Assessing the Impacts of Agrobiodiversity Maintenance on Food Security Among Farming Households in Sri Lanka’s Dry Zone

Farmers’ maintenance of agrobiodiversity is fundamental to global food security, particularly in a world increasingly affected by climate change. Biodiversity helps to buffer agroecosystems from stresses like climatic variability, and the crop genetic diversity conserved with biodiverse agroecosystems is critical for plant breeding both locally and globally. Yet, despite these benefits, few studies have directly assessed the implications of household–level agrobiodiversity maintenance on household food security. Drawing on survey data collected in Sri Lanka’s Hambantota District, we evaluated the plant diversity maintained by small–scale farming households in both homegardens and crop fields and determined the relationships between this diversity and their households’ food security. We also considered how a suite of additional demographic, household, community, and farm characteristics relate to both the plant diversity maintained by a household and their food security. Similar to previous studies, the age of the agricultural decision-maker and the age and size of households’ homegardens positively correlated with the overall species richness of farming systems. Older homegardens were also identified to be more evenly distributed in their species abundance, and market–oriented households had significantly higher species richness but lower Shannon Indices. Most notably, household socioeconomic status and material wealth were important to both agrobiodiversity maintenance and household food security, while no significant relationships between species richness and food security measures were detected. These findings suggest that effort aiming to increase the food security of small–scale farming households in Sri Lanka, and elsewhere, should target those farming households with a paucity of socioeconomic assets, as these households lack both agroecological and economic resources to overcome shocks, such as those associated with climate change.     

Agricultural diversification as an important strategy for achieving food security in Africa

Farmers in Africa have long adapted to climatic and other risks by diversifying their farming activities. Using a multi‐scale approach, we explore the relationship between farming diversity and food security and the diversification potential of African agriculture and its limits on the household and continental scale. On the household scale, we use agricultural surveys from more than 28,000 households located in 18 African countries. In a next step, we use the relationship between rainfall, rainfall variability, and farming diversity to determine the available diversification options for farmers on the continental scale. On the household scale, we show that households with greater farming diversity are more successful in meeting their consumption needs, but only up to a certain level of diversity per ha cropland and more often if food can be purchased from off‐farm income or income from farm sales. More diverse farming systems can contribute to household food security; however, the relationship is influenced by other factors, for example, the market orientation of a household, livestock ownership, nonagricultural employment opportunities, and available land resources. On the continental scale, the greatest opportunities for diversification of food crops, cash crops, and livestock are located in areas with 500–1,000 mm annual rainfall and 17%–22% rainfall variability. Forty‐three percent of the African cropland lacks these opportunities at present which may hamper the ability of agricultural systems to respond to climate change. While sustainable intensification practices that increase yields have received most attention to date, our study suggests that a shift in the research and policy paradigm toward agricultural diversification options may be necessary.     

Factors Influencing Diversity of Farmers’ Varieties of Sweet Potato in Uganda: Implications for Conservation

Factors Influencing Diversity of Farmers’ Varieties of Sweet Potato in Uganda: Implications for Conservation. There is increasing concern that agricultural intensification is causing loss of crop biodiversity due to displacement of traditional farmers’ varieties by a small number of improved cultivars. Using ethnobotanical surveys, we assessed the implication of adoption of new sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) cultivars on the maintenance of farmers’ varieties in Uganda. Other factors influencing varietal diversity were also assessed. A total of 102 farmer households distributed in the top three sweet potato production agro-ecological zones were interviewed. With the exception of released cultivars, very few varieties appeared in more than one region. The majority of the respondents indicated that they continue to plant some of the existing varieties when they adopt new cultivars. Loss of planting materials due to drought was a major constraint to maintaining varietal diversity for this vegetatively propagated crop. Limited land and lack of access to best management practices were also key constraints to maintenance of farmers’ varieties. The primary criteria for adopting new cultivars were higher yield, taste, and duration to maturity. Yield stability, tolerance to native biotic and abiotic stresses, and good taste were important for maintenance of currently grown varieties. Overall, criteria for variety selection varied with household characteristics including farmer age and gender, uses of the crop, micro-climatic conditions in the farmers’ fields, and level of access to agricultural extension. The observed heterogeneity in selection criteria, influence of social ties, and the role of environment in varietal maintenance have important implications for establishing breeding priorities and preservation of crop diversity.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brief Communication</Emphasis>: Does Integration to the Market Threaten Agricultural Diversity? Panel and Cross-Sectional Data From a Horticultural-Foraging Society in the Bolivian Amazon

Trade theory predicts that the expansion of markets induces households to specialize and intensify production. We use plot-level data (n = 64) from a panel study of 2 village and cross-sectional data from 511 households in 59 villages of Tsimane Amerindians (Bolivia) to test the predictions. Results of bivariate analyses using both data sets suggest that as households integrate into the market economy they: (1) deforest more, (2) expand the area under rice cultivation, the principal cash crop, (3) sell more rice, and (4) intensify production by replanting more and by replanting newly cleared plots with maize, another cash crop. Results mesh with predictions about production specialization and intensification of trade theory. The analysis also produced results running counter to predictions from trade theory. For example, households and villages more integrated into the market planted more cassava and rice varieties, intercropped more, and put more crops in new fields than more autarkic households. Although the expansion of markets induces specialization and intensification in selected cash crops, it does not erase completely agricultural diversity. We hypothesize that despite the expansion of markets, households retain agricultural diversity because the market does not yet provide modern forms of self-insurance or well-functioning labor, credit, and product markets that would allow households to protect food consumption when faced with shocks. Without better insurance mechanisms, some agricultural diversity might still allow households to smooth consumption.     

Identifying Pathways for Improving Household Food Self-Sufficiency Outcomes in the Hills of Nepal

Maintaining and improving household food self-sufficiency (FSS) in mountain regions is an ongoing challenge. There are many facets to the issue, including comparatively high levels of land fragmentation, challenging terrain and transportation bottlenecks, declining labor availability due to out-migration, and low technical knowledge, among others. Using a nonparametric multivariate approach, we quantified primary associations underlying current levels of FSS in the mid-hills of Nepal. A needs assessment survey was administered to 77 households in Lungaun (Baglung District), Pang (Parbat District), and Pathlekhet (Myagdi District), with a total of 80 variables covering five performance areas; resulting data were analyzed using Classification and Regression Trees. The most parsimonious statistical model for household FSS highlighted associations with agronomic management, including yields of maize and fingermillet within a relay cropping system and adoption of improved crop cultivars. Secondary analyses of the variables retained in the first model again focused primarily on crop and livestock management. It thus appears that continued emphasis on technical agricultural improvements is warranted, independent of factors such as land holding size that, in any case, are very difficult to change through development interventions. Initiatives to increase household FSS in the mid-hills of Nepal will benefit from placing a primary focus on methods of agricultural intensification to improve crop yields and effective technology transfer to increase adoption of these methods.     

Biodiversity and Nutrition in Rice-Based Ecosystems; the Case of Lao PDR

This paper presents results from a year-long household survey in which the aquatic resource collection and consumption activities of 240 households across Lao PDR were studied to assess the diversity of species used, their role in household food security and the overall importance of ricefield habitats in this respect. Results show that aquatic biodiversity, under threat in rice-based ecosystems, plays a larger role in household consumption than previous estimates. More than 90 % of these resources are collected by households themselves and the greatest quantities from ricefield habitats. This seasonal aquatic environment is therefore the principal habitat from which households acquire aquatic animals, both to eat fresh and to process and store for use during nutritionally vulnerable times of year. The importance of these habitats therefore goes far beyond their use for rice production and this multi-functionality needs to be understood and addressed in agricultural, conservation and food security policy.     

Occurrence patterns of crop‐foraging sika deer distribution in an agriculture–forest landscape revealed by nitrogen stable isotopes

Conflicts arising from the consumption of anthropogenic foods by wildlife are increasing worldwide. Conventional tools for evaluating the spatial distribution pattern of large terrestrial mammals that consume anthropogenic foods have various limitations, despite their importance in management to mitigate conflicts. In this study, we examined the spatial distribution pattern of crop‐foraging sika deer by performing nitrogen stable isotope analyses of bone collagen. We evaluated whether crop‐foraging deer lived closer to agricultural crop fields during the winter and spring, when crop production decreases. We found that female deer in proximity to agricultural crop fields during the winter and spring were more likely to be crop‐foraging individuals. Furthermore, the likelihood of crop consumption by females decreased by half as the distance to agricultural crop fields increased to 5–10 km. We did not detect a significant trend in the spatial distribution of crop‐foraging male deer. The findings of spatial distribution patterns of crop‐foraging female deer will be useful for the establishment of management areas, such as zonation, for efficient removal of them.     

The Importance of Bushmeat in the Livelihoods of West African Cash-Crop Farmers Living in a Faunally-Depleted Landscape

Bushmeat is an important resource in the livelihoods of many rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa and may be a crucial safety-net for the most vulnerable households, especially during times of economic hardship. However, little is known about the impacts of wildlife depletion on these functions. This study quantifies the role of bushmeat in diversified rural household economies in a wildlife depleted forest-farm landscape in Ghana, assessing its importance overall, as well as differentiated by the relative vulnerability of households. Using repeat socioeconomic questionnaires (N=787) among 63 households over a one-year period, the following hypotheses were tested: (a) vulnerable households harvest more bushmeat; (b) bushmeat contributes a greater proportion of household production in vulnerable households; (c) bushmeat is more important for cash income than consumption in vulnerable households; and (d) bushmeat sales are more important for vulnerable households. The bushmeat harvest value averaged less than US$1.0 per day for 89% of households and comprised less than 7% of household production value. Household wealth and gender of the household head had little effect on the importance of bushmeat. However, bushmeat harvest and sales were highest during the agricultural lean season. Overall, most harvested bushmeat (64%) was consumed, enabling households to spend 30% less on meat/fish purchases. These findings suggest that, despite heavily depleted wildlife and diversified livelihoods, bushmeat continues to have an important role in rural livelihoods by acting as a safety net for income smoothing and reducing household expenditure during times of economic hardship.     

Neighbouring crop diversity mediates the effect of Bt cotton on insect community and leaf damage in fields

Effects of large-scale cultivation of transgenic crops on agricultural biodiversity remain unclear, particularly in the context of complex ecological interactions between transgenic crops and other organisms. Here we conducted a comprehensive survey to investigate the number of species, population abundance, community evenness and dominance of insects and weeds as well as leaf damage to weeds in Bt and non-Bt cotton fields at 27 sites across northern China. The role of neighbouring crop diversity around cotton fields in controlling insects and weeds in the cotton fields was also assessed. In addition, we conducted a 3-year field experiment to verify the results of the survey. Weed diversity in Bt and non-Bt cotton fields was similar, but the species number and diversity indices of insects are significantly decreased in Bt fields aligning with reduced leaf damage to broadleaf plant species including cotton as well as crops in neighbouring plots. The leaf damage to Bt and non-Bt cotton negatively associates with the diversity of neighbouring crops in cotton fields. Our study demonstrates the neighbouring crop diversity mediates the effects of Bt crops on agricultural diversity in complex interactions among transgenic crops, in-field weed and insect communities, and neighbouring crops.

