Agroecology

Agroecology has been proposed as a holistic approach to transform food systems that meet global food requirements with favorable environmental and social impacts. Agroecology relies on science, practices, and social movements that emphasize ecological principles, local knowledge, culture, and traditions to increase the sustainability and equity of the food system. Agroecological practices have demonstrated positive outcomes on food security and nutrition in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Agroecology principles can be applied across the food system and could facilitate the integration of certain alternative protein (AP) foods to address multiple issues...

The cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae) is a major pest of kale (Brassica oleraceae var. acephala), an important vegetable that is grown worldwide due to its high nutritional and economic value. Brevicoryne brassicae poses a great challenge to B. oleraceae var. acephala production, causing significant direct and indirect yield losses. Farmers overly rely on synthetic insecticides to manage the pest with limited success owing to its high reproductive behavior and development of resistance. This necessitates a search for sustainable alternatives to mitigate these challenges...

The interplay between digitalization and economic development constitutes a pivotal global issue, yet empirical research on agricultural ecological efficiency in developing countries remains limited. This study initially establishes a measurement system and a comprehensive index for the level of agricultural digitalization. Subsequently, it delineates the relationship between agricultural digitalization level and agroecological efficiency using the spatial Durbin model, and ultimately explores the enhancing effect of agricultural digitalization level on agroecological efficiency using China as a case study...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of CHIRPS and TAMSAT satellite rainfall data over the Upper Gelana watershed, where gauged meteorological data to understand the nature of the climate are scarce. In addition, variability and trends in rainfall and temperature were examined from 1983 to 2021. To evaluate satellite rainfall, categorical and continuous validation statistics were used. Trends were analyzed using Mann-Kendall, Sen's Slope estimator, and innovative trend analysis (ITA) methods...

Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa remains highly vulnerable to climate related shocks, since most production relies on rainfall. It is important to accurately measure the resilience of farmers and farming communities to weather variabilities, for both government policy and farmer management responses. This paper develops a Resilience Index Framework, which is further used to assess the resilience of farmers to climate shocks in Nigeria. We conceptualized our Resilience Index (RI) in this study to be a composite function of 60 indicators encompassing four resilience domains namely, Economic & Financial Resilience (ER); Technical-know-how Resilience (TR); Social Resilience (SR); and Physical Resilience (PR)...

Legumes are essential to healthy agroecosystems, with a rich phytochemical content that impacts overall human and animal well-being and environmental sustainability. While these phytochemicals can have both positive and negative effects, legumes have traditionally been bred to produce genotypes with lower levels of certain plant phytochemicals, specifically those commonly termed as 'antifeedants' including phenolic compounds, saponins, alkaloids, tannins, and raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs). However, when incorporated into a balanced diet, such legume phytochemicals can offer health benefits for both humans and animals...

Information about species distributions is lacking in many regions of the world, forcing resource managers to answer complex ecological questions with incomplete data. Information gaps are compounded by climate change, driving ecological bottlenecks that can act as new demographic constraints on fauna. Here, we construct greater sandhill crane ( Antigone canadensis tabida ) summering range in western North America using movement data from 120 GPS-tagged individuals to determine how landscape composition shaped their distributions...

Improving the robustness of animals has become a priority in breeding due to climate change, new societal demands and the agroecological transition. Components of animal robustness can be extracted from the analysis of the adaptive response of an animal to disturbance using longitudinal data. Nonetheless, this response is a function of animal robustness as well as of disturbance characteristics (intensity and duration). To correctly assess an animal's robustness potential, it is therefore useful to know the characteristics of the disturbances it faces...

Gastrointestinal helminth parasites undergo part of their life cycle outside their host, such that developmental stages interact with the soil and dung fauna. These interactions are capable of affecting parasite transmission on pastures yet are generally ignored in current models, empirical studies and practical management. Dominant methods of parasite control, which rely on anthelmintic medications for livestock, are becoming increasingly ineffective due to the emergence of drug-resistant parasite populations...

Florets of cereal crops are the basic reproductive organs that produce grains for food or feed. The birth of a floret progresses through meristem initiation and floral organ identity specification and maintenance. During these processes, both endogenous and external cues can trigger a premature floral organ death, leading to reproductive failure. Recent advances in different cereal crops have identified both conserved and distinct regulators governing the birth of a floret. However, the molecular underpinnings of floral death are just beginning to be understood...

