scholarly journals Exceptional subgenome stability and functional divergence in allotetraploid teff, the primary cereal crop in Ethiopia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert VanBuren ◽  
Ching Man Wai ◽  
Jeremy Pardo ◽  
Alan E. Yocca ◽  
Xuewen Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Agronomic Traits ◽  
Functional Divergence ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Eragrostis Tef ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Gene Pairs ◽  
Expression Atlas ◽  
Syntenic Gene ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

AbstractTeff (Eragrostis tef) is a cornerstone of food security in the Horn of Africa, where it is prized for stress resilience, grain nutrition, and market value. Despite its overall importance to small-scale farmers and communities in Africa, teff suffers from low production compared to other cereals because of limited intensive selection and molecular breeding. Here we report a chromosome-scale genome assembly of allotetraploid teff (variety ‘Dabbi’) and patterns of subgenome dynamics. The teff genome contains two complete sets of homoeologous chromosomes, with most genes maintained as syntenic gene pairs. Through analyzing the history of transposable element activity, we estimate the teff polyploidy event occurred ∼1.1 million years ago (mya) and the two subgenomes diverged ∼5.0 mya. Despite this divergence, we detected no large-scale structural rearrangements, homoeologous exchanges, or bias gene loss, contrasting most other allopolyploid plant systems. The exceptional subgenome stability observed in teff may enable the ubiquitous and recurrent polyploidy within Chloridoideae, possibly contributing to the increased resilience and diversification of these grasses. The two teff subgenomes have partitioned their ancestral functions based on divergent expression patterns among homoeologous gene pairs across a diverse expression atlas. The most striking differences in homoeolog expression bias are observed during seed development and under abiotic stress, and thus may be related to agronomic traits. Together these genomic resources will be useful for accelerating breeding efforts of this underutilized grain crop and for acquiring fundamental insights into polyploid genome evolution.

scholarly journals Large-scale agricultural investments in Eastern Africa: consequences for small-scale farmers and the environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 342-357
Author(s):  
Julie Gwendolin Zaehringer ◽  
Peter Messerli ◽  
Markus Giger ◽  
Boniface Kiteme ◽  
Ali Atumane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
Agricultural Investments

scholarly journals Farm Size, Risk Aversion and Overuse of Fertilizer: The Heterogeneity of Large-Scale and Small-Scale Wheat Farmers in Northern China

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Haixia Wu ◽  
Hantao Hao ◽  
Hongzhen Lei ◽  
Yan Ge ◽  
Hengtong Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Aversion ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Chemical Fertilizer ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Fertilizer Use ◽  
Deviation Degree ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

The excessive use of fertilizer has resulted in serious environmental degradation and a high health cost in China. Understanding the reasons for the overuse of fertilizer is critical to the sustainable development of Chinese agriculture, and large-scale operation is considered as one of the measures to deal with the excessive fertilizer use. Under the premise of fully considering the resource endowment and heterogeneity of large-scale farmers and small-scale farmers in production and management, different production decision-making frameworks were constructed. Based on the 300 large-scale farmers and 480 small-scale farmers in eight provinces of northern China wheat region, we analyzed the optimal fertilizer use amount and its deviation as well as the influencing factors of small-scale and large-scale farmers, then further clarified whether the development of scale management could solve the problem of excessive fertilizer use. The empirical results show that: (1) both small-scale farmers and large-scale farmers deviated from the optimal fertilizer application amount, where the deviation degree of optimal fertilizer application of small-scale farmers is significantly higher than that of large-scale farmers, with a deviation degree of 35.43% and 23.69% for small and large scale farmers, respectively; (2) not all wheat growers in North China had the problem of excessive use of chemical fertilizer, as the optimal level of chemical fertilizer application in Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia are 346.5 kgha−1 and 335.25 kgha−1, while the actual fertilizer use amount was 337.2 kgha−1 and 324.6 kgha−1, respectively; and (3) the higher the risk aversion level, farmers tended to apply more fertilizer to ensure grain output. Therefore, increasing farm size should be integrated into actions such as improving technological innovation and providing better information transfer to achieve the goal of zero-increase in Chinese fertilizer use.

scholarly journals Food pedagogy for transformative social change

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea Klinke ◽  
Gertrude Korkor Samar
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Food Studies ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Urban Farming ◽  
Transformative Engagement ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

The contemporary global agrarian regime has altered the patterns of food production, circulation, and consumption. Its efforts towards food security vis-á-vis capitalist modes of mechanized cultivation have produced large-scale climatic and socioeconomic ramifications, including the dispossession of small-scale farmers from their lands and positions in market value-chains. In an effort to improve the dynamics of contemporary agro-food systems, food practitioners and scholars are engaging in critical analyses of land-grabbing, the feminization of agriculture, extractive-led development, and more. However, we argue that there is a gap between Food Studies scholarship and community-based transformative engagement. To support social justice frameworks, our paper calls for an academic paradigm shift wherein learner-centered experiential classrooms bridge academic-public divides and enhance student learning. Through a case-study of urban farming in Calgary, we also explore topics in place-based learning and participatory approaches that acknowledge and integrate Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, being, and connecting. Our paper provides strategies for supporting local food systems through activist scholarship, capacity building of leadership and technical skills in advanced urban farming, and intercultural relationship building. We conclude by evaluating the success of our approach, presenting potential benefits and challenges, and providing recommendations for best practices in food scholarship to support transformative change.

Transformation from Subsistence to Commercial Agriculture in Nigeria

2015 ◽  
pp. 409-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abiodun E. Obayelu
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Commercial Agriculture ◽  
Land Owners ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
Policies And Programs

Agriculture is in critical state in Nigeria with domestic food production being less than the growing population. The chapter analyzes the ongoing transformation of subsistence agriculture to commercial in Nigeria and the attendant effects of large-scale land acquisition on small-scale farmers. It uses both theoretical and empirical research designs with direct interviews of relevant stakeholders and case studies. It reviews past and present policies and programs aimed at transforming agriculture from subsistence to commercial in Nigeria. The results reveal that large-scale land acquisition and farming is not new in Nigeria. Acquisitions of land by foreigners has always been with the help and consent of government, unlike the case when it involves indigenous investors. Acquisitions have in most cases been characterized by conflicts between the landowners or tillers and investors. To transition successfully from subsistence to commercial agriculture, there is a need for strong collective actions between the depraved land owners, government, and investors.

A two-stage approach for assessment of distributional impacts in model-based delta planning: exploration of plausible inequality patterns and justice-based evaluation of policies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bramka Arga Jafino ◽  
Jan Kwakkel
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Mekong Delta ◽  
Adaptation Planning ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Adaptation Policies ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
New Policies ◽  
Distributional Impacts

<p>Climate-related inequality can arise from the implementation of adaptation policies. As an example, the dike expansion policy for protecting rice farmers in the Vietnam Mekong Delta in the long run backfires to the small-scale farmers. The prevention of annual flooding reduces the supply of natural sediments, forcing farmers to apply more and more fertilizers to achieve the same yield. While large-scale farmers can afford this, small-scale farmers do not possess the required economics of scale and are thus harmed eventually. Together with climatic and socioeconomic uncertainties, the implementation of new policies can not only exacerbate existing inequalities, but also induce new inequalities. Hence, distributional impacts to affected stakeholders should be assessed in climate change adaptation planning.</p><p>In this study, we propose a two-stage approach to assess the distributional impacts of policies in model-based support for adaptation planning. The first stage is intended to explore potential inequality patterns that may emerge due to combination of new policies and the realization of exogenous scenarios. This stage comprises four steps: (i) disaggregation of performance indicators in the model in order to observe distributional impacts, (ii) performance of large-scale simulation experimentation to account for deep uncertainties, (iii) clustering of simulation results to identify distinctive inequality patterns, and (iv) application of scenario discovery tools, in particular classification and regression trees, to identify combinations of policies and uncertainties that lead to a specific inequality pattern.</p><p>In the second stage we attempt to asses which policies are morally preferable with respect to the inequality patterns they generate, rather than only descriptively explore the patterns which is the case in the previous stage. To perform a normative evaluation of the distributional impacts, we operationalize five alternative principles of justice: improvement of total welfare (utilitarianism), prioritization of worse-off actors (prioritarianism), reduction of welfare differences across actors (two derivations: absolute inequality and envy measure), and improvement of worst-off actor (Rawlsian difference). The different operationalization of each of these principles forms the so-called social welfare function with which the distributional impacts can be aggregated.</p><p>To test this approach, we use an agricultural planning case study in the upper Vietnam Mekong Delta. Specifically, we assess the distributional impacts of alternative adaptation policies in the upper Vietnam Mekong Delta by using an integrated assessment model. We consider six alternative policies as well as uncertainties related to upstream discharge, sediment supply, and land-use change. Through the first stage, we identify six potential inequality patterns among the 23 districts in the study area, as well as the combinations of policies and uncertainties that result in these types of patterns. From applying the second stage we obtain complete rankings of alternative policies, based on their performance with respect to distributional impacts, under different realizations of scenarios. The explorative stage allows policy-makers to identify potential actions to compensate worse-off actors while the normative stage helps them to easily rank alternative policies based on a preferred moral principle.</p>

scholarly journals Design and Fabrication of Semi Automatic Coconut Copra Electric Dryer

