The agroforestry parklands in the Sudano-Sahelian zone are of critical importance for food security, but face several challenges in terms of changes in climate and land use. The ability to systematically monitor crop productivity in these systems is therefore of importance for both informing land management policies and studying long-term trends. This study, conducted in two different agroecological areas in southern and central Burkina Faso covering two climate-wise very contrasting years (2020–2021), is an initial step to designing a system based on satellite remote sensing that enables national-scale monitoring of crop productivity. In these two sites, we collected large field datasets of crop productivity (150 plots) for use in model training and validation. The main assessments focused on how to best process and combine remote sensing data sources, including time series from the Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite systems, as well as soil properties, elevation and tree cover. Other key focuses were evaluating different regression modelling algorithms (multilinear and machine learning) and clarifying the potential benefits of performing the modelling in specific geographic regions and years or if the modelling can be generalized. Overall, the results show that accurate estimates of crop productivity are achievable using the proposed modelling framework, with encouragingly high R2 (0.49–0.82) and low root mean square errors (11.80–19.35%). Sentinel-2 was the most important data source, but our results also demonstrate the potential of Sentinel-1, which has the benefit of not being affected by clouds. Another encouraging aspect is that the results were stable both between the years, which differed significantly in terms of rainfall and crop productivity, and between the sites that are characterized by contrasting crop compositions. This study shows that the development of a national-level crop monitoring system in Burkina Faso or countries with similar environmental conditions is within reach.

The nutrient type and amount contributed from vermicompost varies depending on thesource material, earthworm type used, agro-ecology and farmers’ management. These call forcrop, soil and site specific study. This study, therefore, aimed at determining: (i) the optimalvermicompost application rate/s for wheat and maize production; and (ii) the role ofvermicompost on soil fertility improvements. Field experiments in three agro-climatic zones(highland, midland and lowlands) were established on wheat and maize crops following arandomized complete block design. The treatments were vermicompost (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and10 t ha−1), conventional compost (10 t ha−1), and recommended rates of Nitrogen and Phosphorus(NP = 100 kg DAP and 50 kg Urea) fertilizers. Our results revealed that the studied soil chemicalproperties, primarily, organic carbon (OC %), N (%) and available P (mg kg−1) increased withincreasing vermicompost rate. The 10 t ha−1 vermicompost treated plots had 157-210%,64-81% and 100-242% higher soil total nitrogen content as compared to the control, 10 t ha−1conventional compost and NP fertilizer treatments, respectively. Application of 10 t ha−1vermicompost also resulted in a 1.5-fold and 43-63% grain yield increment of both testedcrops compared to the control and NP treated plots, respectively. However, the highest netbenefit was obtained from 5 t ha−1 vermicompost for maize (86% increase) and 10 t ha−1 ofvermicompost for wheat (152% increase compared to the control). In conclusion, vermicompostat 5 t ha−1 for maize and 10 t ha−1 for wheat can be recommended to sustainably managefarm productivity.

Key messages

• There is need for sustained extension activities to bridge the knowledge gap of camel diseases and good husbandry practices amongst Samburu camel keepers.

• Samburu County should consider external sourcing of vaccines for endemic diseases such as Haemorrhagic Septicaemia and camel pox that are causing significant economic losses.

• The department of Agriculture, Livestock Development, Veterinary Services and Fisheries should advocate for timely disbursement of funds and advocate for increased budget allocation to the livestock sector

Trees in agroforestry parklands influence crops both through competitive and facilitative mechanism, but the effects are challenging to disentangle due to the complexity of the system with high variability in tree cover structure and species diversity and crop combinations. Focusing on a landscape in central Burkina Faso domi- nated by Vitellaria paradoxa and Parkia biglobosa, this paper examines how tree cover influences crop yield at landscape scale using satellite data and spatial statistics. Our analysis is based on data from 2017 to 2018 with differences in rainfall to assess the stability in identified relationships. Our findings showed that tree canopy cover and tree density inside the fields tended to decrease crop yield because of competition, but also that these variables when considering the surrounding landscape exerted an opposite effect because of their buffering ef- fects. The explanatory variables representing soil properties did have limited effects on crop yield in this study. These patterns were consistent during the two years of monitoring. Overall, our results suggest that farmers in this area might manage the tree cover in a way that optimizes sustainable yields as canopy cover and tree density in most parklands is below the limits identified here where competition outweight the facilitative effects. 

