diversifying and securing food and non-food crops for the...

Copyright CFFRC - 2012

Sayed Azam-Ali Asha Karunaratne Sue Walker Crops For the Future Research Centre Malaysia

Diversifying and Securing Food and Non-Food Crops for the Future

Sustainability and Environmental Management Conference Kuala Lumpur 22 October, 2013


The Issue We depend on too few crops and cropping systems

• Risk, volatility, overdependence

• Lifestyle diseases

• Fit for the future?

http://www.dreamstime.com/golden-wheat-ear-thumb2110018.jpg

http://www.rwn.org.uk/images/Candir1.jpg


The Challenge

How can we identify, improve and use more crops and systems? • Access existing knowledge

• Translate and transfer technologies

• Extrapolate beyond current locations

• Explore complexity


Crops for the Future Research Centre Research excellence on underutilised crops

University of Nottingham in Malaysia

Government of Malaysia

• Innovative world class research on underutilised crops for:

• nutrition

• energy

• biomaterials

• Product marketing opportunities

• Capacity-building

Global research alliance for underutilised crops


S. America

SEA

South Asia

Mediterranean

SADC

MENA

Crops for the Future Research Centre Global research alliance on underutilised crops

West Africa


CFFRC HQ 15 September 2013


CFFRC HQ 15 September 2014


CFFRC Field Research Centre

CROPS FOR THE FUTURE RESEARCH CENTRE

MALAYSIA

Crops for the Future Research Centre Kuala Lumpur HQ and Field Research Centre


CFFRC Field Centre

Transition from Oil Palm monoculture to fully diversified, sustainable agroecosystem


Research Structure


Research Value Chain

Biotechnology and

Breeding Systems

Crop Improvement

and Agronomy

Agro-meteorology

and Ecophysiology

Agro-processing

and Bioproducts

Socio-economics

and Policy

CFFRC Research Themes


`service to potential end-users interested in underutilised crops and products that can contribute to livelihoods’

Data Manipulation and Modelling

Four Clusters:

Decision Making


CropBASE: Decision Support Knowledge Platform for Underutilised Crops

• Web-based First `port-of-call’ for information on underutilised crops

• Decision Support Multistakeholder options on underutilised crops and end-uses

• Knowledge Platform Cross-cutting all CFFRC Programmes and Themes

• Comparative Productivity and resource-use-efficiency of underutilised and major crops and cropping systems under current and future climates

• Interactive Integrate data on underutilised and major crops with geo-referenced information and databases

Copyright CFFRC - 2012 Copyright CFFRC - 2012

Current databases provide input for crop models within GIS framework • Existing geospatial natural resource databases e.g. FAO for soils, crop statistics, food and water indices; e.g. WMO, NASA, NOAA for past, current and future climate scenarios.

CFFRC working with crop modelling community e.g. AgMIP www.agmip.org

Comparative testing of models for range of crops • CFFRC to spearhead underutilised crops in crop models

– e.g. APSIM, AquaCrop, DSSAT – African Bambara groundnut (Azam-Ali & colleagues) – Ethiopian Teff (Raes & colleagues) – Peruvian Quinoa (Raes & colleagues)

• Calibrated for AquaCrop (FAO Irrigation and Drainage #66)

– Other leafy vegetables and root crops are in the pipeline.


Research Case Studies: 1. Bambara Groundnut and Climate Change


BamYIELD Linking knowledge systems on bambara groundnut


BamYIELD Linking knowledge systems on bambara groundnut

Linking research and knowledge systems in Africa and South-East Asia

Linking knowledge systems through social

networks


• Evidence-based research and

• Local knowledge & information

IT and Information Storage System

Scientific Information


• Local preferences via participatory interactions

• Regional & global demand to expand specific crops & niche markets

• Economic assessment of crops & cropping systems beyond current locations

Community information

extension

health Met

Service

farmer


• Climate agroecological suitability

• Quality nutritional, food security and livelihood potentials of crops and products at field, farm and regional scales

• Economic socio-economic, trade and regulatory potential

Crop-climate modelling to use available databases as input for crop models in GIS framework.

