Alternative cropping and feeding options to enhance sustainability of mixed crop-livestock farms in Bangladesh

Timothy Joseph Krupnik Jeroen Groot (2024, [Artículo])

We investigated alternative cropping and feeding options for large (>10 cows), medium (5–10 cows) and small (≤4 cows) mixed crop – livestock farm types, to enhance economic and environmental performance in Jhenaidha and Meherpur districts – locations with increasing dairy production – in south western Bangladesh. Following focus group discussions with farmers on constraints and opportunities, we collected baseline data from one representative farm from each farm size class per district (six in total) to parameterize the whole-farm model FarmDESIGN. The six modelled farms were subjected to Pareto-based multi-objective (differential evolution algorithm) optimization to generate alternative dairy farm and fodder configurations. The objectives were to maximize farm profit, soil organic matter balance, and feed self-reliance, in addition to minimizing feed costs and soil nitrogen losses as indicators of sustainability. The cropped areas of the six baseline farms ranged from 0.6 to 4.0 ha and milk production per cow was between 1,640 and 3,560 kg year−1. Feed self-reliance was low (17%–57%) and soil N losses were high (74–342 kg ha−1 year−1). Subsequent trade-off analysis showed that increasing profit and soil organic matter balance was associated with higher risks of N losses. However, we found opportunities to improve economic and environmental performance simultaneously. Feed self-reliance could be increased by intensifying cropping and substituting fallow periods with appropriate fodder crops. For the farm type with the largest opportunity space and room to manoeuvre, we identified four strategies. Three strategies could be economically and environmentally benign, showing different opportunities for farm development with locally available resources.

Ruminant Feed Pareto-Based Optimization Farm Bioeconomic Model CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA RUMINANT FEEDING BIOECONOMIC MODELS MIXED CROPPING FARMS LIVESTOCK

Clean fuel for rural families in India a major challenge: evidence from four rounds of consumer expenditure survey

Khondoker Mottaleb Dil Bahadur Rahut Jeetendra Aryal Akhter Ali (2022, [Artículo])

Clean Fuel Dirty Household’s Choice CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA COOKING FUELS RURAL AREAS HOUSEHOLDS EDUCATION INCOME USES

Local markets and food security. The case of the Milpera and Puuc regions in Yucatan

Ana Laura Bojórquez Carrillo Monserrat Vargas Jiménez Mireya Noemi Hernández Islas (2023, [Artículo, Artículo])

Food insecurity is a complex problem worldwide. A major part of this problem is the food supply. Local markets can represent a strategy for building social capital, as well as strategies for subsistence and sustainability of food value chains, contributing to food security and its effects. The objective of this research is to determine if the existence of a municipal market in the Milpera and Puuc regions of Yucatán favors the existence of food security, the consumption or the expense of natural foods. The population is located in 18 municipalities of Yucatán, Mexico. To carry out this study, a cross-sectional, non-experimental study, with a quantitative approach and correlational scope. The main techniques that were applied were descriptive statistics and contingency tables with respect to 6 hypotheses. This work shows that the existence of markets in the communities makes a significant difference because it positively impacts the food security of the inhabitants, since it allows them to have access to a wider variety of products and at the same time, favors the active dynamics of the economy of the community.

Local markets Food safety Local development Food sovereignty Rural areas Mercados locales Seguridad alimentaria Desarrollo local Soberanía alimentaria Zonas rurales CIENCIAS SOCIALES CIENCIAS SOCIALES

Los medicamentos no son dulces: empleo de glucocorticoides para enfermedades crónicas.

ADRIANA ALEJANDRA MOCTEZUMA OCAMPO JOSE LUIS MONTIEL HERNANDEZ (2024, [Artículo])

Los glucocorticoides se han constituido como medicamentos clave en el tratamiento farmacológico de enfermedades crónicas asociadas a la inflamación. Sin embargo, a pesar de su indudable beneficio, su empleo prolongado y sin supervisión pue-de generar una serie de efectos adversos, que van desde leves hasta severos. Es por eso que, en momentos de crisis como la pandemia de covid-19, el uso responsable de estos medicamentos debería iniciar con evitar prácticas comunes en nuestro país, como la automedicación y la confianza en productos milagro, ya que pueden poner en riesgo la salud de la población en general.

