Global Questions, Local Answers: Soil Management and Sustainable Intensification in Diverse Socioeconomic Contexts of Cuba

Abstract

In the complex context of global food and agricultural systems, research in agriculture must respond to multidisciplinary questions of economic development, ecological sustainability and food justice. With the objective of responding to several of the most important questions facing agriculture today, this article describes recent research in three Cuban cropping systems: state farms, cooperatives, and small family farmers. Soil management is considered here as a crux of human intervention in agroecosystems, capable of determining the impacts of productive activities upon agricultural and ecosystem functions. Management practices commonly used in each farm system are evaluated using two systems of indicators, one for technological quality and one for agricultural intensification. Soil physical quality is characterized through laboratory analysis of samples taken in the same type of soil under long-term production in state, cooperative, and family farmer cropping systems. Soil structure management in the small farmer system is especially worthy of study, because this agricultural system has developed an intensive agroecological productive model Soil Management in Cuba 651 on the basis of low external input use, polycultures and internal nutrient cycling. Favorable policies and farmer organizations are discussed as indispensible elements of sustainable agricultural development. The relationships between soil management, local knowledge, and food access are explored in the Cuban context and as directions for food system studies.

Combined conservation of jack bean and velvet bean with sorghum: evaluation of lab-scale silages and in vitro assessment of their nutritive value

“…Each intercropped pair was sown in triplicate on separate fields (250 m 2 /fields) but with similar soil type (brown calcareous inceptisols; McCune et al . (2011)) and fertility. Average accumulated precipitation, temperature and humidity during the cropping period (±SD) were 193±24 mm, 28·2±0·4 °C and 80±2%.…”

Exploratory Landscape Metrics for Agricultural Sustainability

“…These processes have also been shown to be associated with important trends in the sustainability of urban regions and their carrying capacity (Wackernagel and Rees 1996) and the degradation of the traditional historical identity of landscapes (Antrop 2005), due to excessive and often uncontrolled economic and population dynamics, leading to loss of traditions as well as local knowledge (McCune et al 2011). Urban areas reflect a proportionally growing output of population growth and economic change (Boserup 2005).…”

Beyond the agroecological and sustainable agricultural intensification debate: Is blended sustainability the way forward?

“…General agroecological intensification practices  Mulching, intercropping, crop rotations, (Doberman & Nelson, 2013;Côte et al, 2010;Karamura et al, 2013;Milder, Garbach, DeClerck, Driscoll, & Montenegro, 2012;Ochola et al, 2013).  Integrated soil and nutrient management, including conservation agriculture (Doberman & Nelson, 2013)  Soil and water conservation (Doberman & Nelson, 2013;Côte et al, 2010;Karamura et al, 2013)  IPM and biological control strategies (Côte et al, 2010;Karamura et al, 2013) and the judicious use of pesticides (Doberman & Nelson, 2013; McCune et al, 2011)  Use of organic inputs and balanced and more efficient use of fertilisers (Côte et al, 2010;McCune et al, 2011;Karamura et al, 2013;Milder et al, 2012;Ochola et al, 2013) Source: Wezel et al, 2015Wezel et al, , p.1290…”