     

Mass-flowering red clover crops have positive effects on bumblebee richness and diversity after bloom

Floral resource quantity in agricultural landscapes plays a key role in the persistence of wild pollinators. An equally important, but less investigated factor is how variation in floral resource availability over time, e.g. floral resource pulses, affects pollinator abundances and diversity. Despite the potential importance of late-season resource pulses for bumblebee reproduction, few studies have evaluated the effects of late-season mass-flowering crops on bumblebee abundances and diversity during and after crop bloom. We assessed how bumblebee abundances, diversity and traits associated with species rarity were affected by cultivation of late-season mass-flowering red clover grown for seed production. Bumblebees were surveyed in red clover fields and flower-rich field borders across 20 landscapes with or without a red clover field during and after crop bloom in southern Sweden. Bumblebee worker abundances were higher in clover fields compared to flower-rich borders in the surrounding landscape. There was no relationship between presence of clover fields and the abundance of males of social bumblebees, but more male cuckoo bumblebees were found in flower-rich borders in landscapes with clover following crop bloom. Mass-flowering red clover also had a positive effect on bumblebee species richness and diversity after crop bloom. Overall, clover had positive and lasting effects on less common bumblebees thereby sustaining higher bumblebee species richness after bloom. Cultivation of red clover has the potential, in combination with the management of flower-rich habitats, to benefit less common bumblebee species in temperate agroecosystems.     

浦江县土壤碱解氮的空间变异与农户N投入的关联分析

尝试以作物种植前、后土壤N的空间变化为基础与农户调查数据相结合,以GIS技术为手段,辅以地统计分析,探讨县域作物土壤环境空间变化特征及其与农户土地管理行为,特别是N投入行为间关系。其结果对更深入揭示农田碱解氮的演化规律,指导农民合理N投入,减少投入成本,提升生态环境,具有十分重要的作用。通过对Moran’s I指数分析,结果表明:农业N投入普遍偏高,过剩量大;不同区域作物N投入存在较大差异,且农户各自惯性投入依然较强。平原区变异系数大的主要原因在于种植规模化品种少,粮食作物和经济作物N投入差距大;山区和半山区的变异系数小的原因是由于规模化经营尚未形成,种植作物的多样性和N投入的不稳定性综合形成的。此外,研究还表明,GIS空间分析技术与经典试验相结合能有效分析不同农户间的作物种植前后土壤N的变化差异,对建立针对性的、差异化农地利用对策具有十分重要的作用。下一步研究可结合土地利用与覆盖变化、土壤物质循环作更深入探讨。     

Indigenous knowledge and traditional conservation of fonio millet (Digitaria exilis, Digitaria iburua) in Togo

Fonio millet (Digitaria exilis Stapf, Digitaria iburua Stapf) is known in Togo far several centuries and has played a strategic role in the household food security mainly in rural areas. Using Participatory Research Appraisal (PRA) tools and techniques, 55 villages randomly selected in the two production zones of Togo were surveyed to document the ethnobotanical and indigenous knowledge related to its production, diversity, use and conservation. For all of the ethnic groups involved in fonio production in Togo (Akposso and Akébou in the south; Losso-Nawda, Lamba, Tamberma, Tchokossi and Gangan in the north), the crop has a high sociocultural value. The fonio genetic diversity being managed by the farmers seems important as 42 landraces were recorded. Two lines of origin that contributed to this current genetic diversity (local domestication or introduction from neighbouring countries) were reported by the farmers. Cooking qualities, growth cycle, colour and size of the grains are the main criteria used by farmers to describe varieties. According to farmers, fonio production and diversity are being regressing because of several constraints of which the most important are lack of adequate harvest, threshing and processing technologies and development of pests and diseases. The important ethnobotanical and indigenous data recorded will be useful in accessing the genetic diversity of the crop in Togo and in defining appropriate strategies for its conservation on farm.     

