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A review of sustainable drought resilience strategies for India's diverse agroclimatic landscapes
No full textIndia's drought management faces a number of complex issues, such as groundwater depletion, climate change-induced rainfall variability, inefficient water usage, and rising demands from urbanization and agriculture. In order to move drought management from crisis response to long-term readiness, this research analyzes India's present drought resilience measures and suggests an integrated framework that combines technological innovation, community involvement, policy reform, and financial mechanisms. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) powered forecasts and smart irrigation systems, the promotion of climate-resilient crops, the use of creative finance such as drought bonds, and the development of decentralized water governance through Jal Sabhas are important solutions. Examples of effective community-led projects (like Hiware Bazar and Jal Taran) show how effective grassroots activity can be when backed by strong regulations and technological resources. The report ends with a 2050 plan that is divided into three main areas: (1) Infrastructure (micro-irrigation, aquifer recharge), (2) Institutions (corporate water stewardship, interstate water authorities), and (3) Behavioral change (water literacy initiatives). This shift requires 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) investment every year, but it might avert $1.5 trillion in cumulative losses by 2050, as 60% of India's districts are expected to experience water stress by 2030
Seed collection and processing practices affect subsequent seed storage longevity in durum wheat and wild relatives
No full textPotential seed storage longevity is influenced by environment during seed development and maturation but postharvest processing may also affect longevity, particularly in accessions with variable maturity or seed shedding. The impact of sequential harvesting and post-harvest processing was examined in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum) and its wild relatives, Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccoides and T. monococcum subsp. boeoticum. Spikes were collected in sequential harvests as they matured and either processed immediately (fumigated, threshed, cleaned, dried) or delayed (remaining in the field until all plots were harvested). A separate study with durum wheat assessed seed quality throughout development and maturation and the effects of initial post-harvest drying temperatures. Delayed processing resulted in equal or greater seed longevity than immediate processing across all accessions. In durum wheat, longevity improved considerably between 21 and 41 days after heading but declined thereafter. Initial seed drying temperature affected longevity: 30°C was optimal for the earliest harvests, whereas 15°C was superior at harvest maturity and beyond. These findings demonstrate that immature seeds can continue to develop in quality ex planta under warm, dry conditions, challenging conventional recommendations for immediate post-harvest processing and suggesting a potential role for delayed processing in optimising seed longevity
System Dynamics Modelling of Olive Supply Chain to Support Socio-ecological Gains in Multi-functional Landscape: General Model and Specification for Tunisian Semi-arid Region
No full textOlive value chains in the Mediterranean face linked problems: limited inclusion of smallholders, women, and youth; unpriced environmental harm; high exposure to climate and market shocks; weak incentives for stewardship; slow uptake of better practices; thin market information; infrastructure gaps; and weak ties among farmers, cooperatives, and processors. Because these pressures interact across stages, a single fix often shifts problems elsewhere. This motivates a system dynamics (SD) view that can display feedbacks, delays, and trade-offs within one structure.
The paper has two aims. First, it specifies a transparent SD prototype for Tunisia’s olive sector that stakeholders can use now for discussion and later for calibration. Second, it makes three core outcomes central to analysis: socio-ecological gains (joint improvements in productivity and product quality, with lower environmental harm and fairer access to benefits), resilience (the ability to absorb shocks and recover), and inclusion (meaningful participation and benefits for smallholders, women, and youth). The first aim is not predictive: the model prototype serves as a clear boundary structure to organise participatory qualitative work—checking assumptions, locating leverage points, designing policy and technology scenarios, and sketching impact pathways—before full calibration and numerical testing.
The model has seven modules. Four are supply-chain subsystems: (i) planting and tree cohorts (young, mature, senescent; rain-fed vs. irrigated), (ii) harvesting (losses, pick rates, technology adoption), (iii) processing and market allocation (extraction, capacity, local/export and premium channels), and (iv) demand (domestic and export). Three are cross-cutting: (v) ecosystem services (soil fertility, water, basic biodiversity), (vi) climate and adaptation (rainfall/heat indices, drought frequency, adaptive investment), and (vii) policy–finance (subsidies, certification premia, tax revenue, budget constraint). We present causal-loop and stock-and-flow diagrams, there variables and parameters, as well as define scenario levers. Empirical calibration and operational simulations will follow.
The prototype adds value by adopting a cradle-to-cradle scope that links field stewardship and climate stress to losses, extraction, and premium channels; by keeping structural detail for drought response, stand renewal, and practice adoption; by treating resilience and inclusion as explicit outcomes with clear policy entry points; and by offering user-friendly system dynamics diagrams for co-learning. The Tunisia case is preliminary parameterized-ready yet portable to other Mediterranean regions. We outline next steps: assemble data (cooperatives, mills, prices, remote sensing), verify model structure with wider expert consultation, package an operational model version in Vensim DSS, conduct calibration and validation screening, and test policy and technology scenarios
تمكين الاستثمار في مجال الادارة المستدامة للمراعي: الفوائد الاجتماعية والاقتصادية والبيئية
No full textتلعب إدارة المراعي المستدامة دورًا حيويًا في تعزيز مرونة النظم البيئية، ودعم سُبل العيش في المناطق الريفية، ومعالجة التحديات المناخية والبيئية في المناطق الجافة. ومع ذلك، لا تزال الاستثمارات في قطاع المراعي محدودة بسبب انخفاض العوائد المالية المتوقعة، وضعف التنسيق بين الجهات العامة والخاصة.
تستعرض هذه الدراسة الفوائد الاجتماعية والاقتصادية والبيئية للاستثمار في إدارة المراعي المستدامة، مع تسليط الضوء على أساليب التمويل المبتكرة، وآليات الدعم السياساتي، ومشاركة القطاع الخاص. ومن خلال أمثلة إقليمية من شمال إفريقيا والشرق الأوسط، بما في ذلك نظم الرعي المتجدد، وإنتاج الزيوت العطرية، وسلاسل قيمة العسل، وبرامج الاعتمادات الكربونية، توضح الدراسة الإمكانات المتاحة لاستعادة المراعي لتحقيق عوائد اقتصادية مع تقديم خدمات بيئية مثل احتجاز الكربون، والحفاظ على التنوع البيولوجي، وتحسين التربة والموارد المائية..
كما تناقش الدراسة أطر الرصد لتقييم تعافي النظم البيئية، وإنتاجية الماشية، وتحسين سُبل العيش. ومن خلال عرض حالات استثمار ناجحة ونماذج للشراكات، تقدم الدراسة رؤى قائمة على الأدلة لتعزيز استراتيجيات التمويل المستدام وتشجيع مشاركة أكبر للقطاعين العام والخاص في استعادة وإدارة المراعي.
D.4.2.3 CROATIA MOUNTAINHer Policy Brief
No full textFROM MARGINS TO MARKETS: ADVANCING WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN CROATIA’S MOUNTAIN COOPERATIVES
Confronting Legal Barriers, Leadership Inequity, and Economic Isolation through Cooperative Transformation
Direct seeding, residue management, and mungbean integration for sustainable intensification of irrigated rice systems in the derived savannah of West Africa
No full textContext
Rice is a staple crop in West Africa, but its production faces significant challenges, including sub-optimal cropping practices, low yields, nutrient depletion, and excessive water use.
Objectives
This study evaluated the impact of alternative rice-based cropping systems—incorporating direct seeding, residue management, and legume integration—on crop productivity, resource use efficiency, and profitability in the derived savannah agro-ecological zone of West Africa.
Methodology
A three-and-a-half-year field experiment in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, assessed eight treatments, including puddled transplanted rice (PTR) systems with different residue management and crop rotations, including single rice cropping with fallow, double cropping, and triple cropping with continuous rice or mungbean integration, as well as direct-seeded rice systems (wet, dry, or no-till) combined with mungbean. Residue management ranged from complete removal in conventional systems to 50 % residue retention in integrated systems. Key parameters evaluated included system rice equivalent yield (SREY), water use efficiency (WUE), partial productivity of nitrogen, protein output, and benefit-cost ratio (BCR).
Results
Continuous puddled transplanted rice with residue removal exhibited a gradual decline in yield over time, whereas integrating mungbean and residue return under wet or dry direct seeding enhanced productivity, input use efficiency, and profitability. Wet or dry direct seeding of rice in both rainy and dry seasons followed by mungbean cultivation and 50 % residue retention, resulted in the highest system rice equivalent, productivity efficiency, water use efficiency, and protein output. These improvements were 47–53 %, 27–32 %, 83–92 %, and 37–41 % greater, respectively, compared to double cropping, puddled transplanted rice with residue removal. Besides, these practices enhanced economic benefits by 109–120 % and increased the benefit-cost ratio by 82–88 %, while reducing water use by 16–23 %. No-tillage system reduced water use but led to lower mungbean yields and overall productivity.
Conclusions and Significance
Rice–rice–mungbean under wet or dry direct seeding with 50 % residue retention offers a promising strategy for sustainable intensification in the derived savannah agro-ecological zone of West Africa. This approach enhances productivity, water use efficiency, protein output, and profitability in irrigated rice systems. Further, long-term studies are recommended to evaluate the impact of these practices on soil health and greenhouse gas emissions
CGIAR Innovation Packages and Scaling Readiness (IPSR) for the Protected Designation of Origin (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée – AOC) of olive oil Innovation
No full textThe report presents in detail the different steps during the AOC IPSR workshop including the results like the six identified solutions to go to scale with the AOC and their innovation readiness and use level
Identification and Prevalence of Wheat Rust Races in Morocco and Lebanon in 2025
No full textDuring 2025, rust surveys were conducted in farmers’ fields and research stations, and samples were processed through the Türkiye–ICARDA Regional Cereal Rust Research Center (RCRRC) in Izmir, Türkiye. A total of 41 rust samples were received from the region, including 25 stem rust samples from Morocco. Due to severe drought conditions, only one yellow rust sample was collected in Morocco and none in Lebanon, and pathogen recovery for yellow rust was unsuccessful. Race analysis of Moroccan stem rust isolates identified three Pgt races—TTTTF, TKTTF, and TKKTF. Race TTTTF was the most prevalent, accounting for more than half of the isolates, followed by TKTTF and TKKTF. Virulence profiling against North American differential lines showed that resistance genes Sr24 and Sr31 remained effective against all identified races, indicating the absence of the Ug99 lineage in Morocco during the 2025 season. Variable virulence was observed for the remaining Sr genes, highlighting continued evolutionary pressure within the pathogen population. Despite unfavorable agroclimatic conditions that limited disease development and sample availability, the persistence and dominance of race TTTTF confirm its ongoing epidemiological importance in North Africa. The findings underscore the critical need for sustained rust surveillance, regional race analysis, and continuous integration of race data into wheat breeding programs to ensure the deployment of durable resistance and effective stem rust management strategies across the region
Morphological and molecular insights of root dynamics in rice-fallow lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)
No full textLentil is a promising crop for diversifying the vast, untapped rice-fallows of South Asia. However, augmenting lentil productivity in this niche remains a key challenge due to poor soil biophysical properties. Research gap on root trait variation warrants harnessing genotypic variability of lentil root system to shed light on root developmental plasticity. The present study aimed to assess the genotypic variability of 24 lentil genotypes in root traits under differential tillage practices of rice-fallow systems and identify key root traits contributing to root architectural plasticity. Additionally, the role of genes controlling root development in lentil was elucidated. The results revealed substantial genetic variability in root traits and the prospective lentil genotypes had better total root length, surface area, volume, and lateral root numbers. Significant correlations among vital root traits providing a win-win opportunity for the researchers to target these traits for improving resource acquisition in challenging environments. Notably, this study is the first to elucidate the role of triphosphate tunnel metalloenzyme 3 (LcTTM3), and auxin transporter like protein 5 (LcLAX5) in root development, as genotypes with a robust root system exhibited significantly higher transcript-level variation for these genes. Based on a summation rank index, four superior genotypes (2011S 56234-1, ILL-10961, L-1112-19, and ILL-7978) were identified as ideal candidates for cultivation in rice-fallow systems, irrespective of tillage practices. This study provides valuable insights into the genetic basis of root development and its role in nutrient and water uptake efficiency to reduce yield risks and enhance system resilience in lentil
Determinants and impacts of individual and combined adoption of sustainable agricultural practices in Uzbekistan
No full textAgricultural sector in Uzbekistan is undergoing rapid modernization driven by institutional reforms and mounting pressure to ensure sustainable land and water resource use. This study investigates the adoption and impacts of four sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) promoted for sustainable intensification: crop rotation, manure application, drip irrigation, and laser levelling.
Using nationally representative survey data from 1,225 farms across four major regions (Andijan, Kashkadarya, Khorezm, and Samarkand) collected in 2024, we employ a multivariate probit model to analyze complex, inter-dependent adoption decisions and their determinants. Subsequently, we apply treatment-effects models to assess the impact of individual practices and selected bundles on three critical outcomes: farm revenue, an agronomic sustainability index, and the gender wage gap among seasonal workers.
Our analysis reveals that SAP adoption patterns are highly practice-specific. Crucially, perceived profitability, benefits and challenges are strong predictors of uptake, while standard structural variables ( education, farm size, and generic extension contact) are inconsistent determinants across practices. Modern technologies are more strongly linked to institutional arrangements, farm structure, and training than are traditional practices.
Results on impact are nuanced: No single technology improves all three outcomes simultaneously. Drip irrigation emerges as the most promising individual practice, significantly raising both revenue and sustainability. In contrast, laser levelling shows no clear average economic gains. Importantly, SAP bundles consistently outperform single practices on sustainability and sometimes on revenue. Social impacts are mixed: crop rotation tends to widen, while the joint adoption of laser levelling and drip irrigation narrows the gender wage gap. Overall, the findings underscore the necessity of practice-specific and portfolio-based policy support for sustainable agriculture in reforming transition economies