scholarly journals Resilient rainfed technologies for drought mitigation and sustainable food security

MAUSAM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-182
Author(s):  
CH. SRINIVASA RAO ◽  
K. A. GOPINATH
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Rainfed Agriculture ◽  
Drought Mitigation ◽  
Drought Preparedness

Even though drought is one of the most common features affecting rainfed agriculture, it is necessary to consider it as an extreme climatological event that requires different types of alleviating strategies for overcoming it. The risk involved in successful cultivation of crops depends on the nature of drought (chronic and contingent), its probable duration, and frequency of occurrence within the season. These aberrations are expected to further increase in future. A significant fall in food production is often noticed with increase in intensity or extension in duration of drought prevalence. Drought affects not only the food production at farm level but also the national economy and overall food security. Location-specific rainfed technologies are available to cope with different drought situations. Much of the research done in rainfed agriculture in India relates to conservation of soil & rainwater and to drought proofing. The key technologies for drought mitigation are in situ moisture conservation, rainwater harvesting and recycling, resilient crops and cropping systems including contingency crop plans, foliar sprays, and integrated farming systems. However, drought preparedness and real time implementation of contingency measures at field level needs well structured institutional support for farmers with strong government policy and convergence among various institutions. Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, needs to facilitate the convergence process of various government schemes such as MGNREGA, RKVY, Mega Seed Project, NFSM, NHM, IWMP, Soil health schemes etc. for drought preparedness. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), one among the missions under the Prime Minister National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) may take a lead role in implementation of contingency, by inclusion of this activity in State Action Plans (SAP) with a dedicated Nodal Institution /officers and budget provision.

scholarly journals Camelina, an ancient oilseed crop actively contributing to the rural renaissance in Europe. A review

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Zanetti ◽  
Barbara Alberghini ◽  
Ana Marjanović Jeromela ◽  
Nada Grahovac ◽  
Dragana Rajković ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Oilseed Crop ◽  
Crop Diversification ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
European Farming ◽  
European Agriculture

AbstractPromoting crop diversification in European agriculture is a key pillar of the agroecological transition. Diversifying crops generally enhances crop productivity, quality, soil health and fertility, and resilience to pests and diseases and reduces environmental stresses. Moreover, crop diversification provides an alternative means of enhancing farmers’ income. Camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz) reemerged in the background of European agriculture approximately three decades ago, when the first studies on this ancient native oilseed species were published. Since then, a considerable number of studies on this species has been carried out in Europe. The main interest in camelina is related to its (1) broad environmental adaptability, (2) low-input requirements, (3) resistance to multiple pests and diseases, and (4) multiple uses in food, feed, and biobased applications. The present article is a comprehensive and critical review of research carried out in Europe (compared with the rest of the world) on camelina in the last three decades, including genetics and breeding, agronomy and cropping systems, and end-uses, with the aim of making camelina an attractive new candidate crop for European farming systems. Furthermore, a critical evaluation of what is still missing to scale camelina up from a promising oilseed to a commonly cultivated crop in Europe is also provided (1) to motivate scientists to promote their studies and (2) to show farmers and end-users the real potential of this interesting species.

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.

scholarly journals Determining spatial variability of dry spells: a Markov-based method, applied to the Makanya catchment, Tanzania

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 2161-2170 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. M. C. Fischer ◽  
M. L. Mul ◽  
H. H. G. Savenije
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
World Population ◽  
Rainfed Agriculture ◽  
Crop Failure ◽  
Dry Spells ◽  
Supplementary Irrigation ◽  
Dry Spell ◽  
Key Indicators

Abstract. With a growing world population and a trend towards more resource-intensive diets, pressure on land and water resources for food production will continue to increase in the coming decades. Large parts of the world rely on rainfed agriculture for their food security. In Africa, 90% of the food production is from rainfed agriculture, generally with low yields and a high risk of crop failure. One of the main reasons for crop failure is the occurrence of dry spells during the growing season. Key indicators are the critical dry spell duration and the probability of dry spell occurrence. In this paper a new Markov-based framework is presented to spatially map the length of dry spells for fixed probabilities of non-exceedance. The framework makes use of spatially varying Markov coefficients that are correlated to readily available spatial information such as elevation and distance to the sea. The dry spell map thus obtained is compared to the spatially variable critical dry spell duration, based on soil properties and crop water requirements, to assess the probability of crop failure in different locations. The results show that in the Makanya catchment the length of dry spell occurrence is highly variable in space, even over relatively short distances. In certain areas the probability of crop failure reaches levels that make rainfed agricultural unsustainable, even close to areas where currently rainfed agriculture is successfully being practised. This method can be used to identify regions that are vulnerable to dry spells and, subsequently, to develop strategies for supplementary irrigation or rainwater harvesting.

