On-farm trials identify adaptive management options for rainfed agriculture in West Africa

Eldon, Jon; Baird, Graeme; Sidibeh, Saidou; Dobasin, Daniel; Rapaport, Philippe; Cheng, W.; Shennan, Carol

doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102819

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This illustrates the need for on-farm research, especially where results are directly compared to adjacent farmer practice. Results from Eldon et al (2020) indicate that combinations of practices that are locally finetuned and differ from specific recommendations can reliably increase yields and be farmer-attainable. Expanding on-farm trials and participatory approaches has the potential to generate relevant knowledge in support of smallholder farming (Snapp et al 2002;Snapp et al 2019).…”

Section: Site-specific Findings Of Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Current knowledge on practices targeting soil fertility and agricultural land rehabilitation in the Sahel. A review

Nord

Snapp

Traoré³

2022

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Implementing sustainable production practices to rehabilitate soils is a grand challenge of our day, particularly for resource-poor farmers. The West African Sahel requires attention to balancing the need for increasing agricultural production against harsh environmental conditions. While there is much research documenting technologies for soil regeneration in the Sahel, there has been limited focus on how agricultural practices contribute or exacerbate these efforts. Previous assessments of agricultural practices in this region have been largely descriptive, and some soil ameliorating practices have been promoted with little empirical evidence on their effectiveness. Here we systematically review the literature on soil fertility and conservation practices that have been studied within West African Sahelian agricultural systems. We identified practices in the West African Sahel that have been tested to improve soil fertility and reduce land degradation, and summarized the outcomes of these practices. A unique contribution of this review is the assessment of site-specific conditions and contexts under which practices are most effective in studies which recorded these specific characteristics. We found that research in this area is dominated by chemical fertilizer and organic amendment practices, with moderate to few studies focused on soil and water conservation, crop diversification, or agroforestry. Additionally, most studies consisted of single practices rather than combining practices that target the range of biophysical limitations farmers face in agricultural production. These limitations highlight the need for increased research testing combinations of practices across long-term on-farm studies to generate stronger evidence of conditions under which practices best perform. These findings provide key lessons for research and extension on sustainable agricultural management under the challenging conditions of the Sahel.

show abstract

Section: Site-specific Findings Of Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Current knowledge on practices targeting soil fertility and agricultural land rehabilitation in the Sahel. A review

Nord

Snapp

Traoré³

2022

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The use of chemical fertilizers was reported as a preferred adaptation option by farmers, even though inorganic fertilizer is very expensive (Bagagnan et al, 2019). Following the systematic search of the evidence sources supporting the contribution of the options to the CSA pillars, we found three (03) studies assessing the outcomes of inorganic fertilizer use (Eldon et al, 2020;Raes et al, 2021;Sonko et al, 2022), two (02) studies on mulching (Ashrif and Thornton, 1965;Eldon et al, 2020), and one study for each of use of compost, manure (Eldon et al, 2020). No study assessing the outcome of intercropping, crop rotation, and conservation agriculture (CA) as a system was available (Supplementary Table 4).…”

Section: Soil and Nutrient Management Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On-farm research trials across The Gambia and Senegal testing effects of inorganic fertilizer, manure, mulching showed that all the treatments have positive effects on yields of sorghum, millet, groundnut, rice, maize and cowpea (Eldon et al, 2020). Compared to mineral fertilizer, manure application increased yield, with effects more pronounced in warm and/or humid climates (Du et al, 2020).…”

Section: Soil and Nutrient Management Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change adaptation options to inform planning of agriculture and food systems in The Gambia: A systematic approach for stocktaking

