Agri-food systems are besieged by malnutrition, yield gaps, and climate vulnerability, but integrated, research-based responses in public policy, agricultural, value chains, and finance are ...constrained by short-termism and zero sum thinking. As they respond to current and emerging agri-food system challenges, decision makers need new tools that steer toward multi-sector, evidence-based collaboration. To support national agri-food system policy processes, the Integrated Agri-food System Initiative (IASI) methodology was developed and validated through case studies in Mexico and Colombia. This holistic, multi-sector methodology builds on diverse existing data resources and leverages situation analysis, modeled predictions, and scenarios to synchronize public and private action at the national level toward sustainable, equitable, and inclusive agri-food systems. Culminating in collectively agreed strategies and multi-partner tactical plans, the IASI methodology enabled a multi-level systems approach by mobilizing design thinking to foster mindset shifts and stakeholder consensus on sustainable and scalable innovations that respond to real-time dynamics in complex agri-food systems. To build capacity for these types of integrated, context-specific approaches, greater investment is needed in supportive international institutions that function as trusted in-region 'innovation brokers.' This paper calls for a structured global network to advance adaptation and evolution of essential tools like the IASI methodology in support of the One CGIAR mandate and in service of positive agri-food systems transformation.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The Mexican Bajío region is the country's main barley (
Hordeum vulgare
) producing area. Barley is commonly produced during the dry autumn–winter season using furrow irrigation with ground water, ...following which rainfed maize (
Zea mays
) is grown in the spring–summer season using supplementary irrigation. Ground water levels in the region are steadily dropping, and the introduction of water-saving technologies in agriculture is urgently required. Drip irrigation can reduce water use but is costly. Conservation agriculture—the combination of minimal tillage, permanent soil cover and crop diversification—might reduce water use, but studies in irrigated systems are scarce. We compared water use and grain yield in tillage-based conventional agriculture and conservation agriculture, both with furrow irrigation and drip irrigation, in a 3-year (six growing seasons) barley-maize field experiment. Additionally, side-by-side demonstrations of conventional and conservation agriculture were installed simultaneously in farmers' fields and yields, water use and fuel use were recorded. In the field experiment, yields did not differ significantly between production systems, but irrigation water use was on average 17% lower in conservation agriculture than in conventional agriculture, ~36% lower with drip irrigation compared with furrow irrigation in conventional tillage, and 40% lower with drip irrigation and conservation agriculture combined compared with conventional agriculture with furrow irrigation. Water use reductions differed strongly between years, depending on weather. The water saving through conservation agriculture in farmers' fields was similar to the water saving in the controlled experiment with about 17%. Additionally, in farmer's fields conservation agriculture reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 192 kg CO
2
ha
−1
and improved soil health. The implementation of conservation agriculture would be a cost-effective method to reduce water use in the barley-maize production system in the Mexican Bajío, while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In Mexico, conservation agriculture has been mainly implemented using permanent beds, where the top of the raised beds is not tilled, which allows them to obtain the benefits of conservation ...agriculture for yield and soil quality. However, narrow (0.75–0.80 m width) and wide (1.50–1.60 m width) beds are commonly implemented without scientific evidence available as to whether the width of the beds affects crop yields. The objective of our study was therefore to evaluate two types of permanent beds, in maize (Zea mays L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) production, in various agro-ecological regions of Mexico. The study included nine sites, of which six were rainfed and three had irrigation. Bed width did not significantly affect crop yield. Therefore, farmers can choose the bed width that best meets their practical needs. Some practical considerations include mechanical weeding (more access in narrow beds), fuel use (lower for reshaping wide beds), irrigation water use (in wide beds similar to irrigating alternate furrows in narrow beds), and residue management (option to concentrate residue in windrows at center of wide beds). Soil texture can also affect this choice, because it affects water infiltration and retention.
•Large variation in frost tolerance was observed in a miscanthus germplasm collection.•Rhizome lethal temperature ranged between −0.4°C and −5.9°C depending on genotype.•M. sinensis and M. sinensis x ...sacchariflorus genotypes tended to be more frost tolerant.•Early flowering genotypes and genotypes from colder regions were more frost tolerant.
