Search

Context: The rice-wheat (RW) system, spanning 13.5 million hectares in South Asia, is crucial for food security and livelihoods. However, intensive conventional tillage-based practices have harmed soil and environmental health, decreased productivity trends and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Objective: This study aims to develop resilient, climate-smart cropping systems within the RW system, focusing on soil and crop productivity, economic viability, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Methods: Over eight years, the study evaluated diverse parameters compared to farmer practices (FP) in seven scenarios (Sc), including one representing FP (Sc1) and six based on conservation agriculture (CA) principles. The study assessed system crop productivity, economic returns, soil quality (organic carbon; OC, nitrogen; N, phosphorus; P, potassium; K contents, bulk density; BD, soil aggregation, infiltration rates, microbial counts, and earthworm density), and GHG emissions. Results: CA-based scenarios (Sc2 to Sc7) showed improved soil quality, lower bulk density, enhanced soil aggregation, and increased infiltration rates compared to Sc1. In the 0–15 cm layer, surface soil organic carbon (OC) and C stock were 63.7 % and 49.6 % higher, respectively, in CA-based scenarios. Additionally, available N, P and K contents in the surface layer increased by 10.2 %, 28.6 %, and 21.8 % under CA-based scenarios. Adoption of CA in intensified maize-based scenarios (Sc4 and Sc5) led to the increased system and economic yields, higher soil quality index (SQI), reduced GHG emissions and increased C stock compared to Sc1. Implications: The study highlights that Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices and diversified crop rotations can address issues like falling crop productivity, reduced economic returns, soil degradation, and increasing environmental impacts in northwestern India's traditional rice-wheat system. However, widespread adoption requires government policies, including C credit payments and guaranteed markets with supportive pricing.

Intensive agriculture often comes at the expense of soil health. A shift towards practices that foster soil health will support yield and defences against pests and diseases. Growing crops in monoculture is the standard in modern agriculture, though strip‐cropping, in which different crops are planted in strips, is a promising strategy in the transition towards sustainable agriculture. Increasing crop diversity is hypothesized to positively influence arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), thereby enhancing soil health, but the mechanisms by which AMF‐plant symbioses contribute to higher yields and reduced pest populations in strip‐cropping systems remain unclear. We used a green‐house experiment with potato plants to explore the soil legacy effects of mono‐cropping versus strip‐cropping systems, AMF inoculation and aphid infestation on AMF root colonization, the induction of plant defences (untargeted LCMS‐based metabolomics), aphid population size and potato yield. We found that potato plants grown in strip‐cropping soil had higher AMF colonization than plants grown in mono‐cropping soil. Potato plants grown in strip‐cropping soil also had higher shoot nitrogen content, increased solamargine levels, and reduced aphid populations. AMF root colonization was only enhanced by the addition of commercial AMF in mono‐cropping soils. Potato plant metabolites were affected by strip‐cropping soil, including jasmonic acid (JA) derivatives. Structural equation models revealed that strip‐cropping soil directly reduced aphid populations and also had a negative direct effect on the JA precursor OPC‐8, and hydroxyJA‐glucosides, indicating complex effects of strip‐cropping soils on JA‐inducible plant defences. Indirect benefits of strip‐cropping soil and AMF inoculation on tuber yield were mediated by their direct positive effects on plant nitrogen content. Our results emphasize the potential of strip‐cropping to enhance AMF root colonization in the field. We show that soil legacy effects of strip‐cropping alter the plant metabolome in ways that suppress of aphid populations. Strip‐cropping legacy effects are the result of crop diversity, crop neighbour and edge effects resulting from crop management practices. While the mechanisms by which soil from strip‐cropping supresses pest populations still need to be identified, our study underscores the potential for strip‐cropping to enhance pest control and yield via soil mediated processes. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women of reproductive age are particularly vulnerable to low‐quality diets due to their higher micronutrients needs. The minimum dietary diversity for women (MDDW) is a proxy for micronutrient adequacy in this group of women. Its relationship with other aspects that lead to malnutrition is not fully elucidated and depends on the context. In this study, we assessed the prevalence of MDDW among women of a rural area in Chad and its association with socioeconomical, agricultural, dietary and food security data. A cross‐sectional study was conducted. Following a multistage cluster sampling, 984 women of reproductive age were randomly selected and interviewed in March 2019. We obtained food consumption data through unquantified 24 h recalls and computed MDDW as consuming at least five out of 10 predefined food groups. We constructed a Food Production Diversity Score (FPDS) with crop and livestock information. We obtained multivariable logistic regression models including different covariates. MDDW was achieved by only 33% of women in the sample. In our final model, we identified a significant association of MDDW with the FPDS and gathering of wild plants. Women in households with the highest FPDS had 70% more chances of achieving MDDW than those with the lowest FPDS. Gathering wild plants doubled these chances. Areas of cultivated land, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene resources, and a high level of food security, measured with the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, were also significantly related to the achievement of MDDW. This illustrates the importance of nutrition‐sensitive policies, also considering biodiversity and food production diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of the resilience concept within socioecological systems has recently received much attention. Assessing the characteristics of cocoa agroecosystems in the dry and moist semi-deciduous ecological zones has become critical for resilience analysis in this era of climate change and the constant shrinking of cocoa suitability areas. Previous studies have used one of the dimensions of resilience to analyse complex adaptive systems, excluding critical factors and variables. This study applied a multi-criteria decision-making process, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) that accommodates the three dimensions of resilience, i.e., buffer capacity, adaptive capacity and self-organisation. The AHP is a multi-criteria decision-making tool that proceeds with the design of a hierarchy system for the goal, criteria, attributes and variables. Selected cocoa farmers were assigned weights related to criteria, attributes and variables in a comparison matrix. The resilience of the cocoa agroecosystems in Offinso Municipal and Adansi North Districts was 2.75 ± 0.06 (mean ± SD) and 3.23 ± 0.10 (mean ± SD), respectively. Buffer capacity contributed the highest proportion (44.3%) in the Offinso Municipal District, followed by adaptive capacity (38.7%) and self-organisation (17%). A similar trend was recorded for the Adansi North District: buffer capacity (42.9%), adaptive capacity (42.9%) and self-organisation (14.3%). Across the two study areas, shade trees, crop diversification, soil quality, cocoa variety, farm size, farm age, alternative livelihood, annual income and co-operative membership contributed prominently to the construction of cocoa agroecosystem resilience. The assessment of agroecosystem resilience is location-specific, and the study provides a simplified methodology for evaluating resilience. The paper aims to understand the importance of the components of the cocoa agroecosystem, and a simplified methodology for evaluating its resilience to perturbations. It presents a conceptual and methodological framework for the analysis and measurement of agroecosystem resilience in a participatory manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable agricultural practices need to be continuously sought after so that a greater number of producers can adopt them, taking into account, above all, the food security scenario, land use efficiency, and climate change. Intercropping—a cultivation system in which two or more species are grown in close proximity in the same field—is one strategy to increase diversity in the agroecosystem. However, for intercropping systems to be adopted, their productive and economic advantages over monoculture must be clearly demonstrated. Banana (Musa sp.) growers are interested in crop diversification as a potential strategy to increase production yields and, consequently, economic income. The management of banana crops can be facilitated by intercropping, as this system plays an important role in increasing biodiversity and reducing the need for weed control in the crop rows, promoting better land use efficiency. However, this system should be evaluated alongside other indicators. Banana intercropping has significant potential and many benefits, but success depends on the interaction between the component species, appropriate management practices, and favorable environmental conditions. This review aims to provide an overview of recent studies on banana intercropping systems, focusing on the contextualization of land use, monoculture and intercropping, and evaluating intercropping indicators, as well as the benefits, risks, and disadvantages discussed in the literature, and the main outcomes of banana-based intercropping systems. The main findings relate to the possibility of using intercrops with aromatic species and the preliminary reports on the contributions of intercrops to the suppression of Fusarium wilt disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural transformation in Punjab, spurred by the Green Revolution of the mid-1960s, has led to significant shifts in land use patterns, crop diversification, and cropping dynamics. This transformation has profound implications for sustainability and economic resilience. This study delves into the complex relationship among agricultural growth, instability, and environmental sustainability in Punjab. It examines the growth and instability in the state's key crops' area, production, and yield/productivity over 56 years, from 1966–1967 to 2021–2022. Using secondary data, this study employs an assortment of methodologies, including compound annual growth rate, simple linear regression, diversity indices such as the Herfindahl index and Simpson diversity index, instability analysis, and decomposition analysis. The results indicate an increase in cropping intensity, indicating agricultural intensification, with a shift towards wheat and rice monoculture from once diverse cropping patterns. The instability analysis reveals that wheat and rice emerge as the most stable crops in their area, production, and yield, while others exhibit instability, raising concerns about diminishing crop diversity and its implications for Punjab's natural resources. The study emphasizes the urgent necessity for sustainable agricultural practices and policies to counteract monoculture's adverse effects and ensure long-term agricultural resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is evident that the means of subsistence of the community have a significant impact on the management of natural resources. This study examined the socio-economic drivers of LULCC and assessed the impacts of such changes on rural livelihoods in Shato forest, southwest Ethiopia. To map the land use and land cover, supervised classifications were used. The data were collected from 358 household heads through semi-structured questionnaires. A logistic regression model was employed to investigate the dependence of rural households on forest resources. LULC analysis results showed that about 308.29 ha of wetland and 3215.6 ha of natural forest were converted to other land use types during the last 30 years. The findings reveal that a household's education level, household size, distance from the market, total land owned, skills and social network significantly affect their dependency on forest resources. Respondents gave high rankings to covariates such as erratic rainfall (1.70), market price (1.53), low crop output (1.28), and inadequate infrastructure (1.24). These covariates force rural communities of the study area into two major livelihood diversification strategies. These were crop and income diversification. The study comes to conclude that, the extensive and imprudent use of natural resources is a result of changes in livelihood strategies to cope up with the aforementioned shocks. Thus, the decreasing nature of forest resources results in covariate shocks in the study area and needs serious intervention mechanisms to tackle this trajectory of catastrophe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate‐smart agriculture (CSA) is key to addressing climate change threats faced by smallholder farmers in Ghana. Nonetheless, evidence of the barriers challenging smallholder farmers in the implementation of CSA practices remains limited in Ghana. This study, therefore, investigated the barriers opposing smallholder cassava farmers in implementing CSA practices in the Afigya Kwabre South District, Ghana. The study used descriptive statistics and content analysis to analyze primary data collected through 200 household surveys and 10 key informant interviews from four selected communities (Aboabogya, Aduamoa, Aduman Old Town, and Aduman New Town) in the district. Results revealed that the smallholder cassava farmers implemented key CSA practices including mulching (89%), mixed farming (86%), crop diversification (84%), and crop rotation (81%) to build their resilience in food systems. Furthermore, the results showed that the critical enablers to the farmers' utilization of CSA practices were access to weather and climate services (82%), a secured land tenure system (75%), and knowledge of the effects of climate change (68%). Also, the results indicated that the key barriers challenging smallholder cassava farmers in the implementation of CSA practices were inadequate technological assistance (91%), the incidence of pests and diseases (90%), and a lack of knowledge and understanding of CSA (90%). We recommend that smallholder cassava farmers adopt improved varieties of cassava that are resistant to pests and diseases, drought tolerant, high yielding, and possessing desirable quality traits. Smallholder cassava farmers can also participate in contract farming schemes that link them to agribusinesses that can offer them access to quality inputs, credit, training, and guaranteed markets for their produce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the north-western part of India, especially in Punjab and Haryana plains, the groundwater overdraft increases the cost of its withdrawal for irrigation and causes inequality in its access to farmers. As a result, groundwater markets are gradually emerging as pervasive agrarian institutions. In this research, the groundwater market structure has been studied in Haryana state and Karnal district has been chosen as the study area. For the survey, three villages are selected by the purposive sampling technique. The 300 households (100 households from each village) are selected by the simple random sampling technique. The primary data are collected by close-ended structured scheduled, interviews, and focus group discussions methods from the selected villages between the periods of May to September 2019. The study reveals that groundwater markets help to mitigate the increasing inequalities in groundwater access. The results show that almost 50% of the farming households have participated in the groundwater markets. There is a positive correlation (R2 = 0.6176) between water selling and farm size and a negative correlation (R2 = − 0.9828) between water buying and farm size. Groundwater scarcity, land fragmentation, and no tubewell on their own land have been observed as primary factors for the participation of farmers in groundwater markets. The most popular mode of water transactions is cash-based (hourly), which shows the mature stage of groundwater markets in the study area. Groundwater trade for irrigation is maximum under two crops, rice (45%) and wheat (46%), which significantly puts pressure on the groundwater resources. The study is suggested to change the cropping pattern and moving to two crops combination (rice and wheat) to crop diversification. A community-based approach is essential for efficient groundwater resource use in a water-scarce environment via effective institutional arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract It is evident that the means of subsistence of the community have a significant impact on the management of natural resources. This study examined the socio-economic drivers of LULCC and assessed the impacts of such changes on rural livelihoods in Shato forest, southwest Ethiopia. To map the land use and land cover, supervised classifications were used. The data were collected from 358 household heads through semi-structured questionnaires. A logistic regression model was employed to investigate the dependence of rural households on forest resources. LULC analysis results showed that about 308.29 ha of wetland and 3215.6 ha of natural forest were converted to other land use types during the last 30 years. The findings reveal that a household’s education level, household size, distance from the market, total land owned, skills and social network significantly affect their dependency on forest resources. Respondents gave high rankings to covariates such as erratic rainfall (1.70), market price (1.53), low crop output (1.28), and inadequate infrastructure (1.24). These covariates force rural communities of the study area into two major livelihood diversification strategies. These were crop and income diversification. The study comes to conclude that, the extensive and imprudent use of natural resources is a result of changes in livelihood strategies to cope up with the aforementioned shocks. Thus, the decreasing nature of forest resources results in covariate shocks in the study area and needs serious intervention mechanisms to tackle this trajectory of catastrophe.

Abstract Intensification of staple crops through conventional agricultural practices with chemical synthetic inputs has yielded positive outcomes in food security but with negative environmental impacts. Ecological intensification using cropping systems such as maize edible-legume intercropping (MLI) systems has the potential to enhance soil health, agrobiodiversity and significantly influence crop productivity. However, mechanisms underlying enhancement of biological soil health have not been well studied. This study investigated the shifts in rhizospheric soil and maize-root microbiomes and associated soil physico-chemical parameters in MLI systems of smallholder farms in comparison to maize-monoculture cropping systems (MMC). Maize-root and rhizospheric soil samples were collected from twenty-five farms each conditioned by MLI and MMC systems in eastern Kenya. Soil characteristics were assessed using Black oxidation and Walkley methods. High-throughput amplicon sequencing was employed to analyze fungal and bacterial communities, predicting their functional roles and diversity. The different MLI systems significantly impacted soil and maize-root microbial communities, resulting in distinct microbe sets. Specific fungal and bacterial genera and species were mainly influenced and enriched in the MLI systems (e.g., Bionectria solani, Sarocladium zeae, Fusarium algeriense, and Acremonium persicinum for fungi, and Bradyrhizobium elkanii, Enterobacter roggenkampii, Pantoea dispersa and Mitsuaria chitosanitabida for bacteria), which contribute to nutrient solubilization, decomposition, carbon utilization, plant protection, bio-insecticides/fertilizer production, and nitrogen fixation. Conversely, the MMC systems enriched phytopathogenic microbial species like Sphingomonas leidyi and Alternaria argroxiphii. Each MLI system exhibited a unique composition of fungal and bacterial communities that shape belowground biodiversity, notably affecting soil attributes, plant well-being, disease control, and agroecological services. Indeed, soil physico-chemical properties, including pH, nitrogen, organic carbon, phosphorus, and potassium were enriched in MLI compared to MMC cropping systems. Thus, diversification of agroecosystems with MLI systems enhances soil properties and shifts rhizosphere and maize-root microbiome in favor of ecologically important microbial communities.