Agricultural production plays a strategic role in ensuring food security, income and employment for rural households across developing countries. Smallholder farming systems are complex, and efforts to transform them are undermined by climate change induced shocks as well as long-term changes. We employed a multi stakeholder approach to develop an inclusive sorghum value chain for effective transition towards more diversified, resilient and climate smart crop production in Nongoma and Clau Clau villages, in KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa. The coming on board of various stakeholders providing diverse support and services to the smallholder farming cooperatives helped to upscale sorghum production from the experimental trials, establish links with markets, train and capacitate the farmers in key aspects of project and business management. Consequently, the smallholder farmers are more equipped to adapt to climate change in terms of knowledge and skill sets, while livelihoods and food security are enhanced through crop diversification. We conclude that smallholder farmer support should go beyond basic research and extension, and multi-stakeholder and inclusive value chain development should be at the centre of efforts to build smallholder resilience to climate change. 

När allt fler länder ställer upp allt djärvare klimatmål har olika former av klimatkompensation kommit i fokus. Vad är för- och nackdelarna med klimatkompensation, kan det överhuvudtaget användas som en tillförlitlig metod för att minska klimatutsläppen? Madelene Ostwald skriver.

SammanfattningFormas specialutlysning ’Att förverkliga de Globala hållbarhetsmålen’ från 2019/20analyserades utifrån att ingen av de 11 tilldelade projekten (beviljningsgrad 6,6procent) kom från Göteborgs universitet och Chalmers, trots att 30 (17 procent) av de174 ansökningarna söktes från dessa universitet. Ansökningar, yttranden, dokumentfrån Formas, kontinuerlig dialog med forskningssekreterare, intervjuer (24huvudsökanden, fem granskare) och information från rundabords-samtal har varitgrunden till analysen.Resursåtgången för att utveckla 174 ansökningar beräknades till 201 timmar peransökan till en kostnad av totalt 29,2 miljoner kronor (mkr), vilket motsvarar 14procent av utlysningens totala budget på 210 mkr. Fem av ansökningarna frånGöteborg fanns med på kortlistan bestående av 30 ansökningar som diskuteradesunder granskarnas panelsmöten. De sex kriterier som använts vid granskningenvisar att ansökningarna från Göteborg inte nådde högsta poäng (7:a) på någotkriterium och hade en spridning av totalpoäng på 19 till 35 av 42 möjliga. Bland defem kortlistade projekten från Göteborg samt ytterligare fem göteborgsansökningarvar spannet 31-35 på totalpoäng. Bland de beviljade ansökningarna låg spannet på35-41. Kriteriet med lägsta genomsnittliga poäng var ’metod och genomförande’vilket också ansågs vara det kriteriet som diskuterades mest i granskningspanelen.Ålder, kön, akademisk grad, medsökande utanför hemuniversitet eller heminstitution,tidigare planeringsanslag eller mängden nedlagd tid på ansökan verkar inte hapåverkat utfallet. Däremot tenderar fler medsökande vara viktigt och även att inte haför många discipliner i gruppen. Sex av de 11 beviljade projekten kom fråncentrumbildningar eller institut som är av mångdisciplinär karaktär. Mönster avinnovation, hög samhällsrelevans, stark SDG-anknytning och allmängiltigfrågeställning finns bland de beviljade ansökningarna.Tvärvetenskap bedömdes som en parameter under ’metod och genomförande’ bland24 delkriterier och som sådan bedömdes angreppssätt beskrivet i ansökan snarareän hur gruppen var sammansatt. En aspekt angående tvärvetenskap som lyftes av paneldeltagare var att det märks på en ansökan om tvärvetenskapen har blivitihopsatt (forskare eller metoder) på ett snabbt och påtvingat sätt eller om det ärnågot som utvecklats organiskt.Utifrån analysen ges en rad möjligheter till förändring för forskare, universiteten ochforskningsmiljöerna i Göteborg, grants office och innovationskontor, GMV,forskningsråden och forskningspolitiken.

Företag som ser sig om efter åtgärder för att minska sin klimat­påverkan och samtidigt stärka sitt varumärke bör undvika klimat­kompensation i svenska skogar. Det skriver sex forskare.