projects and Bioversity will contribute to their agenda by providing increased knowledge and science to the agriculture and nutrition landscape.Value chain actors -Bioversity International will partner with private sector actors and stakeholders in order to promote agricultural biodiversity, the use of local foods and their role in boosting smallholder farmer income. These actors include farmers, processors, post harvest handlers, media outlets, food industry and retail experts who understand that markets and business enterprise are essential to the research and creation of new delivery systems for nutritious foods. Bioversity International will work with national and regional governments, farmer associations and cooperatives as well as with small and large private sector companies in order to sustain initiatives aimed at boosting the production and distribution of nutritious and biodiverse foods.International will partner with research institutes that work with plant and animal genetic resources as well as with breeders, botanists and botanical gardens to ensure that agricultural biodiversity expertise is woven into our nutrition work.organizations -Bioversity International will work with development practitioners on the ground to ensure that our operations research fills identified gaps in developing countries and makes an impact on development objectives and outcomes. We will work within development initiatives such as school feeding programmes, voucher and cash-based programmes that facilitate food access, mother and child health and nutrition programmes and homestead food production projects as the operations arm of research on agricultural biodiversity practices. Bioversity will also ensure that research results will be shared with the Scaling Up Nutrition movement for incorporation into country plans. Bioversity will also work with agricultural extension and community health workers to ensure that best practices and research results are translated into concrete benefits to households and communities alike.International will work with local farmer cooperatives and associations to make sure that research is carried out in ways most valued and understood by farmers. Bioversity will also collaborate with international movements and institutions that share the same core values and aspirations aimed at improving the nutrition and the capabilities of smallholder farmers in developing countries. Movements and cooperatives that seek to protect and sustain smallholder famers, indigenous populations and agricultural biodiversity will also be important to Bioversity International's work.In response to a global mandate to assume a role leading and coordinating activities that promote the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity, Bioversity International aims to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to undertake biodiversity and nutrition research across disciplines. It recognizes that to achieve long-term impact and the global potential of this strategy will demand an improved capacity for promotion, social marketing and education about local food biodiversity, nutrition and ecosystem health at national, regional and global levels. Bioversity will leverage its global network of nutrition leaders to pursue capacity building with:Academics and universities -Bioversity International will work with academia and research institutes in the developed and developing world to promote food systems learning, courses and programmes of study in institutions of higher education.Individuals -Bioversity International will assist in the training of future nutritionists, agronomists and other professionals on food-based approaches in innovative academic programmes, non-academic certification programmes, government training courses and other curricula using new methodologies and tested capacity building tools.Communities -Bioversity International will work in collaboration with farmers and local communities on improved agricultural biodiversity practices that focus on nutrition and engage community health workers and agriculture extension workers, anthropologists and ethnobotanists in new methodologies, interventions and approaches to link agriculture and nutrition.A variety of methods and tools will be used to build evidence, perform operations research and monitor, evaluate and assess impact. Qualitative and quantitative operations research will be undertaken.The qualitative methodologies will include focus groups, interviews with key informants and actors along the value chain and in particular women consumers. It will include participatory and rapid appraisal tools including mapping, seasonal calendars, Venn diagrams, proportional piling and direct observation.The quantitative methodologies will include surveys for dietary and market assessments, rapid assessments of vulnerability, mapping exercises, biological measures for serum micronutrients and anthropometry in order to assess nutritional impact. Research designs will include randomized control trials as well as crosssectional, retrospective, prospective and case control studies. Ecological studies will also be performed to assess consumption patterns and will include local knowledge and trends.Operations research, also known as delivery system research, is concerned with finding out which interventions, strategies or tools can enhance the quality, effectiveness or coverage of agriculture, nutrition and health programmes in which more analytical research is being carried out. It will involve a variety of descriptive processes, such as cross-sectional analyses, case control studies and retrospective or prospective cohort analyses (Zachariah et al 2009).Development programme study designs will include adequacy, plausibility and probability methodologies. Adequacy methodology measures the expected change of nutrition status as programmes are implemented. Programme performance is evaluated and status is assessed before and after the interventions. Plausibility methodology assesses whether the programme seemed to have an effect above and beyond external factors and influences. Probability methodology is used to measure whether a programme had an impact, and checks for potentially confounding elements by making use of randomization and control groups.In conducting the research outlined in this strategy, a wide variety of tools and technology will be used, including livelihood tools for assessing physical, financial, social, natural and human capital. Vulnerability assessments and mapping will be monitored with geographic information systems and the Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping System (FIVIMS). Other methods based on food security, human development, food sovereignty and rural development will be considered.Market mapping will focus on access to markets, outcomes related to food access and availability, trader and focus group interview guides, market location mapping exercises and prices. Local market assessments will include food availability lists, seasonality, prices and preferences.Food security tools such as the household hunger scale, household food insecurity access scale, months of adequate household food provisioning and the coping strategy index (FAO and FANTA-2) will be used.Other dietary and consumption tools to be used in the research will include infant and young child feeding surveys from the World Health Organization (WHO), women's diet quality tools (see Ruel et al 2010 and other papers in that supplement), household dietary diversity scores from Food And Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA), consumption and composition indicators from FAO, such as their International Network of Food Data Systems and the new International Micronutrient Assessment and Planning Programme (WHO). Linear programming methods will be used to select diets based on local foods that satisfy a set of nutritional constraints while minimizing the total energy content of the diet, with costs assessed using tools such as Save the Children's cost of diets tool (Chastre et al 2007;de Pee et al 2010).Nutritional assessments including anthropometry to assess children's nutritional status as well as biochemical analyses of micronutrients will be essential to measure the impact of interventions or research on nutrition and health outcomes.Agriculture, ecosystem and biodiversity tools will be employed on-farm and in landscapes and will include a species richness index (defined as the number of identified and previously described edible species, either plant or animal, per farm), as well as a species diversity index, a species evenness index and individual species-area relationships. Access surveys will include assessments of access to seed diversity, technology and markets.Other areas to be developed include the nutritional functional diversity at the farm level, nutritional composition at subspecies level and cultural preferences for species and subspecies.Technology such as mobile phones, satellite positioning systems and food enrichment technology will also be used.The CGIAR is committed to reducing poverty and hunger, improving human health and nutrition and enhancing ecosystem resilience through high-quality international agricultural research, partnership, and leadership. The CGIAR's Research Programme on Agriculture for Improved Nutrition and Health, directly and strategically supports this commitment.Agricultural production will need to increase if the world is to meet the food needs of a growing population from a finite resource base. How agriculture develops to do this will have consequences for the health and nutrition of people. The CGIAR Research Programme is designed to support the overall CGIAR agenda by improving our understanding of how agriculture can better accentuate the benefits and mitigate the risks of agricultural development for human health and nutrition. The lessons learned are intended to serve the entire CGIAR agenda within agro-ecological production systems and along food value chains.The CGIAR Research Programme emphasizes two groups of people. The first is those people who are left behind by socioeconomic development, who suffer from high rates of malnutrition and agriculture-associated diseases and who rely on aid and development support. The second group is made up of poor people who live in dynamically intensifying and changing systems in which this type of research can help to direct agricultural development towards more beneficial approaches.Aspects of Bioversity's nutrition strategy fit well within the new CGIAR Research Programme and specific components and objectives of the proposed work will have substantive contributions to make to the overall CGIAR Research Programme.Objectives one and three fit well with Component one of the CRP, on nutrition-sensitive value chains, while Objectives three and four fit well within Component four of the CRP, on programmes and policies.Bioversity International will monitor and evaluate the implementation of this strategy on an annual basis with an external Scientific Advisory Council. The purpose of the Council is to provide Bioversity with expert, independent advice on nutritional science policy and strategy and to advise on matters concerning agricultural biodiversity, food and nutrition security, diet quality and diversity and the role of ecosystems in well being. Members are appointed as independent scientific experts on the basis of their specific skills and knowledge. (See chapter four for details of the Council members.)Monitoring and evaluation will be an integral element of the research agenda within each objective of the strategy and a logical framework for the proposed research is outlined on the following page.Over the years Bioversity International will demonstrate clear, realistic, measurable and rational pathways needed to achieve impact, in collaboration with our partners. Bioversity International will be accountable for the provision of inputs, for carrying out activities and for producing both lower-order and higher-order outputs. Subsequently, we will share responsibility with partners for the research outcomes generated, and engage together in the delivery of the development outcome. We give high importance to identifying partners that can share responsibility for achieving the research outcomes and that will play an important role in the delivery of the development results.Objectives one and two, with a focus on evidence building, will be the major priorities in the first five years and through the life of the strategy. Objective three will be the focus of years six through nine, while Objective four will be the focus of years seven through ten. All of the objectives will be targeted in key priority countries and specific agro-ecosystems. We plan to ensure that each objective and the different components are addressed as part of holistic research projects on similar sites because the various components together will define the nutrition and livelihoods impact. Each component may require distinct partnerships, tailored research approaches, methods and programme designs. Key priority countries will include the 36 countries where 90% of the world's stunted children live, where agricultural systems are fully functioning or that have potential for improvement, as well as countries that are ready to accelerate action in nutrition (SCN 2009). -Improved evidence of the links of agriculture to public health -Increased presence of LTFs from biodiverse systems in value chains and accessible to urban populationsTo promote the use of agricultural biodiversity within food production systems and provide nutritionally rich food sources that contribute to dietary diversity and potentially better nutrition and healthIndicators to be monitored Scientific public health and nutrition articles with ABD components and data Procurement programmes sourcing ABD for specialized nutrition products School meal programmes and garden projects with ABD practices embedded National nutrition policies with ABD interventions embedded Development agencies working on public health programmes integrating ABD increased Joint agriculture and nutrition strategies implemented in Developing Countries-ABD better integrated into national, regional and global nutrition, and public health development programmes and policies -Improvements made in multi-sectoral food system approaches to tackling malnutritionAdoption of outputs by target groups at regional and national levels-Tools and best practices used for development programmes and policies -Food development assistance and school meals effectively integrating ABD -Nutrient gap analysis and profiles deployed for use in developing countriesObjectives three and four -Best practices for ABD and nutrition linkages for development programmes developed -Usage of LTFs in specialized foods and school meals for development programmes defined and documented -ABD sourced commodities integrated into select food aid baskets -Nutrient gap and ABD added value quantified -Nutrient profiles of non-crop ecosystems identified and documented -Role of women in food systems approaches characterized -Research tools to measure added value and impact of ABD in public health programmes developed -Nutrition development programmes integrated with agricultural practices redefinedMartin W. Bloem, MD, PhDDr Martin W. Bloem is Chief for Nutrition and HIV/AIDS Policy and UNAIDS Global Coordinator at the World Food Programme in Rome, Italy. He holds a medical degree from the University of Utrecht and a doctorate from the University of Maastricht and has joint faculty appointments at both Johns Hopkins University and Tufts University. Martin has worked and lived in several countries in Asia including Bangladesh, Thailand and Indonesia. He has more than two decades of experience in nutrition research and policy. Bloem acted as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Helen Keller International prior to his appointment at WFP and has devoted his career to improving the effectiveness of public health and nutrition programmes through applied research. His work has led him to participate in task forces convened by leading non-governmental organizations such as the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Health Organization (WHO).Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN Dr Barbara Burlingame is Senior Officer and Leader of the Nutrition Requirements and Assessment Group at FAO. Her areas of responsibility include food composition, human nutrition requirements, dietary and nutritional risk assessments, the cross-cutting initiative on biodiversity for food and nutrition as well as the provision of nutrition advice to FAO member nations and the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Since 1995, she has been the director of INFOODS, the International Network of Food Data Systems and since 1998 she has been the editor of the international, peer-reviewed Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. She chairs the International Union of Nutritional Sciences Food Data Task Force and is a member of several scientific advisory boards. She has authored many scientific papers and UN publications, and several book chapters and reference books and been awarded the New Zealand Royal Society's Science and Technology Medal, Dr Burlingame studied at the University of California, Davis, and obtained a BSc in Nutrition Science and Environmental Toxicology. She did her postgraduate work in New Zealand at Massey University where she obtained a PhD. From 1987-1998, she worked for the New Zealand Institute for Crop & Food Research. She has been at FAO since 1998.Fabrice DeClerck is a Belgian landscape and community ecologist with a faculty appointment at CATIE in Costa Rica. His primary research activities focus on the biodiversity and ecosystems in human-dominated landscapes of Mesoamerica. DeClerck holds an adjunct research fellowship with Tropical Agricultural Programmes at Columbia University and consults on the role of biodiversity and conservation in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He leads research projects on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning in cattle and coffee agricultural systems, looking at how biodiversity and functional diversity can be managed to increase the provisioning of ecosystem services and poverty alleviation. His current work is focused on how the position of agroforestry systems affects the capacity of these systems to provide ecosystem services. DeClerck's research also looks at how functional diversity can predict ecosystem function, including models of loss of functional diversity with agricultural intensification and the contribution of functional agrobiodiversity to human nutrition. DeClerck was a postdoctoral fellow with the Earth Institute at Columbia University where he actively investigated and wrote on the role of ecology in poverty alleviation. He also maintains an active theoretical ecology research agenda on the relationship between tree species richness and carbon storage in a tropical forest of Panama.Glenn Denning is a professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs, and Associate Director of the Centre for Globalization and Sustainable Development at the Earth Institute of Columbia University. He helped establish The MDG Centre, East and Southern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya and served as its first Director from 2004-2009, during which he provided leadership to the centre's agenda in agriculture and rural development and its support to the African Green Revolution. He previously held senior management positions at the International Rice Research Institute and the World Agroforestry Centre and has lived and worked in Asia and Africa for more than 30 years. Denning served on the UN Millennium Project Hunger Task Force (2004-2006) and is a member of the Senior Steering Group of the UN High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis. Dr Denning holds agricultural science degrees from the University of Queensland, a PhD from the University of Reading, and an MPA from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Boitshepo \"Bibi\" Giyose, PhDThe New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Secretariat, South Africa Boitshepo \"Bibi\" Giyose is a Senior Food and Nutritional Security Advisor to NEPAD's Planning and Coordinating Agency for the African Union. Before joining NEPAD, Giyose worked for UNDP/UNAIDS Botswana as the regional project coordinator for strengthening the United Nations response to HIV/AIDS in small-population African countries. She has also worked as the regional coordinator for the Commonwealth Regional Health Community Secretariat for East, Central and Southern Africa, as a nutritionist for the Government of Botswana and as a private nutrition consultant. The World Bank Anna Herforth holds a PhD in international nutrition from Cornell University, an MSc in food policy from Tufts University and a BSc in plant science from Cornell University. She has worked with academics, non-profit organizations, CGIAR centres and the UN, contributing to nutrition policy and programmes in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. In each region she has spent considerable time with agricultural and indigenous communities. Currently Herforth is a Nutrition Specialist at the World Bank, working on nutrition as a multi-sectoral issue related to agriculture and the environment.Dr CJ Jones is Country Manager for the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). Since 1989, she has lived and worked in both east and southern Africa, during which time she has held a variety of high-level private-sector positions including technical consultant on privatization in Zambia, lead local consultant for the privatization of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines, founding director of the Lusaka Stock Exchange and of the African Plantations Corporation and director of several Zambian commercial banks. At the same time, she established her own investment company and developed a reputation for business management and business opportunities at the cutting edge of African industry and for raising significant new foreign investment capital. Since 2007, Jones has worked at the interface between public and private sector investment in East Africa and is currently working with GAIN to put key public health interventions related to nutrition into effect. For example, GAIN's Kenyan food fortification programme, which will reach 27 million Kenyans, and the Maternal and Infant Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) initiatives are two that are working directly with industry to produce nutritious infant foods and make them available to mothers in low-income groups. An Australian citizen, Dr Jones was born in rural Australia and received her professional qualifications from Sydney University and Wollongong University. Jones is also a qualified educator with postgraduate qualifications in education, administration and finance.  In its common use hunger describes the subjective feeling of discomfort that follows a period of not eating. Even temporary periods of hunger can be debilitating to longer term human growth and development. Acute hunger is when food lack is short term and caused by sudden shocks to the food system, such as drought resulting in famine, whereas chronic hunger is a constant or recurrent lack of food. Reducing hunger levels places the emphasis on the quantity of food and refers to ensuring that a minimum caloric intake is met.Nutrition refers to a diet's quality. A diet rich in macronutrients (fat, carbohydrate and protein) and some micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) has been proven to improve birth weight, growth, and cognitive development and decreases child mortality.Malnutrition is a broad term commonly used to describe people who are malnourished if their diet does not provide adequate calories, protein, fat and micronutrients. It can also refer to individuals who are unable to fully utilize the food they eat due to illness. A lack of essential micronutrients (essential vitamins and minerals) often results in hidden hunger, where the signs of malnutrition and hunger are less immediately visible, and which can result in the nutrition disorder of undernutrition. Although a lot of the focus regarding malnutrition centres on undernourishment, overnutrition is also a disorder of malnutrition in which individuals consume excess calories, make poor food choices, or do not have access to high quality food. One of the major long-term determinants of malnutrition is poverty, a factor that holds true in developed and developing countries.Global acute malnutrition, or wasting, is defined as low weight for height or the presence of oedema. It can be moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) or severe acute malnutrition (SAM). It occurs as a result of recent rapid weight loss, malnutrition, or a failure to gain weight within a relatively short period of time. SAM is the most dangerous form of malnutrition and if left untreated, can result in death. Wasting occurs more commonly in infants and younger children. Recovery from wasting is relatively quick once optimal feeding, health and care are restored. Wasting occurs as a result of deficiencies in both macronutrients (fat, carbohydrate and protein) and some micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).Chronic malnutrition, commonly referred to as stunting, is a failure to grow in stature, which occurs as a result of inadequate nutrition over a longer period. It measures chronic deprivation, with inadequate food intake, poor health and poverty, which results in poor child growth. Stunting of children under five years of age is a strong indicator of hunger and of endemic poverty, one of hunger's determinants. Global and country stunting is often much more prevalent than undernutrition and wasting and more accurately reflects nutritional deficiencies and sickness that occurred in the most significant times of a child's growth.The 1996 World Food Summit stated that \"food security exists when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient food to meet their dietary needs for a productive and healthy life\". The achievement of food security depends upon three distinct but interrelated processes (USAID 1992). The first is food availability, ensuring that a sufficient quantity and diversity of food is available for consumption from farm, marketplace or elsewhere. The second is food access, which refers to households having the physical and financial resources required to obtain food. The third is food utilization, having the capacity and resources necessary to use food appropriately in order to support healthy diets. This includes access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, knowledge of food preparation and the basic principles of good nutrition, proper child care, illness management and so on.Increased consumption of unhealthy foods compounded with increased prevalence of overweight in middle-to-low-income countries is typically referred to as the Nutrition Transition. It occurs in conjunction with the Epidemiological Transition and has serious implications in terms of public health outcomes, risk factors, economic growth and international nutrition policy. Nutrition transition may result in malnutrition not simply from a need for food, but from the need for a high-quality diet. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains have been substituted by foods heavy in added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium. This trend, which began in developed, industrialized countries, has spread to developing countries. These developing countries are now stressed with the double burden of malnutrition -hunger alongside the health problems associated with overnutrition, such as obesity, diabetes and stroke.Agricultural biodiversity includes ecosystems, animals, plants and microorganisms related to food and agriculture. Today most crop species and domesticated livestock are the result of thousands of years of human intervention, including selective breeding and other farm practices. Agricultural biodiversity provides food and raw materials. Moreover, every plant, animal and microorganism plays its part in the regulation of essential ecosystem services, such as water conservation, decomposition of waste, nutrient cycling, pollination, pest and disease control, climate regulation, erosion control, flood prevention, carbon sequestration and many other ecosystem-oriented factors (CBD, 2010).There is no universally accepted definition of local foods or traditional foods. Traditional foods are generally from a particular culture, available from local resources and culturally accepted. Other aspects that have to be factored in to a consideration of traditional foods include sociocultural meanings, techniques for acquisition and processing, use, composition and nutritional consequences (CINE 2006). In this strategy we use local and traditional foods to refer to plants and crops, fruits, non-timber forest products, livestock, fish, hunted game, wetland species, wild or gathered foods and insects.Agro-ecosystem describes a conceptual model of an agricultural system (crop, farm or whole economy), which relates its functions to its inputs and outputs. An agro-ecosystem encompasses land used for crops, pasture, and livestock, the adjacent uncultivated land that supports other vegetation and wildlife, the associated atmosphere, and the underlying soils, groundwater and drainage networks. Ecosystems services are ecological processes and functions that sustain human wellbeing (Daily 1997).Sustainable diets are diets with low environmental impact and which contribute to food and nutrition security as well as to a healthy life for present and future generations. Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable, nutritionally adequate and safe and healthy while also optimizing the use of natural and human resources.","tokenCount":"11468"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"61740894a54794d62960f133e3654594","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/64544275-86cb-40f0-8dc2-ab849aed666a/retrieve","id":"2136419241"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"f38939ce-8864-419b-9dc3-5919accd4c3f","pagecount":"50","content":"This is a working paper that has not been formally peer reviewed. The opinions expressed in this paper and any possible errors are the responsibility of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the position of the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification or of the institutions and individuals who were involved in the preparation of the report. This report was commissioned by the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI). CoSAI brings together agricultural and food systems experts and decision-makers from the Global South and is collaborating with scientists, innovators and partner organizations from across the globe.The authors gratefully acknowledge the support and inputs provided by the Secretariat of the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI) as well as all associated Commissioners who played an extensive role in reviewing the analysis and various drafts of the report as well as their support and inputs towards the approach for the study. The authors also thank Richard Kohl for his extensive support through the process.The Oversight Committee for the study comprised CoSAI Commissioners Maurício Lopez (co-Chair), Rasheed Sulaiman V (co-Chair), Irene Annor-Frempong, Rodomiro Ortiz, Uduak Edem Igbeka, Vara Prasad and Varad Pande, and technical advisor, Julia Compton. Study management and administration was provided by David Shearer and Josefina Achaval-Torre from the CoSAI Secretariat.Within Kenya, the study was led by Bancy Mati. The authors sincerely thank all the institutions and individuals who provided data, information and insights which helped to ground and enrich this report. Special thanks go toKenya. This is a technological innovation involving the construction of water-harvesting farm ponds for crop irrigation, improving agricultural intensification, food security and climate change resilience by small-scale farmers. Although some farm ponds previously existed in isolated farms, this innovation started around 2009 with an initiation phase in Yatta Sub-County of Machakos County, where dug-out farm ponds were actively promoted (2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014). The out-scaling phase started from around 2013 to the present (2021) in the three counties Kitui, Machakos and Makueni in 1 All of the studies are available on the CoSAI website (https://wle.cgiar.org/cosai/pathways-for-innovation). viii eastern Kenya. It is estimated that at least 10,000 farm ponds were excavated and actively used for irrigation in the three counties.This focuses on adoption of solar-powered irrigation in peri-urban areas of Kajiado County, which border the city of Nairobi, from 2005 to 2021. This is mostly a technological innovation driven by business pull through peri-urban agriculture to meet the demand for fresh produce in the nearby Nairobi city, along with innovative financing models to suit farmer needs. Since Kajiado has almost no rivers, this innovation is driven by the need to pump groundwater, the availability of affordable solar-powered irrigation systems kits, and free (solar) energy. Solar-powered irrigation equipment is sometimes marketed as complete kits (solar panels, pump and irrigation gear). This has enabled irrigated agriculture to thrive using clean energy and thus resulted in agricultural intensification.Tana Catchments. This innovation presents a case of watershed management activities implemented by land users in upstream catchments of the Upper Tana River Basin from 2012 to 2021. Starting with a three-year proof of concept phase (2012-2015) a business case was developed, followed by an implementation phase (2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019)(2020). This was a blended finance innovation with technological, environmental and socio-economic components. It addressed the creation of a Water Fund through a platform for public-private partnerships, providing support and a delivery mechanism for SAI and watershed conservation. The downstream water users (in Nairobi) provide incentives (blended finance) for upstream communities (land users) to conserve the sources of water.From the foregoing, the following were recommended:• Farmers should be engaged throughout the innovation process. It is emerging that innovation thrives when farmers and local communities are included as investors or stakeholders rather than as beneficiaries, for example, in the construction of waterharvesting structures. Support them contribute to the ideas shaping the innovation, and encourage them to drive it practically.• Quite often, end users are resource poor small-scale farmers who may require some financial push. Thus, the financing models that have a cost-sharing element (e.g., water credits) have a greater chance of success. Interesting examples at different scales of innovation include mobile phone financing for solar pumps ('pay-as-you-grow') and conservation measures financed by public-private partnerships of the Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund. ix• Innovations take time to be tested, implemented and upscaled -at least eight or more years in the cases covered in this report. It is therefore imperative for all partners to have patience and to plan long term, including in the financing of the initiative.