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Browsing Book Chapter by Subject "Degradation"
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- ItemAgronomic, Socio-Economic, and Environmental Challenges and Opportunities in Nepal’s Cereal-based Farming Systems(2021) Timothy J. Krupnik; Jagadish Timsina; Krishna P. Devkota; Bhaba P. Tripathi; Tika B. Karki; Anton Urfels; Yam Kanta Gaihre; Dyutiman Choudhary; Abdu Rahman Beshir; Vishnu Prasad Pandey; Brendan Brown; Hom Gartaula; Sumona Shahrin; Yuga N. GhimireWith economies heavily dependent on agriculture, South Asia is the world’s most poverty-dense region. Nepal—a country of considerable geographic variability ranging from population-dense low-elevation Terai region to the sparsely inhabited, poorly accessible Himalayan hills and mountains—has enormous environmental and socio-economic challenges to agricultural development. Runoff from the hills and mountains feed networks of rivers that are crucial for supply of surface and groundwater for the Terai and northern India and Bangladesh, benefitting approximately one-fifth of the world’s population. Nepal’s farming systems are complex, with insufficient documentation of research evidence on the challenges and opportunities facing them. This review documents the key environmental, socio-economic and agronomic issues affecting cereal-based farming systems in Nepal. Evidences suggest farmers in the hills and mountains primarily practice integrated crop-livestock-tree based agroforestry systems with local varieties of crop and livestock species, and use farm-derived organic amendments and limited external inputs, resulting in low but stable yields. The Terai’s cropping systems are predominantly rice-based, with wheat, maize and pulses grown in rotation with low to moderate use of inputs, although high yielding varieties are increasingly 156 Timothy J. Krupnik et al. common. Major environmental challenges in the high and mid-hills include erosion and soil degradation, while in the Terai, reduced soil fertility and sub-optimal management of water resources are important constraints. Climate variability and extremes are cross-regional challenges. Socioeconomic issues include land use policy, labor out-migration and agricultural feminization. Large gaps between potential and farmers’ yields are consistent concerns. While summarizing past and current agronomic research findings, this review suggests new research needs and agricultural development pathways that could address these environmental, socioeconomic and agronomic issues and challenges
- ItemEnhancing Soil Security for Smallholder Agriculture(2014-11) Johan Bouma; Bindraban, Prem S.; Niels H. Batjes; M.P.W SonneveldSmallholder agriculture plays a vital role in feeding and sustaining over one billion people in the developing world, particularly in ecologically and climatically vulnerable landscapes. These farmers face significant challenges, including declining productivity, insecure land tenure, insufficient infrastructure, and limited access to education, technology, and financial services. In developed countries, smallholder farmers often focus on niche markets and ecosystem services in the face of competition from large commercial farms. This chapter explores the diverse small farming systems in both developing and developed countries and their capacity to address three key challenges: meeting the increasing global demand for food, adapting to water scarcity and climate change, and ensuring sustainability. The role of soils in smallholder agriculture and their contribution to ecosystem services are emphasized, with a focus on soil security. Case studies from different regions illustrate the importance of local conditions and sustainable soil management practices. The chapter also discusses the need for a transition period and the potential of intermediate-sized farming enterprises to provide ecosystem services and enhance soil security. The evolving role of soils within the broader socioeconomic and ethical context of smallholder agriculture is highlighted, recognizing that soils are a fundamental resource for farmers worldwide. The chapter concludes by advocating for precision agriculture and transdisciplinary research to address the multifaceted challenges facing smallholder agriculture, ultimately contributing to global food security and sustainable development.
- ItemSoil Organic Carbon and Proper Fertilizer Recommendation(2018-04-04) Andre Bationo; Joseph Opoku FeningSoil carbon in the form of organic matter is a key component of the soil ecosystem structure. In most parts of West Africa agro-ecosystems (except the forest zone), the soils are inherently low in SOC content due to low organic matter additions, and accelerated degradation. The rapid turnover rates of organic material is as a result of high soil temperatures and fauna activity particularly termites. The SOC levels rapidly decline with continuous cultivation. For the sandy soils, average annual losses may be as high as 4.7% whereas with sandy loam soils, losses are lower, with an average of 2.0%. To maintain food production for a rapidly growing population, application of mineral fertilizers and the effective recycling of organic amendments such as crop residues and manures are essential especially in the smallholder farming systems that rely predominantly on organic residues to maintain soil fertility. The efficiency of fertilizer use is likely to be high where the organic matter content of the soil is also high. In unhealthy or depleted soils, crops use fertilizer supplied nutrients inefficiently. Where soils are highly degraded, crops hardly respond to fertilizer applications. When SOM levels are restored, fertilizer can help maintain the revolving fund of nutrients in the soil by increasing crop yields and, consequently, the amount of residues returned to the soil. Crop yields can be increased by 20–70 kg ha−1 for wheat, 10–50 kg ha−1 for rice, and 30–300 kg ha−1 for maize with every 1 Mg ha−1 increase in soil organic carbon pool in the root zone. There is need to increase crop biomass at farm level and future research should therefore focus on improvement of nutrient use efficiency in order to increase crop biomass.