Rainwater harvesting - an alternative for securing food production under climate variability

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 157-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Zhu ◽  
Y. Li
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Farming Practices ◽  
Rainfed Agriculture ◽  
Harvesting Systems ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Dry Farming ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Artificial Water

Food insecurity is still a challenge in some remote and mountainous areas in China. When studying the impact of climate variability on food production, we should pay even more attention to the rainfed area. This is because the larger part of agriculture is the rainfed one and climate variability has more negative impacts on the rainfed agriculture than on the irrigated one. The traditional dry farming practices based on the principle of storing as much rain in the soil as possible and making best use of soil water could not bridge the gap between the time that the crop needs water and the time that rain occurs, so its effects on enhancing food production under climate variability is limited. Combining artificial water supply from rainwater harvesting systems with the traditional dry farming practices is an innovation in water management in rainfed agriculture. Experiences in the recent two decades indicate that rainwater harvesting irrigation can well mitigate the drought caused by the climate variability and bring the rainfed agriculture to a new level.

scholarly journals Modalities for Scaling up Implementation of Innovations and Best Practices for Resilient Agricultural Systems in Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evans Kituyi
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Implementation Of Innovations

Climate change is already impacting negatively on Africa’s agriculture and threatens to significantly reverse the gains realized in food security as the 1.5 degC warming threshold set by the Paris Agreement fast approaches. This is happening at a time when a wide range of tested and viable technologies, innovations and best practices exist with the potential to scale up climate resilient food production across the region’s diverse agricultural systems. A framework and modalities are proposed to support stakeholders in identifying and scaling up appropriate technologies, innovations and best practices for climate-resilient food production in different farming systems. These provide a much needed solution for Africa’s policymakers who are currently grappling with options to meet their citizens’ food security today even as they ponder over how they will feed their rapidly growing populations, expected to reach 2 billion by 2030 under worsened climate conditions.

scholarly journals Circular Approaches in Small-Scale Food Production

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Schneider ◽  
Vincent Rochell ◽  
Kay Plat ◽  
Alexander Jaworski
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Traditional Farming ◽  
Large Potential ◽  
Integrated Agriculture ◽  
The Future

Abstract Globally, food production is one of the main water and energy consumers. Having in view the growing population on global scale, a higher efficiency of food production is needed. Circular approaches offer a large potential to enhance the efficiency of food production and have a long tradition in the food production process of mankind. However, industrial farming has interdicted traditional cycle-closed farming approaches leading to a variety of environmental challenges. The contribution illustrates the basics of traditional gardening and farming approaches and describes how their characteristics are adapted in innovative modern farming systems like aquaponic, permaculture, urban farming, as well as recovered traditional farming systems. The approach to combine traditional farming methods with modern ones will provide multiple benefits in the future to ensure food security. There is to be underlined that such a strategy holds a substantial potential of circular flux management in small scale food production. This potential could be transposed to a larger scale also, particularly in terms of agroforestry and integrated plant and animal husbandry or integrated agriculture and aquaculture. In this way, small-scale food production holds a large potential for the future implementation of the water-energy-food security nexus.

Agriculture, Trade Liberalization and Poverty in the ACP Countries

2019 ◽  
pp. 1408-1427
Author(s):  
Theresa Ann Rajack-Talley
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agricultural Trade ◽  
Trade Policies ◽  
Small Producers ◽  
The Impact

This chapter looks specifically at the impact of the ACP agriculture trade agreements on issues of food production, food security and poverty and how they relate in some ways to each other. It is divided into four distinct but inter-related sections. First, poverty in the ACP regions is briefly described. Secondly, the importance of agriculture, particularly the role of small farming systems to economic growth, employment, food production, food security and poverty reduction in the ACP countries is examined. Thirdly, the impact of the acceleration of trade liberalization and agriculture protectionism on ACP countries is reviewed and analyzed. Here, the trade arrangements and networks in the three ACP regions are described and include international, regional and local agricultural trade and market agreements. Further, the paradoxes and dilemmas that emerge are interrogated and their outcomes discussed. Particular attention is paid to small producers and women. The fourth and final section of the chapter concludes that while the impact of agriculture trade liberalization remains a mixed bag of positive and negative possibilities, one thing that is clear is that while trade liberalization is promoted as a cure for food security and world poverty, the jury is still out on whether it has helped or hindered this endeavour. Trade policies and arrangements do substantially change the lives of people in developing countries, but in very complex ways. Recommendations are made to support the South-South initiatives of the ACP and others as well as enhance regional and domestic agriculture production and trade policies. The author, however, warns that agriculture and trade policies must be linked closer to food security and the healthy diets of local populations.

