Remote sensing data could increase the value of tropical forest resources by helping to map economically important species. However, current tools lack precision over large areas, and remain inaccessible to stakeholders. Here, we work with the Protected Areas Authority of Peru to develop and implement precise, landscape-scale, species-level methods to assess the distribution and abundance of economically important arborescent Amazonian palms using field data, visible-spectrum drone imagery and deep learning. We compare the costs and time needed to inventory and develop sustainable fruit harvesting plans in two communities using traditional plot-based and our drone-based methods. Our approach detects individual palms of three species, even when densely clustered (average overall score, 74%), with high accuracy and completeness for Mauritia flexuosa (precision; 99% and recall; 81%). Compared to plot-based methods, our drone-based approach reduces costs per hectare of an inventory of Mauritia flexuosa for a management plan by 99% (USD 5 ha-1 versus USD 411 ha-1), and reduces total operational costs and personnel time to develop a management plan by 23% and 36%, respectively. These findings demonstrate how tailoring technology to the scale and precision required for management, and involvement of stakeholders at all stages, can help expand sustainable management in the tropics.
Tag: crop management
Nipping an innovative method to increase the yield of castor
Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is a vital industrial oilseed crop with an indeterminate growth habit, often leading to excessive branching that reduces seed quality and yield. This chapter highlights the agronomic practice of nipping—removal of internodal buds on primary, secondary, and tertiary branches—to optimize spike development and improve yield. Nipping enhances air circulation, reduces disease incidence (e.g., botrytis), and improves the source–sink relationship for better photosynthate allocation. When combined with proper nutrition and spacing, nipping significantly increases oil yield and supports healthier crop stands. This practice is especially relevant for dryland farming systems aiming to boost productivity and farmer income sustainably.
Stakeholder planning of the institutionalization of the volunteer farmer-trainer approach in dairy producer organizations in Kenya: key steps and supporting mechanisms
The effectiveness of community-based extension approaches has been widely documented, however their sustainability remains weak. Institutionalization has been proposed as a way of achieving sustainability. This paper shares experiences of the learning and planning phase of the institutionalization of the volunteer farmer-trainer (VFT) approach in three dairy producer organizations (POs) in Kenya. The paper builds a detailed understanding of the key steps and social processes involved and the wider lessons that might be learned regarding institutionalization in the context of local institutions such POs. We draw on data from key informant interviews, focus groups discussions and workshops. The first phase of the process which spanned one year involved engagements with stakeholders at different levels; from VFTs, dairy cooperative management, government extension and local NGOs. The process involved awareness creation, joint learning at the individual, group and organization level, a strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis of producer organizations and identifying opportunities for harnessing resources for support functions. We highlight the important supporting social and institutional processes that are required for this to happen. These include getting acceptance and support from key stakeholders, developing a shared understanding, stakeholder ownership of the process, commitment from top leadership of POs and institutional structures to support the process. For the process to be actualized, we discuss mechanisms that need to be put in place.
Albizia procera – white siris for reforestation and agroforestry
Albizia is a large fast-growing tree that occurs on many different sites. It occurs in forests and savanna woodlands, but prefers moist sites. This species provides wood for a variety of purpose, nutrition, fodder for livestock and shade for tea plantations. This article gives a brief account of this multipurpose tee and how it can be used for reforestation and agroforestry systems.
A New Paradigm for Evidence-Based Land and Soil Management Recommendations
There has been a failure in developing evidence-based land, soil and crop management recommendations due to two fundamental limitations. The first limitation is that target areas have not been defined and properly sampled when setting up experiments or observations, which has prevented sound inference of results to the area of interest. The second limitation is that uncertainty in the evidence used to make the recommendations has been ignored, thereby pushing the decision risk on to the farmer or land user, and robbing the researchers of the knowledge required on how to reduce uncertainty and improve recommendations. Currently, the data used to develop recommendations are rarely traceable. Recommendations are rarely validated in a systematic way. A surveillance framework for making evidence-based land, soil and agronomic recommendations is presented and illustrated with an example of developing fertiliser recommendations in the Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS). The cropland areas of a country are first identified as the region of interest. A statistically valid sampling scheme is used for siting soil sampling campaigns and agronomic trials. Low cost and rapid spectral measurement methods are used to handle the large numbers of sample analyses required. The approach permits unbiased estimates of soil constraints and crop responses to be made and mapped with the aid of remote sensing covariates. Uncertainty in recommendations is presented to end users and value-of-information analysis used to pinpoint where further information is required to improve recommendations and reduce end-user decision uncertainty.
Homegardens and the future of food and nutrition security in southwest Uganda
Governments around the world seek to create programs that will support sustainable agriculture and achieve food security, yet they are faced with uncertainty, system complexity and data scarcity when making such choices. We propose decision modeling as an innovative approach to help meet these challenges and offer a case study to show the effectiveness of the tool. We use decision analysis tools to model the possible nutrition-related outcomes of the Ugandan government’s long term agricultural development plan termed ‘Vision 2040’. The analysis indicates potential shifts in household nutritional contributions through the comparison of the current small-scale diverse systems and the envisioned industrial agricultural systems that may replace them. A Monte Carlo simulation revealed that Vision 2040 plans outperform homegardens in terms of energy and some macronutrients, yet homegardens are likely to be better at producing key vitamins and micronutrients, such as Vitamin A. Value of information calculations applied to Monte Carlo outputs further revealed that gathering more data on the annual yields and nutrient contents of staples, pulses, vegetables, and fruits could improve certainty about the nutrition contribution of both scenarios. We conclude that the development of Uganda’s agricultural sector should consider the role that agrobiodiversity in the current small-scale agricultural systems plays in national food and nutrition security. Any changes according to Vision 2040 should also include farmers’ voices and current crop management systems as guides for a sustainable food supply in the region. This modeling approach may be a tool for governments to consider agricultural policy implications, especially given the data scarcity and agricultural variability in regions such as East Africa.
Mobile phone ownership and use of short text message service by farmer trainers: a case study of Olkalou and Kaptumo in Kenya
This paper presents the findings of a Rapid Appraisal (RA) study that was undertaken with 28 farmer trainers (FTs) to assess the use of the Short Message Service (SMS) in accessing agricultural information. The study was conducted in Kaptumo and Olkalou in Kenya. The study used RA tools that included discussions with key informants and semi-structured interviews guided by a checklist. The data and subsequent analysis revealed that all FTs owned mobile phones and were able to read and write text messages. English was the popular language among FTs in SMS usage (90% preference over other languages). The results further showed that information contained in text messages could be made useful immediately as all FTs read SMS received before the day ended. Additionally, the study indicated that FTs received agricultural text messages from fellow FTs (100% in Olkalou and71.4% in Kaptumo), service providers (50% in Kaptumo), extension workers (71.4% in Kaptumo), and local administration (78.6% in Kaptumo). The study further revealed that FTs occasionally share the text message information that they receive with other farmers. These findings point to the fact that the use of mobile phone technology is widely used by farmers to access and share agricultural information. Policy makers and extension service providers need to embrace this service so that farmers can access agricultural information in a timely and cost-effective manner.
A meta-analysis of the adoption of agricultural technology in Sub-Saharan Africa
Both global poverty and hunger have increased in recent years, endangering progress towards accomplishing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 and 2. The regression has been most pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Meeting the SDG targets requires achieving resilient farm productivity. Although many farm management technologies exist to improve yields, farmers in SSA largely have not adopted these approaches. A long-standing literature about technology adoption identifies multiple hypotheses as to why farmers may or may not adopt new agricultural technologies, culminating in numerous micro-econometric studies. We analyse a metadata set capturing the findings of 164 published studies specifically focusing on SSA and show that 20 out of 38, or 53%, of the determinants commonly believed to influence technology adoption lack empirical support. Eighteen determinants—primarily related to information access, wealth, group membership and social capital, and land tenure—consistently influence adoption across studies. Wealth remains a significant determinant of fertilizer adoption, despite long-running subsidies in most countries, although it is decoupled from the adoption of improved seeds and alternative crop and nutrient management technologies. We highlight the foundational determinants of adoption and offer guidance to design effective interventions that can decrease poverty and hunger towards 2030.