Search

CONTEXT A concept was presented to produce N fertilizer by digesting straw in a biogas plant and transporting bio-methane to a fertilizer plant through a gas grid substituting natural gas. OBJECTIVE The rational was to find out if straw, a residue not infringing on food production and not needing extra cropland, converted to methane in a biogas reactor, is a viable option for ammonia synthesis. METHODS Scenarios calculations were based on straw from 1 ha wheat producing 7 Mg of grain using 150 kg of fertilizer N. Removal rates of straw were 60 or 100%. Digestion residues were returned to fields within a radius of 50 km. Three scenarios with varying straw removal and low to high efficiency of the biogas and fertilizer plant were assessed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS A sensitivity analysis showed the combination of a medium to high efficient biogas and fertilizer plant using between 3.5 and 7 Mg straw covered the energy need for crop management, transportation of straw and digestate and N fertilizer production and still delivered a surplus of 838–9192 kWha ha−1. The amount of 1 Mg of straw enabled the production of 94 to 173 kg fertilizer N. SIGNIFICANCE Use of straw can be a useful alternative for N fertilizer production making agriculture more sustainable.

This paper describes a system analysis and profitability evaluation of integrated biorefinery systems in the UK. The profitability of wheat/rape biorefineries is studied using appropriate data for the Eastern Counties of England. The model used analyses the process sequences from harvesting and transporting through to various storage and fractionation lines, determining the optimum profit of the system. The biorefinery systems are compared with conventional grain and straw harvesting situations, analysing the added value of such systems. A wholecrop wheat biorefinery is shown to be profitable when it includes processes of straw milling or enzymatic extraction. This system produces increased value products such as dietry fibre and bakery syrup from grain or internode chip/fibre from the straw. No rape biorefinery analysed is profitable.

This study assesses global warming impact (GWI) of Not-From-Concentrate (NFC) orange juice produced in the state of Florida. The selected functional unit (FU) is a NFC orange juice carton available in a standard packing of 1.893 L (64 fluid oz) at a local food store. A life-cycle assessment approach was adopted and greenhouse gas emissions of all the steps present in the entire supply chain starting from orange production to storage of orange juice at a local food store were estimated. We considered two scenarios of orange fruit production i.e., with and without resetting of orange trees. The overall GWI for with and without resetting production scenarios was estimated to be 1.6 and 1.8 kg carbon dioxide equivalent/FU, respectively. The GWI of NFC orange juice produced under the scenario of with resetting was less as compared to the production scenario of without resetting due to 21% more orange fruit production per unit of land area. We found that the GWI of orange production was highest in the production chain, followed by NFC orange juice production at a citrus processing plant for both the scenarios. We also found that the use of fertilizers for orange production contributes significantly towards total GWI of the NFC orange juice. It is expected that results of this study will help in reducing GWI of the Florida’s orange juice and thus, facilitate the state of Florida in achieving desired environmental goals.

A multi-period mixed integer linear programming model was developed to optimize caviar and meat production from a white sturgeon production facility over a 51 year time horizon. The model is only moderately complex but is large with 10 102 equations and 17 905 variables. The model size allows for system stabilization and a minimization of end of model effects without artificially imposed constraints. The model demonstrates the economic feasibility of caviar and meat production as a long-term investment where break-even occurs in year 9, after the first group of caviar fish is harvested. An optimal production schedule is generated where harvest cycles from 3- and 3·5-year old fish offset caviar harvest cycles to maintain an optimal biomass on the farm. The optimal production schedule is evaluated for economical viability against a non-cyclical stable production schedule.

International audience; CONTEXTThe “Living Lab” (LL) model of innovation practices is increasingly applied and strongly supported by innovation policies in the agricultural sector. But while the main principles of LLs imply specific approaches to collectively implementing open innovation processes, few studies have developed an understanding of the different ways of doing so, in relation to the experimental practices on which they rely. While the specificities of agricultural LLs are beginning to be described, little is known about how they more particularly reconfigure experimentation in agricultural innovation systems.OBJECTIVEThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the diversity of experimentation practices in agricultural LLs. It looks at how these practices correspond to different contextualized appropriations of an open innovation model, as translated into key principles for LL implementation.METHODSFirst, we produced an analytical framework that combines the principles of the LL model as described in the LL literature with generic dimensions of experimentation as analyzed in Science and Technology Studies. Second, we used this framework to analyze the diversity of experimentation practices in eighteen cases of LLs in the agricultural and food sectors. Cases were analyzed via two approaches: 1- three small and recent ongoing LLs located in France were studied during a one-year immersive observation; and 2- a collection of 15 other cases (identified in scientific and technical literature, each case corresponding to experiments that are forms of appropriation of the LL model of innovation, sometimes in several similar LLs) were analyzed, mostly based on scientific papers (describing the LLs or their outcomes), technical documents and available information such as videos online, with additional visits and discussions with LL actors for a subset of cases.RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSOur results enable us to characterize three ideal-types of experimentation practices within agricultural LLs: 1- experimentation as a game of creativity in a predefined space; 2- experimentation as a progressive contextual adaptation for innovation adoption; and 3- experimentation as a catalyst for long-term local collective action. Each ideal-type corresponds to a particular combination of ways of (i) controlling what happens within the experimentation space, (ii) defining a perimeter for experimentation, (iii) integrating plural knowledge in problematization, and (iv) integrating various actors' evaluations of experiments. Beyond a clear distinction among ideal-types, appropriations of the LL model reveal different ways of anchoring the experimental process in an explicit temporality and situation, and of considering the construction of the LL itself as experimental and open-ended.SIGNIFICANCEOur analytical framework opens a new way to distinguish between various experimentation practices claiming to develop open innovation processes in agriculture. The three ideal-types that we have identified show the need to pay attention to the relation between collective experimentation practices and the LL expected outcomes.Graphical abstract

CONTEXT The agricultural sector is undergoing several transitions through “smart-farming” technologies. To make this innovation responsible, it is critical to support technological innovation at different stages of innovation with customized strategies for the individual technology. OBJECTIVE What are the critical support functions at different stages of technological innovation in agriculture? METHODS Four technologies are analysed: Automated Milking Systems (AMS), a digital fencing system for the virtual herding of goats, a technology for drone-based observation and management in agriculture and forestry, and round baler silage systems. These are analysed as sociotechnical constructions of multiple stakeholders, with heterogeneous pathways to societal acceptance and practical usage on the farm. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS To provide information about how such technology can be created in a responsible manner, the paper suggests a Balanced Readiness Level assessment (BRLa) to highlight five dimensions for technological maturity: technological, market, regulatory, social acceptance, and organizational maturity. Through this approach, the findings show that each phase of the technological development benefits from specifically targeted support and that support functions should not be underestimated in order to get technology to a higher level of acceptance. SIGNIFICANCE Agriculture is facing challenges that demand transition of the sector. Supporting invention to stimulate innovation is important; supporting implementation is also important, but identifying the supporting functions that can have an impact at the societal level is crucial to stimulating transition of the system. This paper clarifies the variations of the supporting functions.

