Pathways to Agroecological Intensification of Soil Fertility Management by Smallholder Farmers in the Andean Highlands

Fonte, Steven J.; Vanek, Steven J.; Oyarzún, Pedro J.; Parsa, Soroush; Quintero, Diana Carolina; Rao, Idupulapati M.; Lavelle, Patrick

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-394277-7.00004-x

Cited by 54 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 244 publications

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“…An increased use in scientific literature can only be recognized since 2011 (e.g. CCRP 2013; Fonte et al 2012;Haussmann 2011;Staver et al 2013;Vanlauwe et al 2013b). In general, the term is much less frequently used in scientific publications than sustainable intensification and ecological intensification (Fig.…”

Section: Historical Use and Definitions Of Agroecological Intensificamentioning

confidence: 99%

The blurred boundaries of ecological, sustainable, and agroecological intensification: a review

Wezel

Soboksa

McClelland

et al. 2015

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

151

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The projected human population of nine billion by 2050 has led to ever growing discussion of the need for increasing agricultural output to meet estimated food demands, while mitigating environmental costs. Many stakeholders in agricultural circles are calling for the intensification of agriculture to meet these demands. However, it is neither clear nor readily agreed upon what is meant by intensification. Here, we compare the three major uses, 'ecological intensification', 'sustainable intensification' and 'agroecological intensification', by analysing their various definitions, principles and practices, and also their historical appearance and evolution. We used data from the scientific literature, the grey literature, the websites of international organizations and the Scopus and FAOLEX databases. Our major findings are: (1) sustainable intensification is the most frequently used term so far. (2) The three concepts ecological intensification, sustainable intensification and agroecological intensification overlap in terms of definitions, principles and practices, thus creating some confusion in their meanings, interpretations and implications. Nevertheless, some differences exist. (3) Sustainable intensification is more widely used and represents in many cases a rather generalised category, into which most current farming practices can be put so long as sustainability is in some way addressed. However, despite its wider use, it remains imprecisely defined. (4) Ecological and agroecological intensification do introduce some major nuances and, in general, more explicitly stated definitions. For instance, ecological intensification emphasizes the understanding and intensification of biological and ecological processes and functions in agroecosystem. (5) The notion of agroecological intensification accentuates the system approach and integrates more cultural and social perspectives in its concept. (6) Even if some boundaries can be seen, confusion is still predominant in the use of these terms. These blurred boundaries currently contribute to the use of these terms for justifying many different kinds of practices and interventions. We suggest that greater precision in defining the terms and the respective practices proposed would indicate more clearly what authors or institutions are aiming at with the proposed intensification. In this sense, we provide new definitions for all three intensification concepts based on the earlier ones.

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Section: Historical Use and Definitions Of Agroecological Intensificamentioning

confidence: 99%

The blurred boundaries of ecological, sustainable, and agroecological intensification: a review

Wezel

Soboksa

McClelland

et al. 2015

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

151

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Locally, for smallholder food security, it translates into the total annual crop-livestock output being able to cover household demand for food. Sustainable intensification, it is argued, can extend the carrying capacity of the land to meet human food security needs [41][42][43]. In Andean agricultural systems, intensification options include the promotion of new varieties, crop biodiversity, homegardens or better practices for soil fertility, handling pests and disease, and storage of target crops, among others [44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among other influences, land fragmentation [52][53][54], interruption of communal rotation designs [55,56], shortened fallow cycles [30,55,57,58], soil degradation manifested as negative macronutrient and soil organic matter balances [43,[59][60][61][62][63], pest and disease intensity [64,65], expansion of agricultural activities into higher altitudes exposed to extreme weather [66][67][68], and higher risk of harvest loss [69] may all compromise the basic capacity of agricultural systems and common development interventions to meet householdlevel nutrients demands. A deepened understanding of these intervening factors is beyond the scope of the current study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The challenge of achieving basal energy, iron and zinc provision for home consumption through family farming in the Andes: a comparison of coverage through contemporary production systems and selected agricultural interventions

et al. 2016

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Background: Child undernutrition is persistently high in the central Andes of Peru, and numerous smallholder households fail to meet their basic needs of energy, iron and zinc. Food-based approaches assume household-level nutrition can be improved following agricultural interventions. This study assesses for the first time whether current Andean production systems provide sufficient energy, iron and zinc output to meet household-level requirements and explores the likely effect of commonly promoted food-based approaches. Across four communities, we determined the crop and livestock production output for each household (n = 165) during one growing season. The household-level nutritional demand or input was calculated as a function of household composition and daily requirements of energy, iron and zinc as established by FAO/WHO. We examined five scenarios, current practice or status quo and four food-based interventions: (1) increased potato yield, (2) introduced biofortified potatoes, (3) promotion of guinea pigs and (4) a mixed strategy combining all of the above. Results:Under status quo, 86, 62 and 76 % of households obtained sufficient production output to meet energy, iron and zinc requirements, respectively. Considering the three parameters simultaneously, 59 % of households were able to meet their energy, iron and zinc requirements. The total crop production among households provided more than the necessary energy, iron and zinc output to meet the demand of all 165 households. Yet, significant differences between households account for individual deficits or surpluses in household-level output-input balances. Potato (Solanum spp.), barley (Hordeum vulgare) and faba (Vicia faba) production was particularly significant in determining the energy, iron and zinc output. Livestock did not make a substantial contribution. The main difference between households with negative versus positive coverage, in terms of household-level production output from agriculture meeting demand (=input), was available cropping area given household size. None of the explored food-based interventions closed the energy, iron and zinc deficit from production among households with negative coverage. Conclusions:The smallholder production systems analyzed are only partially capable of providing sufficient production output to cover household-level energy, iron and zinc demands. Of the four interventions examined, a mixed

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“…Multidisciplinary investigations of the soil agrogenesis influenced by ancient arable agriculture have a very wide geography: Western Europe and particularly the Mediterranean (Ruecker et al, 1998;Sanchez-Maranon et al, 2002;Scalenghe et al, 2002;Delgado et al, 2007;Freppaz et al, 2008;Bellin et al, 2009;Stanchia et al, 2012); Eastern Europe, including its central part (Dolotov, 1984;Karavaeva, 2000;Polyakova and Platonycheva, 2012), the regions of Greco-Roman land use in Southern Ukraine (Lisetskii, 2008;Lisetskii and Rodionova, 2012) and the Crimea (Cordova and Lehman, 2005;Lisetskii et al, 2013) as well as the northern Caucasus (Korobov and Borisov, 2013); Asia Kostyuchenko and Lisitsyna, 1976;Gong et al, 2000;Wilkinson, 2003;Miyaji, 2003;Pietsch and Mabit, 2012); Africa (Mighall et al, 2012;Nyberg et al, 2012) and the New World (Sandor et al, 1990;Dick et al, 1994;Eash and Sandor, 1995;Sandor and Eash, 1995;Harden, 1996;Sandor, 2006;Goodman-Elgar, 2008;Londono, 2008;Homburg and Sandor, 2011;Fonte et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indicators of agricultural soil genesis under varying conditions of land use, Steppe Crimea

2015

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This study investigates the effects of agricultural exploitation of soils of the north-western Crimea, the active and large-scale cultivation of which began with the Greek colonization of the area. In order to compare soils using a wide spectrum of physical and chemical properties, the studied objects (virgin land, post-antique idle land, continually plowed land, modern-day plowed land, idle land of the modern era) have been grouped into a chronosequence. This makes it possible to apply the method of factor sequences of agrogenic transformations in soils, which takes into account different periods of human activities. The other factors involved in soil formation are considered to be relatively invariable. From the mass of physiochemical properties of these soils that have endured long-term agricultural stress, the most informative indicators of agrogenesis have been identified. The authors propose a procedure for calculating an integral agrophysical soil indicator based on five parameters that can be used to determine the soil structure and cloddiness as well as water-stability, the amount of waterstable aggregates and their mean mass-weighted diameter. Based on the estimates of their agrophysical state, the following sequence has been determined for the soils studied: Post-antique idle land b virgin land b idle land of the modern era b continuously plowed land b modern-day plowed land. It has been established that the previous practices of land use favorably affect the agrophysical properties of soils. The loss of organic carbon in continually plowed land is 51%, while in modern-day plowed and idle lands it amounts to 39% and 27-32% respectively. The reproduction of soil organic matter (SOM) and its quality, particularly of its labile content, which is responsible for the agrophysical properties of a plow horizon, is central to soil fertility management for sustainable agriculture. One observed effect of long-term agrogenic stresses in plowed horizons of Chernozems is a decrease in microelements such as Co, Ni, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, as well as phosphorus and potassium. It is estimated that the micronutrient content of plowed land is 5-6% lower than that of virgin soils. Even after 2280 years of renaturation, soils of post-antique idle lands preserve in their pedomemory the signs of agrogenesis. In terms of soil quality, the overall agrogenic transformation of soils cultivated during the recent period (the last 150-165 years) is 15% lower than that of the continually plowed lands. The fallowing regime provides conditions that allow soils to regenerate within a few decades. The use of renaturation effects that mimic the fallowing regime opens up new possibilities for resource-saving sustainable agriculture. This study, therefore, shows the informative potential of soils that have continuously, or with restorative periods, been subjected to long-term agrogenic impacts under different practices of land use. It also considers how this information may be actively employed to comprehend the long-term transformations of the ...

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Pathways to Agroecological Intensification of Soil Fertility Management by Smallholder Farmers in the Andean Highlands

Cited by 54 publications

References 244 publications

The blurred boundaries of ecological, sustainable, and agroecological intensification: a review

The blurred boundaries of ecological, sustainable, and agroecological intensification: a review

The challenge of achieving basal energy, iron and zinc provision for home consumption through family farming in the Andes: a comparison of coverage through contemporary production systems and selected agricultural interventions

Indicators of agricultural soil genesis under varying conditions of land use, Steppe Crimea

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