The constant changes experienced in agricultural activities due to climate change pose a great challenge to melon production. Hence, this research examined the determinants of melon farmers' adaptation strategies to cope with climate change hazards in southern–southern Nigeria. The research ultimately depended on primary data collected by using a set of questionnaires and interviews. The data were obtained from 260 samples retrieved from melon farmers by using multistage sampling techniques. The data were analyzed using the multivariate probit (MVP) model and partial eta squared test. The results of the MVP model showed that age (− 0.009), marital status (0.200), access to information on climate change (0.567) and crop insurance (0.214) were significant at the 0.01 level, while household size (− 0.030) was significant at the 0.05 level and determined the adoption of crop diversification. Educational level (0.012), extension contact (0.138) and access to credit (0.122) were significant at the 0.05 level, while access to information on climate change (0.415) was significant at the 0.01 level and determined the adoption of change in planting dates. Age (− 0.010) and access to information on climate change (0.381) were significant at the 0.01 level, while sex (− 0.139), marital status (0.158) and off-farm income (− 2.3E-7) were significant at the 0.05 level and determined the adoption of mixed farming. Farming experience (0.005) is significant at the 0.05 level, while access to information on climate change (0.529) and crop insurance (0.272) are significant at the 0.01 level and determine the adoption of drought-tolerant crop species. Access to information on climate change (0.536) is significant at the 0.01 level, indicating the adoption of improved crop species. Age (− 0.010), farm size (− 0.085) and crop insurance (0.206) were significant at the 0.05 level, while access to information on climate change (0.353) was significant at the 0.01 level and determined the adoption of off-farm job opportunities. The study recommends the availability and accessibility of credit, climate-smart agricultural practices, and the establishment of public‒private partnerships, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In France, land use is dominated by a narrow range of crops. As crop diversification is increasingly promoted to transform the food system, outlets for diversification crops need to be identified. We assess the scope for introducing diversification crops from farmers' fields to canteen plates, and the agroecological, environmental, work-related and nutritional impacts of their introduction. Methods: We focus on three diversification crops: chickpea, squash, and millet, to partly replace soft wheat, potato, and durum wheat, respectively. For each crop, we define three scenarios of low (1), medium (2) and high (3) integration into institutional catering on a national scale. We assess the scenarios against the amount of diversification cropland area needed and their expected impacts. Results: Diversification crops can be developed through institutional catering. Taking the case of chickpea, in Scenario 1, chickpea flour is introduced in a cake served once every 20 days, replacing 30% of the soft wheat flour used. This amounts to 874 ha cropped. In Scenario 2, chickpea flour partly replaces wheat flour in all preparations, and 4,048 ha are required. In Scenario 3, raw chickpeas are also introduced into new recipes and 20,958 ha are needed. All three diversification crops support the establishment of agroecological cropping systems, with enhanced nutrient cycling in particular, and reduce their environmental footprint, notably by avoiding pesticide use. Diversification crops do not generate work constraints for farmers and cooks. However, they have a lower productivity per unit area than the reference crops, although they do improve several nutrition parameters such as fiber intake. Discussion: We show for the first time that institutional catering provides a tangible outlet for developing diversification crops and improving the sustainability of agriculture. Our scenarios can support concerted actions between farmers, supply-chain actors, cooks and policy makers, as well as communication to eaters surrounding their impacts on agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural landscapes are currently suffering and generating severe ecological issues. This is especially true in intensively managed alluvial contexts, where biodiversity is declining and ecosystem services (ES) delivery capacity is being depleted. The aim of our study is to set up and test a synthetic analytical methodology that allows us to: understand current agricultural landscape ecological quality drivers (structural and functional traits); identify context-specific strategies to correct current negative trends (landscape ecology design approach); and assess the changes in the landscape ecological behavior provided by design scenarios. The applied methodology is low-cost and low-time-demanding and is based on multi-scale landscape ecology and land-use-based ES assessment; it implements a pattern-process-design approach. Analyses are applied to four northern Italian alluvial agricultural landscape systems. We specifically address landscape biodiversity support functions (landscape ecology indicators) and landscape multifunctionality (ES spatial assessment). We test the agroforestry approach (landscape feature insertions and crop diversification) as a key strategy to enhance ecological quality and ES, and we account for its contributions to context-specific design scenarios. This analytical toolkit might serve for future applications on similar case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop diversification and the reduction of nitrogen (N) inputs are key issues in the EU for more sustainable agriculture. An experiment was set up in a semiarid rainfed Mediterranean system. Our hypothesis was that these challenges could be addressed by introducing new crops and using pig slurries (PSs). The experimental factors were N fertilization at sowing (with or without PS) combined (according to a split-block design) with N fertilization as topdressing (the control, two N mineral rates, and two N rates from PS). Barley, rapeseed, and pea performances were evaluated in two different crop sequences: (i) barley–rapeseed or rapeseed–barley after a fallow season, and (ii) barley–pea or pea–barley after a fallow season followed by a non-fertilized barley crop. The results of the four-year study demonstrated that under a spring drought risk, barley performed better than peas in terms of relative crop yield maintenance. After fallow, N can be saved while maintaining the yields and total biomass of barley and rapeseed. In the second crop sequence, maximum pea and barley yields were associated with a minimum topdressing of 60 or 120 kg mineral N ha−1, respectively. However, slurry fertilization at sowing also allowed the highest yields for barley. Rapeseed and peas can be introduced to reduce N fertilization inputs. However, the obtained yield plateau for pea and rapeseed (3 and 4 Mg ha−1, respectively) and the effect of a yield spring drought on pea yields (50% reduction) might be a constraint for the success of EU policies on crop diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop diversification is a potential strategy that farmers can employ to address household food insecurity and low farm incomes. Smallholder coffee farmers face low and insufficient levels of crop diversification in Kirinyaga East and Central SubCounties, Kirinyaga County, Kenya. This study examines those factors that influence household decisions to diversify crops and further attempts to analyze the factors that influence the extent to which diversification takes place among smallholder coffee farmers. The study was guided by utility theory and used a descriptive survey design. Structured questionnaires were used to collect the survey data and a sample size of 408 smallholder farmers was chosen using multistage sampling procedure. The crop diversification index was 0.390 on average. Cragg’s double-hurdle model findings at the first stage of the model revealed that there was a positive and significant relationship at p < 0.05 between access to extension services (6.5%) and land size (8.8%) on the probability of the farmer participating in crop diversification. The extent of crop diversification was positively and significantly associated with land size (6.7%), where (p < 0.05), while gender (5.3%) had a negative influence. Farmers should be encouraged to diversify their crops to maximize land productivity through increased crop yields. Finally, the findings suggest that the government should allocate resources to supplement existing extension programs and policies that improve skills and knowledge of farmers concerning crop diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The key focus of crop diversification is the selection of compatible crops for increasing biodiversity, efficient use of resources and enhancing system productivity. Monocropped coconut gardens provide ample scope for crop diversification through the inclusion of several crops as intercrops. The present study was conducted to assess the feasibility of intercropping maize, finger millet, black gram and green gram in coconut garden. Methods: Field experiments were conducted during two consecutive summer seasons to assess the suitability of maize, finger millet, black gram and green gram as intercrops in coconut garden. Result: The present investigation revealed that maize (cereal) and finger millet (millet) were suitable as intercrops in coconut garden. The adaptability of the tested crops and system productivity were assessed and discussed. On the whole, the nutrient balance sheet revealed the importance of soil test based nutrient management for intercropping in coconut garden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation agriculture (CA) is a set of principles thought to be able to enhance crop productivity while minimizing impacts on the environment. The evidence base for CA can be challenging to synthesize because it encompasses many different practices and social and agroecological outcomes. To facilitate synthesis of CA evidence we have created a dataset organizing 218 response variables from five common categories of CA: cover crops, tillage management, pest management, nutrient management, and crop diversification. These data cover the Midwestern United States (U.S.) from 1980–2020. The dataset is also summarized and visualized on the AgEvidence website, which enables users to interactively explore, filter, and download data. We hope this dataset will help a wide variety of stakeholders, including researchers, policy makers, advocacy groups, and growers access the evidence needed to make informed and impactful decisions about how to produce food with less negative environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Ethiopia, on-farm agrobiodiversity and the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) play a key role in building smallholders' resilience. However, the impact of PSNP on on-farm agrobiodiversity is not yet well investigated. In this paper, we develop an analytical framework that links PSNP participation to on-farm agrobiodiversity. Both diverse farming systems and PSNP require labour inputs while providing income stabilization, which might result in a negative relationship between the two. Conversely, higher income from PSNP might allow farmers to increase their long-term on-farm investments, as opposed to the strategies oriented toward the highest immediate profit or calorie intake outcome. We base our empirical analysis on the World Bank's Ethiopian Socioeconomic Survey, a panel dataset encompassing nearly 3000 respondents and a Tobit model, based on Difference-in-Difference and the Propensity-Score Matching methods. We find that Ethiopia's PSNP has a negative impact on farm labour input, both in terms of labour intensity and duration. Furthermore, our results show that participation in the program is associated, on average, with lower on-farm crop diversity. We conclude that the PSNP participation may be crowding-out production stabilizing farming activities, such as intercropping or cover cropping, that are more labour intensive. Our findings call for embedding tools in the new phase of the PSNP (2021–2025) that could incentivise on-farm resilience-oriented investments, in particular leading to higher crop diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducted to evaluate catchment storage and command relationship and water use strategies under supplemental irrigation for sustainable rainfed agriculture in the semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, India. In southern Rajasthan, a small category of farmers is above 78%, the potential evapotranspiration is greater than the average rainfall with prevailing arid conditions, and rainfed agriculture is a challenging task. An agricultural micro watershed of 2.0 ha evaluated to establish a catchment storage command area (CSC) relationship and micro irrigation system as an effective water use strategy. The significant results indicate that a farm pond with a storage capacity of 560 m3 with permanent lining (cement + brick) is sufficient to harvest runoff water from a 2.0 ha catchment under the rainfall conditions of below normal (up to 50% deficit), long-term average, and wet years. Harvested rainwater can be used to irrigate a command area of even up to 1.0 ha, with supplemental irrigation of 5 cm in both the seasons of kharif as well as rabi. The two crops, maize (Zea mays) in the kharif season and coriander (Coriandrum sativum) in the rabi season, were significantly profitable with supplemental irrigation by adopting a drip irrigation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Crop diversification is a promising practice to improve the sustainability of agricultural production systems, contributing to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem functions, and food security without compromising productivity. Although diverse cropping systems may be more labour-intensive and require good knowledge of the specific cropping system in the local context, they have high potential in managing many of the problems faced in current cotton production in India. However, the adoption of crop diversification is still moderate, with an overall crop diversification index (CDI) of 0.65 for all of India and state-wise CDI between 0.43 and 0.83. Methods: Therefore, a four-phased study was conducted to identify the main barriers to crop diversification in cotton-based farming systems in India and highlight levers that can foster their wide adoption to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. The study was carried out between January to October 2020 and consisted of i) a literature review of regional and national policy and planning, ii) situational analysis with a problem tree approach, iii) individual stakeholder interviews with stakeholders from the broader Indian cotton sector, and iv) a participatory feedback workshop with said stakeholders. A total of 51 stakeholders from 24 different organizations were interviewed, 37 of them on technical aspects of crop diversification and 21 stakeholders on market and policy aspects. The same stakeholders were invited to the participatory feedback workshop, where 26 participated in the session on different benefits of crop diversification practices, and the session on market and policy challenges counted 24 participants. The study focused on the main organic cotton producing states in India: Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. Results and discussion: In our study, it became evident that many policies and governmental schemes exist to promote national food security, sustainable agriculture, and agricultural marketing infrastructure, but crop diversification is still not gaining momentum on the ground. Various levers were identified in the areas of market and procurement, capacity building and knowledge transfer, supply industry and infrastructure, and farmers and women empowerment, where the current policy landscape is failing to foster crop diversification effectively on the farm level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black bean aphids are considered a serious pest that can reduce faba bean yield by more than 50%, especially in organic farms. In response to the huge losses caused by aphids, this study aimed to investigate the effect of faba bean-oat and/or wheat intercropping modalities on the incidences and severity of black bean aphids (Aphis fabae Scop.). The experiments were conducted in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the number of aphids per plant among the sole faba bean crop and the faba bean cereal intercropping systems. The faba beanoat intercropping at (1:4) ratio significantly reduced the number of aphids per plant, as well as the number of infested plants, with a reduction percentage of 84.44% and 42.42% respectively. However, intercropping faba bean with the two species of cereals at (1:1) ratio did not improve aphid control. Regarding faba bean yield, the intercropping with oat at (1:2) ratio provided the best results and improved the yield crop from 3.76 Q/ha (in sole faba bean) to 8.12 Q/ha (in intercropping system). It was concluded that black bean aphid infestation could be minimized by intercropping practices such as faba bean cereal intercropping. However, the choice of crop species and intercropping modalities is highly important, not only to ensure suitable faba bean productivity but also for sustainable pest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of rural Bangladesh, we assess whether agriculture training alone, nutrition behavior communication change (BCC) alone, combined agriculture training and nutrition BCC, or agriculture training and nutrition BCC combined with gender sensitization improve: (a) production diversity, either on household fields or through crop, livestock, or aquaculture activities carried out near the family homestead; and (b) diet diversity and the quality of household diets. All treatment arms were implemented by government employees. Implementation quality was high. No treatment increased production diversification of crops grown on fields. Treatment arms with agricultural training did increase the number of different crops grown in homestead gardens and the likelihood of any egg, dairy, or fish production but the magnitudes of these effect sizes were small. All agricultural treatment arms had, in percentage terms, large effects on measures of levels of homestead production. However, because baseline levels of production were low, the magnitude of these changes in absolute terms was modest. Nearly all treatment arms improved measures of food consumption and diet with the largest effects found when nutrition and agriculture training were combined. Relative to treatments combining agriculture and nutrition training, we find no significant impact of adding the gender sensitization on our measures of production diversity or diet quality. Interventions that combine agricultural training and nutrition BCC can improve both production diversity and diet quality, but they are not a panacea. They can, however, contribute toward better diets of rural households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Asiaʼs Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP) is home to approximately 450 million people. This region is characterized by the highest global concentration of rural poverty and a predominant reliance on agriculture for nutritional sustenance and economic livelihoods. Agriculture in the EIGP is highly cereal-centric, making crop diversification indispensable for its development. This data article is part of the research conducted by an interdisciplinary team of researchers analysing the status and determinants of crop diversification in South Asiaʼs EIGP. The data presented here were collected from 1,400 farm households across 72 communities in eight locations within the EIGP of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh during the year 2023. The research employed a simple random sampling method for empirical data collection. The primary agricultural decision-makers were given a tailored questionnaire comprising seven modules. These modules sought comprehensive data on livelihood practices, changes in agriculture, aspirations, diet, food security, mechanization, demographics, and asset ownership. The questionnaire was translated from English into Nepali and Bangla to facilitate a thorough understanding of the farmers' livelihoods in the study areas. The survey successfully ended with 1400 properly filled and captured questionnaires, which was quite representative. The cross-sectional data presented here describe location-specific farm-level crop distribution, enabling the analysis of geographic variations in crop diversification. The generation of this dataset addresses a significant gap in the availability of information on the current state of crop diversification in the EIGP, offering a foundational baseline for future research and interventions by regional governments and development partners. We employed the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) to calculate crop diversification and a Tobit Regression Model to identify the region-specific determinants of crop diversification. The dataset is hereby made available as it is considered vital for regional policy and practical recommendations.