Glucocorticoids have become one of the key drugs during the pharmacological treatment of inflammatory chronic diseases. However, despite its undoubted benefit, its prolonged and unsupervised use can generate a series of adverse effects, ranging from mild to severe. In moments of crisis, such as the covid-19 pandemic, it shows us that practices so widespread in our country such as self-medication and the use of miracle products can put the health of the general population at risk.

MEDICINA Y CIENCIAS DE LA SALUD CIENCIAS MÉDICAS glucocorticoides, medicamentos, antiinflamatorios, automedicación, farmacología

Islas de calor urbanas: un fenómeno poco estudiado en México

ULISES MANZANILLA QUIÑONES (2022, [Artículo])

El presente ensayo pretende dar a conocer la alternativa del uso de técnicas de percepción remota en la identificación de las islas de calor urbanas (ICU), fenómeno urbano mundial que ha sido poco estudiado en México. Mediante el procesamiento y análisis de imágenes satelitales es factible y confiable determinar áreas con una temperatura superficial mayor, es decir, calcular la diferencia en temperatura registrada entre un área urbana y un área rural. A través del uso de estas técnicas es posible diseñar planes para la mitigación y control de las ICU de las grandes ciudades de México.

AREAS URBANAS AUMENTO EN TEMPERATURA ESTRES TERMICO GEOGRAFIA URBANA METROPOLIS BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL

Analyzing antifragility among smallholder farmers in Bihar, India: An assessment of farmers' vulnerability and the strengths of positive deviants

Roos Adelhart Toorop Santiago Lopez-Ridaura ML JAT Deepak Bijarniya Jeroen Groot (2023, [Artículo])

Farmers around the world are increasingly vulnerable: climate variability is identified as the primary stressor, but unfavorable biophysical circumstances and disturbances in the socioeconomic domain (labor dynamics and price volatility) also affect farm management and production. To deal with these disturbances, adaptations are recognized as essential. Antifragility acknowledges that adaptations and volatility are inherent characteristics of complex systems and abandons the idea of returning to the pre-disturbance system state. Instead, antifragility recognizes that disturbances can trigger reorganization, enabling selection and removal of weaker system features and allowing the system to evolve toward a better state. In this study, we assessed the vulnerability of different types of smallholder farms in Bihar, India, and explored the scope for more antifragile farming systems that can 'bounce back better' after disturbances. Accumulation of stocks, creation of optionality (i.e., having multiple options for innovation) and strengthening of farmer autonomy were identified as criteria for antifragility. We had focus group discussions with in total 92 farmers and found that most expressed themselves to be vulnerable: they experienced challenges but had limited adaptive capacity to change their situation. They mostly made short-term decisions to cope with or mitigate urgent challenges but did not engage in strategic planning driven by longer-term objectives. Instead, they waited for governmental support to improve their livelihoods. Despite being confronted with similar challenges, four positive deviant farmers showed to be more antifragile: their diverse farming systems were abundant in stocks and optionality, and the farmers were distinguished in terms of their autonomy, competence, and connectedness to peers, the community, and markets. To support antifragility among regular farmers, adaptations at policy level may be required, for example, by shifting from a top-down toward a bottom-up adaptation and innovation regime where initiative and cooperation are encouraged. With a more autonomous orientation, farmers' intrinsic motivation is expected to increase, enabling transitions at the farm level. In this way, connected systems can be developed which are socioeconomically and biophysically adaptive. When practices, knowledge, and skills are continuously developed, an antifragile system with ample stocks and optionality may evolve over time.