• Innovations usually benefit from strong leadership. The identification and support of champions (both individual and institutional) facilitate a coordinated pathway for growing the innovation. As for example, the strong leadership by a respected entity, as was provided by The Nature Conservancy in Upper Tana, was instrumental in putting together the partners needed to build up the Water Fund.• Conducive government policies, their implementation and support through relevant institutions facilitate smooth operations and easier upscaling of innovations. One example is favorable import tariff policies for solar-powered equipment. Government policy is informed by innovation based on lessons learned. Innovations can lead to policy reform.• The bundling of innovations when introduced from the beginning gives the initiative an integrated approach for both problem solving and success, enabling targeting of incentives, upscaling, policy push and out-scaling of lessons learned. For example, the success of solar pumps required a bundle of innovations in finance, institutions, policy and technology.• Partnerships facilitate a multiplier effect helping to reduce transaction costs, share responsibilities and provide support according to strengths and needs of stakeholders. • Integrated approaches are necessary and require partnerships in order to meet the needs of various actors at the financing and policy side as well as those of land users at the implementation end. • Partnerships (of government, NGOs, development partners, researchers, farmers and the private sector) enable pulling together resources, synergies and project implementation.The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI) promotes more and better investment in innovation for sustainable agriculture intensification (SAI) in the Global South, and works to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. For CoSAI, 'innovation' includes not only science and technology but, importantly, innovation in policies, finance and social institutions. 'Transformative innovation' of agriculture for SAI means \"major change to farming system structures and functions\" or \"a fundamental shift in the way food is grown and supplied\", moving agricultural systems significantly in the direction of SAI goals. The CoSAI's main target audiences are 'innovators' (research and development entities and the private sector) and 'investors in innovation' (e.g., Ministries of Agriculture and international funders) who invest directly in agricultural innovation and research. Thus, the term 'innovation' in this context includes SAI-related institutional, policy and financial innovations as well as scientific and technological innovations. SAI refers to the transformative changes required in agricultural systems to meet the United Nations SDGs and the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, including social and human objectives as well as environmental sustainability.In lieu of this, it is important to identify pathways, approaches and partnerships that can address the complexity of innovation challenges within agricultural systems. However, many past innovations have taken a less planned and structured pathway to success, engaging with imperfect enabling environments, with needed policy and institutional changes brokered along the way. Learning from pathways of previous transformative innovations is important for future work in this area. The purpose was to produce practical, evidence-based lessons on factors that influence success in pathways for innovation for SAI.This particular report refers to the country case study for Kenya. It is one of three country case studies (Brazil, India and Kenya) that used a common framework of analysis to draw out common lessons as well as context-specific findings.  Kenya's agricultural sector is among the most innovative in sub-Saharan Africa, driven in part by the need to grow more food for a rapidly growing population, declining area of good land for cultivation, weather-related limitations, especially recurrent droughts, and highly competitive markets. In a study of agricultural innovations in Kenya (Makini et al. 2016), some 43 innovations were identified and categorized into eight domains -cropping, livestock, governance, marketing, finance, processing, natural resource management and value addition -of which 62% were crop-related innovations. The majority (61%) of the innovations were technical, 23% were organizational and 16% were institutional.Other projects have also identified innovations focused on land and water management in Kenya (Critchley et al. 1999). Indeed many agricultural innovations in Kenya remain undocumented, while others are still emerging, which offer lessons on factors that influence success in pathways for innovation for SAI.This is one of three country case studies covering Brazil, India and Kenya, which utilized a common analytical framework to identify SAI innovations (Annex 1). In Kenya this involved a systematic and consultative process summarized as follows:1) Conducting Literature Review: A review of literature was conducted to capture data, information and material content for the case studies. Information was gathered from reports, records, publications and other sources bearing on SAI in Kenya. Also reviewed were global, regional, national and local data sources from the internet, libraries and key contacts.2) Preliminary Identification of Candidate SAI Innovations: From the literature review, the first round of seven candidate SAI innovations in Kenya (Annex 2) were selected. The selection criteria were common across the three country studies: a) Innovations that have been achieved recently, at least from 2000 to date b) Innovations that have impacted relatively large numbers of people, preferably targeted at groups or regions (excludes individual farmer innovations) c) Preferably home-grown innovations d) Transformative innovations e) Representing a variety of 'initiators', e.g., public sector, private sector, civil society and public-private partnerships f) Representing a variety of innovations in policy, social institutions and finance as well as science and technology (or ideally combined) g) Innovations that might affect different types of farmers.Based on information gathered from literature, data analysis and consultations, the top three SAI innovations in Kenya identified were: (i) Water harvesting and storage in farm ponds for irrigation in eastern Kenya (ii) Solar-powered irrigation in peri-urban Kajiado (iii) Blended finance supporting agricultural intensification and watershed management in Upper Tana Catchments.Using the contacts from the stakeholder mapping, respondents likely to provide further information and details on the selected SAI innovations were contacted as key informants. These were interviewed through ICT (information and communication technology) modes such as e-mail communications, telephone interviews, WhatsApp, Zoom meetings and face-to-face meetings with observance of all COVID-19 safety protocols.Verifying the Presence of the SAI Innovations at the Grassroots: Field visits were made to five counties where the three SAI innovations had been identified: Kitui, Machakos, Makueni, Kajiado and Murang'a. During these visits, national and county government staff, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), private sector service providers, farmers and other stakeholders were interviewed and the innovations visited and verified (Annex 3).The scarcity of records and central databases meant that supporting data were not easy to find, with the exception of the blended finance case study. The information available from the Internet was descriptive, while due to COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face interviews were at a minimum and data gathering relied on telephone and e-mail. Even then, field visits were made to verify realities on the ground and interviews conducted with key informants. Drought and prolonged dry spells have for years ravaged and continue to affect agriculture in the semi-arid counties of Kitui, Machakos and Makueni in eastern Kenya (Recha et al. 2016). Farming in the three counties is predominantly smallholder, rainfed crop production. The seasonal rainfall, when it falls, is highly variable, erratic and occurs in intense storms resulting in poor infiltration, excessive runoff and consequently massive soil erosion. Due to the erosion menace, between the 1970s and the 1990s, many donor-driven projects and government initiatives on soil conservation through terracing were implemented (Tiffen et al. 1994). However, soil conservation, much as it improved crop production marginally, could not bridge the yield gap caused by recurrent droughts, which have got worse over the years, to the point where farmers stopped planting maize during the long rains (Mati 2012). All these problems could be solved by making water available for farming, in all areas, even those lacking rivers or groundwater. It is this challenge which was turned into opportunity through water harvesting.Water-harvesting farm ponds (water pans or on-farm small storages) 2 are water storage structures constructed below the ground surface to collect rainfall runoff from open surfaces such as home compounds, roads, grasslands and other areas (WFP 2018). A farm pond has an inlet to regulate inflow and an outlet to discharge excess water. It is usually surrounded by a small bund, which prevents erosion on the banks. A farm pond may be earthen (where the soil profile is self-sealing) or, in many cases, lined with dam plastic, concrete or other material to prevent water losses by seepage (Figure 1).The field investigations showed that pond sizes vary depending on the farmer's water requirements, land availability, soil type, excavation costs and catchment characteristics. In Kenya, farm ponds are usually excavated by hand using simple hoe and shovel, but in a few cases, larger farm ponds are excavated by machinery. Water stored in the farm pond is extracted using buckets or pumps, the type depending on farmer's financial capacity (e.g., manual, petrol or solar-powered pumps). The water is usually used for irrigating part of the farm to grow high value/short season crops and, in some cases, for livestock watering. Due to high turbidity and other health concerns, most families do not drink water contained in farm ponds. Rather, they seek drinking water elsewhere, e.g., from boreholes, water kiosks or roof harvesting storage tanks. Thus, farm ponds are used mostly for crop intensification and to drought-proof agriculture in the dry zones. In that time, the few existing food stocks were depleted, livestock were sold in distress or just died and local people generally lost their assets and were impoverished. Seeing all this, Dr. Titus Masika, a retired teacher, encouraged local farmers to excavate water-harvesting farm ponds for use to grow food. With some assistance from an NGO, the Christian Impact Mission (CIM), farmers were trained on water harvesting and construction of farm ponds which were about around 4-5 meters deep (World Agroforestry 2020). This initiative encouraged many families to excavate their own ponds and within a short time, over 3,000 water-harvesting ponds had been constructed in the Yatta area alone (van Steenbergen 2019). This number continued to grow and by 2021 almost every household in Yatta owned at least one or more farm ponds. It should be noted that this success was partly enabled by the fact that the soils in Yatta are self-sealing. Hence the farm ponds are simply scooped (no need for lining) as they hold water adequately (Figure 1) without seepage issues. The technology is thus easy to replicate.The water stored in the ponds was lifted to farmlands mostly using buckets or petrol pumps and used to irrigate food crops. The types of crops grown also changed, becoming more diverse, including marketable produce such as vegetables. Farmers could now grow kale, cabbage, tomato, onion, peppers and indigenous vegetables. It should be noted that farmers in Yatta cultivate on average 5 acres (2 ha) for field crops, mostly maize, pigeon pea, cow pea and green gram. The water from the farm pond is inadequate to irrigate such large areas. Rather, it is used to irrigate high value crops, especially vegetables and seedlings for sale. These types of crops do not cover the entire farm, but take up about a ¼ to ½ acre (0.1-0.2 ha) and rainfed crop production continues throughout the rest of the farm. Sometimes, when the rains fail, farmers 'top up' rainfed crops with the water from ponds, averting crop failure by using harvested water, hence agricultural intensification. The knowledge, attitude and behavior change components that were undertaken by the CIM included training on water harvesting techniques, utilization, agronomy and learning to grow crops with supplemental irrigation.The water harvesting initiative evolved through two phases, with the starter phase (2009-2014) in Yatta Sub-County of Machakos County, where digging of farm ponds was actively promoted with assistance of CIM. The success of the Yatta water-harvesting farm ponds attracted many visitors to the area. A number of projects and programs were implemented to upscale water harvesting across Kenya based on the Yatta model. This triggered the second phase which was the out-scaling to other parts of Kenya, which occurred during 2014-2021. By this time, visitors were trooping to Yatta to learn from their experiences and see the farm ponds and agricultural activities. Indeed the training center located at Yatta and operated by CIM started charging fees for training or taking groups around, at a cost of KES 10,000 (USD 100) per day, when they realized that farmers were spending too much time hosting visitors. The groups visiting Yatta were mostly leaders, farmers, NGOs and individuals -a number of serious adopters resulted from this learning exercise. Beyond Yatta Sub-County, water harvesting was promoted by NGOs and county governments. By 2021, it was estimated (information from key informants) that about 10,000 farm ponds had been constructed in the three counties of Kitui, Machakos and Makueni (Figure 2). b) Kitui County: This is the most arid of the three counties where farm ponds were actively promoted. As a result, the county government funded the construction of larger ponds for community and livestock drinking water supplies. However, household water harvesting with storage in farm ponds was also promoted by the county government and various NGOs, including Caritas, Action Aid, World Vision Kenya, the Kenya Red Cross Society and international development partners, e.g., the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (ICRAF 2020). Others include CBOs and farmer common interest groups. For instance, Caritas excavated at least 120 farm ponds in Kitui over the last three years, while a Kwamikuyu CBO dug 100 farm ponds in the Kwavonza Ward alone (field staff interviews). The total number of farm ponds in Kitui could not be ascertained because farmers quite often excavate ponds on their own initiative. One major challenge in Kitui is severe drought which ravaged the county for two consecutive seasons (2020/2021) to the extent that some farm ponds were dry. Generally, the larger farm ponds still had water even after the prolonged drought. This implies that it is necessary to construct large ponds in the drier areas (farms are also larger in this area).In Makueni County, the combined efforts of the national government, county government, NGOs and farmers' own initiatives facilitated faster and more visible evidence of adoption of farm ponds. The county government was at the forefront of coordinating the activities. Water-harvesting farm ponds have always existed in Makueni, mostly dug by individual farmers as well as through support by NGOs and donor-funded projects (e.g., WFP, FAO, European Union, United States Agency for International Development, Caritas and Action Aid), albeit data for quantification are hard to come by. The contemporary impetus for water harvesting started when the Makueni County Government officials and farmers made a series of trips to Yatta in 2016 to learn from their experiences. Following this, the county government took seriously the concepts of water harvesting with the slogan \"Kutwikania Kiuu Movement\" which simply translates to \"Water Conservation Movement\". The Makueni County Government using NIA's machinery provided services of mechanized farm pond excavation (free), thus lessening the initial cost. The farmers' contribution included completion of the pond (removing debris, smoothing, lining the pond and providing auxiliary infrastructure including pumping equipment). By September 2021, NIA had excavated some 500 additional farm ponds of capacity 500-1,000 m 3 in the county. Parallel to NIA's excavated farm ponds, the county government implemented a cost-sharing arrangement for excavation of ponds in Kathonzweni, Makindu and Kibwezi.Type of innovation: This is a technological innovation at the farm level, bearing components of a financing model. Water-harvesting farm ponds require some engineering/technical expertise for design and construction, as the technology is not truly indigenous. Farm ponds were introduced to most farmers in the recent past, as a new and innovative way of harnessing rainfall runoff in relatively large quantities, capable of supporting irrigation. In addition, the Makueni case study illustrates an innovative financing model that enables cost-sharing of the more expensive aspects of developing a farm pond, i.e., cost of rapid excavation and purchase of dam liners. Moreover, farmers sometimes work together in groups supporting each other in digging farm ponds, e.g., in Kitui.An integrated approach: An integrated approach was adopted by the starter Yatta project and later by the adopters especially in Machakos and Makueni Counties in promoting water harvesting. In both cases, farmers (including both adopters and non-adopters) were trained on pond construction, operations and management, crop selection and agronomy, soil fertility management, water conservation, marketing of produce and linkages to microfinance and farming as a business. The integrated approach is best illustrated through a water harvesting project implemented in Mwala, Machakos County, through the Drydev initiative (Drydev 2019). They observed that: \"since installing farm ponds, the farmers have diversified their production, now including vegetables, fruits trees, poultry and bee keeping, allowing them to produce throughout the year and thus maximizing their income.\" This facilitated opportunities for increased production of major staples, vegetables and fruits, thus contributing to improved household nutrition.Adoptable by all farming scales: The adopters and users of farm ponds range from the poor or uneducated who mostly dig smaller farm ponds using family labor, to farmers with alternative sources of income, e.g., having wage employment elsewhere, who invest in larger farm ponds with substantial capital outlay (based on interviews and field observations). Regardless of wealth status, all farmers required technical advice and services such as proper siting, construction and lining of ponds (where necessary) or pump selection, thereby encouraging cross-learning within the community.Subsidies and incentives: Each of the three counties provided some form of incentive or subsidies to cushion farmers against the high costs of construction and equipping of farm ponds. In Kitui, NGOs provided subsidized dam liners while farmers provided labor for the excavation. In Machakos and Makueni (where ponds are larger), they sought the help of NIA, which excavated the ponds for free but the farmer did the finishing, including dam lining. Also in Makueni, the county government implemented a financing model of the cost-sharing excavation of farm ponds as described in Box 1 (quoting the Makueni County Director of Agriculture).This initiative is led by the county government which had purchased some machinery (back-hoe excavators) specifically for the water harvesting program, leased out to farmers at a subsidized fee. Farmers prefer mechanized excavation as it is faster and more cost effective than manual digging. The farmer hires the excavator for one day, paying KES 4,000/hour (USD 40/hour). On average, the excavator takes 5-6 hours on good soil or about 8 hours on hard and stony soils to excavate a 500 m 3 capacity farm pond, meaning just one day is needed for excavation. Depending on site conditions, some farm ponds are earthen, while others are lined with dam plastic. Thus, the average cost of a farm pond starts from about KES 30,000 (USD 300) for unlined ponds. For farmers who require lining their ponds, dam liners are expensive as the average cost is about KES 90,000 (USD 900) for a 500 m 3 pond, resulting in a total cost of about KES 120,000 (about USD 1,200) for these large lined ponds. This is a substantive capital outlay, hence the need to support the poor through various credit or grant programs. Indeed poorer farmers excavate smaller ponds using manual labor. The NGOs and other funding streams normally subsidize the cost of dam liners.Partnerships: In the earlier stages, during the promotion of water harvesting in Yatta (2009-2014), partnerships were formed under the leadership of CIM (Dr. Masika) to kick-start the process. These included farmer groups and extension workers. In the out-scaling years (2014-2021) another partnership led by ICRAF with partners who included international NGOs (ADRA, World Vision, SNV-Netherlands and Caritas) promoted water harvesting through the Drydev project in Machakos and Kitui. Thereafter, there were various partnerships led by respective county governments, e.g., in Makueni, the county government partners in promoting farm ponds for food security with organizations such as the WFP, Action Aid, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and FAO.Policy and institutional support: At the national level, water harvesting is well espoused in long-term plans such as Kenya Vision 2030 as well as the Irrigation Policy (GoK 2017). In addition, counties play an important role in implementation of water harvesting programs. Nearly all counties have included promotion of water harvesting for irrigation in their five-year CIDPs. Based on the CIDP, development funding is channeled to counties, including grants for projects by development partners. Thus, the policy and strategy support was a major factor in driving the scale that was reached. In the Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy 2019-2029 (GoK 2019), farm ponds feature as a critical enabler to unlocking growth of investments in agriculture. Even the Water Act (Republic of Kenya 2016) recognizes water harvesting and storage as necessary for improving agricultural productivity and climate change resilience.One of the greatest challenges is the high cost of construction of farm ponds, especially those requiring dam liners. Without support by relatives or subsidies by various projects, poor farmers find it difficult to afford excavation of farm ponds, especially as it is a labor-demanding activity. Older farmers in Yatta informed the researchers that it took them a number of years to excavate one pond by hand, as the work had to be done during the dry season when other farm work is low. For this reason there is the need to support the poor and female-headed households with subsidies to excavate ponds.Another field observation was that technical staff suggested that there is generally enough surface runoff to fill a pond at household level, even after a few storms. The size of ponds is thus limited more by cost/labor consideration than by availability of runoff.There is usually a need for trained technical staff to design, layout and supervise the construction of farm ponds. The number of available technicians was reported to be low, calling for more capacity building in this highly specialized field. Some of the more common problems associated with farms ponds include high evaporation rates and safety concerns, which can be resolved by fencing the pond area, covering with special nets as well as provision of pumps with water draw-off points positioned away from the pond. Sometimes these best practices are not adhered to.The energy to lift water from the pond to the irrigated field is another challenge. Many farmers cannot afford solar powered or motorized pumps. Delivery of water to fields is sometimes manual and thus wasteful (of both energy and water). All these issues need to be addressed to make best economic use of the farm pond for agricultural intensification.Estimates by field staff indicated that at least 10,000 farm ponds had been excavated by 2021, and were being used for irrigation of food crops in the three counties, facilitating agricultural intensification and food security for small-scale farmers. This positively impacted on at least 100,000 people in the food value chains created, emanating from the presence of the farm ponds (as reported by county staff).The impacts of water harvesting and storage ponds for improving food production and climate change resilience are substantive. Respondents interviewed stated that by using the stored water, farmers were able to bridge the dry season when rains fail, hence produce more food crops such as maize, pigeon pea, beans, fruits and vegetables. Moreover, a wider range of crops including marketable produce, especially fresh vegetables and fruits were being grown.Farm ponds advanced the commercialization of the rural economy through increased participation of farmers in strengthened value chains of selected inputs and commodities, access to credit and financial mechanisms, while enhancing information exchange, knowledge and advocacy. In one example in of a youth group that adopted farm ponds in Mwala, Machakos County, it was observed that a net positive return on investment could be achieved within 2½ years (Drydev 2019). In regard to income benefits, for the same youth group, it was observed that farm ponds cost KES 158,000-319,000 (average of KES 207,066 or USD 2,071) to install, including auxiliary irrigation infrastructure. Farmers reported increased annual farm income of KES 179,200 (USD 1,790). Average monthly household expenditure on food has reduced by KES 1,840 (USD 18) attributable to irrigated produce using farm ponds (Drydev 2019).Farm ponds provide opportunity for creation of employment and increased livelihood options and household incomes through sales of their produce, with subsequent enhanced living standards. Water harvesting supports nutrition as farmers are able to grow nutrient rich crops and kitchen gardens. The water is also used for livestock thus enhancing integrated agriculture. Furthermore, water harvesting was also a social innovation, meaning it enabled the design and implementation of new solutions that imply conceptual, process, product or organizational change, which ultimately improve the welfare and wellbeing of individuals and communities (https://www.oecd.org/regional/leed/socialinnovation.htm). In essence it changed how farmers respond to drought, enhancing incomes and community resilience to climate change.Another outcome was the opportunity for farmers in dry zones to have access to water at farm level throughout the year and to irrigate crops including on land without a river or ground water resources. This gave this innovation opportunity for wide adaptability. Other factors included (a) dynamic leadership by Dr. Masika through CIM that initiated wide adoption within Yatta and attracted adopters -both NGOs and county governments, (b) technology advances through availability of solar-resistant plastic dam-liners, (c) subsidized excavation and incentives made available to farmers to accommodate the high costs of construction and (d) capacity building provided by NGOs, county governments and various projects. This was especially evident in the eastern Kenya counties of Kitui, Machakos and Makueni, where farmers adopted construction of farm ponds, to solve the problem of food security in the face of recurrent droughts. In addition, most of Kajiado has few rivers and is too dry for rainfed agriculture. Luckily, the peri-urban areas of Kajiado lying on the Athi-Kapiti plains have good soils and appreciable groundwater resources, estimated to have a potential yield of up to 240 m 3 /day (WRA 2020), which can be exploited for irrigation. In the past, groundwater resources remained largely underutilized due to the high cost of water pumping using conventional energy sources, thereby discouraging investment in irrigation.Water pumping for irrigation relied on conventional energy sources, such as petrol or diesel pumps (Muturi et al. 2019) and in a few cases, electric pumps powered from the grid.Evolution of solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS): Before the 1970s, use of solar power generation was negligible in Kenya. As a response to the oil crisis of the 1970s, use of renewable energy was encouraged and solar energy for heating water and lighting homes was popularized. Toward the late 1970s, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems were installed in remote areas and solar pumps started to make their way into the Kenyan market (Chandel et al. 2015). The early types of PV pumping systems used centrifugal pumps, usually driven by variable frequency alternating current (AC) motors. However, these pumps had low hydraulic efficiencies in the range of 25-35%. These early solar pumps were fraught with problems, as they were inefficient, expensive and easily failed. The power obtained from solar equipment was usually weak with short functional life, and local people did not know how to maintain batteries. These factors discouraged smallholder farmers from adopting solar-powered pumps. In the 1980s-1990s, efforts on solar PV went to lighting of schools, health centers and for pumping drinking water mostly funded by donors and NGOs.Meanwhile, affordable energy to pump water from groundwater sources for irrigation in Kajiado was the missing link to agricultural intensification. This disconnect was resolved from around 2000, when the energy sector was liberalized in Kenya (EED Advisory 2018), a critical trigger of the innovation. The number of solar-energy and irrigation companies marketing solar water pumps increased, including in Kajiado peri-urban areas. Private sector marketers of solar products, sometimes doubling up as agents of various companies, promoted SPIS solutions to farmers through farm visits, shows and advertisements in the media. This knowledge push encouraged farmers in peri-urban Kajiado to adopt SPIS. More farmers were able to open up land for irrigation or to convert from use of fossil fuels or grid electricity into SPIS.This innovation involved enhancing agricultural intensification using green energy through adoption of SPIS in peri-urban areas of Kajiado bordering the city of Nairobi. Kajiado County has high insolation rates of about 4-6 kWh/m 2 with an average of 5-7 peak sunshine hours per day. Only 10-14% of this energy can be converted into electricity due to the conversion efficiency of solar PV modules (EED Advisory 2018). Since 2006-2007, the Ministry of Energy has actively promoted solar energy for offgrid electrification. It funded the Solar for Schools program, which it aims to extend to off-grid public institutions. In terms of solar power penetration, data from the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV show that just 15.5% of households in Kajiado County used solar as their main source of energy for lighting (KNBS 2019). Even then, the percentage of solar energy harnessed for water pumping or irrigation was not quantified.Type of innovation: This is mostly a technological innovation driven by business pull through periurban agriculture, bundled with innovative financing models using mobile money platforms. SPIS is defined as \"an irrigation system where water pumping is powered by solar energy\" (FAO 2018). The SPIS adopted in Kajiado (Figure 3) typically consist of the following main components: (1) a PV array (solar panels), (2) a controller unit [either direct current (DC) or AC inverter], (3) an electric motor, (4) a water pump and (5) a water storage facility/tank (optional). The most common solar water pumping systems for irrigation range from low-head submersible pumps for shallow wells to heavy-duty submersibles for borehole pumping. Boreholes that yield from 20 to over 100 m 3 /hour have adequate water for irrigation and may require large solar panels, which are available on the Kenyan market.Interviews with key informants revealed that, in the peri-urban areas of Kajiado, adoption of solarpowered irrigation by farmers has rapidly expanded in response to close proximity of the market for irrigated produce in nearby Nairobi city, and availability of equipment through various sales agents.The private-sector-led solar PV industry provided affordable, durable, easy to operate solar water pumps, sometimes marketed as a complete kit (solar panels, pump and irrigation equipment) with innovative financing models to suit individual farmer needs. This facilitated expansion of agriculture and improved production of food, both for local and export markets. In the peri-urban areas, the average farm sizes were small, ranging from 0.5 ha to about 10 ha for the more commercial farming. The majority of SPIS farmers were small-scale. Photos: Bancy Mati.a) Market penetration of SPIS: Within Kajiado, SPIS adoption started increasing from around the year 2000, mostly due to marketing and publicity by respective companies promoting the technology, and a policy push for green energy (Republic of Kenya 2012). Sales data are difficult to come by but one company, Sunculture, reported to have sold at least 200 SPIS kits in Kajiado alone (staff interviews). Indeed the true number of SPIS kits operating in Kajiado remains largely unknown as no relevant mapping has been done. Most farmers buy their solar kits directly from the private sector and there is little information flow to the county databases. Generally, the sales of both small-and large-scale solar powered pumping systems are reportedly growing steadily. The factors contributing to this are illustrated in Figure 4. b) Solar-powered irrigation kits became affordable: Technological advances in the design of solar equipment saw prices go down generally, associated with the push for clean energy. For water pumping, invention of solar-powered pumps that operate with DC further simplified the technology, making it more efficient and affordable. In effect, contemporary SPIS kits offer an array of products ranging from small portable kits to large-scale installations for scheme-level irrigation or communityscale projects. For smallholder individual farms irrigating about 0.2-0.4 ha, an SPIS kit that includes