Academic article

This article in the Agronomy for Sustainable Development Journal, reviews processes of adaptation in farm decision-making models. The authors review bio-economic and bio-decision models, in which strategic and tactical decisions are included in dynamic adaptive and expectation-based processes, in 40 literature articles. »

This study, led by CIAT in collaboration with the Earlham Institute and Yale University highlights genetic elements that could accelerate the breeding of vital forage crops for animal nutrition in Africa and Latin America. The study identifies plants that undergo a biological phenomenon where they can reproduce clonally by apomixis. This means that they do not require egg cells to be fertilised by a male sperm or pollen grain. As result, the progeny (genetic descendants) are clones from the mother plant. A molecular diagnosis for reproduction enables quicker selection of the Brachiaria hybrid plants. By identifying candidate genes and genome regions linked to apomixis, this study opens the door to the use of molecular markers to efficiently select apomictic or sexual plants, a technique called marker-assisted selection (MAS). »

This article published by the Climate Change Journal addresses the potential impact of climate change on suitability for major crops and adaptive capacity using indicators of basic human needs, as well as resources for innovation and action framed in a livelihoods approach. The article add to the mounting evidence that rising temperatures and longer, more intense dry seasons could redraw the agricultural map of Central America. »

This article argues that participatory land governance and consultation processes need follow-up mechanisms since new actors, claims and strategies emerge after consent has been reached. In the study area Massingir, Mozambique, foreign private and domestic investments in the agribusiness, tourism, and conservation sectors in the district have been on the rise. This resulted in events that scholars and activists have come to describe as land, water, and green grabs. »

This article elaborates on the decision-making of Indonesian smallholder farmers and their impact on ecological functions. It finds that land-use choices of Indonesian smallholders predominantly favor farm portfolios with high economic productivity but low ecological value. Smallholder-dominated agricultural mosaic landscapes are highlighted as model production systems that deliver both economic and ecological goods in tropical agricultural landscapes, but trade-offs underlying current land-use dynamics are poorly known. »

This study in the Journal of Culture, Society and Development aimed at highlighting age, gender participation and the role of literacy in small scale farming among the trained youth in Kiambu County, Kenya. »