Agronomy for Sustainable Development最新文献

A relevant pathway to meet future food production targets involves closing existing yield gaps, i.e., the difference between yields in researcher-managed trials and smallholder fields, through the adoption of technology. However, despite the availability of more productive and sustainable technologies, adoption remains low, and yield gaps persist. Understanding why smallholders fail to achieve high yields and how their productivity can be improved is crucial. To answer these issues, the soybean cropping system of Northeast China was selected as a case study. This is the first time that a generalizable framework that integrates crop modelling, long-term experimental data, statistics, and field surveys is proposed to map soybean yield gaps under various spatial scales (commercial farms, county, prefecture, and surveyed smallholders) and explain underlying causes. Pathways to bridge yield gaps are discussed. Compared with yield of researcher-managed experimental plots, soybean yields decreased from the farm to the county and again to the prefecture levels. At farm level, the yield gap was 0.34 t/ha, at county level 1.03 t/ha, and at prefecture level 1.17 t/ha. In the same order, a technical efficiency index decreased from 0.91 to 0.64. Poor agronomic management contributed to 73–86% of yield gap, followed by climate (26–13%) and soil constraints (less than 1%). Survey data showed that ridge planting pattern, the use of single compound fertilizers, and variety selection were the most important manageable variables affecting smallholder soybean yield. Using large-ridge cultivation and a rational application of fertilizers were critical for smallholders to achieve high yields. These findings suggest that bridging yield gaps in smallholder farming in the Northeast China remain a significant opportunity to improve food production. This study provides detailed information for closing yield gaps in smallholder fields. The framework is also applicable in other regions dominated by smallholder agriculture to develop sustainable intensification of production.

Permaculture, often described as a grassroots movement, philosophy, or set of progressive agricultural practices, is considered to have significant potential to revitalize degraded land, improve the robustness of ecosystems, reduce energy consumption, and lower operating costs while effectively sequestering carbon. Despite its growing international popularity and practical benefits, the term permaculture remains notably isolated from mainstream scientific discourse, limiting its broader integration and impact. Literature reviews on this versatile set of agricultural practices are uncommon, and this isolation from established scientific literature significantly hampers the potential of permaculture to influence and transform contemporary agricultural systems toward enhanced sustainability. Addressing this gap, this study compiles the most comprehensive collection of white and gray literature related to permaculture to date, analyzing 975 publications across four languages—English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French—through bibliometric analysis, qualitative content analysis, H-index, and citation counts. The findings reveal that permaculture retains a dynamic presence within academic discussions, being increasingly associated with critical concepts such as design, agriculture, and ecology. Notably, the use of permaculture in peer-reviewed technical publications has surged, particularly in recent study periods, marking a significant shift towards recognizing its value in mainstream scientific literature. This review aims to:

1. 1.

   Gather white and gray literature related to the term permaculture across four languages.

2. 2.

   Identify terms most commonly associated with permaculture using computational tools.

3. 3.

   Describe the evolution of the term permaculture over time.

4. 4.

   Examine whether the term permaculture is predominantly associated with philosophical or scientific perspectives in peer-reviewed literature.

5. 5.

   Assess the increasing recognition of permaculture as a topic of interest in English peer-reviewed literature.

Yields in organic farming have been stagnating, widening the gap with conventional systems. Thus, there is the need to reconsider traditional organic crop rotations and adopt innovative strategies that will maximize nutrient supply, weed suppression, and reduce disease risks. Overwintering legume cover crops offer potential solutions, but their role in nutrient cycling, weed management and pathogen dynamics needs to be clarified. In two multi-factorial field trials, we examined organic farming systems using no-till or minimal tillage with a 2-year rotation of winter-hardy legumes as cover crops, maize and a wheat/pea mixture. The risks of soil-borne pathogens and their transmission to subsequent crops were also assessed. The effects of the following factors were investigated: (a) cover crop type: winter vetch and crimson clover, (b) date of cover crop kill, (c) sowing technique: no-till or shallow tillage, and (d) use of cover crop biomass: green manure or mulch vs. harvest. The strong weed suppression of legumes allowed for herbicide-free implementation of minimum tillage and no-tillage systems, while their substantial nitrogen contributions supported the high maize yields. It was also possible to harvest the cover crop biomass before maize sowing instead of using it as mulch or green manure, without significantly affecting maize yields. Infestations with seed and root rot pathogens were generally low, and there was no risk of pathogen accumulation or transfer to subsequent crops. To our knowledge, this is the first systemic assessment of agronomic and phytopathological aspects in a rotation involving winter-hardy legumes, maize and a wheat/pea mixture under differential tillage practices. Taken together, our results demonstrate that, with proper management, legume-intensive rotations can maximize agronomic benefits, minimize phytopathological risks, and enhance productivity and sustainability in both organic and conventional farming, while contributing to a reduction of yield gap between systems.

Agroecology is increasingly proposed in literature as a possible solution to mitigate the impact of anthropic agricultural activity on the environment, even though in Europe its potential is still not entirely clear. Many principles of agroecology have been put forward to bridge the gap between theory and real farming practices; however, its practical applicability remains complex. To quantify the potential of agroecology, it is necessary to find effective indicators, especially when assessing the management of grassland-based farming systems. Here, we reviewed the literature to take stock of the indicators used to characterize agroecology in grassland-based farming systems and at farm level, with the aim to evaluate how the different agroecological principles are addressed and to define multidisciplinary indicators to implement in real farming conditions. The two sets of principles used were addressed through a varying number of indicators, ranging from 7 to 33 and 7 to 58 indicators, respectively. The major findings of this review were the following: (i) principles of agroecology are useful to drive an assessment, particularly addressing different levels of analysis and sustainability dimensions; (ii) a single indicator can cover multiple principles and one principle can span multiple dimensions; (iii) economy and biodiversity categories are addressed through a limited number of indicators, while farming practices (including pasture management) and input categories offer multiple possibilities and lack consensus on the indicators used; (iv) animal health and socio-economic aspects are well targeted but underapplied in Europe. In order to assess the level of agroecology of a given grassland-based farming system, we propose indicators to be tested on-farm in order to understand their effectiveness and possible synergies at system level in real farming conditions.

Agriculture and forestry are facing numerous challenges, driven by a complex set of social, economic, and ecological factors. Innovation is a key to devising viable, resilient, and sustainable solutions to these challenges, but for innovations to have impact, they need to be “scaled.” The current policy context, in the European Union (EU) and elsewhere, encourages the use of the “interactive” model of innovation through the so-called “multi-actor” approach. In this study, we explore the dynamics of scaling in agricultural and forestry co-innovation partnerships. We ask whether such partnerships can be effective instruments to scale innovations and what factors play a role in the scaling process. Thus, the novelty of our paper is that it is the first published study of the dynamics of scaling within the current EU policy framework. Our analysis draws upon evidence from eight co-innovation case studies across Europe, encompassing varied contexts, scales, and funding mechanisms, and identifies three distinct forms of scaling: scaling out, up, and deep. The selection by co-innovation partnerships of strategies and enabling mechanisms in pursuit of scaling is dependent on factors such as funding conditions, contextual norms, and partnership objectives. Partnerships need to be clear about the type of scaling they aim to achieve, have an in-depth understanding of contextual complexities, and ensure that scaling is an integral part of the entire project cycle. Co-innovation partnerships can be effective catalysts for transformative change, provided scaling complexities are navigated, and enabling mechanisms leveraged adeptly. Our insights advance the understanding of scaling dynamics in co-innovation and offer evidence-based strategies for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to bolster the impact of co-innovation initiatives in agriculture and forestry.