a submersible pump and solar panels costs about USD 350-1,740 (KSSI 2017). Meanwhile, those for heavy-duty borehole pumping may cost about USD 30,000. As these are initial costs and there is low if any running costs, then the investment is worthwhile. Also, the cost of solar panels has reduced by 80% in the last 10 years. Furthermore, the cost recovery of solar pumping investments can be attained within 1-3 years (ALIN 2020). This shows that solar power has come of age to plug the energy needs for irrigation.The proximity of the county to Nairobi city and indeed location within the metropolitan area provides easy market targeting for fresh produce. The irrigated farms of Kajiado provide fresh vegetables (kale, cabbage, tomato and onion) for the local market and French bean for the export market, due to easy access to the international airport (Mati 2019).There are a number of financial institutions providing grants, loans and credit for agriculture in Kenya including at village level. There are also private companies and NGOs offering innovative credit schemes targeting smallholder farmers engaged in irrigated agriculture. These include asset financing, such as providing in-kind soft loans for farmers to purchase SPIS equipment. The most common typologies of financing and credit models for SPIS include pay-as-you-grow, pay-as-you-go, microfinance credit schemes, mobile layaways, rent-toown models, the leasing model, aggregator models and table-banking models (Mati 2019). Thus, a number of these credit schemes facilitate the poor to access SPIS through affordable financing (see Box 2).This is a financing credit model for SPIS, designed for small-scale farmers, in which no collateral is required. The farmer shows evidence of access to land, irrigation water and being active in farming, but with a need for water pumping. Credit is allowed for farming on as little as ½ acre (0.2 ha) plot of land. The solar kits on offer vary with farmers' irrigation requirements. Some of the smaller ones comprise portable solar panels with a pumping kit (submersible pump and pipes). A solar pumping kit capable of a suction head of at least 15 m costs about USD 350.Farmers can take the pump on loan and pay through an M-Pesa 3 credit scheme which deducts 'water credits', in a credit scheme referred to as 'pay-as-you-grow'. This enables the farmer to pay for the cost of the solar pumping kit in small installments as he/she grows a crop. Once the credit is fully paid, the farmer fully owns the pump.The solar panel is fitted with an electronic sensor linked to a dedicated SPIS M-Pesa loan account of the farmer and also to the bank. When the pump is operating, it triggers a connection to the computers in the offices of the company that sold the SPIS system, which reflect remotely that the pump is in operation (the company keeps a rich database of who is irrigating and when). At the same time, operating the solar pump also triggers a link to the loan account (in a bank) for that particular pump/farmer. As the water is pumped, it uses M-Pesa credit which in turn reflects as a deduction of the loan account in the bank -all this happens simultaneously. In essence, the loan reduces each time the pump is operated. When there is no money in the M-Pesa account, the pump stops and can operate again if the M-Pesa account is topped up. Some farmers pay a monthly rate while others pay on an as needed basis, i.e., they top up the M-Pesa account as necessary. This continues until the loan is fully paid, at which time the solar pump operates freely without the need for topping up with M-Pesa credit, and the pump becomes wholly owned by the farmer. Many farmers pay the loan by the second crop season of vegetables or within a year, as reported by key informants.e) Complete SPIS kits: Several SPIS service providers and companies provide the layout and design of the whole system, including planning of agronomic aspects, and act as holistic service providers.Examples include Sunculture, Kickstart International, Futurepump, Epicenter Africa and Irrico. In Kenya, there is a general trend toward suppliers planning and designing the entire SPIS (including pump and irrigation equipment), installing it and offering service contracts for its operation, thus being competitive. In that case, the company acts as a service provider but links the farmer to a financier for the purchase of the system.f) Enabling policy: The Government of Kenya in 2012 zero-rated the import duty and removed Value Added Tax on renewable energy equipment and accessories (Republic of Kenya 2012). Moreover, the Finance Act -2021 (Republic of Kenya 2021) upheld tax exceptions on specialized equipment for the development and generation of solar and wind energy, including PV modules, DC charge controllers, DC inverters and deep cycle batteries that use or store solar power. This helped to retain lower costs of solar panels and attachments. However, these tax exemptions do not cover peripheral equipment, such as mountings, pumps, pipes or irrigation equipment. If tax exemptions were expanded to all irrigation equipment, costs would be reduced leading to more adoption, and thus encouraging increased food production.Value chain actors: There is a wide stakeholder base engaged in the SPIS value chain, as obtained in interviews with key informants. They include (i) users of solar products and equipment -mostly farmers, (ii) suppliers of either whole SPIS kits or components of solar-powered equipment and associated services, such as importers, wholesalers, retailers and re-sellers, manufacturers and service providers across a wide spectrum (private companies, technicians, extension workers, traders and transporters. There are also (iii) development partners supporting SPIS (UN, multilateral, international and local NGOs), (iv) banks and financial institutions, (v) marketing and farmer support organizations, including NGOs, (vi) institutions offering training on solar-powered systems and (vii) policy and regulatory institutions at national and county levels (government).Service providers: There are many service providers active in Kajiado County in the SPIS space, some with offices there or simply operating from Nairobi. The most common ones include the following:• Sunculture -have a wide range of small pumps including the RainMaker solar water pump systems, which consist of a solar pump, controller, battery bank, portable solar panel and sprinkler (http://sunculture.com/products)• Epicenter Kenya -re-sellers of various types of pumps and also provide technical support for fixing pumps. Main types of pumps are those by Grundfos, Kenya Lorenz and others (http://epicenterafrica.com)• Future Pump -have popularized their SF2 solar pump which is a reciprocating, positive displacement piston pump using a DC motor. It is simple in design -farmer fixable, and good for smallholder farms (https://futurepump.com)• Kenya Lorentz -sells medium to large solar pumps including the PS2 solar pump which is of high efficiency with a wide power range from 150 W to 4 kW. They also sell a wide range of pumps (https://www.lorentz.de)• Davis & Shirtliff -also a reseller of all types of pumps including Dayliff DDPS60 and Sun-Flos range, which are solar-powered pumps suitable for water transfer in small-scale applications and installation of equipment (https://www.davisandshirtliff.com)• Other companies include Greenserve Agri-solutions, Chloride Exide, Grundfos, Wotech Kenya Ltd, Grekkon, Irrico International, Adritex Kenya and Generation Kenya Limited. Others offer various services from capacity building to extension services. For instance, Strathmore University does capacity building for technicians who may be self-sponsored or funded by companies, while the County Government of Kajiado provides policy support and extension staff on all aspects of agriculture including irrigation. Other stakeholders include transporters, traders and retailers who complete looping of an SPIS value chain.A number of challenges face the sub-sector of solar-powered irrigation, cutting across technological, policy, economic and social issues, and they include the following:#High initial costs: Although the prices of solar energy equipment have drastically dropped, making the technology affordable to medium-scale farmers and those with alternative incomes, the cost is still relatively high for smallholder farmers. For instance, a small solar pumping kit for irrigation costs about USD 350-800, which is still too expensive for poor farmers (Mati 2019). Moreover, most solarpowered pumping equipment is imported from China, India, USA, Germany and other countries and finding spare parts locally can be a challenge.There are few qualified technical staff to handle design, installation, operation and maintenance of SPIS and this affects the quality of products, design, installation and maintenance services for SPIS (http://kerea.org/voluntaryaccreditation-of-solar-pv-businesses-in-kenya).The peri-urban areas of Kajiado have been taken over by residential areas which occupy formerly fertile lands that could be irrigated. This means shrinking space for agriculture.c) Limited publicly available information on renewable resources to support investment promotion, decision making and energy planning.d) A limited local capacity to manufacture solar power components and equipment.e) Limited information on appropriate credit and financing mechanisms, which causes delay in project implementation. c) Multiple use of solar energy generated: SPIS are versatile and can be converted to other uses at farm level. They offer multiple use of energy which is especially important in areas not connected to an electricity grid. The solar energy is used for post-harvest processing of crops, lighting homes, charging mobile phones and other light industries. This eliminates the need to purchase fuels such as petrol and paraffin. Through improved access to energy and water, SPIS helps to stabilize, increase and diversify agricultural production (e.g., vegetables and fruits). The increased availability of food improves food and nutritional security, especially for smallholder farmers and their communities.d) Scalability: Solar-powered irrigation is applicable across multiple scales as pumps come in a range of capacities and solar panels can be added if additional power as required. SPIS can be implemented at individual farmer or community levels. The County Government of Kajiado has conducted a mapping of the potential sites for solar energy installations, and is in the process of piloting a new smart-grid solar technology (ALIN 2020).e) Reduced labor and drudgery: Solar pumping upscales farmers from using manual water-lifting devices such as bucket irrigation or treadle pumps. This is a major relief for women whose health is affected by manual irrigation methods. SPIS is low maintenance, easy to install, simple and reliable, and may operate unattended. Some smaller SPIS kits are portable, making them easy to share between farmers and for safe keeping.f) Environmentally friendly: Solar water pumping is a climate-smart choice, especially when compared with petrol, diesel or other fossil fuels. Overall, SPIS can play an important role in climate change mitigation, reducing greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) emissions in irrigated agriculture by replacing fossil fuels with a renewable energy source.g) Resilience against drought/climate change: Farmers in dry zones regularly suffer crop losses due to droughts. Affordable pumping, especially with introduction of supplemental irrigation of crops, could cushion farmers against weather shocks. Being renewable, solar energy facilitates irrigation and thus attainment of SDGs that have a bearing on food security (SDG 2), water (SDG 6), energy (SDG 7) and climate change (SDG 13). The national government developed a roadmap for SDGs which is supportive of renewable energy including solar, as one way of climate change adaptation and resilience (Ministry of Devolution and Planning 2017).There are significant benefits of solar pumping solutions for women and youth. SPIS are often used for crops traditionally grown by women, such as fruits and vegetables. This could enable women farmers to engage in production of vegetables, improve household nutrition and incomes from sale of agricultural produce. Also, SPIS is a laborsaving technology which is attractive to youth. Although not quantified, key informants interviewed indicated that a large number of youth were engaged in SPIS in Kajiado.Management in Upper TanaThe city of Nairobi has a growing population, numbering 4,397,073 in 2019 (KNBS 2019). It is a thirsty city, suffering huge water deficits. The water demand in Nairobi city averages 750,000 m 3 /day against a delivery capacity of 525,000 m 3 /day (Gichuki 2015). The Upper Tana catchments supply the bulk of the water used in Nairobi through the Sasumua and Ndakaini dams, which draw their water from the Chania and Thika rivers, respectively. Nairobi being a major industrial hub in Kenya, its consumption includes both industrial and household water. However, increasing suspended sediment in the rivers has become a major issue as it increases the maintenance and water treatment costs. Indeed the water treatment costs often increase more than 33% during the rainy season, as sediment runoff fills and disrupts treatment equipment causing supply interruptions. Without intervention, this problem is likely to escalate, as climate change causes more intense rainfall events and population growth leads to more farming on steep watershed slopes. In addition, Nairobi's water treatment and distribution facilities are under pressure and face a deficit of 30% of water when the system is operating at full capacity. It is becoming clear that sorting this out requires interventions at the source, i.e., in the catchments where the resource managers are local farmers. Such efforts require supporting community actions in the areas where the water originates.Meanwhile, in the upstream catchments of the Upper Tana, the land owners/users who live upstream cultivate the steep, fragile lands prone to erosion, soil degradation and are generally resource poor. It is essential that downstream users support upstream actors to better manage the watershed and promote conservation. Residing on top of water catchment areas, these land users constitute 'unpaid watershed managers' of the natural resources, including the water collected in dams and taken to the city of Nairobi downstream.The city of Nairobi on its part has, among its residents and clients, large water users comprising companies with generous corporate social responsibility funds. Some of these companies and water utilities such as the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company are willing to support conservation and other beneficial activities in upstream areas where the resource comes from. Moreover, the city entities and land users would also like to see ecosystems preserved, agriculture practiced in a sustainable manner and watershed conservation that translates into cleaner water flows from the catchments. As opposed to previous approaches of one-off projects, this innovation brought together the water users downstream (Nairobi-based private and public institutions) who set up a long-term sustainable blended financing mechanism, the Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund which has since graduated into a fully incorporated trust in Kenya. It is a long-term financing model for watershed management combined with governance and having legal basis as a charitable public trust. The Water Fund created a platform for participation of public, private and development actors and communities, providing support and a delivery mechanism for SAI and watershed conservation, where downstream water users (at the tap) provide incentives (blended finance) for upstream communities (at the top) to conserve the sources of water.Type of innovation: This is a blended financing innovation with technological, environmental and socio-economic components. The Water Fund was the first of its kind in Kenya, and indeed in Africa.Following a successful proof of concept, a five-year project phase from 2015 to 2020 actualized to create the Water Fund as an enduring institution and implement various activities out of which successful outcomes were achieved: reduced erosion, increased tree cover, rainwater harvesting, crop diversification, increased incomes for farmers and investment flows from partners. This phase was implemented with funding support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through IFAD (IFAD 2015) and implemented by TNC in collaboration with partners. It entailed the following:Timelines: This innovation has a timeline of nine years (2012-2021) in two phases: (i) the first three years (2012-2015), implemented as a proof of concept phase, when baseline studies and partnerships building were done to test the business case for setting up a Water Fund modeled on experiences in other parts of the world but anchored in local realities and (ii) the second phase of five years (2015-2020) was the setting up of the Water Fund through a GEF-funded project culminating in the transition into a fully independent trust under Kenya law in September 2021.Proving a business case for the Water Fund: The Water Fund was initiated in 2012 through a threeyear proof of concept phase which was used mostly for gathering baseline data, hydrological and economic modeling and developing a stakeholder base. This stage was meant to determine the 'business case' for establishment of a Water Fund for Nairobi (TNC 2015). This entailed a series of studies over a three-year period meant to assess the economic viability of a Water Fund for the Upper Tana River basin. The studies were commissioned by a public-private steering committee comprising TNC and its partners. This coming together of the large companies led to financial commitments and goodwill for the Water Fund's establishment in Nairobi.A water fund is a governance and financial mechanism focused on science-based implementation of upstream land and water conservation measures necessary to meet water quality and/or quantity goals (Figure 5). It features a public-private partnership of government, public and private donors and private sector institutions -some of which are major water consumers 'at the tap' that contribute to the water fund operations and implementation fund and/or endowment. The endowment fund is a long-term financing mechanism to which the partners make contributions. Whether endowment or general implementation funds, they are used to support water and soil conservation measures 'at the top' (TNC 2015). These measures benefit local farmers through increasing agricultural yields by reducing soil erosion, improving crop production sustainably, taking care of water quality and catchment conservation.Identifying the benefits and costs: The Water Fund business case study focused on the benefits that would arise given a USD 10 million investment in priority sub-watersheds disbursed over a period of 10 years as a preferred scenario. Investment planning and watershed modeling were performed using economic analysis and a coupled SWAT-InVEST modeling framework. Subsequently, FAO's EX-Ante Carbon Balance Tool (EX-ACT) tool (  Source: TNC 2015.The financial support for water funds is used to promote sustainable land and water management practices upstream that filter and regulate water flow. These management practices can include strategically-sited tree planting and land terracing, natural water holding features and on-farm soil and water management practices. Funding is also used to support economic opportunities that enhance livelihoods and the quality of life for upstream communities that further incentivize farmers and landowners to implement sustainable management practices. Indeed, many of the interventions that improve water quality and quantity also lead to increased agricultural yields.Water funds can also enhance communities' ability to adapt to climate change, by building in resilience to fluctuating water supplies and temperatures.Implementation of water funds is a proven model founded on the principle that it is less expensive to prevent water problems at the source than it is to address them further downstream. The results of the Water Fund business case demonstrated a clear economic basis for the establishment of the Water Fund. It proposed a USD 10 million investment in Water Fund interventions showing that this is likely to return USD 21.5 million in economic benefits over a 30-year timeframe. The study projected that for every USD 1 invested by the Water Fund, stakeholders in the basin and Nairobi would see over USD 2 worth of benefits accrued (Schmitz and Kihara 2021). The payback period for the investment is calculated at approximately 20 years.The Water Fund provides a secure and transparent program through which public and private donors and partners who depend on clean water supplies from the Upper Tana watershed can direct resources to conservation strategies that will yield the greatest returns for the common good and the economy.Financial outlay: From a financial perspective, the business case recommended that to achieve the results required in the Upper Tana, an annual expenditure of some USD 1 million would be required over a 10-year period, impacting on some 50,000 farms and adjacent forests whereby most farms would be engaged to change their land management and soil management practices. This meant collective action by partners downstream and in the international community, who would mobilize at least USD 1 million annually, to try to achieve the target of USD 10 million that constituted the initial budget of the Water Fund (for a 10-year period).Theory of change: The function of water funds is premised on the principle that it is cheaper to prevent water problems at the source than to address them further downstream (TNC 2015). Investments in green infrastructure using natural systems to trap sediment and regulate water often provide a more cost-effective approach than relying solely on gray (built) infrastructure such as reservoirs and water treatment systems. The idea of a Water Fund for Nairobi was based on findings from other successful water funds that TNC had implemented elsewhere in the world. Examples include the cities of Quito in Ecuador and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. By the time of its formulation in 2012, the Water Fund relied on experiences gained in addressing similar issues in Latin America, where over 30 water funds had been developed (TNC 2015). The Water Fund was thus planned with these concepts (Figure 6) of sharing the benefits of watershed conservation by upstream land owners/users through investments by downstream beneficiaries of accruing water resources protection and ecosystem services.Developing a blended finance system or 'water fund': This entailed mobilizing sustainable financing from donors, private sector and water users in the downstream city of Nairobi and in the international community to support agricultural intensification and watershed conservation activities in Upper Tana River catchments. Blended finance is defined as the strategic use of development finance for the mobilization of additional finance toward sustainable development in developing countries (OECD 2021). The problem addressed was the disconnect in availing a sustainable financing mechanism to support watershed management and SAI in the upstream catchments of the Upper Tana River Basin.The innovation started with a 'proof of concept' phase.Setting up the institutional structures: This entailed creation of a public-private partnership or steering committee. Grassroots activities were implemented in partnerships with county governments (Murang'a, Nyandarua and Nyeri) and some specific activities and deliverables contracted out to NGOs, such as the Sustainable Agriculture Community Development Programme (SACDEP) and the Green Belt Movement. The day-to-day activities were coordinated by staff in the secretariat with oversight by the Board of Management, which represents the managerial expertise responsible for the technical matters of the Water Fund. The overall direction of the Water Fund was entrusted to a board of trustees, the apex body responsible for delivery of the Water Fund and resource mobilization. A number of factors and activities contributed to the success of this innovation, such as the following:• Establishment and institutionalization of the Water Fund management platform. This involved identification of at private sector companies in Nairobi, and linking them with public sector institutions to create a public-private partnership to establish the Water Fund as a charitable trust incorporated under Kenyan law and governed by a board of trustees. The board of trustees was charged with overall implementation of the Water Fund, which worked through a set of advisory committees and a technical secretariat, responsible for the day-today management of its activities.• Mobilization of funds from both public and private sector institutions to support tangible activities in the upstream catchments. This included support from international stakeholders including the Swedish International Development Agency, GEF, IFAD, Frigoken Limited and Coca-Cola.• Investment flows to upstream catchment land users/land owners that supported sustainable land management and integrated natural resources management implemented by farmers and other land users in the Upper Tana catchments. The farmers in the identified priority conservation areas were rewarded in-kind through training, provision of free tree seedlings and nutritious fodder grasses, subsidized dam liners for water harvesting, subsidized seeds and linkages to markets.• Capacity building of farmers, farmer groups, community, county and national institutions was done using extension services from NGOs in collaboration with county governments (Murang'a, Nyeri, Laikipia and Nyandarua). Farmers were trained on best practices in crop agronomy, soil conservation, water harvesting and farming as a business.• Establishment of robust knowledge capture, management and learning systems so as to track progress made and share lessons both at local and national levels. Strong emphasis was placed on monitoring and evaluation frameworks to support the Water Fund in decision making and allowing for an adaptive management approach to the targeted incentive schemes, and also to allow for upscaling, policy integration and replication of lessons learned.The Water Fund had strong leadership from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) which hosted the secretariat and convened all the partners. The main partners included the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, Kenya Electricity Generating Company, the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority, Water Resources Authority, East Africa Breweries Limited, Coca-Cola, Frigoken Limited and the water technology company Pentair. Other than the funding partners described above, there are other partnerships with local NGOs that cover the three priority sub-watersheds of Thika-Chania, Maragua and Sagana-Gura. These included the Thikabased SACDEP, the Greenbelt Movement and Caritas. Partnerships with expert institutions (ICRAF, National Museums of Kenya and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology) were also established to support scientific baseline studies, training and impact monitoring. The Water Fund is now an incorporated charitable trust in Kenya, with dedicated leaders and a growing partnership base and own financial and governance systems.A number of challenges have faced the implementation of the Water Fund. For instance, although at the beginning, water harvesting farm ponds had not been planned for, it became evident that water shortages during the dry season would result in direct over-abstraction of the rivers, and excess flooding during the rainy season still caused sedimentation. To solve these problems, rainwater harvesting and storage in lined farm ponds were added to the activities supported by the Water Fund. These farm ponds became popular but the cost of UV-treated dam-liners is high for farmers, hence the Water Fund provided them while the farmers bore the cost of excavation. The fact that dam liners were provided at a great subsidy (which is the largest cost) enabled the high adoption of water harvesting in the target areas. Landslides (considered a geological form of erosion) continue to occur in the most upstream parts of the catchment causing erosion damage and sedimentation of rivers, even in some steep forested areas. Some of the locations were totally inaccessible and took a long time to rehabilitate.Climate change and erratic weather has seen extreme events of rainfall and drought, which hamper both crop intensification and watershed protection. Although hydrological studies have proved improved water quality over the short term, there is still a need for long-term data collection to be able to advise policy on the scientific outputs emanating from Water Fund activities. The COVID-19 pandemic starting March 2020 curtailed a number of planned field activities that could not be adapted to a virtual support and implementation system thereby derailing the pace of advancement of the Water Fund deliverables.The Water Fund has generated measurable benefits over the past six years for people living in the watershed, for the residents of Nairobi and for watershed functions: over 44,000 farming households (about 220,000 people) are on record as having adopted improved soil conservation and water-saving technologies. The Water Fund focuses on the most at-risk areas of the watershed and helps farmers take simple steps to increase water and food security. Strategies included tree planting for agroforestry and reforestation (Figure 7), terracing, water harvesting and planting vegetated buffer zones along river banks. Generally, the Water Fund generated a wide range of benefits enumerated as follows:• 44,725 farmers have implemented land and water conservation measures  By fostering multi-stakeholder alliances and partnerships, while also being a broad-based publicprivate partnership, the Water Fund facilitated alliances incorporating beneficiary groups, NGOs and private sector and public service providers along an innovative implementation strategy, and partnerships can be formed in the future. This is the underlying concept of water funds in providing financial sustainability; through payments for ecosystem services which require both a market for suppliers and the demand of recipients.The tools for the economic monitoring of return on private sector investment were integrated into the Water Fund management structure. The success of the Water Fund was measured against its efficiency in disbursing funds and to provide incentives for catchment management and to improve downstream water quality and quantity. Particular attention was paid to good targeting, i.e., the extent to which the most vulnerable beneficiaries such as poor and food insecure women, youth and female-headed households (now standing at 38% of total) benefited from Water Fund incentives and whether the incentive schemes employed were appropriate to the needs of beneficiaries. As a result, a conservative assessment of the results predicted by the science-based business case demonstrates a viable return on investment in the implementation of the Water Fund while direct community benefits have grown several fold from the initial estimates (key informant interviews).Scaling out: Beyond the Water Fund, the rolling out of similar activities inside Kenya and across the African continent is a testimony to the encouraging results of this initiative. Some areas of uncertainty that remain include the degree to which biodiversity in the region is protected, the degree to which the project will reduce the risk of flooding events in the longer term and the sustained levels of sediment reduction being attributed to the project. However, the Water Fund is most certainly making encouraging strides toward climate resilience, nature-based solutions in the water sector, livelihood improvement and evidence-based policy making in the region.The Kenya case study on pathways to innovation for SAI includes three case studies, across different agro-ecologies and contexts, that can be considered successful cases of SAI. The first case of water harvesting and storage in constructed farm ponds to provide water for supplemental irrigation of food crops is set in semi-arid agro-ecologies of eastern Kenya (Kitui, Machakos and Makueni). It started with a passionate champion and resource poor, food insecure small-scale farmers in a dry environment who learn and are supported to construct farm ponds. The technological innovation is pushed by financing models and capacity building for it to work.The second case of solar-powered irrigation in peri-urban areas of Kajiado County -which has grown mostly through a private enterprise push -is solar water pumping for irrigation and entrepreneurial farmers in a market-responsive initiative. Whereas a conducive policy environment facilitates this innovation, the role of the public sector in extension or capacity building is negligible, pointing to a possible future where innovation tends to be demand driven with the private sector at its core.The third innovation on blended finance unveils the possibility of raising sustainable financing for agricultural intensification, driven from a watershed management perspective in the Upper Tana catchment, with blended finance from institutions based in the city of Nairobi, located downstream. The concept of the Water Fund, although not new internationally, was tested and by building credible evidence that it works was able to attract funding. The three cases have certain common features that describe the pathways. These include strong and focused leadership especially at the beginning, bundling of innovations, partnerships through which initiatives share synergies and responsive farmers willing to try new things. Financing of the innovation through various innovative modes, new knowledge and learning were at the core of each innovation.Some key challenges were observed, including scarcity of data, particularly on financial issues, with much information being provided verbally from interviews. In addition, where private sector engagement is strong, e.g., in solar-powered irrigation, the partnerships are difficult to pin down as there is competition and lack of central databases concerning what has happened. The field verification of each SAI case revealed much more information than use of the Internet, especially as so much remains unrecorded. In addition, the scaling process can be slow (in terms of reaching critical numbers of adopters), such as impacts on food security, climate change resilience and poverty reduction, which can be long term. The Kenya case study therefore shows that the pathways differ depending on local conditions and expected goals.1) Centering end users in the innovation: Farmers should be engaged throughout the innovation process. It is emerging that innovation thrives when farmers and local communities are included as investors or stakeholders rather than as beneficiaries: for example, in the construction of waterharvesting structures. They contribute to the ideas shaping the innovation, and are encouraged to drive it practically. In addition, end-user needs should be included through stakeholder engagement and development of tailored context-specific solutions.2) Financing: Innovative financing is often as important as technology in driving innovations. Quite often, end users are resource poor small-scale farmers who may require some financial push without creating a dependency syndrome. Thus, the financing models that have a cost-sharing element, especially in-kind (e.g., water credits), have a greater chance of success. Interesting examples at different scales of innovation include mobile phone financing for solar pumps ('payas-you-grow') and conservation measures financed by the public-private partnerships through the Water Fund.3) Innovations take time to reach 'at scale': Innovations take time to be tested, implemented and upscaled -at least eight or more years in the cases covered in this report. It is therefore imperative for all partners to have patience and to plan long term, including in the financing of the initiative.4) Leadership: Innovations usually benefit from strong leadership, which should be identified and supported from the very beginning. The identification and support of champions (both individual and institutional) facilitates a coordinated pathway for growing the innovation. For example, strong leadership by a respected entity, the TNC in Upper Tana, was instrumental in putting together the partners needed to build up the Water Fund.Conducive government policies, their implementation and support through relevant institutions facilitate smooth operations and easier upscaling of innovations. One example is favorable import tariff policies for solar-powered equipment. Government policy gets informed by innovation based on lessons learned. Innovations can lead to policy reform. 