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Agency and behavior change in agricultural research for development: new directions for guiding agri-food system transformations
No full textCONTEXT: Agri-food system transformations require change across sectors and actors within the system. Initiatives contributing to these changes need to connect system change processes to individual and collective agency and behaviors. OBJECTIVE: We propose a conceptual framework on agency and behavior change for transforming agri-food systems (ACT framework). ACT emphasizes agri-food system actors' behaviors with attention to their power, agency, and the influence of structural agri-food system elements. Researchers can apply ACT to assess an initiative's contributions to changes in system elements through individual and collective behaviors. METHODS: We conducted literature reviews and key informant interviews for 29 initiative case studies. Using ACT, we identified patterns in terms of initiatives' targeted actors, behaviors, and the factors shaping actors' agency and behavior. We then applied ACT in an initiative in Zimbabwe to develop a theory of change that links behavior change pathways with broader systems transformation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The reviewed initiatives focused heavily on shaping producers' behavior through knowledge transfer, less often considering other actors and structural challenges and opportunities. Key informants frequently reported enablers and impediments to achieve initiative outcomes that were associated with structural system elements. Few were able to articulate their initiative's theory of change and underlying assumptions. SIGNIFICANCE: ACT can support a more diverse and theory-based exploration of agri-food system initiatives' target actors, behaviors, and factors shaping behaviors. Development professionals can apply the ACT framework to design more effective TOCs that attend to diverse actor groups and leverage the factors influencing these actors' agency and behaviors
Zinc distribution in structural components of high kernel-zinc maize and its retention after milling
No full textHigh kernel-zinc maize (HKZM) has the potential to contribute to addressing zinc deficiency in regions with high maize consumption, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, milling HKZM may lead to loss of zinc when removing the pericarp and embryo. This study evaluated the zinc distribution in kernel components of HKZM maize grown in different environments, and examined how milling affected its zinc concentration. The zinc concentration in HKZM lines was 27.0-30.7 mu g g-1 while in conventional maize it was 19.5-22.6 mu g g-1. Zinc in maize endosperm represented 20.5 to 28.2 % of the total kernel zinc while that in the embryo represented 68.1 to 75.7 %. HKZM retained 43 % of its kernel zinc after milling, resulting in flour with 5 mu g g-1 higher zinc concentration compared to regular maize flour. Environmental factors had a significant effect on kernel zinc concentrations. Maize grain from commercial mills had 21 mu g g-1 zinc, with zinc losses of 22 % to 65 % during milling, resulting in flours with 6-10 mu g g-1 of zinc. While HKZM shows promise in alleviating zinc deficiency, its anticipated impact may be limited in regions where refined maize is frequently used for making foods. The development of maize varieties with higher zinc concentration in the endosperm, along with promoting increased consumption of less refined maize products can boost zinc intake for deficient populations
Investigating the efficacy of bioactive compounds from selected plant extracts against Gibberella fujikuroi species complex associated with damping off disease in sweet corn
No full textFusarium genera are widespread disease-causing fungi that severely reduce plant productivity and yield quality, particularly in corn. In this study, we investigated the antifungal potential of selected plant extracts against damping-off disease-associated fungi in sweet corn (Zea mays L. saccharata). Fourteen Fusarium isolates were obtained from symptomatic sweet corn plants belonging to five different species, viz. F. fujikuroi, F. proliferatum, F. verticillioides, F. oxysporum, and F. acuminatum. Although all the isolated fungi were pathogenic, F. verticillioides (Fv-A), F. fujikuroi (Ff-A) and F. oxysporum (Fo-W2) were more aggressive showing higher values for infection (%) and infection severity (%) and negatively affected seed germination (%) and other growth variables. Phytochemical analysis for five wildly growing plant species namely; Eruca vesicaria L., Strigosella africana L., Chenopodium album L., Oxalis pes-caprae L. and Ducrosia ismaelis was conducted using GC-MS analysis. The most abundant bioactive compounds in the three selected extracts (E. vesicaria, O. pes-caprae L. and D. ismaelis) were 1-eicosanol, (Z)6,(Z)9-Pentadecadien-1-ol and n-Hexadecanoic acid, and Nonadecane, respectively. Oxacyclotricosan-2-one and D-Homoandrostane from E. vesicaria L.; Vitamin E and Benzenepropanoic acid, 3,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-hydroxy-, methyl ester from O. pes-caprae L. and 7.beta.-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl), alpha-gurjunene from D. ismaelis showed extraordinary molecular docking and dynamic properties including high binding free energy, relatively low inhibition constant (pKi), ligand efficiency, and low torsional energy against three fungal enzymes, namely GH10 xylanase, Plant-type chitinase inhibitors, and Sterol 14-alpha Demethylase. Thus, these bioactive compounds can be listed as potential binders of these target proteins and could be used in designing new fungicides
Fast-forwarding plant breeding with deep learning-based genomic prediction
No full textDeep learning-based genomic prediction (DL-based GP) has shown promising performance compared to traditional GP methods in plant breeding, particularly in handling large, complex multi-omics data sets. However, the effective development and widespread adoption of DL-based GP still face substantial challenges, including the need for large, high-quality data sets, inconsistencies in performance benchmarking, and the integration of environmental factors. Here, we summarize the key obstacles impeding the development of DL-based GP models and propose future developing directions, such as modular approaches, data augmentation, and advanced attention mechanisms.1700-170
Adoption of sustainable land and water management practices and their impact on crop productivity among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa
No full textLand degradation and water challenges threaten sub-Saharan Africa's agricultural productivity and food security. This study uses panel secondary data from the World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture project to evaluate land degradation variations, the adoption of sustainable land and water management (SLWM) practices, and their impacts on crop yields among smallholder farmers in four subSaharan African countries: Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, and Ethiopia. The study used a high-dimensional fixed effects model to control for time-invariant unobserved and time-varying observed household and plot-level confounders. The results indicate that while many households experienced land degradation and water problems, SLWM adoption has decreased over the past ten years. The study finds that household socioeconomic characteristics, extension services and social networks, plot-level farm characteristics (i.e., soil types, soil fertility, slope, plot tenure, and farm size), land degradation, and climate-related variables influence smallholder farmers' adoption of SLWM practices. Further, the adoption of SLWM practices leads to significant increases in crop yields for most practices and countries, particularly when compared to other degraded plots planted with the major crop in each country. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to improve farmers' access to tailored agricultural extension services and establish secure land tenure systems to enhance the adoption of SLWM practices in most countries. Further research is needed to identify effective strategies for promoting the adoption of SLWM practices and understand the challenges to their implementation. Improving systems such as extension, cooperatives, and digital tools to deliver timely and efficient information about SLWM practices and secure land tenure in some contexts can improve the adoption of these practices
Risk-return trade-offs in diversified cropping systems under conservation agriculture: Evidence from a 14-year long-term field experiment in north-western India
No full textConservation agriculture practices are promoted to increase productivity, profitability, and sustainability across diverse cropping systems. Many studies have used these goals in decision support frameworks to identify the most effective treatment among those examined. While this approach is valuable, it lacks actionable guidance for farmers regarding maximizing return, while minimizing risk. It does not provide specific recommendations on how to allocate land across various cropping systems and tillage practices to achieve such objectives. This would require another long-term experiment exploring various combinations of treatments. To address this challenge, we propose the application of modern portfolio theory, specifically leveraging mean-variance and conditional value at risk optimization models. Using these models has enabled us to identify the optimal cropping system combinations with different tillage practices that maximized yield and net returns with minimal associated risk. The proposed approach allows for recommendations involving combinations of treatments that may not have been previously tested in a geography. In a 14-year long-term conservation agriculture study involving twelve combination of tillage and cropping systems, we showed how different combination of treatments differ in risk-return profile using mean-variance and conditional value-at-risk models that trace out a frontier of options—combinations of treatments that give highest returns at minimal risk. For example, we find that across risk neutral (most profitable) and most risk averse (lowest risk) farmers, the optimal treatments on the frontier encompass of maize-mustard-mungbean (MMuMb) under zero tillage and maize-wheat-mungbean (MWMb) under bed planting (which offer high returns and associated risk), maize-maize-Sesbania (MMS) under zero tillage (providing a balance of moderate returns and risk), and MMS under conventional tillage (yielding lower returns and risk). Additionally, risk-averse farmers stand to gain by diversifying their land allocation. For instance, they could allocate 54 % of their land to MMuMb under zero tillage and 46 % to MWMb under bed planting to target net returns of INR 1,32,000, with downside risk of INR 56,000, otherwise they can allocate 44 % and 56 % of their land to MMS under zero tillage and MWMb under bed planting, respectively, with a targeted net return of INR 1,22,000 and downside risk of INR 43,540. This highlights the nuanced trade-off between risk and return in maize based diversified cropping systems under different tillage practices. Leveraging mean-variance and conditional value at risk optimization models in the analysis of long-term experiments can yield novel treatment combinations that hold promise and can be recommended to farmers for implementation
Unraveling the genetic basis of heat tolerance and yield in bread wheat: QTN discovery and Its KASP-assisted validation
No full textBackground: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a globally significant cereal crop and staple food, faces major production challenges due to abiotic stresses such as heat stress (HS), which pose a threat to global food security. To address this, a diverse panel of 126 wheat genotypes, primarily landraces, was evaluated across twelve environments in India, comprising of three locations, two years and two growing conditions. The study aimed to identify genetic markers associated with key agronomic traits in bread wheat, including germination percentage (GERM_PCT), ground cover (GC), days to booting (DTB), days to heading (DTHD), days to flowering (DTFL), days to maturity (DTMT), plant height (PH), grain yield (GYLD), thousand grain weight (TGW), and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) under both timely and late-sown conditions using 35 K SNP genotyping assays. Multi-locus GWAS (ML-GWAS) was employed to detect significant marker-trait associations, and the identified markers were further validated using Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP). Results: Six ML-GWAS models were employed for this purpose, leading to the identification of 42 highly significant and consistent quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) under both timely and late sown conditions, controlled by 20 SNPs, explaining 3-58% of the total phenotypic variation. Among these, noteworthy QTNs were a major grain yield QTN (qtn_nbpgr_GYLD_3B) on chromosome 3B, a pleiotropic SNP AX-95018072 on chromosome 7A influencing phenology and NDVI, and robust TGW QTNs on chromosomes 2B (qtn_nbpgr_TGW_2B), 1A (qtn_nbpgr_TGW_1A), and 4B (qtn_nbpgr_TGW_4B). Furthermore, annotation revealed that candidate genes near these QTNs encoded stress-responsive proteins, such as chaperonins, glycosyl hydrolases, and signaling molecules. Additionally, three major SNPs AX-95018072 (7A), AX-94946941 (6B), and AX-95232570 (1B) were successfully validated using KASP assay. Conclusion: Our study effectively uncovered novel QTNs and candidate genes linked to heat tolerance and yield-related traits in wheat through an extensive genetic approaches. These QTNs not only corresponded with previously identified QTLs and genes associated with yield traits but also highlighted several new loci, broadening the existing genetic understanding. These findings provide valuable insights into the genetic basis of heat tolerance in wheat and offer genomic resources, including validated markers that could accelerate marker-assisted breeding and the development of next-generation heat-resilient cultivars
Hermetic bags remain effective in minimizing storage loss after four successive cycles of reuse in Mexican highlands
No full textMaize and beans are two important crops in Mexico that are heavily infested by insect pests during storage, which can cause significant damage and jeopardize the food security of smallholder farmers. The effectiveness of polypropylene bags in minimizing storage loss was compared to the effectiveness of four hermetic bags from three different manufacturers (GrainPro Inc., USA; Ecotact, India; Vestergaard Frandsen Inc., Switzerland) and the effectiveness of silage plastic bags. The assessment was performed on maize and bean grain during four different cycles of storage for three months using the same hermetic bags. The bags were repaired with tape when perforated by insects to assess the effect on storage loss of reusing hermetic bags during consecutive storage cycles. Data were collected on the number of holes per bag, moisture content, insect damage, and weight loss before and after each storage cycle. All bags were perforated after the first cycle of storage; the silage plastic bag was the most affected and had to be changed after the second storage cycle. These perforations were caused by the activity of insects inside the bags in their attempt to escape the low-oxygen conditions created by the bags’ airtightness. Polypropylene bags showed severe insect damage, reaching 15.6% during the second storage cycle. Hermetic bags, on the other hand, consistently maintained a moisture content below 13%, insect damage below 5%, and weight loss below 2%, even after being perforated by insects and repaired. All the hermetic bags tested are recommended for use by smallholders to minimize storage loss. Repairing and reusing hermetic bags is a good strategy that can help minimize storage loss while reducing costs and the impact of the use of plastic materials on the environment
