Closing the yield gap of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merril) in Southern Africa: a case of Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique

Siyabusa Mkuhlani Isaiah Nyagumbo (2023, [Artículo])

Introduction: Smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are increasingly producing soybean for food, feed, cash, and soil fertility improvement. Yet, the difference between the smallholder farmers’ yield and either the attainable in research fields or the potential from crop models is wide. Reasons for the yield gap include low to nonapplication of appropriate fertilizers and inoculants, late planting, low plant populations, recycling seeds, etc. Methods: Here, we reviewed the literature on the yield gap and the technologies for narrowing it and modelled yields through the right sowing dates and suitable high-yielding varieties in APSIM. Results and Discussion: Results highlighted that between 2010 and 2020 in SSA, soybean production increased; however, it was through an expansion in the cropped area rather than a yield increase per hectare. Also, the actual smallholder farmers’ yield was 3.8, 2.2, and 2.3 times lower than the attainable yield in Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique, respectively. Through inoculants, soybean yield increased by 23.8%. Coupling this with either 40 kg ha−1 of P or 60 kg ha−1 of K boosted the yields by 89.1% and 26.0%, respectively. Overall, application of 21–30 kg ha-1 of P to soybean in SSA could increase yields by about 48.2%. Furthermore, sowing at the right time increased soybean yield by 300%. Although these technologies enhance soybean yields, they are not fully embraced by smallholder farmers. Hence, refining and bundling them in a digital advisory tool will enhance the availability of the correct information to smallholder farmers at the right time and improve soybean yields per unit area.

Decision Support Tools Digital Tools Site-Specific Recommendations CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS LEGUMES YIELDS SOYBEANS

Women, economic resilience, gender norms in a time of climate change: what do we know?

Cathy Farnworth Anne Rietveld Rachel Voss Angela Meentzen (2023, [Artículo])

This literature delves into 82 research articles, published between 2016 and 2022, to develop a deep understanding of how women manage their lives and livelihoods within their agrifood systems when these systems are being affected, sometimes devastatingly, by climate change. The Findings show that four core gender norms affect the ability of women to achieve economic resilience in the face of climate change operate in agrifood production systems. Each of these gender norms speaks to male privilege: (i) Men are primary decision-makers, (ii) Men are breadwinners, (iii) Men control assets, and (iv) Men are food system actors. These gender norms are widely held and challenge women’s abilities to become economically resilient. These norms are made more powerful still because they fuse with each other and act on multiple levels, and they serve to support other norms which limit women’s scope to act. It is particularly noteworthy that many institutional actors, ranging from community decision-makers to development partners, tend to reinforce rather than challenge gender norms because they do not critically review their own assumptions.

However, the four gender norms cited are not hegemonic. First, there is limited and intriguing evidence that intersectional identities can influence women’s resilience in significant ways. Second, gender norms governing women’s roles and power in agrifood systems are changing in response to climate change and other forces, with implications for how women respond to future climate shocks. Third, paying attention to local realities is important – behaviours do not necessarily substantiate local norms. Fourth, women experience strong support from other women in savings groups, religious organisations, reciprocal labour, and others. Fifth, critical moments, such as climate disasters, offer potentially pivotal moments of change which could permit women unusually high levels of agency to overcome restrictive gender norms without being negatively sanctioned. The article concludes with recommendations for further research.

Economic Resilience Intersectional Identities Women Groups Support CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA ECONOMICS RESILIENCE CLIMATE CHANGE GENDER NORMS AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS WOMEN

High spatial resolution seasonal crop yield forecasting for heterogeneous maize environments in Oromia, Ethiopia

Kindie Tesfaye Vakhtang Shelia Pierre C. Sibiry Traore Dawit Solomon Gerrit Hoogenboom (2023, [Artículo])

