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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"6dab031f933c7721758368edea695f86","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/0a0c900c-c4d2-47bb-b1cd-f80df8a7f699/retrieve","id":"957699583"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"262c0ba0-fa6e-47ae-a082-08100a31a1a7","content":"This manual is made up of the following chapters:1. Introduction.The first chapter introduces the concept of gender and hydropower and places this in context within the hydropower industry.This chapter identifies who the manual is written for, how it is structured and where it can be useful in hydropower project development. It also includes an examination of the state of gender in the lower Mekong Basin. This provides an analysis of the context of women's rights and gender in the national legislation and policy context for Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam; with a focus on what this means for gender justice in hydropower in the lower Mekong.3. Gender impact assessment as good business. The emerging context and opportunities.The chapter looks at how gender and women's rights have been addressed over recent global private sector and hydropower industry processes. It looks at the specific context for indigenous peoples or ethnic minorities in the Mekong and at how hydropower industry initiatives sit together with other multistakeholder and industry approaches.4. Gender Impact Assessment: A vital tool for developers.This Chapter introduces the details of a gender impact assessment and how it can be inserted into existing project management processes and business cycles. Opportunities are explored using the Environmental and Social Impact assessment processes as an example, and basic good practice approaches are outlined.This chapter looks at the importance of having a gender baseline for strategic planning -considering environmental, social and economic factors at the river basin scale. It looks at the importance of developing a gendered baseline for the river -before any decisions to build a dam are finalized. This allows for the assessment of options for use of the river and its waters, including by different stakeholders, based on strong gendered analysis and shared understandings. It will also ensure that any trade-offs negotiated as part of decision making will consider gendered impacts and opportunities.This chapter outlines the Gender Impact Assessment process. It introduces a step by step approach to gender impact assessment -focusing on its use in the context of project development. This chapter adapts some of the common gender analysis tools for the hydropower context -including tools for capturing and assessing sex-disaggregated data to develop a gendered project baseline, and to have a strong understanding of the gender context and impacts of the project. In addition it provides guiding questions at each step to ensure that important aspects of gender relations, roles, responsibilities and power are understood. The culmination of this is gender action plan development and the processes of reviewing, auditing and reporting against outcomes.Appendix 1 -HSAP and RSAT: How do these hydropower industry tools assess gender?This final chapter provides an overview of how gender is addressed in two industry and stakeholder tools being promoted in the Mekong today -the HSAP (Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol) and RSAT (Rapid Basin-Wide Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Tool). This chapter includes recommendations for how these tools could better address gender issues in hydropower. Hydropower development in the Mekong region is running at a rapid pace. Thailand and Vietnam have largely developed their hydro resources and have varying interests in regional developments. Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar on the other hand have significant plans for further development on their rivers. Lao PDR in particular has positioned itself to use hydropower development to become the \"battery of South East Asia\". Many of the planned developments across the Mekong region are on transboundary rivers.As new projects are proposed and developed, the importance of good governance of river resources, transboundary and national planning and assessment of impacts can not be overstated.Hydropower has contributed to national development in many countries around the world. While old technology in relation to other renewable technologies it retains an important role in many energy systems. However, it is also well recognised by the hydropower industry and across the Mekong region that -the construction of hydropower dams has negative impacts on rivers and the environment.In affecting the environment, dams also impact on communities and peoples who use and live in and around rivers. Dams can change how people access and use natural resources -land and water; wetland, forest and aquatic resources. Hydropower dams will often require involuntary resettlement of households and communities which brings great social and psychological upheaval to individuals and to communities as a whole.These impacts are experienced by men and women, girls and boys, the young and the elderly, those with disabilities, and by those of different ethnicities. The impacts often tear apart community structures and ways of life. Communities and households operate with defined gender roles and responsibilities -these are all affected.In many societies, it is women who bear the burden of responsibility for the home and for the family, as well as a variety of roles and tasks within communities. For communities with strong social, cultural and economic connections to land, rivers and place; the changes brought about by hydropower dams can be very traumatic. Resettlement, in particular, is considered impoverishing as it takes away economic, social and cultural resources simultaneously (Koenig 2002cited in Scudder 2005). Across all this dam-induced change, in most cases, it is women who are more adversely impacted.Dam construction and hydropower development has made significant contributions to progress, across the globe. But the negative impacts cannot be understated, and it is still often the case that these impacts remain underreported and are all too frequently ignored or downplayed in assessing the value and sustainability of projects.These impacts are generally consistent in the experience of hydropower development globally, and the suggested approach in this manual has global relevance. However, to ground the examples of impacts and identify the gender equality opportunities, the manual does draw specifically on the context of gender in Mekong region hydropower development.1.2 Gender-bias and women within the hydropower industryLike many engineering and infrastructure sectors, hydropower historically is an industry dominated by men. Many of the processes involved in developing hydropower -from engineering to resettlement -are controlled by men and deliver outcomes largely in the interests of men.There is some hope that this is changing -albeit slowly.Women are now seen in the social and environmental aspects of hydropower businesses, or in sustainability or corporate social responsibility arms. But overall women and women's interests remain under-represented in higher levels of decision-making in hydropower projects and within hydropower companies.For example, the International Hydropower Association (IHA) -a hydro-industry membership peak body -has a 22-member Board, of which only three are women. The IHA President, the Executive Director, and all five Vice Presidents are men. In some of its largest member companies, the picture is similar:• China's Three Gorges Power Corporation has a management board of nine and all are men 1 ;• Australia's Hydropower Tasmania Senior Board andExecutive is made up of 17 posts, 12 held by men, five by women 2 ;• Norway's Statkraft has a balanced Board of directors with six men and five women, while its management team is made up of six men and one woman 3 ; and• France's Electricity du France has a Board of directors with 14 men and four women, and an Executive Committee made up of eight men and one woman 4 .Having women represented throughout the corporate structure is one step towards women's empowerment.In addition to representation, having corporate policy in place which advances women's rights and guides strategic decisions based on assessing gender impacts and opportunities will mean that project staff have a clear policy context to operate within. It is also an imperative to ensure that staff are trained, resourced and able to operationalise policy at the local project level. This manual provides direction to hydropower companies towards achieving positive outcomes for both men and women. Corporate leadership and policy frameworks will inform how projects are developed and managed -as such the absence and under-representation of women makes it harder for a project to meaningfully consider and engage with women's rights and with gender needs and opportunities.Historically, hydropower projects have exacerbated existing gender biases and adversely impacted women's roles and position within the home and community for project affected peoples. Negative outcomes for women's livelihoods at a local level, and the impoverishment, health impacts and trauma that occurs as a result of displacement and land appropriation associated with dam construction is well-documented as being more severely felt by women (Scudder 2005;WCD 2000). The WCD indicated that if dams are developed respecting the rights and interests of women, alongside men, water infrastructure has the capacity to achieve benefits equally for women and men. If done well, projects have the potential to play a transformative role in gender relations.2 Why this manual and why now?This manual is written to promote stronger consideration of gender in hydropower development. The aim is that this manual will assist hydropower company staff in their day-to-day jobs for assessing impacts and managing risk in hydropower development. In doing so, it should inform decision-making and implementation of hydropower dam projects -so that impacts, rights and opportunities are considered equally for women and men.The manual introduces useful tools for project staff in hydropower companies, and for government staff responsible for project development and operation.It is designed to prompt, and expands on existing social and environmental impact and management processes.The intention is that it can be used by many different stakeholders in hydropower businesses -not just staff in community relations or environmental or social management divisions.2.2 Where will the manual be useful?This manual sets out a rationale for:• Why including better consideration of gender impacts will achieve more sustainable projects and outcomes;• How undertaking gender impact assessment will improve projects; and• Why including women more centrally and consistently in the processes of assessment, planning and decisionmaking is likely to lead to better projects.The manual encourages stronger \"up-front\" consideration of gender in planning and governance of water resources.The basic premise underpinning this is that by ensuring that both women and men are equally heard, and their interests and rights are considered, there will be an avoidance or minimisation of negative impacts on women. Meaningful participation in processes and decisionmaking is key to this.In many cases, after implementing gender impact assessment and developing a gender action plan, projects may be modified. This could facilitate the additional allocation of resources being put towards mitigation, adaptation or benefit sharing processes that target outcomes for women in particular. In some cases, this could also lead to projects being postponed or stopped because of findings in the gender impact assessment. Across these options, gender impact assessment can be seen as a risk management tool. When used to its fullest potential, this assessment can help a project contribute to a transformative agenda for affected communities which will inform more sustainable outcomes.This manual demonstrates the importance and usefulness of the many assessment tools already being employed by hydropower companies and government agencies. It can provide a resource for consulting companies whose work outputs enable projects to reach project approval milestones. Many of these tools are widely used and well-established. These tools have been adopted and promoted by financiers of hydropower and, as a result, there is existing evidence that demonstrates their use and value within projects.This manual also looks at recent tools developed specifically to measure sustainability in hydropower projects and how these consider gender, and makes suggestions of how they could be strengthened.This manual outlines the addition of a specific set of gender oriented criteria and questions to these tools, which reflects the context of hydropower development. We hope this manual adds value to your project development toolbox, and to the monitoring and compliance processes of governments.Hydropower development is running at a fast pace in the Lower Mekong basin. While improving the gender practices of private sector developers and financiers is critical, government policy and legislation will set the expectations for individual projects. The following section looks at this context.The countries of Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao PDR all have provisions in their constitutions, laws and national policy frameworks which promote gender justice and advance equality of the sexes within their national development.Similarly, they have committed to the key international human rights conventions and declarations, which outline a state's obligations. Given the transboundary nature of the Mekong River it is also important to consider additional inter-governmental governance, management expectations and commitments.The following discussion examines the legal and policy context for gender inclusion and analysis at the country level. This context defines government expectations of the implementing agencies and of private sector developers in terms of gender inclusion and outcomes. This section is a summary of a longer analysis looking at each national context (Simpson 2013 5 ).While the governments of all three countries have commitments to gender and equality of development opportunities for their citizens, the significant challenge is the implementation and monitoring of these policies and laws in hydropower project development.The intersection between states' obligations and requirements, and the operational performance and obligations of private contractors is one of the most common areas where negative gender (and other) impacts will be experienced by project affected communities. This is the context for private sector developers in the Mekong.In order to appreciate how and why national legislation and policy has evolved the way it has in the focus countries, it is important to understand traditional views of gender in each.Vietnam and Cambodia are reasonably closely aligned in this sense, as both have a history of patriarchal mainstream culture. This means that historically men are regarded as household heads, and women have a lower social status and are expected to focus their energies on caring for their husbands and families. A general result is that women receive less education, have fewer rights and are less likely to contribute to decision-making processes outside the home (ADB 2012;Tran 2001).In Vietnam these attitudes stem from Confucian ethics; and in Cambodia, from traditional codes of conduct for men and women known as the Chbab Srey and Chbab Bros.In contrast the Lao Tai, who comprise 67% of the Lao PDR population, generally maintain matriarchal practices (ADB 2012). This means that women have a higher status in the family and stand to inherit land and property (FAO 2012). However most of the ethnic minorities in Lao PDR subscribe to similar values as those described in Vietnam and Cambodia, and some maintain practices such as polygamy and marriage of young girls (FAO 2012) The constitutions of all three countries uphold the rights of all their citizens to equality before the law. They also uphold women's equal status within the family. Cambodia and Lao PDR's constitutions both commit the state to actively progressing the development and welfare of women; and Vietnam and Cambodia specifically prohibit discrimination against women. Vietnam and Lao PDR assert women's rights to economic and political equality.All three countries have adopted a mainstreaming approach to gender in their national development context, with some articulating mainstreaming responsibilities and expectations into key hydropower-linked ministries. Of the three countries, only Cambodia does not have a dedicated law to protect women or promote gender equality. Vietnam's Law on Gender Equality ( 2006) aims \"to ensure gender equality in all fields of politics, economy, culture, society and family; to support and create conditions for men and women to bring into play their abilities and provide them with equal opportunities to participate in the process of development and benefit from development\". With respect to gender justice in hydropower, this last clause is perhaps the most relevant. Lao PDR's Law on the Development and Protection of Women ( 2004) promotes equality in \"self-development\", whereby \"women and men 8. Neary Rattanak translates as \"Women are precious gems\" and is part of the Royal Government of Cambodia's Gender Equality and Empowerment Strategic Plan, prepared by the Ministry of Women's Affairs.For example, Article 43 of Lao PDR's Land Law (2003), stipulates that the registration certificate of land, where it is matrimonial property, must include the names of both the husband and the wife. While in Vietnam, Article 27 of the Law on Marriage andFamily (1986, revised 2000) states that all land acquired during marriage is considered to be a common asset, and that LUCs for properties jointly owned by husband and wife must be registered with the names of both spouses. This requirement is echoed in Article 48 of the Land Law (2003). Lao PDR's Technical Guidelines on Compensation and Resettlement in Development Projects (2005) requires the development of a separate Ethnic Minority Development Plan in all instances where ethnic minorities are likely to be impacted by development. Other policies and pieces of legislation in the three countries which address ethnic minorities focus on the elimination of discrimination and the general improvement of services and support to ethnic minorities. Both Lao PDR's National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES) and Vietnam's Law on Gender Equality (2006) recognise the particular difficulties faced by ethnic women.But overall there is limited specific policy or legislation guiding gender outcomes in the context of impacts on indigenous peoples or ethnic minorities in and around hydropower development.Women's equal rights to land, both inheritance and ownership, are protected in all three countries by various articles in land, property and resource laws. 9 All three also recognise, in varying ways, that land acquired by a couple (including in the context of resettlement) belongs as equally to the wife as to the husband; and that land title certificates should include both names.Cambodia's Sub-Decree on Social Land Concessions (2003) guarantees female headed households rights to participate in social land concession programs, 10 thereby supporting vulnerable women's access to land or natural resources, which is especially important in the context of a hydropower project's appropriation of land, water, assets and resources.Of the three countries, Lao PDR's national planning strategies most comprehensively incorporate issues of gender equity. The country's Seventh National Socio-Economic Development Plan (2011-2015), which includes hydropower as a development priority, identifies a range of actions related to the capacity building of women to participate in political debate and economic development; increasing women's participation in provincial and sectoral planning and the integration of gender considerations into such; ensuring that women can access their rights; and intensifying genderrelated research to improve all the above. Lao PDR's National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES) also has an emphasis on hydropower as a means of attracting foreign investment, and has a dedicated section on Gender Strategy for Poverty Reduction, including clear actions for gender mainstreaming across the fields of agriculture, education, health, transport and political voice. However, the various national development plans of Vietnam and Cambodia generally mention aspirations for gender equality, but do not integrate specific methods or targets for its achievement.With its large-scale vision for investment into the energy (hydropower) sector, Lao PDR has the clearest expression for using investment and project development to achieve gender outcomes.In Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam all have similar national commitments to women's human rights and gender equity under a range of international treaties. How these have been expressed in national law and policy is mixed; with Lao PDR having the most clear linkages to hydropower development and gender outcomes.All countries have provisions in their national policy framework which promote opportunity for achieving gender justice in hydropower. However, filling policy gaps for specific gender consideration will be important, as will diligent application of policies and guidelines in project preparation, implementation and monitoring operations.The Mekong River Commission (MRC) as an intergovernmental body with responsibility for the sustainable use and management of the river basin has opportunity to be a vehicle for advancing common approaches to strengthened gender assessment and gender considerations. The MRC, like its member governments, has adopted a mainstreaming strategy to gender across the various pillars of its mandate. In this, the MRC has developed guidelines, toolkits and checklists for gender inclusion. The Initiative on Sustainable Hydropower is reinvigorating consideration of gender in its areas of responsibility and, importantly, can draw on investments and achievements in other MRC sectors such as fisheries, environment and agriculture. At the time of writing, the toolkit for mainstreaming gender in hydropower is currently under review. But other areas such as work towards common expectations for environmental and social impact assessment -especially in a transboundary context -present meaningful and practical opportunities to promote the value and importance of gender impact assessment for MRC member countries. To implement the five core values, the WCD recommended an approach which aligned these with key decision points and processes in hydropower development -two of these at the strategic governance and planning stage for water and energy planning: a needs assessment for water and energy, and considering options. The other three relate to the selected preferred option and focus on key moments for project preparation, implementation and operation.Across these, the WCD introduces the importance of adopting an approach which recognises rights, and assesses risks to lay the foundation for negotiating outcomes in water infrastructure. Furthermore, the WCD identifies the importance of considering gender within broader social, cultural and economic risks, and the costs and benefits associated with dam development (WCD 2000).While the hydropower sector accepted the importance of the core values and priorities recommended by the World Commission on Dams (HSAF 2011), its leading businesses and industry association rejected elements of the rights and risk framework as not being practical.Partially in response to this challenge of practicality, the hydropower industry has initiated processes itself, or joined in with other initiatives to develop its own tools to assess sustainability. How these tools have recognised gender is introduced below and discussed in more depth in the appendix.Other stakeholders who are involved in hydropower development such as the EU and German Government do use the WCD in their decision making about whether or not to support projects.One area of importance in the Mekong and many other developing country contexts is how hydropower is developed using the resources, lands, territories and waters of indigenous peoples. Understanding and engaging in gender impact assessment with indigenous peoples is an important opportunity for achieving community consent to a project, and ensuring the project is developed with the interests and rights of women and men considered equally. It is in this context that a company can avoid and mitigate the risk of exacerbating negative gender roles and relations as a result of the project.Indigenous peoples are among the most impoverished and marginalised in the world. Furthermore, within some communities who have experienced involuntary appropriation of their lands and resources, indigenous women encounter further discrimination and are denied the opportunity for full enjoyment of their human rights. Indigenous women often have lower rates of education, healthcare and employment. The status and power of women in indigenous communities can see them suffering multiple forms of oppression and marginalisation. In the context of a hydropower dam being developed, which appropriates traditional lands and resources from indigenous peoples and impacts community structures, it is often the men who negotiate the agreements and control the flow of revenues and other benefits to households and communities.In this context there is a lot a company can do to help avoid negative impacts. Respecting indigenous peoples' rights to give or withhold their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is a clear statement of intent for the project. Hydropower companies should not condone, tolerate or perpetuate discrimination against women, and should work to avoid the gendered impacts of hydropower by ensuring the involvement of indigenous women in FPIC processes. This is best done by acknowledging and supporting the efforts of indigenous women to operationalise consent in a manner consistent with the rights of all members of their community. It should also be indigenous women (not the imposition of others) who decide how and when they should participate in decisionmaking processes, as well as their involvement in FPIC processes, based on the principles of equality, nondiscrimination and equity.This manual can be used to help companies ensure that women and men are equally involved in decision-making, and that when a project is developed, it is doing so understanding the gender contexts in which it operates.Women's rights are a central part of the international human rights framework and are recognised in specific Declarations and Conventions. Section 6 looks at how Mekong governments have supported these instruments and how they have been realised in the Mekong.In recent years through the auspices of the United Nations, there has been a strong dialogue with the private sector to determine how human rights instruments apply to business.The UN Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework on Business and Human Rights articulates the roles and responsibilities of both governments and businesses in relation to preventing and addressing business-related human rights abuse. This framework has the support of governments, business and civil society. It has three interlinked pillars:1. The state duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business, through appropriate policies, regulation and adjudication.2. The corporate responsibility to respect human rights, which means that businesses should act with due diligence to avoid infringing on the rights of others and to address adverse impacts with which they are involved.3. The need for greater access by victims of businessrelated human rights abuse to effective remedy, both judicial and non-judicial.The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights developed to help support the Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework explains that the corporate responsibility to respect human rights means business should avoid involvement in adverse human rights impacts, including through their business relationships. In other words, business should, as a minimum, do no harm.In practice, this requires that businesses have a human rights policy that commits them to respect all human rights, implement a human rights due-diligence process which explicitly considers gender issues to know and show that they are respecting human rights (requiring identification and assessment of impacts; integration of the findings of those assessments throughout corporate processes; and tracking and communicating human rights performance), and work to remedy any adverse impacts they may have caused or contributed to, such as through a formal grievance mechanism.4 Gender Impact Assessment: A vital tool for developers.4.1 What is a gender impact assessment?Gender impact assessment is a process which allows decision-makers and stakeholders in a project to understand the current situation and context that will be affected by the project, and what changes and results may emerge based on that project. It uses gender criteria to inform that understanding of predicted and realised impacts.Gender impact assessment will allow the project's developers (including government, financiers and companies) to consider gender relationships between men and women and how the project will impact on women and men. It will ensure that power relations between men and women, many aspects of which will be exacerbated by the project, are understood and that there can be equality in outcomes. So that women in particular, given their greater vulnerability to project impacts, can be better off than before the project.A gender impact assessment will provide details and information about how men and women relate and interact with one another in all levels of society, and can be used to ensure activities do not disadvantage one gender over the other. Gender analysis will make sure that development decisions are based on facts about relations between men and women and their different context and needs.Using gender impact assessment in the project cycle allows the developer to assess risks and opportunities on men and women, and to make changes, commitments and decisions to avoid harm, and advance gender equality.4.2 Why should a gender impact assessment be undertaken?The goal of a gender impact assessment will differ depending on the context and the timing. Ideally the gender impact assessment will be undertaken in conjunction with project feasibility and early stage project assessment. This will then inform management plans and budgets. In doing so the possible outcomes include:• Project developers' understanding of how the project will impact differently on men and women; and from that understanding …• Project developers' broaden their consideration of gender impacts and women's participation in key processes which inform future project decisions (including risk assessments, related scoping and commissioning of other impact assessments such as for indigenous peoples or where resettlement will be required, on budget allocations, resourcing, timing, scope and so on); and in doing so …• Project developers ensure that project decisions better target gender equality; and• Risk assessment and cost/benefit analysis is more comprehensive and accurately reflects how the project will affect gender relations now and into the futureincluding gendered understanding of communities, and use of the ecosystem services that will be affected by the project; and this should help in …• Facilitating opportunity for maximum participation opportunities for women and men in the project, and help realise equal access to the sharing of benefits.Project developers, and their financial backers and government partners will gain value in their project by undertaking gender impact assessment. Considering gender and the impacts of the project on gender, and then adapting the project to address gender equality are critical aspects in considering the sustainability of a hydropower project.In ensuring that the project makes use of gender impact assessment, and continues to value and monitor gender relations within the project's development and context of operating, project proponents will better manage risk to their project. Proponents should consider the ways that impacts are experienced differentially by men and women and how these impacts affect relations within communities and within individual households.Achieving sustainable positive outcomes and benefits for women as part of a good practice approach will require a focus on women's empowerment.If a project is to contribute to transformation or empowerment for women, it is important to acknowledge that women are not just one group among several disempowered or marginalised population groups in society (such as indigenous people, the poor, people with disabilities), but rather that women are present in all these groups. And further, that the family and the household are particular points for women's disempowerment.In this light, management strategies to address project induced impact will affect interactions between women and men -across the project's footprint this will be different for different cultural and language groups, socio-economic differences, and even nationalities. The project will also affect society, community structures, work and family and, as such, will affect the circumstances under which men and women interact.Considering how policies and project activities affect household level relations and responsibilities is critical. Further, examining the assumptions for compensating or sharing project benefits with communities should appraise the power and control over resources and assets, as well as the institutional opportunities for affecting women's empowerment.The project should consider these in developing:• complaints mechanisms or grievance processes;• negotiating resource, land and water rights for resettled communities;• replacing lost assets and structures such as schools, health clinics, markets;• assigning use rights for communities whose livelihoods have been impacted by the project.• project consultation and community decision making processes;• project design and impact mitigation plans (such as in resettlement, environmental management);• benefit sharing agreements; and• community development projects.4.3 When should a gender impact assessment be undertaken?Gender analysis and impact assessment should be included as part of stakeholder engagement in strategic river basin planning, from which options for development projects on a river will emerge. Avoiding negative gendered impacts should be one critical decision criteria for assessing the viability and sustainability of options.In the context of a hydropower project having been identified, gender impact assessment and gender expertise is most useful when it is brought in at the early stages of a project's development. That is, before critical decisions are taken, so that project design and management plans can be adapted based on gendered understandings, and that appropriate budgets and investments are allocated, based on the gender analysis.Building gender impact assessment into E/SIA is one key option.The following diagram shows where key moments for involvement of gender expertise, of women, and of gender impact assessment can and should occur in project development. This focuses on standard good practice, social and environmental assessment processes.Step 1: Gathering the dataestablishing a project specific baseline that analyses genderCheck that baselines established early in the feasibility assessments are robust for understanding gender context. If there are gaps in project development, the data gathering process described in the preceding section may need to be undertaken, revised or updated.In the context where detailed environmental and social assessments are being scoped and terms of reference drafted, incorporating gender analysis and expertise will be valuable.The following steps suggest some of the most commonly used tools for gathering and organising gender data to inform analysis and planning -at this early stage of project development.In order to develop an understanding of the technical aspects of a project's feasibility, developing a baseline about the river and its people that includes sex-disaggregated data will be necessary to inform community engagement and project decisions.In addition to understanding the gender context, many other demographic factors within the basin and project impact zone should also be considered, including: ethnicity and language groups, socio-economic status, education, literacy, cultural norms and decision-making processes, marginalisation, social norms and domestic violence, disability, and how any of multiple forms of vulnerability intersect with gender.When the project has been given a green light to proceed to more comprehensive feasibility and impact assessment studies, looking at how gender can be incorporated into processes and decision-making should be considered.The E/SIA process diagram on page 25 provides guidance on key process opportunities for incorporation of gender expertise and assessment.Step 2: Understanding the contextA thorough context analysis for the hydropower project will help the company, and its backers in finance and government, understand the communities that will be affected by the dam, how they are structured, how they function and how they interact with other communities and with the natural environment that will be affected by the dam. Good practice means that there needs to be a clear understanding of the roles, responsibilities and relationships between men and women in the affected communities and river user groups.This context analysis should consider the practical needs and interests of women and men. The following pages outline a number of key tools which will help the company understand the context of how the project will impact on those communities.The social impact assessment process establishes the activity profile, which helps project developers to have an understanding of what women and men do in their households, village, as well as on the river and their lands. The activity profile helps interpret village activity daily, seasonally and over a period of years. It can be used as a key tool of communication between project developers and communities, therefore it is especially important to gather a comprehensive overview of men's and women's activities.When conducting your activity survey consider the following;• seasonal variation • time allocation (how long a task takes, and how long it takes to get to/from the task)• gendered roles by age (what do boys/girls, women/men and the elderly do)• where the activity is performed • disability (are there specific roles and responsibilities or barriers to these tasks for those with disabilities)• language and literacy. These can be a barrier or limiting factor to certain activities and can ultimately influence how companies and government interact with community representatives. Who speaks which language and which language is used by which subgroups needs to be identified. Assessing women's and men's competency in language is important, as is a clear picture of who can read and write which languages.At this stage you need to understand the various factors of influence over the project and the trends that will affect the project context, especially how this will be experienced by project affected communities.These impacts are imposed on communities by the introduction of the dam. In this way, communities can be seen to be bearing risk from the project which is imposed (WCD 2000). The changes which come with the project affect social relations and roles within the community and between communities. The very fabric or make up of communities is often undermined by a project, and for riparian communities in the Mekong this directly affects livelihood strategies, and economic wellbeing. Relocation often takes peoples from their ancestral lands and erodes cultural connection to place and property.As such, looking at how these project-induced changes intersect with each other will help identify how the imposed risks can be avoided, mitigated or minimised. This should include considering direct impacts and risks as well as indirect impacts that might be experienced far beyond the immediate vicinity of the dam.Participation of men and women, from all affected communities, should be included to ensure a full understanding of the intersectional issues arising from the project.Consideration should be given to how the hydro project will interact with and impact on:• gender and power relations in the community;• gender roles and responsibilities;• gender division of labour and workload of women (considering paid and non-paid labour);• women's access to and control over resources, including benefits that may derive from the hydro project (benefit sharing);• community management structures and processes and how women are, or could be, involved in general and in relation to assessments and decision-making on the hydro project; and• community wellbeing, livelihoods and services such as education and health.Steps 1-4A needs assessment looks at the practical needs of women, but also their status and power in society. Practical needs are those that allow women to do what they do now. Meeting practical needs will maintain the current status quo of gender relations.Strategic gender interests identify what will help women achieve greater power and control over their own lives and within the society. Strategic gender interests work from a starting point that women in many contexts will have less power and will have lower social status than men. Taking a strategic gender approach means recognising women's rights and transforming the power imbalances in society, community and family that restrict women from realising their rights.Assessing the practical interests alongside the strategic needs of women allows for consideration of how a project will affect women, as well as how the project can avoid exacerbating inequalities between women and men, and how it can contribute to positive changes in women's lives.As such, for companies the understanding of both practical and strategic needs of women is useful for project processes which are assessing project induced impacts and mitigating risk.When combined with some of the other important assessment tools such as the access and control profile, a gender needs assessment will help project staff identify opportunities for strategic interventions. For example, it can be used to inform negotiations and scoping of possible benefit-sharing mechanisms or in the identification of options in involuntary resettlement and livelihood restoration projects.Many of the project decisions negotiated between a company and dam affected communities will benefit from use of a gender needs assessment.In doing so, a company and their government counterparts can realise positive gender impacts.We have established that the project will have gender impacts. These have potential to be positive, but as highlighted by the World Commission on Dams and other scholars [Scudder, T. The Future of Large Dams, 2005], too often hydropower projects will actually exacerbate gender disparities.For a project to avoid this, it is vital to analyse how the dam project responds to women's needs and interests, and how its development will affect gender relations within its impact zone and sphere of influence.A useful tool for this process is the Women's Empowerment Framework (WEF), which assesses women's situations and needs relative to men's. This assessment delivers a relational understanding of where women and men sit on a range of development measures. Often used for assessing poverty, the WEF allows the project developer to assess whether and how the project will have positive outcomes for women in relation to men.The WEF suggests there are three categories or levels that a project can be assessed against:1. Negative level: where the project will impact women negatively.2. Neutral level: where the project will impact men and women equally.3. Positive level: where a project will have a positive impact on women's needs and interests and will improve women's position relative to men's.The WEF relies on a scaled approach to assessing equality and measuring empowerment. Assessing against five levels of empowerment, starting at the lowest (or least transformative), it can be used to assesses women's equality status as a result of the project. The five empowerment levels are:i. Welfare: women will receive material compensation or project benefits.ii. Access: women achieve legal status, reform of access rights to productive resources and factors that affect production such as labour, equity and resources equal to men.iii. Conscientisation: the difference between sex roles and gender roles is understood, that women and men have equality in gender division of labour, and domination is removed.iv. Participation or mobilisation: women are equally involved in project level decisionmaking and design, assessments, project mechanisms and management processes.v. Control: women are equally involved in decision-making and this affects the balance of control over other gender roles and responsibilities.In many hydropower projects outcomes for women tend to be at the welfare end of the spectrum, where tangible \"products\" are given to women (and men) such as new houses, new market space or seeds provided to re-establish home gardens after involuntary resettlement. But where gender has been better integrated and women's participation in project planning and decisions is systematic and meaningful, there is greater opportunity to have outcomes realised that are more transformative in nature. This means that women's strategic interests can be addressed by a project.Steps 1-4The two tools have some similarities but also a couple of important differences in their focus and how they are operationalised.The HSAP is written with the hydropower industry as the primary target audience. It is focused on assessing an individual project, or suite of projects (such as a cascade of dams). The protocol assesses a project against sustainability considerations -called topicsfor a hydropower project, and enables production of a sustainability profile for that project. The protocol includes standalone assessment tools designed for application at different stages of a project's development: the Early Stage, Preparation, Implementation, and Operation stages.The RSAT on the other hand is designed to assess sustainability on a basin scale -not considering individual projects. It is framed within an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach to development and was developed through collaboration by the Mekong River Commission, World Wildlife Fund, and the Asian Development Bank. There is a relatively consistent alignment of topic areas and scoring approach between the two frameworks, but the RSAT is more specific to sustainability issues in the Mekong context (given this was the context of its development), focusing on transboundary assessment and emphasising areas such as fisheries as higher level topic areas.In their initial uptake and rollout both tools are being used as a means of encouraging stakeholder dialogue, and generating an understanding of specific projects and basins considering a broad spectrum of sustainability topics. They use a suite of assessment criteria and guide a \"sustainability scoring\" of topic areas by outlining expectations for good and best practice, or low performance. To date most use of the RSAT has been with government counterparts, while the HSAP is mainly being considered by member companies of the International Hydropower Association.What is it? How does it work? Why was it developed?The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Forum was initiated through a collaboration of the International Hydropower Association, World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy. With 13 members drawn from different sectors and stakeholder groups 16 as well as a coordinator and Chair, the Forum operated as a quasi multi-stakeholder initiative. The Forum was critiqued because it did not include a member from developing country non-government organisations, project affected peoples, or expert membership bodies such as those associated with involuntary resettlement.The primary output of the Forum negotiations was the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP). The protocol adopts a mainstreaming approach to including gender, as it also does for other important areas of sustainability for hydropower, such as climate change and human rights. The following section explains this approach, and identifies gaps and how these could be improved.Useful outputs of the Forum process, beyond the protocol, are captured on the IHA sustainability protocol website knowledge base (IHA 2011a). Importantly there remain some critical areas of non-consensus in the HSAPthese relate to expectations around determining what is \"basic good practice\" in Free, Prior and Informed Consent and Involuntary resettlement.The protocol is an assessment framework that works at different stages of project development. It can deliver a sustainability profile for a project based on project performance and outcomes across a range of sustainability issues. These are called \"sustainability topics\" in the HSAP.The suite of sustainability topic areas for the protocol is outlined in full on p. 41. Environmental, social, technical, economic/financial and integrative perspectives are explored through more specific protocol topics. These topics are defined by a common approach, which includes a statement of description and intent; scoring statements across five levels where \"5\" represents best practice, \"3\" good practice and \"1\" no/poor performance. The scoring statements are informed by criteria specific to that topic, at that stage of the project's development.Finally, assessment guidance is provided which outlines for the assessors and the company users' key definitions, examples, and concepts referred to in the topic and criteria. These should guide the assessors to make judgement on scoring.17. Oxfam supports the WCD framework as the pre-eminent tool for achieving sustainable development of rivers, while protecting the environment and advancing the rights or river communities. Oxfam joined the HSAF process with the aim to ensure the WCD approach was reflected in the HSAP. Areas of non-consensus in the protocol are indicative of where this aim was not achieved. The HSAF identifies these as priority areas for future review and revision of the protocol.The protocol is developed as a set of standalone tools for use at different stages of development of a river and a project: early stage (before there is a project), then preparation, implementation and operation. The last three project-oriented tools set out a graded scoring system to assess performance against statements of good to best practice within the industry.The process of undertaking an assessment requires measurement against objective evidence and documentation. Scoring reflects this evidence base and should be factual, reproducible, objective and verifiable. While problematic to establish in application of the protocol, it does recognise the validity of verbal evidence from project affected peoples -important for gender-based information. There are six criteria areas for assigning scores: assessment, management, stakeholder engagement, stakeholder support, conformance/ compliance, and outcomes.As previously discussed, the protocol was developed as a tool for industry to assess projects for sustainability.The World Commission on Dams had earlier established a new framework for developing water infrastructurerecommending a rights, risks and negotiated outcomes approach -but the International Hydropower Association and some other key stakeholders responded to this framework by claiming it did not deliver a practical tool for developers. 17 It was in this context of practical tools for industry that the Forum developed the protocol.The HSAP adopts a cross-cutting approach to gender. Gender, along with human rights, climate change, corruption, grievance mechanisms, IWRM, transboundary issues and transparency are among some of the \"high profile issues\" that the protocol identified. The use of accredited assessors is required by the IHA to undertake official protocol assessments. The IHA has assumed the role of the management entity overseeing the protocol, while its governance is in the hands of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Council, made up of a central governance committee with sector chambers.18. While there are some important differences specific to the Mekong context of the RSATs development, there is also an intentional alignment in RSAT topic areas to the HSAP. What is it? How does it work? Why was it developed?The RSAT identifies 10 topic areas 18 for sustainability with 27 sub-topics. Each sub-topic consists of four common criteria that are assessed in all topic areas. The four criteria provide a framework for assessing topics against four key areas of responsibility for IWRM and hydropower development. Each topic area has a number of performance statements, which outline the expectations and focus of the topic area in balancing the IWRM and hydropower aspects.The four criteria are:1. River basin planning and management, which looks at the different sectors and interests involved in rivers and how they are represented and considered in basin planning and management, and the quality of basinwide baseline data across sectors.2. Energy/power sector planning and regulation, which looks at the policy and planning for energy and power within the basin, with a focus on hydropower. It also considers how hydropower and water use planning is developed.3. Hydropower projects, this looks at the individual and combined plans, studies and management actions of all hydropower developers and operators in the basin. It also considers how these are coordinated, and how other users of water within the basin are considered and involved. Considers projects at all stages of development and operation.4. Regulatory and governance: considers the regulatory and planning frameworks for hydropower and water resource management. This looks across all the scales -from local to international and how they are enforced and implemented in practice. (RSAT 2013) RSAT approach to gender -how the RSAT framework addresses genderIn the latest draft of the RSAT, 19 gender analysis and understanding is expected in two key areas:i. In the Criteria within some sub-topics. For example, sub-topics 4.2 National to local benefit sharing, 5.3 Food Security and poverty alleviation, and 5.4 Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, all identify the importance of considering gender and women's interests in the RSAT process.ii. In the Guidance Notes and Definitions for some of the topics. For example, Guidance Notes and Definitions for Topic 5 Social issues and stakeholder consultation identifies the importance of sex-disaggregated data with social data collection; and in considering social risks and defining meaningful consultation, the RSAT identifies the importance of gender inclusive and responsive processes.The RSAT Assessment Guide, which informs the expectations and processes for undertaking an |RSAT assessment, does not require gender data or gender expertise.RSAT in application: how gender assessment is measured; how an assessor is required to assess and measure impacts on women and menKey to an RSAT assessment, similarly to the HSAP, is the collection of evidence and data. As such, gender data and sex-disaggregated data may be collected and considered in an assessment, but it is not required to undertake the assessment. Performance statements which do identify gender considerations would however require the assessors to gather gender data. As such the topics mentioned previously, it might be identified as a gap during an assessment. Similarly to the HSAP, gender expertise is not required as part of the assessment process and participation of women, and of women within different stakeholder groups, is not required.The processes of conducting the assessment presents opportunity for gender assessment and gender inclusion.The selection of the facilitator for the RSAT is identified as critical, but does not indicate expertise in gender as a criterion for selecting that facilitator. Similarly, the conduct of the basin field visit is identified as an important opportunity for gaining an on-ground understanding of the basin and identification of important issues -but does not identify gender considerations in the list of context deliberations for selection of sites and issues.If these factors are in place by chance, there is a real possibility that an RSAT assessment could meaningfully consider gender in its dialogue and rapid assessment. But because it is an accidental rather than deliberate focus, the RSAT could also miss important opportunities to take into account gender and women's experience, needs and interests.Where gender is assessed alongside other factors which affect power relations and vulnerability, including class, race, religion, ethnicity or disability. This is especially useful when looking at issues of identity and power in understanding how change will be felt by marginalised or disenfranchised peoples.A \"bottom-up\" process of transforming relations of power between women and men. It is achieved by individuals or groups of people, particularly women, through becoming aware of women's lower status and power, or imposed barriers and limited opportunities, and building their capacity or facilitating avenues to challenge and change this.The 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines the human rights of all men and women. However, tradition, prejudice, social, economic and political interests have combined to exclude women from many of these rights. Thus the human rights of women need to be considered separately and given special attention.(adapted from Kilsby, D 2013, Gender terms and definitions, Internal working paper, Oxfam)"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"97c930560a1f5522599553f76dfc32c0","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/7a76d5de-45bc-413d-b8da-e99c5274ebfd/retrieve","id":"-818067048"},"keywords":["Senegal","advisories","agriculture","climate change","climate variability","food security","capacity development","climate-smart agriculture"],"sieverID":"48e06d5b-3c29-4014-ae5c-5f217de35ef0","content":"A webinar on the topic of the intelligent Agricultural System Advisory Tool (iSAT) was convened with Senegal's main public and private agricultural extension and advisory service (EAS) providers on May 4, 2023. The webinar, which was organized as part of the World Bank's Accelerating the Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, brought together EAS providers who were involved in the co-production, training of trainers (ToT), and upcoming pilot of the newly developed Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension (CRMAE) curriculum to learn more about the iSAT advisory tool incorporated within the curriculum's Module 3 covering climate-sensitive agricultural decisions. iSAT is a climate-smart technology designed to help smallholder farmers in managing climate risks through timely, location-and crop-specific forecast-based agro-advisories.On May 4, 2023, a webinar on the topic of Senegal's iSAT advisory tool was convened with Senegal's main public and private agricultural extension and advisory service (EAS) providers, in preparation for the pilot of the new Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension (CRMAE) curriculum in which content on iSAT has been integrated.A total of 8 participants representing public and private agricultural extension and advisory service providers participated in the webinar and were capacitated on the basics of iSAT, its underlying processes and inputs, and its impacts on decision-making of farmers in Senegal.  Towards these ends, the AICCRA project has been working to co-design and co-implement curricula targeting the agricultural extension systems in each of the six AICCRA target countries to build foundational knowledge and skills to manage climate risk, including Senegal. These curricula aim to help EAS providers to take advantage of best-available and location-specific climate information products and tools in their countries to better plan for, manage, and respond to a changing and varying climate.They also aim to pragmatically support the tailoring and communication of such information to meaningfully inform on-farm agricultural decision-making and build wider resilience of the agricultural sector.    A recording of the webinar can be accessed on the AICCRA project's YouTube channel here (AICCRA CGIAR, 2023).Participants and particularly RESOPP appreciated the tailored and contextualized advice given by iSAT and especially that it is based on the agricultural calendar in given locations i.e. sent at a time when people are making actual decisions for the season (sowing, harvesting, etc.). The timeliness and relevance of messages are particularly important for the generation of actionable information.There was discussion on the challenges farmers have to understand tercile forecasts and the efforts ANACIM is making to interpret the tercile forecasts for farmers, combining local climatology with the tercile probabilities. iSAT relies on the expertise of ANACIM and its climate information. Support form national systems and institutions, including ANACIM and ANCAR, is critical for sustainability.There was discussion on the complementarity of iSAT and SIMAGRI, including how the data from ANACIM can be used for multiple purposes-Both tools support decisions in different contexts. The modelling underpinning both approaches and tools are similar, and experiences should be shared between the teams working on each of these tools.Melody Braun of the IRI helps Dr. Whitbread to explain the influence of iSAT advisories on pre-season planning decisions such as when to sow, as well as later decisions such as when to harvest and dry crops.In terms of next steps, the recording of the webinar was made available to the public and private EAS providers present on the call, for reference and wider sharing during the May 2023 pilots with extension staff at the respective sites (Thies, Bambey, Kaolack).A study assessing the usefulness of the information communicated through iSAT advisories was explained by Jacob Emanuel Joseph of ICRISAT. No. "}

main/part_2/0042286041.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"4020c95a76947840b137712af4e4006a","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/6126f346-957f-42ac-9951-5df57dad9c30/retrieve","id":"-193802749"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"f3621e80-d923-4059-8795-2c00bd908422","content":"PART 1: Description and all information of the outcome/impact reported OUTCOME STORY/IMPACT STATEMENT As a result of the revised conservation and threat assessment of highly valuable Asian rosewood species facilitated by the Alliance, the IUCN Red List was updated for the first time in over 20 years to include Asian Rosewoods as Critically Endangered. Additionally, the Laos government included actions to conserve the genetic resources of rare and threatened tree species, in its revised National Forestry Policy. This revision acknowledges that different species require different conservation and management actions and that ecosystem-level approaches are insufficient, particularly for highly threatened species.The revised assessment findings were shared with the Global Trees Assessment initiative of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International, which was updating the species' Red List status. The assessment revealed that the species had lost 71-76% of their predicted natural distribution and confirmed their status as Critically Endangered according to IUCN criteria [4,5]. The assessment methodology was published to facilitate its application for other species [2]. Following the project's results, the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute of Lao PDR secured funding from UN-REDD to conduct additional field surveys in several provinces of Bolikhamxay, Khammouan, Savannakhet, Salavan, Champasak, and Attapue in 2021-2022. These surveys confirmed the spatial analysis results, showing very few large trees of the species across all forest classes, with remaining trees mainly found on small-to medium-sized farmlands [6]. As a result of the regional study highlighting the serious threats facing the rosewoods, specific conservation strategies for these species were also included in the new Lao PDR Forestry Strategy to 2035 and Vision to 2050. The Strategy document calls for \"Managing seed sources of tree and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) species with a focus on identifying and restoring sources of seed of rare and endangered species and implementing measures to manage and protect these sources with public participation\" and \"Managing critical biodiversity conservation areas by identifying key habitats of rare and endangered plant and animal species and implementing measures to manage, protect and inspect these areas\". The Lao PDR National Coordinator of the regional project was appointed to join the project working group responsible for drafting the strategy and advocated for these measures [7].Siamese rosewood (Dalbergia cochinchinensis) and Burmese rosewood (Dalbergia oliveri), collectively known as Asian rosewoods, are native to Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam, with Burmese rosewood also found in Myanmar and southernmost China. Since the late 1990s, these species have faced significant pressure from the international timber market. This is due to the rising demand for rosewood timber used in producing 'Hongmu' furniture, primarily in China and Vietnam, with China as the major consumer. Lao PDR, alongside Cambodia, has been a major contributor of rosewood to China, with rosewood exports from these countries increasing by 150% between 2013 and 2014 [8]. Between 2009 and 2013, Rosewood was identified as the most trafficked wildlife product globally, accounting for 41% of the value of seizures in illegal trade [9]. The population of these species sharply declined since 1990 due to overexploitation and the conversion of lowland habitats to agriculture and settlements across their entire range. Although the species were assessed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 1998, their conservation status was not reassessed until 2020 when they were listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora [10] in 2014 and 2017. In response to shared conservation concern among host countries of these species, the Alliance and national and international partners designed a regional research, conservation, and restoration project for Asian Rosewoods, involving all countries within their ranges except for Myanmar. The project was funded by the UK Darwin Initiative [3]. The Alliance developed a spatially explicit vulnerability assessment methodology using environmental gradients as indicators for species' adaptive capacity, providing more precise assessments compared to the simpler methods used for most species on the IUCN Red List.Climate Change relevance: 1 -Significant. The species' conservation assessments take into account the impacts of future climate change, through modeling their distributions under multiple climate scenarios. Seven percent of the current distribution area of Siamese rosewood, and 13% of the area of Burmese rosewood is predicted to become unsuitable for the species by 2050 due to climate change. [2]. Stay within planetary and regional environmental boundaries: consumptive water uses in food production of less than 2500 sq. km. per year (with a focus on the most stressed basins), zero net deforestation, nitrogen application of 90 Tg per year (with a redistribution towards low-input farming systems) and increased use efficiency, and phosphorous application of 10 Tg per year. Maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants, farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed genebanks at the national, regional, and international levels.National and subnational authorities in priority countries implement policies and incentives that promote evidence-based agro-environmental solutions that enhance ecosystem services and livelihoods in rural areas. Hannes Gaisberger, Bioversity International, part of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT 2.Tobias Fremout, Bioversity International, part of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT 3.Chaloun Bounithiphonh, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Lao PDR 4.Christopher Kettle, Bioversity International, part of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT 5.Highly valuable Asian rosewood trees face a host of threats to survival (available here) Overexploited and underprotected: Study urges action on Asia's rosewoods (available here) Towards A Rosy Outlook for The Asian Rosewood Populations (available here)"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"6f7dd93d984b82f584af696ce55cb10e","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/7d219ee5-db35-4b21-a70f-a95d89f52cf5/retrieve","id":"30228447"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"9c496fbd-8f6e-4da6-a7e8-fb703c7cc2ab","content":"1961-1963 aver age 2007-2009 aver age Compos it ion of B r azilian f ood s upply wit h r egar d t o cont r ibut ion t o f at f r om veget able oils .In Brazil the native groundnut has been replaced by soybean as the primary source of fat from plants.Global staples such as wheat and rice became more important in Sudan. Many sub-Saharan African countries with sorghum-and millet-based diets followed the same trend. Newly released infographics show how the so-called \"globalized diet\" has emerged. It's the story of massive change over the past 50 years in the foods people eat, of crop winners and losers, and most of all, of increasing similarity in the food supplies of countries worldwide. Here are ve graphs that together describe some of the the most important changes in food diversity over the past ve decades:Almost everybody eats a lot more than their grandparents did, and it's more diverseGlobal food supplies are on average more than 500 calories per day, per person, larger than they were 50 years ago. They are also more diverse, with both a longer list of di erent food crops, and a more equal contribution to food supplies from each of those crops. Food supplies that were primarily based on single staples a half century ago, for instance rice in Southeast Asia, diversi ed over time to include other staples such as wheat and maize. The same was true for sorghum-and millet-based diets in sub-Saharan Africa, and maize-based diets in Latin America. Nicaragua (Figure 1), for example, reported a 52% increase from 1961 to 2009 in the number of crops contributing to calories in the national food supply, diversifying in particular by incorporating more rice, wheat, soybean, palm oil, and other oil crops. One big caveat-we were only able to assess crops reported in FAO national food supply data, which are limited to measuring 52 crop-speci c foods. While these include the most important crops globally, they certainly don't cover all the plants that people eat. Crops not explicitly listed are either thrown into general categories such as \"cereals, other\" or aren't measured at all, especially if they are only produced on a small scale, for local markets or in home gardens. We need better statistics about what people eat around the world, especially since studies have shown that many locally relevant crops that are invisible in global statistics are disappearing from diets.Comparing countries' current food supplies, we found that both the most and the least diverse were largely nations in Africa and Asia, and on small islands. Looking both at the number and the relative contribution of each of the plants listed in each nation's food supply, Cameroon (Figure 2), Nigeria and Grenada had the world's most diverse food supplies with regard to calories. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Cambodia, meanwhile, had the least, with Afghanistan listing only 30 plants, and with 74% of these calories from wheat alone.If there were crop \"winners\" over the past 50 years, among these would be the \"mega-crops\" (wheat, rice, maize and sugar), which maintained their global importance. The biggest winners, though, were oils such as soybean, palm, sun ower and rapeseed, which progressed from regional signi cance to global dominance as contributors to calories and fat over ve decades (Figure 3). As the winners came to take more precedence in food supplies around the world, traditional cereals such as sorghum, millets, and rye, and starchy roots such as cassava, sweet potatoes, and yam, were marginalized.The diversi cation of countries' food supplies over the past 50 years seems to have largely come about by introducing exotic plants that were originally domesticated in far ung regions of the world. For example, traditional rice-based diets in Southeast Asia diversi ed to include more non-traditional staples such as wheat (originally from West Asia) and maize (Mesoamerica). In related research on the origins of food crops, we found that about 69% of plants consumed around the world are \"foreign\" in the sense that they originated elsewhere. Countries' consumption of crop \"immigrants\" signi cantly increased over the past ve decades, especially in nations that developed new agricultural production industries based on these exotic plants. Brazil's investment in the cultivation of soybean, a crop with origins in East Asia, massively increased the availability of the crop -and of vegetable oil in general -in the country's food supply, while marginalizing traditional plant fats such as groundnut/peanut (Figure 4). As countries' food supplies became more diverse, particularly by increasing the consumption of exotic crops that originated in distant regions of the planet, the global food supply became much more similar. African, Asian, and Paci c Island countries remain the furthest distance from this convergence, and pull the current global average diet (center) a small distance away from the main cluster (Figure 5). In the current decade, the nations that most closely re ect the global average diet include Cape Verde, Colombia, and Peru. While the gure clearly shows that there is no such thing, in reality, as a global average diet, the movement of countries over time closer to this center bolsters the argument that a global average diet has more validity now that it did 50 years ago.  -1 0 0 % -5 0 % 0 % 5 0 % 1 0 0 % 1 5 0 % 2 0 0 % 2 5 0% Each dot represents a country's average food supply with regard to calories in a given decade, including both the number of crops and animal products, and their relative contributions to the food supply. The farther apart dots (countries) are, the more their food supplies di er, with countries at the edges varying most from the global average diet (center)."}

main/part_2/0066418140.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"992c3c0e0172c116e0b4c76640a1663e","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/90726579-24a9-4539-af5b-1be485b6be55/retrieve","id":"-1763149219"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"e20244cd-0978-4319-8c20-0a77f2ec5b00","content":"Breeding tropical pasture legumes, especially for adaptation to infertile acid soils.Why breed legumes for pastures when almost unlimited variation is found among the native legume ecotypes of tropical Latín America in general like Stylosanthes, Centrosema and Desmodium?A big range of these ecotypes are being collected, assembled in germplasm banks as at CIAT, and then evaluated in the field. However native ecotypes have usually evolved in ungrazed situations, and are often adapted to specific soil and climatic conditions. For example, the Brasilian ecotypes of Stylosanthes capitata are closely adapted to more acid soils of less than pH 5.Any selected native ecotype rarely combines all the characters required in a legume for use in grazed pastures. The plant breeder can make an important contribution by taking the most promising ecotypes from legume evaluation programs, and genetically adapting them more closely to the soil -grazed pasture-climatic complex.Legume breeding aims. The most successful legume cultivara are those which persist and grow well with grasses under grazing over a wide range of conditions. The conditions on many farms include periodic overgrazing and mismanagement.Thus in legume evaluation and breeding program~, lines should be selected in the field only by growing them in association with a suitable grass under periodic grazing. Sorne plant breeders do not airn for wide adaptability in legumes. However, this is a most desirable characteristic in legumes for the improvement of pastures in the vast underdeveloped oxisol and ultisol areas of tropical Latin America. Wide adaptability is usually achieved by crossing l egume ecotypes from radically different soil and climatic conditions.Legume breeding technigue s.Most important legume species are principally self-pollinating, so pedigree selection and variations of this, are effective in screening progenies for recombinants with the desired characters. In most legumes it is possible to make many crosses and generate considerable variation.However, a plant breeder is only able to cope with relativelysmall numbers of crossbred progenies in a selection program aimed at increased adaptation of a particular legume to grazed pastures. Even a modest legume breeding ,.3.program involves considerable resources in glasshouse space, field sites and personnel and often takes about 10 years.It would be a distinct advantage if large numbers of crossbred progenies could be screened concurrently, and the time involved in evaluation of selections significantly reduced. This can be achieved in programs involving selection for resistanca to some diseases and insects when large numbers of seedling are screened in a relatively small space under controlled glasshouse conditions. When selecting legume progenies under grazing for important characters like yield, persistence and compatibility with grasses, it is difficult to advance rapidly through the various generations. If uniform field conditions can be obtained, it is possible to evaluate large numbers of F2 progenies and select the best with some confidence, provided they are grown in association with a suitable grass under periodic grazing. The generations after F2 could then be advanced rapidly to F 7 & Fa by growing each generation in a glasshouse as small plants induced to flower quickly by light control e t c, one seed being taken from each plant to give the next generation (\"sing l e seed descent\"). After seed multiplication of the legume selections at the \"fixed\" F 7 or Fa stage the legume selections can then be planted in small replicated plots and rated and grazed periodically . About 200 selections will conserve most desirable character combinations in the best crosses.This method has some disadvantages, but could at least halve the time involved in the development of new bred legume lines, as well as significantly reducing the resources required. At CIAT resources are not unlimited, so it is essential to concentrate on only a few legume species for improvement by breeding.On the basis of the agronomic and grazing work in progress, the legumes selected include Stylosanthes capitata, Centrosema pubescens and the tree Leucaena leucocephala. In spite of all CLÁT's work with variety which will be commercialized and in strong demand from farmers.Centrosema pubescens is probably the most important legume for tropical pastures over a range of conditions from the wet tropics to areas with a 6 month dry season. Present cultivars have severa! deficiencies which prevent their widespread use. In f. pubescens the main breeding aims are (1) Improved tolerance to soils with low pH and high Al-saturation combined with efficient P use and also adaptability to better soils, (2)Active early nodulation combined with more vigorous early growth, (Tolerance to insects and diseases combined with the ability to maintain a long-term vigorous association with grasses.A number of acid tolerant f. pubescens ecotypes were selected from a large group in a pot trial using Carimagua soil (pH 4.5, 90% Al-saturation). These are being incorporated in a diallel crossing program which will give Fz progenies early in 1979 for acid tolerance screening under controlled conditions.Leucaena leucocephala is a tree so it needs to be r egarded as a special purpose legume. Also it needs different treatment in its establishment and management. Because of its ability to produce large quantities of high protein forage for animals in the wet and dry seasons, Leucaena will have an important future role in increasing the utilization of native tropical savannas and grasslands. Leucaena is indigenous to the neutral to alkáline soils of Central America so is not well adapted to acid tropical soils. The main breeding aims in Leucaena are high edible forage production combined with a low mimosine level and high tolerance to acid tropical soils. Fortunately Soil Microbiology is successfully selecting acid tolerant Leucaena Rhizobium for use undcr acid conditions.• 6 .At CIAT the CSIRO bred Cunningham Leucaena has shown good acid tolerance in a pot trial with Carimagua soil and this is probably due to its superior ability to take up calcium. Cunningham (104 chromosomes) was used as the recurrent parent in a series of backcrosses with Leucaena pulverulenta (56 chromosomes). Screening at CIAT of their fertile 1ow mimosine progenies in Carimagua soil has given a number of promising acid to1erant plants. These will be grown shortly in the field on the fertile CIAT soil to observe edible forage production, mimosine levels, chromosome numbers, and seed production. Befare the end of 1978 it should be possib1eto select trees at ClAT combining lthe desired characters, and commence screening their progenies for acid tolerance under controlled conditions.I~ 1979 this should result in promising Leucaena lines for preliminary field eva1uation at Carimagua, Quilichao and Brasilia.To back up the plant improvement program, chromosome counts and appropriate cytological work, as well as studies on breeding systems and crossing techniques are being made in the legumes being bred. Similar investigations are also in progress in other species with distinct promise in genera like Zornia and Desmodium."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"41a0e788f744ad11cf5d2b2ae3aafe20","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://repository.cimmyt.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/eb3e7c50-9330-4de0-89c0-aa50ff0c6112/content","id":"-373529225"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"c8674c39-9e64-4688-a3da-38e0f965cbcd","content":"Using the primary datasets collected from 700 livestock farmers from all four major provinces of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit Baltistan, this paper analyzes the impact of climate-change risk coping strategies on household welfare. A Poisson regression model was used to estimate the determinants of the livestock ownership and multivariate probit model to assess the determinants of the measures taken to manage the climatic-risk challenge for livestock. A propensity score matching approach (PSM) was used to assess the impact of the adopted climate-risk management strategies on livestock farmers. Findings indicated that in Pakistan livestock farmers generally adopt four main types of strategies to cope with climate risk: livestock insurance, selling of livestock, allocation of more land area for fodder and migration. The results show that age, education, wealth, access to extension services, and membership in NGOs, influence the livestock farmers' choice of climate-risk-coping mechanisms. The livestock farmers who adopted risk-coping mechanisms generally fared better. Increasing the land area allocated to fodder seems toGlobally, more than a billion impoverished people depend on animals for food and income. They provide jobs to 1100 million individuals, and most of them are living in developing countries (Hurst et al., 2005). Over 70% of the poor in rural areas of developing countries are dependent on livestock (Delgado et al., 1999). The majority of these poor families live in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and, for them, livestock is a crucial asset. Primarily, landless and smallholder farmers derive a substantial share of their incomes from livestock. Livestock contributes to food and nutrient security across the world, evidenced by the fact that livestock makes up 17% of the global kilocalorie consumption, and 33% of the protein consumption (Rosegrant et al., 2009).Growth in livestock production can have a more favourable effect on poverty reduction than growth in crop production (Shukla and Brahmankar, 1999;Birthal et al., 2003) because livestock are more equitably distributed compared to land. In developing countries, income from livestock forms a significant share of farm households' income portfolios and a large proportion of rural farm households depend on livestock for livelihood; hence, climate change is expected to have a significant impact on more than 600 million people who depend on livestock for their livelihood (Thornton et al., 2002). As climate change poses a threat to the livelihood of farmers by reducing crop yield, food security and increasing poverty levels (Ali et al., 2017), steady investment via information provision, education of farmers, and extension and credit services would enhance farmers' perceptions about climate risk, and stimulate adoption of suitable strategies by farmers in Malawi (Mulwa et al., 2017) and in Pakistan (Rahut and Ali, 2017).Livestock is central to the rural economy of Pakistan; the livestock sector contributes about 58.3% to agricultural value added and 11.4% to the overall GDP (Government of Pakistan, 2018). Livestock is a source of cash income, often the only source of income for the rural and most marginal people. In Pakistan, more than eight million families are involved in raising livestock and, on average, derive about 35% of their income from livestock production (Government of Pakistan, 2018). Livestock can play a fundamental role in poverty alleviation and in increasing foreign exchange earnings; the livestock sector contributed about 1,333 billion rupees to the gross value addition (Government of Pakistan, 2016/17).In Pakistan, due to increasing human population and urbanization, demand for livestock products is also rapidly increasing. Concurrently, changing climatic conditions have a profound and persistent adverse effect on people, agriculture and livestock systems. Hence to meet the growing demand, and in light of rapid climate change, the Government of Pakistan should encourage public-private partnership in the livestock sector and support modernizing and stimulating the scientific excellence of the sector. Livestock products such as milk and meat form a significant part of the daily diet, and can help ensure food security, as the gross milk production was registered at 56,080 thousand tons, while the milk consumption by the population was only 45,227 thousand tons (Government of Pakistan, 2016/17).Against the backdrop of increasing demand for livestock products in Pakistan, the adverse impact of climate change on livestock products and the importance of livestock for rural livelihood, this paper aims to do the following: first, understand the mechanisms adopted by rural households to cope with the impact of climate risk on their livestock; second, identify the factors influencing the choice of strategies adopted by farm households to cope with climate risk; and third, evaluate the effect of a climate-risk-coping measure on livestock production, compared to those who do not adopt such measures.In rural areas, livestock plays a vital role in the livelihood and well-being of poor farm households. First, it acts as an asset for investment which can be easily liquidated in times of need, i.e., it helps acts as a risk-coping strategy and minimizes risk to vulnerable individuals. Second, livestock is an essential source of nutrients and traction for poor farm households (Thornton, 2010). Over the past three decades, rural community dependence on livestock has increased manifold in South Asia (Delgado et al., 1999).However, the productivity of livestock in South Asia has been low, due to several reasons, but especially to the non-adoption of the modern and efficient technologies.It is challenging to meet the global demand for livestock products due to two opposing issues: increasing demand, resulting from population growth and urbanization on one hand, and the adverse impact of climate change on livestock production on the other. Demand for livestock products in developing countries is increasing rapidly and will continue to increase in the future (Delgado et al., 1999) fueled by rapid urbanization, population growth and increase in income (Jones and Thornton, 2009). The global population is projected to rise by 33% from 7.2 billion to 9.6 billion by 2050 (UN, 2013) which would further increase demand for livestock products. The number of people living in urban regions has burgeoned from 751 million in 1950 to 4.2 billion in 2018, and the proportion of urban inhabitants to the total population is anticipated to surge from 55.3% today to 68.4% by 2050 globally, and in Pakistan it is likely to rise from 35.8% today to 53.8% (United Nation, 2018).Household income levels are also rising, and are expected to grow significantly, which will increase the demand for livestock products. The annual global per capita GDP is expected to increase from US$9,644 in 2010 to US$13,874. During the same period, the GDP per capita of South Asia is projected to increase from US$1,283 to US$3,890. It is projected that the demand for livestock products will double by 2050 owing to improvements in the standard of living (Garnett, 2009;Rojas-Downing et al., 2017).A number of studies have found that climate change can adversely affect livestock productivity through changes in the availability of natural resources such as water, changes in the quality and quantity of forage, livestock diseases and heat stress (Garnett, 2009;Thornton et al., 2009;Thornton, 2010;Rojas-Downing et al., 2017). Increases in temperature and CO 2 levels, and changes in the amount and timing of rainfall, affects the production of fodder crops and forage (Easterling et al., 1993;Campbell et al., 2004;Hatfield and Prueger, 2011;Sanz-S aez et al., 2012), which is deleterious to livestock production. Due to prolonged drought, the dry period of dairy livestock is extended (Maurya, 2010), and therefore the volume of milk production is lowered.As a result of increases in the demand for water from competing sources, and depletion of water resources resulting from climatic changes, it is estimated that about 64% of the global population will face water distress (Rosegrant et al., 2009), which will, in turn, reduce the availability of water for livestock sectors. Further, the rise in temperature is expected to augment water intake by animals (Nardone et al., 2010).Prompt policy measures will be needed to address these increasing demands and competition for water (Thornton et al., 2009). The heat stress induced by climate change also results in decreases in production of livestock products (Nardone et al., 2010;Seerapu et al., 2015) owing to alterations in the nutrient content of the forage (Thornton et al., 2009).The changing climate also increases the incidence of livestock diseases and mortality (Jones and Thornton, 2009;Thornton et al., 2009;Amin et al., 2010;Herrero et al., 2010;McDermott et al., 2010;Nardone et al., 2010;Rojas-Downing et al., 2017), and leads to a drop in livestock production. Climate-induced livestock diseases are manifesting across the globe, threatening the income, livelihood and food security of the people living in developing countries.As climate change adversely affects livestock assets, rural households, which are largely dependent on agriculture, implement measures to cope with climate change.A wide range of options are available, and households choose the coping strategies depending on availability and affordability. Some of the widely-used mechanisms are selling livestock, migration, and insurance.Climate change is expected to cause an increase in weather-related hazards, which can severely affect livestock, especially in developing countries. Researchers and policymakers agree that the most significant impact of climate change can be seen in the livestock sector (Thornton, 2010;Naqvi and Sejian, 2011). However, most of the work on climate change has focused on the crop sector, and only a few studies have documented the impact of climate change on livestock productivity (Thornton et al., 2009;IPCC, 2014).The primary objective of this paper is to assess the measures adopted by farm households to cope with the negative effects of climate change on livestock, and the impact of adopting coping strategies on livestock productivity. There are three novel aspects of this research. First, it is one of the few papers that uses a large primary householdlevel dataset to understand the coping strategies adopted by farm households to manage the impact of climate risk on livestock income. Second, it assesses the factors influencing the adoption of these coping strategies. Third, it estimates the impact of the coping strategies on livestock productivity and rural livelihoods. Hence, this paper provides promising research which could enhance the well-being of rural farm households dependent on livestock for food security and livelihood.   farm households adopt a number of strategies, such as livestock insurance, increasing the area for fodder, selling livestock, and migration to cope with the negative impacts of climate change. Those farm households who adopt strategies to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change on livestock are better off than those who do not.The primary dataset was collected through a field survey of 700 livestock owners in 2017 from four major provinces (Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, and KPK) and AJK and Gilgit Baltistan. We used a comprehensive questionnaire covering a wide range of variables to collect the data. Prior to the implementation of the survey, we conducted a pilot test to validate the questionnaires. We followed multi-staged sampling. In the first stage we selected all four major provinces of Pakistan and AJK and Gilgit Baltistan. In the second stage, we selected tehsil/villages, and in the third stage we selected a farm household for the survey. Table 2 and Fig   We used propensity score matching (PSM) methods to appraise the effect of climatechange risk-mitigating strategies on livestock productivity, household income, food security and poverty levels, as it controls for selection bias. PSM creates the condition of a randomized experiment, and then matches the households adopting climate change risk management strategies to those not adopting climate-change risk-management strategies.To assess the robustness of the findings, we have to evaluate the matching quality using techniques such as median absolute bias before and after matching, the value of R 2 before and after matching, and the p-value of joint significance of covariates before and after matching (Sianesi, 2004;Caliendo and Kopeinig, 2008).In Table 3 we present the description of the variables used in the analysis. The average age of the farmers was 47 years, and the mean livestock rearing experience was 28 years, which shows that the farmers were middle-aged and with a substantial amount of experience in farming. The mean age of the household head was 62 years, which means that the households are headed mostly by a senior member. Only in 43% of the cases, the farmer himself was the household head, which means the farmers are not necessarily the head of the household. About 64% of the farmers were married, and the number of members of the household stood at 9.28, which shows that family size was quite large. About 62 % were living in joint/extended family systems in which all the family members lived together, and generally, these were large families, compared to the nuclear family, typically comprising only husband, wife, and children. The mean years of schooling for the sampled farmers was five, which is within the national level. The average land owned by the sampled farm households was about 2.14 hectares; land holding size is comparatively low because the sampled households were livestock farmers who are mostly dependent on livestock rather than cropping. The area under fodder production was approximately 0.36 hectares, which is 17% of their total land holding.Though the sampled households were livestock-rearing farmers, only 27% of the villages had a veterinary center, 44% of the livestock farmers reported to have benefitted from veterinary services, and only 7% benefitted from the livestock helpline. Approximately 10% of the farmers have availed themselves of the artificial insemination facility for cattle. A large number of farmers reported that they experienced fodder shortages (77%), and 66% of the farmers have experienced various diseases in their livestock.Several questions on issues related to climate change were included. An overwhelming majority of the farmers (97%) reported that they had heard about climate change and 92% reported that they had experienced the impact of climate change.Despite being aware of climate change, only 63% were following weather updates.In the studied areas, farm households generally adopted four different strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change on livestock: increasing the area allocated to fodder (55%), opting for livestock insurance (37%), selling livestock (14%) and migrating (14%). Information on the number of households and farm-level assets was collected:about 23% of the households owned a tractor, 25% owned a car, 81% owned a television and 92% owned a mobile phone. According to the farmers, the severe climatic conditions during both summer and winter have affected milk and butter productivity.Information about livestock inventory is presented in Table 4. Farm households kept cows for milk, meat and reproduction, which helped the growth of livestock assets.The average numbers of cows owned by the farmers was 2.39. Similarly, buffaloes were kept for milk and traction force, and the average number of buffaloes per household was 1.64. The average number of oxen owned by farmers was only 0.85 as they are kept for traction and meat, not milk. Sheep and goats are basically kept for meat and milk. The average number of sheep and goats per household is 5.09 and 7.75 respectively. The average numbers of donkeys, mules, and horses are 1.12, 0.57 and 0.35 respectively, and they are kept for carrying loads. Education is positive and highly significant at 1% level of significance, highlighting the fact that educated farmers tend to own more livestock. The area under fodder positively influenced the ownership of the livestock. Results show that the farm households with land entitlements (i.e., 1 for the owner and 0 otherwise) own more livestock compared to those without land entitlements. Household assets like tractors, cars, and televisions are non-significant, indicating that ownership of these assets does not influence livestock ownership. However, the mobile phone ownership dummy was positive and significant, which may be linked with access to information.The contact with extension agent dummy shows that the farmers with extension contact usually have more livestock. Access to the meteorology department and NGOs were included as dummy variables, and the coefficients are positive and nonsignificant.The value of R 2 is 0.44, which means that independent variables explain 44% of the variation in the dependent variable.In the areas studied, the farmers generally adopted livestock insurance, the selling of livestock, the allocation of larger areas for fodder, and migration, as primary climatic-risk-coping strategies, which is used as the dependent variable. Migration was mostly forced due to drought, and livestock owners moved from one place to another in search of water and fodder. We employed a multivariate probit model because these four dependent variables are mutually inclusive, which means a farm household could use more than one climate-risk-coping strategy. The crossequation correlation in The age coefficient was negative and significant in the cases of livestock insurance, allocation of more area to fodder crops, and migration, indicating that young farmers use these strategies to mitigate the impact of climate risk on livestock. However, the age coefficient for selling livestock was positive and significant, indicating that older farmers sell livestock to cope with climate-change risk. Family size was negative and significant for livestock insurance, while positive and significant for selling of livestock and allocation of more areas for fodder. The education level of the farmer positively influenced the household decision to adopt livestock insurance, allocate more area for fodder, and to migrate as a strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. Land holding and land entitlement was positive and significant for the adoption of livestock insurance and allocation of more area for fodder, while negative and significant for selling of livestock and migration, highlighting that farmers with larger land holdings and landowners mostly adopted livestock insurance and allocated more area for fodder because of their affordability. Poor farmers tended to either sell livestock or migrate to cope with the climate risk.A number of household assets were also included in the model like tractors, cars, and televisions, and the coefficients were positive and significant in the cases of crop insurance and allocation of more area for fodder, while negative and significant in the cases of selling livestock and migration. This indicates that farmers with more assets mostly do not sell livestock, choosing a different strategy to combat the risks of climate change.The extension contract was included as a dummy variable, and the coefficient is negative and significant for livestock insurance and migration, while positive for selling livestock and the allocation of more area for fodder. The NGOs were included as a dummy variable, and the results were positive and significant for livestock insurance, selling livestock, and allocation of more area for fodder, which means that NGOs discouraged migration and induce farmers to take up insurance, allocate more land for fodder and sell livestock. The meteorology department was included as a dummy variable, and the results were nonsignificant.We used a propensity score matching approach to assess the impact of different climate change-risk-coping strategies on the production of milk, butter, household income, poverty levels and livestock diseases (see Table 7). In this approach, the nearest neighbor matching (NNM) algorithm was employed for the estimation, as nearest neighbor matches with the similar nearest neighbor in the opposite group. 2 The average treatment affect in the case of PSM analysis for the treated (ATT) indicates the difference in outcomes for the farmers who have adopted climate-change-mitigating strategies and for those who have not.The impact of livestock insurance as a risk-coping strategy is positive and significant for milk and butter production, household income and disease levels, while negative and significant for poverty levels. The ATT results show that farmers who adopted livestock insurance as a coping mechanism had a higher milk yield by up to 0.76 kg per day compared to the households who did not adopt it. The ATT results for the butter yield are also higher by up to 1.20 kg per month, and the ATT results for household income are higher by about 2,400 Pakistani rupees, a 5% level of significance. The ATT results for poverty are negative and significant indicating that the poverty level is up to 4% lower for those farm households who adopted the livestock insurance. With livestock insurance, farmers are able to obtain compensation for any damage resulting from climate shock; hence farmers with insurance have greater resilience.The PSM results for allocating more area for fodder are positive and significant for milk and butter production as well as household income, while it is negative and significant for poverty levels and livestock diseases. The ATT results for milk are 0.83 liters per day highlighting that the farmers who allocated more area for fodder were able to obtain higher milk production because of the availability of a sufficient quantity of diverse fodder and sufficient nutrients. The ATT results for butter yields are 1.55 kg per month, suggesting that butter production is more for households who allocated more area for fodder. The increase in butter may be due to increased production of milk. The ATT results show that household income levels are higher by up to 3,200 Pakistani rupees for this strategy, and the poverty levels are lowered by up to 4%. Increase in milk and butter production lead to an increase in income and reduction in poverty levels. The ATT results for livestock diseases demonstrate that disease levels are lowered by up to 15%, which may be due to the availability of required nutrients.The results regarding the selling of animals are negative and significant for milk and butter production while positive for household income. The results are negative for poverty and disease levels. When the household sells their livestock, it generates cash income in the short run, but in the long run, it reduces regular generation of income, which is evident from the fact that milk and butter production of the households who sold livestock as a strategy to cope with climate risk, is lower.In some areas, especially areas with less water, households use migration as a climate-change risk-mitigating strategy. The ATT results for the milk yield are negative and significant, demonstrating that migrant households have lower milk production by up to 0.62 kg/day. The butter production is negative and significant, with an ATT value of 0.25 kg/month. The household income is lower by up to 837 Pakistani rupees. Poverty and disease levels are higher. Hence migration should be the least favoured strategy to cope with climate risk.The results regarding the critical level of hidden bias and the numbers of treated and control groups are reported in Table 7. The critical level of hidden bias indicates the level up to which the households which adopted the climate-change risk-management strategies and those who did not, differ from each other due to unobservable characteristics.As the main purpose of the PSM is to balance the covariates before and after matching, we employed a number of matching tests such as median absolute bias before and after matching, the value of R 2 before and after matching, andThis research uses a rich primary dataset, collected from four major provinces of Pakistan and AJK and Gilgit Baltistan, to understand the climate risk faced by livestock farmers and the strategies adopted by them to cope with such risk. Even though livestock is an integral part of rural livelihoods and a large number of livestock farmers are facing climate risk, only a small number of villages have a veterinary center, and a limited number of farmers have benefitted from the meteorological department and livestock veterinary services. Under the changing climatic conditions, the land size, family size, and access to extension services positively influence livestock ownership in rural Pakistan. Impact on livestock diseases. Treated on support were the farmers being able to find suitable match in the opposite group, treated off support were the farmers being unable to find suitable match in the opposite group. Untreated on support were the farmers in the control group who were able to find suitable match in the opposite group, while the untreated off support were the farmers who were in the control who were unable to find suitable match in the opposite group.As climate change is threatening the livelihood of livestock farmers in Pakistan, farm households are adopting measures to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.Farm households in this study primarily implemented four main risk-coping strategies, which included livestock insurance, allocation of more area for fodder, selling livestock, and migration.We find that households with older heads tend to pursue selling livestock to cope with climate risk while households with younger heads are likely to go for livestock insurance, allocation of more area for fodder and migration. Households with larger families are less inclined to use livestock insurance and more inclined to sell livestock, allocate more land to fodder and migrate as strategies to cope with climate change.Households with a more educated head pursue livestock insurance, allocate more land for fodder and migrate to lessen the impact of climate change on livestock.Wealthier households who own land and have more land assets are likely to opt for livestock insurance, or the allocation of more land for fodder to manage climate risk and are unlikely to sell livestock and/or migrate. Households who are members of NGOs are likely to pursue all four climate-risk mitigating strategies while those with contact with extension services are more likely to sell livestock and/or allocate more land for fodder.The PSM results indicate that climate-risk-coping strategies have a positive impact on household welfare, as the adopters have higher milk and butter yields, as well as household incomes compared to non-adopters. Similarly, the incidence of poverty levels is lower for those households which adopt measures to mitigate the impact of climate "}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"7eb106a3fc14b4090cfaf6c1d3d07936","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/f9fa856e-e54c-422f-8aea-5005b9e49109/retrieve","id":"674475376"},"keywords":["carbon isotope discrimination (∆)","sequential path analysis","wheat","WUE. Abbreviations: GY: grain yield","SF: Stomatal frequency","SA: stomatal area","∆: carbon isotope discrimination","WUE: water use efficiency"],"sieverID":"17bf5bbc-251f-43f4-850f-e3ebd8a88d9b","content":"The study was conducted on 20 wheat genotypes including four einkorn wheat (T. monococcum subsp. monococcum), eight durum wheat (T. turgidum subsp. durum), six hexaploid landraces and two developed modern varieties including Rooshan and Azar 2 to identify direct effects of stomatal characteristics, water use efficiency (WUE) and ∆ on grain yield and also to discover the effects of stomatal characteristics on the character through affecting ∆ and water use efficiency using sequential path analysis. The variations observed among the genotypes were highly significant for all the characters under study. Stomatal frequency indicated negative relationship with grain yield. While stomatal frequency on the either sides of leaves had negative association with grain yield (GY), stomatal area on the both sides indicated close positive correlations with GY. The only significant direct effect on GY was belonging to WUE and surprisingly neither stomatal characteristics nor ∆ had significant direct effects on grain yield. The least significant direct effect was belonging to stomatal area on abaxial surface followed by stomatal area on adaxial one. Regarding to indirect effects, stomatal frequency on both sides of leaves had positive significant indirect effects on GY via WUE. In addition, stomatal frequency on the abaxial surface had a negative significant indirect effect on GY via ∆. A positive significant indirect effect on GY was also observed from stomatal area through carbon isotope discrimination.Wheat is the most important world cereals and it has been cultivated within origin center of variation (southwest Asia) for over than 10000 years (Poehlman, 1995). The wild species of wheat are still under cultivation in many parts of the world. Carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) is a character indicating the amount of 13C depleted by photosynthesis mechanisms. Considerable variations have been observed between wheat cultivars and even among wheat wild relatives and landraces for ∆ (Khazaei et al., 2009). Some tall plants in an experiment cultivated with a particular short variety are also reported to differ significantly from the mean of plants for ∆ (Tokatlidis et al., 2004). This character is related to drought-tolerance indicators such as stomatal resistance and water use efficiency (Farquhar and Richards, 1984;Griffiths 1993;Taiz and Zeiger, 1998) and it has been widely studied in C3, C4 and CAM (Grassulacean Acid Metablolism) plants. Most of the studies are dealing with the relationship between this character and other agronomic traits. Ehdaie at al. (1991) reported strong negative correlation between ∆ and dry matter production under pot well -watered conditions. Furthermore, ∆ has indicated negative association with grain yield and water use efficiency under some drought conditions (Richards et al., 1998). Mohammady et al. (2005) also reported that drought tolerant variety Falchetto had more yield and lower ∆ than drought susceptible variety Oxley under pre-anthesis water-stressed conditions. On the other hand, many researchers found positive significant correlation between ∆ and grain yield (Sayre et al., 1995, Mehra et al., 2001;Tsialtas et al., 2001). Relationship between ∆ and stomatal conductance is reported to be positive and significant under well-watered conditions (Ehdaie, 1995). In addition, carbon isotope discrimination is reported to be closely correlated with photosynthesis rate (PR) and water use efficiency (Condon et al., 1993). Since the characters such as grain weight and biomass in wheat have low heritability (Rebetzke et al., 2002), ∆ has been considered as an indirect selection criterion in segregating generation of wheat during breeding programs to select for grain weight and biomass (Cooper et al., 1997;Rebetzke et al., 2006). Carbon isotope discrimination has also been proposed as an alternative selection criterion for drought tolerant cultivars (Ehdaie and Waines 1993;Mohammady et al., 2005). Stomata are the major gates for gas exchange of leaves and play an important role in the control of water evaporation and gas exchange in plant leaves (Maghsoudi and Maghsoudi moud, 2008). Transpiration and photosynthesis are affected by frequency and size of stomatal pores. In addition, the operation of the stomatal apparatus is influenced by plant environment (Heichel, 1971) and, therefore, stomatal regulation of transpiration is affected by both internal and external factors. Selection and variation for stomatal characteristics has been reported in bread wheat. Mohammady (2002) found significant differences for stomatal length in adaxial and abaxial surfaces among bread  wheat cultivars. He also reported that stomatal length is more effective than stomatal width on water transpiration. It has been suggested that wheat cultivars having wider stomatal aperture produce higher yields without consuming more water (Khazaie et al., 2010). Wang and Clarke (1993b) reported that stomatal frequency positively correlated with the rate of water loss. This indicates breeding for smaller and fewer stomata may lead to reduction in water loss. Gaskell and Pearce (1983) found that stomatal density negatively correlated with grain yield and with stomatal size. Stomatal frequency in wheat was shown to be greater on the adaxial than on the abaxial surface. Path coefficient analysis has been extensively utilized to investigate the direct and indirect effects of yield related traits on grain yield and assist in identifying traits that are useful as selection criteria to improve crop yield (Milligan et al., 1990). This allows partitioning the correlation coefficient into its components, one component being the path coefficient that measures the direct effect of a predictor variable upon its response variable, and the second component being the indirect effect(s) of a predictor variable on the response variable through another predictor variable (Dewey and Lu, 1959). Recent applications of the method to the analysis of yield in wheat include studies from Garcia del Moral et al., (2003), Zečević et al., (2004), Aycicek andYildirim (2006), Fagam et al., (2006) and Ali et al. (2008). Most of these studies however emphasized the relationship between grain yield and its components among modern cultivars or breeding lines, and very few involve physiological traits. Among the traits that have been proposed to explain yield variation in cereals, carbon isotope discrimination has been quite intensively analyzed (Condon et al., 2002;Monneveux et al., 2005). However, reported correlations between grain yield and Δ vary from strongly positive to strongly negative (Condon et al., 2002;Monneveux et al., 2005). Negative correlations between grain yield and Δ were generally found in plant parts  (Condon et al., 2002;Rebetzke et al., 2002) and were rarely observed when organs were sampled at maturity (Araus et al., 1998;Merah et al., 2001;Misra et al., 2006). As mentioned above, correlations between grain yield and morpho-agronomical traits have been widely studied using path analysis in wheat. Considerable numbers of the studies include correlations between grain yield and yield components or between grain yield and morpho-agronomical traits. The meeting point of the all studies was to bring grain yield in centre of consideration and then consequently almost try to provide incomplete information on the relative importance of the direct and indirect effects on grain yield. Although carbon isotope discrimination is a characters inherited simpler compared with grain yield (Rebetzke et al., 2006) but still under polygenic control (Rebetzke et al., 2008) and almost all characters involved in gas exchange process in plants can affect ∆, directly or through affecting other characters ( Taiz and Zieger, 2002). Among these characters stomatal characteristics have not been sufficiently studied regarding their influence on yield and carbon isotope discrimination. The objectives of this study were to identify direct effects of stomatal characteristics on grain yield and also to discover their indirect effects on the characters through affecting ∆ and water use efficiency using sequential path analysis.The study was conducted on 20 wheat genotypes including four einkorn wheats (T. monococcum subsp. monococcum), eight durum wheats (T. turgidum subsp. durum), six hexaploid landraces and two developed modern varieties including Rooshan and Azar 2. All the genotypes were provided by Iranian wheat gene banks situated in Karaj. Azar 2 is a drought tolerant variety and Rooshan is reported to be susceptible to drought (Golestani Araghi and Asad, 1998) Seeds were germinated in Petri plates and transferred into a growth chamber (2-4 °C) for 5 weeks to meet vernalisation required for flowering initiation. Three seedlings from each genotype were then planted in plastic pots filled with 1.1 kg of soil containing 42% sand, 36% silt and 22% clay. The water holding capacity of the soil was 25% by weight. Pots were arranged in a randomized complete-block design with three replications, in a greenhouse, at the University of Shahrekord, Iran (latitude, 50° 49', longitude; 32° 21'). Eight days after transplanting, two seedlings were removed from each pot leaving the most vigorous one. Then each pot was brought to water-holding capacity by adding 250 ml of water. Fifteen grams of perlite was added to the top of each pot to reduce soil evaporation. Pots were weighted every 3 days and amounts of water equal to the loss in weight were added to the pots until ripening (Ehdaie et al., 2003).When the flag leaves fully emerged Zadoks' scale 58 (Zadoks et al., 1974), the flag leaf of the main tiller of each plant was considered for determination of stomatal size, stomatal frequency and ∆ analysis. Stomatal frequency and stomatal size (length and width) were measured in the middle part of the adaxial and abaxial surfaces by impression method (Wang and Clarke, 1993a). The number of stomata was counted from seven different microscopic fields of view at 160x magnification. To estimate stomatal frequency, the number of stomata per field of view was converted to the number of stomata per mm2 of leaf using a standard scale. Stomatal length and stomatal width were measured on the both surfaces from the impressions using a scaled eyepiece of microscope and then stomatal size was converted to μm. Stomatal area per unit leaf area (SA) (μm of stomata mm-2) was calculated using modified method of Wang and Clarke (1993a) as the product of SF × SL × SW. The above measurements were made randomly on 20 stomata of each impression and the mean values of the 20 measurements were used for statistical analyses. Carbon isotope discrimination was measured on the dried flag leaves. Leaves were dried at 80˚C for 2 days and finely ground to a powder to ensure homogeneity (Boutton, 1991) and 1 ± 0.05 mg samples were taken for analysis. The carbon isotope composition (δ13C) of samples was determined using an elemental analyzer isotope ratio mass spectrometer (ANCA-SL, Iso-Analytical Limited, Cheshire, UK). Carbon isotope composition (δ13C) was calculated by comparing 13C to 12C composition of a sample (R sample) relative to the composition of the Pee Dee Belemnite (PDB) standard (R PDB): δ13C (‰)= [(R sample / R PDB) −1] ×1000. The ∆ value of the samples was obtained according to the formula: ∆ (‰) = (δa−δp)/(1+δp), where δp is the δ13C of the plant sample and δa, the δ13C of the atmospheric CO2. In calculating ∆ values of a sample, we assumed the δa to be −8 ‰ (Farquhar et al., 1989). Each sample was analyzed twice to assure accuracy of measurements.Simple pair-wise Pearson correlation analysis, ANOVA and sequential path analysis were all performed on a Microsoft XP computer using MINITAB V.14 Software package. In path analysis, grain yield was considered as the predicted, WUE and ∆ as intermediates and stomatal characteristics as predictor variables, respectively. Thus, direct effects of all characters and indirect effects of stomatal characteristics via WUE and ∆ were analyzed on grain yield. The variations observed among the genotypes were highly significant for all the characters under study (F values in Table 1). This implies that the plant materials used in the current study are suitable sources for being used in programs dealing with wheat improvement worldwide. The highest and the lowest values of each character are also included in Table 1 under the range column. As can be seen from the table, the differences are huge in each case. The highest coefficient of variation (CV) was shown by ∆ followed by water use efficiency and the lowest CV was belonging to stomatal frequency on the adaxial surface of leaves. The overall phenotypic correlations among the traits are presented in Table 2. Almost all the characters had significant correlation to each other. Stomatal frequency and stomatal area indicated diverse relationships with grain yield. While stomatal frequency on the either sides of leaves had negative association with GY, stomatal area on the both sides indicated close positive correlations with GY. Such a trend was observed in the case of correlation between stomatal characteristics and WUE. WUE and ∆ were positively and negatively correlated with GY, respectively. It also was revealed that ∆ and WUE correlate negatively to each other. Stomatal frequency on the both sides of flag leaves showed positive correlation with ∆. These correlations were significant at P<0.05. As it was expected, stomatal frequency on the upper and lower surfaces of leaves indicated negative correlation with stomatal area on the respected area. Looking at the both sides of leaves, it was revealed that the mean of stomatal frequency on the abaxial surface was higher than stomatal frequency on the adaxial surface. A similar trend was also observed in the case of stomatal area (Table 1). Stomatal frequency and stomatal area on the adaxial surface were closely correlated with those on abaxial one (Table 2). To sum up, it was revealed that all stomatal characteristics indicated significant correlations with GY and WUE and all except one (stomatal area on the abaxial surface) with ∆. As it was presented earlier, all stomatal characters, WUE and ∆ had significant correlations either negative or positive with GY. These correlations were analyzed further by the sequential path procedure. This procedure involves a method by which direct and indirect effects of characters via intermediate characters or pathways are differentiated. In the current study, direct effects of all stomatal characteristics, WUE and ∆ were identified and indirect effects of stomatal characteristics through WUE and ∆ were also measured. The result of sequential path analysis was summarized in Table 3. As can be seen from the Table, GY being a complex and important commercial trait was considered as independent variable and other characters including ∆, WUE and stomatal characteristics as causal variables. The only significant direct effect on GY was belonging to WUE and surprisingly neither stomatal characteristics nor ∆ had significant direct effects on grain yield. The least significant direct effect was belonging to stomatal area on abaxial surface followed by stomatal area on adaxial one. Regarding to indirect effects, stomatal frequencies on both sides of leaves had positive significant indirect effects on GY via WUE. In addition, stomatal frequency on the abaxial surface had a negative significant indirect effect on GY via ∆. A positive significant indirect effect on GY was also observed from stomatal area through carbon isotope discrimination.Variation observed among the genotypes for the characters under study indicated the possibility of selection between the genotypes for wheat improving purposes. Such variations for ∆ and grain yield (Condon et al., 2004, Khazaei et al., 2009, Mohammady et al., 2009, Rebetzke et al., 2006) and for stomatal characteristics (Mohammady et al., 2005) were also previously reported among wheat genotypes. Almost all the variations reported in the literature for the above characters were observed among wheat cultivated varieties. Since Iran is a part of diversity centre for wheat (Poehlman, 1995) and the land races and wild genotypes used in the current study were all collected from Iran, they can be studied further in order to find suitable physiological characters enhancing wheat grain yield in different environments. It is theoretically expected that varieties with higher number of stomata per unit area and greater length and width of stomata lose more water during the growth period. This happens if stomata remain open during the water-stress period. Reduction in water loss from leaf surfaces during periods of severe water-stress is an important drought tolerance indicator. Low rate of cuticle transpiration, therefore, may reduce leaf dehydration and promote leaf survival (Wang and Clarke, 1993b). When water-stress develops, the response of stomata to water-stress seems to be of a great importance in reducing water loss comparing with stomatal characteristics. Thus genotypes with lower number of stomata may be useful for breeding drought tolerant varieties under some drought conditions. Mohammady (2002) studied the relationships between stomatal characteristics and water status in 2 wheat varieties named Falchetto (water-stress tolerance) and Oxley (waterstress susceptible). He reported that stomatal frequency of Falchetto was significantly higher than Oxley, but Falchetto had smaller stomata. On the other hand, his results revealed that Falchetto had a higher Leaf Relative Water Content (LRWC) and Stomatal Resistance (SR) than Oxley. These results indicated that SF is not always correlated with plant water status. This is because stomatal size, response of stomata to environmental stress and even cuticle resistance are also involved in determining plant water status particularly under water-stress conditions. The results of other workers concerning the relationship between stomatal characteristics and plant water status are inconsistent. Wang and Clarke (1993b) reported that SF was not correlated with relative water loss and leaf water content in field experiments. However, their results indicated that SF was positively correlated with the rate of water loss but not with leaf water content under growth room experiments. The inconsistency of this relationship is possibly due to the influence of other characteristics of stomata rather than SF and due to negative relationships between stomatal size and frequency as observed in the current experiment (Table 2). In addition to SF and stomatal size, the stomatal responses to water-stress and cuticle resistance are other factors which influence water status of plants under water-stress conditions. Thus, the results explained above indicate that stomatal characteristics are affecting water status of plants as a complex, and every component of this complex should be studied in relation to other components and with other factors which influence water status of plants.A negative correlation was found between stomatal frequency and stomatal area. This implies that increase or decrease in transpiring area may not be achieved by selecting for high or low SF due to the negative correlation between SF and stomatal size (Venora and Calcagno 1991). For this reason, it seems that SA as a combination of SF, SL and SW is a better determination of water status in plants. The relationship between stomatal resistance and stomatal characteristics is also important in determining water status of crops under water-stress conditions. In a study carried out by Mohammady (2002), SR and SA were investigated in Varieties Falchetto (water-stress resistant) and Oxley (water-stress susceptible). He reported no significant differences between the two varieties for SA on the both surfaces of leaves but highly significant difference for stomatal resistance was observed between the two varieties. These results indicated that higher SR of Falchetto on the adaxial surface is not due to smaller SA but is possibly due to either differences in stomatal response to water-stress or differences in cuticle resistance. The most important issue regarding water-stress tolerance is that the characteristics of stomata of the crop must match the pattern of water supply (Passioura, 1996). When the water supply is insufficient from the onset of growth, less number of stomata and low stomatal area can lead to a conservative consumption of water and thus can be considered as a suitable adaptive trait. On the other side, when there is a small shortage of water supply happens at the end of growth cycle, low stomatal frequency or area, or even low stomatal transpiration, have no benefit to the crops due to low photosynthesis and thus enhancing yield reduction in crops. In general, wild species of wheat and landraces used in the present study indicated variation for different aspects of stomatal characteristics and therefore they can be used in wheat breeding programs aiming to manipulate stomatal characteristics. There is also a need to evaluate these genotypes for other traits related to water statue in order to come to a conclusion about their promising for being involved in wheat breeding programs aiming to improve wheat cultivars for water statues in particular in dry regions. In the most experiments carried out under irrigated conditions, Δ values were found to be high and the relationship between grain yield and Δ non significant (Ehdaie et al., 1991;Ehdaie and Waines, 1994;Monneveux et al., 2005;Misra et al., 2006;Xu et al., 2007) or even negative (Condon et al., 2002). In general, measuring ∆ does not provide information on whether its variation is being driven by variation in stomatal conductance or photosynthetic capacity (Farquhar and Sharkey, 1982;Ehdaie et al., 1991).In the present study, grain yield was negatively related to ∆ in a good agreement with Waines et al., (1993). Carbon isotope discrimination (Δ), which is negatively correlated to transpiration efficiency at the leaf level (Farquhar et al., 1982), was found in the present study to be positively correlated to stomatal frequency. In contrast, other researchers found a negative correlation between stomatal frequency and ∆. Waines et al., (1993), andKhazaei et al., (2009) reported that higher ∆ is associated with less number and bigger size of stomata. In general, carbon isotope composition of a plant may be a useful criterion to assess water use efficiency in C3 plants, and therefore, an efficient method to screen genotypes for improved drought resistance.The correlation coefficients between various characters were partitioned into direct and indirect effect using path analysis technique. Stomatal characteristics indicated no direct effect on grain yield. Comparison between overall correlations between these characters with GY and those observed in path analysis revealed that the effect of stomatal characteristics on GY come to operation through gas exchange related characters such ∆ and WUE. Stomatal frequency on the abaxial surface had a negative significant indirect effect on GY via ∆. A positive significant indirect effect on GY was also observed from stomatal area through carbon isotope discrimination. These results indicate the ability of ∆ and WUE to be used as indirect selection criteria for GY during wheat breeding programs. According to Araus et al., (2003), carbon isotope discrimination (∆), and transpiration efficiency are negatively related. ∆ has also largely been recommended as a selection criterion for transpiration efficiency (Farquhar and Richards, 1984), which holds true when the amount of captured water is the same for all genotypes. According to Zâmeĉnik and Holubec (2005), strong negative correlations between transpiration efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) suggest that selection of progeny with low ∆ may increase transpiration efficiency and aerial biomass under water-limited conditions (Rebetzke et al., 2002). Condon et al., (2004) also pointed out that it is possible to use ∆ as a selection criterion for genotypic improvement in transpiration efficiency and productivity in rice. In addition to direct and indirect effects, uncorrelated residual values (U) were estimated in the path analyses on GY, WUE and ∆ (Fig 1) so while these residuals were low and non significant indicating that the path analysis explained the majority of variation in the traits studied. WUE similar to GY is a complex oligogenic trait but simpler than GY (Hui et al., 2008). In this investigation it indicated direct and indirect effect on GY. On the other hand, it also indicated negative significant correlation with ∆. Thus any stomatal factors which influence WUE have a certain effect on GY and ∆. Since a path coefficient is a measure without dimension and can eliminate the effects of different variances for the physiological traits (Hui et al., 2008), the implementation of path analysis can objectively evaluate the relative importance of WUE and ∆ to GY. Furthermore, intra plant variations and variations observed within pure varieties for stomatal size and frequencies (Khazaie et al., 2010) have indicated that inconsistency exist toward stomatal size and frequency in wheat. Hence, measuring WUE and ∆ is much feasible and reliable rather than stomatal size and/or stomatal frequency and we propose selection for WUE or /and ∆ can improve grain yield in wheat cultivars and landraces."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"d8a1cb76e2b5fa73410e8889e7dd29f4","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/0f3c3ded-884c-47bc-a9dd-7209c65992cd/retrieve","id":"578245111"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"3c3b258f-42ab-4e13-a1c4-f104d88d2741","content":"The objectives of the learning alliance include i) co-developing with the stakeholders solutions to address climate change, land restoration, and enhanced agricultural livelihoods, ii) peer learning on natural resource management, and iii) policy influence at sub-national and national levels. The learning alliance members are diverse representing different disciplines, gender and age groups.The stakeholders include ministry and local government officials, CBOs, NGOs, researchers, private sector, civil society and farmer organizations. However, efforts to understand how these innovation platforms operate to scale innovations, and in particular enhance land restoration are insufficient. Such knowledge is critical for improving the design of sustainable land management, systems, within the context of a rising interest in the multi-stakeholder platform approach to support the transformation of food systems in developing countries. This report investigates the functioning and outcomes of the multi-stakeholder platforms established in Tanzania. The study focused on two platforms in Kilolo and Lushoto districts and analyzed their activities to support scaling agricultural innovations. The findings show that the platforms are successful in network building and knowledge dissemination. However, there is a low participation of women and young people. At the local context, targeting women and youth in leadership positions and farmer champions can increase visibility and attract membership among these target groups to the platforms. For the youth, it was suggested to raise awareness through the education institutions such as tertiary facilities, colleges and universities. Additionally, membership certificates for the youth can promote membership in the platforms.In Lushoto district, the platform activities to support land restoration focused on erosion control engaging village ambassadors to disseminate knowledge on creation of water canals, afforestation, dissemination of tree seedlings to farmers and the drafting of a bylaw to protect the natural resources used as indicators in indigenous forecasting by elders. The platform in Kilolo focused on bee keeping to incentive protection of natural resources, protection of riparian zones and water bodies, terracing, dissemination of seasonal forecasts and agro-advisories, and set up farmer field schools on conservation agriculture and good agricultural practices.Monitoring of the outcomes of the platform activities in relation to how they contribute in agricultural transformation for communities is weak. The alliance members identified weaknesses in achieving planned activities and outcomes, organizing meeting and the platform contribution to policy processes. The diversity of stakeholders, in the platform could become vital in thought leadership on sustainable land management, climate change and agricultural livelihoods. Members proposed the creation of a fund to support sub-national learning alliances. The findings indicate that alignment of the multi-stakeholder platform activities with political agendas, government priorities, and policy processes is critical for their success to support the spread of land restoration initiatives.The main objective of the study was to evaluate the functioning of the learning alliances in Kilolo and Lushoto districts and their contribution to land restoration outcomes.A semi-structured questionnaire (see Annex) was used for the individual interviews among members of the platforms in Lushoto and Kilolo. This included interviews with key informants from the ministry offices in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam who regularly participated in the platform activities. Topics discussed included the establishment and the composition of the IPs, their agendas, innovations promoted, relevant outcomes perceived by members as meaningful, and challenges. The interviews helped document the process in each platform and assess lessons about the conditions under which multi-stakeholder platforms can effectively support land restoration outcomes. The Monitoring and Evaluation questionnaire was implemented in both Swahili and English. On average, each interview lasted for about one hour.Twenty respondents, who are active members of the platforms, were selected for the interviews.The platform members are drawn from government. Additional respondents represent NGOs, CBOs, private sector, and civil society. Only twenty percent of the respondents interviewed were female, which is indicative of the low representation of women. We also recorded a very low representation (less than 5%) of young people in the platforms.In the two districts, the ministry of agriculture facilitates the platforms through the district council.In Kilolo, the learning alliance started with 25 different stakeholders and in Lushoto 14 members.In both districts, the learning alliance was established in 2015 in partnership with the Policy Action for Climate Change Adaptation project led by IITA in collaboration with CIAT and ICRAF. The learning alliances are composed of diverse stakeholders, who include NGOs, CBOs, Ministry of agriculture, universities, local government officials and farmer representatives.In Lushoto district, the learning alliance focused on erosion control engaging village ambassadors to disseminate knowledge on creation of water canals along valley bottoms, which helped to adapt to floods. In this district, there is siltation due to the harvesting of forests, which is affecting the bottom valley farming and quality of drinking water in Sunga. The learning alliance also prioritized afforestation to address this challenge. Friends of Usambara (FOU), a member of the platform, provides seedlings of Pinus patula to farmers in the area to reduce siltation. In the village of Boheloi, village ambassadors and elders provide traditional weather forecasts. The learning alliance in Lushoto promoted a bylaw to protect the natural resources used as indicators in the indigenous forecasting by elders.In Kilolo, the learning alliance hosts a bee-keeping project to support the protection of natural resources, for pollination and to diversify household incomes. Mahenge and Mazombe Development Association (MMADEA, which is also a member of the Kilolo platform spearheaded the protection of riparian zones and protection of streams and riverbanks. This initiative promoted the conservation of water and riverine vegetation.Overall, there is a notable underrepresentation of women and young people in the learning alliances established in Kilolo and Lushoto districts. The key informants interviewed noted that the inclusion of women and young people is important for implementing solutions because they represent the population most vulnerable to climate change and are majorly involved in the implementation of agricultural activities. The stakeholders highlighted the need to create opportunities within the existing platforms groups for women and youth participation. This will address the generational and gender-gap. Some of the recommendations are to reach out to potential women who are active local leaders on the benefits and activities of the platforms. For the youth, it was suggested to raise awareness through the education institutions such as tertiary facilities, colleges and universities. Awarding membership certificates can enhance youth participation.The two district learning alliances faced financial challenges, which caused delays and poor coordination of some of the planned activities. In both districts, the local district agriculture From the results, it is evident that the multi-stakeholder platforms contributed to involvement and interaction of members on relevant topics. The platform members are committed to deliver and they stated that topics related to the environment and agriculture are pertinent in the districts and therefore are issues they want to be involved The management structure included a board composed of a chairperson, secretary and steering committee members. The board's role was coordination and dissemination of information. The satisfactory level to which members were informed on the initiatives in the platforms and the opportunities they offered for peer learning, contributed to their commitment to participate.The results rated the main innovation promoted by the Learning alliance was use of radio, and webinars to communicate information (Figure 1). Radio has the greatest potential to reach up to sixty percent of the community members.Results showed that both Radio and focus group discussions have the highest potential to reach up to 60 percent of the women farmers. For webinars, the potential to reach women was between 20to 40 percent.Supporting mechanisms/infrastructure needed achieve the reach more members of the community include enhancing member's knowledge (technical and digital), and expanding membership to include stakeholders with experience using the innovations. It was noted that involving members in national workshops and trainings could increase their awareness, and exposure to different and innovative (disruptive) information sharing mechanisms.  Potential to reach women In Lushoto district, the outcomes of the multi-stakeholder platform are:I.Use of local radio to initiate climate change discussions and increase community awareness and knowledge dissemination.Developing projects focusing on irrigation, environmental conservation, afforestation and infrastructure improvement for value addition of milk.Training school children on afforestation and provision of tree seedlings.Despite commitment from members and achievements of the platforms, the Kilolo and Lushoto district learning alliances are experiencing challenges. These are:i. Lack sustainable funding: this is the greatest challenge hindering the platforms in the two districts. Lack of adequate capital also hinders the scaling of innovations to address land degradation and climate change.ii. Limited government support: The platforms have not received government funding targeting climate change and environmental issues. During the survey, members proposed that the government could support the learning alliances through formalizing the learning alliances, support for infrastructure such as vehicles, stationery, offices space and consumables during meetings and community outreach activities.iii. Lack of political will: key informants at the national level acknowledged the role played by the platforms but noted lack of political will poses a challenge for the operation of the learning alliances. The district legislator's offices can provide political support and champion the activities of the platforms.iv. Notes: This tool was used to evaluate the functioning and outcomes of the Learning Alliance around critical platform indicators.Learning Alliance NameFacilitator Date1. What was the origin of the learning alliance? i.The alliance started from scratch ii.The alliance was formed from existing networks iii.The alliance already fully existed 2. What was the average number of institutions/actors, both local and external involved in the Learning Alliance 3. List and provide name and type of actors involved in the Learning alliance Name Type (e.g. research, government, NGO, CBO, private sector, civil society, policy makers) 1.3.5.7.8. 9.10.12.13.14.16. 17.19. 20.22.24.25.  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. Was the learning alliance inclusive in membership who represented a diversity of interests, the marginalized and vulnerable affected by the issues it was aims to address? Yes/No and How?Who would you recommend to join? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8. What would you recommend to help attract more members in the future - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What was the current structure of the Learning Alliance i.Structured with elaborate procedures for running the Learning alliance ii. AmorphousNotes on structure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10. How was the Learning alliance facilitated? i.Facilitated by researchers ii.Facilitated by local stakeholders, if YES, who? iii.Joint / Alternating facilitation Notes on common challenge ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13. Do you feel the learning alliance members have a mutual understanding on the purpose/objective of the platform - . What model of financing would you recommend to help achieve sustainability of activities of the learning alliance. What are the successes implementing these innovations?. What are some of the challenges and failures encountered when implementing these innovations?What are the impacts of the innovations for women and youth?----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21. Were there challenges in bringing sufficient capacities and resources into the learning alliance? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------22. How are the innovations or interventions promoted by the Learning alliance influencing local or national policies, strategies, priorities or plans? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------23. What were the approach/processes used by the learning alliance to achieve influence and with whom? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------24. How is policy change e.g. recent policies, strategies, plans and priorities introduced by the Government affecting/affected the initiatives of your Learning alliance? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"}

