CGIAR Science Council reports, articles and other outputs
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Item Eco-efficient Agriculture: Concepts, Challenges, and Opportunities(Journal Article, 2010-03) Keating, Brian A.; Carberry, Peter S.; Bindraban, Prem S.; Asseng, Senthold; Meinke, Holger; Dixon, JohnEco‐efficiency in the simplest of terms is about achieving more with less—more agricultural outputs, in terms of quantity and quality, for less input of land, water, nutrients, energy, labor, or capital. The concept of eco‐efficiency encompasses both the ecological and economic dimensions of sustainable agriculture. Social and institutional dimensions of sustainability, while not explicitly captured in eco‐efficiency measures, remain critical barriers and opportunities on the pathway toward more eco‐efficient agriculture. This paper explores the multidimensionality of the eco‐efficiency concept as it applies to agriculture across diverse spatial and temporal scales, from cellular metabolisms through to crops, farms, regions, and ecosystems. These dimensions of eco‐efficiency are integrated through the presentation and exploration of a framework that explores an efficiency frontier between agricultural outputs and inputs, investment, or risk. The challenge for agriculture in the coming decades will be to increase productivity of agricultural lands in line with the increasing demands for food and fiber. Achieving such eco‐efficiency, while addressing risk and variability, will be a major challenge for future agriculture. Often, risk will be a critical issue influencing adoption; it needs explicit attention in the diagnosis and intervention steps toward enhancing eco‐efficiency. To ensure food security, systems analysis and modeling approaches, combined with farmer‐focused experimentation and resource assessment, will provide the necessary robust approaches to raise the eco‐efficiency of agricultural systems.Item Boundary Work and the Complexity of Natural Resources Management(Journal Article, 2010-03) Mollinga, Peter P.This paper discusses how research on natural resources management systems can address the complexity of such systems. Three different types of complexity are identified: ontological, societal, and analytical. Significant ideas for “dealing with complexity” are extracted from U.S., Swiss, and U.K. literature on inter‐ and transdisciplinary research. Based on this, the “boundary work” framework is presented to systematically think through complexity challenges. The framework suggests that inter‐ and transdisciplinary research on natural research management requires three types of work: (i) the development of suitable boundary concepts that allow thinking of the multidimensionality of NRM issues; (ii) the configuration of adequate boundary objects as devices and methods that allow acting in situations of incomplete knowledge, nonlinearity, and divergent interests; and (iii) the shaping of conducive boundary settings in which these concepts, devices, and methods can be fruitfully developed and effectively put to work. The ideas presented are illustrated with an example of a research program on sustainable land and water management in Uzbekistan. The concluding section highlights three issues important for increasing the effectiveness of inter‐ and transdisciplinary research on natural resources management.Item Breeding and Cereal Yield Progress(Journal Article, 2010-03) Fischer, R.A.; Edmeades, Gregory O.This paper reviews recent progress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), and maize (Zea mays L.) yields resulting from substantial breeding efforts in mostly favorable environments and examines its physiological basis. Breeding and improved agronomy lift potential yield (PY), namely yield with the best variety and management in the absence of manageable abiotic and biotic stresses, and PY increase is a key component of progress in farm yield (FY), the other component being closure of the PY to FY gap. Changes in PY and FY are reviewed for several key production regions, namely the United Kingdom and the Yaqui Valley of Mexico for wheat, Japan and Central Luzon in the Philippines for rice, and Iowa and briefly sub‐Saharan Africa for maize. The PY growth rates have fallen and are currently generally no more than 1% per annum and usually much less. The trajectory of FY with time often closely parallels PY, but, especially in developing countries, there remain large yield gaps. In at least one instance (maize in Iowa) the gap between PY and FY appears to be closing rapidly. Current genetic progress is linked to increased biomass accumulation, and this will remain the way forward in the future given the limits to increased harvest index (HI). There is evidence that recent progress is related to increased photosynthesis (e.g., greater radiation use efficiency (RUE) at the canopy level and/or maximum photosynthetic rate Pmax at saturating irradiance at the leaf level) before and around anthesis. There is no theoretical reason why this trend cannot continue, especially given the vast genetic resources already found within each crop species. However, it will not be easily or cheaply accomplished, so prospects for higher rates of potential yield growth appear to be limited, notwithstanding new molecular tools and claims to the contrary. Closing the yield gap, therefore, becomes more important. Many factors are involved, but breeding can also help farmers achieve this through, for example, improved host plant resistance.Item CGIAR Science Forum 2009(Journal Article, 2010-03) Rabbinge, RudyItem More than Eco-efficiency is Required to Improve