scholarly journals Spatial parameters associated with the risk of banana bunchy top disease in smallholder systems

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0260976
Author(s):  
Kéladomé Maturin Géoffroy Dato ◽  
Mahougnon Robinson Dégbègni ◽  
Mintodê Nicodème Atchadé ◽  
Martine Zandjanakou Tachin ◽  
Mahouton Norbert Hounkonnou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Diversity ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
Endemic Region ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Significance Threshold ◽  
Relative Risks ◽  
Spatial Parameters ◽  
Detailed Assessment ◽  
Smallholder Systems

The Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD), caused by the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) is the most important and devastating in many tropical countries. BBTD epidemiology has been little studied, mixed landscape smallholder systems. The relative risks associated with this disease vary between geographical areas and landscapes. This work analyzed the management and vegetation conditions in smallholder gardens to assess the factors linked to landscape-level BBTV transmission and management. Mapping was done in this study area which is in a BBTD-endemic region, involving farmers actively managing the disease, but with household-level decision making. A spatial scanning statistic was used to detect and identify spatial groups at the 5% significance threshold, and a Poisson regression model was used to explore propagation vectors and the effect of surrounding vegetation and crop diversity. Spatial groups with high relative risk were identified in three communities, Dangbo, Houéyogbé, and Adjarra. Significant associations emerged between the BBTD prevalence and some crop diversity, seed systems, and BBTD management linked factors. The identified factors form important candidate management options for the detailed assessment of landscape-scale BBTD management in smallholder communities.

scholarly journals Crop diversity is associated with higher child diet diversity in Ethiopia, particularly among low-income households, but not in Vietnam

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Erin E Esaryk ◽  
Sarah Anne Reynolds ◽  
Lia CH Fernald ◽  
Andrew D Jones
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Crop Diversity ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Diet Diversity ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Functional Richness

Abstract Objectives: To examine associations of household crop diversity with school-aged child dietary diversity in Vietnam and Ethiopia and mechanisms underlying these associations. Design: We created a child diet diversity score (DDS) using data on seven food groups consumed in the last 24 h. Generalised estimating equations were used to model associations of household-level crop diversity, measured as a count of crop species richness (CSR) and of plant crop nutritional functional richness (CNFR), with DDS. We examined effect modification by household wealth and subsistence orientation, and mediation by the farm’s market orientation. Setting: Two survey years of longitudinal data from the Young Lives cohort. Participants: Children (aged 5 years in 2006 and 8 years in 2009) from rural farming households in Ethiopia (n 1012) and Vietnam (n 1083). Results: There was a small, positive association between household CNFR and DDS in Ethiopia (CNFR–DDS, β = 0·13; (95 % CI 0·07, 0·19)), but not in Vietnam. Associations of crop diversity and child diet diversity were strongest among poor households in Ethiopia and among subsistence-oriented households in Vietnam. Agricultural earnings positively mediated the crop diversity–diet diversity association in Ethiopia. Discussion: Children from households that are poorer and those that rely more on their own agricultural production for food may benefit most from increased crop diversity.

scholarly journals Vulnerability of Renters and Low-Income Households to Storm Damage: Evidence From Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-202
Author(s):  
Chenyi Ma ◽  
Tony Smith
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Housing Tenure ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Storm Damage ◽  
Income Levels ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Relative Risks ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Inspection Data

Objectives. To identify disparities in home damage from Hurricane Maria among Puerto Rican households with different housing tenure and income levels. Methods. Using household inspection data obtained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including an ordinal damage severity measure, we used generalized ordered logistic regression to estimate the relative risks of damage severities between renters and homeowners, and between households with different incomes. Results. With respect to the FEMA damage-severity classifications of “minor,” “major,” and “destroyed,” renters were more at risk than homeowners for both “major-or-destroyed” and “destroyed” outcomes. Similarly, lower-income households were at greater risk for both “major-or-destroyed” and “destroyed” outcomes. When we allowed for an interaction between income and housing tenure, the difference in risk of “destroyed” outcomes between renters and homeowners was substantially greater at lower income levels. Conclusions. These results provide evidence at the individual household level that renters and lower-income households are most vulnerable to hurricane damage. Our interaction results suggest that lower-income renters are particularly vulnerable to severe home damage. Public Health Implications. Disaster preparedness policies should raise structural standards for low-income housing to reduce risks of severe damage.