CONTEXT: It is still an open question how to assess the contribution of digitalisation in agriculture to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, and how digitalisation then can be done in a responsible way. A socio-cyber-physical system (SCPS) concept can help this analysis, but little experience exists with its operationalisation and application, and its integration with the Responsible Research and Innovation approach. OBJECTIVE: To address this gap, this paper has a twofold purpose: a) operationalise the SCPS concept within an integrated assessment framework adaptable to multiple levels of analysis, contexts, and purposes (e.g. ex-ante, ongoing, ex post evaluation) to shed light on impacts of digitalisation in relation to SCPS entities, relationships, and activities; b) apply the designed framework in 21 multi-stakeholder platforms (Living Labs), which were established to explore needs and expectations in specific subjects relevant for European agriculture, forestry and rural areas. METHODS: Impacts were assessed through interviews (158 respondents), focus groups (378 participants), online surveys (273 respondents), and other secondary data. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the SCPS framework enables elucidating relationships between digital and broader sustainable development goals and needs, and can sharpen earlier assessments, going beyond a pessimistic or optimistic dichotomy associated to digitalisation by specifying effects and trade-offs in terms of enabling, disenabling, boosting and depleting impacts of digital agriculture. However, the framework being comprehensive and open to emerging socio-cyber-physical interactions, makes that Livings Labs doing participatory impact assessments struggled with the complexity and multiple dimensions of the topic. SIGNIFICANCE: The paper provides both conceptual and operational knowledge to set up impact evaluations of responsible digitalisation in agriculture and outline concepts that can help anticipating the consequences and trade-offs.

Scaling up food security innovations in low-income rural environments has often failed to achieve substantive and lasting results. This poor performance can be attributed to dominant, linear approaches associated with spreading innovations which entail technology research and development and subsequent transfer to farmers. Such approaches tend to overlook complexity elements and non-linear processes in smallholder agriculture, including multiple stress factors such as climate variability and economic risks that make the uptake of new agricultural innovations more unpredictable. This article presents programmatic lessons from the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) on scaling up. It considers projects that: i) deployed successfully pilot-tested innovations to reach and benefit large numbers of beneficiaries; and projects that ii) used innovations as an entry point to catalyse systematic change in the food and agricultural sector. The paper also outlines several key scaling up principles that can encourage better understanding of relevant socio-ecological dynamics and complexities in intervention areas as a way to support innovations (at scale) that can contribute to more sustainable system outcomes. Finally, the paper reflects on how predominant definitions of impact at scale, centered around rather narrow indicators around economic growth and technology transfer, might consider more holistic goals that encompass integrated agricultural interventions that advance sustainable agri-food system outcomes.

Drawn from numerous sources, including papers in this special issue, this concluding paper synthesizes evidence on the relationship between agricultural research for development and poverty reduction, with particular emphasis on agri-food systems perspectives in shaping programs aimed at rural prosperity. Following our introduction in section 1, we revisit the ex ante set of 18 pathways in section 2 (which were laid out in our introductory paper for this SI), posing some critical questions: Can a manageable set of impact pathways be identified? How are they inter-related? Rather than independent linear pathways, is it better (both conceptually and for clarity of communication) to represent these as impact networks rather than linear pathways? These insights lead to very different and more inclusive partnerships and contain their own implications for program design in section 3. The challenges facing the world today are complex, and no single organization or sector can hope to effectively confront these issues alone. Not only is partnership increasingly seen as a multi-stakeholder phenomenon rather than a bilateral one, but there also is a discernible move towards a network framing (e.g., as “innovation systems” or “boundary spanning”). This change is driven by the progressive inclusion of agricultural research goals as part of the wider development agenda, where complexity and systemic change are central. In turn, this requires more appropriate strategies for knowledge creation, innovation, and partnership. Section 4 presents implications for program design and priority-setting that follow from foregoing insights on the interplay of pathways and partnerships.

This introduction to the special issue deploys a framework, inspired by realist synthesis and introduced in Section 1 , that aims to untangle the contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes associated with investments that link poverty reduction and rural prosperity within a broad agri-food systems perspective. Section 2 considers changes in contexts: Where are agricultural research investments most likely to be an engine of poverty reduction? Over the past 25 years, there have been profound changes in the development context of most countries, necessitating an update on strategic insights for research investment priorities relevant for the economic, political, social, environmental, and structural realities of the early 21st Century. Section 2 briefly surveys changes in these structural aspects of poverty and development processes in low-income countries, with particular attention to new drivers (e.g., urbanization, climate change) that will be of increasing salience in the coming decades. In Section 3 , we turn to mechanisms: What are the plausible impact pathways and what evidence exists to test their plausibility? Poor farmers in the developing world are often the stated focus of public sector agricultural research. However, farmers are not the only potential beneficiaries of agricultural research; rural landless laborers, stakeholders along food value chains, and the urban poor can also be major beneficiaries of such research. Thus, there are multiple, interacting pathways through which agricultural research can contribute to reductions in poverty and associated livelihood vulnerabilities. This paper introduces an ex ante set of 18 plausible impact pathways from agricultural research to rural prosperity outcomes, employing bibliometric methods to assess the evidence underpinning causal links. In Section 4 , we revisit the concept of desired impacts: When we seek poverty reduction, what does that mean and what measures are needed to demonstrate impact? The papers in this special issue are intended to yield insights to inform improvements in agricultural research that seeks to reduce poverty. History indicates that equity of distribution of gains matters hugely, and thus the questions of “who wins?” and “who loses?” must be addressed. Moreover, our understanding(s) of “poverty” and the intended outcomes of development investments have become much richer over the past 25 years, incorporating more nuance regarding gender, community differences, and fundamental reconsideration of the meaning of poverty and prosperity that are not captured by simple head count income or even living standard measures.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) conceptually has the potential to contribute to the sustainable development goals of achieving zero hunger, reducing land degradation, eliminating poverty, tackling climate change, and promoting gender equality. The scaling-up needed to achieve goals of CSA represents a challenge, as it entails understanding synergies between often opposing socioeconomic and environmental priorities and trade-offs over temporal and spatial scales. In this paper, we tested new approaches to support scaling-up of sustainable food production through investigating the contribution of systems thinking as a conceptual approach and complex adaptive system (CAS) attributes as a framework for analysis of CSA. This was done through examining (i) to what extent CSA represents a CAS and (ii) what contribution systems thinking and CAS attributes can make to understanding and scaling-up sustainable food production systems through CSA. The CSA situation was conceptualized through systems thinking sessions with women farmers in the climate-smart village (CSV) of Doggoh-Jirapa, northern Ghana, and was guided by the Distinctions, Systems, Relationships and Perspectives (DSRP) framework. Systems thinking, and CAS attributes provide system-wide understanding of elements, dynamics and trade-offs over temporal and spatial scale in selected agri-food systems. As such it could aid horizontal and vertical scaling-up by informing policy developoment and selection of a context-specific portfolio of technologies and practices at landscape and farm levels to achieve synergies between goals. In this study, systems thinking enabled women farmers in the CSV to identify income-generating and tree planting activities, with desirable simultaneous system-wide impact. The paper calls for further testing of tools, approaches, and methods that enable dynamic systems thinking to inform scaling-up efforts, while embracing the transdisciplinary nature and complexity of CSA as a constituent of the food production system.

In a time of global crisis, existing systems are rigorously tested and placed under significant and abnormal strain. This paper uses Welsh case studies to explore how food producers in Wales have collaborated to protect livelihoods while also providing accessible food to the nation. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the food and drink supply chain in Wales contributed £22.1bn in annual turnover to the national economy and supported over 200,000 jobs. The coronavirus pandemic however has put the food and drink industry, which is considered a priority sector in Wales, at significant risk. The hospitality sector, which turned over £3 billion in 2019 and is a key end destination for Welsh produce from small businesses, faced months of near total closure, with no certainty of when the sector may be allowed to resume trading as normal. This in turn has significant and long-lasting effects on the country's food producers, facing a decimated sector they once relied upon to bring their produce to market though stable and established supply chains and procurement relationships. This paper explores how both producer-led and organisation-led producer collaboration in Wales has provided new and innovative routes to market for Wales' food producers as a result of the lockdown imposed by Welsh and British government to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The challenges faced by these newly established collaborations are discussed alongside the opportunities for longer term collaboration generated by these organisations which emerged to fill a specifically identified void in this unprecedented crisis. Two innovative, in depth, regional level case studies that have responded to this increased demand for accessible food are discussed. Users range from those choosing to buy local produce contact free, through an online click and collect service, to those most vulnerable, wholly reliant on a food box delivery scheme developed through cross sector collaboration at the outbreak of the crisis. This paper concludes that long term producer cooperation in the region is likely to be established following on from the short-term measures implemented as a direct result of the development of social capital during the Coronavirus lockdown, and further concludes that a crisis of this magnitude can stretch the current centralised and remotely controlled food system to breaking point. A number of lessons are highlighted which are pertinent for actions to integrate policy to support societal change and resilience, in order to prevent catastrophic food (in)access in the future.