Agriculture in central Tibet: an assessment of climate, farming systems, and strategies to boost production

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Paltridge ◽  
Jin Tao ◽  
Murray Unkovich ◽  
Alessandra Bonamano ◽  
Alexandra Gason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Stubble Retention ◽  
Tibet Autonomous Region

In the south of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China there is a network of valleys where intensive agriculture is practiced. Although considered highly productive by Tibetans, farm incomes in the region are low, leading to a range of government initiatives to boost grain and fodder production. However, there is limited information available on current farming practices, yields, and likely yield constraints. The present paper uses available data and farmer interviews to describe the agro-climate and current systems of crop and livestock production, and considers possible strategies to boost production. Although winters in Tibet are cold and dry, summer and autumn provide ideal conditions for crop growth. Cropping systems are characterised by heavy tillage, frequent irrigation, high seeding rates and fertiliser applications, some use of herbicides, and little stubble retention or mechanisation. Spring barley and winter wheat are the predominant crops, followed by rapeseed, winter barley, and minor fodder and vegetable crops. Average yields for the main grain crops are around 4.0 t/ha for spring barley and 4.5 t/ha for winter wheat, significantly lower than should be possible in the environment. Farmers typically keep five or six cattle tethered near the household. Cattle are fed diets based on crop residues but are generally malnourished and rarely produce beyond the needs of the family. It is suggested that research and extension in the areas of crop nutrition, weed control, irrigation, seeding technology, and crop varieties should enable significant increases in grain yield. Increases in cattle production will require increases in the supply of good quality fodder. Cereal/fodder intercrops or double crops sown using no-till seed drills might enable the production of useful amounts of fodder in many areas without jeopardising food grain supply, and allow more crop residues to be retained in fields for improved soil health.

scholarly journals Determining spatial variability of dry spells – a Markov based method, applied to the Makanya catchment, Tanzania

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 11707-11731
Author(s):  
B. M. C. Fischer ◽  
M. L. Mul ◽  
H. H. G. Savenije
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
World Population ◽  
Rainfed Agriculture ◽  
Crop Failure ◽  
Dry Spells ◽  
Supplementary Irrigation ◽  
Dry Spell

Abstract. With a growing world population and a trend towards more resource intensive diets, pressure on land and water resources for food production will continue to increase in the coming decades. Large parts of the world rely on rainfed agriculture for their food security. In Africa, 90% of the food production is from rainfed agriculture, generally with low yields and a high risk of crop failure. One of the main reasons for crop failure is the occurrence of dry spells during the growing season. Key indicators are the critical dry spell duration and the probability of dry spell occurrence. In this paper a new Markov-based framework is presented to spatially map the probability of dry spell occurrence. The framework makes use of spatially varying Markov coefficients that are correlated to readily available spatial information such as elevation and distance to the sea. This map is then related to the critical dry spell duration, based on soil properties and crop water requirements, to assess the probability of crop failure. The results show that in the Makanya catchment the probability of dry spell occurrence is highly variable in space, even over relatively short distances. In certain areas the probability of crop failure reaches levels, which makes rainfed agricultural practices unsustainable, even close to areas where currently rainfed agriculture is successfully practiced. This method can be used to identify regions that are vulnerable to dry spells, and subsequently to develop strategies for supplementary irrigation or rainwater harvesting.

scholarly journals Sesbania aculeata a Cost Effective Alternative to Enhance the Soil Health and Productivity of Rice-Wheat System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akhilesh Sah
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Effective Alternative ◽  
Partial Substitution ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Sesbania Aculeata ◽  
Cost Effective Alternative ◽  
Organic Source

Background: Cereal based cropping systems are predominantly followed in south Asia because of higher productivity and profitability and ensuring food security. Rice is grown once a year in rotation mainly with wheat. Continuous cultivation of rice results in the formation of a hard pan below the ploughing layer, which may act as a barrier to normal root growth of the subsequent wheat crop. Consequently, soil bulk density is increased and hydraulic conductivity is reduced thus leading to non-conducive soil physical characteristics for the subsequent wheat crop. To reduce these ill effects, FYM is used as organic source. But live stock population is not increasing in the ratio as it is required to meet the FYM demand. Organic source requirement cannot meet through use of FYM in rice-wheat system, which is vital for food security point of view. There is need of alternate cost effective source of FYM which could enhance the soil health as well as productivity of rice-wheat system. The present study aimed to see the efficacy of growing green manure crop (Sesbania aculeata) as an alternative of FYM in the rice-wheat rotation. Methods: In this experiment conducted during kharif and rabi seasons of 2014-15 and 2015-16 in on-going long term permanent manorial trial since 1984 at research farm (Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bihar, India), twelve treatments were taken under RBD in four replications. Observations and analysis were carried out by following the standard procedures. Result: The present investigation showed that combination of inorganic fertilizer and Sesbania aculeata helped in increasing yield as well as improving soil health. Sesbania aculeata can be used as a viable and cost effective alternative through partial substitution of inorganic fertilizers to enhance the soil health and productivity of rice-wheat system.

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