scholarly journals Three Decades of Changes in Brazilian Municipalities and Their Food Production Systems

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 422
Author(s):  
Ramon Felipe Bicudo da Silva ◽  
Mateus Batistella ◽  
James D. A. Millington ◽  
Emilio Moran ◽  
Luiz A. Martinelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Socioeconomic Outcomes ◽  
Economic Output ◽  
Trade Offs

Agricultural systems are heterogeneous across temporal and spatial scales. Although much research has investigated farm size and economic output, the synergies and trade-offs across various agricultural and socioeconomic variables are unclear. This study applies a GIS-based approach to official Brazilian census data (Agricultural Censuses of 1995, 2006, and 2017) and surveys at the municipality level to (i) evaluate changes in the average soybean farm size across the country and (ii) compare agricultural and socioeconomic outcomes (i.e., soybean yield, agricultural production value, crop production diversity, and rural labor employment) relative to the average soybean farm size. Statistical tests (e.g., Kruskal–Wallis tests and Spearman’s correlation) were used to analyze variable outcomes in different classes of farm sizes and respective Agricultural Censuses. We found that agricultural and socioeconomic outcomes are spatially correlated with soybean farm size class. Therefore, based on the concepts of trade-offs and synergies, we show that municipalities with large soybean farm sizes had larger trade-offs (e.g., larger farm size was associated with lower crop diversity), while small and medium ones manifest greater synergies. These patterns are particularly strong for analysis using the Agricultural Census of 2017. Trade-off/synergy analysis across space and time is key for supporting long-term strategies aiming at alleviating unemployment and providing sustainable food production, essential to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

scholarly journals Leveraging drought risk reduction for sustainable food, soil and climate via soil organic carbon sequestration

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshichika Iizumi ◽  
Rota Wagai
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Agricultural Drought ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Organic Carbon Content ◽  
Economic Output

AbstractDrought is a major risk in global agriculture. Building-up soil organic carbon (SOC) enhances soil fertility and efficient use of rainwater, which can increase drought tolerance in food production. SOC management demonstrates its benefit at various locations and is a promising means to achieve food security and climate mitigation at once. However, no global assessment of its potential and co-benefits gained from SOC enhancement has been presented. Here we evaluated the extent to which SOC build-up could reduce agricultural drought risk. Using statistical analysis of spatially-explicit global crop and soil datasets, we find that relatively small enhancement in topsoil (0–30 cm) organic carbon content (OCtop) could increase drought tolerance of the food production systems operating over 70% of the global harvested area (particularly drylands). By closing the gap between current and upper limit of tolerance levels through SOC addition of 4.87 GtC at the global scale, farmer’s economic output in drought years would increase by ~16%. This level of SOC increase has co-benefit of reducing global decadal mean temperature warming by 0.011 °C. Our findings highlight that progress towards multiple development goals can be leveraged by SOC enhancement in carbon (C)-poor soils in drier regions around the world.

scholarly journals Improving the productivity and sustainability of terrestrial and aquatic food production systems: future perspectives

2011 ◽  
Vol 149 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. R. CRUTE ◽  
J. F. MUIR
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Production Environment ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Environment Temperature ◽  
Aquatic Food

SUMMARYTo meet the increasing global demand for food that is predicted over the coming decades it will be necessary to increase productivity and to do this in a way that is sustainable and efficient in its use of resources. Productivity is currently determined by the intrinsic genetic potential of the domestic plants and animals on which mankind is dependent as well as by components of the biophysical environment (temperature, water availability and quality, soil fertility, parasites, pathogens, weeds) from which terrestrial or aquatic food production is derived. Within certain limits, it is possible to manipulate plant and animal genotypes, the production environment, and the inevitable interaction between these factors, to relax constraints on productivity and potential output. Looking to the future, increased scientific understanding will undoubtedly permit this manipulation to be achieved more effectively, thus enabling the scale of production to be elevated predictably while reducing reliance on non-renewable inputs and limiting the use of more forest, grassland, wetland or coastal margin. The present paper introduces a collection of reviews that were commissioned as part of the UK's Government Office of Science Foresight Project on Global Food and Farming Futures which reports early in 2011. The reviews explore opportunities for advances in science and technology to impact in coming decades on the sustainable productivity of terrestrial and aquatic food production systems. Collectively, they describe many of the approaches currently being considered to define, remove or relax the different genetic or environmental constraints limiting sustainable food production. These include: potential impacts of climate change on aquatic systems, the application of biotechnology, genetics and the development of systems to improve livestock, fish and crop production; approaches to the management of parasites and pathogens; weed control in crops; management of soil fertility; approaches to countering problems of water shortage; reducing post-harvest wastage; the role of advanced engineering and the potential for increasing food production in urban environments.

scholarly journals Extracellular DNA: Insight of a Signal Molecule in Crop Protection