The biomass crop M. x giganteus is susceptible to frost stress. Frost can kill rhizomes during winter or damage new shoots in early spring. To develop new miscanthus varieties with improved rhizome and shoot frost tolerance, a large germplasm collection must first be screened for these traits. We therefore determined the temperature at which 50% of the rhizomes are killed (LT50) in 95 miscanthus genotypes including M. sinensis, M. sacchariflorus, M. x giganteus and interspecific hybrid genotypes. The LT50 in the collection ranged between −0.4 and −5.9°C, while the average LT50 for M. x giganteus was −2.6±0.3°C. On average LT50 was −3.5±0.1°C in M. sinensis, −2.6±0.3°C in M. sacchariflorus and −3.9±0.2°C in the M. sinensis x sacchariflorus hybrids. Rhizome frost tolerance was correlated to the timing of flowering and senescence but not to rhizome moisture content. Wide variation in shoot damage was observed in a field trial after a cold spell in early spring. Determination of apex height indicated that the shoot apex was probably still below ground when frost occurred, explaining the rapid recovery of damaged shoots after the frost event. This study is the largest screening of rhizome and shoot frost tolerance in miscanthus reported to date and demonstrates the availability of frost tolerant genotypes in miscanthus breeding material, potentially supporting the development of new frost tolerant varieties.
The milpa system is the basis of traditional agriculture in Mesoamerica. It is based on a polyculture of maize (
Zea mays
L.), bean (
Phaseolus
spp.) and squash (
Cucurbita
spp.) and is associated ...with a great diversity of crops and wild species. The milpa has great cultural and historical importance but can also be highly productive and provide sufficient and healthy diets for smallholder farmers. The milpa system is practiced less and less however, mainly due to socioeconomic changes, but also due to a lack of agronomic knowledge adapted to current conditions. To provide a starting point for new agronomic research, we reviewed the scientific literature to identify the current knowledge on milpa agronomy and determine research priorities to further improve the system. Given the wide diversity of conditions under which milpa is practiced, agronomic research is lacking, but indicates that improvements to the milpa can be made in all aspects of the milpa. 176 research articles on the milpa system were found in databases, of which 61 treated agronomic research. The main agronomic topics described in literature are crop variety, soil fertility management, weed management and productivity. Most research has focused only on maize and studies reporting on the associated crops are scarce. More research on all aspects of the milpa is needed to understand and improve the agronomy of the system under the changing conditions of modern agriculture. Reducing the workload associated with the milpa, as well as soil fertility and weed management can be identified as research priorities.
For several decades, maize (Zea mays L.) management decisions in smallholder farming in tropical regions have been a puzzle. To best balance alternative management practices' environmental and ...economic outcomes, an extensive dataset was gathered through CIMMYT's knowledge hub in Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico. In a knowledge hub, farmers, with the support of farm advisors, compare conventional and improved agronomic practices side-by-side and install demonstration fields where they implement improved practices. In all these fields data on on-farm operations and results is collected. The dataset was assembled using field variables (yield, cultivars, fertilization and tillage practice), as well as environment variables from soil mapping (slope, elevation, soil texture, pH and organic matter concentration) and gridded weather datasets (precipitation, temperature, radiation and evapotranspiration). The dataset contains observations from 4585 fields and comprises a period of 7 years between 2012 and 2018. This dataset will facilitate analytical approaches to represent spatial and temporal variability of alternative crop management decisions based on observational data and explain model-generated predictions for maize in Chiapas, Mexico. In addition, this data can serve as an example for similar efforts in Big Data in Agriculture.
Maize (
Zea mays
L.), the staple crop of Mexico, is often produced by smallholder farmers on sloping terrains. Historically, little agronomic research has been performed under the conditions of these ...farmers to support them in the sustainable intensification of their production systems. We set up trials at two locations in the state of Oaxaca to evaluate conservation agriculture and agroforestry in collaboration with local farmers. Crop diversification through crop rotations, multicropping, relay cropping or agroforestry increased system yields the most, by up to 1.4 t ha
−1
in Teopoxco and 1.7 t ha
−1
in Tamazulapam. Increased input use through increased fertilization or liming did not increase profitability enough to justify their use. Zero tillage and residue retention increased yields and reduced production costs. Conservation agriculture with agroforestry was a high-yielding, profitable system that also reduced farmers' risk by providing several harvests per year. The most profitable combinations of agroforestry and conservation agriculture could produce up to $4,854 USD ha
−1
in Teopoxco and $2,143 USD ha
−1
in Tamazulapam, while the control treatments in the same sites and years produced $175 USD ha
−1
and $92 USD ha
−1
respectively. In several years the main crop failed, while the trees were able to produce due to their different growing season compared to maize. Through adaptive investigation under farmers' conditions, sustainable intensification of traditional production system is possible with low-cost changes that are locally adapted and within farmers' possibilities.
