• Energy Research

Abstract Since 2010, as a result of the increased attention to quinoa as a highly nutritious crop and increased international demand, the acreage and production of quinoa expanded rapidly in the Andes region. Global demand and price increases create opportunities for smallholder Andean farmers but also concerns on the environmental impacts of quinoa acreage expansion and the changing quinoa production practices of smallholder farmers. In this paper, we assess the sustainability performance of smallholder quinoa production in the Junin region in the central highlands of Peru. We use primary data from a two-round survey among 367 smallholder farmers in the Junin region and secondary data from Ecoinvent and LCFoods databases. We use a combination of a life cycle assessment to assess the various environmental impacts of quinoa production; a data envelopment analysis to link the environmental performance of quinoa production with the economic performance, and quantify the eco-efficiency of individual farms; and a fractional regression model to examine the heterogeneity in eco-efficiency across farms. We find that conventional quinoa production creates a global warming potential of 7.82 kg CO2-equivalent per kg of protein, which is comparable to the environmental impact of organic quinoa production and production of other grain crops but much below the impact of production of rice and food from animal origin. Also, the eco-efficiency among smallholder quinoa producers is low, on average 18.2%, and that excessive use of mineral fertilizers and a switch to mechanical threshing explains this low eco-efficiency. We conclude that quinoa, with its specific nutritional characteristics, can make a contribution to a more sustainable global food production but that attention is needed to the soil fertility management practices of smallholder Andean farmers in order to reduce the environmental impact and increase the efficiency of smallholder quinoa production.

AbstractBiofuel production from oilseed trees in small‐scale agroforestry systems is considered as a strategy for energy security, rural development and ecosystem services provision in low‐income countries. However, the economic potential of these systems remains unclear, as profitability studies commonly ignore key methodological issues such as quantitative uncertainty analysis, full accounting for opportunity costs, and inclusion of all value chain actors. This study addresses these methodological shortcomings and develops a framework for quantifying the long‐term financial performance of agroforestry‐based biofuel value chains. The framework is applied to a case in South India, to calculate profitability of pongamia (Millettia pinnata) cultivation and processing. The results show that pongamia cultivation has limited financial potential, and is only profitable in small‐scale settings, in the middle to long term and for a subset of farmers. If biodiesel is envisaged as the end product, the value chain requires substantial fiscal and marketing support to be economically viable. For current prices, financial performance is much higher if the seed oil is marketed instead of processed to biodiesel. Increased mechanization, increased yields and optimized agroforestry set‐ups might improve financial outcomes and reduce risks for both farmers and processors. These findings are case‐specific, while the developed framework opens the door to comprehensive investigation of the financial performance of other oilseed tree species and in other regions.

Il existe de plus en plus de preuves sur les impacts de la gestion des nutriments spécifiques au site (SSNM) en provenance d'Asie. Les données probantes pour l'Afrique subsaharienne (Ass), où les développements en matière de SSNM sont plus récents et où les conditions concernant la fertilité des sols et l'utilisation des engrais diffèrent considérablement de celles de l'Asie, sont extrêmement rares. Nous évaluons un outil de conseil SSNM qui permet aux agents de vulgarisation de générer des recommandations d'engrais adaptées à la situation spécifique du champ d'un agriculteur individuel, en utilisant un essai contrôlé randomisé de trois ans avec 792 petits agriculteurs dans la ceinture de maïs du nord du Nigeria. Deux bras de traitement ont été mis en œuvre : T1 et T2 fournissent tous deux des informations SSNM sur l'utilisation et la gestion des nutriments, mais T2 fournit des informations supplémentaires sur la distribution des prix du maïs et la variabilité associée des rendements attendus de l'utilisation des engrais. Nous estimons les effets moyens et hétérogènes de l'intention de traiter sur les résultats agronomiques, économiques et environnementaux au niveau de la parcelle. Nous constatons que T1 et T2 entraînent des augmentations substantielles (jusqu'à 116 %) de l'adoption de bonnes pratiques de gestion des engrais et T2 entraîne des augmentations progressives (jusqu'à 18 %) des taux d'application des nutriments, des rendements et des revenus. Les deux traitements améliorent les faibles niveaux d'efficacité de l'utilisation des nutriments et réduisent les niveaux élevés d'intensité des émissions de gaz à effet de serre, après deux ans de traitement. Nos résultats soulignent la possibilité d'une intensification plus progressive et durable de l'agriculture paysanne en Afrique subsaharienne, par rapport à la révolution verte asiatique, grâce à une utilisation accrue d'engrais accompagnée d'une meilleure gestion des engrais. Existe una creciente evidencia sobre los impactos de la gestión de nutrientes específica del sitio (SSNM) de Asia. La evidencia para el África subsahariana (SSA), donde los desarrollos de SSNM son más recientes y donde las condiciones relativas a la fertilidad del suelo y el uso de fertilizantes difieren significativamente de las de Asia, es extremadamente escasa. Evaluamos una herramienta de asesoramiento de SSNM que permite a los agentes de extensión generar recomendaciones de fertilizantes adaptadas a la situación específica del campo de un agricultor individual, utilizando un ensayo controlado aleatorio de tres años con 792 pequeños agricultores en el cinturón de maíz del norte de Nigeria. Se implementaron dos brazos de tratamiento: T1 y T2 proporcionan información de SSNM sobre el uso y manejo de nutrientes, pero T2 proporciona información adicional sobre las distribuciones de precios del maíz y la variabilidad asociada de los rendimientos esperados del uso de fertilizantes. Estimamos los efectos promedio y heterogéneos de la intención de tratar en los resultados agronómicos, económicos y ambientales a nivel de parcela. Encontramos que T1 y T2 conducen a aumentos sustanciales (hasta 116%) en la adopción de buenas prácticas de manejo de fertilizantes y T2 conduce a aumentos incrementales (hasta 18%) en las tasas de aplicación de nutrientes, rendimientos e ingresos. Ambos tratamientos mejoran los bajos niveles de eficiencia en el uso de nutrientes y reducen los altos niveles de intensidad de emisión de gases de efecto invernadero, después de dos años de tratamiento. Nuestros hallazgos subrayan la posibilidad de una intensificación más gradual y sostenible de la agricultura a pequeña escala en SSA, en comparación con la Revolución Verde Asiática, a través de un mayor uso de fertilizantes acompañado de una mejor gestión de los fertilizantes. There is growing evidence on the impacts of site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) from Asia. The evidence for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where SSNM developments are more recent and where conditions concerning soil fertility and fertilizer use differ importantly from those in Asia, is extremely scarce. We evaluate a SSNM advisory tool that allows extension agents to generate fertilizer recommendations tailored to the specific situation of an individual farmer's field, using a three-year randomized controlled trial with 792 smallholder farmers in the maize belt of northern Nigeria. Two treatment arms were implemented: T1 and T2 both provide SSNM information on nutrient use and management, but T2 provides additional information on maize price distributions and the associated variability of expected returns to fertilizer use. We estimate average and heterogenous intent-to-treat effects on agronomic, economic and environmental plot-level outcomes. We find that T1 and T2 lead to substantial increases (up to 116%) in the adoption of good fertilizer management practices and T2 leads to incremental increases (up to 18%) in nutrient application rates, yields and revenues. Both treatments improve low levels of nutrient use efficiency and reduce high levels of greenhouse gas emission intensity, after two years of treatment. Our findings underscore the possibility of a more gradual and sustainable intensification of smallholder agriculture in SSA, as compared with the Asian Green Revolution, through increased fertilizer use accompanied by improved fertilizer management. هناك أدلة متزايدة على آثار إدارة المغذيات الخاصة بالموقع (SSNM) من آسيا. الأدلة على أفريقيا جنوب الصحراء الكبرى (SSA)، حيث تطورات SSNM أكثر حداثة وحيث تختلف الظروف المتعلقة بخصوبة التربة واستخدام الأسمدة بشكل مهم عن تلك الموجودة في آسيا، نادرة للغاية. نقوم بتقييم أداة استشارية للإدارة الوطنية للأمن الغذائي تسمح لوكلاء الإرشاد بتوليد توصيات الأسمدة المصممة خصيصًا للحالة المحددة لحقل مزارع فردي، باستخدام تجربة عشوائية محكومة مدتها ثلاث سنوات مع 792 مزارعًا من أصحاب الحيازات الصغيرة في حزام الذرة في شمال نيجيريا. تم تنفيذ اثنين من أذرع المعالجة: يوفر كل من T1 و T2 معلومات SSNM حول استخدام المغذيات وإدارتها، ولكن يوفر T2 معلومات إضافية حول توزيعات أسعار الذرة والتباين المرتبط بالعائدات المتوقعة لاستخدام الأسمدة. نحن نقدر الآثار المتوسطة وغير المتجانسة لنية العلاج على النتائج الزراعية والاقتصادية والبيئية على مستوى قطعة الأرض. نجد أن T1 و T2 يؤديان إلى زيادات كبيرة (تصل إلى 116 ٪) في اعتماد ممارسات إدارة الأسمدة الجيدة و T2 يؤدي إلى زيادات تدريجية (تصل إلى 18 ٪) في معدلات استخدام المغذيات والعائدات والإيرادات. كلا العلاجين يحسنان مستويات منخفضة من كفاءة استخدام المغذيات ويقللان من مستويات عالية من كثافة انبعاثات غازات الدفيئة، بعد عامين من العلاج. تؤكد النتائج التي توصلنا إليها إمكانية التكثيف التدريجي والمستدام لزراعة أصحاب الحيازات الصغيرة في أفريقيا جنوب الصحراء الكبرى، مقارنة بالثورة الخضراء الآسيوية، من خلال زيادة استخدام الأسمدة مصحوبة بتحسين إدارة الأسمدة.

Private sustainability standards are increasingly important in food trade with developing countries, but the implications for smallholder farmers are still poorly understood. We analyze the implications of different coffee certification schemes in Ethiopia using cross-sectional survey data, and regression and propensity-score-matching techniques. We find that: Rainforest Alliance (RA) and double Fairtrade-Organic (FT-Org) certifications are associated with higher incomes and reduced poverty, mainly because of higher prices; Fairtrade (FT) certification hardly affects welfare; and Organic (Org) certification reduces incomes, chiefly due to lower yields. Cooperative heterogeneity importantly shapes these results. Results imply that private standards may not always deliver what they promise to consumers.

AbstractIn this study, the CERES-Maize model was calibrated and evaluated using data from 60 farmers’ fields across Sudan (SS) and Northern Guinea (NGS) Savannas of Nigeria in 2016 and 2017 rainy seasons. The trials consisted of 10 maize varieties sown at three different sowing densities (2.6, 5.3, and 6.6 plants m−2) across farmers’ field with contrasting agronomic and nutrient management histories. Model predictions in both years and locations were close to observed data for both calibration and evaluation exercises as evidenced by low normalized root mean square error (RMSE) (≤15%), high modified d-index (> 0.6), and high model efficiency (>0.45) values for the phenology, growth, and yield data across all varieties and agro-ecologies. In both years and locations and for both calibration and evaluation exercises, very good agreements were found between observed and model-simulated grain yields, number of days to physiological maturity, above-ground biomass, and harvest index. Two separate scenario analyses were conducted using the long-term (26 years) weather records for Bunkure (representing the SS) and Zaria (representing the NGS). The early and extra-early varieties were used in the SS while the intermediate and late varieties were used in the NGS. The result of the scenario analyses showed that early and extra-early varieties grown in the SS responds to increased sowing density up to 8.8 plants m−2 when the recommended rate of N fertilizers (90 kg N ha−1) was applied. In the NGS, yield responses were observed up to a density of 6.6 plants m−2 with the application of 120 kg N ha−1 for the intermediate and late varieties. The highest mean monetary returns to land (US$1336.1 ha−1) were simulated for scenarios with 8.8 plants m−2 and 90 kg N ha−1, while the highest return to labor (US$957.7 ha−1) was simulated for scenarios with 6.6 plants m−2 and 90 Kg N ha−1 in the SS. In the NGS, monetary return per hectare was highest with a planting density of 6.6 plants m−2 with the application of 120 kg N, while the return to labor was highest for sowing density of 5.3 plants m−2 at the same N fertilizer application rates. The results of the long-term simulations predicted increases in yield and economic returns to land and labor by increasing sowing densities in the maize belts of Nigeria without applying N fertilizers above the recommended rates.

AbstractAs Africa is facing multiple challenges related to food security, frameworks integrating production and availability are urgent for policymaking. Attention should be given not only to gradual socio-economic and climatic changes but also to their temporal variability. Here we present an integrated framework that allows one to assess the impacts of socio-economic development, gradual climate change and climate anomalies. We apply this framework to rice production and consumption in Africa whereby we explicitly account for the continent’s dependency on imported rice. We show that socio-economic development dictates rice availability, whereas climate change has only minor effects in the long term and is predicted not to amplify supply shocks. Still, rainfed-dominated or self-producing regions are sensitive to local climatic anomalies, while trade dominates stability in import-dependent regions. Our study suggests that facilitating agricultural development and limiting trade barriers are key in relieving future challenges to rice availability and stability.

Due to an increase in international demand, quinoa production has boomed tremendously in the Andes since the early 2010s. This has led to significant investments into developing improved varieties for large-scale agribusinesses, but breeding programs are not tailored to the needs of smallholders. In this paper, we study farmers’ preferences and willingness to pay for improved quinoa varieties in the Junín region in Peru. We use data from a choice experiment among 458 smallholders and estimate generalized multinomial logit models to control for preference and scale heterogeneity. We find that farmers generally prefer improved varieties over traditional varieties, with mildew-resistance as the most important crop trait. In general, farmers prefer varieties that are characterized by larger grain sizes, higher yield levels, lower levels of saponin, and a reduced maturation period. Yet, food-insecure farmers are found to be indifferent to early maturity and a larger grain size, which can be explained by a lower degree of commercialization among these farmers. Our results imply that developing mildew-tolerant and higher-yielding varieties with a medium to low saponin content is a priority if investments in quinoa technologies are to benefit small-scale and food insecure farmers in the Andean highlands of Peru.