Subsurface drip irrigation improving resource productivity in agricultural systems at different intensification levels

This paper presents a modeling framework for studying the dynamics of biomass in agricultural crops, with a focus on the efficiency of solar radiation use and the impact of environmental factors on crop productivity. The Monteith equation is employed as the basis for modeling biomass dynamics, and simplified functions are utilized to represent the temperature and moisture dependencies of photosynthesis. The model also incorporates a parameterization approach for estimating soil moisture content based on standard meteorological parameters, addressing the challenges associated with direct field measurements. Furthermore, an indirect calculation method is proposed to estimate the total solar radiation flux at the lower boundary of the atmosphere. The modeling framework offers a practical and efficient means of monitoring and managing crop development and productivity, providing valuable insights for understanding the relationships between environmental factors and crop performance. The results of this study contribute to the improvement of agricultural practices and decision-making processes, leading to enhanced productivity and sustainability in agricultural systems. Future research can focus on further model refinement and validation, as well as the inclusion of additional factors influencing crop growth and productivity.

As the second largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the agricultural system has an arduous task of reducing emissions. There is an urgent need to think about how to achieve the goal of peaking carbon emissions in agricultural production at the lowest cost. This paper applied the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) factor method to calculate the GHG emissions of China’s agricultural production systems and deconstruct it into the crop farming and animal husbandry sectors. Input–output indicators based on parametric directional distance functions were constructed to assess the green production efficiency (GPE) of different agricultural sectors and scientifically quantify the marginal abatement costs (MACs) of different GHGs. The results showed the following: (a) During 2000 to 2020, GHG emissions from China’s agricultural production systems averaged 87.73 million tons of CO 2 -eq and showed a fluctuating downward trend. CH 4 emissions accounted for the largest average proportion of 55%, mainly animal enteric fermentation and rice methane emissions. (b) The average level of agricultural GPE in China is 0.79, and 0.76 for crop farming is slightly higher than 0.67 for animal husbandry. (c) The average MAC is 1,861.71 yuan/ton CO 2 -eq, and it is increasing year by year. The shadow price is positively correlated with the efficiency level. The “high-efficiency–low-cost” areas are key areas for agricultural emission reduction, such as Henan and Shandong provinces. Formulate emission reduction strategies according to the characteristics of regional GHG emissions to promote the realization of the “dual carbon” goal of agriculture.

An international collaborative network for agricultural systems applications (ICASA)

En el libro “sistema de producción y desarrollo agrícola”. Philippe Colín (1993). México. “Un sistema de producción puede ser considerado como el resultado de ecosistemas, de formas de organización socio económica y de técnicas practicables. Los objetivos de la producción, la manera con que los hombres toman sus decisiones, los criterios que ellos optimizan, las racionalidades de sus comportamientos dependen fundamentalmente de la estructura de las unidades socio económicas de base, componentes de las formaciones económicas y sociales”. En esta investigación se comprendió los estudios actuales de los sistemas de producción agrícola en la cuidad- región, en términos de innovación con estándares basado en la ISO 9001. Se logró identificar cuáles era las vocaciones productivas de la zona rural de la ciudad, donde se aplicó instrumentos alrededor de 130 campesino de la zona, quienes son las personas que tiene variedad de cultivo y están exportando a países como, Venezuela, Australia, Canadá y Brasil. La metodología utilizada fue mixta (cualitativa y cuantitativa) que permitió basarse en la descripción de cómo se está llevando a cabo los sistemas de producción agrícola en Cundinamarca y la región. Partiendo de conocimiento que deben aplicarse en los espacios de sistemas de producción, fortaleciendo la innovación, los cuales permitieron un manejo de las soluciones, con actitud más responsable y participativa, donde se logró definir claramente el aprendizaje de nuevas técnicas de alimentos,de sistemas productivos innovadores y de prácticas sustentada a manejos de productos limpios y tecnificados pueden ser el soporte de la innovación, estructurando un sector basado en la información.