The paper investigates the impact of rainfall shocks on agricultural productivity and crop-specific agricultural land productivity. The paper also examines the impact of negative rainfall shocks on household consumption as well as its distributional impact by initial wealth and geographical zones. We use nationally representative panel datasets from Nigeria merged with georeferenced rainfall information. Negative rainfall shocks have heterogeneous effects on crop-specific agricultural productivity and based on geographical zones. We use an instrumental variables regression approach, where agricultural land productivity is instrumented with negative rainfall shocks. A negative rainfall shock decreases agricultural productivity and hence decreases household consumption by 37%. We also show considerable differential impacts of rainfall shocks on household consumption by initial values of wealth and geographical zones. Rainfall shocks have a negative, significant impact for asset-poor and nonpoor households, but has a higher impact on household consumption for asset-poor households. Similarly, it has higher impact for land-poor households and households in northern Nigeria.

Maize lethal necrosis disease (MLN) was first diagnosed in eastern Africa in the 2010's and is a big threat to their maize-based agri-food systems with estimated losses amounting to US$261 million in Ethiopia and US$198 million in Kenya. This paper reviews the agronomic and policy options to contain MLN and comparatively analyzes the feasibility of using maize-bean rotations and MLN-tolerant germplasm as key alternative strategies for managing MLN. Results from crop simulation and economic surplus models are used to make assessments on what strategy offers the most realistic MLN control approach given the circumstances of smallholder production in Kenya and Ethiopia. The paper finds that although maize-legume rotations are sound agronomic recommendations and are crucial for long term maize production system viability, their widespread application over large geographic areas for MLN control is economically challenging given that maize is a preferred staple. We conclude that scaling MLN-tolerant germplasm proves highly viable with estimated multiplier benefits of US$245-756 million in Ethiopia and US$195-678 million in Kenya, and benefiting up to 2.1 million people in Ethiopia and 1.2 million in Kenya. Given that the threat of MLN is present and ongoing, the food and economic security of maize-based agrarian economies in eastern Africa will critically depend on the successful mainstreaming of MLN tolerance in their maize seed systems.

Climate change and salinisation present substantial challenges to the sustainability of cropping systems in south-west coastal Bangladesh. This is the third paper in a series reporting a study to assess the impacts of climate change and salinity on the productivity and economic viability of ten current and potential rice-based cropping systems in two coastal villages in Khulna District. In this paper, possible adaptations are assessed, including novel dry-season crops, changed fertilizer use, and changed sowing dates, across five climate and three salinity scenarios. Farmers' estimated, APSIM-simulated, and extrapolated yield distributions were incorporated in budgets for the ten cropping systems, using current and projected salinity levels. Current and projected future prices and costs were used to estimate different measures of profitability. Estimated variability in yields and prices was used to generate probability distributions for these profitability measures, permitting comparison of cropping systems based on profitability and risk. Adaptation through changed fertilizer use (higher or lower, depending on the crop) was projected to give higher returns for some cropping systems. However, larger improvements were obtainable with changes in sowing dates to avoid the worst stresses imposed by climate change and salinity. The loss of production of all crops except watermelon and pumpkin due to salinity was more than offset with changed sowing dates for 2030 and 2060 conditions, irrespective of season. With such adaptations, and allowing for risk, the rice/shrimp system maintained the top ranking in terms of net income per hectare in 2030 and 2060 and the rice/sunflower system maintained the second ranking. The rice/pumpkin/rice system ranked third for 2030 and fourth in 2060 while the rice/maize system moved up to third in 2060.

This paper presents a comprehensive substance flow analysis (SFA) of phosphorus (P) for a six-year period (2008–13) in Gippsland, a key agricultural region of Australia with high economic and environmental significance. The analysis has revealed that around 71% (10,904 t) of the mean annual total inflow of P was stored in this region. This finding is different from other published regional scale SFAs, where more than 50% of the P in annual total inflow eventually left the region. Per capita P inflow in Gippsland is also found substantially higher compared to available SFAs. In Gippsland, the annual inflow of P primarily occurred as commercial fertilizer (66% or 10,263 t) and livestock feed (29% or 4443 t), and the outflow mainly occurred as livestock products (94% or 4181 t); while the majority (66% or 7218 t) of the P storage occurred in soils of the livestock farming area. A comparative analysis of the magnitude of P flow in different subsystems indicates that more than 80% of the annual total inflow, outflow, and storage of P in this region is associated with the livestock (mainly dairy and meat cattle) farming subsystem. For the Gippsland region as a whole and almost all subsystems, significant annual variations in the magnitudes of P inflow, outflow, storage and internal flow have been observed. Between 2008 and 2013, both the annual total inflow (mainly as commercial fertilizer) and the annual total storage (mainly in soils) of P in this region showed a substantial decrease (41% and 54% of the 2008 level, respectively), while the annual total outflow (mainly as livestock and crop products) remained nearly the same, indicating an improvement towards sustainable P management. Despite such a positive sign, there is still adequate room for improvement. This analysis indicates that over the study period, about 65,424 t P were accumulated (mainly as soil storage) that is approximately six times the mean annual P inflow as commercial fertilizer in this region; while approximately 3241 t P lost as soil erosion and runoff, indicating substantial adverse economic and environmental implications. Based on the findings of the current analysis, this paper outlines a wide range of policy and management interventions to reduce the downstream loss of P and other nutrients as well as the region's dependency on imported commercial fertilizers and grain based feed. This paper also presents new criteria for data quality analysis and a set of P concentration data of various materials that could be readily utilized in future SFAs of P at any geographical scale. This paper suggests that considering the inter-annual variations in P flow as assessed in this SFA, future research should focus on identifying the influence of socio-environmental, technological and political factors on the magnitude P flow in Gippsland.

CONTEXT Structured co-design processes are increasingly used for agricultural system redesign challenges. Many co-design processes were created in non-agricultural contexts, therefore there has been limited analysis of how they are best applied when involving farmers in co-design. OBJECTIVE The aims of this paper are to describe the application and affordances of co-design processes in a context of complex agricultural problems, and to build understanding on the use of such approaches with farmer stakeholders. METHODS We examine co-design affordances through two case studies: using Reflexive Interactive Design for future farm system redesign, and Design Thinking for farming workplace redesign. Data collection involved surveys and phone interviews of co-design participants, notes from project team observations and reflections, and direct farmer participant feedback. We critically evaluated the co-design processes using an affordances-based analytical framework. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Co-design methods can enable researchers to engage with farmers and other agricultural stakeholders to address major agricultural redesign challenges. However, farmers are not always comfortable with highly analytical methods used in some co-design processes. Through the two case studies analysed in this paper, we propose the concept of farmer-centred design, where effective inclusion of farmers in design processes is achieved by selecting the co-design approaches used based on the affordances they provide farmer participants. Processes based on structural affordances (harnessing and aggregating) may frustrate farmer co-designers, while second-order functional affordances, such as exploration, visioning, and extending, can provide better alignment with farmer cognitive processes. SIGNIFICANCE This novel study describes the affordances of co-design tools and proposes an adapted framework for analysing affordances. The framework will benefit researchers when determining the co-design approach that matches their redesign challenge.

Farm models are potentially relevant tools for policy impact assessment. Governments and international organizations use impact assessment (IA) as an ex-ante policy process and procedure to evaluate impacts of policy options as part of the introduction of new policies. IA is increasingly used. This paper reviews both the use of farm models in such policy IAs in the European Commission, and the development and use of farm models for policy IA by the scientific community over the past decade. A systematic review was performed, based on 202 studies from the period 2007–2015 and results were discussed in a science-policy workshop. Based on the literature review and the workshop, this paper describes progress in the development of farm models, challenges in their use in policy processes and a research and cooperation agenda. We conclude that main issues for a research agenda include: 1) better understanding of farmer decision-making and effects of the social milieu, with increased focus on the interactions between farmers and other actors, the link to the value chain, and farm structural change; 2) thorough and consistent model evaluation and model comparison, with increased attention for model sensitivity and uncertainty, and 3) the organization of a network of farm modellers. In addition, the agenda for science-policy cooperation emphasizes the need for: 4) synthesizing research evidence into systematic reviews as an institutional element in the existing science-policy-interfaces for agricultural systems, 5) improved and timely data collection, allowing to assess heterogeneity in farm objectives, management and indicators, and 6) stronger science-policy interaction, moving from a research-driven to a user-driven approach.

CONTEXT As a direct link between farmers and manufacturers of technologies, the characteristics and activities of input suppliers can be expected to play an important role in the generation and diffusion of innovations in agricultural systems. While the agricultural innovation systems (AIS) literature recognises the importance of input suppliers, there are few studies from the Global South assessing the nature and implications of their activities. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to improve the understanding of how input suppliers can influence the functioning and development of AIS in the Global South. METHODS We first adapt the ‘functions of innovation systems’ framework to examine the role of these private-sector actors in an AIS, identifying three activity categories, through which input suppliers can influence the AIS: market creation for technological innovations, the creation and dissemination of knowledge, and influence on technology priorities. We then apply the framework to a case study of the small-scale irrigation sector in Kenya. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION The case study documents the emergence of a new cohort of irrigation-equipment suppliers during the period of strong growth in the market for small-scale irrigation technologies since 2000, and examines how they affect the small-scale irrigation agricultural innovation system (SIAIS). We find that Kenyan irrigation-input suppliers perform important activities and roles in the SIAIS aside input supply, notably provision of advisory services, improvement of the supply chain for irrigation technologies, introduction and adaptations of new types of irrigation equipment, and facilitation of access to farm credit. Irrigation-input suppliers in Kenya thus play an important role in the functionality of the SIAIS, particularly regarding knowledge creation and dissemination. SIGNIFICANCE The novelty of the paper lies in its empirical assessment of input suppliers in the small-scale irrigation sector and its application of the functions framework. The paper shows that input suppliers can become effective agents of knowledge diffusion once the market has reached a sufficient size and documents how they contributed to knowledge development as they develop, adapt and test specific irrigation equipment. The paper also emphasises that input suppliers can form a key link between national AIS and foreign companies, as they bring in foreign expertise (know-how) to the market along with agricultural technologies. We therefore suggest that policy interventions in support of smallholder irrigation should seek leverage from the growth and capacities of input suppliers as a complement to public research and extension.

CONTEXT Public and private research institutions are grappling with the challenges and opportunities of embedding dimensions of responsible innovation within their research and development programs, including those seeking to transform agricultural productivity and sustainability through digital technologies. Central to meeting this challenge is building institutional, organisational and professional capacity for anticipation and reflexiveness within multidisciplinary research communities. Foresighting methodologies provide a means by which this might be usefully and practically enabled, whilst also shedding light on the broader social and ethical implications of alternative agricultural technology development pathways under uncertain environmental and industry futures. OBJECTIVE This paper presents the results of a participatory foresighting exercise undertaken as part of a large, publicly funded multi-disciplinary research initiative designed to build a common big data infrastructure to harness the benefits of the digital revolution for the Australian agricultural and land sectors. We seek to explore what role digital technology will play in the future of Australian agriculture and to consider the social and ethical implications. METHODS We ran a one-day foresighting workshop comprised of four steps – 1) horizon scanning to identify trends 2) selecting two drivers of change 3) producing a matrix to generate scenarios 4) building and refining scenarios. Participants explored different possible futures of farming in Australia, with a focus on scenarios involving socio-technical dimensions of digital agriculture to consider the implications of these futures for research practice and for farming communities. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Four scenarios were developed, distinguished by the interplay of two critical but uncertain drivers of change identified by participants, namely: the degree of resource security or insecurity that future agricultural enterprises are likely to experience; and the degree to which farming sectors maintain traditional farm business models and associated value chains or transition to more diverse or innovative business models. The process highlighted the need to increase the capacity and opportunity for more reflexivity in research and development, if positive outcomes were to be achieved. SIGNIFICANCE The scenarios we produced provide a catalyst for conversation about the implications of digital technology development in Australia and globally, for industry, policy and research and development. In particular, the scenarios highlight potential changes in farm business models, decision making, and beneficiaries and inequities of new technologies and other components of food value chains. The paper also serves as a guide and prompt for others, by demonstrating one way reflexivity can be achieved in organisations attempting innovation.

When on March 24, 2020 the Government of India ordered a complete lockdown of the country as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it had serious unwanted implications for farmers and the supply chains for agricultural produce. This was magnified by the fact that, as typically in developing countries, India's economy is strongly based on farming, industrialization of its agricultural systems being only modest. This paper reports on the various consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown for farming systems in India, including the economy, taking into account the associated emergency responses of state and national governments. Combining quantitative and qualitative sources of information with a focus on the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, including expert elicitation and a survey of farmers, the paper identifies and analyzes the different factors that contributed to the severe disruption of farming systems and the agricultural sector as a whole following the lockdown. Among other issues, our study finds that the lack of migrant labor in some regions and a surplus of workers in others greatly affected the April harvest, leading to a decline in agricultural wages in some communities and an increase in others, as well as to critical losses of produce. Moreover, the partial closure of rural markets and procurement options, combined with the insufficient supply of products, led to shortages of food supplies and dramatically increased prices, which particularly affected urban dwellers and the poor. We argue that the lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis could fuel the development of new sustainable agro-policies and decision-making in response not only to future pandemics but also to the sustainable development of agricultural systems in India and in developing countries in general.

The international agricultural research centers known as CGIAR have played an important role with regard to global food security. Yet, their mandate remains debated: Should they concentrate on producing global public goods, for which they arguably have a comparative advantage, or should they engage in “downstream” activities of the research-development continuum and promote technology adoption on the ground, so as to increase their impact? This paper contributes to resolving this debate by developing a new conceptual framework, which is based on transaction costs economics and makes it possible to identify a range of factors that determine the comparative advantage of international versus national organizations. The different transactions involved in the development and uptake of products from international agricultural research are illustrated by an empirical case study of the legume improvement program of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Data collection involved a participatory mapping technique (Net-Map) as well as key informant interviews. The paper draws attention to the governance problems involved in downstream activities, which influence the comparative advantage of international versus national organizations in the research-development continuum. Policy implications are derived for the ongoing reform of the CGIAR and for future research on this topic.

