Mapping crop and livestock value chain actors in Mbire and Murehwa districts in Zimbabwe

Hambulo Ngoma Moti Jaleta Frédéric Baudron (2023, [Documento de trabajo])

We conducted a preliminary value chain actors mapping for major crops grown and livestock kept by smallholder farmers in Mbire and Murehwa districts of Zimbabwe. Accordingly, in this report we mapped value chain actors for 11 crops and livestock commodities: namely, sorghum, cotton, sesame, maize, groundnut, sweet-potato, vegetables (tomato and onion), cattle, goats, poultry, and honey/beekeeping. Except sesame from Mbire, most of the crop and livestock commodities are channeled to the main markets in Harare and Marondera for Murehwa. Sesame is smuggled to Mozambique and the market is mainly dependent on middlemen. The Grain Market Board (GMB) is the major actor in sorghum and maize marketing in both districts. Groundnut is sold to both rural and urban consumers after processing it to peanut butter locally within the production zones. Goats and cattle are mostly supplied to the Harare market by middlemen collecting these livestock from village markets and moving door-to-door to buy enough quantity to transport to Harare. Honey production and marketing is still at its initial stage through the support of HELP from Germany and the Zimbabwe Apiculture Trust projects. Long dry season is a challenge in honey production. The Pfumvudza program supported by the Presidential free input scheme helped in introducing and scaling conservation agriculture practices in Zimbabwe. Though there is strong integration of crop-livestock systems at both districts, the level of manure use is gradually decreasing because farmers receive chemical fertilizer support from the Pfumvudza program and applying manure to crop fields is labor-intensive. The input supply system is more competitive in Murehwa district where there are quite several input suppliers in town. The possible interventions that favor agroecological transitions are: (1) honey processing plants and supply of beehives to potential areas, (2) encouraging manure use in crop production, possibly linking it to the basins preparation requirement to be eligible for the presidential input subsidy scheme, (3) support the organic vegetable production initiatives and explore market segments in Harare paying premium prices for certified organic products, (4) Expedite payment systems in sorghum and maize marketing with GMB, and (5) sesame production with agroecologically friendly agronomy and improve markets.

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA VALUE CHAINS CROPS LIVESTOCK SMALLHOLDERS SUPPLY CHAINS

Agroecology can promote climate change adaptation outcomes without compromising yield in smallholder systems

Sieglinde Snapp Yodit Kebede Eva Wollenberg (2023, [Artículo])

A critical question is whether agroecology can promote climate change mitigation and adaptation outcomes without compromising food security. We assessed the outcomes of smallholder agricultural systems and practices in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) against 35 mitigation, adaptation, and yield indicators by reviewing 50 articles with 77 cases of agroecological treatments relative to a baseline of conventional practices. Crop yields were higher for 63% of cases reporting yields. Crop diversity, income diversity, net income, reduced income variability, nutrient regulation, and reduced pest infestation, indicators of adaptative capacity, were associated with 70% or more of cases. Limited information on climate change mitigation, such as greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration impacts, was available. Overall, the evidence indicates that use of organic nutrient sources, diversifying systems with legumes and integrated pest management lead to climate change adaptation in multiple contexts. Landscape mosaics, biological control (e.g., enhancement of beneficial organisms) and field sanitation measures do not yet have sufficient evidence based on this review. Widespread adoption of agroecological practices and system transformations shows promise to contribute to climate change services and food security in LMICs. Gaps in adaptation and mitigation strategies and areas for policy and research interventions are finally discussed.

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CLIMATE CHANGE CROPS FOOD SUPPLY GAS EMISSIONS GREENHOUSE GASES FARMING SYSTEMS AGROECOLOGY FOOD SECURITY LESS FAVOURED AREAS SMALLHOLDERS YIELDS NUTRIENTS BIOLOGICAL PEST CONTROL CARBON SEQUESTRATION LEGUMES

Red de monitoreo automática del acuífero de Cuatrociénagas, Coahuila

CARLOS GUTIERREZ OJEDA (2014, [Documento de trabajo])

Tabla de contenido: Generalidades: antecedentes, objetivos, área de estudio, población y actividad económica, metodología de trabajo – Marco físico: fisiografía, climatología, hidrografía e hidrología superficial, geología regional, estratigrafía, geología estructural – Hidrología subterránea: instrumentación del acuífero, pozos de observación, nivelación de brocales, campaña de medición, historia piezométrica – Conclusiones y recomendaciones.

Como resultado de los trabajos desarrollados por el Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua (IMTA) en el 2004, se recomendó instrumentar la cuenca del valle de Cuatrociénegas, Coahuila, para determinar con mayor precisión las variables involucradas en el cálculo del balance hidrológico y la disponibilidad del agua subterránea. En 2007 el IMTA realizó un proyecto sobre la estimación del balance y la disponibilidad del acuífero Cuatrociénegas, en el cual realizó la construcción de 11 pozos de observación en la porción poniente del acuífero y con el que se complementará el conocimiento geohidrológico del acuífero, así como fortalecer la preservación del sistema de pozas-laguna. El cálculo de la disponibilidad permitirá la administración del recurso hídrico subterráneo ya que, de acuerdo a la Ley de Aguas Nacionales de México, el otorgamiento de nuevas concesiones sólo podrá efectuarse en acuíferos con disponibilidad. Con la finalidad de tener instrumentada toda la cuenca del acuífero Cuatrociénegas, en 2014 se propone realizar la instrumentación de la porción oriente mediante la construcción de cinco pozos de monitoreo distribuidos en esa porción del acuífero, con objeto de medir las variables involucradas en el balance hidrológico subterráneo y realizar un análisis del sistema de pozas-laguna y acuífero.

Generalidades: antecedentes, objetivos, área de estudio, población y actividad económica, metodología de trabajo – Marco físico: fisiografía, climatología, hidrografía e hidrología superficial, geología regional, estratigrafía, geología estructural – Hidrología subterránea: instrumentación del acuífero, pozos de observación, nivelación de brocales, campaña de medición, historia piezométrica – Conclusiones y recomendaciones.

Acuíferos Balance hídrico Medición de niveles Monitoreo del agua Informes de proyectos Cuatrociénagas, Coahuila CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA

Carbon sequestration potential, challenges, and strategies towards climate action in smallholder agricultural systems of South Asia

ML JAT Debashis Chakraborty Jagdish Ladha C.M. Parihar Ashim Datta Hari Sankar Nayak Dharamvir Singh Rana Bruno Gerard (2022, [Artículo])

Carbon Stock Global Warming Potential CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA BALANCED FERTILIZATION CARBON SEQUESTRATION CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE GLOBAL WARMING

Population and food in the early twenty-first century: meeting future food demand of an increasing population

Nurul Islam (1995, [Libro])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA FOOD POLICIES FOOD PRODUCTION FOOD SUPPLY FORECASTING

Pérdidas por intercepción de la vegetación y su efecto en la relación intensidad, duración y frecuencia (IDF) de la lluvia en una cuenca semiárida

ALVARO ALBERTO LOPEZ LAMBRAÑO CARLOS FUENTES RUIZ ENRIQUE GONZALEZ SOSA (2017, [Artículo])

Se cuantifica el componente hidrológico de la intercepción en vegetación semiárida y se evalúa el efecto en la relación

intensidad-duración-frecuencia de la precipitación. La intercepción se determina mediante la simulación de lluvias a diferentes intensidades sobre muestras con cubierta vegetal herbácea; se obtienen los componentes del balance hidrológico, como lámina precipitada, lámina escurrida, lámina almacenada en un espesor de suelo a un contenido de humedad inicial dado y lámina drenada. A partir de precipitaciones máximas, en 24 horas se obtienen las curvas intensidad-duración-frecuencia (IDF) de la precipitación para periodos de retorno de 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 y 100 años, estableciendo cuatro escenarios con diferentes cubiertas vegetales para evaluar el efecto del componente de la intercepción en dichas curvas.

Balance hídrico Modelación hidrológica Lluvias Simulación CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA

Metrics for optimum allocation of resources on the composition and characterization of crop collections: The CIMMYT wheat collection as a proof of concept

M. Humberto Reyes-Valdés Juan Burgueño Carolina Sansaloni Thomas Payne Rosa Angela Pacheco Gil (2022, [Artículo])

Crop Genebanks Optimization Relative Balance CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CROPS GENE BANKS WHEAT

The input reduction principle of agroecology is wrong when it comes to mineral fertilizer use in sub-Saharan Africa

Gatien Falconnier Marc Corbeels Frédéric Baudron Antoine Couëdel leonard rusinamhodzi bernard vanlauwe Ken Giller (2023, [Artículo])

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

Maintenance of Coastal Surface Blooms by Surface Temperature Stratification and Wind Drift

MARY CARMEN RUIZ DE LA TORRE (2013, [Artículo])

Algae blooms are an increasingly recurrent phenomenon of potentially socio-economic impact in coastal waters globally and in the coastal upwelling region off northern Baja California, Mexico. In coastal upwelling areas the diurnal wind pattern is directed towards the coast during the day. We regularly found positive Near Surface Temperature Stratification (NSTS), the resulting density stratification is expected to reduce the frictional coupling of the surface layer from deeper waters and allow for its more efficient wind transport. We propose that the net transport of the top layer of approximately 2.7 kilometers per day towards the coast helps maintain surface blooms of slow growing dinoflagellate such as Lingulodinium polyedrum. We measured: near surface stratification with a free-rising CTD profiler, trajectories of drifter buoys with attached thermographs, wind speed and direction, velocity profiles via an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, Chlorophyll and cell concentration from water samples and vertical migration using sediment traps. The ADCP and drifter data agree and show noticeable current shear within the first meters of the surface where temperature stratification and high cell densities of L. polyedrum were found during the day. Drifters with 1m depth drogue moved towards the shore, whereas drifters at 3 and 5 m depth showed trajectories parallel or away from shore. A small part of the surface population migrated down to the sea floor during night thus reducing horizontal dispersion. The persistent transport of the surface bloom population towards shore should help maintain the bloom in favorable environmental conditions with high nutrients, but also increasing the potential socioeconomic impact of the blooms. The coast wise transport is not limited to blooms but includes all dissolved and particulate constituents in surface waters. © 2013 Ruiz-de la Torre et al.

chlorophyll, algal bloom, article, cell count, cell density, coastal waters, controlled study, dinoflagellate, Lingulodinium polyedrum, meteorological phenomena, Mexico, near surface temperature stratification, nonhuman, nutrient concentration, popul CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO OCEANOGRAFÍA OCEANOGRAFÍA