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1022
Author(s):  
Ireri Alejandra Carbajal-Valenzuela ◽  
Gabriela Medina-Ramos ◽  
Laura Helena Caicedo-Lopez ◽  
Alejandra Jiménez-Hernández ◽  
Adrian Esteban Ortega-Torres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Crop Protection ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Extracellular Dna ◽  
Molecular Characteristics ◽  
Plant Metabolism ◽  
Signal Molecule ◽  
Molecular Pattern ◽  
Trade Offs

Agricultural systems face several challenges in terms of meeting everyday-growing quantities and qualities of food requirements. However, the ecological and social trade-offs for increasing agricultural production are high, therefore, more sustainable agricultural practices are desired. Researchers are currently working on diverse sustainable techniques based mostly on natural mechanisms that plants have developed along with their evolution. Here, we discuss the potential agricultural application of extracellular DNA (eDNA), its multiple functioning mechanisms in plant metabolism, the importance of hormetic curves establishment, and as a challenge: the technical limitations of the industrial scale for this technology. We highlight the more viable natural mechanisms in which eDNA affects plant metabolism, acting as a damage/microbe-associated molecular pattern (DAMP, MAMP) or as a general plant biostimulant. Finally, we suggest a whole sustainable system, where DNA is extracted from organic sources by a simple methodology to fulfill the molecular characteristics needed to be applied in crop production systems, allowing the reduction in, or perhaps the total removal of, chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and insecticides application.

scholarly journals Diversified crop rotations enhance groundwater and economic sustainability of food production

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolin Yang ◽  
Tammo Steenhuis ◽  
Kyle Davis ◽  
Wopke van der Werf ◽  
Coen Ritsema ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Crop Rotations ◽  
Economic Output ◽  
Harvest Frequency ◽  
Trade Offs

Abstract Earth’s water resources are critical for supporting livelihoods and food security but are being increasingly overexploited to support global agriculture. Diversifying cropping systems could potentially resolve unsustainable water use but trade-offs with other aspects of sustainability and food security have not yet been assessed. We perform a detailed meta-analysis to systematically compare 31 different crop rotations in China– in terms of actual evapotranspiration (ETa), effect on groundwater depth, grain yield, economic output, and water use efficiency (WUE) – and identify configurations that can achieve co-benefits across multiple dimensions. We find that a combination of lowering the cropping index (i.e., harvest frequency), incorporating fallow periods, and introducing higher value crops into the currently dominant winter wheat-summer maize double cropping system can reduce growing season ETa by as much as 31%, mitigate groundwater decline by 19% or more, and increased economic output and economic WUE by more than 11% and 3%, respectively. We also find that multiple diversified wheat-maize–based rotations– all with rotation lengths greater than two years– achieve co-benefits across all evaluated dimensions. This study provides new empirical evidence of the opportunities for diversified crop rotations to balance the multiple objectives of food production, sustainable groundwater use and farmer profitability. Extending this solution to other water-stressed agricultural regions could be an effective strategy in achieving more sustainable food production globally.

Economic methods for comparing alternative crop production systems: A review of the literature

1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne S. Roberts ◽  
Scott M. Swinton
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Contamination ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Alternative Crop ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Environmental Objectives ◽  
Alternative Systems ◽  
Economic Studies

AbstractNew crop production technologies developed in response to growing concern over environmental contamination from agriculture may be neither more profitable nor higher yielding than the systems they replace, but they often reduce environmental contamination or improve soil and water quality. Systems designed with environmental objectives cannot be evaluated fairly just by productivity, which is what often is done in economic studies of alternative systems. We review 58 recent studies comparing alternative crop production systems to identify the key criteria for system comparisons, the system characteristics important in designing the analysis, and the methods most suited for comparing alternative systems.The four key criteria we looked for in system comparisons are expected profit, stability of profits, expected environmental impacts, and stability of environmental impacts. Most economic studies of crop production focus exclusively on profitability, and incorporate neither environmental criteria nor the dynamic characteristics inherent in alternative systems. We identify promising new approaches that take account of specific environmental characteristics and attempt to balance the objectives of profitability and environmental risk management. Balanced environmental-economic analysis is most likely to be achieved by integrating biophysical simulation models with economic optimization methods to model the trade-offs among profitability, environmental impact, and system stability (both financial and environmental).

scholarly journals Adoption of Intercropping Practices by the Cotton Farmers in Mancherial District of Telangana State

2021 ◽  
pp. 46-52
Author(s):  
Shivakrishna Kota ◽  
M. Rajeshwar Naik ◽  
R. Uma Reddy ◽  
I. Thirupathi
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Climatic Variations ◽  
Education Status ◽  
Cotton Farmers ◽  
New Generation

