Repositorio Nacional

Can farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) boost crop yields and improve food availability without using more mineral fertilizer? This question has been at the center of lively debates among the civil society, policy-makers, and in academic editorials. Proponents of the “yes” answer have put forward the “input reduction” principle of agroecology, i.e. by relying on agrobiodiversity, recycling and better efficiency, agroecological practices such as the use of legumes and manure can increase crop productivity without the need for more mineral fertilizer. We reviewed decades of scientific literature on nutrient balances in SSA, biological nitrogen fixation of tropical legumes, manure production and use in smallholder farming systems, and the environmental impact of mineral fertilizer. Our analyses show that more mineral fertilizer is needed in SSA for five reasons: (i) the starting point in SSA is that agricultural production is “agroecological” by default, that is, very low mineral fertilizer use, widespread mixed crop-livestock systems and large crop diversity including legumes, but leading to poor soil fertility as a result of widespread soil nutrient mining, (ii) the nitrogen needs of crops cannot be adequately met solely through biological nitrogen fixation by legumes and recycling of animal manure, (iii) other nutrients like phosphorus and potassium need to be replaced continuously, (iv) mineral fertilizers, if used appropriately, cause little harm to the environment, and (v) reducing the use of mineral fertilizers would hamper productivity gains and contribute indirectly to agricultural expansion and to deforestation. Yet, the agroecological principles directly related to soil fertility—recycling, efficiency, diversity—remain key in improving soil health and nutrient-use efficiency, and are critical to sustaining crop productivity in the long run. We argue for a nuanced position that acknowledges the critical need for more mineral fertilizers in SSA, in combination with the use of agroecological practices and adequate policy support.

Manure Crop Yields Smallholder Farming Systems Environmental Hazards CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA BIOLOGICAL NITROGEN FIXATION LEGUMES NUTRIENT BALANCE SOIL FERTILITY AGROECOLOGY YIELD INCREASES LITERATURE REVIEWS

LGBT+ media on the Internet: experiences of communication and information in Mexico

RAUL ANTHONY OLMEDO NERI (2023, [Artículo, Artículo])

Two digital LGBT+ media in Mexico are analyzed to understand the implications of their operation and their articulation with the informational and social needs of sex-gender populations. It starts from the communicational perspective to conceptualize these projects as exercises in technological appropriation but highlighting their empirical intersections with other analytical frameworks. Through the method of systematizing the experience, the trajectories of ANODIS and Seis Franjas Mx have been recovered; through semi-structured interviews conducted with their co-founders in February 2022, the reasons, horizons and challenges that these projects have faced are analyzed. The results show that the lack of LGBT+ content and representations in the media motivate the creation of these projects, which articulate a sense of collaboration and sociality with other users belonging to sex-gender communities. In addition, the people participating in these projects are part of the LGBT+ populations, becoming them producers and consumers of information that claim the gender-identity dimension in the content. Likewise, these initiatives are specified in the youth stage of their co-founders, which refers to rethinking the role of LGBT+ youth in the new forms of activism and socialization mediated by Internet. Finally, given the progressive formation of this area of knowledge and the lack of consensus on its definition, it is proposed to name this interdisciplinary field of study as LGBT+ Communicational Studies, to show an epistemological perspective from communication and a Latin American ontological position.

Medios de comunicación Internet LGBT Jóvenes redes sociales de apoyo CIENCIAS SOCIALES CIENCIAS SOCIALES Media LGBT youth

Integrative transcriptome and metabolome analysis reveals the mechanisms of light-induced pigmentation in purple waxy maize

XUECAI ZHANG Yunbi Xu Prasanna Boddupalli (2023, [Artículo])

Pigment Accumulation Light Response CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA ANTHOCYANINS LIGHT METABOLOMICS TRANSCRIPTOMICS WAXY MAIZE

Addressing agricultural labour issues is key to biodiversity-smart farming

Thomas Daum Frédéric Baudron Matin Qaim Ingo Grass (2023, [Artículo])

There is an urgent need for agricultural development strategies that reconcile agricultural production and biodiversity conservation. This is especially true in the Global South where population growth is rapid and much of the world's remaining biodiversity is located. Combining conceptual thoughts with empirical insights from case studies in Indonesia and Ethiopia, we argue that such strategies will have to pay more attention to agricultural labour dynamics. Farmers have a strong motivation to reduce the heavy toil associated with farming by adopting technologies that save labour but can negatively affect biodiversity. Labour constraints can also prevent farmers from adopting technologies that improve biodiversity but increase labour intensity. Without explicitly accounting for labour issues, conservation efforts can hardly be successful. We hence highlight the need for biodiversity-smart agriculture, that is farming practices or systems that reconcile biodiversity with land and labour productivity. Our empirical insights suggest that technological and institutional options to reconcile farmers' socio-economic goals and biodiversity conservation exist but that more needs to be done to implement such options at scale.

Land Sharing Trade-Offs CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION LABOUR SUSTAINABILITY

Agricultural value chains in Sudan: an annotated bibliography

Hugo De Groote Paswel Marenya (2023, [Libro])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS CASH CROPS FOOD CROPS LIVESTOCK SOCIOECONOMIC ASPECTS GENDER SOCIAL INCLUSION POSTHARVEST LOSSES BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Mucho más que hilos, aceites y semillas: reconociendo el valor de los linos silvestres

Juan González-Velasco MIREYA BURGOS HERNANDEZ Alejandra Villalvazo Hernández (2023, [Artículo])

Seguramente alguna vez un amigo o vecino te ha recomendado consumir semillas de linaza para mejorar tu digestión, y no sería raro que también cuentes con alguna prenda elaborada con lino. Pues bien, ambos productos provienen de una sola especie, Linum usitatissimum que es de origen europeo e introducida en México, donde actualmente se cultiva. Sin embargo, existen cerca de 180 especies de Linum en el mundo y 24 en nuestro país, las cuales, son subutilizadas o se desconoce su uso. El conocimiento de este grupo puede representar nuevas alternativas de aprovechamiento para las familias campesinas.

ESPECIES SILVESTRES LINAZA LINUM MANEJO DE RECURSOS SISTEMATICA BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL

Exploring the genetic diversity and population structure of wheat landrace population conserved at ICARDA genebank

Muhammad Massub Tehseen Fatma Aykut Tonk Ahmed Amri Carolina Sansaloni Ezgi Kurtulus Muhammad Salman Mubarik Kumarse Nazari (2022, [Artículo])

Wheat Landraces Genetic Diversity SNP Markers Analysis of Molecular Variance AMOVA CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA BREEDING DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS GENETIC VARIATION GENETIC DISTANCE GENETIC IMPROVEMENT GENETIC MARKERS HEXAPLOIDY LANDRACES POPULATION STRUCTURE SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISM TRITICUM AESTIVUM WHEAT

El papel del juego en la domesticación de plantas

JAIME MARTINEZ CASTILLO EDUARDO PERALTA IDROVO FRANCISCO PERALTA IDROVO HERNAN PERALTA IDROVO ANDREA LEON CADENA (2022, [Artículo])

Cuando pensamos en la domesticación de plantas, es común que se nos venga a la mente especies que satisfacen las necesidades básicas del humano, como aquellas de uso alimenticio, medicinal y vestido; sin embargo, ¿Existen especies en donde el juego una actividad banal para muchas personasha sido parte de su domesticación? En este artículo revisamos este tema tan interesante usando información sobre las especies domesticadas de frijol (Phaseolus spp.) presentes en Sur América.

FRIJOL LUDICA PALLAR POROTO REGION ANDINA SUR AMERICA TORTA BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL