Wheat is fundamental to human civilization and has played an outstanding role in feeding a hungry world and improving global food security The crop contributes about 20 % of the total dietary calories and proteins worldwide Food demand in the developing regions is growing by 1 % annually and varies from 170 kg in Central Asia to 27 kg in East and South Africa The developing regions (including China and Central Asia) account for roughly 53 % of the total harvested area and 50 % of the production Unprecedented productivity growth from the Green Revolution (GR) since the 1960s dramatically transformed world wheat production, benefitting both producers and consumers through low production costs and low food prices Modern wheat varieties were adopted more rapidly than any other technological innovation in the history of agriculture, recently reaching about 90 % of the area in developing regions One of the key challenges today is to replace these varieties with new ones for better sustainability While the GR “spared” essential ecosystems from conversion to agriculture, it also generated its own environmental problems Also productivity increase is now slow or static Achieving the productivity gains needed to ensure food security will therefore require more than a repeat performance of the GR of the past Future demand will need to be achieved through sustainable intensification that combines better crop resistance to diseases and pests, adaptation to warmer climates, and reduced use of water, fertilizer, labor and fuel Meeting these challenges will require concerted efforts in research and innovation to develop and deploy viable solutions Substantive investment will be required to realize sustainable productivity growth through better technologies and policy and institutional innovations that facilitate farmer adoption and adaptation The enduring lessons from the GR and the recent efforts for sustainable intensification of cereal systems in South Asia and other regions provide useful insights for the future

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Crops that feed the world 6. Past successes and future challenges to the role played by maize in global food security

Millions of Chinese smallholder farmers were persuaded to adopt enhanced management practices, which led to a greater yield, reduced nitrogen fertilizer use and improved environmental performance throughout China. Two and a half billion smallholder farmers collectively manage 60 per cent of the world's arable land. How these farmers perform determines their own livelihood, but also affects global food security and ecosystem health. Here, Fusuo Zhang and colleagues show how some straightforward interventions have substantially improved the productivity and environmental performance of smallholder farmers across China over the past ten years. The team carried out more than 13,000 field trials across China's main agroecological zones and found that a series of management practices, collectively termed integrated soil–crop system management, increased maize, wheat and rice yields, nitrogen-use efficiency and farmer profitability. Scaling this approach up to 20.9 million smallholder farmer across 452 counties boosted grain yields to 33 million tonnes over the ten-year period, and reduced fertilizer use by 1.2 million tonnes and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 13 per cent. Sustainably feeding a growing population is a grand challenge1,2,3, and one that is particularly difficult in regions that are dominated by smallholder farming. Despite local successes4,5,6,7,8, mobilizing vast smallholder communities with science- and evidence-based management practices to simultaneously address production and pollution problems has been infeasible. Here we report the outcome of concerted efforts in engaging millions of Chinese smallholder farmers to adopt enhanced management practices for greater yield and environmental performance. First, we conducted field trials across China’s major agroecological zones to develop locally applicable recommendations using a comprehensive decision-support program. Engaging farmers to adopt those recommendations involved the collaboration of a core network of 1,152 researchers with numerous extension agents and agribusiness personnel. From 2005 to 2015, about 20.9 million farmers in 452 counties adopted enhanced management practices in fields with a total of 37.7 million cumulative hectares over the years. Average yields (maize, rice and wheat) increased by 10.8–11.5%, generating a net grain output of 33 million tonnes (Mt). At the same time, application of nitrogen decreased by 14.7–18.1%, saving 1.2 Mt of nitrogen fertilizers. The increased grain output and decreased nitrogen fertilizer use were equivalent to US$12.2 billion. Estimated reactive nitrogen losses averaged 4.5–4.7 kg nitrogen per Megagram (Mg) with the intervention compared to 6.0–6.4 kg nitrogen per Mg without. Greenhouse gas emissions were 328 kg, 812 kg and 434 kg CO2 equivalent per Mg of maize, rice and wheat produced, respectively, compared to 422 kg, 941 kg and 549 kg CO2 equivalent per Mg without the intervention. On the basis of a large-scale survey (8.6 million farmer participants) and scenario analyses, we further demonstrate the potential impacts of implementing the enhanced management practices on China’s food security and sustainability outlook.

Pursuing sustainable productivity with millions of smallholder farmers.