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is closely tied to soil health. However, additional biological indicators may also provide insight about C dynamics and microbial activity. We used SOC and the other C ...indicators (potential C mineralization, permanganate oxidizable C, water extractable organic C, and β-glucosidase enzyme activity) from the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements to examine the continental-scale drivers of these indicators, the relationships among indicators, and the effects of soil health practices on indicator values. All indicators had greater values at cooler temperatures, and most were greater with increased precipitation and clay content. The indicators were strongly correlated with each other at the site-level, with the strongest relationship between SOC and permanganate oxidizable C. The indicator values responded positively to decreased tillage, inclusion of cover crops, application of organic nutrients, and retention of crop residue, but not the number of harvested crops in a rotation. The effect of decreased tillage on the C indicators was generally greater at sites with higher precipitation. The magnitude and direction of the response to soil health practices was consistent across indicators within a site but measuring at least two indicators would provide additional confidence of the effects of management, especially for tillage. All C indicators responded to management, an essential criterion for evaluating soil health. Balancing the cost, sensitivity, interpretability, and availability at commercial labs, a 24-hr potential C mineralization assay could deliver the most benefit to measure in conjunction with SOC.
•Carbon indicators of soil health varied predictably with climate and soil texture.•Carbon indicators were strongly positively associated with each other.•The indicators responded positively to soil health management except crop diversity.•The response of a site to management was typically the same across all indicators.•We recommend 24-hr potential carbon mineralization along with soil organic carbon.
Currently accepted pedotransfer functions show negligible effect of management‐induced changes to soil organic carbon (SOC) on plant available water holding capacity (θAWHC), while some studies show ...the ability to substantially increase θAWHC through management. The Soil Health Institute's North America Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements measured water content at field capacity using intact soil cores across 124 long‐term research sites that contained increases in SOC as a result of management treatments such as reduced tillage and cover cropping. Pedotransfer functions were created for volumetric water content at field capacity (θFC) and permanent wilting point (θPWP). New pedotransfer functions had predictions of θAWHC that were similarly accurate compared with Saxton and Rawls when tested on samples from the National Soil Characterization database. Further, the new pedotransfer functions showed substantial effects of soil calcareousness and SOC on θAWHC. For an increase in SOC of 10 g kg–1 (1%) in noncalcareous soils, an average increase in θAWHC of 3.0 mm 100 mm–1 soil (0.03 m3 m–3) on average across all soil texture classes was found. This SOC related increase in θAWHC is about double previous estimates. Calcareous soils had an increase in θAWHC of 1.2 mm 100 mm–1 soil associated with a 10 g kg–1 increase in SOC, across all soil texture classes. New equations can aid in quantifying benefits of soil management practices that increase SOC and can be used to model the effect of changes in management on drought resilience.
Core Ideas
New pedotransfer functions show organic C increases plant available water.
Noncalcareous soils show greater effects of organic C on plant available water.
Increase in plant available water from organic C is more than double previous estimates.
These pedotransfer functions can easily be used in hydrologic models.
A gap is bridged for modeling the effect of increased soil organic C on plant available water.
•Four common indicators of aggregate stability were assessed across North America.•Aggregate stability indicators were moderately correlated with each other.•All indicators were influenced by ...inherent soil properties and climate.•Indicators were sensitive to tillage, cover crops, organic amendments, and residue.•Indicator responses to tillage were correlated with other soil health indicators.
Aggregate stability is a commonly used indicator of soil health because improvements in aggregate stability are related to reduced erodibility and improved soil–water dynamics. During the past 80 to 90 years, numerous methods have been developed to assess aggregate stability. Limited comparisons among the methods have resulted in varied magnitudes of response to soil health management practices and varied influences of inherent soil properties and climate. It is not clear whether selection of a specific method creates any advantage to the investigator. This study assessed four commonly used methods of measuring aggregate stability using data collected as part of the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements. The methods included water stable aggregates using the Cornell Rainfall Simulator (WSACASH), wet sieved water stable aggregates (WSAARS), slaking captured and adapted from SLAKES smart-phone image recognition software (STAB10), andthemean weight diameter of water stable aggregates (MWD).Influence of climate and inherent soil properties at the continental scale were analyzed in addition to method responses to rotation diversity, cash crop count, residue management, organic nutrient amendments, cover crops, and tillage. The four methods were moderately correlated with each other. All methods were sensitive to differences in climate and inherent soil properties between sites, although to different degrees. None measured significant effects from rotation diversity or crop count, but all methods detected significant increases in aggregate stability resulting from reduced tillage. Significant increases or positive trends were observed for all methods in relation to cover cropping, increased residue retention, and organic amendments, except for STAB10, which expressed a slightly negative response to organic amendments. Considering these results, no single method was clearly superior and all four are viable options for measuring aggregate stability. Therefore, secondary considerations (e.g., cost, method availability, increased sensitivity to a specific management practice, or minimal within-treatment variability) driven by the needs of the investigator, should determine the most suitable method.
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