Seasonal climate variability determines crop productivity in Ethiopia, where rainfed smallholder farming systems dominate in the agriculture production. Under such conditions, a functional and granular spatial yield forecasting system could provide risk management options for farmers and agricultural and policy experts, leading to greater economic and social benefits under highly variable environmental conditions. Yet, there are currently only a few forecasting systems to support early decision making for smallholder agriculture in developing countries such as Ethiopia. To address this challenge, a study was conducted to evaluate a seasonal crop yield forecast methodology implemented in the CCAFS Regional Agricultural Forecasting Toolbox (CRAFT). CRAFT is a software platform that can run pre-installed crop models and use the Climate Predictability Tool (CPT) to produce probabilistic crop yield forecasts with various lead times. Here we present data inputs, model calibration, evaluation, and yield forecast results, as well as limitations and assumptions made during forecasting maize yield. Simulations were conducted on a 0.083° or ∼ 10 km resolution grid using spatially variable soil, weather, maize hybrids, and crop management data as inputs for the Cropping System Model (CSM) of the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). CRAFT combines gridded crop simulations and a multivariate statistical model to integrate the seasonal climate forecast for the crop yield forecasting. A statistical model was trained using 29 years (1991–2019) data on the Nino-3.4 Sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) as gridded predictors field and simulated maize yields as the predictand. After model calibration the regional aggregated hindcast simulation from 2015 to 2019 performed well (RMSE = 164 kg/ha). The yield forecasts in both the absolute and relative to the normal yield values were conducted for the 2020 season using different predictor fields and lead times from a grid cell to the national level. Yield forecast uncertainties were presented in terms of cumulative probability distributions. With reliable data and rigorous calibration, the study successfully demonstrated CRAFT's ability and applicability in forecasting maize yield for smallholder farming systems. Future studies should re-evaluate and address the importance of the size of agricultural areas while comparing aggregated simulated yields with yield data collected from a fraction of the target area.

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CROP MODELLING DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS FORECASTING MAIZE

Seasonal climate forecasts (SCFs) based risk management strategies: A case study of rainfed rice cultivation in India

Nand Lal Kushwaha Paresh Shirsath Dipaka Ranjan Sena (2022, [Artículo])

FResampler1 Seasonal Climate Forecasts Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CLIMATE CHANGE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS YIELDS RICE RISK MANAGEMENT

OPTIMIZING THE TRANSFER OF ENERGY IN A HEAT EXCHANGER MINIMIZING THE CORROSION PROBLEMS IN PIPES IN A HYDROELECTRIC POWER STATION USING DATA MINING AND SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE

VICTOR MANUEL ZEZATTI FLORES GUSTAVO URQUIZA BELTRAN MIGUEL ANGEL BASURTO PENSADO LAURA LILIA CASTRO GOMEZ (2019, [Artículo])

This research is based on the operation tube heat exchangers, their use and problematic on hydroelectric power plants. It is based on the design heat exchanger tubes for industrial use, which took the parameters of operation, design, working fluids (air and water) and conditions to assemble a monitoring equipment at appropriate scale for the laboratory, with the necessary measurement instruments to analyze the behavior of heat energy transfer by means of thermocouples, the velocity of the air with a hot wire anemometer and the flow of water with a turbine flow meter, in pipes of different materials: copper, steel 1018 and stainless steel 316L, all in ideal conditions, and with this to found a comparative parameter with pipes of the same materials but under conditions of deterioration with the presence of forced oxidation and with the data mining and support vector machine can be minimized the corrosion problems in pipes.

INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS Data Mining, Support Vector Machine, Pattern Recognition and Decision Support System, heat exchangers.

Implementation of a Nickel-Electroless Coating in Heat Exchanger Pipes Considering the Problem of the Environmental Conditions ofthe Cooling Water Without Recirculation to Increase the Effectiveness Under Uncertainty

VICTOR MANUEL ZEZATTI FLORES GUSTAVO URQUIZA BELTRAN MIGUEL ANGEL BASURTO PENSADO LAURA LILIA CASTRO GOMEZ JUAN CARLOS GARCIA CASTREJON (2022, [Artículo])

This research is based on the operation tube heat exchangers, their use and problematic on hydroelectric power plants. It is based on the design heat exchanger tubes for industrial use, which took the parameters of operation, design, working fluids (air and water) and conditions to assemble a monitoring equipment at appropriate scale for the laboratory, with the necessary measurement instruments to analyze the behavior of heat energy transfer by means of thermocouples, the velocity of the air with a hot wire anemometer and the flow of water with a turbine flow meter, in pipes of different materials: copper, steel 1018 and stainless steel 316L, all in ideal conditions, and with this to found a comparative parameter with pipes of the same materials but under conditions of deterioration with the presence of forced oxidation and with the data mining and support vector machine can be minimized the corrosion problems in pipes.

INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS Data mining, Support Vector Machine, Pattern Recognition and Decision Support System, Heat exchangers

The social responsibility of tobacco production in Nayarit. Who pays the price?

Dagoberto De Dios Hernández Jesús Antonio Madera Pacheco (2023, [Artículo, Artículo])

In Nayarit, Mexico, there is an Integrated System of Tobacco Production (SIPT) which operates mainly with the participation of campesino families. However, for some preparatory work and to guarantee the harvest, local jornaleros and indigenous migrant families from the mountainous regions of Nayarit, Jalisco, Durango, and Zacatecas are hired, manly on a temporarily basis. They live for several months in precarious conditions in the houses and yards of the growers and on the agricultural plots. Since the Marco’s Convention and the General Law on Tobacco Control, the companies that control the SIPT have adopted new narratives and strategies for managing and sustaining their businesses, mainly emphasizing the so-called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The objective of this article is to analyze the CSR actions of the tobacco companies from an approach of accumulation by dispossession, understanding CSR as a capitalist tool for the extraction of surplus value. With the support of a qualitative methodology, based on bibliographic and hemerographic review, direct observation, field diaries and interviews, also corporate actions comprised between 2018 and 2023 have also been documented. British American Tobacco and Tabacos del Pacífico Norte have "sponsored" the operation of the Florece centers and the Sustenta program in the tobacco fields of Nayarit, even though, in the tobacco reality of the tobacco industry the operation of such programs and their costs are assumed and absorbed by the growers, while the companies disseminate an image of sustainable business management.

Tobacco Social Responsibility Tobacco companies Indigenous families CMCT Tabaco Responsabilidad social Empresas tabacaleras Familias indígenas CIENCIAS SOCIALESCIENCIAS SOCIALES CIENCIAS SOCIALES

The social responsibility of tobacco production in Nayarit. Who pays the price?

Dagoberto De Dios Hernández Jesús Antonio Madera Pacheco (2023, [Artículo, Artículo])

In Nayarit, Mexico, there is an Integrated System of Tobacco Production (SIPT) which operates mainly with the participation of campesino families. However, for some preparatory work and to guarantee the harvest, local jornaleros and indigenous migrant families from the mountainous regions of Nayarit, Jalisco, Durango, and Zacatecas are hired, manly on a temporarily basis. They live for several months in precarious conditions in the houses and yards of the growers and on the agricultural plots. Since the Marco’s Convention and the General Law on Tobacco Control, the companies that control the SIPT have adopted new narratives and strategies for managing and sustaining their businesses, mainly emphasizing the so-called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The objective of this article is to analyze the CSR actions of the tobacco companies from an approach of accumulation by dispossession, understanding CSR as a capitalist tool for the extraction of surplus value. With the support of a qualitative methodology, based on bibliographic and hemerographic review, direct observation, field diaries and interviews, also corporate actions comprised between 2018 and 2023 have also been documented. British American Tobacco and Tabacos del Pacífico Norte have "sponsored" the operation of the Florece centers and the Sustenta program in the tobacco fields of Nayarit, even though, in the tobacco reality of the tobacco industry the operation of such programs and their costs are assumed and absorbed by the growers, while the companies disseminate an image of sustainable business management.

Tobacco Social Responsibility Tobacco companies Indigenous families CMCT Tabaco Responsabilidad social Empresas tabacaleras Familias indígenas CIENCIAS SOCIALESCIENCIAS SOCIALES CIENCIAS SOCIALES

¡MIENTRAS LAS MUJERES SE HACEN FEMINISTAS NUESTROS JÓVENES SE ESTÁN VOLVIENDO AFEMINADOS!: PRÁCTICAS Y REPRESENTACIONES DE GÉNERO EN EL EJÉRCITO NACIONAL (1917-1942)

Daniel Arias Osorio (2023, [Tesis de doctorado])

