scholarly journals Resilience Assessment of Swiss Farming Systems: Piloting the SHARP-Tool in Vaud

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4435
Author(s):  
Florence Diserens ◽  
John Choptiany ◽  
Dominique Barjolle ◽  
Benjamin Graeub ◽  
Claire Durand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Resilience Theory ◽  
External Shocks ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
Farm System

Farm systems are exposed to predictable and unpredictable shocks and stresses. Such events may affect the functioning of farm systems and threaten their capacity to provide food in adequate quantities and sufficient quality. The capacity of farm systems to recover, reorganize, and evolve following external shocks and stresses is analysed within the framework of resilience theory. The SHARP (self-evaluation and holistic assessment of climate resilience of farmers and pastoralists) tool was developed to assess the resilience of farm systems to climate change in a participatory way. The SHARP was originally designed for developing countries. This paper outlines the process and changes made to adapt the tool for use in the Swiss farming context, including the challenges and trade-offs of the adaptation. Its first application in the Canton of Vaud provides insights on the levels of resilience to climate change for farmers in Switzerland. The results showed that of twenty-five farmers, “environment” and “market” are two groups of farm-system components where the farm systems are least resilient. The paper provides preliminary comments on agricultural systems in the west of Switzerland that could be explored further.

scholarly journals Community seed network in an era of climate change: dynamics of maize diversity in Yucatán, Mexico

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianna Fenzi ◽  
Paul Rogé ◽  
Angel Cruz-Estrada ◽  
John Tuxill ◽  
Devra Jarvis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
Farming Community ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Maize Diversity ◽  
Climatic Period ◽  
Small Holder Farmers

AbstractLocal seed systems remain the fundamental source of seeds for many crops in developing countries. Climate resilience for small holder farmers continues to depend largely on locally available seeds of traditional crop varieties. High rainfall events can have as significant an impact on crop production as increased temperatures and drought. This article analyzes the dynamics of maize diversity over 3 years in a farming community of Yucatán state, Mexico, where elevated levels of precipitation forced farmers in 2012 to reduce maize diversity in their plots. We study how farmers maintained their agroecosystem resilience through seed networks, examining the drivers influencing maize diversity and seed provisioning in the year preceding and following the 2012 climatic disturbance (2011–2013). We found that, under these challenging circumstances, farmers focused their efforts on their most reliable landraces, disregarding hybrids. We show that farmers were able to recover and restore the diversity usually cultivated in the community in the year following the critical climate event. The maize dynamic assessed in this study demonstrates the importance of community level conservation of crop diversity. Understanding farmer management strategies of agrobiodiversity, especially during a challenging climatic period, is necessary to promote a more tailored response to climate change in traditional farming systems.

scholarly journals Root traits for low input agroecosystems in Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mame Sokhatil Ndoye ◽  
Jimmy Burridge ◽  
Rahul Bhosale ◽  
Alexandre Grondin ◽  
Laurent Laplaze
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Nutrient Uptake ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Low Input ◽  
Small Holder ◽  
New Cultivars

In Africa, agriculture is largely based on low-input and small-holder farming systems that use little inorganic fertilizers and have limited access to irrigation and mechanization in comparison to modern agricultural systems. Improving agricultural practices and developing new cultivars adapted to these low-input environments, where production already suffers from climate change, is a major priority for ensuring food security in the future. Root phenes improving water and nutrient uptake could represent a solution toward achieving these goals. In this review, we illustrate how breeding for specific root phenes could improve crop adaptation and resilience in Africa using three case studies covering very contrasted low-input agro-ecosystems. We conclude with a discussion on how these phenes could be validated and made available to breeders and agronomists.

Climate change and shifting land-use: consequences for smallholder agroforestry systems and rural livelihoods in the southwest Ethiopian Highlands.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olef Koch ◽  
Pierre L. Ibisch ◽  
Ralf Bloch
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Crop Failure ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Cereal Fields

Abstract Applying a Regional Integrated Vulnerability Assessment (RIVAS), this study aims to identify local farming system characteristics, their climate change vulnerability and how they are affected by current land use changes. Results show that the assessed farming systems' multifunctionality is essential to rural livelihoods whilst sustaining crop and tree diversity. While dry season crop diversity drives household's sufficiency and capacity to respond to crop failure, medium-low productivity in more than a third of the assessed systems, and soil degradation in cereal fields lessen adaptive capacity. For their contribution to climate resilience diverse and perennial cropping regimes should be promoted and maintained.

scholarly journals Towards Climate Smart Farming—A Reference Architecture for Integrated Farming Systems

Telecom ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-74
Author(s):  
Georgios Kakamoukas ◽  
Panagiotis Sarigiannidis ◽  
Andreas Maropoulos ◽  
Thomas Lagkas ◽  
Konstantinos Zaralis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
World Population ◽  
Reference Architecture ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Natural Resource Use ◽  
Promising Solution ◽  
Smart Agriculture ◽  
Integrated Agricultural Systems

Climate change is emerging as a major threat to farming, food security and the livelihoods of millions of people across the world. Agriculture is strongly affected by climate change due to increasing temperatures, water shortage, heavy rainfall and variations in the frequency and intensity of excessive climatic events such as floods and droughts. Farmers need to adapt to climate change by developing advanced and sophisticated farming systems instead of simply farming at lower intensity and occupying more land. Integrated agricultural systems constitute a promising solution, as they can lower reliance on external inputs, enhance nutrient cycling and increase natural resource use efficiency. In this context, the concept of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) emerged as a promising solution to secure the resources for the growing world population under climate change conditions. This work proposes a CSA architecture for fostering and supporting integrated agricultural systems, such as Mixed Farming Systems (MFS), by facilitating the design, the deployment and the management of crop–livestock-=forestry combinations towards sustainable, efficient and climate resilient agricultural systems. Propelled by cutting-edge technology solutions in data collection and processing, along with fully autonomous monitoring systems, e.g., smart sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the proposed architecture called MiFarm-CSA, aims to foster core interactions among animals, forests and crops, while mitigating the high complexity of these interactions, through a novel conceptual framework.

scholarly journals A desktop evaluation of the environmental and economic performance of model dairy farming systems within four New Zealand catchments

2004 ◽  
pp. 57-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.M. Monaghan ◽  
D. Smeaton ◽  
M.G. Hyslop ◽  
D.R. Stevens ◽  
C.A.M. De Klein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Performance ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Dairy Farming ◽  
Large Contribution ◽  
High Input ◽  
N Losses ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
Systems Modelling ◽  
Environmental Emissions ◽  
Farm System

The environmental and economic performances of low, medium and high input dairy farming systems were evaluated for model farms within catchments in Waikato, Taranaki Canterbury and Southland. These four catchments, predominantly under dairy landuse, are part of a long term systems study of farm productivity and catchment-specific environmental issues. Within each catchment, environmental and economic performance indicators were derived for model farms by using the farm systems modelling tool UDDER and the OVERSEER™ nutrient budgeting programme. Our analyses indicated that high input systems, currently defined as farms within the top quartile of farm inputs, either as imported feed or fertiliser nitrogen (N), were often the least profitable, as defined by Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT). These high-input systems consistently had the greatest environmental emissions of N and greenhouse gases, and the greatest energy consumption, on a per hectare and a per kg milksolids basis. The most profitable farm input system depended on payout and the catchment under study. Evaluation of the whole-farm system using these modelling tools demonstrated the relatively large contribution that stock wintering made to N emissions from farms within the two South Island catchments. Where reductions in N losses are sought, it would seem prudent to initially target mitigations at this part of the farm system. Keywords: dairy farming, environmental emissions, farm systems modelling, OVERSEER™ nutrient budgets, UDDER farm systems tool

scholarly journals Sustainability of the rice-shrimp farming system in Mekong Delta, Vietnam: a climate adaptive model

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huy Duc Dang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Mekong Delta ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Shrimp Farming ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Integrated Agriculture

