The burgeoning demand for rice in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) exceeds supply, resulting in a rice deficit. To overcome this challenge, rice production should be increased, albeit sustainably. However, since rice production is associated with increases in the atmospheric concentration of two greenhouse gases (GHGs), namely methane (CH 4) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O), the challenge is on ensuring that production increases are not associated with an increase in GHG emissions and thus do not cause an increase in GHG emission intensities. Based on current understanding of drivers of CH 4 and N 2 O production, we provide here insights on the potential climate change mitigation benefits of management and technological options (i.e., seeding, tillage, irrigation, residue management) pursued in the LAC region. Studies conducted in the LAC region show intermittent irrigation or alternate wetting and drying of rice fields to reduce CH 4 emissions by

Globally, rainfed crop yields are about 50% lower than yields obtained under irrigated conditions. The low productivity of rainfed agricultural systems is the main factor that accentuates hunger, poverty, unemployment, and illegal migration in Central America and other regions in Latin America. Because of rainfall dependence, farmers can cultivate their crops during only one growing season per year, with high vulnerability to periodic droughts and flooding. To face the challenge of a sustainable food supply in the context of increasing food demand, since the mid-2000s, FLAR (Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice), a public-private alliance of organizations from 17 Latin American countries CFC (Common Fund for Commodities), and CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture) have been investing resources and efforts to sustainably intensify and diversify high-risk rainfed production systems through capturing runoff rainwater in reservoirs to transform those systems into highly profitable irrigated systems. This article summarizes concepts, results, and experiences from pilot farms using water harvesting in Nicaragua and Mexico, where irrigation combined with smart crop management practices allowed small-/medium-scale farmers to increase their yields of rice, maize, beans, and high-value crops by two to four times in comparison with historical yields obtained under rainfed conditions.

Agricultural producers grapple with low farm yields and declining ecosystem services within their landscapes. In several instances, agricultural production systems may be considered largely unsustainable in socioeconomic and ecological (resource conservation and use and impact on nature) terms. Novel technological and management options that can serve as vehicles to promote the provision of multiple benefits, including the improvement of smallholder livelihoods, are needed. We call for a paradigm shift to allow designing and implementing agricultural systems that are not only efficient (serving as a means to promote development based on the concept of creating more goods and services while using fewer resources and creating less waste) but can also be considered synergistic (symbiotic relationship between socio-ecological systems) by simultaneously contributing to major objectives of economic, ecological, and social (equity) improvement of agro-ecosystems. These transformations require strategic approaches that are supported by participatory system-level research, experimentation, and innovation. Using data from several studies, we here provide evidence for technological and management options that could be optimized, promoted, and adopted to enable agricultural systems to be efficient, effective, and, indeed, sustainable. Specifically, we present results from a study conducted in Colombia, which demonstrated that, in rice systems, improved water management practices such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) reduce methane emissions (~70%). We also show how women can play a key role in AWD adoption. For livestock systems, we present in vitro evidence showing that the use of alternative feed options such as cassava leaves contributes to livestock feed supplementation and could represent a cost-effective approach for reducing enteric methane emissions (22% to 55%). We argue that to design and benefit from sustainable agricultural systems, there is a need for better targeting of interventions that are co-designed, co-evaluated, and co-promoted, with farmers as allies of transformational change (as done in the climate-smart villages), not as recipients of external knowledge. Moreover, for inclusive sustainability that harnesses existing knowledge and influences decision-making processes across scales, there is a need for constant, efficient, effective, and real trans-disciplinary communication and collaboration.

La rentabilidad es un factor determinante para el caficultor al momento de tomar la decisión de establecer cultivos intercalados en las calles del cafetal, ya que su principal interés es tener un flujo positivo de ingresos adicionales, sin que se afecte la productividad del café. Otros factores que influyen en la adopción de la práctica de intercalamiento están relacionados con la disponibilidad de capital, los rendimientos alcanzables, los costos de producción, la facilidad de comercialización, el precio de venta y los riesgos asociados a la producción de nuevos cultivos.

La razón de esta investigación fue examinar las diferentes contradicciones que existen en la comunidad científica acerca de las ganancias o pérdidas que puede acarrear la firma de tratados de libre comercio (TLC). Al no existir estudios similares en los últimos años, la necesidad de este estudio era sustancial. El objetivo principal de la investigación fue analizar la teoría presentada por parte de los autores acerca de las ventajas y desventajas presentes en la firma de TLC. A través de una revisión de literatura, se seleccionaron 44 fuentes científicas de 2016 hasta 2021 en Scopus, Scielo, Sage y Redalyc. Los resultados revelaron que los países industrializados generalmente son los que perciben mayoresventajas relacionadas al libre comercio, mientras que los países que no se encuentran industrializados presentaron desventajas significativas al momento de firmar TLC. Se determinó que los TLC pueden conllevar tanto ganancias como pérdidas dependiendo del contexto de un país, lo importante es aprender a utilizar esta herramienta correctamente.