Biofortified staple crops, amongst them cassava, are being developed to reduce problems of micronutrient malnutrition. In 2006 new cassava varieties with increased levels of provitamin A were released. For the purpose of enhancing adoption of the new cassava varieties, two strategies were used: (1) a participatory research approach and (2) public awareness raising activities. This paper attempts to evaluate the results of these two diffusion strategies. Within the first strategy, the factors found to enhance adoption rates were: awareness of the new varieties' advantages, public entities as the main information sources and involvement in participatory research. Within the second strategy, trends were found between adoption rates and producer characteristics including: ownership of land, middle-level income, advanced education level and use of information media, namely the Internet. In both strategies, a lack of seeds was one of the main factors limiting the adoption process.

This paper seeks to establish the concept that the analysis of high temporal resolution meteorological data adds value to the investigation of the effect of climatic variability on the prevalence and severity of agricultural pests and diseases. Specifically we attempt to improve disease potential maps of root rots in common beans, based on a combination of inherent susceptibility and the risk of exposure to critical weather events. We achieve this using simulated datasets of daily rainfall to assess the probability of heavy rainfall events at particular times during the cropping season. We then validate these simulated events with observations from meteorological stations in East Africa. We also assess the utility of remotely sensed daily rainfall estimates in near real time for the purposes of updating the risks of these events over large areas and for providing warnings of potential disease outbreaks. We find that simulated rainfall data provide the means to assess risk over large areas, but there are too few datasets of observed rainfall to definitively validate the probabilities of heavy rainfall events generated using rainfall simulations such as those generated by MarkSim. We also find that selected satellite rainfall estimates are unable to predict observed rainfall events with any power, but data from a sufficiently dense network of rain gauges are not available in the region. Despite these problems we show that remotely sensed rainfall estimates may provide a more realistic assessment of rainfall over large areas where rainfall observations are not available, and alternative satellite estimates should be explored.

Projections suggest that annual per capita water availability in the Indo-Ganga Basin (IGB) will reduce to a level typical for water-stressed areas. Producing more crop and livestock products, per unit of agricultural water invested, is advocated as a key strategy for future food production and environmental security in the basin. The objective of this study was to understand the spatio-temporal dynamics of water requirements for livestock feed production, attendant livestock water productivity (LWP) and implications for the future sustainable use of water resources. We focused on three districts in the IGB representing intensive (higher external inputs, e.g. fertilizer, water) and semi-intensive (limited external input) crop-livestock systems. LWP is estimated based on principles of water accounting and is defined as the ratio of livestock beneficial outputs and services to the water depleted and degraded in producing these. In calculating LWP and crop water productivity (CWP), livestock, land use, land productivity and climatic data were required. We used secondary data sources from the study districts, field observations and discussions with key informants to generate those data sets. Our result showed that the volume of water depleted for livestock feed production varied among the study systems and was highly affected by the type of feed and the attendant agronomic factors (e.g. cropping pattern, yield). LWP value was higher for intensive systems and affected by agricultural water partitioning approaches (harvest index, metaolizable energy). LWP tended to decrease between 1992 and 2003. This can be accounted for by the shift to a feeding regime that depletes more water despite its positive impacts on animal productivity. This is a challenging trend with the advent of and advocacy for producing more agricultural products using the same or lower volume of water input and evokes a need for balanced feeding, by considering the nutritive value, costs and water productivity of feed, and better livestock management to improve LWP.

A micrometeorological experiment was carried out in an area of soyabean cultivation located in northeastern Para state, Brazil, in order to evaluate impacts on the local energy balance due to replacement of forests by soyabean. The meteorological data from forest ecosystems were collected in Caxiuanã forests located in central Para. The energy balance components were obtained using the Bowen ratio technique. Differences in energy balance components between ecosystems were significant during the soyabean growing season and more significant between growing seasons. During the soyabean growing season mean impacts of −15%, −9% and −27% on net radiation, latent heat flux (LE) and sensible heat flux (H), respectively, were observed. At specific soyabean stages, LE was higher than in the forest because of the high soyabean surface conductance of water vapour. However, during the production off-season the impacts were more significant (p < 0.05), showing a reduction of 78% in LE and a substantial increase in H (84%) because of the absence of vegetation cover over this period.

This paper makes the case for innovative risk management approaches in pastoral settings, which may include adjustments to the traditionally practiced approaches that have become progressively less effective. We use recent data from studies in Kenya and southern Ethiopia to confirm that traditional pastoral risk management approaches are increasingly futile against increasing external pressures, seasonal rainfall variability and future climate change. Some pioneering approaches and ideas, with potentially wider application to African pastoral settings, appear to offer greater hope; these include pilot studies designed to demonstrate the efficacy of index-based risk transfer products in pastoral systems, improvements in the management of food insecurity response for pastoralists and the recasting of development interventions as risk management. The International Livestock Research Institute, in collaboration with a wide range of partners, is currently testing these ideas.

The concept of water productivity (WP) or ‘more crop per drop’ has been revived recently in international water debates. Its application has notably been extended from single crops to mixed farming systems, integrating both crops and livestock, with the wider objective of reducing poverty. Using evidence from the Ganga Basin, India, we discuss the relevance of this concept as a tool to guide interventions for livelihood improvement and poverty alleviation. We argue that WP studies would benefit from greater attention to the role of capitals, inequities and institutions. Firstly, it is crucial to acknowledge the heterogeneity of capitals and capabilities of farmers to make changes in their farming systems and practices and avoid one-fix-all interventions. Identifying pre-existing inequities in water access within and among communities will support better targeting of poor communities. WP interventions can either reinforce or reduce inter-household inequities within communities. We stress the need for assessment of institutional impacts of WP interventions on water access and development.

