Finding niches for neglected crops in the semi-arid to better manage climate risk under smallholder farm conditions
A. Whitbread1,2*, A. Sennhenn2, T. Ramilan1
1International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru 502 324, Telangana, India 2Georg-August University Goettingen, Crop Production Systems in the Tropics, Germany
III. Context of smallholder farming
Small-holder farming systems are highly diverse & dynamicand differ in their level of resource endowment & risk
aversion
Risk management is important!
I. Semi-arid tropics - a risky place for agriculture!?
Major challenges Seasonal climate variability and change
Low technology interventionHigh population & small farm size
Poor infrastructurePoor risk management strategies
IV. Steps for integrating new options into established systems:
Step 1: Characterize physiological and growth response to management and resources of new germplasm
Capture responses into crop growth models
II. Chances & challenges for increased diversity
The use of agro-biodiversity is an attractive strategy for coping with climatic variability
Identifying niches for neglected crop types with promising market opportunities and system benefits represent a wider window of opportunity for smallholder farmers!
Poster presented at the Global Science Conference – Climate-Smart Agriculture : 16th – 18th March 2015, Le Corum, Montpellier, France * Contact: [email protected]
Step 3: Validate crop growth model output against independent data and simulate scenarios Utilize whole-farm analytical frameworks in participation with farmers to design more ‘optimal’ and lower risk whole farm systems.
Step 2: Characterize possible response to climate change (temp, water stress) using combinations of ‘analogue,’ multi-season field experimentation Capture responses into crop growth models
V. Conclusion – manage climate risk→ Many semi-arid farming systems are becoming less
diverse and consequently less food and nutritionally secure
→ Neglected crop types may create new market opportunities
→ Utilizing multiple crop types/varieties with varying drought/heat response results in
higher resilience to shocks→ Combining field/crop simulation and whole farm analysis is necessary to understand the complexity of G x E x M interactions
Fig. 3: Boxplots of simulated grain yields for common bean, cowpea, lablab and maize grown during the period of the short rain and long rain on soils with different plant available water capacity (PAWC) in Katumani, Kenya.
Systems have:Structural complexity of componentsAvailability of a variety of natural resources‐ Land types‐ Water resources‐ Common Property
Resources (CPRs)Climate, biodiversityHuman, social & financial capitalInteractions with marketsOther drivers of change
Source: unpublished training manual
Fig. 1: Above-ground biomass accumulation in response to water availability in Katumani, Kenya.
Fig. 2: Observed vs. simulated biomass (kg ha-1 ) for common bean (fm: fully irrigated, medium density; pm: partly irr., medium den.; rm: rainfed, medium den.; fl: fully irr., low den.; fh: fully irr., high den.).
Fig. 4: Boxplots of simulated grain yields for common bean, cowpea, lablab and maize grown during the period of the short rain and long rain in Katumani, Kenya in response to in-season rainfall (<200, 200-400 and >400 mm).
