Your search found 3 records
1 Bhuiyan, N.; Walker, M.. 1996. The problem census: Participatory public sector extension in Bangladesh. In Scarborough, V. (Ed.), Farmer-led approaches to extension: Papers presented at a Workshop in the Philippines, July 1995. London, UK: ODI. pp.24-28. (ODI Agricultural Research & Extension network paper 59c)
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: ODI/96/59C Record No: H018201)
2 Gonzalez-Chang, M.; Wratten, S. D.; Shields, M. W.; Costanza, R.; Dainese, M.; Gurr, G. M.; Johnson, J.; Karp, D. S.; Ketelaar, J. W.; Nboyine, J.; Pretty, J.; Rayl, R.; Sandhu, H.; Walker, M.; Zhou, W. 2020. Understanding the pathways from biodiversity to agro-ecological outcomes: a new, interactive approach. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 301:107053. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2020.107053]
Agroecology ; Biodiversity ; Agricultural systems ; Intensification ; Sustainability ; Ecosystem services ; Food security ; Policy making
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049858)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880920302383/pdfft?md5=1ecde1cd3dadc2bf058dd70d5b81b1a6&pid=1-s2.0-S0167880920302383-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049858.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049858.pdf
(0.71 MB) (724 KB)
The adoption of agro-ecological practices in agricultural systems worldwide can contribute to increased food production without compromising future food security, especially under the current biodiversity loss and climate change scenarios. Despite the increase in publications on agro-ecological research and practices during the last 35 years, a weak link between that knowledge and changed farmer practices has led to few examples of agro-ecological protocols and effective delivery systems to agriculturalists. In an attempt to reduce this gap, we synthesised the main concepts related to biodiversity and its functions by creating a web-based interactive spiral (www.biodiversityfunction.com). This tool explains and describes a pathway for achieving agro-ecological outcomes, starting from the basic principle of biodiversity and its functions to enhanced biodiversity on farms. Within this pathway, 11 key steps are identified and sequentially presented on a web platform through which key players (farmers, farmer networks, policy makers, scientists and other stakeholders) can navigate and learn. Because in many areas of the world the necessary knowledge needed for achieving the adoption of particular agro-ecological techniques is not available, the spiral approach can provide the necessary conceptual steps needed for obtaining and understanding such knowledge by navigating through the interactive pathway. This novel approach aims to improve our understanding of the sequence from the concept of biodiversity to harnessing its power to improve prospects for ‘sustainable intensification’ of agricultural systems worldwide.
3 Yishay, A. B.; Sayers, R.; Singh, K.; Goodman, S.; Walker, M.; Traore, S.; Rauschenbach, M.; Noltze, M. 2024. Irrigation strengthens climate resilience: long-term evidence from Mali using satellites and surveys. PNAS Nexus, 3(2):1-9. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae022]
Climate resilience ; Satellite imagery ; Surveys ; Remote sensing ; Small scale systems ; Irrigation ; Climate change ; Rainfall patterns ; Agricultural production ; Conflicts ; Food security ; Water availability / Africa / Mali / Sahel
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052734)
https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article-pdf/3/2/pgae022/56683393/pgae022.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052734.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052734.pdf
(2.57 MB) (2.57 MB)
Agriculture in the Sahel and much of sub-Saharan Africa remains to a large extent rainfed. At the same time, climate change is already causing less predictable rainfall patterns in the region, even as rising temperatures increase the amount of water needed for agricultural production. We assess to what extent irrigation can strengthen the climate resilience of farming communities. Our study sample consists of nearly 1,000 distinct locations in Mali in which small-scale, river-based irrigation was introduced over the past two decades, as weather conditions worsened and political upheaval erupted. Using the staggered roll-out of the irrigation and repeated observations over 20 years allows us to compare the pre- and postirrigation outcomes of locations while adjusting for confounding factors. We geospatially link data on irrigation interventions with agricultural conditions measured using satellite imagery and surveys, as well as child nutrition and health outcomes and conflict event data. Using a two-way fixed effects model to quasi-experimentally estimate counterfactual outcomes, we find that the introduction of irrigation led to substantial increases in agricultural production on supported fields, with these gains persisting even a decade later. Children in nearby communities are less likely to be stunted or wasted due to the irrigation, and conflict risks decrease in the closest communities. Some of these gains are offset by worsening conditions farther away from the newly installed irrigation. These findings suggest that, even with political conflicts in semi-arid areas already increasing, sustainable irrigation may offer a valuable tool to improve communities' long-term well-being and social cohesion.
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