Autonomy Adaptive Capacity Smallholder Farmers CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA POLICIES SMALLHOLDERS AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

Necessity as a driver in bending agricultural gender norms in the Eastern Gangetic Plains of South Asia

Pragya Timsina Emma Karki Brendan Brown (2023, [Artículo])

The majority of the farmers in the rural Global South continue to depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. Despite the fact that women account for almost half of the world's farmers, they face gender-specific challenges such as deeply rooted cultural and social norms that limit their access to land, assets, financial markets, agricultural training, and information. Using semi-structured interviews with farmers in the Eastern Gangetic Plains, this study investigates how necessity is becoming one of the major drivers in the bending of agricultural gender norms. The study investigates the connections between feminist political ecology and agricultural technology production frameworks in order to comprehend the implications of technology adoption and influences on gender norms in communities. Women's participation in agriculture was found to be heavily influenced by social and cultural barriers, and they were frequently subjected to social criticism for breaking the systemic gender norms. This paper emphasizes on the growing pattern of bending gender norms with recommendations for increasing women's participation and scope in future agriculture development initiatives through policies and interventions that emphasize gender equity.

Social Barriers Cultural Barriers Feminist Political Ecology CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA GENDER NORMS WOMEN FARMERS AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY

CCAFS Outcome Synthesis Report:

Mathieu Ouédraogo John Recha Maren Radeny Paresh Shirsath Peter Läderach Osana Bonilla-Findji (2021, [Documento de trabajo])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE INVESTMENT FARMING SYSTEMS CLIMATE CHANGE

A pre-pandemic study about recreational uses in the Mexico Park located at Mexico City (year 2017)

Ramiro Flores-Xolocotzi Sergio Ceballos (2022, [Artículo, Artículo])

A recreational study was carried out through surveys in the Parque México in Mexico City. For this, the relationship between visit patterns with socioeconomic information, uses and perceptions of visitors with 18 years old or older was analyzed. This research uses descriptive statistics and a non-linear canonical correlation analysis to analyze relationships between variables. An ordered probit regression was also performed to determine the variables that explain the frequency of recreational use. It was obtained that the Park mainly receives visitors with at least bachelor's degree (78.6%) and high incomes (more than 50% have a monthly family income higher than $10,000.00 pesos and 27.6% receive more than $30,000.00 per month). Considering the results, the conclusions are that although the highest percentage of the studied population comes from neighborhoods outside the Roma-Condesa Corridor: then the visitors who live in the Corridor and who have higher incomes, have weight in the description of the model. The results allow to conclude too, that higher income increases the frequency of use. It is also observed that the park is used during the Monday to Friday by more than 50% of the population of visitors and with a high percentage of use in the mornings.

urban forestry urban planning leisure green areas correlación canónica no lineal parque urbano probit recreación CIENCIAS SOCIALES CIENCIAS SOCIALES

Estimación hídrica teórica de plantas en zonas urbanas: estudio de caso "Vertical Farm"

Jorge Flores Velazquez JUAN MANUEL ANGELES HERNANDEZ (2018, [Ítem publicado en memoria de congreso])

La gestión integrada de recursos hídricos es un proceso que promueve la gestión y el desarrollo coordinados del agua, el suelo” y demás recursos para potenciar su uso “sin comprometer la sostenibilidad de los ecosistemas vitales”. En la zona metropolitana de la ciudad de México habitan más de 22 millones de una población apostada en aproximadamente 8000 km2, lo que implica una densidad de habitantes de las más altas del mundo que ha ido absorbiendo la zona rural por la urbana. Frente a ello, se han puesto en marcha tecnologías disruptivas con el fin de atender la transformación del sector. Pero, además, implica gestión del recurso mediante tratamiento de aguas residuales, reciclaje del agua, cosecha de lluvia y de gestión de la demanda. En este trabajo se expone la viabilidad en la implantación de estas tecnologías, sus ventajas y requerimientos desde el punto de vista hídrico.

Agricultura urbana Riego Áreas verdes Gestión integrada de recursos hídricos INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA