The respective contribution of conservation agriculture (CA) principles (no-tillage, permanent soil cover/mulch and crop rotations) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is still unclear. This study was conducted at two long-term experimental sites established in 2013 in Zimbabwe, on an abruptic Lixisol at Domboshava Training Center (DTC) and on a xant...
An inventory of the species in and around the clove agroforestry systems (AFS) on the east coast of Madagascar revealed that none of the currently grown species derive from the native Malagasy biodiversity: the herbaceous and woody plants which comprise planned agrobiodiversity, i.e. are deliberately planted by the farmer, are without exception, in...
Purpose: This article explores to what extent a Delphi consensus study can help in designing a framework for assessing agricultural innovation systems (AIS), and this in a perspective of transformation of these systems in a diversity of countries. Approach: First, we reviewed the diversity of existing assessment methodologies in terms of their asse...
Climate change models predict an increase in climate variability in the future, with more rainfall extremes and greater risks, causing a negative impact on crops produced by smallholders in West Africa. Conservation Agriculture (CA) systems can be effective in mitigating yield loss in environments with increased weather risk. This study aimed to ev...
Due to their potential applications for food safety, there is a growing interest in rice root-associated microbial communities, but some systems remain understudied. Here, we compare the assemblage of root-associated microbiota in rice sampled in 19 small farmer's fields from irrigated and rainfed lowlands in Burkina Faso, using an amplicon metabar...
Martinique, a French island and overseas department, faces many environmental challenges including a humid tropical climate prone to the development of pests, the decline of its agricultural sector and a deterioration of its environment. Despite these constraints, Martinique has to meet both national and European environmental requirements. In orde...
CONTEXT: Chronic environmental pollutions are one of the most striking examples of negative externalities of intensive agriculture. To address this issue, an agroecological transition is necessary, requiring new design methods: While most design methods are suited to the field or farm scale, some innovations require an approach at the scale of the ...
Today, major changes are required in global agricultural systems to produce enough healthy food for all, while preserving the quality of land, air and water and safeguarding biodiversity. But producing enough while simultaneously protecting the environment is a particularly complex equation. Agroecology, a key principle of which is the use of agric...
High quantities of pesticides are applied on vineyards. For example, the average treatment frequency index (TFI) for French vineyards was 13.5 in 2016, whereas the average TFI for wheat (a major annual crop in France) was 4.9 in 2017. Reducing pesticide use is a key issue to improve viticulture sustainability. The aims of this study were (i) to ana...
Coastal agricultural systems in Southeast Asia are vulnerable to climate change. The combination of rising sea levels and extreme rainfall events is eroding fragile coastlines that protect emblematic “rice bowls” across the region. A series of recent damaging floods in Southeastern Thailand has raised concerns about their increased frequency. Local...