World food production shortages and estimates in the supplies of the future have promptly increased the interest in the adoption of improved crop production activities and increased the food production and helps to cope with the threats of climatic variations and food security. Intercropping is a method that efficiently uses the space and time of cultivation. In this concept of cotton-based intercropping with pulses, where cotton yields are more along with additional survivable returns to the farmers from other crops. Though the concept has beneficial effects, but the adoption of intercropping in cotton by the farmers is low due to lack of clarity about the concept of intercropping. The present study mainly focused on estimating and clarifying the decision of the farmers on the adoption and non-adoption of intercropping in cotton and the benefits of the intercropping practices by the cotton farmers in developing the conceptual framework. Logistic regression model was used to present an econometric analysis of the diffusion process. The results from the present study revealed that variables like farm size, education status and exposure to extension service and capital were statistically significant at 1% level and showing a positive influence on the adoption of intercropping in cotton. Whereas age, farming experience was statistically significant at 1% level and showing the negative influence on the adoption of intercropping in cotton and yield is the other variable showing the negative influence on the intercropping. Further, in the extension systems more stress is need upon the capacity building of the farmers for optimum harnessing of the benefits of new generation technologies in cotton cultivation.

scholarly journals Risk of Low Productivity is Dependent on Farm Characteristics: How to Turn Poor Performance into an Advantage

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 5504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peltonen-Sainio ◽  
Jauhiainen
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Production Region ◽  
Farm Type

The principle role of agriculture is to produce food for the increasing human population. However, the environmental footprint needs to be simultaneously reduced. Data from the Finnish Food Authority (181,108 parcels in the south-western crop production region of Finland) were used to identify the farming system, farm type, farm size, field parcel scale, physical parcel characteristics, cultivated crops, crop rotations and cultivars. Sentinel-2 derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values were used to identify fields with very low productivity. Thereby, the impacts of farm and field characteristics on risks of low NDVI values and their associated means of coping by the farmer were studied. High variations in field parcel characteristics and growth capacity were typical in the studied area. Although it is challenging for farmers, high variation can provide many opportunities for the development of multifunctional and resource-smart production systems, e.g., by optimizing land use: allocating high-quality fields for food production, and poorly performing fields for extensification, i.e., the production of environmental benefits. Many usable policy instruments are available to support such a transition, but more focus should be put onto the most efficient means to enable progress towards environmentally, economically and socially sustainable high-latitude agricultural systems.

Development of an integrated indicator to assess the multi-dimensional global environmental impact of crop production.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark jwaideh ◽  
Carole Dalin
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Composite Indicator ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Development Goals

<p>Due to increased demand for food, feed, fibre and fuels, intensive resource-use for crop production causes depletion of finite natural resources imperils ecosystems’ integrity. Environmental sustainability is a major global challenge, as identified by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which indicate environmental protection, and higher food production (to end hunger and achieve food security and nutrition), as key goals. As such, the need to measure the environmental sustainability of agriculture globally is imperative to aid decision making for long term, multidisciplinary policy and research programs.</p><p>Composite indicators are popular tools to assess environmental performance due to their operational relevance in policy-making. However, the reliability of a composite indicator heavily depends not only on the meaningfulness and accuracy of the indicators embedded within, but also on the underlying methods used to construct the composite indicator. This research takes advantage of new spatially-explicit estimates of environmental impacts of global agriculture due to the use of fertiliser, water, land-use and emissions of greenhouse gases to build an integrated environmental sustainability indicator. Different constructions of a meaningful composite indicator are formed and assessed for their sensitivity to varying biophysical and resource input factors.</p><p>The tool will be used to analyse hotspots for environmental impacts and resource intensities, providing the initial analysis to aid institutions and governments at the strategic level to compare their level of sustainability, thus encouraging improvement of standards/ranking against other regions and implement drivers for behaviour and change. The study opens the opportunity to provide sustainable food production frameworks globally, group regions and analysis trade-offs/synergies between environmental impacts. Furthermore, by using emerging environmental datasets, this work generates new knowledge and understanding of globally significant environmental processes and profile these policy relevant insights; a process that is increasingly important for global agendas such as the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.</p>

scholarly journals A Nexus Approach to Food, Water, and Energy: Sustainably Meeting Asia’s Future Food and Nutrition Requirements (Sarfraz K. Qureshi Memorial Lecture)

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (4I-II) ◽  
pp. 297-311
Author(s):  
Shenggen Fan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Memorial Lecture ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Sectoral Linkages

Agricultural and food production systems in Asia must undergo a significant transformation in order to meet the concurrent challenges of increasing food, water, and energy demands amid on-going climate change. This is particularly true in countries in South Asia, including Pakistan, where hunger and undernutrition persist and natural resource are increasingly strained. Sustainable intensification with a focus on nutrition is particularly crucial to provide adequate and nutritious food for all without further damages to the planet. However, a silo approach to meeting the demands of a growing, increasingly urbanised, and wealthier population is no longer acceptable. Instead, capitalising on the inter sectoral linkages between food, water, and energy can more effectively minimise trade-offs and maximise synergies across concurrent efforts to improve water, energy, food, and nutrition security sustainably.

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