Altitude, shading, and management intensity effect on Arabica coffee yields in Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract The productivity of Arabica coffee in the Gayo Highlands, Aceh, Indonesia is far below its potential because of climate change and inadequate agricultural practices. To develop a strategy on sustainable coffee yield and improvements of smallholder farming systems, we investigated coffee productivity in three classes of shade densities and three classes of total management intensities index (TMI) along six altitude gradients (1,000–1,600 m above sea level) over 234 farmers’ plots. Coffee productivity was significantly affected by altitude, shade density, and TMI. Our results showed a stronger positive altitudinal effect with coffee productivity in middle and higher altitudes than in lower altitudes and were related to shade density and TMI. Increasing elevation of coffee plantation from lower to middle altitudes and shade from low to medium density increased in coffee productivity but further increase to higher altitude seemed to depress coffee productivity. Increasing TMI positively increased coffee productivity across altitudes. Shade density and TMI played significant roles in coffee productivity in lower altitudes; therefore, coffee farmers have to increase the shade to medium or higher density and at the same time improve plantation management to medium or high TMI.

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Ecosystem Services and Importance of Common Tree Species in Coffee-Agroforestry Systems: Local Knowledge of Small-Scale Farmers at Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Forests ◽

10.3390/f10110963 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 963 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sigrun Wagner ◽

Clement Rigal ◽

Theresa Liebig ◽

Rudolf Mremi ◽

Andreas Hemp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Tree Species ◽

Agroforestry Systems ◽

Small Scale ◽

Group Affiliation ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Coffee Agroforestry ◽

Shade Tree ◽

Coffee Yield ◽

Coffee Farmers

Research Highlights: Global coffee production, especially in smallholder farming systems, is vulnerable and must adapt in the face of climate change. To this end, shaded agroforestry systems are a promising strategy. Background and Objectives: Understanding local contexts is a prerequisite for designing locally tailored systems; this can be achieved by utilizing farmers’ knowledge. Our objective is to explore ecosystem services (ESs) provided by different shade tree species as perceived by farmers and possible factors (elevation, gender, and membership in local farmers groups) influencing these perceptions. We related these factors, as well as farmers’ ESs preferences, to planting densities of tree species. Materials and Methods: During interviews with 263 small-scale coffee farmers on the southern slope of Mt. Kilimanjaro, they ranked the most common shade tree species according to perceived provision of the locally most important ESs for coffee farmers. We asked them to estimate the population of each tree species on their coffee fields and to identify the three ESs most important for their household. Results: Food, fodder, and fuelwood emerged as the most important ESs, with 37.8% of the respondents mentioning all three as priorities. Density of tree species perceived to provide these three ESs were significantly higher for farmers prioritizing these services compared to farmers that did not consider all three ESs in their top three. Albizia schimperiana scored the highest for all rankings of regulatory ESs such as coffee yield improvement, quality shade provision, and soil fertility improvement. Influence of elevation, gender, and farmer group affiliation was negligible for all rankings. Conclusions: This study shows the need to understand factors underlying farmers’ management decisions before recommending shade tree species. Our results led to the upgrade of the online tool (shadetreeadvice.org) which generates lists of potential common shade tree species tailored to local ecological context considering individual farmers’ needs.

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Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) in Agro-industrial and Smallholder Farming Systems in Kenya

10.46446/publication_r4d.2020.3.en ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jacobi Johanna ◽

Kiteme Boniface ◽

Ottiger Fabian

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Human Rights ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Hazardous Substances ◽

The European Union ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Smallholder Farming Systems ◽

Research Findings ◽

International Conventions

Farms in the global South show heavy use of pesticides such as herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. Some of these substances are banned in Switzerland and the European Union but are often produced and exported from there. Our messages draw on research findings from Kenya. They make the link to international conventions, highlight alternatives to pesticide-intensive agricultural practices, and call for phasing out “highly hazardous” substances in line with human rights and the precautionary principle.