Push-pull technology is a companion cropping system whose success in soil fertility improvement and management of agricultural pests has been established in cereal-based systems. Push-pull has also been proposed as a template for the sustainable intensification of agriculture in Africa. However, the application of the technology has remained on a field scale and is restricted to cereal-based systems. Trees in agricultural landscapes are considered a strategy for climate change mitigation by storing carbon in soils and woody biomass. However, their potential has not been quantified in push-pull systems. This study characterized 45 smallholder farms in western Kenya to establish the land use categories within which push-pull is integrated, the diversity and structure of perennials on the farms, and the aboveground carbon stored within those farms. The area of each land use category varied depending on the size of the land use category on each farm. The amount of carbon stored in aboveground biomass was estimated using an existing allometric equation. This study found that trees are integrated on farms with push-pull in homesteads (45), cropland (38), woodlots (26), boundaries (4), and grazing land (2) farms. A total of 9159 trees from 97 different species were recorded over 34 ha. Farms in Vihiga and Kisumu had more trees (38 % and 37 % of all trees recorded) than those in Siaya (25 %). There were more trees in woodlots (total=4518) and homesteads (total=3327), and the least in grazing land (total=18). Overall, the highest species richness, Shannon, and Simpson diversity were observed in the homestead (86 species, H’=2.52 and D = 0.86). Farms in Kisumu, Vihiga, and Siaya stocked an average of 12.1, 9.4, and 7.3 Mg C ha−1 in aboveground biomass respectively. Variations were observed in land use categories, where woodlots had the greatest amount of carbon (55.5 Mg C ha−1) while grazing land had the least (2.4 Mg C ha−1). Eucalyptus spp., Grevillea robusta, and Markhamia lutea were the most dominant trees in abundance at 50 %, 16 %, and 11 % respectively. Conservation of trees on farms should be encouraged, as they protect biodiversity and store carbon thus contributing to climate change mitigation. This study's findings contribute to knowledge valuable to farmers and policymakers in making decisions on tree species and land use categories that have a high potential to sequester carbon in agroforestry systems.