The problem of food resources allocation to a heterogeneous dairy herd was studied in this paper. We focused on how to allocate available resources by grouping cows and their subsequent distribution in the field (pasture and/or feeding area). The main goal of this paper was to maximize either milk production or the margin over feeding cost for the entire dairy herd. The input of energy from different feed resources and the animal requirements of energy were considered. A mathematical model and a Genetic Algorithm (GA) were programmed. An experimental evaluation was performed in order to analyze the quality solution of the GA and to study how the resource allocation should be performed by interpreting the solutions' structure for both methods. The diversity of the solutions provided by the GA was also studied. The experimental evaluation showed that the gap values (milk production difference) between the GA and the Exact Method (EM) solutions were smaller than 2%. Also, when food resources were scarce, there was a great difference (almost a 50% difference for a herd of 1500 cows) between the GA and the EM solutions' structure. The results showed that values obtained by the GA were very close to the values obtained by the exact method, but generating different assignment structures, presenting a good diversity and a wider exploration of the solutions' space.

Since the 1980s, many developing countries have introduced policies to promote seed industry growth and improve the delivery of modern science to farmers, often with a long-term goal of increasing agricultural productivity in smallholder farming systems. Public, private, and civil society actors involved in shaping policy designs have, in turn, developed competing narratives around how best to build an innovative and sustainable seed system, each with varying goals, values, and levels of influence. Efforts to strike a balance between these narratives have often played out in passionate discourses surrounding seed rules and regulations. As a result, however, policymakers in many countries have expressed impatience with the slow progress on enhancing the contribution of a modern seed industry to the overarching goal of increasing agricultural productivity growth. One reason for this slow progress may be that policymakers are insufficiently cognizant of the trade-offs associated with rules and regulations required to effectively govern a modern seed industry. This suggests the need for new data and analysis to improve the understanding of how seed systems function. This paper explores these issues in the context of Asia's rapidly growing seed industry, with illustrations from seed markets for maize and several other crops, to highlight current gaps in the metrics used to analyze performance, competition, and innovation. The paper provides a finite set of indicators to inform policymaking on seed system design and monitoring, and explores how these indicators can be used to inform current policy debates in the region., Highlights • Despite several decades of policy reforms, decisionmaking on seed systems in many developing countries remain poorly informed by market- and policy-relevant indicators. • We explores Asia’s rapidly growing seed industry to illustrate current gaps in metrics used to analyze performance, competition, and innovation. • We present a finite set of seed system indicators to inform policymaking. • We discuss how these indicators might be used to shape competing narratives and inform current policy discourse around seed system develop in the region.

Digitalization and the use of Smart Farming Technologies are considered a major opportunity for the future of agriculture. However, realisation of full benefits is constrained by: (1) farmers' interest in and use of big data to improve farm decision making; (2) issues of data sovereignty and trust between providers and users of data and technology; (3) institutional arrangements associated with the governance of data platforms. This paper examines the case of Australia's dairy herd milk recording system, arguably one of agriculture's first cases of ‘big data’ use, which collects, analyses and uses farm-level data (milk production, lactation and breeding records) to provide individual cow and herd performance information, used by individual farmers for farm management decisions. The aim of this study was to 1) examine the use of big data to add value to farm decision making; and 2) explore factors and processes, including institutional arrangements, which influence farmer engagement with and use of big data. This paper traces the Australian history of the organisation of dairy herd recording (established in 1912 and digitalized in late 1970s) and then uses findings from a longitudinal study of 7 case study dairy farms, which were incentivised to become involved in herd recording in 2015. Applying a conceptual framework linking path dependency in farm decision making and collaborative governance capacity, we find three new important dimensions of the farm user context influencing farmer demand for big data applications: 1) the transition to a new business stage; 2) the additionality farmers seek from data generated in one component of the farm system to other subsystems, and 3) the use of data in long term or strategic decision making. Further, we identified critical attributes of support services in addressing digital literacy, capacity and capability issues at farm level, including diversity in data presentation formats and facilitation of the on-farm transition process through intermediary herd test organisations. The role of farmers as governance actors, or citizens in the decisions of the trajectory of big data applications, adds to understanding of the nature of collaborative governance arrangements that support farm engagement.

Rainfed transplanted rice ( Oryza sativa ) is the staple crop of the East India Plateau, with >80% grown in a rice-fallow on terraced and bunded hill-slopes (‘medium-upland’) where it is low yielding and drought-prone despite high rainfall (>1200 mm). Paper I attributed this to inadequate ponding for transplanted rice whilst identifying the potential for risk-free alternative kharif (monsoon period) crops, including direct-seeded rice grown without ponding (‘aerobic’ rice), and for second-cropping with little or no irrigation. Paper II reports research with Tribal smallholders in Purulia District, West Bengal that aimed to evaluate these cropping options using a participatory process that further aimed to ‘improve the situation’ of participating families. The feasibility of short-duration aerobic rice was confirmed experimentally in 2007 and 2008 and in wider adoption by farmers in 2010 when conventional rice could not be transplanted. Best yields in each year were >4 t ha −1 . Mustard ( Brassica juncea ) and wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) planted after medium-duration rice yielded up to 0.95 t ha −1 and 2.6 t ha −1 with one irrigation of 40–50 mm for establishment; but modelling suggests there is enough residual soil water after short-duration (early-maturing) rice to exceed these yields in most years, even without irrigation. Significant P-fertiliser was required with these crops to correct acute deficiency. Rainfed vegetables were grown in the kharif and then adapted by farmers to pre- kharif cropping, and to the rabi (winter) if they had some access to irrigation. Monitoring land-use revealed rapid, sustained adoption of more diverse and intensive cropping, with significant social and economic benefits. We attributed adoption to the participatory process used, that strengthened farmer's capacity to innovate. The systems implemented by farmers needed no expenditure on new water resources, suggesting that comprehensive watershed development (WSD) is not a prerequisite to replacing the rigid rice-fallow with safer climate-responsive systems, although investment in small water harvesting structures may be needed for rabi vegetable crops. The technology evaluated, plus the process of intervention that built capacity, together provide a foundation for wider adoption of less risky cropping systems with greater water productivity.

Inefficient use of irrigation water threatens coffee production in Vietnam, the second largest producer worldwide after Brazil. This paper examines the irrigation issues that constrain sustainable coffee production in Vietnam. The period from January to April is a crucial time in the growth of the coffee crop. It requires irrigation, because rainfall only provides 25% of the potential crop evapotranspiration demand. According to crop phenology, this period also requires induced water stress, because it coincides with breaking the dormancy of flower buds and initiation of cherry development, which is crucial for achieving high yield. This paper proposes an irrigation supply of 120 or 150 mm between January and April in a year preceded by good or average rainfall respectively, in November and December. This is equivalent to 364 or 456 liters/plant/round in 3 rounds/year, which is only 70% of the locally recommended level by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Synchronizing this irrigation supply with the management of other inputs could increase average yield up to 4000 kg/ha, from the present level of 2400 kg/ha making coffee production both sustainable and economically viable. In order to achieve this, building capacity of farmers to follow the irrigation and input application schedules is crucial.