Robusta coffee, a vital cash crop for Vietnamese smallholders, significantly contributes to the national economy. Vietnam is the largest exporter of Robusta coffee, supplying 53% of the global market. However, this success has come at a cost. Decades of intensive Robusta coffee cultivation in Vietnam have led to severe soil acidification and biodiversity loss, favoring soil-borne pathogens. There is a lack of literature analyzing how intensive management causes soil acidification, advances the spread of soilborne pathogens, and the application of soil amendments to address these issues. Therefore, this review explores the causes of acidification, pathogen proliferation, and sustainable amendments like lime and biochar to mitigate these effects. The study synthesizes findings from studies on soil acidification, soil-borne pathogen dynamics, and sustainable soil amendments in Robusta coffee systems. We found that the overuse of nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers to grow coffee is the primary driver of soil acidification, consequently increasing soilborne diseases and the severity of plant diseases. Additionally, the effects of soil amendments as a sustainable solution to reduce soil acidity, enhance soil health, and better control soilborne pathogens. The implementation of sustainable coffee farming systems is strongly recommended to meet the increased demand for safe and green products worldwide. Locally available resources (lime, biochar, and agricultural wastes) present immediate solutions, but urgent action is required to prevent irreversible damage. However, the effects of amendments significantly vary in field conditions, suggesting that further studies should be conducted to address these challenges and promote sustainability.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, dairy value chains’ stakeholders face many challenges and have expectations for change. Step-by-step innovation design methodologies and multi-stakeholder innovation platforms are implemented to drive changes desired by stakeholders. We assumed that combining these two approaches would reinforce the potentiality of achieving the changes. To the best of our knowledge, the specific mechanisms and actions involved in such a combination are poorly documented. This study contributes to fill this gap by reporting on modalities of engagement, collaboration, and change generation with stakeholders of dairy innovation platforms deriving from a step-by-step innovation design approach that is embedded within an overall loop-structure dynamic and accounting for three levels of stakeholders’ engagement. We applied this step-by-step approach as part of the “Africa-Milk project” on ten dairy innovation platforms located in four African countries (Senegal, Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Madagascar). The approach was led by a core team and applied adaptively across the various innovation platforms, according to both their organizational context and objectives. In this paper, we captured the lessons learned along the key implementation stages of the approach (i.e., engagement, action, and assessment) and regarding the type of stakeholders involved. Our results show that the initiation of the engagement highly depends on the pre-existence of an innovation platform. The action stage proceeds then through either cascading actions or parallel actions. Finally, the outcome assessment stage enables to identify different types of changes induced by the approach (i.e., changes in practices, interactions, capacities, and opinions). Owing to its adaptability, the overall loop-structure of the approach enables practical adjustments and reflexivity to best meet the needs of innovation platform stakeholders. This study paves the way to implement co-design of innovation approaches to broader multi-stakeholder platforms involved in agri-food system transformations.

To solve soil fertility problems, most smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa use fallow periods. However, population growth along with land shortage tends to shorten the duration of fallows, resulting in a steady decline in soil fertility. Although nitrogen (N) plays a key role in soil fertility, current methods for maintaining N supply in cropping systems are inadequate, especially in N poor soils. Addressing this issue is crucial for improving agricultural productivity and reducing environmental impact. The objective of this study was to explore innovative ways to maintain N supply in N poor soils by identifying the appropriate levers and practices. We designed a general model describing N cycle in a cropping system in a humid savanna in Ivory Coast. We examined the impact of different processes involved in N cycle, including mineralization, nitrification, and fallow characteristics on the yield of a crop such as corn. Our study innovatively assesses the benefits of incorporating nitrification inhibition into traditional African cropping systems and provides a modelling tool to assess its impact. The model confirms that in low input agricultural systems, soil fertility is maintained by the increase in soil organic matter during fallow and its subsequent mineralization. We showed that variation in nitrification during the cropping cycle (fallow-crop) does not have a significant effect on corn yield. However, with the addition of N fertilizers, nitrification inhibition significantly increases crop yield. Indeed, nitrification inhibition increases the efficiency of fertilizer use, which reduces losses of N fertilizer. Furthermore, legume-based fallow is able to increase corn productivity much more than a nitrification-inhibiting fallow regardless of the length of fallow periods. Finally, the models suggest that using nitrification-inhibiting grasses as cover crops for corn would be beneficial if mineral N fertilizer is used.