System of crop intensification for more productive, resource-conserving, climate-resilient, and sustainable agriculture: experience with diverse crops in varying agroecologies

Adhikari, Prabhakar; Araya, Hailu; Aruna, Gerald; Balamatti, Arun; Banerjee, Soumik; Baskaran, P.; Barah, B. C.; Behera, D.; Berhe, Tareke; Boruah, Parag; Dhar, Shiva; Edwards, Sue; Fulford, Mark D.; Gujja, Biksham; Ibrahim, H.; Kabir, Humayun; Kassam, Amir; Khadka, Ram Bahadur; Koma, Y. S.; Natarajan, U. S.; Perez, Rena; Sen, Debashish; Sharif, Asif; Singh, Gurpreet; Styger, Erika; Thakur, A. K.; Tiwari, Abhishek; Uphoff, Norman; Verma, Anil Kumar

doi:10.1080/14735903.2017.1402504

Cited by 79 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The resulting crop diversity and high yields may be an adequate incentive for those who wish to adopt sustainable agricultural practices on a large scale, but had previously found them not to be financially rewarding [107]. Thus, incorporating underutilized indigenous and traditional crops into the production system will result in improved sustainability and resilience in the food system [102]. Figure 3 elicits and captures the transdisciplinary approach to re-orient and prioritize local indigenous agro-food systems, namely: (i) the creation of an alternative and diverse food system that empowers local smallholder famers; (ii) that caters to the nutritional health and livelihood of the resource poor; and, (iii) that addresses climate and environmental change impacts and builds resilience.…”

Section: Addressing Socio-economic and Environmental Concerns Throughmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mainstreaming Underutilized Indigenous and Traditional Crops into Food Systems: A South African Perspective

et al. 2018

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Business as usual or transformative change? While the global agro-industrial food system is credited with increasing food production, availability and accessibility, it is also credited with giving birth to ‘new’ challenges such as malnutrition, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. We reviewed the potential of underutilized indigenous and traditional crops to bring about a transformative change to South Africa’s food system. South Africa has a dichotomous food system, characterized by a distinct, dominant agro-industrial, and, alternative, informal food system. This dichotomous food system has inadvertently undermined the development of smallholder producers. While the dominant agro-industrial food system has led to improvements in food supply, it has also resulted in significant trade-offs with agro-biodiversity, dietary diversity, environmental sustainability, and socio-economic stability, especially amongst the rural poor. This challenges South Africa’s ability to deliver on sustainable and healthy food systems under environmental change. The review proposes a transdisciplinary approach to mainstreaming underutilized indigenous and traditional crops into the food system, which offers real opportunities for developing a sustainable and healthy food system, while, at the same time, achieving societal goals such as employment creation, wellbeing, and environmental sustainability. This process can be initiated by researchers translating existing evidence for informing policy-makers. Similarly, policy-makers need to acknowledge the divergence in the existing policies, and bring about policy convergence in pursuit of a food system which includes smallholder famers, and where underutilized indigenous and traditional crops are mainstreamed into the South African food system.

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Section: Addressing Socio-economic and Environmental Concerns Throughmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mainstreaming Underutilized Indigenous and Traditional Crops into Food Systems: A South African Perspective

et al. 2018

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“…Previous studies have suggested the suitability of landraces under Mediterranean semi-arid conditions (e.g., Giambalvo et al [30]), which can be relevant sources for sustainable agriculture in a CC context more suitable to adapt to future scenarios [61]. By cultivating landraces, we could also meet some sustainable crop intensification (SCI) practices described for a climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture [62], like the use of plants with vigorous early growth [63] and reducing the needs of herbicide application. This research contributes to a comprehensive approach for the study of landraces under rainfed Mediterranean conditions, showing the benefits of growing these plant genetic resources from an agronomic perspective (maintaining yields while increasing protein content) but also from a sustainability approach (contributing to soil quality, weeds reduction, and cropland biodiversity).…”

Section: Grain Nitrogen and Straw Carbon Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing the Role of Landraces in the Sustainability of Mediterranean Agroecosystems

et al. 2019

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Wheat yields are predicted to decrease over the next decades due to climate change (CC). Mediterranean regions are characterized by low soil fertility and stressful conditions that limit the effect of technological improvements on increasing yield gains, while worsening the negative CC impacts. Additionally, organic farming (OF) lacks specifically adapted genetic material. Accordingly, there is a need to search for varieties adapted to these conditions and whose cultivation may help semi-arid agroecosystems sustainability, focusing on specific agronomic and functional traits. To this purpose, wheat landraces and modern wheat varieties were evaluated under Mediterranean rainfed conditions during three growing seasons under contrasting situations: A conventional farm and an organic farm. Results regarding straw production, weed biomass and biodiversity, and grain N concentration suggest that the cultivation of landraces under Mediterranean rainfed conditions can enhance agroecosystem sustainability through positive effects on ecosystem services such as soil quality, functional biodiversity, or grain protein content, without significant reductions in grain yield. Results highlight the relevant role of wheat landraces as genetic resources for the development of cultivars adapted to Mediterranean agroecosystems conditions, especially for organic farming, but also for conventional agriculture.

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“…Following the dawn of the green revolution, strenuous efforts to increase the adoption of agricultural innovations, such as improved varieties for wheat, rice, and maize, chemicals, machinery, and irrigation among producers resulted in a significant increment in incomes and global food output (Adhikari et al, 2018) especially in the global North as well as in emerging economies in Asia (Toenniessen, et al, 2008). However, in practice, the approach also brought environmental issues, health and social problems, monoculture, and the growth of unsustainable farming systems (Yapa, 1993;Dawson et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors affecting the adoption of agricultural innovations on underutilized cereals: The case of finger millet among smallholder farmers in Kenya

Jerop¹,

Dannenberg²,

Owuor³

et al. 2018

Afr. J. Agric. Res.

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Agricultural innovation adoption is fundamental in increasing incomes and food output in developing countries. However, the factors that influence farmers' decisions to adopt innovations in underutilized crops are not well-documented. Underutilized crops like finger millet have been an alternative form of sustenance for resource-poor farmers especially in arid and semi-arid areas in Kenya. They are more nutritive and resilient to environmental extremes and harsh weather conditions than common crops like maize. The study presented sought to investigate factors that facilitate or impede the probability and level of use of different innovations (improved varieties, conservation tillage, integrated pest and weed management, and group marketing) on the production and marketing of these crops. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to survey 384 finger millet producers in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya. The study employed a multivariate probit to model simultaneously the interdependent adoption decisions of finger millet farmers and an ordered probit to determine the level of adoption. The results reveal that plot size, off/non-farm income, household credit, and extension contact positively influence the decision to adopt and the level of adoption. Technical training positively affects the level of adoption but negatively influences the probability of adopting some innovations. Awareness of these factors could allow the development of strategies, policies, and plans to increase the uptake and sustenance of agricultural innovations on the production and marketing of finger millet and could, consequently, contribute to the food security and incomes of finger millet farmers through enhanced productivity and marketing of the crop.

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System of crop intensification for more productive, resource-conserving, climate-resilient, and sustainable agriculture: experience with diverse crops in varying agroecologies

Cited by 79 publications

References 41 publications

Mainstreaming Underutilized Indigenous and Traditional Crops into Food Systems: A South African Perspective

Mainstreaming Underutilized Indigenous and Traditional Crops into Food Systems: A South African Perspective

Addressing the Role of Landraces in the Sustainability of Mediterranean Agroecosystems

Factors affecting the adoption of agricultural innovations on underutilized cereals: The case of finger millet among smallholder farmers in Kenya

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