Segnon

Zougmoré²,

Green³

et al. 2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Identifying and assessing adaptation options are key pre-requisite steps to adaptation prioritization and effective adaptation planning. In this paper, we presented a systematic approach for adaptation stocktaking, combining a systematic mapping and an outcome-oriented and evidence-based assessment, illustrated using the case of The Gambia. This study systematically mapped 24 adaptation options that can potentially inform adaptation planning in The Gambia agriculture and food systems and assessed how the identified options contribute to the pillars of Climate-Smart Agriculture. Because of the paucity of evidence sources from The Gambia, we collated evidence from both The Gambia and the West Africa region. We found that many of the documented options, such as climate-resilient crop varieties, crop diversification, climate information use, and weather indexed-based insurance have the potential to increase agricultural productivity and income while building resilience to climate change. While several options, such as soil and water conservation practices can positively contribute to climate change mitigation, others such as manure and inorganic fertilizers can have no or negative impacts on mitigation. Agroforestry practices and System of Rice Intensification have the potential to make a triple impact. The paucity of evidence from The Gambia and the highly contextual and differential impacts of the identified adaptation options underscore the importance of careful consideration of barriers and enablers when developing and deploying policy and interventions to sustainably increase productivity and income while building resilience to climate risks and reducing GHGs emissions. Stakeholder engagement and participatory research action are crucial in selecting and testing the priority adaptation options which can maximize their potentials in specific agricultural and food system contexts, such as in The Gambia. Because of the heterogeneity in household vulnerability and socioecological circumstances, targeting options to the right contexts will also be crucial to avoid maladaptation. We highlighted key knowledge gaps in the understanding of the effectiveness and feasibility of the identified adaptation options in The Gambia. Beyond The Gambia, the approach can also be useful for and replicated in other least developed countries in the West African region, that are currently developing their National Adaptation Plan.

show abstract

“…This community information dissemination plan was designed specifically by these villages at this time, so it selected the appropriate communication methods that could be used in Monze district. The following methods to disseminate the agromet advisories were initiated-weekly local radio programmes that were listened to by farmer study "radio listening" groups; regular farmers' days to visit the "on-farm mother-baby" trials (see later) to investigate a variety of aspects of the farming systems (similar to methods used by Eldon et al, 2020;Périnelle et al, 2021); together with training activities; farm, field and home visits, based on much "farmer to farmer" communication techniques. This showed that the dissemination plan was not limited to a single method, but encompassed a variety of available methods and activities for this district.…”

Section: Community Agrometeorological Participatory Extension Servicementioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Tailored Early Warning Agromet Advisories for Farmers in Zambia, Indonesia, and South Africa

Walker

2021

Front. Clim.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Farmers do not often use climate and weather information on a regular basis, as the specific influence of weather parameters on farm-level decision making is not well-known. Agromet advisories are needed for local farming systems. Effective agrometeorological advisory systems, need tailored agricultural weather forecasts, and two-way communication. Transdisciplinary teams together with farmers can co-develop early warning Agromet advisory systems to address farmers' needs. Three examples of Agromet advisories are discussed- CAPES in Zambia, Science Field Shops in Indonesia, and the AgriCloud mobile App in South Africa. Community Agrometeorological Participatory Extension Service (CAPES) began in Monze, Zambia to communicate seasonal climate forecasts to farmers through researchers and extension interactions. Participatory groups collected spatial and temporal data about local farming systems to highlight opportunities. Communication methods used were local radio, farmers' days, trials, with farm visits. CAPES resulted in lifelong learning about climate and co-development of tailored Agromet advisories to improve climate resilience. In Science Field Shops (SFS) groups of Indonesian farmers meet experts regularly to exchange information about climate and farming activities. Farmers measure rainfall and observe their agroecological systems each day. At monthly meetings, the seasonal forecasts are discussed using dialogue-discussion methods. Agrometeorological learning is trans-disciplinary through interaction between anthropologists, agrometeorologist, and extension personnel. SFS includes eight climate services that empower farmers to address challenges and sustain their productivity. AgriCloud is an online weather-based agricultural advisory system enriching weather forecasts with agricultural information and local knowledge. Real-time overviews and warnings are tailored to farmer's needs. AgriCloud provides farmers, extension staff, and advisors daily updated weather-related farm-specific advice in 11 South African official languages. AgriCloud is available as an android mobile App, or API to use via a platform. These examples illustrate the use of weather forecasting together with tailored forecasts and communication systems to deliver Agromet advisories, showing different aspects of the incorporation of local knowledge in co-developing advisories for the farmers. In the future, various combinations can be used around the world when co-developing with the farmers.

show abstract

On-farm trials identify adaptive management options for rainfed agriculture in West Africa

Cited by 7 publications

References 38 publications

Current knowledge on practices targeting soil fertility and agricultural land rehabilitation in the Sahel. A review

Current knowledge on practices targeting soil fertility and agricultural land rehabilitation in the Sahel. A review

Climate change adaptation options to inform planning of agriculture and food systems in The Gambia: A systematic approach for stocktaking

Development of Tailored Early Warning Agromet Advisories for Farmers in Zambia, Indonesia, and South Africa

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About