6) Bundling: The bundling of innovations when introduced from the beginning gives the initiative an integrated approach for both problem solving and success, enabling targeting of incentive, upscaling, policy push and out-scaling of lessons learned. For example, the success of solar pumps required a bundle of innovations in finance, institutions, policy and technology. Identification of the root cause of problems and what should be changed by a minimum number of actions offers a pathway to innovation. 7) Partnerships: Partnerships facilitate a multiplier effect helping to reduce transaction costs, share responsibilities and provide support according to strengths and needs of stakeholders. Integrated approaches are necessary and require partnerships in order to meet the needs of various actors at the financing and policy side as well as those of land users at the implementation end. Partnerships (of government, NGOs, development partners, researchers, farmers and private sector) enable pulling together resources, synergies and project implementation.The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (CoSAI) brings together 21 Commissioners to influence public and private support to innovation in order to rapidly scale up sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) in the Global South.For CoSAI, innovation means the development and uptake of new ways of doing things -in policy, social institutions and finance, as well as in science and technology.Contact us: [email protected] wle.cgiar.org/cosai","tokenCount":"11809"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"1b303c0176d9647a606561c671e85650","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/0d2cc249-7852-40e2-96a5-8ded81620b82/retrieve","id":"1492639360"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"dd3de427-9a45-4d4e-bbe6-ccd725852e90","pagecount":"19","content":"Fair dealing and other rights are in no way affected by the above. The parts used must not misrepresent the meaning of the publication. ILRI would appreciate being sent a copy of any materials in which text, photos etc. have been used.vThe International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organized a workshop of local, regional and international food safety stakeholders. The workshop was held at the ILRI Nairobi campus on 24 February 2014. The main objective of the workshop was to introduce current and new projects on food safety to stakeholders. Thirty-two participants attended the meeting, representing the main institutions involved in food safety in East Africa, including the African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) in Kenya\"s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, FAO, ILRI, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO).The meeting was divided in three main sections. During the first part, each stakeholder institution was introduced and its representative gave a short five-minute presentation about institution\"s goals and priorities on food safety. The second section featured technical presentations from FAO and ILRI representatives in relation to ongoing or future projects on food safety. In particular, FAO\"s key food safety initiatives are (i) risk-based inspection systems/import; (ii) good practices throughout the food chain; (iii) data generation on various food safety issues (for example, mycotoxins, chemical hazards, pathogens and antimicrobial residues); (iv) multi-factorial policy and decision-making; (v) risk analysis toolkit; (vi) early warning/rapid alert surveillance and (vii) effective response to emergencies.The meeting ended with a plenary discussion about the technical presentations by ILRI and FAO. Some relevant points were: (i) informal markets cannot be too regulated due to the risk of hiding, increasing the public health risk; (ii) decision-making needs to use a mix of methods; (iii) there is a need for a coordinated surveillance; (iv) although food safety standards exist, there is weak capacity to enforce them; and (v) there is lack of knowledge about the main foodborne pathogens and their impact, the levels at which they cause harm and the likely consequences of taking no action to reduce risk.Cristobal Verdugo represented ILRI at an \"Early warning -rapid alert\" workshop organized by FAO in Rome in October 2013. During that meeting, he held several bilateral meetings with representatives from the other attending organizations, among them Andrew Edewa, food safety officer at AU-IBAR. Considering the possible synergy between ILRI and AU-IBAR, Verdugo proposed a meeting between both institutions in Nairobi to explore possible areas of collaboration on food safety issues. A meeting proposal was presented to ILRI and FAO managers, who then decided to scale up the proposal and invite other stakeholders to better understand the needs of the several actors involved in food safety in East Africa and explore possible areas of collaboration among the participating institutions. With these objectives in mind, a workshop was organized at the ILRI Nairobi campus, bringing together key stakeholders in food safety in East Africa.The objectives of the meeting were to:1. Present new or current activities in the area of food safety that ILRI expects to implement, or has implemented, in Africa.2. Present new activities in the area of food safety that FAO expects to implement in Africa.3. Obtain feedback from stakeholders about the presented project activities.4. Understand the needs and challenges of stakeholders in the area of food safety.5. Create links between stakeholder institutions and explore possibilities of research collaboration.Opening remarks by Jimmy Smith, Delia Grace and Jean KamanziStakeholder representatives gave brief presentations (3-5 minutes) on their institutions\" food safety interests and the priorities for the future.Abigael Obura (CDC Kenya): CDC Kenya is an agency of the government of the United States of America that works with the Government of Kenya in control and prevention of diseases (malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS) using the One Health approach and has sentinel sites for disease surveillance. Aflatoxins are a major food safety issue; CDC Kenya was involved in responding to the aflatoxicosis outbreak in Kenya in 2004. An aflatoxin serosurvey carried out in 2011 revealed that 78% of analyzed samples had detectable levels of aflatoxins and aflatoxin exposure cut across socioeconomic levels, indicating that this is a general public health problem. In light of the porous borders in the region, the serosurvey will be extended to the eastern Africa region (Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda) to target public health interventions after identifying populations at risk.Christopher Mutungi (Egerton University): Food safety work is carried out by the Department of Dairy and Food Science and Technology. Work is being done on mycotoxin and pesticide residues; effect of hermetic grain storage systems on reducing aflatoxin levels in stored grain; mycotoxin residues in animal products and breast milk and food losses in the dairy chain. Priority: Adoption of a holistic approach to food safety in line with changing food production and processing practices.Joyce Thaiya (DVS): This is a specialized department in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. The veterinary public health section focuses on the safety of animal-source foods and carries out inspection and certification of meat and milk products. Meat inspection is carried out at all abattoirs in the country and along the value chain.  2013) that covers various food products, including dairy and meat products. Most of the other food standards deal with microbiological quality. There is a regional standard that covers food hygiene (EAS 39). The Kenya national working agreement for the catering industry covers food safety certification for hotels and other catering establishments. Quality assurance in food processing factories includes a process inspection report, certification and the KEBS standardization mark of quality. With regard to food inspection in the market, aflatoxin in maize products was found to be widespread, mainly because the maize is contaminated at the farm level. Challenges: Training of food manufacturers, limited testing facilities and infrastructure at food factories and communication of food safety information.Charles Mbakaya (KEMRI): He discussed the link between the environment, nutrition and health based on a conference paper to be presented soon. National food safety specialists act as focal points on animal health issues. Aquatic food safety is an important area from the point of view of antimicrobial residues. OIE has four regional offices in Africa, each of which is linked to the regional economic communities operating there. In East Africa, they are working with the East African Community and the Intergovernmental Authority for Development to raise awareness on animal health and food safety standards. There is a network of international reference laboratories with expertise on disease; others have wider expertise on food safety. Currently there are no reference laboratories in Africa but there is a twinning arrangement in Namibia and Uganda focused on upgrading the regional laboratories to become reference labs in future. It was noted that there is a need to have reference laboratories in Africa that have capacity for food safety analysis, such as dioxin and pesticide residues. this is soon to be finalized. An African Union food safety coordination mechanism is to be set up and linked to country systems.This session included two sets of technical presentations about current or new projects in the area of food safety. The first block was delivered by Mary Kenny and Jean Kamanzi from FAO.The second block was delivered by Tom Randolph and Delia Grace from ILRI. A summary of those presentations is discussed next.Food safety in FAO (Mary Kenny)The five main strategic objectives of FAO were introduced. These are (i) eradicate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, (ii) improve provision of goods and services from agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a sustainable manner, (iii) reduce rural poverty, (iv) enable more inclusive and efficient food and agricultural systems at local, national and international levels, and (v) increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises.Following those objectives, the main challenges in the area of food safety were presented: (i) lack of food safety programs, (ii) poor coordination of actors, (iii) lack of commitment and (iv) lack of capacity to participate in formal markets.The FAO food safety unit was introduced and its structure presented. Its core activities are (i) scientific advice, (ii) capacity building, (iii) support policy development, (iv) supporting the participation of member countries in the Codex Alimentarius Commission and (v) facilitating global access to information and the development of food safety.Current key initiatives conducted by FAO in the area of food safety were presented. These include (i) risk-based inspection systems and import, (ii) good practices throughout the food chain, (iii) data generation on various food safety issues (for example, mycotoxins, chemical hazards, pathogens and antimicrobial residues), (iv) multi-factorial policy and decisionmaking, (v) risk analysis toolkit, (vi) early warning and rapid alert surveillance and (vii)effective response to emergencies.The results of a recent survey on food safety needs in East Africa were presented, observing important needs across the spectrum of food safety activities. In particular, the needs between high-income countries and low-and medium-income countries were compared. Both groups of countries presented a need to improve their laboratory capacity and food inspection systems (a lower score was assigned to high-income countries). However, the low-and middle-income countries had an additional need to improve elements related to education and outreach on food safety hazards.The presentation finished with some forthcoming opportunities, such as: (i) a regional early warning and rapid alert surveillance workshop on food safety (East Africa), (ii) a regional multi-factorial policymaking workshop, (iii) food safety situational analysis for East Africa and (iv) a food safety strategy for East Africa.The presentation began by highlighting the current focus of FAO projects on food safety, namely, (i) practical training materials and toolkit on risk analysis, (ii) food safety policy and risk management decision-making using a multi-factor approach, (iii) supporting countries to more effectively participate in meetings of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, (iv) expert scientific advice and data input to FAO and WHO, (v) data collection on levels of mycotoxins in sorghum, (vi) legal frameworks and food control systems and (vii) support of value chain operators.Additional tools to strengthen scientific approaches include (i) a tool to assess the performance of sampling plans, (ii) a user-friendly web-based tool to guide sampling plans for mycotoxin detection, (iii) a risk management tool for control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat and (iv) a tool to assess the performance of presence/absence sampling plans and concentration-based sampling plans for microbiological hazards.An account was given of ongoing and pipeline projects in Africa:• Project to strengthen coordinating capacity in Africa• Projects to strengthen national Codex infrastructure  Central Africa: Cameroon, Gabon and Central African Republic (ongoing 2013-14)  Eastern Africa: Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi (pipeline)  Southern Africa: Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Lesotho (pipeline)The presenter highlighted scientific input requests from Codex (and member countries), addressed by groups of experts, in the areas of (i) veterinary drugs and food additives, (ii) prioritization of parasites at global level and (iii) risks with low-moisture foods. He gave practical examples of each of the above points. In a particular example, a multi-factor approach conducted in Uganda recognized five food safety issues as important. These were (i) Brucella spp. in dairy products, (ii) aflatoxins in maize, (iii) acute diarrhoea in children under five years of age, (iv)Taenia solium cysticercosis in pork and (v) methanol in unregulated alcohol.Support has been given to the development of value chains, focusing of the use of good agricultural practice, good manufacturing practice, good hygiene practices and HACCP. In this regard, training on production of tomato, maize, meat and cashewnut has been carried out in Tanzania for public and private groups. Monitoring and evaluation through following up with participants on the impact of training informs future needs. Similarly, a workshop has been conducted in Rwanda for public and private groups on safe production of milk, passion fruits, rice and maize chains.The presentation gave an overview of the research program. ILRI\"s research has been mainly focused on food safety of animal origin. However, in recent years, the institute has adopted a multidimensional approach to research on food systems. The approach focuses on small-scale farming and informal market systems which mainly provide animal-source food to the poor.The short-term objective is to increase productivity for smallholder farmers and informal marketing.Food safety in informal markets (Delia Grace) An introduction about ILRI was given, highlighting a staff of more than 130 international scientists, many from developing countries, two large campuses in Kenya and Ethiopia, and several offices in other areas of Africa and Asia. ILRI supports projects on food safety in informal markets. Recent projects have shown that informal markets can perform better than formal ones in some developing countries. In East Africa, over 80% of animal-source foods foods are sold in informal markets and supermarkets are fairly limited. Interestingly, it has been observed that in some regions, supermarkets are less safe than wet markets. Studies by Jabbar et al. and Lapar et al. showed the willingness to pay more for food safety.Another important research output highlighted during the presentation was the high levels of Trichinella in pork and the risk of Cryptosporidium in Nairobi from eating raw vegetables grown using manure from cows. Additionally, it has been observed that microbiological hazards are generally the most important.Past and current food safety projects by ILRI were then described. These include (i) safety of pig feed (Uganda), (ii) multi-pathogen surveys (Tanzania), (iii) Safe Food, Fair Food project (several countries), (iv) rapid assessment of food safety and nutrition research opportunities (several countries), (v) nutrition in value chains (several countries), (vi) pork safety (several countries), (vii) \"More Pork\" and (viii) \"Cow Killer\". In general, chosen value chains are on contextual issues related to current policies and their enforcement and the practice on the ground.There are a number of food safety research activities on aflatoxin, namely, (i) risk assessment of aflatoxins in the dairy chain, (ii) afla-extra: review and mapping of aflatoxin and impact on livestock, and (iii) work at the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) hub at ILRI on screening maize varieties for aflatoxin resistance as well as decontamination. Projects on aflatoxins developed in partnership with other institutions are: (i) market incentives for aflatoxin management (with the International Food Policy Research Institute), (ii) aflasafe (with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture) and (iii) control of aflatoxin in groundnuts (with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics).Other projects managed by ILRI\"s Food Safety and Zoonoses program and indirectly related to food safety are under the Dynamic drivers of disease in Africa project. These include: diseases associated with irrigation, assessing and developing livestock traceability systems, and risk of Ebola emergence in Uganda. The presentation ended with a discussion on scaling up of food safety projects.Needs, gaps and opportunities Plenary discussions followed the technical presentations. The main issues discussed are highlighted below.On the question of how to strengthen domestic markets, it was noted that informal markets contribute towards a significant proportion of the national gross domestic product of developed countries. Over-regulation is likely to lead to informal traders going underground, thereby increasing public health risks. Thus, there is need for pro-poor policies as well as stakeholder information and education. Due to limited resources, the main focus has been on export markets.On the question of how to get data, it was recognized that there is a lack of capacity in public institutions in addition to a lack of data within domestic markets, especially informal ones. In this regard, it was stated that ILRI\"s objective is to generate evidence whereas FAO is attempting to look at the core data that exist, specifically, what data are available, gender issues and food security elements around decision-making. These last two points triggered a discussion about how one would weight each of these areas (gender and food security) and how to measure them. The discussion led to the statement that policymaking needs to use a mix of methods and we need to be sure that research outputs are truly useful. Moreover, research should include participatory methods to ensure that stakeholders have the opportunity to provide some input.We need to generate data on the pathogenic microorganisms of importance to food safety, the minimum and maximum levels at which they cause harm and the likely impact of potential food safety issues: what are the potential threats, what would happen if they escalate and what would happen if we do nothing. Similar questions were also stated for chemical issues.Another point was the need for a better surveillance approach. For example, the baseline levels of several food safety issues are currently unknown. It is important for surveillance to be conducted in markets through a food chain approach that considers economic issues.Moreover, there is a need for coordination between the various stakeholders and with the intelligence that we have already.Regarding the need for food safety standards and finding the middle ground between providing food safety without sacrificing food security, it was stated that standards exist but the problem is the weak capacity to comply. Some institutions provided information regarding specific needs that they have identified in relation to food safety. Codes of inspection  Profiling of diseases  Level of antimicrobial and drug residues in the meat and milk  Capacity building along the food chain to support food safety  Laboratory services  Self-assessment in food production; something specific for farmers or producers to use to ensure that the food that they produce will be safe. Surveillance: from a public health point of view, there is need to move from reactive to proactive approaches. Some surveillance data from rumour mills; not in a structured way but there is some follow up through DVS. There are not enough personnel to do this in a very intensive way. Problem with surveillance is due the huge fragmentation of the data. DVS aids at the slaughterhouse and a different group at the butchery. There is need for a more integrated approach to food safety management. Data may exist but it is uncoordinated; a coordinated approach is needed.BecA-ILRI hub  Variation in the laboratory results obtained  Lack of quality assurance between laboratories  Lack of accredited laboratories in Africa","tokenCount":"3029"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"deb185dd6eba08eaad0f2b4b12ed4866","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/d2d7a0fc-990c-4216-827f-dc7ab4a78816/retrieve","id":"1376827669"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"5ee2410b-abe8-43ef-92b2-5b876cbbbd89","pagecount":"12","content":"Agriculture is under-performing because of women's unequal access to productive resources. At the same time agriculture also faces formidable challenges; from increased food demand to climate change impacts. Closing these gender gaps, therefore, is beneficial for not only women and men but also agriculture.CGIAR researchers are well aware that to help achieve more gender-equitable distribution of food and income, they must urgently find more effective ways for enabling poor women as well as men to benefit from the adoption and sustained use of innovations resulting from research. To fulfill this commitment, CGIAR has in recent years accelerated longstanding efforts to integrate gender perspectives into its research through capacity building and institutional change.A System Level Gender Strategy was devised in 2011 to ensure that the global CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs), also launched in the same year, could address gender issues decisively.Operational responsibility for gender research has resided strictly with the CRPs and CGIAR Centers, while the role of the CGIAR System Management Office has been to provide technical advice, facilitating and leveraging joint efforts to form partnerships and enhance capacity for gender mainstreaming in the CRPs. This brief describes these efforts and their contribution to gender mainstreaming across CGIAR.CGIAR was charged by the Fund Council to build on gender and diversity programming initiated in the early 1990s, as well as the opportunity created by the new, global research programs, to adopt a more systematic approach for addressing gender issues in agriculture.With the aim of accelerating the development of capacity for research on gender in CGIAR, the System undertook the Gender Research Action Plan (CGIAR Consortium, 2014) developed with support from the CGIAR Fund Council. The program addresses shortcomings identified in a 2013 Assessment of Gender Mainstreaming in CGIAR (CGIAR Consortium, 2013) that identified the critical importance of strengthening research capacity in the social sciences and echoes findings of a previous system review ( CGIAR Science Council, 2009). The Plan provided resources for Postdoctoral Fellowships; university-supported mentoring, coaching and leadership development especially for postdoctoral researchers; knowledge sharing and good practice exchange in the Network through the CGIAR electronic platform; as well as technical advice and monitoring from the System Organization (then known as the Consortium). (Pie chart to be inserted here)The Action Plan was designed to accelerate the integration of gender in research which by 2013 was still uneven, with some Programs lagging behind others. A scoping study in 2010 had identified the need for a system-wide policy on gender (mandating dedicated strategies and work plans) and emphasized the importance of gender mainstreaming in all CRPs. In response, the Consortium Board resolved to design a CGIAR strategy for this purpose (CGIAR Consortium Board, 2011). It defined two branches for gender mainstreaming: one intended to ensure an inclusive workplace that would effectively recruit and retain the best research talent; the second intended to ensure the use of gender analysis to inform the entire research cycle: i.e., targeting, priority setting, research design, implementation, adoption and use of results, monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment. This Brief does not cover CGIAR efforts to deal with gender and diversity in the workplace, its focus is on mainstreaming gender in research.The system-level Gender Strategy expected the gender relevance of CGIAR research to improve and stated that all CRPs would deliver results beneficial to poor rural women in major target areas within four years of inception. In addition, the strategy specified guidelines for the development of CRP gender strategies and outlined the terms of reference for the expert community of practice-the CGIAR Gender and Agriculture Research Network.The Consortium Level Gender Strategy catalyzed the preparation and retro-fitting of program-level Gender Strategies, even as CRPs were well into implementing their research (Gender CGIAR, Gender Strategies). However, by 2013 it was clear that it was difficult for Programs to fill gender gaps in the ongoing research and to muster the research capacity to do this.System-level incentives were created for CRPs to integrate gender in research. The Consortium required that each CRP include a gender budget in its Gender Strategy and subsequently in its annual Program of Work and Budget (POWB) . Annual Reports included a set of gender performance monitoring indicators. In 2013, Fund Council members asked the Consortium to report on progress on gender every six months. The Consortium Board decided that CRP Directors would be accountable to the Consortium for reporting satisfactory gender research results and for progress in relation to performance indicators included in the CRP Annual Report, and that the approval of a gender strategy be a condition for CRPs to receive W1-2 funding from 2014 onwards. In 2015, CRPs began developing proposals for their second phase, known as the CRP 2 Portfolio, during which time CRPs were required to include how research on gender would be integrated and financed.In 2013, the Consortium Board adopted a policy that made financial support from CGIAR Fund windows 1 and 2 contingent on satisfactory performance in allocating resources and delivering results. This prompted CRP leadership to earmark resources for the integration of gender into research with particular care. As a result, from 2013 to 2016, CRP budgets showed a steadily increasing commitment to investment in gender research, which was largely matched by actual expenditures, despite budget cuts since 2014 (CGIAR Consortium, 2016).In addition, CGIAR science leaders and gender researchers received guidance from the Gender Network for planning and integration of gender into CRP budgets and reports. The guidelines, which some of the CRPs have adopted, were designed to help researchers budget differently for research projects completely focused on gender issues than for research projects with another focus in which gender, while integrated, plays a relatively small role (Ashby, 2015). The In addition, the Gender Network has published information about gender training on its website, including blog posts reporting on key experiences.The CGIAR Gender and Agriculture Research Network plays a vital role in mainstreaming gender in research carried out by CRPs and Centers. In the few years since its formation, the network has evolved into a community of practice, which provides gender researchers with an effective means to share knowledge and experience among themselves, while channeling their collective input into the strategic framework CGIAR has established for fulfilling its commitment to deliver concrete benefits for poor rural women and men. CGIAR gender researchers have embarked on several cross-CRP initiatives in recent years, which illustrate particularly well the added value of a networking approach for gender mainstreaming.Since 2013, CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) have been required to provide a self-assessment of the status of gender mainstreaming in their Annual Reports, based on two performance indicators, designed to track performance in a standardized way over time on:• Gender equality targets in place -the extent to which the CRP has clearly identified the changes in beneficiary gender equality that it intends to produce by defining a baseline and setting targets• Institutional architecture for gender mainstreaming in place -the extent to which the CRP and Center(s) have defined responsibilities, allocated resources and implemented practices for generating and using research evidence on gender equality Each indicator can be self-assessed at one of three levels: whether the Program \"approaches requirements, \"meets requirements\" or \"exceeds requirements\". An analysis and commentary is available at Gender CGIAR, Gender Mainstreaming Performance Indicators.This is a catalogue of research studies which has been developed to make it easier for researchers to locate recent gender-related research in CGIAR Research Programs and contact each other about this work. The catalogue will provide input to the Fund Council Gender Monitoring Framework Indicator \"Data Collection\", which monitors the rate of change in compliance with minimum standards for sex disaggregated data collection.The Gender Network played a key role in launching the cross-program global study on norms and agency (GENNOVATE) which addresses a critical evidence gap. The Network provided support through training, expert consultancies, and workshops on methodology, as well as communications and knowledge sharing. The research involves case studies (in 125 rural communities of 26 countries so far) that use a standardized method to explore how gender norms encourage or hold back agricultural innovation. A key feature of GENNOVATE is its focus on ensuring cross-site consistency in methodologies among programs so that data can be pooled to increase the scale and relevance of gender research.The Gender and Breeding Working Group was formed in 2015 to address a different kind of gap: the lack of practical approaches for enabling breeding projects to take gender considerations into account when setting objectives and prioritizing traits. A key premise of this work is that high-throughput genotyping and genomic selection will increase breeding precision and speed up selection, better enabling CGIAR breeders to take into account strategic gender-differentiated traits. As the CRPs ramp up the collection of sex-disaggregated data, this should exponentially improve their capacity to characterize farmer preferences and prioritize traits of social and economic importance, opening up new opportunities to address the contrasting preferences of men and women producers for different traits in plants and animals and thus promote more inclusive and equitable adoption of improved genotypes.In October 2016, the working group, in collaboration with the Gender Network, hosted the Gender, Breeding and Genomics Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya. Its aim was to identify knowledge gaps and \"must-have\" ingredients of successful, genderresponsive breeding initiatives.Participants also explored the implications of the genomics revolution, particularly the new opportunities and entry points it offers for effective integration of gender in breeding research.The network's gender and breeding working group has recommended the use of economics methods and tools. Developed for a workshop held in Nairobi last year, the authors present economic methods that address these research questions, analyzing their uses, protocols, and pros and cons. The methods cover the spectrum from diagnostic research to evaluation. The authors demonstrate that the application of economic methods to large, nationallyrepresentative datasets allows the extrapolation