68 research outputs found
Effect of pruning frequency and pruning height on the biomass production of Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl) A. Gray
No full textAddition of tree or shrub prunings through alley cropping or biomass transfer systems have contributed to sustainable land-use systems in the tropics. Long term productivity of biomass transfer systems require shrub or tree species that coppice after cutting to provide sufficient plant nutrients. The effect of pruning frequency and cutting height on the biomass production of Tithonia diversifolia was studied to provide information for managing hedges. Results showed that height of cutting, pruning frequency, and their interactions significantly affected dry matter production of T. diversifolia. The results also showed that a significantly higher biomass production could be produced when Tithonia was pruned at long time intervals. Pruning height was also of importance in the harvesting of Tithonia biomass and it was evident that dry matter production was highest when Tithonia was pruned bimonthly at 50 cm height. With bi-monthly pruning frequency, dry matter production could be as high as 7. 2 t ha -1 yr -1 which might be a sufficient biomass to improve soil productivity in biomass transfer systems. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V
Effect of pruning frequency and pruning height on the biomass production of Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl) A. Gray
No full textAddition of tree or shrub prunings through alley cropping or biomass transfer systems have contributed to sustainable land-use systems in the tropics. Long term productivity of biomass transfer systems require shrub or tree species that coppice after cutting to provide sufficient plant nutrients. The effect of pruning frequency and cutting height on the biomass production of Tithonia diversifolia was studied to provide information for managing hedges. Results showed that height of cutting, pruning frequency, and their interactions significantly affected dry matter production of T. diversifolia. The results also showed that a significantly higher biomass production could be produced when Tithonia was pruned at long time intervals. Pruning height was also of importance in the harvesting of Tithonia biomass and it was evident that dry matter production was highest when Tithonia was pruned bimonthly at 50 cm height. With bi-monthly pruning frequency, dry matter production could be as high as 7. 2 t ha -1 yr -1 which might be a sufficient biomass to improve soil productivity in biomass transfer systems. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V
Scaling up climate information services through public-private partnership business models
No full textBetween 2011 and 2017, CCAFS West Africa piloted how the dissemination of climate information services (CIS) to farmers in its climate-smart village sites (Lawra and Jirapa) in Ghana could help them avert risks associated with climate change and variability. The pilot was executed with 1000 profiled and geo-referenced farmers (33% women) through a collaboration with a private information and communication technology (ICT) company, Esoko in Ghana and the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet). During the pilot, Esoko delivered processed weather information received from GMet and other sources to farmers using mobile phone platforms. The Esoko platform also allows farmers to access a call center where CIS is delivered to them vocally in their local dialect. The forecast information included the total rainfall, the onset and end of the rainy season, and a 10-day forecast during the rainy season (Partey et al., 2018). In addition to the weather forecast information, farmers receive market alerts and agro-advisories that are intended to help them understand and apply the received information.
A survey conducted in 2017 showed CIS received by farmers enabled them to make mixed strategic decisions on crop variety selection, time of planting, time of applying fertilizer, time of irrigating, time of harvesting etc. which contributed to reducing crop failures and increasing household food availability for both men and women (Partey et al., 2018).
To sustain the delivery of CIS to farmers at the cli-mate-smart village sites and reach others in the country, Esoko adopted a public-private partnership (PPP) business model proposed by CCAFS. The PPP is particularly targeted at farmers subscribing to the "Planting for Food and Jobs" (PFJ) initiative in-troduced by the Government of Ghana as part of its measures to improve food security and employment in the agricultural sector. This document presents the nature of the PPP model and preliminary resul
Gender in Agriculture and Climate Response in West Africa
No full textWhile women constitute at least 40% of the agriculture labour force they often lack substantial access to agricultural inputs, financial credits, labour and land, which are critical for their activities and livelihoods. This situation poses a major threat to food security due to the substantial contributions of women to food production at multiple scales in West Africa. With high aridity and sporadic rainfall patterns, women farmers especially in the Sahel of West Africa become more vulnerable to droughts and suffer high risks of productivity failure due to lack of irrigation facilities
Weathering the storm or storming the norms? Moving gender equality forward in climate-resilient agriculture - Introduction to the Special Issue on Gender Equality in Climate-Smart Agriculture: Approaches and Opportunities
No full textThe articles in this issue grapple with how climate-resilient approaches including climate-smart agriculture (CSA) can more effectively promote gender equality and women’s empowerment1. How can CSA be implemented in ways that improve the situation and empowerment of women as well as men. CSA has the potential to provide a range of benefits for women in adapting to climate change, if they are able to take advantage of them (Jost et al. 2016), and in fact, research presented in this issue and elsewhere indicate that CSA can be a supporting condition for empowerment (see Farnworth et al. 2017; Hariharan et al. in this issue; Mittal 2016). This issue attempts to begin to answer the questions of what are the key issues, gaps, and constraints relating to gender equality in CSA? How can women be empowered to use CSA to improve the food security and resilience of their households and communities? At the same time, it is understood that gender equality may be a process rather than an immediate result (Gutierrez et al. in this issue)
Sex-disaggregated Data in Climate, Agriculture and Food Security: An assessment of current trends and gaps
No full textThis report reviews trends and availability of sex-disaggregated data on various aspects of gender and CSA, including agricultural innovation, decision-making, time use and access to resources. It uses data collected by the CGIAR and other organizations to analyse gender trends at global, regional and national levels
Gender Perspectives of ICT Utilization in Agriculture and Climate Response in West Africa: A Review
No full textThis paper systematically reviewed the relevant literature to generate evidence and identify knowledge gaps on the gender perspectives of ICT use for agriculture and climate response in West Africa. It was evident from the literature that ICTs continue to form an important part of agricultural operations, climate response and agribusiness in West Africa. TV, radio and mobile phones were the most frequently used ICT platforms for receiving agricultural and climate information. Mobile phones have an added use for sales and financial transactions. There were no distinct gender differences in the use of ICTs for agriculture and climate response. However, women’s low income and limitations in controlling household financial responses were identified as significant barriers to ICT access. It was evident that ICTs may contribute to achieving gender outcomes in agriculture and climate response if an enabling environment is created for women to have access to the inputs and resources needed to implement agro-advisories. From the results obtained, there are clear indications that the gender perspectives of ICT use in agriculture and climate response has not received much research attention. The analyses identified important knowledge gaps on gender disaggregated information on the linkages among ICT use, agricultural productivity and climate adaptation indicator
Why Promote Improved Fallows as a Climate-Smart Agroforestry Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa?
No full textIn the literature, a lot is discussed about how agroforestry can achieve the mitigation, adaptation and productivity goals of climate-smart agriculture (CSA). However, this may be relatively too broad to assess the trade-offs and synergies of how specific agroforestry technologies or practices achieve the three pillars of CSA. Here, we provide an overview of how improved fallows (an agroforestry technology consisting of planting mainly legume tree/shrub species in rotation with cultivated crops) may achieve the goals of climate-smart agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Our review showed that improved fallow systems have real potential to contribute to food security and climate change mitigation and adaptation in SSA. Under proper management, improved fallows can increase maize yields to about 6 t ha−1, which is comparable to conventional maize yields under fertilization. This is attributed to improved soil fertility and nutrient use efficiency. Although data was generally limited, the growing literature showed that improved fallows increased soil carbon sequestration and reduced greenhouse emissions. Further, as a multiple output land use system, improved fallows may increase fodder availability during dry periods and provide substantial biomass for charcoal production. These livelihood options may become important financial safety nets during off seasons or in the event of crop failures. This notwithstanding, the adoption of improved fallows is mainly in Southern and Eastern Africa, where over 20,000 farmers are now using Sesbania sesban, Tephrosia vogelii, and Cajanus cajan in two-year fallows followed by maize rotations. Land tenure issues, lack of social capital, and improved germplasm and accessions of fallow species have been cited as constraints to scaling up. However, development of seed orchards, nursery development, and the willingness of policy makers to create a policy environment that addresses market failures and alleviates disincentives should improve adoption and future scaling up
N availability, soil microbial biomass and β-glucosidase activity as influenced by the decomposition of nine plant residues during soil fertility improvement in Ghana
No full textThis study wasconducted to determine how the litter quality and decomposition of nine species (Acacia auriculiformis, Albizia zygia, Azadiractha indica,Baphia nitida, Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leucocephala, Tithonia diversifolia, Senna spectabilis and Zea mays) influence soil N availability, microbial biomass and β-glucosidase activity during soil fertility improvement. The results on plant residue chemistry showed significant differences among species with N concentration ranging from 12.2 g kg−1 in Z. mays to 39.2 g kg−1 in B. nitida.C/N ratio was greatest in Z. mays (34.4) while lignin and polyphenol concentrations were greatest in A. auriculiformis. The highest decomposition rate (0.251% day−1) occurred in T. diversifolia and least in A. auriculiformis, A. zygia, B. nitida and Z. mays with half-lives of between 28 – 56 days. Similar to the results on decomposition, between 80 to 89% of N, P, K, Ca and Mg were released from T. diversifolia within 7 days compared with more than 70% retention in A. auriculiformis, B. nitida and Z. mays. Moreover, the half-lives of decomposition and nutrient release of G. sepium, L. leucocephala, A. indica and S. spectabiliswere within 14 days. Mineral N, soil microbial biomass and β-glucosidase activities increased in all treatments with T. diversifolia recording the greatest effect. While N mineralization occurred in all species throughout the experiment, an initial N immobilization was recorded in A. zygia, B. nitida, A. auriculiformis and Z. mays treatments for up to 14 days. Further, the results showed the decomposition, nutrient release rates, mineral N, soil microbial biomass and β-glucosidase activities were dependent on litter quality. Phosphorus, lignin, lignin/N ratio and (lignin + polyphenol)/N ratio were most influential based on significant (p = 0.05) results
Improving maize production through nitrogen supply from ten rarely-used organic resources in Ghana
No full textWhere there is limited availability of conventional fertilizers, the use of organic materials is considered a viable alternative to increase the productive capacity of soils. Many potential plant residues remain underutilized due to limited research on their use as a nutrient source. In this study, the nitrogen supplying capabilities of ten rarely-used leaf biomass sources (Acacia auriculiformis, Baphia nitida, Albizia zygia, Azadirachta indica, Senna siamea, Senna spectabilis, Tithonia diversifolia, Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leucocephala and Zea mays) were tested based on their nutrient content, N mineralization patterns and effect on maize yield (in comparison with inorganic fertilizer). N mineralization was studied in the laboratory using an incubation experiment. Field trials were also established using a randomized complete block design. Plant residues were applied at 5 t dry matter ha−1 a week before planting maize while fertilizer was split-applied at 90 kg N ha−1 on designated plots. From the results on plant residue chemistry, most of the plant residues recorded relatively high N concentration (≥24.9 g kg−1) and low C/N ratio (≤20.1) although neither N content nor C/N ratio significantly (p > 0.05) affected their N mineralization patterns. Leaf biomass application of B. nitida, A. auriculiformis, A. zygia and maize stover resulted in an initial net N immobilization that lasted for 14 days. Application of all plant materials significantly increased the biological yield and N uptake of maize with G. sepium and T. diversifolia producing the greatest impact especially in the major rainy season. Relative to the control, total grain yield after four cropping seasons was comparable between inorganic fertilizer (9.2 t ha−1), G. sepium (8.8 t ha−1) and T. diversifolia (9.4 t ha−1) treatments. The results on maize biological yield were significantly correlated with the effects of the treatments on N uptake. The findings suggest that in locations where inorganic fertilizers are limited, leaf biomass from G. sepium and T. diversifolia could offer the most suitable option in comparison with the other species used in this study
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