Cocoa farmers in Nigeria adopt crop diversification to safeguard the food security of their households. Although credit and land are thought to play a vital role in crop diversification, they continue to have limited access to credit and land. This study investigated the linkages between access to credit, land use, crop diversification, and food security with a focus on cocoa farming households. A multistage sampling procedure was used to obtain data for the study. Data were analyzed with the aid of descriptive statistics, the Heifindahl index, the Tobit regression model, the food consumption score, and the ordered Logit regression model. The results for the entire respondents showed mean values of 55 years for age, 31 years for farming experience, 6 people for household size, and 5 ha for farm size. Heifindahl index shows 38.67 % of the respondents had low crop diversification in the study area. Tobit regression model reveals that access to credit, farming experience, cooperative organization, access to extension service, farm size, distance to farms, and labour are the main albeit significant factors that determine crop diversification among cocoa farming households. Food consumption score revealed that 46.67 % were poor, 30.67 % were at the borderline and about 27.67 % were within the acceptable threshold. The ordered logit model revealed that crop diversification index, formal education, access to credit, farm size, land use, and farming experience have a significant influence on the food security of households. The study concluded that there is a positive relationship between access to credit, land use, crop diversification, and food security. Therefore, the government and financial institutions should make credit facilities accessible to cocoa farmers to improve their livelihood.

Abstract Background Malnutrition is a worldwide problem that impacts every country, affecting one in three individuals, including Ghana. According to estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 690 million people were undernourished globally in 2019. Malnutrition is no exception in rural cocoa communities in Ghana. The expansion of cocoa is causing food insecurity and low dietary diversity in most cocoa-growing areas. There is little information on the food security status and dietary diversity among male-headed and female-headed cocoa households in the Juaboso-Bia cocoa landscape. Thus, this study sought to explore the dietary diversity distribution, food security status, sources of staple food, food unavailability periods, food production status, themes contributing to low dietary diversity and food insecurity, and perception of the impact of cocoa expansion on crop diversification among male-headed and female-headed cocoa households in the study area. Methods Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed to address the research questions. The study collected 200 semi-structured questionnaire data and 14 in-depth interview data from cocoa household heads in the Juaboso-Bia landscape. The survey data was cleaned and analysis, such as household dietary diversity status, food security status, and binary logistic regression were performed in the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The in-depth interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Through this study, it was revealed that 62.8% of the male-headed cocoa households had medium to high dietary diversity compared to their female counterparts 39.3%. About 47.9% of the male-headed households were food secure than the female-headed households (29.1%). Moreover, the months that both male and female-headed households recalled facing severe food unavailability were July and June. In addition, climate change/variability, unavailable lands, poverty, large household size, and gender stereotypes were themes promoting low dietary diversity and food insecurity among male and female-headed households. Furthermore, sex, total household income, and cropland conversion to cocoa were the variables influencing household heads’ perception of the impact of cocoa expansion on crop diversification. Conclusions The study showed that the male-headed cocoa households had high dietary diversity and were food secure than the female-headed cocoa households, lending credence to the conceptual framework applied in this study. There is a significant relationship between household head gender and food security status. Therefore, this study recommends the following interventions to improve dietary diversity and food security among male and female-headed cocoa households: raise awareness about the need for diverse diets and provide practical information on how to incorporate a greater variety of food groups into their daily meals; and promote gender equity and inclusivity in food security interventions. Future research could investigate how gender mainstreaming policies in agriculture have helped empower and improve the food security of female-headed households in Ghana.

Abstract The present study empirically tests the relationship between crop diversification and farm income. The study area is India, the fifth largest economy of the world, and the units of study are its households which dominates India’s labor force. The propensity score matching technique is applied on the two waves of nationally representative data on agricultural households pertaining to agricultural year 2012–13 & 2018–19 to test the relationship between crop diversification and farm income. We find a strong and positive impact of crop diversification on farm income as farm income increases by around 13 per cent if non-diversified households opt for crop diversification. Furthermore, important factors such as literacy, access to market, access to irrigation, agricultural training, farming experience, and household size positively affects crop diversification at the household level. However, recent decline in the extent of diversification in India is a cause for concern. Promotion of cultivation of HVCs by giving them such institutional supports as initial capital required for switch to HVCs and other steps that insulates them from higher risks is the need of the hour in Indian agriculture.

Abstract Background Crop diversification is the potential for greater dietary diversity, and reduced micronutrient deficiencies and malnutrition. Despite the increasing global concern of improving food security, the nature and extent of food security at the household level in rural areas are not well-documented. This paper determines the factors that influence crop diversification and its association with food security which helps policy maker to take proper steps in norther part of Bangladesh. Methods The effect of crop diversification on household food security in northern Bangladesh was measured by adopting the Herfindahl index (HI). Food Consumption Score (FCS) and Household Food Insecurity Access Score (HFIAS) were used to determine the food security status. The binary logistic regression model and multinominal logit model were performed to identify the factors influencing crop diversification and food security, respectively. All these analyses were performed based on 609 household samples collected from six northern districts of Bangladesh. Results Descriptive statistics show that the majority of farmers in the study districts reported 12–13 different crops, while only farmers in Bogura mentioned 19 different crops grown in their field. After calculating crop diversification using HI index, it is apparent that about 64% respondents irrespective of region produced different types of crops and around one third of them possessed in the middle categories neither they were fully crop diversified nor non crop-diversified. About 40% households had better Food Consumption Score lead to only 3.28% belonged to below poverty line and rest of the household fall in borderline. The analysis confirm that the crop diversified households were found to be more food secured or marginal food secured then that of less crop diversified households. Conclusion and policy recommendation We may infer from the factor analysis that, in line with the government policy to raise significantly the standard of living of the farmers, government should facilitate and encourage farmers to grow several crops rather than just one and provide training opportunities. In addition, food insecure people as well as the low food secure group might overcome their circumstances if the government places greater emphasis on education, training, and off-farm activities by providing financial support.