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Wheat yield gaps across smallholder farming systems in Ethiopia

Agronomy for Sustainable Development ◽

10.1007/s13593-020-00654-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

Author(s):

João Vasco Silva ◽

Pytrik Reidsma ◽

Frédéric Baudron ◽

Moti Jaleta ◽

Kindie Tesfaye ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽

Stochastic Frontier ◽

Wheat Yield ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Yield Gap ◽

Frontier Analysis ◽

Ecological Zones ◽

Relative Contribution ◽

Yield Gaps

AbstractWheat yields in Ethiopia need to increase considerably to reduce import dependency and keep up with the expected increase in population and dietary changes. Despite the yield progress observed in recent years, wheat yield gaps remain large. Here, we decompose wheat yield gaps in Ethiopia into efficiency, resource, and technology yield gaps and relate those yield gaps to broader farm(ing) systems aspects. To do so, stochastic frontier analysis was applied to a nationally representative panel dataset covering the Meher seasons of 2009 and 2013 and crop modelling was used to simulate the water-limited yield (Yw) in the same years. Farming systems analysis was conducted to describe crop area shares and the availability of land, labour, and capital in contrasting administrative zones. Wheat yield in farmers’ fields averaged 1.9 t ha− 1 corresponding to ca. 20% of Yw. Most of the yield gap was attributed to the technology yield gap (> 50% of Yw) but narrowing efficiency (ca. 10% of Yw) and resource yield gaps (ca. 15% of Yw) with current technologies can nearly double actual yields and contribute to achieve wheat self-sufficiency in Ethiopia. There were small differences in the relative contribution of the intermediate yield gaps to the overall yield gap across agro-ecological zones, administrative zones, and farming systems. At farm level, oxen ownership was positively associated with the wheat cultivated area in zones with relatively large cultivated areas per household (West Arsi and North Showa) while no relationship was found between oxen ownership and the amount of inputs used per hectare of wheat in the zones studied. This is the first thorough yield gap decomposition for wheat in Ethiopia and our results suggest government policies aiming to increase wheat production should prioritise accessibility and affordability of inputs and dissemination of technologies that allow for precise use of these inputs.

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Innovation Meets Tradition in the Sheep and Goat Dairy Industry

Dairy ◽

10.3390/dairy2030033 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 422-424

Author(s):

Paola Scano ◽

Pierluigi Caboni

Keyword(s):

Dairy Industry ◽

Small Ruminants ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Sheep And Goats ◽

Smallholder Farming Systems ◽

The World

Small ruminants, such as sheep and goats, are mostly raised in smallholder farming systems widely distributed throughout the world [...]

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Understanding the vulnerability, farming strategies and development pathways of smallholder farming systems in Telangana, India

Climate Risk Management ◽

10.1016/j.crm.2021.100275 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

pp. 100275

Author(s):

Bhavana Rao Kuchimanchi ◽

Annemarie van Paassen ◽

Simon J. Oosting

Keyword(s):

Farming Systems ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Smallholder Farming Systems

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Agriculture extensification and associated socio-ecological trade-offs in smallholder farming systems of Zambia

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability ◽

10.1080/14735903.2021.1907108 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Patricia Masikati ◽

Givious Sisito ◽

Floyd Chipatela ◽

Howard Tembo ◽

Leigh Ann Winowiecki

Keyword(s):

Farming Systems ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Smallholder Farming Systems ◽

Trade Offs

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Drivers of Forest Cover Dynamics in Smallholder Farming Systems: The Case of Northwestern Vietnam

AMBIO ◽

10.1007/s13280-012-0348-4 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 42 (3) ◽

pp. 344-356 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Isaline Jadin ◽

Veerle Vanacker ◽

Huong Thi Thu Hoang

Keyword(s):

Forest Cover ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Smallholder Farming Systems

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Can Enhancing Efficiency Promote the Economic Viability of Smallholder Farmers? A Case of Sierra Leone

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084235 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4235

Author(s):

Silvia Saravia-Matus ◽

T. S. Amjath-Babu ◽

Sreejith Aravindakshan ◽

Stefan Sieber ◽

Jimmy A. Saravia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sierra Leone ◽

Technical Efficiency ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Crop Production ◽

Structural Equation Models ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Economic Viability ◽

Necessary Condition ◽

Smallholder Farming

By developing meta-frontier efficiency and structural equation models, the paper examines whether farm economic viability is positively associated with technical efficiency in a highly food insecure context, such as that of rural Sierra Leone. The findings show that technical efficiency can be a sufficient but not necessary condition in determining economic viability of smallholder farming. It is possible to breach reproductive thresholds at the cost of reduced technical efficiency, when the crop diversification strategy of smallholders includes market-oriented high-value crops. This calls for a dual policy approach that addresses farmers’ internal needs for self-consumption (increasing efficiency of food crop production) while encouraging market-oriented cash crop production (diversification assisted through the reduction of associated transaction costs and the establishment of accessible commercialization channels of export related crops and/or high-value crops). The work also calls out for a move-up or move-out strategy for small holders to create viable farming systems in developing world.

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