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main/part_2/0165510535.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"67737f88448a60a44b5f6ff086c3e1bf","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/bc9fe058-fb1f-4c07-8be2-afaa8029cac9/retrieve","id":"985385053"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"4792ba74-05d1-45c9-b79a-1d3c7f39cfd3","content":"The goal of transforming African agriculture into a driver of rural prosperity and broader wealth creation has preoccupied the development community for decades, with limited success. Climate change now brings a whole new set of challenges that make the task even more daunting. Many argue that African farmers' high level of vulnerability to climate change is symptomatic of the failure to transform the sector into a vibrant economic engine over many years. While climate-related challenges call for a different trajectory, the goal remains the same. Transitioning to climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in the African context requires a transformational architecture ƒ a systematic shift away from business as usual and a comprehensive programme for building the adaptive capacity of physical, socio-economic, human and institutional dimensions of farming systems. The threat of extreme climatic events devastating farms and destroying productive potential could be the wake-up call for the continent to look at agriculture through a new lens.Many African farmers and farmers' organizations (FOs) now subscribe to the overarching CSA objectives of sustainably increasing productivity, improving adaptive capacity and harnessing mitigation co-benefits where possible. Extensive, low-productivity agro-pastoral systems that are typical on the continent are at the heart of high levels of vulnerability of rural livelihoods to climate shocks. Increasing the productivity of farming systems across the continent is perhaps the most far-reaching driver for a climate-smart future. Sustainable intensification of both crop and livestock production is vital to achieving long-term wealth creation and climate objectives. Enhancing productivity is where the triple objectives of socioeconomic advancement, building resilience and reducing emissions coincide: there is evidence that wealthier societies and households cope with climate change better because they have more alternatives. Meanwhile, soil fertility and water management practices that improve yields have been shown to reduce the pressure to expand farmlands onto forests and other marginal areas.Although farmers are pursuing productivity gains, their progress can only be sustained if it is grounded in approaches that reduce vulnerability. This imperative should dictate options for soil, water and fertility management, seed resources and livestock breeds, income diversification and other risk management strategies. A series of institutional and policy changes are also needed to support farmers in adopting CSA practices at scale, possibly including public-private partnership arrangements. Although this was Mr Catique's first season using the CA approach, he quickly appreciated the concept during project-facilitated training programmes and follow-up visits. His half-hectare CA plot included a pure stand of maize, a maize-pigeon pea intercrop and a pure stand of cowpeas. These were planted alongside a conventional maize stand. He closely followed newly learned protocols for fertilizer use, seed spacing, weed control at planting, minimum tillage at planting and mulching to reduce moisture loss, erosion and emergence of weeds. \"I was pleasantly surprised by the very little effort that went into land preparation, planting and maintaining my crop up to harvesting. The results were beyond my wildest expectations,\" said Mr Catique. For the first time in his life he obtained a maize yield of six tonnes per hectare. On his conventional plots he only got the usual two tonnes per hectare that he is accustomed to. In addition to a good maize harvest he is also looking forward to a bumper crop from his intercropped pigeon peas, which are fetching highly lucrative prices in the area. Given the abundance of moisture on his CA plot far into the dry season, he is looking forward to harvesting a thriving sunflower crop that was planted after the harvest of the pure maize stand. A second crop of cowpeas will soon be ready for harvesting as well. Despite the challenges of wildfires during the dry months and keeping livestock away from fields in the off-season, Mr Catique has no doubt that his farming career has entered a new era.Foremost on the CSA agenda for farmers is a series of measures to broaden access to technologies and practices for boosting productivity, especially in the case of smallholder farmers. Improved soil, water and rangeland management, use of high-yielding and adaptable crop varieties and livestock breeds, nutrient enhancement, appropriate mechanization, and improved crop and animal husbandry are key areas that need wider application in African farming systems. In many parts of Africa moisture stress is a key constraint on crop performance, and climate change is worsening this hazard. Farmers urgently need high-yielding varieties that are tolerant to drought and retain important nutritional, taste and storage qualities despite elevated carbon dioxide and temperature levels. Practices that improve soil health and water management to conserve available moisture are also crucial responses to the climate challenge. Although some of these have been in use for many years in other parts of the world, they have seen limited uptake by African farmers for various reasons.Appropriate mechanization of production systems to improve efficiency and reduce drudgery has remained a pipe dream for the majority of African farmers. The hand-hoe remains the most dominant tool across the continent despite rapid technological advances seen in almost every other sector. The intense manual labour associated with farming in Africa and its limited commercial orientation have no doubt earned the sector negative perceptions, especially among youth. It is inconceivable that a climate-smart revolution across Africa could be driven by the hand-hoe. Prospects of a transition to climate-smart agriculture are bleak without significant improvements in access to labour-saving and productivity-enhancing innovations in agricultural production systems.Although raising productivity alone is not sufficient to support CSA in the long term, it is low-hanging fruit' for Africa; it will go a long way in delivering immediate and substantial socio-economic and environmental benefits that are necessary for building a resilient agricultural system. A series of complementary support systems are required, however, to build and sustain CSA across the continent. Below some of the key support systems are discussed, including how current approaches could be transformed. Partnerships with the private sector need to focus on building innovative, mutually beneficial business relationships to improve financing, marketing and extension support for farmers. Such cooperation could revise banking risk evaluations and regulations to open up new streams of finance for farmers to innovate, take up climate-smart practices and insure against climate risks. Similarly this effort could strengthen farmers' organizations to provide better services to their members and bring the benefits of the formal sector to smallholder agriculture. Farmers' organizations offer a platform for relevant agribusinesses to play a more central role in providing extension support services to farmers.In many countries, realignment of sectoral policies to make them more coherent with CSA objectives is a key task. Working in consultation with farmers and other stakeholders, governments should mainstream CSA into policies, programmes and budgets at national and local levels. Strategic allocation of public resources is perhaps the most effective way to attract private funds, donor resources and climate finance. Reconfiguring extension systems and updating curricula in schools and tertiary institutions are additional areas for government-led joint effort.The donor community remains a central partner in providing resources for early actions and readiness activities to prepare farmers and other stakeholders for a transition to CSA. Farmers expect donor funding for programmes that support development and testing of innovative ideas as well as initial investments that could catalyse private-sector participation.NGOs and other practitioner organizations are key partners in testing new ideas with farmers. CSA programmes need to harness the experience of NGOs in building human and social capital through extension, research, education and information management.What support do farmers seek from the global Community?"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"bf3fd7e2cbf0415fdf45cf63bdfd83dc","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/724e2543-ed88-4184-b950-fbfcd4e8811c/retrieve","id":"-1857416798"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"a7bb3edb-9e97-45aa-a518-591ac474b3f2","content":"The outcome was that the evidence provided by this research has been used by donors and NGO in planning and targeting their research and development activities in adaptation to climate change. Specifically, these include: i) internal decision making within DFID and follow-up studies planned in some \"hotspot\" countries, starting with Ethiopia in 2007;ii) guiding the joint IDRC-DFID Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) programme to prioritise activities and select regions for targeting their investments;iii) with NGOs working in East Africa: VSF-Belgium is prioritising livestock development activities in northern Kenya and Oxfam-GB plans to build on the methods and data used to target their activities in the region.Evidence for this outcome includes testimonials from DFID and IDRC on how these agencies have used the research."}

main/part_2/0177850533.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"df7d15f9b636fe052caef9dcf0f2e50a","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/2c5422ef-7091-4a21-bb01-b2a0fd9d7454/retrieve","id":"872186448"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"68e00f2e-09a6-4fcd-8e10-c68ef6bf78f8","content":" Aprovechar la genómica y las tecnologías de información para mejorar la conservación y el uso de la diversidad de cultivos. Facilitar la curación de las colecciones y proporcionar una referencia para las pruebas de integridad genética de rutina. Permitir nuevos descubrimientos que mejoren los rendimientos de los cultivos, mejor nutrición y resiliencia climática. Utilizar información de la secuencia genómica (información digital de secuencia -IDS) Identificar más fácilmente las accesiones que se adaptan a sus necesidades.Banco Digital -Accediendo a la diversidad por medio del acceso a la información (foco en información genómica) Laboratorio de extracción de ADN 18 Colecta de material vegetal & Base de datos área de oficina para científicos de datos y servidores para almacenar y procesar y analizar la información digital de secuencia y de otros tipos.  Instalaciones que permiten tener duplicados de seguridad de otras partes. Innovación en la conservación y el valor añadido de los recursos fitogenéticos. Contribuir a las iniciativas para mejorar el acceso de los agricultores a la diversidad de cultivos y variedades. Una mejor apuesta para la distribución de materiales. Estrecha colaboración con los bancos de germoplasma nacionales y las universidades.La calidad es un factor importante para poder cumplir a cabalidad con los estándares internacionales exigidos en la conservación adecuada de semillas con el fin de poder mantenerlas vivas por largos períodos de tiempo.La calidad involucra todos los procesos e inicia con la concientización, entendimiento y entrenamiento del personal sobre la actividad que le toca realizar. Es así que el banco cuenta con un Procedimiento Operativo Estándar (POE) por cada proceso de conservación de Semillas.Semillas del futuro es una centro de calidad donde se aprovecharán las innovaciones en genómica y tecnologías de la información para fomentar un uso más amplio y específico de las colecciones de germoplasma para la adaptación al clima y la mejora de la nutrición.Semillas del futuro también será una plataforma de colaboración para proyectos conjuntos con instituciones nacionales e internacionales interesadas en los recursos genéticos¡Gracias! "}

main/part_2/0203644497.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"4d7f097767745dce27d51ba18d6c53a7","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/90d9baab-6974-4f64-ba55-d4a81308284a/retrieve","id":"-1054162882"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"c3607c11-1ebf-4534-84d8-abd4ddefe037","content":"Early Warning: Forecasting Food Crisis• Effective response requires early warning• Two-forecasting models:-1) One Month Forecast: Better accuracy, less response time -2) Three-Month Forecast: Less accurate, more response time • Decision making parameters -Minimum likelihood of food crisis required before initiating emergency response -Defining a \"correct decision\":• Initiating response when there is actually a food crisis• No response when there is no food crisis • Developed an empirical forecasting model that can predict with reasonable accuracy the expected human impact of slow onset shocks such as drought.• Model is based on a non-restrictive set of variables making it quite cost effective• Model can be easily and regularly updated with new information that should continuously increase its forecast performance• Invaluable for early warning and emergency response to food crisis"}

main/part_2/0216800421.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"4f8b948a5e4e4687bc02d753a43f9ef8","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/99b18889-57ab-4dd6-a2d8-e3c1548e6853/retrieve","id":"-1001752659"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"62ffe76a-d00e-4ef2-93a5-3420826d9b61","content":"Se estima que alrededor de 58% de los suelos en la parle tropical de América Latina pertenecen al orden de los oxisoles y ultisoles, los cuales se caracterizan por alto contenido de aluminio, b~~a saturación de bases intercambiables y alta acidez. En estos suelos predominmi diversas actividades agropecuarias, destacandose entre todas la ganadería. Se sabe que las leguminosas arbustivas son ruente barata de proteína para los animales; además, se cmplctln como coberturas del suelo y barreras vivas pllra reducir erosión, o. como barbechos temporales para mejorar la fertilidad del suelo. En este sentido un número considerable dc estudios se hall realizado en América tropical con las arbustivas EI}'lhriIlCl spp., LellcaenCl spp. y Gliricidia sepium, pero basta la fecha las introducciones evaluadas de estas leguminosas han mostrado pobre adaptación a suelos ácidos con alto contenido de alumipio. Estudios agronómicos más recientes han identificado a las arbustivas F1emingia macrophylla, Desl1Iodium velutinum, Codariocalyx gyroides, Calliandra sp (CIAT 20400), Tadehagi spp. y Cralylia argenlea con buena adaptación aVos suelos ácidos inrérliles de la región. Sin embargo, el consumo de estas arbustivas por pru1e de los animales es b~o, lo que parece estar asociado con altos niveles de taninos condensados particularmente en F. macrophylla, Callhllldra .~p. (CIAr 204(0) y Tadehagi spp., o la presencia de otros factores allticualitativos aún no plenamenl~ identificados como en C. argentea. Esta última tiene atributos agronómicos importantes como son: tolerancia a la sequía, rápido establecimiento, buen rebrote después del corte, allos rendimientos de MS y b,~jo contenido de taninos condensados (0.2%1). Estudios de consumo con esta especie indican que lanto ovinos como bovinos prel1ercn las hojas maduras a los rebrotes jóvenes, particularmente si las hojas han sido cortadas y secadas al sol. No existen reportes que indiquen la conlribución a la fertilidad del suelo ni el posible uso alternativo de ésta u otras leguminosas arbustivas adaptadas a suelos ácidos illfértiles; por lo tanto, se necesitan mayores esfuerzos para mejorar la caracterizaci.ól1 de éste germoplasma en cuanto a su conLribución al sostenimiento y mejoramiento del suelo, así como el estudio de factores anticualitativos que limitan el consulno animal..1.' i i ..Las leguminosas arbóreas y arbustivas SOI1 fuente económica de proteína para la producción animal; además pueden mejorar la fertilidad y la protección del suelo, proporcionar sombra, mejorar barbechos temporales y el reciclaje de nutrientes, servir de cobertura del suelo, utilizarse como barreras vivas para reducir erosión y como fuentes de lena para uso doméstico. De hecho, la literatura reporta ampliamente los beneficios que en Jos distintos sistemas de producción agropecuaria, ofrecen las arbustivas Gliricidia sepium, Leucaella leucocephala y especies de Eryfhrina y Acacia (Pezo et al., 1989;WesJey y Powell, 1993).Es muy común la utilización de las arbustivas mencionadas como suplementos de dietas animales cuando se utilizan gramíneas de baja calidad; también para mejorar el consumo y la digestibilidad del nitrógeno (N) y de la materia seca (MS), lo cual se traduce generalmente en mayores ganancias de peso animal e incrementos en producción de leche.Suelos ácidos. Suelos ácidos (pl-l entre 3.8 a 5.5) conalla concentración de aluminio (saturación de Al >de 60%) y bajos niveles de calcio y otros nutrientes, pertenecen al orden de los oxisoles y ultisoles, los cuales 70~ -6~..:-~¿«t>;.,j.... I ~ /'7~.representan 58% (884 millones de 'ha) de los suelos (le América tropical (Sánchez e lsbell, 1979). Los oxisoles son escasos en Centroamérica y El Caribe (sólo 0.6 mi Ilones de ha), pero predominan en los Escudos de Guyana y Brasil, las sabanas de Colombia y Venezuela y el cerrado brasilero, así como la cuenca este del Amazonas. En cambio, los ultisoles son comunes en áreas de alta precipitación en Centroamérica (alrededor de 20 millones de ha), lo mismo que suelos jóvenes ácidos, denominados inceptisoles. Objetivo. El objetivo de esta revisión es presentar resultados de evaluaciones de leguminosas arbustivas realizadas durante los últimos afios en suelos ácidos infértiles de América tropical, que han permitido la identificación de especies con potencial rorrajero y para otros usos agropecuarios. Nos basamos princi palmenle en resultados generados por el Centro Internacional de Agricullura Tropical (CIAT) debido a que una extensa revisión bibliográfica identificó pocos trab,~ios a nivel regional que ampliaran este lema.En contraste con los árboles, los arbustos se caracterizan por tener un hábito de rami ficación que se inicia prácticamente en la base del cuello del tallo (Baneljee, 1989). En general, los arbustos no crecen más ele 4 a 6 m de altura y el diámetro de la base deltalJo permanece por debajo de los 10 cm de grosor.' ..Este tipo de leguminosas arbustivas han sido las más evaluadas durante Ja última década en los suelos ácidos infértiles de América tropical. Las evaluaciones agronómicas y de m.laptación se han realizado a nivel de parcelas pequeñas y bajo UIl delermi nado régimen de corte. Las mismas parcelas han sido aprovechadas para obs\"ervar aceptabi I idad ani mal.Las venlé:1jas de las especies arbustivas sobre las herbáceas son las de ofrecer mayor rendimiento de MS, mejor persislencia, mejor tolerancia al mal manejo y la capacidad de retener forraje de mejor calidad en coildiciones de ~Ito estrés ambiental. Lo anterior es extremadamente importante en condiciones de suelos ácidos inférti les, debido a que las plantas no solo deben soportar el estrés impuesto por el suelo, sino también las presiones bióticas y de estrés temporal por ralta de humedad. El Cuadro 1 llluestra características de suelo donde se han evaluado leguminosas arbústivas en los últimos años en América tropical.Luego se presentull las especies evaluadas y los resultados más relevantes hasta la fecha.Esta leguminosa arbustiva, nativa de la al11azonía de Brasil, Perú y Bolivia, así como del cerrado brasi lero (Queiroz, 1991), es reconocida por alta tolerancia a la sequía yalta producción de rorr~ie de buena cal ¡dad (Otero,196 [;Aroeira y Xavier,199\\). Evaluaciones agronómicas han identificado su buena adaptación a condiciones de suelos ácidos representados pOI' Quilichao (Perdomo, 1991), Carimagua, Caquelá y La Libertad en Colombia; Pucallpa ...Cuadro 1). También se reporta buen desempeño en suelos moderadamente ácidos de Manabí,Ecuador (Ramírez el al.,(990). Se ha indicado que esta planta tiene una curva de crecimiento tipo cúbico, el cual es lento al principio, pero que se acelera a partir de los 63 días (Xavier et al., 1990).Evaluaciones agronómicas de una pequeña colección de C. argenfea han mostrado variación illtraespecíJica en rendimicnto de materia seca (RMS)(ver Cuaclro 2) y cn proclucción de semilla (CJAT, 1988). Los RMS varían de acuerdo al sitio de crecimiento, pero se destaca la buena produción de forraje de esta especie en una variedad de condiciones ambientales, incluyendo sitios con suelos pobres ácidos. Así por ejemplo, en suelos inceptisoles moderadamente fértiles de Atenas (trópico subhúmedo; pH 5.9) Y de Guápiles (trópico muy hÚllledo; pH 5.6) en Costa Rica, se han encontrado rendimientos roliares anuales de 5 y 16 tlha respectivamente (CIAT, 1993). Mientras tanto, en suelos de mellor lertilidad tipo latosol (plI 4.7) de I3rasil, los rendimientos totales han variado desde 4 hasta un acumulado de 14 tlha a los 189 días de crecimiento (Xavier et al., 1990). En un ulLisoJ de Caquetá los RMS foliar de una colección de C. argentea variaron de lOa 148 g/planta en la época de mínima y de 14 él 135 g/planta en la época de máxima precipitación (CIAT, 1993) (Cuadro 2).Una de las cualidades de C. argentea es el alto contenido foliar de N. Se han encontrado valores de 7.0 1 10 a los 21 días de edad y de 2.0% a los 189 días (Xavier et al., 1990)  (Perdomo, 1991). Aunque se acepta que Calliandra se adapta a suelos pobres, ésta se da mejor en suelos moderadamente <.leidos de origen volcánico y en sitios con 2,000 a 4,000 111m de precipitación por año situados entre 250 a 800 Il1SIlIll; falta sin embargo, mayor investigación en diferentes tipos de suelos para definir mejor el rango de adaptación de esta leguminosa.La planta no tolera sitios inundados ( National Academy Press, J 988; Wiersum y Rika, 1992). La colección más grande de Calliandra fue realizada por CATIE y OFI (Oxford F'orestry lnsLilute, Illglaterra)(\\Viersul1l y Rika, 1992) .F'[emingia macrophylla (WilhJenow) MelTill Sinónimo: F. congesta (Aiton) RoxlmrgEste arbusto de crecimiento erecto (1.5 a 2.5 111 ) es nativo del sureste asiático y 811lpliamentc naturalizado en el este y oeste A rricano (Asare eL al., 1984;Budelman y Siregar, 1992), Su distribución natural va desde el nivel del mar hasta los 2,000 111 de altura en sitios con 1,100 a 2,850 mm de precipitación. Se caracteriza por tolerar períodos secos prolongados, pero a la vez puede soportar suelos saturados de humedad y aún inundados temporalmente (Budelmall, J 988; L3udelman y Siregar, 1992). Otra de sus cualidades es la alta capacidad que tiene de ramificación a partir de la base del tallo Cfhomas y Schultze-Kratl, 1990).Evaluaciones agronómicas realizadas en suelos ácidos infértiles de Pucallpa (Perú), Carimagua, Villavicencio (La Libertad), Caquetá y Quilichao en Colombia, la han mostrado como uno de los arbustos de mejor adaptación a esas condiciones (CIAT 1986(CIAT , 1987(CIAT , 1990(CIAT Y 1993)). Así mismo, esta arbustiva ha tenido muy buen desempeño en condiciones de suelos moderadamente fértiles en Costa Rica representados por Atenas y Guápiles, V.gr. inceptisolesCOIl muy b~ia concentración de Al (CIAT, 1990).LosR.MS foliares de 23 accesiones de F. I1lClcrophylla variaron de acuerdo a la época del año y dependieron del grado de rerlilización aplicado en Caril11agua (Cuadro 2). Plantas fertilizadas durante la época de lluvias con tina fórmula recomendada para cultivos, tuvieron un rendimiento foliar de 23 g/planta contra 16 g para plantas fertil izadas con una fórmula para pastos.Estos rendimientos fueron respectivamente de 6 y 4 g/planta para el período seco (3 a 4 meses). La fertilización afectó el número de ramas/planta, pero 110 la digestibilidad foliar de la MS, la cual tuvo un promedio bastante bajo de 20% (CIAT, J 993). Los RMS reportados SOI1 comparables a los observados en otros lados del trópico (Asare el al., 1984;Budelman, 1988)  (Lenné, 1981; eIAT, J 990) .Esta leguminosa 110 toleró corles bajos (40 a 50 cm de altura) en condiciones de trópico subhúmeclo en Costa Rica, y períodos secos de más de 4 meses I 1 la afectaron severamente (CIAT, 1990). Pero una colección evaluada en Caquelá (cortes realizados cada 9 semanas a 100 cm) mostró alto vigor de rebrote y alta producción de semilla. Durante el primer año de evaluación los RMS foliares variaron de 22 a 211 g/planta en la estación de mínima y de 31 a 3 I 1 g/planta en la estación de máxima precipitación, lo cual indica considerable variación intraespecífica que amerita mayores evaluaciones futuras de esta especie (Cuadro 2).  1986, 1990;Perclomo, 1991;Cárdenas, 1990).En Carimagua esta especie respondió a condiciones de mejor fertilidad del suelo; así por ejemplo, los RMS fueron de 8 y 6 g durante el período de lluvias para plantas fertilizadas con una fórmula para cultivos y pastos respe<.;tivamente, y de 2 y I g/planta durante el período de mínima predpituc.ión. La rertilizacióll no afectó la digeslibilidad de la MS, la que tuvo un promedio de 52%. Esta leguminosa presenta alta defoliación en lugares con más de 4 meses secos (CIAT 1986(CIAT , 1993)). Además es afeclada por sitios mal 12 .' 0,,'' .drenados, como en Caquetá (Colombia), aunque en este siLio los RMS fueron considerablemente más altos que en Carimagué:1 (Cuadro 2).La colección de germoplasma de D. velutinu1l1 mantenida en CIAT es bastante gr[l/1d~ (más dc 140 accesiones) y morIológicamente variada (Cárdenas, 1990;I3elalcázar y Ciprián, 1994). Aún no se conoce en forma detallada el rango de adaptación de esta especie a diferentes condiciones edal'o-climáLicas y las respectivas interacciones de genotipo por medio ambiente.D. strigillosul1I es UIl subarbusto ramificado de hojas trifoliadas muy parecido a algunas variedades de D. herocaJpoll como el cv Florida Cm•pon. Ha mostrado buella adaptación a suelos ácidos de Carimagua y San Isidro en Costa Rica, aUllquc se derulia severamente durante el período seco (CIAT, ) 989).Igual adaptación a suelos ácidos pobres ha mostrado la subarbustiva T.triquetrum. En Pucallpa por ejemplo, tuvo niveles aceptables de producción Ion-ajera y buena producción de semilla (ClAT, 1990). Varias especies de éste géncro respondieron 1:1 condiciones de mayor fertilidad del suelo en Carimagua (CIAT, 1993). L,os RMS ('oliar por planta fueron de 12 y 5 g y de 2 y 1 g durante el período lluvioso y seco de plantas fertilizadas cantina rórmula para cultivos y para pastos respectivamente (Cuadro 2). La digestibilidad de la MS no fue afectada por los fertilizanles y tuvo Índices bajos de alrededor de 30%. Es claro que la disponibilidad de leguminosas arbustivas para los sistemas agropecuarios presentes en suelos ácidos infértiles de América tropical, es , limitada. Por esta razón, es imperativo dedicar mayores esfuerzos de investigación en el futuro inmedialo alrededor de las siguientes prioridades:l. Ampliar la base genética mediante colecciones sistemáticas o intercampio de gennoplasllla, de géneros y especies como Cratylia, Cal1ial1dra, D. velutinul1I, ele. que han mostrado buena adaptación a suelos ácidos inférti les.2. Caracterizar mejor el rango de adaptación de especies arbustivas con amplia variabilidad genética, por ejemplo G. sepium, Calliandra spp., D. velutil1u/11 y C. c{~ian.Ilutriciunales y necesidades de inoculación, tanto con rizobio como con tnICOITIZéJS.Así como capacidm.1 lijadora de N y grado de reciclaje de nutrientes.4. ldenLi licar otras opciones de LISO para el gerllloplasma adaptado, tales e,omo mejoramiento de barbechos, barreras vivas para reducir erosión, cultivo en Ih,mjas, y la posible integración de estas arbustivas con sistemas soslenibles de prou lICciÓIl.    "}

main/part_2/0225556323.json

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+{"metadata":null,"keywords":null,"sieverID":"8b7dbaa0-bdc6-48a6-a47a-5842b694f738","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"}

main/part_2/0239336164.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"f9a00b8487ac73272a2667e9dbf73eac","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/3b66c898-18d2-4ca7-8ec5-582daceef6dc/retrieve","id":"1297393285"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"2cd9a3d4-2c78-4d5b-9407-51879ad16a90","content":"Los Andes albergan la mayor variedad de biodiversidad de montañas del planeta. Es uno de los pocos centros de diversidad de cultivos que todavía quedan con una gran reserva de recursos genéticos aún intactos, y potencial para ser líder en el desarrollo de cadenas alimentarias inclusivas y saludables. En esta región existen más de 60 especies de cultivos nativos, incluyendo una gran cantidad de superalimentos altamente nutritivos, que podrían ayudar a garantizar la seguridad alimentaria global.Los Andes actualmente experimentan cambios climáticos extremos y a un ritmo más acelerado que otras regiones. Dado que la agricultura andina se practica en las altitudes más elevadas del mundo, su expansión hacia altitudes mayores ha provocado la liberación del carbono secuestrado en el suelo de las turberas. El volumen de carbono liberado debido al uso no sostenible de la tierra en los altos Andes, equivale al volumen de carbono liberado por la deforestación en el Amazonas. A pesar de ello, la conservación de estos reservorios ha recibido poca atención por parte de investigadores y encargados de políticas.Esto representa una enorme oportunidad. Ochenta y cuatro de las ciento diez \"zonas de vida\"regiones biogeográficas definidas por parámetros climáticos que agrupan flora y fauna específicareconocidas en el planeta, se encuentran en el Perú. Los Andes son un laboratorio vivo, donde es posible estudiar el calentamiento global y sus efectos en la productividad agrícola, la nutrición, los medios de vida y la biodiversidad. Las lecciones provenientes de los Andes podrían ayudar al mundo a prepararse mejor para el futuro.El CIP agradece a los donantes y organizaciones que apoyan globalmente su trabajo a través de sus contribuciones al Fondo Fiduciario del CGIAR. https://www.cgiar.org/funders/En este contexto, la Iniciativa Andina del Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP) busca fomentar el uso sostenible de la agrobiodiversidad para promover el desarrollo basado en recursos locales únicos, la acción climática -incluyendo la mitigación y adaptación en ambientes extremos-y dietas saludables para reorientar el sistema alimentario de la región, a través de un enfoque \"triple-P\":Este enfoque representa una oportunidad para fomentar una mayor diversificación y resiliencia en los sistemas alimentarios de montaña, a través de un marco integrador que vincule la agrobiodiversidad, la intensificación ecológica y el compromiso comunitario, con un énfasis específico en la juventud, la perspectiva de género y los pueblos indígenas.El centro de este enfoque es la agrobiodiversidad, que garantiza que los superalimentos o alimentos inteligentes, especialmente aquellos con propiedades nutricionales y nutracéuticas únicas, sean la base de un desarrollo inclusivo y sostenible.Promover la diversidad alimentaria hacia dietas saludables mediante la creación de un entorno alimentario favorable para jóvenes en situaciones marginales, a través de la educación, la información y la sensibilización para reorientar la demanda, uniendo los espacios rurales y urbanos.Promover la acción climática utilizando el enfoque de \"canasta de opciones\", tomando en cuenta el aprendizaje local en entornos extremos y la recolección de evidencia para orientar políticas a gran escala.Fundado en 1971, el CIP es una organización de investigación para el desarrollo que se enfoca en la papa, el camote, y las raíces y tubérculos andinos. Brinda soluciones innovadoras basadas en la ciencia para mejorar el acceso a alimentos nutritivos a precios asequibles, fomentar el crecimiento empresarial y del empleo sostenible e inclusivo, e impulsar la resiliencia climática de los sistemas agroalimentarios de raíces y tubérculos. Con sede en Lima, Perú, el CIP realiza investigación presencial en más de 20 países de África, Asia y América Latina.La Iniciativa Andina busca que la investigación y el desarrollo tengan una dirección colaborativa e impulsada por la demanda. Particularmente, busca abordar de manera integrada las amenazas de pérdida de agrobiodiversidad, cambio climático y desnutrición:El CIP se apoya en sus casi 50 años de experiencia en el ámbito de la investigación para el desarrollo, y en el conocimiento institucional acumulado por su trabajo en una variedad de temas que incluyen agrobiodiversidad, nutrición, uso de la tierra, sostenibilidad, enfoques participativos y cadenas de valor inclusivas.La Iniciativa Andina ofrece una oportunidad extraordinaria para combinar la investigación científica aplicada, que permita garantizar la conservación de la agrobiodiversidad en fincas, realizar acciones climáticas innovadoras y promover dietas saludables con una variedad de interesados, como las universidades, el sector privado y la sociedad civil. El CIP es un centro de investigación del CGIAR, un consorcio de investigación global para garantizar la seguridad alimentaria del futuro. La ciencia del CGIAR está orientada a reducir la pobreza, mejorar la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional, los recursos naturales y los servicios ecosistémicos. Su investigación se lleva a cabo en 15 centros del CGIAR, en estrecha colaboración con cientos de socios, incluyendo institutos de investigación nacionales y regionales, organizaciones de la sociedad civil, academia, agencias de desarrollo y el sector privado. www.cgiar.org"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"2bad5c0183575b3614d36c4e2a232453","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/7a1b8397-acc7-4046-a799-aa61194024fd/retrieve","id":"824545274"},"keywords":["Geographic scope:","National Country(ies):","Colombia Comments: <Not Defined> Links to MELIA publications: <Not Defined>"],"sieverID":"8e550413-292d-4f36-9c4d-7aa2a246f827","content":"Sub-IDOs:• Increased availability of diverse nutrient-rich foods • Closed yield gaps through improved agronomic and animal husbandry practices Is this OICR linked to some SRF 2022/2030 target?: Yes SRF 2022/2030 targets:• # of more people, of which 50% are women, without deficiencies of one or more of the following essentials micronutrients: iron, zinc, iodine, vitamin A, folate and vitamin B12 Description of activity / study: Colombia monitoring survey concluded in 2018 was designed to assess the performance of the high-iron bean (HIB) variety registered as BIO 101 using ten outcome indicators. The study had a quantitative part where 200 households were interviewed, and a qualitative component. The results suggested a broad acceptance of BIO 101 in the household diets, since households were allocated on average 0.22 hectares of land for HIB, and 62% of their HIB production were consumed domestically. However, its small grain size affected farmers' considerations around yield. Enhancing nutrition messaging and breeding varieties compatible with regards to yield and marketing are essential."}

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+{"metadata":null,"keywords":null,"sieverID":"7051bb93-bbdc-4394-aef4-6a8a226cf5a1","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"4668317cd3554ca1bfe572314c5fd701","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H044295.pdf","id":"35172054"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"936f309a-f6eb-4d6c-bcbf-0255ad59bad0","content":"With growing concern about water issues in the developing world, many countries are in the process of introducing reforms in their water sectors. This process is strongly influenced by a growing global consensus about a clutch of principles-commonly understood as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).These offer a set of best practices about how national and sub-national authorities can govern the process of transforming their traditional water sectors into modern ones prepared to deal with growing water scarcity. IWRM has often meant different things to different people; however, a commonly understood core includes the following: [a] formulation and enunciation of a coherent water policy framework; [b] river basin as a unit of water resources management; [c] enactment of water laws-usually separate for services and the resource--to create a regulatory and property rights framework for water; [d] recognition of water as a social and economic good, and the use of pricing in improving the efficiency of allocation and use of water; and [e] greater user participation in the management of water resource as well as infrastructure. The empirical foundations of these principles are obscure. However, many of these best practices are seen to be operational in high-income countries which have progressively introduced them and found them effective in improving the governance of their water sectors. This has helped create a widely shared impression-especially amongst international aid agencies, research centers and consultants--that adopting these in emerging or poor countries would produce similar resource governance outcomes in the latter.As they face growing problems of water scarcity and degradation of aquatic environment, many developing countries in Asia have been attempting to either adopt or adapt these IWRM best practices their settings. India has already enunciated two water policy statements, in 1987 and 2002. India also has a draft groundwater law tossing around for over 30 years. Thailand and Sri Lanka drafted national water laws but, after heated debates in the media about water pricing and water being declared state property, have taken it back to the drawing board. Pakistan adopted a water law styled after the water law of the state of Colorado in the US. Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal too have either announced water policies or enacted laws or done both. While such institutional reforms produce impact only over a long time period, it is important to evolve a more textured understanding of the 'pathways' through which such reforms produce better resource governance. Africa presents opportunities to do this. Africa's water scarcity is less severe than in many parts of Asia, except for the northern and most southern parts. Since the 1990s, Africa has an hyperactive track record of experimenting with a slew of IWRM interventions, especially of enacting water laws as a way of creating a regulatory and property rights framework for water governance. A recent workshop on 'African Water Laws' organized during January 26-28, 2005 in Johanenesberg by International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Natural Resources Institute (NRI) and the University of Dar-es-Salam brought together researchers from several African countries who had documented their respective experiences with IWRMtype reforms, especially, of enacting and enforcing new water laws. Some fine and very interesting papers presented in this meeting can be found on www.nri.org/waterlaw/workshop . This IWMI-Tata Comment based mostly on the presentations and discussions of this workshop teases out key lessons of African water law experiments for other poor and emerging countries foraying into IWRM direction.In several ways, rural Africa's institutional fabric is different from Asia's. In many parts of Asia, especially those with European colonial history, water rights are commonly an easement of land following the British-Dutch common law. In rural Africa, legal pluralism is in evidence to a greater extent than we find in many parts of Asia. Diverse legal traditions-international laws and treaties, state laws, religious and local norms, customs and customary law of the large range of ethnic groups, regulations imposed by development projects-determine 'water access options' available to rural communities. In rural Africa, we also witness marked discontinuity between local tradition and modern notions of rights. Legal plurality is the hallmark of Africa's traditional institutions. Communal areas in Zimbabwe, for instance, are governed by multiple sets of rules. Shona oral, customary law differs radically from Roman-Dutch written common law.The former is open to all and admits all kind of evidence. Shona makes little distinction between criminal and civil. Rights and duties by usage get the force of customary law because they are viewed as normal, just and consistent with its worldview. Shona chieftainship represents nested levels of jurisdiction. Customary law becomes operational at the first level of local community governance while formal law predominates at higher level. And the two seldom resonate with each other.Literature considers open access bad, leading to the tragedy of commons; African tradition celebrates open access as an ideal arrangement. Often in Africa, de facto rights are determined by one's control of the more scarce resource. In wetlands, if one has land, one gets entitlements to water; but in dry-lands, control over water enables one to cultivate surrounding land. Modern land and water laws interact in complex ways with customary rights to produce social outcomes which are often not easy to fathom. In Kenya, for instance, a new land law has reduced access to land along rivers/streams and thereby neutralized prior water rights as a default.. Unlike elsewhere in the developing world, many countries in Africa have a strong imprint of customs and customary law and institutions relating to the use of water resources. Customary laws and practices emerge from consistent repetition of a given conduct, and the conviction of the community that such conduct is acceptable. The Akan customary law prevailing in many of Ghana's 128 districts is illustrative of the wide scope of customary law and practices in rural Africa. Community ownership of water and other natural resources has remained largely unquestioned. Here, chieftains, priests and priestesses play different roles in traditional water governance. The chief is deified; people interact with the chief through the linguist who in turn will pass on the communication to the chief. A widely observed custom is of weekly water holidays: on Tuesday of each week, no body can take water from a river/stream, nor does anyone go to the sea. Akan customary is self-enforcing. Government laws, rules, regulations are difficult to enforce and police in rural communities; customary laws are self-enforced.A presentation by Desalegn Chemeda offered, as an example, a detailed and excellent description of traditional institutions for water management in Awash and Borana basins in Oromia state of Ethiopia. Gadaa -a male-oriented socio-political and cultural system-is an important institution of Oromia; it is a system of age-grade classes that succeed each other every eight years in assuming social, economic and political leadership. Young members are introduced to community management chores with simple tasks; young children below 8 are free of all responsibility; 8-16 year-olds look after small stock; 16-24 year olds draw water from wells; 24-32 form the nucleus of future Gadaa leaders; and so on. Only male members in 40-48 age-group constitute Gadaa leadership from whom a presidium (Council of Elders) of 9 members is constituted; those older than 48 are retired from leadership roles. The Council of Elders form rules and regulations; they also function as arbiters of last resort. Since wells are often major source of water, an elaborate set of practices have evolved around them. In wet season, typically, open sources of water are used and wells are closed. During the dry season, wells reopened, and yet, herds are often moved to distant areas. Managing wells is among the key responsibilities of the gadaa. Variants of this system prevalent in Borana are widespread and powerful throughout pastoral Africa. Ethiopia's constitution protects and promotes the self-governing traditional institutions.Colonial history too has left a strong imprint on Africa's water scene. The tradition of vesting ownership of water t the state is a colonial tradition that many newly independent states copied. Colonial decisions of decades ago also continue to affect rights over river basins. For instance, the British gave absolute rights over Nile waters to Egypt during the colonial period. Now, even if they want, countries around Lake Victoria--Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania can not divert any water from the lake without explicit permission from Egypt which has stationed engineers around the lake to monitor its rights.The water laws of many African countries enacted seem quite strong by the standards of South Asia where even water policy statements, such as India's, have been quite lukewarm and unambitious. Declaring water to be state property, requirement of permits for water diversion, introduction of water pricing are all quite common features in African water laws. Tanzania plans enacting two separate legislations at one breath: Water resources act, and a Water supply and sewerage act. Under Tanzania's new water law, as it was in the past, all property over water resources is vested in the Republic of Tanzania. All users-except domestic-are supposed to acquire water rights through water use permits. The law reaffirmed water as an economic good; domestic water use was exempt from water price; but all other water use was subject to pricing. The law also recognized the principle of basin level water resources management; and to that end, prescribed organization of water users into WUAs as well as sub-catchment/ sub-basin Water Boards.Zimbabwe's Water Act of 1998 separates commercial and primary water; the latter refers to domestic, livestock, household needs. Water for commercial use requires permits and is subject to user pays principle. A controversial aspect of Zimbabwe's Water Act of 1976 was that it assigned water rights to land titles in perpetuity; and since the bulk of the land was owned by commercial farmers, local black communities were dispossessed of their traditional water rights. Zimbabwe's New Water Act of 1998 tried to correct this. It replaced water rights by temporary water permits. All water, including groundwater is vested in the state. 7 water councils are created; and Zimbabwe Water Authority was created to partially replace its Department of Water Development.Kenya's State-centred water law vests the control of water and right to use water in the minister. A permit is required for water use barring some exceptions. Each permit defines the scope and extent of water right of each holder. Except those using buckets to draw water from streams, all require permits. Ghana has made some effort to integrate modern with traditional. To implement the legal-institutional reform, Basin Boards were created; these provide representation to traditional authorities. Chiefs are invited to explain the customary law in their territories. If the courts accept these, these become formal law for that territory. Each district assembly has elected representatives, two members of the parliament, but 30% of the seats are reserved for traditional authority representatives appointed by the President in consultation with the chiefs. The customary principle of reasonable use, not harming other riparians are key new ideas introduced in the new water law. Institution of chief and priests, customary law, sacred grove, water holiday-are traditional notions integrated into the water law and governance.In Ghana, new water law had profound impact on traditional water governance. The new 1996 law separated land and water; All use requires registration although only some need permits/licenses. Land owners were required to seek permit for water use; many, especially, large land holders acquired permits. But numerous small users have not; and registration of these has not progressed at all. The law vests water in the president; but a transitional period of 1 year was provided for people to get their use regularized. All manner of problems have arisen in enforcing the law. Far-flung rural communities have not accorded any urgency to get their water use registered and regularized. When some communities tried, it led to unusual differences. One chief claimed jurisdictional right over all water passing through his territory. He was given a user right but not the jurisdictional right.There were several common features across Africa of the wave of IWRM enthusiasm. First, commonly, as their colonial predecessors, water was declared state property, thus demolishing at a stroke traditional rights based on communal management. However, under IWRM, this dormant system only applied to few large water users was revived and extended to the entire nation. This resulted in tension and anxiety; even though water became state property only in name. Second, in many countries, use rights to water had to be acquired afresh by applying for a permit; in all countries, small users such as households drawing water for domestic needs were explicitly excluded from the permit requirement, but registration and payment requirements for any further small-scale productive uses are either explicitly stipulated or remain defined vaguely. Third, commonly, separate laws were passed that distinguished between water services management and water resources management, the former viewed as a commercial function, and the latter as a public service function. Fourth, the law in many countries provided for a price levied on water diversion or provision. Fifth, almost everywhere, new legal framework necessitated-and was followed-by a revamp of existing structure of public institutions or their replacement by a new class of institutions. Sixth, river basin was commonly adopted as a unit of water resources management; and new institutions were created at basin, sub-basin level rather than to fit administrative territories. Together, these interventions are much of what we understand by IWRM in today's language. Did these interventions produce better management of Africa's water economies?The overall sense emerging from the workshop seemed to suggest that nowhere-except in South Africa-did the new clutch of interventions produce significant improvements in the management of water resources or services. Ghana's reforms-which were taken as a model by several countries--seemed by far the most thoughtful and sensitive, focused as they were on blending modern water institutions with traditional systems of rural resources management; yet, one senior commentator dubbed Ghana's water law a 'heroic failure'; and somebody from Ghana confirmed that his country is already taking its water reforms back to the drawing board. In Zimbabwe, the question was how many rural people know about the new water law which has focused on big water and ignored small water. It ignored how most people actually irrigate, which is by hand. Another researcher from Zimbabwe, commenting on reform of water rights, asked: 'Does the right refer to 'raw' water or treated water? If the former, it is non-operational since anyone can take a bucket and lift water from any water body.' Many commentators also felt that new laws in most African countries were drafted for closed or nearly-closed basins where the key threat was of over-development of water resources. But in Ethiopia, of the total resource of over 120 km 3 , just around 2 km 3 is presently diverted. This is the situation in most African countries where key challenge is developing water resources to improve livelihoods. It will take a lot of agricultural intensification and economic growth before physical scarcity of water or pollution of water bodies become critical issues in many parts of Africa. One researcher likened water reforms in Africa to selling maternity apron to a woman who had not even become pregnant! While reforms failed to usher in IWRM, they threatened to unsettle Africa's rich customary laws and traditions and created new anxieties. In Tanzania, a major worry expressed was about the observed impacts of individualization of water rights that was replacing the age old CPR regime on water and other natural resources. It was observed that the 'permit system' to create new water rights had triggered a permit seeking spree to shut out the others with the argument 'I paid for the water, so I can use as I need'. A related apprehension was also that the bulk of the country's population residing in far flung rural settlements is unlikely to pursue the transaction costly process of permit acquisition; and this may result in the criminalization in law of all traditional uses of water.The clash with customary laws in many places created serious threat of disenfranchising the poor. In Kenya, where the new State-centred water law vests the control of water and right to use water in the minister, almost everyone needs to acquire a permit which, like Mexico's water concessions, defines the scope and extent of water right of each holder. Securing a permit for agricultural water use requires title over a piece of land because it must specify where water would be used. Many of Kenya's poor may have held land in native reserves for generations under customary law but this may be of no avail unless they have formal titles. Three types of land titles exist: government, Trust land (native reserves under colonial rule not vested to trusts) and private land mostly owned by commercial farmers. Areas dominated by Trust lands are deprived of water permits because these farmers do not have land titles. And even farmers who own private lands do not get land titles inherited under customary practices. The regime of documented land titles has not been possible to set up in Kenya; and this may create serious distortions in the way the new water law actually plays out.2.3 million rural Kenyans are supplied water by voluntary, community based informal self-help groups (SHGs). Under the new law, the Minister created a Water Services Regulation Board (statutory) which in turn created 6 Water Services Boards. These in turn appointed professional water service providers, mostly private businessmen, to provide water services on a cost recovery basis. Most SHGs failed to qualify and are to be replaced by professional service providers. In order to qualify, the SHGs will have to formalize, professionalize and operate on a cost recovery basis and invest in O & M besides absorbing the transaction costs of registration as a co-op or an NGO, and of acquiring land titles. Some of the strong SHGs will take this route; but the poorest SHGs will be least able to make this transition. And all that succeed will lose their voluntary, communitarian character.All in all, Africa's water reforms seem to have done little to usher in effective IWRM in most countries that tried them. In particular, four problems were identified in a recurrent fashion: [a] the aims that the water reforms seemed designed to achieve did not reflect the water sector priorities of the countries and a majority of their citizens; [b] the reforms touched only a small segment of the water economy and a tiny proportion of water use and users; as a result, their impacts on the water sector were neither deep not broad; [c] they posed serious threats to customary laws and institutions evolved and used by communities; these are never ideal, but they are time-tested, robust and perform their basic functions well; and [d] they also created serious distortions, threatened disenfranchisement of larger numbers of poor, and created new vested interests; these potentially deleterious impacts were limited only by the fact that almost everywhere reforms failed to stick, laws remained largely unenforced, water prices remained uncollected.What, then, went wrong with Africa's water reforms? Several things, it seems. Many countries just copied laws made elsewhere, just as several states in India have blindly copied Andhra Pradesh's law on participatory irrigation management, and Pakistan Punjab has copied the water law of the state of Colorado. In Africa too, parts of the South African Water Act have been copied elsewhere. Without consultation, public participation, and a serious attempt to fit reforms to the context, the impact of these reforms was bound to be negative if at all. And now, Ghana is having second thoughts on its reform strategy and wants to go back to the drawing board.Another major influence seems to have been of international agencies and global thinking. Tanzania is a case in point; its national strategy has oscillated between improvising and building upon its traditional institutions to total transformation. Based on a study by McKincy, Tanzania spent 1961-1970 trying to improve its rural economy by building upon its customary institutions. In 1970/2, with the launch of Ujamaa program, total transformation of the rural sector became the rage; traditional institutions were at a discount. The state recognized rural people's fundamental right to safe water without charge. Donor funding was mobilized to do that. In 1986, Ujamaa failed, and incremental building upon the bedrock of the traditional institutions came back to fashion. More recently in 1990s, there was a swing again; liberalization and globalization induced new thinking: 'Customary water law is no good in a globalizing world; and what seemed needed was codified law to do business with multinationals.' Tanzania's new National Water Policy financed by the World Bank once again seeded the idea of new water law.Tanzania's 1991 water policy identified water development and provision as a key goal and argued for more water storage creation. However, creating new storage and infrastructure was anathema to international donors; so Tanzania ended up doing what donors would support: IWRM, which included legal institutional reform, river basin organizations, WUAs, but no attempt to get what its people need most, better and more infrastructure. One researcher commented that Tanzanians all along had plans to build dams but were secretive about it for the fear of donor reprimand.South Africa has emerged, during the past decade, as a model, exemplifying best practices for IWRM type water sector reforms in an emerging economy context. South Africa is interesting because of its first-world-third-world duality. In terms of income inequality, South Africa is next only to Brazil. 54 percent of South Africa's water use is in agriculture; and 95 percent of its agricultural water is used by a small minority of white commercial farmers. In general, 90% of its water use is in the formal sector; but 90 percent of its water users are in the informal sector. South Africa's path-breaking water law (chapter 4 of the Act: section 21) specifies following uses and brings them within its IWRM mandate, among others: Ultimately, all those using water for the above purposes have to obtain a permit, pay water tariff as well as water resource fee. South Africa has all of 62,000 authorized, billable water users (or registered primary diverters) that account for 11 billion m 3 of water allocation for (mostly commercial) agriculture, 5 billion m 3 for industry and municipal; 9 billion m 3 for forestry. Government of South Africa generates around 2 billion rand/year as income from water tariffs. Managing these users has presented unique challenges: it is difficult to ascertain actual volumes used; some users did not register and some registered use could be unlawful under existing water law. This has impact on tariff determination and collection. There are serious problems of tackling unlawful water users. Many commercial farmers have extended their irrigated areas unlawfully. When confronted, they argue they are using their water allocation more efficiently. A critical issue for officials is whether to rely on voluntary compliance or evolve a system of policing.Interestingly, however, the South African IWRM leaves 95% of its people out of its ambit. All of 2.3 billion m 3 -about 10 percent-of total water use is allocated to the so called schedule-1 users, mostly rural black South Africans, who include some 18 million primary diverters of water for domestic use, gardening, and irrigation. Schedule-1 water use is neither subject to permits nor billable. But any water use 'for commercial purposes', which is not defined, is. If anything, everyone agrees, the crying need is to increase the access to and productive use of water by these users; yet the entire rubric of IWRM interventions is finding it hard to meet this need.Not that South Africans are not trying. An excellent case study on rural South Africa-18 million people ruled by 800 chiefs and 13000 village headmen, complete with their customary law and traditional institutions-found their water economies predominantly informal; water law does not reach here; self or community provision galore. Under the National Water Policy of 1997 and Water Act of 1998, entire South Africa was to be covered by 19 Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs); but this has proved difficult. Only 1 has been formed so far. It is easy to create paper organizations but far more difficult to build representative institutions, especially of large numbers of rural poor. Formation of Catchment Management Agencies, revitalizing and turning over of smallholder irrigation systems to Water User Associations,-all central to improving the lives of the vast majority of South Africans-remain major challenges that the country's water reforms are yet to begin to meet. IWRM is working in European South Africa, but the African South Africa has to begin at the beginning. This should not surprise anybody because bringing South Africa's informal water economy within the ambit of the reform was always going to be difficult and time-consuming. These are also the challenges facing India, Bangladesh, Nepal and numerous poor countries. reforms prove difficult to implement and produce uncertain outcomes in highly informal segments of national water economies where:[a] most of the country's households are primary water diverters; [b] most self-supply their water requirements directly from source; and [c] capital accumulation in water infrastructure is very low. There was little discussion also of the distinct possibility that whether water economies are formal or informal has little to do with their water endowments or their water management institutions but it has, in general, a great deal to do with their level of economic development.The IWRM paradigm neither responds to the priorities of the poor in poor countries, nor does it resonate with their ground conditions which make implementing water pricing, reform of property rights, allocating water at basin level work. The key factor often ignored is the numbers of primary diverters of water from nature. As figure 1 shows, in rich countries, these are often just a very small number of body corporates-water companies, utilities, municipalities, co-operatives--who serve the water needs of all users that are no longer primary diverters. In low-income countries with high level of income inequality such as Brazil and South Africa, IWRM works well in the rich, modern, formal segment of the water economy but can actually leave the poor worse off by destroying their traditional institutional arrangements while replacing them by poorly functioning modern ones. In any case, IWRM deflects attention of policy makers in these countries from what ought to be their their key priority-which is to deliver improved and better managed water infrastructure and services."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"4720cb16e6a90e765591879b38534ec3","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/d512c785-e8ba-46cf-a234-83c680ec15ef/retrieve","id":"-283372302"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"6c5e506b-d367-40ab-a8e1-1fe71c31a3a1","content":"ATTRIBUTION. The work must be attributed, but not in any way that suggests endorsement by ILRI or the author(s).For any reuse or distribution, the license terms of this work must be made clear to others. Any of the above conditions can be waived if permission is obtained from the copyright holder.Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author's moral rights. Fair dealing and other rights are in no way affected by the above. The parts used must not misrepresent the meaning of the publication. ILRI would appreciate being sent a copy of any materials in which text, photos etc. have been used.Written by ILRI Citation ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute). 2020. Five keys to retailers for safer pork in traditional markets in Cambodia. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.Cambodia has a rich tradition of tasty and nutritious foods. Animal source foods (ASF) are an important part of the cuisine with pork, fish, and poultry products widely consumed. In recent years, development in Cambodia is accompanied by urbanization, rapid increases in demand for livestock products and, consequently, rapid changes in supply chains, which become longer, more complex, and less transparent.With the overall aim of reducing the burden of foodborne diseases in informal, emerging formal, and niche markets and targeting small and medium scale producers, we propose two major research areas to tackle the above-mentioned issues: i) to generate evidence on the health and economic burden of foodborne diseases (FBD) in ASF value chains important to the poor and women, and ii) to pilot a market-based approach to improving food safety that builds on successfully implemented projects in Africa and India. Our focus is market-based, light-touch interventions that are sustainable and scalable, changing practice through capacity building and incentives, and provision of an enabling policy environment. Safe Food, Fair Food for Cambodia (SFFF Cambodia) project is a three-year (September 2017-July 2020) sub-award under the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems. The sub-award project is led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in partnership with the National Animal Health and Production Research Institute (NAPPRI), the Livestock Development for Community Livelihood (LDC), and Emory University, USA.A recent market assessment by SFFF Cambodia project conducted from October 2018 to August 2019 in 25 provinces of Cambodia shows a high level of biological contamination on pork with Salmonella (43%) and Staphylococcus aureus (31%). Cross contamination in traditional markets is one of the leading causes to unsafe pork. Our research also unveils that poor hygiene practices are key contributors to cross contamination. Thus, the safety of pork can be improved by retailers following several simple and low-cost hygiene practices.The purpose of this handbook is to support national food safety authorities and food chain stakeholders in promoting good practices among retailers at traditional markets of Cambodia. The target audience are national food safety authorities, managers, policy-makers and retailers.There are five good practices designed for pork retailers mentioned in this handbook. Each key message is accompanied with detailed explanation and real-life pictures for 'how-to-do' illustration.We use green bars for pictures of recommended practices, and orange bars for pictures of un-recommended ones.This handbook is originally used as training materials for a training of trainers (ToT) course of SFFF Cambodia that is organized February 2020 in Phnom Penh. Later on, it can be used as a guideline for rolling out training if any.VI GLOSSARY Contamination: Introduction or presence of a contaminant (foreign body that can jeopardize safety or sanitary quality) in a food environment Disinfection: Disinfection is a process that is designed to kill actively growing and vegetative microbial microorganisms to a certain level in an environment to a level not compromising food safety.Foodborne disease: A disease transmitted through ingested food and may be caused by microbial pathogens, parasites, chemical contaminants and biotoxins.Food hygiene: Aggregation of conditions and measures needed to ensure the safety and sanitary quality of products at all stages of the food chain and therefore the protection of the health of the consumers Food safety: Reasonable certainty that no harm will result from intended uses under the anticipated conditions of consumption (OECD 1993).Hazard: A biological, chemical or physical agent in food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect. Bacteria, virus, parasite are microbial hazards in food.The likelihood of occurrence of harm resulting from a given exposure to a hazard.VIII KEY 1:➔ Retailers should separate raw pork, intestines, and cooked food. ➔ Retailers should use trays to separate different types of meats.Use stainless steel or plastic tray for separation.Re-arranging the shop selling place separating intestines and pork.  • Regular cleaning of cutting boards, knifes and hands reduces crosscontamination of meat with Salmonella.Regular cleaning with water and detergent/soap will reduce reliable germs.Scratching of cutting board with knife will not reduce bacteria, in contrast, dust from cutting board maybe carried bacteria to steak to pork.Dirty equipment, working clothes and hands harbor bacteria and lead to cross contamination of meat. Dirty retail look also unattractive for customers.  Retailers enabled to signal their good practice to consumers through banners, posters, apron or awards.Put branding of the shop and practice good hygiene "}

main/part_2/0268776835.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"d31fa72bf05e49ca338393434ae19450","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/5930bb80-90c1-4f09-a038-3c146a4ce3d6/retrieve","id":"2047590103"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"b8ddde2b-aca9-4a1f-89ed-7fb3832f9da4","content":"Obtaining high-quality total genomic DNA of microbial community is the basis and difficulty in the study of metagenomics of complex microbial communities. The plant leaf surface is a complex ecosystem with abundant microbial diversity，and the microbial community mediates leaf functional traits and affects plant adaptability. An in-depth understanding of the basic structure and functional principle of the microbial community on leaf surface will contribute to the applications of promoting plant growth and plant protection. Due to the harsh living environment of leaf surface，it is difficult to enrich microorganisms on leaf surface，which severely limits the extraction of high-quality genomic DNA of microorganisms on leaf surface. Based on the existing DNA extraction method，the surfactant Silwet L-77 was added for pretreatment， and the eluent was recycled，which increased the enrichment of microorganisms on leaf surface. The genomic DNA with high purity and concentration was extracted in combination with commercial kit methods. After quality control and library building sequencing as verification， DNA quality met the requirements for metagenomic library construction. This method may improve the enrichment and collection efficiency of microorganisms on leaf surface，increase the success rate of DNA extraction of microorganisms on leaf surface，and provide a reference for applying high-throughput sequencing technology to study the composition of microorganisms on surface and molecular biology research of plants."}

main/part_2/0280447412.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"67e17ad6c41f15e0f0abd4c1b19b748b","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/231f1428-19e3-4e2e-b861-eb5e11dccde0/retrieve","id":"-1377300885"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"52725730-75d8-4987-98c6-23c13346a1d8","content":"G overnments around the world increasingly seek to manage their forests with the collaboration of the people living nearby. Ministries of forestry or their equivalents usually do this by offering local people access to selected forest products or forest land, income from forest resources, or opportunities for communicating with government forestry officials. In return, the agency obliges local people to cooperate in managing the forests around them by protecting existing forest or by planting trees. Governments claim that the programs devolve control over forests to local people and provide more secure livelihoods, as well as help maintain and regenerate forests. By sharing rights among local groups and the state, the programs also help to reconcile the resource claims of local people with those of the national government. Everybody supposedly wins.Millions of the rural poor now participate in collaborative forest management schemes under a variety of tenurial and organizational arrangements.We examine those arrangements and ask whether local people have indeed gained more access to benefits from and control over forests. Our findings suggest that most co-management projects actually maintain and even extend central government control.Where communities had already managed forests in Orissa and Uttarakhand in India, the government required that they share their incomes with the state forest department. Governments in many countries typically predetermine which species can be planted in reforestation or agroforestry schemes and what types of organizations can be given rights to manage forests.Whereas local people have gained greater legal access to forests and some might have increased their incomes, many have also lost out. For example, game areas and plantations have been frequently established on land used by poorer members of communities for grazing or cultivation. Local people have also not shown a consistent interest in forest management.Collaborative management or \"co-management\" forest programs have had a huge impact. In India, more than 63,000 groups have enrolled in joint forest management programs to regenerate 14 million hectares. In Nepal, 9,000 forest user groups are trying to regenerate 700,000 hectares of forest. In Brazil, farmers help to manage 2.2 million hectares as extractive reserves. Half the districts in Zimbabwe participate in CAMPFIRE schemes, in which local communities can share revenues gained from tourist use of wildlife areas.These programs have generally helped to protect forests and improve access rights of the rural poor to forest resources but have often fallen short of their potential to significantly improve the livelihoods of the poor.Collective action has been a key feature of organizational The organizational arrangements for co-management strongly influence how much government agencies can control forest management and outcomes for local people. Forestry agencies exert more control over decisions about species selection, harvesting practices, sales, consumption, and the distribution of benefits where they have devolved management to local governments or larger-scale organizations. In such cases, the agency's interests in timber production, revenue generation, and environmental conservation have often overridden villagers' interests in livelihoods.Forestry agencies exercise control over individuals and village groups as well by making local organizations accountable to the agencies rather than to local stakeholders.The agencies use standardized contractual agreements and regulations that limit local people's self-determination. Local people who organize collectively are better able to mobilize resources and negotiate for desired benefits.They are able to exert more influence when they have the direct support of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), donors, federations, and other external actors. Collective action, both within communities and together with outside groups, thus helps local people become more influential stakeholders in co-management arrangements. Where local groups have managed their own forests without state intervention, however, they have not necessarily been better off.Without government support, they often have had difficulty implementing or enforcing their decisions.Collaborative management has improved formal access to forests for rural people. Harvesting forest resources helps them meet subsistence needs and offers a safety net in times of shortage.Yet local people's rights to valuable commercial products such as timber or game remain restricted.WhereEva Wollenberg (l.wollenberg@cgiar.org) is a scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Bogor, Indonesia; Bruce Campbell (b.campbell@cgiar.org) is the director of the Livelihoods Programme at CIFOR; Sheona Shackleton (shackleton@.ru.ac.za) is a research associate at Rhodes University in Grahamstown South Africa; David Edmunds (edmundsdavid@lycos.com) is a lecturer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a research associate at CIFOR; Patricia Shanley (p.shanley@cgiar.org) is a scientist at CIFOR. forests yield financial benefits, governments often fail to deliver local people's promised share of incomes or deliver them primarily to local elites. For the poor to benefit substantially from forest access, they need more secure property rights over valuable resources. Only rarely have poor communities received substantial financial benefits, such as in Botswana where 45 families shared about US$125,000 annually from the Chobe Trust.Focusing too narrowly on organizing collective action around managing a single resource such as a forest may divert potentially productive efforts. Converting forests to agriculture or other uses or initiating land reform may bring local people greater economic benefits in many areas. Forest co-management programs are not sufficient to address poverty.Co-management has revealed the difficulty of dividing roles, rights, and responsibilities, especially where the groups involved have highly divergent interests. Forest agencies have had varying experiences in organizing collective action. Romantic ideals about harmonious communities and the local knowledge and capacities of \"traditional peoples\" have been counterbalanced by internal conflict and lack of leadership in many communities and the difficulty of organizing collective action where local social capital is weak. Increasing competition and fragmentation of forests have led to more de facto privatization of land, making it difficult for communities to organize together around a common resource. Many co-management efforts rely on outside agents to facilitate collective action, but sustaining that action has proved difficult. Other stakeholders, such as local governments or NGOs, often create their own sets of incentives or pressures for local people that work against co-management initiatives.Forest co-management has created a useful institutional entry point. It now seems time to build more actively on the lessons learned. State officials and local people have had different expectations about the process and goals of comanagement. Forest departments have controlled the terms of co-management and been reluctant to share their benefits. People in forest areas now must achieve the rights and power to bring about a fair division of control, responsibility, and benefits between themselves and the government.Checks and balances need to be in place to ensure that local elites or other groups do not monopolize benefits and decisionmaking.The process should acknowledge the multiple interests among different groups and give special attention to the livelihood needs of the poor. Initiatives need to build better on existing management practices and enhance local livelihood options.The current bureaucratic approaches to co-management do not address the complexity of these different needs. Frameworks for natural resource management that are developed locally by stakeholders and then linked to national objectives are more flexible and responsive to local interests. In the past it has been difficult for large centralized forest agencies to accommodate local interests, and local groups have had little voice in agency decisionmaking.This is changing as governments decentralize and as the role of NGOs increases. Choosing the right facilitators and settings for these negotiations is critical for ensuring that the interests of the poor are met. Experience suggests that local responsiveness will be higher when institutional arrangements facilitate good communication and learning among stakeholders.The learning process should include both local interest groups and national policymakers to reflect different interests.Where forestry incomes are limited and less attractive than incomes from other sustainable land uses and other activities, the rural poor should be encouraged to pursue economic options other than forestry to better meet their needs.Triggered by past experiences and by the increasing complexity of demands from different interest groups, the comanagement paradigm is shifting. Management increasingly involves not just a local group and the government, but a range of stakeholders, and acknowledges overlapping systems of management and diverse interests.The actors involved have recognized that more emphasis is needed on the institutional and political aspects of management design.Thus forest management efforts are focusing on negotiation and on frameworks that emphasize local people's right to self-determination and allow for effective representation of rural poor people in negotiations.The rural poor and their federations and advocates are bringing a new sophistication to negotiations and demanding that their voices be heard. s"}

main/part_2/0283337782.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"5bbe2047d21d6828a39cc66d851a491b","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/12db4ce3-cbe6-485b-b12b-6ac2e458929f/retrieve","id":"-115075473"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"447332ec-b6d6-4f36-83d3-e5695929d62a","content":"The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is a joint international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU). Its mission is to advance food and nutritional security, increase prosperity and encourage sound natural resource management in ACP countries. It provides access to information and knowledge, facilitates policy dialogue and strengthens the capacity of agricultural and rural development institutions and communities.CTA operates under the framework of the Cotonou Agreement and is funded by the EU.The Centre would also like to thank Ms Evelien Kamminga and Ms Susan Vedsted for the two studies that contributed to the development of this strategy and SNV and FARA for reviewing the strategy.Last but not least CTA would like to thank Tarikua Woldetsadick for coordinating the consultative process which led to the development of this strategy and CTA staff for their keen participation throughout the entire process.Every year since its establishment in 1983, CTA has implemented women specific development activities. In 2003, CTA adopted its first gender strategy, which also provided the Centre's first \"formal\" gender approach to agriculture and rural development. Since 2003, however, CTA has implemented three consecutive centre-wide Strategic Plans and has made various internal adjustments. Moreover, the external environment in the field that CTA operates in continues to change and grow at a fast rate. This strategy is a roadmap towards making CTA's operational theory of change and programmes as well as internal corporate structure and organization gender sensitive. It will also help facilitate gender mainstreaming in all aspects of CTA and its work. The practical steps in which the identified key objectives and progress markers can be achieved will be the treated in a separate \"tool kit\"/implementation guideline.CTA's mission is to advance food security, increase prosperity and support sound natural resource management through information, communication and knowledge management, facilitation, capacity-building and empowerment of agricultural and rural development organisations and networks in ACP countries. CTA recognises that gender is not synonymous with women. The need for a specific focus on women in this gender strategy arises primarily from the realization that CTA cannot fulfil its mandate without investing in women and girls.At the institutional level, gender mainstreaming happens best and most easily when it is a part of an institutional strategy and when every project officer, not just the \"institutional gender person\" is responsible for gender, thereby anticipating gender impact in terms of strategy, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. This strategy paper sets out to define the ways in which gender can become an integral part of the operational activities and institutional principles at CTA.Women, on average, comprise 43% of the agricultural labour force in developing countries and account for an estimated two-thirds of the world's 600 million poor livestock keepers (poverty: living below USD 2/per day). Seventy percent of the ACP population is rural. Of women in least developed countries who report being economically active, 79% indicate agriculture as their primary source of livelihood (48% of economically active women worldwide). Women constitute a little over half of the ACP rural population. Yet less than 20% of Sub-Saharan African and Caribbean women have land rights and less than 5% of Pacific women have right to property. Moreover, where women hold land, their plots are generally smaller, of an inferior quality and with less secure rights than those held by men. The vast majority of studies have found that differences in yields between men and women exist not because women are less skilled but because they have less access to inputs. Women also constitute close to 80% of the labour force in ACP agriculture. For example, 75% of total crop production in Sub-Saharan Africa comes from smallholder farms. Of these farms 75% are weeded by hand constituting 50 to 70% of time spent on farm labour. 90% of this hand weeding is done by women. Women tend to be employed for labourintensive tasks, generally earn lower wages than men and are more likely to be paid at piece rate, ie i.e. paid per task they perform, regardless of the time taken. For example, in the casual agricultural labour market in Africa, women's casual wages (whether in cash or in kind) are usually half of men's wages.  Women are already engaged in and play a key role in agriculture-as labourers, as scientists and innovators, as entrepreneurs and in many other ways. The problem is not their engagement in agriculture but their influence on it. So in order to increase their influence and their access to benefits thereof, CTA is committed to empowering women with the information, knowledge, skills and technologies they need to make their voices heard.The change catalyzing factor in the engendered CTA ToC is female empowerment. This stems from the conviction that the empowerment of women is essential and in effect indispensable to meeting each of CTA's three strategic goals. In other words, \"engagement\" includes, and cannot do without, the engagement of women.This strategy is based on the assumption that it is by assessing the implications for women and men of all planned action, including legislation, policies or programs, in all areas and at all levels of CTA's Theory of Change (ToC) that the expected changes and goals will be achieved.By integrating gender issues in its overall ToC, CTA seeks to reinforce its monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system/practice through gender analysis as a way to reach gender changes.A \"Gendered\" Theory of Change gender outcomes of various value chain approaches this action area is about the development outcomes of various gender approaches to value chains work. This is also the action area which will make the link between CTA's work on ARD policy in ACP countries as well as knowledge management and ICTs. It therefore deals with strengthening the body of evidence relating to each \"upgrading approach\" as it pertains to female empowerment and the role of ICTs and other technologies in this process.With regard to ARD policy in ACP countries, CTA's interventions focus on the processes (as opposed to the policies themselves) and strengthening the engagement of all relevant actors in these processes and their capacity to monitor and, advocate for the implementation of the policies.In particular, CTA seeks to increase the range of multi-stakeholder groups that are actively participating in ARD policy processes to enhance access to information, awareness, knowledge and skills on policy issues on climate change, food and nutrition security and regional trade. It also seeks to build the capacity of policy actors, analysts and networks to provide evidence and influence ARD policy processes and building of consensus on major ARD issues.The focus areas of CTA's work on policies are climate-smart agriculture, food and nutrition security and supporting policies for improved inter and intra regional agricultural trade.Accordingly, this action area proposes to consolidate the evidence generated through CTA's work on ICTs and ICKM (including science and technology) and value chains described in sections above and use it in its policy work. CTA will support ACP ARD policy processes by generating and building the evidence relating to the benefits of ICTs and knowledge management in facilitating female empowerment and the ensuing impact on national and regional ARD.This is principally about supporting action area 1 by creating the necessary conditions. It also brings continuity to CTA's ongoing work on policy and policy processes. In this regard, the work that CTA is already undertaking to support women and women's organisations to participate in policy processes should continue. In particular, the CAADP framework has been criticized for only \"symbolically taking gender issues into consideration\" and for the fact that the invitation extended to non-state actors to close this gap \"has not noticeably changed outcomes\".Both regional and continental policy processes therefore need to be supported with gender analysis and increased women and women's organisations engagement in this process.A knowledge management programme would neither be comprehensive nor complete without a gender perspective. In addition, ICTs are changing the way we work, interact, think and organise our lives regardless of where we live and what business we are in. The digital revolution is radically shifting how we create, manage, share and publish information, as well as how we relate, collaborate, communicate and share resources. These changes do not only offer incredible opportunities for the development sector in general but also for the agricultural sector and in particular for the ARD knowledge field.This action area is about giving special focus to women, women's organisations and organisations representing women's interests or those with direct access to women beneficiaries for ICKM capacity building interventions. It is also about ensuring that women and women's organisations are represented and contribute to the knowledge sharing platforms it supports.Action area 2: Getting knowledge to those who need it CTA already carries out activities providing access to ACP and ACP relevant content and at publishing appropriate and relevant content on ACP agricultural policies and value chains. Such information and knowledge will take women's needs into consideration through systematic gender analysis of its content. Content and publications will be gender sensitive; relevant to women and deal with gender aspects of the topic/ thematic area treated. The Centre also commits to ensure that most of its publications also provide a focus on women and gender issues. The Centre commits to ensuring that these tools and approaches are relevant to women and are accessible to them. This will include understanding why these tools may not be gender neutral and adapting them to context and need accordingly.Inclusive value chains also mean value chains where women play equal roles to men and which benefit women. Currently, women supply 30 to 80% of the labour in all agricultural activities depending on the activity and sector. However, women are more likely to hold low-wage, parttime, seasonal employment and tend to be paid less, even when having higher qualifications. The importance of value chains in economically empowering women and the positive impact this will in turn have on the agriculture and rural development of ACP regions is not in doubt.Action Area 1: Highlighting \"gender\" as an element of \"inclusiveness\" of VC In view of the issues that CTA tries to address with its value chains work and the type of interventions thereof, the first action area where it can take the lead in terms of integrating gender issues in its VC work is to seek increased awareness (and monitoring) of the way various VC approaches and interventions may have different impacts on men and women. In particular, to increase awareness on whether value chains development in ACP countries is \"profitable and inclusive\" for women.Action Area 2: Demonstrating the benefits of \"upgrading\" women in VC This action area is related to the action area 1. But while action area 1 is about theCTA commits first of all to effectively communicate the strategy within CTA and with partners. All the action areas proposed in this area require team effort and cross-programmatic collaboration between CTA's programmes and linking between various strategies, in particular the Partnership Strategy and the Youth Strategy 2013-2018. It is also important to put in place strong institutional mechanisms and arrangements. Consensus and common understanding will be built within CTA on the concepts, ToC and action areas proposed in the strategy. Strong monitoring and evaluation systems are crucial to the success of this strategy.The importance of partnerships to CTA's success in achieving its mission cannot be overstated. Similarly, in order to ensure the implementation of this strategy and in alignment with CTA's Partnership Strategy 2014-2016. It will: -Forge partnerships with organisations with shared vision and mission with regards to gender -Make gender mainstreaming a factor of assessment of organisations' capacity both to enter into partnerships as well as to evaluate partnerships. Commit to seek the involvement of multiple stakeholders ranging from civil society organisations to continental and global organisations in order to realize the objectives of the strategy. "}

main/part_2/0302173664.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"763ba5b3e110b81f6a5a979f97db1b3c","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/9510b969-50c8-44f0-89c0-923e87889b4a/retrieve","id":"-893192258"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"251bcf26-d16d-4a84-b3e4-186d407fe47a","content":"Project Title: P1461 -MasAgro Maiz Description of the innovation: 2019: 61 hybrids were selected for their competitive yield and favorable agronomic characteristics compared to commercial testers (trials established in localities of Mexico of two to eleven). The following objective is to validate their yield and agronomic characteristics through their evaluation in a greater number of localities (25 to 45 localities) to release the best ones to Mexican seed companies. "}

main/part_2/0304397438.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"ca110cdecead24e18521fbd73be16112","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/bdaee60b-9ad0-4c74-a17a-c97689cb8b60/retrieve","id":"1871417151"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"ddf29894-72b9-4814-a8ed-6fa8d23d6214","content":"to solidify plans for regional projects to be conducted in 2015 and 2016."}

main/part_2/0308220979.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"c9f88dce5d260a934a5b16e549afdcc4","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/a10d03be-07e0-46f0-b9ff-5b2475102e88/retrieve","id":"1132366739"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"989b4f8a-265b-4e74-bcff-c69c2cd9777e","content":"Potato (Solanum spp.) is the third most important food crop in the world after rice and wheat in terms of total production tonnages used for food (http://faostat3.fao.org/home/E). It was first domesticated in the Andes of South America. The high diversity of potato cultivars, which has been a traditional stable food for centuries, continues to play an important part of life and culture for the Andean people, especially among the rural poor (Devaux et al. 2014). While economic growth has been steady in the Andean countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, it has not been sufficient to accelerate reduction of hunger and chronic malnutrition. Very high rates of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies are still found in rural communities; up to 60% of preschool children (http://www.unicef.org/). The multi--partner R&D project \"IssAndes\" funded by the EU and coordinated by the International Potato Center (CIP) contributed to strengthen pro--poor agricultural innovation for food security in the Andean region from 2011 to 2014, and worked toward fostering nutrition--sensitive agriculture with diverse intervention approaches. Below we describe an \"IssAndes\" study that aimed to evaluate the potential role of an Fe and Zn fertilization approach, i.e., agronomic biofortification Cakmak (2008) in increasing the Fe and Zn concentration in Andean potato tubers through a series of coordinated experiments in Bolivia and Ecuador.In 2012 two greenhouse experiments were implemented at the National Agricultural Research Institute of Ecuador (INIAP); i) one with Fe fertilizer and ii) one with Zn fertilizer applied to soil and foliage of potato cultivar INIAP--Natividad (high yielding tetraploid; Solanum andigena × (S. phureja × S. pausissectum)).In 2012--2013, three field experiments were carried out in Ecuador; at INIAP and CIP, both sites near Quito, and at the Polytechnic University of Chimborazo (ESPOCH). Two factors were studied at the three sites (i) cultivar (INIAP--Natividad, tetraploid; INIAP--Puca Shungo, triploid; Chaucha Amarilla and Chaucha Roja both diploid; and Coneja Negra, tetraploid), and (ii) fertilizer treatment. The three experiments included the following five fertilizer treatments: F1= 40 kg Fe ha --1 + 20 kg Zn ha --1 applied to soil at planting; F2 = 40 kg Fe ha --1 applied to soil at planting; F3 = 20 kg Zn ha --1 applied to soil at planting; F4 = 200 mg L --1 Zn applied to foliage as foliar sprays 5 times at weekly intervals, F5 = 375 mg L --1 Fe applied to foliage as foliar sprays 5 times at weekly intervals.In 2012--2013, experiments were also carried out in farmer's fields in Bolivia at three sites; one in the Department of Cochabamba and two in the Department of La Paz. The experiments included two cultivars (Waych'a, tetraploid and Pinta Boca, diploid) and 16 soil applied fertilizer treatments (combinations of 0, 10, 20, 40 kg Fe ha --1 and 0, 5, 10 y 15 kg Zn ha --1 applied to soil before planting).In 2014, field experiments were carried out with cv. INIAP--Natividad at two locations in farmers' fields in the province of Chimborazo, Ecuador. One experiment with foliar applications included the following five levels of Zn: 0, 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 kg ha --1 applied in 5 weekly foliar sprays. Another experiment with soil applications included the following five levels of Zn: 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 kg ha --1 applied at planting.The greenhouse experiments showed a significant effect of Zn applied via foliar applications on Zn concentration in tubers (Fisher's LSD 5%). There was no effect of soil applied Zn fertilizer, which may have been because of the low application rates (<160 mg kg --1 in soil). Foliar and soil applied Fe did not affect the Fe concentration in tubers.In the first field experiments in Ecuador, highly significant differences in Zn and Fe concentrations in tubers were detected among locations and potato cultivars (P<0.0001) ranging from 1.9 to 20.8 mg kg --1 dry weight average Zn and from 17.2 to 75.5 mg kg --1 dry weight average Fe in peeled tubers, and an effect of the fertilizer treatments was detected on the tuber mineral concentrations (P<0.003 for Zn; P<0.048 for Fe). Treatments with Zn increased Zn concentration in tubers significantly compared to treatments without Zn (Tukey 5%); up to 104% with soil applied Zn and up to 58% with foliar applied Zn.The results of the experiments in Bolivia were similar to the results from Ecuador; the ANOVAs showed a significant effect of Zn treatments on Zn in tubers, but no effect of fertilizer treatments on Fe in tubers or on tuber yield. The results showed highly significant effects of location and of cultivar, but no significant interaction effects.In the field experiments in Ecuador with increasing levels of Zn fertilizer in cv. INIAP--Natividad a highly significant effect of Zn fertilizer was found on Zn in tubers (P<0.01) and no symptoms were seen of Zn toxicity (Table 1). Table 1. Concentration of Zn (mg kg --1 dry weight) in peeled tubers of potato cv. INIAP--Natividad (tetraploid) at five levels of Zn fertilizer applied to foliage or to soil. This field research shows that application of Zn fertilizers or Zn--enriched NPK fertilizers offers a prompt solution to increasing the Zn concentration in Andean potato tubers, and represents a useful complementary approach to on--going breeding programs. The diploid Chaucha cultivars that showed high tuber Zn concentrations in the absence of Zn fertilization also showed correspondingly higher Zn concentration in tubers following foliar and soil applied Zn. High levels of Zn in potato tubers may significantly improve the diets of Zn--deficient populations with high intake of potato and contribute to better nutrition. REFERENCES Cakmak, I. (2008) Enrichment of cereal grains with zinc: agronomic or genetic biofortification? Plant Soil 302:1--17. Devaux, A., Kromann, P. and Ortiz, O. (2014) Potatoes for Sustainable Global Food Security. Potato Res. 57: 185--199."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"e8af362938d99cb40ddae9604193ead9","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/22f8e365-bdf7-4d08-948c-94e75727d486/retrieve","id":"521655263"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"ff866ec0-b151-4773-970b-06ba03e6ad11","content":"Agri-food systems are besieged by malnutrition, yield gaps, and climate vulnerability, but integrated, research-based responses in public policy, agricultural, value chains, and finance are constrained by short-termism and zero sum thinking. As they respond to current and emerging agri-food system challenges, decision makers need new tools that steer toward multi-sector, evidence-based collaboration. To support national agri-food system policy processes, the Integrated Agri-food System Initiative (IASI) methodology was developed and validated through case studies in Mexico and Colombia. This holistic, multi-sector methodology builds on diverse existing data resources and leverages situation analysis, modeled predictions, and scenarios to synchronize public and private action at the national level toward sustainable, equitable, and inclusive agri-food systems. Culminating in collectively agreed strategies and multi-partner tactical plans, the IASI methodology enabled a multi-level systems approach by mobilizing design thinking to foster mindset shifts and stakeholder consensus on sustainable and scalable innovations that respond to real-time dynamics in complex agri-food systems. To build capacity for these types of integrated, context-specific approaches, greater investment is needed in supportive international institutions that function as trusted in-region 'innovation brokers.' This paper calls for a structured global network to advance adaptation and evolution of essential tools like the IASI methodology in support of the One CGIAR mandate and in service of positive agri-food systems transformation.The world's agri-food systems are the sum of activities and relationships that determine how humanity's food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed, together with the human, biological, chemical, and physical systems that shape these activities at every stage [1,2]. They are deeply interconnected with global trade and financial networks and operate across political borders.Today, our agri-food systems are failing to deliver healthy diets to most of the world's population, even as food production methods-agriculture, foraging, and aquaculture-create widespread environmental harm from deforestation to resource over-exploitation to massive, planet-changing releases of activated nitrogen, phosphorus, greenhouse gases, and toxic chemicals. Globally, food production has increased with population growth, yet low-quality diets and food insufficiency leave billions of people suffering from malnutrition, undernutrition, and obesity [3]. Agricultural yield gaps (i.e., the difference between potential and actual crop and livestock productivity) remain pervasive [4,5]. The terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems that underpin food production have been heavily disrupted (e.g., carbon and nitrogen cycles; soil and water resources), contributing extensively to climate change [6][7][8]. Climate-related risks to agriculture (including synchronous crop failure across multiple regions) threaten all types of farmers as well as agri-businesses, financiers, insurers, consumers, and governments [9,10]. By any measure and at every scale, our agri-food systems are in urgent need of transformation to a condition where the food-related needs of every human are met completely and within planetary boundaries, consistent with a long term, livable future for all.Simultaneously addressing the intimidating set of agri-food system challenges will require coordinated implementation of many strategies including rapid, extensive roll out of existing and emerging technologies (e.g., crop and animal breeding; resource use efficiency), demand management (i.e., aligning food consumption with health and environmental sustainability), ambitious spatial planning and target-setting (i.e., without double-counting or excess optimism), regulatory reform, and substantial financial investment [11,12]. Farmer adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and technologies and risk mitigation in change management will require context-appropriate combinations of agronomic support, value chain enhancement, tailored incentives, and responsive policies [13][14][15][16].We have long understood that our complex and interconnected agri-food systems are fundamental to our collective aspirations for inclusive and equitable communities on a sustainable planet. Over the last seventy-five years, progress toward the post-war vision of a sustainable global agri-food system has been stymied when public and private sector decisions have been guided by short-term considerations and zero-sum thinking [17]. Economic policies, capital markets, commodity value chains, and even development programs rarely reflect an integrated systems approach [2].The insufficiency of our current approach has been laid bare by global recessions and the COVID-19 pandemic. Across governments, civil society, and the private sector, stakeholders are embracing the global urgency to sustainably increase food production [18], in parallel with economic development and while adapting to increasing pressure from climate change and reversing natural resource degradation. Several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address elements of sustainable agri-food systems [19]. However, the SDGs will not be achieved simply by promoting individual technologies, practices, or policies targeted to a single objective, nor can they be achieved primarily through digitization or financial inclusion [20]. Agri-food system solutions will require integrated systems approaches that go beyond introducing innovation through unilateral action and, to be inclusive, must embrace collaborative, research-based action by diverse stakeholders through a lens of system thinking [21][22][23]. To meet human needs under climate change and within resource limits, interventions will be needed across all components of food production and distribution value chains. Yet, many innovation and governance systems are weakly suited to handle current and emerging agrifood challenges [24,25]. Investment in supportive international institutions has not kept pace with the need for collaborative innovation focused simultaneously on productivity, health, and resilience [26][27][28]. The perennial impediment of weak local capacity for implementing context-specific solutions requires concerted effort to develop functional, inclusive civic and political institutions [29,30] and to improve scenario-based stakeholder planning [31].To operationalize an integrated systems approach, agri-food system decision makers need new tools that help them to develop collaborative, research-based solutions, while accounting for socio-economic and political realities, without getting lost in complexity [32]. As an example of one such tool, this paper describes the Integrated Agri-food Systems Initiative (IASI) methodology. Based on insights gathered through development and validation of the IASI methodology in Mexico and Colombia, the authors call for the establishment of a structured global network to support use and adaptation of decision support tools embedded in systems thinking and in service of agri-food systems transformation.The IASI methodology has conceptual origins in the global Knowledge Systems for Sustainability (KSS) research alliance that builds and tests knowledge systems to more sustainably manage complex risks related to food, energy, water, climate, and human security [33]. Methodologically, the IASI was inspired by the CSIRO-led Australian National Outlook (ANO). In 2015, the ANO presented an innovative analytical framework designed to allow stakeholders to explore plausible future scenarios, identify policy and investment strategies, and agree on near-term actions [34]. Focused on Australia's physical economy (i.e., waterenergy-food nexus; materials-and energy-intensive industries), the 2015 ANO validated an integrated framework, which relied on loosely coupled biophysical, economic, and social models. In 2019, the ANO framework was applied to a broader set of stakeholder concerns (i.e., new technology-and science-based industries; energy and emissions; land use) [35].Learning from the Australian experience, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), a CGIAR research center, developed and validated the Integrated Agri-food System Initiative (IASI), a holistic, multi-sector methodology that builds on diverse existing resources (e.g., datasets; models; approaches) to cultivate stakeholder agreement on coordinated public and private sector actions to enhance national agri-food systems. The IASI methodology is designed to engage agri-food system stakeholders from the public, private, and civil sectors such as representatives of farmers' associations, national research centers, universities, food and livestock feed companies, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Development of the IASI methodology was guided by the notion that agri-food system transformations depend on multi-scale, dynamic interplay among actors with different forms of power [36,37]. Understanding the variety of these interactions and processes, and their implications for governance, is critical for brokering broad stakeholder agreement on national policy and investment priorities [37], and for building upon on-the-ground experience with Agricultural Knowledge Management for Innovation [38].The starting point for applying the IASI methodology is to identify windows of opportunity, which will vary across national contexts. These might arise with a political transition, a fiscal crisis, a shift in trade conditions for key commodities, or a new donor initiative. In essence, these are times when influential actors are re-evaluating their goals and the means to reach them and are, therefore, more willing to entertain new approaches and information sources. Once a window of opportunity has been identified, the IASI methodology is applied sequentially. Major steps include:1. Diverse experts examine the current status (\"where are we today?\") and the business-as usual (BAU) scenario (\"where are we heading?\") based on analysis of the socio-economic, political, and sectoral context and model-based projections.2. Stakeholders determine a preferred future scenario (\"where do we want to go?\"), based on assessment of national implications, and define drivers of change toward a desired 2030 scenario, through a neutrally facilitated process.3. Defined criteria are applied to stakeholder and expert inputs to validate drivers of change and to identify strategies and actions (e.g., public policies; value chain and market interventions; biotechnology applications) that can steer toward the preferred future scenario, which are then reviewed and prioritized by high-level decision makers.4. Stakeholders agree on measurable targets and tangible, time-bound actions toward the preferred future scenario.5. Stakeholders build shared commitment to a tactical implementation plan among traditional, non-traditional, and new partners.6. Ongoing stakeholder engagement is organized around an online dashboard that tracks actions and progress toward targets and supports course correction and coordinated investment.In 2017, the CIMMYT convened the Maı ´z para Me ´xico (MpMx) initiative to support sustainable intensification of the Mexican maize sector, leading to the development of the IASI methodology. Subsequently, CIMMYT partnered with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), another CGIAR center, to adapt the IASI methodology to the Colombian context during a transitional socio-political moment, resulting in the Maı ´z para Colombia (MpCo) initiative. Table 1 summarizes the IASI processes in these two countries (further details can be found in the case studies in the Supporting Information and in public reports published by CIMMYT and CIAT [39,40]).In many countries, major commodity crops such as maize, wheat, or rice are natural gateways into national policy processes and constituencies because, as staple foods, they are often foundational to food security and national economies. While not a large economic driver, the enormous cultural and political importance of maize in Mexico, a staple food and a symbol of the country's heritage, has been amplified by the effects of free trade policies. In Colombia's postconflict period, the under-developed maize sector was threatened by imports under open trade. In both Mexico and Colombia, the centrality of maize opened the door to robust engagement in the agriculture sector that, through the IASI methodology, enabled the emergence of a broader value proposition encompassing health and nutrition, national security, local economic development, and food self-sufficiency considerations. For example, as the A political or sectoral window of opportunity expands the scope of possible policy objectives.Late 2016 -A political transition and an uncertain trade context led Mexico's Agriculture Ministry to solicit CIMMYT's support with national agricultural planning.Early 2018 -In a post-conflict period, CIMMYT and CIAT were invited to apply the IASI methodology to Colombia's under-developed maize sector, which was threatened by imports.1. Analysis of current status (e.g., historical and contemporary data on the socio-economic, political, and sectoral context [41]) and a modeled business-as-usual (BAU) scenario are evaluated by an expert panel, which propose drivers of change for maize improvement by 2030, based on quantitative and qualitative inputs.Early MpMx process rolled out, CIMMYT undertook a parallel process for native maize seeds and production practices (i.e., the autochthonous, diversified, maize-based Milpa production system) and a Beans for Mexico exercise was also initiated.The IASI methodology builds stakeholder consensus through design thinking (i.e., understanding specific needs to define an innovative solution), informed by situation analysis, modeled predictions, and scenarios for a discontinuous future. Current status is assessed through review of literature and historical trends (e.g., sub-national crop production; supply; consumption patterns; environmental conditions). A 2030 BAU agri-food scenario integrates analysis of biophysical changes in climate and crop production and socio-economic analysis (e.g., trade implications), in alignment with the timeframe of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.Loosely coupled models (based on spatially-explicit analyses and machine learning processes) are used to produce sufficiently accurate and precise scenarios that use metrics and narratives to make risks, benefits, tradeoffs, and counter-intuitive insights visible. While models and scenarios cannot predict the future, these tools can supplement the experience, knowledge, and intuition of agriculture sector stakeholders [43].The BAU scenario is evaluated by an expert panel, composed of high-credibility specialists with diverse expertise (e.g., seeds; spatial analysis; climate change; trade) and track records of engaging outside their disciplinary realm. The expert panel provides deep technical knowledge throughout the IASI process. Multi-sector stakeholders are convened to review the BAU scenario and strategies proposed by the expert panel through a carefully designed, interactive workshop. (This workshop design was replicated by the Mexican Agriculture Ministry in development of a multi-crop strategic plan.) If the BAU scenario is perceived as positive by stakeholders, then no action is needed, but if an alternative future scenario is preferred, stakeholders identify strategies and actions that can steer away from the BAU scenario (which is commonly reinforced by near-term considerations or specialized interests) and orient toward preferred directions.After further validation, consultations with mid-and high-level decision makers calibrate priority strategies and actions, while also building ownership and commitment among these influential leaders, who represent a diverse set of public and private institutions in the agriculture sector. While time-consuming, the goodwill developed through these consultations is instrumental for building novel collaborations promoting sustainability between government and industry (e.g., offtaker commitments) and continuity across political transitions. For example, in 2018, under a new presidential administration, MpMx was designated as a flagship project within the Crops for Mexico initiative. In Colombia, strong buy-in by an internal planning unit at the Ministry of Agriculture allowed the momentum of MpCo to continue as a new President and Agriculture Minister came into office in 2018.The IASI methodology is designed to generate strategies, actions, and quantitative, SDGaligned targets that have high likelihood of supportive public and private investment. It emphasizes timely provision of information and options (including estimated costs of inaction) to decision makers and enables multiple, coordinated entry points for stakeholders with different interests (e.g., policymakers; farm groups; financial institutions; input or service providers). In Mexico and Colombia, the IASI processes engaged traditional agricultural sector stakeholders as well as entities that are not usually pulled into technical agricultural discussions, such as national development banks. To fill identified gaps, new entities such as alternative providers of rural finance were also engaged.The IASI focus on drivers of change broadened the set of potential solutions and better embedded collectively identified strategies within government, increasing the likelihood of impact and continuity across different political regimes. In Mexico, the IASI process produced a tactical plan to improve agricultural production systems by translating innovation networks into visible knowledge co-creation infrastructure. These 'hubs' feature research platforms, demonstration modules, and extension areas where sustainable farming practices and technologies are tested, improved, and adapted with community participation [44,45]. This infrastructure provides a foundation for continuous scaling and enables timely regionalized impact assessments [38]. In Colombia, a hub network is being initiated, which will be critical to realizing the MpCo strategies. MpMx implementation will also be supported through the One CGIAR Excellence in Agronomy 2030 (EiA 2030) initiative, which will leverage data and analytics to deliver targeted digital agricultural advisory services (for farmers, farm advisors, and service providers) and to support government agencies and agricultural companies.Building agreement around national policy change is a powerful scaling strategy for researchbased solutions that contribute to sustainable agri-food systems. Too often, national policy processes are dominated by zero sum thinking and winner-take-all struggles (e.g., budget battles) that inhibit progress toward sustainability, equity, and profitability. Short-termism-excessive focus on short-term results at the expense of long-term interests-breeds internecine competition and politicization within commodity sectors, leaving little room for meaningful integration of new needs, such as climate adaptation, or evolving production practices to meet changing market demands [17].Progress toward the SDGs requires facing up to the 'wicked' problems confronting agrifood systems [46]. As the seriousness of agri-food system crises is internalized by decision makers, a profound sense of urgency can lead to unsustainable or unilateral responses. For example, advanced technologies (e.g., sensors; crop protection; agricultural biologicals; artificial intelligence) are garnering investment based on anticipation of productivity and profitability gains that may not yet be substantiated by robust empirical evidence or without evaluation of potential tradeoffs, unintended consequences, or risks for equity and longterm sustainability [1]. Such responses to agri-food system crises may bypass more holistic solutions, grounded in multi-disciplinary science, that can generate cross-sectoral support and achieve multiple sustainability objectives (e.g., food security; poverty reduction; climate adaptation) [47][48][49].By using existing tools to help sectoral stakeholders envision a different future and take action toward productive, inclusive, and resilient agri-food systems, the IASI methodology can steer away from technology over-reliance and winner-take-all approaches. The future-oriented and inclusive framing of the IASI methodology is essential to shifting stakeholder mindsets. By first collectively setting a vision and then linking it to present-day circumstances, constraints imposed by near-term concerns (e.g., budgets) and political dynamics can be minimized in favor of focusing on medium-term opportunities and cultivating trust that benefits can accrue to all collaborating stakeholders. The strategies and actions emerging from the IASI methodology reduce economic, reputational, operational, and policy risks faced by governments, global donors, and agricultural sector financiers by offering them a validated set of potential investments.While techniques for interactive, scenario-assisted, multi-objective development planning are not new [50][51][52][53][54], they have infrequently led to significant agri-food system change [31]. Challenges range from reductionist knowledge management systems [38], narrowly scoped outcome metrics [55,56] or technological feasibility analysis [47], poorly defined validation processes [43], and sparse attention to competing interests and policy incentives [14,32] to a lack of stakeholder engagement in scenario building [30] and tradeoff analysis [57,58] and weak governance and investment capacity [24].Relative to other national agricultural planning approaches, the IASI methodology, as applied to maize-based systems in Mexico and Colombia, has demonstrated its effectiveness in overcoming typical barriers (e.g., short-term fixation on budgets; zero sum competition among stakeholders) and advancing multiple objectives simultaneously (e.g., improvement in crop yield and quality; farmer livelihoods; environmental protection). Importantly, both Mexico and Colombia underwent political transitions mid-way through the IASI process, yet there was substantial continuity in MpMx and MpCo.One critical factor is the capacity to capitalize on critical moments such as the Mexican Agriculture Ministry announcing the first national agriculture planning process since 1966 (supported by the incoming president's interest to transform agriculture) and Colombia's recognition that its maize sector needed support in a post-conflict period. The IASI methodology does not replace national planning processes, rather it provides a framework for informing and focusing these processes. Facilitation that fosters consensus through candid, data-based discussions requires a neutral, independently positioned entity with skills and experience drawn from the arenas of business, research, political science and development.As political and agriculture sector leaders (potentially in partnership with global donors) create or react to windows of opportunity, the neutrally positioned IASI methodology can strengthen stakeholder support for transformation of agri-food systems that expands productivity and long-term sustainability [45]. Emphasizing a collective process rather than a 'black box' solution, the IASI methodology is grounded in assessment of the current status and the BAU scenario and cultivates stakeholder agreement on how to pursue a more sustainable agrifood system. Leadership and accountability by influential stakeholders are key to creating the buy-in that unlocks important, but disaggregated data resources that are typically tightly held by public agencies, research institutions, and companies. A common vision for the future cultivates a cooperative mindset among stakeholders, enabling them to share rather than hoard datasets (and other sources of power asymmetry), allowing these data to become useful at a system level.Designed to promote thriving agriculture-based systems, the IASI methodology emphasizes mindset shifts toward sustainable and scalable innovation that responds to real dynamics of complex agri-food systems. It offers the possibility to simultaneously address multiple pressing development objectives, including unlocking the agricultural potential to adapt production systems to climate change, to sustainably manage land, soil, nutrient, and water resources, to improve food and nutrition security, and ultimately to reduce rural poverty by upscaling and mainstreaming results and actions.Maturation of the IASI methodology will require continuous improvement. The new Crops for Mexico initiative expands on the IASI-mediated MpMx process and use of the IASI methodology is being explored in Africa and Asia. Future applications of the IASI methodology can pursue ongoing enhancements such as:• Faster transition from crop-specific windows of opportunity to multiple food types (e.g., crops, livestock, and fisheries) and an integrated agri-food system framing (e.g., agricultural diversification; demand management and culture shifts toward healthy diets; building resilience through crisis response mechanisms).• Increasingly sophisticated navigation of tradeoffs (e.g., higher yields vs. healthier diets) and constraints (e.g., energy; land; water) by simulating multi-dimensional outcomes for alternative policy directions.• Greater reach (e.g., cross-sectoral; cross-institutional) and inclusivity (e.g., geographic balance; marginalized groups) and more diverse participation (e.g., consumer advocates; value chain actors; media).• Deeper integration of system dynamics and climate change projections in scenario development and incorporation of flexible econometric and scenario planning models to generate a continuous range of options, rather than a limited number of scenarios.• More explicit links to on-the-ground testing and implementation of strategies and actions (e.g., enhanced dashboards).In developing the IASI methodology, CIMMYT leveraged knowledge gained through preexisting international collaborations (e.g., CSIRO; KSS) and mobilized a diverse set of research-based approaches (e.g., situation analysis; loosely coupled models; scenarios). The opportunity to develop and test the IASI methodology arose because CIMMYT was an inregion institution that had built long-term trust relationships and demonstrated its capacity to adeptly mobilize data and knowledge toward technical and political challenges [59]. For example, recent collaboration on the MasAgro innovation system, which achieved yield increases among smallholder farmers and enhanced private sector value chains, had deepened CIM-MYT's perception as a trusted partner of the Mexican government. In Colombia, CIAT had previously supported the government by producing national climate change projections.Through the IASI processes in Mexico and Colombia, CIMMYT and CIAT functioned as 'innovation brokers,' enhancing their standing as trusted allies within national political frameworks. They created knowledge resources that informed subsequent politically-driven processes (e.g., in Mexico, MpMx findings and recommendations were integrated by the Agriculture Ministry and National Agriculture Council).Deploying tools like the IASI methodology can amplify the ability of international agricultural research institutions to invigorate national policy development and demonstrate the business case for research-based solutions to public and private sector agri-food system decision makers [60]. With deep regional roots, these institutions are well-placed to influence the evolution of agri-food systems by guiding deployment of integrated strategies that combine breeding, genetics, agronomy, landscape management, enhanced nutrition, and other foundational elements of sustainable agri-food systems [26]. Through collaborative research initiatives, novel engagement mechanisms, and capacity building, the IASI methodology can catalyze improved availability of and access to technical support, information, technologies, and tools. For example, research undertaken by CIAT, CIMMYT, and national research centers is connected directly to farmers and adoption of improved technologies and practices by farmers simultaneously feeds back into research programs through on-farm data collection.Historically focused on breeding for yield and calorie enhancement, international agricultural research institutions are increasingly producing multi-faceted solutions that enable production landscapes to deliver human well-being and healthy diets within dynamic, global agri-food value chains [61][62][63][64]. With the advent of One CGIAR, enriched focus on agri-food system transformation will be supported by integration of capacities across regionally based centers and global programs [65].If our complex, interconnected agri-food systems are to meet human needs under climate change and within planetary resource limits, we must shift away from short-termism and zero sum thinking and toward integrated systems approaches. While new technologies, digitization, and other responses will be useful, they are unlikely to usher in inclusive, system-level transformation, which will depend on coordinated shifts in public policy, agriculture, value chains, and finance. As agri-food system decision makers respond to current and emerging agri-food system challenges, they will need new types of strategic planning tools that steer toward unconventional, evidence-based collaboration among diverse stakeholders.This paper presents a promising methodology for supporting integrated agri-food systems approaches that has been developed and validated within two national contexts. The IASI methodology leverages design thinking and scenario planning methods to generate a shared vision and broadly agreed solutions supported by agri-food system stakeholders. It is a dataand model-informed approach that facilitates collaborative identification of a preferred future by experts and stakeholders. The methodology fosters agility in determining implementation pathways through a tactical plan that translates proposed solutions into real integrated development programs and enables diverse multi-stakeholder contributions that align with public policy objectives.In Mexico and Colombia, IASI processes are well underway (i.e., tactical plans are completed and resources are being mobilized) and further applications are anticipated in Africa and Asia, presenting opportunities for methodological refinement. To carry this work forward, several types of resources will be required: public and private financial investments; implementation capacity by dedicated program operation managers and consultants; and monitoring and evaluation specialists. As these applications mature, the IASI methodology will evolve to more rapidly and effectively engage diverse stakeholders in national agri-food system policy processes with enhanced technical capacity (e.g., a continuous range of policy scenarios) and implementation tracking.International agricultural research institutions can be indispensable 'innovation brokers' in regional agri-food systems. They are well-situated to lead application of the IASI methodology when windows of opportunity open. Through their long-term regional presence, high credibility, and mandate to translate research into sustainable development, these institutions can provide unique scientific leadership across political cycles, enhancing integration of sustainability considerations into national policy. Global donors have often found it expedient to commission international agricultural research institutions to produce outputs that are highly tailored to donor priorities [66]. If global donors are serious about helping developing countries to transform their agri-food systems, they will do more to unleash the essential leadership functions of trusted in-region research organizations [67]. Combined with the global inauguration of One CGIAR's enriched focus on agri-food system transformation through integrated regional programs, the IASI methodology will be a valuable tool.Development and validation of the IASI methodology in Mexico and Colombia demonstrates the potential for a neutral, well-designed, science-informed, stakeholder-engaged process to create space for transformative innovation in national policy. Given the agri-food system crises made more visible during the COVID-19 crisis, tools like the IASI methodology are needed to support creation, design, and implementation of integrated strategies for healthy, resilient, equitable, and sustainable agri-food systems.To propagate a robust body of knowledge and practice, a structured global network should be mandated by a high-level, multi-sectoral entity to systematize theory development, testing, validation, evaluation, and learning for agri-food systems transformation. By harmonizing disparate actions and accelerating continuous improvement of IASI and related methodologies, this network would engender a community of practice drawing from the KSS global alliance [68], One CGIAR communities of practice [69], EAT Forum [70], CSIRO [71], the Com-pact2025 Knowledge and Innovation hub [72], and other relevant groups. As One CGIAR regional programs are mobilized, a global food systems transformation network would serve as an integrating platform, enabling these programs to collaboratively develop and validate a shared set of best practices, to access technologies and services, and to co-design and co-implement projects with public and private sector partners.A new global network for food systems transformation would support decision making in public policy, value chains, finance, and other components of agri-food systems. This network would harness diverse existing and emerging efforts toward a new field of research endeavor and global practice, analogous to the fields of business administration and organizational development, while accelerating methodological refinement and building capacity for further applications."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"b0e0e5d3669e81ff3bae05f7a19547bb","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/cddaebb8-19b0-4f76-b3c9-4d55488da984/retrieve","id":"180717702"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"b57ca81a-8fa0-4a0f-9ca5-1d71ca6b116e","content":"December 2023Women are vulnerable to adverse climate change impacts and their active involvement and decision-making in climate change and agrifood governance are limited, especially in the Global South. New research based on a strategic review of literature conducted as part of CGIAR research initiative HER+-Harnessing gender and social equality for resilience in agrifood systems-indicates that public policies are vital instruments toward improving women's participation in climate change governance and enhancing their resilience What's at stake? Given that women are both vulnerable to climate change in unique ways and should make important contributions to increase the climate resilience of the agrifood sector, it is imperative for governments to design and enact policies to alleviate gendered constraints and build women's resilience capacities in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. Public policies are crucial for both strengthening women's resilience to climate change and promoting their leadership in climate change governance. This is because public policies shape the socioeconomic and political environment for the distribution of productive resources and participation in decision-making. First, this policy brief highlights how public policies at different scales can improve women's resilience to climate change and environmental hazards. Second, it accentuates the means to enable women's full and effective participation in climate governance at different scales. This policy brief is based on a strategic review of literature conducted as part of the CGIAR research initiative HER+: Harnessing gender and social equality for resilience in agrifood systems. The key findings and policy insights are presented below.n Public policies utilize quotas, capacity building, and incentivization to promote women's participation in climate governance. n Facilitating women's access to productive agrifood resources is crucial in improving their climate resilience. n There is a lack of implementation and evaluation of public policies to understand their effectiveness in improving women's participation in climate governance or resilience.Despite increased policy commitments to promote gender equality, the percentage of women in national delegations at international treaties marginally increased from An analysis of gender strategic programs toward implementing Africa's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) showed that nearly 85 percent referenced gender with some provisions on improving women's climate change resilience and promoting their opportunities for leadership in climate change governance (Kovaleva et al. 2022;Remteng et al. 2021). Additionally, climate-specific policies that are targeted toward resilience and disaster risk management include the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (UN General Assembly, 2015).National programs and plans such as the National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), National Adaptation Programs of Actions (NAPAs), National Development Plans (NDPs), and NDCs have become crucial policy instruments and contain policy outcomes that aim at promoting women's full and meaningful participation in decisions related to climate change and disaster risk governance in national and regional institutions. Some countries in the Global South with promising gender approaches in national plans and strategies include Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, India, Central African Republic, and Côte d'Ivoire.Through policy initiatives, women have demonstrated effective leadership in their communities to make decisions that help address and adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, including helping to devise early warningsystems and reconstruction efforts in Mozambique, Bangladesh, Nepal, and India (Arnold et al. 2014;Dankelman 2008; Ministry of Environment, Republic of Mozambique 2014).Approaches such as quotas, capacity building, and incentives emerged as notable approaches that public policies primarily employ to promote women's participation and in climate change and disaster risk governance. More progressive gender quotas and incentives for quotas at the institutional and national levels can lead to increased women's participation and leadership in climate change and environmental sustainability policy initiatives and decisionmaking (Cook et al. 2019).One of the critical objectives of gender integration in climate change policies is to improve women's resilience capacities. At the macro level, this may include changes in gender norms and greater agency in designing and implementing public policies. This spectrum of policies includes increasing women's access to productive resources and services, women's human capital development and economic development, and addressing harmful gender norms.Improving women's access to and control over these household and communal resources through policy provisions goes a long way toward improving their resilience. Some national policies have policy provisions that specifically aim to improve women's access to and control of resources such as land, forest, information, extension services, and credit that can improve their resilience and adaptability to climate change and other related disasters (Ampaire et al. 2020;Kironde et al. 2021).Inherent in some public policies are capacity-building initiatives that seek to increase women's technical knowledge and human capital to engage in incomegenerating livelihoods. This training, coupled with women's economic empowerment, reduces the impoverishment of women and enhances their climate change and disaster resilience. Examples include the Swamajayanti Gram Swaroj gar Yojana initiative and the Kundumbashree (meaning 'prosperity of the family') initiative of India (Bonny et al. 2023;Kandathil et al. 2022).The values and behaviors deemed appropriate for women in rural areas inadvertently affect climate change policies and women's capacity to respond to adverse impacts of climate change (Acosta et al. 2019). Consequently, policy approaches such as the Kudumbashree, and the National Action Plan on Gender and Climate Change of Nigeria, seek to eliminate gender stereotypes and sexism that hinder women's adaptive and resilient capacities.n Policies should strengthen local resource mobilization for more context-specific local implementation spearheaded by both men and women alike. The failure of women's empowerment in climate change policy in the Global South is partly due to overdependence on international funds and aid. n Coherence in all national, regional, and local policies is needed to improve women's resilience to climate change. For instance, NDCs must be anchored to NDPs, NAPs, NAPAs, and other gender policies. It is also essential to cooperate with other agencies in monitoring frameworks for each ministry and budget planning cycle, and for performance metrics to include policy harmonization and integration. n Successful and effective gender and climate change policy implementation also requires renewed political and institutional commitments and unified leadership from government. The mandate of agencies responsible for implementing such policies must be made clear with continual support, irrespective of government or institutional leadership changes. n Climate change policy and women's climate change resilience should be pursued alongside the promotion of women's full and effective participation and leadership in the design, implementation, and evaluation of policy actions. n Most policies and national plans use gender quotas for women's empowerment. Quotas are vital to increasing women's representation in climate change policy and programs. However, these should be used alongside more comprehensive approaches (for example, targeting gender norms and building women's leadership capacity) and not as a panacea for women's empowerment.n There is a lack of robust monitoring and evaluation of the extent to which implemented policies can improve women's participation in climate governance and enhance their resilience to climate change. Thus, a robust monitoring and evaluation system should be an integral part of policies to measure the intended impacts of policies."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"1ad9a579df3697348c60c036ddb948ca","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/fdf366d5-b2b2-44f8-8b3d-eb739ef9b962/retrieve","id":"-626752575"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"ecc09a79-381a-4db3-b700-7d9a04ebda9a","content":"A razão principal para eu e a minha esposa começarmos a trabalhar com coelhos quando morávamos na Indonésia foi que queríamos fazer 'algo' com animais e que o nosso quintal era demasiado pequeno para termos animais maiores, como sejam cabras e ovelhas, e muito menos uma vaca. Um dos resultados desta escolha foi a publicação dum Agrodok sobre os aspectos práticos da criação de coelhos em quintais, no ano 1983. Actualmente, 25 anos depois, escrevo o prefácio para a 5a edição revista deste manual, que é pedido com frequência. Da publicação original já foram distribuídos, durante estes 25 anos, milhares de exemplares, em inglês, espanhol, francês, nepalês, cingalês e tâmil. Espero, portanto, que a informação contida neste manual tenha ajudo adicional a melhorar as condições de vida dos agregados familiares no mundo (quer como renda, alimento ou divertimento). Esta edição será co-publicada e distribuída pelo CTA, e tenho a esperança de que a informação prática nela contida atinja o grupo alvo em qualquer parte do mundo onde seja possível criar coelhos. O conteúdo deste Agrodok não sofreu praticamente nenhumas grandes alterações, mas a legibilidade, as ilustrações e a composição foram melhoradas em grande medida. A informação apresentada nos apêndices da Leitura Recomendada e dos Endereços Úteis também foi actualizada, visto que, em 1983, ainda não existiam websites! Quero expressar os meus agradecimentos a Kees Corstiaensen, que reviu e reformulou o texto desta versão, incluindo as suas experiências práticas com coelhos em muitas partes do mundo, e a Olivier Rijcken, por redesenhar todas as ilustrações.As pessoas criam coelhos por várias e diferentes razões. O objectivo principal deste manual é fornecer algumas boas razões a pequenos produtores agropecuários, famílias de baixa renda ou crianças para começarem a criação de coelhos. Para além disso, discutem-se o maneio, o alojamento, a reprodução, a alimentação, assuntos veterinários e outros problemas que podem surgir neste tipo de criação que se realiza no quintal.? A carne é saborosa, de boa qualidade, com um teor baixo de matérias gordas, e parece-se à carne de frango. É conhecida em muitas comunidades tropicais, rurais. ? Há poucos tabus, religiosos ou outros, no que diz respeito ao consumo de carne de coelho. Por exemplo, o Islão não proíbe o consumo de carne de coelho. ? O capital inicial necessário é mínimo. Com alguma madeira velha ou bambu pode-se construir uma coelheira. ? Para a criação de coelhos não é necessário que se faça grandes investimentos. Com algumas fêmeas e um macho já é suficiente para poder começar. Quando as coelhas começam a ter ninhadas, o rebanho aumenta rapidamente (se o maneio for adequado e se não se tiver má sorte) de modo que, muito depressa, se poderá abater os machos jovens. ? Se se começar uma 'exploração' de coelhos com uso de animais emprestados, poder-se-á devolver o 'crédito' inicial, como animais vivos, dentro de meio ano. ? Em todas as regiões tropicais, os animais são, muitas das vezes, empregues como uma poupança. Quando se precisar duma pequena quantidade de dinheiro, será mais fácil vender um animal pequeno do que, por exemplo, a pata traseira duma cabra. ? A quantidade da carne fornecida por um coelho é suficiente para um grupo reduzido ou um prato para a família (a quantidade de carne fornecida por um coelho é comparável à duma galinha). Por outro lado, um coelho é suficientemente pequeno para um agregado familiar poder comer toda a carne duma só vez, sem ser necessário refrigerá-lo ou conservá-lo de qualquer outra forma. ? Como as coelhas produzem, regularmente, descendentes, fornecem uma fonte regular de rendimentos em vez de se tratar dum grande montante de dinheiro na mesma altura. ? A alimentação dos coelhos pode realizar-se com muito poucas despesas. Embora o fornecimento de alimentos suplementares (concentrados ou cereais) às vezes seja necessário e aumente a taxa de crescimento, os alimentos principais podem ser fornecidos praticamente grátis: pasto à beira do caminho, lixo da cozinha (caso não contenha produtos animais), folhas do jardim, etc. ? Os coelhos podem ser criados por mulheres, crianças ou homens.Ao contrário da criação de animais grandes, não é preciso fazer uso de força para contê-los. ? Os excrementos podem ser utilizados no cultivo de legumes. ? Os excrementos não têm um cheiro muito forte e os coelhos não fazem muito barulho, de modo que não haja provavelmente queixas por parte dos vizinhos. ? A pele é valiosa, caso exista um mercado para este produto, possivelmente para produtos artesanais locais (ver o Capítulo 10 sobre o curtimento). ? As crianças aprendem a cuidar e apreciar os animais. ? Um coelho é uma prenda bonita para uma criança no seu aniversário, para um vizinho que vai casar ou para um empregado doméstico que desejar voltar para a sua aldeia.Sem dúvida que ainda se pode ampliar mais esta lista comprida com muitas outras razões para se criarem coelhos.? A dificuldade mais importante é que pessoas sem experiência prévia de como criar coelhos, muitas das vezes, são relutantes para começar, visto que é difícil aceitar algo novo. Enquanto que em Europa e nos Estados Unidos há um mercado bem estabelecido de carne de coelhos, nas regiões tropicais o mercado centra-se mais nas galinhas. São poucos os países com um mercado existente para carne de coelhos. Isto reduz o rendimento financeiro potencial, mas não deve constituir um problema se a intenção for a criação de coelhos numa exploração familiar, com o objectivo principal de fornecer carne para o agregado familiar, onde a dieta regular possivelmente carece de proteínas. ? As doenças são comuns nos coelhos e, ao contrário das doenças de galinhas, os medicamentos específicos para coelhos são difíceis de obter. Para além disso, os veterinários (até mesmo na Europa e nos EUA) normalmente não têm muita experiência no que se refere ao diagnóstico e tratamento de doenças de coelhos. Por outro lado, com uma higiene adequada e bom senso, acrescentados à informação apresentada neste manual, não se deve ter muitas preocupações sobre doenças. A maioria dos animais fica doente de vez em quando e, para além disso, um coelho morto implica uma preocupação menor do que a morte duma cabra ou vaca. ? Sem dúvida que a criação de coelhos custa tempo: para alimentação, limpeza, maneio e registo de dados. É difícil dizer quanto tempo se necessita para essas tarefas. Depende do número de animais presentes, do sistema de alojamento que se pretende realizar e das possibilidades de obter alimentos. Como regra geral, a criação de 5 a 10 coelhos leva, aproximadamente, 1 a 2 horas por dia para realizar a limpeza, o maneio e a alimentação.Como todos os animais, os coelhos precisam de cuidados adequados para que se (re)produzam bem. De noite, antes de dormir, o produtor deve ver como estão e, de dia, deve vigiá-los. Verificar se um animal está doente não é suficiente, deve-se aprender também a reconhecer se há a probabilidade do animal ficar doente. Similarmente, não é suficiente constatar que uma coelha fez um ninho e teve crias, mas devese saber com antecedência se uma coelha vai aninhar e ter procriação em breve.Deve-se fornecer aos coelhos os melhores alimentos e água potável possíveis (ver o Capítulo 7). Remover os excrementos e limpar as coelheiras cada semana com água. Se se tiver cuidado, não será necessário tirar os animais das coelheiras. Manusear sempre os coelhos de maneira adequada. Deve-se apanhá-los da forma apresentada na figura 1. Deve-se atribuir uma identificação aos animais que se pretende usar para reprodução (ver o Capítulo 9). Manter uma vigilância intensiva do seu desempenho. Não se deve abater os animais de crescimento rápido, mas empregá-los para aumentar o valor do rebanho. Separar, desde cedo, os machos das fêmeas que se pretendem manter, antes de os animais se tornarem sexualmente activos (as fêmeas depois de 4 meses, os machos 2 meses mais tarde).Se se quiser vender coelhos como animais de reprodução, deve-se separar os machos das fêmeas antes de se tornarem sexualmente activos. No caso de coelhos de engorda, isto não é necessário, visto que serão abatidos antes de se tornarem sexualmente activos. É melhor não juntar várias ninhadas na mesma coelheira, de forma a evitar lutas. Depois da primeira cobrição deve-se fornecer uma coelheira própria à coelha jovem, antes do nascimento das crias. Nesta altura, todo o ciclo começa de novo.Em geral, a criação de coelhos tem muitos aspectos. Neste manual descrevemos os aspectos principais necessários para começar a criação de coelhos: as diferentes raças, como seleccionar um rebanho de criação, acasalamento e produção de ninhadas, criação dos animais jovens, alojamento, alimentação, doenças, boas práticas administrativas, abate e curtimento da pele.Nos apêndices encontra-se informação adicional, incluindo um glossário com terminologia técnica utilizada neste manual, informação mais detalhada sobre alimentos e doenças e também uma lista de livros úteis.2 Os tipos de coelhos: raçasTal como há uma grande variedade de tipos de gado, não é de estranhar que existam numerosos tipos de coelhos. Similarmente, existem algumas raças cruzadas (descendência de duas raças diferentes) e também muitas variedades locais, muitas das vezes denominadas 'coelhos locais' ou 'raças nativas'. Para os objectivos deste Agrodok as raças são divididas em duas categorias básicas, sem se tentar fazer com que as distinções sejam cientificamente correctas.As raças de luxo e de pele diferem das raças de carne, quer dizer, que não necessariamente são bons produtores de carne, não têm grandes ninhadas, nem são resistentes/tolerantes a doenças. Mas têm pêlos e cores bonitas, orelhas engraçadas, etc. Um destes tipos que merece mais atenção é o coelho angora. O seu pêlo pode tornar-se muito comprido e fornece uma fibra muito valiosa para a fiação e a tecelagem. Não se deve subestimar o valor do coelho angorá para pequenas indústrias caseiras, mesmo que não haja muita informação disponível. Parece que o pêlo cresce melhor nas zonas climáticas frias, reduzindo possivelmente o valor do tipo angorá nas planícies tropicais.As raças de utilidade são produtoras de carne, quer pelo crescimento rápido (requerendo uma boa alimentação), quer pela sua produção grande e frequente de ninhadas. É necessário fazer uma distinção mais detalhada no que diz respeito ao peso (ver figura 2): ? As raças anãs pesam até 1,5 kg (foto 1: 'Polaco') ? As raças pequenas pesam 2-3 kg (foto 2: 'Holandês') ? As raças médias pesam 3-5 kg (foto 3: 'Nova Zelândia Branco') ? As raças gigantes pesam mais de 5 kg (foto 4: 'Gigante da Flandres')Quando se escolhe uma raça para criar, o seguinte deve-se tomar em consideração:? Muitas das vezes, os cruzamentos locais parecem ser descendentes de raças pequenas. Contudo, é possível que tenham o potencial genético para se tornarem grandes, mas não têm a possibilidade para isto devido a uma alimentação deficiente, doenças, acasalamento prematuro e, muitas das vezes, cuidados não suficientemente adequados. ? Deve-se tentar procurar na região de forma a se encontrar uma raça de criação aceitável. Em vez de considerar criar grandes animais importados, de aspecto bonito, pode ser melhor tentar-se criar raças locais, que podem crescer bem se forem alimentadas e cuidadas adequadamente. Com muita frequência, as raças importadas provocam uma perda da imagem, dinheiro e energia, porque os animais não crescem bem nas condições locais, são susceptíveis a doenças, são demasiadamente dispendiosos ou não aguentam o stress do transporte, ficando doentes ou morrendo. Porque estas raças não estão adaptadas às condições locais, podem provocar uma desilusão. ? Embora os animais grandes tenham um aspecto bonito e impressionante, nem sempre é vantajoso criar animais grandes. Levam mais tempo para atingirem a maturidade sexual, de modo que começam a procriar aproximadamente aos nove meses, enquanto que as raças pequenas começam a reproduzir-se a partir duma idade de seis meses. Desta forma pode ser melhor ter p.ex. três coelhas, de 3 kg cada uma, que produzem, depois de seis meses, três ninhadas do que uma coelha de 9 kg que produz apenas uma ninhada depois de nove meses. Para além disso, há poucas famílias que podem consumir 4 kg de carne duma só vez (que é a quantidade de carne fornecida por um animal de 9 kg). ? É necessário algumas palavras de aviso sobre a criação do Gigante da Flandres: Este é um animal muito adequado para exposições e para as relações públicas (um peso de 9 kg não é raro). Contudo, a fertilidade desta raça não é muito elevada, as ninhadas não são muito grandes, há vários problemas de doenças (como sejam 'curvi-lhões irritados' (sore hocks) e tem uma razão elevada de ossos e intestinos em comparação com as raças médias como sejam a Nova Zelândia (branca) e a Califórnia (ver a Figura 3). Estas raças são seleccionadas, muitas das vezes, pela sua fertilidade elevada e crescimento rápido. ? Deve-se ter em mente que se deve escolher uma raça que seja apropriada para as condições locais. É impossível dar um conselho geral sobre a raça preferível. Contudo, se fosse necessário mencionar dois candidatos para a produção de carne em quintais, recomendar-seiam a Nova Zelândia (branca) e a Califórnia. Mas a sua escolha deve depender da disponibilidade local e das preferências do produtor, visto que os animais da raça preferida receberão os melhores cuidados.O aspecto principal é de se desenvolver uma sabedoria com respeito aos coelhos, reduzindo tanto quanto possível os riscos. Na prática isto implica, geralmente, evitar o emprego de raças grandes, bonitas e dispendiosas.Recomenda-se comprar os animais de criação directamente a um criador de coelhos. Se não for possível comprar animais a uma fonte fiável, e se se tiver que comprá-los a uma pessoa ou num mercado desconhecido, dever-se-á tomar em consideração vários aspectos:Os animais devem ser saudáveis. Identificar o sexo dos animais muito jovens não é fácil. Os machos menos jovens têm dois testículos grandes. Se apenas um testículo for visível, não se deve empregar para a criação, mesmo que o animal seja fértil, visto que se trata duma deficiência hereditária. Se ainda não se tiver a certeza do sexo do animal, o que ocorre muitas das vezes no caso de animais jovens, dever-se-á segurar o coelho e mantê-lo deitado no lombo, colocar um dedo no lado da cauda do aparato genital e o outro dedo no lado do abdómen. Pressionar suavemente e puxar o órgão. No caso duma fêmea aparecerá uma fenda comprida, caso se trate dum macho poder-se-á ver um pequeno prepúcio (ver a Figura 4).No caso dum macho menos jovem poder-se-á fazer sair o pénis. Não se deve confundir as duas glândulas, de tamanho duma cabeça de agulha, situadas de ambos os lados do órgão sexual, com os testículos.Só se pode aprender a efectuar a compra, a identificação do sexo e a avaliação da qualidade de coelhos cometendo erros no início, adquirindo deste modo a experiência necessária. Contudo, não se trata, de modo nenhum, duma tarefa impossível ou difícil.Figura 4: Os órgãos sexuais da fêmea e do macho jovensA compra de coelhos no mercado implica certos riscos, sem se receber uma garantia da qualidade. Um mercado é um local onde se propagam doenças e, de um modo geral, não é provável que os produtores de coelhos tragam os seus animais de melhor qualidade para os vender no mercado. Para além disso, muitas das vezes o vendedor não cria, ele mesmo, os coelhos, de modo que não é capaz de dar bons conselhos, e não saberá muito da história do coelho que está a vender, ou apenas fingirá que sabe. Por exemplo, ao comprar uma coelha de aspecto bastante bom, quem o poderá informar se está prenhe (caso não consiga detectar a gestação você mesmo), se é infértil, se deve ser coberta ou se de facto ainda está demasiadamente jovem para reproduzir?A informação sobre os machos é muito simples. A idade adequada para o primeiro acasalamento depende da raça e do desenvolvimento individual. Nas raças médias, como sejam a Nova Zelândia branca e a Califórnia, os coelhos atingem a maturidade sexual a uma idade de seis meses, enquanto que nas raças pequenas atingem a maturidade sexual mais cedo e nas raças grandes, mais tarde. Um macho pode cobrir facilmente mais de dez fêmeas, mas isto também depende da intensidade de cobrição, dos cios, do stress, da idade do macho, alimentação, etc.É uma prática bastante boa ter dois machos, visto que, deste modo, é mais fácil evitar o cruzamento consanguíneo e fazer com que a coelha fique prenhe. Outra razão é que, através da alternância dos dois machos, para as cobrições em turnos, verificar-se-á mais facilmente se os resultados de um macho são melhores do que de um outro. Ao verificar o efeito de cada macho não se culpará facilmente a fêmea no caso de infertilidade.Às vezes, coloca-se o macho numa gaiola redonda de forma que a fêmea não possa sentar-se na sua parte traseira num canto, obstruindo a cobrição.Às vezes, o macho pode pingar urina por toda a gaiola, fazendo com que esta esteja suja e que tenha um mau cheiro. Deve-se manter os reprodutores no mesmo celeiro ou estábulo que as matrizes, de forma que elas possam cheirar os machos. Deste modo pode-se melhorar o desejo das matrizes.Embora a informação sobre as fêmeas não seja difícil nem complicada, de facto as fêmeas precisam de mais atenção e cuidados. Tal como no caso dos machos a idade adequada para o primeiro acasalamento depende da raça e do desenvolvimento individual. No caso das raças médias, pode-se acasalar as fêmeas quando atinjam 75-80% do peso do animal adulto (quatro meses de idade). As fêmeas atingem a maturidade sexual mais rapidamente do que os machos. A ovulação é induzida pelo acasalamento, de modo que os ovos se libertam depois do mesmo se efectuar. Quando não há sinais de desejo sexual e a vulva está pálida e plana, a fêmea rejeitará o macho e até o morderá. As matrizes que são mantidas em boa condição física devem produzir ninhadas até terem 2 1/2 a 3 anos de idade.O acasalamento deve ser realizado durante os momentos mais frescos do dia, quer dizer, de manhã cedo ou durante a tarde avançada.Deve Se a fêmea começar a correr ou lutar, será melhor esperar umas horas, ou até a manhã ou a tarde seguinte, antes de se tentar outra vez. Não se deve deixar a matriz com o reprodutor durante a noite ou por uns dias, visto que deste modo não se tem a certeza se houve um acasalamento e, para além disso, a matriz e o reprodutor podem ficar feridos numa luta, provocando muito stress. Em vez disso, deve-se observar os animais sem os perturbar.Se o macho não mostrar nenhum interesse dentro dos primeiros minutos, praticamente não tem sentido deixá-los juntos. Neste caso deve-se tentar de novo mais tarde.O que é preciso fazer se a fêmea não aceitar o macho? Deve-se inspeccionar a vulva, para verificar se a coelha está realmente no cio. Alternativamente, é possível que esteja prenhe (ver a verificação de prenhez). Caso assim seja, é quase certo que ela rejeitará o macho e, cada vez que seja perturbada, reduzir-se-á a probabilidade de produzir uma boa ninhada. Outra possibilidade para não se realizar o acasalamento é uma antipatia entre o reprodutor e a matriz. Caso assim seja, deve-se empregar outro reprodutor.Às vezes, pode ajudar que se segure a fêmea quando esta está na coelheira do macho. Segurar, com uma mão, a sua cabeça e corpo para evitar que escape correndo. Colocar a outra mão abaixo do corpo e levantar um pouco a parte traseira, iniciando deste modo uma postura que ela deveria adoptar natural ou automaticamente. Embora, desta forma, o acasalamento possa ter bons resultados, provavelmente não é tão eficaz como um acasalamento espontâneo.Se nenhuma das sugestões supramencionadas der bons resultados, poder-se-á considerar empregar a fêmea pela sua carne. 'A coelha não se ocupa das crias' é uma queixa comum entre os criadores principiantes. De facto, uma fêmea permite às crias mamarem apenas uma ou duas vezes por dia e, mesmo assim, apenas por um período curto. Então, a fêmea raramente está com as crias mas isto não é nenhuma razão para se preocupar! A coelheira/gaiola deve ser suficientemente grande para poder conter a caixa-ninho e ainda deixar espaço para a fêmea. Se for demasiadamente pequena, a coelha pode ferir as crias não intencionalmente, sentando-se nelas. Se for perturbada, a coelha poderá saltar para a caixaninho para defender as crias, que podem assim ficar feridas.Figura 8: Fases de desenvolvimento dos coelhos jovens: à esquerda com dois dias, à direita com 10 dias.As crias começam a sair da caixa depois de, aproximadamente, duas semanas, dependendo do tamanho da caixa, da quantidade de leite fornecido pela mãe e doutros factores como seja a temperatura. Depois de, cerca de, três semanas, poder-se-á remover facilmente a caixaninho. Se o chão da gaiola materna estiver fabricado duma rede de arame ou se nele houver grandes buracos que dificultem às crias colocarem as patas, deve-se fornecer-lhes um pedaço de madeira compensada (contraplacado) ou algo similar, num canto da gaiola, para elas poderem sentar-se comodamente. A partir deste momento também mamam (ou parecem mamar) mais vezes por dia. As crias acostumamse, lentamente, à alimentação fornecida à coelha-mãe.O desmame efectua-se, normalmente, depois de, cerca de, cinco semanas, mas em todo caso não deverá ultrapassar as seis semanas.Parece que, nesse momento, a produção de leite pára, de modo que já não há nenhuma necessidade para as crias ficarem mais tempo com a coelha-mãe.4.6 Quando é que a matriz pode ser coberta de novo?Tal como as ratazanas, a coelha pode ser coberta no mesmo dia do parto e provavelmente ficará prenhe. Contudo, os resultados podem ser decepcionantes, visto que as ninhadas serão mais reduzidas, leves, e as crias terão uma taxa mais elevada de mortalidade. Este procedimento também implica que a mãe tenha mais stress, estando prenhe e aleitando simultaneamente. Este sistema intensivo é apenas recomendável para explorações cunículas comerciais onde se fornece alimentos concentrados puros às fêmeas.Quando a alimentação e outras condições forem adequadas, é prática comum fazer com que a matriz seja coberta de novo, dez dias após o parto. Isto considera-se um sistema de criação semi-intensiva. Contudo, as condições da criação de coelhos em quintais provavelmente não serão óptimas, de modo que se deve tardar mais entre as cobrições: a aplicação dum ciclo de 70 dias, incluindo 30 dias de gestação + 35 dias de aleitamento (com 5 dias restantes), será provavelmente melhor e levará à produção de ninhadas maiores e mais saudáveis. A este sistema chama-se o sistema de criação extensiva (ver a Figura 9). Para evitar problemas recomenda-se manter um registo de dados, como seja um calendário para as coelhas (ver o Capítulo 9).Às vezes, a fêmea não aceitará a presença do macho mesmo depois do desmame. Pode levar vários dias (ou semanas) para ela ficar com desejo. Que é que se pode fazer nessa situação?Depois do desmame deve-se reduzir a quantidade de alimentos (concentrados), ou colocar a fêmea perto da gaiola do macho para ela poder vê-lo e cheirá-lo. A coelha está mais disposta no dia do parto, 10 dias depois do parto e 3-5 dias depois do desmame.A cobrição simultânea de duas fêmeas tem vantagens: se uma delas se recusar a amamentar as crias, ou se morrer, haverá sempre uma mãe adoptiva na proximidade.Figura 9: Gráfico temporal dos ciclos de criação intensiva e extensivaA maneira mais fácil de criar coelhos é deixá-los correr livremente, para encontrarem o seu próprio alimento, permitir-lhes que se acasalem quando tiverem vontade e, quando o criador tiver fome, pode tentar apanhar um deles. Talvez um coelho (domesticado) solto não seja muito difícil de apanhar, mas este tipo de criação faz com que seja muito difícil apanhar uma boa quantidade de animais adequados e saudáveis. Não se sabe que macho é pai de que cria, nem quais são as fêmeas que se tornaram inférteis e, para além disso, as ratazanas podem comer boa parte da produção cunícula e doenças podem propagar-se sem ser detectadas ou, em todo caso, sem ser tratadas. Para evitar a ocorrência de doenças, o cruzamento consanguíneo, o acasalamento precoce ou para poder abater o animal adequado na altura apropriada, etc., recomenda-se construir coelheiras e estábulos. Deste modo pode-se fazer o maneio dos coelhos, que serão mais rendosos.Figura 10: Coelheira colocada fora, ao ar livre, debaixo dum telhadoSerão tratados os seguintes tipos de instalações para criação de coelhos:1 Coelheiras individuais. Os coelhos devem ser alojados individualmente, visto que, pelas razões supramencionadas, o alojamento em grupos não é recomendável. As coelheiras podem ser colocadas debaixo dum telhado, num estábulo ou fora, ao ar livre. 2 Um estábulo, quer dizer, uma construção principal na qual se colocam as unidades individuais de alojamento (neste caso também denominadas gaiolas) e onde se podem armazenar alimentos e equipamento.As coelheiras individuais podem ser colocadas fora, ao ar livre, debaixo dum telhado ou mesmo no interior de certo tipo de construção (Figura 10). Embora seja possível escolher muitos desenhos diferentes, deve-se tomar em conta os seguintes factores: ? O microclima (Secção 5.1) ? A protecção contra predadores (Secção 5.2) ? As portas, dobradiças e gamelas (Secção 5.3) ? A construção e os materiais de construção (Secção 5.4) ? A coelheira materna e a caixa-ninho (Secção 5.5)Tratar-se-á, separadamente, de cada um destes aspectos.Ao tratar o estábulo, pode-se dizer muito sobre a precipitação, a temperatura, o vento e o sol. Os aspectos principais que se devem tomar em conta: é necessário ter ar fresco, mas a corrente de ar é nociva; não é preciso ter uma exposição directa à luz do sol, é melhor haver uma temperatura mais ou menos estável. Para a construção duma coelheira podem-se empregar muitos materiais diferentes: plástico, esteiras de bambu, ferro ondulado, cartão, madeira, etc. Embora alguns materiais não sejam muito duradouros, mesmo assim requerem pouco investimento por parte do pequeno produtor.Os predadores constituem, provavelmente, o tema mais importante. Demasiadas vezes, ratazanas, gatos ou cães assustam os coelhos andando no telhado da coelheira. Se conseguirem entrar nela também comerão as crias. Mesmo que não consigam entrar na coelheira, as coelhas podem ficar tão assustadas que acabam por comer as suas próprias crias.Figura 11: Uma coelheira de dois compartimentos. A gamela com feno encontra-se no meio. Para estas coelheiras não é necessário que se disponha duma construção principal.Embora a construção duma coelheira à prova de ratazanas seja muito difícil, isto é particularmente útil para as gaiolas maternas, visto que uma ratazana já não atacará facilmente uma ninhada de coelhos de quatro semanas de idade. Pode-se empregar redes de arame, bambu, madeira, ou chapas de ferro (galvanizado), consoante a disponibilidade e o preço destes materiais (o ferro tem a aparente desvantagem que podem cair pedaços enferrujados e ferir os animais, provocando cortes e feridas ou lesões internas se os comerem. Por outro lado, o bambu não é fácil de mastigar para as ratazanas ou os coelhos (particularmente o lado duro) mas são capazes de penetrar através dele.Desde o ponto de vista higiénico é melhor colocar o lado duro do bambu por dentro da gaiola, de modo que seja mais fácil de limpar (Figura 13). Contudo, isto implica que se deixa o lado mole exposto ao exterior onde pode ser comido pelas ratazanas. Portanto, é necessário aplicar uma inspecção regular, visto que as ratazanas podem entrar através de buracos pequenos.Se se colocar as ripas de bambu juntas, nenhuma ratazana poderá entrar, mas também não entrará luz nem ar fresco, de modo que, às vezes, pode ser melhor utilizar redes de arame. Preferivelmente devese utilizar redes metálicas soldadas em vez de redes de arame regulares para galinheiros, visto que estas enferrujam facilmente, inicialmente no canto húmido da gaiola. Para além disso, uma rede de arame regular também não é suficientemente forte.Também se deve tomar cuidado com outro predador: as formigas, das quais se diz que podem atacar uma ninhada de crias recém-nascidas. A única maneira para prevenir isto é colocar as patas da coelheira em latas cheias de petróleo ou querosene.Deve-se construir a coelheira de tal modo que o manuseamento e a limpeza possam ser levados a cabo facilmente e os animais, os alimentos e a água devem estar completamente à vista.Todo o lado dianteiro da coelheira, ou uma parte do mesmo, pode funcionar como porta. Para além da aplicação de dobradiças de vaivém, pode-se empregar diversos outros desenhos de porta.A melhor maneira para atar a gamela ou a grade de manjedoura é prendendo-a à parte exterior da coelheira de tal modo que possa ser enchida e limpa desde fora e que o coelho possa comer dentro. A parte onde o coelho come deve-se construir em forma de barras verticais.Deve-se tomar em conta os seguintes pontos no que diz respeito ao uso dum comedouro para concentrados e outros alimentos mistos.1 O comedouro não deve ficar solto dentro da coelheira, visto que será derrubada, arrastada, etc. 2 Deve-se fazer uma construção que se possa levantar facilmente (Figura 12). 3 Deve ser fácil de limpar. 4 Deve-se evitar a possibilidade de entornar.? A fixação contra a parede faz-se melhor com ganchos (Figura 12).Prender preferivelmente num canto. ? Pregar uma chapa ou uma lata de rebordo baixo num pedaço de madeira. ? Empregar argila, cimento ou um bloco de concreto com um buraco cortado no centro.Figura 12: Ganchos para prender o equipamento do comedouro na parede.Consideremos os aspectos higiénicos dos vários materiais que podem ser empregues para a construção duma coelheira. Deve-se prestar a maior atenção à construção do chão.É possível construir coelheiras com chãos sólidos, mas deve-se tomar em conta que estes chãos requerem ser limpos, regularmente, e que se deve utilizar material de cama, como seja palha ou aparas de madeira.Em vez de se aplicar um chão sólido, a coelheira também pode ser provista dum chão de ripas. Neste caso, pode-se usar madeira ou bambu mas, preferivelmente, não usar redes de arame para os chãos de coelheiras que se encontram fora. As ripas de bambu ou de madeira devem estar suficientemente juntas para permitirem aos coelhos andarem sobre elas, mas também suficientemente espaçadas para fazer com que os dejectos caiam facilmente entre elas (Figura 13). Deve-se limpar, meticulosamente, a gaiola todas as semanas.Deve-se tentar fabricar uma construção que não tenha `espaços mortos' onde os dejectos se podem acumular, para evitar actividades de limpeza adicionais. As ripas de madeira ou de bambu devem ser colocadas de trás para a frente, visto que desta forma o chão é mais fácil de limpar do que no caso de as ripas serem colocadas do lado esquerdo para o lado direito.Uma forma de prevenir que os chãos se tornem cada vez mais sujos é provendo cada coelheira dum chão solto que pode ser removido, de vez em quando, para ser limpo, desinfectado (pela luz do sol) e recolocado na coelheira. Uma outra maneira que implica que se construa a parede traseira mais para dentro, de modo que os espaços mortos se encontrem fora da gaiola, é ilustrada na Figura 15.Figura 15: Modo de construção para evitar a acumulação de dejectos na gaiola Figura 14: Espaços mortos numa gaiola construída de madeiraA coelheira materna é simplesmente uma coelheira comum tal como as que já foram descritas. Pode fazer-se um pouco maior de modo a que nela se possa colocar uma caixa-ninho. A caixa-ninho pode ser colocada na parte traseira da gaiola materna.A sua função principal é fornecer à fêmea um lugar especial para ela fazer o ninho e, para além disso, para evitar que as crias deambulem na gaiola. Como a fêmea não reconhece as crias jovens se não estiverem no ninho, não amamentará ninhadas deambulantes.Existem muitos desenhos para as caixas-ninhos. Há tipos abertos, tipos semi-abertos e tipos fechados. As vantagens dos tipos abertos são que permitem uma vigilância fácil da ninhada e que são de construção fácil e barata. A desvantagem principal é o facto de que as crias ficam muito expostas.As vantagens dos tipos semi-abertos são que as crias não estão tão expostas e que, numa coelheira pequena, a coelha tem espaço para sentar-se no topo da caixa-ninho.As caixas-ninhos podem ser fabricadas de qualquer tipo de material. Tomar em consideração que a higiene se reveste de primordial importância. Deve-se empregar materiais lisos ou fáceis de limpar (o bambu constitui obviamente uma boa opção), ter cuidado com pregos ou rebordos afiados e abrir furos, no fundo, para escoar a urina. A madeira compensada (madeira contraplacada) é um bom material para uso com reforços de madeira (nos cantos).Sem dúvida, é possível construir toda a coelheira de bambu, incluindo os postes, as camadas de suporte, etc. Contudo, toda a construção será bastante mais prática, ordenada, direita, forte e duradoura se se empregar madeira para a armação e bambu para o 'acabamento'.Deve-se escolher materiais que se possam obter facilmente. Talvez não haja bambu, ferro velho ou redes de arame mas haja madeira em abundância. Talvez se disponha apenas de lama e alguns talos grossos de cana de açúcar, ou se possa obter madeira de teca proveniente duma serração de teca existente na proximidade.No início, não se deve fazer despesas volumosas. Tentar primeiro um, dois ou três modelos e, depois dum mês, saber-se-á muito mais no que diz respeito ao modelo adequado. Provavelmente não se compra 100 coelhos para começar a criação. Não existe nenhum modelo perfeito, visto que cada tipo tem as suas vantagens e desvantagens. Deve-se tomar sempre em consideração os aspectos económicos e a higiene (p.ex. chãos de ripas, sem empregar palha se não for necessário).6 Alojamento: o estábulo   A altura do edifício deve criar uma harmonização entre os seguintes factores: entrada de ar fresco, protecção contra a chuva e, por último, mas não por isso menos importante, os custos da construção.As paredes podem ser fechadas ou abertas. Para além das condições climáticas (chuva, corrente, vento frio, ar fresco), nesta decisão a possibilidade de furto e as despesas previstas também desempenham um papel importante. É uma boa ideia construir uma parede sólida (de tijolos ou de madeira) que tenha uma altura igual à do topo das gaiolas e colocar redes de arame da parede para cima, até o telhado. Deste modo previne-se que correntes de ar atinjam os animais e mantêm-se fora os predadores e os ladrões.Uma explicativa sobre o uso de palha, capim ou folhas para a construção do telhado: é necessário aplicar um declive mais inclinado (que implica o uso duma superfície do telhado mais elevada e, portanto, maiores despesas) do que no caso de se empregarem telhas e devem ser muito maiores do que a superfície mínima necessária para as chapas galvanizadas de ferro. Se o declive for demasiadamente leve, a água não escorrerá mas se filtrará através do telhado.Podem-se tomar várias medidas para mitigar as temperaturas extremas. As árvores ao redor da construção fornecem sombra e, portanto, diminuem a quantidade de calor que entra durante o dia. Também diminuem levemente a quantidade de calor que escapa de noite, devido à irradiação, e reduzem o impacto da chuva e do vento (Figura 18). Algumas árvores de crescimento rápido são Leucaena, Gliricidia, Sesbania e Erythrina, que até podem fornecer alguns alimentos para os animais. Para além das árvores, o material empregue no telhado (material de cobertura) influencia, em grande medida, a temperatura do interior. Faça a sua própria decisão, tomando em conta que: um telhado de ferro ondulado fica mais quente do que um fabricado de palha, capim ou telhas (particularmente se o telhado começar a enferrujar).Um estábulo que se situa num solo arenoso e que é bem drenado e bem arejado, será melhor do que um estábulo mal arejado, construído num solo húmido. Os animais também produzem ar húmido! As paredes abertas fornecem uma ventilação adequada (se for necessário para manter afastados os ladrões, também se podem aplicar vários materiais, como sejam redes de arame ou esteiras de bambu). Para além disso, uma construção alta é melhor que uma construção baixa e um telhado de telhas (com muitos orifícios de arejamento) facilita mais o arejamento do que um telhado de chapas de ferro onduladas ou de capim . O próprio produtor é quem melhor poder julgar o microclima dos estábulos. Se o produtor ficar incomodado pelo calor, a humidade ou o cheiro do amoníaco, os animais ficarão também incomodados!A protecção contra predadores e furto já foi abordada, quando se tratou do desenho das coelheiras individuais. Deve-se usar o bom senso como directriz: as ratazanas entrarão de qualquer maneira, independentemente das medidas tomadas, enquanto que os gatos e os cães podem ser mantidos fora com bastante facilidade. Os ladrões constituem um outro problema ao qual se deve fazer frente utilizando o melhor discernimento.As gaiolas podem ser fabricadas de vários materiais de construção, como sejam redes de arame, madeira ou bambu. As dimensões das gaiolas são, muitas das vezes, de 50 cm de largura x 60 cm de comprimento x 30 cm de altura (com a caixa-ninho fixada no exterior da gaiola).Possivelmente é desejável construir as gaiolas com uma maior altura, particularmente as gaiolas maternas, visto que a fêmea gosta de descansar em cima da caixa-ninho. Se houver espaço limitado, é possível colocar duas gaiolas, uma sobre a outra. Mas deve-se ter cuidado: quanto mais quente e húmido se torna o ambiente, tanto mais espaço é necessário para manter um bom microclima.A aplicação de redes de arame para o chão é provavelmente a opção mais higiénica, com a condição de que a malha seja suficientemente grande para permitir que os dejectos possam passar por ela. Contudo, deve-se verificar a qualidade, quer dizer, não se deve empregar arame que enferruja rapidamente, visto que pode partir-se e ferir o animal. Não se deve utilizar rede para galinheiro, visto que esta é demasiadamente afiada, mas arame metálico soldado com um diâmetro de 2 mm. Deve-se aplicar uma rede com malhas suficientemente grandes para poderem passar os dejectos mas também suficientemente pequenas para as crias de três semanas de idade poderem andar nela. Recomenda-se utilizar malhas rectangulares de 1,3 x 7,5 cm ou quadradas de 1,9 x 1,9 cm. Contudo, a aplicação de chãos feitos de arame podem provocar os 'curvilhões irritados', um problema para o qual as raças grandes são particularmente susceptíveis.Figura 20: Gaiola, com tipo fechado de caixa-ninhoPode-se optar pelo uso de arame menos forte nas partes da gaiola onde os animais não pisam no chão e onde a corrosão devido à urina será mais lenta, etc. É evidente que também se pode optar pelo uso de madeira ou bambu para fabricar o chão. As ripas de bambu ou de madeira devem estar suficientemente juntas para os coelhos nelas poderem andar, mas também suficientemente espaçadas para os dejectos poderem passar facilmente. Limpar, meticulosamente, as gaiolas uma vez por semana.Tal como no caso das coelheiras colocadas fora, ao ar livre, deve-se tentar fazer uma construção que não tenha 'espaços mortos', difíceis de limpar. Cada gaiola deve ter um chão solto ou deve-se construir a parede traseira de tal modo que os espaços mortos se encontrem fora da gaiola.Se as gaiolas forem grandes, pode-se utilizar as caixas-ninhos apresentadas no capítulo 5 (os tipos abertos e semi-abertos).Se as gaiolas forem pequenas, possivelmente será necessário que se empregue um tipo de caixa-ninho fechada. Normalmente, estas caixasninhos estão fixadas no lado exterior da gaiola materna. Assim poupase espaço, visto que deste modo as gaiolas maternas podem ter as mesmas dimensões que todas as outras gaiolas. Também facilita a vigilância da ninhada. Contudo, requer a utilização dum desenho algo mais complicado (ver as figuras 20 e 21).Quando a caixa-ninho é colocada dentro da gaiola, as dimensões da gaiola devem ser de: 35 cm de comprimento, 30 cm de largura, e 30 cm de altura. Pode-se fabricar o chão com tábua de madeira perfurada (madeira contraplacada), que pode ser removido.O criador de coelhos deve decidir como, onde e que tipo de alojamento deseja construir. A decisão será sempre o resultado da avaliação de vários factores importantes, como seja a escolha do material de cobertura para empregar no telhado. Por exemplo, um telhado feito de capim/folhas é fresco, bem-conhecido, barato e fácil de produzir localmente mas requer uma manutenção regular, enquanto que um telhado de chapas de ferro onduladas é mais quente, mais dispendioso, mal arejado mas também mais duradouro e, sem dúvida, mais higiénica (não atraindo ratazanas ou pássaros).Para a criação de coelhos em pequena escala provavelmente não é necessário utilizar um estábulo principal, visto que uma coelheira pode ser colocada debaixo do beiral dum telhado, na cozinha ou debaixo duma árvore, coberta com um pedaço de plástico, de forma a evitar que a chuva entre (dependendo do clima). Os coelhos não gostam da luz directa do sol. Para além disso, a sombra reduzirá o calor e, geralmente, também previne que a chuva entre.Visto que está fora do âmbito deste manual, não se tratam aqui os aspectos básicos da nutrição animal. Há suficientes manuais práticos sobre este tema para ajudar o leitor interessado (ver a lista bibliográfica no final desta publicação). Aqui tratamos apenas dalguns princípios gerais. Contudo, se se conhecer as necessidades dos animais mas não o valor nutritivo dos alimentos disponíveis, não se poderá utilizar essa informação. Os laboratórios nem sempre estão disponíveis e, para além disso, uma análise no laboratório não dá muita informação se não se conhecer a digestibilidade dos alimentos, que é difícil de medir. Para aconselhamento particular no que diz respeito a uma situação nutricional específica é melhor pôr-se em contacto com especialistas locais em universidades ou estações experimentais. Lembre-se de tomar em conta os preços, as disponibilidades sazonais, as possibilidades de armazenamento, etc. É necessário também controlar a saúde e o desempenho dos animais, visto que são a melhor medida para saber se a alimentação é adequada ou não. Não é bom que um animal seja demasiadamente gordo nem que seja demasiadamente magro. A experiência ajudará a encontrar o equilíbrio adequado.Antes de nos debruçarmos sobre as necessidades nutricionais, primeiro trataremos das necessidades de água. A água não é considerada como nutriente. Mas isso não quer dizer que um coelho não precise de beber água. Há muitas pessoas que alegam que um coelho não precisa de beber água porque os alimentos, como sejam o capim, as folhas de mandioca e os tubérculos de batata doce já contêm água suficiente. De facto, estes alimentos grosseiros fornecem alguma quantidade de água ao animal e até pode ser suficiente para as necessidades de manutenção do seu corpo. Contudo, em geral recomenda-se dar-lhes acesso a água limpa. O próprio animal dá-se conta quando precisar de água para beber. Para além disso, como uma fêmea lactante poderia produzir suficiente leite caso não bebesse água? Os custos do abastecimento de água são nulos, mas obviamente que se requer um pouco de trabalho e, às vezes, a água fica suja e começa a ter um mau cheiro. Com os cuidados e o equipamento apropriados, o abastecimento de água limpa pode, e deve, tornar-se uma actividade rotineira.Figura 22: Alguns desenhos de bebedourosUma alimentação adequada influenciará o crescimento, a fertilidade e a saúde do coelho. Alguns alimentos contêm muitas proteínas (particularmente os vegetais frescos) enquanto que outros constituem fontes de energia (como sejam o farelo de arroz, tubérculos, etc.). Tanto as proteínas como os ingredientes ricos em energia constituem nutrientes importantes, mas também é necessário fornecer minerais, vitaminas e sal comum.Para começar, um coelho beneficiará do consumo de vegetais, como sejam capim, folhas, legumes, etc. Contudo, deve-se deixar estes alimentos, também conhecidos como alimentos grosseiros, a murchar durante meio dia antes de os fornecer aos animais, de forma a evitar que estes fiquem com o ventre inchado ou com outros problemas do ventre. Deve-se ter cuidado para evitar um possível envenenamento provocado pelas folhas da mandioca ou de outras plantas. Normalmente, a população local conhece as plantas venenosas. Contudo, nem todos os tipos de folhas ou de capim são iguais. O capim tenro (com quatro semanas) é mais fácil de digerir e contém quase o dobro do teor de proteínas que o capim de oito semanas. As folhas são muito mais nutritivas do que os talos e, portanto, deve-se tentar encontrar capim muito folhudo. Por mais suculento que pareça o talo, o seu valor nutritivo é, geralmente, baixo, mas tem um efeito positivo na actividade intestinal.O produtor tem sorte se morar perto dum mercado onde possivelmente se deitam fora folhas de couve, cenouras ou bananas, mas deve-se ter cuidado com os resíduos de herbicidas/pesticidas. Também é possível alimentar os coelhos com as sobras da cozinha ou dum restaurante local. Deve-se ter cuidado com vidro e outras impurezas! Se se dispor de muitas sobras para alimentos, também se pode considerar a compra dum leitão.Os alimentos grosseiros ou as forragens são, normalmente, abastecidos em quantidades livres para que os animais possam comer à vontade. De notar: quando as crias abandonam a caixa-ninho, começam a comer o alimento da coelha-mãe, e por isso é necessário verificar que sejam abastecidas com forragens limpas.Tal como os seres humanos, os coelhos também precisam de uma dieta variada e o capim ou as folhas verdes talvez não sejam suficientes para os animais em lactação e em crescimento. Tal como as pessoas, também não podem trabalhar e/ou reproduzir-se se apenas comerem legumes sem cereais ou outros alimentos amiláceos como sejam os tubérculos. É melhor acrescentar um ingrediente amiláceo (que contém muita energia) aos alimentos dos coelhos. Os candidatos a alimentos amiláceos adequados são: farelo de arroz, tubérculos (de mandioca), restos de cenouras, milho (é caro!) e sobras de arroz da cozinha.A quantidade de alimentos para fornecer a um coelho depende, em grande medida, da fase de produção. Uma coelha lactante necessita de muitos concentrados (grãos, tubérculos), para além de verduras, de forma a manter o seu peso e produzir leite para as crias. Os coelhos jovens também precisam de comer alguns alimentos concentrados para crescerem bem. Em geral pode-se dizer que o adicionamento de alguns concentrados suplementares às forragens melhorará o desempenho dos animais, como sejam o crescimento, a sobrevivência das crias, o estado de saúde, etc.Pode valer a pena, para além das forragens, fornecer também algum tipo de alimento comercial para coelhos, preferivelmente na forma de granulados (rações peletizadas). Caso não se possa obter este tipo de ração, uma alternativa adequada será fornecer-lhes alimentos para porcos ou ruminantes. E se também não houver, pode-se dar-lhes alimentos para frangos de engorda ou para galinhas. Se se fornecer farinha, será melhor humedecê-la levemente, senão os coelhos não podem comê-la, visto que com os seus dentes de roedores um coelho mal pode comer farinha ou rações em pó.Para além das proteínas e dos ingredientes que fornecem energia, os minerais também constituem um ingrediente importante da dieta. As verduras e os concentrados contêm muitos minerais. Contudo, recomenda-se acrescentar alguns minerais aos alimentos, na forma de sal.Por exemplo, ao fornecer farelo de arroz será suficiente misturar uma colherada de sal para 1 kg de farelo. Os pedaços dum bloco de sal desfeito, normalmente utilizado pelos ruminantes que o lambem, também pode servir para os coelhos. Se na proximidade houver um especialista local ou um criador experiente, recomenda-se pedir conselho sobre o fornecimento de minerais.Em geral, podemos dizer que um alimento concentrado para coelhos, se for usado como alimento único, deve conter cerca de 17% de proteínas cruas e cerca de 15% de fibras cruas. Os teores máximos recomendados para o concentrado são: 20% de farelo de cereais (milho, trigo, arroz, sorgo/mapira) 20% de sêmea de cereais 15% de bagaço ou farinha de produtos secundários de sementes oleaginosas (de soja, girassol, amendoim, palmiste, algodão com teor baixo de gossipol) 5% de melaço 25 a 50% de capim ou de farinha de alfalfa ou verduras bem secas e de alta qualidade 2,5% de pré-mistura que contém vitaminas e minerais 0,3% de sal Contudo, a experiência é o melhor guia. É possível fornecer 100% de farelo de arroz (se for de boa qualidade) e embora o crescimento possa ser mais lento, isto não deve constituir nenhum problema se o farelo de arroz ou qualquer outro alimento for barato, limpo e saboroso.? Não se deve mudar, de repente, a alimentação. ? Não se deve ficar desesperado se, à primeira vista, os animais não gostarem de boas rações do alimentos de alta qualidade. Recomenda-se tentar durante vários dias e, se for necessário, deve-se deixálos passar um pouco de fome. O coelho é um animal notório pelos seus gostos e aversões, que são difíceis de prever. ? As verduras não devem estar demasiadamente molhadas, senão perturbarão o estômago, provocarão o inchaço do ceco ou diarreia, que pode ser fatal. ? Não se deve fornecer aos coelhos mais do que eles querem comer e deve-se remover os alimentos velhos (bolorentos, poeirentos). O farelo de arroz e o bagaço de sementes oleaginosas, em particular, tendem a tornar-se rançosos, de modo que não se deve fornecê-los em grandes quantidades. Forneça as sobras a outros animais. ? Geralmente, não vale a pena cozer os alimentos. ? Um método adequado de alimentação é fornecer os concentrados (farelo de arroz, milho, raízes) durante o dia e as verduras à noite. Isto faz-se também para evitar que se atraiam ratazanas durante a noite. ? Sabia que o coelho pratica a coprofagia ou seja a pseudoruminação? Quer dizer que come as fezes que têm a sua origem no ceco, reciclando assim parte dos alimentos através do seu corpo. De noite, um coelho produz um cacho de bolinhas fecais pequenas, moles, num invólucro fino parecido a uma película. Estes não se parecem às conhecidas bolinhas fecais secas e individuais, de tamanho maior (ver a figura 23). O coelho come estas fezes moles mas não as secas. A coprofagia (no caso do coelho chama-se a cecotrofia) também existe, até certo ponto, com outros animais (p.ex. macacos).Se se encontrar cecotrofos (fezes nocturnas) dentro da coelheira ou debaixo da gaiola, isto indica que o coelho está doente ou foi perturbado durante a ingestão dos cecotrofos.Figura 23: Fotografia dos dois tipos de dejectos. À direita: os dejectos secos, normais, do colón. Deve-se vigiar os animais com dejectos como na foto à esquerda(os cecotrofos) para não desenvolverem problemas intestinais.É uma boa ideia pesar os animais com regularidade (por exemplo, uma vez por semana). Através da medição do crescimento, obter-se-á informação muito mais clara sobre o bem-estar dos seus animais do que, unicamente, através de observações visuais.Nas regiões tropicais, uma taxa de crescimento de, aproximadamente, 15-20 gramas por dia é comum, ainda que seja possível atingir um nível de 30-40 gramas por dia, com base numa alimentação de qualidade muito elevada. De recordar que o animal atinge as maiores taxas de crescimento nos primeiros meses. Depois de atingir a maturidade sexual, o peso corporal continuará a ser constante. Portanto, se os animais começarem a crescer menos, mas não estiverem doentes nem receberem alimentos de má qualidade, esta mudança pode ser provocada pelo factor da idade! Figura 24: Pesando coelhos Não se deve alimentar para atingir o maior crescimento possível, mas deve-se alimentar os coelhos de tal modo que se possa atingir um equilíbrio entre o crescimento e a saúde geral e entre os custos e benefícios dos alimentos. Os coelhos possivelmente são capazes de subsistir apenas com verduras, mas as crias em pleno crescimento e as matrizes precisam de obter alimentos suplementares como, preferivelmente, alguns cereais (milho, farelo de arroz) para se manterem saudáveis, crescerem e se reproduzirem.A causa principal da mortalidade dos coelhos é, provavelmente, os problemas intestinais. Em segundo lugar estão as doenças dos órgãos respiratórios. Às vezes, estes são uma consequência indirecta dos problemas intestinais, que reduzem a resistência do animal. A terceira causa comum é constituída por todo um grupo de doenças, das quais a mixomatose é provavelmente a melhor conhecida mas mesmo assim também é a que ocorre com a menor frequência. Os problemas provocados por parasitas na pele são incómodos mas quase nunca são fatais e podem ser curados facilmente. Na secção da Leitura Recomendada, no final deste manual, encontram-se algumas referências a títulos de livros excelentes que tratam, especificamente, das doenças de coelhos.No Apêndice 1 apresenta-se uma lista das doenças mais comuns, das suas causas, diagnósticos e tratamentos curativos. Neste capítulo a ênfase é posta na prevenção das doenças. A prevenção é a maneira mais fácil, barata e lógica para os coelhos se manterem saudáveis. Somente quando houver 'má sorte' será necessário efectuar um tratamento, mas nesse caso não se pode garantir o seu êxito e os medicamentos são, muitas das vezes, dispendiosos e nem sempre estão facilmente disponíveis.Nesta secção tratam-se de algumas medidas para prevenir problemas de doenças no seu rebanho:1 Deve-se tentar evitar a compra de coelhos num mercado, onde se juntam muitos germes desconhecidos. Tente comprar os animais a criadores idóneos ou a produtores que dispõem de alojamento higiénico e animais de aspecto saudável. Em todo caso, deve-se inspeccionar os animais e, depois de transportá-los para casa, mantê-los separados dos outros animais (em quarentena) durante duas semanas, no mínimo.2 Verifique como medida de rotina o estado de saúde dos animais, efectuando os seguintes passos: ? Inspeccionar o nariz, as pálpebras e as bordas das orelhas para ver se têm sarna (crostas pequenas) e o interior da orelha para ver se têm ácaros da orelha (sarna auricular). ? Inspeccionar os excrementos se estão secos ou bastante pastosos. ? Apalpar a barriga para verificar se não está esponjosa. Para fazer isto requer-se alguma experiência. ? Inspeccionar o nariz e as patas dianteiras. Certos tipos de tosse provocam uma espécie de coriza que suja as patas dianteiras. ? Controlar o cheiro na coelheira. A diarreia/enterite provoca, muitas das vezes, um mau cheiro. Quando a coelha está a aleitar, tem stress e, portanto, é mais susceptível a um ataque de germes intestinais (que sempre se encontram presentes), p.ex. provocando a coccidiose. Às vezes, a caixa-ninho precisa de ser limpa.Faça um desenho da coelheira e utilize materiais que são fáceis de limpar. Embora na Europa e EUA se utilize, muitas das vezes, uma cama (de palha, etc.), não se recomenda fazer isso nas regiões tropicais quentes, visto que nesta zona climática uma cama apresenta mais desvantagens que vantagens.Deve-se limpar as coelheiras diariamente e mantê-las secas. Se se suspeitar da presença duma doença, dever-se-á efectuar uma desinfecção! Há numerosos tipos de desinfectantes locais, que se podem utilizar, como sejam o carbol, a creolina, soluções de lixívia (cal, soda), Teepol, formalina ou formol (composto muito agressivo, portanto utilizar com cuidado). Se for necessário, quer dizer, se não houver outros desinfectantes, pode-se usar querosene. Tome em consideração que alguns tipos de sabão ou agentes branqueadores contêm clorina. A maior parte destes desinfectantes, ainda que nem todos, têm um cheiro forte e agressivo, que fere o aparelho respiratório tanto de homens como de animais. Mantenha afastados os animais durante a limpeza com agentes agressivos e não se deve repor um animal numa gaiola que ainda cheira a desinfectante. Contudo, um desinfectante adequado e não nocivo, que é sempre barato mas nem sempre disponível, é a luz do sol. Embora o uso de fogo seja adequado (uma pequena chama de gás), tal apresenta desvantagens óbvias. Emprega-se, muitas das vezes, em gaiolas feitas de redes de arame, para remover o pêlo nelas acumulado.Deve-se manter os animais afastados dos seus excrementos. Recomenda-se usar, de preferência, chãos de ripas sem cama de palha (ou apenas uma cama muito fina).Deve-se apartar os animais que se suspeita estarem doentes, de modo que não possam infectar os animais sadios. Em vez de nos concentrarmos, individualmente, nas causas e sintomas específicos dos vários problemas intestinais (coccidiose, inchaço, enterite, diarreia, etc.), no âmbito deste Agrodok é suficiente que falemos do 'complexo da enterite' de um modo geral.? Prevenção A prevenção é quase igual para todas as causas. Devem-se manter os animais afastados dos excrementos e limpar, diariamente, os recintos onde se encontram. Não se deve fornecer alimentos excessivamente húmidos. (Contudo, tome-se em consideração que provavelmente não é somente a alimentação que provoca o 'complexo da enterite'. É que os intestinos ficam tão perturbados pelos alimentos demasiadamente molhados que os agentes patogénicos têm maiores oportunidades para atacarem). Deve-se abastecer os animais com alimentos de alta qualidade.? Causas Há uma grande variedade de parasitas intestinais para além das bactérias. Os factores específicos da alimentação também podem provocar a produção de muito gás (inchaço) ou reduzir a resistência do coelho.? Sintomas Diarreia, perda de apetite (anorexia), apatia, partes traseiras molhadas ou sujas, abdómen inchado e/ou de impressão esponjosa ao toque, pêlo áspero ou perda de peso (quando se puder aperceber os dois ossos na extremidade do lombo, ao lado da espinha, é uma indicação de que o coelho está a ficar demasiadamente magro).Estes sintomas não se manifestam, necessariamente, de uma forma evidente ou simultaneamente! Por exemplo, uma coccidiose hepática fatal quase nunca provoca diarreia. Depois de se abaterem alguns animais, ter-se-á uma ideia de quais são os aspectos duma massa intestinal normal e duma anormal. A coccidiose hepática provoca um aumento do fígado em combinação com manchas brancas. Requer-se equipamento de laboratório, como seja um microscópio, para a determinação de outras causas dos problemas intestinais, mas isto fica fora do âmbito deste manual.? Tratamentos A primeira medida é deixar de alimentar o coelho com concentrados e fornecer-lhe apenas alimentos grosseiros secos, que contêm um alto teor de fibras, como seja a palha. Depois, deve-se fornecer alimentos secos de alta qualidade, de forma a fazer com que se recupere a microflora intestinal. As folhas do aipo também são conhecidas pelos seus efeitos curativos nos intestinos.Os tratamentos com uso de sulfa podem ser muito úteis, particularmente como medida preventiva. Os animais gravemente desidratados (magros), devido à diarreia, devem ser forçados a beberem através da 'injecção' de água ou leite, etc. na boca. Caso se utilizar água, esta deve conter, preferivelmente, um pouco de sal e de açúcar (9 g de sal + 9 g de açúcar /litro de água). Deve-se fornecer uma quantidade de líquido que seja 10-20% do peso corporal do animal. Existe uma ampla variedade de medicamentos de sulfa, cujas doses de administração se apresentam no Apêndice 1 deste manual. Os especialistas sugerem, geralmente, que se misturem estas sulfas ou outros medicamentos com a água de beber ou com os alimentos concentrados. Contudo, esta abordagem não é nada útil para um animal doente que já deixou de comer e de beber. Utilize uma seringa para administrar o medicamento líquido ao animal (ver a figura 25).Figura 25: Administração dum medicamento líquido ao animal com uso duma seringa ou duma agulha de injecção coberta por um tubinho pequenoAs fêmeas lactantes são, particularmente, susceptíveis ao desenvolvimento do 'complexo de enterite' (principalmente coccidiose), infectando assim as crias na fase difícil do começo da sua existência. Por conseguinte, depois de 4 a 7 semanas, muitas crias terão problemas graves, com o 'complexo de enterite'.Conselho: depois de as crias saírem da caixa-ninho, recomenda-se administrar um tratamento preventivo com sulfa à coelha-mãe e às crias. Deste modo dificultar-se-á, significativamente, a ocorrência de coccidiose e também de outros problemas intestinais!Há várias causas da tosse, espirros, coriza e pneumonia que podem provocar a morte repentina do animal e que são difíceis de distinguir por parte duma pessoa não especialista no assunto. Nem sempre são provocadas por bactérias, tal como a pasteurelose, e os tratamentos medicinais raramente dão bons resultados.? Prevenção Deve-se fazer com que os animais disponham de ar fresco e de um ambiente limpo, livre de poeira. Para prevenir que uma doença se propague, deve-se separar os animais que espirram e abatê-los ou vendêlos a um talho. Substituir os animais eliminados por animais jovens, de reposição.? Sintomas Os sintomas dos problemas respiratórios são: espirros, tosse, as patas dianteiras sujas (devido ao seu uso como 'lenço') e uma respiração ruidosa. Nem todos os animais afectados morrem, alguns podem viver e parir normalmente mas, às vezes, a morte ocorre bastante inesperadamente. Ao abrir um animal morto (autópsia), constatar-se-á que os animais 'sadios' e os 'doentes' são parecidos. São muito poucos os animais que têm os pulmões 100% limpos. Contudo, há casos em que os pulmões se encontram em tão mau estado que se fica admirado que o animal não tivesse morrido antes.? Tratamento Para além dos tratamentos com antibióticos, não se pode fazer muito mais para além do que foi descrito na secção sobre a prevenção. Devese ter muito cuidado ao administrar antibióticos a coelhos, visto que estes medicamentos podem, facilmente, perturbar a microflora intestinal. Os coelhos são muito susceptíveis aos efeitos dos antibióticos!Como foi tratado anteriormente, os coccídeos são parasitas internos (endoparasitas) que formam uma parte do \"complexo de enterite\". Também a ténia e a ascárida são parasitas internos que existem nos coelhos mas que raramente são considerados como causas importantes de mortalidade. Dois tipos de parasitas externos que são muito nocivos são os ácaros da sarna (sarcoptes) e os ácaros da orelha.? Prevenção Não se deve introduzir, no rebanho, animais sujos procedentes de outros lugares. Deve-se limpar, regular e minuciosamente, os recintos onde os animais se encontram. Deve-se vigiar meticulosamente para detectar infecções, inspeccionando o nariz, as orelhas (interior e bordas), pálpebras e órgãos sexuais dos animais. Administrar, mensalmente, injecções de ivermectine, de forma a prevenir a ocorrência de ácaros ou piolhos.Estes parasitas raramente causam a morte, mas constituem um incómodo. Às vezes, a infecção pode curar-se espontaneamente. A sarna produz uma aparência escamosa (geralmente branca), que começa no nariz e depois se propaga para as pálpebras, as bordas das orelhas, os órgãos sexuais, debaixo das patas dianteiras e em outros pontos cobertos. Os ácaros da orelha provocam o desenvolvimento de crostas castanho-sujo, pastosas, de cor de sangue, no interior das orelhas, que podem provocar, às vezes, outras infecções do ouvido. Embora o uso de petróleo seja eficaz, tem a desvantagem de provocar muita sujidade. Para além disso, tal como o querosene, provoca uma sensação de queimadura. Pode-se pôr isto à prova aplicando um pouco de gasolina ou querosene no seu lábio superior! Para o tratamento da sarna das orelhas deve-se misturar óleo (p.ex. óleo alimentar) com um pouco de iodo e esfregálo no orifício do ouvido. O óleo provoca a eliminação dos ácaros e o iodo faz com que as feridas se curem.Figura 27: Tratamento contra os ácaros da orelha, borrifando insecticida nas orelhasOs problemas mais comuns que ainda não foram mencionados são: curvilhões irritados (parece ser um problema hereditário), animais coxos (há várias causas possíveis), lesões, peitos irritados e mastite. Caso se manifeste um destes problemas, deve-se usar o bom senso: quer dizer, não se deve perder muito tempo esperando que o problema desapareça por si mesmo. Abata e coma o animal de modo que se possa investir tempo e energia em coisas mais importantes. Isto não somente é uma abordagem prática, mas assim também se poupa o sofrimento do animal por muito tempo. O produtor selecciona, a longo prazo, os animais mais adequados e saudáveis para a criação.Os curvilhões (jarretes) irritados produzem-se, principalmente, com os animais de reprodução, devido à aplicação de chãos feitos de arame cortante e à probabilidade de curvilhões molhados. Forre o com uma rede de arame de plástico flexível no chão da gaiola ou um pedaço de cartão/tábua para nele se sentarem. Os coelhos de engorda não sofrem de curvilhões irritados, visto que vivem apenas um curto período, de modo que são mais leves.Para a criação de coelhos é necessário tomar muitos aspectos em consideração: as despesas da construção do estábulo, os preços dos alimentos, o preço de compra dos animais, etc. Embora a contabilidade seja importante, não é o tema central desta secção. Desde o ponto de vista da gestão, a tarefa administrativa mais importante é o registo dos seus animais: o registo das datas de nascimento, dos acasalamentos e dos partos, ascendência, sintomas de doenças, taxas de crescimento, etc. Para processar, correctamente, toda esta informação, é preciso dispor dum sistema administrativo adequado.Figura 28: Rótulo com informação detalhada sobre o animal Em primeiro lugar, é importante prover os animais individuais dalguma forma de identificação. Pode ser um rótulo fabricado de madeira contraplacada, de cartão ou duma lata aplanada, atada na gaiola de cada animal.Se se utilizar um pedaço de madeira contraplacada, pintado com pintura para quadro preto, e um pedaço de giz comum, removível, poder-seá reutilizá-lo. Quando se muda um animal para uma outra coelheira, é acompanhada pelo rótulo de identificação.Um bom conselho: recomenda-se manter sempre todos os animais de criação (machos e fêmeas) em gaiolas separadas. Deste modo, o número da gaiola também é o número de identificação do animal que está lá dentro.É uma boa ideia manter um livro com informação sobre cada animal. Ainda melhor é um sistema de fichas ou um livro com páginas soltas que podem ser reordenadas, se for necessário.É importante que o produtor esteja bem informado sobre todos os acontecimentos no que diz respeito aos animais, e também das datas em que ocorreram, para evitar p.ex. a reprodução consanguínea. As crias desmamadas provenientes duma mesma ninhada são mantidas juntas para a engorda. Toda a ninhada é registada com uma ficha de registo que indica que se trata de animais de engorda. Os animais reprodutores são seleccionados entre a ninhada de crias desmamadas.A coelheira de cada animal jovem (fêmea ou macho), escolhido para a reprodução, deve ser provista de um rótulo novo, atado na gaiola, quando começarem a reproduzir-se. Nesse momento atribui-se-lhes uma página no livro ou uma ficha na caixa de registo.Outro aspecto importante cuja anotação se poderia tomar em consideração é o peso de cada animal, por exemplo à idade do seu primeiro acasalamento. Ver o Apêndice 2 para exemplos de fichas de registo.Através duma observação de perto dos animais, poder-se-á verificar diariamente se alguns estão prontos para serem desmamados, acasalar, parir, etc. Contudo, também se pode manter um calendário que ajudará o produtor a registar e antecipar os acontecimentos diários (Figura 29). Normalmente os coelhos de engorda (Nova Zelândia Branco ou as raças Califórnia) são abatidos quando têm um peso de, aproximadamente, 2,5 kg. Os animais alimentados com forragem atingem este peso quando têm, mais ou menos, seis meses de idade, enquanto que os alimentados com concentrados atingem-no quando têm uma idade de, aproximadamente, três meses. Ao atingir este peso o aumento de peso diário diminuiu. vezes, deixa-se a cabeça atada à carcaça de forma a provar que se trata realmente dum coelho. 4 Apertar a bexiga para esvaziá-la de urina, de modo que a urina não possa estragar a carne quando pendurada. 5 Atar um cordel mesmo debaixo de cada curvilhão e pendurar o animal num varão robusto. 6 Cortam-se a cauda e as patas dianteiras com uma tesoura. 7 Esfolamento. Corta-se a pele ao redor dos curvilhões. Depois, corta-se a pele desde um curvilhão para o outro, passando pela cauda e a zona anal. 8 Estirar a pele, suavemente, para baixo, sem usar uma faca. Se a cabeça for deixada na carcaça, corta-se a pele ao redor da cabeça. Se houver sangue colado na pele, é melhor removê-lo lavando-a, senão poderia manchar a pele e ficar como uma mancha negra no processo de conservação da pele. 9 Corta-se o abdómen a partir do umbigo, movendo para cima e depois para baixo. Tomar cuidado para não perfurar as paredes do estômago e dos intestinos. Estes órgãos contêm muito poucos músculos de modo que se perfuram facilmente e, se tal acontecer, o conteúdo poderia estragar a carne. 10 Evisceração/estripação. Agora pode-se retirar todos os intestinos, incluíndo o estômago, a bexiga, os pulmões, etc. 11 Remover os rins, o coração e o fígado (as partes comestíveis) e mantê-los separados. 12 Só resta a carcaça limpa.O coelho 'vestido' (quer dizer, a carcaça com os rins, o coração e o fígado) pesa cerca 50% do peso vivo do animal.A procura comercial de peles provenientes de animais de exploração é muito reduzida em muitos países. Contudo, estas peles não são inúteis e qualquer pessoa que esteja interessado, poderá fazer razoavelmente bem a curtimenta das peles para uso numa ampla gama de projectos artesanais.Se se pretender armazenar as peles para serem processadas mais tarde, estas deverão ser salgadas antes do armazenamento. As peles podem ser salgadas num balde, em água com um excesso de sal, ou serem colocadas em camadas com sal espalhado no lado da carne.Antes de começar a curtimenta, deve-se enxaguar o sal da pele e remover a gordura e as partes com carne do lado interior da pele. Qualquer gordura e carne que fica na pele podem dificultar que os compostos químicos entrem na pele, produzindo-se uma pele áspera em vez de uma pele lisa.Há vários métodos para a curtimenta: 1 Método com uso de alume 2 Método com uso de ácido sulfúrico 3 Método crom 4 Método com uso de óleo 5 Método com uso de tanino 6 Método com uso de gema de ovo Neste manual apresentam-se os dois primeiros métodos:Método para a curtimenta da pele de coelho com alume Através deste método a pele torna-se macia e flexível. O método é particularmente eficaz quando se aplica a peles de animais recém abatidos.Ingredientes para a curtimenta de dez peles: ? 1,5 kg de alume branco (K-Al-SO4) ? 0,625 kg de sal (NaCl) ? 25 l de água ? Um pouco de óleo solúvel em água ? farinha de cereal Instruções: Misturar bem o alume, o sal e o óleo na água, depois aquecer ligeiramente para obter a solução apropriada. Arrefecer a solução e submergir as peles. Deve-se mexer alternando a direcção do movimento, para facilitar um melhor contacto entre a solução e as peles. Assegurar uma submersão adequada com uso dum peso (não-metálico). Deixar as peles submersas no banho durante 48 horas.Depois deste período de submersão, as peles devem ser lavadas, espremidas e secas (com o pêlo no lado exterior), mas não directamente à luz do sol. Quando estiverem praticamente secas, deve-se colocálas num tambor de secagem com aparas de madeira e um pouco de farinha de cereal. Através deste processo a pele torna-se seca e rasga-se. A farinha absorve o óleo presente no pêlo. O último passo consiste em puxar e esticar, suavemente, a pele em redor ou sobre uma superfície redonda.Neste método o agente tanante é o ácido sulfúrico. Pode-se usar ácido de acumulador, que se pode obter em qualquer oficina ou loja de acessórios para automóveis. O ácido de acumulador é ácido sulfúrico diluído. Deve-se ter muito cuidado com este ácido, visto que é muito perigoso. Se salpicar a pele duma pessoa, causará ferimentos graves de queimadura. Quando diluído com água é menos perigoso.De notar: nunca se deve verter a água no ácido, mas sempre ao contrário: verter, cuidadosamente, o ácido na água! Ingredientes: ? 60 g de ácido sulfúrico ou 240 g de ácido de acumulador. ? 1 kg de sal (qualquer tipo de sal barato) ? um jarro ou um recipiente não-metálico, similar, de 10-20 litros, ou um balde de plástico ? 7 l de água ? um peso (não-metálico) para manter a pele submersa na solução Instruções: Acrescentar o sal à água. Depois, inclinar o recipiente para o ácido pingar pelo lado na água. Nunca acrescentar água ao ácido e deve-se ter cuidado para o ácido não salpicar, visto que é um líquido muito perigoso. Mexer a solução com um pau de madeira. A partir deste momento o ácido está suficientemente diluído para não causar danos, mesmo se estiver em contacto com a sua pele. Manter a temperatura tão próxima quanto possível dos 21°C, visto que temperaturas superiores podem danificar as peles e temperaturas inferiores reduzem a velocidade do processo de curtimenta.Agora tudo está pronto para a curtimenta. O objectivo do uso do ácido sulfúrico é abrir os poros da pele de modo que o alume ou o crom possa entrar nela.As peles curtidas podem ser usadas para com elas fazer bonecas, animais empalhados, carteiras e pequenas bolsas. As caudas e as patas dianteiras, se forem conservadas em formalina, durante uma semana, no mínimo, podem ser empregues para fabricar chaveiros. Acrescentar 150 g de zincobacitracina a cada tonelada de alimentos para atingir uma concentração final de 150 ppm. Fornecer intermitente ou continuamente. A clortetraciclina solúvel em água, numa concentração de 1 grama/litro de água, pode ser empregue para o tratamento de casos individuais, mas isto é demasiadamente dispendioso para o controlo em todo o rebanho. Espiroquetose: Lesões similares são provocadas pela urina ou 'queimadura da coelheira'. As lesões ásperas ou as escamas aparecem nos órgãos sexuais, transmitidas pelo acasalamento.Espiroqueta: Treponema cuniculi.Não reproduzir antes de se curarem as lesões. Se apenas houver poucos animais infectados, será mais fácil abater estes animais do que tratar a doença. Não se deve emprestar os machos.Causa Tratamento e controlo Glândulas mamárias endurecidas: As glândulas mamárias tornam-se firmes e congestionadas, formando-se mais tarde nódulos duros ao lado dos mamilos. Os nódulos podem arrebentar, mostrando leite seco no seu interior.O leite não é extraído das glândulas tão rapidamente como é formado, visto que as crias são muito poucas ou porque as crias não mamam o suficiente. Normalmente, trata-se dum problema de maneio com coelhas de produção elevada de leite.Não se deve desmamar bruscamente as crias. Se se tiver perdido a ninhada, deve-se cobrir de novo a coelha e protegê-la contra perturbações, de modo que as crias possam mamar adequadamente. Deve-se corrigir as caixas-ninhos defeituosas que lesionam as tetas. Carência de material para a mastigação, forma craniana deficiente, deficiência de vitamina D devido a uma falta de luz do dia ou alimentação deficiente.Prevenção através do fornecimento de feno. Não utilizar animais para reprodução com uma forma craniana deficiente. Os coelhos devem ser expostos à luz do dia (contudo, não permanentemente expostos à luz do sol!).Causa Tratamento e controlo Mastite: As tetas ficam febris e rosadas, os mamilos tornam-se avermelhados e escuros. A temperatura está acima do normal, o apetite é deficiente, as tetas tornam-se pretas e roxas.Infecção bacteriológica das tetas por Staphylococcus aureus ou Pasteurella multocida.Injectar oxitetraciclina ou draxxin, de modo intramuscular, uma vez por dia durante 3-5 dias.(NÃO usar penicilina ou lincospectina ou amoxicilina, que são muito tóxicos para coelhos Desinfectar a coelheira e reduzir os alimentos concentrados. Se se tratar dum caso grave, deve-se eliminar o animal. NUNCA trasladar uma cria duma coelha infectada para outra coelha. Metrite ou fluxo branco: secreção branca, pegajosa, dos órgãos femininos, muitas das vezes confundida com sedimento na urina. Útero dilatado, detectado por apalpação, ou ambos os úteros cheios de material purulento, branco.Infecção do útero devido a uma variedade de bactérias, principalmente Staphylococcus ou Pasteurella.Eliminar os animais infectados e desinfectar as coelheiras. A área infectada é difícil de medicar. Se ambos os úteros forem infectados o animal fica estéril.Secreção nasal e ocular, inchaços edematosos ao redor dos olhos, na base das orelhas e dos órgãos genitais, blefaroconjuntivite purulenta que provoca a cegueira, pneumonia hemorrágica aguda, muitas das vezes com pasteurelose secundária, geralmente fatal.Vírus de Varíola Mixoma, transmitido por moscas e mosquitos ou através de contacto directo entre os coelhos ou pelo veterinário durante a vacinação.Reduzir a população de mosquitos, eliminar os animais infectados, vacinar com lyomyxovax ou dervaximyxo SG33.Pasteurelose: Pode ser uma infecção aguda ou crónica. Secreção nasal, olhos aquosos, perda de peso ou mortalidade assintomática. Inflamação dos pulmões, inflamação dos brônquios e dos seios nasais.Infecção bacteriológica: Pasteurella multocida.Os animais podem ser tratados com uma injecção de oxitetraciclina ou enrofloxacina ou estreptomicina. Administrar de modo intramuscular, 1 ml para animais do tamanho de coelho de engorda, 2 ml para animais adultos. Repetir no terceiro dia. Para o controlo no rebanho, acrescentar ao alimento sulfaquinoxalina forrageira numa concentração de 0,025%; fornecer durante 3-4 semanas. Escolher os animais de substituição a partir dos animais limpos e eliminar os animais cronicamente infectados. Tomar medidas sanitárias adequadas de forma a reduzir a transmissão para animais novos.Causa Tratamento e controlo Pneumonia: Respiração difícil com o nariz para cima, os olhos e as orelhas azulados. Os pulmões estão congestionados, vermelhos, manchados, húmidos e potencialmente cheios de pus. Muitas das vezes, sintoma secundário de enterite.Infecção bacteriológica dos pulmões. Os organismos implicados podem ser: Pasteurella multocida, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Staphylococcus aureus.Se se começar rapidamente o tratamento, será eficaz. Para o controlo em rebanhos acrescentar sulfaquinoxalina forrageira de modo que a concentração seja de 0,025% da ração do alimento diário; fornecer durante 3-4 semanas. Pode-se acrescentar sulfaquinoxalina solúvel na água, numa concentração de 0,025%, à água de beber e ser fornecido durante 2-3 semanas. Pseudotuberculose: Infecção crónica, pêlo sem brilho, diarreia, anorexia, abcessos pequenos com necrose caseosa no fígado, rins, baço, pulmões e nos intestinos.Infecção bacteriológica de Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, transmitida através dos dejectos de coelhos.Eliminar os animais muito doentes e desinfectar as coelheiras.Quartos traseiros paralisados: Constatado principalmente em coelhas adultas devido ao seu peso durante a gestação. As patas traseiras arrastam-se e não podem suportar o peso da pélvis ou levantar-se. A bexiga enchese de urina mas não se esvazia.Os ossos dos coelhos são muito delgados de modo que uma lesão pode provocar a ruptura do lombo, a deslocação de discos intervertebrais, danificação da medula espinal ou dos nervos. Pode ser uma infecção por Encephalotizoon cuniculi.Proteger os animais conta factores perturbadores, predadores, ladrões e visitantes nocturnos ou ruído que perturbam os animais, particularmente as coelhas prenhes. Administrar Panacur numa concentração de 2,5 %, na boca, durante várias semanas para destruir o Encephalotizoon. Limpar o estábulo de alojamento e as gaiolas para eliminar os esporos. Queimadura da urina ou da coelheira: inflamação dos órgãos sexuais externos e o ânus. Na área afectada podem-se formar crostas, pode sangrar e, se for gravemente infectado, produzirse-á pus.Infecção bacteriológica das membranas.Manter os chãos das coelheiras limpos e secos. Prestar atenção particular aos cantos onde os animais urinam. Pode ser benéfico efectuar aplicações diárias de lanolina.Resfriado: Espirros, esfregando o nariz; secreção nasal pode ser espessa ou aguada. O pêlo emaranhadono interior das patas dianteiras. Pode tornar-se pneumonia. Dum modo geral, tipo de infecção crónica.Infecção bacteriológica dos seios nasais: Pasteurella multocida ou Bordetella bronchiseptica.Os animais podem ser tratados individualmente com 0,5 g de estreptomicina para cada 2 ml. Injectar, de modo intramuscular, 1 ml no caso de animais do tamanho de coelhos de engorda e 2 ml para os adultos. Repetir no terceiro dia.Causa Tratamento e controlo Sarna da orelha (sarna auricular) ou infecção da orelha: O animal sacode a cabeça, coça as orelhas, e na base de ambas as partes interiores das orelhas formam-se crostas escamosas castanhas.Ácaros da orelha: Psoroptes cunuculi (ácaro da orelha de coelhos e de cabras) Notoedress cati (ácaro da orelha de gatos).Aplicar Ivermectina, ver a receita para o modo do uso. Alternativa: verter em cada orelha algumas gotas duma solução de calenxofre de 5% (preparada através da diluição dum concentrado comercial de 30% cal-enxofre: 1 parte para 5 partes de água). Sarna da pele: Pele escamosa avermelhada, comichão e coçar intensos, alguma perda de pêlo.Ácaros: Cheyletiella parasitivorax (ácaro do pêlo de coelhos) e Sarcoptes scabiei (ácaro da sarna).Aplicar ivermectina, ver a receita. Alternativa: Mergulhar todo o animal num banho de cal-enxofre de 1,75% (preparado através da diluição dum concentrado comercial de cal-enxofre de 30% e detergente para roupa: 1 colherada 'de sopa' para 3 litros de água morna). Repetir dentro de 2 semanas se for necessário. Recomenda-se utilizar luvas de borracha. Stress pelo calor: Respiração rápida, prostração, líquido tingido de sangue do nariz e da boca. As coelhas que estão para parir são as mais susceptíveis.Reduzir a temperatura com água pulverizada em nebulizadores (apenas em climas secos). Colocar juta molhada na coelheira ou molhar o animal para ajudá-lo a reduzir a temperatura corporal. Colocar gelo ou água no interior da orelha para reduzir a temperatura corporal dos coelhos. Tinha favosa, infecções fúngicas: Manchas circulares de pele escamosa com crostas elevadas vermelhas. Normalmente começa na cabeça e no lado interior das patas dianteiras. O pêlo pode quebrar ou cair.Trichophyton e Microsporum A infecção é transmitida pela coelha-mãe, através da pele da glândula mamária, que infecta o nariz e as patas dianteiras das crias jovens.Griseofulvina administrada oralmente a uma ração de 20 mg/kg do peso corporal durante 14 dias. Combinar este tratamento com o polvilhamento de enxofre fungicida industrial nas caixas-ninhos. Também pode ser tratada com um tipo de hexetidina. Aplicar na área infectada durante 7-14 dias. Limpar o estábulo com um pote fumígeno Clinafarm (da empresa: Janssen pharmaceuticals) ou com formalina (somente quando não há coelhos nas gaiolas) Torcicolo: A cabeça está inclinada para um lado. Os animais tombam, não são capazes de manter o equilíbrio.Infecção dos órgãos de equilíbrio no ouvido interior. Pode ser provocada por parasitas ou bactérias. Provocada por Encephalotizoon cuniculi.Eliminar do rebanho os animais infectados. Alguns casos são provocados por lesões na caixaninho. Administrar panacur, por via oral.Causa Tratamento e controlo Vermes filiformes: Sem sintomas específicos nos animais vivos. Vermes filiformes brancos presentes no ceco e no intestino grosso provocam uma leve irritação local.Vermes filiformes: Passalurus ambiquus.Administrar panacur (fenbendazole) de modo oral. A infecção não é considerada de importância económica, mas pode agravar o estado de saúde e uma infecção secundária. "}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"e518c74f02a1e7d530377b6d04548408","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/3ec1a499-c796-4b7b-94f6-30c6a78bda7e/retrieve","id":"-251560012"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"1363755f-a72f-44ce-9453-094f6464ed4b","content":"The report presents a concise overview of the risks associated with the Monitoring and Reporting process for Ukama Ustawi, emphasizing the critical role of accurate and reliable data in achieving these objectives through internal monitoring. Emphasizing the importance of data integrity and reliability sets the stage for the subsequent discussion on mitigating risks associated with external data collection.The project is heavily reliant on external service providers for the collection and reporting of field level data. There appears to be little in place within some of the WPs that ensure quality of data or verify the accuracy of this data. Furthermore, there appear to be no measures in place between WPs that will allow one of the WPs to draw on and make use of another WPs data accurately. Without this level of data integrity, WPs may choose to relay on their own reported data, not reflecting the holistic picture of UU. Finally, as a cross cutting WP, WP5 is particularly exposed to the data risks highlighted, and WP6 with less exposure to external data is slightly less exposed to these risks.The Risk Management Plan aims to proactively identify, assess, and address potential challenges in the monitoring and reporting processes, specifically in the data gathering and assessment processes. By outlining these risks and mitigation strategies, stakeholders gain a clear understanding of why risk management is essential to the success of the project and can prioritise suitable actions for implementation to address the risks.The plan suggests a proactive approach to navigate uncertainties, enhance decisionmaking processes, and ultimately safeguard the project's reputation, but needs to be aligned with and reflected within the broader MELIA strategy which is still to be drafted.The report presents the MELIA related risks, and the possible mitigation strategies, before summarising and concluding. A summary table presenting the risks, level of impact, and possible mitigation strategies is presented as an appendix.There are several risks that are apparent to the MELIA team that need to be addressed to ensure data reliability within the UU project. Many of these were apparent in the presentation of the MELIA audit results and to date, have not been addressed. The list below presents these risks in two clusters: External data collection, and Data compilation.The project's reliance on external entities for data collection poses a significant risk to the reliability and consistency of information. Mitigation involves implementing contingency plans, fostering collaborative relationships, and diversifying data sources. In addition, relationships with established service providers should be utilised to implement these mitigation measures, with a view to improving their own internal monitoring systems.Maintaining high standards of data quality and timeliness is paramount for effective decision making and reporting. Addressing this risk requires implementing stringent submission standards, regular training, and monitoring mechanisms. There is an opportunity for established service providers that are providing accurate and reliable data in a timely manner to share these processes with other less established service providers with a view to developing consistency in data collection and accuracy within a CGIAR stable of service providers.A critical risk in external data collection is the potential for bias or inaccuracies. Mitigation involves implementing measures to identify and rectify biases, ensuring that the collected data is representative and unbiased. This risk is currently unknown and undeclared, presenting a significant data risk.Data Compilation faces challenges in integration, particularly in merging information from diverse sources. Addressing this risk demands a meticulous approach to ensure compatibility and coherence across datasets. This is particularly important for the cross WP use of data.In the realm of Data Compilation, addressing inconsistencies in data formats is crucial. Standardizing approaches to data representation and storage is essential to maintain consistency across datasets. Resolving this risk would allow for UU level data analysis, rather than WP specific data analysis.The lack of standardization in data collection methods poses a risk to overall data integrity. Mitigation involves establishing and enforcing standardized data collection protocols. Detailed SIDS that are agreed to and applied by all WPs would go some way to address this risk.To address these risks several mitigation strategies are proposed. Before implementing a mitigation, strategy UU should consider the potential impact of the risk, and the cost of the mitigation strategy both in terms of resources and finances.To address the risk of dependence on external organizations, the project should strategically diversify data sources. Engaging multiple external organizations and implementing backup data collection mechanisms will enhance resilience. This strategy might also be used to verify data, a process that may indicate data differences that may be tolerable.To combat challenges related to data quality and timeliness, the project will set clear standards. This involves developing detailed data collection guidelines and conducting regular training for external partners. While many of the WPs claim that their partners submit data on time and in the required format, these standards are not shared across the UU project impeding data analysis at a project level. UU level standards, or UU drawing on CGIAR level standards that are mandatory across the WPs will go some way to address this risk.In response to the risk of bias or inaccuracies in external data, the project should implement verification processes. This entails cross verifying data with independent sources and incorporating random sampling and auditing of external data. This can be implemented on a random basis across the WPs and may be done as a capacity building exercise within WP's implementing partners.Addressing risks associated with external data collection and compilation, the project should enhance communication. Open lines of communication with external organizations will be fostered, and a joint monitoring and reporting committee will be established. Currently there is an emphasis on collecting WP specific data, without consideration for data that may be pertinent for other WPs with UU. This results in a duplication of data collection and a wasting of resources. A simple process of registering the data collection process, instruments, and reports on a centralized, accessible database would go some way to mitigating this waste.To implement this mitigation strategies UU will implement operating protocols.Currently most monitoring revolves around the year end reporting. Implementing continuous monitoring is a fundamental component of the risk management plan, ensuring ongoing vigilance over the project's data processes. This involves the regular review of external organizations' performance and real-time data validation checks.Contingency Plans: There currently appear to be no dedicated contingency plans in place to mitigate against the unforeseen in data gathering and reporting. Recognizing the inherent uncertainties in external data collection, the project will institute contingency plans. These plans will outline response strategies for implementing contingencies plans for data collection as well as for dealing with data discrepancies.UU prides itself on Transparent Reporting as a cornerstone of the project's commitment to accountability and credibility. This involves clearly communicating data sources, limitations, and contextual information for external data. Further we will implement clearly Documented Processes. These form the backbone of the project's commitment to systematic and replicable data practices. This involves maintaining detailed documentation of data collection and reporting processes. This also provides a clear plan of action for succession or risk mitigation. There currently appear to be no clearly documented processes re data collection, assessment, and reporting in place.Regular Consultation with stakeholders is integral to the project's commitment to inclusivity and responsiveness. This involves periodic meetings with WPs to share updates, gather feedback, and align objectives. The UU CoS provides an opportunity to do this, as does the UU pause and reflect. It would be advantageous to ensure that these opportunities allow for two-way dialogue on monitoring, data collection and reporting process.Addressing Concerns is a proactive approach to stakeholder engagement, ensuring swift and effective responses to any challenges or queries. This strategy involves a swift response to data integrity issues and proactive communication of mitigation measures.Ongoing Learning provides an opportunity to reflect on specific monitoring or operational processes and to assess strengths and weaknesses that could be improved upon. Implementation of this requires an ongoing commitment to transparent reporting, and stakeholder engagement outlined above, to build a culture of openness and trust. This ongoing learning is an essential component of Continuous Improvement to refine both our operational implementation as well as our internal monitoring and reporting processes. There currently appears to be no opportunity for MELIA to engage with the WPs in this manner to allow for engaged operational learning.The Periodic Risk Review is a structured process that ensures the ongoing relevance and effectiveness of the risk management strategies. As risks change and mitigation strategies are implemented, these need to be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure appropriateness and applicability. This may involve a quarterly risk assessment to reassess the identified risks, evaluate the performance of mitigation strategies, and adjust approaches based on emerging trends. A more likely application is an annual realignment of this document with the UU operational context.In summary, the Risk Management Plan underscores the importance of proactive measures in navigating the complexities of external data collection and reporting. The outlined mitigations, from diversifying data sources to transparent reporting, collectively contribute to a more robust framework that allays potential risks. The comprehensive approach seeks to ensure data accuracy, reliability, and stakeholder confidence throughout the project's lifecycle."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"1d225625137df579decb33b4369b51ec","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/92ddbebe-0ef2-4de0-a020-eb92c859fc0b/retrieve","id":"844314005"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"03046367-dbbc-4bbb-9113-0e690ba241eb","content":"Next Generation (Africa-RISING) Program -Malawi, led by Michigan State University for giving me scholarship that enabled me pursue the Masters of Science Programme. Special thanks should go to Prof. S.S. Snapp, Dr. W.G. Mhango and Dr. R. Chikowo for their support. More importantly, glory be to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for everything. viI, Charles Dickson Mkhutche, declare that this thesis has been a result of my own original work and that to the best of my knowledge, has never been presented to the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources or elsewhere for higher degree qualification. All sources of information have been acknowledged by references.Signature: ------------------------------We, the undersigned, certify that this thesis is as a result of the author's own work and that to the best of our knowledge it has not been submitted for any other academic qualification with the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources or elsewhere. The thesis is accepted in form and content and that satisfactory knowledge of the field covered by the thesis was demonstrated by the candidate through an oral examination held on____________________________________________________. I am grateful to the people at Sakhula Goat Farm and Group Village Headman Pitala in Golomoti for their patience in taking care of the goats throughout the research period and sometimes went to the extent of using their few available resources in order to achieve the desired results.I am grateful to Mrs Martha Mwela (AEDC, Golomoti EPA), Mr. Francis Chinkhande (AVO, Golomoti EPA), also to lead farmers; Mrs. Beatrice Hoja and Mrs. Odetta Kadzimbi, who tirelessly spent their precious time feeding the goats throughout the study period. Mr. M. Mpinganjira (Technician Small Ruminant) at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) who worked tirelessly in helping set up basal structures for this research study is also recognized. Dr. G. Chingala for his guidance, advice and encouragement at all stages of my work.I am also thanking all colleagues in the Animal Science Department and many others for helping me in one way or the other in order to come up with the results of this study.   Livestock is an important component of the mixed smallholder farming systems of Malawi. In the tropics, livestock traditionally are a means of raising cash. Every three out of five households realize income from livestock activities (Covarrubias, Nsiima and Zezza, 2012). A farmer considers a small ruminant herd as bank, because, when other species are sold off in periods of feed shortage due to a drought; goats protect the producer's capital against inflation; and enable him to restock his farm when the environmental conditions improve (Fekerte, 2008). Goats provide meat, manure, milk, draft power and employment to resource poor farmers (Norton, 2000). Banda, Ayoade and Kamwanja (1997) reported that the Malawi goat suffers fewer health problems than other livestock species, but diseases like mange, and parasites like flukes and round worms become the main source of infestation during the rainy season. In Malawi, most households have goats compared to cattle and other large species because of its diverse feeding habits (Banda et al., 1997).Goats are ruminant livestock, and designed to feed on forage and other fibrous materials. When fresh forage cannot meet the nutritional needs, it is recommended to give supplements (Gebru, 2014). Supplements should only be fed when they support profitable levels of production. Johnson, Barron and de Devendra (2007) reported that feeding supplements to goats could be expensive and should only be used when the benefits justify the costs and only when a producer suspects that nutrient availability from the range of pasture may be deficient or marginal. Therefore, goats would do well on improved pastures, as well as in brushy woody areas, as they are natural browsers, ifgiven the opportunity but would choose brush and weeds over grass (Pennington, 2014). Goats obtain nutrients from these feed resources which help in supporting their lives through body maintenance, growth, reproduction and production of products such as milk, meat, and hair. Terrazas, Hernández and Delgadillo (2012) reported that weanling goats, followed by does during the last month of gestation and high lactating does, and yearlings, require a higher quality diet as it improves body condition while in lactating does it improves milk production than in dry does and adult bucks.To feed goats adequately, they should be grouped according to their age and nutritional needs.Therefore, weanling goats, does during the last month of gestation, high lactating does and yearlings should be grouped and fed separately from the rest of the herd having lower nutritional needs. In a village situation, where grazing is common, does having the highest nutritional requirements should have access to lush, leafy forage or high quality browse and this can increase kidding percentage and reduces lighter kid weaning weight (Corey, Cody and Taylor, 2010).Furthermore, meeting nutritional need for weaning males which can be fattened for a strategic market as males fetch low prices compared to does thereby improving the economic status of the farmer. However, livestock production is constrained by poor nutrition which results in low productivity.Goats depend on natural pastures primarily browse grasses and crop residues from cereals and grain legumes. But increase in human population has increased demand for land which led to cultivation of food crops leaving no land for pasture production (Ekou, 2014). Nutrients are variable in natural pastures. Crude protein of grasses drops from 5.44±1.98% in early dry season to 2.22±1.75 % in late dry season after post flowering stage (Abusuwar and Elhadi, 2010).Alternative use of commercial concentrates as a supplement is expensive to the smallholder farmers and sometimes are not available. Therefore, tropical forage legumes offer a considerable potential to alleviate and complement the low feeding value of natural pastures and crop residues.Goats in Ntcheu and Dedza are productive as concluded from baseline survey conducted by Africa RISING Project (2015, unpublished) in the areas which revealed that on average each household had one breeding female, two kids born and only one kid was reared to weaning per year. It was also observed in the study area, availability of labour and prioritizing it in goat rearing during the rainy season would increase goat productivity. Therefore, there is need to develop a livestock production system that would require minimal labour during the labour-intensive periods especially during rainy season (Chaudhry, 2008).In Golomoti EPA, during dry season, goats feed on available mature and dry crop residues from crop fields which have low nutritive value. Goats on average walk a distance of 3 km in search of feed and water. The available green pasture along Livulezi river banks is primarily consumed by cattle leaving little to no pasture for goats, while the banks are reserved for winter cropping thereby restricting goats to feed on the available green nutritive pastures.The findings from baseline survey, indicated that in rainy season, goats are tethered which give them restricted access to available feed resources and deprive them of other inorganic nutrients.Goats are housed without supplementation till noon, when they are let out to feed. If they have maize bran, farmers preferred feeding to pigs as opposed to goats. In Golomoti EPA, the tendency to tether goats in the rainy season and feed on mature and dry crop residues in the dry season, results in low body weights which fetch low prices at the market. As such realized low income from the goat enterprise at selling young bucks which are preferred in festive seasons like Eid al-Fitr and Christmas as compared to the price of female goats of the same age. To improve degradability and quality of feed and weight gains of goats in Golomoti EPA, a research was conducted to improve the weight gain status of intact male goats through supplementation.This study focused on the utilization of available feed resources for goats in Malawi particularly in Golomoti EPA, Dedza district and constraints to goat production, in order to optimize meat output and meet meat demand during festive seasons elsewhere in the country. The study assumed that supplementation would improve body weight and condition of entire goats which were sold at low price.Livestock statistics in Malawi indicate that there is; one goat for every 3 persons and one cattle for every 14 persons (DAHLD, 2017). Therefore, there is need to increase the number of goats to match with the current and future human population through improvement in productivity. Goats through their feeding habits, have several advantages that enable them to survive, multiply and exceed human population. Goats, have potential compared to other livestock species as they satisfy household food security needs (Mushi, Safari, Mtenga and Kaifaro, 2008).Previous studies (Tanganyika, Mtimuni and Phoya, 2014) on goat supplementation promoted the use of concentrates based on cereal and legume grain. In Ntcheu and Lilongwe districts an experiment was conducted to evaluate carcass yield of indigenous Malawi goats by supplementing with concentrates which included soybean meal (80.4%), maize bran (17.6%), salt (1.0%) and monocalcium phosphate (1.0%). Goats gained 4-5kg weight within 60 days (Tanganyika et al., 2014). Despite these good results, few farmers could afford concentrate supplements as they are expensive. Golomoti EPA was in 2014 hit by drought so that the available soybean and maize was used for human consumption leaving none for goats. Goats can produce desirable quality and quantity of meat and meat products when fed better fodder.Nutrient levels of natural forages decline with maturity which make goats reared on natural pastures received less nutrients as natural pastures mature especially during the dry season when farmers sell more goats. Currently, in Malawi, most ruminant animals are raised on natural grasslands on dambos (hydromorphic areas) or upland areas which are owned by the communities surrounding the area. These natural tropical grass pastures (C4) tend to suppress various legumes (C3) growth because grasses grow very fast outcompeting the legumes hence there is little or practically, no legume plant in tropical natural pastures (Salim, Shahjalal and Tareque, 2003).Hence grasslands do not supply adequate protein to improve goat productivity.When crops are growing in the field, the only way of rearing goats under village conditions is tethering which result in starvation in times of plenty. The feeding of goats with fodders supplements when they are tethered assist the goats to maintain good condition. Faidherbia albida pods and Gliricidia sepium leaves supplementation increase growth rate of kids per day to weaning, alleviate the consequences of Haemonchus contortus infection in young stock, increase total dry matter intake, improve survival rate of kids and also improve animal resistance to Trypanomiasis (Mushi et al., 2008).This study aimed at supplementing goats with fodder like Faidherbia albida pods and Gliricidia sepium leaves that were available all year round to improve goat productivity in Golomoti EPA.The EPA was chosen because Africa RISING is already carrying out a number of projects in the area and also it has a good number of local Malawi goats raised under a crop-livestock integrated system.The overall objective of the study was to evaluate Faidherbia albida dry pods and Gliricidia sepium leaf hay for goat supplementation and constraints to goat production for smallholder goat farmers in Dedza district of Malawi.• To assess feed resource availability, disease incidence, housing condition and water problem as constraints to goat production under smallholder goat production systems• To assess pre-weaning growth rates of local Malawi goat kids reared under traditional management system• To analyze the nutrient content of selected trees and grass fodder species under traditional management systems • To evaluate effect of feeding goats with Faidherbia albida pods and Gliricidia sepium based supplements on feed intake, growth rate and carcass qualityHo1: Goat production under smallholder production system has no constraints Ho2: Traditional goat management system has no effect on pre-weaning growth of local goats Ho3: Tree and grass fodder species have no nutritional value to goats under traditional management system H04: Faidherbia albida and Gliricidia sepium based supplements have no effect on feed intake daily growth rate and carcass quality of goats under traditional management system.The main problems to goat production are diseases (diarrhoea, pneumonia, mastitis and skin problems), housing and marketing infrastructures (Sebsibe, Casey and Tegegne, 2007). Diarrhoea is a serious problem where goat houses are not raised from the ground. Nakiganda and Taylor (2006) reported that shelter constructed for goats (ground) results in goats getting diarrhoea and other infections especially after rains when the premises would be wet and muddy. Elsa, Harten and Baptista (2012) reported that climate and location are the most significant factors affecting livestock production in the tropics as they have a great influence on pasture and food resources availability, types of diseases and parasites affecting the goats throughout the year. Sensitization of farmers on building goat houses raised above the ground would reduce the incidences of goat diseases during the wet season.Goat marketing is affected by absence of goat market policies which bring about poor marketing of goats and theft. However, there are still many constraints that limit optimal production among these are; lack of intensive smallholder goat meat farming systems including limited feed resources, uncontrolled market factors, and disease and pest incidences (Nakiganda et al., 2006).Other problems include; lack of buck rotational breeding, and poor group dynamics (Fekerte, 2008) Further investigations are underway but indications are that coping strategies including farmer awareness, disease treatment and control measures need to be developed in order to enhance the productivity of goats (Elsa et al., 2012).FAO (2013) reported that improved breeds (Boer goats) were weaned earlier than local and the cross breed because of their high growth rate ( The maximum productivity of goats is reduced by natural pasture hay especially in the dry season when their nutritive values are low. The crude protein in poor grass hay is below 7% and this may lead to animals losing weight and may drop below their critical live weight limit (Ng`ambi, Nakalebe, Norris, Malatje and Mbajiorgu, 2009). Tree fodders as supplements are important sources of high quality feed to improve the productivity of goats. Faidherbia albida can provide up to double the amount of digestible protein and energy even larger than grass (Pennington, 2014).   Malata and Banda (2009) reported that in Salima, kidding percentage was high under ranch management (175%) as does had access to browse leading to high conception rates than under village management (107%), kidding interval being shorter under ranch than village management.The birth weight of local goats was affected by management system, single and twin born kids had different weights. However, these kids were heavier than triplets with average weight of 3.1 ±0.81; 2.7 ± 0.68 and 2.5±0.59kg, for single, twin and triplets, respectively. (Malata and Banda, 2009).High mortality rate of kids from 1 -150 days were recorded under ranch management than under village management. Major causes of death were: poor mothering ability (81%); Anaplasmosis (11%); Pneumonia (45%); and Haemonchus (4%) (FAO, 2013).The liveweight at which goats were slaughtered was 19kg, producing a dressed weight of about 12kg (Chamdimba, 2007). FAO (2013) reported that in Malawi, the proportion of the goat that were edible and saleable ranged between 75 and 81%, as the skin, horns and gut contents are the only portions that are thrown away and most of the goats slaughtered are males under 24 months.This means that goat owners realize the importance of keeping breeding females and using only selected males for breeding (Banda and Sichinga, 2001). MoAFS (2011)  crops harvest. This system facilitates the rapid losing of body condition by the goats as they have restricted access to feed on the same pasture the whole day. Webb, Cronje and Donkin (2009) reported that in a traditional system of goat production, there are no restrictions on the number of goats kept by the farmer, however, available nutritional resources are severely limited and all goats in this system probably perform below standard as they depend on available nutritional resources.The second feeding system is the tethering system where goats are tethered during morning hours and then herded by young boys in the afternoon after school. In this case, supplementation with multipurpose tree fodders would allow goat to improve its body condition. Weldemariam (2015) reported that local tethered goats feeding Faidherbia albida pods as supplement to basal native grass had a weight gain of 6.4kg compared to those on native grass ad libitum which lost 0.5kg over a period of 90 days. The dry Faidherbia albida pods are preserved and made available to the tethered goats whilst children are at school thereby improving animal performance.Extensive system is where goats graze on the open land with limited feed resources, the goats are headed by children who belong to the same household or employed by the household. Under this system, goats increase chances of getting used to seasonal fluctuation of feed resources and quality however, there is an increases in mortality rate and reduced productivity, especially of kids (SSLLP, 2012). Webb et al. (2009); Nsoso, Tadubana, and Malela (2005) reported that full dependence on natural resources and limited demand for inputs were the main features of extensive goat production system.In all the three systems, crop residues are sometimes utilized after crops have been harvested.Supplements are required to correct for energy, nitrogen, sulphur and mineral deficiencies, thereby increasing basal feed intake, fermentation and enhance animal production (Norton, 2000).Supplementation could increase basal feed intake and the study by Phimphachanhvongsod and Ledin (2002) reported that goats and sheep given Gliricidia sepium as a supplement to spear grass (Heteropogon contortus) observed an increase in hay intake and an improvement in diet digestibility with supplementation. Faidherbia albida supplementation increased the concentrations of ammonia in the rumen, thereby enhancing synthesis of microbial protein in the rumen (from 1.6 to 2.9 g/day) and absorption also increased thereby improving goat productivity (Gebru, 2014).The indigenous goats raised under village production system with Napier grass as its basal diet supplemented with Gliricidia sepium, had highest voluntary feed intake of 29.4 g/kg DM/day and liveweight change of 20 g/day, than goats fed with rice straw as a basal diet supplemented with Gliricidia sepium which recorded 18.5 and 12 g /kg DM/day in voluntary feed intake and liveweight change, respectively, (Norton, 2000). Furthermore, Muhammad, Abdullah and Javed (2015) reported that the management system to be selected by the farmers should be cheap and effective for the goats to express fully their genetic potentials in order to improve goat productivity.Annual adult mortality rates were recorded highest in local goat management compared to improved goat management system (Banda et al., 2001).Local goats raised under extensive management system at 3 months old attained a body weight of 9.2kg; a dressing, muscle and total fat percentages of 45.1, 70.7 and 5.1%, respectively. Goats under intensive management system had a dressing, muscle and total fat percentages of 45.7, 68.4 and 8.4%, respectively (Webb et al., 2009).Meat type goats normally graze extensively on unimproved pastures of low quality, but browse production from trees and shrubs are sources of high quality feed and a supplement to improve goat production fed on low quality feed (Gebru, 2014).Leaves from locally available trees and shrubs could be sources of feed throughout the year (Preston and Leng, 2009). Such perennial feed resources are rich in proteins particularly appropriate for small ruminants. Leucaena leucocephala and Gliricidia sepium are some of the multipurpose trees that have potential in goat meat production in Malawi and on some occasions, have been given to ruminants for feeding purposes (Steinfeld, Gerber and Haan, 2006). Leaves of Leucaena leucocephala are also high in nutritive values and can contain more than 20% CP, and are readily consumed by meat goats (Shelton and Brewbaker, 1994).The improved and fresh grasses have higher crude protein content than that of unimproved grasses, whereas Leucaena leaf has crude protein of 26% in the wet season (Preston et al., 2009).Digestibility of improved grasses is also much higher than that of unimproved grasses while the feeding of these grasses and legumes would tremendously improve production of meat in goats (Rai, 2004).Fodder from trees and shrubs were reported by Komwihangilo, Sendalo and Temu (2001) to be important feeds for grazing and browsing animals and often contain appreciable amounts of nutrients. For example, Leucaena has 22% crude protein (CP); 19.6% crude fiber (CF); and 6.9%ether extract (EE) compared to Panicum maximum corresponding values of 9.4, 33.6 and 1.8%, respectively. Goats have a habit of selecting their feed carefully when browsing, and according to Steele (1996), goats were continuously searching for feed from a whole range of different browse plants. Devendra (1999) also reported that supplementation with Gliricidia sepium could increase the productivity (kg weaned/dam/year) of Small East African goats. Goats gained more weight of 54.2 g/day with dry matter intake of 76 g/kg0.75/day when 70% Gliricidia sepium was supplemented with 30% cassava peels than when each was fed alone. When feeding 100% Gliricidia sepium goats attained weight gain of 51g per day after feeding dry matter of 46.3 g/kg0.75 per day (Hadgu, 2014). In contrast, goat fed 100% Panicum maximum had weight gain of 25.7g/day after feeding dry matter of 63.5 g/kg0.75 per day (Ifut, 2006).There are also a wide range of trees and shrub fodder that are suitable for feeding to goats. Rai, Okalebo and Lubulusa (1996) reported that the tree legumes Faidherbia albida pods are high quality feeds for livestock supplementation in the arid and semi-arid region. Goats supplemented with 10% Faidherbia albida pods had a daily weight gain of 180 g/day and a dry matter digestibility of 56.42% and goats supplemented with 20% Faidherbia albida, had a weight gain of 97 g/day and dry matter digestibility of 58.3% (Mubi, 2013). According to Gebru (2014),Faidherbia albida pods contain high nutritive value. The pods of Faidherbia albida can be dried and stored for use as fodder during time of feed scarcity and the pods have crude protein (CP) of about 20 % (Preston et al. 2009). Furthermore, Gebru (2014) reported that the higher CP and lower crude fiber (CF) contents in Faidherbia albida pods meant that they may be used as supplements to goats to feed with low CP like natural grasses during the dry season. Fiber in goat diet is necessary to maintain a healthy rumen and prevent digestive disturbances (Roberthaert, 2000). Ifut (2006) reported that West Africa Dwarf goats feeding on 100% Gliricidia sepium with intake of 43 g/kg75 attained a body weight change of 51 g/day. Banda (2008) reported that during the dry season, Boer goats and sheep in Salima were observed feeding on fruits of Acacia polyacantha and pods or pulp of Adansonia digitata as energy supplements.Goats can also feed on bean and groundnut haulms which are in most cases regarded as residues and once properly utilized, goats can still gain reasonable weights. Banda (2008) reported that goat weaners fed on bean and groundnut haulms gained 200-300 % more weight than those on Napier grass alone. Banda, Kumwenda and Chamdimba (2005) reported that local goats feeding on bean and groundnut haulms had daily weight gains of 20.7 ±1.8 g/day and 30.5 ± 6.8 g/day, respectively, and reached market weights of 19.7 ± 5.0kg and 21.7 ± 1.9kg, respectively.Goats fed on Napier grass only lost body weight (-6 kg / day) whereas supplementation with cottonseed cake (5.6kg/day), maize bran (1.2kg/day) or Musa acuminata (2.2kg/day) increased body weight gain (Okello and Opuda-Asibo, 1996).Supplementation of goats fed on basal diet of maize stover with Desmodium intortum hay improved total dry matter; crude protein; and metabolizable energy intakes, nitrogen retention and body weight gain of goats (Phengsavanh, 2003). Tolera, Merkel and Negesse (2005) further reported that goats fed on maize stover indicated inadequate intake of crude protein and metabolizable energy resulting in negative nitrogen balance and a loss in body weight by -12 g/day.Legume crop residues (cowpeas, pigeon peas, groundnuts etc.) are relatively high in crude protein (about 10% or more) can serve as supplements of low quality roughages or mixed with poor quality pastures and cereal crop residues. Macala, Molefe and Bolai (1996) conducted an experiment on the effect of supplementing three (0, 300 and 600 g/day) levels of groundnuts hay on the performance of lactating Tswana does grazing natural pastures during the dry season and on the growth rate of their kids. A mixture of poor pasture with groundnut hay feed gave higher daily gain of 31.5 g per day and milk production of 0.6 kg per day than does on grazing only.Faidherbia albida plant was considered as feed resource for livestock and capable of growing all year round which means the fodder is available even during dry season when most of the forages for goats become scarce. Mousa and El-Shabrawy (2003) reported that Faideherbia albida has the potential to provide both protein and energy to small ruminants raised on poor quality forage during the dry season. Acacia contains crude protein levels between 12 to 18% on dry matter basis (Ng`ambi, Nakalebe and Mbajiorgu, 2009). Salem and El-Adawy (2004) reported that a diet composed of (Acacia hay + 63g DM Sesame cake + 147g DM Acacia pods), resulted in a weight gain by local goats of 63.3 g/day; and a market carcass weight of 17.4 kg.In goat production, the use of grass as the only feed component in the diet is not appropriate because grasses are lower in protein as leaves contain less than 9% CP. Moringa oleifera, is known to have originated from India, and is widely distributed in many tropical regions in West Africa and in Malawi. The plant is widely distributed mainly along the lakeshore and the Shire valley, and Moringa leaves are rich in crude protein (18.26%) and low in anti-nutritional factors (Luu and Tran, 2005). Sarwatt, Lekule and Madalla (2004) reported that Moringa leaves have a potential source of inexpensive proteins. Salem et al. (2004) reported that other anti-nutritional factors like condensed tannins could be beneficial as they could increase by-pass proteins by preventing proteins from being degraded in the rumen and; making it available in post ruminal sites of the goats.Bengal goat with initial liveweight of 10.22kg after feeding on 100% Moringa leaf diet, attained an average body weight of 15.06kg after 78 days with average liveweight gain of 60.32 g/day (Sultana, Razak and Huque, 2015). Goats feeding on 50% Moringa and 50% concentrate mixture only attained 57.27 g/day with 10.12 and 14.7 kg initial and final weight respectively (Sultana et al., 2015). Higher growth rate in 100% Moringa leaf diet was due to positive interaction of Moringa leaves with natural grass as basal diet on intake, digestion and nitrogen utilization.Natural pastures like grasses, legumes, herbs, shrubs and tree foliage are used as goat feed resources (Preston et al., 2009). The important source of feed for smallholder goat production are grass and browse species of communal land. Natural pastures are decreasing due to rapid increase in human population, cropland expansion and overgrazing over a long period of time. Steinfeld, et al. (2006) reported that browse plant species have several ways of protecting themselves from being eaten by herbivores, some are thorny, spiny and contain secondary compounds such as saponins, toxic amino acids, phenolics, cyanogenic glycosides and alkaloids. These compounds interfere with nutrient absorption and negative health effect on goats for example, presence of hydrolysable tannins could cause death in goats (Roberthaert, 2000). Most browse plants have higher crude protein content than grasses (Carew, 1983). Mergersa, Mengistu and Asebe (2017) reported that some browse plants contained a CP of more than 25%. This reliable protein in most browse plants could be used to develop a sustainable feeding system and increase the productivity of livestock (Johnson and de Devendra, 2007).The difference in stage of harvest and season may contribute to variation in CP content of grass species (Hassan, Umar and Yuguda, 2007). This is contrary to the study conducted by Gworgwor, Kiboni and Mbahi (2012) reported a consistent CP content in immature grasses and mature grasses ranged from 7.2-20.2% and 5.6-11.5%, respectively. Ifut (2006) reported that the DM content for grasses and browse were 95.30% and 93.52% respectively. Limea, Boval and Archimede (2009) reported a dry matter of; 94.86% and 95.4% for grasses and browse plants, respectively. This small variation was due to differences in plant collection time, plant species and stage of harvest.On the other hand, a study by Johnson, Barron and de Devendra (2007) reported an average ash content of 11.45 and 9.62 and an average NDF content of 75.37% and 56.37% for grasses and browse plants, respectively and added that NDF content above the critical values of 60% could result in a decreased voluntary feed intake, longer to ruminate and poor feed conversion efficiency.The high NDF in a ration was an attribution from sampling procedures where dry pods and fine stems were included thereby increasing lignin and NDF content (Limea et al., 2009). was slightly above 7%. This level of CP in Rhodes grass was considered as minimal to allow microbial growth in the rumen and that the CP content of Faidherbia albida and Gliricidia sepium was within the required range (Mergersa et al., 2017).The seeds of Faidherbia albida contained more CP than the empty pods, hence the need to grind before feeding goats (Mousa et al., 2003). The grinding in the preparation of the diet helped the nutrients from escaping digestion due to tiny size of the seed. Gliricidia sepium was as a result of a higher fibre content within acceptable levels in the browse species (Mlayi, Pereka, Phiri and Madsen, 2006).The global demand for goat meat is increasing because goat meat forms an important part of a national diet, cultural heritage and tradition in Middle East, Asia and Africa (Webb et al., 2009).The male goats are preferred by many consumers because their meat is lean, lower in fat and its demand is highest during religious festivities like Eid al Fitr or Sikuku (Limea et al., 2009).The acceptability of goat meat depends on potential meat yield and eating quality of the meat and in goat meat production, characteristics like liveweight, conformation and fat distribution within the carcass are of paramount importance (Akbas and Saatci, 2016).Simela, Webb and Bosman (2011)   (Sadi et al., 2015). Gliricidia is associated with high digestibility and resulted into small amount of digestive content leading to high feed conversion efficiency and goat productivity (Gebru, 2014).The study was conducted in Golomoti Extension Planning Area (EPA) in Dedza District. Golomoti  The lead farmers were selected based on their willingness to participate in the study and number of goats possessed. In addition, secondary data on agricultural production, livestock population, farming practices and description of Golomoti EPA were collected from published and unpublished sources, so as to device suitable sampling stages. A total of 47 households who possessed goats were randomly sampled from the study area to monitor the flock.Two methodologies were used in conducting the study, which were the survey and field measurement (short period monitoring) (ILCA, 1990). Data were generated by flock monitoring through experimental body weight measurements, organizing focus group discussions and from secondary sources.Informal and formal survey tools were used to obtain information on marketing details and goat production. Checklist covering goat productivity and constraints in Golomoti EPA was used for discussion with Golomoti EPA livestock experts and key informants in the entire EPA. A structured questionnaire was prepared and pre-tested before use and following pre-testing, the questionnaire was corrected and reframed in order to reduce sampling error. Questionnaires were used to collect the following major information: livestock ownership, production system, breeds, litter size and major production constraints like; scarcity of feed resources, goat disease and pests incidences, problems of housing types, water problem and labour shortage. Through a questionnaire, goat farmers ranked the constraints and were recorded for analyses.A study on on-farm flock monitoring was conducted in Golomoti EPA and the GPS coordinates, See section 3.1.1. In the monitoring study, a total of seventy-nine (79) household with pregnant does with single, twin and triple birth size were selected. Each selected farmer had a maximum of three kids to monitor soon after kidding and data was collected from the same kids for two months.Collection of data was done by trained enumerators recruited from the locality. During the two months study period, on Monday every week, each enumerator visited each household, first of all had to check for new born kids and weighed those including old kids individually to record their weights. A total of 237 goats from 47 households, under monitoring were weighed and weights recorded once every week at specified age for each sex and were ear tagged. Suspended weighing balance were used to measure birth and weekly weights during the two months monitoring period for each goat after kidding (from January to end of June 2015). Each Research assistant was supervised by the researcher to check the quality of data collected.Data were collected from does and kids. Data collected on does was parity, the information provided depended on the knowledge of the farmer as pedigree data were generally not available due to lack of record keeping by farmers. Data on kids included birth weights, weight of kids on test days (every week). Weights were recorded using a suspended weighing balance (Tsegaye, 2009). The other data collected from kids were sex type (male or female) and birth type (single, twins and triples).After feed formulation, each supplement diet was sampled for chemical analyses. The identification of grasses and browses was done by following goats to the grazing areas. The plants that were frequently grazed and browsed were sampled along transects. Four points were sampled for each plant species along the transect line. This method was good for sampling a large pasture field and was relatively a quick sampling method.i.Forage: weight of grass and browse samples from the grazing area around Bunda College and Golomoti EPA. Samples were collected and analysed every two weeks to check their nutritive values and variation in the nutritive values of the feed samples.ii.The weight of supplements -maize bran, Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida were analysed before the experiment and thereafter, feed samples were analysed for chemical composition fortnightly. Feed refusal was also recorded.Eight feed samples were collected from the grazing areas in the surveyed areas. The samples included grasses and browse tree legume leaves and pods graze and browsed by goats, respectively (Georing and Van Soest, 1970) and Total Ash was determined by burning samples in muffle furnace at 5500 C for 5 hours (AOAC, 2000).The samples were analysed for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and ash. The DM, CP (Kjeldalh Method) and ash were determined according AOAC (2000) procedures. The NDF content was analysed using the Ankom Technology (Ankom, Macedon USA).Experiment 1: On-station goat feed evaluation trialExperiment was conducted at the Sakhula Goat Farm, Animal Science Department, Bunda Thirty-two goats aged about 7-8 months and weighing approximately 12 -15kg, were used in the study. Goats used in this experiment were purchased from the villages around Bunda Campus based on the presence of temporary milk teeth and information given by the farmers. Goats were ear tagged of same colour for each individual diet. Goats were allowed to graze together for a month before being fed experimental diets.To ensure no bias in the performance of the goats, after they arrived at the farm, they were injected with Ivomectrin against internal and external parasites (such as tick and flies). They were herded by two experienced skilled goat keepers to restrict them from excessive movement and acclimatized for seven days to the diets and the environmental conditions of the experiment. Goats depended on grazing natural pastures and on some improved grasses like Chloris guyana and Panicum maximum within and around the Small Animal Unit at Bunda Campus, LUANAR.Grazing time on pastures was from 0730hrs in the morning to 1600hrs in the afternoon. After grazing, goats were housed in well ventilated individual pens where they were supplied with supplements.In addition to grazing, goats were supplemented as follows; Diet 1 = 410g maize bran only, Diet 2 = 405g Gliricidia sepium + 410g maize bran, Diet 3 = 405g Faidherbia albida + 410g maize bran and Diet 4 = 202.5g Gliricidia sepium + 202.5g, Faidherbia albida + 410g maize bran. About 5g salt and mono-calcium-phosphate (MCP) was added in all diets. Using a weighing scale, measured quantities of feed ingredients were mixed several times and fed to goats using plastic plates. Faidherbia albida was fed dry and Gliricidia sepium was wilted for 12-24 hours before feeding goats to increase intake by goats as it was reported by Stewart, Allison and Simons (1996) to reduce volatile compounds released from the leaf surface. At 0700hrs every morning feed refusals were weighed to get supplement intake; water and feed troughs were refilled; and pens were cleaned.Gliricidia sepium leaves were plunked from the middle and the top of the plant and were dried under shade before supplied to goats and Faidherbia albida pods were collected dry from the field and supplied to goats. Faidherbia albida and Gliricidia sepium used in the formulation of diets were sampled every fortnight from the fields in Golomoti and Mtakataka EPAs. Other fodder legumes and grass feed samples consumed by goats were also sampled every fortnight. These samples were subjected to chemical analyses following the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 2000) method.Goats were allocated to four diets in a complete randomised design (CRD). Eight goats were allocated to each diet, penned and fed individually. In the study, goats feeding on a particular diet had the same colour of their ear tags (Table 3-1). The Following data were collected from all goats in the experiment.i.Body weight (kg): Weighing scale was used, goats were first calmed down, and their front legs tied and suspended on the weighing scale and then readings were recorded.Initial body weights of the experimental animals were taken at the beginning of the study and thereafter, measurements were taken every week in the morning before the goats were taken for grazing.ii. Body length (cm): Length from the base of the tail to the base of the neck (where it connects the body) was measured by a measuring tape.iii.Average daily gain was calculated as the difference between final live weight and initial live weight divided by the number of days of the feeding trial.iv.Feed offered and refusal (supplement) were measured and recorded daily.Data on supplement intake and body weight were analyzed using the General Linear Model The study was conducted in Golomoti EPA which is among one of the four project sites for Africa RISING Projects (see section 3.1.1).Thirty-two (32) male entire goats of about 8 months, weighing 13-15 kg and with milk teeth, were identified with the help of the knowledge of the farmer. Goats were kept in stilted houses, provided with clean water, mineral blocks and experimental diets for 60 days. Thirty-two Experimental goats were managed by a lead farmer which acted as major trial. Goats were purchased in February, 2016, ear tagged for easy individual identification according to diets and allowed to graze together for a month before being fed experimental diets and actual data collection.Goats were dewormed with Ivomectrin against external and internal parasites. In addition to grazing and supplements, goats were given mineral blocks (monocalcium phosphate), common salt and ad lib.water supply.Feeding trial was arranged in a complete randomized block design (CRBD) with farmer 1 and farmer 2 as blocks. Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida were used because the fodders are well adapted and available throughout the year in Golomoti EPA. Diets see section 3.4.3. Eight goats were allocated to each diet. Goats in each diet were identified by the same ear tag colour, penned and fed individually. Goats were given supplements daily in addition to salt, Mono-Calcium Phosphate and clean water at 1600 p.m soon after grazing.Data were collected on live-weights of goats, feed offered and refusal of the supplements. See The study on carcass characteristics was conducted at on-station at Sakhula Experimental Goat Farm, Bunda Campus, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, GPS coordinates (see section 3.4.1). The on-farm study was conducted in Golomoti EPA (see section 5.3.1).After the study period of eight weeks goats were transported from Golomoti EPA to Bunda Campus LUANAR, fasted for 12 hours to reduces the volume of gut contents and hence bacteria and therefore reduces the risk of contamination of the carcass during dressing, but had access to water to reduce weight loses. The following day, final body weight (SBW) were recorded and then the thirty-two goats were slaughtered at Bunda Campus. Slaughtering was done by severing the jugular vein and carotid arteries with a sharp knife. Blood was collected in a bucket and weighed in order to find effects of different diets on quantity of blood in entire male goats. To prevent leakages from the gut content, esophagus was tied close to the head and slaughtered goat carcasses were left suspended with their head down over container to collect any remaining blood. Finally heads were detached from the body and skins flayed; fore and hind legs were trimmed at tarsal joint and then weighed. Perirenal fat and the kidneys were removed and weighed separately.Carcasses were split into quarters and which were weighed separately.Carcass characteristics were determined immediately after slaughter. Data were collected on weight of external parts which included weight of the skin, head and feet. Edible and non-edible (skin and hooves) carcass components were weighed and immediately recorded. Data collected on weight of viscera included weight of the lung, liver and kidney.Hot carcass weights (HCW) were recorded and were less the weight of blood and digestive tract was weighed in two forms; while full and when empty. Differences between full and empty digestive tracts were recorded as weights of the digesta. Differences between slaughter body weight (SBW) and weight of the digesta were recorded as empty body weights. Calculation of dressing percentages (DP) were: HCW/SBW*100. Cold carcass yields were calculated by the ratio: cold carcass weight (CCW) / empty body weight (EBW).Carcass length was measured and recorded from caudal edge of the last vertebrae to the dorsocranial edge of the atlas (Gebru, 2014). Carcasses were split into four wholesale cuts (Forequarters and hindquarters) to determine their weights and proportions (Kadim, Mahgoub, Al-Saqri and Ritchie, 2003).The goat was the experimental unit because growth, supplement intake and carcass traits during evaluation were assessed individually. Data were subjected to analysis of variance using the GLM  The majority of the respondent in Golomoti EPA owned the local goats followed by crossbred (Local x Boer) breed type. There is low percentage of farmers rearing crossbred Goat (4%) and other breeds (Boer goats) in the study area due to scarcity of the breeds. The usual reasons for ranking goats as the most important species were low initial capital; its adaptation to environment; fast growth within short period of time; high prolificacy and as such, goats serve as immediate source of income (de Devendra, 2007). The results of the current study were in agreement with Tolera et al. (2007) who reported that majority of farmers in Matema woreda in Ethiopia owned local goats followed by farmers owned a mixture of different breeds. Devendra (2007) reported a lower percentage (33%) of farmers owning local goats against the values found in this study (45%).In this study, farmers reported different feed resources used to feed goats in Golomoti EPA.Among the feeds were; natural pasture, hay, crop residues, maize bran, improved pasture and nonconventional feeds (Table 4-2). From the interview conducted in the area, results showed that the main feed resources for goat in Golomoti EPA both during dry and wet seasons are natural pasture and browsing species. This is because, in both wet and dry seasons rangelands provide the most important source of feeds and that farmers depend on extensive system of grazing. Goats have limited choices regarding where to graze because natural pastures become their main feed resource throughout the year. This study also indicated that concentrate feeding (4.3%) is not common in Golomoti EPA in dry season, and all the respondents supported the use of maize bran other than other concentrates. The use of improved pasture (2.1%) and non-conventional feeds (2.1%) in the dry season was the least among the feed resources used in the area. In the current study, a similar trend was observed during the wet season, with 4.3% of respondents using non-conventional feed resources. In the tropics, pastures are exposed to seasonal variability due to rains and the quality is affected.In the dry season, goats rely on browse species for their nutrition and their nutritive values of such species are high, but the presence of secondary metabolites limit their utilization (Sisay, 2006).Crop residues and food by-products are also available in the dry season, but they are low in CP, high in fibre content and low in digestibility (Pennington, 2014). However, the dependence on natural pastures, calls for feed supplement technologies.In Golomoti EPA generally, the main feed resources to livestock are rangelands which include communal grazing lands, shrub areas and fallow lands. Natural pasture is the main feed resource during dry and wet seasons. In the dry season, reliable feed resources are dominated by small trees and shrubs. This result is in agreement with the previous studies (Mousa et al., 2003).Goats as browsers largely depend on the browse species that were available in abundance in the woody vegetation of the study area. This result is in line with the previous studies (Sisay, 2006), There are a number of pathogens, toxic substances and nutritional factors which may cause diarrhoea and in acute form, diarrhea can cause death in kids and older goats and also abortion in late gestation bringing losses in meat industry (Elsa, et al., 2012). The disease pneumonia brings another loss through death of goats and is caused by a combination of viral and bacterial agents which affect lungs as a result of some predisposing factors such as poor ventilation, severe parasitism and exhaustion during transportation of goats (Tsegaye, 2009). Sebsibe et al. (2007) reported a higher perception of 65.3 and 15.8% for diarrhoea and Orf respectively, than the findings of this study, as diseases which attack goats. The study also indicated that most farmers use modern drugs to treat goats as compared to traditional methods.The method included the use of paraffin by rubbing ticks with a cloth soaked in paraffin, use of salt to treat diarrhoea by mixing it with sugar and warm water and drench the buck, four times a day for 3 days. The ash is used to kill worms in the gastro intestinal tract (GIT). This result was in agreement with the previous studies (Nakiganda et al., 2006).It was also noted that all farmers were depending on Assistant Veterinary Officer (AVO) for the provision of veterinary drugs to goats. Drugs were sourced from Dedza (50km) and Lilongwe (150km) veterinary shops. Golomoti EPA has no private institution to provide veterinary services and as such goats are left untreated and die once the drugs are out of stock in AVO's store at the EPA. This result on long distance covered to source drugs is in agreement with the previous studies (Elsa, et al., 2012).Both drug purchase and administration including vaccination were only provided from EPA through the (AVO), and that one Veterinary Assistant covered a large area while some areas did not have veterinary services. This is evidenced by the frequent incidences of these diseases and brings a great production lose in Golomoti EPA. The shortage of veterinary officers was also reported in is in previous studies as a constraint to goat production (Nakiganda et al., 2006).Farmers in Golomoti EPA, reported different types of housing (Table 4-4). This study revealed that 74.5% of the respondents had a separate house for goats with a mud ground floor, a combination of round and rectangular hut structures, walls made of local poles and mud with a grass thatched roof. This was because farmers in Golomoti EPA used simple locally available materials to construct goat houses. It was further noted that 4.3% of the household goat housing had suspended wooden floor about 0.5 -0.8m above the ground, goats did not come in contact with manure as manure collected under the wooden slat floor. Another type of goat housing observed in this study was the house constructed within the main house (14.9%) and similar to this type of housing some farmers just partition a particular room within the dwelling house as a goat house. In the study, some houses for goats were surrounded by a fence on open ground near the main house (6.4%).In all the goat housing types, kids and adults were housed separately and only allowed to get mixed in the morning especially for lactating does. In all house types the manure were collected, heaped and applied in maize gardens. The current situation in Golomoti EPA for goat house types are; ground floor goat house and shelter constructed in main house. The latter has been attributed as a result of fear of theft and low number of goats kept by farmers which may not warrant construction of a separate goat house (Norton, 2000). The ground floor type of goat house are made from local simple materials, however, goats are exposed to maggots and parasites leading to diseases and low productivity (Ekou, 2014).Majority (74.5%) of the farmers in the study area had a separate house for goats with a mud ground floor. These floors became a breeding place for parasites like roundworms and tapeworms; and diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia due to the accumulation of dung. This result is in agreement with the previous studies (SSLLP, 2012). Sebsibe et al. (2007) reported 62.55 % of the respondent farmers having a separate house for goats 0.5 -1m above the ground with a suspended wooden floor. In these houses goats are clean as they do not come in contact with the manure as they collect under the wooden slat floor.Farmers in this study area however, accepted housing problems and the suspended wooden floor housing was recommended type because of easy collection of manure and reduction in disease incidences. This result is in agreement with the previous studies (Sebsibe et al., 2007).In this study, out of the farmers interviewed, 68.1% farmers in dry season and 91.5% in wet season, obtained their water from rivers and the remaining farmers used wells, ponds and spring water for watering their goats, as their major water source during wet and dry seasons. In the dry season, springs are dry and in the wet season wells are not used to water goats, as shown below in Table 4-5. Water constitutes approximately 60 to 70% of an animal's live weight and performs many functions for example; eliminating waste products of digestion and metabolism, regulating blood osmotic pressure, transporting nutrients, hormone and other chemical messages within the body and helping in temperature regulation (Phengsavanh, 2003). The water used for watering goats should be clear, flowing from a stream than the one that is stagnant; the latter may contain excessive levels of blue-green algae, which may be toxic (Tsegaye, 2009). The limitation of water intake by goats can drastically reduce animal performance than any other nutrients. The reduction in water intake by goats can lead to dehydration, tightening of the skin, drying of mucous membrane and loss of weight (Ifut, 2006).In the study area, distance to the nearest watering points from homestead in wet and dry seasons was 1 to 3 kilometers and farmers reported that new born kids were separated from their dams and some were watered at home. Tsegaye (2009) reported higher values than findings of this study, 85.6 -95.5% of respondents, indicated that the river was the main water source during both wet and dry seasons.Goats had access to water once especially during the dry season due to water scarcity which was only available in rivers and was done after grazing for the day. In the wet and humid environment, farmers responded that watering was more than once per day due to its availability including in springs and the increase in frequency of watering might be due to the hot climatic condition of the area. Water is available in wells and springs during wet and dry seasons, respectively. The results of this study is in agreement with the previous studies (Tolera et al. 2007).In dry season the only available water for goats was sourced from Livulezi River and goats were prohibited access as most of the river banks were spared for winter cropping. Water in wells and ponds in dry season were prioritized for human domestic use thereby making it unavailable for watering goats (Tsegaye, 2009).In this study, all classes of goats like bucks, does and kids were not herded (42.6%) during the day time and this was followed by goats that were herded separately (21.3%) as in Table 4-6.Farmers in the study area managed new born kids near the house separately without taking them for grazing for at least the first three weeks. Kids were allowed to graze fresh grass around the house and had access to clean water, and sometimes maize bran was given to the kids. Households at sometimes managed orphan kids by feeding them milk from foster mothers before setting them off for grazing.On the other hand, proportion of households that were mixing their goat flocks with other species like sheep, cattle etc., are presented in Table 4-6 and the majority of the goat owners in Golomoti EPA graze goats together with sheep. The source of labour used in herding goats in Golomoti EPA depends on school going children, possibly after knocking off, and as such no herding (42%) is practiced followed by herding goats together with sheep. This is in agreement with the study (Tsegaye, 2009). Many animals naturally live and travel together in groups as a form of protection, but this poses a major risk on theft and being attacked by predators such as hyenas and dogs and lower goat productivity if they are not herded.The main reason for herding goats together with sheep was shortage of labour force, hence grazing systems that are labour serving should be promoted. The reason for no herding was because of high labour demanded in other farm activities (Mousa et al., 2003). This was dominant in Golomoti EPA during wet season when farmer were involved in production of both cash (cotton etc.) and food crops simultaneously and in the process reduce the herding costs for goats. The study conducted by Agza, Kassa, Zewdu and Alemu (2013) reported less proportions of the respondents (20.0%) who do not herd their goats because of labour shortage and this could lead to theft and reduce goat productivity.In Golomoti EPA, respondents prefer to manage goats separately because of their feeding habit as browsers unlike sheep which are grazers. This result is in agreement with the previous study (Fikerte, 2008).The birth weight, pre-weaning body weight at 8 weeks and pre weaning average daily gain of goat monitored in Golomoti EPA are presented in Table 4-7. Males were significantly heavier at birth (p<0.01) and pre-weaning (p<0.05) than females. There was no significant (p>0.05) difference in pre-weaning average daily gain between males and females.Does that kidded for their first time gave birth to kids with lower (p<0.05) pre-weaning average daily gain than those does that gave birth for their second and third time. Type of birth had also significant effect on birth weight (p<0.01) and pre-weaning average daily gain (p<0.05), but not on pre-weaning bodyweight at 8 weeks (p>0.05). It was also observed that the effect of grazing on birth weight, pre-weaning weight and average daily gain was different for different sex, parity and birth type. Higher birth weight and pre-weaning weight at 8weeks were recorded in males than in female goats, and this may have resulted from the influence of male sex hormones associated with anabolic effect during growth and development. The kids that were born single had heavier preweaning average daily gain than those born as multiple births. This may be as a result of littermate sharing prenatal maternal nourishment in contrast to the single born kids. The result obtained in this study was in agreement with other studies (Ahuya, Okeyo, Murithi and Matiri, 2002). The average birth weight and pre-weaning weight at 8 weeks of local Malawi goat kids at Golomoti EPA were; 3.11±0.04 and 10.13±0.17kg in males; 2.49±0.05 and 9.38±0.20kg in females, respectively. Sghaier, Amon, Mabrouk, and Mohamed (2007) reported the weight of 9.37kg for male kids at 8 weeks feeding natural pasture. Pandey and Patel (2013) reported initial weights in Mehsana goats of 2.95±0.02kg in males and 2.66±0.03kg in females. Chawla, Nagpal and Bhatnagar (1984) observed a weight of pre-weaning Beetal goats at 8 weeks of 6.3±0.16kg in males and 5.7±0.16kg in females and higher values were observed in Boer goats where males recorded 8.0±0.38kg and females 7.4± 0.41kg at the same 8 weeks of age. Consistent with the results of this study (Mioc, Susi and Kasap, 2011) reported the higher birth weight in male kids (3.10kg) as compared to female kids which attained 2.8kg birth weight. Cooper (1995) reported a lower birth weight of 1.78±0.33kg and weight at 8 weeks of 6.85±1.68kg in local Malawi goat feeding unimproved pasture (bush grazing) supplemented with maize bran.In this study, kids from does that gave birth for their first time had lower pre-weaning daily average gain (111.96±4.96 kg/day) than those giving birth for their second time ( 117.27±0.29) or third (119.07±3.92). This may be attributed to the improvement in the reproduction efficiency of the doe as it gets matured. The results were in agreement with other studies (Sundaram, Muthuramalingam and Rajkumar, 2012). The Single born kids had heavier weight (3.20±0.05kg) than those born as multiple births, triples (2.32±0.06kg), results from significantly birth weight decrease with an increasing number of kids in a litter (Mioc et al., 2011). These performances might be due to the feed available in Golomoti EPA, which might favour those genes responsible for better production.There is significant (p<0.05) variation in the dry matter content of the feed materials (Table 4-8).Chloris gayana had the highest (p<0.05) value of 929±17.32 g/kgDM, followed by Hyperrhenia rufa (883±45.43 g/kgDM), Cynodon dactylon (916±10.58 g/kg) DM) mixed hay (920±1.52 g/kgDM)), Panicum maximum (880±3.00 g/kgDM), and least DM is recorded in Pennisetum purpureum (864±1.86 g/kgDM). Dry matter content recorded were similar for Cynodon dactylon and Hyperrhenia rufa.The Ash content is significantly (p<0.05) higher in Pennisetum purpureum followed by Panicum maximum, Cynodon dactylon, mixed hay, while Chloris gayana had the lowest ash content. The highest CP content was recorded in Cynodon dactylon, followed by Panicum maximum, pennisetum purpueum, Chloris gayana and mixed hay with hyperrhenia rufa indicating the least value. Chloris gayana had the highest content of NDF, Hyperrhenia rufa and Panicum maximum had similar values for NDF and cynodon dactylon had the lowest value of NDF (673±2.04 g/kgDM).There is a significant variation (p<0.05) in the DM, Ash, CP and NDF of legume and browse trees.The highest DM, Ash, CP and NDF with the values 908±4.03, 133±3.57, 279±6.21 and 506±5.71 6g/kgDM were recorded in Macroptilium atropurpureum, Leucaena Leucocephala, Macroptilium atropurpureum and Macroptilium atropurpureum, respectively.The results in Table 4-9 indicate that nutrient values of grasses and legume fodders were significantly different (p>0.05). The highest DM, Ash and NDF were obtained as the plant matures thereby resulting in reduction in its nutritive value. At each interval CP content declined significantly (p<0.05). Nutritive value declined as the harvesting interval increased. In particular, crude protein content of Pennisetum purpureum and Leucaena leucocephala declined rapidly (p<0.001) from 65.0±1.2 and 244.7±2.9 g kg-1 DM at day 1 to 45.1±2.1 and 225.7±2.9 g kg-1 DM at 6 weeks of growth, respectively.The nutrient composition of supplement diets are shown in table 4-10. The DM content of the supplement diets varied while diet 3 dry matter content (910.2±3.05 g/kgDM) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than other diets and this was followed by diet 1 (890.4±2.44 g/kgDM) and diet 4 (890.4±2.44 g/kgDM). The least value of dry matter was recorded in diet 2 (700.6±1.99 g/kgDM)).The Ash content was higher in diet (p<0.05) in diet 4 compared with others, followed by diet 3 and diet 2, respectively. Diet 1 had the least value. In terms of crude protein content, diet 1 was significantly (p<0.05) different from the rest of the diets and diet 2, diet 3 and diet 4, were similar.The NDF value was significantly (p<0.05) higher in diet 4, diet 3 and diet 2, respectively. The least of NDF values was observed in diet 1. The ADF was significantly higher in diet 4, while the lowest (p<0.05) value was recorded in diet 1. The protein and NDF contents in the grasses agreed with (Webb et. al., 2001) for mature tropical grasses, 57±6.12; 717±18.16 g/kgDM in this study, against 60±4.87; 698±15.68 g/kgDM, respectively. The values observed in protein content in legume and browse trees had some variations compared to values reported by (Mlayi, et al., 2006). This variability in CP content of legume and browse species can be attributed to within species differences, soil type and location (Preston et al., 2009). It was also observed in the study area, legumes to have high CP and low NDF compared to grasses. Most grasses were utilized at a later mature stage when they had a decline in protein and a rise in NDF and lignin content as goats are tethered as farmers are working in the fields denying goats to access high quality forages. The supplement diets, legumes and tree folders in this study had acceptable levels of NDF of at least below 50%, which facilitate degradation by ruminants, as compared to grass fodders which had an NDF of above 50%. This result is in agreement with the previous studies (Preston et al., 2009).The nutrient values for legume and browse fodders were similar to those reported by (Mlayi, et al., 2006) except the CP with 244±2.94 vs. 214±2.16 in Leucana leucocephala and 279±6.21 vs.23±5.33 in Macroptilium atropurpureum. Legume quality is affected by leafstem ratio. The high CP recorded in the legume and browse fodders was due to good ambient temperature and leaf retention just prior to harvesting (Ondiek et al., 2013). In the present study, the DM and NDF content of grass and legume forages increased with maturity, reaching the highest value at week 6, which could be attributed to the increasing number of flowering and grain and also the proportion of the stem fractions. There is reduction in crude protein content due to the dilution effect of the increasing NDF content. The observations in the current study indicated that the increase in DM, NDF and the decline in nutritive quality is due to delay in harvesting time, have also been reported by Mlayi et al. (2006), Muktar, Aminu andMidau (2011) and Roothaert (2000), working in tropical environments. Diets; D1 = Grazing + 410g Maize bran (MB), D2= Grazing + 405g Gliricidia sepium + 410g maize bran (GLM), D3= Grazing + 405g Faidherbia albida + 410g Maize bran (FDM) D4 = grazing + 202.5g Gliricidia sepium + 202.5g Faidherbia albida + 410g maize bran (GFM). DM = Dry Matter, CP = Crude Protein, NDF = Neutral Detergent Fiber, ADF = Acid Detergent Fiber.The crude protein content of diet 1 was 109.4±1.99 g/kgDM and the inclusion of Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida individually to diet 1, improved the CP content of diet 1 as in diet 2 and 3;(from 109.4±1.99 -210.3±2.01 g/kgDM) and (from 109.4 -205.0±1.78 g/kgDM), respectively.Inclusion of Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida to maize bran had little effect on crude protein content of Diet 4 (205.3±2.06 g/kgDM). The values of CP in the mixed diets (diet 2.3 and 4) which ranged from 205.0 -210.3 g/kgDM were above 115 -120 g/kgDM recommended by NRC (1981) for gains in moderate body weight of goats compared to low CP in diet 1. Mlayi et al. (2006) reported that CP in supplements could increase the efficiency of the basal diet and that high CP content in diets provided a better source of by-pass and fermentable protein. In terms of the neutral detergent fibre (NDF), D4 was the highest (339.0±9.61 g/kgDM) and Diet 1 was the lowest (179.1±8.56 g/kgDM). Some browse species for example Glircidia sepium, though have appreciable high CP content, and are not recommended to feed goats because of their high NDF content. The increase in NDF content affect voluntary feed intake and limit availability of net energy from digestible energy (Roothaert, 2000).The NDF increased as Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida were added to Maize bran.Contrary to this study by Ondiek et al. (2013) reported that an increase in Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida in the diet significantly decreased the NDF content. The increase in NDF after inclusion of Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida in a diet in this study, might be due to cutting age and management of Gliricidia sepium (Preston et al., 2009). In this study, the ADF and ash content of the diet increased with the inclusion of Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida.The increase in the content of ADF in the diet could adversely affect forage diet digestibility by reducing intake by goats (Ondiek et al., 2013).The mean daily supplement intake of diets to intact local Malawi bucks data for both on-station and on-farm experiments are presented in On the other hand, t-test showed that daily weight gain for diets 3 and 4 for on-station goats were significantly (p<0.05) higher than the same diets for on farm goats. (Table 4-13). In the study, it was found that the daily supplement intake by intact local Malawi goat with Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida inclusion in diets 2, 3 and 4 did not differ significantly (P > 0.05). However, there was significant (P < 0.05) increase in daily supplement intake between diet 1 and the rest of the diets.The daily supplement intake was almost the same across diets 2, 3 and 4 and this could be attributed to a number of factors. Similar consumption of these diets could be due to low palatability as a result of the presence of coumarin and anti-nutritional factors which poison microorganisms in the rumen. Norton (2000) reported that Gliricidia sepium contains anti-nutritional factors for example; pinitol, condensed tannins and nitrates. Carew (1983) reported that Gliricidia sepium in the ration of goats could induce diarrhoea and also could result in depressed consumption of dried leaves during the first 3 weeks of consumption. The high level of Faidherbia albida pods may contain high anti-nutritional factors like condensed tannins which attributes to low palatability and intake of supplement diet (Roberthaert, 2000).The significant (P<0.05) increase in the daily supplement intake between diet 1 and the rest of the diets agrees with the finding of (Sadi et al., 2015) for West Africa Dwarf goats. Low protein content in Maize bran (10% CP) compared to Gliricidia sepium (20% CP) and Faidherbia albida (19% CP) ranks it as the least favourale diet for goats. Low dietary protein content interferes rumen microbial activity leading to low intake of supplement diet and supply sub-optimal protein content to goats (Hango et al., 2007).The results of this investigation agreed with Norton (2000) who reported on feeding of local goats a mixture of Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida which raised a supplement intake from 65g(Gliricidia sepium only) to 67g mixture and attained a liveweight gain of 60-71 g/day. Contrary to the results of this study, Sadi et al. (2015) reported a reduction in daily feed intake with an addition of Gliricidia sepium from 480 g/day in Katjang goats to 444 g/day after adding Gliricidia to natural grass and this could be as a result of errors arising from poor mixing of the supplements.The findings of the current study do not support the previous research Hango et al. (2007) who reported a daily supplement intake of 71 g/day for growing goats fed basal indigenous grass supplemented with Faihderbia albida pods and the increase might be attributed to feed processing.  The daily growth rate of bucks fed with diet 2, 3 and 4 at on-farm study with the inclusion of Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida pods was significantly higher (P<0.5) as compared to may be attributed to increase in inclusion level of Faidherbia albida pods which contain high tannin which bind protein and inhibit its utilization ( Muktar, Aminu and Midau, 2011).The goats that were not supplemented with multi-purpose tree fodder displayed a decreasing daily growth rate (46 g/day) compared to those that were supplemented (up to 84 g/day). Possible reason for the reduction in daily growth rate in the animals which were not supplemented might be due to low CP content of the diet.The comparison between previously reported results and the current study results suggested that supplementing Faidherbia albida pods, Gliricidia sepium leaves or their combination, could be a potential supplement in improving weight gains of goats.  4-14 below. The results showed that proportions of all non-carcass parts for on-station and onfarm goats were not significantly (p>0.05) different among the diets, except the proportion of the skin. The skin proportion was highest (p<0.05) in diet 4 (7.57±0.34%) and lowest in diet 2 (6.79±0.37%) for the on-station. The On-farm study, skin proportion for diet 4 (6.73±0.2%) and diet 3 (6.79±0.3%) were higher than for diet 1 (5.03±0.98%) goats.The t-test results showed that site did not have effect on non-carcass parts except the proportion of the skin , and this attributed to better grazing pastures at on -station. In the present study, the proportion of weight of the skin ranged between 5.03±0.98 -7.57±0.34%which is in agreement with the 5.6 -7.8% for Abergelle goats in Adgrat Iran (Siqueira,Simoe and Fernandes, 2001), and the 5.3-8.6% for indigenous Honamli goats (Okello et al., 1996). The skin weight proportion between diet 1 and diet 3 for on-station and diet 3 and diet 4 for on-farm were similar. Otsogile et al. (1996) indicated that local Malawi Boer goat crosses under extensive  In the study, goats feeding Diet 1 (202.5g Gliricidia +202.5 Faidherbia + 410g maize bran) resulted into smaller kidney and smaller spleen than in other diets and was significantly (p<0.05) different from the other diets. This was in line with the findings of Limea et al. (2009) who reported the smaller kidney and spleen proportions with only maize bran supplementation. The reason could be lower intake of dietary protein from low protein diet resulting into smaller values for the spleen and kidney proportions (Mubi, 2013). The small spleen stores little blood resulting into a reduced absorption of oxygen from the air in the lungs and transport it to the cells throughout the body and little carbon dioxide is removed and exhaled (Goetsch, Gipson and Sahlu, 2015).This scenario, aids in reducing the activities of goats like walking long distances to fetch feed and water.The t-test results showed that heart percentage for diet 4 for on-station goats was significantly higher than the same diet for on-farm goats. Also spleen percentage for diet 2 on-station and diet 3 on-farm goats were significantly higher (p<0.05) than the same diets for on farm goats. On the other hand, significantly lower kidney percentage were shown in diet 2 and diet 3 on-station, than the same diets for on farm goats. The site did not have effect of the lung and liver percentage of the goats.In line with results of this study, positive effect of Faidherbia albida and Gliricidia sepium supplementation on heart and spleen percentage has been reported (Gebru, 2014). An increased heart and spleen percentage by supplementation had also been reported from other studies (Limea et al., 2009) indicated that supplementing goats with Faidherbia albida and Gliricidia sepium had significantly higher (P < 0.05) heart and spleen weight percentage than those with no supplementation. According to Ondiek et al., 2013) heart and spleen percentage is affected by plane of nutrition and other factors such as age and sex. Yahaya and Kibon (2013) also indicated that heart and spleen percentage increased as feed supplement intake increased. The range for the value of full gastrointestinal tract (GIT) ranged from 22.04±0.17 to 29.63±0.39%(Table 6-6) higher than the values reported by (Sebsibe et al., 2007), 20±0.23 -23±.0.15% for Ethiopian goat. The full GIT and the gut content in treatment D1 (grazing + maize bran) were higher (p <0.05) than the treatment diets with (Gliricidia sepium, Faideherbia albida or a mixture of the two). This could be attributed to low in digestibility resulting in a large amount of digestive content, leading to poor gain efficiency (Hango et al., 2007). Thus, the utilisation of Gliricidia.  The yield and value determining factor in assessing performance of meat producing goats is dressing percentage. The significantly (p<0.05) higher dressing percentage was observed in goats fed diet 4 compared with goats fed 1 for both sites (Table 6-7). The values observed in goats fed diet 4 were within the expected range of 43.5% to 55.7% as reported for Boer goats and South Africa indigenous goats (Sisay, 2006;Johnson et al., 2007), respectively. The dressing percentage observed in goats fed on a mixture of Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida (diet 4) was however, comparable to 46.70% as observed by (Sebsibe et al., 2007)  This study, dressing out percentage of 37.18 to 44.38% for both on-station and on-farm sites, respectively, was also in agreement with findings of Aktas, Bekir, Serkan and Kassam (2015) who reported the dressing percentages of 44.3±1.52 and 45.2±1.52%, for indigenous Honamli and Hair goat male kids reared under intensive fattening system, respectively. The dressing out percent in the current study improved with supplementation of local Malawi goat with Faidherbia albida, Gliricidia sepium and the combination of the two in the diet.The t-test reveals that site had effect on dressing out percent when supplementing goats with diet 2 and diet 3 on-station. The highest (p<0.05) dressing percentage (40.17±0.64) was observed in goats feeding Gliricidia sepium leaf hay (diet 2) at on-farm study. The higher dressing out percentage in Diets 3 and 4 for on-station and on-farm studies respectively, was possibly because of an increased size of gastrointestinal tract as well as improved body development which enabled nutrient absorption easier (Dashtizadeh et al., 2008) The cold carcass weight percentage of the intact local Malawi goat improved with the addition of Gliricidia sepium, Faidherbia albida or their mixtures in the diet. The greater (p<0.05) cold carcass weight percentage in diet 3 from the on-station goats was probably due to better body development as a result of availability of optimum CP and energy level in the diet. The present yield (mean of 43.58±0.536%) for cold carcass weight is within the expected values for goats reported by Sebsibe, et al. (2007), Roothaert (2000) and Arktas et al. (2015) the values of 31 -44, 38 -46 and 34 -49%, respectively. It is also important to stress that good weights were reached for the commercial reality of Golomoti and Malawi at large.The weights of cold carcasses differed (p<0.05) among the dietary treatments, diet 1 and diet 2 at on-station and diet 1 and 2 at on-farm had similar weight of cold carcass percentage. The highest cold carcass weights were presented by goats fed diet 3 and diet 4 for on-station and on-farm study, respectively. The higher feed intake and weight gain are parallel with the heavier weights cold carcasses observed in goats feeding diet 3 and diet 4 for on-station and on-farm, respectively.Chilling loss during 24 hours chilling in the carcasses of goats feeding diet 4 and diet 3 was higher (p<0.05) than the other diets. Chilling loss was significantly lower in the carcasses of goats feeding diet 1 than diet 3 and 4. Lower chilling loss in the carcasses of goats fed diet 1 contradicts the report of (McGregor, 2007) that carcasses high in subcutaneous fat cover suffer less moisture loss during 24 h chilling. In this study, the group of goats with higher fat cover, tended to have higher moisture loss than those with less fat cover. Gebru, 2014 reported that the feeding of goats with low Condensed tannins concentration browse gained more weight than those fed high Condensed tannins concentration browse. Furthermore, condensed tannins concentrations exceeding 60 mg/g DM have been observed to depress voluntary feed intake, fibre and protein digestibility and resulting into reduced growth rate of goats (Sebsibe et al., 2007). In the present study, high chilling loss was observed in diet 3 and 4 because Faidherbia albida had high content of anti-nutritional factor called tannins and some in Gliricidia sepium resulted in depressed growth rate of goats and low content of subcutaneous fats cover leading to more moisture loss during the 24 hours chilling.The weights and proportions of hind and forequarters are presented in (20.93±1.08%) and lowest in diet1 (16.24±1.733%), however, both goats in diet 4 and diet 2 at on farm were similar (P > 0.05).The weight percentage of forequarters was significantly (P < 0.05) higher for goats in diet 4 and diet 3 in on-station and on-farm study (20.53±1.52; 24.03±0.817) and lowest for goats in diet 1, respectively. However, diet 3 and diet 4 were similar in each site. Chamdimba (2007) found higher proportion of hind and fore quarters for local Malawi goat under extensive management system to be 21.5% and 23.1%, respectively, which is not in line with the findings of this study (15.67±0.84% hind quarters and 13.95±0.963% forequarters) under similar grazing management systems. The variation in proportion of quarters, might be due to preference and accessibility by goats of some supplements offered or during grazing. Goats having higher feed intake have greater nutrient availability that promote weight gain and tissue development in fore and hindquarters.The proportion of the fore and hindquarters in this study for both on-station and on-farm, were higher with supplementation than goats on free range only, and is in line with findings of Asnakew and Tamir (2007) who reported on intact Hararghe Highland male goats fed on different hay to concentrate ratios that goats feeding on 50% concentrate had higher fore quarter yield (3.35±0.156kg) than those feeding on 0% concentrates (1.95 ±0.196kg). The higher weights of quarters as in diet 4 and diet 3 for on-station and on-farm, respectively may be associated with the higher nutrient digestibility and lower fiber fractions in the diets, which resulted in higher ADG and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) thereby resulting into higher weights of quarters. Asnakew et al. (2007) also reported a higher hind quarters (2.22±0.071kg) in supplementation with 40% concentrates than in supplementation with 0% concentrates or no supplementation(1.55±0.07kg). Weight of the quarters were higher with supplementation than those in Diet 1 may be due to higher digestible organic matter and CP digestibility in supplementation which promoted higher internal fat and muscle development. Another possible reason is the palatability of Faidherbia albida which promoted increased intake, and is expected to increase nutrient utilization thereby increasing weight percentage of hind quarters.The study revealed that goat production under smallholder production systems in Golomoti EPA faced a number of problems. The number of farmers who could afford the use of improved pastures were lower in dry season as compared to the wet season. It was also revealed that over half of the respondent farmers, diarrhoea was a major disease affecting goats and higher percentage of farmers had ground type of houses for goats than those with raised house type. In this case, effort should be made to come up with feed improvement strategies that complement the practice and one of such is use of tree fodders as in this study. The use of raised type of housing for goats would reduce the predisposing factor to many diseases observed in the area.The study had also shown that feeding of diets 2, 3 and 4 (containing Faidherbia albida pods and Gliricidia sepium leaf hay) to intact goats provided twice as much crude protein as feeding maize bran only and as such, related increase in crude protein in fodder products, doubled daily weight gain in intact male goats in Golomoti EPA and contributed greatly to the increased final liveweight gain of goats. The feeding of Faidherbia albida pods and Gliricidia sepium leaf hay can improve the daily weight gain of intact male goats.The feeding of goats a mixture of Faidherbia albida pods and Gliricidia sepium leaf hay (Diet 4) has resulted in improved gains in carcass quality for heart, spleen and hindquarter than feeding maize bran alone, when 8-9 months old entire goats are supplemented for 2 months. The practice can be used in strategic supplementation of goats for the market towards Eid Fitri and Christmas festive seasons.The following recommendations are made from the study;1. In Golomoti EPA, livestock stakeholders should strengthen veterinary services through formation of farmers' cooperative societies, credit facilities, drug supply and distribution.They should also sensitize farmers on the need for proper housing, proper feeding and proper watering in order to reduce loss of livestock due to diseases.2. In this study, it is important to undertake both on-station and on-farm feeding trial well to determine economical potential of the feed technology used. There is a need to promote use of Gliricidia sepium and Faidherbia albida based fodder diets for fattening in intact male goats in specific period of the year.The future research should focus on;1. Assessing feed resources in wet season to complement current study and formulation of goat feeding diet that meet their nutritional requirement.2. Evaluating anti-nutritional factors in Faidherbia albida pods and Gliricidia sepium leaf fodder to optimize utilization on carcass quality.3. Challenges farmers are facing on goat marketing and assessing of marketing interventions on infrastructure, transportation and price information for efficient marketing to encourage partners in the value chain. "}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"2a48044d7125d6990a585a7642ad0145","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/6fcc6cf2-0b34-48b0-b123-7beb6b868768/retrieve","id":"-1042555756"},"keywords":["Chicken","Nigeria","subnational zones","African Chicken Genetic Gains","longitudinal study"],"sieverID":"2e0f89e1-509f-4b12-9ce5-aaf0af5cd146","content":"iii Household baseline data in Nigeria: Monitoring delivery of chicken genetic gainsTables Table 1: Household basic characteristics in Nigeria (2015-16)  Table 10: Chicken and egg consumption (numbers consumed in the last three months) in Nigeria (2015-16) Table 11: Mean duration of chicken-keeping experience by households in years in Nigeria (2015)(2016) Table 12: Flock size per household in the different subnational zones in Nigeria (2015-16) Table 13: Ranking of chicken production objectives and purposes by households in Nigeria (2015-16) Table 14: Households reasons for breed preference in in Nigeria  Table 15: Attributes/qualities of good cockerels and hens in Nigeria (2015-16) Table 16: Chicken labour allocation (minutes in the last one week) in Nigeria (2015-16) Table 17: Labour allocation in poultry production (minutes/week) by activity in Nigeria (2015-16) Table 18: Marketing of chicken (last 3 months) in Nigeria (2015-16) Table 19: Egg marketing (per week) in Nigeria (2015-16) FiguresFigure 1: The subnational zones and districts sampled in the ACGG baseline.Figure 2: The per cent of female-and male-headed chicken-keeping households in Nigeria (2015-16).Figure 3: Farmers' housing conditions in Nigeria (2015-16).      Figure 10: Role of gender in selling eggs in Nigeria (2015-16).Most importantly, we would like to acknowledge the hospitality and passion displayed by smallholder chicken keepers, supervisors and enumerators who were involved in the baseline survey. Participation in the interview sessions was time demanding, however, it was willingly given. It is hoped that the output of this study will assist ILRI and national partners in further improving the quality of the on-farm experimental design, thereby eventually benefiting poultry keepers throughout the country. It is clear that this project brings many people and institutions together who have made substantial contributions to the study. Any mistakes and omissions, however, are the responsibility of the authors.This research was funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) (Grant Agreement OPP1112198) under the auspices of ILRI. The findings and conclusions contained within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of the BMGF. This summary presents the main results of the ACGG baseline survey data in Nigeria. The survey was conducted in 60 rural villages of the country. The study villages were selected randomly from the long list of villages in each cluster of villages in Kwara, Rivers, Imo, Nasarawa and Kebbi states, which are called subnational zones in the project. The subnational zones represent different agro-ecologies in the country. The cross-sectional baseline study covered a total of 1,202 households. Following a description of the survey design and tools, 1 the study presents the main findings in the form of cross-tabulation, rank-index, tables and figures.The study revealed that only 26.4% of the sample households were female-headed. For the entire sample, the average number of years of schooling, family size and age of the household head were 7.8, 6.5 and 54.45, respectively. The mean adult chicken-flock size per household was found to be 28 chickens. The flock structure and composition were dominated by chicks followed by hens. Almost all households-88%-in the study area had experience of providing supplementary feeding (i.e. any feed that was not scavenged) to their chickens at any time of the year. Good physical appearance, better meat taste, large body size and less illness were the most important traits in choosing good cockerels. For good hens, production of more eggs, produce chicks with high survival rate and less illness were the most important traits identified by the households. The results of the study also indicated that chickens were kept for multiple purposes and objectives, with egg consumption and live adult chicken sale rated the highest.The average quarterly household income from all sources was sizably lower in Kwara and highest in Rivers subnational zones. Households in Kwara and Rivers reported a mean quarterly income of Nigeria naira (NGN) 28,738 and NGN52,064, respectively. Among all subnational zones, the average quarterly income of households from all sources was found to be about NGN34,154. The contribution of poultry to the total household income was found to be 48.4%.Regarding gender disaggregated ownership of all livestock species, ownership was either owned by male or female or jointly owned with spouse. Across the subnational zones, the livestock ownership pattern is dependent upon the type of livestock owned. The overall result of the survey indicated that goats, ducks and guinea fowl are dominantly owned by women whereas cattle, sheep and donkey are dominantly owned by men. Compared to women, men owned more farm and household assets, although joint ownership was significantly higher than individually owned assets. For the entire sample, livestock contributes to the household's asset index an average of 6.69%.Across the subnational zones, out of the total sampled households, 95%, 89%, 85%, 40% and 59% of the respondents in Kwara, Rivers, Imo, Nasarawa and Kebbi, respectively, reported that they had enough food in the previous 12 months before the survey. Overall, 74% of the sample respondents reported that they had adequate food in the last 12 months for their household. Most households in the project subnational zones had acceptable Food Consumption Scores (FCS) of more than 35. An FCS range between 21.5 and 35 is borderline while any number below 21 constitutes a poor FCS. For the entire sample, the individual dietary diversity score (IDDS) across the subnational zones, was found to be relatively higher for index children than men and women.Indigenous chicken plays a significant role in the livelihoods of people and it contributes significantly to the food security of rural communities (Tadelle et al. 2003;Danda et al. 2010;Mutombo 2014). Poultry in rural areas of Africa and Asia is also an important component of the economy in diversifying agricultural production and increasing household food security (Dolberg 2003;Sonaiya 2007;Kryger et al. 2010;Mutombo 2014). Poultry is a valuable asset to local populations, especially in disadvantaged groups and less-favoured areas of rural Africa, since it contributes significantly to food security, poverty alleviation and the promotion of gender equality (Guèye 2000).In most economies of developing countries, the importance of poultry cannot be overstated (Adebayo and Adeola 2005) due to its role in improving the livelihoods of many smallholder farmers and great contribution to the economy of the country. Adebayo and Adeola (2005) found that in Nigeria, poultry has great importance in improving job opportunities and animal food production. A study by Okonkwo and Akubuo (2001) indicated that about 10% of the Nigerian population are engaged in poultry production, mostly on subsistence and small-or medium-sized farms. As cited by Heise et al. (2015), in Nigeria, where the production of animal protein falls far short of meeting the demands of a rapidly growing population (Obi 2003) , poultry is the most common livestock kept (Armar Klemesu and Maxwell 2000). The poultry industry has emerged as the most dynamic and fastest growing segment in the animal husbandry subsector (Heise et al. 2015).A report presented in 2014 for World Egg Day in Nigeria indicated that the poultry subsector contributed 25% to the nation's gross domestic product annually, amounting to the single largest contributor in agriculture. 1 The same report stated that to drive the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals for agriculture and health, as well as sustainable development agenda, the production of poultry products especially chickens and eggs-which contribute about 36.5 percent of the protein intake of Nigerians-should be prioritized.As summarized by Röling (1988), the development and transfer of appropriate technologies should be a function of the farmers' socio-economic and management practices at the field level. Thus, generating baseline data/information on the current smallholder chicken production systems, flock sizes, ecotypes kept, current productivity level and other socioeconomic conditions of poor smallholder chicken farmers in sub-Saharan Africa is of paramount importance. Moreover, a better understanding of the rationale underlying smallholders' objectives for keeping chickens and use patterns of chicken and chicken products is necessary to guide research and development programs supporting village chicken producers through focusing on flock performance and traits of importance to meet smallholders' production objectives.It is with this understanding that the ACGG project conducted a baseline survey in 2015-2016 across ACGG countries (i.e. Nigeria, Tanzania and Ethiopia) to understand, define and characterize the current smallholder chicken production system, chicken ecotypes, current productivity, husbandry practices, farmers' production objectives and the socio-economic status of poor chicken-producing smallholder farmers. Based on the baseline data, preliminary analysis was done on Nigeria baseline information and this report was developed in order to identify and analyse constraints of and opportunities for sustainable improvement of chicken production under smallholder systems in the diverse agro-ecological regions, and to identify potential areas of improvement as well as inform the design and implementation of the longitudinal survey, and eventually estimate the impact of the project.A village poultry improvement scheme aimed at upgrading the indigenous breed of chicken with improved exotic breeds Rhode Island Red (RIR), Light Sussex and Australorp was initiated in Nigeria around 1950 (Anwo 1989). The strategy was to cull all indigenous males and replace them with improved imported breeds in a 'cockerel exchange program' (Bessei 1987). This scheme failed because the crossbred chicks, though better in performance, could not survive in the semi-wild extensive backyard production system under which the indigenous chickens were raised. Another major drawback was that breed replacement resulted in a rapid loss of genetic variation (Rischkowsky et al. (eds.) 2007).Smallholder chicken production systems in developing countries still hold opportunities to use exotic breeds for improvement of local stock as long as the candidates are evaluated under realistic management conditions resembling the reality of smallholder farming (Sørensen 2010). ACGG is also following this approach and testing the performance of tropically adapted breeds (exotic, exotic but locally improved, and locally improved chickens) for egg productivity, growth and likability by farmers.2. Study areas, methodology and sources of the dataStudy site selection and sampling methodsIn Nigeria, the ACGG project baseline survey was conducted in 60 rural villages of the country. The rural study villages are located in Kwara, Rivers, Imo, Nasarawa and Kebbi states which are called subnational zones representing the chicken production environments in the country (Figure 1). For this study, the selection of the subnational zones and districts was purposively based upon a high number of chickens in the sampling unit, number of smallholder households rearing chickens, per cent contribution of chicken to household income and diets, per cent of market share captured by smallholder producers, availability of feed for a growing chicken industry and finally, a diversity of agro-ecological zones.In each subnational zone, 12 villages were selected. Thus, the total number of villages selected for the baseline study was 60.The ACGG baseline project village selection process consisted of first identifying a cluster of villages within districts. Secondly, villages were selected randomly from the long list of villages in each cluster. From the selected subnational zones and districts, a total of 1,202 chicken-keeping households with at least two years of chicken-keeping experience were randomly selected for the survey in Nigeria, and all selected households provided informed consent. However, due to response errors which may occur when respondents provide inaccurate information, and errors due to nonresponse (respondents did not provide the required information or the information they provided was unusable), 34 households which account for 2.8% of the sampled households were invalid for analysis. Therefore, the results of this study are based on the analysis of the data collected from a cross-sectional baseline survey of 1,168 households undertaken by the project in Nigeria.Figure 1: The subnational zones and districts sampled in the ACGG baseline.The essential of any agro-sociological survey is to gather basic firsthand information with regard to farmers' circumstances and production practices. To this end, a structured questionnaire survey tool was developed, tested and implemented using the Open Data Kit (ODK) data collection tool. Prior to the commencement of the baseline survey, training was given to survey coordinators, supervisors and enumerators for each subnational zone. The seven-day training included classroom instruction, and group and field exercises. The training covered the objectives of the project and the training itself, careful examination and review of each module in the questionnaire, careful understanding of the ODK system to collect data using the tablet system, and interview techniques.The classroom training was focused on familiarizing the survey coordinators, supervisors and enumerators with the content of the questionnaire followed by a role play training approach where one of the group members played the part of the household and was interviewed by another member of the group. Moreover, classroom training was given on how to use the tablets and ODK for the data collection, and how to load the questionnaire in the tablets followed by a role play using the tablets. In the field exercise, enumerators and supervisors were taken to nearby villages to practise interviewing, and pretesting contributed to our understanding of both the enumerators knowledge level and evaluation of the questionnaire itself. Regarding techniques of interviewing, enumerators and supervisors were taught neutrality, probing, how to approach reluctant respondents, and how to approach politely and respect the households' responses. On the last day of training, feedback was collected, the pretest was reviewed and discussed, issues in the questionnaire were identified, and any tool changes were made and finalized as required.The data collected for the baseline study include but are not limited to: 2 household characteristics, chicken production, chicken inventory, chicken entries and exit, chicken marketing, chicken productivity, trait preferences, selection criteria of farm households, chicken management (chicken housing, feeding and health management), labour allocations for chicken activities, food security and consumption, and institutional and other support services. The data were analysed using STATA 14. Cross-tabulation, index and other descriptive methods of analysis were used whenever appropriate.3.1 Characteristics of the household head Gender Gender is one of the major variables addressed in the project and used in the analysis. The distribution of household heads by gender in subnational zones is presented in Figure 2. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the household heads (91.6%) are male with Nasarawa state having the lowest number of female-headed households (8.4%) compared to Kwara, Rivers, Imo and Kebbi states. The gender distribution of household heads was similar across all the subnational zones surveyed. The proportion of female-headed households was very small, which has an implication in decision-making and chicken ownership.The results indicated that in relative terms, the percentage of female-headed households was highest in Rivers state. For the entire sample, about 73.6% of the households covered in the baseline survey were male-headed households while only 26.4% of the households in the survey were female headed. This result indicated that the female-headed households were 47% less than the male-headed households. This result also flagged for the project potential issues of engaging women. Therefore, for the on-farm study, the householder was adopted instead of the household head, where a householder is the person who devotes most of their time to chicken production activities. In many cases, this is not the household head as the project particularly focuses on the role of women in chicken production. Respondents' education level, age and family size Table 1 presents the basic characteristics of the sample household heads in the project subnational zones. The information includes number of years of schooling, the age of the household head in years and family size of the household head. The results of the study revealed that the average number of years of schooling of the household heads has some variation across the subnational zones. In general, household heads in Rivers, Imo and Nasarawa had attained a better education level than other subnational zones. Household heads in Kwara and Kebbi had very low education level attainment compared to the other subnational zones. For the entire sample, the average number of years of schooling was 7.8 years (Table 1).With regard to the age of the household head, the average age in the sample households varied (Table 1). On average, household heads in Imo were older than in the other subnational zones. The average age of household heads in Imo was found to be 56.65 years. Across the subnational zones, the average age of the household heads was 54.45 years. Family size of the household was also addressed in this study. On average, family size was lowest in Kwara with an average family size of 4.0, and highest in Nasarawa with an average size of 9.0. The average household size in the entire study area was 6.5 (Table 1). In this section of the report, the different components of the livelihood analysis are provided. Based on the existing institutional management, institutional setup and agro-ecological situations, households adopted strategies and behavioural choices to achieve their livelihood objectives. This section of the report primarily includes the different capital of households (physical and financial capital) across the subnational zones. Most importantly, the results focus on household income, source of livelihood and asset ownership, in particular, livestock ownership and farm and domestic asset ownership, using the household asset index specifically to determine the contribution of livestock. Moreover, based on the procedures recommended by a gender, livestock and livelihood indicators report (Njuki et al. 2011) and by adopting the Food and Agriculture Organization 2011 guidelines for measuring household and individual dietary diversity, we report the food security indicators.Average household income from all sources, income obtained from poultry, the contribution of poultry income to the total household income and women's control of the household income are reported in Table 2. Quarterly average income of the subnational zones is also reported in Table 2. The results indicate that the average income varies across the project subnational zones. Total household income from all sources was considerably lower in Kwara and highest in Rivers.Households in Kwara and Rivers reported a mean quarterly income of NGN28,737.60 and NGN52,064.18, respectively. The average quarterly income of households from all sources was found to be about NGN34,154.30.Income from poultry and their contribution to the household total income was analysed, since in the project areas, households that engage in poultry production activities are common. The data analysis indicates that in all subnational zones, income from poultry made an important contribution to the average household income. This contribution was more important in Imo (74.52%) than in the other subnational zones (Table 2). In all of the sample households, the contribution of poultry income to the total household income was 48.4%. Data analysis reveals that out of the total households (937), 38% of women controlled income from at least one source. *This refers to the proportion of households where women control income from at least one source. This excludes joint control.In an effort to comprehend the comparative importance of the different economic activities for contribution to the households' livelihoods, sample households were asked to identify and prioritize the three most important (primary, secondary and tertiary) sources of their livelihoods. The analysis result presented in Table 3 indicates that households in the study subnational zones derived their livelihoods from many different sources. However, for the entire sample, 36.46% and 36.73% of households declared that crop farming or production was their primary and secondary source of livelihood, respectively. For the entire sample households, 23.8% and 34.98% of the households reported that poultry keeping was their secondary and tertiary source of livelihoods, respectively. This clearly indicates that poultry production is very important in the livelihood strategies of most rural farm households in the study subnational zones and simple reliance on crop farming seems necessary but not sufficient to sustain the farming households without poultry production. The results also clearly indicate that most of the sample households have mixed farming systems, integrating crop production with livestock and poultry rearing. The main livelihood sources are categorized among the farm households' livelihood sources. Other economic activities such as livestock trading, formal salary employment, livestock herder, self-employed, working as a daily wage labourer etc. also contributed to household livelihoods but these nonfarm income sources are insignificant (Table 3). Livestock holdingsIn the study subnational zones, as indicated above in Table 3, livestock contributes significantly to the livelihoods of households and is considered a productive asset for the households which provides meat, milk, eggs and traction as well as cash income through sales. Moreover, livestock is a source of self-reliance against income shocks. As indicated in Table 4, livestock resources include cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys, camels, horses, guinea fowl, rabbits and chicken. Based on a procedure recommended by a gender, livestock and livelihood indicators report (Njuki et al. 2011), the herd size was converted into tropical livestock unit (TLU). The results of the analysis reveal that most of the households in all subnational zones own some livestock, but average holdings are small (Table 4). For the entire sample, on average ownership is dominated by chicken which contributed 0.28 TLUs, followed by goats with 0.23 TLUs (Table 4). However, the average livestock ownership varies considerably across the project subnational zones. Gender disaggregated ownership of livestock is one of the variables addressed in the baseline survey (Table 5). The results of the data indicate that across the subnational zones, livestock ownership is dependent upon the type of livestock owned. Goats, ducks and guinea fowl are predominantly owned by women whereas cattle, sheep and donkey are predominantly owned by men. Note: The numbers in parentheses are standard deviations.4 Because of lack of gender disaggregated data, the chicken data is presented only at household level.Based on the procedure recommended for all BMGF-funded projects 2010-11, farm and household domestic asset indices were first computed and then asset ownership in terms of the assets index was compared across the three types of household ownership (male, female and joint). The overall results (Table 6) indicate that compared to women, men owned more farm and household assets. Farm implements, transport and domestic assets are predominantly owned by men. However, joint ownership was also common for some of these productive assets.The contribution of livestock to the household base was also analysed. The results (Table 6) indicate that the contribution of livestock to the household asset index varies across subnational zones, ranging from 2.45% in Imo to up to 17.28% in Kebbi. For the entire sample, on average livestock contribution to the household asset index was found to be 6.69%. Based on the procedure recommended by a gender, livestock and livelihood indicators report (Njuki et al. 2011), the Cashpor Housing Index (CHI) was used to classify the quality of the housing conditions of the households. CHI uses the external housing conditions such as number of rooms, floor, wall and roofing material as a proxy for poverty condition of a household. The idea behind CHI is based on the principle that poor households spend their income on basic household necessities and social commitments rather than investing in their houses. Thus, based on CHI, the quality of a house in the sample households is classified as very poor, poor, average and good quality (Figure 3). The results of the analysis indicate that the majority of households in Kwara (70%), Rivers (65.38%) and Imo (92.74%) were living in good quality housing, whereas the majority of households in Kebbi (65.32%) and half of the respondents in Nasarawa (50.42%) were living in an average quality house (Figure 3). The overall results of the sample households indicate that 55.48%, 35.87%, 7.96% and 0.68% of the households were living in good, average, poor and very poor housing conditions, respectively (Figure 3). Source: Household baseline survey 2015-16Poultry are maintained in the study subnational zones and considered a productive asset for the household and an important contributor to food security. Poultry provide meat and eggs which increase the households' consumption of animal-sourced food. Moreover, the contribution of poultry to food security is related to income from sale of poultry and poultry products. This income is often used for the purchase of additional food items necessary for the household. The next subsection of the report focuses on availability, access and consumption aspects of food security dimensions.Household food access is defined as the ability of a household to obtain adequate food in terms of both quality and quantity from their own produce, purchase or exchange, or receive as a gift to meet the family members' nutritional requirements. The Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning was used as a proxy measure for food access.The results of the data on the proportion of food adequate for households and average months of food adequacy are presented in Table 7. The food adequacy in terms of proportion of food for households indicate that thereare some marked variations across the subnational zones. Out of the total sample households, 94.98%, 89.4%, 85.28%, 40.25% and 59.33% of the respondents in Kwara, Rivers, Imo, Nasarawa and Kebbi, respectively, reported that they had enough food in the last 12 months (Table 7). The overall sample results indicate that 74% of the sample respondents reported that they had adequate food in the last 12 months for their household. The household dietary diversity score (HDDS) is commonly used as one main dimension of a quality diet. It refers to counting the number of food groups consumed within and across the different groups rather than the number of different foods consumed during a 24-hour recall period divided by the total number of households. The HDDS can also be adapted and used as an IDDS, which is used as a proxy measure of the nutritional quality of an individual's diet. The concept is that increasing food varieties and different food groups in the diet are beneficial as it ensures adequate intake of essential nutrients and helps better health. The HDDS is also used as a proxy measure of the socio-economic status of a household.To assess the HDDS, an adult male (usually the head of household if present), adult female (usually the spouse or head of household if present) and an index child (less than 5 years) were interviewed and asked to recall what meals they had consumed over the last 24 hours. It covers a total of 12 food groups: cereals, roots and tubers, vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, fish, pulses/legumes/nuts, milk and milk products, oils and fats, sugar/honey/sweets, and spices, condiments and beverages. The results of the data presented in Table 8 indicate that at the subnational zones level, the IDDS was higher in Imo for index children, women and men with an average score of 9.44, 8.07 and 7.95, respectively. The IDDS were lowest in Kebbi with an average score of 4.62 for children, 4.56 for women and 5.01 for men. Across the subnational zones, the IDDS was found to be higher for index children (6.41) than for women and men.The FCS is the frequency of consumption of nine food groups over a seven-day recall period weighted by nutritional value of the food group. The food groups considered are staples: vegetables, fruits, pulses, meat and fish, milk, oil, sugar and condiments. In computing FCS, foods that are usually nutrient rich get more weight than low nutrient foods. An FCS of 0-21 is considered poor, 21.5-35 is considered borderline while an FCS greater than 35 is considered acceptable.Generally, the results presented in Table 9 indicate that for all household categories (children, women and men) the highest FCS was reported in Imo and the lowest in Kebbi. The highest average FCS was reported for children in Imo (88.05) while the lowest FCS was reported for women in Kebbi (52.02). However, across the subnational zones, the FCS for children, women and men were all above 35 and therefore considered acceptable. Table 10 presents the general overview of households' consumption of chicken (live birds) and eggs in the last three months in the study subnational zones. Consumption of both live birds and eggs was interpreted using the mean number of birds and eggs consumed either from home production or purchased from other sources. The results of the data indicate that live bird consumption was highest in Rivers and lowest in Kwara subnational zones. On average, households in Rivers consumed 4.18 birds while in Kwara the number was 3.26. Kebbi is the second highest subnational zone in bird consumption; on average, households in Kebbi consumed 3.98 birds. Across the subnational zones, households consumed on average 3.85 live birds. The data on egg consumption are also reported in Table 10. The results show that there is a wide variation in consumption of eggs between subnational zones. Egg consumption was high in Imo (32 eggs) and low in Kebbi (4.5 eggs) and Nasarawa (7.64) subnational zones. Across the subnational zones, the average egg consumption was 15 eggs. The data indicate that the small average number of eggs consumed is a result of households selling live birds to meet their immediate cash needs.Poultry-keeping practicesIn this study, we explored the duration of chicken keeping in the households in order to assess smallholder chicken-keeping practices. Poultry-keeping experience is an important parameter to classify and target smallholder households for the onfarm experimental intervention in the project. This is because at least two years of chicken-keeping experience is required to be an on-farm study participant household in the project. As indicated in Table 11, the results reveal that the mean duration (years) of chicken keeping was highest in Imo at 19.82 years and lowest in Rivers at 10.97 years. This indicates that the duration of poultry keeping is not uniform across the subnational zones. Across the sampled households, the mean duration of chicken keeping is 16.20 years. This information helps the project to understand the target households in terms of knowledge level for targeting of training. The study also reveals that the majority of households, 1,155 (98.88%), kept poultry for at least two years. The study also examined the average flock size per household (Table 12). The average number of chickens in all the sampled subnational zones is approximately 28 chickens per household. Of all the sampled households that kept chickens, about 60.19% kept less than 30 chickens; 40.58% of the households kept less than 20 chickens. The multiple response analysis also indicated that, in terms of breeds, an overwhelming majority (88%) of the sample households kept the local breeds of chicken while 12% of the sample households kept other chicken breeds. The results indicate that the average flock size differs between the subnational zones. The highest flock size per household was reported in Rivers (29.47), whereas flock size per household was lowest in Imo (24.67). The higher flock size in Rivers could be a result of greater awareness by the farmers about chicken production. Another possible explanation for higher flock size could be the availability of well-organized poultry facilities including market and hatchery compared with other subnational zones.The structure and composition of flocks in the study households are dominated by chicks followed by hens which is in agreement with the literature that indicates a typical flock structure consists of chicks, pullets (grower male and female), cocks and hens (Hailemichael et al. 2016). As presented in Figure 4, the flocks are composed of a greater number of adult chickens (71%) than chicks (29%). Over all, out of the total flocks counted, chicks constitute the largest share (29%) of the flocks. This reflects the reality on the ground that this age group predominates as the largest percentage of flock composition in village poultry. Nevertheless, about 25.60% of households did not have a chick in their flock. Hens account for 24% of the total flocks. Moreover, the results reveal that out of the total flocks, young chicks (grower male and females) account for approximately 30% of the total flocks. In this study, information on the sex ratio of flocks was analysed and the results indicate that the ratio of cocks to hens is (1:1.3). Almost 40% of the flocks were constituted of female chickens (hens and grower females), which probably implies that farmers need to preserve or save females for breeding. Table 13 presents the rank indices of the purpose and objectives of keeping chickens by the sample households in the different subnational zones.Reasons for keeping chickens Note: Index = [(3 × number of households ranking as first + 2 × number of households ranking as second + 1 × number of households ranking as third) for each objective]/[(3 × total number of households ranking any purpose first + 2 × total number of households ranking any purpose as second + 1 × total number of households ranking any purpose as third)].The results of this study indicate that many of the sampled rural households keep chickens for multiple purposes and objectives. Meat consumption and sale of live adult chicken constitute the primary purpose and objectives for keeping chickens in Kwara, Rivers, Imo and Nasarawa subnational areas with their respective indices of (0.45) and (0.20) in Kwara, (0.44) and (0.28) in Rivers, (0.46) and 0.37) in Imo and (0.36) and (0.33) in Nasarawa, while meat consumption and ceremonies/festivals were the primary purpose and objectives for keeping chickens in Kebbi with rank indices of (0.35) and (0.28), respectively. Meat consumption was the main purpose and objective of keeping chickens across all subnational zones which implies the need for meat-type chicken breeds. Generally, the results indicate that farmers' identified objectives have relatively tangible benefits such as source of income and consumption which coincides with market demand. Other purpose and objectives of keeping chickens are meat sale, egg sale and others. However, the results imply that consumption of chicken meat and sale of live adult chickens are common reasons for chicken keeping by the majority of households, rather than egg sale and consumption. Almost none of the respondents mentioned keeping chickens for cock fighting which indicates that it is not a common cultural practice in Nigeria. Meat sale, give away and ceremonies/festivals received relatively low rankings for keeping chickens in most of the subnational zones.In this study, we explored households' preference for different breed types of chicken even if households do not keep all breed types. The multiple-response analysis results showed that the majority of the households (89.09%) preferred the local chicken breeds over the other chicken-breed types (Figure 5).The exotic and improved exotic breeds, which are considered more productive, were ranked the second and third most preferred breeds over other breeds, respectively (Figure 5). However, further study will be necessary at all ACGG sites in order to ascertain the reasons for farmers' decreased preference for the exotic and improved ecotypes. One of the study limitations recognized during the enumerators' and supervisors' baseline data collection training was the difficulty identifying chicken breeds on the ground. This challenge was also observed among smallholder farmers. The reasons given for local chicken-breed preference include less illness (17.67%), better meat taste (12.47%), more eggs (17.67%) and longevity (5.7%) (Table 14). The rank index of traits preference when selecting cockerels and hens as perceived by farmers irrespective of whether they select specific chickens for breeding purpose was analysed and is presented in Table 15. The results reveal that for good cockerels, the most important traits are large body size and weight, better meat taste, less illness and good physical appearance. Traits such as lives a long time, feed efficient and good fighter were not highly ranked, though farmers considered them important. Similarly, production of more eggs, production of chicks with high survival rate and less illness are the most important traits for good hens. Farmers also considered better meat taste and eggs important traits.  Labour allocation in poultry production per activityIn addition to chicken labour allocation, the average time spent in minutes for the different poultry production activities by the different household members is shown in Table 17. The results indicate that except for purchasing input in which the adult males spent more minutes per week than other household members, in all other poultry production activities including feeding chickens, watering chickens, cleaning shelter, manure collection, egg collection, selling of birds and disease control, the adult females in the household spent more minutes per week than other members of the household. The results imply that most of the activities in rearing chickens and other poultry are done by household females. The per cent of the total time devoted to chicken production by adult males, adult females, children and hired people are presented in Figure 7. The results of the data reveal that across all subnational zones, the adult females devoted most of their time for chicken production compared to other household members and hired labour. Next to adult females, adult males spent most of their time for chicken production compared to children and hired people. In Kebbi, Imo, Kwara, Rivers and Nasarawa, out of the total time devoted, adult females in the household contributed 80.29%, 70.8%, 67.59%, 63.91% and 55.96% of their time for chicken production, respectively (Figure 7). For the entire sample, adult females in the household spent 67.22% of their time for chicken production (Figure 7). This result implies that chicken production and management is largely the responsibility of adult females in the household compared to the rest of the family members. The proportion of time spent by other household members (children and hired people) is very small, which implies that their participation in poultry management is minimal. The low participation of children and hired people is not a surprise since today, children spend most of their time on education, and hired people invest most of their time in high labour-demanding activities such as ploughing and looking after large livestock. Source: Household baseline survey 2015-16Live-bird marketingThe market channel, number of households using each of the market channels, number of birds sold and the total revenue from sale of birds in the last three months are presented in Table 18. Generally, the results of the data indicate that the village market is the largest market channel, used by 293 households for selling chickens in the last three months. On average, 4.45 of the birds were sold in the village market channel. The second largest channel in terms of number of households used is the individual (fellow farmer) channel; 202 households used this marketing channel. However, in terms of the number of birds sold, the restaurant channel is the highest compared with other marketing channels. On average, 6.4 birds were sold in this channel. City market, butchery, shop and trader's market channels are also important market outlets in which, respectively, on average 5.76, 3.67, 5 and 5 birds were sold. The results in Table 15 indicate that out of the total sample households, 656 households used the different market channels. Overall, on average 4.6 birds were sold in the different market outlets for which households received an average sales revenue of NGN 3,604.43 (Table 18). In this study, an attempt was made to explore the reasons why households sell their chickens. Households described seven essential reasons. The majority of the sample households (76%) reported that the main reason for selling chicken was to use the money for covering household basic needs. Decrease flock size (7%), business purposes (7%), emergency household needs (3%), sacrifices for festivals (3%) and disposal of less productive birds (2%) were the other reasons for selling birds (Figure 8). Gender role in live bird sellsThe distribution of decision-making regarding who decides to sell chickens among women and men was explored in the survey. The result of the analysis (Figure 9) indicates that 46.27% of the households reported that the household female decides on the number of birds sold compared to 34.55% of men, with 16.89% of the households reporting that decisionmarking was made jointly (female and male). Non-household members had very little decision-making role regarding the number of birds sold in the last three months. Egg marketingThe marketing channel, average egg price, average number of eggs sold and the egg sales per week are presented in Table 19. Generally, the results of the data indicate that the individual market is the largest market channel, which 50 households used for selling eggs per week. On average, 6.46 eggs were sold in the individual market outlets. The second largest channel in terms of number of households used is the village market channel, which 20 households used. However, in terms of the number of birds sold, traders is the highest-used channel. On average, 15.33 eggs were sold in this channel. Village market and shop are also important market outlets through which, respectively, on average 10.95 and 4 eggs were sold. Moreover, the results indicate that out of the total sample households, a total of 79 households used the different market channels per week.The results also indicate that, overall, on average 8.14 eggs were sold in the different market outlets per week for which households received an average sales revenue of NGN577.4. We also assessed the average egg price per week in the different market outlets. The results of the data indicate that the average price for eggs varies depending on the market channels, ranging from NGN19.17 to NGN50. The lowest average egg price was reported in the traders; market outlet, where on average households sold eggs NGN19.17. The highest egg price was described when households sold eggs in the shop where on average they sold at NGN50. However, the overall result indicated that households sold eggs on average at NGN37.56 per egg. In addition to average egg price per week, this study also investigated the average number of days in which households sold eggs per week. For the entire sample, households on average sold eggs 2.68 days per week. Decision-making power in households regarding the sale of eggs was addressed in the survey. The results of the analysis presented in Figure 10 indicate that 50.6% of the households reported that the household female decides on the number of eggs sold, while 39.2% of the households stated that the household male decides on the number of eggs sold. Only 8.9% of the households reported that the decision to sell eggs is made jointly (male and female). Non-household members had very little decision-making role regarding the number of eggs sold. The results of the baseline survey will be used to identify constraints and opportunities of chicken production for ACGG future research and development interventions. The results indicate that farmers prefer the local breeds over other breeds irrespective of whether they kept the breeds or not. This is a potential constraint in Nigeria because of a problem in distributing tropically-adapted exotic breeds. However, it is also an opportunity, since it directs us to incorporate the local improved breeds in Nigeria (e.g. Shika Brown, FUNAAB Alpha and Fulani). The other constraints include the small proportion of female-headed households. The small proportion of female-headed households presents difficulties in the comparison of variables between the male and female groups. But, compared with the constraints, the opportunities are many. First, households report practical experience of keeping local, exotic and improved breeds, which makes the distribution of the improved breeds to households relatively easy. Second, households existing practice of giving supplementary feed for their chickens is an opportunity, since ACGG can implement the longitudinal study with minimal training of households on the preparation of supplementary feed. Finally, opportunities exist regarding households' availability of different classes and types of chicken, as well as households' familiarity with the management of these flocks.This short summary report of the baseline survey provides baseline situations in all subnational zones of the ACGG project in Nigeria. Most importantly, it includes baseline characteristics of randomly selected households from all subnational zones. Since the households are representative, the results obtained from this study provide the underlying situations in the project villages and basic reference for the design of the on-farm study across the project subnational areas regarding women's level of participation, flock composition, chicken supplementary feed, smallholder farmers' preferences regarding different breeds of chicken and farmers' perception of the good qualities of cocks and hens.For the on-farm study, we highly recommended that female-headed and poor households should be adequately represented since the representation of these households in the baseline survey is not adequate. Therefore, for the on-farm study, householder was adopted instead of household head, where a householder is defined as the person who actively engages in the chicken production activities. In many cases, this will not be the household head as the project particularly focuses on the role of women in chicken production.The survey result allowed us to fully appreciate the realities on the ground that chicken keepers experience, and the extent to which housing and supplementary feed are important for the on-farm study design. This was best reflected in the survey with mean age of length kept, average number of flocks per household and frequency of the existing practice of giving supplementary feed.The study revealed that farmers prefer the local breeds together with exotic breeds, which potentially reflects the demand for exotic breed increases in the future. Thus, it supports ACGG objectives for distributing tropical adapted and productive chicken strains for the on-farm study."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"ce7b27c9bd63319c92204cc335ec0535","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/ad3ff50b-5293-435f-904d-d339ae8d3246/retrieve","id":"-1664456304"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"9d0e70ff-649a-486a-a893-c258658d2c0b","content":"• Understanding local contexts, prioritizing forage technologies that fit the context, and ensuring that farmers are key actors in the validation and subsequent uptake of alternative solutions are important• Shortage of good quality feed remains the major challenge for livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa Melkamu Bezabih, ILRICredit: Apollo Habtamu/ILRI• Productivity gains in the range of 50-70% have been obtained as a result of improved forage integrations and better livestock feeding, contributing to improved HH income and nutrition • In Ethiopia alone, well above one hundred thousand farmers were reached with improved feed and forage technologies during the last ten years.• Awareness and interest in improved forages (rainfed and irrigated) have increased.• "}

main/part_2/0362663444.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"c084154a4f9fa70c9d46e950409f997b","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/2f31c2fa-f090-4cd3-861c-86ddf68d8f27/retrieve","id":"982782857"},"keywords":["Cassava","Congo","African"],"sieverID":"f2e31a3c-0e38-4a50-97eb-5c859ae3f0b3","content":"Cassava is the main crop in the Congo but its low yield doesn't meet the needs of Congolese populations. The low yield is due to the use of less effective sensitive varieties to diseases, nonmastering of techniques and biotic constraint of which the African cassava mosaic. This study aims at selecting resistant genotypes to the African cassava mosaic and assessing their agronomic and production performances. Six elite accessions selected based on a villager participative approach have been crossed by controlled pollination with three clones (192/0401, 192/0325 and 197/0162) distributed by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Growth, agronomic and production parameters of genotypes from the controlled pollination were evaluated at the station. Of the ten tested genotypes, the one resulting from the crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401) did not show any symptom of the cassava mosaic disease 12 months after planting. Apart from the root length, foliar surface and the height of the plant, this genotype differed from the others only by the biomass, the diameter of the stem, the harvest index, the rate of starch, the rate of dry matter and marketable or non-marketable tuberous roots. The genotype (Mahabama x I92/0401) will be included in the cassava improvement section plan in the Republic of Congo.Manihot esculenta is grown in the tropical and subtropical regions for its roots and leaves. These plants are a major part of the daily diet of many African populations. Cassava is the main crop in the Congo but its low yield doesn't meet the needs of Congolese populations. The cassava roots, consumed either directly in the form of \"green cassava\" or in the flour form, are rich in starch. They are thus a least expensive source of calories for human nutrition and animal food (Cock, 1985;FAO, 2013a;Tonukari, 2004). Indeed, the fresh cassava roots contain between 25 to 45% of dry matter component containing 85% of starch. Cassava leaves are used as vegetables. They provide protein, vitamins and minerals to populations in East and Central Africa (Lutaladio and Ezumah, 1981;IITA, 1990;IITA, 1992;Jalloh and Dahniga, 1994). Thus, for producing countries, cassava is considered as a traditional crop for food security with its capacity to be kept in the soil, to be harvested according to the needs (DeVries and Toenniessen, 2001). For those countries, consumption needs have increasingly gone up causing an increase in prices for this commodity.However, in Africa, the increase in cassava production is mainly related to the rise in cultivated areas (Hillocks and Thresh, 2000;Chikoti, 2011). This reflects the low yield per hectare of cassava varieties used. This poor performance cassava is also due to use of inappropriate technical by producers, the use of less efficient varieties and the fungal impact, cassava bacterial blight and viral diseases including the cassava mosaic disease (Daniel et al., 1978;Mabanza, 1980a, b;Makambila and Bakaka-Koumouno, 1982;Daniel and Boher,1985;Daniel et al., 1985;Guthrie, 1987;Fargette et al., 1985;Makambila, 1994;Gibson et al., 1996;CIAT, 1996;Thresh et al.,1997;Fokunang et al., 2000;Ntawurunga et al., 2002;Hillocks and Wydra, 2002;Neuenschwander et al., 2002).Cassava is grown in most parts of the Republic of Congo, where 95.700 ha are under cultivation with a total production of 861.500 t (Ntawuruhunga et al., 2007). This crop mobilizes more than 70% of the rural population, mostly women, and informal activities around cassava are an important source of income for many households (MFA, 2014, FAO, 2003).In the Congo, cassava mosaic disease is the major issue for cassava cultivation. The cassava mosaic disease is the major issue for cassava cultivation causing losses of up to 95% (Guthrie, 1987;Legg et al., 2006;Legg et al., 2005;Geddes, 1990;Mabanza et al., 1993;Thresh et al., 1994a, b;Thresh et al., 1997;Ntawuruhunga et al., 2007;Agnassim et al., 2007;Ntawuruhunga et al., 2002;Owor et al., 2004;Zinga et al., 2008;Szyniszewka et al., 2017). An increase of the incidence of this disease causes chronic shortages of this food crop considered as a staple food for more than 90% of Congolese, in terms of crop valuation, consumption level and value chain (MAE, 2014). To overcome this cassava mosaic disease, surveillance and uprooting of infested plants was recommended as well as control of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Quiot et al., 1982;Fargette, 1987;Guthrie, 1987;Mabanza 1992). These measures have not been able to stem the disease.In addition, the introduction of varieties selected for their resistance to the disease has been considered (Hahn et al., 1980) but the difficulty of satisfying local preferences with regard to taste, texture and agronomic traits of resistant varieties as well as their poor distribution to small farmers did not slow down their spread on local accessions (Guthrie, 1987).Furthermore, it noted the differences between the proposed technologies and the producer's expectations. To date, integrated pest management has become a priority, including cassava breeding and the improvement of local germplasm by vitro culture to control cassava mosaic disease (Mabanza, 2006). Varietal improvement includes the development of a range of elite accessions resistant to cassava mosaic disease and cassava bacterial disease combined with high yields, stable with other agronomic qualities and traits acceptable to consumers.F1 hybrid progeny derived from this controlled pollination were evaluated at station for their impact on cassava mosaic disease resistance as well as their growth, agronomic and yield components. The purpose of the studies was selecting resistant genotypes to the African cassava mosaic and assessing their agronomic and production performances.Plant material consisted of F1 progeny obtained by controlled pollination between six elite accessions (local ecotypes) and three clones (192/0401, 192/0325 and 197/0162)  The IITA parental clones, native to Nigeria, were selected for their high yield potential and cassava mosaic disease resistance. Elite accessions were identified by peasant participation approach and identified according to characteristics distinguishing in positive and negative traits mentioned in Table 1. Out of 470 accessions collected in 56 surveyed localities in Bouenza, Niari and Lékoumou departments forming the Niari landscape, a hierarchy has been established according to solicitation. The accessions of Mauritanian, Mahabama, Kinkéni, Manaboulenga, Dimbouana and Soleil have had a high frequency of use, and have been described as \"elite\". Prior to pollination, these parental elite accessions were *Corresponding author. E-mail: pattibayeba@gmail.com.Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License  The trial was conducted in experimental plot at Loudima Research Station of the National Institute for Agricultural Research (IRA). Loudima station (13°04'21.3'' and 4° 09'6.35'') is located about 30 km north-east of the Nkayi town, in department of Bouenza. During 2 years of experimentation, an average monthly temperature (27.9°C) and relative humidity (90.9%) were recorded. Rainfall data were collected in experimental plot referred to as a seed nursery. Rainfall variations were recorded during 2 years of experimentation (Figure 1). Weekly total rainfall was used and expressed as sum of monthly precipitation.The Cassava F1 progeny obtained by controlled pollination between elite accessions and IITA clones were evaluated. Seeds resulting from this pollination were germinated in screen houses.Vigorous cassava seedlings at a 4-leaf stage were transferred to seed nursery where they were planted by blocks representing a cross.In cross block, the seedlings were transplanted in line at a space of 1 m between the lines, and in line 50 cm between the plants. After transplanting, insecticide application was carried out in anticipation of cricket attacks. The insecticide (decis) slurry was applied at a rate of 25ml/15 L (in water). This application was repeated every fifteen day during two and half months making a total of five treatments in total. The seed nursery was maintained by weeding on demand until the end of the cycle.In cross blocks, individuals ranged from 1 to 88 depending on seedlings number that reached 12 months after planting and were free of cassava mosaic. F1 progeny was eliminated when cassava mosaic disease symptoms appeared. The incidence of cassava mosaic was determined by counting the individuals having cassava mosaic disease symptoms out of the total of F1 progeny observed. From 12 months after planting, weekly observations were made individually for a given cross. Variables value of a given cross corresponds to the average of the individuals composing the cross. Every individual in the cross has been constituted as a repetition. These observations focused on the agronomic variables, yield components and biochemical components of cassava roots. For agronomic variables, measurements were made on leaf surface, biomass area and total biomass. To determinate the leaf surface (SF) according to Connor and Cock (1981): SF (cm 2 ) = 0.0067 L 2.042 , with L (mm) representing the length of the central lobe of the leaf, the length of the central lobe of the fourth bloomed leaf of individual was measured using a graduated ruler. Aerial biomass was obtained by weighing stems and leaves using a scale type hanging scale. Three yield components have been estimated to evaluate the productive potential of a given genotype from different crosses. These were: harvest index, underground biomass, weight of tubers, root mass and number of tubers. The number of tubers per hybrid was counted and their weight obtained by weighing the tuber using the Hanging scale.In addition, the roots have been calibrated. Gauging consisted of classifying the cassava roots into fleshy or not according to the volume or diameter. The fleshiest roots were said to be \"marketable\" and the less fleshy were called \"residual roots\" and therefore no marketable tubers. After harvest, the starch and dry matter content of the tubers was determined by genotype. Thus, 200 grams of tubers were taken per plant, minced and then ground using a Victoria type mill. The ground material obtained was dilacerated in 1.5 liters of water. The resulting mixture was filtered using a sieve with 500 μm mesh. The filtrate was distributed and decanted in 1.6 liter pots. After 10 hours of decantation, the supernatant was removed and the pellet constitutes the starch (starch). On a cemented drying platform, the pellet was dried in pots and the chip on plastic lids.XLSTAT software version 7.5.3 and SPSS 10.0 were used for all statistical analyzes. For all variables measured, variance analyzes (ANOVA) included leaf area, aerial biomass, total biomass, harvest index, uunderground biomass, tuberous root weight (PRT), number of tuberous roots (NRT), root mass (MRT) and number of tuber roots. The normality of the residuals and the homogeneity of the variances have been verified. To normalize the distribution and equalize the variances, the starch and dry matter variables underwent an arcsine transformation. The comparisons between the means were made according to the Student Newman test and Keuls at the 5% threshold.Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) incidence on stationassessed genotypes was illustrated in Figure 2. The results revealed that no cassava mosaic disease symptoms were observed in crossing (Mauritanian x I92/0325) and (Manaboulenga x I92/0401) 3 months after planting (MAP). At 3 months after planting, for CMD genotype, the least incidence was recorded in crossing (Mauritanian x I92/0401) and (I92/0401 x Soleil). At 6 Significat with a confidence level of 95% for the Newman-Keuls test. Values with the same index do not show a significant difference at 5% threshold. Stem heights are expressed in meters (m) and stem diameters in centimeters (cm). Branching level is the stem height where there was the first branching expressed in centimeter (cm) of which 0 no branching. Goumands is a notation whose score 0 absent and 1 presence of greedy.Branching type is a notation of which 0 absence of branching and for the presence (there are branches 1 or 2 or 3 or 4).MAP, the CMD symptoms were observed on genotypes from 9 crossing tested. The lowest incidence (5%) was recorded in genotypes from the crossing (Mauritanian x I92/0325) while the highest incidence (58%) of CMD was observed in crossing (I92/0401 x Kinkéni) for the same period. The highest incidence (95%) was obtained at 9 and 12 MAP for genotypes from crossing (I92/0401 x Kinkeni). This same rate was found in crossing (Mauritanian x I92/0325) at 12 MAP. In addition, no cassava mosaic disease symptoms were observed from crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401). On the other hand, high cassava mosaic disease incidence was noted in crossing (I92/0401x Kinkéni) (Figure 2).Growth components of the genotypes resulting from controlled pollination were measured at station. The results reveal that stem diameter, branching type and number of branching did not discriminate the cassava genotypes tested. No significant effect on mean stem diameter, number of branching and branching level of the genotypes was observed (Table 2). For plant height, the genotypes from crossing (I92/0401 x Mauritanian and Manaboulenga x I92/0325) showed higher shoot height. Average plant height were 3.32 m (I92/0401 x Mauritanian) and 3.39 m (Manaboulenga x I92/0325) respectively. Mean plant height of 2.37 m recorded in genotypes from crossing (Manaboulenga x I92/0325) was lower than that from other crossing tested (Table 2). For crossing tested, the variability of branching type was observed at station. Branching type notes ranged from 0 in crossing (Manaboulenga x I92/0401) to 3 in crossing (Mauritanian x I92/0325), (I92/0401 x Soleil), (I92/0401 x Kinkeni), (I92/0401 x Dimbouane), (Mahabama x I92/0401), (I92/0401 x Mauritanian).Genotypes from crossing (Manaboulenga x I92/0401) a branch grade score of zero (0) had an erect habit. Genotypes in crossing (Mauritanian x I92/0325), (I92/0401 x Soleil), (I92/0401 x Kinkeni), (I92/0401 x Dimbouane), (Mahabama x I92/0401) and (I92/0401 x Mauritanian) having the note 3, have a trichotomous branch. Dychotomic branches were observed on genotypes in crossing (I92/0401 x Soleil), (Manaboulenga x I92/0325), (Mauritanian x I97/0162), (I92/0401 x Mauritanian) and (Mauritanian x I92/0401) (Table 2). For plant height and branching type, the variance analyses reveal a significant \"crossing\" effect at 5% threshold according to the Student Newman and Keuls test, and showed the existence of 3 homogeneous groups crossing (a, ab and b) and 5 crossing groups (a, ab, abc, bc and c) respectively. For the plant height, most pronounced effect was obtained with genotypes from crossing (I92/0401 x Mauritanian and Manaboulenga x I92/0325) (group b). For the presence of gourmands, except the genotypes from crossing (Mauritanian x I92/0325), all individuals of the tested crossing had gourmands. Statistical analyzes for the presence of gourmands reveal a significant difference at 5% threshold between the crossing tested (Table 2).A 12 MAP, leaf surface, harvest index and total biomass of the genotypes from different crossing were evaluated  3). In crossing (I92/0401 x Soleil), the leaf surface (103.32 cm 2 ) was larger. Statistical analyzes results of leaf area vary significantly depending on crossing made. They highlight the existence of 3 homogeneous groups of crossing made (a, ab and b). The most marked leaf area was obtained with genotypes from crossing (I92/0401 x Soleil) (group b). Analysis of all crossing did not statistically reveal any significant difference (at the 5% threshold) in aerial biomass, underground biomass (mass of all the storage roots per plant), total biomass and harvest index (Table 3). The results reveal that, these variables did not make it possible to discriminate all crossing tested at station.Marketable tubers, not marketable tubers, tuber length, tuber diameter, percentage of starch and percentage of dry matter of 10 genotypes tested crossing were evaluated at 12 MAP. Analysis of crossing did not statistically reveal any significant differences (at the 5% threshold) in marketable tubers, not marketable tubers, tuber diameter, starch content and root dry matter content (Table 4). The results reveal that these variables did not help discriminating between tested cassava genotypes (Table 4).The results show that tuber length varied from 24.54 cm (Mauritanian x I92/0401) to 93.34 cm (I92/0401 x Dimbouane) (Table 4). Results of statistical analyzes of tuber length varied significantly according to cassava genotype tested, revealing the existence of 2 homogeneous groups of tested genotype (a and b) most marked was obtained with 9 genotypes evaluated (group b).This study revealed the existence of a high cassava mosaic disease tolerance or resistance in cross (Mahabama x 192/0401) compared to other controlled crossing. For this crossing, no symptoms of cassava mosaic disease were observed until 12 MAP. The results are similar to those obtained by Hahn et al. (1980), Jennings and Hershey (1985), Kemdingao (2003), Ambang et al. (2007), Monde et al. (2013) and Bisimwa et al. (2015).Four cassava varieties selected and popularized in Republic of Congo for their resistance to bacteriosis showed a sensibility to cassava mosaic disease (Mabanza et al., 1993). This study is the first one to set up a crossing showing an acceptable resistance to this viral disease. For a long period, it has been recognized that some varieties have acceptable resistance to mosaic when they suffer little or no damage even if they are affected (Hillocks and Thresh, 2000). Such individuals in crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401) will be used as a mean of controlling the disease.In addition to crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401), F1 progeny from crossing (Mauritanian x I92/0401 and I92/0401 x Soleil) expressed the cassava mosaic disease incidence of 51% at 12 MAP. However, the cassava mosaic disease incidence of 95% was recorded in crossing (I92/0401 x Kinkeni and Mauritanian x I97/0162) at 12 MAP. Thus, the study results showed the existence of very clear differences in the degree of attack of the different crossing evaluated.Difference in attack levels of cultivars or clones or varieties or genotypes with respect to cassava mosaic disease was recorded by Mabanza et al. (1993), Ambang et al. (2007), Ntawuruhunga et al. (2007), Zinga et al. (2008), Chikoti (2011), Monde et al. (2013) and Bisimwa et al. (2015). The study results showed that the cassava mosaic disease was established from 6th MAP in crossing (Mauritanian x I92/0325 and Manaboulenga x I92/0401). For these crossing, the lowest incidence of cassava mosaic disease (5% and 50%) increased to 91% and 75% at 12 th week after planting. This evolution of cassava mosaic disease incidence during the cultivation period was recorded for all crossing tested. Similar results were obtained by Ambang et al. (2007) and Bisimwa et al. (2015).The study results reveal that the critical threshold for the emergence of cassava mosaic disease would be 6 MAP for the crossing tested. These results are contrary to those obtained by Mabanza et al. (1993). These authors noted that starting from the 4th month, the impact of cassava mosaic disease begins to diminish by the phenomenon of healing with four varieties selected by national program of research on cassava. To date, the use of genotypes from crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401 is a mean to manage cassava mosaic disease, given that it meets the requirements of growth, agronomy and production. Thus, in crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401) with trichotomous branching was not different from 9 other crossing tested by stem diameter, branching type, number of branch, aerial biomass, underground biomass (mass of all the storage roots per plant), total biomass and harvest index. For hybrids from crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401), the stem diameter of 3.90 cm obtained is comparable to or better than the average stem diameter of cultivars recorded by Ambang et al. (2007) and Monde et al. (2013). Those results reveal an intermediate classification of plant height, stem diameter and leaf surface of the individual of the said crossing. In hybrids from crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401), a plant height of 2.94 cm was measured, leaf surface was 102.91 cm 2 and harvest index was 0.38. These acceptable measures were similar to those of Bakayoko et al. (2007), Ambang et al. (2007), Chikoti (2011), Moundzeo et al. (2012) and Monde et al. (2013).Similarly, it appears that crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401) is indistinguishable from other crossing for the number of marketable tubers, not marketable tubers, tuber diameter and root dry matter content. The tuber fiber content of 32% recorded in crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401) was similar to or better than that obtained by Nwangalalo et al. (1987) and Bakayoko et al. (2007). On the other hand, this content was lower than F1 hybrids of 20 families tested by Chikoti (2011). The F1 progeny in crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401) showed tuber length of 47 cm with 8 mean number tubers per plant. These production variables in cross (Mahabama x I92/0401) were similar to those presented by cassava varieties tested (Bisimwa et al., 2015;Ambang et al., 2007, Moundzeo et al., 2012, Monde et al., 2013). Thus, F1 hybrids in Mahabama x I92/0401 which have a high tolerance to cassava mosaic disease, are interesting because of their growth, agronomic and yield components.F1 progenies from crossing (Mahabama x I92/0401) showing high tolerance to cassava mosaic disease are included in the cassava selection scheme in Congo. In addition to the absence of any visible symptoms of cassava mosaic disease, these hybrids in crossing (Mahabama x I92/ 0401) showed vegetative growth, agronomic traits, and acceptable yield components comparable to the other 9 crossing tested. This crossing is recommended in the main producing areas of the Republic of Congo, which is heavily infested with cassava mosaic disease. Before it is released, assessments in farmer's area will be carried out in order to confirm its potential to control cassava mosaic disease observed at station."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"d4cb0ec76c272d710256db39e4983536","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/14b432ff-4a1c-4d3c-adde-783895f75d89/retrieve","id":"91320267"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"45cc9793-558f-4538-9527-46adbe6e4e0a","content":"Application of farm yard manure (FYM) provides sufficient amounts of phosphorus (P) needed by crops and also alleviates inherent deficiencies of important soil micronutrients. The concentrations of important micronutrients involving zinc, boron and iron were above the critical thresholds in systems with FYM application as opposed to systems without FYM.Reduced tillage and conventional tillage practices result in different populations/communities of soil fungi that are distinct from the microbial communities occupying soils in undisturbed natural sites.Application of FYM alone or in combination with fertilizers increased microbial richness and diversity, and microbial structures for zinc solubilization, phosphorus solubilization and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria.Application of FYM alone resulted in higher bacteria richness relative to FYM combined with multinutrients (that include lime).Application of FYM stimulated CO 2 fluxes compared to either omission or application of nitrogen at higher rates; and this positively coincided with increase in soil moisture. For instance, the CO 2 fluxes in the treatment with application of FYM was 45.2 mg/m²/h, and this was significantly higher than the CO 2 fluxes in the plots without FYM (32.9 mg/m²/h) or plot with the application of 90 N (28.6 mg/m²/h). This is an indication that FYM systems enhance soil microbial activity.Mineralization of N is increased with reduced tillage relative to conventional tillage, with surface residue application relative to no residues. Application of N at the moderate rates of 60 kg N ha -1 seems to depress N mineralization.Residue addition increases soil microbial pool and activities. Relative to systems without residues, application of residues in the reduced tillage systems significantly increased PhoD gene abundance, pointing to increased P-cycling. In addition, the counts of unique organisms were higher in the agronomic systems with residue addition compared to systems without residue application.Practicing reduced tillage with nitrogen addition increased diversity of phosphorus solubilizing microorganisms compared to reduced tillage without nitrogen addition and conventional tillage with nitrogen application.Enzyme activities (Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and acid phosphatase (ACP)) are increased with combined or sole applications of FYM and residues compared to \"fertilizer only\" without organic resources, pointing to the inhibitory effects of increased availability of fertilizers on phosphatases and their activities. Also, reduced tillage has more potential for enzymatic P cycling as observed with higher ACP enzyme activity in the reduced relative to conventional tillage systems.Application of bio-inoculants, in addition to other amendments slightly increase crop and forage yields relative to non-incorporation of bioinoculants. The use of bio-inoculants in forages increased Napier yields by approximately 2 t ha -1 .Soil chemical analysis across the key treatments of the long-term trials in western Kenya (Table 1) shows that:• INM3 has a greater range of soil test values for most of the parameters relative to CT1. This relates to the range of integrated soil fertility management practices implemented in INM3 including combinations with FYM, crop residues and agroforestry (Tephrosia).• In the INM3 site, treatments with manure (alone or in combination with other soil management practices) mostly had elevated pH, Ca, Mg, Zn, SOC, K and CEC. The lowest soil test values were under no input and fertilizer only treatments.• P application increased available P. Manure also increased P.• In CT1, the lowest values for most parameters are under reduced tillage with no fertilizer inputs. For B, however, the highly intensified systems (maize-soybean rotations applied with both N and P) had the lowest boron consistently, an indication of year by year nutrient mining. A more balanced soil fertility regime, e.g. including FYM could reverse this decline. • In comparison, the undisturbed site has the highest overall pH, SOC, N, Ca, Mg, B, Na, EC and CEC. Here, concentrations of Mn and B were several times higher than in the treatments in INM3. In addition, concentration of Na of 27.9 ppm in the undisturbed site was 70-200% higher than in the treatments of the two long-term trials (INM3 and CT1) while that of SOC was 40-90% higher.• Available P and exchangeable K in the soil were extremely low (being 1.5 ppm and 91.5 ppm, respectively) in the undisturbed site compared to the experimental site. The low P is because of fixation of P without replenishments in the high P fixing soils of the experimental sites.The most interesting finding is that sustained application of FYM at the rate of 4 t/ha per season, as done in the longterm trials, is adequate to supply the needed P (at the current level of yields) and alleviate inherent deficiencies of important soil micronutrients such as zinc, boron and iron. Without application of FYM, the concentrations of these micronutrients are below the critical thresholds. Although not as high as for other micronutrients, the application of FYM increased Cu by 10%.While plots without fertilizer application had average soil available P just at the lower critical level of 15 mg/kg soil, application of FYM alone increased the P to 22 mg/kg of soil while application of P fertilizer and also its combination with FYM increased the soil available P to values way above even the 30 mg/kg of soil, where no P application is needed. Interestingly, reduced tillage without P treatments have very low soil available P, and also the lowest zinc (1.6 to 4 times lower than other treatments) and both nutrients are often lost through erosion. Low biomass production and therefore cover could expose these treatments to erosion through runoffs. The increase in soil pH with application of farmyard manure from 4.84 to 5.25 is consistent with findings of Opala et al. (2012), Mucheru-Muna et al. (2014) and Liu et al. (2017) attributed to liming effects of farmyard manure when humic materials adsorb Al and Fe Oxides with corresponding release of hydroxyl ions (Hue et al., 1986;Neina, 2019).Among the soil physical properties assessed, only bulk density was influenced consistently by tillage with reduced tillage having 1.19 compared to 1.10 g/cm -3 under conventional tillage (data not shown).  Two sets of microbial sequencing were conducted. The first one was for SR2019 season followed by a second sampling in SR2020 season. In both cases, fresh soils were collected at plot level separately for each 3 replicates of implemented treatments. In the first set, DNA was extracted from 0.2 g fresh soil samples using Phenol-Chloroform Isoamyl (PCI) Alcohol DNA Extraction procedure in Embu University laboratory and analyzed using Illumina sequencing in MR. DNA labs in USA. Briefly, 0.2 g soil were suspended in 200 µl of solution A (containing 100ul Tris-HCl (pH8.0), 100 mM EDTA (Ph8.0); vigorously vortexed, 5 µl of Lysozyme (20mg/ml solution) added and mixture incubated in a water bath (37 °C) for 30 minutes. 400 µl of lysis buffer (containing 400 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 60 mM EDTA (pH 8.0), 150 mM NaCl and 1 % sodium dodecyl sulfate) was added, incubated at room temperature for 10 minutes. Thereafter, 10 µl of Guanidinium thiocyanate (GITC; for protein digestion) was added and solution incubated (65 °C) in a water bath for 2 hours. After digestion, 615 µl of phenol chloroform isoamyl (i.e., 1:1 volume) was added, solution centrifuged (13200 rpm) for 5 minutes (at 4 °C) and the step repeated again. The supernatant was taken, 150 µl of sodium acetate and 600 µl isopropyl alcohol (2-propanol) added, solution briefly mixed by inversion and left at room temperature until the precipitation settled down. The contents were centrifuged (13200 rpm) for 10 minutes, supernatant discarded and resultant DNA pellets washed in 300 µl of 70% ethanol. The DNA pellets were re-centrifuged (10000 rpm) for 1 minute, supernatant discarded, pellets air-dried and thereafter dissolved in 30 µl of PRC water. DNA quality was checked on 1% agarose gel electrophoresis for further studies. The DNA pellets were lyophilized and shipped to MR DNA (www.mrdnalab.com, Shallowater, TX, USA) for sequencing.In the second set, fresh soils were sampled and shipped to BeCrop for DNA extraction and sequence analysing. All the samples were of topsoil taken within a depth between 5-15 cm. Each sample from a single plot was made pooling together top soil from three random spots in each plot and extracting the DNA from this composite sample. Soil samples were stored at −80 ºC until DNA extraction. DNA extraction was performed using the DNeasy PowerLyzer PowerSoil Kit (Qiagen). Libraries were prepared following the two-step PCR protocol from Illumina and sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq using pair end sequencing (2×300 bp). Libraries were prepared by amplifying the 16s rRNA V4 region and the ITS1 region using Biome Makers® custom primers (Patent WO2017096385). Raw sequences were analyzed using Vsearch using default parameters 54. Briefly, raw paired-end fastq sequences were merged, filtered by expected error 0.25, dereplicated, and sorted by size. We filtered out chimera sequences and clustered the remaining sequences into 97% identity OTUs, considering in further analyses only groups with at least two sequences. Combined sequences were then mapped to the list of OTUs with at least 97% identity, resulting in an OTU table with OTU sequences quantified per biological sample. OTUs were classified with the SILVA 123 database through the SILVA-NGS pipeline.The distribution of soil bacteria and fungi observed, based on the first set of DNA analysis in SR2019, were similar across the two long-term trials (Table 2). The initial analysis of the first set of data showed the key influences of soil microbes are related to addition of manure alone or in combinations with residues or chemical fertilizers in INM3 (Figure 1). The tested treatments are therefore evaluated mostly with regard to these management practices while relating to nutrient application within these management practices. The analysis presented is mostly with the second set of microbial DNA analysis which we consider more robust compared to the first set obtained through a commercial laboratory. Towards the end of the section, analysis relating soil parameters to the first set of microbial analysis is done since these were collected during the same season.  Microbial populations in undisturbed sites (predominantly under grasses and scattered shrubs) are distinctly different from cropped fields (Figure 2). Practicing reduced tillage with surface residues also results in microbial populations that are distinguished from conventional tillage systems (also with residues). Also, a shift in microbial populations is observed due to application of FYM. The greatest shift in soil microbes is observed with combined application of FYM and micronutrients such as Zn and S (Figure 3). This treatment had been applied with lime, at 2 t/ha, during long rains seasons of 2016 and again in 2017. The profound microbial shifts in the FYM+MN is therefore most likely due to the liming.  Reduced/minimum tillage and conventional tillage practices result in different populations/communities of soil fungi (Figure 4). These are distinct from the microbial communities occupying soils in undisturbed natural sites. Continuous maize monocropping has also a microbial community that is slightly shifted from the maize-soybean rotations and intercrops. Out of all the fungi taxa observed (at species level), only 20 were significantly affected by management practices namely, presence or absence of FYM and its combinations with micronutrients analyzed together with an undisturbed natural site (Figure 5). Consistently, with the exception of Scolecobasidum sp., management practice without application of FYM had the lowest abundance. With exception of a few cases, both application of only FYM, and its combination with micronutrients, increased abundance of specific fungi taxa in the same way. Combined application of FYM and micronutrients had particularly high effects on Penicillum victoriae, Penicillum javanicum, Lipomyces kononenkoae and Penicillum skrjabinii. Penicillium species are known heterotrophs, depending on different sources of organic carbon, mainly plants and animal matter, for their metabolic nutrition (Krebs et al., 1997). Incorporation of FYM enhances nutrient and organic matter availability that most microbes utilize for growth and development while micronutrients are important for microbial DNA formation and replication. Key highlights on affected species include:• Scolecobasidum sp. are amongst oligotrophic microorganisms (Samerpitak et al., 2015), with the ability to survive in environments with very low nutrients. This explains the increased abundance of Scolecobasidum sp. in the agronomic management system without application of FYM.• Aspergillus bombycis, an aflatoxigenic fungi (Peterson et al., 2001), is an aerobic fungus dominating oxygen-rich environments, and prefer growing on carbon rich sources (as contributed by FYM), explaining their increase in systems with application of FYM. This fungal species also doubles up as an oligotroph, characterized by slow growth, low rates of metabolism, and generally low population density.• Penicillium species are known zinc solubilizers (Khande et al., 2017); and their abundance is likely to be positively influenced with zinc availability elevated with micronutrients applications. This partly explains the increased abundance of Penicillium javanicum, Penicillium shearii, Penicillium skrjabinii and Penicillium victoriae in the systems with combined application of FYM+micronutrients compared to FYM alone. Besides, out of all the fungal taxa (at genus level) identified, only 11 were significantly affected by soil management systems (Figure 6). Except for 2 genera (Septoria spp. and Scolecobasidium spp.) out of the 11, FYM application increased the abundance of the remaining fungi in INM3. Septoria spp. are renowned fungi that cause numerous leaf spot diseases on field crops, forages, among others, and the reduction in their abundance following FYM application is beneficial for crop production.  Haematonectria haematococca q = 0.00376 Malbranchea sp. q = 0.00404 Penicillium javanicum q = 0.00777 Penicillium shearil q = 0.00721 Penicillium skrjabinii q = 0.00604Penicillium victoriae q = 0.0065 Phialophora sp. q = 0.0065 Remersonia sp. q = 0.00373 Scolecobasidium sp. q = 0.0055 Septoria sp. q = 0.00674 Thermomyces Ianuginosus q = 0.0016 Vermispora spermatophaga q = 0.00741 Westerdykella cylindrica q = 0.00591 Aspergillus deflectus q = 0.00691 Aspergillus bombycis q = 0.00877 Exophiala pisciphila q = 0.0064 Gymnascella aurantiaca q = 0.00373 Helicoma sp. q = 0.00649 Lipomyces kononenkoae q = 0.00406 Lomentospora prolificans q = 0.00197 As with microbial abundances, application of FYM alone or in combination with multinutrients significantly increase both diversity and richness of bacteria and fungi (Figure 7; Table 3). Interestingly also, application of FYM alone resulted in higher bacteria richness relative to FYM combined with multinutrients. This points to the possibility of reduced tolerance/increased susceptibility of some microbial species (both bacteria and fungi) to the micronutrients applied. On the other hand, application of organic inputs such as FYM are accompanied by microbes that may be absent previous in a system (Ye et al., 2017). Without manure application (-FYM treatment), agroforestry practices slightly improve the Shannon index of the bacteria (green vs red dots). Increased Shannon diversity means more diverse yet more even populations of microbial species present.Shannon indices for fungi (ITS) was 3.48 in the undisturbed site and this was not different to those of INM3 (3.19 to 3.48; Figure 7). Most bacteria prefer colonizing environments with low C/N ratios (Eiland et al., 2001), thus explaining the increased diversity in systems with application of both FYM and FYM+micronutrients. Thermpmyces q = 0.00877 Septoria q = 0.00601 Gymnascella q = 0.00187 Malbranchea q = 0.00203 Thermomyces q = 8e-04Haematonectria q = 0.00189 Remersonia q = 0.00223 Vermispora q = 0.00623 Helicoma q = 0.00432 Scolecobasidium q = 0.00423 Table 3. Bacteria and fungi richness in different management practices and undisturbed site as observed in western Kenya in 2020.Shannon indices for bacteria and richness were not different comparing treatments of CT1 although richness was different (higher under cropped systems) when compared to the undisturbed site (Figure 8). The cropped fields are characterized by increased incorporation of external inputs as well as different plant species (cereals and legumes) while the undisturbed site is mostly on grasses and scattered shrubs thus resulting is different environmental conditions and nutrients availability (Alemu and Bayu, 2005;Bolo et al., 2021;Upchurch et al., 2008). Nevertheless, practicing conventional tillage with residue incorporations increases (not significantly) diversity of soil bacteria but reduces that of fungi relative to conservation agriculture practices. Tillage is detrimental to fungi through occasional breaking of their hyphae. Conservation tillage practices (reduced tillage with surface residues) has similar diversity indices with the undisturbed sites. Values with different letters in the same column for a specific long-term trial are significantly different at P<0.05. In summary, shifts in microbial populations result from the influence of reduced tillage systems in CT1, sole application of FYM or a combination of FYM and micronutrients in INM3 site, as a result of organic matter and nutrients availability.Soil organic matter provides organic carbon that acts as food source for the microbial populations (Khatoon et al., 2017).A few farmer fields ( 12) with various cover crops were assessed for microbial abundances to start understanding microbial conditions outside researcher-controlled fields. Fungi species richness ranged from 163 to 235 while bacteria species richness was 223 to 374 (Figure 9). The field with highest richness was under dolichos and was the only field where lime had been applied.  The 20 most abundant fungi and bacterial species were identified and those of fungi are the most variable across farmer fields. For these fungal species, Phoma spp, a fungal phytopathogen, was absent under the dolichos system (also with lime, see AZM00X in Figure 10) but was increasingly abundant in fields with grain amaranth. All the fields had less Septoria spp., also a plant phytopathogen, relative to the undisturbed sites. On the other hand, Fusarium spp. was mostly common in the farmer fields but was least common in the undisturbed site. One farmer field with Canavalia had particularly high Aspergillus spp., a fungi involved in aflatoxin infestations (Figure 28, AZM03P), but also a phosphorus and zinc solubilizer. In another field (AZMO3Q), Calcarisporiella was quite abundant compared to other fields. The high variations in abundances of specific species under farmer fields represent the diversity in management practices employed. However, a detailed assessment of these on-farm management practices, their intensity and how they influence microbial abundances and functions is still needed, including the influences of landscape positions (due to transfers of microbes through soil movements).The next section deals with only the soil microbes involved for known functions such as solubilization of Zn and P. These are often referred to as functional groups and were identified from our overall microbial dataset.  Extensive literature reviews were conducted in this study to identify and map specific genera and species of soil bacteria and fungi (contained in the data obtained from sequencing) to their specific functions including solubilization of phosphorus and zinc. An evaluation of management practices on overall community of plant growth promoters was undertaken followed by specific focus on phosphorus and zinc solubilizes.The diversity of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (66 species of bacteria) is reduced with application of multi-nutrients (Figure 11). The low Shannon diversity index with application of multi-nutrients is accompanied by a strong shift in the community structure while presence of manure results to only a small shift in the microbial structure. With the exception of Paenibacillus turicensis promoted by presence of multinutrients, and Clostridium sp. consistently elevated with both FYM and FYM+MN, 18 other plant growth promoting rhizobacteria were highly depressed in the FYM+MN treatment (Figure 12). The remaining 46 species were either not or only slightly affected (q>0.01) by the management practices. The application of FYM improves the diversity of zinc solubilizing soil bacteria in western Kenya (Figure 13). The increase is related to the SOC observed in these systems. Ordination plots show that zinc solubilizing bacteria are shifted under FYM+MN relative to the other management practices. The communities of Zn solubilizing bacteria with and without FYM are essentially the same (data not shown).  Of the 18 bacteria genus involved in zinc solubilization that are identified and analysed with regard to treatment effects, the following results are observed (see Figure 14):• Application of multi-nutrients highly increased Bradyrhizobium spp. but reduced Rhizobium spp., Sphingomonas spp. and Sporosarcina spp. As opposed to Rhizobium spp., Bradyrhizobium spp. are slow growing microbial species (Sameshima et al., 2003).• Application of P without multi-nutrients, greatly increased Sporosarcina spp. both with and without FYM.• Application of FYM highly increased Lysinibacillus spp. Just like Sporosarcina spp., Lysinibacillus spp. are amongst the copiotrophic Firmicutes that respond quickly to changes in labile nutrient availability (Schostag et al., 2019), as potentially contributed by the FYM.• Nitrogen application increases the Shannon diversity index of the overall community of zinc solubilizing soil bacteria (Figure 15). Bradyrhizobium q = 0.00483Rhizobium q = 0.00371 Lysinibacillus q = 5e-05 Sphingomonas q = 0.00505 Paenibacillus q = 0.00482 Sporosarcina q = 0.00567The community of P solubilizing bacteria under FYM+MN was shifted away from the cluster of P solubilizing bacteria without FYM application. The community with only FYM application was only slightly shifted from that with no FYM application (data not shown). Of 22 P solubilizing bacteria genera evaluated, 3 were significantly affected by soil fertility management (Figure 16). Application of multinutrients highly increased Bradyrhizobium but decreased Rhizobium, both nitrogen fixers yet essentially different species. Also, application of FYM especially in absence of chemical phosphorus, increased Flavobacetrium. Besides Bradyrhizobium and the Sphingomonas (reported earlier under zinc solubilizers), Kitasatospora are clearly distinguished with application of FYM+MN demonstrating the microbial shifts (Figure 17). CCA plots (not shown) confirmed these 3 organisms to clear follow FYM+MN treatment group while all others (except Enterobacter) had a centroid distribution.   Log-relative normalised Bradyrhizobium q = 0.01273 Flavobacterium q = 0.00749 Rhizobium q = 0.00876Reduced tillage accompanied by nitrogen application increased the diversity of P solubilizing bacteria (Figure 18). Without nitrogen, the diversity of P solubilizing bacteria is similar to that of conventional tillage with nitrogen application. The two genera influenced (P<0.05) by the tillage are Mesorhizobium spp. (elevated under reduced tillage) and Gemmatimonas spp.(decreased under reduced tillage; data not shown).Under CT1 and also INM3, there was no overall effect on diversity for fungi and also none of the fungi genera was affected by treatments tested. A total of 39 pathogenic fungi identified based on literature were assessed with regard to soil fertility management. Application of FYM or its combination with multinutrients had no significant effect on any of the pathogenic fungi species.Only Cercospora hayi, a pathogenic fungi associated with Brown spot disease in banana fruit, was decreased with application of P under systems both with and without FYM (Figure 19). None of the analyzed pathogenic fungi were affected by treatments in CT1 long-term trials.Shannon Diversity Index The metagenomic data provides insights on the vulnerability of the microbial ecosystem to develop common plant diseases based on pathogens detected. Risk of diseases within the two trial sites and across the management practices is mostly related to Aspergillus rot, charcoal rot and red root rot (Figure 20). Fusarium rot and Nigrospora rot are also potentials. These risks are observed across all treatments. For legumes, Fusarium wilt and Anthracnose are the expected risks observed from the soil metagenomic data (Figure 21). Cercospora hayi q = 0.00394New partnerships were created through this project. One is partnership between the Alliance of Bioversity/CIAT and Field4Ever, a metagenomics group using BeCrop platform which allowed for a fresh set of soils to be collected and analyzed. A second partnership is with University of Guelph in Canada where specific genes, indicators of soil microbial functioning, were analyzed.  Farmers should conduct agronomic practices cognizant of real risk of Aspergillus rot, charcoal rot and red root rot on cereals and Fusarium wilt and Anthracnose on legumes.The assessment of stability of soil microbes is performed with limited comparisons that were possible through the BeCrop analysis platform implemented by Field4Ever. Here, only 3 treatments could be compared at a time. From the results, the application of FYM seems to stabilize soil biodiversity (Figure 22). The number of organisms found in some samples of the no FYM treatment and that were not present in any sample of the other treatments (uniqueness; with FYM) were 232, way higher than the <100 considering application of FYM. On the other hand, the common organisms (affinity) to all 3 samples analyzed in each treatment were fewer without than with FYM. The huge variations in microbial diversity from sample to sample within the treatment without FYM may indicate instability. These are only preliminary assessments of microbial stability and further work will be needed with the data already at hand. Implementation of agroforestry system of maize in rotation with tephrosia combined with some residue application consistently increased diversity and the number of unique organisms followed by maize-tephrosia rotation with no fertilizers while continuous maize monocropping with addition of inorganic fertilizers (a high amount of N) had the lowest diversity, uniqueness and affinity (Figure 23). The high uniqueness simultaneously with high presence of common organisms within samples of the agroforestry practice is a good indicator of stability. Occurrence of soil organisms comparing conservation and conventional tillage with different fertilizer N inputs within the CT1 long-term trial based on BiomeMarkers analysis. All treatments are under maize-soybean rotation, had residues applied at 2 t/ha (surface for reduced tillage (RT) and incorporated under conventional tillage (CT)) and all had P application at 60 kg/ha. N=nitrogen.Conservation agriculture practices of reduced tillage with and without application of nitrogen fertilizer have elevated diversity of soil micro-organisms and have more unique species relative to conventional tillage system (Figure 24). Thus, although the number of common organisms within all the samples of a treatment are the same, overall diversity is better under reduced tillage.• Application of FYM is important in stabilizing the microbial populations• Conservation agriculture practices support increased microbial diversity and unique species relative to conventional tillage• The practice of agroforestry (maize-tephrosia rotation) with or without additional residues and no fertilizers increases microbial diversity and their uniqueness relative to the growing of continuous maize monocropping with inorganic inputs. Overall analysis of the 2019 microbial data, consistent with the 2020 dataset, shows that application of FYM either alone or in combination with fertilizers and crop residues plays an important role in increasing the abundance of a majority of soil bacteria that perform several roles in nutrient cycling. Compared to no input treatment and fertilizer only treatments, addition of manure alone or in combinations with residues or chemical fertilizers in INM3 significantly increased the abundance of several microbial groups/species (Table 4). However, there were cases, albeit fewer, where combined application of inorganic N and P fertilizers and residue only significantly increased the abundance of microbes e.g., Nitrosovibrio spp. and Clostridium spp. (also Aspergillus spp., Burkholderia xenovorans) even over a manure applied treatment. In each site, means followed by similar letters in each column are not significantly different. P applied at 45 kg/ha (unless specified); N applied at 60 kg/ha (unless specified), residue applied at 2 t/ha; Manure applied at 4 t/ha; Uns=uncultivated site at least for the last 6 years. Grey rows represent treatments with FYM. Practicing conservation agriculture also results in a community of soil microbes distinguished from conventional tillage practices (Figure 27). The significant soil factors positively influencing the bacterial communities under long-term reduced tillage are pH, Ca, Mg, K all of which are related to a liming effect of the conservation tillage practice. These factors (except Ca) also significantly and positively influence the fungal community under conservation tillage. On the other hand, the microbial community under conventional tillage (both for fungi and bacteria) are positively related to Mn. Under both reduced and conventional systems, nitrogen (related to SOC) is influencing bacterial community (P=0.051) and Boron influence fungi (P<0.05). Canonical correspondence analysis shows a distribution of soil microbes (plant growth promoting bacteria) with a continuum ranging from only organics (FYM) to only chemical fertilizers (+N+P plots; Figure 28), consistent with trend for all bacteria and fungi. The significant (P<0.05) soil chemical properties influencing the microbes are pH, K, Ca, S, Fe and N. The application of FYM increases concentration of these soil parameters. At the genus level, Zinc solubilizing bacteria followed similar distribution as the plant growth promoting bacteria and were significantly influenced by P and B in addition to the pH, Ca, S and Fe. In the subsequent analysis, the bacteria and fungi are combined in analysis. In CT1, nitrogen cycling Nitrospira japonica, Bacillus spp. and Bradyrhizobium spp.; N and P cycling Gemmatimonas spp. and sulfur oxidizing Thiobacillus spp. are more positively correlated with sulfur, zinc and iron availability than the rest of the species (Figure 29a and b). Nitrogen cycling Nitrospira species was also correlated with available nitrogen and soil organic carbon. Phosphorus cycling arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus spp.) was negatively correlated with soil P and pH. Clostridium spp., Rhizobium spp., Bacillus spp. and Glomus spp. were more correlated with potassium and copper availability in CT1. Specific microbial species (combining bacteria and fungi) involved in solubilization of zinc are significantly affected by micronutrient (Zn) availability (Figure 30), and these zinc solubilizers are grouped in two major categories, with systems applied with FYM grouped separately from those without FYM application (data not shown). Application of FYM increased the population of key zinc solubilizing microbes including Burkholderia spp., Bacillus spp., Bradyrhizobium spp., Azospirilium spp., Pseudomonas spp., Gluconacetobacter spp., and Mesorhizobium spp. Manure application is associated with increased soil fertility necessary for the plant and microbial growth (Malosso et al., 2005). Zinc solubilizing genera belonging to Pseudomonas spp., and Bacillus spp., Rhizobium spp. (Kamran, et al., 2017) are copiotrophs (Fierer et al., 2007), that is, thriving in nutrient-rich environments. Extracellular enzymes are secretions by a cell, in this case microbial cells, which function outside of that cell to break down complex macromolecules into smaller units to be taken up by the cell for growth and assimilation. These enzymes are therefore involved in cycling of nutrients. Here, four main enzymes cycling C, N and P in the soil were investigated. These are:1. Beta-glucosidases (GLU, also known as Cellobiases) are important enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of cellobiose to glucose in the soil, thus important for C cycling.2. Beta-glucosaminidase (NAG, also known as N-Acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase) is an important enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of chitin, which is converted to amino sugars that are major sources of mineralizable N in soils; thus very important in nitrogen and carbon cycling in soils.Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and acid phosphatase (ACP) are important enzymes exuded by fungi and bacteria and catalyze the hydrolysis of organic phosphorus compounds to inorganic polyphosphates that occur in soils, important for soils deficient in phosphorus. ACP enzymes are predominant in acid soils while ALP enzymes, specifically originate from soil microbes, predominates in neutral or alkaline soils (Spohn & Kuzyakov, 2013).Colorimetric methods were used to assess the enzymes following the protocol developed by Tabatabai (1994). Briefly, for ALP and ACP, 1 gram fresh soil was weighed in three replicates (one for moisture, control and enzyme activity assessment), and 4 ml of modified universal buffer (MUB; pH 6.5 for acid phosphatase (ACP); pH 11.0 for alkaline phosphatase (ALP)); 0.25 ml of toluene and 1 ml of 115 mM para-Nitrophenyl Phosphate (p-NPP) solution added (Plate 1). The flasks were stoppered, briefly mixed, incubated (370C; 1 hour) followed by addition of 1 ml of 0.5 M CaCl, 4 ml of 0.5M NaOH; centrifugation (5000 rpm, 10 minutes) and reading the supernatant concentrations at 400 nanometres (nm) using a spectrophotometer. The procedure for assessment of Beta-glucosidase enzyme activity (GLU) was similar to that of ACP except for the difference in substrates (50 mM para-Nitrophenyl -β-D-glucopyranoside (p-NPG)) and use of Tris (hydroxyethyl) amino-methane (THAM) as opposed to NaOH (for ACP) to terminate the reaction. The procedure for assaying N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG) commonly known as Beta-glucosaminidase was similar to that of GLU, except for the difference in substrates (10mM para-Nitrophenyl-N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminide (pNP-NAG)) and buffers (100 mM Acetate buffer; pH 5.5) used. A unit of potential enzyme activity was expressed as the amount of either p-NPP, p-NPG or pNP-NAG released in one hour per gram dry soil.The results from the extracellular enzyme assays showed that;i. Application of FYM has more potential for enzymatic nutrient cycling especially when applied in combination with residues; for example, ACP enzyme activity is significantly higher in system with combined FYM+residue addition compared with either sole application of FYM and/or combined application of residue and fertilizers (Table 5).ii. Application of \"fertilizer only\" without organic resources reduces ALP activity compared to combined application of fertilizers and organics.iii. Reduced tillage increases ACP enzyme activity compared to conventional tillage systems. The higher ACP activity under reduced than conventional tillage systems was similarly observed in a recent study Table 5. Soil extracellular Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Acid phosphatase (ACP), Beta-glucosidase (GLU) and Beta-glucosaminidase (NAG) enzyme activities (µmol P-nitrophenol g-dry soil -1 hr -1 ) in INM3 and CT1 experimental sites. (Margenot et al., 2017;Kihara et al., 2018) in the site; and this is attributed to increased organic matter content, substrate availability and microbial biomass pool in the reduced than conventional tillage systems.In addition, assessment of microbial resource allocation to nutrient cycling (data not shown) showed that;i) Overall microbial resource allocation to P acquisition, as a ratio of GLU/ACP, ranged from 0.15 to 0.30; being highest in the system with combined application of P+FYM, implying increased P cycling in the system.ii) Microbial resource allocation to N acquisition, as a ratio of GLU/NAG, ranged between 2.36 to 4.8, being highest in the system with FYM application, indicating the benefit of FYM in improving N cycling.The increase in extracellular enzyme activities following addition of FYM, important for improving soil health, is related to soil organic matter, nutrients availability, improved soil chemical and physical characteristics. Previous studies have reported increases in the activities of Alkaline phosphatase (Chen et al., 2019), Acid phosphatase (Liang et al., 2014), B-glucosidase (Liang et al., 2014) andB-Glucosaminidase (Acosta-Martinez et al., 2011;Brennan and Acosta-Martinez, 2019) following application of FYM.The increase in the enzyme activities under reduced tillage relative to conventional tillage can also be attributed to high organic matter content at the top soil that stimulate the proliferation of the microbes associated with the production of nutrient-cycling enzymes. Within the same site, Margenot et al. (2017) observed 40% increase in Acid phosphatase enzyme activities in the reduced tillage relative to conventional tillage systems. Similarly, reduced tillage has been reported to increase B-glucosidase (Chen et al., 2019) and B-glucosaminidase enzyme activities (Zhang et al., 2014). Values are means of the different enzyme activities (µmol P-nitrophenol g-dry soil -1 hr -1 ) in the two sites. Means followed by similar letters in each column in each site are not significantly different. P applied at 45 kg/ha (unless specified); N applied at 60 kg/ha (unless specified), residue applied at 2 t/ha; Manure applied at 4 t/ha. Table 6. Correlation coefficients between soil chemical and biological variables (microbial richness and diversity; and extracellular enzyme activities (Beta-glucosidase (GLU), Beta-glucosaminidase (NAG), Acid Phosphatase (ACP) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP)) potential enzyme activities) in INM3 site.Relating the enzyme activities with soil parameters and diversity of bacteria also revealed interesting results. GLU and ACP were positively influenced by soil pH, N, SOC, K, Ca, Mg, B, Zn and CEC (Table 6). They also related positively with bacteria richness and diversity. In addition, ALP related positively with pH, Ca, Mg, Cu and CEC. Increasing amount for soil available P decreased ACP and to some extent GLU, as also observed elsewhere (Olander and Vitousek 2000). It has also been suggested that mineral phosphates act as competitive inhibitors depressing phosphatase activities (Lemanowicz et al., 2016). Soil pH influences nutrient availability and thereby microbial biomass, richness and diversity hence the concentration of inhibitors or activators in the soil solution (Dick et al., 2000). The observed simultaneous increase in GLU and ACP point to increased microbial pool involved in production of the two enzymes. # represents µmol P-nitrophenol g-dry soil -1 hr -1 . MBC (Max) = microbial biomass carbon (potential maximum), SD=Shannon diversity, PGPR= Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria.Within microbes, there are specific genes that encode the specific enzymes involved in nutrient solubilization. These genes were studied to provide insights into microbial activities. Two genes, PhoD and PhoC, are important in P cycling as they encode phosphatase enzymes (acid and alkaline phosphatase) that take part in solubilization of recalcitrant inorganic P compounds. PhoD gene is responsible for encoding alkaline phosphatase while PhoC gene is responsible for encoding acid phosphatase enzymes. The activities of these two enzymes were investigated.Data obtained through partnership with Guelph University show that bacterial 16S rDNA abundance strongly positively correlated with PhoD and PhoC gene abundances (P<0.0001; Figure 31a). It is interesting that zinc is also influencing the availability of PhoD gene with increasing zinc levels reducing the attainable counts of gene copies (Figure 31b). PhoD and PhoC abundance were both highest in long-term sole manure application and lowest in no input (control) treatment for PhoD and in sole residue application for PhoC (see Figure 32 for PhoD). Within the conservation tillage treatments (CT1 trial), residues are key in driving the abundances of PhoD genes. Significantly higher PhoD was also observed with residue relative to no residue application in the reduced tillage maize soybean rotation with fertilizer application treatment (data not shown). Tillage, fertilizer management and cropping systems did not produce any particular pattern of influence on the tested genes.Thousands 1,000.00 Additional relationships between the enzyme activities and the different genes encoding for phosphorus cycling enzymes (i.e., PhoD for ALP and PhoC for ACP) revealed that GLU activities was positively correlated with ACP and ALP. In addition, PhoC positively correlated with PhoD gene abundances (Table 7).  While manure elevates phosphatase production demonstrated through high PhoD and PhoC (Luo et al., 2019), these are suppressed by application of fertilizer P. Zhang et al. (2012) observed that phosphatase production is induced at low phosphate levels. Soils with low available P favor the activity of phosphatases and PhoC and PhoD genes (Nannipieri et al., 2011). When microbes are faced with P scarcity, they upregulate the expression of the specific functional genes (i.e., PhoC and PhoD) that encode phosphatases (Vershinina and Znamenskaya, 2002). The reduction of PhoC and PhoD gene abundance with elevated nutrient supplies (e.g. manure application combined with inorganic fertilizers) in our study reflects higher concentrations of plant-available P; and this is consistent with the negative feedback mechanism proposed by Olander and Vitousek (2000).It is startling that N application did not seem to influence the tested genes. Low PhoD and PhoD gene copies following inorganic N fertilizer application is observed in different parts of the world and attributed to lowered soil pH i.e., increased soil acidity and overall decreased soil microbial abundance and diversity (Chen et al., 2019;Jorquera et al., 2014). Other studies (Mandal et al., 2007;Marklein and Houlton, 2012;Tan et al., 2013), however, reported increased phosphatase following N application and attributed it to increased demand for P by the increased crop biomass. The inconsistent results could be due to the quantities of N applied, or other environmental factors and management.Management influences on soil fungal to bacterial (F:B) ratio F:B ratio is a good indicator of environmental changes in soil. Application of fertilizer only may promote the proliferation of nutrient dependent microbial species, resulting to increased individual species counts, but poor microbial structure.The F:B ratio (based on sequences analyzed at MR DNA) was higher in the management systems with FYM compared to treatments with either P applied or combined application of P and FYM (Figure 33), implying that sole application of FYM has positive influence on soil microbial structure. Higher F:B ratio implies fungal dominance while lower ratio is bacteria dominance often in the nutrient rich environments (Strickland and Rousk, 2010). When manure and/or plant residues are applied as mulch, fungi often prosper because their hyphae are able to grow into the litter.Under the long-term conservation tillage (CT1) trial, there was not much variation in the F:B ratio due to treatments applied, only a slight increase due to residue application in both conventional and reduced tillage.In INM3, F:B ratio were negatively correlated with soil available P (significantly at P<0.05; R 2 =-0.37*) but not to any other variable even in CT1. Microbial nutrient mineralization was assessed using in-situ resin core incubation method previously employed by Kihara et al. (2018). Briefly, ion exchange resins were buried, protected within PVC pipes (see Plate 4), in selected agronomic management systems 2 weeks after planting and retrieved on monthly basis (i.e., after 1 and after 2 months), and the concentrations of nitrates, ammonium and phosphates calorimetrically determined. This was followed by determination of the market value of the equivalent quantities of N and P nutrients mineralized, based on the current market prices of the nutrients (i.e., assuming N source as urea and P as Triple superphosphate).Eight treatments (i.e., 4 management systems in each trial of INM3 and CT1) were selected for the study. The following considerations were made:• A no-input treatment was required against which the effects of sole P fertilizer input on nutrient mineralization would be determined.• All the other treatments had P for INM3 and P+residues for CT1. Being common across treatments, these applications were assumed to affect mineralization the same way.• There was no topdressing in any of these systems to avoid direct interception of fertilizer-based nitrogen by the resins.We also hypothesized that:• Nutrient mineralization (and the subsequent monetary benefits) would be higher after 60 days compared to 30 days since by then, more organic matter (i.e., provided by manure, residues, etc.) would have been decomposed and mineralized by the microbes• More nutrients would be mineralized in the reduced tillage than conventional tillage systems due to more microbial biomass in the reduced than conventional tillage systems.• Addition of nitrogen at the moderate rate of 60 kg N ha -1 as done in the long-term trials would reduce nutrient mineralization as microbes don't have to work for it.• More nutrient demands under intercropping would result in more nutrients mineralized than under rotation systems.• Combined application of inorganic fertilizer and organic (FYM) result in nutrient-rich systems causing low nutrient mineralization by microbes.In general, and although not always, higher N mineralization and monetary value of nutrients are observed after 60 days compared to 30 days of incubation in both sites. Both highest N and P mineralization were observed after 60 days of resin incubation in both the conservation tillage systems in CT1 and the integrated soil fertility management systems in INM3.Plate 4. PVC installations for protection of ion-exchange resin incubated in the field for mineralization assessment (Photo: Peter Bolo/Alliance).The following observations are made on N and P mineralization for the periods of 30 and 60 days of resin incubation:i. Reduced tillage resulted in more N mineralization than conventional tillage systems, as expected, being 6 and 18 kg N ha -1 for 30 and 60 days of resin incubation, respectively.ii. Application of crop residues within reduced tillage increased N mineralization by 7 and 18 kgs for 30 and 60 days of resin incubation.iii. In the CA system, maize-soybean intercropping conferred highest N mineralization (45.81 Kg N ha -1 equivalent to Kshs 5976 ha -1 ) and highest P mineralization (3.98 Kg P ha -1 equivalent to Kshs 1559 ha -1 ) after 60 days of incubation (Table 8).iv. In the ISFM long-term trial, no-input agroforestry system (i.e., maize-tephrosia) had the highest N mineralization (20.6 Kg N ha -1 equivalent to Kshs 2682 ha -1 ) after 30 days of incubation, and the highest also at 60 days. This indicates increased microbial activity in this no-input maize-tephrosia system.v. As expected, addition of N (in CT1 where both systems had P added), decreased N mineralization by 21 and 13 kg N ha -1 during 30 and 60 days of resin incubation, respectively.vi. The control treatment (no-input) in INM3 consistently increased N mineralization and economic benefits after 30 and 60 days of incubation. Nitrogen mineralized was increased by at least 12 and at least 4 kg N ha -1 during the 30 and 60 days of resin incubation, respectively.vii. Phosphorus mineralization varied from 0 to 4.9 Kg P ha -1 , with this higher value being equivalent to Kshs 1900. CA systems often have higher residue concentrations and higher microbial abundance compared to CT systems (Kihara et al., 2018) and this could contribute to the increased nutrient mineralization, and subsequently the observed higher monetary values in the CA than CT systems. Similarly, intercropping systems often have higher plant and microbial diversity than rotation systems (Kihara et al., 2018). The higher nutrient mineralization (and economic benefits) in the intercropped than rotation systems could also reflect increased substrate availability that is utilized by the soil microbes in the mineralization.Microbial activity is often limited by P availability in P-deficient soils (Cleveland et al., 2002) and P application stimulates organic N mineralization (White and Reddy, 2000). In a recent study, Mehnaz et al., (2019) reported that addition of P caused higher incorporation of N in microbial biomass, preventing its further mineralization into NH 4 + . The responses also depend on the fertility conditions: after application of N and P the activities of denitrifiers increased by 15-228% in the low fertility soil, but reduced by 18-46% in the high fertility soil (Wang et al., 2019).The increased mineralization with 60 days of incubation is expected due to extended periods of microbial activity in decomposition. However, Hanselman et al. (2004) provided caution with studies involving extended incubations. They argued that under short-term basis (<45 days), in situ incubation methods may provide reasonable estimates of nitrogen mineralization compared to long-term incubations (>45 days). As time increases, there is consistent depletion of nutrient sources, immobilization, and other external interferences coupled with deterioration of soil conditions.The activity of microbes is implied by the evolution of CO 2 . We measured CO 2 comparing sole application of manure, nitrogen and a no nitrogen treatment in 2019 (all treatments were applied with P and K). The measurements were taken across a whole season (12 different dates of measurements; Plate 3). For the data analysis, repeated measures analysis of variance was done in Genstat while boxplots to show the overall distributions of the fluxes were plotted in R statistics.For the analysis of variance and CO 2 released on the 3 different treatments, timing was included as the variate, treatment structure were the treatments while the blocking structure were the four replicates. CO 2 fluxes were significantly (P<0.01) influenced by treatment with application of FYM resulting in significantly higher fluxes (45.2 mg/m²/h) than both the omission and the application of 90 N (32.9 and 28.6 mg/m²/h, respectively; Figure 34). The model also showed a significant effect of timing of sampling (P<0.01). Following this, we regressed the fluxes with ambient temperatures and soil moisture and observed that the attainable fluxes were correlated with these climatic variables (Figure 35). The fluxes increased with increase in soil moisture. On the other hand, increased soil temperatures beyond 35 °C decrease CO 2 fluxes. As CO 2 is a proxy of microbial activity, these results may imply that practices that promote moisture conservation and regulate soil temperatures from reaching higher extremes favor microbial activity. On the other hand, N 2 O fluxes were also significantly influenced by treatments, and were significantly (and equally) higher in both treatments with either application of FYM or nitrogen at 90 kgN/ha compared to no-input control (Figure 36). The use of bio-inoculants is important to maximize on the beneficial role of soil microbes such as in nutrient acquisition, and increase crop resistance to pests and diseases and thereby promote crop growth. Gross margins capture overall treatment effects and are particularly useful when multiple crops are involved. Maize total aboveground biomass yield ranged from 3.48 t/ha in reduced tillage no-fertilizer treatment to 11.42 in the conventional tillage full fertilizer plus residue treatment. The yields were similar to those observed in other seasons in the long-term trial. Out of the 10 treatments included, 6 increased gross margins by 50 to 246 US$ in inoculated relative to un-inoculated (Table 10). On the other hand, 4 treatments had reduced gross margins by 37 to 193 US$ with inoculation relative to no-inoculation. Besides, inoculation with biofertilizers had slight effects on maize height (3.30%), circumference at basal diameter (2.13%) and leaf area index (6.04%), maize stover yields (4.21%), maize grain yields (10.47%) and total maize yields (2.52%) relative to non-inoculated plots (data not shown). A similar observation is made with soybean where, at the 50% podding stage, inoculation with biofertilizers slightly increased biomass (11.0%), canopy cover (27.09%), basal diameter (21.13%), nodules counts (1.52%), nodule fresh (8.42%) and dry weights (4.77%) compared to no inoculation. At harvest, inoculation with biofertilizers slightly increased soybean grain yield (4.15%). While these results point to potential for a positive result with bio-inoculants, they are not convincing enough for applications by farmers.Plate 2. Physiological variations in forages inoculated (B) and non-inoculated (A) with biofertilizers in Thika trial.The effectiveness of biofertilizers is an issue of ongoing debate. The effects of bioinoculants on crop yields have been inconsistent, some studies either reporting increases or decreases. A previous study within the region (Majengo et al. 2013) reported an increase in soybean yields following inoculation with commercial biofertilizers; whereas Faye et al (2020) reported little effects of different inoculants, either for sole or combined application, on the soybean yield, nutrient uptake and other physiological attributes. It is not clear where to peg the inconsistency in crop yields with biofertilizer applications; whether it is the quality of biofertilizers, suppression effects of the indigenous organisms. At the moment, we are not aware of any policy dimension around biofertilizers nor a system in place to ensure high quality. Thus, more research and policies should be formulated in terms of the quality and effectiveness of the biofertilizers.In our case, combined application of biofertilizer and inorganic P did not seem to confer more benefits than biofertilizers alone. Also, plant tissue concentrations for various macronutrients and micronutrients were in general not affected by inoculations except for some increases in Zinc for both maize and soybean and Iron for maize (see the means and ranges in Table 10 and 11). Interestingly, the concentrations of important micronutrients are still below the required thresholds for human nutrition. For instance, the critical threshold for zinc in maize grain is between 40-60 mg/kg, but this is higher than the maize grain zinc concentration levels in both the inoculated and non-inoculated plots. This is a pointer that although yield performance of cereals may be high, more management efforts are required to simultaneously address both yield and the micronutrient gaps for proper nutrition.Table 10. Total above-ground biomass maize yield and gross margins for combined maize and soybean in the inoculated (B) and non-inoculated (A) systems in CT1 long-term trial.Means followed by similar letters in each column are not significantly different from each other. RT = Reduced tillage; CT= Conventional tillage; +R = residue added (2t/ha); -R = lacking residue; M-S = maize-and soybean rotation; M/S = Maize and soybean intercrop. Despite that inoculation had no effect on grain nutrient concentrations, three important treatment effects are observed with soybean:1) reduced tillage with P application resulted in the highest concentrations in soybean grain zinc that was by +6 ppm more compared to same treatments under conventional tillage,2) reduced tillage with no fertilizer inputs had the lowest concentration of soybean grain zinc being by -15 ppm lower than with fertilizer application (it also had lowest grain K and P) and,3) growing pure crop of soybean resulted in the highest concentrations of soybean grain Zn and Fe with or without inoculation (Table 12).The poor soil fertility treatments (with no fertilizers or no residues) had the lowest grain nutrient concentrations relative to other treatments. Improved understanding of soil fertility management influences on quality of produce is important and is one important indicator under regenerative agriculture practices.  Food supply should be matched with appropriate nutrition. Little is known on the effects of soil management on nutritional quality of the produce including supply of sufficient quantities of important proteins and micronutrients.Alleviating health disorders related to micronutrient deficiencies is a health goal.Reduction in crop productivity and yields due to damage by pests and pathogens has continually been met by application of chemical pesticides; that may not only accumulate in edible plant tissues, prompt pathogen-resistance, but may also alter the functional and beneficial soil microbial structure. There is need for research to identify good agricultural practices that control abundance and activity of soil-borne microbial pathogens in environmentally friendly, economical and sustainable ways.There is now overwhelming evidence of soil fertility management effects on microbial diversity, abundances and activity under researcher-controlled fields. Future research should focus on how these are influenced under farmers' own conditions and management practices. This should extend to the range of cover crops and soil protection measures employed by farmers, including tropical forages.Application of manure and of lime clearly have good influences on soil life. It will be good to understand if also antihill soils (and their combinations with manures), and vermicomposts and vermijuices (bio-pesticides from vermicomposting) can achieve similar positive influences as these are easily accessible to farmersThe current methods of assessing soil health are complex, expensive and require technical expertise. There is need to develop simple, observation-based, soil health assessment tool(s) that can rapidly, and universally, be used infield by both researchers and small-holder farmers to assess the ecosystem health of their agronomic management practices.The inconsistent responses of different biofertilizers/bio-inoculants to crop productivity should be further explored. We are not aware of a policy dimension around biofertilizers nor a system in place to ensure high quality. Also, the influence of biofertilizer applications on shifts to soil microbial community and functional structures was not given attention in the current study.Development of a better understanding of soil biota under different agroecological zones, land use and management, and soil types is necessary for improvement of soil health and realization of self-sustaining ecosystem.Microbial study geared towards identification, quantification and mapping of soil biota and their activities under these different contexts will be important in developing better soil health management approaches. "}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"8f68a34d6d324f359f97647195bcf115","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/9c7d0cdc-0f6d-4b20-8f85-394d3872f15f/retrieve","id":"-1977085785"},"keywords":["Climate information services","Rwanda","Seasonal climate forecast","Climate variability","Adaptation"],"sieverID":"03951480-0ddb-4d5e-8222-dc3aec9b80f5","content":"CCAFS Workshop Reports aim to disseminate interim climate change, agriculture and food security research and practices and stimulate feedback from the scientific community.During the week of August 21-25, 2017, the 47 th GHACOF took place in Zanzibar, Tanzania. During the week prior, August 14-18, representatives from the member states' meteorological services convened to discuss and establish a consensus climate outlook for the region and for individual nations within the Greater Horn of Africa for the upcoming September-December (SOND) 2017 rainy season. This modeling and prediction effort was led by climate scientists at Intergovernmental Authority on Development Climate Prediction and Applications Center (ICPAC) and predictions both at the regional level and country specific levels were made for the SOND 2017 season. Mr. Felix Ndabarase was the meteorologist representative from Rwanda at this meeting.Due to the fact that the El Niño -Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions were fairly neutral in the July-September period of 2017, the official regional consensus forecast produced by ICPAC leaned towards near average conditions for much of the region, with some areas forecast slightly towards wetter conditions, while others forecast slightly towards drier conditions. The consensus statement at the regional level for temperature was near or above average temperatures everywhere within the GHA region. More official details regarding the regional consensus statement are available at the ICPAC website 1 .At a country-specific level, several approaches were taken by ICPAC scientists to make seasonal forecasts for individual nations: using sea surface temperature (SST) fields as predictors, using General Circulation Model (GCM) outputs as predictors, running the dynamical regional climate Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF), and running predictions using Geospatial Climate Outlook Forecasting Tool (GeoCOF) software. These projections were made by ICPAC staff for Rwanda (shared with Mr. Felix Ndabarase) and for other nations in the region. These projections were not entirely internally consistent in their narratives: some predicted wetter than normal conditions through much of Rwanda for SOND 2017, some predicted drier than normal conditions through much of Rwanda for SOND 2017, while some others predicted near normal conditions through much of Rwanda for SOND 2017. Some of the outputs of the official Météo Rwanda forecast are shown below: output of several different GCMs (Figure 1), and three forecasts made with IRI Climate Prediction Tool (CPT), WRF, GeoCLIM, and the ensemble GCM (Fig. 2).1 http://www.icpac.net/wp-content/uploads/GHACOF47_Statement.pdf  Result From GCM CMC1 CanCM3 Prob.NCEP -CFSV2 Prob.NASA-GMAO Prob.Prob.COLA-CCSM4 Prob. Temperature version 4 (ERSST4), Dr. Siebert was able to make forecasts for the rainy day frequency, onset date, and total seasonal rainfall for the SOND 2017 season.Earlier attempts at the forecast had shown limited skill, but the analysis of the skill metrics for the forecasts based on version 3 of Enhancing National Climate Services initiative (ENACTS) and the observed August SSTs showed more robust skill (Fig. 3- 5). Each forecast has relatively good skill over much of Rwanda, although the skill is weakest for the onset date forecast and strongest for the rainy day forecast. The mode maps of the three forecasts are shown below (Fig. 6-8).   Fig. 9 shows a forecast leaning towards above normal rainfall for the season. Fig. 10 shows a forecast leaning towards an earlier than normal onset date for the season. Fig. 11 shows a forecast towards an above normal rainfall frequency for the season in most regions within the country. These forecasts are somewhat at odds with the official Météo Rwanda forecast. Although anecdotally, the rains so far during the season have tended in many regions to come early and be more frequent and intense than normal.  Fig. 12 shows that for both locations there is an elevated likelihood of above average rainfall for SOND 2017, although this effect is more pronounced for Burera than for Kirehe). Fig. 13 shows that there is an enhanced likelihood of an early onset for SOND 2017 for both locations. Fig. 14 shows that there is an enhanced likelihood of above average rainy day frequency, with the effect more pronounced for Burera than for Kirehe.  From September 4-18, 2017, twelve Météo Rwanda staff, many of whom were recently hired, were trained in the Météo Rwanda maprooms, the IRI Data Library, CPT, and seasonal to sub-seasonal (S2S) concepts.The  Library and CPT. Fig. 16 shows an example graphic of onset and termination dates from the climate and agriculture maproom page.The IRI data library training that took place during this time period introduced the Météo Rwanda staff to some aspects of the functionality of the IRI Data Library 3 . The staff were shown how to make geographic and temporal selections of data using the 'Data Selection' window, how to navigate to a chosen data set via the 'Data by Sources' path and how to visualize gridded and/or station data in the data viewer.Some guidance was also given to the Météo Rwanda trainees regarding making seasonal averages and spatial averages using 'Expert Mode Ingrid' commands and the trainees were shown how to extract data files from the IRI Data Library in different formats. Because of the focus of the training on the use of the CPT, the trainees were asked primarily to extract data from the Data Library in CPT readable format.In addition to the numerous data sources available through the general IRI Data Library, there are data sets specific to Rwanda and hosted on the Météo Rwanda  input data. However, within the expert mode, the user can actively choose between three different statistical forecast methodologies: multiple linear regression (MLR), principal component regression (PCR) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA).At first, the Météo Rwanda trainees were exposed to CPT's forecast capabilities through the beginner mode just for the purpose of illustration. After the first day of training, the differences between the forecast methodologies were explained and most of the CPT training was conducted in expert mode. The training began with a discussion of what constitutes a \"predictor\"-independent observed or modeled variable used to make a forecast-and what constitutes a \"predictand\"-observed \"dependent\" variable of interest that is influenced in some way by the predictor(s).MLR is a forecast methodology that is best suited to a small number of predictors that are not correlated with each other, ideally, and a small number of predictands (ideally, only one).When there are a large number of predictors and/or the predictors have closely correlated variability to each other, the problem of \"collinearity\" arises. When there are a large number of predictands, PCR and/or CCA are more effective methods of making statistical predictions. PCR is a forecast methodology that is best suited for a larger number of predictors (including a spatial field/gridded predictor) and a small number of predictands. PCR analysis is sometimes also known as empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. Rather than using a simple linear combination of the different predictors, PCR statistically develops \"modes\" within the predictors to explain the variance in the predictand(s). Each mode is a weighted sum of the predictors that explains the largest fraction of the variance of the predictand but is not collinear with other modes. By design, the leading PCR mode explains the most variance, the second mode the second most, etc. Within the CPT application, the user is prompted to select a geographical domain for the predictor and predictand as well as a maximum number of modes (for the predictor) to consider in the analysis.CCA is a forecast methodology that is somewhat similar to PCR, but is optimal for scenarios with a larger number of predictors (including a spatial field/gridded predictor) and a large number of predictands (including a spatial field/gridded predictand). CCA is different from PCR in that it develops \"modes\" for both the predictor and predictand. CPT users are prompted to select a geographical domain for the predictor and predictand datasets and to select a maximum number of modes for predictor, predictand, and CCA for the analysis.Once a forecast analysis is completed in CPT, there are a number of tools and options of the CPT tools and graphics, as well as how to save project files so they could come back to an analysis they had already run.In addition to being a tool for seasonal climate forecasting, CPT can also perform validation of GCM output and probabilistic forecast verification (PFV). These analytical capabilities were explored during the training but were not a focal point of the group exercises.Within CPT, GCM validation involves loading a GCM data source into the \"X\" window (independent variable) and a trusted observed data source of a corresponding resolution and time frame into the \"Y\" window (dependent variable). Once the validation is run, one can explore the goodness index and skill maps to compare the skill of the GCM simulation with the observations. Within the tailoring options, one can also choose different approaches to the model grid (nearest neighbor or interpolated), model climatology (raw data or removing biases in the mean and/or variance) and model combination (various types of ensemble weighting and calibration).Probabilistic forecast verification in CPT involves loading a probabilistic forecast into the \"X\" window (independent variable) and a trusted observed data source of a corresponding resolution and time frame into the \"Y\" window (dependent variable).The purpose of forecast verification is to assess how accurate a probabilistic forecast is for a given season or collection of seasons. Once this type of analysis is run, the user can then explore a number of illustrative skill diagnostics; including skill maps, relative operating characteristic curves, tendency diagrams and attribute diagrams.In       "}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"300b7fbbf5e67f00efe1dec6fcf2570c","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/e70dee06-d3d3-45b8-b151-64a405e31fa3/retrieve","id":"-1303795686"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"15cacefc-2f1f-40f0-88d8-4fcba90e3c9d","content":"This paper came about thanks to a rich process of collaboration. The following people contributed to the drafting of the text: Danny Hunter (Bioversity), Boitshepo Giyose (FAO), Andrea PoloGalante (FAO), Florence Tartanac (FAO), Donald Bundy (Gates Foundation), Arlene Mitchell (GCNF), Thabisile Moleah (IAEA), Juliane Friedrich (IFAD), Harold Alderman (IFPRI), Lesley Drake (PCD), Roland Kupka (UNICEF), Quinn Marshall (WFP), Kaia Engesveen (WHO), and Stineke Oenema (UNSCN Secretariat).In additional, we received valuable commentary from Anne Sellers (CRS), Andy Chi Tembon (World Bank), Fatiha Terki, David Ryckembusch and Mutinta Hambayi (WFP), and Chizuru Nishida (WHO).We would also like to thank the technical staff of Bioversity International, FAO, PCD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO for their valuable case studies.We are grateful to Christelle Edde and Marisa Tsai for their help in structuring and editing the various versions of this document. Thanks, too, to Poilin Breathnach for the final edit.Stineke Oenema (UNSCN secretariat) led the management of the overall process.The paper is available on the UNSCN website at www.unscn.org.Improving child nutrition is critical to human development and to the realization of human rights, as stated by the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Zero Hunger Challenge, and the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025. While there has typically been a focus on health and nutrition in the first 1,000 days, from pregnancy to a child's second birthday, the first two decades of life contain critical phases of development and rapid growth, such as the pubertal growth period, during which nutrient requirements increase (Victoria 2010;Das et al. 2017). According to the latest edition of Disease Control Priorities, the 7,000 days after a child's second birthday present continued opportunities to help children reach their developmental potential (Bundy 2017;Prentice et al. 2013).The need to ensure a healthy diet and lifestyle among children persists, and it is clearly understood that optimum nutrition is essential to their health, wellbeing, and cognitive and social development, as well as to the economic growth of communities and countries, and the welfare of subsequent generations. The recognition that intervention in the first 1,000 days is essential, but insufficient underlines the need for significant investment in health and nutrition in middle childhood and adolescence (Bundy 2017). Schools can play an important role in delivering health and nutrition interventions and providing a supportive, health-enabling environment.Many children around the world, especially those from low-income populations, start school already stunted, underweight and/or suffering from multiple micronutrient deficiencies. At the same time, nutrition and diet-related problems are also highly prevalent in middle-and high-income 1 countries. Indeed, all countries suffer from at least one form of malnutrition (International Food Policy Research Institute [IFPRI] 2016). Increasingly, children are suffering from several forms of malnutrition, ranging from undernourishment to excessive weight or obesity, with both extremes often occurring in combination with micronutrient deficiencies. Schools provide an opportunity to prevent and manage these various forms of malnutrition and contribute to improving educational outcomes (Caniello et al. 2016;Drake et al. 2016). Students who have participated in school nutrition activities can further act as influencers, with a particular impact on their families and younger siblings, potentially reducing the number of children starting school already malnourished.It is critical to recognize the multiple benefits of school-based food and nutrition intervention, such as school meals. The potential returns on investment in school meals extend far beyond health and nutrition benefits, spanning greater access to education, social protection and rural agricultural development. Numerous studies have documented the contribution of school meals to higher enrolment and attendance. In some environments, school meal programs can play a crucial role in supporting the education of at-risk students, such as girls (Bundy et al. 2009). These benefits are often among the main reasons countries invest in school meal programs.While providing school meals is the best-known school-based food and nutrition intervention, other schoolbased measures include the promotion of hand-washing with soap before meals, de-worming treatments, nutrition education, agricultural diversification, improved water and sanitation facilities, and micronutrient supplementation. A multisector package of intervention measures maximizes the impact of investment in schools and can further countries' efforts to achieve multiple Sustainable Development Goals (including SDGs 2,3,4,5,6,10,and 12).As schools, especially primary schools, are present in even the most rural areas, they offer a unique opportunity to reach children on a large scale. It is encouraging to note that certain countries, such as Nigeria, a lower middle-income country accounting for a little less than 20% 2 of all school-age children in Sub Saharan Africa, has decided to increase investment in school food and nutrition. During the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition, countries have been asked to make specific commitments with a view to achieving the globally agreed nutrition targets. This paper contends that looking at schools as a (food) system 3 provides multiple entry points for improving nutrition among children in school and long after they have left, as well as far beyond the school environment. Thus, it aligns well with the Agenda 2030 call for systemic change, as well as the emphasis on food systems in the outcome documents of the ICN2.In (largely) higher-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the Nutrition-friendly Schools Initiative (NFSI), providing an integrated framework for school-based programs that address the double 1 \"For the current 2018 fiscal year, low-income economies are defined as those with a GNI per capita, calculated using the World Bank Atlas method, of USD 1,005 or less in 2016; lower middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between USD 1,006 and USD 3,955; upper middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between USD 3,956 and USD 12,235; high-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of USD 12,236 or more. The term 'country', used interchangeably with economy, does not imply political independence, but refers to any territory for which authorities report separate social or economic statistics.\" World Bank (2017), World Bank Country and Lending Groups, available online at: https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519. 2 Total number of school-age children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (UNESCO 2013): 144,000,000. Total number of school-age children in Nigeria (Universal Basic Education Commission [UBEC] 2013): 24,185,027. Percentage of Nigerian school-age children in SSA: 17%. 3 A food system gathers all the elements (environment, people, inputs, processes, infrastructures, institutions, etc.) and activities that relate to the production, processing, distribution, preparation and consumption of food, and the outputs of these activities, including socioeconomic and environmental outcomes (HLPE 2017).burden of malnutrition-related ill health. The NFSI applies the concept and principles of the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), where schools that meet a set of essential criteria will be accredited as \"Nutrition Friendly Schools\". 4   Amid shifts in the nutritional landscape, there is a need to reassess and reinforce the role of schools in improving the health and nutritional status of children. This paper asserts that schools offer a unique platform from which to realize multiple benefits for children and their communities, while helping to achieve the SDGs. Furthermore, schools can exert influence beyond the student population, serving as a foundation for the involvement of teachers, parents and other community members. Intervention can catalyze community development, bring about social protection and economic empowerment, influence agricultural production systems to deliver diverse and nutritious foods, promote lifelong healthy-eating habits, and address basic health, hygiene, and sanitation issues that affect wellbeing. By providing a better health and living environment, schools have the potential to not only support education, but also underpin mainstream nutrition activities in communities and advance child development (Patton et al. 2016).2 Achieving human rights through schoolbased food and nutrition interventionsSchools can play an integral role in the promotion of human rights, in particular, the right to adequate food, 5 the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and the right to education. These rights, among others, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), are universal and inalienable, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which has reached near universal adoption, highlights in Article 24 the importance of the provision of nutritious foods in combating disease and malnutrition.The Committee on the Rights of the Child, in interpreting and operationalizing Article 24, states in General Comment 15 that, \"School feeding is desirable to ensure all pupils have access to a full meal every day, which can also enhance children's attention for learning and increase school enrolment.The Committee recommends that this be combined with nutrition and health education, including setting up school gardens and training teachers to improve children's nutrition and healthy eating habits.\"Furthermore, the Committee emphasizes that, \"States should also address obesity in children, as it is associated with hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, psychological effects, a higher likelihood of adult obesity, and premature death. Children's exposure to 'fast foods' that are high in fat, sugar or salt, energy-dense and micronutrient-poor, and drinks containing high levels of caffeine or other potentially harmful substances, should be limited. The marketing of these substances -especially when such marketing is focused on children -should be regulated and their availability in schools and other places controlled (CRC 2013).\"The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) recommends the adoption of national strategies \"to ensure food and nutrition security for all, based on human rights principles that define the objectives, and the formulation of policies and corresponding benchmarks\" (CESCR 1999:21). The Committee identifies three levels of obligation on states to realize economic, social and cultural rights, namely, to \"respect\", \"protect\" and \"fulfil\" (through facilitation or provision). In the school system, this means that the duty bearers, namely the government, teachers and other school personnel, must respect the rights of children to good nutrition, and respect local food cultures that are conducive to healthy diets. Second, protecting the right to adequate food and the highest attainable standard of health means ensuring that children are not confronted with an unhealthy or unsafe school food environment, or are subject to abuse by third parties, including private enterprises.5 According to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), the right to food is realized \"when every man, woman and child, alone or in community with others, has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement\" (CESCR 1999: 6). The CESCR considers the core content of the right to food to imply \"the availability of food in a quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, free from adverse substances, and acceptable within a given culture; the accessibility of such food in ways that are sustainable and that do not interfere with the enjoyment of other human rights\" (CESCR 1999: 8).The influence of food and beverage companies should be afforded special attention, as more stringent measures are needed, for example, to protect children from the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages. Countries should consider potential conflicts of interest when involving food and beverage companies in school activities and establish measures to identify and manage them appropriately, to avoid compromising their nutrition-related work and the greater public-health goals. For example, a company producing sugar-sweetened beverages that offers to sponsor school-based activities, but requires the display of their logos, would be a conflict of interest.The third level of obligation, to \"fulfil\", implies duty bearers should act to fulfil children's rights through facilitation (e.g. school food standards, nutrition education, training of staff, parent involvement) or provision (e.g. school meals). The school curriculum, as set by ministries of education, should provide children with adequate information on healthy diets and nutrition, as well as a quality education.Finally, specific attention should be paid to marginalized groups, including girls, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities. In many communities, girls' right to education is violated; they are often less likely to enter secondary education and more likely to drop out for economic and socio-cultural reasons. This has severe consequences for the realization of their other rights, including the right to adequate food. Health-and nutrition-related interventions have been shown to be effective in keeping girls at school. In addition, the importance of providing culturally appropriate food in school meals is paramount among indigenous communities, whose cultural concerns often go unaddressed by school administrations (CIMI, 2015).In conclusion, making human rights central to school intervention and policies is critical to advancing nutritional goals. Schools, as a system, have the potential to make lasting improvements in nutrition and simultaneously contribute to the realization of human rights around the globe.School meals have the potential to directly address nutrition by improving the quality of student diets, including those of pre-school, primary and secondary school-aged children. According to the WHO Healthy Diets Factsheet, a healthy diet contains an adequate intake of fruit, vegetables, and foods high in fiber, such as wholegrains, and limits the intake of fats, free sugars and sodium (WHO, 2015). School meals can contribute to multi-faceted improvement. In 2012, about a third of primary-school and loweryear secondary-school students worldwide received food or meals at school. However, only about 12% of children attending school in low-income countries received school meals, compared with 37% of students in upper-middle-income countries. Among the 154 countries that responded to the WHO's Second Global Nutrition Policy Review 2016-2017, 84 -largely in the African, American and South-East Asian regions -reported providing school meals, while about half also had school-meal standards. Twenty-two countries, mostly in Europe, reported having standards or guidance on packed lunches and on foods being sold in schools (WHO, forthcoming).School meals should be based on national food-based dietary guidelines, which are, in turn, often based on international standards, to ensure they are diverse, likely to meet nutrient needs, and align with local food availability and preferences (e.g. local food cultures). In addition, many countries have national school-meal policies that provide guidance on limiting the consumption of highly processed foods, or guidelines that set out the percentage of total nutrient or caloric needs that school meals should contribute. In addressing nutrient needs, schools can help prevent and manage micronutrient deficiencies in school children, considering that many children already start school with a micronutrient deficiency. Among preschoolers, the global prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in low-and middleincome countries is estimated at 33% (though it is 45% in Africa and Southeast Asia) (WHO 2009), while the prevalence of anaemia is estimated at 47.4% (WHO 2008). Likewise, schools should ensure that nutrient requirements are informed by age, sex, and local food cultures, as well as the special needs of vulnerable groups, such as those impacted by infectious diseases or malnutrition.Beyond their immediate benefits for children, school meals, when linked to local smallholder farming and agricultural development, can also shorten supply chains and ensure the diversification of food procurement, increasing the use of traditional, neglected and underutilized foods, while enhancing biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability (please see Kenya, case study I, and Brazil, case study H, for more). They also have the potential to promote dietary diversification from local sources and local dietary habits, as well as local economic development and smallholder farmers' integration into markets (Bundy et al. 2009;Gelli et al. 2010;Espejo et al. 2009;Morgan et al. 2007).Strategies for diversifying diets using local procurement should still take care to identify situations in which local foods may not be sufficient to meet nutrient requirements (such as a scarcity of animalsource foods in areas where iron deficiency is prevalent). In such scenarios, school meals may need to incorporate fortified foods or other nutritional supplements to address these shortfalls. As illustrated in this paper, schools offer a key platform from which to launch nutrition intervention at scale. Furthermore, school meals can be complemented by food and nutrition education to reinforce healthy eating habits.4 School meal programmes and their impact on institutional markets and food systemsSchool meal programs can bolster local economies and create job opportunities when they forge ties between the provision of safe, diverse and nutritious food and sourcing from local producers. By offering structured and predictable demand, they have the potential to improve the economic lives of local farmers. For smallholders, such programs can facilitate access to markets, as well as productive inputs and credit, increasing income and opportunities for growth (Drake et al. 2016). Shifts in purchasing to support small and medium-sized enterprises, such as small-scale foodprocessing businesses, can also have an impact on social equity, as many such businesses are managed by women, and foster other job opportunities. Programs linking local food production, purchasing, and delivery, such as school meal or feeding programs, are often referred to as home grown school feeding (HGSF) programs.As institutional markets, schools can promote the sourcing of healthy food, the development of short supply chains and the creation of alternative retail infrastructures, as well as support sustainable agro-ecological approaches to agriculture (IPES-Food 2016). The 2016 Global Panel Foresight Report draws attention to the need to \"institutionalize high-quality diets through public sector purchasing power\", including food provided in schools, which should be of the highest nutritional benefit (Global Panel 2016). This approach has the potential to shape the norms around foods that contribute to high-quality diets, which could incentivize those involved in the supply chain to align their value chains accordingly. Demand from schools for a diversified food basket can stimulate agricultural diversification and overall agricultural production, increase biodiversity and the use of traditional, neglected and/or underutilized foods.Recent experiences in countries such as Brazil, Ghana and Nigeria suggest the potential for significant positive benefits from HGSF programs. In Brazil, family farming has benefited from the requirement that at least 30% of food used in school meals be bought from family farms and rural family entrepreneurs. Beltrame et al. (2016) note how these public food-procurement requirements in Brazil can be strategically targeted to increase the use of nutritious, native foods in schools and to diversify public food procurement for school meals. Biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability are elements that should be explored further within a diversifying agriculture sector. Despite the lack of a nationwide impact evaluation, qualitative impact assessments conducted on the economic lives of local farmers found increased diversification, production and income and a strengthening of farmer organizations (IPC-IG and WFP 2013;FAO 2015).In Ghana, women manage catering businesses that purchase, prepare, and serve school meals for nearly 2 million children, although the linkage between those actors and local smallholder farmers still presents challenges (Drake et al. 2016). Osun State, Nigeria reports that its home-grown O'Meals school meals program has created jobs for thousands of youths and women (Global Child Nutrition Foundation [GNCF] 2015). However, balancing cost-efficient procurement with sourcing from smallholder farmers is a challenge often faced by countries implementing HGSF programs (Drake et al. 2016).There is considerable opportunity to further improve the understanding of the role of school meal programs on job creation for low-skilled and/or rural women, youths and farmers, as well as their impact on infrastructure and other economic benefits, which may inform the sustainability of the program and its benefits. Another element to be explored further is the potential to improve the nutritional sensitivity of the private sector.Overall, when school meal programs are thoughtfully planned and supported by an appropriate institutional, political and legal environment, and implemented with strong cross-sectoral coordination, they can act as an investment, producing benefits across multiple sectors. They also provide the opportunity to involve a multitude of community actors, including civil society, farmer organizations and the private sector (Suberg and Sabates-Wheeler 2011; Morgan and Sonnino 2008;Espejo et al. 2009;Gelli et al. 2010;Drake et al. 2016). Consequently, schools, especially those with HGSF programs, have the potential to create a more sustainable, inclusive local food system in their community.5 Schools as part of a social-protection system School meals are well recognized as a social safety net (Alderman 2016), with an estimated 368 million children globally receiving a meal at school every day. However, schools' role in social protection is also tied to their ability to be a platform for other initiatives, often serving as a place where all students can access basic health services and support, including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) education and facilities, which are important for nutrition. If targeting is undertaken carefully, schools that provide meals can also provide safety nets for the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach children. These include orphans, children from indigenous communities, those with special needs and children who may be affected by HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, including tuberculosis (TB). Generally, these children, in addition to those from very poor households and those affected by emergency or crisis situations, are at a heightened risk of dropping out because of their inherent vulnerability. In these cases, schools can play a preventative social-protection role, reducing the risk of negative coping strategies that may threaten long-term livelihoods, food security and health (Wright and Epps 2015).School meal programs can reduce household food needs, freeing up disposable income, thus reducing volatility in household finances (Drake et al. 2017). School meals can also be complemented by takehome rations, benefiting other members of the household. Finally, school meals -as a social-protection mechanism -can be tailored to respond to economic and environmental crises (e.g. when one part of the country experiences drought or in seasons when less food is available). We can confidentially state that investing in school meals to improve nutrition is a good strategy for improving human capital.The potential benefits of school-based nutrition programs are maximized when they are designed as multi-sectoral interventions and integrated into broader national social-protection systems, leveraging existing and potential synergies with other social-protection and development programs. School meal programs are ideally placed to form part of any comprehensive government plan to address multiple social needs. They can be integrated into national strategies to fight hunger, poverty, and malnutrition, and improve health-seeking behavior and health outcomes.Food and nutrition education in the school setting can provide children, adolescents, school staff and communities with learning experiences designed to encourage healthy eating habits and other positive nutrition-related behaviors. It is important to use a combination of evidence-based and behaviorally focused educational strategies that involve the active participation of students, school staff and the wider community. Guidance on implementing a food and nutrition curriculum should be established at a national level to ensure a defined role for nutrition in the national education system. Governments can also help by providing clear directives in terms of nutritional concepts to be mastered at each stage of the educational system and within which subjects, e.g. natural sciences and health and social science. However, schools should be allowed to adapt and prioritize elements of the curriculum based on the local situation, i.e. resource availability and population needs.Food and nutrition education can offer myriad benefits. It has been shown, though not yet on a large scale, to have positive impacts on the micronutrient status of children and to contribute to the prevention of obesity (Lobstein et al. 2015). In addition, by linking the curriculum to local food cultures and biodiversity, elements of cultural preservation and environmental sustainability can be incorporated into a more integrated approach (FAO 2010 and2013). Connecting food and nutrition education to healthy school meals can also help students and their families to experience elements of the curriculum first hand: how to eat different, nutritious foods, honor local food cultures, and reap the rewards of using local foods.School gardens can further help to improve the nutrition and education of children and their families in rural and urban areas. School gardens are a platform for learning and should not be regarded as bulk sources of food or income, but rather as path to better nutrition and education. Students can learn how to grow, tend, harvest, and prepare nutritious seasonal produce in the educational settings of the classroom, the garden, the kitchen, the school cafeteria, and the home. The experience promotes the environmental, social, and physical wellbeing of the school community and fosters a better understanding of how the natural world sustains us. Links with home gardens reinforce the concept and pave the way for an exchange of knowledge and experience between the school and the community (FAO, 2015 andFAO 2010).In many communities, schools are the main place where children, adolescents, school staff and the community can learn about healthy eating and lifestyle habits (Psaki 2014;Lobstein et al. 2015).Implementing a food and nutrition education program allows students to gain lifelong knowledge and skills they can pass on to their own families, as well as future generations. It further allows school staff to access training on these important topics and help their own families have a better diet and can thus have a reverberating impact on the surrounding community.Changing the school environment and implementing nutrition-and health-related intervention requires capable, trained agents of change. Teachers, school staff, students, parents, caterers, food vendors, and farmers all have an important role to play in helping promote positive nutritional behavior. Developing capacity for these actors and equipping them with the necessary knowledge and skills on nutrition, food hygiene, healthy diets, and lifestyle is paramount. Teachers, in particular, will require more formal training and capacity development, as they can be among the most important promoters of positive nutritional behavior among the youth. They have the opportunity not only to influence eating habits through food and nutrition education, but also to address other issues, including the nutritional needs of adolescent girls and pregnant women, and maternal and infant care. Other actors, such as parents, caterers, food vendors, and farmers, can benefit from educational sessions too. Capacity-building activities should be integrated into school-based strategies to improve nutrition outcomes.The following table provides a non-exhaustive list of the main actors and their roles and required capacity in school-based nutrition intervention. The school environment needs to be conducive to promoting the health and nutritional wellbeing of children. It should promote healthy diets by ensuring the availability of a variety of foods, including plenty of fruits, vegetables and legumes, and regulate the promotion, marketing, and sale of foods and beverages that are high in fats, sodium/salt, and sugars (WHO 2015). One step being taken by several countries is to promote drinking water, as well as a ban on the sale or serving of sugar-sweetened beverages in cafeterias, kiosks, and/or vending machines, as well as in shops and stores around schools (WHO WPRO 2016). Having a school policy or guidelines on school meals or foods to be brought from home would also help to develop an enabling school environment for the promotion of healthy diets.The school environment also presents an important opportunity to foster various health-promoting behaviors that can impact nutrition, by ensuring that clean drinking water, hand-washing facilities, appropriate sanitation infrastructure, such as sanitary latrines, and areas for physical activity are easily accessible to school children throughout the school day and regularly maintained.Schools could provide an opportunity to deliver more nutrition and health services to children.Growth monitoring or other regular screening may facilitate detecting children with various forms of malnutrition (i.e. stunting, wasting, overweight and obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies, conditions that can arise separately or coexist) and/or health problems. Furthermore, screening could facilitate access for children to preventative and curative health services through referrals to health centers (FRESH, 2014).Schools also offer an opportunity to deliver high-impact nutrition intervention to children and adolescents who might be otherwise hard to reach. Such measures can include micronutrient supplements (generally iron-folic acid or iron supplement) 6 , point-of-use fortification of school meals, the use of adequately iodized salt or fortified cereals, or deworming (Aguayo et al. 2013;De-Regil et al. 2016). Combined with the role they can play in the prevention of malnutrition and diet-related disease, schools cannot be ignored as useful platforms for simple, yet integrated, health-service delivery.10 Costs and sustainability of school-based nutrition measuresBecause of the multiple objectives of school meal programs, narrowly defined cost-effectiveness analyses, focusing on, say, the health and nutrition outcomes, will underestimate the full impact of school meals. For most countries, school meals are viewed as a non-cash, conditional (because the child has to be in school) income transfer, aimed at providing a safety net and acting as a socialprotection mechanism for the poor. Other key outcomes are increasing regular school attendance and better health.With the implementation of HGSF programs, local farmers and the larger community also benefit from a sustained and predictable investment in the local, smallholder farming economy. Multifaceted school-based interventions that move beyond the provision of school meals alone seem to create a much higher rate of return when the multiple benefits are taken into account.On average, in lower-to middle-income countries, school meal programs cost USD 41 per child per year and provide 401 kcal per meal. School meal programs have shown to be most effective means of boosting attendance, math performance and weight, and increases in height have been found among preschoolers. Furthermore, there is evidence that the effects of school meal programs are magnified in undernourished populations (Kristjansson et al. 2015). Compared with higher-income countries, the income transfer is larger as a share of household expenditure in low-income settings, reinforcing the role of meal programs in enhancing food security. The aforementioned iron-supplement and deworming programs that schools can offer are inexpensive. For example, medicines to combat soil-transmitted worms cost less than USD 0.50 per dose (Ahuja et al. 2015) and are often donated free to school-age children. The results have been mixed. Overall, however, the low cost, absence of side effects, and ability to limit morbidity support retaining current WHO recommendations for mass treatments in endemic areas.Finding sustained sources of funding for school meal programs can present a challenge for many lower-to middle-income countries. Though meal costs normally only account for 10-15% of educational expenditure (and this tends to decrease as GDP increases), many countries rely on funding that is renewed annually (Drake et al. 2017). Thus, when designing exit strategies for moving programs away from direct donor support, stakeholders need to ensure that the transition is to a sustainable domestic budgetary arrangement to avoid program termination. Often, this transition includes operational and administrative support from donors, including the World Food Programme (WFP), as programs revert to national budgetary control. Such transitions are indicative of the evolution of school feeding from programs that merely incentivize school participation to programs that enhance the education and health of students throughout their school experience.According to the International Food Policy Research Institute's (IFPRI) Global Nutrition Report 2016, economic losses due to malnutrition amount to 11% of GDP in Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, every USD 1 spent on malnutrition prevention yields an average return of USD 16 (IFPRI 2016). Governments are increasingly investing in school meals, HGSF programs, and other nutrition and health-related actions to advance education, health, nutrition, and environmental sustainability goals, as well as economic and agricultural productivity, and intergenerational wellbeing. However, government and communities must have the capacity to support and maintain actions in order to gain and sustain the variety of benefits. Hence, UN agencies and other partners, particularly when engaging in the direct implementation of school-based activities, should do so in close coordination with governments and local stakeholders, to ensure that changes become part of national long-term, sustainable social-protection strategies.R R R11 Key messages and recommendations 1. School-based food and nutrition interventions is part of a lifestyle approach to achieving health and promoting healthy diets. It recognizes not only the 1,000 days from pregnancy to a child's second birthday as an essential window of opportunity, but also the subsequent 7,000-day period as crucial to helping the child reach their development potential. Schools offer a unique platform for realizing multiple benefits for children and their communities, so school-based intervention should:• Ensure, in particular, that children at risk (such as girls, children from indigenous communities, and marginalized ethnic groups) are targeted; • Address all forms of malnutrition with tailored intervention including food and nutrition education; and • Take a multi-sectoral approach, including health, hygiene, and sanitation aspects 2. School-based food and nutrition intervention can be instrumental in achieving human rights, such as the right to adequate food and the rights of the child, especially their right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health. To realize these rights, school-based intervention should:• Be part of the school curriculum;• Ensure that government, teachers and other school personnel respect the right of children to good nutrition, including respect for local food systems; • Protect children from unhealthy or unsafe food environments; and • Ensure robust conflict-of-interest measures are in place.by promoting and improving the adequacy of student diets in terms of quality and quantity, from pre-school to primary school and secondary school. To improve dietary quality, schoolbased interventions should:• Be based on national food-based dietary guidelines;• Promote dietary diversity, including the utilization of traditional, neglected, and underutilized foods, while enhancing biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability; • Strategically use local procurement, engaging with female and male smallholder farmers, and incorporate fortified foods or nutrient supplements if the nutrient gap cannot be filled otherwise.School-based food and nutrition intervention have the potential to build the local economy and create job opportunities. As institutional markets, schools can promote the sourcing of healthy food, the development of short supply chains and alternative retail infrastructures, plus support sustainable agro-ecological approaches to agriculture. Home Grown School Feeding Programs (HGSF) are linking local food production to the purchasing and delivery mechanisms for school meal provision. To have an impact on institutional markets and food systems, school-based measures should:• Ensure thoughtful planning in an appropriate institutional, political and legal environment and be implemented with strong cross-sectoral coordination, involving a multitude of community actors, including civil society, farmer organizations, and the private sector; • Support small and medium-sized enterprises, such as small-scale food-processing businesses, through structured and predictable purchasing; and • Incentivize nutrition-sensitive value-chain actors to produce and process high-quality food for the highest nutritional benefits of pupils.School-based food and nutrition intervention can significantly contribute to countries' social protection systems by acting as a social safety net and reducing the impact of economic and social risks on vulnerable families and communities. Schools can play a preventive socialprotection role, reducing the risk of negative coping strategies (e.g. dropping out of school) that might threaten long-term livelihoods, food and nutrition security, and health, especially for girls. To bring about this protective mechanism, school-based intervention should:• Be part of a comprehensive government plan to address multiple social needs;• Be integrated into national strategies to fight hunger, poverty, and malnutrition, and to improve health-seeking behavior, and health and nutrition outcomes; • Be carefully targeted at the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach children, including orphans, children from indigenous communities and marginalized ethnic groups, and children with special needs. Teachers and other school personnel need to gain knowledge and skills to become successful agents of change for positive nutritional behaviors. They have opportunity not only to influence eating habits through food and nutrition education, but also to address other issues, including the nutritional needs of adolescent girls and pregnant women, and mother and child care. Other actors, such as parents, caterers, food vendors, and farmers can benefit from educational sessions too. To successfully implement these programs, school-based intervention should:• Ensure that teachers and other implementers have the capacity and competence to become change agents for healthy diets and health lifestyle; • Ensure that schools are well equipped to implement the intervention; and • Ensure that capacity development is tailored to the special roles the various actors play, including the promotion of education via crosscutting subject matter.8. School-based food and nutrition intervention should create an enabling school environment to promote healthy diets and nutrition. In particular, it should:• Ensure the availability of diverse food, including plenty of fruit, vegetables, and legumes;• Regulate the promotion, marketing, and sales of foods and beverages that are high in fats, sodium/salt and sugar; and • Put in place a school policy or guidelines for school meals or foods brought from home.Growth monitoring and/or regular screening can help detect children with various forms of malnutrition and health problems. In this regard, school-based intervention should:• Deliver high-impact nutrition intervention to children and adolescents that are hard to reach;• Consider micronutrient intervention, such as supplementation, point-of-use fortification of school meals, iodized salt, and fortified cereals; and • Foster other health-promoting behaviors and activities, such as the provision of clean drinking water, hand-washing facilities, appropriate sanitation infrastructure, and deworming.10. School-based food and nutrition intervention comes at a cost, but because of the multiple objectives involved, any narrowly defined cost-benefit analysis will underestimate the full impact of school-based nutrition measures. One key outcome is to increase regular school attendance by both girls and boys. This serves as a basis for educational achievement, leading to better economic productivity and, consequently, a greater contribution to national GDP. Finding sustained sources of funding for school-based intervention can pose a challenge for many lower to middle-income countries. However, school-base intervention should:• Be part of the national budget;• Plan a clear transition period from donor support to sustainable domestic budgetary support, rather than resort to abrupt program termination; and • Be supported by UN agencies and other partners, in close coordination with governments and local stakeholders, to ensure that programs become part of long-term, sustainable social-protection strategies led by countries. R R R RThis discussion paper shows that schools offer a unique opportunity to improve nutrition using a systemic, multi-sectoral approach. Social, health, economic and ethic arguments coalesce in and around schools. Looking at schools as a (food system) to improve nutrition offers insights into what interventions to implement and combine to ensure the best possible nutrition outcomes for children in schools, their families and their communities, both now and in future.All nutrition interventions should be designed to be sustainable in the longer term. Stakeholders at all levels should be kept well informed and encouraged to participate, creating a system of support and interdependence, from the school and local level, to the intermediate levels of government and the private sector, to government ministries, national organizations, and international partners. Bringing the benefits of school-based intervention to scale requires leadership and ownership by national and regional governments, and while this should ultimately be the aim, donor involvement and support may be necessary at various stages.The authors and contributors to this paper believe a taskforce group should be established to support governments in efforts to mainstream nutrition at school level. It could involve the multiple expert stakeholders who have cooperated on and contributed to this paper and/or have collaborated with governments on these types of activity to date. UNICEF recently reviewed the evidence provided by national surveys and research studies in South Asia (including India) on the nutritional status of and programs for adolescent girls. The review found that nutrition education and behavioral-change intervention, coupled with WIFS and deworming, had resulted in improved knowledge among adolescent girls about anaemia prevention and the benefits of dietary diversity, as well as an increase in hemoglobin concentration and a decrease in the prevalence of moderate and severe anaemia (Aguayo and Paintal 2017). The review also highlighted that with a growing number of adolescent girls and boys attending school and continuing to secondary education, schools can help to ensure regular nutritional screening, education and supplementation.In addition, school-going adolescent girls can become effective role models for out-of-school girls (WHO, 2006). India's national WIFS program, which aims to reach around 108 million adolescent boys and girls by 2021, is a good example of a large-scale nutrition program that brings together the ministries of Education, Health, and Women and Child Development with a view to providing all adolescents with essential nutrition services, counselling and support and end inter-generational nutritional deprivation (Aguayo and Paintal, 2017). . Case study submitted by the World Food Programme (WFP) -Syria (2016) and India (2014)The World Food Programme's (WFP) emergency school feeding (ESF) program is an integral component of recovery operations and a safety net in emergency situations. In 2015, the WFP provided school meals to 6.5 million children in emergency and post-emergency areas in 24 countries.The implementation of emergency school feeding programs must take numerous factors into consideration, but first and foremost the question of whether there is a functioning government. If so, the WFP will provide external support if required, but the government must take responsibility for emergency school feeding. With partially functioning governments, the WFP is often more involved, lending technical support as needed. Where a functioning government is lacking, the WFP takes an active role in implementing ESF programs.Before an ESF is implemented, it is essential to evaluate the nature of the emergency and the potential threats to children attending school. Risks related to natural hazards, infection or conflict may pose risks to the safety of children leaving their homes to attend ESF programs. These risks can be barriers to children receiving education in emergencies.The WFP's emergency school feeding programs aim to have an impact on both nutrition and education. While addressing food insecurity is the core objective of the WFP's emergency school feeding, supporting education in emergency situations is also a priority. Nutrition-related outcomes include improving access to nutritious and diversified food for school meal beneficiaries, as well as improving their nutrition and health status. Educationrelated outcomes include improving access to education for school meal beneficiaries in terms of enrolment and attendance rates, and reducing absenteeism due to sicknessIn November 2016, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that 13.5 million people were in need of assistance in Syria, many of them refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs). More than half of the Syrian population has been forced out of their homes since the war began in 2011.Syria's previously well-functioning education system has been greatly affected by the crisis. One in every three schools has been destroyed, leaving hundreds of thousands of teachers and school staff unable to work. Areas with an influx of IDPs have led to classroom overcrowding, often with 60 students per class, operating in two shifts.In 2015, it was estimated that more than 600,000 school-aged children were in besieged areas and that some 2.1 million were out of school. Displacement, poverty, safety and security were the main factors preventing children from attending school. Parents are averse to sending their children to school in areas of armed conflict.In 2014, the WFP, in collaboration with UNICEF and Syria's Ministry of Education, began an emergency school feeding program in areas of relative stability, the majority of which were in IDP areas. Due to the acutely unstable crisis, it has been essential to design an ESF program where the food provided has an extended shelf life and reaches the greatest possible number of students. The ESF distributes locally produced vitamin-and mineral-fortified date bars to an estimated 375,000 children daily.During relatively stable periods, it has been possible to distribute the date bars in besieged areas. The bars have a high nutrient content and energy density and are practical to transport and store. Date bars stored in schools can also be distributed during periods of instability and armed fighting.Interview respondents reported that the emergency school feeding programs have not prompted parents to send their children to school during periods of heavy armed conflict. Despite the ESF program offering students in-school food, parents keep children out of school when safety and security require it.Among the few studies conducted on school feeding programs and their effect on outcome indicators of child health and nutrition is one carried out in the badly drought-stricken areas of Andhra Pradesh, India, which evaluated the health effects of school feeding during times of crisis. The Indian government launched the Mid-Day Meal-Scheme (MDMS) in the state of Andhra Pradesh in 2003, providing a mid-day meal to children in all public and private primary schools (Singh et al. 2014).The aim of the study was to determine whether the mid-day school feeding program offset the negative effects of drought on children's health and whether it could counterbalance the early nutritional deprivation caused by drought in prior years. The study looked at two groups of primary-school children affected by periods of severe drought who received the mid-day school meal for an average of nine months (Singh et al. 2014).The study identified that children in drought-stricken areas saw a decline in nutritional intake that negatively impacted their health, which was evident in their weight and height. In these situations, the MDMS provided a safety net that was targeted at children who may have experienced health and nutrition deprivations earlier in life due to the droughts. The MDMS was provided to help improve nutrient intake during the primary-school period, which is critical to nutrition, health and cognitive development. The study concluded that participation in the MDMS may have aided students by offsetting some of the earlier health and nutritional deprivation (Singh et al. 2014).Case study submitted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) -Malawi (2012)Purchase from Africans for Africa (PAA Africa) is an innovative development cooperation initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP), the Brazilian government and the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID). This major social-protection initiative was implemented in five African countries (Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, and Senegal) between 2012 and 2017, aimed at promoting synergies between agricultural intervention and school feeding as a major social protection initiative. By purchasing food locally, PAA Africa provides agricultural support and stable market access to farmers by linking them to existing school-meal initiatives. The program has a twofold objective: improve the income security of smallholder farmers and improve the nutritional status of children in food-insecure areas (FAO and WFP, 2014;Gyoeri et al. 2016).In 2012, PAA Africa activities were launched in two southern areas of Malawi, Mangochi and Phalombe. These districts were selected because of their strong potential for agricultural production and high incidence of poverty and food insecurity (FAO, WFP and International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth [IPC-IG], 2016).Production-support strategies have been provided to the farmer organizations responsible for supplying schools, including access to seeds, technical assistance for sustainable production, nutritional diversification, management and business skills, and the construction of warehouses. The production-support component also includes the introduction of school gardens, with a view to giving communities knowledge of and skills in nutrition and sustainable agricultural production (FAO and WFP, 2014;FAO, WFP and IPC-IG, 2016).The program has generated various benefits and given insights into the development of sustainable and nutritionsensitive school feeding initiatives tied to local and smallholder agriculture. These include:Sustainable agriculture intensification: PAA Africa's production support has helped smallholders generate surpluses, adopt more sustainable agricultural practices and increase productivity. Schools participating in the program purchased 361 million tons of food from PAA-supported farmer organizations in 2014-2016, benefiting 10,065 students. This corresponds to a 284% increase in farmer-organization sales through PAA from 2014 to 2015. Farmers reported that the income derived from sales to schools has been invested in production and that many farmers have moved to higher-value commodities. Increases in income have allowed them to purchase more land, buy inputs and build houses (FAO, WFP and IPC, 2016;Gyoeri et al. 2016).These outcomes have had a positive effect on household food security, and the strategy has successfully included female farmers, who have become more active in the management of farmer organizations and cooperatives.Nutrition-sensitive agricultural diversification: PAA Africa has contributed to community diet diversification and food security. Through the program's production support, smallholder output has become more diversified and producers have been able to meet schools' demand for wide range of commodities, including cereals, pulses, vegetables, tubers, fruits, and meat. This has not only contributed to dietary diversification at school, but also to the regular consumption of diverse and nutritional foods at home. School committees have received training in nutrition and have begun to reproduce school menus at home, incorporating new foods into their diet (FAO, WFP and IPC-IG, 2016;Gyoeri et al. 2016).Government ownership and enabling environment: PAA Africa production-support activities were also provided in partnership with the We Effect non-governmental organization (NGO) and implemented in close cooperation with Malawi's Agriculture and Extension Development Officers (AEDOs) and District Agriculture Development Office, so as to strengthen government ownership of the initiatives. PAA Africa stakeholders have participated in various consultative meetings, workshops and knowledge-exchange events with the implementing partners, members of civil society, and representatives of schools and government offices, both at the national and local levels. These events have helped in the sharing of knowledge and in attracting additional resources for the scaling up of Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) from both the government of Malawi and international partners. These processes have, in turn, facilitated the development of an enabling environment for school meals and institutional procurement programs, leaving governments and local civil society with scope for cooperation and action in these fields (FAO and WFP, 2014;FAO, WFP and IPC, 2016).Currently, the government is in the process of formulating its National School Health and Nutrition Policy, which prioritizes HGSF among its strategies. At the same time, the administration's Agricultural Sector Wide Approach (ASWAp) aims to strengthen smallholder farmers' participation in markets by supporting institutional food procurement for school meals.Case study submitted by the Partnership for Child Development, Imperial College London -Ghana (2013-2016)Preliminary findings suggest Ghana's Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) program improves educational opportunities for children, especially girls, and boosts agricultural income for smallholder farmers.The impact evaluation was jointly funded by the Dubai Cares organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, and the government of Ghana. Designed as a randomized, controlled trial, the impact evaluation focused on an innovative pilot program implemented between 2013 and 2016. The study design built on evidence demonstrating the value of school feeding in supporting educational outcomes.1. A 12% increase in enrolment in early childhood and a 7% decrease in absenteeism in primary education in school feeding communities. 2. Improved literacy scores in 13.5% of girls in HGSF schools.A joint research team, comprising the Partnership for Child Development (PCD), the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), focused on the design of, data collection from and preliminary analysis of the research findings. The pilot program, meanwhile, was carried out under the leadership of the Ghana School Feeding Program (GSFP) and the PCD in collaboration with other international and local partners. The study involved 116 schools in 58 districts across the 10 regions of the country. Of these schools, 58 received no health intervention (control), 29 received school meals only (standard) and 29 received school meals procured from local smallholder farmers along with micronutrient powders (MNPs), deworming and health education (enhanced) (Gelli et al. 2016).Overall, the evaluation sample included more than 5,500 school children and 4,500 farmers from 360 farmerbased organizations. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected for key educational, health, nutritional, and agricultural indicators. The HGSF pilot program focused on two main components:1. Agricultural intervention, aimed at facilitating stronger market linkages between smallholder farmers and the GSFP. The thinking behind the intervention was that it would lead to increased farmer production, sales and income and, consequently, improve smallholder farmer livelihoods and strengthen local economies. 2. Nutrition intervention, aimed at improving the education, health and nutrition of school children through: (1) the delivery of nutritious meals by the GSFP -the quality and quantity of school meals was improved by the use of the School Meals Planner tool, the development of Handy Measures utensils and the introduction of micronutrient powders (MNPs); (2) behavioral-change communication to improve nutrition, health and hygiene practices at the school, household and community levels; and (3) school-based deworming.The preliminary analyses focused on the impact in terms of key outcomes in the educational, health and agricultural domains. Data collected from children and households in the enhanced and standard schools were compared with those of the control schools.Enrolment levels in kindergarten increased 12% in standard schools compared with the control schools. Only a slight increase of 2% was noted in the case of primary schools, which was to be expected, due to the near universal attendance rate in Ghana's primary schools. School absenteeism decreased 7% in schools receiving the standard program, while no such reduction was observed in the control schools.In addition, the analysis suggested that Home Grown School Feeding improved test scores in math and literacy for girls, in particular, compared with the GSFP (to the order of about 10%). There was also an impact on cognition among girls (as measured by increased scores on visual processing tasks), with an effect of about 8%. This effect may be supported by the provision of the multiple micronutrient powders, which previous research had found to enhance cognitive capacity, particularly in populations with high levels of anaemia. Additional analysis is underway to further investigate these effects.A key study outcome focused on dietary diversity -a proxy indicator of diet quality. Preliminary evidence suggests that individual dietary diversity improved among school feeding communities, particularly among younger children (5-10 years). Children receiving school feeding were more likely to consume nutritious foods like green leafy vegetables and other types of vegetables, roots, and, in the case of 5-to 10-year-olds, meat and fish.The prevalence of worms was minimal in the study sample, thanks to the annual deworming program conducted in the project district and its surroundings by the Ghana Health Service. The US Agency for International Development's (USAID) Neglected Tropical Disease Program was also supported by the research project.Seventy percent of children in the study were diagnosed with asymptomatic malaria. The high prevalence may have hampered the impact of the micronutrient supplementation in the pilot of the evaluation, as there were no differences between the traditional school feeding and homegrown groups in terms of anaemia or the anthropometric indicators.In addition, more research is needed to investigate the impact of the supplementation on groups at particular risk of anaemia (e.g. adolescent girls).The data analysis underway is further investigating the impact of school feeding on nutrition by teasing out the influence of selected confounders, such as age, gender, health status and household characteristics. In addition, more investigation is needed into potential intra-household shifts in food allocation which may have occurred in response to the school feeding intervention, as has been documented in other studies, and their implications for the preliminary findings presented here.Farming activity increased 15% in communities receiving school feeding in the Northern Region relative to communities without school feeding. An analysis of markets in school feeding communities showed that they experienced higher produce sales and a 33% rise in the value of agricultural produce sold. Farmers in Home Grown communities saw an increase of 5% in household income compared with traditional GSFP. Farmers that owned a business benefited particularly, with 10% growth in household income.The findings summarized in this brief have yet to be validated and must be interpreted with caution. However, some preliminary next steps were discussed with key stakeholders, including:• The need to strengthen and adopt more holistic and integrated programs that will integrate WASH and malariaprevention components into the national School Health and Nutrition (SHN) program. There is now a request for continued support to strengthen policy development in this area.• The GSFP intends to upscale the use of the SMP, Handy Measures and continued behavioral-change communication activities for caterers, pupils and the wider community to all its schools in the national program.The government has requested ongoing technical assistance to enable this.• The government has formally requested the continued assistance and support of PCD and Dubai Cares to work with other sectors and stakeholders to enhance the National School Health and School Feeding Program, to improve the lives of deprived families and offer children greater opportunities to reach their full potential.The preliminary findings provide a snapshot of the spectrum of outcomes assessed as part of this evaluation.The results emphasized the protective role of school feeding (and HGSF, in particular) on household income, child education (especially girls) and diets. The findings of the impact evaluation will be disseminated in the coming months as the data continue to be analyzed by the joint research teams at the PCD, NMIMR, ISSER and IFPRI.There is already clear evidence, however, that HGSF is a win-win opportunity for Ghana and many other countries.Case study submitted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) -Brazil (2013-2015)The Brazilian National School Feeding Program (PNAE) is Brazil's oldest food program and one of the largest school-meal schemes in the world. The initial objective of PNAE, to meet students' nutritional needs during their time in the classroom, has developed and expanded over the years. In 2009, the program was revised significantly, both conceptually and programmatically, with the introduction of promoting student development, learning and academic achievement, healthy nutritional habits, and nutrition education, as well as support for sustainable development and the promotion of local food procurement. Currently, states, municipalities, and federal schools must purchase (through a decentralized operational system) at least 30% of food for school meals directly from family farming producers, which, according to Brazilian legislation, include family farmers and family rural entrepreneurs. Priority is given to local supply, producers' formal organizations, vulnerable social groups (including land-reform settlers and members of traditional communities), and agro-ecological and organic production (IPC-IG, WFP 2013;FAO 2015).Community participation is also guaranteed through the Councils of Food and Nutrition Security and the School Feeding Councils (CAEs) formed by representatives of the government, teachers and professionals in the educational system, parents, and organized civil-society organizations (IPC-IG, WFP 2013).Supported by a favorable policy and legal environment, in 2014, PNAE benefitted 42.2 million students, while resources used for the procurement of food from smallholder farmers reached more than BRL 711 million 8 in the same period. Despite the lack of a nationwide impact evaluation, qualitative studies have assessed PNAE's impact on local smallholder farmers, finding increased and diversified production, higher income and stronger farmer organizations (IPC-IG, WFP 2013; FAO 2015).Case • Defining the government's school-meal and health policy, via a joint proposal by ministries of health and education; • Establishing the role of schools in the development of food and health education, with the support of competent institutions; • Prohibiting the advertising of food and beverages of low nutritional value in schools, as well as the sale of such products in or within a 200m radius of schools; • Applying national law on public procurement, security standards, quality and hygiene to the purchase of goods and services for the NSFP; • Prioritizing national products when purchasing for school feeding (at least 25% of the budget assigned to buying food for the NSFP); and • Centralizing the setting of school menus, with the participation of nutritionists and technicians at the local level, respecting the recommendations of the World Health Organization, and embracing the principle of introducing diversified national products according to local eating habits, with acceptability by children of more than 85%.The NSFP is financed via the general state budget and bolstered by contributions from national and international patrons and partners, such as city councils and other public and private entities. It is worth noting that parents and guardians must donate to the cost of meals according to their income, with an annual financial contribution aimed at improving school-meal quality and health actions (Cape Verdean Student Welfare Foundation [FICASE] financial records, 2012).Implementing the NSFP is the joint responsibility of the ministries of health and education, with laws in place to create an interdepartmental structure to coordinate and carry out policy. Regional and local coordinating bodies can also be established, comprising representatives of the educational, agricultural and health sectors, municipal leadership, NGOs, and parents or guardians. If these structures agree, some services in the school meal and health arena can be outsourced to the private sector (e.g. food purchasing, storage and transport, meal preparation, and health treatments) (Semedo JDS 2012).Every school has a council to manage the School Feeding and Health Unit (SFHU), made up of the school principal, a council coordinator, a parents and guardian representative, a cook, and a pupil. This council is responsible for overseeing canteen operations, mobilizing resources, purchasing local products, raising nutrition and health awareness, health education, promotional activities, and accounting.It is difficult to come to concrete conclusions about the effectiveness of the National School Feeding Program.In view of Cabo Verde's universal school attendance and reduced rates of poverty, however, one can say that the program's initial objectives (the prevention of severe food insecurity in the 1970s and 1980s, and improving school attendance and the social safety net in the 1990s and 2000s) have been met. While it can be assumed that the National School Feeding Program has been a contributing factor in this regard, no impact evaluation has been carried out to quantify its impact (Luxembourg Agency for Development Co-operation 2012; Republic of Cabo Verde 2012).In Cabo Verde, the government and communities are clearly interested in diversifying school meals and developing ties to local production. The fact that food items and preparation account for 80% of program running costs suggests a good degree of managerial efficiency in limiting overheads. There are questions, however, in relation to coverage and cost recovery (Global School Feeding Sourcebook: Lessons from 14 Countries 2016).Case study submitted by the World Health Organization -Benin and Burkina Faso (2006-2016)The schools projectThe World Health Organization and its partners launched the Nutrition-Friendly Schools Initiative in 2006 to combat the dual challenges of under-and overnutrition, the first pilot program of its kind in West African primary schools. It was introduced in cities, because in low-income countries, the nutritional transition is more likely to lead to the double burden of malnutrition in urban settings. A total of 12 schools were selected for intervention by the countries' ministries of education. In addition, Helen Keller International (HKI) was involved in the implementation of the initiative in Burkina Faso, while the Regional Institute of Public Health (IRSP) played a role in Benin.Some 4,000 pupils were involved in the project in Cotonou, Benin, and another 2,500 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. In the latter, a further six schools served as control units to assess the project's impact. Health and nutrition committees were created in the selected schools to undertake the initial assessment, decide on the necessary actions and implement them. The committees included teachers, parents, pupils, local administrators, health personnel and other community members.In accordance with the empowering philosophy of health promotion, the pilot schools did not follow a pre-defined schedule of intervention and relied primarily on the local resources they could mobilize, except when it came to training teachers in nutrition education, with a focus on healthy school meals, and the nutritional (anthropometric) surveillance of schoolchildren. Yearly planning workshops were held for school committees, with the support of the WHO and the Double Fardeau Nutritionnel (DFN) project, a partnership program to combat the double burden of malnutrition in West Africa.In both countries, street vendors received training to improve hygiene and the nutritional value of the food sold to schoolchildren. In addition to integrating nutrition into the school curriculum, activities included special schoolbased nutrition events and sanitation measures, gardening and the raising of poultry.In both cities, the NFSI showed promising results after 4-5 years in terms of school and community mobilization towards better nutrition and health, according to a process evaluation (Delisle et al. 2013). In Burkina Faso, the baseline study conducted among nearly 700 fifth-grade pupils revealed high rates of vitamin A deficiency and anaemia (40% and 38%, respectively). The presentation of the results to the government and other stakeholders (Daboné et al. 2011) resulted in a government policy to include urban schools, in addition to rural schools, in the school-lunch program.Few students were overweight (4%) relative to incidents of stunting (8%) and thinness (9%), but eating behaviors suggested the potential for excessive weight and related diseases over the long term, due to the more frequent consumption of unhealthy items, such as sweet drinks, rather than healthy fruit, vegetables and legumes (Daboné et al. 2012;Daboné et al. 2013). Five years on, the rate of thinness was lower in intervention than control schools, but rate of becoming overweight had tended to increase in the former (submitted: El Khouri Edde et al. 2017).Vitamin A deficiency and anaemia had declined more significantly in intervention than control schools, although rates remained high (>25%). Changes in eating behavior and hygiene practices are still being analyzed.The NFSI experience was positive in Benin and Burkina Faso. The results suggested that Burkina Faso, in particular, was in the early stages of nutritional transition, but that the growing overweight trend, coupled with persistent micronutrient malnutrition, were of concern and required sustained efforts to improve the overall nutritional status of school-age children. Limited resources at the household and school levels appeared to be a major barrier to reaping the full benefits of NFSI in such low-income populations. Nevertheless, it was encouraging that the NFSI was sustained, at least in part, after the external funding came to an end and that it positively influenced school nutrition policy in both countries.Case Study submitted by Bioversity International -Brazil (2012-2017)Despite being home to approximately 18% of the world's plant diversity, Brazil's agriculture and food security are, to a great extent, reliant on exotic or introduced crops and species. Little of this vast treasure of biodiversity ever makes it onto the school plate. Paradoxically, much of this neglected biodiversity is highly nutritious and could help provide sustainable solutions to diversifying school feeding, ensuring healthier diets and tackling nutritional deficiencies and other malnutrition problems. Many barriers and obstacles in Brazil, as elsewhere, limit the better integration of biodiversity for enhancing food and nutritional security, including in school feeding and institutional food procurement (Beltrame et al. 2016;Hunter et al. 2015 and2016).Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition (BFN, http://www.b4fn.org/) is working with the successful multi-sectorial institutional framework established in 2003 under Brazil's Zero Hunger Strategy to address some of these constraints by strategically targeting the Brazilian Food Procurement Program (PAA) and the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) as two key public-policy instruments with the greatest potential for diversifying institutional food procurement and improving diets, while supporting family farming and promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.Both the PAA and PNAE offer useful entry points for improving nutrition or livelihoods with links to native biodiversity. At least 30% of the food purchased with federal funds through the PNAE must be bought directly from family farmers, while both the PNAE and the PAA pay a premium of up to 30% on the price of organic or agroecological produce, prioritizing purchase from settlers of the agrarian reform, quilombolas and indigenous communities.The PAA also supports the work carried out by family agriculture organizations to rescue, produce, store, and distribute seeds of local or traditional varieties by purchasing seeds produced by farmers, families and communities experiencing uncertain access to food. In doing so, these programs create unique opportunities for the use of natural resources from the various Brazilian ecosystems, promote the development of new institutional markets for biodiverse products, and provide incentives for the management and sustainable use of Brazilian food and agricultural biodiversity (MMA, 2006).To improve the knowledge base of the PAA and PNAE, nutrient composition analysis of prioritized species is being carried out in partnership with public universities and research institutes across the country using methodologies developed by the FAO and the International Network of Food Data Systems, INFOODS. More than 100 students, professors and researchers are currently working in this area and preliminary results indicate that many of the prioritized native fruits are richer in nutrients than the more commonly consumed exotic fruits in Brazil.Working through regional partners ensures capacities are being developed in different regions, facilitating the development of \"regional centers for food composition data\" and raising awareness among students, researchers and professors about the importance of food composition and biodiversity for food and nutrition. These groups act as multipliers within education and research institutions, building additional human capacity and operating as opinion leaders, champions and policy advisors. Some of the partner universities are Collaborating Centers on Food and Nutrition (CECANEs), linked to the PNAE, and provide research and technical support. By providing technical assistance and capacity building for the municipal managers, school managers, nutritionists and cooks responsible for implementing the PNAE, the partnership can orchestrate the inclusion of biodiverse products in school meals.Additional activities to promote biodiverse, Brazilian foods in the PNAE and PAA include:• The development of recipes using prioritized species to foster their inclusion in school meals.• Sensitization workshops with technical staff directly involved in implementing relevant policies at the federal level, including the National Fund for the Development of Education (FNDE), responsible for the coordination of the PNAE. • Partnership with the Educating Through School Gardens and Gastronomy (PEHEG) initiative to diversify school curriculums using school gardens and gastronomy as educational tools to promote healthy eating habits, an appreciation of regional ingredients and recipes, the learning of cooking techniques and the experience of flavors, food textures and aromas of native biodiversity. • Collaboration with the Food and Nutrition National Policy (PNAN) to increase the opportunities for mainstreaming biodiversity into federal procurement programs, as well as the PNAN's Health in School Program (PSE). • Contributions to the new version of the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population (MS, 2014), launched by PNAN, which take into account healthy diets derived from socially and environmentally sustainable food systems, highlighting the importance of biodiversity. • Contributions to the new edition of Brazilian Regional Foods (MS, 2015) including a chapter on \"biodiversity for food and nutrition\" promoting native biodiversity and regional foods combining recipes and nutritional information. • The revival of culinary skills using regional foods and native biodiversity.• The development of a new policy, \"Brazilian Sociobiodiversity: Native Food Species of Nutritional Value\" (Ordinance No.163, 2016), which officially defines and recognizes for the first time native, nutritious biodiversity. The ordinance is expected to facilitate the greater procurement of native biodiversity species and their integration into school feeding programs.Though still in its early stages, the preliminary signs from this partnership are encouraging. Changes in behavior and attitudes are already evident within ministries and the federal institutional partners of the BFN project. Institutional spending on local biodiversity is increasing. In the PAA, for example, spending on biodiverse products had risen from 5.36% in 2012 to 10.99% in 2015.While investment in native biodiverse products remains small compared with overall food purchases, targeted initiatives have been able to include native biodiversity in the diets of their beneficiaries, thus becoming strategic tools in promoting the conservation and sustainable use of diverse foods. This offers a glimpse of the market potential for expanding the number and amount of native food species and products in both policies and in other institutional markets.Case study submitted by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) -Western Kenya (2015-2017)In Busia County, Western Kenya, the Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition (BFN) project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), is working with local authorities, service providers, farmers, schools, and hospitals to promote the conservation and utilization of local biodiversity to improve the nutritional status of the population, including vulnerable groups, such as schoolchildren (Hunter et al. 2017).Malnutrition is widespread in Busia County. Alongside children under the age of five (26.6% of whom are stunted, 4% wasted and 11% underweight), schoolchildren are among the most vulnerable members of the population. Government-sponsored school feeding programs prioritize communities in the country's arid and semi-arid regions, so most primary schools in Busia are unable to offer lunch to their pupils. At best, they can provide simple, unvaried meals comprising maize-based gruel or maize-bean mixtures, supplemented by meat, kale or cabbage, depending on seasonality. Many traditional, highly nutritious and biodiverse foods are out of schools' price range, so cheaper, but often less nutritious, alternatives are prioritized, as they can be purchased in greater quantity. Meanwhile, policies, programs and incentives focused on few energy-rich staple grains -primarily maize -are gradually causing many highly nutritious species to disappear from farmers' fields and people's plates.Aimed at promoting knowledge and the use of local biodiversity for dietary variety, improved nutrition and linking farmers to markets, the BFN project, supported by the ACIAR, has strengthened the capacity of farmer groupswith a special focus on women farmers -to supply nutrient-rich, traditional, African leafy vegetables (ALVs), such as amaranth, spider plant, slenderleaf, cowpeas, black nightshade, and pigweed, while developing pilot supply chains with institutional buyers to bridge the market gap (Wasike et al. 2016). A Farmer Business School (FBS) approach has been used to train 25 farmer groups to respond to market demand for ALVs, while market surveys have been conducted and institutions interested in consuming ALVs have been identified.Since the rollout of the FBS, five farmer groups have entered into contractual agreements with 11 schools and one hospital for the provision of ALVs, and three youth groups have won tenders to supply three additional schools. Farmer groups have developed business plans, empowering them to plan their enterprises and keep track of supply and demand. Some farmer groups have devised innovative approaches to cutting down on transport costs and avoiding food losses, such as growing vegetables directly on school land. As a result, the schools in question have a reliable and constant source of quality ALVs, and farmers have reduced their costs and found a dependable buyer for their produce.An additional, yet fundamental, component of the project is to raise awareness of the nutritional value of these indigenous crops, often dismissed as \"food for the poor\". A training workshop on various topics, from nutrition to methods for setting up and sustainably maintaining a school garden, was held in Busia County, targeting various stakeholders, including school principals, who are then able to transfer the knowledge to children through hands-on activities. In this way, the BFN project, with assistance from the ACIAR, has helped establish school gardens as demonstration plots for a range of traditional foods, to make pupils, their families and the broader community aware of the importance of healthy, nutritionally balanced diets. The Farmer Business School has also included sessions and activities on nutrition, food groups, and the healthy food plate alongside more traditional business-oriented sessions.Finally, while schools are desirable markets for farmers to supply with ALVs, these institutions may be unable to absorb year-round production, meaning that alternative market outlets (such as antenatal clinics and community health centers) should be considered. However, it has become apparent that farming of ALVs as a business is slowly gaining ground in Busia County, with farmers increasingly willing to invest more resources in ALV production and marketing (Bioversity International, 2017). As farmers become able to produce adequate amounts of ALVs, they will be able to break into this growing market.to ensuring nutritionally balanced meals, the program is also linked to complementary initiatives, such as a weekly fruit and vegetable scheme, which currently covers 90.5% of students in basic education. The scheme largely offers fresh fruits and vegetables; dried or canned products are only included occasionally (<10%). Other complementary activities include nutritional education, cooking-skills classes, tasting sessions, school gardening, visits to farms, and the promotion of local food procurement (Uradni 2010).Recent comprehensive evaluations by the National Institute of Public Health (Gregorič et al. 2015; Food and Nutrition Action Plan [FNAP] 2016) showed that school lunches met the requirements for protein, sugar, total fat and saturated fat, but were significantly deficient in energy, carbohydrates and dietary fiber, partly due to the low inclusion of dairy products and vegetables. High levels of sodium were also documented and attributed to the use of highly processed foods. Compliance with dietary guidelines and meal quality varied between schools across regions in a pattern that mirrored availability of resources and capacity: schools with more students and in areas of higher socioeconomic status more often complied with dietary guidelines. The evaluation recommended measures to support a healthier food selection and preparation by food-service managers, through actions such as nutrition education and training.Case study submitted by the World Health Organization (WHO) -Philippines (2017)In March 2017, the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) set out new regulatory standards for foods served, sold and marketed in schools. Through its Policy and Guidelines on Healthy Food and Beverage Choices in Schools and in DepEd Offices, the government hopes to increase the availability of healthy, nutritious foods and encourage healthy diets among students, teachers, and other personnel (DepEd, 2017). DepEd defines a healthy diet as one that achieves a good energy balance and a healthy weight, limits the intake of saturated fats, sugars, and salt, eliminates the intake of trans fats, and increases the consumption of fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts.The policy was developed in response to the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2017 announcement that malnutrition in all its forms presents a significant threat to human health. The policy outlines the regulations governing the types of food and beverages that can be served in schools. Using a specially designed national nutrient profile model, school food is placed into three categories: green, yellow, and red, which indicate how often a food item can be served. \"Green\" foods are to be served frequently and contain a wide range of nutrients and are generally low in fats, sugars, and salt. This category includes foods such as fruits and vegetables with little to no processing and lean meats. \"Yellow\" foods should be served only occasionally and should be avoided in large quantities and include items such as juice and biscuits. Finally, \"red\" foods containing high amounts of saturated fats, sugars, or salt and are not recommended to be served at all.In addition, the order regulates the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children. Advertising of foods and beverages that do not meet nutrition standards through branded vending machines and refrigerators, signs, sponsorship and promotions are among the marketing tools that will no longer be allowed in schools and DepEd offices. The order also encourages school officials to advocate and work with local government units in issuing local legislations to limit marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages within at least 100-meter radius of the school.The policy references other tools for a healthier eating, including the Pinggang Pinoy food guide, which features visual representations of well-portioned, nutritious meals, and encourages schools to provide more opportunities for physical activity during school (Department of Science and Technology Food and Nutrition Research Institute, 2014). It is also complementary to the Nutritional Guidelines for Filipinos (NGF), the \"10 Kumainments\".The DepEd order follows a series of activities in the region led by the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) including a regional workshop on Regulating the Marketing and Sales of Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages at Schools and recent publications, including Be smart drink water: a guide for school principals in restricting the sale and marketing of sugary drinks in and around schools, calling on countries to restrict the sale and marketing of foods high in sugars, salt or fats, set school food standards, and increase the availability and accessibility of healthy options (WPRO, 2016a and 2016b).Case study submitted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) -Botswana (2013)The Botswana School Feeding Program (BSFP) is one of the world's oldest school-meal projects. It started as a 1965 initiative of the first President of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama, after years of famine and malnutrition due to protracted periods of drought from 1960. Even prior to independence in 1966, Botswana was one of the poorest lowincome countries in the world, with most children walking long distances to school, without food. With the support of the World Food Program (WFP), after independence, the feeding initiative was expanded to provide a daily school meal to children across the country.The World Food Program assisted the Botswanan government by providing food commodities -mainly a corn-soy blend (malutu) -to schools and health facilities from April 1966 to December 1997. In 1998, the government took over the school-feeding program, fully funding it, with 100% national coverage, and introducing a menu designed to incorporate local foods. Every primary-and secondary-school pupil continues to receive a hot school meal every day.Because of Botswana's challenging history of prolonged drought, hunger, food insecurity and child malnutrition, the government program sought to address the following: 1. Prevent schoolchildren from feeling hungry during school; 2. Provide schoolchildren with a balanced diet/meal; 3. Keep children in school for the entire day; and 4. Improve school attendance.These objectives still hold, but were recently bolstered by the adoption of a Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) approach to deliver multiple benefits for children and the wider community.Every year, the responsible ministry presents a budget proposal to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Planning. This is debated and negotiated, and funds are then set aside to cover infrastructure, equipment, food commodities, staff payments and related overhead costs. In 2012-2013, for example, the government set aside USD 39.4mn per year for primary-school feeding, equivalent to USD 104.02 per child per year (185 school days), or USD 0.56 per child per day, excluding items such as community contributions or in-kind goods. As there are good checks and balances in place, there is very little room for abuse. If any funds remain at year end, they are carried over to the following year.The government is attempting to transition to Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF), which links school feeding to local agriculture. In 2008, a presidential directive decreed that schools should purchase excess seasonal produce to support farmers. The school menu consequently shifted from serving mostly staples to also serving seasonal agricultural produce. Small-scale farming improved considerably as a result, as smallholders diversified production to include a variety of crops, including pulses and cowpeas, groundnuts, melons, squashes, pumpkins and sunflowers.When the school feeding program started with the assistance of the WFP, most of the food was imported. The food basket for primary schools comprised corn, soya milk, vegetable oil, dried skim milk and occasionally dates or raisins. When the government took over in 1998, the menu was modified to include sorghum, local beans and samp (de-hulled cracked maize or hominy). Now, although Botswana often faces unfavorable climatic conditions, it manages to produce some of the commodities it needs for the school-feeding program, such as beef, beans and sorghum.Primary-school children receive a meal equivalent to one-third of the child's daily nutritional needs. The meals consist of sorghum porridge, maize, stewed beef, pilchards, beans, peanut butter, jam, bread, vegetable, fruit and UHT milk in different combinations to ensure provision of the basic food groups. The daily menu varies to create more diversity and avoid monotony and boredom. During harvest period, the menu can include locally produced and procured seasonal fruits and vegetables, such as melons, fresh beans, and sweet red and green mealies.The school feeding program is still largely centralized, with procurement handled at the national level. However, in recent years, there has been a move towards more decentralization, taking into account the country's various agro-ecological zones, production systems and local dietary patterns. Suppliers distribute commodities to four regional and 20 district food depots, from where it is distributed to schools. Food is prepared at schools by cooks from the community, who are paid by the governmentThe School Feeding Program as a social safety net -beyond the school Botswana is a good example of a country that has transitioned from an externally funded school feeding program to one that now relies on its own government for funding and implementation, and targets all children in public primary schools. On average, it provides one meal per day to more than 330,000 children. In addition, through the Remote Area Dwellers (RADs) Program, children in boarding schools receive a second meal. What's more, take-home ration baskets are distributed to the RADs for days off school, ensuring 365-day coverage for the most vulnerable children. The RADs program is one of the country's vulnerable feeding programs, which provide geographically, physically and economically vulnerable individuals and households with a food basket, healthcare and other amenities.A recipe for success Some of the key ingredients for success and the lessons we can learn from Botswana are that:• Political will and commitment are an imperative, along with the investment of real resources for action and delivery. • Good governance, transparency and accountability are crucial to running any system, no matter how small, big or complex. • Coordination across key sectors is key, as is learning at every opportunity, and the ability to re-shape the program as needed. • Community engagement, ownership and volunteerism are crucial.• There needs to be recognition across the board that social safety nets are an opportunity to invest in livelihoods.Sustainable Development Goals A world free from hunger and all forms of malnutrition is attainable in this generationUnited Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition UNSCN"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"70b88ced652d5ba7d02788bd560850a9","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://repository.cimmyt.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/f75402ff-8e0f-40a9-b4fa-b008b4e9d12c/content","id":"-1065037359"},"keywords":["Invasive alien species","Horizon scanning","Pest risk","Risk prioritization","Risk management"],"sieverID":"71746347-8c65-4ef6-80d2-2077512d0afd","content":"In addition, countries lack adequate information about potential invasions and have limited capacity to reduce the risk of invasions. Horizon scanning is an approach that prioritises the risks of potential IAS through rapid assessments. A group of 28 subject matter experts used an adapted methodology to assess 1700 potential IAS on a 5-point scale for the likelihood of entry and establishment, potential socioeconomic impact, and impact on biodiversity. The individual scores were combined to rank the species Abstract Invasive alien species (IAS) rank among the most significant drivers of species extinction and ecosystem degradation resulting in significant impacts on socio-economic development. The recent exponential spread of IAS in most of Africa is attributed to poor border biosecurity due to porous borders that have failed to prevent initial introductions.Invasive alien plant pests cause increasingly significant impacts on the economy and livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (Eschen et al. 2021). In the last decade, Kenya has been particularly affected by new introductions of invasive plant pests 1 which damage cultivated plants. For example, in 2011, a new disease of maize was reported in the Bomet and Naivasha districts of Kenya (Andae 2012;Makiche 2012). The disease was later identified as maize lethal necrosis disease (MLND) (Wangai et al. 2012). It is caused mainly by co-infection with maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMoV), a virus first reported in South America (Xie et al. 2011;Braidwood et al. 2018), and other cereal viruses (Louie 1980;Adams et al. 2013;Stewart et al. 2017). Following the first report in Kenya, MLND spread to other countries in Eastern Africa (Lukanda et al. 2014;Adams et al. 2014;Kagoda et al. 2016;Mengesha et al. 2019;Kiruwa et al. 2020).Since then, Kenya has reported other destructive invasive plant pests such as tomato leaf miner, Pthorimaea (= Tuta) absoluta in 2013 (Guimapi et al. 2016); potato cyst nematodes (PCN), Globodera rosotchiensis in 2015 (Mwangi et al. 2015) and G. pallida in 2016 (Mburu et al. 2020); papaya mealybug, Paracoccus marginatus in 2016 (Macharia et al. 2017); fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda in 2017 (De Groote et al. 2020); and the spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii in 2019 (Kwadha et al. 2021). All these, and other invasive plant pests have caused enormous strain on a sector that supports millions of livelihoods in Kenya. For instance, De Groote et al. ( 2020) demonstrated that S. frugiperda caused losses of about a third of the annual maize production in Kenya. A survey in 2018 in Kenya showed 41% of tomato farmers had lost a large proportion of their crop to P. absoluta, with a mean seasonal production loss of 114,000 tonnes of tomatoes, based on farmers' own estimates (Rwomushana et al. 2019). At continental scale, Eschen et al. (2021) recently estimated the annual cost of invasive alien species (IAS) to African agriculture. The two most \"costly\" invasive plant pests were P. absoluta and S. frugiperda, accounting for USD 11.4 Bn and USD 9.4 Bn per annum, respectively. Invasive plant pests have also been demonstrated to affect biodiversity. For instance, in Kenya, increased density of Parthenium hysterophorus correlated with a reduction in species diversity and richness (Murono et al. 2018) while Maundu et al. (2009) demonstrated immense impacts on semiarid and arid ecosystems caused by Prosopis juliflora.Invasive alien species may be introduced to countries through various pathways. 2 Intentional or unintentional human-mediated activities are frequently involved, but natural spread also occurs from native or areas where they have been introduced, aided majorly by weather (Desneux et al. 2011;Nagoshi et al. 2018;Essl et al. 2019). International trade remains a major cause of spread of invasive pests (Westphal et al. 2008). Unfortunately, once biological invasions are recorded anywhere in Africa, the organisms can spread across the continent unabated as was observed with P. absoluta, S. frugiperda and MLND (Mahuku et al. 2015;Guimapi et al. 2016). While it is unrealistic to expect border security to stop the spread of invasive pests within SSA, the situation could be improved by availability of timely and adequate information at the national and regional levels on the highest risk species and enhanced ability to share this information to support planning and implementation of sustainable management strategies such as prevention of invasions through the early detection, containment and eventual eradication of invasive species (Roy et al. 2014(Roy et al. , 2017;;Essl et al. 2015;Faulkner et al. 2017Faulkner et al. , 2020)). This information can also be utilised to constrict pathways by reducing and limiting the means of entry and spread, intercepting movements at border points, and assessing risk of planned imports (Simberloff et al. 2013).Horizon scanning of (IAS) is an approach that can be used to generate information on possible biological invasions, and so support planning and management at country and regional level, as well as inform policy and practice (Caffrey et al. 2014). It is the systematic search for potential biological invasions and an assessment of their potential socio-economic impacts and potential impacts on biodiversity, considering possible opportunities for mitigating the impacts (Sutherland et al. 2008(Sutherland et al. , 2010a, b;, b;Roy et al. 2014). The approach has been used at country level such as in Cyprus to determine non-native species that could become invasive (Peyton et al. 2019), Great Britain (Roy et al. 2014), Spain (Gassó et al. 2009;Bayón and Vilà 2019) and at the regional level such as the European Union (Roy et al. 2019), Central Europe (Weber and Gut 2004), Western Europe (Gallardo et al. 2016), and the United Kingdom (Sutherland et al. 2008). Building on the above background, a study was conducted in 2018 to utilize horizon scanning to identify and assess alien species that are not currently recorded as present in Kenya but could be introduced and become invasive in future threatening the economy through impacting on agriculture and biodiversity. The assessment covered arthropod pests, nematode, and pathogenic organisms (bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, phytoplasma, viroid, and viruses).The prioritisation was carried out by a panel of 28 Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) convened from research and academic institutions in Kenya. The SMEs had experience in the following areas: entomology, bacteriology, mycology, nematology, and virology. The SMEs were allocated to three thematic groups based on their expertise: Entomology (18), Nematology (2) and Pathology which included bacteriology, mycology, and virology ( 8). An adapted version of the consensus method developed for ranking IAS (Sutherland et al. 2011;Roy et al. 2014Roy et al. , 2019) ) was used to derive a ranked list of invertebrates (arthropods and nematodes) and pathogenic organisms (bacteria, fungi/chromista, viroid, and viruses) that are harmful to plants and could possibly enter Kenya in the future and become invasive. The approach involved the following steps:Step 1. Preliminary horizon scanning At the first meeting in June 2018, the SMEs made a preliminary selection of pests that had not yet been recorded as present in Kenya. This exercise was carried out using the premium version of the horizon scanning tool included in the CABI's Crop Protection Compendium (CPC) (CABI 2021a). In this tool, information from the CPC datasheets is used to generate a list of species that are absent from the selected 'area at risk' (Kenya) but present in specified source areas. Initially, the source areas were all countries within and outside Africa, which produced a list of over 1700 species. The SMEs reviewed the list by removing all organisms that were not arthropods, nematodes and pathogenic organisms (bacteria, fungi/ chromista, viruses and viroid); species of arthropods, nematodes and pathogenic organisms known to already occur in Kenya (even though not reported as present, so appearing as absent in the CPC); and species of arthropods, nematodes and pathogenic organisms unanimously considered as not important pests for plants in Kenya, e.g., species that are specific to a plant genus that does not occur in the country.A list of 194 species (108 arthropods, 9 nematodes, 15 bacteria, 48 fungi/chromista, 1 viroid, and 13 viruses) was obtained. This was further refined by selecting only arthropods, nematodes and pathogenic organisms for which a full datasheet 3 was available in the CPC and the Invasive Species Compendium (ISC) (CABI 2021b) leaving 100 species (62 arthropods, 9 nematodes, 7 bacteria, 16 fungi/ chromista, 1 viroid, and 5 viruses). Species with a full datasheet in the CPC but not in the ISC were eliminated because without a full datasheet, there was not enough information to evaluate the species for characteristics of invasiveness; however, it also could indicate the species had not been invasive anywhere.The SMEs from the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO), Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) added an additional 20 species not reported as present in Africa, but which were adjudged as potentially being of phytosanitary concern because they affect value chains key to the Kenyan economy. For instance, fruit flies such as Anastrepha ludens, A. obliqua, Bactrocera tryoni, and D. suzuki were included because of their effect on the fruit industry; the bacterial ring rot causal agent, Clavibacter sepedonicus and blackleg and soft rot pathogens, Dickeya dadantii, D. dianthicola, D. solani, D. zea and Pectobacterium atrosepticum because of their effect on the potato (Solanum tuberosum) value chain where zero tolerance in seed is emphasized. The 20 species included 8 arthropods, 8 bacteria, 3 fungi/chromista and 1 virus (indicated in Supplementary file S2). This resulted in a list of 120 species which included 70 arthropods, 9 nematodes, 15 bacteria, 19 fungi/chromista, 1 viroid, and 6 viruses which were scored as described below.Step 2. Description of the scoring system The risk scoring system used was based on that described by Roy et al. (2019) but was modified during the first meeting so that there was an agreed and common understanding of the terminology used, applicable to the Kenyan context. Roy et al. (2019) assessed the likelihood of arrival, establishment, spread, and magnitude of potential negative impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services while in this assessment, the likelihood of entry (arrival), establishment, and potential magnitude of socio-economic impact and potential magnitude of impact on biodiversity were assessed. The likelihood of spread was not considered because once an alien species arrives ashore, exponential spread within and between countries in SSA has been observed assisted majorly by human-mediated activities especially if the criteria for entry and establishment are met and the key pathways are available (Mahuku et al. 2015;Kansiime et al. 2017;De Groote et al. 2020). A 5-score system for the four parameters (entry, establishment; socioeconomic and biodiversity impact) where 1 suggested unlikely to enter or establish; or minimal impact and 5 suggested very likely to enter or establish; major impact was used. A detailed scoring system version is provided in Supplementary file S1 but briefly outlined below.To assesses likelihood of entry, 1 suggested absent from Africa and unlikely to be in the imported commodity; 2, absent from Africa but likely to be infrequently imported on a commodity; 3, present in Africa (not in neighbouring countries) and spreads slowly; or absent from Africa but: recently spreads very fast on several continents, or often associated to a commodity commonly imported, or frequently intercepted in Kenya; 4, present in Africa (not in neighbouring countries) and spreads fast, or in a neighbouring country and spreads slowly; and 5, present in a neighbouring country (Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda) and spreads fast. To assess the likely pathways of arrival, three likely pathways as defined by Hulme et al., (2008) were considered, unaided (UN) which comprised mainly natural dispersal; commodity (CO) which comprised intentional introduction as a commodity or with a commodity or unintentional introduction with a commodity (contaminant); and stowaway/hitchhiker (ST) which comprised vectors. Pathogenic organisms especially viruses and viroid which could be carried by vectors spreading through natural dispersal (UN), the stowaway pathway was considered although the commodity (CO) pathway was also considered if they were seed-borne, hence could come with the commodity as contaminants. The stowaway pathway was also considered for soil-borne pathogenic organisms which could unintentionally be introduced with soil.To assess likelihood of establishment, (1) suggested Kenya is climatically unsuitable or host plants are not present; (2) only few areas in Kenya climatically suitable; or host plants rare; (3) large areas in Kenya climatically suitable and host plants rare; or only few areas in Kenya climatically suitable but host plants at least moderately abundant; (4) large areas in Kenya climatically suitable and host plants moderately abundant; and (5) large areas in Kenya climatically suitable and host plants very abundant. For the potential magnitude of socio-economic impact, (1) suggested the species does not attack plants that are cultivated or utilised; (2) the species damages plants that are only occasionally cultivated or utilised; (3) the species damages plants that are regularly cultivated or utilised but without threatening the cultivation, utilisation, or trade of this crop; ( 4) the species has the potential to threaten, at least locally, the cultivation of a plant that is regularly cultivated or utilised; or to regularly attack a crop that is key for the Kenyan economy without threatening the latter; and ( 5) the species has the potential to threaten, at least locally, a crop that is key for the Kenyan economy. For potential magnitude of impact on biodiversity, (1) suggested the species will not affect any native species; (2) the species will affect individuals of a native species without affecting its population level; (3) the species has the potential to lower the population levels of a native species; (4) the species has the potential to locally eradicate a native species or to affect populations of a protected or keystone species; and ( 5) the species has the potential to eradicate a native species or to locally eradicate a keystone species.Step 3. Scoring of species After a group training at the first workshop, the scoring of species was done independently by all SMEs as assigned to respective thematic groups. Except for entomology and nematology thematic groups, SMEs in the pathology group assessed species based on their expertise. For instance, bacteria were assessed by bacteriologists; fungi and oomycetes by mycologists; and viruses and viroid by virologists. However, some SMEs were knowledgeable in all disciplines. Scores below three were considered low risk because of the low effect on likelihood of entry, establishment, economic as well as biodiversity damage; scores of three were considered moderate while scores above 3 (4 and 5) presented a high risk because they had an opposite effect to the low scores. For each species, confidence was estimated for each score for, the likelihood of entry; establishment; potential magnitude of socio-economic impact; and potential impact on biodiversity; likely pathway of arrival; and for the overall score following Blackburn et al. (2014). The rating proposed by Blackburn et al. (2014) was originally modified from the EPPO pest risk assessment decision support scheme (OEPP/EPPO 2012). The information to support the scores and confidences and the likely pathways was obtained from compendia (CPC and ISC), published (journal articles and reviews), and grey literature (conference papers and proceedings; dissertations and theses; government documents and reports and newspaper articles). The SMEs also relied on their existing knowledge for assessing the species. The likely pathway of arrival and associated confidence levels were used to help focus discussions on the possibility of entry and establishment but did not contribute to the overall score. The assessments were compiled and returned to all assessors before the consensus workshop.The overall score was obtained by the following formula:Step 4. Consensus workshop In December 2018, a consensus workshop was held for all assessors (SMEs). The assessments for each thematic group were reviewed one by one, and any discrepancies between scores were discussed among the assessors. The assessors had the opportunity to modify their scores according to the opinions of the other SMEs, but reaching consensus was not imperative. The overall risk score for a species was calculated using the median score for the four parameters, rather than the mean. This overall score was validated by the assessors in each thematic group through consensus, and in cases of disagreement, the individual scores, and the evidence on which they were based were re-discussed. The assessors who could not attend the second workshop were able to comment on the scores by email. The overall score was used Likelihood of entry × likelihood of establishment × (magnitude of socio -economic impact + magnitude of impact on biodiversity).to rank species according to their potential threat for Kenya.Step 5. Finalising the ranked list After the workshop, discussions were carried out among the SMEs to suggest the next course of action for the highest ranked species. A high ranked species was any species with a minimum score of 54 (according to the formula used) and above, because such a species scored a three for all the assessable attributes or more than a three in at least three or more attributes. This score of three suggested the situation turned more towards the possibility of entry, establishment, and higher impact (social-economic or biodiversity). However, only the top 20 species were selected for follow-up action as not all could be addressed in case the NPPO (KEPHIS) decided to consider preventive action due to limited resources. For arthropods, 21 species were selected because the 20th and 21st species tied on score (90) while all nematodes were selected because they were few yet the least had a risk score of 54. The suggested actions included considering whether a full pest risk analysis was merited; whether any changes to or additional preventive measures might be required; possible establishment of surveillance and early warning activities; and development of contingency plans to allow a rapid and effective response if a particular species was detected. The type of action suggested for a particular species was based on the importance of the value chain and the status of the alien species in Africa and neighbouring countries. Species for which immediate action was not suggested (not in the top 20 prioritised species), a plant health risk register (Baker et al. 2014) was recommended to which they were added. This will allow regular monitoring through reassessment to determine possible change in their risk status. The presence/absence in Kenya was again checked for all species in June 2021 by searching published documents.The full results of the assessments are provided in the Supplementary file S2 while the 21 arthropods, 9 nematodes and 20 pathogenic species prioritised with follow-up actions are presented in Tables 1, 2 and 3 respectively. All assessments are presented as agreed in December 2018, but in the discussion, we note where risks are likely to have changed since then, for example due to recent spread making introduction more likely.In total, 70 arthropod species were assessed which included 69 insects and 1 mite. Six of the species had not been recorded in Africa at the time of the assessment while 13 species were recorded in neighbouring countries (Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda). The overall risk scores ranged from 6 to 160 with 11 of the 70 species that scored a minimum of 54 and above (high scorers) had already been reported in neighbouring countries (Supplementary file S2). Only one mite, Brevipalpus lewisi, had an overall score of 60. The prioritised species (21) for followup actions included eight Hemiptera, four Coleoptera, three Diptera, three Lepidoptera, two Hymenoptera, and one Thysanoptera. The top five species included two species of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci complex, MEAM1 and MED, the peach fruit fly Bactrocera zonata, the yellow crazy ant Anoplolepis gracilipes, and the Southern armyworm Spodoptera eridania. Most of the arthropods (89%) were adjudged likely to arrive as contaminants on commodities, i.e., on their host plants, 16% were likely to arrive as stowaways (also referred to as hitchhikers), while 6% are good fliers so likely to enter unaided (Supplementary file S2). Because some species could enter the country through multiple pathways, that's why the percentages do not add up to 100. Suggestions for the most needed actions for the 21 prioritised species included mostly full PRAs and surveys or surveillance for their presence or introduction in the country in particular, species that have been reported in neighbouring countries (Table 1). It is recommended that the rest of the species (not prioritised) are added to the plant health risk register to regularly assess change in risk.Nine nematodes were assessed with least risk scores of 54 obtained for Heterodera goettingiana and a maximum score of 90 obtained for the groundnut testa nematode, Aphelenchoides arachidis (Table 2 and Supplementary file S2). All assessed species  (Talwana et al. 2008;Lesufi et al. 2015). All are most likely to arrive with their host plants as contaminants (seed-borne) although A. arachidis could arrive from across the border in Uganda in soil (stowaway). Since all the nine assessed species received risk scores of 54 (minimum) and above, suggestions for the next steps have been made which include conducting a full PRA and surveillance (Table 2). This exception was made because the assessed nematodes were very few and all met the minimum requirement (risk score of 54 and above) for action.In total, 41 pathogenic organisms were assessed: 15 bacteria, three Chromista (water moulds), 16 fungi, one viroid and six viruses (Supplementary file S2  3 and Supplementary file S2).The majority (85%) of pathogens were likely to arrive as contaminants on commodities, especially as seed-borne pathogens, and/or as stowaways (68%) if the pathogen could be carried in soil (soil-borne) or by a vector (virus and viroid). One of the viruses assessed that could arrive either in seed (contaminant) or in soil (stowaway) was PMTV (Calvert and Harrison 1966;Jones and Harrison 1969;Latvala-Kilby et al. 2009). Unlike many viruses that are vectored by insects, PMTV is vectored by the fungus, Spongospora subterranea f.sp. subterranea (Jones and Harrison 1969;Kirk 2008), the causal agent of powdery scab in S. tuberosum (Harrison et al. 1997;Merz and Falloon 2009), and having a wide global distribution (Merz 2008). The first course of action suggested for the prioritised pathogenic species was to survey for potential presence in Kenya, particularly those that have been reported in neighbouring countries while for others especially those known to affect value chains prioritised by Kenya (MoALF 2019), full PRAs are proposed (Table 2). It is recommended that the rest of the species (not prioritised) are added to the plant health risk register to regularly assess change in risk. Horizon scanning, a method used in prioritization of IAS (Roy et al. 2014(Roy et al. , 2017(Roy et al. , 2019;;Bayón and Vilà 2019) was applied in this study to identify plant pests that could be introduced in Kenya, become invasive and cause enormous socio-economic and biodiversity damage. The species were ranked according to their potential threat and appropriate actions suggested for some prioritised species. Since the exercise was conducted in 2018, four pest species have since been found to be present in Kenya. This demonstrates that for some of the assessed species and probably some that were eliminated because they were presumed absent in Africa and in Kenya, could have been present in Kenya at the time of assessment. This was caused by a gap in reporting which is mainly attributed to lack of or limited resources to update pest lists, organise horizon scanning to prioritise likely pest incursions, and conduct regular surveillances on prioritised pests (Kansiime et al. 2017). This results in most countries in SSA reacting to pest incursions rather than proactively stopping them. The four pest species include two arthropods (red gum lerp psyllid and the spotted wing drosophila) and two pathogenic organisms (the bacterial species, P. parmentieri and the viroid, potato spindle tuber viroid) (Kwadha et al. 2021).The first arthropod, red gum lerp psyllid (Glycaspis brimblecombei) was found in Kenya in 2018 but reported in 2020 (Wondafrash et al. 2020) indicating it was already present at the time of the assessment. Its risk was scored as high judging by the likelihood scores for entry, establishment, and economic impact (Supplementary file S2). This is because it had recently invaded eucalyptus production areas in different parts of the world, including several African countries. In all these areas, it quickly became a pest of commercially important eucalyptus species, such as Eucalyptus camaldulensis. It remains to be seen how damaging the species becomes in Kenya, as in several regions, the intentional or accidental introduction of its specific parasitoid, Psyllaephagus bliteus entirely or partially controlled the pest (Caleca et al. 2018). If the economic impact in Kenya is significant, biological control should be considered. The second arthropod, D. suzukii is a fruit pest of Asian origin that had only been reported in Morocco and Réunion in Africa at the time the assessment despite its rapid worldwide spread in recent years hence the moderate overall risk score of around 60. It is mainly a pest of temperate climates that does not cope well with high temperatures (Ørsted and Ørsted 2019). Its preferred hosts include strawberry (Fragaria ananassa), blackberry (Rubus fruticosus), blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), and raspberry (Rubus idaeus) (Garcia 2020). These hosts are not yet major crops in Kenya hence the likelihood of establishment and potential economic consequences were both scored as moderate (3). Kwadha et al. (2021) identified D. suzukii on R. idaeus, F. ananassa, V. corymbosum and Punica grantum (pomegranates) at one farm in Nakuru county but not the other five counties were the sampling was also done. Although Kwadha et al. (2021) did not indicate the likely pathway, the pest could probably have been introduced through commodities. Berry (2020) indicated that D. suzukii lays its eggs and feeds internally as immatures within fruits making spread through fruits the most important pathway. The second but unlikely pathway could be soil where pupation occurs (Berry 2020). The main hosts which are also indicated above are becoming increasingly grown in the Kenyan highlands raising the likely potential economic impact (Kwadha et al. 2021). Therefore, possibilities for containment and/or management measures such as biological control should therefore be assessed (Kwadha et al. 2021;Seehausen et al. 2021).One of the pathogenic organisms, the bacterial species P. parmentieri originally belonged to the soft rot Enterobacteriaceae (Ma et al. 2007) but has since been transferred to soft rot Pectobacteriaceae (Adeolu et al. 2016;van der Wolf et al. 2021). Pectobacterium wasabiae, a species originally transferred to P. parmentieri (Khayi et al. 2016) was confirmed in Kenya through surveys conducted in 2016/2017 (Kamau et al. 2019). Pectobacterium parmentieri was scored as having a relatively low likelihood of entry because it was only reported in South Africa at the time, a country with less trade in S. tuberosum with Kenya offering limited or no pathways (contaminants) however, a high likelihood of establishing was suggested resulting in significant economic damage because other Pectobacterium species have been reported in Kenya (Kamau et al. 2019). Similarly, PSTVd, the second pathogenic organism judged absent in Africa and Kenya at the time of assessment, has since been reported in Ghana and Kenya in Solanaceous uncultivated species (S. anguivi, S. anomalum, S. cerasiferum, S. coagulans, S. dasyphyllum, S. incanum, S. macrocarpon and S. virginianum) and in Kenya in tree tomato (S. betaceum) (Skelton et al. 2019;Kinoga et al. 2021). Although the viroid also naturally infects pepper and chili (Capsicum annuum), pepino (S. muricatum), eggplant (S. melongena), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), and S. tuberosum (Mackie et al. 2002;Verhoeven et al. 2004Verhoeven et al. , 2010)), no report of its presence in any of the aforementioned crops is available although this does not necessary confirm absence as lessons have demonstrated (Wondafrash et al. 2020;Kwadha et al. 2021).Potato spindle tuber viroid is designated a quarantine pest in many countries therefore, detection surveys are suggested to confirm presence in key export crops especially chilli and flowers as well as food security crops especially S. tuberosum, which is widely grown by smallholder farmers in Kenya, yet this viroid is known to cause major loses in yield and reduce tuber quality (Owens 2007;Kochetov et al. 2021). The viroid is known to be transmitted through contact (Verhoeven et al. 2010) indicating it may be moved between plant species through crop handling which suggests probable presence in C. annuum, S. muricatum, S. melongena, L. esculentum, and S. tuberosum since S. betaceum is also widely grown in the similar areas in Kenya like the mentioned crops (Waswa et al. 2020;MoALF 2021;Kinoga et al. 2021). Although studies demonstrate the viroid can also be transmitted by the aphid species, M. persicae, this is only possible if the source plant is infected with both the viroid and potato leafroll virus (PLRV) (Syller et al. 1997;Syller 2001). The capsid protein of PLRV encapsulates the viroid resulting in transmission by M. persicae. However, PLRV and M. persicae are not known to infect any of the hosts in which PSTVd was reported in Kenya leaving transmission between species through crop handling the main possible mechanism; within species through true seed if it is present in the mentioned crops (Verhoeven et al. 2010) or by aphids if present in S. tuberosum (Syller et al. 1997;Syller 2001).The above examples suggest there may be other species present that have not yet been detected. Thus, one of the follow-up actions (Tables 1, 2 and 3) for prioritised species, particularly those recorded as present in neighbouring countries, is detection surveys.Examples include B. tabaci (MED species) (Misaka et al. 2020), A. gracilipes (Löhr 1992), Bruchus pisorum (Mendesil et al. 2016), Pseudaulacaspis pentagona (CABI 2021b), Trogoderma granarium (EPPO 1981); the nematode A. arachidis (Talwana et al. 2008;Lesufi et al. 2015); and the pathogenic species such as C. fimbriata (Rouxa et al. 2001), X. citri (Balestra et al. 2008;Derso et al. 2009;Ference et al. 2018), P. atrosepticum (CABI 2021b), and Faba bean necrotic yellows virus (Abraham et al. 2000). Other species were adjudged as having a moderate likelihood of entry but had a high overall score due to the high scores obtained for likelihood of establishment and magnitude of socio-economic impact. Kenya has prioritized a number of value chains under the Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy, 2019-2029 as key to improving livelihoods and supporting economic growth (MoALF 2019). Therefore, species which could affect the prioritised value chains are appropriate targets for conducting a full PRA. The outcome of the PRA will advise implementation of import controls and the preparation of contingency plans. Species in this category included Thrips palmi (melon thrips), Cacoecimorpha pronubana, Euwallacea perbrevis (tea shot-hole borer), and Peronospora sparsa (cause of downy mildew of roses) among others.A further group of species scored low on likelihood of entry, but high on likelihood of establishment and socioeconomic impact, so they were not near the top of the overall ranking. Several of the species in this group are potential pests of S. tuberosum, including D. solani, D. dadantii, D. dianthicola, C. sepedonicus, Phoma exigua f.sp. foveata, and Synchytrium endobioticum). Solanum tuberosum is an important crop in Kenya which has recently suffered from new pests such as PCN (Mwangi et al. 2015;Mburu et al. 2018Mburu et al. , 2020)). For several of these species, adjusting the score for likelihood of entry upwards by 1 would have put the final overall score in the top 20 prioritised pests. This suggests that follow-up activity should not necessarily be limited to the highestranking or prioritised species. Secondly, the scores need to be regularly reviewed, thus implementing a plant health risk register such as the one implemented by the United Kingdom (Baker et al. 2014) to which all assessed species and also those identified through interceptions at border points should be considered.The methodology for horizon scanning described here is an adaption of previously used methods (Sutherland et al. 2011;Roy et al. 2014Roy et al. , 2019)), adjusted for the Kenyan context. Such pest prioritisation schemes have emerged particularly in the last decade to support plant health decision making by risk managers and policy makers in prioritising the large number of potential invasive species (MacLeod and Lloyd 2020). Most of these prioritisation or risk ranking systems have been deployed in high income countries, so the use of this approach in Kenya was novel. The approach adopted worked well, bringing together SMEs from a range of organisations. They achieved consensus on modifying the criteria for the scores, as well as in the final scoring when there were discrepancies between the experts' scores. As invasive plants were excluded from the exercise, further work would be required to adjust the definitions to cater for invasive plants. The area in which the SMEs felt least comfortable was in scoring of potential impact on biodiversity. Few species scored highly on impact on biodiversity; three arthropods and two pathogens had a risk score of 4. This may be because socioeconomic impacts of invasive arthropods and pathogens are generally better known than their impact on biodiversity, and confidence in the impact on biodiversity score was often low. Invasive ants are an exception because they are considered to have serious effects on biodiversity worldwide (Mikissa et al. 2013;Mothapo and Wossler 2017;Mbenoun Masse et al. 2017). Two ants in our assessment had a high score for their potential impact on biodiversity, A. gracilipes and Linepithema humile. Many non-native herbivores and plant pathogens are a serious global threat to native biodiversity and ecosystems and in some areas, they are already a threat (Kenis et al. 2009;Ghelardini et al. 2017).It was noted that a change of 1 point in a score could move a pest many places up the list of priorities, and pest prioritisation schemes are not without shortcomings (MacLeod and Lloyd 2020). Rather than being a one-off activity, the results should be reviewed regularly, particularly in the light of any new information that might arise. Thus, part of the outcome of a horizon scanning process such as this could be systematic monitoring of information sources to detect possible changes to risk, which can be recorded in a plant health risk register. Kenya does not have a plant health risk register or list of prioritised pests for prevention, and thus the horizon scanning process adopted here could provide the basis for such a register. Given the practicality of the approach and the widespread lack of pest prioritisation in SSA, we propose that the approach reported here could benefit many other countries on the continent if adopted. It could also be implemented at a sub-regional level, such as the East African Community (Eastern Africa), Southern African Development Community (Southern Africa) or Economic Community of West African States (Western Africa), and possibly by the African Union, for which a new Plant Health strategy is currently under development. Subregional-or regional-based assessments are indeed more important than country-based assessments because lessons have demonstrated that once an invasive pest lands on the African continent or subregion, control of spread across countries is virtually impossible due to weak or non-existent border biosecurity and porous borders.Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"ad4dcbc386880abc891759054713504c","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/a72e879b-911d-4a67-b751-7fc6930c7b1d/retrieve","id":"-697345745"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"36e2c48a-61d8-41cc-a10c-37a228db4d2e","content":"The opinions expressed in this discussion paper are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of CTA. The paper can be freely downloaded from the Agritrade web site at: http://agritrade.cta.int/.The World Trade Organisation's fifth meeting of government ministers in Cancun failed to end with a ministerial text, at least partly because of the flawed decision-making processes of the WTO, particularly in the way the meeting was prepared, organised, managed and run.Established in 1995 as the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Geneva-based WTO lays down the rules for international trade. It is, in theory, a democratic body in which decisions are taken by consensus of the organisation's 146 member countries, (148 from October, of which 55 are ACP countries). But the decisionmaking processes appear to give developed countries more say in the WTO than developing countries.The WTO holds a ministerial meeting at least once every two years, but discussions on trade issues take place throughout the year in Geneva, with procedures often putting smaller countries at a disadvantage. Procedures for ministerial meetings are basically an extension of those that apply in Geneva. There the organisation holds a wide variety of meetings -daily meetings, 'Green Rooms', 'informals', 'super informals', 'bilaterals', closed meetings etc. etc. The WTO 'has a thousand meetings a year in total, many of them running parallel to each other', say trade analysts Fatoumata Jawara & Aileen Kwa 1 . As there is some overlapping, many smaller delegations cannot be represented at all the meetings.There are no written procedures or accounts of all the meetings. An unspoken rule in the WTO appears to be that if anyone is not present at a meeting, does not raise opposition or speak up, then the absentee is deemed to be in consensus with the outcome of the meeting. A process has emerged whereby the Chair of the General Council or a Deputy Director General of the WTO submits a briefing of their 'understanding' of the decisions reached at the meeting, or their 'sense' of where members stand. This understanding is then reflected in draft texts, but it may not be a fair and accurate consensus.The most controversial type of meeting is probably the so-called 'Green Room'. Invitations to these are given to members who are vocal about an issue being discussed, or to those whom the Chair and Secretariat think will have an interest. These meetings are small and not open to every member. They often promoted as a consensus building exercise, and as an important function of the WTO process. But decisions taken in Green Rooms may again not reflect the views of member countries as a whole.'Consensus' can have a double-standard meaning in the WTO. When the major developed countries agree among themselves, an emerging consensus is said to exist, and all others are asked to 'join the consensus.' Those countries that do not agree are often cast in an unfavourable light, and there is pressure to conform to the position of the developed countries. On the other hand, when a majority of countries agree, but one or a few of the major developed countries do not, a consensus is said not to exist. The WTO's first two ministerial meetings, at Singapore in December 1996 and at Geneva in May 1998, were relatively uneventful. It was at the third ministerial in the US seaport of Seattle, in November 1999, where the WTO's decision-making processes first came under scrutiny. The Seattle meeting was called to launch a new round of negotiations to further liberalise international trade. It failed to do this and one of the chief reasons was that many developing countries felt excluded from decisions at the meeting. Ministers of African countries then felt so outraged at being shut out that they issued a statement that they would not join a consensus on any declaration.The fourth ministerial, in Doha in 2001, attempted initially to involve all the member countries and to avoid a repeat of the Seattle debacle. But the Green Rooms of selected delegates again appeared, with many feeling excluded from the decision-making process. Considerable pressure was put on developing country ministers to accept the the text which became the 'Doha Development Agenda'. Objections and reservations were often swept aside. A declaration was adopted after 36 hours of non-stop negotiations, the meeting having been extended for 24 hours after its official close. Crucial final negotiations happened behind closed doors, and some developing countries were physically barred from negotiating rooms. The result was a flawed agenda with too little 'development' content.After the Doha meeting, developing countries put forward a set of proposals (in February 2002) for establishing procedures for ministerials and their preparatory process. The EU and other developed countries blocked a decision on the proposals.On August 24 th 2003, two and a half weeks before the Cancun meeting, a draft ministerial declaration was issued by the Chairman of the WTO General Council 'on his own responsibility'. This was the first document with substance for the negotiations in Cancun.The processes surrounding the text give rise to concern. Very little time was given for trade ambassadors in Geneva to read it, send it to their ministers, to get feedback and to give their views. It was first discussed by the WTO membership on August 25, at an informal General Council meeting, and then at a formal General Council meeting on August 26 th -27 th .No agreement was reached on the contents of the draft during the meeting. Many developing country delegations expressed concern, dissatisfaction and disagreement with the text. The North-South divide in the General Council was especially evident on agriculture, non-agriculture market access (NAMA) and on the new, so called 'Singapore' issuesinvestment, transparency in government procurement, trade facilitation and competition policy. These are known as the 'Singapore issues' as they were first mooted at the WTO's 1996 ministerial in Singapore.Many developing countries felt that the proposals on agriculture asked too little from developed countries and did not adequately protect them from 'dumped' produceartificially-cheap, subsidised imports from richer countries. On the new issues, many complained of an imbalance in favour of starting negotiations.At the General Council meetings on August 26 th -27 th , several developing countries called either for the draft text to be revised, or for their own positions to be presented as alternative options, in separate annexes, and/or in a covering letter containing an adequate description of the divergent views. At the very least, they pressed for the views of different delegations to be placed in a compilation document.This did not happen. The General Council Chairman, Carlos Perez del Castillo, said that he would not alter his draft text. This was sent to Cancun as his personal responsibility.A number of aspects of the draft text seemed to be damaging to the interests of developing countries. The sections on agriculture and non-agriculture market access offered little. On market access, the developed countries were unwilling to give up their protectionist privileges in agriculture. There was little to advance the development aspects of the Doha agenda.However, developing countries were asked to take on new obligations to open up their markets in agricultural and industrial products, and exhorted to participate in the liberalisation of services.On agriculture the real 'meat' of the draft was in a technically complex annex. This commits WTO members to take certain decisions on the parameters for dealing with domestic support, export subsidies and tariffs. Although the figures of commitment are not included, this framework is a structure to which countries will eventually have to commit their agriculture policies. It was difficult for many delegations to understand fully its meaning and implications in a short period of time.One of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture's main weakness is that it categorises domestic subsidies into two categories, those which are 'trade-distorting' (the Amber Box) -and have to be reduced -and those that are supposed to be less or non trade distorting (the Blue and Green Boxes) and therefore do not need to be reduced.Since the Uruguay Round ended in 1994, OECD countries have increased their overall support to agriculture by shifting subsidies from one box to another, that is by increasing the Green Box subsidies whilst reducing the Amber Box subsidies. Developing countries have called for the Blue Box subsidies to be eliminated and the Green Box subsidies to be redefined and subjected to reduction commitments as well. But the annex ignored this. Blue Box subsidies are extended and there is no discipline of any kind placed on Green Box subsidies. The views of developing countries were again not reflected.Under the Doha agenda, export subsidies are to be eliminated. But the annex allowed them to continue, with very doubtful commitments to any reductions in the near future.Two weeks before the start of the Cancun meeting, NGOs in Britain wrote to UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Patricia Hewitt expressing concern at 'the lack of democracy and accountability in WTO negotiating and decision-making procedures….There is serious cause to consider any substantive outcome of the WTO as illegitimate and unjust on the grounds that negotiations fail to be conducted in a democratic, transparent, and accountable way.'The Cancun meeting therefore got underway with a flawed text as a basis for negotiations, one which had not been agreed by WTO member countries, but which had aroused their antagonism. When ministers arrived in Cancun the seeds of failure had already been planted. They lay not just in disagreements over the issues, but in the WTO's decision-making processes.Amid tight security precautions, the five-day Cancun meeting opened on September 10 th 2003 with a speech by WTO director-general, Panitchpakdi Supachai of Thailand. Mr Supachai thanked ambassadors in Geneva 'who have worked very hard and engaged constructively. While we recognise that on some issues, differences persist, the draft text is a positive indication that there has been progress in our negotiations'.Many delegates of developing countries had a rather different perspective. The African Union group of countries in the WTO expressed its concern 'over the lack of progress on most core issues of interest to Africa. The African Union is equally concerned that the current draft ministerial text is not a consensual outcome of the Geneva preparatory process. This has both substantive and systematic implications on the decision-making process in the WTO'. Also on the opening day of the meeting, several NGOs and civil society groups issued a memorandum 'to highlight the serious problems of the lack of internal transparency and the lack of participation of developing countries in decision-making processes in the World Trade Organisation'. Among the organisations were Third World Network, Oxfam International, Public Services International, WWF International, the Center for International Environmental Law, Focus on the Global South, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, the Africa Trade Network, the International Gender and Trade Network, and the Philippines-based Tebtebba International Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Rights. These organisations have long been involved in WTO issues and activities, observing at close range its operations, methods of work and decision-making procedures.'Over the years we have become increasingly concerned about the lack of proper rules of procedures and the lack of transparency, as well as the lack of participation or exclusion of a majority of members in decision making processes. Although these shortcomings have been pointed out and highlighted by WTO members, NGOs and the media, and even admitted by previous high officials such as a former Director General and former trade ministers, and although reforms have been talked about and promised many times through the years, the situation has not improved. It has in fact worsened', said the groups.This lack of internal transparency, participation and democracy, they went on 'is appalling in such an important international organisation whose decisions and actions have such far reaching effects on the lives of billions of people and the environment upon which they depend. It is even more ironic and inexcusable in an agency that prides itself for being a 'rules-based organisation' and for championing the principles of transparency, nondiscrimination and procedural fairness.'Towards the end of the first day of the Cancun meeting, five working groups were announced in order to hold negotiations on the key issues facing the meeting:• Agriculture, chaired by George Yeo Yong-Bon of Singapore;• Non-Agricultural Market Access, chaired by Henry Tang Ying-yen of Hong Kong;• Development, chaired by Mukhisa Kituyi of Kenya;• New Issues, chaired by Pierre Pettigrew of Canada;• Other Issues, chaired by Clement Rohee of Guyana.Although these Chairs had considerable power to direct the negotiations in their area of responsibility, 'they were chosen through an entirely untransparent process, without approval by WTO members. They were not elected, and there are no mechanisms to hold them accountable', said Barry Coates, director of the London-based NGO, the World Development Movement. Thus the working groups were also flawed from the start.The five groups were due to start work on the morning of the second day, (September 11 th ). They were not limited in numbers, but open to all WTO members who wished to participate. This was an attempt to overcome a problem at the Seattle ministerial when members were selected for the negotiating groups.The groups met for two days, with the agriculture group having consultations prior to starting negotiations. Two papers on agriculture had been submitted to the meeting -one by a group of 20 developing countries, including Brazil, India, China, Mexico, Thailand and South Africa -who later become the G23. This called for an end to export subsidies that encourage dumping and for a cap on direct payments to producers. It urged that 'all developed countries shall achieve reductions in trade-distorting support significantly larger than in the Uruguay Round', and for special exemptions from WTO rules for low-income, resource-poor farmers in developing countries. It proposed a formula for tariff cuts that would force developed countries to do more than developing countries.A US-EU paper had also been submitted which suggested reductions in the most tradedistorting domestic support measures, but without figures or dates given. This paper failed to impress the developing countries.The Chair of the agriculture working group called for 'an open-ended consultation' to explore whether progress was possible. But little flexibility emerged and no real negotiation appeared to take place. Procedures did not seem to foster such negotiation, The US trade ambassador Robert Zoellick said the US would substantially reduce its domestic agricultural support in return for more access to the markets of other countries.A proposal on cotton by West African producers, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali was considered separately, under the leadership of Mr Supachai. The proposal urged the ministerial to adopt a solution to the considerable hardship that a halving in the world price of cotton had caused for producers. They pressed for the phasing-out of subsidies paid by rich countries to their cotton farmers, and also for compensation. The USA is a major cotton-producing country.In the group on new issues, the majority of developing countries made clear their strong opposition to starting negotiations on these issues, with some insisting that no compromise was possible, because they were not ready. The development group considered a range of development-related issues, including special and differential treatment, commodities, debt, finance and transfer of technology. Little progress was made.In the group on Non-Agricultural Market Access, some developing countries pushed hard for the group to focus on the issue of erosion of trade preferences. The Chair of the Other Issues group identified two sets of issues that he thought reflected major concerns of members -environment, including eco-labelling, and intellectual property rights, notably geographical indications. Little progress was reported.With two days remaining, the groups' 'facilitators' (people appointed by Chairs of the groups) reported back to the chairman of the meeting, Mexican Foreign Minister, Luis Ernesto Derbez. The following day -the early afternoon of the penultimate day -Mr Derbez released a revised draft ministerial declaration. But it differed little from the pre-Cancun text and came in for widespread criticism from member countries. It even had the effect of intensifying rather than reducing polarisation.Developing countries were unhappy that the agriculture text did not answer their concerns. They were outraged that their opposition to negotiations on new issues was not reflected, and at the poor treatment of the cotton initiative -an initiative which had attracted widespread support. On special exemptions, one minister said that the text fell 'far short of adequately addressing developing countries food and livelihood security and rural development problems…and would perpetuate poverty, hunger and social problems'. Another proclaimed that the text was an insult to Africans and unworthy of the WTO. The meeting was staring collapse in the face.By now there were only 28 hours to the scheduled end of the meeting. It was evident at a heads of delegations meeting, (and later in the Green Rooms), that developing countries were better organised, more united and confident than ever before, (see below). The atmosphere was at boiling point when, one by one, the heads of delegations of developing countries took the floor to voice their dissatisfaction.The issue of the manipulative decision-making process, particularly in the drafting of texts, was then coming to the fore. 'Here we are with 70 or more developing countries speaking up clearly in the consultations..with language on the Singapore issues clearly expressed. And the revised text just ignores their position and takes the opposite position,' said a minister of a Caribbean country; 'what kind of organisation is this? Who does it belong to? Who does the drafting? Who appointed them? Why waste our time engaging seriously in consultations only to find our views not there at all in the draft?'In the early hours of the final day, a Green Room of nine ministers (USA, EU, Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Kenya and South Africa) was convened by Mr. Derbez. But there was no movement. Countries reportedly kept to their known positions.Later that morning, a larger Green Room meeting of about 30 ministers was convened. It was meant to discuss all the outstanding issues with a view to resolving the differences. At this meeting, the developing countries again voiced their opposition to starting negotiations on the new issues, insisting that further clarification was needed. Mr Derbez reportedly proposed that negotiations could begin for two issues (trade facilitation and government procurement), but that the other two issues (investment and competition) be dropped from the agenda.The EU Trade Commissioner, Pascal Lamy, reportedly agreed that investment and competition could be dropped, giving the impression that these would be removed from the WTO altogether. The other two issues would then proceed to negotiations.Many countries said that they had difficulty accepting negotiations on trade facilitation and procurement. Mr Derbez then adjourned the meeting for more than an hour to enable ministers to consult with their constituencies on whether they could accept this formula of dropping two issues and negotiating the other two. A combined meeting of ACP, African Union and least developed country members decided that they would not change their mandate that negotiations should not start on all four issues.When the Green Room reconvened, some developing country ministers (including those representing the ACP-AU-LLDC grouping) reported they were unable to accept negotiations on any of the issues. Korea reportedly said it could not accept the dropping of any issue. Mr Derbez then said a consensus could not be reached on the new issues, and thus there was no consensus possible for the whole package of issues. He made the decision to bring the meeting to an end. His decision was not without controversy, catching some heads of delegations unawares. Again, the WTO does not even have a laid-down procedure for bringing a ministerial to an end.The immediate reason for the collapse was that there had been no agreement on the new issues. But, according to Third World Network: 'The lack of consensus on new issues may have been the immediate cause, but the meeting's collapse had broader and deeper roots. In the end it was the WTO's untransparent and non-participatory decision-making process that caused the unmanageable situation that led to the collapse of the Cancun ministerial'.The drafting by Chairs effectively shifted the WTO from a member-driven to a Chair-driven organisation. Instead of negotiating with one another, members were negotiating with the Chair. But the drafts, because they usually reflected the views of the powerful minority, lacked the support of most of the developing country members, who were often annoyed that the texts were one-sided in favour of the larger countries and did not reflect their positions. The decision-making process had led to texts that lacked legitimacy.In Cancun, the facilitators appointed by the Chairs of the five working groups became all powerful as they not only conducted consultations but were responsible for drafting of the group reports. The Chairs and facilitators thus seem largely responsible for the doomed ministerial declaration, although no one is quite sure exactly how the drafting is done or who does it. It is known that the WTO Secretariat plays a major role.With the Cancun collapse, the issue of the WTO's decision-making and text-drafting process is now under the spotlight. The way that ministerial meetings are run without rules and proper procedures can no longer be ignored if the system is to survive. Having a failure rate of two out of three of the most recent ministerials is not a record any organisation can be proud of. Arguably the Doha meeting would have failed had it not been held only two months after 9/11. In Doha, developing countries came under intense pressure to agree to an outcome that would not rock the global economy. In Cancun, they wanted something to help their own economies.The alliances formed by developing countries were a key factor shaping the outcome of the Cancun meeting. The most powerful is the G23 which includes all the big developing countries, notably Brazil, China and India. At the start of the Cancun meeting, as the G20, it submitted a key paper on agriculture (as mentioned above) which shook the complacency of the USA and the EU. By the end of the meeting, Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria had joined the group. The G23 countries are home to over half the world's population.33 developing countries, including six G23 members, formed an alliance which called on the meeting to agree to a 'Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism' in the WTO. This would allow developing countries to designate products of special interest -to poorer farmers, for example -that would be exempt from WTO rules. This could safeguard the livelihoods of millions of people, believes the G33.proposals, which have the support of a majority of the developing country members. Also, when proposals are put forward by the major developed countries and these are not agreed to by some developing countries, the major countries should accept that these other countries are exercising their right under the consensus system, and not seek to portray them as some kind of 'enemies' of the multilateral system which are 'blocking consensus.'2. The views of every member must be respected in a decision involving consensus. In the case of important issues, especially where it has been specified by members that a consensus is required for a decision to be adopted, the views of each member must be recognised and respected, including the right not to agree to a proposed decision.3. Developing countries should not be subjected to economic and political pressure. Developed countries should not use pressure on developing countries to 'pull them into line' with their positions. Nor should they use trade preferences, bilateral aid, military aid, the dependence of developing countries on loans from the international financial institutions, as points of leverage to get the developing countries to agree.4. Decisions should not be made until all members are technically ready. Decisions and agreements should not be made until and unless all members, especially the developing countries, are able to understand the technicalities of the issues and the implications for their economies and societies.5. Developed countries should be ready to resolve development issues without exacting a new price. Developed countries should stop taking the attitude that existing rules and agreements cannot or should not be changed unless other parties are willing to pay a new price. They should be sympathetic to the requests for amending and clarifying the agreements in ways that are in line with the interests and needs of developing countries. They should therefore be more forthcoming in accepting effective solutions to implementation issues and special and differential treatment proposals.6. Meetings and schedules for meetings should be open. All members should know all the meetings, and members should participate in and have knowledge of the entire schedule of meetings, including agenda, participants and outcomes. Meetings should all be official, with minutes taken down and circulated to members for amendments or confirmation. Green room meetings should cease.7. The role of Chairs should be to facilitate discussions among the members. The increasing trend of negotiations being held between delegations and the Chair should stop, especially since there are no records of what transpires at these meetings, and all the information resides with the Chair, who is then given too much power to interpret the situation. The negotiations should mainly be among members themselves.8. It should not be assumed that the Chairs would draft the texts that then form the basis of negotiations or discussions. Texts should be drawn up in a transparent and fair manner by members. Members must agree on the latest text, which can contain different positions. The practice of a Chair producing a draft text 'under my personal responsibility' should stop.9. The views and positions of different members should be adequately reflected in the draft declaration and in draft elements and decisions. The different views should be listed out in the same document so each member's view has the chance to be part of the negotiated texts. The new custom of producing 'clean texts' by the Chairman makes the process non-transparent because the differing views are not listed as the starting point of negotiation.10. Members should be given sufficient time to discuss the drafts and to narrow their differences. Whatever drafts are submitted to the ministerial conference should be the result of adoption by consensus in the General Council.11. Drafts must fairly reflect different views. If members are unable to agree on some parts of a draft ministerial declaration or other draft texts, the contending views can be put in square brackets. The ministerial conference can then decide on the final formulation of these parts of the texts. This is a common practice in international conferences, including in the United Nations system.12. Drafting of texts and decisions should be transparent and inclusive, and texts distributed to all. The process by which decisions and texts are drafted should be transparent and participatory, and it should be decided by all members, which should be allowed to be present at meetings where decisions are drafted. The latest drafts of texts on all issues being discussed should be made available to all members who should be kept informed on all issues at all times."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"f45440b44472316c456935dfa434e7ca","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/78cf64aa-b02d-462e-8ddd-f2e3a4db0748/retrieve","id":"1545564382"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"a451b8de-4e54-441e-91fa-4d62ba44b869","content":"Cash and cash equivalents (4a) 70,318 56,577 Endowment fund (4b) 75,426Bioversity International is the world's largest international research organization dedicated solely to the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity.Bioversity is part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, which works to reduce hunger, poverty and environmental degradation in developing countries by generating and sharing relevant agricultural knowledge, technologies and policies. This research, focused on development, is conducted by a Consortium of 15 CGIAR centres working with hundreds of partners worldwide and supported by a multi-donor Fund.Research into the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity is important for everyone. The more plant and animal genetic diversity is conserved --in farmers' fields and in genebanks --the more options poor, rural farmers have to cope with the challenges of climate change and to improve nutrition. Agricultural biodiversity also offers more opportunities for innovation and growth in agricultural production.Biodiversity makes food production more secure and resilient, makes meals more nutritious, and makes lives more vibrant.Agricultural biodiversity is a resource available to farm families even in the most impoverished areas of the world. Indeed, some of the world's poorest countries are among the richest in biodiversity. Promoting research that can protect this biodiversity and harness it to fuel community development in ways that respect local traditions and the environment is what Bioversity is all about.Bioversity is committed to research that can help foster sustainable development; research that can help people living in poverty secure dignified and sustainable livelihoods through food and agricultural production, research that can help raise nutrition levels in areas where hunger is widespread, and research that can help keep communities and the environment healthy.Our area of expertise is agricultural biodiversity, and benefiting smallholder farmers and poor people in the developing world is at the centre of our work.Our work is motivated by a vision in which people today and in the future enjoy greater well-being through increased incomes, sustainably improved food security and nutrition, and greater environmental health, made possible by conservation and the deployment of agricultural biodiversity on farms and in forestsBioversity undertakes, encourages and supports research and other activities on the use and conservation of agricultural biodiversity, especially genetic resources, to create more productive, resilient and sustainable harvests. Our aim is to promote the greater well-being of people, particularly poor people in developing countries, by helping them to achieve food security, to improve their health and nutrition, to boost their incomes, and to conserve the natural resources on which they depend. Bioversity works with a global range of partners to maximize impact, to develop capacity and to ensure that all stakeholders have an effective voice Bioversity International The accompanying notes are an integral part of this statement.(1) Statement of purpose Bioversity's work is motivated by a vision in which people today and in the future enjoy greater well-being through increased incomes, sustainably improved food security and nutrition, and greater environmental health, made possible by conservation and the deployment of agricultural biodiversity on farms and in forests.Bioversity undertakes, encourages and supports research and other activities on the use and conservation of agricultural biodiversity, especially genetic resources, to create more productive, resilient and sustainable harvests. Bioversity's aim is to promote the greater well-being of people, particularly poor people in developing countries, by helping them to achieve food security, to improve their health and nutrition, to boost their incomes, and to conserve the natural resources on which they depend. Bioversity works with a global range of partners to maximize impact, to develop capacity and to ensure that all stakeholders have an effective voice. (2) IPGRI/INIBAP integration (3) Summary of significant accounting policies (a) Accounting for not-for-profit organizationsThe financial statements of Bioversity are presented using the accrual basis of accounting. Bioversity follows the accounting policies issued by the CGIAR Secretariat. Revenue is the gross inflow of economic benefits during the period arising in the course of the ordinary activities of a Centre where those inflows result in increases in net assets. The major portion of Bioversity's revenue is derived through the receipt of donor grants -either \"Unrestricted\" or \"Restricted\".Unrestricted Grant revenue arises from the unconditional transfer of cash or other assets to Bioversity.Restricted Grant revenue arises from a transfer of resources to Bioversity in return for past or future compliance related to the operating activities of the organization.Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable. a. Cash grants are recorded at the face value of the cash received or the US dollar equivalent. b. Grant revenue, including non-monetary grants at fair value, is recognized when there is reasonable assurance that: i. Bioversity will comply with the conditions attached to them; and, ii. the grants will be received. c. Grants are recognized as revenue over the periods necessary to match them with the related costs which they are intended to compensate, on a systematic basis. d. Grants-in-kind are recorded at the fair value of the assets (or services) received or promised, or the fair value of the liabilities satisfied. Grants-in-kind relating to staff support will be recognized subject to the following conditions: i. the donated staff must be fully engaged in a project within Bioversity's agreed agenda activities; ii. the project must be full-cost budgeted in Bioversity's work programme; iii. the full cost as budgeted is borne by the in-kind provider; and iv. the in-kind provider approves of the inclusion and the value of their support as revenue in Bioversity's financial statements. e. Other revenues/(Other losses/expenses) include, but are not limited to: i. consultancy revenue earned from third parties; ii. gains, net of losses, resulting from transactions involving currencies other than the US dollar and restatement of foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at year-end or at reporting date; iii. other miscellaneous revenue/losses or expenses, including any other items not specifically covered above.Expenses are recognized in the Statement of Activities when a decrease in future economic benefits related to a decrease in an asset or an increase in a liability has arisen that can be measured reliably. Specifically, Bioversity considers a liability to have arisen when the agreement for output is signed.Expenses are recognized in the Statement of Activities on the basis of a direct association between the costs incurred and the earning of specific items of revenue (Matching principle).When economic benefits are expected to arise over several accounting periods and the association with revenue can only be broadly or indirectly determined, expenses are recognized on the basis of systematic and rational allocation procedures. (e.g., depreciation and amortization).An expense is recognized immediately when expenditure produces no future benefit or when future economic benefits cease to qualify for recognition as assets in the Statement of Financial Position.Bioversity habitually effects transactions in a number of foreign currencies. The US dollar is its reporting currency and the accounting records are maintained in US dollars. Foreign currency transactions in Bioversity are accounted for at the exchange rates prevailing at the date of transactions: gains and losses resulting from the settlement of such transactions are recognized in the statement of activities.At year-end all monetary items denominated in foreign currencies are re-valued at exchange rates prevailing on the date of the statement of financial position. 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The percentage rate is set periodically by the Board of Trustees upon management recommendation. The Board approved target rate of indirect cost recovery for projects negotiated from 1994 onward is 25%, but the actual rate chargeable depends on the provision agreed upon by the two contracting parties (Bioversity and the donor) for indirect cost recovery and stated in each project's contract.The amount of $2,948,000 indirect cost recovery ($2,847,000 in 2009) represents recoveries from restricted projects and hosting activities.The Endowment fund is held on behalf of the Global Crop Diversity Trust and recorded at fair market value. (4a) Cash and cash equivalentsThe amounts are composed of the following: Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash in hand and in banks (current accounts) and interest bearing time deposits held at call with banks. The banks where Bioversity's cash holdings are maintained have bank ratings which are not lower than A. In addition, no more than 50% of total cash and investments are held in any one bank at any point in time. Cash in banks are denominated in US Dollars, Euro and GBP. Regional offices' imprest funds are denominated in local currencies (Kenyan Shillings, Euro, Malaysian Ringgits, Uganda Shillings and Central African Francs), as well as in US Dollars.The following schedule represents the composition of the market value of the Endowment fund as at December 31: (5) InvestmentsInvestments acquired with the intention of disposing the same within one year or less from the acquisition date are classified as current investments. Investments classified as current, as distinguished from cash equivalents, are those that are acquired with original maturities of more than three months, but not exceeding one year. 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This includes regional office expenditures not yet paid out of the imprest accounts as of year-end.The amount is composed of: (13) Employee benefits programmeThe Bioversity Employee Benefits Programme (EBP) replaces the social security programmes of its various host countries. The EBP was established by the CGIAR and adopted by all of its institutions. It provides a comprehensive package of insurance and fund accumulations to meet staff members' and their dependents' needs during employment and for retirement. The EBP is fully funded by Bioversity. No deductions from salary are required from staff members.Bioversity makes contributions on behalf of staff members to the pension plan managed by the Association of International Agricultural Research Centres (AIARC). These contributions are charged against revenue in the year in which the benefit accrues. Therefore, Bioversity has no future obligations for retirement benefits for its staff members.The 2010 contribution to the AIARC administered pension plan amounted to $1,823,000; this amount was $1,844,000 in 2009.(This balance consists of accruals for amounts due to staff members for separation allowances. The separation allowance is an end-of-service indemnity payable to Bioversity staff members on completion of appointment. The value of this indemnity is calculated in accordance with the personnel policies of Bioversity and is based on the length of service and salary level.(15) Net assetsNet assets are the residual interest in Bioversity's assets remaining after liabilities are deducted.The overall change in net assets represents the total gains and losses generated by Bioversity's activities during the year.Net assets are classified as either undesignated or designated.(a) Undesignated -that part of net assets that is not designated by Bioversity's management for specific purposes.(b) Designated -that part of net assets that has been designated by Bioversity's management for specific purposes.As per Board of Trustees resolution, each year an amount equal to the annual depreciation charged to operating income is designated to meet the costs of acquisition and replacement of property and equipment (1) Canada's 2010 unrestricted contribution of CAD1,084,827.98 at year-end rate of exchange of CAD.9937 = US$1.00. (2) The Netherlands' 2010 unrestricted contribution of Euro 75,000 at year-end rate of exchange of Euro.7454 = US$1.00.(3) Norway's 2010 unrestricted contribution of NOK6,500,000 at actual US$ amount that will be received from the CGIAR. (4) The Philippines' 2010 unrestricted contribution of PHP 260,000 at year-end rate of exchange of PHP43.81 = US$1.00.(5) Sweden's 2010 unrestricted contribution of SEK 5,200,000 at actual US$ amount that will be received from the CGIAR.   "}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"7fa56cb8885a1736c7fa5c9de5460a84","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/49c9f268-54be-4b8e-9c66-33d9b85f6a44/retrieve","id":"-1980143872"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"f707c5f6-7667-4272-a932-a3f25c957623","content":"P332 -Increased awareness and capacity among key partners and stakeholders, including other CRPs, about diet-food system linkages Description of the innovation: Msc Grant Schemes provide support to Msc students to carry out thesis research using the food systems approach. This Grant scheme provides training of the students and mentoring by flagship partners."}

main/part_2/0533313013.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"adf4311f729ceb8d3852bba480ee361e","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/4b4c2d47-ec28-4fdb-bd1a-840a3c5753a7/retrieve","id":"-1971557440"},"keywords":["Yehoshua (Shuki) Saranga banana water requirement","drought stress","drought tolerance","molecular markers","Musa spp.","phenotyping"],"sieverID":"5c24428d-8234-417f-9276-ab3ac71fa15e","content":"Banana (Musa spp.) is a major staple and commercial crop with a global production of 113.9 million tons (FAOSTAT, 2017). It is grown in several countries, mainly in the warm and humid tropical regions of the world with abundant rainfall, including Africa, Latin America, Caribbean, Asia and Pacific. In Africa, over 70 million people derive 25% of their dietary energy from banana and plantain (Edward & Fredy, 2012). Bananas are consumed in various forms including raw, cooked, baked, steamed or fermented (Fungo & Pillay, 2011). However, their production in major growing regions is greatly affected by a complex of biotic and abiotic stresses, ultimately threatening the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the developing world. Prominent biotic stresses include pests such as banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) and nematodes (Pratylenchus. Tuberosa (2012) defines drought as \"a condition in which the amount of water available through rainfall and/or irrigation is insufficient to meet the transpiration needs of the crop\". For optimal production, bananas require a minimum of 100 mm of evenly distributed rainfall every month (Robinson & Sauco, 2010). Bananas are very sensitive to drought, which may cause yield reductions of up to 65% when the annual rainfall falls below 1,100 mm per annum (van Asten et al., 2011).Therefore, banana varieties which can produce reasonable yield with less water offer the most promising alternative to protecting the banana crop against daunting drought effects.Drought tolerance is a complex trait whose expression is controlled by many genes and environmentally varies over location and time, which complicates the development of a standard for drought (Ravi et al., 2013). Despite these challenges, the banana gene pool is very diverse and hence presents a great opportunity for the enhancement of complex quantitative traits, including drought tolerance. Currently, the Musa International Transit Centre (ITC) in Belgium hosts and maintains over 1,500 Musa accessions in vitro including cultivated banana varieties, wild relatives and improved hybrids (Swennen et al., 2011).These accessions require screening as only a fraction of the collection has been assessed in vitro for reaction to drought stress (Vanhove, Vermaelen, Panis, Swennen, & Carpentier, 2012). From this germplasm collection, appropriate male and female parents can be selected and crossed to produce segregating populations from which drought-resistant banana genotypes can be obtained. The challenge, however, is that banana is by nature a clonally propagated crop and every attempted successful cross results in new genotypes, often accompanied by co-inheritance with undesirable growth and fruit characteristics (Ramirez, Jarvis, Van den Bergh, Staver & Turner, 2011). Consequently, fixation of drought tolerance in banana through conventional breeding would require several generations of backcrossing. Co-inheritance of undesirable genes on the other hand can be minimized through the use of genetic modification techniques, whereby only the desirable genes are inserted into the genome of the genotype which requires improvement (Tripathi, Mwaka, Tripathi, & Tushemereirwe, 2010). The objective of this review is to provide a summary of research efforts that have been directed towards understanding and breeding for drought tolerance in bananas. The following research questions will be addressed in the review: (a) \"What are the physiological, biochemical and molecular changes that occur in banana under conditions of moisture stress?\", (b) \"What is the molecular basis of drought tolerance in banana?\" and (c) \"What prospects do the current research findings, technology advancements and banana genetic diversity present for banana drought tolerance improvement?\".Banana is a large perennial fruit shrub which requires at least 1,300 mm of rainfall per year for optimal growth (Mustaffa & Kumar, 2012).However, major production systems such as the East African highland banana are often small-scale, completely rainfed, and irrigation is not practiced. The area experiences bimodal rainfall patterns with an average of 900-1,100 mm per year and includes larger parts of Eastern Rwanda, south-western districts of Uganda and the western Kagera Region of Tanzania (van Asten et al., 2011). Moreover, such rains are unevenly distributed, which makes bananas prone to drought stress, thereby limiting production in large areas of Eastern Africa. In addition, with the changing climate, longer and more severe dry spells can be anticipated in eastern Africa (Hulme, Doherty, Ngara, New, & Lister, 2001), and these will ultimately lead to increased moisture stress, which affects banana productivity and production. Accordingly, over 65 per cent of global commercial and/or export banana production is supplemented with irrigation (Carr, 2009).Irrigation needs may differ between locations due to environmental variations which are influenced by temperature, latitude and elevation, as well as seasonality and rainfall amounts and distribution during the growing season. Crop water requirements may also be influenced by the crop type and growth stage, with advanced stages requiring more water than the initial development stages (Brouwer & Heibloem, 1986). Irrigation requirements of horticultural crops like melon, green beans, watermelon and pepper have been estimated using drainage lysimeters which measure evapotranspiration (Orgaz, Fernández, Bonachela, Gallardo & Fereres, 2005). Similarly, banana evapotranspiration has been estimated using the pan evaporation method (Goenaga & Irizarry, 2000). Table 1 summarizes the different irrigation treatments formerly investigated on banana, which can be used as references in drought tolerance studies. Although a substantial amount of research has been carried out to determine the water requirements of drip-irrigated bananas, specific information on the amount of irrigation to be applied is still lacking. Nonetheless, Goenaga and Irizarry (1998) recommended a pan factor of 1.0 (100% evapotranspiration) as the adequate water consumption for optimum banana production after reporting a significant improvement in banana yield components of the mother plant and two ratoon crops. a ET, evapotranspiration from a class A pan.Drought effects on banana are manifested at various growth stages including early vegetative stage, floral primordial initiation, flowering and bunch/finger development (Robinson & Alberts, 1986;National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB), 2008). However, the intensity of this damage depends on the growth stage of the plant and duration of stress (Ravi et al., 2013). Drought-sensitive banana cultivars exhibit characteristic symptoms both externally and internally (Mahouachi, 2007;Uma, Sathiamoorthy, Singh, & Dayarani, 2002). Such symptoms may either be common across all sensitive genotypes or are genotype-specific. Internal symptoms are manifested as physiological and biochemical changes which occur at cell level (Surendar, Devi, Ravi, Jeyakumar, & Velayudham, 2013b). The most prominent external symptoms include wilting and/or drying of leaves resulting from overheating and dehydration of cells (Ravi & Vaganan, 2016) and a significant reduction in bunch yield (van Asten et al., 2011). For instance, when banana plants were deprived of water at flowering for four weeks, a reduction in the bunch weight, fruit length and circumference was observed at harvest in cultivars 'Robusta', ' Karpuravalli' and 'Rasthali' (NRCB, 2008). Such significant decline in crop yield may be attributed to the reduction in the plant's photosynthetic rate, which is greatly influenced by the leaf chlorophyll content as well as closure of the stomata (Flexas & Medrano, 2002).Water stress results in reduced production and increased breakdown of chlorophyll in leaves, which is manifested as leaf senescing or chlorosis (Dekov, Tsonev, & Yordanov, 2000).Moreover, a correlation between leaf area and yield suggests the importance of leaf area and chlorophyll content as major determinants of the harvestable yield (Surendar, Devi, Ravi, Krishnakumar, Kumar, et al., 2013a). A decline in photosynthesis also results in reduced biomass production and allocation (Delfin et al., 2016;Mahouachi, 2009) to major plant tissues like the pseudo-stem, which weaken and eventually snap or collapse. Other drought susceptibility symptoms such as stunted growth, strangled birth and formation of leaf petiole rosette (Figure 1) become more apparent when severe water stress occurs throughout the entire crop cycle.Screening banana germplasm in the field is important as it unveils the reaction of assessed genotypes under stress conditions which are consistent with reality in nature. However, this requires the use of large rainout shelters, screening in multiple locations, lengthy observations due to the long crop cycle (10-12 months), controlled water application as well as large human and monetary resources required.Drought tolerance in plants could be achieved by incorporating research technologies such as genetic engineering, screening of large amounts of germplasm and breeding for tolerance, marker-assisted selection and exogenous application of hormones and osmoprotectants to seed or growing plants (Farooq, Wahid, Kobayashi, Fujita, & Basra, 2009). Banana farmers, on the other hand, cope with drought stress by practicing the following management practices to replenish and maintain soil moisture to levels optimum for banana production;Mulching, as a cultural management option, is often practiced to reduce evaporation, control weeds, reduce the displacement of topsoil by running water, reduce compaction of soil particles and nourish soil with green manure (Govindappa & Pallavi Seenappa, 2014). Common mulch options include the use of dried weeds, grass (Pennisetum purpureum) (Swennen, 1990) and other crop or banana plant residues, for example banana peelings, pseudostems and pruned dry or fresh leaves (Bekunda, 1999). In addition, cover crops including chickpeas (Cicer arietinum), mucuna (Mucuna spp.) and lablab (Lablab purpureus) can be used as \"living mulch\" (Blomme et al., 2018). Integration of such shade-and drought-tolerant leguminous cover crops in bananabased production systems would contribute to a reduction in yield losses induced by drought stress. Moreover, such crops have the capacity to bind atmospheric nitrogen in the soil and protect the soil as ground cover (Raemaekers, 2001) while preventing weed growth and enriching the soil.As indicated in Section 2 above, banana plantations require a large amount of water for irrigation. Supplementary irrigation is particularly vital during floral primordial initiation and development, flowering and one month postflowering to ensure successful bunch emergence and fruit filling (Ravi & Vaganan, 2016). Moreover, increased irrigation boosts banana yield and quality (Fandika, Kadyampakeni, Mwenebanda, & Magombo, 2014). Large-scale commercial banana farmers supplement the available rainfall with drip or sprinkler irrigation, while for small-scale growers (form the majority and are often resource-limited), irrigation is often constrained by water scarcity and cost of water (Blum, n.d.) as well as limited access to irrigation facilities (Kabunga, Dubois, & Qaim, 2012).Even those smallholder growers that irrigate their plantations, the irrigation intensity remains rather low and less frequent (Kabunga et al., 2012). Supplementary irrigation, in many environments, can be made more effective if the water is applied before planting (Blum, n.d.). Preplanting irrigation allows the crop to have a sufficient water supply early in the season, thereby ensuring its proper establishment and growth in spite of unexpected rainfall variations. As the atmospheric conditions become warmer and drier, irrigation is required to maintain a high moisture content while ensuring free movement of water molecules within the soil for easy uptake by plant roots (Robinson, 2000).Considering that drought is becoming more and more prevalent in various parts of the world, several authors have demonstrated the physiological changes which occur in banana during such water stress conditions (Bananuka, Rubaihayo, & Tenywa, 1999;Surendar, Devi, Ravi, Jeyakumar, & Velayudham, 2013b). These physiological changes affect processes such as stomatal conductance, water retention capacity, water-use efficiency (WUE) and photosynthesis. Droughtsensitive cultivars show significant reductions in plant dry mass due to reduced biomass production (Mahouachi, 2009), whereas their resistant counterparts have inbuilt mechanisms for drought tolerance such as high assimilation rates and water retention capacity with minor losses in leaf area and gaseous exchange (Bananuka et al., 1999).Similar findings were reported from an experiment conducted under glasshouse conditions in the Philippines (Delfin et al., 2016). The study concluded that genotypes with the highest WUE, root volume, total plant biomass production and root dry weight were drought tolerant.On the other hand, stomatal conductance and photosynthesis are significantly reduced under limiting moisture (Thomas & Turner, 2001).Inasmuch as prolific vegetative growth is a good indicator of better resistance to drought stress, it is not satisfactory as a sole parameter since a healthy plant absorbs more moisture from the soil and will at times forfeit its inner water balance to allow growth, which ultimately intensifies the stress and reduces development of the final yield (Passioura, 2012). Therefore, one approach is to take both plant though, to note that a high TE during moisture stress does not necessarily imply drought tolerance for that cultivar or crop (Jones, 2014).A cultivar is only regarded as drought tolerant if it has a highwater-use efficiency accompanied by a minor reduction in growth and yield.Several studies have reported banana genotypes with the \"B\" genome such as AAB and ABB to be more drought-tolerant than those entirely based on the \"A\" genome, for example 'Cavendish' AAA (Robinson, 1996;Robinson & Sauco, 2010). This drought tolerance has been imputed to the belief that the Musa balbisiana (M. balbisiana) originated from drier parts of South Asia including lower Himalayan ranges (Tenkouano, 2006) unlike Musa acuminata (M. acuminata), whose origin is the humid forest regions of South-East Asia (Kissel et al., 2015). In a field study by Ravi and Uma (2011), several M. acuminata diploids exhibited high susceptibility to drought, which was manifested by bunch choking, fewer hands, illfilled fruits and no seed set. Conversely, water deficit conditions had little impact on fruit and seed development of M. balbisiana cultivars.Under controlled conditions, Thomas, Turner, and Eamus, (1998) reported a higher sensitivity to leaf-air vapour pressure deficit in the cultivar 'Williams' (AAA) than cultivars 'Bluggoe' (ABB) and 'Lady Finger' (AAB). Likewise, an in vitro assessment of banana varieties showed that ABB varieties had the least reduction in growth under slight osmotic stress (Vanhove et al., 2012). As such the B genome may contain drought tolerance genes which can be identified, isolated and introduced in drought-sensitive farmer preferred cultivars.Drought stress elicits a series of biochemical responses including mechanisms of susceptibility to osmotic or moisture stress, transformation of stress signals to cellular signals, transfer of cell signals to the nucleus and transcriptional control of moisture stressinduced genes, resulting in tolerance to the water deficit (Blum, 2017;Bray, 1997). For instance, drought stress specifically induces the synthesis and build-up of organic solutes such as proline, free amino acids, total soluble proteins and carbohydrates, which act as osmolytes (Lacerda, Cambraia, Cano, & Ruiz, 2001;Surendar, Devi, Ravi, Jeyakumar, & Velayudham, 2013b). Such osmolytes, for example proline, may regulate the osmotic balance of the cell thereby countering the osmotic stress induced by drought (Hayat et al., 2012). Osmotic adjustment safeguards major plant cell structures such as chloroplasts and cell membranes (Martıǹez, Lutts, Schanck, & Kinet, 2004). This was corroborated by Surendar et al.(2013c), who concluded that the higher yield observed in resistant banana genotypes may have been due to higher water and osmotic potential, resulting from increased epicuticular wax, proline and free amino acids during stress conditions. On the other hand, accumulated total sugars serve as an important energy source under severe stress in corn (Pimentel, 1999). These biochemical compounds can be used as drought tolerance indices to rapidly select resistant candidates among existing banana cultivars and hybrids.Drought stress enhances the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (including alkoxy radicals, OH, HO 2 and O − 2 ), which impair proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and DNA, and thereby causing oxidative stress (Gill & Tuteja, 2010). To maintain the integrity of cellular structures, such active species of O − 2 are eliminated by a catalase, an antioxidant enzyme which in turn eliminates the hydrogen peroxide produced during plant metabolic processes (Surendar, Devi, Ravi, Krishnakumar, Kumar, et al., 2013a). Literature sources have reported the continuous production and scavenging of ROS molecules by many antioxidative defence mechanisms during drought stress (Foyer & Noctor, 2000). In fact, a close association between drought tolerance and an increment in antioxidant enzyme activity under conditions of drought stress has been observed in wheat genotypes by Sairam, Shukla, and Saxena (1997).Considering ROS scavenging reduces oxidative stress caused by moisture deficit, we presume that the enhancement of such antioxidative processes would improve drought tolerance in banana.Drought stress triggers the expression of several genes and transcription factors influencing different plant resistance mechanisms including escape, avoidance, tolerance and acclimatization (Farooq et al., 2009). Such molecular factors are responsible for the production of biochemical compounds which maintain or restore the integrity of plant cells during moisture deficit conditions. Several studies provide insight into the molecular basis of drought tolerance in important cereal crops such as wheat (Ahmad, Khan, Khan, Kazi, & Basra, 2014;Ibrahim, Schubert, Pillen, & Léon, 2012), rice (Shim et al., 2018) and maize (Liu et al., 2013;Wang et al., 2016). In bananas, transcriptomic changes in drought-tolerant (cv. 'Saba') and sensitive (cv. 'Grand Naine') cultivars have been monitored and compared using mRNA-Seq under well-watered and drought stress conditions (Muthusamy, Uma, Backiyarani, Saraswathi, & Chandrasekar, 2016). Among the upregulated and/or downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs), several genotype-specific gene expression patterns were observed for drought stress in both cultivars. Such unique gene expression profiles observed in resistant cultivars could represent candidate drought stress tolerance genes considering their stress association in plants is already known. Also, notable are transcription factors, namely the banana NAC transcription factor (MusaSNAC1) which imparts drought tolerance by regulating stomatal closure and hydrogen peroxide content after binding to the CGT[A/G] motif in regulatory region of many stress-related genes (Negi, Tak, & Ganapathi, 2018). Table 2 summarizes the different protein/gene families that have been associated with tolerance to drought and other abiotic constraints through molecular characterization and genome wide analysis. Understanding the molecular basis for drought tolerance will provide required genetic information influencing drought resilience in banana.Crop improvement involves the creation, selection and fixation of resistance or tolerance against biotic and abiotic constraints into superior plant phenotypes, which meet the needs of farmers and consumers.The wide genetic diversity within Musa germplasm is an important source for disease and pest resistance genes, good agronomic performance and tolerance to abiotic stresses, hence an indispensable resource for banana enhancement. However, identification and characterization of this genetic diversity and putative resistance genes, and utilization of this genetic variation to improve the inherently female and/or male sterile and clonally propagated crop can be a challenge (Ssali, 2016). For banana improvement, conventional cross-breeding and non-conventional breeding approaches including molecular breeding techniques have been deployed (Chen et al., 2011).The two principle progenitors of present-day edible bananas are M. acuminata Colla, (AA) and M. balbisiana Colla, (BB), whose centre of origin is believed to be in South and South-East Asia and Pacific countries (Ravi & Uma, 2011;Simmonds, 1962). These were later introduced to the tropical and subtropical climatic zones, where the crop is now a major food crop. The existing large diversity of banana is a result of natural interspecific hybridization of M. acuminata and M. balbisiana species, thus forming various genomic groups like diploids (AA, AB, BB), triploids (AAA, AAB, ABB, BBB) and tetraploids (such as AAAB and AABB) (Simmonds, 1966). Over the years, humans have domesticated, selected and perpetuated useful banana genotypes.Such useful diversity includes good agronomic performance as well as resistance or tolerance to several biotic and abiotic stresses (Singh & Uma, 2000). Large collections of banana germplasm including progenitors, wild relatives, landraces and hybrids are currently assembled and maintained in situ and ex-situ by twelve banana breeding programmes spread all over the world. Although only a few species have been domesticated, wild relatives of banana consist of at least 75 species, which originate from India and the Pacific, specifically in the humid tropical forests (Manimaran et al., 2018). From these germplasm collections, resistant candidates can be selected and used to introgress drought tolerance in commercially important but susceptible bananas.  2015), with drought tolerance only considered an important trait along with these traits. Currently, drought is gaining importance and has been considered a primary production constraint by both farmers and researchers. Intrinsic crop-based challenges such as long crop cycle, large green canopy and shallow root system predispose banana to drought stress (Robinson, 1996). Consequently, breeding programmes like that of India, the NRCB, Mexico, the Centro de Investigacion Cientifica del Yucatan (CICY) and Australia (Turner, 2005) have initiated the screening of germplasm for drought. For instance, NRCB has screened 112 out of 340 genotypes for their response to soil moisture shortage under field conditions (Ravi & Uma, 2011). On the other hand, researchers at Katholieke Universiteit, Leven, Belgium, have focused on developing models for in vitro screening of Musa diversity for drought tolerance via proteomics (Vanhove et al., 2012), after which, candidates need to be validated at plant level. In such breeding programmes, large amounts of germplasm have been screened for specific phenotypic traits related to plant growth (plant height, dry matter content, leaf emergence rate, leaf area index, root:shoot ratio), plant water status (water-use efficiency, relative water content, water retention capacity) and plant function (such as stomatal conductance, quantification of photosynthetic pigments) (Delfin et al., 2016;Uma & Sathiamoorthy, 2002). However, there is need for more experimentation at different ecological sites to obtain more reliable information regarding droughtsensitive and resistant accessions. Thereafter, cross-breeding could be utilized to produce drought-resistant genotypes. To date, the utilization of identified resistant candidates in banana drought tolerance improvement using conventional cross-breeding has not yet been reported.Over the years, research programmes have deployed several methods for banana improvement, including conventional cross-breeding, marker-assisted selection, genetic engineering, induced mutation breeding, protoplast fusion and selecting somaclonal variants (Chen et al., 2011). Marker-assisted selection is a molecular breeding technique which is becoming popular because it offers the possibility of significantly reducing the amount of time taken for banana improvement when using conventional cross-breeding, which requires one and a half years for the crop to complete its growth cycle and produce new plantlets (Pillay, Hartman, & Tenkouano, 2002). In major cereal crops, genetic markers which co-inherit with specific target traits have been linked to drought tolerance (Agrama & Moussa, 1996;Courtois et al., 2000;Galeano et al., 2012;Sabouri et al., 2018). For instance, various genetic analyses have linked several markers to major effect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of grain yield, root morphology, leaf rolling and withering degree, under conditions of drought stress (Champoux et al., 1995;Han et al., 2018;Tabkhkar, Rabiei, Samizadeh Lahiji, & Hosseini Chaleshtori, 2018;Yue et al., 2006). In common bean, QTL mapping revealed twenty-two QTLs responsible for leaf temperature, chlorophyll production, days to flowering as well as traits related to yield and biomass production under stress and watered conditions (Briñez et al., 2017). Such phenotypic traits are often associated with drought tolerance in plants.In banana, however, molecular markers have mostly been used for germplasm characterization. For example, assessment of genetic diversity within Musa genotypes has been done using random amplified polymorphic DNA markers (RAPDs) (Pillay, Ogundiwin, Nwakanma, Ude, & Tenkouano, 2001), restriction fragment length polymorphism markers (RFLPs) (Raboin et al., 2005), microsatellites/simple sequence repeats (SSRs) (Creste, Tulmann, Vencovsky, de Oliveira Silva, & Figueira, 2004;Karamura et al., 2016), amplified fragment length polymorphism markers (AFLPs) (Ahmad, Mergia & Poerba, 2014;Ude, Pillay, Ogundiwin, & Tenkouano, 2003) and diversity array technology markers (DArTs) (Amorim et al., 2009;Risterucci et al., 2009;Ssali, 2016)  et al., 2013). The ESTs can be used in finding genes, mapping the genome and identification of coding regions in genomic sequences (Fulton, Van der Hoeven, Eannetta, & Tanksley, 2002) as well as developing genetic maps and markers, or to detect functional genes (Pillay et al., 2012). The increasing number of EST databases in different plant species, including Musa, is important for developing genetic markers based on ESTs (Ssali, 2016). Furthermore, genetic markers and maps developed from useful sequences can be used in identifying and potentially cloning QTLs and genes of agricultural and biological significance.Molecular biology and plant tissue culture techniques are applied to enhance the improvement of banana. As such, biotechnology utilizes applications of cell biology such as embryo culture for in vitro seed germination (Uma, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Akbar, & Mustaffa, 2011), micropropagation for rapid multiplication of banana germplasm and genetic engineering using cell suspensions (Tripathi, Atkinson, Roderick, Kubiriba & Tripathi, 2017).However, the application of genetic engineering requires prior identification and isolation of valuable genes. Since beginning of the 21st century, beneficial genes have been instituted into banana with focus on genes conferring resistance to Fusarium wilt (Paul et al., 2011), black leaf streak disease (Kovacs et al., 2013) and Xanthomonas wilt (Namukwaya et al., 2012)  Moreover, genome editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 technology, a type of genetic engineering, can be used to insert drought tolerance genes in the banana genome and silence or knock out genes associated with drought susceptibility.The authors thank the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas and CGIAR fund donors for supporting to publish this article.The authors declare no conflict of interest among them.MN prepared the first draft of the manuscript. JS, RT, DK, JK and EK read, revised and approved the submitted version of the manuscript.Moureen Nansamba https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8565-9765"}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"2a0a2d3f797799bd03d5186eb398c6cc","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/48502a15-9ef4-449b-b567-1fc466ab91d8/retrieve","id":"-482455361"},"keywords":["sustainability","tropical","dairy farm","greenhouse gas","grazing","environment","animal production"],"sieverID":"f8b425e2-d961-48dd-a92e-424a53702f8a","content":"The CLEANED tool, developed by the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, allows for a better understanding of the productive status and the environmental and economic impacts of different dairy systems. This work compares the following two dairy systems in the Peruvian Amazon: extensive (grazing) and semi-intensive (grazing plus supplementation). Results showed that farmers may likely need a smaller area than what they use at present (grazing area). Milk yield was 382 and 1254 L/ha/year, water use was 0.59 and 0.29 m 3 /kg of fat-and protein-corrected milk (FPCM), methane (CH 4 ) emissions were 1.7 and 1.0 kg CO 2 eq/kg FPCM and N 2 O emissions were 0.22 and 0.17 kg CO 2 eq/kg FPCM, for the extensive and semi-intensive systems, respectively. The assessment of the status of dairy farms under tropical conditions allows the development of strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, while increasing revenue by increasing the milk yield or decreasing the feeding costs.Global trends indicate that between 2030 and 2050, consumer demand for animal products (meat, milk, eggs, fish) will increase by up to eight times compared to its current value [1]. This means that there is a need to increase the production of food of animal origin, especially in developing countries. However, livestock production has an important environmental impact, especially with regard to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, water pollution, among others [2].In the Peruvian Amazon, agriculture is a strategic activity, because it allows access to capital and the products it generates [3,4], but with a direct environmental impact. MINAM [5] estimates that from 2001 to 2019 the Peruvian Amazon lost an average of 130,500 hectares per year, with agriculture responsible for between 49 and 54% of total deforestation.On the other hand, livestock farming in the Peruvian Amazon plays an important function in economic, social, and environmental cohesion [6]. In addition, dairy farms are recognized for their contribution to the food security of rural families and for generating work [7,8]. The Peruvian Amazon produces 8.5% of the national milk production [9].In the Peruvian Amazon there are no specialized dairy farms; all are dual-purpose, used for both milk production and the sale of calves or fattening. In the region there are two main feeding strategies, extensive (grazing) and semi-intensive (grazing plus supplement), with Gyr × Holstein or Gyr × Brown Swiss dairy cows. Moreover, there are factors that limit dairy production in the region, such as the low quantity and quality of feed, mainly in the dry season [10,11], and animal health and other problems that are exacerbated due to climate change [12]. In addition, at present, there is no information available on the environmental and economic impact of dairy production systems in the Peruvian Amazon.To assess the environmental and economic impact of the different dairy systems in the tropics, the Comprehensive Livestock Environmental Assessment for Improved Nutrition, a Secured Environmental and Sustainable Development along Livestock Value Chain (CLEANED) tool was developed by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in partnership with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and Biodiversity International in 2013 and 2014, as an easily adaptable and transferable indicator framework that takes into account the entire value chain. The tool has been updated, generating the new versions CLEANED (R); CLEANED X-Version 2.0.1; and CLEANED X-Version 3.0.1 [13]. The tool was used in different countries in Africa and Central America, carrying out assessments in groups of small farmers, providing them with information on their productive and environmental status and suggesting possible alternatives for improving animal production [14,15].The CLEANED tool calculates the economic, productive, and environmental impact of animal production. The above are calculated using land requirements, productivity (milk and meat yield), economics (costs, milk and meat price), soil impacts (e.g., erosion, N balance), greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe), and water impacts.The objective of this study was to evaluate the productive, environmental, and economic impacts of extensive and semi-intensive dairy farming systems in the tropical region of Peru, using the CLEANED tool.The study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines and regulations of the Institutional Committee for the Care and Use of Animals (IACUC) of the National Agrarian University La Molina (TR.N • 0185-2016-CU-UNALM).Data from 12 dairy farms from the Ucayali region in Peru (9 • 58 ′ S and 73 • 11 ′ W) were used (Figure 1). The Ucayali region has an altitude between 154 and 287 m.a.s.l. The average temperature in the region is 28 • C and annual precipitation is 1566 mm.Data from 12 dairy farms from the Ucayali region in Peru (9°58′ S and 73°11′ W) were used (Figure 1). The Ucayali region has an altitude between 154 and 287 m.a.s.l. The average temperature in the region is 28 °C and annual precipitation is 1566 mm. Dairy farms in the Peruvian Amazon were characterized by having dairy cows of two main genotypes as follows: Gyr × Holstein and Gyr × Brown Swiss. The distribution of the dairy cows' genotypes is heterogenous in the region. The main management of the farms follows a dual-purpose system, by which the offspring is maintained with the cow until it is weaning. The weaning period in these farms is 6 months. Animals are hand-milked once daily. Farmers generally consider the calf growth rate more important than the milk yield. Consequently, suckling is commonly allowed without restriction.The most frequently used feeding strategy is grazing. The types of grass used for grazing are the following: Brachiaria decumbens, B. dictioneura, B. brizantha, Hyparrhenia rufa, and Andropogon gayanus, while Pennisetum purpureum × Pennisetum typhoides is used for cut-and-carry.The 12 farms sampled were selected from a list of 45 preselected milk producers through field surveys, which met the following predetermined characteristics: grazing without supplementation, and grazing with supplementation. Dairy farms were grouped into the following two groups (six farms each): (1) extensive or pastoral production system, which is based on grazing without supplementation, and (2) semi-intensive system, in which the feeding strategy is based on grazing or cut-and-carry or both, with supplementation (balanced feed and/or brewery waste). Nutritional values are presented in Table 1. Dairy farms in the Peruvian Amazon were characterized by having dairy cows of two main genotypes as follows: Gyr × Holstein and Gyr × Brown Swiss. The distribution of the dairy cows' genotypes is heterogenous in the region. The main management of the farms follows a dual-purpose system, by which the offspring is maintained with the cow until it is weaning. The weaning period in these farms is 6 months. Animals are hand-milked once daily. Farmers generally consider the calf growth rate more important than the milk yield. Consequently, suckling is commonly allowed without restriction.The most frequently used feeding strategy is grazing. The types of grass used for grazing are the following: Brachiaria decumbens, B. dictioneura, B. brizantha, Hyparrhenia rufa, and Andropogon gayanus, while Pennisetum purpureum × Pennisetum typhoides is used for cut-and-carry.The 12 farms sampled were selected from a list of 45 preselected milk producers through field surveys, which met the following predetermined characteristics: grazing without supplementation, and grazing with supplementation. Dairy farms were grouped into the following two groups (six farms each): (1) extensive or pastoral production system, which is based on grazing without supplementation, and (2) semi-intensive system, in which the feeding strategy is based on grazing or cut-and-carry or both, with supplementation (balanced feed and/or brewery waste). Nutritional values are presented in Table 1.In each system, information was collected during the rainy season and the dry season of the year 2022. The interviews were conducted by personnel trained in the structure of the questionnaire and in the operation of the CLEANED tool. The interviews were answered by the manager of each farm. Surveys were carried out based on the main characteristics of the farms, including total area, number of hectares of pasture, number of animals on the farm, herd categories, quantity of kg of milk/cow/day, sale price of products generated on the farm, farm expenses and income, pasture management, and infrastructure. Data of the surveys were entered into the CLEANED tool. In addition, forage, supplement, and milk samples were collected. The milk, grass, and supplement samples were analyzed in the Food Nutritional Evaluation Laboratory of the National Agrarian University La Molina. Milk was analyzed for milk grass and milk protein content. Meanwhile, the feed samples were analyzed for dry matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, ash, and ether extract. For this work, the CLEANED X Version 3.0.1 was used. CLEANED modeled the response variables, such as the surface area required to carry out the livestock activity (pasture area ha/year); production kg FPCM/ha/year and kg meat/ha/year; environmental impacts, through the use of water (m 3 /kg product), methane (CH 4 ), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions, expressed in t of CO 2 eq/ha/year and kg CO 2 eq/kg FPCM; and changes in carbon storage (t CO 2 eq/ha/year) by mineralization in the soil and carbon sequestration by above-ground biomass (trees). The information is processed on the desktop interface using the Run program icon or by proceeding to R software calculations.The information obtained on the characteristics of the evaluated systems (Table 1), the productive data, and nutritional value of the pasture and milk of the systems, both in the dry and rainy seasons, was entered into the spreadsheets of the CLEANED X Version 3.0.1 tool. Likewise, for the estimation of GHG emissions, enteric fermentation, the use of manure, and soil management were considered as emission sources, as per the principles established by Tier 1 (IPCC, [16]). Land requirement is calculated using the data of the number of animals, dry matter intake, and forage yield.The nutritional value of the feed was taken from the analyses carried out and used in the calculations of the CLEANED tool. The total feeds were calculated for a dairy cow and presented using the live weight (LW). The total feed supply was compared with the needs of the cattle. The requirements were as follows: a daily intake of 2.5% per kg of live weight of dry matter (DM) (LW); for crude protein (CP), 6.27 g/kg per metabolic weight for maintenance (507 g/LW), and 92.6 g of CP/L of the milk produced. For metabolizable energy, 0.598 MJ/kg metabolic weight was used for maintenance and 5.65 MJ/L for milk production.The economic analysis was determined from the annual income and expenses, to finally obtain the profit. Total income was obtained from the sum of milk sales/farm/year and animal sales by category. Expenses were obtained from fixed costs (land, machinery and equipment, vehicles, facilities and civil works, pastures, and animals) and operational costs (labor, supplementary feeding, materials and supplies, third-party services, maintenance and repair of equipment, and depreciation). The profit per year was divided by the total number of animals in the herd, obtaining the profitability (%) of the extensive and semiintensive systems.Statistical analysis was performed using SAS software (version 9.4., SAS Inst., Cary, NC, USA). Normal distribution was tested using Shapiro-Wilk tests. Means of quantitative data that followed a normal distribution were compared using Student's t test (parametric tests), using both the confidence interval estimation analysis and t-score probability hypothesis testing method for the two independent sample groups.Semi-intensive systems had 86% more animals, 111% more cows in production, and 32% higher milk production/cow/day compared to extensive systems (Table 1). The categories of the evaluated herds were distributed as follows: cows in production, 27.8 and 28.4%; dry cow land, 34.8 and 14.0%; young bulls, 19.6 and 21.4%; bulls, 2.1 and 6.0%; and rearing, 15.7 and 30.3%, in the extensive and semi-intensive systems, respectively. The total area and grazing area (ha) did not show any difference (p > 0.05). Likewise, the nutritional values of milk in the evaluated systems do not show any difference (p > 0.05).The tool showed that the optimal area of pasture (Figure 2), under the conditions mentioned above for feeding animals, does not show any difference (p = 0.559). Semiintensive systems require only 44% of the area currently used for pasture, while the same pattern is observed in extensive systems, where only 46% of the surface area in use is required. This reveals an under-exploitation of resources in both systems (semi-intensive and extensive).The economic analysis was determined from the annual income and expenses, to finally obtain the profit. Total income was obtained from the sum of milk sales/farm/year and animal sales by category. Expenses were obtained from fixed costs (land, machinery and equipment, vehicles, facilities and civil works, pastures, and animals) and operational costs (labor, supplementary feeding, materials and supplies, third-party services, maintenance and repair of equipment, and depreciation). The profit per year was divided by the total number of animals in the herd, obtaining the profitability (%) of the extensive and semi-intensive systems.Statistical analysis was performed using SAS software (version 9.4., SAS Inst., Cary, NC, USA). Normal distribution was tested using Shapiro-Wilk tests. Means of quantitative data that followed a normal distribution were compared using Student's t test (parametric tests), using both the confidence interval estimation analysis and t-score probability hypothesis testing method for the two independent sample groups.Semi-intensive systems had 86% more animals, 111% more cows in production, and 32% higher milk production/cow/day compared to extensive systems (Table 1). The categories of the evaluated herds were distributed as follows: cows in production, 27.8 and 28.4%; dry cow land, 34.8 and 14.0%; young bulls, 19.6 and 21.4%; bulls, 2.1 and 6.0%; and rearing, 15.7 and 30.3%, in the extensive and semi-intensive systems, respectively. The total area and grazing area (ha) did not show any difference (p > 0.05). Likewise, the nutritional values of milk in the evaluated systems do not show any difference (p > 0.05).The tool showed that the optimal area of pasture (Figure 2), under the conditions mentioned above for feeding animals, does not show any difference (p = 0.559). Semi-intensive systems require only 44% of the area currently used for pasture, while the same pattern is observed in extensive systems, where only 46% of the surface area in use is required. This reveals an under-exploitation of resources in both systems (semi-intensive and extensive). Figure 2. Required area in comparison with grassland area in dairy farms under extensive and semi-intensive systems in the Peruvian Amazon. Despite farm management, total area for grazing and required area presented no differences (p = 0.559) between systems of production.Table 2 shows milk production by system, with a significant difference (p < 0.01), with the semi-intensive system being considerably higher (3.3 times in kg FPCM/ha/year) than the extensive system. As for meat production, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05), though the semi-intensive system showed an increase of 1.6 times more meat/ha compared to the extensive system. Table 3 shows the significant differences (p < 0.01) in the water use, with the semiintensive system reducing the use of water per kg FPCM and meat and protein by 50.8, 12.5, and 45.7%, respectively, compared to the extensive system. Soil erosion did not show any significant differences (p > 0.05). Regarding carbon storage, a similar behavior is observed (p > 0.05), with greater carbon storage in semi-intensive (0.18 Mg C./ha/year) than in extensive systems (0.14 Mg C./ha/year). Methane emissions were 379 and 309 g/cow/day in the extensive and semi-intensive systems, respectively. The intensity of methane emissions in the semi-intensive system was reduced by 41% compared to the extensive systems (Table 3). In the same line, N 2 O emissions decreased by 23% in the semi-intensive system.GHG emissions per area showed significant differences (p < 0.01; Table 4). Semiintensive systems emitted 98% more GHG per ha/yr. Carbon sequestration converted into Mg CO 2 eq/ha/year was used to calculate net GHG emissions, showing no difference (p = 0.2025). The income and total annual expenses showed significant differences (p < 0.05; Table 5), with the semi-intensive system being 5.3 and 5.1 times higher, respectively. The income in the semi-intensive system is distributed as follows: milk sales, 92.6%; animals, 4.5%; and crops, 2.9%. As for the extensive system, 89.1% came from milk sales, 8.4% from animals, and 2.5% from crops. The difference in annual profitability was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The sale price per liter of milk was $0.41 dollars. In dairy farming, pasture availability plays a crucial role in efficiency and sustainability. Previous research reports that extensive systems require a larger surface area than semiintensive systems to produce the same amount of product [17]. In this work, results showed an animal load of 0.36 and 0.74 AU/ha for extensive and semi-intensive systems, respectively. In the same line, Murgueitio et al. [18] report an animal load of 0.59 animals/ha under similar conditions in the tropics. According to Lopes et al. [19], the carrying capacity of Brachiaria brizantha cv. ranges between 1.5 and 2.4 AU/ha. The above shows that there is undergrazing of the grassland, which reveals an opportunity for its optimization.In general, the semi-intensive system is more efficient in the production of milk and meat than the extensive system [20]. The above is in line with the observations in this work, in which the highest milk and meat production was found in the semi-intensive system, mainly due to the greater number of lactating cows, greater amount of milk/cow/day, as well as greater number of calves for meat production. Bashir and El Zubeir [21] and Rojo-Rubio et al. [4] reported a similar productive behavior in milk in extensive and semi-intensive systems in Baggara cattle and dual-purpose cattle in the Mexican tropics. Murgueitio et al. [18] reported values like those found in this study (89.7 and 19.9 kg of milk/ha/yr and kg of meat/ha/yr, respectively). However, it is important to highlight that the extensive system presents certain advantages, such as greater diversity and less use of external resources [22,23]. Supplementation strategies for cattle grazing in tropical pastures usually aim to guarantee the supply of fermentable nitrogen (N-NH 3 ) for the rumen microbial population as well as the minerals (phosphorus, sulfur, magnesium) necessary for microbial growth, altogether leading to a greater synthesis of microbial protein in the rumen [24] and, eventually, to a higher productive performance.The semi-intensive system presented greater efficiency in the use of water per product due to the use of external inputs added to management practices. Mekonnen and Hoekstra [25] reported that beef production requires an average of 15,415 L of water per kg of meat, while milk production requires an average of 6878 L of water per kg of milk. These values are significantly higher than those found in this study. Efficient water use is directly related to the type of forage crop used in the Amazon. In this regard, studies carried out on livestock systems in the tropics of Nicaragua [26] and Tanzania [27] showed similar results.Soil erosion observed in this study was influenced by certain environmental factors [10] such as grazing, animal load, and the topography of the pastures, especially in areas with a steep slope and without vegetation cover. Areas with steep slopes are more prone to erosion [28] and may cause greater loss of soil, and therefore loss of soil organic carbon too [29].Regarding soil carbon storage, a greater carbon sequestration was observed in the semiintensive system compared to the extensive system. The factors that could have influenced this are the vegetation cover and grazing management, since the semi-intensive systems were better managed, mainly due to a greater presence of trees in their pastures [30,31]. Dondini et al. [32] estimated that the carbon sequestration potential in pastoral systems ranges between 0.18 and 0.41 tons of C/ha/yr in all the different regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, values similar to those found in this study. In general, tropical regions have low carbon reserves [32], which have great potential for carbon storage in the soil.The results of this study showed higher GHG emissions in the semi-intensive systems since this system has a higher animal load and higher productivity [33,34]. Regarding the intensity of GHG emissions, the semi-intensive system presented lower CH 4 and N 2 O emissions per kg of FPCM. Several investigations show that enteric fermentation is the main source of methane emissions in livestock systems [35,36]. Likewise, the intensity is correlated with the quality of feed supplied to the animal [37,38]. In the case of the semi-intensive systems of the surveyed farms, lower GHG emissions were reported per kg CO 2 eq/kg FPCM, probably due to better diet quality. These values are similar to the values reported by Ruiz-Llontop et al. [39] for silvopastoral dairy systems in the northern Amazon of Peru. Berton et al. [40] reported emissions of 1.0 ± 0.3 kg CO 2 eq per kg of FPCM in livestock systems. Furthermore, it has been widely documented that extensive livestock farming in the tropics, based only on naturalized grasses, has negative implications in terms of the intensity of enteric methane emissions, while animals with a better energy-protein balance in their diet (supplementation) produce less of this gas [41,42]. Kliem et al. [43] reported a reduction in GHG emissions due to supplementation with agro-industrial byproducts, which has occurred in this study in semi-intensive systems, which received supplementation with brewery waste.Average net GHG emissions on livestock farms associated with the dairy production system were positive. The estimated net GHG emissions ranged from −1.15 to 1.24 Mg CO 2 eq/ha/yr in the extensive system, while the semi-intensive system ranged from −0.52 to 2.72. Our average estimate of net GHG emissions per ha is within the range of some of the values reported for grasslands in temperate climates. However, studies of net GHG under these conditions are limited. For example, in Spain [44] and Ireland, Fornara et al. [45] estimated net GHG emissions per ha for dairy production to be between 4.8 and 6.8 Mg CO 2 eq/ha/yr, using previous IPCC [16] reports.The results obtained in this study are consistent with the existing literature, which suggests that production systems under a semi-intensive system generally require a higher initial investment [46,47]. However, in the long term, they can generate higher income and benefits [48]. In this case, the semi-intensive system presents an annual profitability of 19.14%, while the extensive system reaches 14.01%. Murgueitio et al. [49] mentioned that semi-intensive livestock systems in Latin America tend to be more profitable than silvopastoral and pastoral (extensive) systems. The increase in the utility of the semiintensive system is due to its high ratio of number of animals in production, liter of milk produced (8.6 L/cow/day), and sale of animals, among other benefits. It is important to highlight that, in addition to the economic aspects, the choice of the appropriate production system must consider other factors such as climatic conditions, the availability of natural resources, accessibility, and the preferences of producers.The semi-intensive system presented significant positive differences in production, environmental, and economic impacts, due to increased productivity and greater efficiency in the use of water and outputs (production of milk, meat, and proteins), reducing the intensity of CH 4 and N 2 O emissions and presenting a higher annual profitability."}

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"522115f511ec221682449d0380b05367","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://dataverse.harvard.edu/api/access/datafile/:persistentId/?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/884L6R/FMN0KU","id":"-1590081189"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"24c687df-9b2f-4e19-973a-9ee14f4a0a52","content":"The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) encourages the use of the Assessing the Potential of Farmer Field Schools (FFS) to Fight Poverty and Foster Innovation in East Africa but emphasizes that the attached data files are unit record or 'raw' data files. There is no information that would allow individuals to be identified; all other information remains in the data files. The decision not to alter the contents of the data files means that the user of these files will need to take care in handling missing observations, outlier values, and violations of logical consistency. The authorized use of these data is limited to government, academic, research or other institutions (or individuals associated with these institutions) to be used for informing and improving government policy or for educational purposes. The data is not authorized to be used for commercial purposes. The data are provided 'as is' and in no event shall IFPRI be liable for any damages resulting from use of the data. While great effort was taken to obtain high quality data, the accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way."}

main/part_2/0538036284.json

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+{"metadata":{"gardian_id":"238e7a09de2f122b3a0d04f5c75b0f6b","source":"gardian_index","url":"https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/5fb9ab09-e98b-4a1c-a3b9-63ef8f851010/retrieve","id":"-1401440466"},"keywords":[],"sieverID":"ab5971b3-020b-4679-8425-0e127d8de533","content":"❑ Workshop objectives:❖ Identify and map key stakeholders in the fish, cassava and chicken value chains ❖ Explore gender norms that inhibit women value chain actors from becoming economically resilient to climate change impacts ❑ Participants 22 total (12 women and 10 men):➢ Knowledgeable on the selected value chains: cassava, poultry and fish (Dagaa)➢ Drawn from government departments, NGOs, research institutes, universities, private sector producer organizations, and other value chain actorsBased on findings from stakeholders' workshop, respondents for the FGDs, KIIs and IIs were identified per value chain:• Chicken value chain: brooders, poultry farmers, chicken product processors, animal feed manufacturers, chicken vendors, transporters, consumers• Fish value chain: fishers, traders, extension services, CSOs/NGOs, transporters, central government and regulatory bodies for quality control, fishing gear suppliers/boat builders/ net menders, microfinance service providers (LGAs -loans for women, youth, and people with disabilities, VSLAs/VICOBA/SACCOs)  Restrictive norms for men:Activities: …slaughter animals/chicken or build chicken coops Activities ❖ …engage in small-scale chicken enterprises.❖ …concentrate on homestead-based activities including chicken rearing within the homestead.❖ …carry a bucket of water on his head to feed the chickensMobility: …move freely without permission from her husband.Resources: access, control, and inherit properties and resources.Knowledge: …teach men anything including chicken-related enterprise (Men are perceived to be more knowledgeable and experienced than women).Activities: …engage in high-income earning activities Activities 1. …perform activities perceived to be women's such as fish cleaning, sorting, drying and frying of fish.2. …engage in low-income fish value chain activities 3. …talk about women while fishing in the lake.Spaces: …spread dagaa for drying where men dry their dagaa (it is seen as bad luck-the men may not get buyers)Mobility: …engage in fish related business activities outside the homestead, or to be out of her home at night for work or fishing offshore (in the lake).Decision-making: …make final decisions on family resources independently Decision-making: …allow their wives to engage in fishing activities on the lake Resources: …own fishing vessels such as boats nor to access and use loan/credit without seeking permission from the husband.Resources: …use assets or financial resources from women when on fishing expeditionsActivities: …harvest and sell cassava and to engage in the cassava wholesale market.Activities: …engage in any cassava related activity that involve bending such as washing and peeling cassava …plant or weed …cook, roast cassava or grind dry cassava (the motion of hand grinding is a feminine activity)Mobility: …be in public places, to transport fresh or processed cassava for sale outside their communities Decision-making: …hire labor for cassava production and processing without consulting their husbands, decide on the use of income earned from cassava production, make decisions on the size of land for cassava production.Resources: …own land for cassava production, use land without approval of their husbands or male relatives, own or operate mechanized tools for cassava processing.✓ The woman will be cursed (when deviance is against both a religious & gender norm e.g. slaughtering chicken)✓ Potential clients will not purchase her services "}