of research results to wider regions and crosscountry comparisons. The objective is not to replace qualitative with quantitative methods, but to achieve a balance.A further challenge for the CRPs is to incorporate gender analysis into their economics research. This is critical for grounding and orienting such research for the delivery of agricultural innovations that offer concrete benefits to poor rural men and women.To this end, in 2016, the Gender Network made a specific outreach to involve economists across the CGIAR system in sex-disaggregated data collection and analysis through knowledge sharing. In April of that year, a webinar was organized to discuss how standards for the collection of sex-disaggregated data used in gender analysis have been applied to date, with a focus on the key lessons that CGIAR Centers and their partners have learned. Later on that year, in September, the Network developed the concept for a workshop submitted by the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions and Markets (PIM) for CGIAR economists with no prior knowledge of gender research or sex-disaggregated data collection. The workshop's objective was to enable participants to acquire and apply the latest advances in knowledge on incorporating gender into the design of quantitative research, as well as data collection and analysis.In 2014, a set of guidelines on sex disaggregated data collection was developed by CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), with contributions from network members and the IFPRI Gender Task Force, and endorsement from what is now known as the CGIAR System Management Office. This document identifies simple and achievable steps for gathering such data and raises issues that researchers should consider throughout the research process, such as who should provide information, the unit of analysis, and the research context (Doss, 2014).Launched in 2016, the network has also facilitated knowledge sharing webinars to (1) discuss how the guidelines have been used so far, including any new insights garnered and challenges faced; (2) discuss the main goals and contributions of the working paper on the indicators of gendered control over agricultural resources and whether it is possible to define robust indicators of gender gaps in use and control over resources that are likely to impact and be affected by agricultural innovation; and (3) contribute to the on-going development of a multistakeholder platform to develop and harmonize indicators for assessing the impact of agricultural innovation towards the diverse sustainable development goals.Support for the Network in communications, knowledge sharing, and data and information management has aimed at promoting more dynamic scientific consultation and collaboration, as well as improved access to information and resources combined with new opportunities for knowledge sharing. This support has helped establish a sound basis for effective interaction between Network members and opened up continuous information flows between different user groups within the Network. The various tools and products developed for this purpose have been tailored to the expressed needs of Network members New communications products -including a dedicated website and monthly bulletin -have heightened the visibility of CGIAR gender research among donors, partners, and researchers, while also facilitating access to news, data, information, and working groups. In 2016 alone, the Gender and Agriculture Website provided links to about 200 gender-related blog posts. It also served as an archive for information about Network activities and provided a neutral space for showcasing genderresponsive research conducted by CRPs and Centers.A report series titled \"Change in the Making\" was launched in October 2015 to provide CGIAR Fund donors and others regular updates on advances in research towards the sub-IDOs on gender and equity. The first issue, prepared in close consultation with gender researchers across CRPs, focused on \"gender-equitable control over productive assets and resources,\" drawing on published findings from recent work.Other tools and products have provided effective ways to connect dispersed members working on gender in different programs and regions. A \"living\" list of gender researchers, for example, has helped determine who is working on gender and better involve them in key conversations. The support team has also created and facilitated knowledge sharing opportunities to promote mutual learning on specific topics.As mentioned, a webinar series on issues related to gender and agriculture was designed in collaboration with the CRPs and their partners, and six webinars with a total of 228 participants were held on diverse topics.CGIAR System level commitment to gender equity has moved forward significantly since 2010.There has been significant pay-offs from these efforts, notably:• system-wide progress in embedding gender in CGIAR research processes with some CRPs now routinely monitoring their gender mainstreaming efforts -an estimated 25-50 percent of projects are partly or fully mainstreamed;• a growing body of highly relevant gender research that is effectively contributing to wider gender mainstreaming through a variety of analytical and methodological tools and frameworks, and associated capacity building;• a significant increase in published outputs from CGIAR gender specific research: In 2012, only six CRPs published ( 22) peer reviewed journal articles, in 2015 all CRPs published (87) journal articles that were the outputs of gender research;• a qualitative advance in the integration of gender in the design of the second round of CRPs, with some emerging, promising impact pathways laying the groundwork for more systematic and effective integration of gender in Phase II CRPs.• progress in extending sex-disaggregated data collection and in integrating gender into baseline and impact assessment survey tools, which will enable more systematic assessment of gender-disaggregated or related outcomes and impacts, across a variety of sites, within the next 2-3 years (in some CRPs); A data repository stores and publishes gender-related data and collection instruments, while also providing links to external datasets.In ","tokenCount":"2550"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"244db12aea039acbc567f981e3a5caa8","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/7347b54f-435c-4596-83d8-2443f41aa0a4/retrieve","id":"262924248"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"ec35d0b7-ba3e-43d4-ac51-2dcbfb1f613d","pagecount":"6","content":"T he world is faced with an unprecedented explosion in technology. Not all of this is universally welcomed -the irritation of mobile telephones on public transport comes immediately to mind -but the new technologies affect every area of our lives. Nowhere is this more true than in agriculture.Changes in farming proceeded slowly but steadily for thousands of years, but accelerated during the last two centuries as scientists and other observers came to understand the farming process, the need for particular nutrients and rotations, and the nature of pests and diseases. Further acceleration followed after the 1950s with increased mechanization and the introduction of effective pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Biotechnology has accelerated the pace of change once again throughout the 1990s.Biotechnology provides a major opportunity to meet the nutritional needs of an expanding world population, with finite land resources. It offers a new approach to the control of pests and diseases, it will provide crops of improved nutritional quality; and it will bring about increased yields.Biotechnology is unlikely to be a complete solution to our agricultural problems, but it will play a key role in a sustainable agriculture that also uses integrated pest management and plant breeding techniques. That is the expectation in industrial countries, but it is only a hope for many others. There is a pressing need for the agricultural revolution to spread throughout the world, but to achieve it, we must provide an incentive to the innovators and owners of the new crop production technologies to share them.There are many forms of encouragement -from argument to finance -and one of these is the subject of this paper. The process of technology exchange will be encouraged and facilitated by a strengthening of intellectual property laws, especially those of the developing countries. Unfortunately, like modern biotechnology, intellectual property rights (IPR) are controversial and often misunderstood.This paper addresses some of these misunderstandings, and indicates how strengthening intellectual property rights will enable farmers throughout the world to receive the latest developments in crop production.Intellectual property is a broad term used to cover patents, designs, trademarks, plant breeders' rights, copyright, and trade secrets. All of these have a part to play in the development and commercialization of plant production products. However, the three most important IPRs in this context are patents, plant breeders' rights, and trade secrets. None of these creates as much argument as patents.A patent is a monopoly of limited scope, granted to the owner of an invention, for a limited period of up to 20 years. It is a right that is effective only in the country that grants the patent. While it is in force, a patent enables the owner to exclude others from using the invention commercially in that country.A patent provides the innovator with a limited period within which he/she has the oppor-Intellectual Property Protection: Who Needs It?tunity to recoup his/her investment in the research and development (R&D) of the invention. In return, the inventor discloses the invention to the public, and that disclosure enables other scientists and interested parties to use the invention in their own research. In due course, that research may lead to further innovation, and society will benefit. It is no coincidence that those countries with strong research-based industries are also those countries with strong intellectual property laws.IPR is national in character, and like other national laws they vary from country to country. Attempts to bring some harmonization into this area have succeeded in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, generally referred to as TRIPs. TRIPs, which entered into force in 1995, applies to all members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). TRIPs, however, is not a complete remedy for inadequate laws since it lays down only minimum levels of protection, rather than providing for the optimum. Nevertheless these levels are important, none more so than the basis for a patent set out in Article 27. Article 27 provides that patents shall be available for any inventions, whether products or processes, in all fields of technology, provided that they are new, involve an inventive step, and are capable of industrial application.Patent rights are of little use if they cannot be enforced, and TRIPs also provides that member countries shall ensure that enforcement procedures are available under national law, so as to permit effective action against any act of infringement of an IPR. Enforcement is a particular concern in the field of biotechnology, where the capability of biological materials carrying genetic information to self-reproduce makes the copying of an invention and the infringement of patent rights all too easy.The implementation of TRIPs will undoubtedly strengthen IPR in many parts of the world, but implementation is unlikely in the short term. Developing countries are permitted a transitional period, until 2005, within which to bring their intellectual property laws into compliance with the minimum standards laid down in TRIPs. Unfortunately, many developing countries lack the means rather than the will to take the necessary steps.The objectives of intellectual property law are stated succinctly in TRIPs: The protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights should contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology. It is useful to consider these two aspects separately.The cost of developing a new plant protection chemical is over US$150 million; the cost of developing a new transgenic plant commercially is comparable. The investment in R&D must be recovered, and the monopoly period -provided first by patents and second by protection of the confidential data supplied in regulatory packages -is essential to provide the innovator with sufficient time and opportunity to make that recovery. Without IP protection, research-based companies would be unable to bear the risk of the major investment in R&D required to bring those technologies to the market.The incentive effect of patents for developing countries is sometimes questioned on the grounds that these countries have little private sector research, and may produce few inventions. It is certainly true that inventors in those countries file few patents domestically or abroad, but without adequate IPRs, there is little incentive for local companies to set up their own research departments, nor for foreign companies to bring their technology and their research capabilities to the countries. It is left to the public sector to be the major fund provider of this research. That funding is vital, but it is not sufficient.Farmers must have the opportunity to obtain modern crop production products at a reasonable price. Local research organizations need access to the latest technologies in the form of transfer of materials and know-how to further their own research, research which is often necessary to provide solutions to peculiarly local problems. These requirements can be met partially in developing countries by means of technology transfer.The importance and benefits of technology transfer are widely recognized, and it is consequently a cause for concern and regret that in the field of crop production, technology transfer proceeds so slowly. While part of the problem lies in funding, another factor results from the two sides -the technology providers and the technology receivers -viewing each other and the technology transfer process with suspicion.The private sector, potentially the major provider of new technology, ought to be eager to provide technology that will lead to the development of new markets. Companies are worried, however, that providing their know-how, whether by sales or by licensing, is tantamount to giving the technology away, unless it has the protection of enforceable IPR. In the case of biotechnology, where reproduction of plant material is relatively simple, companies may be powerless to prevent their technology from being copied and their markets destroyed or undermined by those who have not incurred the expenses of developing the technology.The developing countries that want and need the technology fear the technology provider's demands for stronger IPRs which, they believe, will lead to higher prices and a drain on currency reserves. These concerns are real -and are discussed later -but there is clear evidence that strengthening IP laws leads to an increase in technology transfer to the benefit of both the provider and the recipient.In the recent past, as an example, companies in industrial countries were reluctant to bring their products into the Chinese markets. There was inadequate patent and data protection, and once companies had established their market, generic manufacturers rapidly appeared to reap the benefit. These local manufacturers also exported the products to neighboring states where there was either weak or no patent protection, or where enforcing patents required a long and uncertain litigation process. As a consequence, China was deprived of the latest plant production products.China has recently strengthened its patent law, and although it still needs improvement in its enforcement procedures, companies are now not only prepared to collaborate with Chinese companies, they are actively seeking collaboration.There are many concerns surrounding intellectual property law, and although these are often based on misunderstanding, they remain a barrier to progress. It is essential that those who believe that strengthening IPRs will be beneficial, should listen and inform. As a contribution to this process, I would like to consider four specific issues: prices, local development of technology, theft of resources, and ethics and morality. This is by no means an exhaustive list of possible topics.It is argued that IPRs lead to an increase in prices. While it is true that products containing new technology will generally be sold at higher prices, that is not the same thing as a general increase in prices. The old technologies remain; indeed the introduction of new technologies may well make the old ones cheaper.New genetically improved seeds are more costly to develop and produce, and those increased costs must be recovered. Farmers expect to pay a higher price for seed which will bring added value, but no farmer will pay more for the benefit than the increase in value which it will provide. Producers have little choice but to price their products so as to share the added value with the farmer. Such arguments will be of little interest to poor and subsistence farmers. In order to receive the benefits of the new technology, they must first acquire the seed. Intellectual property will not be of much help to them. They will require the assistance and support of government agencies and international organizations such as the World Bank (Lele, Lesser, and Horstkotte-Wesseler 1999).It is also argued that without IPRs, local companies would be able to copy the products and bring them to the local markets at much cheaper prices. That may be true but the advantages -such as they are -are short term, and serve to delay the introduction of new products. Moreover, if the originator ceases to act as product steward for the products, the result is often a flow of substandard products with inadequate instructions for their use, and which are ineffective.Some opponents of intellectual property claim that patents inhibit local research, and interfere with the work of local companies and research organizations.The freedom to carry out research is safeguarded under patent law; experimental use for research purposes is not an infringement of the rights of the patent owner. Scientists are free to take the invention, to modify it, and to incorporate it into their own research programs. Dissemination and use of knowledge in this way is a fundamental part of the original contract between the owner of the patent and the state granting the right. It results in the faster development of the technology, and the introduction of new products and processes.Public funding of research in developing countries plays an essential role in addressing local problems, but it will not be sufficient. There are always other demands on the available money.Local companies and research organizations need inward investment, in finance and in the form of materials and know-how. Yet again, however, it has to be acknowledged that these materials and know-how have a value to the private sector which will be unwilling to supply them if it feels that in doing so, it will lose control over them.Publicly funded research organizations themselves do not always make the best use of the intellectual property protection that is available. The International Agricultural Research Centres of the CGIAR, for example, have tended to favor not seeking intellectual property protection, a position thatwas noted in the 1996 OECD Survey \"Intellectual Property Technology Transfer and Genetic Resources\": \"[The] Centres have to operate in a changed research and funding environment and to collaborate with organisations for which intellectual property is a necessary counterpart to their willingness to invest in development. This has long been true of industrial organisations, and academic and public sector organisations are also now taking a more positive attitude towards protecting innovations resulting from their research. The International Agricultural Research Centres may therefore wish to review their own positions in this respect.\" The recent CGIAR center statements on genetic re-sources, intellectual property rights, and biotechnology reflect the evolution of the centers' thinking on these issues (CGIAR 1999).Patenting the results of this research would not prevent the IARCs from making them available, but it will give them the option of entering into cross-licensing agreements or collaborations with companies holding other intellectual property of interest. Patents become bargaining chips that can be traded to further the research aims of the IARCs.A recent attack on the private sector is that companies in industrial countries are stealing the resources and know-how of local populations, patenting these resources, and then denying the use of the technology to the population who had used it, often for centuries. The case of the Indian neem tree is often quoted.Indian farmers have used the seeds of the neem tree for pest control for centuries. The American company, W R Grace, discovered a process for extracting the oil from the seeds, and applied for patents. Alarmists spread the story that the Grace patents would prevent farmers from continuing to use their traditional methods of pest control. The story created understandable consternation amongst Indian farmers and a worldwide outcry against big business. The story is nonsense.Patents are granted only for inventions that are new and not obvious, and the use of the neem seeds in pest control fell into neither of these categories when Grace applied for its patent. Grace could not monopolize the use, nor could a patent give Grace ownership of the neem tree or its seeds (Grace buys seed on the open market). And finally, no patent can stop anyone from doing something which he was doing before the patent application was filed.Similar stories are now circulating concerning the so-called theft of genes by the industrial world. If this does occur, then it will be illegal under the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity.In any event, it is worth stressing again IPRs extend only to the new inventions created from the isolation and transference of the gene. The identification of a gene with a useful trait in a local plant, and the transference of that gene into a different crop plant, may entitle the discoverer to patent the use of that gene in the transformed plant, and perhaps to the transformed plant itself. However, the patent will give the innovator no rights over the original plants, which can continue to grow or be grown without reference to the patentee.TRIPs provides that inventions may be excluded from patentability if their exploitation should be prevented in order to protect ordre public or morality. It is important to note that it is the exploitation of the invention that is of concern here, not the invention itself. This distinction has been missed by many, and has resulted in the morality arguments being extended from the use of biotechnology to biotechnology itself, and from there to biotechnological patents. Parties who believe that biotechnology is immoral also argue that patenting biotechnological inventions -or, more emotively, patenting life -is immoral. Many patents, particularly in Europe, are presently being attacked on these grounds.The consequences of attacking patents on moral grounds may not lead to the results which opponents of biotechnology hope, a point noted by Jefferson (1999) in his expert paper prepared for the Secretariat advising the Convention on Biological Diversity. The paper is an exhaustive review of the so-called \"terminator\" genes, referred to in his paper as \"genetic use restriction technologies\" and abbreviated to GURTs.A patent only confers a negative right on its proprietor to prevent others from using the protected invention for a limited period. The right to positively use or not use the invention by the patent holder is, hence, not addressed by the patent law which is primarily an instrument for promoting research by ensuring the possibility of excluding imitation by third parties.Hence, if the GURT patent were to be found inviable or invalid on any grounds, the effect of non-protection would be that the relevant method would remain or be put in the public domain. The absence of protection would not automatically lead to stopping the eventual adoption and diffusion of the GURT technology; on the con-trary, such an absence may foster its dissemination.In less elegant words, what has been invented cannot be uninvented. Even if a patent is cancelled on the grounds that the invention is immoral, the inventor is still able to use the invention. Indeed, everyone is free to use it. Patent law is not the route to regulating the use of biotechnology (see also Leisinger, This volume).The case for strengthening IPRs in developing countries is, I believe, overwhelming, and the need to strengthen these rights is urgent. Countries should evaluate their positions without delay, and should be encouraged to implement TRIPs -or better, to improve upon TRIPs -as soon as possible. That said, the modification of intellectual property laws requires money and skilled advisers, both of which may be in short supply in some developing countries.Funding and other technical assistance is available. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has an agreement with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to provide assistance to developing countries to meet their TRIPs commitments, to provide technical assistance in drafting, and to train staff and provide software. However, the limited resources of WIPO and WTO remain a constraint and could mean that some countries are unable to meet their commitments, even by the 2005 deadline.The World Bank and other international development agencies could certainly help by providing resources to the WTO or directly to developing countries for this purpose. Such funding would not only increase the number of countries meeting their TRIPs obligations by the deadline or even earlier, it would also promote open and constructive discussion of TRIPs in the next WTO round.There is a further and additional approach which could save both time and resources. There is little logic in many different nations, each having similar standards and economic goals, to examine and grant patents for the same invention. The most efficient and economic approach is a regional organization, such as the African Regional Intellectual Property Office (ARIPO), the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI) or the European Patent Convention, which centralize the examination and granting of patents for all member countries into one office.Enforceable and strong IPRs are essential to encourage the transfer of the latest technologies to developing countries, and for stimulating research in these same new technologies. They are vital for the modernization of crop production in developing countries.Weak intellectual property laws and the inability to enforce intellectual property rights will limit the access of developing countries to the new technology, which is so important for the development of their agriculture and the saving of valuable environmental resources. Weak laws will inhibit much-needed inward investment.Each country must evaluate its own intellectual property laws and needs carefully, but I would urge all developing countries to strengthen these rights as soon as possible, and for the World Bank and other international development agencies to assist them in this endeavor. I am confident that the benefits -the access to the new technologies and inward investment -will follow.","tokenCount":"3310"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"e8c3be531f91f6879cd64e0d3b54b084","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/a309274f-2908-4c6d-a6ba-973e53de5fce/retrieve","id":"1568595761"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"479b4ac1-c21b-4082-a778-32894bc00225","pagecount":"22","content":"Rangelands are the predominant land use worldwide, covering nearly half of the Earth's land surface (White et al. 2002). In East Africa, rangelands provide the main source of livelihoods for pastoralists, underpin the livestock sector that provides nearly half of the agricultural gross domestic product in the agriculture-dependent economies of Kenya and Ethiopia (Behnke 2010) and host greater wildlife numbers than the national park systems (Western et al. 2009). Rangelands provide these ecosystem benefits to humanity in spite of the fact that many rangelands globally and in East Africa have undergone extensive degradation, due to the combination of climate change, high stocking densities and disorganized grazing on account of weakened traditional or customary institutions for rangeland management (Kiage 2013).Community-based rangeland management (CBRM) is a general term for any local level strategy for managing rangelands (Reid et al. 2014). In pastoral East Africa, CBRM mainly refers to the reorganization of currently haphazard grazing patterns by means of facilitative reinvigoration of traditional or customary institutions, or building new local institutions (Flintan and Cullis 2010) where no functional local institution exists. CBRM is designed to improve the control of communities (traditional or local institutions) over their land, improving perception of land tenure security and enabling pastoral communities to gain recognition for their efforts to manage their rangelands. While the social impacts of CBRM are significant (Flintan et al. 2019), more detailed study is required to assess its impact on the environmental condition of rangelands.Remote sensing methods can be cost-efficient means of assessing environmental impacts of CBRM, although their external validity is difficult to demonstrate in rangelands. In arid landscapes most particularly, satellite signal limitations and calibration requirements can be non-trivial constraints on the usefulness of these models for tracking environmental impacts of CBRM (Zhao and Running 2008). A large set of remotely sensed indices have been applied to assess and track the condition of rangeland ecosystems over large scales (Prince 2019). The influences of management regimes are challenging to differentiate from changes in climate (Hopping et al. 2018;Miehe et al. 2010) and associated cascading effects and studies with thorough characterization of management regimes are desirable.The objectives of the present study were to (i) apply three indicators of rangeland conditions derived from remote sensing in three pastoral landscapes in Ethiopia and Kenya; (ii) interpret spatiotemporal trends in the three indicators to assess the feasibility of their application to detect landscape level influences of community-based rangeland management; (iii) compare the three indicators in terms of their ability to distinguish areal trends in rangeland conditions over long time periods and large areas; and (iv) assess the need for modifications to the analyses conducted.Three research areas were selected for the analysis on the basis that CBRM has been in place for several years (9-14 years) with plausible effects of CBRM on rangeland conditions over large areas CBRM operates (95-7100 km 2 ). In each site, analyses centered on a focal rangeland unit(s): (i) Olkiramatian and Shompole group ranches in Kajiado county, Kenya (who manage their land similarly and in close coordination); (ii) Il Ngwesi Group Ranch in Laikipia county, Kenya; and (iii) Dirre Dheeda in Borana Zone of Oromia Region in Ethiopia. The map for Dirre Dheeda was provided courtesy of the Pastoralist Areas Resilience Improvement through Market Expansion project (PRIME 2019). All sites have a bi-modal rainfall pattern with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons annually, with mean annual precipitation varying from approximately 500-800 mm yr -1 . To focus on rangelands typically used for grazing, all water bodies, areas with extensive cropland, forests and areas with >40% woody cover (Kahiu and Hanan 2018), were excluded from analyses.Three indicators were applied to assess trends in rangeland condition: (i) cumulative annual normalized difference vegetation index (cNDVI) (Jenkerson et al. 2010); (ii) annual rainfall use efficiency (RUE; cNDVI/annual precipitation) using CHIRPS precipitation (Funk et al. 2015); and (iii) bare soil (Guerschman and Hill 2018). cNDVI and RUE were selected on account of their widespread use for tracking changes in the productivity of vegetation as an indicator of environmental quality; and bare soil was selected due to its straight-forward interpretation as the amount of land not covered by any vegetation (Guerschman and Hill 2018).For the draft analyses presented here, trends were estimated by summing cNDVI annually across all seasons (both wet and dry seasons), and averaging RUE and bare soil (%) across entire years. Annual values were then combined with neighboring years in three time periods reflecting inflection points in management regime change as CBRM proceeded. The period between 2003 and 2005 denotes the pre-CBRM (baseline) period; 2011-2013, the early CBRM period; and 2017-2019, the ongoing CBRM period. These time periods were also selected to avoid including major droughts in the analysis, during which little or no improvement in rangeland condition should be observable. The 2003-2005 time period was selected to avoid the major drought in short rains from the end of 2005 to early 2006. The 2011-2013 period followed two successive droughts from 2010-2011 and 2017-2019. There were also two successive droughts in 2016 and 2017. The 2019 long rains were similarly excluded.In Kajiado and Laikipia, Kenya, a treatment-control approach was followed, with rangeland condition trends inside the focal rangeland units ('treatment') compared to trends outside the focal rangeland units in paired, ecologically similar pastoral lands nearby ('control'). The Kajiado group ranches were compared with neighboring group ranches within a 25-km perimeter and the Laikipia group ranch was compared with two neighboring group ranches. In these treatmentcontrol sites, putative effects of CBRM were quantified as any improvement or decline in rangeland conditions inside the focal rangeland unit, relative to rangeland condition outside the focal rangeland unit. In Borana, Ethiopia, no such control areas were available as identical CBRM processes were initiated in all rangeland units in Borana at the same time by the same institutional consortium (Craft 2019). Therefore, a treatment-only approach was adopted, tracking change within Dirre Dheeda over time without reference to outside areas. \"Improvement\" in rangeland condition is defined as positive changes (increase) in cNDVI and RUE; negative changes (reduction) in bare soil; and \"decline\" in rangeland condition as the converse.In each site, elevation classes were delineated to enable more direct comparisons in space and time between pastures of similar ecological potential. In the Kajiado site, higher quality pastures at lower elevation (<680 m) were separated from lower quality pastures at higher elevation (>680 m). In the Laikipia site, draft analyses presented here focus only on higher quality pastures at lower elevation <1277 m. In the Borana site, higher quality pastures at higher elevation with higher rainfall (>1400 m) were separated from more arid lower quality pastures at lower elevation (<1400 m).A simple and robust statistical approach was adopted for all sites, using analysis of variance (ANOVA) to detect significant differences between areas and time periods, with pair-wise comparisons of area-time-period combinations verified by means of Tukey post-hoc tests.In the Magadi area group ranches, trends in rangeland conditions differed greatly among elevation classes (Table 1, Figure 1). Inside the two group ranches, higher quality pastures at lower elevation (<680 m) appeared to have improved relative to the 25 km 2 buffer outside the two group ranches, according to all three indicators. In contrast, lower quality pastures at higher elevation suggested no change in terms of cNDVI or RUE (or even a relative decline in cNDVI) yet appeared to have improved in terms of reduction in the difference in bare soil between inside and outside the group ranches.In the Laikipia group ranch, trends in rangeland conditions differed greatly according to both the indicator selected and the control-treatment pair (Table 2, Figure 2). Inside the group ranch, higher quality pastures at lower elevation appeared to decline in terms of cNDVI relative to one neighboring conservancy ('control A') but appeared to improve compared to a second neighboring conservancy ('control B'). Bare soil showed the converse pattern-an improvement in terms of bare soil compared to conservancy A, and a decline relative to conservancy B. RUE trends were weak, with the only significant difference between areas inside and outside of the rangeland unit being a decline relative to conservancy A during the period 2017-2019.In the Dirre area, trends in rangeland conditions again differed greatly according to elevation classes (Table 3, Figure 3). The differences in cNDVI, RUE, and bare soil among management areas and time periods indicate the potential utility of each of the three rangeland condition indicators. However, the tendency within sites was for the three indicators to generally disagree on the direction of trends in rangeland conditions among management areas and analysis periods (Table 4). All three indicators were aligned and suggest parallel trends in two of the six cases analyzed-in higher quality pastures in Kajiado and lower-quality pastures in Borana. cNDVI and RUE tended to agree more often with one another than did bare soil, primarily due to the use of cNDVI in calculating RUE (RUE = annual cNDVI/annual precipitation). Otherwise, little convergence was found among indicators in terms of the rangeland condition trends their values suggested. All three rangeland condition indicators appeared valid for detecting differences in trends suggestive of degradation and restoration occurring in response to the combined influences of major drivers, particularly changes in climate and management regimes. Each indicator likely tells a fraction of a larger picture. cNDVI and RUE are more ecosystem processfocused indicators, with cNDVI primarily indicative of overall photosynthesis and plant growth, and RUE of the same per unit rainfall. Bare soil, on the other hand, indicates the spatial distribution of ground with neither photosynthetic nor non-photosynthetic vegetative cover, a property of ecosystems rather than a process. These differences are notable as the intrinsic relative rates of change in ecosystem processes and properties often differ by an order of magnitude or more in response to ecosystem drivers operating over vastly different time scales through multiple mechanisms leading to emergent changes (O'Neill et al. 1987).In Kajiado, Kenya, the apparent improvement in higher quality pastures at lower elevation inside the focal rangeland units-Shompole and Olkiramatian group ranches-relative to similar areas outside may be significantly attributable to land arrangements outside the group ranches. These areas outside the focal rangeland units are under lease to the Tata Chemicals company, which allows herders from neighboring areas (and perhaps much further away) to graze their animals in their leasehold area. For these herders, the lack of secure land tenure in this area may disincentivize effective rangeland management. One important next step for the Kajiado analysis will be to clarify grazing use patterns in these lower elevation pastures. The apparent relative reduction in bare soil in lower quality pastures at higher elevations could relate to higher reliance on these poorer pastures due to degradation at lower elevations outside the focal rangeland units, including invasion by Prosopis juliflora in substantial tracts within the 25 km buffer zone (less so within the focal rangeland units).In Laikipia, Kenya, the two conservancies neighboring the focal rangeland unit-Il Ngwesi group ranch-also apply community-based rangeland management in some form and for variable durations and intensities. Management differences among the three rangeland units likely to relate to the observed differences in rangeland condition trends are not yet clear making further confirmation of management regimes and timelines a priority. However, the contrasts between these trends-nearly opposite for cNDVI and bare soil most particularly-was great and it appears unlikely that management differences could fully explain this divergence.In Borana, Ethiopia, differences in aridity appear related to the differences in rangeland condition trends in the focal rangeland unit-Dirre Dheeda. The widespread degradation over recent decades on account of rapid shrub encroachment into grassy savannas and major soil erosion (Coppock 2016) could be reflected in the pattern of fairly static cNDVI and slight improvement in RUE coupled with increasing bare soil in lower quality pastures below 1400 m elevation. Although these conflicting patterns could indicate anything between degradation and restoration, the increase in bare soil is noteworthy as soil erosion is a preeminent symptom of degradation in these areas. In contrast, the central Borana plateau (<1400 m) exhibited generally slight and recent (since 2013) improvements in cNDVI, RUE and bare soil, suggesting a long-term trend of improvement in these higher rainfall savannas of higher quality. The contrast between the apparent improvement in the condition of more humid pastures at higher elevations in comparison to the apparent overall stability (or possible decline) in rangeland conditions in more arid pastures at lower elevations appears significant in light of the tendency of more arid rangelands to better resist grazing-induced degradation (Von Wehrden et al. 2012) in spite of slower recovery rates. If reliance on lower elevation pastures has increased during the analysis period, apparent improvement in higher elevation pastures could relate to the lack of improvement in lower elevation pastures.The general absence of agreement among indicators suggests that explicit quantitative field evaluation of the three indicators remains a valuable pursuit. Evaluation is costly but useful, especially in relation to systems and questions that challenge the ability of satellites to discriminate meaningful differences. The influence of management regimes on rangeland condition in the context of a changing climate is an excellent example. Rangelands are typically comprised of multiple plant species of multiple plant growth forms (annual and perennial grasses and forbs, and evergreen and drought-deciduous shrubs and trees) with differing growth rates and seasonal phenology (Whitecross et al. 2017) responses to precipitation (Ogle and Reynolds 2004), and utility to grazing and browsing species of livestock and wildlife. These vegetation components exhibit substantial natural variation and co-variation along gradients in soils, hydrology and vegetation that evolve over time in response to increasingly erratic rainfall. The contrasting trends among indicators and areas in Laikipia is particularly confounding and strongly suggest that field evaluation should be a priority for scientists, managers and policymakers.Each of the three rangeland condition indicators analyzed are likely reflective of different ecosystem processes and properties with potentially divergent responses to management and climate. Their use in combination (and with other indicators) may be complementary and could form a more complete assessment of how management and climate interact to determine rangeland condition. As with any remote sensing approach for quantifying changes in ecosystem condition, the ability of these methods to depict valid changes in rangeland conditions relates to their accuracy, specific indicative value and the rates of change in these indicators as the structural and functional attributes of rangeland ecosystems shift over time. To effectively pinpoint the causes of change in rangeland condition, field evaluation of remotely sensed indices is an essential element of assessing the robustness and effectiveness of the various existing means of quantifying degradation and restoration trends in rangelands. ","tokenCount":"2430"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"e7858d2bdd2d9e28807bca06333ed10d","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/414c535d-bd5f-4611-84be-06195823dfd3/retrieve","id":"1012233811"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"42b41492-7c71-4743-a297-0372f8b77c6a","pagecount":"10","content":"Strengthening local traders' capacities, including those of women, by sharing quality-seed-related information, and by linking with local seed producers to purchase goodquality seed.• Establishing a decentralized seed-certification system, centrally involving women as professional certifiers.• Serving women' s needs and interests in crop improvement, by focusing on gendered quality and trait preferences.In this brief, we address the two dimensions of women and seed systems development -what women do for seed systems development, and what seed systems interventions could do for women -in the context of South Sudan.Gender relations influence access to seeds and their use, and to related knowledge. They also influence outcomes linked to seed availability, seed quality, seed affordability, and control over seed use. These outcomes directly impact household food and nutrition security, income generation, and adaptation to changes (Puskur et al., 2021). In many countries, women play key roles in seed systems as custodians and managers of seeds and seed-related information, but these roles are not always recognized, respected, supported and rewarded. Important seed-sector interventions, such as seed aid, are often gender-blind and fail to consider gender as an important factor that influences seed access and use. This can have an impact on the larger social context, for example on the social cohesion and peace of the community. In many countries, women face major challenges when they wish to enter the seed business, more so than men. This can be due to sociocultural and gender factors, such as the household division of labor that places a huge burden on women; husbands' reluctance to allow spouses to become entrepreneurs, and limited access to knowledge, technology and finance by women (Gumucio et al., 2021;ISSD Africa, 2023). and iv) women can make strategic decisions concerning their ability to access, use and benefit from seed (Puskur et al., 2021). However, evidence of empowering seed interventions is scarce (Brearley andKramer 2020, Puskur et al., 2021).Crop diversification offers an especially interesting empowerment strategy.  (Vernooy, 2022). In Africa, crop diversification has produced good results at farm and community levels (Vernooy et al., 2021).For Female farmers had one more criterion, not prioritized by their male counterparts: early maturity. There are notable differences between the two lists, although both ranked sorghum as the most important cropfemale-male preference ranking: 1 st : sorghum-sorghum; groundnut-cassava; maize-sweetpotato; cassava-pearl millet; sesame-sesame; sweetpotato-bean; cowpeaokra; eggplant-cowpea; pumpkin-groundnut; 10 th : okramaize. At the variety level, women often consider cooking and taste characteristics (e.g., eating, flour and malting quality), more than men, except for cereal brewing quality, which men value highly (beer brewing is also an income generation activity). In recent years, farmers lost some varieties in Ikwoto County, e.g., bambara nut, taro, and varieties of groundnut (Akabiri and Moru), and pearl millet (Imajang, Teh).The informal seed system is the prominent system, with women playing key roles in production and distribution. Key actors are internally displaced people (IDPs), returnees, refugees, hosts of refugees, and grain traders operating in the local markets. They handle seeds of cowpea, groundnut, maize, pearl millet, sesame, sorghum and sweetpotato. Varieties are mostly local (landraces), but also improved ones. The community seed production scheme is the second dominant seed system, contributing 16% of total seed supply, in particular bean, cowpea, green gram, groundnut, maize, onion, sesame, sorghum, sweetpotato and yam. Key actors are farmers' groups and farmers' cooperatives. The seed-relief seed system supplies 10% of seed. The seed-relief programmes supplies the major food-security cereal crops as well as vegetable crops. Key actors involved in seed relief include more than 10 international programmes.The seed network analysis clearly demonstrates that women are key actors in seed management (see Figure 1). Of the 752 farmers involved in the social seed network, 75% were female farmers. The average age of the respondents was between 37-42 years. Altogether, they access 23 crops.Ikwoto cluster: Female farmers (18%) tend to give seed to family/friends outside the Payam (the below county administrative unit) more than male farmers (11.65%). Female farmers (18 %) receive seed from family/friends outside the Payam more than male farmers (11% The common challenges faced by the seed systems are (in decreasing order of significance) poor storage ability and health status of the farm-saved seeds; poor storability; grains sold as seeds; non-authentic relief seed lots; relief seed delivery inconsistent with the cropping calendar, and insufficient and pricey private companies seed supply. These challenges are compounded by enduring conflicts (insurgency, communal fighting) and frequent natural disasters. which ensures a steady market income. Female and male farmers prioritized their most-preferred crops and varieties on the same sets of six criteria: good yield, drought tolerance, flood tolerance, good eating quality, high market demand, and less damage by birds and pests. Female farmers added one additional preference criterion which was not prioritized by their male counterparts: crop maturity. Regarding the major crops, women expressed a slightly higher preference for maize and sorghum, while men for cassava and sesame; for groundnut, the difference is minimal. Expressed preferences for varieties were more dissimilar, including both local and improved varieties by both sexes. Farmers in Torit County have lost some crops, for example, Bambara nut, finger millet, pearl millet, pigeon pea and sunflower.The social seed network is made up of local farmers, IDPs, refugees, returnees, hosts of refugees, local traders, I/NGOs, and government institutions, with most of the transactions done based on seed exchange/ barter (not cash); women make up more than 70% of the seed exchangers. The most exchanged crops are groundnut, maize and sorghum, the major food crops in the area. Torit market and Omoliha market are the two local grain markets which have the highest number of direct connections with farmers and their communities in Torit County. The Torit and Omoliha markets are an important source and recipient of seeds, where farmers actively trade the grain and use it as seed for their crop production. Third, the AVSI programme has the largest connection with farmers. As a result, the seed network is relatively highly centralized. The informal seed system supplies almost 70%, with international seed relief organizations offering 17%, the private sector 8% and government institutions 2%.The common challenges faced by seed systems are (in decreasing order of significance) poor road connections, inadequate storage facilities, lack of market information, and the absence of a seed policy, including a seed certification body and field inspectors. These are compounded by conflicts resulting in looting and burning of fields and by climate hazards such as floods and drought.In the studied counties, farmers continue to maintain considerable crop and variety diversity of a range of crop types, but everywhere there have been diversity losses. No detailed analysis was made of the cause(s), but it is likely due to a combination of factors. These include the enduring impact of conflicts and war; climate-change impact; changing prices and marketing opportunities; changing food habits; outbreaks of pests and diseases; the introduction of crops and crop varieties from elsewhere (through seed aid interventions) during a prolonged period, and perhaps erosion of local crop (management) knowledge. Farmers expressed an interest in obtaining seeds of their lost varieties for reintroduction. Crop and trait preferences differ between women and men to varying degrees, reflecting different needs, interests and responsibilities and (crop management and related) roles in the household. For women, nutritional and cooking characteristics are especially important, more so than for men, with the exception of the qualities of beer, an important income-generating product.Farmers use multiple seed channels (sources) to obtain seeds of local and improved varieties, which can vary by season, with women playing key roles as seed custodians, exchangers and managers in all counties. Exchange and barter are the most common mechanisms to obtain seeds (not cash). Some social What can be done to improve the situation? Here are some suggestions.f Female farmers play a dominant role in local seed supply in the studied counties. They should be further empowered through targeted training in quality seed production, by promoting improved seed storage practices and involvement in seed related programming at county level.f Nodal seed farmers, many of whom are women, should be further empowered through training in good quality seed production so that they can become a reliable (sustainable) source of seed dissemination of new and improved varieties at the county level.f Post-harvest technologies and practices should be improved to reduce burdens on women, and increase food availability and quality (shelf-life) and opportunities to market produce and seeds.f The establishment of sustainable community seedbanks, with leadership roles of women, could contribute to greater seed security, and increase adaptative capacity to overcome disturbances and shocks.f The capacity of community-based seed-producer groups should be strengthened in quality seed production, internal seed quality control, organizational development, and strategic linkages with output markets and seed service providers.Women interested in seed production should be encouraged and supported.f There is need to support crop diversification, notably in Ikwoto Payam, but also elsewhere, through (i) introducing improved and well-adapted varieties;(ii) promoting superior farmer-preferred and climate-resilient local varieties; (iii) timely distribution of quality seeds by supply organizations, and (iv) introducing organic pesticides and fertilizers.Introducing exotic, improved seeds of crops, such as quinoa, and embarking on early generation seed bulking of promising local varieties could also be useful measures. Humanitarian and development organizations should broaden their crop/variety portfolio.f The Chahari, Isoke, Magwi, Omoliha, Seraga and Torit markets contribute significantly to the local seed supply. Farmers and communities frequently access seed for key local food-security crops from these local grain markets. The capacity of local traders, including women, in these marketplaces could be further strengthened by sharing qualityseed-related information through training, and by linking with local seed producers to purchase goodquality seed.f The above recommendation could be extended to also include the establishment of a decentralized seed certification systems, in which women could play key roles as professional certifiers.f Women's needs and interests also deserve more attention in crop improvement, through paying attention to the quality and trait preferences of both women and men. This could be further supported by improving the dissemination of relevant knowledge about improved crops and their management.Proudly showing locally produced vegetable seeds in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan. G.J. van Uffelen","tokenCount":"1680"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"544715c45a0df5242fa53d68cc72e323","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/110976ba-f26d-4ce2-9950-1baa2a54aef4/retrieve","id":"-634624896"},"keywords":["15 N natural abundance method","Canavalia brasiliensis","Forage legume","Nicaraguan hillsides","Nitrogen budget","On-farm trials"],"sieverID":"d63b63ba-4a54-4312-acac-2bc528762ad8","pagecount":"18","content":"Canavalia brasiliensis (canavalia), a drought tolerant legume, was introduced into the smallholder traditional crop-livestock production system of the Nicaraguan hillsides as green manure to improve soil fertility or as forage during the dry season for improving milk production. Since nitrogen (N) is considered the most limiting nutrient for agricultural production in the target area, the objective of this study was to quantify the soil surface N budgets at plot level in farmers fields over two cropping years for the traditional maize/bean rotation and the alternative maize/canavalia rotation. Mineral fertilizer N, seed N and symbiotically fixed N were summed up as N input to the system. Symbiotic N 2 fixation was assessed using the 15 N natural abundance method. Nitrogen output was quantified as N export via harvested products. Canavalia derived in average 69% of its N from the atmosphere. The amount of N fixed per hectare varied highly according to the biomass production, which ranged from 0 to 5,700 kg ha -1 . When used as green manure, canavalia increased the N balance of the maize/canavalia rotation but had no effect on the N uptake of the following maize crop. When used as forage, it bears the risk of a soil N depletion up to 41 kg N ha -1 unless N would be recycled to the plot by animal manure. Without N mineral fertilizer application, the N budget remains negative even if canavalia was used as green manure. Therefore, the replenishment of soil N stocks by using canavalia may need a few years, during which the application of mineral N fertilizer needs to be maintained to sustain agricultural production.Population growth in the rural poor areas of developing countries has contributed to land use intensification that adversely affects soil fertility, with nutrient depletion and soil erosion being major causes of soil degradation (Tan et al. 2005). Crop and livestock productivity therefore declines, causing decreased income generation opportunities, and food insecurity. In the Nicaraguan hillsides, population is expanding at an annual growth rate of 1.3% (IFAD 2009). Cropping is limited to two short and successive rainy seasons, and therefore livestock suffers forage shortage during the long dry season of 5-6 months. Smallholders are mostly affected by the declined soil fertility due to their marginalized situation and their inability to overcome production constraints (Pfister 2003). Agricultural production usually does not exceed the needs for subsistence, making the sale of products almost impossible. Sufficient amounts of mineral fertilizers are not affordable and in small-scale farms, nitrogen (N) depletion is a major production constraint (Ayarza et al. 2007;Smyth et al. 2004).Introduction of cover crop legumes can be beneficial to such a system due to their ability to add N via symbiotic N 2 fixation (Boddey et al. 1997;Ojiem et al. 2007) and to provide surface mulch during the dry season or to provide fodder to livestock (Said and Tolera 1993). In order to identify the most suitable legume for the Nicaraguan hillsides, forage specialists and local extentionists induced farmer participatory evaluation of potential legume species. Among all the legumes tested, Canavalia brasiliensis Mart. Ex. Benth (canavalia), also known as Brazilian jack bean, attracted most attention from farmers mainly due to its vigorous growth, good soil cover and outstanding level of adaptation to drought stress based on green forage yield. Moreover, canavalia is also adapted to a wide range of other stress factors, including low fertility soils (CIAT 2004;Schloen et al. 2005;Schmidt et al. 2005).Previous studies have indeed shown positive effects of canavalia on crop productivity when integrated in the crop rotation (Bordin et al. 2003). Maize yield was higher after a rotation with canavalia than after other cover crops, because of its high biomass production and rapid litter decomposition rate (de Carvalho et al. 2008). In an on-station study over 4-years, the use of canavalia green manure in rotation with maize was equivalent to a replacement of 50 kg N ha -1 of mineral N fertilizer (Burle et al. 1999). Canavalia brasiliensis is known to nodulate well (Alvarenga et al. 1995) but its contribution through symbiotic N 2 fixation has not been quantified. The integration of a highly productive legume crop in a cropping system could also increase mining of nutrients (Bu ¨nemann et al. 2004), and a yield increase of the subsequent crop also means higher N export via harvested products. The contribution of a legume to a system may also be further diminished if crop residues are used as fodder (Peoples and Craswell 1992). Before promoting the use of canavalia to smallholders, it is important to evaluate whether canavalia results in a net N input to the cropping system, i.e., whether the N input through symbiotic N 2 fixation exceeds N output through harvest. Such imbalances can be revealed by calculating the N budgets for the rotations of interest. Nutrient budgets are commonly used as indicators of changes in soil fertility at national or regional scale (Bindraban et al. 2000;Smaling et al. 1993), and more recently have been useful to evaluate soil fertility status and nutrient efficiency of African smallholder crop-livestock systems (Rufino et al. 2009;Zingore et al. 2007). However, there is no published information on on-farm N budgets on the alternative uses of forage legumes in Central America. We chose the soil surface budget approach where all the N entering the soil via soil surface and leaving the soil via crop uptake are recorded (Adu-Gyamfi et al. 2007;Oenema et al. 2003;Watson et al. 2002).Canavalia was tested either as green manure to improve soil fertility or as forage to improve milk production. When used as green manure, it was left on the plot during the whole dry season and was incorporated at the onset of the next rainy season before sowing maize. As forage, it was cut and removed at the beginning of the dry season to simulate grazing. The use of the traditional maize/ bean (M/B) rotation as control does not mean that canavalia should replace bean. Indeed, farmers grow bean on only half of the cultivated area. Thus there is possibility to grow canavalia on the other half, and to alternate each year between the areas under maize/ canavalia (M/C) and M/B rotations.The main objective of this study was to quantify the soil surface N budgets at plot level in farmers fields over two cropping years for the traditional M/B rotation and the alternative M/C rotation. We tested the hypothesis that the introduction of canavalia into the traditional rotation will help reversing soil N depletion by (1) fixing a high proportion of N, (2) increasing the N budget of the crop rotation, and (3) thereby increasing maize yields the year following its integration into the production system. We emphasized N output via crop harvest and N input via N 2 fixation of canavalia and bean. We also assessed N recycled with crop residues.The study area is located in the hillsides of northern Nicaragua, in the Rio Pire watershed (Municipality of Condega, Department of Esteli), within a 2 km radius around the community of Santa Teresa (13°18 0 N, 86°26 0 W) (Fig. 1). Soils are classified as Udic and Pachic Argiustolls (MAGFOR 2008). The climate is classified as tropical savannah (Aw) according to the Ko ¨ppen-Geiger classification (Peel et al. 2007). Annual mean rainfall is 825 mm (INETER 2009) and has a bimodal distribution pattern (Fig. 2).Farmers are traditional crop-livestock smallholders, cultivating maize and bean on about 2 ha of land, and sharing an area for grazing on less productive pastures based on Jaragua grass (Hyperrenia rufa). Cultivation is done essentially with hand-held tools. Prior to sowing maize land is usually prepared with a plough pulled by oxen if accessibility to the field and slopes allow; otherwise it is prepared manually using a hoe. Maize is sown at the end of May, at the onset of the first rainy season. Maize is fertilized with urea and sometimes also with NPK fertilizer. At maturity, plants are cut above the ears and maize ears are left drying on the stalks for 2-3 months. Meanwhile, beans are sown around mid-September between the maize rows to take advantage of the part of the bimodal rainfall pattern. Both maize and beans are harvested in December. In January, at the beginning of the dry season, forage is getting scarce in the grazing area, and farmers let their cows enter the cultivated fields to graze crop residues.Four farmers of Santa Teresa, who were interested in integrating canavalia in a part of their production area, were identified. They chose themselves the site for the experiment within their farm. Crop management was done by the farmers, whereas data and samples were collected by the scientists. Sites are named after farmer's initials: FC (Felipe Caldero ´n), GR (Gabriel Ruiz), LP (Lorenzo Peralta) and PT (Pedro Torres). General site characteristics are given in Table 1.On each site five crop rotations were established on 70-100 m 2 -plots, and repeated in three completely randomized blocks, for a total of 60 plots. The control treatment was the traditional M/B rotation. The four others were M/C rotations with four different cutting intensities to simulate grazing, i.e. with 0% (M/C0), 50% (M/C50), 75% (M/C75) or 100% (M/C100) removal of canavalia biomass (Fig. 3). Land was prepared according to the usual practice, with hoe on FC site and ploughing with oxen on the other sites. Farmers sowed maize (Zea mays var. Catacamas) at the end of May 2007, by hand, with a seeding rate of 23 kg per hectare, with a row-to-row spacing of 75 cm and a plant-to-plant spacing of 50 cm. Compound NPK fertilizer (12-30-10) and urea were applied 8 and 22 days after sowing respectively. The doses varied from 0 to 8 kg N ha -1 for NPK complex and from 30 to 60 kg N ha -1 for urea, according to each farmer's usual practices (Table 2). Weed control was done before maize germination by spraying glyphosate and after germination manually with a large knife. Cypermethrin 1 was used for insect control. Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris var. INTA seda rojo) or canavalia (var. CIAT17009) were sown between maize rows at the end of September with a seeding rate of 78 and 51 kg per hectare, respectively. No fertilizer was applied to either legume crop. Maize and bean harvest occurred between November and December according to the usual practice. In January, the different percentages of canavalia above ground biomass were removed from the field. In May 2008, remaining standing maize stalks and canavalia plants were cut with large knife and left on the ground as mulch. Fields in 2008 were prepared as described for 2007, using either plough or hoe, and treatments were repeated on the same plots. Farmers did not reduce mineral fertilizer application after the first canavalia rotation.Precipitation during crop growth (May to January), measured at the meteorological station of the nearby municipality Condega, was similar for both years (about 920 mm), which is 19% above the normal rainfall (Fig. 2). Temperature for both years was also similar, with a mean of 24°C, a maximum of 33°C and a minimum of 16°C (INETER 2009). Sites are named after farmer's initials. For soil chemical properties: averages on all plots (0-10 cm depth), with standard deviation in parenthesis (n = 15) a Measured following Nelson and Sommers (1982) Symbiotic N 2 fixationThe rates of N derived from the atmosphere (%Ndfa) in canavalia and bean were assessed both years using the 15 N natural abundance method (Shearer and Kohl 1986), which is based on the slight natural differences between the 15 N abundance of the soil and the 15 N abundance of the atmosphere. As reference plants, non-fixing dicotyledonous weeds (Oberson et al. 2007) growing at the same time as the legumes have been selected and marked in the field to avoid them being cut during weed control by the farmers. Other herbaceous and shrubby weeds were excluded. Two weeds were chosen in the immediate proximity (i.e. within a radius of 50 cm) of each marked legume. Weeds were limited to four different species per site and per year, each of them being present at least five times for each legume and as well distributed as possible across the site. Species chosen were Baltimora recta, Delilia biflora, Euphorbia graminea, Euphorbia hirta, Lagascea mollis, Melanthera aspera, Mitrocarpus hirtus, Richardia scabra, Borreria suaveolens, Ageratum conyzoides, and Conyza Canadensis (Table 2). Sampling of canavalia occurred 3 months after planting, before drought, at the beginning of the flowering period. For bean, sampling occurred at the growth stage of late flowering to early pod filling. Five bean plants and five canavalia plants were harvested per block, together with their paired weeds, resulting in thirty legumes and sixty reference plants per site and per year. Table 2 shows slightly lower sample numbers, as in a few cases the marked plant did not develop well and was therefore not harvested. Plants were dried and analyzed for their 15 N abundance (see below).The %Ndfa for each legume plant was calculated following Shearer and Kohl (1986), using its two paired weeds as references. The final %Ndfa per legume and per site was then calculated as the average of the fifteen %Ndfa estimated from single legume plants for this site.  (1)(2) (3) (2)(1)(3)  The B-value, i.e. the isotopic fractionation during N 2 fixation, was obtained from a pot experiment in the greenhouse at the International Centre of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Colombia (3°30 0 N, 76°21 0 W), following the procedure of Unkovich et al. (1994). Plants were grown from the end of November 2007 to the end of February 2008. Temperature in the greenhouse fluctuated from 20°to 37°C in synchrony with photoperiod, and relative humidity ranged from 40 to 90%. Eighteen 3.3 l-pots were filled with washed white quartz, planted with canavalia or bean and watered daily with an N-free nutrient solution. The inoculum used was made from a mixture of soils from our study sites. Harvest occurred at the same development stage as in the field. Shoot d 15 N values were corrected for seed N effect using a mass balance (Boddey et al. 2000;Hogberg et al. 1994) accounting for the N distribution between shoots and roots.Maize production was evaluated in each of the 60 plots of the experiment. To evaluate the yield of the different maize parts, several row segments were chosen to represent the plot, excluding the border lines, and equivalent to 20-30 m-row length in total per plot. On these row segments, plants were counted and classified into two categories: plants with harvestable ears and plants without. Harvestable ears were considered good for human consumption by the farmers. The category ''plants without harvestable ear'' included plants that were without ear, with damaged ear, with already harvested ear, or with ear on the ground. Samples of ears of each category, corresponding to the number of ears for 2 m 2 , were taken in each plot.Harvestable ears were separated after sampling into good grain, bad grain, cobs, and husks. Samples were pooled per block, except for good grain, for which samples were kept separated per plot. Yield of the different ear parts was assessed as follow:where no. of harvestable ears per plot correspond to the number of plants with harvestable ears per plot, as almost no plants developed more than one ear.Samples of not harvestable ears were not separated into plant parts because their state did not allow doing so. The amount of not harvested ears per hectare was calculated as in formula [1], except that the number and weight of not harvested ears were used.Samples of stalks and leaves were taken to complete maize biomass production estimation. As traditionally farmers cut the upper part of the stalks to let the cob dry, only a few entire plants could be found and sampled on two sites. Assuming that average stalk and leaf weight was the same on all plots, yields were calculated as in formula [1] using the total number of plants per plot.In order to know which plant parts are exported and which are recycled on the plot, the fate of maize harvested ears was determined by plant part for each farmer. Maize grains (MG) were exported from the plot for human consumption, maize cobs (MC) and damaged grains (MDG) (i.e. broken, discoloured, shrivelled or undersized grains) were exported to be fed to pigs or used for combustible, maize husks (MH) were either recycled on the plot or exported to be fed to cows. Maize without harvestable ears (MRE) and residues (stalks and leaves) (MR) were not removed from the plot.Bean yields were assessed according to farmer's current practice. On 1 m 2 in each plot, bean plants were removed from the soil with their roots, separated into grain (BG) and residues (shoot and root, BP), and both plant parts were sampled and weighed separately. The fate of BG is usually to be exported for consumption, while BP remains on the plots. However, during both years of this study, heavy rainfall over short periods and to larger extent diseases such as angular leaf spot killed many bean plants leading to very low yields. Farmers harvested only when expected grain value compensated labour cost for harvest.Yield ear part ½kg ha À1 ¼ no:harvestable earsper plot  weight ear part ½kg ear À1area plot [m 2  10; 000At each canavalia cutting time, above-ground biomass (CB) production was assessed in each plot with the Comparative Yield Method (Haydock and Shaw 1975) in which the yields of random 1 m 2 -quadrants are rated with respect to a set of five reference quadrants preselected to provide a scale covering the range of biomass encountered within each plot. Ten quadrants were rated per plot. Different proportions-100, 75, 50 or 0%-of the available biomass were removed according to the experimental plan, by cutting canavalia with large knifes either on a plant number basis, or on a height basis when plants were undistinguishable. The M/C100 plots, where all the biomass was removed and weighed, were used as control of the biomass estimate obtained with the Comparative Yield Method. Samples of the above ground biomass were taken from each block. Removed biomass (CBR) was exported from the plot to be fed to animals.Canavalia, bean and reference plants sampled in the field were dried in a wooden oven at about 40°C until constant dry weight and ground with a rotary knife mill at CIAT-Nicaragua. Maize plant parts were dried at ambient temperature and ground with the same mill.Canavalia and bean samples from the greenhouse were dried at 70°C and ground with a rotary knife mill at CIAT-Colombia. All samples were then shipped to Switzerland, powdered with a ball mill (Retsch, GmbH, Germany) and analyzed for total N on a Thermo Electron FlashEA 1112 Automatic Elemental Analyzer. The d 15 N of legumes and reference plants were measured at the Geological Institute of the ETH Zurich on a Thermo Electron FlashEA 1112 coupled in continuous-flow with a Thermo-Fisher MAT 253 mass spectrometer. Finely ground field pea seed with an atom % 15 N of 0.367 was used as analytical standard.Soil surface N budgets were estimated for all plots and for both years (May to January) following the equation:where Nfix is the contribution of symbiotic N 2 fixation, Nfert is the mineral fertilization, Nseed accounts for maize, bean and canavalia seeds and Nexport is the amount of N exported from the plot. Nfix was calculated as the product of %Ndfa, N concentration and legume biomass. Nfert was calculated for each site based on the amount of fertilizer applied by the farmer and the N concentration in urea and NPK complex. Nseed was calculated as the product of N concentration and seed density.Nexport from the plot differed for each site according to the fate given by each farmer to the different plant parts of the crops and was estimated as:where N X is the amount of N in kg ha -1 in each of the mentioned plant part X, obtained from its N concentration multiplied by its biomass production in kg ha -1 (dry matter basis). N MH equals 0 if the farmer left the husks on the plot. N BG equals 0 if the farmer decided to not harvest beans, or in M/C rotations. N CBR equals 0 in M/B and M/C0 rotations.The amount of N recycled on each plot is the amount of N in crop residues and in remaining canavalia, calculated as follows:where N X is the amount of N in kg ha -1 in each of the mentioned plant material X, obtained from its N concentration multiplied by its biomass production in kg ha -1 . N MH equals 0 if the farmer exports the husks. N BG equals 0 if the farmer decided to harvest beans, or in M/C rotations. N (CB-CBR) equals 0 in M/B and M/ C100 rotations.Statistical analyses were performed using program R (R Development Core 2007). Rightskewed variables were log-transformed before the analysis. Yields were submitted to a Wilcoxon's rank-sum test to check for significant differences between the 2 years. The significance of the effects of site and treatment on crop production and on N balance was tested by an analysis of variance using aov and lme functions in R (Pinheiro and Bates 2000). The model was composed by treatment as fixed factor, site and bloc as random factors, bloc being nested within site.The B-values obtained from the greenhouse experiment were -1.26% for canavalia and -3.74% for bean. The d 15 N of the reference plants ranged from 0.2 to 13.1% in 2007 and from 0.5 and 8.4% in 2008. Table 2 presents the average d 15 N per species and per site, for both years together as there was no significant difference between the 2 years. The d 15 N of the legumes ranged from -2 to 2%, with extreme values up to 4.6% in 2007 and 2.6% in 2008. Each legume had significantly lower d 15 N than its two reference plants. Figure 4 shows the d 15 N of each N 2 -fixing plant and the mean d 15 N of its paired reference plants for all sites in 2007 and in 2008. Average %Ndfa was 55 and 58% for bean, and 64 and 74% for canavalia in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Among sites, mean %Ndfa did not vary much, with a standard deviation of 3-9%. For bean, average Ndfa did not differ significantly between 2007 and 2008 (P = 0.478). For canavalia, average Ndfa in 2008 was significantly (P = 0.000) higher than in 2007.Maize grain yields (Fig. 5) conformed to the usual production of the region (personal communication from the farmers), with an average yield of 2,410 kg ha -1 in 2007 and 2,070 kg ha -1 in 2008.Grain yields were not significantly different between the 2 years (P = 0.107). The first year of rotation made no effect on grain yields of the subsequent year (P = 0.187). Yields were affected significantly by the site in 2008 (P = 0.025) but not in 2007 (P = 0.135).Bean grain production (Fig. 5) was much lower for both years compared with the farmer reported mean production value of 1300 kg ha -1 . This was mainly due to heavy rains and diseases. The grain yield ranged 13 to 320 kg ha -1 in 2007 and from 0 to Canavalia biomass production (Fig. 5) varied between 0 and 5,700 kg ha -1 , with a mean value of 2,110 kg ha -1 in 2007. In 2008, the biomass production varied between 290 and 4,330 kg ha -1 , with a mean value of 1,530 kg ha -1 . Biomass did not significantly differ between both years (P = 0.223) and was not influenced by the site neither in 2007 (P = 0.070) nor in 2008 (P = 0.999). The removal of canavalia biomass at the beginning of the dry season in 2007 had no significant effect on the production in 2008 (P = 0.066). The variation in canavalia biomass production within GR and PT sites was higher than the variation between sites.The components of the soil surface N budget and the resulting balance for each treatment on each site are presented in Table 3. Nitrogen input from mineral fertilizers applied to maize was from 38 to 68 kg N ha -1 . Mineral fertilizers and seeds contributed per site equally to M/B and M/C rotation. In relation to the overall N inputs, Nfert represented on average for both years 88% of the total N input in the M/B rotation, and 69% in the M/C rotation. For both years, Nseed represented from 3 to 6% of the total N input. The contribution of symbiotic N 2 fixation to the M/B rotation did not exceed 8 kg N ha -1 (8 and 3% of the total N input in 2007 and 2008, respectively), whereas it was on average 22 and 17 kg N ha -1 (or 29 and 24% of the total N input) in the M/C rotation in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Nitrogen exported through maize harvest ranged from 16 to 67 kg N ha -1 . Canavalia represented an export of up to 87 kg N ha -1 in 2007 and 39 kg N ha -1 in 2008 when the whole aboveground biomass was removed.The M/C0 treatment showed in most cases the highest N balance per site, with an average surplus of 33 kg N ha -1 in 2007 and 26 kg N ha -1 in 2008 (Fig. 6). In 2007, M/C100 treatments resulted in most cases with a negative N balance with an average depletion of 15 kg N ha -1 . In 2008, the M/C100 balance was in average in equilibrium, with 2 kg N ha -1 in average. An average surplus of 14 and 17 kg N ha -1 in 2007 and 2008, respectively was observed with the M/B treatment. The N balance for both years was influenced by the site (P = 0.015 in 2007 and P = 0.003 in 2008). Treatments had a highly significant effect on the N balance in 2007 (P = 0.000) and a significant effect in 2008 (P = 0.006).For the most contrasting treatments M/B and M/C0, the amount of N recycled and its source are presented in Fig. 7. After maize harvest, about 18 kg N ha -1 were recycled on the plot with maize residues, independent of the treatment, which represents about 32% of the overall maize N uptake. Nitrogen recycled in the M/C0 rotation is higher than in the M/B rotation. Bean residues contributed with about 3 kg N ha -1 to the N recycled. When canavalia was not removed, an average value of 22 kg N ha -1 was recycled on the plot with canavalia biomass.Symbiotic N 2 fixation estimated with the 15 N natural abundance methodThe suggested minimum difference of 2% between reference plants and legumes (Unkovich et al. 1994) was reached at all sites and for both M/B and M/C treatments (Fig. 4). Standard deviation of all reference species d 15 N per site was in average 1.1%, and was not higher than 2.2%, which shows that soil d 15 N was relatively homogeneous on each site. For canavalia, the B-value obtained was in the range reported for tropical legume species used as forage or cover crops (Unkovich et al. 2008). The value for bean was slightly lower than -2.2 reported for common bean by Unkovich et al. (2008).Bean %Ndfa was higher than the average of 36% reported by Herridge et al. (2008) for common bean in farmers fields. Canavalia %Ndfa in 2007 was in the range of the 57-69% reported by Giller (2001) for Canavalia ensiformis. M/C50 38 0.4 2.5 13 (4) 14 ( 10) 56 ( 9) 10 ( 2) 34 ( 14) 10 ( 8) M/C75 38 0.4 2.5 13 (4) 19 ( 12) 56 ( 13) 15 (3) 53 ( 6) 21 ( 14) M/C100 38 0.4 2.5 13 (4) 18 ( 3) 59 ( 13) 20 ( 4) 53 ( 16) 25 ( 6  22) 87 ( 30) 49 ( 12) 39 (0)Standard deviation is given in parenthesis. M/B is the maize-bean rotation; M/C is the maize-canavalia rotation; N M is N export through maize, i.e. through grains, damaged grains, cobs and husks; N BG is N export through bean grains; N CBR is N export through canavalia biomass removedCanavalia had an average %Ndfa of 64% 2007, despite the fact that it was grown for the first time in this region and not inoculated. For the second year of cultivation of canavalia, an average increase of about 17% was observed compared to the first year values. Results from the pot study conducted at CIAT-Colombia showed that nodulation is more rapid and abundant (30% more nodule fresh weight) when canavalia is inoculated with rhizobia from a site where it has been grown for 5 years (S. Douxchamps, unpublished data). Higher %Ndfa can therefore be expected after a few years of cultivation, and may reach in the third year the value of 80% as reported for many tropical green manure legumes (Giller 2001;Thomas et al. 1997).Compared to on-station trials conducted in Brazil, canavalia biomass production was similar to the values of 230 to 6,550 kg ha -1 observed when grown during the dry season (Burle et al. 1999) but lower than the value of 10,030 kg ha -1 observed when grown entirely during the rainy season (Carsky et al. 1990). Canavalia biomass production varied highly among plots. The reasons behind this variation are due to soil and topographic factors, which are discussed elsewhere (Douxchamps, 2010). Because biomass production varied more than %Ndfa, the variation in Nfix was determined by variation in biomass, which has been also observed by Thomas et al. (1997) in the humid tropics for three forage legumes. Likewise, the difference of biomass production between the legumes was the main reason why Nfix by canavalia was on an average about 16 kg N ha -1 higher than that of bean crop.This difference in Nfix between the two legumes was underestimated, as below-ground biomass contribution was partially taken into account for bean but not for canavalia. Canavalia is known for its deep pivoting root system with lots of fine roots and lateral root extension up to 3.5 m (Alvarenga et al. 1995). Besides the problems encountered in trying to estimate or recover such a root system, the rapid turnover of belowground tissues and root exudation make difficult to determine below-ground N contributions (Cherr et al. 2006). Below-ground N associated with or derived from roots can represent up to 50% of the total plant N of legumes (Herridge et al. 2008). To account for below-ground N, Unkovich et al. (2008) suggested a multiplication by factor 2 for fodder legumes, which would give for canavalia in our trial an average Nfix of 44 kg N ha -1 in 2007 and 34 kg N ha -1 in 2008. For bean, only dry roots were recovered, whereas exudates and root turnover were not taken into account. By using the multiplication factor of 1.4 suggested by Unkovich et al. (2008), the maximum Nfix for bean in our trial would be of 11 kg N ha -1 .Effect of on-farm conditions on Nfert, Nseed, and NexportNfert and Nseed were distributed by hand, by different farmers. Distribution of fertilizer and seed was not as exact as when it is done by machines or in on-station trials. As N contained in seeds remained small compared to the other factors of the budget, its potential variation had relatively small effect on the N balance estimations. Likewise, plant density was also somewhat heterogeneous between plots. The estimation of Nexport by maize was also affected by human factors. For example, people do not enter the fields very carefully: they may drop ears on the ground, or sometimes grab an appetizing maize ear to eat on the way back home. This may be one reason why plants with empty husks were found. The amount of empty husks represented on average 6% of the good ears.Therefore, the results from the different sites should not be combined as one single effect of canavalia when introduced on-farm, but rather be seen as a range of possible responses, taking into account farmers practices and their impacts on data variability. One may argue that those conditions render difficult to design a precise nutrient management guidelines for the region. Uncertainties are however part of budget calculations at all scales, and there are various ways to deal with them in the subsequent decision making process (Oenema et al. 2003). As farmers cannot afford taking risks, safety margins have to be taken into account.Both years and on all sites, increasing cutting intensities of canavalia reduced the N balance. On one hand, canavalia increased N input into the system compared to M/B rotation, but on the other hand it increased soil N depletion if completely removed. Under M/B rotation, balance depended much on bean yields. When beans were harvested, the balance became negative, except in the sites where high amounts of mineral fertilizer were applied (FC and GR). The positive to neutral N balance on M/B is mainly due to the low yields of common bean. Assuming yields of 800 kg N ha -1 (FAO 2009), N export through bean harvest would become about 30 kg N ha -1 , which brings the balance estimate to negative in most cases, with an average value of -6 kg N ha -1 and a maximum value of -40 kg N ha -1 on LP site. A positive N balance for the M/B rotation does not mean that the system is sustainable: lower bean yields mean lower or no income. Likewise, the observation of a higher N balance for all treatments of a site is due to reduced N export by maize. For example, on FC site maize yields were much higher in 2007 than in 2008, and thus the balance resulted much lower. When export through maize grain is not compensated by mineral fertilizers, as on LP and PT sites, the N balance becomes negative. If we would include the below ground N contribution from the legumes as presented above, the deficit observed in the M/C100 rotations would be in five of eight cases compensated, with an average balance of 18 kg N ha -1 . The impact on M/B rotations would be lower, and would not compensate the deficit observed on LP site, which would remain at about -10 kg N ha -1 .Many experiments have demonstrated the positive effect of legumes on succeeding crops (Peoples and Craswell 1992). However, in this study, the integration of canavalia as green manure had no effect on the following maize crop, probably because (1) one year of rotation is not sufficient to observe an effect, (2) the mineral fertilizer background is too high compared to the N input by canavalia, and (3) other factors related to management practices may have limited a productivity increase. For example, MRE, i.e. the amount of ears not harvested, represent a potential maize yield increase if crop management is improved. On all sites and for the 2 years, MRE had a mean value of 350 kg ha -1 , which corresponds to a loss of 10% of good grain yield. According to farmers, up to 50% of maize grain yield losses can occur in the region due to this problem and these losses do not include post harvest losses. Before important changes in nutrient management as the introduction of a legume in the rotation, the traditional system could be improved by a few simple efforts. There are opportunities to increase productivity with improved management, e.g., concerning plant density, timing of fertilizer application and weed control.According to the design of the experiment, we expected that in the green manure scenario M/C0, the N of crop residues is recycled within the plot, as no cows would enter the field to graze. However, in practice, according to participatory workshops with farmers, there will probably be only one type of M/C rotation. Farmers will allow cows to graze totally canavalia at the onset of the dry season. Regrowth, which was not expected when the experiment was designed, has been observed during the dry season when plants are not cut down to the ground level i.e., after grazing, and may be used for soil improvement. The former N recycled would in this case represent the amount of N available for grazing during the dry season. Rufino et al. (2006) reported for African dairy studies that on average about 80% of the ingested N is returned with manure. Assuming the same proportion recycled for cows in our trial and all N excreted being returned to the grazed plot, 33 kg N ha -1 on average would be recycled through canavalia grazing, under the form of faeces and urine. While the urine fraction would fall on a single spot at high concentration, the faeces fraction can be uniformly distributed on the plot surface by farmers. An efficient animal manure management would therefore be essential to maximize N recycling and compensate the N deficit observed with M/C100 rotation.The proposed rotation sequence would therefore be to alternate this most probable M/C rotation with the M/B rotation: canavalia would grow on the area not cultivated by beans (i.e. about 1 ha), and crops would be exchanged the following year, i.e., on the same area the sequence would be M/B-M/C-M/B-M/ C etc. (Fig. 8). In the traditional sequence, the succession of M/B and M (maize alone) rotations depletes N stocks over years, moreover on sites with low mineral fertilizer applications. The alternative sequence will build up N stocks year after year. Moreover, canavalia can reduce erosion and decrease weed pressure. The time until seeing an effect on agricultural productivity depends on the biophysical limitations of each site and the management options chosen by the farmers. Canavalia yield is assumed to be maintained over years. Legume yields can decrease after a few years of cultivation due to pests and diseases, as has been reported in other trials (Bu ¨nemann et al. 2004). However, this has not yet been observed with canavalia in a 6-year on-station experiment where canavalia was planted on the same plots every year (A. Schmidt et al., unpublished data). Still, the proposed rotation sequence needs long term testing on-farm. The use of models, once calibrated, can also be useful in predicting the effects of rotation sequences on soil fertility (Walker et al. 2008).The underlying assumption of a nutrient budget is that of a mass balance i.e. nutrient input to the system minus nutrient outputs from the system equals the change in storage within the system (Meissinger and Randall 1991). However, soil surface budgets consider soil as a black box, and do not provide information on the fate or origin of any budget surplus i.e. whether it is lost from the system or stored in the soil (Watson et al. 2002). Due to unaccounted N losses, like leaching and gaseous losses, N balances are overestimated unless they would be compensated by atmospheric N deposition. Accurate data being unavailable for the study region, atmospheric deposition was not included in the budget and assumed to be equal for all farms. Surface lateral nutrient flows, i.e. inputs and outputs by sedimentation, erosion and runoff were also not quantified. Despite the fact that those processes are left out, soil surface budgets based on ''easy-tomeasure'' flows have proved their utility in providing useful information to farmers and policy makers on soil fertility and on the need for restoration (Adu-Gyamfi et al. 2007;Rego et al. 2003), even in sloping hillsides of the tropics (Briggs and Twomlow 2002). These flows are also the easiest to manipulate to influence the nutrient balances in the short term (Bekunda and Manzi 2003). However, the estimation of lateral nutrient flows and gaseous losses is essential if an extrapolation of N budgets at landscape level and for a longer time frame is envisaged (Smaling et al. 1993). Finally, to predict how much N can be expected from the use of canavalia over years, an in-depth study on soil N fluxes is needed, including a determination of the fertilizer value of manure from cows fed with canavalia, an evaluation of N losses and of the belowground contribution of the legumes, and an assessment of the N mineralization rate for the different soil types of the Nicaraguan hillsides.When used as green manure, canavalia represents a net N input into the crop rotation due to symbiotic N fixation. Still, mineral fertilizers are necessary to maintain the N balance positive. Using canavalia as forage depletes soil N, and should be compensated by an effective return of animal manure on the plots. The introduction of canavalia in the Nicaraguan hillsides has the potential to improve agricultural production. However, the time needed to visualize an effect on crop productivity depends on the biophysical limitations of each site and the management done by the farmers.","tokenCount":"6815"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"59fc3681f228e8b51713cc5370b22d24","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/5a2901a6-be32-4917-9fcf-2c4d91897a8f/retrieve","id":"-582382453"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"2793296d-20ad-45df-b845-3091e0a1d4f7","pagecount":"52","content":"Price: DKK 25.00 (VAT included) DIIS publications can be downloaded free of charge from www.diis.dk DIIS Working Papers make available DIIS researchers' and DIIS project partners' work in progress towards proper publishing. They may include important documentation which is not necessarily published elsewhere.DIIS Working Papers are published under the responsibility of the author alone.Este informe tiene como objetivo presentar el perfil de pobreza para la parte alta de la cuenca del río Jequetepeque, departamento de Cajamarca, Perú, y analizar en qué medida el acceso al agua, particularmente para el riego, y a la tierra, depende de los niveles de pobreza. Con base en el perfil de pobreza se puede puntualizar que las familias no pobres se caracterizan por poseer pastos, bosques, cultivos con riego y fuentes de ingreso no agropecuarias. En cambio, los más pobres se caracterizan por producir más para el autoconsumo que para el mercado, depender más del trabajo como jornaleros, no tener tierra o poseer poca, y pocas parcelas con riego, por no tener fuentes de ingreso no agropecuarias y por pasar dificultades para hacerle frente a las enfermedades con recursos propios.Este informe tiene como objetivo presentar el perfil de pobreza para la parte alta de la cuenca del río Jequetepeque, departamento de Cajamarca, Perú, y analizar en qué medida el acceso al agua, particularmente para el riego, y a la tierra, depende de los niveles de pobreza. El perfil de pobreza está desarrollado con base en percepciones locales de bienestar, las cuales han sido 'traducidas' a indicadores cuantificables, que, combinados, producen un índice de pobreza (Ravnborg et al., 1999) El objetivo del proyecto es \"investigar y analizar las externalidades generadas por cambios del uso de la tierra en regiones montañosas, para proveer una base de información que sirva para la toma de decisiones en el pago por servicios ambientales, relacionado con la inversión social, como mecanismo efectivo para generar un desarrollo dinámico en el sector rural.\"El trabajo se efectúa en cuatro países: Bolivia, Perú, Ecuador y Colombia. En Perú, la investigación se realiza en colaboración con el Centro Ecuménico de Promoción y Acción Social -CEDEPAS.El presente informe está organizado en seis partes. Además de introducir el estudio, la primera parte incluye una breve descripción de Jequetepeque y la presentación de los datos y métodos aplicados en el estudio. La segunda parte presenta el perfil de pobreza, según el cual las tres categorías de familias --las más pobres, las menos pobres y las no pobres--son descritas de acuerdo con los indicadores de bienestar que constituyen la medida de pobreza. En la tercera parte del informe se presentan los resultados del análisis del acceso al agua, y de su manejo, principalmente para el riego, según el nivel de pobreza, mientras que la cuarta parte analiza el acceso a la tierra bajo el enfoque de pobreza. La quinta parte analiza la participación en organizaciones locales y el contacto con organizaciones externas.Finalmente, la sexta y última parte presenta un resumen de los resultados más destacados con respecto a la relación entre acceso al agua y a la tierra, y la pobreza.La cuenca del río Jequetepeque está ubicada en la costa norte del Perú, en la vertiente occidental de la Cordillera de los Andes. Tiene un área total de 6,982 km 2 (698,200 hectáreas), distribuida entre los departamentos de La Libertad (provincias de Pacasmayo y Chepén) y Cajamarca (provincias de Cajamarca, Contumazá, San Pablo y San Miguel).Abarca un total de seis provincias y 30 distritos. Los niveles altitudinales varían entre 0 y 4,188 msnm, con una topografía accidentada y con rangos de precipitación de 0 a 1,100 mm anuales. Los ríos que dan origen al Jequetepeque son: el Pallac, con una cuenca de 250 km 2 ; San Miguel o Puclush, con una cuenca de 1,065 km 2 , y Magdalena, con 1,500 km 2 . La tabla 1.1. muestra la población de las cuatro provincias a las cuales la parte alta de la cuenca de Jequetepeque pertenece. Fuente: www.embperu.org.br/mapa_politico_del_peru.htmAunque políticamente comprende diferentes provincias y regiones, la cuenca se articula a partir de la dinámica socioeconómica operante entre sus distritos y zonas. Así, existen ejes comerciales que unen lugares como San Miguel-San Pablo-Chilete-Tembladera-Chepén-San Gregorio, estableciendo relaciones entre centros poblados y áreas productivas de las zonas altas y medias, con las ciudades y centros productivos y comerciales en la parte costeña (Tembladera, Chepén, Guadalupe y Pacasmayo). En la tabla 1.1, se muestra la división política de la parte alta de la cuenca Jequetepeque.La población de la cuenca de Jequetepeque está distribuida de la siguiente manera: el 53% de los habitantes vive en el sector urbano y el 47% en el sector rural. Esta situación se debe a la concentración poblacional en las ciudades costeñas como Chepén, Pacasmayo y Guadalupe. El 81% de la población de esta zona es urbana, mientras en las zonas altas la situación es totalmente inversa, pues el 80% es población rural. El distrito de Chepén sigue siendo el de mayor población en el valle, y concentra el 29% del total de la zona baja; el de mayor crecimiento demográfico fue, sin embargo, el distrito de Guadalupe.La mayoría de la población depende de la leña como su fuente principal de energía, variando entre el 61% de hogares en la provincia de Cajamarca hasta más de 90% en SanMiguel y San Pablo (INEI, 2005).Con respeto al agua, entre el 50 y el 70% de los hogares de las provincias de San Pablo, Contumazá y Cajamarca obtienen agua a través de la red pública dentro de la vivienda, igual ocurre con el 25% de los hogares en la provincia de San Miguel. Aquí, el tipo de abastecimiento más importante es el río, la acequia, un manantial, con el 35% de la población, seguida por la red pública fuera de la viviendo (33% En el área de estudio se ha inventariado una red meteorológica que está a cargo, en su mayoría, por el Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (SENAMHI) y la Empresa Sunchobamba, Huacraruco y anexos.Las temperaturas en las cuencas media y alta del río Jequetepeque varían entre 25.4 ºC en Gallito Ciego y < 4.0 ºC en Lagunas Compuerta.Las temperaturas máximas ocurren en la zona del embalse Gallito Ciego, con > 30ºC (25.4ºC) en promedio, y las temperaturas mínimas ocurren en la zona de Lagunas Compuerta y Yanacocha, con < 0 ºC (4 a 8 ºC) en promedio anual.En la cuenca baja del río Jequetepeque, hasta la altitud de 500 metros, la precipitación promedio es <100 mm por año, considerada como normal, sin fenómeno El Niño. En el sector comprendido entre 500 y 1,500 msnm, las precipitaciones varían entre 140 y 430 mm de promedio multianual. En el piso altitudinal entre 1,500 y 2,000 msnm, las precipitaciones se encuentran en un rango de 420 a 570 mm. Entre 2,000 y 3,000 msnm, los promedios de precipitación oscilan entre 600 y 1,240 mm.1.1.4. Los sistemas productivos de la parte alta de la cuenca JequetepequeCasi el 80% del área de la cuenca alta de Jequetepeque está dedicada a pastos naturales, forestales y otros tipos de uso, incluyéndose también las tierras eriazas y aquellas cuya pendiente muy pronunciada impide un uso agrícola. Sólo una quinta parte de la superficie total de la cuenca es de uso agrícola, encontrándose marcados contrastes entre sus zonas baja y alta. Mientras en la zona baja se dispone de más tierras agrícolas y de una mejor infraestructura de riego, en la zona alta predomina la agricultura de secano, con altos porcentajes de tierra en descanso, lo que limita su capacidad productiva (Anuario Estadístico Agropecuario 1986, departamento de Cajamarca).El uso de la tierra varía significativamente según zonas, así, en el valle o zona baja la superficie agrícola alcanza a un 41%, mientras en la zona alta es de sólo 17%. Casi el 30% de la extensión total de la cuenca es utilizada como pastos naturales, la mayoría en la zona alta, y el 8% corresponde a pastos cultivados, incluida la alfalfa sobre el área agrícola cultivada. Las tierras marginales y forestales representan el 47% en la zona alta, y el 58% en la zona baja. La actividad agrícola en tierras bajo riego se reduce a las áreas en las riberas del Jequetepeque, o a pequeñas zonas en las laderas.Sólo un 40% del área agrícola total dispone de riego en toda la cuenca, frente al 60% en condiciones de secano. En la zona alta, en donde escasea el agua, el área agrícola bajo riego no llega al 12% del total, frente al 88% en secano. A ello debe agregarse el hecho de que alrededor de las 3/4 partes de las tierras de secano en esta zona se hallan en descanso, lo que limita notablemente su capacidad productiva.Los cultivos predominantes en la zona alta son la papa, maíz, trigo, arroz, cebada, arvejas, frutales y caña de azúcar, mientras que en la zona baja, el cultivo principal es el arroz (que cubre un promedio de 70% del área cultivada).El presente estudio abarca la parte alta de la cuenca de Jequetepeque, ubicada en las cuatro provincias de Cajamarca -Cajamarca, San Pablo, San Miguel y Contumazá. En total, los distritos de estas cuatro provincias que están ubicados dentro de la cuenca de Jequetepeque 3 tienen una población de 116,722 habitantes y una extensión de 2,084 km 2 (tabla 1.3).El perfil de pobreza para la cuenca de Jequetepeque que a continuación se presenta está basado en percepciones locales de bienestar obtenidas a través de clasificaciones de bienestar realizadas en siete comunidades (caseríos) de la cuenca. Las siete comunidades fueron seleccionadas de entre la diversidad de condiciones que existen en la cuenca con respecto a altura, composición de la población en términos de género, distribución de la tierra y accesibilidad, 4 siguiendo la metodología elaborada por Ravnborg (ver Ravnborg et al., 1999). En cada comunidad se realizaron tres clasificaciones de bienestar, y a través de las descripciones de los diferentes niveles, se identificó los siguientes 11 indicadores de bienestar (tabla 1.2):Con base en estos indicadores, se elaboró una encuesta para obtener información sobre ellos. La encuesta fue administrada a una muestra representativa de familias de la parte alta de la cuenca, y no sólo a las familias de las siete comunidades donde se había realizado las clasificaciones de bienestar. La muestra contiene un total de 400 familias, 5 y fue seleccionada mediante dos etapas, de las cuales la primera consistió en seleccionar un número de comunidades, 6 y la segunda, dentro de estas comunidades seleccionadas, consistió en muestrear al azar un número determinado de familias (tabla 1.3). La duración promedio de las entrevistas fue de 32 minutos, y sólo el 3% de las entrevistas duró más de una hora.Fuente: www.embperu.org.br/mapa_politico_del_peru.htm Para cada aspecto inicialmente mencionado en las clasificaciones de bienestar (tabla 1.2), la tabla 1.4 muestra cómo, con base en las preguntas de la encuesta, se han definido indicadores que cuantifican estos aspectos. Para cada uno de los 11 indicadores, cada familia entrevistada recibe un puntaje de 33, 67 ó 100, dependiendo del indicador y de su respuesta a las preguntas utilizadas para definir éste. Por ejemplo, una familia que tenga cuatro hectáreas de tierra obtendrá un puntaje de pobreza de 33 en el indicador ITIERRA, mientras que una familia que no tenga tierra propia recibirá un puntaje de pobreza de 100 en el mismo indicador.El índice final de pobreza se calcula como el puntaje promedio de pobreza, o sea, el promedio entre los puntajes que ha recibido cada familia en cada uno de los once indicadores de pobreza. Esa medida se llama Índice de Pobreza.Partiendo de éste, se puede definir las categorías de pobreza. La figura 1.1 muestra las frecuencias (número de familias) del índice de pobreza e indica los valores del mismo que definen las categorías de pobreza, mientras la figura 1.2 muestra más detalladamente cómo cada uno de los 11 indicadores contribuye al índice de pobreza.El perfil de pobreza que se presenta en la siguiente sección de este informe se basa en las categorías antes señaladas, trazadas respecto de los 11 indicadores que constituyen el índice de pobreza.  