The functioning of societies depends on a number of goods and services provided by the natural environment. Knowledge about the benefits that humans derive from it is an important issue in the era of current environmental and climate changes. Agricultural systems and management methods (e.g. tillage, weed and pest control, fertilization, field consolidation, crop specialization and monoculture) are important for biodiversity, the presence of which is of great importance for people and the environment. The aim of this study was to assess bioenvironmental indicators such as weed flora, earthworms and terrestrial invertebrates biomass, in selected crops in an organic, integrated and conventional farming systems in southern Poland. The results showed the highest biodiversity weeds, earthworms, and terrestrial invertebrates in crops grown in the organic system in comparison to the conventional or sustainable ones, where chemical herbicides were applied. Species diversity of weeds was, on average, twice as high in the organic system (21 species) compared to the integrated and conventional systems (10–11 species). In the organic system, the highest number of weeds (average 71 pcs m–2) accompanied spring wheat and the lowest number of weeds was observed in legume-grass mixture in the first year of use (average 28 pcs m–2). The highest biomass of earthworms in the soil was estimated under winter wheat and legume-grass mixtures. This indicator was half as much in the soil under plants grown in integrated and conventional systems. Terrestrial invertebrates were also most abundant in crops grown in the organic system, indicating that this agricultural production system is conducive to maintaining high biodiversity in agroecosystems. For winter wheat cultivated in the conventional and integrated systems, the invertebrate richness index was 2.5–3 times lower than in the organic system.

In Africa, there is dearth of information on antimicrobial use (AMU) in agriculture and food production systems and its consequential resistance in pathogens that affect animal, human and environmental health. Data published between 1980 and 2021 on the magnitude of AMU and AMR in agriculture and food productions systems in Africa were reviewed. Data from 13–27 countries in Africa indicate that 3558–4279 tonnes of antimicrobials were used in animals from 2015 to 2019. Tetracyclines and polypeptides contributed the largest proportion of antimicrobials used. Cattle and poultry production account for the largest consumption of antimicrobials in Africa. Although limited studies have reported AMR in crops, fish and beekeeping, AMR from a variety of farm animals has been substantially documented in Africa. Some countries in Africa have developed policies/plans to address AMU and AMR in agriculture and food production systems; however, their enforcement is challenged by weak regulations. In conclusion, although there is limited information on the quantities of antimicrobials used in agriculture and food production system, the levels of AMR are high. There is a need to strengthen regulatory authorities with a capacity to monitor AMU in agriculture and food production systems in Africa.

The following sections are included: Introduction Farming System Investigated Stakeholder Interactions, Meetings, and Representative Agricultural Pathways Data and Methods of Study Adaptation Package Core Question 1: What Is the Sensitivity of Current Agricultural Production Systems to Climate Change? AgMIP Core Question 1: What is the Sensitivity of Current Agricultural Production System to Climate change? AgMIPCore Question 2:WhatIs the Impact of Climate Change on Future Agricultural Production Systems? Sensitivity to Trends Assumptions Core Question 3: What Are the Benefits of Climate Change Adaptations? Conclusions and Next Steps References

Bottom-up uncertainty estimates of global ammonia emissions from global agricultural production systems

Exploring the labour productivity of agricultural systems across European regions: A multilevel approach

The existing state of over-utilization of input resources affected the efficient production of the agricultural output, which created a challenge for the profitability of the farming community as well as sustainability of different agricultural production systems (APSs). Hence, it is crucial to explore the important input variables, which affect farming efficiency across different APSs. In past studies, data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been used extensively to estimate the mean technical efficiency (MTE) of agricultural farms. In this study, a meta-regression analysis has been performed to examine variables that affect the MTE variation in 100 studies. The selected studies have been classified based on the study period, farm location, journals, product type, sample size and their outcomes. Results revealed that the year of study, location and sample size were not significant, whereas agricultural products such as vegetables, fruits, flowers and livestock significantly affected the performance of MTE across studies. These empirical results establish the importance of related variables in the MTE estimation of different APSs, which will lead and assist better-quality future research in the agricultural efficiency domain.

The present study has been conducted to identify the sensitivity in the pre-dominant farming systems of Western plain zone of Uttar Pradesh (WPZ) considering the importance of gender specific technologies much needed for better efficiency and productivity of farming systems. Four pre-dominant farming systems have been identified in WPZ of Uttar Pradesh with the highest area share (57.1%) and highest farmer distribution (62.9%) in FS1: Crop + Dairy (1C+1-2B). The highest net return was found in FS2: Crop + Horticulture (Fruits) + Dairy (2C+ 1-2 B), whereas the lowest net return was noticed in FS3: Crop + Horticulture (Vegetables) + Dairy (1C + 1B). Load carrying through head load was found extensively performed by the women of FS3 followed by FS4: Horticulture + Crop + Dairy (1C+1B) and FS2 respectively. Chopper (hand tool) for chaff cutting, winnowing through natural wind, power operated winnowing without safety gadgets was performed in FS4 (33%), FS3 (22.8%) and FS4 (17%) respectively by family female workers. Threshing through hand beating was maximally performed by FS2 (81%) as hired female labour. Work involvement in farming system studies shows that female workers (family and hired) of FS3 contributed maximum (44.7%) followed by FS1 (41.5%). Also, the women participation index on drudgery prone activities was found highest amongst female workers (family and hired) of FS3 (87.8%) followed by FS1 (83.21%). The results indicate that FS3 may be tagged as sensitive farming system with respect to maximum number of female headed households contributing maximum work and hardships followed by FS1.