Conservation agriculture (CA) is promoted worldwide to enhance soil quality, improve farmers’ incomes and increase the resilience of rainfed agro-ecosystems under climate change. A major constraint to the adoption of CA is crop residue management in mixed crop–livestock systems. Farmers have competing uses of crop residues – for soil cover, as fodder or as additional income source – which may explain low CA adoption rates in some countries. This paper describes the social and income trade-offs of different crop residue uses in Mexico at regional, community and household level associated with the introduction of CA. We first spatially analyze the importance of crop residues for fodder supply and identify municipalities with fodder surplus at national and regional level. Second, we assess the likely social trade-offs and implications for farming communities of changing a typical farm households’ residue allocation. Third, we identify the effects of crop residue uses on gross margins of maize and barley and assess the economic optimal crop residue allocation at the farm level with short planning horizons. The paper focuses on maize and barley producers in the central Mexican highlands and combines primary quantitative and qualitative data with secondary data. Analysis shows that at a national level, Mexico has a fodder surplus while the central highlands have a deficit. Crop residues are a major fodder source in Mexico, contributing up to 40% of fodder availability. Crop residues are also an important income source which implies costs for introducing CA in the central highlands. Our analysis indicates that retaining crop residues in-situ influences gross margins and that retention of roughly 45% of residues maximizes gross margins in situations where opportunity costs for the use of crop residues exist. Partial residue retention, sequential introduction and combination of technologies may facilitate CA uptake but CA remains a challenge for resource-poor farmers given their limited liquidity, risky production environment and difficulty to forego current income for future benefits. More interdisciplinary research is needed around economic optimal residue retention levels under different farming and production conditions, to identify the ecological needed minimum cover of crop residues for CA and to develop alternative low-cost sustainable technologies with short-term benefits.

In complex mixed crop-livestock systems with limited resources and biomass scarcity, crop residues play an important but increasingly contested role. This paper focuses on farming systems in the semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe, where biomass production is limited and farmers integrate crop and livestock activities. Conservation Agriculture (CA) is promoted to intensify crop production, emphasizing the retention of surface mulch with crop residues (CR). This paper quantifies the associated potential economic tradeoffs and profitability of using residues for soil amendment or as livestock feed, and explores alternative biomass production options. We draw on household surveys, stakeholder feedback, crop, livestock and economic modeling tools. We use the Trade-Off Analysis Model for Multi Dimensional Impact Assessment (TOA-MD) to compare different CR use scenarios at community level and for different farm types: particularly the current base system (cattle grazing of maize residues) and sustainable intensification alternatives based on a CA option (mulching using maize residues ± inorganic fertilizer) and a maize– mucuna (Mucuna pruriens) rotation. Our results indicate that a maize–mucuna rotation can reduce trade-offs between CR uses for feed and mulch, providing locally available organic soil enhancement, supplementary feed and a potential source of income. Conservation Agriculture without fertilizer application and at non-subsidized fertilizer prices is not financially viable; whereas with subsidized fertilizer it can benefit half the farm population. The poverty effects of all considered alternative biomass options are however limited; they do not raise income sufficiently to lift farmers out of poverty. Further research is needed to establish the competitiveness of alternative biomass enhancing technologies and the socio-economic processes that can facilitate sustainable intensification of mixed crop-livestock systems, particularly in semi-arid environments.

Brazil is among the world’s largest grain producers and exporters. Its high productivity is the result of its technology in tropical agriculture, the way Brazilian farmers apply these technologies in their farms and Brazil’s particular production conditions. The literature offers few scientific papers that describe and enhance decision support systems for agricultural planning in tropical agriculture, especially those that include two annual harvests in the same area. This paper brings important contributions to understand the double-crop production systems that make Brazil one of the world’s leading and most competitive grain-producing countries. It proposes a decision support model focused on production planning in multiproduct farms under risk conditions and applies this theoretical model of farm planning that uses operations research to understand the different productive resource allocations in farms engaged in grain production. This model was implemented in a representative farm in the Sorriso region, one of the main grain producing areas in Brazil. The efficient frontier curves calculated in the study revealed that the representative farms in this region maximized their production factors. The results showed that the production system adopted by the producers in Sorriso has achieved good financial returns with lower risks.

The integrated rice–duck farming (IRDF), in which ducks feed on insects and weeds in paddies and fertilise rice plants, has been a flagship of Asian sustainable-agriculture movements. Nevertheless, IRDF is not spreading rapidly enough to the extent to which it becomes a successful alternative agriculture. This paper undertakes a systematic review of a collection of experimental IRDF studies in order to derive an insight from the divergent experimental settings and findings. The paper also identifies the strengths and weaknesses of, opportunities for and threats to IRDF from the perspective of IRDF farmers, using the expert elicitation method. Five IRDF expert farmers from each of South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam were interviewed for this purpose. The experimental studies and the expert farmers concurred that the most recognisable empirical strength of IRDF is the synergy of rice and ducks. It was found that the establishment of organic food certification systems provides an opportunity for IRDF to grow. On the other hand, labour-intensiveness was found the most challengeable weakness of IRDF. In parallel, labour shortage in rural areas was found as a serious threat to IRDF. It appears that the weaknesses and threats are more influential than the strengths and opportunities to shaping the adoption of IRDF. In order to make IRDF economically more feasible, the non-market ecological benefits of IRDF in mitigating land degradation and global warming can and should be internalised through appropriate policy instruments.

This paper presents part of a study evaluating alternative management strategies to address effects of climatic variability on productivity and profitability in dryland sheep farming in New Zealand. The study included a field trial and the development and use of quantitative models of sheep grazing systems. Field research carried out to investigate and demonstrate key aspects of high performance sheep systems in dryland environments is briefly described and a summary of results presented. These demonstrate that it is possible to maintain high pasture quality throughout the growing season with a relatively high stocking rate, leading to rapid lamb growth and sale. Flexibility to change feed demand quickly when conditions dry may reduce the variability of income between years (i.e. reduce risk) in comparison to the average farm in the region represented by a regional monitor farm model. To explore effects of different flexibility options and embedded climate risk responses over a number of years, a de-stocking and marketing algorithm has been developed. This combines information on current and projected feed supply and demand, and the probability of rain from long range weather forecasts into a ‘severity index’ which affects how aggressively a farmer might react to a change in climate conditions. Soil moisture level in the top 25 cm of soil (SML25) is suggested as a ‘trigger’ variable to prompt a response in terms of sale of trading stock (lambs and cattle) or capital stock (breeding ewes and cows). The algorithm may be used as a stand-alone decision aid, in which case the farmer needs to enter a sale or disposal priority list of stock classes (which may change during the season), the current stock on hand and current feed supply (expressed as the number of days grazing available). The algorithm is designed to be used iteratively to manage stock sales and utilisation of feed to the end of the season. The algorithm has also been included in a sheep farm simulation model. Implementation and testing within the Lincfarm model, set up for a hypothetical farm, shows that the algorithm generates appropriate sales profiles for scenarios involving different feed supply situations. This illustrates that it is possible to simulate the complex interactions between animals, pastures and management components in dryland grazing systems to investigate tactical adjustments in risk management strategies. Long term impacts of alternative policy:risk response combinations are described in a subsequent paper.

The paper develops a stacked Gaussian process using both field and wet-lab measurements to predict fungal toxin (aflatoxin) concentrations in corn in South Carolina. While most of the aflatoxin contamination issues associated with the post-harvest period in the U.S. can be controlled with expensive testing, a systematic and economical approach is lacking to determine how the pre-harvest aflatoxin risk adversely affects crop producers as aflatoxin is virtually unobservable on a geographical and temporal scale. This information gap carries significant cost burdens for grain producers and it is filled by the proposed stacked Gaussian process. The novelty of the paper is twofold. First, the aflatoxin probabilistic maps are obtained using an analytical scheme to propagate the uncertainty through the stacked Gaussian process. The model predictions are validated both at the Gaussian process component level and at the system level for the entire stacked Gaussian process using historical field data. Second, a novel derivation is introduced to calculate the analytical covariance of aflatoxin production at two geographical locations. This is used to predict aflatoxin at unobserved locations using measurements at nearby locations but with the prior mean and covariance provided by the stacked Gaussian process. As field measurements arrive, this measurement update scheme may be used in targeted field inspections to warn farmers of emerging aflatoxin contaminations.