Background: Malnutrition is a worldwide problem that impacts every country, affecting one in three individuals, including Ghana. According to estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 690 million people were undernourished globally in 2019. Malnutrition is no exception in rural cocoa communities in Ghana. The expansion of cocoa is causing food insecurity and low dietary diversity in most cocoa-growing areas. There is little information on the food security status and dietary diversity among male-headed and female-headed cocoa households in the Juaboso-Bia cocoa landscape. Thus, this study sought to explore the dietary diversity distribution, food security status, sources of staple food, food unavailability periods, food production status, themes contributing to low dietary diversity and food insecurity, and perception of the impact of cocoa expansion on crop diversification among male-headed and female-headed cocoa households in the study area. Methods: Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed to address the research questions. The study collected 200 semi-structured questionnaire data and 14 in-depth interview data from cocoa household heads in the Juaboso-Bia landscape. The survey data was cleaned and analysis, such as household dietary diversity status, food security status, and binary logistic regression were performed in the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). The in-depth interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Through this study, it was revealed that 62.8% of the male-headed cocoa households had medium to high dietary diversity compared to their female counterparts 39.3%. About 47.9% of the male-headed households were food secure than the female-headed households (29.1%). Moreover, the months that both male and female-headed households recalled facing severe food unavailability were July and June. In addition, climate change/variability, unavailable lands, poverty, large household size, and gender stereotypes were themes promoting low dietary diversity and food insecurity among male and female-headed households. Furthermore, sex, total household income, and cropland conversion to cocoa were the variables influencing household heads’ perception of the impact of cocoa expansion on crop diversification. Conclusions: The study showed that the male-headed cocoa households had high dietary diversity and were food secure than the female-headed cocoa households, lending credence to the conceptual framework applied in this study. There is a significant relationship between household head gender and food security status. Therefore, this study recommends the following interventions to improve dietary diversity and food security among male and female-headed cocoa households: raise awareness about the need for diverse diets and provide practical information on how to incorporate a greater variety of food groups into their daily meals; and promote gender equity and inclusivity in food security interventions. Future research could investigate how gender mainstreaming policies in agriculture have helped empower and improve the food security of female-headed households in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversification of agricultural practices, including changes in crop rotation, intercropping or cover cropping, influence the soil microbiome. Here the impact of tillage and crop diversification on the soil microbiome is reported, being one of the few boreal studies. The field experiment consisted of four treatments with four replications all having a short cereal rotation practice namely an oat (Avena sativa) – spring barley (Hordeum vulgare) – wheat (Triticum aestivum) rotation for the past 10 years until spring 2018. During that period two of the treatments were conventionally tilled with moldboard ploughing whereas the other two were no-tillage treatments. From the growing season 2018 until fall 2020 the main crop in all treatments was spring barley. The first conventional tillage treatment was diversified with English ryegrass (Lolium perenne) as an undersown cover crop for the next three growing seasons. The first no-tillage treatment continued with spring barley only. The second conventional tillage and no-tillage treatment had winter rapeseed in rotation in 2019. Bulk soils were sampled in May 2018 before diversification and then in October 2018, 2019, and 2020. The results showed a clear effect of tillage on the beta-diversity of the soil microbiome and an increase in fungal richness. Barley monoculture interrupted with winter rapeseed resulted in a minor change of the fungal and bacterial community composition. Other fungal and bacterial alpha diversity measures did not react to tillage or diversification nor did the gene copy abundances involved in the N cycle. In conclusion tillage had a profound effect on the soil microbiome hindering impact of the diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological nitrogen fixation by free-living bacteria and rhizobial symbiosis with legumes plays a key role in sustainable crop production. Here, we study how different crop combinations influence the interaction between peanut plants and their rhizosphere microbiota via metabolite deposition and functional responses of free-living and symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Based on a long-term (8 year) diversified cropping field experiment, we find that peanut co-cultured with maize and oilseed rape lead to specific changes in peanut rhizosphere metabolite profiles and bacterial functions and nodulation. Flavonoids and coumarins accumulate due to the activation of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways in peanuts. These changes enhance the growth and nitrogen fixation activity of free-living bacterial isolates, and root nodulation by symbiotic Bradyrhizobium isolates. Peanut plant root metabolites interact with Bradyrhizobium isolates contributing to initiate nodulation. Our findings demonstrate that tailored intercropping could be used to improve soil nitrogen availability through changes in the rhizosphere microbiome and its functions. Sustainability in agriculture can be improved harnessing biological N2 fixation in legumes. Here, the authors combine different crops with peanut plants finding that maize and oilseed rape are the most successful combinations which have potential to enhance rhizosphere microbiota N2 fixation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the impact of climate change on food security and natural resource management on crop farming systems. Forty-five respondents were interviewed using an openended, and structured questionnaire. The open-ended questions allowed respondents to share their thoughts and experiences in their own words, while the structured questions helped to ensure that all respondents were asked the same questions and that the data collected was consistent. The results of this study showed that smallholder farmers perceived an increase in hot days (51.1%), a decrease in rainfall (51.1%), and a decrease in flood occurrence (71.1%). In addition, 95.2% of the respondents indicated that climatic conditions have influenced their farming systems. Natural resource changes noticed by farmers because of climate change include reduced grazing feedlot for livestock farmers (85%), reduced herbaceous cover (80%), decline in volume of water (57.8%), and increased tree damage and land degradation (11.1%). Increased soil erosion (6.7%) and increased bush encroachment (2.2%) were some of the natural resource challenges facing smallholder farmers. Some signs of climate change experienced by farmers included increases in crop pests (71%) and crop disease (8,9%). The adaptation strategies applied included the following: use of water harvesting, use of little soil disturbance techniques, adjusted fertiliser use, application of different planting dates techniques, use of different crop varieties, use of drought tolerant seeds, applied crop diversification, use of techniques that shortened growth length, planting new trees and avoiding planting on sloppy areas, and applied soil conservation techniques. Agriculture extension advisors should address vulnerable systems, including agricultural water and natural resources. In addition, it is important for agriculture extension advisors to strengthen the link between climate change adaptation and key climate change policy processesto improve their effectiveness and ability to deal with the effects of climate change. This will help overcome shortcomings along the food value chain and ensure food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study empirically tests the relationship between crop diversification and farm income. The study area is India, the fifth largest economy of the world, and the units of study are its households which dominates India's labor force. The propensity score matching technique is applied on the two waves of nationally representative data on agricultural households pertaining to agricultural year 2012–13 & 2018–19 to test the relationship between crop diversification and farm income. We find a strong and positive impact of crop diversification on farm income as farm income increases by around 13 per cent if non-diversified households opt for crop diversification. Furthermore, important factors such as literacy, access to market, access to irrigation, agricultural training, farming experience, and household size positively affects crop diversification at the household level. However, recent decline in the extent of diversification in India is a cause for concern. Promotion of cultivation of HVCs by giving them such institutional supports as initial capital required for switch to HVCs and other steps that insulates them from higher risks is the need of the hour in Indian agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a compilation of scientific articles and reports that discuss various aspects of sustainable agriculture and food systems. The articles cover topics such as integrated agricultural systems, crop diversification, pesticide reduction, cover crops, biodiversity-based approaches, and agroecology. The information presented in these articles can be valuable for library patrons conducting research on these specific topics. The articles provide diverse perspectives and insights into sustainable agricultural practices, taking into account the need for food security, nutrition, and environmental conservation. [Extracted from the article]