Food Security(Journal Article, 2010-03) Park, S.E.; Howden, S.M.; Crimp, S.J.; Gaydon, D.S.; Attwood, S.J.; Kokic, P.N.Agricultural eco‐efficiency is promoted as a means of increasing agricultural production and improving the security of food systems in response to climate change. The rationale is that economic and environmental resources will be used more efficiently, enabling increased amounts of food to be produced from the same amount or fewer inputs. We used (i) a quantitative literature analysis to examine current usage of the eco‐efficiency concept to assess strategies aimed at improving food security under climate change, and (ii) a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) simulation experiment to consider possible tradeoffs between economic benefits of agricultural intensification, environmental performance, and social impacts. Two issues were highlighted from this. First, the relationship between economic and environmental outcomes is regularly assumed, leading to potentially erroneous conclusions and unintended outcomes. Second, the lack of any consideration for the social dimensions of food security ignores variability in incomes generated from agricultural production, and the potential for reduced quantities of food to be produced as a rational response to maximizing gross margins. We suggest the eco‐efficiency concept explicitly include social as well as economic and environmental criteria if it is to avoid poor rates of uptake of eco‐efficiency technologies, the promotion of practices that reduce the effectiveness of hunger‐reduction efforts, and unintended environmental degradation.Item Enhancing Eco-efficiency in Agro-ecosystems through Soil Carbon Sequestration(Journal Article, 2010-03) Lal, R.Global cereal production must be increased by ∼50% by 2050. Crop yields in sub‐Saharan Africa and South Asia have either stagnated or declined since the 1990s because of the widespread use of extractive farming practices and problems of soil and environmental degradation. Yield potential of improved varieties and elite germplasm is not realized because of soil degradation. The concept of eco‐efficiency implies efficient and sustainable use of resources in agronomic production and soil management. However, it is not enough to merely minimize the environmental impact. It is also important to maximize agronomic production while enhancing ecosystem services. Most degraded and depleted soils of agro‐ecosystems contain a lower soil organic carbon (SOC) pool than in those under natural ecosystems. Thus, restoring the SOC pool is essential to improving soil quality, increasing eco‐efficiency, and enhancing numerous ecosystem services. Increasing the SOC pool in the root zone can enhance agronomic production (kg grains ha−1 Mg C−1) at the rate of 200 to 300 for maize (Zea mays L.), 30 to 60 for bean (Phaseolis vulgaris L.), 20 to 40 for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), 20 to 50 for soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], and 20 to 50 for rice (Oryza sativa L.). Not all improved management practices are applicable to all soil and ecological conditions. However, no‐till farming along with application of crop residue mulch, manuring, legume‐based complex rotations, and integrated nutrient management should be applicable under most conditions. Global food insecurity, affecting 1.02 billion people in 2009, can only be alleviated by improving soil quality and eco‐efficiency through restoration of degraded/depleted soils.Item Biorefineries - A Path to Sustainability?(Journal Article, 2010-03) Hatti-Kaul, RajniBiorefining of crops for production of power, transport fuels, and a diverse array of chemicals has potential for providing significant added economic value to biomass. A shift in the industrial resource base from fossil resources to biomass also requires a shift in the technology base for producing, handling, and processing of raw materials. Biotechnology will play an important role in providing tools for different stages ranging from biomass production, treatment, and valorization to various products. First generation refineries have raised some critical issues related to land use and insufficient environmental benefits due to energy‐intensive cultivation of crops. The abundant residual lignocellulosic biomass will constitute an important feedstock for the future biorefineries so as to have a minimal impact on the food availability. Necessary investments in technological development will be needed to realize the benefits of the new bioeconomy in the long term.Item Rapid Determination of Gene Function by Virus-induced Gene Silencing in Wheat and Barley(Journal Article, 2010-03) Cakir, Cahid; Gillespie, Megan E.; Scofield, Steven R.The cereal crops are essential components to the human and animal food supply. Solutions to many of the problems challenging cereal production will require identification of genes responsible for particular traits. Unfortunately, the process of identifying gene function is very slow and complex in crop plants. In wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), this process is made very difficult by the very large size and complexity of their genomes and the difficulty with which these crops can be genetically transformed. Additionally, the polyploidy of wheat greatly complicates any approach based on mutational analysis because functional, homeologous genes often mask genetic mutations. Virus‐induced gene silencing (VIGS) is an important new tool that overcomes many of these obstacles and promises to greatly facilitate the assessment of gene function. A VIGS system based on barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) has recently been developed for use in wheat and barley. The BSMV‐VIGS system allows researchers to switch‐off or “knockdown” the expression of chosen genes so that the gene's function may be inferred based on the knockout phenotypes. This article describes the characteristics of the BSMV‐VIGS system, relates examples of its application for functional genomics in wheat and barley, and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of this approach.Item Science for Development: Mobilizing Global Partnerships(Journal Article, 2010-03) Deane, Christine; Ejeta, Gebisa; Rabbinge, Rudy; Sayer, JeffItem Biofortification - A Sustainable Agricultural Strategy for Reducing Micronutrient Malnutrition in the Global South(Journal Article, 2010-03) Bouis, Howarth E.; Welch, Ross M.Minerals and vitamins in food staples eaten widely by the poor may be increased either through conventional plant breeding or through use of transgenic techniques, a process known as biofortification HarvestPlus seeks to develop and distribute cultivars of food staples (rice [Oryza sativa L.], wheat [Triticum aestivum L.], maize [Zea mays L.], cassava [Manihot esculenta Crantz], pearl millet [Pennisetum americanum Leeke], beans [Phaseolus vulgaris L.], sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas L.]) that are high in Fe, Zn, and provitamin A through an interdisciplinary global alliance of scientific institutions and implementing agencies in developing and developed countries. Biofortified crops offer a rural‐based intervention that, by design, initially reaches these more remote populations, which comprise a majority of the undernourished in many countries, and then penetrates to urban populations as production surpluses are marketed. Thus, biofortification complements fortification and supplementation programs, which work best in centralized urban areas and then reach into rural areas with good infrastructure. Initial investments in agricultural research at a central location can generate high recurrent benefits at low cost as adapted biofortified cultivars become widely available in countries across time at low recurrent costs. Overall, three things must happen for biofortification to be successful. First, the breeding must be successful—high nutrient density must be combined with high yields and high profitability. Second, efficacy must be demonstrated—the micronutrient status of human subjects must be shown to improve when consuming the biofortified cultivars as normally eaten. Third, the biofortified crops must be adopted by farmers and consumed by those suffering from micronutrient malnutrition in significant numbers.Item The Future of Food: Scenarios for 2050(Journal Article, 2010-03) Hubert, Bernard; Rosegrant, Mark W.; Boekel, Martinus A.J.S. van; Ortíz, RodomiroThis background article addresses key challenges of adequately feeding a population of 9 billion by 2050, while preserving the agro‐ecosystems from which other services are also expected. One of the scenario‐buildings uses the Agrimonde platform, which considers the following steps: choosing the scenarios and their underlying building principles, developing quantitative scenarios, and building complete scenarios by combining quantitative scenarios with qualitative hypotheses. These scenarios consider how food issues link to production, for example, the percentage of animal vs. vegetal calorie intake in the full diet. The first section of this article discusses Agrimonde GO and Agrimonde 1 scenarios, which indicate that global economic growth and ecological intensification remain as main challenges for feeding the earth's growing population toward the mid‐21st century. The second section provides the outcomes of the analysis of alternative futures for agricultural supply and demand and food security to 2050, based on research done for the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development. The last section of this article provides a summary analysis of food systems and functions, as well as the role of food technology that address some of the global challenges affecting the supply of more nutritious and healthy diets. It also highlights the food production by novel means (e.g., alternatives for animal products based on plant materials) and increasing the presence of potentially health‐promoting compounds in food to improve human and animal health. Finally, this article proposes priority areas that should be included in further agri‐food research.Item Mobilizing Science to Break Yield Barriers(Journal Article, 2010-03) Phillips, Ronald L.Yield barriers must be broken. The diminished stock of staple foods, higher grain prices, and increases in production failing to keep up with demand, coupled with 80 million people being added to the world population every year, suggests that we are on a collision course with famine unless greater investments are made in research and development, as well as education. Genetic improvement of staples has accounted for more than half of the past increases in yields. Fortunately, a revolution in genetic knowledge is co‐evolving with the increased demand for food, feed, fiber, and fuel. Utilizing genetic diversity has been a mainstay of past production improvements High throughput DNA sequencing, the related bioinformatics, and a cascade of genetic technologies can now be employed to detect previously hidden genetic variability, to understand gene functions, to make greater use of accessions in germplasm banks, and to make breeding schemes more efficacious. The involvement of outstanding scientists who can bring