Motivations for maintaining crop diversity: Evidence from Vermont's seed systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 189 ◽  
pp. 107138
Author(s):  
Carina Isbell ◽  
Daniel Tobin ◽  
Travis Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Crop Diversity ◽  
Seed Systems

Factors affecting crop diversity in farmers' fields in Nepal

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sushil Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Production Systems ◽  
Fruit Trees ◽  
Spatial Dimension ◽  
Crop Diversity ◽  
Home Gardens ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Farming Community ◽  
Land Holdings ◽  
Diversity Studies

AbstractA study was conducted on the spatial dimension of crop diversity in Jutpani Village Development Committee (VDC) in central Nepal. Many crop diversity studies focus only on home gardens, but this study aimed to investigate the crop diversity among different production systems, and the factors affecting variations in the crop diversity on a household level. A survey of inter-household variation in cultivated crop diversity in different land-use types among 134 households indicates that 96 different types of annual crops, perennial crops and fruit trees are cultivated. Individual farms cultivated an average of 26 different crops, with this number ranging from 11 to 45. Crops were used as food by the households and, based on their adaptive characters, they were grown either in home gardens or in upland, Tandikhet and lowland. Research showed that home gardens have the highest crop diversity (a total of 78 different crops grown) compared to upland, Tandikhet and lowland. Statistical analysis to understand the factors affecting the variation in crop diversity in the household level showed that the total number of crops grown (crop diversity) on a farm is significantly higher (P<0.001) in the Indo-Aryan ethnic group compared to the Tibeto-Burman group. Farmers with three different production domains maintained higher (P<0.001) crop diversity compared to having only one or two production domains. Poor farmers with small land holdings were associated with higher crop diversity (P<0.001) compared to rich farmers with large land holdings. Therefore, planning for agrobiodiversity management should focus on the production systems, and social and economic settings within the farming community.

scholarly journals Roots, Tubers and Bananas: Planning and research for climate resilience

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Thiele ◽  
Awais Khan ◽  
Bettina Heider ◽  
Jürgen Kroschel ◽  
Dieudonné Harahagazwe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Genomic Research ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Crop Modeling ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Change Models ◽  
Climate Resilience

AbstractThe CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) includes vegetatively propagated staple crops linked by common breeding, seed, and postharvest issues, and by the frequency with which women are involved in their production and use. RTB crops are the backbone of food security across the humid tropics in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and in more localized areas of Asia and Latin America. Around 300 million poor people in developing countries currently depend on RTB value chains for food security, nutrition and income. Climate change poses challenges which could undo progress in poverty reduction and markedly increase food insecurity. This article examines planning and research for climate resilience across RTB crops, with a particular focus on the contrasting potato and sweet potato cases in SSA. A six-step framework for climatesmart breeding is proposed: (1) downscaling climate change models and crop modeling; (2) identifying and understanding key climate change responsive traits; (3) breeding and varietal selection; (4) phenotyping and genomic research to accelerate gains; (5) developing management options for climate-smart varieties; and (6) deployment (seed systems). In summary, climate-smart breeding means we need to do what we already do but faster, better, and smarter.

scholarly journals The contribution of neighbours to an individual's risk of typhoid outcome

2015 ◽  
Vol 143 (16) ◽  
pp. 3520-3527 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. CHAO ◽  
J. K. PARK ◽  
F. MARKS ◽  
R. L. OCHIAI ◽  
I. M. LONGINI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Trial ◽  
Infectious Agent ◽  
Endemic Region ◽  
Potential Exposure ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Relative Risks ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Cluster Randomized ◽  
Indirect Protection ◽  
Pharmaceutical Interventions

SUMMARYAn individual's risk of infection from an infectious agent can depend on both the individual's own risk and protective factors and those of individuals in the same community. We hypothesize that an individual's exposure to an infectious agent is associated with the risks of infection of those living nearby, whether their risks are modified by pharmaceutical interventions or by other factors, because of the potential for transmission from them. For example, unvaccinated individuals living in a highly vaccinated community can benefit from indirect protection, or living near more children in a typhoid-endemic region (where children are at highest risk) might result in more exposure to typhoid. We tested this hypothesis using data from a cluster-randomized typhoid vaccine trial. We first estimated each individual's relative risk of confirmed typhoid outcome using their vaccination status and age. We defined a new covariate, potential exposure, to be the sum of the relative risks of all who live within 100 m of each person. We found that potential exposure was significantly associated with an individual's typhoid outcome, and adjusting for potential exposure affected estimates of vaccine efficacy. We suggest that it is useful and feasible to adjust for spatially heterogeneous distributions of individual-level risk factors, but further work is required to develop and test such approaches.