This study explored the most apparent CMIP6 climate scenario experiments to characterize hydro-meteorological droughts in Kasungu Agricultural Development Division (ADD). This study focused on predicting droughts for the years 2020–2029, 2030–2039, and 2040–2049 in light of varying climatic conditions in the central region with an agricultural economy. The future Standard Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, and Palmer Drought Severity Index. The delta method outperformed other bias correction methods as it indicated lower RMSE (4.67) and MAE (1.08) values, higher R (0.97) values, and positive NSE (0.94) values. The results indicated that moderate (− 1.5 < SPI < − 1.0) and mild droughts (− 1.0 < SPI < 0) are likely to be more common from the mid-term of the 2020–2029 period in the region. All three meteorological droughts indicated remarkably increasing dry conditions in the study area. The findings showed that under SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5, rainfall in the ADD will decrease by 1.8% and 4.3%, respectively, with more extremely dry conditions under SSP5-8.5. Furthermore, the frequency of dry regimes will increase for all stations under SSP5-8.5. The findings have also revealed significant decreases in the effective rainfall and an increase in evapotranspiration that would increase irrigation requirements in the region. According to the findings, the normal rainfall seasons will shift from mid-October to late November, irrigation water requirements will increase, and drought severity will increase in the region. This study, therefore, recommends robust water management plans, crop diversification, and rainwater harvesting plans as disaster risk management plans in mitigating future droughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop diversification through inter‐ and mixed cropping practices has been shown to enhance conservation biological control of herbivorous pest insects. However, distinct cropping practices are usually tested independently, which makes assessing the relative impact of specific measures difficult.We assessed parasitism rates of released large cabbage white (Pieris brassicae) caterpillars by parasitoids on white cabbage (Brassica oleracea) plants in six different cropping systems: four different strip‐cropping designs, a pixel cropping design and a monoculture. These cropping designs differed in the number of crops included, the use of parasitoid‐attractive cultivars in concurrence with a cash cultivar, the use of nectar‐providing crops for adult parasitoids and the spatial arrangement of the crops.Parasitism rate by the main P. brassicae parasitoid Cotesia glomerata was enhanced by strip cropping of white cabbage with wheat, and even further enhanced by the inclusion of four more main crops. Contrastingly, C. glomerata parasitism rate was lower in the most intensive crop mixture, that is pixel cropping, than in any of the strip‐cropping designs. The use of attractive cultivars or rewarding floral resources within a strip‐cropping set‐up did not significantly further enhance C. glomerata parasitism rate.Synthesis and applications: Our results show that increasing the number of crops in the agroecosystem enhances parasitism rates, whereas the additional inclusion of more subtle measures to attract or reward parasitoids shows mostly marginal effects. We argue that strip cropping can readily be employed as (part of a) pest control strategy, but trait‐based measures still need further development. How to implement attract and/or reward strategies in large‐scale agricultural systems should be further evaluated in the context of crop diversification schemes. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific revelation of the mechanism underlying land fragmentation's influence on agricultural technical efficiency is extremely important. This study utilized survey data from 305 villages across 12 provinces in Southern China in 2020 to assess technical efficiency through the application of the stochastic frontier production function. Moreover, we investigated the direct impact of land fragmentation on technical efficiency and the indirect impact transmitted through crop diversification and part-time farming by employing Tobit and mediating effect models, respectively. The key findings are as follows: (1) The sampled farmers, on average, operated 0.614 hectares of land with 17.395 plots, and the mean of their technical efficiency was 0.630. (2) The overall effect of land fragmentation on technical efficiency demonstrated a "U"-shaped relationship. (3) Crop diversification and part-time farming were mediating factors in the impact of land fragmentation on technical efficiency. Specifically, an "inverted U"-shaped relationship existed between land fragmentation and crop diversification, whereas a negative linear relationship was observed between land fragmentation and part-time farming. Conversely, crop diversification presented a positive linear relationship with technical efficiency, and part-time farming had an "inverted U"-shaped relationship with technical efficiency. (4) The impact of land fragmentation on technical efficiency varied across altitude zones. It is recommended to control land fragmentation based on local conditions, encourage crop diversification, and strengthen employment guidance and skills training for farmers to ensure the orderly transfer of land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern Africa has been experiencing long-term changes in its climate and future projections imply that droughts should last longer and become more intense in southern Africa. Already, the region has been experiencing an increase in consecutive drought years. This study contributes to the literature by using bio-economic modeling to simulate the impact of future droughts on food security in southern Africa and identify plausible pathways for enhancing regional food security under drought. Food production and food security in southern Africa were projected under drought using an adjusted version of a multi-market and multi-commodity global model, the International Model for the Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT), version 3.2. The results suggest that with moderate economic growth and no drought, southern Africa would not become wealthy enough to mitigate food insecurity by 2040. In this context, recurrent droughts would worsen food security by severely affecting the production of maize, the key staple food in the region. With consecutive two-year regional droughts, like what was experienced in 2014/15 and 2015/16, most countries would experience an increase of at least 10% in the number of people at risk of hunger within a single year. Key measures which could help enhance food security under droughts include (1) breeding for stress-resilient maize (resistance to both heat and drought stresses); (2) promote crop and diet diversification, especially in countries highly dependent on maize as a staple food crop; and (3) invest in rainwater harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of shift in cropping pattern is crucial for a good insight into the agricultural development of a region. The present study focused on the changes in the cropping pattern and the extent of crop diversification in Kerala, India. The results of the study revealed that the share of food crops to the gross cropped area substantially declined from 56.85% in TE 1987-88 to 40.73% in TE 2019-20, whereas the share of non-food crops increased remarkably from 43.14% in TE 1987-88 to 59.29% in TE 2019-20. The extent of crop diversification was higher in Idukki district, while crop specialization was prominent in Kozhikode district. Labour unavailability, high labour wage rates and climate variability were identified as the major constraints faced by the respondents in the study areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil moisture reserves are a key factor in maintaining soil fertility and all other related ecosystem services (including carbon sequestration, soil biodiversity, and soil erosion control). In semiarid blown-sand areas under aridification, water preservation is a particularly crucial task for agriculture. The international Diverfarming project (2017–2022), within the EU Horizon 2020 Program, focused on the impacts of crop diversification and low-input practices in all pedoclimatic regions of Europe. In this three-year experiment conducted in the Pannonian region, the impact of intercropping asparagus with different herbs on some provisioning and regulating ecosystem services was evaluated in the Kiskunság sand regions. Relying on findings based on a range of measured physical and chemical soil parameters and on crop yields and qualitative properties, advice was formulated for farmers. The message drawn from the experiment is somewhat ambiguous. The local farmers agree that crop diversification improves soil quality, but deny that it would directly influence farm competitiveness, which primarily depends on cultivation costs (such as fertilization, plant protection, and labour). Further analyses are needed to prove the long-term benefits of diversification through enriching soil microbial life and through the possible reduction of fertilizer use, while water demand is kept at a low level and the same crop-quality is ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the vulnerability of different sectors to climate change has great importance in determining the appropriate adaptation measures to deal with climate change impacts on a river basin scale. In this research, using a framework for modeling the agronomic system vulnerability to climate change, vulnerability assessment under different scenarios was conducted for the Gorganrud River Basin located in the agro-ecological zone of the Caspian coastal plain of Iran. Considering exposure, susceptibility, and lack of resilience components, 12 indicators were chosen and quantified for both agronomic-environmental and socio-economic aspects. The SSM-iCrop2 model was used to simulate crop yield under current and climate change scenarios across the basin. The analysis indicates that in the current condition, the vulnerability level is different across the watersheds of the Gorganrud River Basin. By applying the climate change scenarios, agronomic system vulnerability would increase in the basin to some extent, particularly in Madarsu and Tilabad watersheds attributed with high vulnerability (0.63 and 0.61, respectively). This justifies the need to implement adaptation plans for encountering water shortage in the future. The analysis also suggests that the vulnerability of the agronomic system for adaptation scenarios characterized by less water consumption under climate change conditions is going to be slightly different from the vulnerability under the climate change scenarios. Due to an increase in agronomic system vulnerability under climate change scenarios, coupled with the fact that most watersheds (except Chehelchai, Nardin, and Narmab) are moderately vulnerable even under current conditions, policymakers and planners should promote crop and livelihood diversification programs aiming to prevent an increase in agronomic vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionIn France, land use is dominated by a narrow range of crops. As crop diversification is increasingly promoted to transform the food system, outlets for diversification crops need to be identified. We assess the scope for introducing diversification crops from farmers’ fields to canteen plates, and the agroecological, environmental, work-related and nutritional impacts of their introduction.MethodsWe focus on three diversification crops: chickpea, squash, and millet, to partly replace soft wheat, potato, and durum wheat, respectively. For each crop, we define three scenarios of low (1), medium (2) and high (3) integration into institutional catering on a national scale. We assess the scenarios against the amount of diversification cropland area needed and their expected impacts.ResultsDiversification crops can be developed through institutional catering. Taking the case of chickpea, in Scenario 1, chickpea flour is introduced in a cake served once every 20 days, replacing 30% of the soft wheat flour used. This amounts to 874 ha cropped. In Scenario 2, chickpea flour partly replaces wheat flour in all preparations, and 4,048 ha are required. In Scenario 3, raw chickpeas are also introduced into new recipes and 20,958 ha are needed. All three diversification crops support the establishment of agroecological cropping systems, with enhanced nutrient cycling in particular, and reduce their environmental footprint, notably by avoiding pesticide use. Diversification crops do not generate work constraints for farmers and cooks. However, they have a lower productivity per unit area than the reference crops, although they do improve several nutrition parameters such as fiber intake.DiscussionWe show for the first time that institutional catering provides a tangible outlet for developing diversification crops and improving the sustainability of agriculture. Our scenarios can support concerted actions between farmers, supply-chain actors, cooks and policy makers, as well as communication to eaters surrounding their impacts on agriculture.