Analysis engine

Data Manipulation and Modelling

Decision Making


Environ Data Soil Climate

Crop Data

Agronomy Physiology Genetics Farmer

Soil conditions

Climatic conditions

Climate scenarios

Crop Species characters

Market data

Genotypic characters

Meta data Farmer Knowledge

Primary Data Base

Underpinning Data Base

Maps

Inferences

Climate Forecast

Species genotype Suitability

Yield forecast

Yield potentials

Fertilizer responses

Pest disease tolerance

Market potentials

Decision Support &

Knowledgebase

input output

Crop-Climate Modelling


General Circulation Model

(GCM)

CropBASE Crop-Climate model challenges

Crop Model

Coupling Crop Model +

Climate Model

• Simulate crop productivity at country to global scales under variable climates

• Capture crop-climate interactions for underutilised crops and trait identification across geographical boundaries


CropBASE outputs

Formats for different end -users • Graphical, • Diagrammatic • Tabular • Spatial maps via GIS tools

0

2

4

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

YIEL

D (

TON

S/H

A)

YEAR

1980-2010 Yield Data for UN landrace at all Namibia Sites

NA32 NA42 NA47

NA58 NA61 NA63


N

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Yiel

d (

t/h

a)

Simulated Yield trend at NA47

Namibia: Bambara groundnut landraces yield predictions

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Yiel

d (

t/h

a)


0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Yie

ld (

t/h

a)


0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Yiel

d (

t/h

a)


0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Yiel

d (

t/h

a)


0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Yiel

d (

t/h

a)


N S19-3 UN

CropBASE Crop-Climate Model


Research Case Studies: 2. Oil Palm and Space


The challenge

Can we design oil palm-based ecosystems to utilise:

– Space in oil palm plantations – Expertise from oil palm sector

and provide ;

– Economic returns – Environmental services – Sustainability and Resilience


Solar radiation

Water Nutrients

Decomposition

Cycling

Inter and

intraspecific

complementarity

Ecosystem services

Non-yield biomass

Efficiencies of different agroecosystems: Resource use efficiency

http://www.etawau.com/OilPalm/OilPalmPlantation/OilPalmPlantation3.jpg


Space available in oil palm plantations

• Space not suited to cultivation of oil palm

Marginal land = 353,400 ha

• Land under oil palm = 5,000,000 ha

• Space around oil palm

Inter-row space in new replants = 380,000 ha

• Space in oil palm

Under oil palm canopy = 500,000 ha (10% of total)

Below pylon corridors = 250,000 ha (5% of total)

• Potential available space = 1,130,000 ha (22% of total)


• Shallow, sloping soils

• Poor moisture & nutrient retention, erosion

1. Space not suited to production of oil palm


2. Space not utilised around oil palm

Early life of plantation

• Initial cropping

• Intercropping


Resource capture space available

• Under oil palm canopy

• Below pylon corridors

3. Space not utilised in oil palm


BiomassPLUS Biomass from novel crops and technologies



RESOURCES

PRODUCTION

PROCESSING

CONSUMPTION

FEEDSTOCK

BIOFUELS

BUSINESS

BIOMASSPLUS

Improved and new technologies

BiomassPlus Diversifying biofuels from feedstock to end-use


SystemPLUS Functionality of monocultures and complex plantations

a) Quantify ecosystem performance b) Measure resource use efficiencies during transition c) Estimate climate change impacts under IPCC scenarios



SystemPLUS Functionality of monocultures and complex plantations

Solar radiation

Water Nutrients

Nutrient

Cycling Inter and

intraspecific

complementarity

Ecosystem services

Non-yield biomass

• Integrated measurements – soil to atmosphere • Models – predictive capacity under current and future climates • Extrapolate - beyond `proof-of-concept’



Plantation income life cycle Mind the gap

Output

Years

Diversification premium?


Sayed Azam-Ali Asha Karunaratne Sue Walker Crops For the Future Research Centre Malaysia

Diversifying and Securing Food and Non-Food Crops for the Future

Sustainability and Environmental Management Conference Kuala Lumpur 22 October, 2013

diversifying and securing food and non-food crops for the...

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