Your search found 5 records
1 Chivenge, P.; Dimes, J.; Nhamo, N.; Nzuma, J. K.; Murwira, H. K. 2004. Evaluation of APSIM to simulate maize response to manure inputs in wet and dry regions of Zimbabwe. In Delve, R. J.; Probert, M. E. (Eds.), Modelling nutrient management in tropical cropping systems. Canberra, Australia: ACIAR. pp.85-91.
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: 631 G000 DEL Record No: H035167)
2 Cooper, P. J. M.; Dimes, J.; Rao, K. P. C.; Shapiro, B.; Shiferaw, B.; Twomlow, S. 2005. Coping better with current climatic variability in the rain-fed farming systems of Sub-Saharan Africa: A dress rehearsal for adapting to future climate change? Paper presented at the Inter Centre Working Group on Climate Change, World Agroforestry Centre, October 2005. 21p.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: P 7950 Record No: H040426)
(0.37 MB)
3 Cooper, P. J. M.; Dimes, J.; Rao, K. P. C.; Shapiro, B.; Shiferaw, B.; Twomlow, S. 2008. Coping better with current climatic variability in the rain-fed farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa: an essential first step in adapting to future climate change? Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 126: 24–35.
(Location: IWMI HQ Record No: H041086)
4 Cooper, P.; Singh, P.; Traore, P. C. S.; Dimes, J.; Rao, K. P. C.; Gerard, B.; Alumira, J.; Shiferaw, B.; Twomlow, S. 2006. New tools, methods, and approaches in natural resource management. Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) 62p.
Simulation models ; Crop management ; Land management ; Fertilizers ; Soil water ; Water balance ; Watersheds ; Environmental impact assessment ; Climate
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 630 G000 COO Record No: H041325)
ICRIAT and its partners have developed a range of new tools, approaches and methods to advance agricultural research in environments characterized by low household and natural resources, high climatic variability and limited infrastructure. These include: applications in simulation modeling, climate forecasting, climate-change and adaptation strategies, economic approaches to food security analyses, market studies, socio-economic analysis of how and why farmers make investment decisions, risk-return trade-offs on such investments, gender-related factors influencing technology choice, extension methods to promote technology adoption, GIS-based mapping and characterization methods, modeling of soil loss and surface water runoff, exploitation of agricultural niches such as fallows. This document provides examples of these successes, and identifies ways to build on them to alleviate poverty and food insecurity among smallholder farm communities in the semi-arid tropics.
5 Sibanda, A.; Homann-Kee Tui, S.; van Rooyen, A.; Dimes, J.; Nkomboni, D.; Sisito, G. 2011. Understanding community perceptions of land use changes in the rangelands, Zimbabwe. Experimental Agriculture, 47(Supplement S1):153-168. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S001447971000092X]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043519)
(0.17 MB)
The objective of this study was to investigate the user communities’ understanding and interpretation of changes in rangeland use and productivity in the communal lands of Zimbabwe. While external knowledge has been instrumental in defining the drivers and effects of ecological changes hitherto, the role of local knowledge is becoming increasingly important in explaining factors that inform user community perceptions and guide their decisions on the use of rangeland resources. Data on community perceptions were collected in four villages, using Participatory Rural Appraisals in each village and household surveys with a total of 104 households. This study showed that user communities in Nkayi district differentiate rangelands among seven categories of livestock feed resources and how these have changed over time. Communities viewed rangelands not as one continuous, designated and specialized land parcel, but differentiated the land by location, productivity, management and uses in different times of the year. Although land use changes affecting these livestock feed resources were considered to be widespread and multi-directional (both negative and positive) they did not cause widespread degradation. Rangelands converted to croplands were not completely lost, but became important dual purpose land parcels fulfilling both household food security needs and dry season livestock feed requirements. The importance of croplands as a feed resource is reflected in the emergence of new institutions governing their use for livestock grazing and to guarantee security of tenure. On the other hand institutions governing the use of common property rangelands decreased or weakened in their application. The study concludes that while this situation presents ecological challenges for the rangelands, it offers opportunities to find innovative ways of utilizing croplands as the new frontier in the provision of dry season feed resources to smallholder farmers in highly variable environments. Implications for livestock water productivity need to be investigated and water saving technologies should be promoted in the land use intensification processes.
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