The objective of this study was to investigate the user communities' understanding and interpretation of changes in rangeland use and productivity in the communal lands of Zimbabwe. While external knowledge has been instrumental in defining the drivers and effects of ecological changes hitherto, the role of local knowledge is becoming increasingly important in explaining factors that inform user community perceptions and guide their decisions on the use of rangeland resources. Data on community perceptions were collected in four villages, using Participatory Rural Appraisals in each village and household surveys with a total of 104 households. This study showed that user communities in Nkayi district differentiate rangelands among seven categories of livestock feed resources and how these have changed over time. Communities viewed rangelands not as one continuous, designated and specialized land parcel, but differentiated the land by location, productivity, management and uses in different times of the year. Although land use changes affecting these livestock feed resources were considered to be widespread and multi-directional (both negative and positive) they did not cause widespread degradation. Rangelands converted to croplands were not completely lost, but became important dual purpose land parcels fulfilling both household food security needs and dry season livestock feed requirements. The importance of croplands as a feed resource is reflected in the emergence of new institutions governing their use for livestock grazing and to guarantee security of tenure. On the other hand institutions governing the use of common property rangelands decreased or weakened in their application. The study concludes that while this situation presents ecological challenges for the rangelands, it offers opportunities to find innovative ways of utilizing croplands as the new frontier in the provision of dry season feed resources to smallholder farmers in highly variable environments. Implications for livestock water productivity need to be investigated and water saving technologies should be promoted in the land use intensification processes.

A defining characteristic of many rainfed tropical agricultural systems is their vulnerability to weather variability. There is now increased attention paid to climate-agriculture links as the world is focused on climate change. This has shown the need for increased understanding of current and future climate and the links to agricultural investment decisions, particularly farmers’ decisions, and that integrated strategies for coping with climate change need to start with managing current climate risk. Research, largely from an Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) project to demonstrate the value of such increased understanding, is presented in this issue of the journal. Key lessons from this research are as follows:

1. 1. Statistical methods of analysis of historical climate data that are relevant to agriculture need not be complex. The most critical point is to describe the climate in terms of events of direct relevance to farming (such as the date of the start of a rainy season) rather than simple standard measures (such as annual total rainfall).

2. 2. Analysis requires access to relevant data, tools and expertise. Daily climate data, both current and historical, are primarily the responsibility of national meteorological services (NMS). Accessing such data, particularly daily data, is not always easy. Including staff from the NMS as research partners, not just data providers, can reduce this problem.

3. 3. Farmers’ perceptions of climate variation, risk and change are complex. They are keenly aware of variability, but there is evidence that they over-estimate risks of negative impacts and thereby fail to make use of good conditions when they occur. There is also evidence that multiple causes of changes are confounded, so farmers who observe decreasing crop production may not be distinguishing between rainfall change and declining soil fertility or other conditions. Hence any project working with farmers’ coping and adaptation to climate must also have access to analyses of observed climate data from nearby recording stations.

4. 4. Mechanisms for reducing and coping with risks are exemplified in pastoral systems that exist in the most variable environments. New approaches to risk transfer, such as index-based insurance, show potential for positive impact.

5. 5. Skilful seasonal forecasts, which give a better indication of the coming season than a simple average, would help farmers take decisions for the coming cropping season. Increasing meteorological knowledge shows that such forecasting is possible for parts of Africa. There are institutional barriers to farmers accessing and using the forecast information. Furthermore, the skill of the forecasts is currently limited so that there are maybe still only a few rational choices for a farmer to make on the basis of a forecast.

With the justified current interest in climate and agriculture, all stakeholders including researchers, data providers, policy developers and extension workers will need to work together to ensure that interventions are based on a correct interpretation of a valid analysis of relevant data.

Scarcity, lack of access, and ineffective and inefficient use of water in Nkayi District, Zimbabwe, threaten agricultural production. The purpose of this study is to augment understanding of opportunities to increase livestock water productivity (LWP) in Nkayi District by taking into account key differences in the capacities, opportunities, and needs of women and men. There are two important types of female-headed households, de facto and de jure. The results from this study showed that male-headed and de facto and de jure female-headed households share much in common. They all had similar areas of cropland and access to education, finances, veterinary and extension services, and transportation and markets. Households of all types had similar herd sizes. All were desperately poor with incomes much less than a dollar a day. To rise out of poverty, the knowledge, skills and effort of all household heads will be needed. In spite of severe poverty, household heads of all types are literate and have sufficient education that can help enable adoption of intervention options that can lead to increased agricultural production and improved livelihoods. The results also showed that major differences exist in terms of the roles of men and women in ownership, management and decision making related to livestock keeping and animal production. Men clearly dominate in both ownership and decision making even though women play a major role in animal management. Only in de jure female-headed households were women more likely than men to own cattle and goats. They were also more likely to be involved in farming as a primary livelihood activity. Surprisingly, men were more likely to be involved in animal management in these de jure female-headed households. Women were also excluded from water users' and livestock producers' associations although a minority of men was members. By not involving the already-developed capacity of women, the community loses out on a significant opportunity to increase LWP and animal production more widely. Greater inclusion of women in decision making will be an important part of future efforts to improve livelihoods through livestock development.