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Women's empowerment has been promoted by researchers and development practitioners as one of the most promising strategies to address widespread hunger and malnutrition. However, the relationship between women's empowerment and dietary diversity and child nutrition has rarely been studied among vulnerable populations or individuals at greater risk of poor physical and social health status. Moreover, the effects of different domains of women's empowerment on nutritional outcomes, including dietary diversity and child anthropometry, have rarely been examined, especially with panel data. Using two rounds of panel data from 1900 households and fixed effects regression models, we analyze the effect of women's empowerment on household dietary diversity score (HDDS) and child anthropometry among the particularly vulnerable tribal groups in Odisha, India. We also estimate the effects of various decision-making domains of women's empowerment on HDDS and child anthropometry to understand which empowerment domains matter for nutrition. Results show that women's empowerment is positively associated with HDDS (coef. 0.41 food groups; p < 0.1) and reduces the prevalence of underweight (coef. 39%; p < 0.05) and wasting (coef. 56%; p < 0.1) in children but has no effect on the prevalence of child stunting. Women's empowerment in agricultural input use; output sales; income; food purchases; and credit, group membership, and employment contribute to improved dietary diversity and child nutrition. We conclude that women's empowerment contributes to improved dietary diversity and child nutrition and is a promising strategy to improve farm household diets and child nutrition among vulnerable populations. Strengthening women's empowerment through the promotion of women's access to land and other agricultural inputs, market participation, access to information, capital, and credit is important., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Ogutu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Rice production has increased significantly with the efforts of international research centers and national governments in the past five decades. Nonetheless, productivity improvement still needs to accelerate in the coming years to feed the growing population that depends on rice for calories and nutrients. This challenge is compounded by the increasing scarcity of natural resources such as water and farmland. This article reviews 17 ex-post impact assessment studies published from 2016 to 2021 on rice varieties, agronomic practices, institutional arrangements, information and communication technologies, and post-harvest technologies used by rice farmers. From the review of these selected studies, we found that stress-tolerant varieties in Asia and Africa significantly increased rice yield and income. Additionally, institutional innovations, training, and natural resource management practices, such as direct-seeded rice, rodent control, and iron-toxicity removal, have had a considerable positive effect on smallholder rice farmers' economic well-being (income and rice yield). Additional positive impacts are expected from the important uptake of stress-tolerant varieties documented in several Asian, Latin American, and African countries., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Key Message: A molecular analysis using informative SNP markers in 1570 clones of cassava from Vietnam reveals varietal composition from farmers' field and genebank collections Cassava is the most important smallholder cash crops in Southeast Asia and is especially used in industrial products. Yet, systematic genetic studies on molecular markers from Vietnamese germplasm have not been considered for breeding and conservation programs. We conducted a molecular analysis of 1570 clones of cassava germplasm from farms across six agro-ecological zones using informative SNP markers. We unraveled the genetic diversity and population structure and provided insights into the value of breeding and conservation programs. Duplicated genotypes comprised 98% of the total sample of the Central Highlands region. Ninety-six SNPs were amplified Central Highlands and South East provinces had the highest allelic richness, covering up to 83% of alleles. The average observed heterozygosity (Ho = 0.43) was slightly higher than expected (He = 0.40) across SNP markers, suggesting an excess of heterozygotes plants. Diversity indexes indicated that cassava populations from North West and Eastern Vietnam are genetically diverse (mean He = 0.40). Genetic parentage tests identified 85 unique genetic groups within the varieties KM94, KM419, BRA1305, KM101, KM140, PER262, KM60, KM57 and two unidentified varieties, which accounted for 82% of the frequency distribution. KM94 is the most dominant variety in Vietnamese farms surveyed (38%), reflecting its superior quality and productivity. Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) revealed four main subgroups, which were partially corroborated by neighbor joining (NJ) analyses. After removing duplicates, 31 unique genotypes were distributed across five of the agro-ecological zones. These were well distributed in the subgroups revealed via DAPC and NJ analyses. The genetic groups identified herein could be used to select unique accessions that should ideally conform with ex situ germplasm collections and identify areas where on-farm conservation programs should be targeted. Newly identified genotypes may also contribute as genetic breeding resources that could be used to adapt cassava to future changes and farmers' needs., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Nitrogen losses from intensive agricultural production may end up as high nitrate (NO 3 - ) concentrations in groundwater, with a long-term impact on groundwater quality. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of fertilization practices used for grape cultivation on groundwater quality of Tidone Valley, northwest of Italy, following an integrated socio-hydrogeological approach that consists on (i) the involvement of 175 farmers in the description of agricultural and fertilization practices, using a survey of ad hoc questionnaires, (ii) the evaluation of NO 3 - occurrence in groundwater and (iii) the identification of NO 3 - sources through isotopic and hydrochemical analysis. In this area, as for certain particular Apennines shallow aquifers, groundwater is of reduced interest due to its limited storage capacity and there are insufficient wells currently monitored by the local Environmental Agency (ARPAE) to evaluate the impact of agricultural fertilization on existing local aquifers. Farmers' questionnaires results highlighted an extensive use of inorganic nitrogen fertilization and a tendency of farmers to follow their own experience for fertilization. Chemical analyses revealed high variability of major and trace elements concentrations isotope data. NO 3 - concentrations were significantly higher in deeper wells with respects to shallow wells. Isotopic results indicated that groundwater NO 3 - origin is inorganic, in agreement with the land use and the declared viticultural practices. Comparing groundwater NO 3 - occurrence from the studied area with values of entire Emilia-Romagna Region, only 7.7% of groundwater samples showed values above the EQS. (50 mg NO 3 - /L) between Nov 2017 and Sept 2018, while in the entire region 11.5% of groundwater samples showed values above the EQS in the same period. Considering that the vineyards surface in the studied area represents almost 75% of the entire regional vineyard surface, the obtained results suggest a low to moderate impact of viticulture on NO 3 - concentration of regional groundwater., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Livestock support the livelihoods of one billion people in Africa, Asia and Latin America, but the productivity of animals remains low, reducing the potential of the sector to support higher incomes and better nutrition. Improved livestock feeding has been identified as the most important step towards higher productivity. This scoping review assessed the evidence for the uptake of improved ruminant livestock feed options, the effect of this uptake on livestock productivity and the degree to which this improves smallholder farmer livelihoods. In total, 22,981 papers were identified, of which 73 papers were included in the final analysis after a rigorous double-blind screening review. Only papers that reported farmers' decision to use a new feed intervention were selected, thereby excluding feeding trials and participatory feed assessments. Of the 73 papers, only 6 reported combined evidence of adoption, effect on productivity and livelihood changes. A total of 58 papers looked at adoption, 19 at productivity change and 22 at livelihood change. This scoping review highlights the gap in evidence for the adoption of new livestock feeding practices and provides recommendations to support farmers' uptake of feed interventions.

In Asia, cassava ( Manihot esculenta ) is cultivated by more than 8 million farmers, driving the rural economy of many countries. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), in partnership with national agricultural research institutes (NARIs), instigated breeding and agronomic research in Asia, 1983. The breeding program has successfully released high-yielding cultivars resulting in an average yield increase from 13.0 t ha -1 in 1996 to 21.3 t ha -1 in 2016, with significant economic benefits. Following the success in increasing yields, cassava breeding has turned its focus to higher-value traits, such as waxy cassava, to reach new market niches. More recently, building resistance to invasive pests and diseases has become a top priority due to the emergent threat of cassava mosaic disease (CMD). The agronomic research involves driving profitability with advanced technologies focusing on better agronomic management practices thereby maintaining sustainable production systems. Remote sensing technologies are being tested for trait discovery and large-scale field evaluation of cassava. In summary, cassava breeding in Asia is driven by a combination of food and market demand with technological innovations to increase the productivity. Further, exploration in the potential of data-driven agriculture is needed to empower researchers and producers for sustainable advancement., (Copyright © 2020 by JAPANESE SOCIETY OF BREEDING.)

It is widely recognized that increasing agricultural production to the levels needed to feed an expanding world population requires sharply increased public investment in research and development and widespread adoption of new technologies, but funding for national and international agricultural research has rather declined in recent years. In this situation, priority setting has become increasingly important for allocating scarce research resources among competing needs to achieve greater impacts. Using partial equilibrium economic surplus models and poverty impact simulations, this paper assesses cassava research priorities in Africa, Latin America and Caribbean, and Asia based on the potential economic and poverty reduction impacts of alternative research and technology options. The results showed that efficient planting material production and distribution systems and sustainable crop and soil fertility management practices have the greatest expected economic and poverty reduction impacts in the three regions. Lack of clean planting materials is a major constraint to adoption and it is envisaged that efficient production and distribution systems for planting material can accelerate technology adoption by farmers. Similarly, sustainable crop and soil fertility management practices play a key role in closing the observed yield gaps, especially in Africa. The paper discusses the results of the priority assessment for key cassava research options and concludes with the implications for cassava research priorities., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This article provides a description of an agricultural household survey data of rice growers collected in Ecuador between October 2014 and March 2015. The household survey was implemented using a structured questionnaire administered among 1028 households in the main rice production areas of Ecuador (i.e. Guayas, Los Rios, Manabi, and El Oro provinces). Information collected was provided by household heads (male or female) and included household and plot level data. The survey information includes household socio-demographic characteristics (e.g. age, education, gender, main economic activity, etc.), farm characteristics (e.g. farm land size, assets ownership, other crops planted, etc.), rice management practices (e.g. variety and input use, production costs, etc.), and rice production and utilization (e.g. yields, prices, sales, etc.). Additional socio-economic context variables were also recorded such as government subsidies to rice production, participation in rural organizations, and food security related questions. The dataset contains a total of 6288 variables among numeric, categorical and string variables. The dataset is shared publicly on the Harvard dataverse site and provide access to questionnaires, the complete data and a brief report.