Cultivated plant species diversity in home gardens of an Amazonian peasant village in Northeastern Peru

Research on agrobiodiversity points to the importance of home gardens in situ conservation, yet few studies to date explicate the origins and dynamics of plant species diversity. In this paper, we examine inter-household variations in cultivated plant species diversity among house gardens in a traditional peasant community, near Iquitos, Peru. In-depth household interviews (n = 24) and garden/field surveys reveal that home gardens are clearly the site of highest plant diversity in farmers’ field portfolios, and that substantial differences exist in garden composition, plant diversity, and the sources of garden planting material across households. Statistical analyses indicate that home garden diversity is related strongly to specific garden characteristics, household socioeconomic features, and access to planting material including seeds, cuttings, and suckers. The role and implications of differential access to planting material in the development and maintenance of crop species diversity is signaled as an important theme for future study in economic botany.     

Property,Power, and the Political Economy of Farming Households in Costa Rica

The relationship between size of landholdings and household economic status is fairly clear, particularly in societies where agricultural exports dominate the economy. Less clear is the effect of differential access to and control of productive property within households and the ways in which it affects the economic opportunities of individual household members. This paper examines property holdings and inheritance patterns among coffeeproducing households in Costa Rica. I show that while cultural norms regulatin g labor contributions do affect the balance of authority within households, de facto property rights can significantly enhance an individual's decision-making power both within households and between generationally-related households. Unless new opportunities arise, as population increases, coffee production expands, and lands become increasingly scarce, we shall likely see increased stratification both within households—as women inherit less land—and among households, as some sons inherit at the expense of other sons and daughters.     

A comparison of female- and male-headed households in Tanzania and poverty implications

Female- and male-headed households were compared using data from a Demographic and Health Survey conducted in Tanzania in 1996. Chi-squared tests showed that sex of head of household was highly significantly associated with: residence, household size and composition, radio ownership, having enough food to eat, and age and marital status of head of household. An analysis by the logit regression model showed that female-headed households were more likely than male-headed households to be in rural areas, be small, have fewer men, not have radios and not have enough food to eat. The majority of female heads of households were unmarried and older than male heads of households. The implication is that female-headed households are poorer than male-headed households.     

农户薪柴消费的理论模型及实证研究

农户薪柴消费变化对室内空气质量、农村生态环境建设影响重大,论文构建了山区农户薪柴消费的理论模型,以重庆市典型区1015份农户调查数据为例,运用Tobit模型分析了农户人均薪柴消费量的影响因素。研究表明:农户家庭能源消费中,商品能源和新能源的比重逐步增大,但薪柴依旧是农户普遍使用的能源类型,且消费量占总能源消费量的比重高;通过降低农业劳动力比重和提高非农工资水平两种途径,非农就业能显著降低农户人均薪柴消费量;家庭电器数量增多、其他收入(政府补贴、亲戚帮扶等)增加、及替代能源(液化气、沼气、煤炭等)可获得性增强也能显著降低农户人均薪柴消费量,而户主年龄大、人均牲畜数量多及房屋离集市距离远的农户家庭的人均薪柴消费量高。提出了加快薪柴替代的措施。     

Species Diversity of Edible Plants Grown in Homegardens of Chibchan Amerindians from Costa Rica

We studied edible crop species diversity at homegardens of two Chibchan Amerindian Reserves in Costa Rica: Talamanca and Coto Brus. We visited six settlements at Talamanca and five at Coto Brus. We recorded the number of edible crop species growing homegardens; we found 46 edible plant species at Talamanca and 27 at Coto Brus. The mean number of species per homegarden ranged between 3.80 and 6.80 at Coto Brus and 4.50 and 8.63 at Talamanca. We identified species that were common, i.e., found in most households and all settlements, and species that were rare. We estimated diversity indexes for each settlement and each Reserve. Also, we compared crop species composition between both Reserves and among settlements within each Reserve, using the Jaccard coefficient of community similarity. Settlements from the same Reserve were grouped together, with the exception of Villa Palacios from the Coto Brus Reserve.     