Enseguida, estas tres categorías de familias serán descritas con más detalle con respecto a los 11 indicadores constituyentes de bienestar.Las fuentes de ingreso principales para las familias que viven en Jequetepeque son la venta de la producción agrícola, la venta de derivados de la leche y de animales de la ganadería mayor y menor, la venta de mano de obra, y la presencia de algunos oficios y negocios no agropecuarios como las tejedoras, comerciantes, etc.De las familias de Jequetepeque, el 78% posee tierras y el 22% sólo tiene la casa o viven en casas de otros.Como muestra la tabla 2.6, sólo el 25% de las familias de la cuenca alta de Jequetepeque tienen más de dos hectáreas. Más de la mitad de las familias no pobres (51%) tienen más de dos hectáreas de tierra; éste es el caso para el 1% de las familias más pobres. La mayoría de éstas (71%) no tienen tierra o tienen menos de media hectárea de tierra. Éste es el caso para el 35% de las familias menos pobres y para el 12% de las familias no pobres.Tabla 2.6. En toda la cuenca predominan las parcelas pequeñas y medianas, son pocas las familias que poseen más de 10 hectáreas de tierra (3%).Además de la tenencia propia de la tierra, una gran parte de las familias acceden a la tierra como partidarios, sembrando en tierra de otra persona a cambio a una parte de la cosecha.Como muestra la tabla 2.7, casi la mitad (43%) de la población accede a tierra como partidarios. Son especialmente las familias más pobres las que acceden a la tierra de esta manera.El 13% de las familias alquilan tierra para producir, representando entre el 17% de las familias no pobres, el 12% de las menos pobres y el 10% de las familias más pobres.Tabla 2.7. Formas de intercambiar temporalmente el acceso a la tierra (fuera de por tenencia propia)Porcentaje de familias por nivel de pobreza, según su forma de acceder a la tierra Niveles de pobreza Forma de intercambio temporal de la tierra ns Correlación no significativa (prueba de Chi-cuadrado de Pearson).Solamente el 30% de los más pobres tienen animales, o sea ganado mayor, cerdos o borregos, mientras éste es el caso para el 81% de los no pobres y el 65% de los menos pobres (tabla 2.8), y ninguna de las familias más pobres tienen 4 vacas o más. Distinguiendo entre los diferentes tipos de animales, la tabla 2.9 muestra que el 44% de las familias en la parte alta de la cuenca de Jequetepeque posee ganado lechero o de engorde, y mientras éste es el caso para el 64 y para el 44% de los no pobres y los menos pobres, respectivamente, sólo el 16% de los más pobres lo tienen.Es menor la cantidad de familias que poseen cerdos (21%) y borregos (29%). En la tabla 2.9 se comprueba que existe una correlación significativa entre la posesión de cerdos y el nivel de pobreza: el 35% de los no pobres poseen cerdos, mientras sólo el 7% de los más pobres los tienen. Con la tenencia de borregos también existe relación significativa con la pobreza: el 41% de los no pobres tienen borregos, asimismo, un 28% de los menos pobres y un 13% de los más pobres.Tabla 2.9. Casi la mitad de las familias que tienen ganado mayor venden leche o sus derivados. Como es de esperarse, son los dueños de ganado mayor, no pobres, los que están más involucrados en la venta de leche.La tabla 2.10 muestra que en la parte alta de la cuenca de Jequetepeque existe relación significativa entre los niveles de pobreza y la venta de producción agrícola. El 72% de las familias con producción agrícola reservan la mayoría para consumo, y sólo el 25% de ellas destinan más de la mitad de su producción para la venta. Son los no pobres los que constituyen el mayor porcentaje de este grupo. Paralelamente, se observa que el 84% de los más pobres utilizan toda su producción para consumo, y sólo el 1% de ellos vende la mayoría de su producción. En el área de estudio, el 43% de las familias tienen ingresos no agropecuarios. Son principalmente las familias no pobres las que poseen fuentes de ingreso no-agrícolas (60%), seguidas por las familias menos pobres, de las cuales un poco menos de la mitad (41%) las tienen. De las familias más pobres, sólo el 25% tienen fuentes de ingresos no agrícolas. De las familias no pobres, el 43% tienen más de una fuente de ingreso no agrícola, por lo tanto, poseer ingresos no agropecuarios es una característica significativa para ser no pobre.Tabla 2.12. Cantidad de fuentes de ingreso no agropecuarios por nivel de pobreza Porcentaje de las familias por nivel de pobreza según la cantidad de fuentes de ingreso no agropecuarias que Las actividades que generan ingresos no agropecuarios encontradas en la zona son: negocios propios; compra-venta de granos básicos, papas y hortalizas; recepción de remesas; la jefa de familia teje para vender; empleo asalariado; ingresos por algún otro oficio y actividad profesional. El mayor porcentaje se encuentra en la recepción de remesas, y son los no pobres y los menos pobres los que tienen más remesas. Después de las remesas observamos que la otra actividad de mayor porcentaje es que la jefa de familia teja para la venta, y el comportamiento entre los distintos niveles de pobreza es muy similar. La compraventa de granos básicos y el ingreso por otro oficio se encuentran en el tercer lugar de las actividades que generan ingresos no agropecuarios en la cuenca. La seguridad alimentaria fue medida por la escasez de comida durante una época del último año. En la tabla 2.14 observamos que el 24% de las familias en la parte alta de la cuenca deJequetepeque afirman que han pasado más de una semana sin tener suficiente comida.Esta situación es más frecuente en las familias más pobres, el 49% de las cuales ha pasado más de una semana sin tener suficiente comida. La mayoría de las familias en Jequetepeque (80%) tienen sus casas en estado regular, es decir, puedan contar con algunos servicios como agua, luz y desagüe, o con una casa que tiene buenas paredes, buen piso o buen techo, pero no todo a la vez (tabla 2.15).El 16% de las familias tienen su casa en mal estado, es decir, no cuenta con ningún servicio y la casa cuenta con un máximo de dos servicios. Las casas de algunas familias están en regular estado. Finalmente, sólo el 5% de las familias tienen casas buenas. Como es de esperar, existe una correlación significativa entre el estado de la casa y el nivel de pobreza. La capacidad de atender a problemas de salud, o sea haber podido consultar con un médico, comprar medicinas, etc. con dinero propio, en el caso de que alguien en la familia se hubiera enfermado durante el último año, resulta significativamente relacionada con el nivel de pobreza.En total, en la tabla 2.16 observamos que en el 65% de las familias en la cuenca alta de Jequetepeque alguien tuvo problemas de salud durante el último año, y que, en promedio, el 17% de las familias no pudieron atender el problema con dinero propio, sino que Al analizar la información de la composición de la jefatura de la familia nos encontramos que el 19% de los hogares están dirigidos por un solo miembro de los dos jefes de familia.Es decir, sólo el varón o sólo la mujer están al frente de su hogar, y esto es lo más frecuente entre las familias menos pobres y más pobres (tabla 2.17).Tabla 2.17 Sin embargo, un porcentaje más grande de las familias (23%) indica tener a la mujer como jefa. La tabla 2.18 muestra que el 23% de los hogares en la cuenca alta de Jequetepeque están dirigidos por mujeres, y que esto es más frecuente entre las familias menos pobres y pobres, con 29 y 31%, respectivamente, en comparación con sólo el 5% de las familias no pobres. (prueba de Chi-cuadrado de Pearson).La capacidad para asegurar educación superior a los hijos fue medida mediante la capacidad para asegurar educación secundaria a los jóvenes entre las edades de 13 y 18 años. De las familias en la cuenca alta de Jequetepeque, el 21% logran asegurarles educación secundaria a los jóvenes. Mientras éste es el caso para el 32% de las familias no pobres y el 20% de las familias menos pobres, sólo es el caso para el 8% de las familias más pobres. La capacidad para contratar jornaleros para labores agrícolas tiene una correlación directa con el nivel de pobreza en la parte alta de la cuenca de Jequetepeque. En total, menos de la mitad de las familias contrata trabajadores para las actividades agrícolas: siembras, desyerbas, fumigaciones y cosechas (tabla 2.21). En su mayoría son las familias no pobres las que contratan trabajadores, tal es el caso para el 67% de estas familias, y en casi todos los casos (58%) contratan para tres o más actividades agrícolas. III. Pobreza y manejo del agua en la parte alta de la cuenca de JequetepequeLa tabla 3.22 refleja que el 58% de las familias tienen acceso al riego, y existe correlación significativa entre pobreza y riego. El menor porcentaje de acceso lo tienen las familias más pobres, con sólo el 34%, en contraste con las no pobres, que en un 75% poseen parcelas con riego.Al analizar el tipo de parcelas con riego observamos que en su gran mayoría (93%) son individuales, y que existe un comportamiento bastante uniforme en los distintos niveles de pobreza. La posesión de parcelas comunales y alquiladas sólo la constituyen el 7% de las familias.La gran mayoría de las familias que cuentan con riego accedieron a sus parcelas con riego por herencia (42%), por compra (42%) o por alguna combinación de las dos (8%), y sólo unas pocos lo obtuvieron por otras vías, como reforma agraria, préstamos y otros (tabla 3.22).Tabla 3.22. Acceso a parcelas con riego por nivel de pobreza Porcentaje de las familias por nivel de pobreza según su acceso a parcelas con riego Además de su mayor probabilidad de tener acceso a parcelas con riego, las familias no pobres tienden a tener más área bajo riego que las familias menos pobres y más pobres.Como muestra la tabla 3.23, el 35% de las familias no pobres tienen más de dos hectáreas bajo riego, mientras éste es el caso para sólo el 10% de las familias menos pobres y para ninguna familia más pobre.Los estratos de tenencia de la tierra con riego, mostrados en la tabla 3.23, indican que las familias más pobres (22%) poseen menos de media hectárea, y el 48% entre 0.5 y 1 hectárea. En el estrato que tiene más de dos hectáreas con riego sólo hay un 4% de familias más pobres, en este estrato se encuentra el 48% de los no pobres y el 20% de los menos pobres. *** Correlación entre el nivel de pobreza y estratos de tenencia de la tierra con riego, significativa a nivel de 0.001 (prueba de Chi-cuadrado de Pearson).1 Falta información sobre el tamaño de parcela con riego para las 41 familias restantes con riego.Lo más común en la parte alta de la cuenca de Jequetepeque es obtener acceso al agua para el riego a través de un permiso, 7 lo cual es el caso para el 39% de las familias, o a través de herencia, siendo el caso para el 24% de las familias con riego (tabla 3.24). En general, muy pocas familias tienen derecho permanente al agua para riego a través de una licencia (7%).7 El 'permiso' de agua solamente da acceso a ésta si la cantidad total de ella durante un año excede la cantidad a la cual tienen derecho los dueños de 'licencias' de agua ( Reflejando la informalidad del riego en muchas partes de la cuenca alta de Jequetepeque, sólo el 40% de las familias con riego indicaron pertenecer a un comité de riego, tanto familias que obtienen su agua de riego a través de un canal para tal fin, como familias que obtienen su agua de riego directamente a través de un río o quebrada o de un ojo de agua.La mayoría de las familias que indicaron ser miembros de un comité de riego también indicaron que éste pertenece a una comisión de regantes (tabla 3.26). De las familias no pobres, el 27% indicaron haber tenido un cargo dentro del comité de regantes, mientras éste es el caso para el 11% de las familias más pobres.Una tercera parte de las familias que tienen acceso a riego indicó pagar para el uso de agua para riego, y, aparentemente, son tanto familias que se identificaron como miembros de un comité de riego como familias que no se identificaron como tales, así que pagan por su uso del agua. La tabla 3.27 muestra en qué parte del sistema de riego tienen las parcelas, resultando una relación no significativa con el nivel de pobreza. Encontramos que el 37% de las familias tienen sus parcelas en la parte baja. Esta opción concentra el 50% de los más pobres.Seguidamente, se aprecia que el 35% de las familias tienen parcelas en la cabecera del sistema. Éste es el caso para el 41% de los no pobres y el 25% de las familias más pobres. Existe relación significativa entre pobreza y tener riego todo el año. De los más pobres, el 62% tienen riego todo el año, contra el 83% de los no pobres que acceden a él todo el año.Independientemente del nivel de pobreza, la mayoría de las familias que tienen acceso as riego consideran que les llega el agua a la que tienen derecho, y perciben que en tiempos de lluvia es igual para todas las cantidades de agua que les llega. IV. Pobreza y el manejo de la tierra en la parte alta de la cuenca de JequetepequeLa mayoría de las familias en la parte alta de la cuenca de Jequetepeque (87%) tienen cultivos anuales, y la mayoría tiene por lo menos una parte bajo riego (60%). Sin embargo, de las familias más pobres, el 41% sólo tienen cultivos anuales sin riego en comparación con el 21% de los no pobres y el 26% de los menos pobres (tabla 4.29).Para los cultivos permanentes, el riego constituye un factor aún más importante. Sólo la mitad de las familias en la cuenca alta de Jequetepeque tienen sembrados cultivos permanentes (tabla 4.29), y de las familias que los tienen sembrados, la mayoría los ha sembrado con riego por lo menos parcialmente. El menor acceso al riego implica que las familias más pobres tienen menos probabilidad de ser dueños de parcelas con cultivos permanentes, especialmente bajo riego. En la siguiente tabla 4.31 se constata que la mayoría de la producción está concentrada en cultivos anuales bajo riego, donde el más importante es el maíz. La producción de maíz de secano está en manos de los más pobres y el de riego en los más ricos, aunque también tienen una alta participación los menos pobres y los pobres. Igualmente el frijol y trigo de secano esta siendo manejado por los más pobres porque es destinado para el autoconsumo. El 48% de las familias fumigaron sus cultivos en el último año (tabla 4.32). Esta posibilidad sólo representa el 31% en las familias más pobres, en contaste con el 67% de los no pobres y el 42% de los menos pobres. Es poco frecuente la intoxicación por fumigaciones, porque el 74% menciona nunca haber vivido una situación de este tipo (tabla 4.33). Sin embargo, el 29% de los más pobres mencionan haberse intoxicado varias veces, y el 4% de los no pobres y el 6% de los menos pobres, posiblemente porque estos dos niveles de pobreza dependen menos del trabajo como jornaleros que los más pobres. Por esta misma razón, resulta significativa la relación entre niveles de pobreza y situaciones de intoxicación de fumigadores. El 62% de las familias de la parte alta de la cuenca de Jequetepeque han utilizado más de 10 años la parcela principal para la producción, y aparentemente no existe una correlación significativa entre el número de años de haber utilizado la parcela sin descansarla y el nivel de pobreza (tabla 4.34).Tabla 4.34. Años que utiliza la parcela principal sin descanso por nivel de pobreza Porcentaje de las familias por nivel de pobreza, según años que utiliza la parcela principal sin descanso ns En general predominan parcelas con pendientes planas y moderadas (65%), pero los más pobres poseen, en términos relativos, más parcelas con pendientes entre 30 y 70% o con pendientes muy fuertes (>70%), siendo el caso para el 42 y el 17% de las familias más pobres, respectivamente (tabla 4.36). El 73% de los no pobres poseen parcelas con pendientes de menos de 30% de inclinación. Igualmente, existe una correlación significativa entre las características estructurales del suelo y el nivel de pobreza (tabla 4.37). Sólo el 22% del total mencionó poseer \"suelos que mantienen bien la humedad, absorben y drenan fácilmente\". Menor cantidad de familias de las más pobres (16%), de las menos pobres (18%) y de las no pobres (33%) acceden a esta calidad de suelo.Por otro lado, \"los suelos malos que se secan demasiado rápido\" se encuentran en el 34% de las parcelas, y están en mayor medida en las parcelas de las familias más pobres (52%) y de las menos pobres (36%), mientras sólo el 20% de las familias no pobres indicaron tener este tipo de suelo en su parcela más importante. El 30% posee pastos y esto se relaciona con los niveles de pobreza, porque son los no pobres (46%) los que tienen mayor acceso a los pastos (tabla 4.39). Predomina el acceso a pastos individuales (30% del total) y muy poco a pastos comunales (10% del total). El 44% de los que tienen pastos individuales tienen riego, y son los menos pobres los que tienen más pasto con riego. En la tabla 4.40 se observa que la mayoría (88%), independientemente de los niveles de pobreza, introducen los animales en las parcelas para comer el rastrojo antes de sembrar.La mayoría (80%) introduce sólo a animales propios y pocos recibieron pagos por animales ajenos. En la parte alta de la cuenca de Jequetepeque son pocas las familias que tienen parcelas de bosque. En general, el 17% indicó tener acceso al bosque (tabla 4.41). Más frecuente es el acceso a parcelas individuales de bosque, mencionado por el 16% de las familias, mientras el 5% dijo tener acceso a parcelas comunales de bosque, obviamente, reflejando que algunas familias tienen acceso a ambos tipos de bosque. Atrás de estos porcentajes globales existe una correlación significativa entre el nivel pobreza y la posesión de bosques, ya que casi una tercera parte (32%) de las familias no pobres tienen acceso a bosque, en comparación con sólo el 3% de las familias más pobres. En general, en la parte alta de la cuenca de Jequetepeque el contacto con organizaciones externas, sea de crédito, apoyo directo o de asistencia técnica, es muy bajo. Sólo el 7% de las familias indicaron haber tenido algún contacto con organismos externos, como organizaciones de crédito, otros tipos de ONG o instituciones gubernamentales (tabla 5.43).En la tabla 5.43 se muestra que sólo el 5% de las familias han tenido acceso al crédito de algún organismo externo, y los no pobres son los que tienen más probabilidad de obtener crédito institucional. 1 Prueba de significancia no fue ejecutada por una frecuencia esperada baja en más de 20% de las celdas.En la cuenca alta del río Jequetepeque se identificaron tres niveles de bienestar: la mayoría de las familias se ubican en el estrato intermedio (53%), seguido de las familias más pobres (28%) y de las familias no pobres (19%). Al analizar aspectos de tenencia de tierra se observa correlación con los niveles de pobreza. Aunque la mayoría posee tierras, existe escasez por el tamaño de las parcelas que son muy pequeñas; el 35% de familias son sin tierra o sólo tienen el solar, y el 63% poseen de 0.5 a 2 hectáreas.Por otro lado, la mitad de las familias no pobres poseen parcelas mayores a dos hectáreas. Por este motivo, una buena cantidad de familias (43%) accede a tierra para producir como partidarios, especialmente las familias más pobres usan este tipo de arreglo. Pocos (13%) alquilan tierra para producir, y las familias más pobres (10%) casi no hacen uso del alquiler de tierra porque ello implica contar con disponibilidad de recursos financieros.Respecto de la tenencia de animales, existe correlación significativa con la pobreza. En general, el 44% de las familias poseen ganado lechero o de engorde, principalmente las no pobres. Ninguna de las familias más pobres tiene cuatro vacas o más. También existe relación entre venta de leche y derivados, con el nivel de pobreza. Los que tienen más ganado destinan más producto a la venta.Con respecto al ganado menor, sólo la tenencia de cerdos es significativa en relación con el nivel de pobreza. El 21% de las familias posee cerdos, el 35% de los no pobres versus el 7% de los más pobres. Hay más familias con borregos (29%) que con cerdos, pero no existe relación entre la tenencia de borregos y la pobreza.Sólo el 25% destina la mayoría de la producción agrícola a la venta, existiendo una relación significativa con los niveles de pobreza, es decir, a mayor nivel de bienestar mayor proporción de la cosecha destinada al comercio. El 90% de los más pobres producen para el autoconsumo.Cambiar esta racionalidad de producción, diversificando con la introducción de cultivos permanentes de frutales combinados con producción de autoconsumo podría ser una de las vías para reducir pobreza. Se pudo constatar que los más pobres han introducido cultivos permanentes sin riego, pero la masificación de esta alternativa para reducir la pobreza se enfrenta a la limitación del tamaño de las parcelas de los menos pudientes.En Jequetepeque, un 60% de las familias no se emplean como jornaleros. No obstante, se observa diferencias entre niveles de bienestar, siendo los más pobres (68%) quienes dependen más del trabajo como jornaleros.Poseer ingresos no agropecuarios es una característica significativa para ser no pobre en Jequetepeque. Sólo menos de la mitad de las familias (43%) tienen ingresos no agropecuarios, y son las familias no pobres (70%) las que tienen hasta tres fuentes de ingreso no agropecuario, que por orden de importancia son: las remesas, mujeres que tejen para la venta, la compraventa de granos básicos y el ingreso por algún oficio.Sobre la satisfacción de necesidades básicas, en el aspecto de seguridad alimentaria se encontró que el 24% de las familias pasaron más de una semana sin tener suficiente comida, situación más frecuente entre las más pobres (49%). En relación con el estado de la vivienda, 80% de las familias tienen sus casas en estado regular, cuentan con algún servicio básico o con una casa que tiene buenas paredes, buen piso o buen techo, pero no todo a la vez.La capacidad de atender problemas de salud está muy relacionada con la pobreza: el 17% de las familias no pudieron atender la enfermedad con dinero propio, sino que tuvieron que pedirlo prestado o hacer una recolecta entre vecinos o no pudieron hacer nada por falta de dinero. El 34% de las familias más pobres vivieron está carencia.En cuanto a las características de las familias, son pocos los hogares encabezados por una sola persona (19%), y ello es más frecuente entre las familias menos pobres y más pobres. Además, un alto porcentaje de hogares tienen al frente a una mujer (23%), lo que es más común en los hogares más pobres y en los menos pobres.En el tema de la educación está muy relacionado con la pobreza: las familias más pobres tienen menos acceso a educación secundaria (8%), y ninguna de ellas ha tenido acceso a educación superior. También la contratación de mano de obra para realizar labores agrícolas tiene correlación directa con el nivel de pobreza. Son principalmente las familias no pobres las que contratan jornaleros.Existe correlación significativa entre pobreza y riego: el 58% de las familias tienen acceso al riego, donde el menor porcentaje de acceso (34%) lo tienen las familias más pobres, en contraste con las no pobres (75%), además, que estas últimas tienen más superficie bajo riego. Cerca de la mitad de las familias accedieron a sus parcelas con riego por medio de herencia o compra. La forma más común de acceder al agua para riego es por permiso y por herencia, con diferencias poco significativas entre grupos.El manejo del agua es un aspecto importante en la cuenca de Jequetepeque, sobre todo en relación con la producción agrícola, donde los cultivos permanentes son manejados principalmente con riego, y los cultivos anuales básicos para el consumo, como el maíz, son manejados con riego por el 41% de las familias.Los sistemas de control y acceso al agua son bastante informales, sólo el 40% de las familias con riego indicaron pertenecer a un comité de riego. La mayoría de estas familias también pertenecen a un comité de regantes (37%), o alguien de la familia ha tenido un cargo en tal comité. En ambos casos, son las familias no pobres quienes tienen mayor presencia en las juntas directivas, y sólo una tercera parte paga por el agua de riego utilizada. Por otra parte, se encontró una relación significativa entre pobreza y tener riego todo el año, donde 83% de los no pobres tienen riego todo el año frente al 62% de los más pobres. Además, todos consideran que les llega el agua a la que tienen derecho.En cuanto al manejo de la tierra y la producción con o sin riego, 87% de las familias tienen cultivos anuales, y la mayoría tiene por lo menos una parte bajo riego (60%). Sin embargo, de las familias más pobres, el 41% sólo tienen cultivos anuales sin riego en comparación con el 21% de los no pobres y el 26% de los menos pobres. Cerca de la mitad de las familias fumigaron sus cultivos en el último año. La mayoría de los no pobres (67%) fumigaron sus cultivos, seguidos por los menos pobres, y por último los más pobres.Más de la mitad de las familias han utilizado la parcela más de 10 años continuos, para la producción. Esto tiene relación con la calidad percibida del suelo, ya que sólo el 13 de las familias afirman que el suelo de su parcela es bueno y que no necesita fertilizante para producir. Aunque las familias observen que el suelo de su parcela se erosiona, sólo un 26% ha hecho alguna actividad para mejorarlo, y un 31% algo para evitar que se lave, sobre todo, entre las familias no pobres (36% y 34%, respectivamente).La tenencia de pastos está relacionada con los niveles de pobreza: el 30% de las familias posee pastos, principalmente de forma individual, donde el 46% son los no pobres en comparación con el 27% y el 12% de los menos pobres y más pobres, respectivamente. Sólo el 17% de las familias tiene acceso a bosques, sobre todo de forma individual. Sin embargo hay una correlación significativa entre el nivel de pobreza y la posesión de bosques: el 32% de las familias no pobres tiene acceso a bosque contra el 3% de las familias más pobres.Hay poco contacto de las familias de Jequetepeque con organizaciones externas (7%), y poca participación en organizaciones locales; sólo un 8% de las familias tiene algún miembro como parte de una asociación local que no sean las relacionadas con el riego. Los más pobres son los que menos participan. Sólo el 5% de las familias tuvo acceso al crédito de algún organismo externo, y los no pobres son quienes tienen más probabilidad de obtener crédito institucional.Para finalizar, se puede puntualizar que para ser no pobre se debe poseer pastos, bosques, cultivos con riego y fuentes de ingreso no agropecuarias. En cambio, los más pobres producen más para el autoconsumo que para el mercado, dependen más del trabajo como jornaleros, no tienen tierra o poseen poca y pocas parcelas con riego, no tienen fuentes de ingreso no agropecuarias y pasan dificultades para hacerle frente a las enfermedades con recursos propios.Igualmente, no tienen acceso a educación secundaria ni a educación superior. Encontrar vías de salida a la pobreza de las familias de Jequetepeque implica razonar cómo poder incluirlas en las actividades productivas y no agropecuarias con mayor acceso al mercado, sin descuidar la seguridad alimentaria. Con respecto al manejo del agua y del suelo, se observa que los que tienen más recursos han realizado acciones para mejorar el suelo, pero también son los que usan más las fumigaciones de sus cultivos.","tokenCount":"6784"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"08641262e680539269df095cbc55e2dd","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/b261308a-a264-4823-93bb-01a9a8d392c1/retrieve","id":"1499653516"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"c09247aa-2a25-40f2-ac29-bc1fcf2de793","pagecount":"37","content":"Focus module 4Capacity Assessment outcomes for development partners (assessment 2015) Recap from module 2 and 3Feedback from earlier modules… 3. Gender responsive monitoring• helps to improve project performance: has the project achieved improvements in the lives and well-being of women and men?• Proven impacts can be used to improve decision-making and policies• Know and address unintended negative consequences and gender based constraints• Gender responsive M&E identifies opportunities to empower womenWhy gender responsive monitoring?• gender issues have to be measured on purpose and from the start, otherwise they will not be given any attention during the implementation of the project / program• Much M&E focuses on numbers and outputs and not on quality of participation and benefits• Data aggregated by household (and not by sex) obscures gender differences within households Why gender responsive monitoring?Concepts: monitoring vs evaluationContinuous Periodical (mid/end term)Assessment of impact, effectiveness, sustainabilityTo improve implementationConcepts: gender responsive monitoring• Assesses the project's effects and impacts (intended or unintended) on gender relations and women's empowerment.• Tracks changes in:the conditions and positions of women and men participating in the value chain, -women's and men's shares in employment and income across value chain nodes gender relations such as in the gender division of labor and workload, differences in access and control over resources and information, decision making, and others, -women's and men's attitudes and perceptions.• Gender responsive M&E should collect gender data and analyze the reasons for gender differences and develop interventionsGender responsive indicators: definition an indicator that captures gender-related changes in society, in a value chain, etc. over time• Does the program/project have different benefits and results for men and women? How and why?• Does the program/project affect changes in gender relations? How and why?• Requires sex-disaggregated data collection• Measures changes in positions and not (just) numbers, Compare:-\"the number of women who joined the producer association\" and -\"percentage change in proportion of women's membership\" • involve both women and men in developing, collecting and analyzing indicatorsFrom LAF program's Gender Strategy -impact level• Change in women's share of income from livestock and fish enterprises• Participation of women and other vulnerable groups in the livestock and fish markets• Change in assets ownership by men and women• Change in control of livelihood assets by men and women• Change in consumption of Animal Source Foods (ASF) by men, women, and children• Change in women's control of livestock and fish resources (e.g. decision making power) disaggregate further by:--ethnicity marital status sexual identity ability etc. Not the same as comparing male and female-headed households! Sex-disaggregated data: collection Sex-disaggregated data can be collected from men and women randomly selected from different households: Household x: 1 man Household y: 1 woman Or from one man and one woman within one household Household x: 1 man and 1 woman (primary members) Not necessarily twice as many people! Sex-disaggregated data: difficulties• men may not be willing to allow their spouses to be interviewed• Women may not be available at certain times of day, and men may be less likely to be present at other times• inconsistencies in data between men and women (especially when the same questions are asked to men and women)• \"joint management\" could be a disguised male dominance• Much of women's work is under-valued or 'invisible' to men and outsiders, and thus not reported Sex-disaggregated data: possible solutions• Use both male and female enumerators;• men and women to be interviewed separately, simultaneously and privately;• multiple visits to households for gaining confidence, follow-up discussions and comparison of data;• Choose a time and place which is convenient for women and men (may be different)• Starting interviews with questions on less sensitive domains• Compare men and women's responses to similar questions, and gather feedback on differences (FGDs)• Recognize diversities (class, ethnic, religious and other) as well as individual preferences and abilities ","tokenCount":"628"}