“Esta tesis se pregunta de manera amplia por las prácticas y representaciones de género en las fuerzas armadas desde 1917, año que se funda el Ejército Nacional hasta 1942, momento que se instaura el servicio militar obligatorio en el país. Para dar respuesta a estas preguntas este documento recurrió a diversas fuentes documentales, tales como documentos de carácter oficial, publicaciones periódicas de las fuerzas armadas, correspondencia militar y prensa que versó sobre las principales políticas del ejército de la época. Al ser una tesis con un tema de investigación ambicioso las herramientas metodológicas que utilizo para llevar a respuestas innovadoras y pertinentes son variadas. En primera instancia acojo los principales postulados de la historiografía militar, aquellos los pongo en diálogos con herramientas provenientes de los estudios de género y feministas al igual que desde otras ciencias sociales como: masculinidades, historia de las emociones, performatividad, prácticas corporales, violencia contra las mujeres y ciudadanía. A partir de ellos ofrezco pinceladas sobre las prácticas y representaciones en las fuerzas armadas mexicanas. Ingresar a la historia militar es también una ventana para entender un lenguaje y unas formas. En muchas ocasiones no sabemos la diferencia entre el arma de caballería y un servicio, como la Intendencia Militar. Es así como este manuscrito se detiene en primera instancia en mostrar cómo en la modernización del Ejército Nacional se definió y amplió un lenguaje que está directamente vinculado con el género que se estipuló con la instauración en unas políticas de reclutamiento, aquí expongo variados argumentos que desde disciplinas políticas, médicas y psicológicas determinaron unas diferencias sexuales y arguyeron una superioridad masculina de acuerdo con dichos argumentos. Gran parte de la historiografía militar ha señalado que las fuerzas armadas de la época estuvieron integradas por un grupo de hombres con una muy mala reputación”.

Afeminados en el ejército - Condición jurídica, leyes, etc. Afeminamiento - México. Masculinidades - México. Homosexuales militares. Hombres - Homosexuales militares - México - Siglo XX. Mujeres - lesbianas militares - México - Siglo XX. Tesis - Doctorado en Historia, Peninsular. CIENCIAS SOCIALES HISTORIA HISTORIA DE PAÍSES HISTORIA LOCAL HISTORIA LOCAL

LA GEOGRAFÍA DEL TRANSPORTE DE PASAJEROS EN EL VALLE DE MÉXICO DEL SIGLO XIX (1824-1910)

Brian Alexis Ley Pérez (2023, [Tesis de maestría])

“Como parte de la formación del virreinato de la Nueva España (s. XVI-XVIII) y posteriormente del estado-nación mexicano (s. XIX) fue indispensable tender una red de comunicaciones para conectar todo su territorio. Aunque esto no fue posible en su totalidad, si generó una srie de caminos estatales y nacionales. Las atenciones, uso y percepción de estas vialidades estaban marcadas por las características de su tiempo teniendo elementos gremiales durante la mayor parte de la etapa colonial. En los últimos años del siglo XVIII y la primera mitad del XIX, hubo un viraje hacia un perfil más institucionalizado, como parte del carácter secularizador y libertad con el que se dio entrada al ahora estado-nación mexicano. El uso cotidiano de estos corredores conformó toda una dinámica transportista, misma que podía conectar distintas localidades, regiones o el país entero. Los viajes solían realizarse en lomo de mula para el traslado de mercancías y sobre carruajes en el caso de las personas. Los desplazamientos eran ejecutados a partir de rutas con una serie de paradas protagonistas y otras complementarias que funcionaban como puntos de abasto y descanso para los viajeros a lo largo de su travesía. Todo ello formó una geografía del transporte, dónde los caminos fungieron como redes y las paradas a modo de nodos. De entre estos nodos, la ciudad de México era el principal de ellos, al ser el articulador general de todas las rutas de transporte nacional. No obstante igualmente poseía gran influencia en su región, a partir de una serie de viabilidades que permitían la conexión con los poblados aledaños en el valle. Si bien esta conectividad ya había generado una geografía del transporte a nivel regional desde siglos antes, esta se vio fortalecida con la aparición de una serie de servicios transportistas durante el siglo XIX”.

Transporte urbano - México - Siglos XIX-XX. Ferrocarriles - Tránsito de pasajeros. Viajes en ferrocarril - México - Siglos XIX-XX. Ferrocarriles - México - Historia. Ferrocarriles - México - Leyes y legislación. Tesis - Maestría en Historia, Peninsular. CIENCIAS SOCIALES HISTORIA HISTORIA DE PAÍSES HISTORIA LOCAL HISTORIA LOCAL