With an estimated surface area of 190 M ha, inland valleys are common landscapes in Africa. Due to their general high agricultural production potential, based on relatively high and secure water availability and high soil fertility levels compared to the surrounding uplands, these landscapes could play a pivotal role in attaining the regional objectives of food security and poverty alleviation. Besides agricultural production, i.e. mainly rice-based systems including fish-, vegetable- fruit- and livestock production, inland valleys provide local communities with forest, forage, hunting and fishing resources and they are important as water buffer and biodiversity hot spots. Degradation of natural resources in these vulnerable ecosystems, caused by indiscriminate development for the sole purpose of agricultural production, should be avoided. We estimate that, following improved water and weed management, production derived from less than 10% of the total inland valley area could equal the total current demand for rice in Africa. A significant part of the inland valley area in Africa could hence be safeguarded for other purposes. The objective of this paper is to provide a methodology to facilitate fulfilment of the regional agricultural potential of inland valleys in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) such that local rural livelihoods are benefited and regional objectives of reducing poverty and increasing food safety are met, while safeguarding other inland-valley ecosystem services of local and regional importance. High-potential inland valleys should be carefully selected and developed and highly productive and resource-efficient crop production methods should be applied. This paper describes a participatory, holistic and localized approach to seize the regional potential of inland valleys to contribute to food security and poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa. We analyzed over a 100 papers, reference works and databases and synthesized this with insights obtained from nearly two decades of research carried out by the Africa Rice Center and partners. We conclude that sustainable rice production in inland valleys requires a step-wise approach including: (1) the selection of ‘best-bet’ inland valleys, either new or already used ones, based on spatial modelling and a detailed feasibility study, (2) a stakeholder-participatory land use planning within the inland valley based on multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods and using multi-stakeholder platforms (MSP), (3) participatory inland-valley development, and (4) identification of local production constraints combining model simulations and farmer participatory priority exercises to select and adapt appropriate practices and technologies following integrated management principles.

In this paper we use a network perspective to study the micro level of agricultural innovation systems and investigate the different roles and functions that collaborating actors have to perform to spread their innovation both horizontally and vertically. Based on a literature review, we distinguish between three separate network functions: (1) learning and knowledge co-creation, (2) upscaling and institutional entrepreneurship and (3) outscaling and innovation brokerage. We investigate how these different functions have been performed in the case of the Northern Frisian Woodlands (NFWs) in the Netherlands over a period of 17 years. We have constructed the two-mode affiliation networks of the actors involved in various multidisciplinary research projects and lobbying events. We have analysed these networks using Social Network Analysis and measured the participation rates, relative degrees and the main paths through time with the Search Path Node Pairs algorithm. The results show that the three functions are not evenly distributed over all participants in an innovation network. For each of these three functions there is a small group of people that form a core group of knowledge creators, institutional entrepreneurs and innovation brokers. The analysis of the main paths through these projects and events shows the close interaction between the lobbying and knowledge co-creation functions. The ability to perform more than one innovation function over a longer period of time is extremely rare, but those people who can pull this off are very important for the success of an innovation network. This paper therefore concludes that the organisers of innovation networks should take try to organise their collaboration in such a way that it becomes easier for individuals to perform multiple roles within an innovation network.

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) involves a package of management practices for rice cultivation that was developed by a French Jesuit priest in Madagascar. Although the technical and economic efficacy of the package is heavily contested among rice scientists, the package has spread rapidly across the globe, at least in the sense that many rice farmers now identify them with the term ‘SRI’. Understanding the spreading process of SRI may yield important lessons for agricultural research and extension establishments which often have difficulty to spread their ideas and technologies. This paper seeks to throw some light on the spreading process of SRI within the context of Andhra Pradesh, India. Inspired by innovation theoretical considerations, we do not orient ourselves to the spread at the farmer level, but rather to the way in which SRI was adopted by higher level organisations and institutions. This paper suggests that the formation of a heterogeneous ‘support network’ which transcends the conventional agricultural networks is likely to have played a significant role in the spreading of SRI. As part of this network, an important newspaper has reported disproportionally about SRI and represented it in a highly favourable manner. This simultaneously mirrors support for SRI among higher level actors in the agricultural innovation system, and is likely to have contributed to further awareness and opinion formation at this level.

Driven principally by government regulation and societal expectations, mining companies around the world are seeking to mitigate the environmental impacts of mining through mined land rehabilitation programs. The ultimate goal of rehabilitation is to establish an acceptable and sustainable post-mining land use. Mining companies worldwide face the challenge of specifying just what a sustainable post-mining land use will be. The problem is that while regulations require mining companies to assess post-mining land use sustainability, the mechanism for doing so and the factors that should be considered are not specified. We propose a risk-based approach to post-mining land use assessment with the aim of reducing the uncertainty of mine closure and the potential cost of repair of land degradation caused by inappropriate post-mining land use. Grazing is a commonly suggested post-mining land use, particularly in Australia where most mining activities occur on land previously used for cattle grazing. Grazing is also seen as a use suited to rehabilitated mined land because of the lower land productivity required compared to cropping. In this paper we develop a conceptual model of the factors influencing the land degradation risk posed by grazing on rehabilitated mined land. This was done through a literature review to identify potentially important risk factors, followed by a survey of graziers surrounding six open cut mines within the Bowen Basin Region of Queensland, Australia. The survey results were used to develop a profile of the risk factors likely to influence the land management behaviour of graziers within the Bowen Basin. The results of the research highlight that there are three main sets of factors that affect grazing risk on rehabilitated mined land. These are site biophysical characteristics that influence land productivity and commercial grazing viability, factors that influence the land management style of a grazier (principally stocking rate decisions), and factors that influence the commitment of a grazier to comply with any caveats placed on the management of the land. The profile of risk factors obtained for Bowen Basin graziers showed that grazing is likely to be a low risk post-mining land use where land productivity is high enough to support commercial cattle grazing and where land is managed by local graziers. Both the conceptual model and the profile of risk factors described in this paper are precursors to the development of a predictive risk assessment model.