interdisciplinary ideas to the question of how to break yield barriers must be part of the strategy. Educational programs at all levels, even high school, should emphasize the opportunities in international agriculture to build a cadre of dedicated scientists for the future.Item Relearning Old Lessons for the Future of Food-By Bread Alone No Longer: Diversifying Diets with Fruit and Vegetables(Journal Article, 2010-03) Keatinge, John D.H.; Waliyar, Farid; Jamnadas, Ramni H.; Moustafa, Ahmed; Andrade, Maria; Drechsel, Pay; Hughes, Jacqueline d'Arros; Kadirvel, Palchamy; Luther, KartiniDiversifying diets and agricultural enterprises with fruit and vegetables is a potent weapon in the current global battle against malnutrition and poverty. Agricultural science can contribute substantially to enhance the development prospects and health of not only disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals at one end of the spectrum but also the growth and equity of national economies at the other. Moreover, with relatively simple applied research, new crop species and technologies can rapidly enter the development pathway to benefit even the poorest people or nations. More upstream research can help to guard fruit and vegetable production against the vagaries of potential climatic uncertainty, which is projected to become more prominent over future decades. However, historical and continuing widespread underinvestment in fruit and vegetable research and development from the national to the global level may severely compromise the world's ability to use such high‐value species for crop diversification and as a major engine of development growth to ensure global food and nutritional security.Item Development Perspectives Of The Biobased Economy: A Review(Journal Article, 2010-03) Langeveld, J.W.A.; Dixon, John; Jaworski, J. F.This paper provides an outline of the biobased economy, its perspectives for agriculture and, more particularly, for development purposes. Possibilities of development of biobased products, advanced biofuels, and viable and efficient biorefinery concepts are explored. The paper lists non‐fuel bioproducts (e.g., chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biopolymers) and presents basic principles and development options for biorefineries that can be used to generate them alongside biofuels, power, and by‐products. One of the main challenges is to capture more value from existing crops without compromising the needs and possibilities of small‐scale, less endowed farmers. Biobased products offer the most development perspectives, combining large market volumes with medium to high price levels. Consequently, the most can be expected from products like fine chemicals, lubricants, and solvents. In addition, biosolar cells can help to relax pressures on biomass production systems while decentralized production chains can serve local needs for energy, materials, and nutrients as their requirement for viable economic development are linked to larger markets. Research challenges include development of such production and market chains, and of biosolar cells and selection of model crops that offer perspectives for less favored producers and underdeveloped rural areas.Item Climate Risk Management for Adaptation to Climate Variability and Change(Journal Article, 2010-03) Baethgen, Walter E.The warming of the climate system is evident from observations of air and ocean temperatures as well as in melting of snow and ice and rising sea level. Measures are needed to reverse the trends of increased accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. The two main paths to reverse this trend are: (i) reducing GHG emissions through cleaner energy generation and (ii) removing CO2 through carbon sequestration. The agricultural and forestry sectors can play a key role in both paths. Carbon markets will likely encourage increased carbon sequestration. However, the implementation of carbon‐market projects for small farmers in least developed countries is still a major challenge. Even under the most optimistic scenarios of future GHG emissions adaptive measures are needed to address impacts of the warming due to past and current emissions. Integrating climate change into decision making is complicated by the uncertainty levels of climate scenarios. It is also challenged by a “double conflict of scales”: (i) climate scenarios are available for periods much farther in the future than the ones typically needed for decision making and (ii) spatial scales of the climate scenarios (global to regional) are coarser than the ones often needed for actual decision making (i.e., local level). Introducing the issue of climate change into policy and development agendas can be facilitated by considering the longer‐term variations as part of the continuum of total climate variability (seasons to decades to centuries) and generating information at the temporal scales that are relevant and applicable for particular decisions.Item Report of the Third External Program and Management Review of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)(Evaluation Report, 2008-01) CGIAR Science CouncilItem Report of the First External Review of the Generation Challenge Program (GCP)(Report, 2008-10) CGIAR Science CouncilItem Report of the First External Review of the HarvestPlus Challenge Program(Evaluation Report, 2008-01) CGIAR Science CouncilItem Report of the Biosafety Panel to the CGIAR Science Council on Biosafety Policy and Practices of the CGIAR Centers(Report, 2007-05) CGIAR Science CouncilItem CGIAR Centre Collaborations: Report of a Survey(Report, 2006-03) CGIAR Science Council