scholarly journals Germplasm rescue and rebuilding local seed systems in red zone areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-20
Author(s):  
Bal Krishna Joshi ◽  
Devendra Gauchan ◽  
Shreejana Sapkota ◽  
Kritesh Poudyal ◽  
Krishna Hari Ghimire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Crop Diversity ◽  
Cell Analysis ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
Seed Exchange ◽  
Rare And Endangered ◽  
Seed System

Native agrobiodiversity become endangered and even lost due to natural disasters in red zone area such as earthquake that hit Nepal on April and May 2015. Endangered agricultural genetic resources should be rescued and revival of disrupted local seed system was essential for sustainable and productive agriculture in earthquake affected areas. The objectives of this paper are to document methods employed to rescue germplasm and rebuild local seed systems in earthquake affected areas to restore lost crop diversity and strengthen local seed systems. Among 14 severely hit districts by April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, 10 districts were selected for germplasm rescue and rebuilding local seed system. We surveyed households and sensitized relevant stakeholders. Earthquake affected areas were declared as red zones and status of crop landraces were assessed through survey, five cell analysis and focus group discussion. Three germplasm rescue techniques, namely direct rescue, diversity fair and indirect rescue were applied. Local seed systems were rebuilt through diversity fair, diversity block, seed exchange, repatriation and diversity kits. Collected accessions were characterized, multiplied and conserved in National Genebank and community seed banks. About 5-10% of total local crop diversity (based on the landraces) were lost due to earthquake in these districts. A total of 921 accessions of 61 crops along with 284 rare and endangered crop landraces were collected and rescued from 35 VDCs of 10 severely earthquake affected districts. Climate analogue sites and climate smart germplasm were identified for some of earthquake affected areas, and five landraces of four crops were repatriated. Participatory seed exchange, diversity fairs and 200 diversity kits (containing 3 to 5 varieties) were employed to revive the local seed systems. Farmers’ preferred landraces were conserved in Community Seed Bank in Lamjung and Dolakha and all collections were conserved in Naional Genebank, Khumaltar, Nepal. The study concludes that multiple approaches and tools are necessary for germplasm rescue and rebuilding local seed systems from red zone area  

Constraints and options to sustainably intensifying smallholder maize farming systems in southern Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Nelson ◽  
Munir Hoffmann ◽  
Carlotta May ◽  
Frederick Mashao ◽  
Kingsley Ayisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
Planting Density ◽  
Rooting Depth ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Smallholder Systems

&lt;p&gt;In southern Africa, sustainable intensification (SI) of low input farming is promoted as a key strategy to improve the livelihoods and food security of smallholder farmers. It has been argued, however, that due to the severity and frequency of droughts, irrigation is a prerequisite for sustainable yield improvement and stability, and less crop failures. Restricted access to water for such farmers in the study region necessitates the investigation of alternative adaptive management options suited to smallholder systems. Using the Limpopo province South Africa as a case study, we use a combination of survey data (140 households) and detailed quantitative agronomic measurements and observations (116 georeferenced on-farm plots) to understand yield limitations in maize-based smallholder systems. Data was collected from five villages in the Mopani district representing a distinct climate gradient. Agronomic measurements included soil characteristics such as CN ratio, texture, rooting depth and management aspects such as weed type and soil cover, as well as maize planting density, biomass and yield. Combined insights from the interviews and detailed on-farm observations were used to benchmark the agro-ecosystem model APSIM, which was then setup for different technology levels. These were defined through combinations of advanced crop and soil management practices plus the status quo as observed through the ground-truthing campaign with no irrigation, zero to low fertilisation, little weeding, no pest management, and low planting density. Advanced practices involved higher input levels including irrigation and fertiliser, as well as management aspects such as increased planting density and intense weeding.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Survey results showed that farmers adjusted sowing time and planting density according to rainfall availability and perceived risk. Overall, input intensity levels were low (fertiliser and density) and all villages expressed similar challenges to adapt to climate variability. It appeared most farmers lacked knowledge about drought avoidance measures, and only very few had access to water for crop irrigation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our simulation results showed that irrigation could increase maize grain yields by around two tons ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; over a three-year average for a moderately wet site under current management practices. For the driest site, this led to an increase of just over one ton ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;. If irrigation is applied it necessitates an increase in biotic stress management, as failing to do so can compromise potential yield gains. Higher labour input, increased input costs and possibly associated increased economic risks make such intensification strategies unattractive for some farmers depending on their age and household economic security.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For this case study, we outlined and implemented a novel method of linking survey and agro-ecosystem modelling data to assess ex-ante potential impacts of SI in smallholder cropping systems vulnerable to climate-induced risk.&lt;/p&gt;

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