Using cross-sectional data and a propensity score matching technique, this paper investigates the impact of cooperatives on adoption of agricultural technologies. Our analysis indicates that cooperative members are more likely to be male-headed households, have better access to agricultural extension services, possess oxen, participate in off-farm work, and have leadership experience. We also found that geographic location and age of household head are strongly associated with cooperative membership. Our estimation results show that cooperative membership has a strong positive impact on fertilizer adoption. The impact on adoption of pesticides turns out to be statistically significant when only agricultural cooperatives are considered. Further analysis also suggests that cooperative membership has a heterogeneous impact on fertilizer adoption among its members. The results suggest that cooperatives can play an important role in accelerating the adoption of agricultural technologies by smallholder farmers in Ethiopia.

The Impact of Cooperatives on Agricultural Technology Adoption: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia

The impact of cooperatives on agricultural technology adoption: Empirical evidence from Ethiopia

Understanding the adoption of a portfolio of sustainable intensification practices in eastern and southern Africa.

Policies to promote cereal intensification in Ethiopia: the search for appropriate public and private roles.

"The rapidly changing nature of the global food and agriculture system suggests the need to rethink how innovation can contribute to developing-country agriculture. While scientific and technological changes in agriculture can help foster productivity growth and poverty reduction, their contributions are incomplete without commensurate changes in the wider system of which they are a part. A more systems-oriented understanding of how innovation occurs in a society and economy is critical to promoting dynamism, responsiveness, and competitiveness in developing-country agriculture and, ultimately, to enhancing productivity and reducing poverty. However, without adequate measures of the properties and performance of an agricultural innovation system, it is difficult for policymakers, investors, donors, and practitioners to promote policies and investments that foster greater innovativeness in agriculture. This suggests the need for a measure of agricultural innovativeness that preferably extends beyond the “black box” approach of measuring only inputs and outputs, focusing on the underlying processes that contribute to building the capabilities needed to create an innovative agricultural sector. To this end, this paper attempts to provide a “proof of concept” that innovativeness in developing-country agriculture can be measured. It first identifies a set of indicators from secondary data sources that measure the key elements of an agricultural innovation system. Several hundred indicators are reviewed, validated, and aggregated into a unique Agriculture, Development, and Innovation Index (ADII). The paper then provides a toolkit for collecting and analyzing “systems-oriented” indicators that add more process-related nuances to the ADII with both attributional and relational data. This is illustrated with data collected in Ethiopia and Vietnam in 2007–08." from authors' abstract

Measuring Agricultural Innovation System Properties and Performance: Illustrations from Ethiopia and Vietnam

Rapid changes in the global food and agricultural system suggest that developing-country agriculture must become more dynamic, responsive, and competitive to survive. However, without adequate measurements of the properties and performance of innovativeness in the agricultural sector, it is difficult for decision-makers to make policies and investments that promote innovation in agriculture. This paper attempts to demonstrate how innovativeness in developing-country agriculture can be measured. It does so first by identifying a set of indicators from secondary data sources that capture key elements of an agricultural innovation system, and aggregates these indicators into a unique Agriculture, Development, and Innovation Index (ADII) covering 35 developing countries. It then provides a toolkit for collecting and analyzing “systems-oriented” indicators that add more process-related nuances to ADII with both attributional and relational data. This is illustrated with data collected in Ethiopia and Vietnam in 2007-08.

Decisionmakers in Ethiopia have pursued a range of policies and investments to boost agricultural production and productivity. An important tool has been to increase the availability of improved seed, chemical fertilizers, and extension services for small-scale, resource-poor farmers. While there is some evidence to suggest that the process has led to improvements in both agricultural output and yields, there is an urgent need for more substantial progress. A rethinking of approaches is required, one that reallocates the roles of the public and private sectors in the agricultural input sector.

Dawit Kelemework

Papers

Policies to promote cereal intensification in Ethiopia: the search for appropriate public and private roles.

Measuring Agricultural Innovation System Properties and Performance: Illustrations from Ethiopia and Vietnam

Measuring Agricultural Innovation System Properties and Performance: Illustrations from Ethiopia and Vietnam

Seed, fertilizer, and agricultural extension in Ethiopia: Summary of ESSP working paper 20

Seed, fertilizer, and agricultural extension in Ethiopia: Summary of ESSP working paper 20