AGG-maize year 3 major achievements and next steps

Yoseph Beyene (2023)

Conference object

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA MAIZE BREEDING PROGRAMMES INNOVATION HYBRIDS GERMPLASM

The HUB Model: An evolving concept for knowlegde management among and between stakeholders towards integrated agri-food systems

Jelle Van Loon (2022)

Conference object

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA INNOVATION SYSTEMS FOOD SYSTEMS AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS DATA PROCESSING

Sustainability evaluation of contrasting milpa systems in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

Santiago Lopez-Ridaura Tania Carolina Camacho Villa (2023)

The milpa agroecosystem is an intercropping of maize, beans, squash and other crops, developed in Mesoamerica, and its adoption is widely variable across climates and regions. An example of particular interest is the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, which holds highly diverse milpas, drawing on ancestral Mayan knowledge. Traditional milpas have been described as sustainable resource management models, based on long rotations within a slash-and-burn cycle in forest areas. Nevertheless, due to modernization and intensification processes, new variants of the approach have appeared. The objective of this study was to evaluate the sustainability of three milpa systems (traditional, continuous, and mechanized) in four case studies across the Peninsula, with emphasis on food self-sufficiency, social inclusion and adoption of innovations promoted by a development project. The Framework for the Evaluation of Agroecosystems using Indicators (MESMIS, for its Spanish acronym) was used for its flexible, participatory approach. A common group of indicators was developed despite regional differences between study cases, with a high level of farmer participation throughout the iterative process. The results show lower crop yields in traditional systems, but with lower inputs costs and pesticide use. In contrast, continuous milpas had higher value in terms of crop diversity, food security, social inclusion, and innovation adoption. Mechanized milpas had lower weed control costs. Profitability of cash crops and the proportion of forest were high in all systems. Highly adopted innovations across milpa types and study cases included spatial crop arrangement and the use of residues as mulches. However, most innovations are not adapted to local conditions, and do not address climate change. Further, women and youth participation is low, especially in traditional systems.

Article

Milpa Intensification Processes Women and Youth Participation CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA SUSTAINABILITY INTERCROPPING FOOD SECURITY INNOVATION SOCIAL INCLUSION AGROECOSYSTEMS CASE STUDIES

Challenging the climate change effects on agriculture: need business unusual

ML JAT (2021)

Conference object

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CLIMATE CHANGE FOOD SYSTEMS CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION

Redes de innovación para el escalamiento de prácticas sustentables: Hubs y la Iniciativa AgriLac Resiliente de OneCGIAR

Jelle Van Loon (2022)

Conference object

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS INNOVATION SUSTAINABLE INTENSIFICATION TRAINING RESEARCH

The contribution of strong and weak ties to resilience: The case of small-scale maize farming systems in Mexico

Tania Carolina Camacho Villa Ernesto Adair Zepeda Villarreal Julio Díaz-José Roberto Rendon-Medel Bram Govaerts (2023)

Article

Social Network Analysis Farm Typologies Social Ties Strong Ties CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA INNOVATION NETWORKS PERSISTENCE SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS MAIZE FARMING SYSTEMS

Sistemas de producción sostenibles y redes de innovación

Jelle Van Loon (2022)

Conference object

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA PRODUCTION SYSTEMS INNOVATION PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS

The Scaling Scan: Una herramienta práctica para determinar oportunidades y desafíos para escalar innovaciones de manera sostenible

Lennart Woltering (2023)

Book

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA INNOVATION ADOPTION SOCIAL INCLUSION ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS SCALING UP

Too fast or too slow: the speed and persistence of adoption of conservation agriculture in southern Africa

Hambulo Ngoma Paswel Marenya Adane Tufa Md Abdul Matin Christian Thierfelder (2023)

Conference object

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE INNOVATION ADOPTION FARMERS

Research for development approaches in mixed crop-livestock systems of the Ethiopian highlands

Million Gebreyes James Hammond Lulseged Tamene Getachew Agegnehu Rabe Yahaya Anthony Whitbread (2023)

This study presents processes and success stories that emerged from Africa RISING's Research for Development project in the Ethiopian Highlands. The project has tested a combination of participatory tools at multiple levels, with systems thinking and concern for sustainable and diversified livelihoods. Bottom-up approaches guided the selection of technological interventions that could address the priority farming system challenges of the communities, leading to higher uptake levels and increased impact. Joint learning, appropriate technology selection, and the creation of an enabling environment such as the formation of farmer research groups, the establishment of innovation platforms, and capacity development for institutional and technical innovations were key to this study. The study concludes by identifying key lessons that focus more on matching innovations to community needs and geographies, systems orientation/integration of innovations, stepwise approaches to enhance the adoption of innovations, documenting farmers' capacity to modify innovations, building successful partnerships, and facilitating wider scaling of innovations for future implementation of agricultural research for development projects.

Article

Action Research Systems Thinking CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA INNOVATION PARTNERSHIPS SCALING UP INTEGRATED CROP-LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS