The Enhancing Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices (ECSAP) project in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, strengthens the capacity of smallholder farmers to adopt climate-smart agroforestry and sustainable farming systems. The project promotes soil and water conservation, diversified crops, and improved farm management to increase productivity while protecting forest and landscape health. Through training, demonstration plots, and knowledge exchange, farmers and extension workers enhance their technical and business skills. In Pondok Mensiau and surrounding villages, ECSAP supports community-based learning and local innovations that improve livelihoods and resilience. These efforts contribute to stronger rural institutions, sustainable incomes, and more climate-resilient agricultural landscapes.
Tag: crop diversification
Revisiting agroecological transitions in Rwanda a decade later: the role of local knowledge in understanding the crop diversity–food security–land degradation nexus
Achieving food security remains a pressing global challenge, exacerbated by broken food systems, climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and social inequality. While crop diversification is a fundamental component of agroecological transitions and food security, its potential is often overlooked due to limited local participation and broad policy approaches that fail to account for local variability. This study revisits agroecological transitions in Western Rwanda a decade after data collection, assessing the relevance of local knowledge in understanding the interconnections between crop diversity, food security, and land degradation. Using a systematic knowledge-based approach (AKT5), researchers gathered data from 150 smallholder farmers through a Paired Catchment Assessment. Findings from the 1995–2015 period reveal a decline or disappearance of “low-value” crops due to the Crop Intensification Program (76%), land shortages (55%), and farmers abandoning slow-growing crops (49%). Consequently, 83% of farmers reported food insecurity, mainly in the form of seasonal food shortages (51%). Perennial crops emerged as essential for mitigating hunger, yet reduced crop diversity has increased reliance on off-farm food sources. The original analysis identified seven agroecological principles critical to the crop diversity–food security relationship: soil health, biodiversity, synergy, economic diversification, social values and diets, knowledge co-creation, and participation. These findings varied by land degradation status, underscoring the need for context-specific strategies. By 2015, food produced on-farm supported farmers for only 6.6 months annually, down from 10.1 months in 1995, reinforcing the need to strengthen ecological rather than administrative boundaries and improve food system connectivity. The study highlights the importance of equitable trade mechanisms for smallholder farmers and calls for the integration of local knowledge alongside stakeholder collaboration to co-design sustainable, context-appropriate policies. A decade later, these findings remain relevant, validated by recent literature, reinforcing the necessity of locally informed strategies to advance sustainable food systems.
Spatiotemporal mapping of rice fallows and soil moisture dynamics for sustainable intensification using time series geospatial big data
Rice fallow lands offer a major opportunity for sustainable intensification in South Asia, particularly in West Bengal, India, where 11.7 million hectares remain uncultivated post-rice harvest due to water limitations. This study used Sentinel-2 satellite data, K-means clustering, and random forest algorithms to map rice fallow areas and soil moisture dynamics from October to May (2019–2020). Results identified 1.97 million hectares of Rabi rice fallows, with 53% and 43% of post-Kharif and post-Rabi areas, respectively, suitable for legume cultivation. The study highlights the urgency of timely interventions, as soil moisture depletes rapidly after harvest, and provides high-resolution maps to guide legume-based intensification strategies for food security and soil health.
Adaptability factors of ethnic minority to climate change: evidence from the mountainous farmers of Vietnam
Ethnic minority farmers in northern Vietnam face increasing vulnerability due to climate change, which affects crop yields, livestock health, and household well-being. This study surveyed 362 farmers across Bac Kan Province to examine how climate change influences agricultural practices and the adoption of adaptation strategies. Using multivariate probit regression, the study identified key factors influencing adaptation choices, including education, access to credit, forestland ownership, and farmers’ health. Adaptation strategies ranged from crop diversification and improved varieties to migration and financial coping mechanisms. The findings emphasize the importance of tailoring agricultural and food security programs to the aspirations and constraints of ethnic minority communities in fragile environments.
Fruit trees in Agroforestry for Nutritional Security and Enhanced Income in Arid and Semi-Arid Tropics of Africa and Asia
Drivers of sustainable intensification in Kenyan rural and peri-urban vegetable production
Crop diversity and classification of homegardens in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
Homegardens are considered a sustainable production system in the tropics, which contributes to biodiversity conservation. The aim of this study was the description of crop diversity, structure and management of homegardens in Central Sulawesi and their classification. In 30 homegardens randomly selected from three villages adjacent to the Lore Lindu National Park, species diversity and abundance were assessed and the Shannon index was calculated. Overall 149 crop species were identified, mainly fruit, vegetable, spice, or medicinal plants. The number of vegetation layers differed depending on age and size of homegardens. Cluster analysis of crop species composition was used to classify different garden types. Not only the spectrum of species cultivated in the homegardens but also the occurrence of these garden types was different among the three villages. This finding was supported by Sørensen’s coefficient. Homegardens from one village, mainly inhabited by transmigrants, contrasted strongly with those from the other two. A markedly lower number of crop species was cultivated there, and species composition was clearly different. The number of crop species and species composition found in homegardens may be attributed to socio-economic conditions of garden keepers as well as to soil quality. Both productivity and sustainability can be enhanced, e.g., by improved soil fertility management such as applying available farm yard manure.
Smallholder farmers’ attitudes and determinants of adaptation to climate risks in East Africa
Adapting to climate risks is central to the goal of increasing food security and enhancing resilience of farming systems in East Africa. We examined farmers’ attitudes and assessed determinants of adaptation using data from a random sample of 500 households in Borana, Ethiopia; Nyando, Kenya; Hoima, Uganda; and Lushoto, Tanzania. Adaptation was measured using a livelihood-based index that assigned weights to different individual strategies based on their marginal contributions to a household’s livelihood. Results showed that farmers’ attitudes across the four sites strongly favored introduction of new crops, changes in crop varieties, and changes in planting times. Farmers disfavored soil, land, and water management practices. At lower levels of adaptation (25% quantile), adaptation index correlated positively with membership to farmers’ groups, household size, sex of the household head, and number of months of food shortage. Farmer group membership enhanced adaptation at intermediate (50% quantile) level whereas access to credit increased adaptation at high (75% quantile) level. Food insecurity, however, correlated negatively with the likelihood to choose individual adaptation strategies suggesting that although households adapted to improve food security status of their households, hunger was a barrier to adaptation. Our findings suggest that providing climate information to inform timely planting, promoting crop diversification, and encouraging adoption of adapted varieties of crops might be successful to enhancing resilience of farming systems in the short-term. In the long-term, increased investment in reducing hunger, encouraging groups formation, and easing liquidity constraints will be required to promote adaptation through implementation of soil, water, and land management strategies.
Policy Support for Home Gardens in Vietnam Can Link to Sustainable Development Goals
Despite research evidence on the diverse benefits of home gardens and their potential contributions to multiple sustainable development goals (SDGs), the role of policy towards supporting these contributions remains unclear in developing countries like Vietnam. In this study, we found that 25 out of Vietnam’s 86 key rural development and agricultural policies enacted over the last decade (2010–2021) set specific targets for home gardens. The targets, however, focus strongly on income generation with indicators stipulating e.g., 50–80% of total income from home gardens should be generated by the main product. The policies set no specific target for other potential roles of home gardens beyond the economy of rural households and can exacerbate the widespread transformation of home gardens in Vietnam into farming practices with low crop diversity. The latter potentially limits contributions of home gardens to two (SDG 1, 10) of at least 11 (SDG 1–3, 5, 6, 8, 10–13, 15) of Vietnam’s 17 SDGs. To narrow the gap between research and policy in home garden contributions to Vietnam’s SDGs, we need to better mainstream integrated home garden systems and their diverse benefits, enrich policy targets beyond the income generation, and strengthen coordination among state departments for policy implementation.