scholarly journals Sustainable Cucurbit Breeding and Production in Asia Using Public–Private Partnerships by the World Vegetable Center

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1171
Author(s):  
Narinder P.S. Dhillon ◽  
Suwannee Laenoi ◽  
Supornpun Srimat ◽  
Somchit Pruangwitayakun ◽  
Anil Mallappa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
F1 Hybrids ◽  
Breeding Lines ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Seed Industry ◽  
Sales And Marketing ◽  
Crop Field ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
The World ◽  
Luffa Acutangula

The mission of the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) is research and development to realize the potential of vegetables for healthier lives and more resilient livelihoods. WorldVeg operates across Asia and Africa, and its breeding portfolio comprises global as well as traditional vegetables. Cucurbit crops make an important contribution to global food and nutrition security and are economically important to smallholder farmers in Asia, who account for 83% of global cucurbit production. The global cucurbit breeding program of WorldVeg focuses on four species: bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), tropical pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata), ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula), and sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica syn. L. aegyptiaca). Improved cultivars have been developed by the private seed industry, however, repeated recycling of lines derived from elite hybrids has narrowed the genetic base and reduced genetic gains for yield and other key traits. This trend will continue unless a concerted effort is made to introduce new genetic variability into elite hybrids. WorldVeg has organized a breeding consortium with seed companies to facilitate access to the Center’s new breeding lines derived from hitherto unexploited landraces to develop genetically diverse, improved cucurbit cultivars with enhanced yield and resistance to major diseases. Through this partnership, WorldVeg presents its improved lines and F1 hybrids at Crop Field Days for selection by private seed industry staff engaged in breeding, product development, and sales and marketing.

scholarly journals Factors Associated with Household Food Security in Zambia

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2715 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Nkomoki ◽  
Miroslava Bavorová ◽  
Jan Banout
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Household Head ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Food And Nutrition Security ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Food And Nutrition

Food security is a global challenge and threatens mainly smallholder farmers in developing countries. The main aim of this paper is to determine factors that are associated with food security in Zambia. This study utilizes the household questionnaire survey dataset of 400 smallholder farmers in four districts conducted in southern Zambia in 2016. To measure food security, the study employs two food security indicators, namely the food consumption score (FCS) and the household hunger scale (HHS). Two ordered probit models are estimated with the dependent variables FCS and HHS. Both the FCS and HHS models’ findings reveal that higher education levels of household head, increasing livestock income, secure land tenure, increasing land size, and group membership increase the probability of household food and nutrition security. The results imply that policies supporting livestock development programs such as training of farmers in animal husbandry, as well as policies increasing land tenure security and empowerment of farmers groups, have the potential to enhance household food and nutrition security.

Smallholder Irrigation and Pathways to Food Security

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Burney ◽  
Halimatou Alaofè ◽  
Rosamond Naylor ◽  
Douglas Taren
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Developing Regions ◽  
Irrigation Project ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Irrigation Technology ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Food And Nutrition

<p>Irrigation can facilitate the expansion of agricultural production in multiple dimensions – including increasing crop yields, extending the production calendar to previously unmanageable dry periods, and facilitating production of a diverse array of higher-valued crops like fruits and vegetables. For poor smallholder farmers, this productivity boost is assumed to lead an array of benefits, including improved economic conditions and better food and nutrition security, but results from many irrigation studies in developing regions of the world have been underwhelming. Here we explore the simple and intuitive hypothesis that the benefits to farmers and their families of using irrigation depend on how increases in production are utilized, including whether crops are consumed in the home, monetized, or put to other uses. We use data from a solar irrigation project in Benin, West Africa, and show how the same irrigation technology resulted in a range of impacts on hundreds of beneficiaries. This variation is largely explained by how much individual families either consumed or sold products, and how those changes in consumption and sales then translated into a broad range of benefits. These findings have important implications for work at the food-energy-water nexus, including design and evaluation of irrigation-based projects targeted at smallholders. Importantly, they suggest that historical evaluations of irrigation impacts have likely missed important pathways, and have thus under-estimated the total benefits of irrigation to smallholders in contexts like the semi-arid tropics.</p>

Improved nutrition and resilience will make conservation agriculture more attractive for Zambian smallholder farmers

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Blessing Mhlanga ◽  
Mulundu Mwila ◽  
Christian Thierfelder
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Protein Yield ◽  
Energy Yield ◽  
Total System ◽  
Crop Diversification ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Food And Nutrition

Abstract Food and nutrition insecurity in southern Africa call for improvements in traditional agriculture systems. Conservation Agriculture (CA) based on minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop diversification has been implemented as a strategy to maintain yields while safeguarding the environment. However, less focus has been placed on potential synergistic benefits on nutrition security. Maize-based systems may increase household income through selling but may not lead to proportionate reduction in malnutrition. Crop diversification in CA systems can have a direct impact on the nutritional status of farm households due to improved dietary diversity. Here we assess how the integration of grain legumes, cowpeas and soybeans, in maize-based CA systems either as intercrops or rotational crops affects maize grain yield and stability, total energy yield, protein yield and surplus calories after satisfying the daily requirement per household. The experiments were carried out from 2012 to 2020 (nine consecutive cropping seasons) in six eastern Zambian on-farm communities using 966 observations. Results show that intercropping compromises maize yields with marginal yield penalties of −5% compared to no-till monocropping. However, intercropped yields were more stable across environments. Total system caloric energy and protein yield were highest in intercropping systems due to higher productivity per unit land area owing to the additive contribution of both maize and legumes. Total system caloric energy and protein yield reached yearly averages of 60 GJ ha−1 and 517 kg ha−1, respectively, for the intercropping system as compared to 48 GJ ha−1 and 263 kg ha−1 in monocropped maize systems. Tillage-based monocrop resulted in the least stable yields. Our results suggest that intercropping maize with grain legumes in CA systems is a promising option for smallholder farming households to improve dietary diversity, dietary quality and stability of yields thus contributing to sustainable agriculture intensification while maintaining food and nutrition security.

scholarly journals A Review of Climate-Smart Agriculture Technology Adoption by Farming Households in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 12130
Author(s):  
Richard Kombat ◽  
Paolo Sarfatti ◽  
Oluwole Abiodun Fatunbi
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Positive Outcome ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Smart Agriculture ◽  
Farming Households

Climate change is a major constraint to the progress of Africa’s agriculture, food, and nutrition security; its effect is tied to geographical position and driven by the limited adaptive capacity of the agricultural households. The most vulnerable stakeholder group are the smallholder farming households with limited resources and knowledge of adaptation and mitigation techniques. Sub-Saharan Africa owns more than 60% of the world’s arable land with over 85% of the farmers being smallholder farmers, who are predisposed to various risks. This paper analyzes the adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) processes and technologies by smallholder farming households in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study used mixed methods and an integrative literature review. This review indicated that the knowledge of CSA technologies by smallholder farmers in Africa is increasing and, thus, concerted efforts to continuously generate CSA technology would contribute to the desired positive outcome. To accelerate the pace of adoption and use of the technologies, the linkage of farmers, researchers, and extension practitioners is needed. Measures should also be put in place to ensure that CSA actions are implemented using bottom-up approaches.

scholarly journals Pigmented Potatoes: A Potential Panacea for Food and Nutrition Security and Health?

Foods ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Callistus Bvenura ◽  
Hildegard Witbooi ◽  
Learnmore Kambizi
Keyword(s):  
Shelf Life ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Polyphenolic Compounds ◽  
Plant Biodiversity ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Local Traditions

Although there are over 4000 potato cultivars in the world, only a few have been commercialized due to their marketability and shelf-life. Most noncommercialized cultivars are pigmented and found in remote regions of the world. White-fleshed potatoes are well known for their energy-enhancing complex carbohydrates; however, pigmented cultivars are potentially high in health-promoting polyphenolic compounds. Therefore, we reveal the comprehensive compositions of pigmented cultivars and associated potential health benefits, including their potential role in ameliorating hunger, food, and nutrition insecurity, and their prospects. The underutilization of such resources is a direct threat to plant-biodiversity and local traditions and cultures.

Food Systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 134-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henk Jochemsen ◽  
Corné J. Rademaker
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Process Of Care ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
Global Food

Today's predominant food system on the one hand produces plenty of food, making food relatively cheap for most people in the world. However, for many people, the food they can afford is insufficiently nutritious. Major global health problems like obesity are partly a result of the present food system. Furthermore, the modern industrial way of producing food has negative environmental consequences, consisting among others of a decline in soil fertility and a loss of biodiversity. Another food system is required to obtain sustainable global food and nutrition security. This food system should observe the normativity of the agricultural practices that produce food. The authors' analysis of agricultural practices shows that the farm is economically qualified but that the primary process of care for soil, crops, and animals can best be seen as an ethically qualified supporting practice that steers the “meaningful shaping” of the interventions foundational for agricultural practices.

scholarly journals The Need for a Food Systems Approach in Smallholder Food and Nutrition Security Initiatives: Lessons from Inclusive Agribusiness in Smallholder Communities

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1785
Author(s):  
James Wangu
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Food And Nutrition Security ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Inclusive Business ◽  
To Come

Inclusive business models dominate current development policy and practices aimed at addressing food and nutrition insecurity among smallholder farmers. Through inclusive agribusiness, smallholder food security is presumed to come from increased farm productivity (food availability) and income (food access). Based on recent research, the focus of impact assessments of inclusive business models has been limited to instrumental aspects, such as the number of farmers supported, the training provided, and immediate farm outcomes, namely revenue. Furthermore, the assessments limit their scope to participating smallholders, while overlooking other community members. With respect to food and nutrition security, there is no acknowledgement of the diverse household needs that compete with the food requirements with regard to the multi-dimensional nature of poverty. Focusing on recent studies and reviews on the contribution of inclusive business initiatives to smallholders’ livelihoods and food security, the present review adopts a food systems approach for broader knowledge and insight analysis. It re-emphasizes that a food systems approach that provides a systemic and broader way of thinking about and working on food issues is critical for development initiatives aimed at ensuring that every person can meet their food and nutrition needs.

scholarly journals On- and Off-Farm Diversification and Travel Time to Markets: Linkages to Food Security in Rural Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Bergau ◽  
Tim K. Loos ◽  
Orkhan Sariyev
Keyword(s):  
Travel Time ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Food And Nutrition Security ◽  
Farm Diversification ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Production Diversity ◽  
On Farm

AbstractFood insecurity persists in large parts of Ethiopia. Recent literature suggests that both on-farm and off-farm diversification, as well as access to agricultural markets, may help improve household dietary diversity scores (HDDS) as an indicator for food and nutrition security. While the HDDS is frequently used, a diversity score for the production side has rarely been applied at a comparable level of (dis-)aggregation. Employing socio-economic data collected covering 400 Ethiopian smallholder farmers, this study investigates how the travel time to markets, non-farm income, and on-farm production diversity associate with household food and nutrition security. Findings suggest that production diversity and higher non-farm income are linked to more diverse diets. With longer travel time to markets, food consumption is less varied. Production diversity and increased market participation do not appear to be mutually exclusive, and thus, should be considered equally when developing policy interventions.

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