Butterfly diversity at the ecotone between agricultural and semi‐natural habitats across a climatic gradient

Aim Understanding the response of species to ecotones and habitat edges is essential to designing conservation management, especially in mosaic agricultural landscapes. This study examines how species diversity and composition change with distance from semi‐natural habitats, over ecotones into agricultural fields, and how within‐site patterns of community transition change across a climatic gradient and differ between crop types. Location A total of 19 sites in Israel where semi‐natural habitats border agricultural fields (wheat fields or olive groves) distributed along a sharp climatic gradient ranging between 100 and 800 mm mean annual rainfall. Methods  We performed butterfly surveys in 2006. We analysed species richness (α‐diversity), diversity, community nestedness and species turnover (β‐diversity) within sites and between sites (γ‐diversity). We also assessed where species of conservation concern occurred. Results In wheat sites, richness and diversity declined abruptly from ecotones to fields and remained homogenously poor throughout the fields, regardless of climate. In olive sites, despite the sharp structural boundary, richness and diversity remained high from the semi‐natural habitat to the grove margins and then declined gradually into groves. Species of conservation concern occurred across all habitats at olive sites, but none were found inside wheat fields or at their ecotones. The contrast in community structure between semi‐natural habitats and fields was affected by both climate and field type. Irrigation in arid regions did not augment species diversity. Main conclusions Our results indicate that consideration of crop type, within a climatic context, should receive high priority in biodiversity conservation in agricultural areas. In ‘hostile’ crops, such as wheat, we suggest favouring a combination of high‐intensity management and wide margins over less intensive management without margins, which may merely aid generalist butterfly species. The scarcity of butterflies in arid irrigated fields suggests a need to carefully assess the effects of irrigation and agrochemicals on species’ communities.     

Agricultural Intensification, Market Participation, and Household Demography in the Peruvian Andes

The causes of agricultural intensification in a peasant community in the north central Andes are explored using a methodology derived from the tradition of Systems Ecology. Hypotheses derived from different research traditions??mainly development economics and anthropology??regarding the causes of intensification are integrated and evaluated for their relative effects. It is found that among the variables, household size is better at explaining the degree of intensity with which labor and technology are employed. The results suggest that technologically-driven agricultural intensification is generally forced upon households by the diminishing returns of their labor, and that this process is normally accompanied by increased financial debt for those peasant households who remain in agriculture and do not completely migrate to regional urban centers.     

Dietary Patterns and Household Food Insecurity in Rural Populations of Kilosa District,Tanzania

IntroductionFew studies have investigated the relationship between dietary pattern and household food insecurity. The objective of the present analysis was to describe the food consumption patterns and to relate these with the prevalence of food insecurity in the context of a rural community.MethodologyThree hundred and seven (307) randomly selected households in Kilosa district participated in the study. Data were collected during the rainy season (February–May) and post harvest season (September–October) in the year 2011. Food consumption pattern was determined using a 24-h dietary recall method. Food insecurity data were based on the 30 day recall experience to food insecurity in the household. Factor analysis method using Principal Components extraction function was used to derive the dietary patterns and correlation analysis was used to establish the existing relationship between household food insecurity and dietary patterns factor score.ResultsFour food consumption patterns namely (I) Meat and milk; (II) Pulses, legumes, nuts and cooking oils; (III) fish (and other sea foods), roots and tubers; (IV) Cereals, vegetables and fruits consumption patterns were identified during harvest season. Dietary patterns identified during the rainy season were as follows: (I) Fruits, cooking oils, fats, roots and tubers (II) Eggs, meat, milk and milk products (III) Fish, other sea foods, vegetables, roots and tubers and (IV) Pulses, legumes, nuts, cereals and vegetables. Household food insecurity was 80% and 69% during rainy and harvest–seasons, respectively (P = 0.01). Household food insecurity access scale score was negatively correlated with the factor scores on household dietary diversity.ConclusionFood consumption patterns and food insecurity varied by seasons with worst scenarios most prevalent during the rainy season. The risk for inadequate dietary diversity was higher among food insecure households compared to food secure households. Effort geared at alleviating household food insecurity could contribute to consumption of a wide range of food items at the household level.