Agriculture is the second largest contributor (20 %) to total anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the world. There is a need to identify energy and carbon efficient cropping systems that reduce GHG emission and improve environmental quality. Using life cycle assessment (LCA), we evaluated the four cropping systems namely fallow – chickpea (F–C); Sesbania – mustard (Ses–M); blackgram – chickpea (B–C); sorghum + cowpea – mustard (S + C–M) cultivated during the 2018–2022 period. The energy use pattern and the input-output relationship were analysed. Three measures were utilized to quantify carbon footprints: CFa, which denotes emissions per unit area; CFb, indicating emissions per kilogram of yield; and CFe, representing emissions per unit of economic output. The result indicates that non-renewable sources of energy (diesel and fertilizer) contributed more than ∼80 % of the total energy consumed in the different cropping systems. The total energy requirement was the highest for S + C–M (16,972 MJ ha–1), followed by Ses–M (14,365 MJ ha–1), B–C (11,132 MJ ha–1) and F–C (8679 MJ ha–1) cropping systems. The S + C–M cropping system also had the highest energy use efficiency (9.13) followed by F–C (6.03), B–C (5.41) and Ses–M (5.41). The fallow–chickpea cropping system had the lowest values of CFa, CFb, and CFe however, the highest carbon efficiency (10.7) and the carbon sustainability index (9.7) were computed in S + C–M cropping system. Our findings indicate that thoughtfully structured, varied crop systems that integrate legumes and forage crops have the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, while sustaining or potentially improving overall productivity within these systems.

Aim of study: This study proposes a crop diversification innovative business model based on stakeholder preferences towards different incentive alternatives. Area of study: South-East Spain. Material and methods: Citrus intercropping practices in South-East Spain has been used as case study. Stakeholders’ preferences for crop diversification incentives were investigated by using a multicriteria approach, and those results were integrated into the development of a business model canvas. Main results: Including crop diversification practices as environmental practices within the operational programmes of producer organizations is seen the most preferred incentive over which the business model canvas is developed. Research highlights: The establishment of business opportunities for crop diversification practices would facilitate the overcoming of adoption barriers along the agrifood value chain and would promote health and sustainable food systems.

The present study aimed to understand the current situation of diverse crop production in the northern region of Bangladesh. It also focused on sustainable production and consumption (SDG-12) and its association with crop diversification in the study area. The study adopted several tools and techniques of qualitative methods to design, collect data, and analyze them. By utilizing a non-random, purposive sampling, we chose some selected areas in northern Bangladesh, and following the sampling procedure, 50 farmers (small-scale agriculture producers) were selected to answer the central research questions and study-specific objectives. As part of the qualitative data analysis technique, this research employed a 'thematic analysis' tool to categorize the collected data under appropriate sub-themes which highlighted the study's major aims and objectives. It is demonstrated that crop diversification is one of the most important strategies for ensuring sustainable agriculture and production. In addition, diverse agricultural production plays a vital role in ensuring farmers' accessibility to food for household consumption. The study recommends that crop diversification should be thoroughly encouraged by the government of Bangladesh (GoB) to achieve SDG-12 (Sustainable Production and Consumption) by 2030. Additionally, the relevant officials of the GoB should provide necessary high-yielding seeds of diverse crops among the peasants in rural Bangladesh. Further research can be carried out on climate-resilient local food production systems to ensure sustainable food production and consumption in the country.

Abstract Background Much has been made of the potential for aquaculture to improve rural livelihoods and food and nutrition security in Africa, though little evidence exists to back such claims. This study, conducted in northern Zambia, assessed the benefits of adopting aquaculture by comparing a sample of households with (n = 177) and without fishponds (n = 174). Results On-farm food production was assessed by summing all crop and livestock activities and calculating a production diversity score (PDS) of key food groups. Aquaculture households had greater crop diversification and were more associated with key nutritious foods grown on the farm, possibly due to additional water irrigation capabilities. A greater diversity of cultivated crops led to better household dietary diversity scores (HDDS). We further assessed the frequency of consumption of 53 food items (including 30 fish species) over a period of 4 weeks via a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Using the Simpson’s Index, aquaculture households had greater diversity and evenness in the distribution of foods and fish species consumed, particularly for foods grown on the farm. Using livelihood and dietary factors in a multilevel probit regression on the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), we found that adopting aquaculture gave households almost two times more likelihood of improving their food security status. Households could further improve their food security outcomes by growing and consuming certain vegetables, especially those that could be integrated along pond dykes. Conclusions The study suggests three clear pathways to food security. (1) Increasing wealth and income from the sale of fish and integrated vegetables and/or crops, which can be used to purchase a diversity of foods. (2) Increasing food and nutrition security via the direct consumption of fish and vegetables grown on the farm. (3) Improving irrigation capabilities in integrated aquaculture–agriculture systems that has direct impact on pathways 1 and 2. Aquaculture should be promoted in the region for its crop diversification and food security benefits, so long as it fits the local farming system and livelihood context. Moving away from productivist approaches to nutrition-sensitive aquaculture widens the scope of uncovering the many benefits of pond farming in smallholder systems.

Kadwanchi watershed is situated between latitude 19°53' N and longitude 76°00' E. Kadwanchi watershed consists of three villages namely Kadwanchi, Waghrul and Nandapur with area 1607.64, 28.40 and 252.03 hectares respectively. Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jalna sponsored by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) New Delhi and established by Marathwada Sheti Sahayya Mandal, Non-Government Voluntary Organization initiated extension activities from 1993 in small village Kadwanchi. The changes in the socio economic conditions of farmers is associated with changes in cropping pattern. Under Indo -German Watershed Development Program (IGWDP), the watershed activities have been carried out. In this research paper Crop Diversification Index (CDI) has been calculated to study variation is cropping pattern in pre and post condition of watershed activities implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to examine perceived effects of crop diversification on food security status of maize-based farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to obtain data from 183 maize-based farmers using an interview schedule. The data were analyzed using Herfindahl indexing, Food Consumption Score of the World Food Programme for determining household food security and Chi-square test. The results showed that the extent of crop diversification was moderate for slightly above half of the respondents (51.4%). The majority of the respondents (91.3%) had acceptable food consumption (>35), which corresponds to their food security situation. Crop diversification among the farmers indicated positive and significant influence of crop diversification on the food security status of the farmers at 1% level of significance using chi-square. More than half of the respondents perceived that crop diversification had strong effects on increased access to food preferences for an active and healthy life (56.3%), access to utilizable and digestible food (57.4%) and access to sufficient food (53.6%). The study concluded that crop diversification practices contributed to food security by increasing access to preferred sufficient, utilizable and digestible food for active and healthy life of maize-based farmers in Kwara State. Thus, extension agents should increase awareness of the importance of crop diversification for the farmers’ output in the study area.