Latin America is a culturally, geographically, politically, and economically diverse region. Agriculture in Latin America is marked by a remarkable diversity of production systems, reflecting various agroecological zones, farm sizes, and technological levels. In the last decade, the swine industry increased by 30.6%, emerging as a great contributor to food security and economic development in Latin America. Brazil and Mexico dominate the pig production landscape, together accounting for 70% of sow inventory in the region...

Meeting the challenges of agroecological transition in a context of climate change requires the use of various strategies such as biological regulations, adapted animal and plant genotypes, diversified production systems, and digital technologies. Seeds and plants, through plant breeding, play a crucial role in driving these changes. The emergence of genome editing presents a new opportunity in plant breeding practices. However, like any technological revolution involving living organisms, it is essential to assess its potential contributions, limits, risks, socio-economic implications, and the associated controversies...

Before the invasion of the fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda into Africa, smallholder farmers had been using indigenous practices such as applying fish soup to plants to manage stemborer pests. Although farmers have since begun adapting this practice against FAW, no attempt has been made to scientifically evaluate this practice. Therefore, we assessed the efficacy of applying fish soup to maize plants that were artificially infested with FAW under semi-field conditions. Our results showed that foliar damage is inversely correlated with the concentration of a fish soup and sugar solution, with the highest (100%) concentration resulting in the lowest foliar damage and the highest plant recovery...

Ethiopia has a high potential for the production of honey and other apiary products due to its ideal agroecology. This potential is, however, not yet well utilized due to weak production and valorization systems. The study analyzed beekeeping systems and their honey value chain to detect the barriers and to explore ways to better exploit the existing potential. Descriptive statistics, a SWOT and PESTEL matrix, and system mapping were utilized for analysis. Ethiopian beekeeping is still dominated by traditional production systems, followed by modern and transitional systems, differing in types of beehives and the average amount of honey yield...

Tracking livestock abortion patterns over time and across factors such as species and agroecological zones (AEZs) could inform policies to mitigate disease emergence, zoonoses risk, and reproductive losses. We conducted a year-long population-based active surveillance of livestock abortion between 2019 and 2020, in administrative areas covering 52% of Kenya's landmass and home to 50% of Kenya's livestock. Surveillance sites were randomly selected to represent all AEZs in the country. Local animal health practitioners electronically transmitted weekly abortion reports from each ward, the smallest administrative unit, to a central server, using a simple short messaging service (SMS)...

African locust bean ( Parkia biglobosa ) is a multipurpose leguminous tree species of nutritional and pharmacological value. The plant is widely distributed in Africa and across Nigeria's major agroecological areas (AEAs). Amidst declining cultivation and production, P. biglobosa is genetically threatened in its natural habitats due to overexploitation, deforestation, wildfires and lack of improved tree management practices. Consequently, concerted research efforts directed towards germplasm collection and assessment of genetic relationships are imperative for conserving its genetic resources, sustainable management and selecting promising landraces for breeding programmes...

Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) has significantly affected maize crop yields, production efficiency, and farmers' incomes in the Indian Eastern Gangetic Plains region since it was first observed in India in 2018. A lack of awareness by maize growers of the appropriate selection, method, and timing of insecticide application not only creates a barrier to sustainable FAW control but also contributes to increased environmental pollution, reduced human health and increased production costs...

We analyze the percolation threshold of square lattices comprising a combination of sites with regular and extended neighborhoods. We found that the percolation threshold of these composed systems smoothly decreases with the fraction of sites with extended neighbors. This behavior can be well-fitted by a Tsallis q-Exponential function. We found a relation between the fitting parameters and the differences in the gyration radius among neighborhoods. We also compared the percolation threshold with the critical susceptibility of nearest and next-to-nearest neighbor monoculture plantations vulnerable to the spread of phytopathogen...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the biodiversity and structure of woody plants of HGs in the Basona Worana district (BWD). For this, six kebeles and 138 HGs from three agroecologies of BWD were selected using various sampling techniques. The plot size used per HG was 400 m2 . Diversity and important value indices (IVIs) were computed. For their structural analysis, the diameter at breast height (DBH) and height were also measured for trees and shrubs fulfilling the standards (diameters at breast height (DBH) ≥2...

This paper presents a dataset aimed at characterizing cocoa trees cultivated within complex agroforestry systems managed by smallholder farmers in the Central region of Cameroon. The dataset highlights the architectural structure of the trees as well as the distribution of their leaves and wood using 3D point clouds obtained through the Leica ScanStation C10 terrestrial LiDAR. The data collection campaign was conducted in August 2019 in the district of Bokito (latitude 4°34' N and longitude 11°07' E), specifically within the village of Yorro located in a transition zone between forest and savannah...