Towards a cropping system sustainability tool (CROSST) - Pilot results from evaluating green manure cover crops in Benin and Kenya

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cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Center for Tropical Agricultureen
cg.contributor.crpWater, Land and Ecosystems
cg.coverage.countryBenin
cg.coverage.countryKenya
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2BJ
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2KE
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.coverage.regionWestern Africa
cg.creator.identifierRein van der Hoek: 0000-0003-4528-7669en
cg.creator.identifierBirthe Paul: 0000-0002-5994-5354en
cg.creator.identifierRolf Sommer: 0000-0001-7599-9056en
cg.creator.identifierJessica Mukiri: 0000-0001-7460-1683en
cg.placeNairobi, Kenyaen
dc.contributor.authorMukiri, Jessicaen
dc.contributor.authorDiogo, Rodrigue V. Caoen
dc.contributor.authorGbedjissokpa, Sènami G.M.en
dc.contributor.authorKinyua, Michaelen
dc.contributor.authorHoek, Rein van deren
dc.contributor.authorSommer, Rolfen
dc.contributor.authorPaul, Birthe K.en
dc.date.accessioned2019-08-05T16:15:41Zen
dc.date.available2019-08-05T16:15:41Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/102440
dc.titleTowards a cropping system sustainability tool (CROSST) - Pilot results from evaluating green manure cover crops in Benin and Kenyaen
dcterms.abstractFarming practices in sub-Saharan Africa have resulted in declining soil fertility. Hence, Green Manure Cover Crops (GMCC) are promoted for soil improvement and protection. Adoption of GMCCs by farmers, including integration in their cropping systems, requires a good understanding of the multi-dimensional impacts of these crops. We, therefore, developed the Cropping Systems Assessment Sustainability Tool (CROSST), which can compare the performance of different cropping systems with and without the integration of GMCCs. CROSST is an Excel-based tool that assesses both agro-environmental and socio-economic impacts of GMCC technologies. The tool quantifies gross economic margin, productivity (yield), soil health (N and P balances, soil structure, and soil organic carbon), required labour hours, and the trade-offs between these indicators. The tool was pilot-tested in Benin and Kenya under the BMZ-GIZ program on ‘Soil Protection and Rehabilitation for Food Security.’ Data was collected through literature reviews, focus group discussions and key expert interviews. The compared cropping systems were selected and designed by experts with in-depth knowledge on local contexts of Benin and Western Kenya. The first results indicate that GMCCs improve soil structure/soil organic matter as well as soil N balances in both countries. However, investing in soil improvement can result in loss of profitability, especially when a crop that produces grain for consumption or sale is swapped for a GMCC that produces biomass for soil amendment only. CROSST still needs further data refinement with recent official census as well as independent field measurements. Once validated, it can serve as a decision-support tool for development agencies, implementing partners, and local stakeholders when designing sustainable cropping systems that integrate GMCCs.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.bibliographicCitationMukiri J; Diogo RVC; Gbedjissokpa SGM; Kinyua M; van der Hoek R; Sommer R; Paul B. 2019. Towards a cropping system sustainability tool (CROSST) - Pilot results from evaluating green manure cover crops in Benin and Kenya. Working Paper. CIAT Publication No. 479. International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Nairobi, Kenya. 35 p.en
dcterms.extent35 p.en
dcterms.issued2019-08en
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-NC-4.0
dcterms.publisherInternational Center for Tropical Agricultureen
dcterms.subjectcropping systemsen
dcterms.subjecttoolsen
dcterms.subjectreporten
dcterms.subjectsoil fertilityen
dcterms.typeWorking Paper

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