Search

Cocoa production is a leading driver of deforestation in the humid-tropics of West Africa. Reconciling climate change mitigation with livelihoods of farmers requires identification of production strategies to concurrently improve yield and profit while curtailing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). Using a 2021 plot-survey conducted in Ghana's Eastern region, we evaluated yields, GHG emissions, and value of production (VOP) (a profit indicator) across a typology representing the diversity of systems at plot-level. The typology was constructed by first stratifying plots according to shade levels and variety (hybrid vs. Amazonia) which resulted in three systems: Hybrid sun, hybrid variety under full-sun (little to no shade); Hybrid shade, hybrid and moderate shade (13–25 shade trees ha−1); and Amazonia, Amazonia under predominantly moderate shade. Next, factor analysis and clustering were used to group plots within each system according to cocoa yield, vegetation, management, and (local) climate conditions. Cluster analysis showed that fertiliser, weeding, pruning, hand pollination, cocoa tree density, and shade tree densities of differing heights were most influential for determination across systems. Hybrid shade had the highest net GHG removal rate at −6.8 ± 1.7 (± 95% CI) Mg CO2eq ha−1 yr−1: 48% and 127% higher (emissions more negative) respectively over Amazonia and Hybrid sun. Hybrid shade additionally had the highest average and least variable VOP among production systems at 669 ± 564 USD ha−1 yr−1, compared to Hybrid sun and Amazonia at 404 ± 442 and 213 ± 280 USD ha−1 yr−1 respectively. These results point to hybrid cocoa grown under moderate shade of 13–25 shade trees ha−1 as optimal for reconciling climate change mitigation with development in West African cocoa.

Tanzania’s dairy sector is poorly developed, creating reliance on imports for processed, value-added dairy products and threatening food security, particularly when supply chains are disrupted due to market volatility or armed conflicts. The Tanzanian Dairy Development Roadmap is a domestic development initiative that aims to achieve dairy self-sufficiency by 2030. Here, we model different outcomes of the roadmap, finding that adoption of high-yield cattle breeds is essential for reducing dairy import dependency. Avoided land use change resulting from fewer, higher yielding dairy cattle would lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Dairy producers’ average incomes could increase despite capital expenditure and land allocation required for the adoption of high-yield breeds. Our findings demonstrate the importance of bottom-up development policies for sustainable food system transformations, which also support food sovereignty, increase incomes for smallholder farmers and contribute towards Tanzania’s commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Presenting a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office of Education organizational alternative based upon the findings of the Task Force on the Functions and Organization of the BIA Education Programs (Executive Summary is appended) and the concept of American Indian self-determination, this document deals with: the experience of Indian control of education; an organizational alternative; quality education; implications of the alternative; the Office of Education's Director; and implementation procedures. Specifically, this alternative calls for: a general management program; finance for Indian education programs; technical services for Indian education (consultative services; research, evaluation, and program review; communication services; and legislation liaison activities); quality education for Indians based upon the concept of centralized generalists and localized specialists; a 50% reduction in BIA Office of Education staff and operations (elimination of the Teacher Recruitment Section, National Indian Training Center, School Operations Coordination Division and selective reductions in the remaining units); the position of the Director to be retitled, regraded, and given line authority; swift implementation to include a three-person committee to work with Division Chiefs, the Director, and Personnel and an out-placement program. (JC)

A growing body of evidence shows that more intensive dairy systems can be good for both nature and people. Little research considers whether such systems correspond with local priorities and preferences. Using a mixed methods approach, this study examined the effects of three intensification scenarios on milk yield and emission intensities in Kenya and Tanzania. Scenarios included (a) an incremental change to feed management; (b) adaptive change by replacing grasslands with nutrient-rich fodder crops; and (c) multiple change involving concurrent improvements to breeds, feeds and concentrate supplementation. These scenarios were co-constructed with diverse stakeholder groups to ensure these resonate with local preferences and priorities. Modelling these scenarios showed that milk yield could increase by 2-15% with incremental changes to over 200% with multiple changes. Greenhouse gas emission intensities are lowest under the multiple change scenario, reducing by an estimated 44%. While raising yields, incremental change conversely raises emission intensities by 9%. Our results suggest that while future interventions that account for local priorities and preferences can enhance productivity and increase the uptake of practices, far reaching shifts in practices are needed to reduce the climatic footprint of the sector. Since this does not align with local priorities and preferences in many situations, future low-emission development initiatives should place more emphasis on geographic and stakeholder heterogeneity when designing targeting and implementation strategies. This suggests that in low-income countries, bottom-up approaches may be more likely to improve dairy productivity and align with mitigation targets than one-size-fits-all approaches.

The original version of this Article omitted the Acknowledgements section. The Acknowledgements section now reads: “This research was in part funded by the IFAD project “Greening livestock: Incentive-based interventions for reducing the climate impact of livestock production in East Africa”, as a contribution to the CGIAR program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).” The original Article has been corrected.