A 45% reduction in riverine total nitrogen flux from the 1980–1996 time period is needed to meet water quality goals in the Mississippi Basin and Gulf of Mexico. This paper addresses the goal of reducing nitrogen in the Mississippi River through three objectives. First, the paper outlines an approach to the site-specific quantification of management effects on nitrogen loading from tile drained agriculture using a simulation model and expert review. Second, information about the net returns to farmers is integrated with the nitrogen loading information to assess the incentives to adopt alternative management systems. Third, the results are presented in a decision support framework that compares the rankings of management systems based on observed and simulated values for net returns and nitrogen loading. The specific question addressed is how information about the physical and biological processes at Iowa State University’s Northeast Research Farm near Nashua, Iowa, could be applied over a large area to help farmers select management systems to reduce nitrogen loading in tile drained areas. Previous research has documented the parameterization and calibration of the RZWQM model at Nashua to simulate 35 management system effects on corn and soybean yields and N loading in tileflow from 1990 to 2003. As most management systems were studied for a 6 year period and in some cases weather had substantial impacts, a set of 30 alternative management systems were also simulated using a common 1974–2003 input climate dataset. To integrate an understanding of the economics of N management, we calculated net returns for all management systems using the DevTreks social budgeting tool. We ranked the 35 observed systems in the Facilitator decision support tool using N loading and net returns and found that rankings from simulated results were very similar to those from the observed results from both an onsite and offsite perspective. We analyzed the effects of tillage, crop rotation, cover crops, and N application method, timing, and amount for the 30 long term simulations on net returns and N loading. The primary contribution of this paper is an approach to creating a quality assured database of management effects on nitrogen loading and net returns for tile drained agriculture in the Mississippi Basin. Such a database would systematically extend data from intensively monitored agricultural fields to the larger area those fields represent. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The idea of the decision support system (DSS) for farmers remains an enigma. Clever technology to bridge the gap between agricultural science and farming practice still seems appropriate. Many more of the conditions for success appear to exist today than ever before. Yet the DSS has yet to significantly colonise farm decision making practice. This paper comes late in a long program of research conducted to see if, and under what conditions, computer simulation of farming scenarios, on which a DSS generally depends, can be valued by farmers. The research approach used an unconventional prototypic information system (IS), comprising local measurements, models, and facilitated discussions that evolved in an action research program. The aim has been to elucidate the means by which successful simulation-based decision support intervention can take place and why it usually does not. This required a significant expansion of the researchers’ concept of the farm as a system to include the farmer’s internal system of practical knowing and learning. This paper reports on a cognitive framework model with transactions at interfaces with both the production system and the analytical IS. Its coarse structure is the classical perception–action cycle influenced by goals and outcome feedback. In the highly uncertain production environment of Australian dryland farming, personal judgement plays a significant mediating role between perception and action, and theory of a continuum between the judgement modes of intuition and analysis adds to framework structure. Further structure comes from the theoretical distinctions between holistic and arbitrary intuition, and between causal and probabilistic analysis. Analytic interventions influence: (a) awareness of current situation conditions and (b) expectations of future conditions and action outcomes, and these serve as primary cognitive resources for evaluation of possible actions in planning and decision making. A theory that matches our research experience in bridging the gap between analytic intervention and intuitive practice posits that virtual situations simulated with analytic models and outputs represented graphically can facilitate vicarious experiential learning. This dovetails with theory concerning the education of intuition. The paper concludes by applying criteria from the field of cognitive engineering to test whether the framework presents a concept of mind that is workable for informing practical model-based research and development aimed at supporting farmers’ judgments and decisions.

In the European Mediterranean basin, pasture-based sheep farming systems are mostly located in marginal/High Nature Value areas. These production systems are multifunctional, and their economic, environmental and social roles are equally important and recognised by policy makers and by society. However, the number of animals and holdings is decreasing, and there is great uncertainty regarding the reproducibility of these farming systems, which depends on many internal and external farm factors and their interactions. The aim of this paper was to perform a comprehensive assessment of sustainability in different sheep farming systems in north eastern Spain using the MESMIS framework. We followed a case-study approach to perform an in-depth investigation of 4 sheep meat and dairy farms with different intensities of reproduction management. Critical points of sustainability, including weaknesses and opportunities, were obtained using a participatory process with stakeholders (farmers and technical advisers) that resulted in the selection of 37 sustainability indicators that were classified according to the systemic attributes defined by MESMIS (productivity, stability, self-reliance, adaptability, equity) and according to the classical sustainability pillars (social, economic and environmental). Some underlying patterns could be observed when analysing sustainability pillars, attributes and indicators. A positive relationship between productivity and intensification level in meat farms was observed; however, economic sustainability was determined not only by on-farm but also by off-farm activities. The economic efficiency of farming (without considering subsidies) was mainly explained by the capture of added value in the dairy systems and the combination of high animal productivity as well as high forage and feed self-sufficiency in the meat systems. Social issues were also central to explaining sustainability at the farm level, including the prospects of generational turnover and the manner in which farmers perceive and rate their activity. A clear trade-off between economic and environmental indicators was observed, i.e., the higher the economic sustainability, the lower the environmental sustainability. Each farm scored differently for diverse attributes, pillars and individual indicators. The scores differed according to size, structure, resource availability and managerial skills, which implies that it would be difficult to apply a holistic sustainability analysis to farming systems instead of individual farms. A number of methodological questions arose during the evaluation process relative to the stakeholders perception of these indicators, their relevance and meaning, the reference values for comparison, or their validity to assess sustainability across spatial and temporal scales. These questions are discussed in the paper.

Conservation agriculture practices are being advocated to help sustain crop productivity gains and secure environmental sustainability in the Trans-Gangetic Plains, India’s Green Revolution heartland. The paper illustrates the use of village surveys as a quasi-quantitative system analysis tool to derive implications for agricultural research and development. Drawing from village surveys in 170 communities, the paper assesses current crop residue management practices in Punjab and Haryana’s rice–wheat, basmati–wheat and non-rice–wheat cropping systems. The prevalence of wheat as the winter crop implies an intensive collection, trading and use of wheat straw as basal feed for dairy livestock; which contrasts with the diverse crop residue management of the monsoon crops. The increased use of combine harvesters has spurred the rapid advent of mechanical wheat straw reapers whereas the bulk of combine harvested rice straw is burned in situ . Present crop residue management practices are largely incompatible with year-round mulch retention despite significant biomass production. The research and development community faces the challenge of evening out straw use and management over seasons to ensure at least partial residue retention if its calls for conservation agriculture in this important sub-region are to succeed. The paper also reiterates the worrying decline of groundwater tables associated with the rice–wheat system.

Water resources use in agriculture is generally quantified in relation to the harvest. In contrast, this paper takes a consumer perspective by assessing water use in relation to the final consumer product. The paper analyses the water use related to two products that are typical to Italian consumers: pasta and pizza margherita. We use the water footprint concept as a tool to quantify and localise this water use. The water footprint of a product is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured over the various steps of the production chain. We find that the water footprint of dry pasta made in Italy amounts to 1924 l of water per kilogram of pasta. The water footprint of a 725 g pizza margherita is 1216 l of water. The impacts of the water footprints of pasta and pizza depend on the vulnerability of the water systems where the footprints are located. The impact of the water footprint of pasta is most severe in Puglia and Sicily, where groundwater overexploitation for durum wheat irrigation is common. The impact of the water footprint of pizza is more diverse. It is concentrated in the first step of the supply chain of tomato puree and mozzarella, i.e. in the cultivation of tomatoes and the feed crops of dairy cows. The bread wheat used for the pizza base does not have large impacts. The water footprint impact of the tomato puree on the pizza is concentrated in Puglia (groundwater overexploitation and pollution related to tomato cultivation) and Emilia-Romagna (water pollution). The water footprint impact of mozzarella lies mostly in the effects of water use for producing the feed ingredients for the dairy cows. Mozzarella production further poses a potential threat to water quality, mostly in the Po valley, but this problem seems to be properly regulated, although possibly not fully controlled.

Experiences from the Mitigation Options for Phosphorus and Sediment (MOPS) projects, which aim to determine the effectiveness of measures to reduce pollutant loading from agricultural land to surface waters, have been used to contribute to the findings of a recent paper (Kay et al., 2009, Agricultural Systems, 99, 67-75), which reviewed the efficacy of contemporary agricultural stewardship measures for ameliorating the water pollution problems of key concern to the UK water industry. MOPS1 is a recently completed 3-year research project on three different soil types in the UK, which focused on mitigation options for winter cereals. MOPS1 demonstrated that tramlines can be the major pathway for sediment and nutrient transfer from arable hillslopes, and that although minimum tillage, crop residue incorporation, contour cultivation, and beetle banks also have potential to be cost-effective mitigation options, tramline management is the one of the most promising treatments for mitigating diffuse pollution losses, as it was able to reduce sediment and nutrient losses by 72-99% in four out of five site years trialled. Using information from the MOPS projects, this paper builds on the findings of Kay et al. to provide an updated picture of the evidence available and the immediate needs for research in this area.