The State of Food and Agriculture

This study identifies the major methods used by farmers to adapt to climate change in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia, the factors that affect their choice of method, and the barriers to adaptation. The methods identified include use of different crop varieties, tree planting, soil conservation, early and late planting, and irrigation. Results from the discrete choice model employed indicate that the level of education, gender, age, and wealth of the head of household; access to extension and credit; information on climate, social capital, agroecological settings, and temperature all influence farmers’ choices. The main barriers include lack of information on adaptation methods and financial constraints.

/pdf/determinants-of-farmers-choice-of-adaptation-methods-to-4ylbogdmeb.pdf

Determinants of farmers’ choice of adaptation methods to climate change in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia

The fundamental biophysical cause of stagnant per capita food production in Africa is soil fertility depletion. Because mineral fertilizers cost two to six times as much as those sold worldwide, a soil fertility replenishment approach has been developed based on naturally available resources: nitrogen-fixing leguminous tree fallows that accumulate 100 to 200 kg N ha, indigenous rock phosphate applications, and biomass transfers of the nutrient-accumulating shrub
 Tithonia diversifolia. Tens of thousands of farmers in East and Southern Africa are becoming food secure with these technologies. Soil fertility depletion must be addressed before other technologies and policies can become effective in overcoming hunger in Africa.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/295/5562/2019.full.pdf

Soil Fertility and Hunger in Africa

Can Payments for Environmental Services Help Reduce Poverty? An Exploration of the Issues and the Evidence to Date from Latin America

Adaptation to climate change in Ethiopia and South Africa: options and constraints.

In many parts of Africa, farmers periodically fallow their land, which is allowing land to lie idle for one or more seasons primarily to restore its fertility. This paper assesses the feasibility, profitability, and acceptability of improved tree fallows, which are the deliberate planting of trees or shrubs in rotation with crops to improve soil fertility. Improved tree fallows are assessed at different stages of intensification, drawing on farmers' experiences in three different settings. In extensive systems where land is plentiful and existing fallows with natural regeneration of vegetation restore soil fertility (southern Cameroon), farmers have little incentive to invest labor in establishing improved fallows. Where population density is higher and fallow periods are decreasing and farmers perceive a decline in soil fertility (eastern Zambia), improved fallows have great potential. In intensive systems where land is unavailable and cropping is often continuous (western Kenya), many farmers find it difficult to fallow land. Even here, there is scope for introducing improved fallows, especially among farmers who have off-farm income. Labor constraints and institutional support were found to greatly influence the feasibility of improved fallows. In intensive systems, low returns to cropping, low base yields, and a high opportunity cost of labor increase the returns to improved fallows. Principal factors associated with acceptability include past perception of soil fertility problems, past use of measures for improving soil fertility, current fallowing, economic importance of annual cropping, and wealth level. Adoption potential may be increased by reducing fallow periods, intercropping trees and crops during the first season, reducing establishment costs, producing higher value by-products, and by encouraging farmers to test improved fallows on high-value crops.

Socioeconomic factors affecting the adoption potential of improved tree fallows in Africa

1. Examples of successful adoption of forage legumes are reported from all continents, where they delivered profi tability and often provided multipurpose benefi ts to farmers. 2. Factors vital to successful adoption were: meeting the needs of farmers; building relevant partnerships; understanding the socioeconomic context and skills of farmers; partici patory involvement with rural communities; and long-term involvement of champions. 3. Organisation of seed supply, achieving scale-up and forming partnerships to implement adoption are key features. 4. Legumes remain an important but under-exploited resource for tropical farming systems. The alternative to legumes will be greater and more costly use of N-fertilisers and purchased protein concentrates. 5. The R&D organisations will need to provide longterm support and greater investment for legume technologies to deliver benefi ts to farmers. Support will be needed for training and education programs to overcome declining availability of forage legume expertise and lack of awareness of oppor tunity for use of tropical forage legumes.

https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:121030/Shelton_tropical.pdf

Adoption of tropical legume technology around the world: analysis of success

In eastern Zambia, nitrogen deficiency is a major limiting factor for increased food production. Soil fertility has been declining because of nearly continuous maize ( Zea mays) cultivation with little or no nutrient inputs. The use of short-duration tree fallows was one of several agroforestry options hypothesized to restore soil fertility. Sesbania sesban, an indige- nous N2-fixing tree was the most promising among species tested in screening trials. Several studies since 1987 have demonstrated the dramatic potential of two- or three-year sesbania fallows in restoring soil fertility and increasing maize yields. Analyses showed that these improved fallow systems were feasible, profitable, and acceptable to farmers. Results suggest that high maize yields following fallows are primarily due to improved N input and availability by the fallows. The potential to increase maize production without applying mineral fertilizers has excited thousands of farmers who are enthusiastically participating in the evaluation of this technology. The number of farmers who are testing a range of improved fallow practices has increased from 200 in 1994 to over 3000 in 1997. Presently, a strong network of institutions comprising government, NGOs, development projects, and farmer organizations is facilitating the adaptive research and expansion of improved fallow technology in eastern Zambia. Key elements in the research process that contributed to the achievements are effective diagnosis of farmers' problems, building on farmers' indigenous knowledge, generating several different fallow options for farmers to test, ex-ante economic analysis, farmer participation in on-farm trials, and development of a network for adaptive research and dissemination.

Sesbania sesban improved fallows in eastern Zambia: Their inception, development and farmer enthusiasm

Most published books on agroforestry have focused on biophysical aspects. There has been a lack of scientifically rigorous information about the socioeconomic features of agroforestry, and the adoption of agroforestry practices by farmers. This book seeks to fill the gap by assessing the adoption of selected agroforestry practices developed with African farmers, describing methods, and drawing out of the implications for research, development, and policy. The volume includes five case studies of research conducted in Kenya and Zambia to evaluate the adoption potential of agroforestry. The cases illustrate methods of farm and village technology design, testing, and analysis that are applicable to a wide range of natural resource management practices.

Steven Franzel

Papers

Socioeconomic factors affecting the adoption potential of improved tree fallows in Africa

Adoption of tropical legume technology around the world: analysis of success

Sesbania sesban improved fallows in eastern Zambia: Their inception, development and farmer enthusiasm

Trees on the farm: assessing the adoption potential of agroforestry practices in Africa.

Assessing the adoption potential of agroforestry practices in sub-Saharan Africa