A growing body of evidence shows that more intensive dairy systems can be good for both nature and people. Little research considers whether such systems correspond with local priorities and preferences. Using a mixed methods approach, this study examined the effects of three intensification scenarios on milk yield and emission intensities in Kenya and Tanzania. Scenarios included (a) an incremental change to feed management; (b) adaptive change by replacing poor quality grass with nutrient-rich fodder crops; and (c) multiple change involving concurrent improvements to breeds, feeds and concentrate supplementation. These scenarios were co-constructed with diverse stakeholder groups to ensure these resonate with local preferences and priorities. Modelling these scenarios showed that milk yield could increase by 2%-15% with incremental changes to over 200% with multiple changes. Greenhouse gas emission intensities are lowest under the multiple change scenario, reducing by an estimated 44%. While raising yields, incremental change conversely raises emission intensities by 9%. Our results suggest that while future interventions that account for local priorities and preferences can enhance productivity and increase the uptake of practices, far-reaching shifts in practices are needed to reduce the climatic footprint of the dairy sector. Since top-down interventions does not align with local priorities and preferences in many situations, future low-emission development initiatives should place more emphasis on geographic and stakeholder heterogeneity when designing targeting and implementation strategies. This suggests that in low-income countries, bottom-up approaches may be more likely to improve dairy productivity and align with mitigation targets than one-size-fits-all approaches.

Crop-livestock farms across Africa are highly variable due to in agroecological and socioeconomic factors, the latter shaping the demand and supply of livestock products. Crop-livestock farms in Africa in the 21st century are very different from most mixed farms elsewhere in the world. African crop-livestock farms are smaller in size, have fewer livestock, lower productivity and less dependency on imported feed than farms in most countries of Europe, the Americas and the intensive agricultural systems of Asia. This paper discusses the role African crop-livestock farms have in the broader socio-agricultural economy, and how these are likely to change adapting to pressures brought on by the intensification of food systems. This intensification implies increasing land productivity (more food per hectare), often leading to more livestock heads per farm, producing fertilized feeds in croplands and importing feed supplements from the market. This discussion includes (1) the links between crop yields, soil fertility and crop-livestock integration, (2) the increasing demand for livestock products and the land resources required to meet to this demand, and (3) the opportunities to integrate broader societal goals into the development of crop-livestock farms. There is ample room for development of crop-livestock farms in Africa, and keeping integration as part of the development will help prevent many of the mistakes and environmental problems related to the intensification of livestock production observed elsewhere in the world. This development can integrate biodiversity, climate change adaptation and mitigation to the current goals of increasing productivity and food security. The inclusion of broader goals could help farmers access the level of finance required to implement changes.

Non-PR, IFPRI1; BioSight; CRP2; A Ensuring Sustainable food production, EPTD; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), The government of Malawi is pursuing an export led agricultural growth strategy, and therefore improving transport quality between major urban areas, as well as between rural areas and ports of trade or market centers, is a key pri-ority (DTIS, 2014). For this reason, being able to assess travel distances, times, and costs for major commerce routes is an important first step. Despite this, there exists a lack of basic data relating to the geographic and economic as-pects of road travel in many of these countries. The purpose of this technical brief is to describe the procedure taken for the estimation of transportation costs for use in the development of a spatially disaggregated, market level model of the Malawian agricultural sector, which is being done as part of BioSight’s ongoing work on the sustainable intensi-fication of agriculture in Africa, south of the Sahara. Modelling exercises such as these require estimation of the mar-keting margins of agricultural inputs and outputs traded across regions. The transport cost makes up a significant component of the marketing margin. High quality data on transport costs is therefore crucial for the parameterization and application of market models such as these. This technical brief describes a procedure for estimating transport distances, times, and costs between three major urban areas in south, central, and north Malawi. The difficulties around obtaining reliable spatial data and how to use these to develop and assess specific transport routes are dis-cussed.

Non-PR, IFPRI1; BioSight; CRP2; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; Africa Rising, EPTD; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), DAHBSIM is a dynamic, bio-economic model of agricultural households that was designed to be applied to a rural, developing country-setting, for the purpose of addressing questions around the biophysical constraints to on-farm agricultural productivity, and the whole-farm implications of alternative strategies to sustainable agricultural intensification. The model links socio-economic and biophysical aspects, in order to better illustrate the environmental and human welfare implications of different agricultural production practices, as they are influenced by policy-driven changes in prices of inputs or outputs, or by changes in the physical environment.

PR, IFPRI4; CRP2; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; D Transforming Agriculture; E Building Resilience; Land Resource Management for Poverty Reduction, EPTD; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

PR, IFPRI5; CRP2; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; D Transforming Agriculture; E Building Resilience;Land Resource Management for Poverty Reduction, EPTD; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

This simulation study explored the agricultural household effects of changes in the price of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer for farmers in central Malawi. We selected the Dedza district to conduct this study, which is a district reliant on maize production for household livelihoods. This study used data from a household survey to develop and calibrate an agricultural household model for a representative household. The survey focused on socio-economic and agronomic factors. This included plot-level agronomic details for crop inputs and yields. Using our dynamic model, we found a negative association between fertilizer prices and fertilizer use, maize area, and income. Removing fertilizer prices led to an increased use of nitrogen fertilizer at the household scale from 16.8 kg to 49.6 kg and this helped increase household income by 52%. We calculated an average own-price elasticity of fertilizer demand of − 0.92. Although higher fertilizer prices increased legume acreage, which had potential environmental benefits, household income fell. Our benefit-cost ratio calculations suggest that government actions that deliver changes in fertilizer prices are relatively cost effective. Our study highlights the reliance of households on maize production and consumption for their livelihood, and the effects that changes in fertilizer prices can have upon them.

PR, IFPRI3; CRP2; ISI, EPTD; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)