PurposeAgricultural systems in Mekong Delta have transformed to cope with climate change. Various researches pointed out that integrated agriculture-aquaculture (IAA) farming systems (i.e., rice-shrimp, rice-fish…) emerged as potential climate adaptive practices. However, limited studies are attempting to assess the sustainability of these agricultural practices. Therefore, it is essential to assess whether or not these systems will be sustainable in the context of climate change and what can be done to make it sustainable. The present study conducted the sustainability assessment of the rice-shrimp system to identify potential areas for improvement as well as policy implication to increase resilience and adaptation of coastal IAA system which could contribute to the understanding of other coastal agricultural deltas around the globe.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a quantitative approach including the assessment protocol of van Asselt et al. (2014), the assessment framework of Vanloon et al. (2005), and the MCA methodology to flexibly and holistically assess the sustainability level of agricultural systems.FindingsResults concluded that rice-shrimp systems have the potential to improve livelihood, food security, and adaptation of coastal farmers. Major improvements should be considered for productivity, efficiency, and equity themes, while minor improvements can be made for stability, durability, and compatibility themes.Originality/valueThis research could be used as a guideline for sustainability assessment in a context-specific case study of IAA, which showed a potential for the application of other climate-smart IAAs in similar contexts around the globe.

Farming systems research: purpose, history and impact in New Zealand hill country

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 67-85
Author(s):  
D.R. Stevens ◽  
M.J. Casey ◽  
K.A. Cousins
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
Farming Systems Research

A review of the literature accessed 234 papers that referenced farm or farming systems research in New Zealand hill country. These were categorised into resource allocation/productivity, modelling, farm studies and sociology. Sociology was further categorised into social, cultural, resilience, policy and regulation, and system behaviour and change. Farming systems research developed over the 5 decades studied from 9 papers in 1960-1975, to a peak of 60 papers during the 1986-1995 decade. The number of papers accessed during the latest decade, 2006-2015, was 57. The focus of research has changed significantly from an initial emphasis on biophysical processes and productivity, peaking in the 1976-1985 decade and then tapering off. This provided data for the development of models that could generate many more comparisons at lower cost. Modelling of the biophysical farm and economic outcomes has been steady through the decades from 1986 to present. The impacts of policy and regulation have featured strongly in the 1986-1995 decade after agricultural deregulation, and again in the 2006-2015 decade as consumer and societal concerns about the environment have emerged. Resilience of the farming system, encompassing production, economic, social and environmental trade-offs, has emerged as a topic being most prevalent in the most recent decade from 2006-2015. The discipline of farm systems research has also matured over this time as a greater range of research techniques, over a wider range of subject matter have been applied. An evolution of the discipline has also seen the integration of the principles of complex adaptive systems into the work. Keywords: cultural, economic, environmental, farm systems, modelling, policy, production, regulation, resilience, social

Measuring the cost of environmental compliance for Waikato dairy farmers - a survey approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 159-166
Author(s):  
T.O.R. Macdonald ◽  
J.S. Rowarth ◽  
F.G. Scrimgeour
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Environmental Compliance ◽  
Dairy Farmers ◽  
The Past ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Farm System ◽  
Survey Approach

The link between dairy farm systems and cost of environmental compliance is not always clear. A survey of Waikato dairy farmers was conducted to establish the real (non-modelled) cost of compliance with environmental regulation in the region. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered to improve understanding of compliance costs and implementation issues for a range of Waikato farm systems. The average oneoff capital cost of compliance determined through a survey approach was $1.02 per kg milksolids, $1490 per hectare and $403 per cow. Costs experienced by Waikato farmers have exceeded average economic farm surplus for the region in the past 5 years. As regulation increases there are efficiencies to be gained through implementing farm infrastructure and farm management practice to best match farm system intensity. Keywords: Dairy, compliance, farm systems, nitrogen, Waikato

Reducing the Vulnerability of Uzbekistan's Agricultural Systems to Climate Change

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Sutton ◽  
Jitendra P. Srivastava ◽  
James E. Neumann ◽  
Peter Droogers ◽  
Brent Boehlert
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Agricultural Systems

scholarly journals Open Intellectual Property Models for Plant Innovations in the Context of New Breeding Technologies

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1218
Author(s):  
Michael A. Kock
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change ◽  
New Breeding Technologies

Plant related innovations are critical to enable of food security and mitigate climate change. New breeding technologies (NBTs) based on emerging genome editing technologies like CRISPR/Cas will facilitate “breeding-by-editing” and enable complex breeding targets—like climate resilience or water use efficiency—in shorter time and at lower costs. However, NBTs will also lead to an unprecedented patent complexity. This paper discusses implications and potential solutions for open innovation models.

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