Agricultural production system, being one of the most important and dynamic sectors, significantly alleviate climate change, which directly or indirectly results in emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG’s). Several strategies and technological interventions have been made that have resulted in reducing greenhouse gas emission, but it should not by any means reduce the farm revenue and productivity. Apart from this, the age-old traditional methods of cultivation have raised several concerns related to water drainage, fertilizer consumption, and waste disposal, etc. Optimizing agricultural waste and also enhancing food productivity simultaneously to feed the ever-increasing world population is an urgent need of the hour. In these aspects, smart agriculture which often incorporates technologies for improving farming operations, improving water management, fertilizer applications and finally crop production by means of sensor-based equipment’s have proved to be fruitful. Under the agricultural production system, it is a well-known fact that a significant amount of wastage is created as trash and bagasse. These wastages present within the system itself can be a precious alternatives resource if suitable waste to loop mechanism is applied. For example, in cities and towns, several sensors-mounted trash-collecting vehicles are used to monitor total waste load and identifying the best alternative path for waste collection for efficient management. It is, however, a matter of fact that in most of the countries around the globe the smart agriculture has failed to integrate and incorporate waste management techniques altogether as a whole. Thus, the use of sensors, GPS, etc., can help in waste management by utilizing the loops through incorporation of cost-effective means of waste collection, transportation economic resource utilization techniques. Thus, under this context, the chapter aims to find the different alternatives and roles of effective waste to gold creation opportunities within a smart agricultural production system.

Emerging information on the interactions between the COVID-19 pandemic and global food systems have highlighted how the pandemic is accentuating food crises across Africa. Less clear, however, are how the impacts differ between farming systems. Drawing on 50 key informant interviews with farmers, village leaders and extension officers in South Africa and Tanzania, we identify the effects of COVID-19 and associated measures to curb the spread of the disease on farming production systems, the coping mechanisms adopted by farmers, and explore their longer-term plans for adaptation. We focus on a diverse range of production systems, from small-scale mixed farming systems in Tanzania to large-scale corporate farms in South Africa. Our findings highlight how COVID-19 restrictions have interrupted the supply chains of agricultural inputs and commodities, increasing the storage time for produce, decreasing income and purchasing power, and reducing labour availability. Farmers’ responses were heterogeneous, with highly diverse small-scale farming systems and those less engaged with international markets least affected by the associated COVID-19 measures. Large-scale farmers were most able to access capital to buffer short-term impacts, whereas smaller-scale farms shared labour, diversified to subsistence produce and sold assets. However, compounded shocks, such as recent extreme climate events, limited the available coping options, particularly for smaller-scale and emerging farmers. The study highlights the need to understand the characteristics of farm systems to better equip and support farmers, particularly in contexts of uncertainty. We propose that policy actions should focus on (i) providing temporary relief and social support and protection to financially vulnerable stakeholders, (ii) job assurance for farmworkers and engaging an alternative workforce in farming, (iii) investing in farming infrastructure, such as storage facilities, digital communication tools and extension services, and (iv) supporting diversified agroecological farming systems.

Recycling and/or upcycling of agricultural byproducts containing valuable nutrients back into agricultural systems as bio-based fertilizers can improve the circularity and sustainability of food production. However, in some instances, there may be negative environmental consequences or safety concerns that need to be considered. This chapter discusses some common issues regarding the use of bio-based fertilizers, such as the concentration of nutrients leading to losses of reactive nitrogen and phosphorus into the environment. Potential issues with heavy metals, pathogens, antibiotics and other contaminants that can pose a health risk to humans, animals, crops and the ecosystem are also discussed. Finally, a case study investigating the effects of intensive livestock production on both reactive nitrogen losses and antibiotic resistance in the environment is presented. Recognizing and managing the risks associated with the use of bio-based fertilizers is necessary to fully integrate these products back into production systems, thereby enhancing the circularity of agriculture.

Farming systems dynamics: Impact of increasing population density and the availability of land resources on changes in agricultural systems. The case of Sukumaland, Tanzania