Complex innovations in agriculture, environment, and health – the perceptions of rice farmers in the Jequetepeque Valley, Peru

The increased use of water in irrigated rice monocultures in the Jequetepeque Valley, on the northern coast of Peru, has exacerbated environmental, socioeconomic and health problems. The Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation technique aims to increase water management efficiency in rice cultivation. The objective of the present article is to understand farmers’ perceptions about the benefits and risks of implementing AWD. Data from interviews with 319 farmers showed that they recognise nine interactions between AWD's economic, environmental and health aspects but prioritise economic factors when assessing its benefits. We also identified the main channels and spaces of communication and debate on issues related to agriculture and health that are likely to be effective in promoting the diffusion of AWD. The study demonstrated the relevance of integrated actions to encourage the adoption of agricultural innovations which consider the interactions between environmental sustainability, health issues, and producers' economic priorities.

Das Ngrowo-Ngasinan: Pengaruh dan Manfaatnya Terhadap Tinggalan Arkeologi Di Trenggalek

The Ngrowo-Ngasinan watershed is one of the Brantas watersheds covering an area of ​​1,188,800 hectares located in the Trenggalek Regency. The Ngrowo-Ngasinan watershed consists of forests, fields, irrigated rice fields, plantations, and settlements which are flooded every year. Flood conditions that occur have an influence on archaeological remains around the Ngrowo-Ngasinan watershed, namely Brongkah Temple, Semarum Site and Kamulan. Most of the archaeological remains are buried by alluvial deposits due to flooding and the overflow of the Ngrowo – Ngasinan River. The results of research conducted by Balar DIY in 2012-2015 through survey and excavation data collection methods indicate that the Semarun and Kamulan sites were abandoned because they were inundated and drowned due to the overflow (flood) of the Ngrowo and Ngasinan rivers. The purpose of this article is to determine the effect of the existence of the Ngrowo-Ngasinan watershed on the loss or damage of archaeological sites around the Ngrowo-Ngasinan watershed. Morphologically, the archaeological sites in the Ngrowo-Ngasinan watershed have a very ideal position as a place of settlement, because their location is in a basin and sloping area, fertile, and close to water sources. The conclusion should be at the end of the abstract. Avoid the word 'disaster' (adjust title). Conclusion: The selection of residential locations around the Ngrowo-Ngasinan watershed has a very significant impact or great risk for flood disasters because of its location on the banks of the river. Keywords: Ngrowo-Ngasinan Watershed, archaeological remains, flood.

Predicting Climate Change Impact on Water Productivity of Irrigated Rice in Malaysia Using FAO-AquaCrop Model

Water productivity (WP) is a key indicator of agricultural water management, since it affects the quantity of water used for crop yield in various management scenarios. This study evaluated the WP of irrigated rice due to a changing climate in the Northwest Selangor Rice Irrigation Scheme (NSRIS) by using field experimental data and the FAO-AquaCrop Model. Pertinent soil, water, climate, and crop data were acquired by executing a field investigation during the off-season (dry season, January–April) and main season (wet season, July–October) in 2017. The AquaCrop 6.0 model was calibrated and validated using the measured data. A Climate-smart Decision Support System (CSDSS) with an ensemble of 10 Global Climate Models (GCMs) was used to downscale climate variables under RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5 emission scenarios during baseline (1976 to 2005) and future (2020 to 2099) periods. The AquaCrop model fairly predicted rice yields under field conditions with root-mean-square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), prediction error (PE) and index of agreement (d) between the observed and estimated yields of 0.173, 0.157, −0.31 to 5.4 and 0.78, respectively for the off-season; and 0.167, 0.127, −5.6 to 2.3 and 0.73, respectively for the main season. It predicted a 10% decrease in actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc) in both crop seasons in the future. The WP of rice based on total water input (WPIrr+RF), applied irrigation (WPIrr), and actual crop evapotranspiration (WPETc) will likely increase by 14–24%, 14–19%, and 17–29%, respectively under the three RCP emission scenarios in the off-season. The likely increase in WP for the corresponding base is 13–22%, 15–24%, and 14–25% in the main season. Various agronomic management options linked to WP will most likely become important in making crucial decisions to cope with the risk of impacts on climate change.

Multi-information analysis for recommendation of flooded-irrigated rice for adaptability and phenotypic stability

The GxE interaction is one of the major difficulties of plant breeding programs, both in the selection phase and in the recommendation of cultivars. To assess adaptability and stability, various statistical methods are used. The simultaneous use of some methodologies, using multi-information criteria for cultivar’s recommendation, can extract information that cannot be observed using each methodology separately. The aim of this work was to perform a large description of the behavior of flooded-irrigated rice genotypes, responding to environmental variations, using methods already established in the literature, but exploring the particularities of each methodology that together establish an information criterion for cultivar recommendation. To this end, 18 rice genotypes belonging to flood-irrigated rice breeding program were evaluated over four agricultural years, 2012/2013 to 2015/2016, totaling 12 environments (3 sites × 4 years). Multi-information estimates were performed to adaptability and stability analysis. There was no sign for the effect of the genotypes, and there was the significance of the effects of environment and GxE interaction. The aggregation of information and the large description of the behavior of the flooded rice genotypes demonstrated to be an efficient tool for studies of adaptability and stability.