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Browsing by Author "Erenstein, Olaf"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Adapting no-tillage agriculture to the conditions of smallholder maize and wheat farmers in the tropics and sub-tropics
    Erenstein, Olaf; Sayre, Ken D.; Wall, Patrick C.; Dixon, John; Hellin, Jonathan (2006)
    "The purpose of this paper is to summarize some of CIMMYT's experiences with the adaptation of NT to smallholder conditions in the tropics and sub-tropics. The scope of the present paper is too narrow to review all of CIMMYT's NT experiences over the years. Instead, this chapter will focus on three contrasting cases of ongoing research and development across the developing world. These cases follow a section that discusses NT in relation to CA. Following the case studies, the paper continues with a discussion on NT innovation systems and impact pathways." (Excerpt from Introduction)
  • Contested Agronomy: Agricultural Research in a Changing World
    (New York, NY: Routledge, 2012)
    Challenges to food security have renewed interest in agricultural research, in which agronomy is a core element. The editors of this book seek to contextualize the production, validation, communication and use of agronomic knowledge through a political analysis of agronomic research which they label political agronomy. In doing so, they aim to understand the incentives, prioritizations, and perspectives of agronomic research as it faces contestation in peer-reviewed journals, in public critique from organizations, and in national and subnational committees. Chapters provide case studies which portray the value of a political agronomy perspective in the analysis of agricultural development, highlighting issues such as conservation agriculture, rice intensification, and biofortification.
  • Crop residue mulching in tropical and semi-tropical countries: An evaluation of residue availability and other technological implications
    Erenstein, Olaf (2002)
    This review article discusses crop residue mulching (CRM), a conservation farming approach that emphasizes groundcover from crop residues (at least 30% groundcover at time of crop emergence). Soil conservation benefits include greater water infiltration, less run-off, more water in the soil profile, and less evaporation. In (semi-)tropical countries, residues typically are a valued resource with multiple productive uses (fuel, fodder, etc.) and thus aren't available to remain as crop mulch.
  • Crop-livestock interactions along agro-ecological gradients: A meso-level analysis in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, India
    Erenstein, Olaf; Thorpe, W. (Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 2009)
    This article uses a case study in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India to understand the environmental implications of crop-livestock interactions. The research finds that crop-livestock interaction is a complex process important to the understanding of the future of conservation agriculture production in rice-wheat systems. It is argued that a complex and contextualized understanding of crop-livestock interactions must be integrated into the research and development agenda.
  • Leaving the plow behind: Zero-tillage rice-wheat cultivation in the Indo-Gangetic Plains
    Erenstein, Olaf (Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), 2009)
    This chapter discusses the rise of no-till rice-wheat systems in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, a region which has enjoyed high adoption rates of conservation agriculture production systems. A major key to success has been the ability to develop low-cost mechanical implements, such as zero-tillage drills, with local manufacturers. An emphasis is also placed on participatory innovation processes that involve farmer to farmer learning as well as sponsorship and support by the rice-wheat consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains.
  • Livelihoods, poverty and targeting in the Indo-Gangetic Plains: A spatial mapping approach
    Hellin, Jonathan; Erenstein, Olaf; Chandna, P. (New Delhi, India: CIMMYT and the Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains (RWC), 2007)
  • U-impact pathway for diagnosis and impact assessment of crop improvement
    Dixon, John; Hellin, Jonathan; Erenstein, Olaf; Kosina, Petr (United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2007)
    Agricultural research has contributed enormously to poverty reduction and increased food security worldwide. Wheat crop improvement is a good example of this contribution. Public investments in wheat research from the Green Revolution onwards led to significant productivity increases: following the widespread adoption of semi-dwarf varieties, annual yield growth rates peaked at 2.75% p.a. in the 1980s. Since then, public and private investments in crop (including wheat) research have been modest despite the potential of such research to contribute substantially to the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving hunger and poverty by 2015. Drawing on a wide spectrum of recent literature, the present paper broadens the usual frame of reference for diagnosing the adoption of improved technology and measuring impact. The adoption of improved varieties and management practices is influenced on the supply side by the nature and performance of the input delivery pathway from research to the farm (input value chains), and on the demand side by the characteristics of the farm household system and the marketing or value-adding chains from the farm to the consumer (output value chains). These three elements (input value chains, farm household system characteristics, and output value chains) can be viewed as a U-impact pathway. This pathway determines the rate and extent of adoption of improved varieties and practices, the magnitude of direct and indirect impacts, and the potential for feedback loops leading to improved functioning of the input and output value chains. The U-impact pathway provides a framework to identify an expanded set of beneficiaries from crop improvement which extend beyond the common focus on producers and final consumers; conventional surplus analysis can then be used to estimate the wider benefits to crop improvement. Additional metrics may be needed to estimate impact related to non-economic benefits, such as poverty, health and social capital. The implication of this fuller accounting of impacts is that the benefits accruing to agricultural research may be greater, and more widely distributed across the economy, than previously recognized by research managers and policy-makers. This strengthens the case for maintained or increased public and private sector investment in crop improvement.