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 637-641
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Weather Condition ◽  
Major Product ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Adverse Weather Condition ◽  
Adverse Weather ◽  
Individual Household ◽  
High Initial Cost ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

In India Coconut is the major plantation crop in the states of Tamilnadu, kerala, Karnataka, Kongan region of Maharastra and Andaman and Nicobar Islands for entire seasons. Copra is the major product from the coconut cultivation earning higher income of small and medium livelihoods. The approval of copra quality is mainly based on how well the copra got dried. Open drying or other conventional methods is the major process of making copra. In adverse weather condition, rainy season the drying process will be very challenging. Many dryers are made and used currently was affordable to medium and large scale copra producers. Those dryers also having limitations in size, high initial cost and nature dependency. There is very few attempt made for Small and individual household copra producers. This paper mainly focuses on how to dry-up the copra in all climate conditions. An electric handy dryer is designed to dry up the coconut copra and other grains. It mainly helps the small scale farmers as a handy dryer unit to dry-up the copra, those who are using coconut as a way of income. Based on the experiments conducted the electric dryer removed high moisture content than forced convection and direct sun dryers.

scholarly journals Genetic diversity of physical, nutritional and functional properties of cowpea grain and relationships among the traits

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoru Muranaka ◽  
Mariko Shono ◽  
Takao Myoda ◽  
Junko Takeuchi ◽  
Jorge Franco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Agronomic Traits ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cash Income ◽  
Breeding Lines ◽  
Nutrient Contents ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

Cowpea is traditionally important as an affordable source of protein and minerals and of cash income in sub-Saharan Africa, especially for small-scale farmers who have limited options for food and cash crops. The development and deployment of cowpea varieties with improved nutrition and quality that meet the needs of farmers and consumers should enhance cowpea consumption and production in the region. We have identified genetic diversity in various grain quality-related traits of cowpea and relationships among the traits. Wide genetic variation and strong correlations among crude protein, Fe and Zn contents suggest the possibility of improving the concentrations of these nutritional factors simultaneously. Low associations among physical and nutritional properties of grain indicate the possibility of introgressing favorable traits utilizing identified genetic resources. However, narrow variation in amino acid (AA) composition suggests a lesser possibility of improving the contents of specific AAs in cowpea, but it gave a reliable nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor of 5.45 for the estimation of crude protein content. Several improved breeding lines were identified with low concentrations of flatulence-causing oligosaccharides and various favorable agronomic traits and nutrient contents. TVu-12802 had the highest contents of crude protein and high contents of micronutrients, with a low ratio of phytic acid to Fe and Zn contents.

PARTICIPATORY VARIETY SELECTION IN THE ETHIOPIAN CEREAL TEF (ERAGROSTIS TEF)

2006 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. BELAY ◽  
H. TEFERA ◽  
B. TADESSE ◽  
G. METAFERIA ◽  
D. JARRA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Agronomic Traits ◽  
Selection Criterion ◽  
Eragrostis Tef ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Seed Colour ◽  
Seed Supply ◽  
Variety Selection ◽  
Colour Group ◽  
Participatory Variety Selection

Participatory variety selection (PVS) was carried out in two of the major tef-growing woredas (districts) of Ethiopia, Ada and Akaki, in 2003 and 2004. The objectives were to identify farmers' selection criteria, to increase farmers' awareness and their access to improved tef varieties, to enable farmers to assess the performances of improved tef varieties of their choice and to accelerate seed dissemination of farmers' chosen varieties through farmer-to-farmer exchange mechanisms. Seed colour was the overriding selection criterion. Farmers overwhelmingly selected the very white seed variety DZ-01-196 (Magna) for market purposes, indicating that tef is a cash crop. Farmers also selected brown-seeded tef, but for home consumption. There was no evidence of connection between seed colour and desirable agronomic traits, or nutritional quality (protein content). Factors other than seed-colour were of secondary concern to farmers. When market demands become the dominant selection criteria, PVS should not be an end by itself: rather, it complements the formal breeding system. The results imply that tef performance evaluation trials need to be separated on a colour-group basis, and any new successful variety in the two woredas should be superior to DZ-01-196 not only in grain yield but also in seed-colour quality. A faster, more efficient and reliable pure-seed supply system than the traditional farmer-to-farmer exchange mechanism is required in order for farmers to continue planting improved varieties, which might be better achieved through small-scale commercial producers and/or cooperatives.

scholarly journals Phylogenomic Analysis of R2R3 MYB Transcription Factors in Sorghum and their Role in Conditioning Biofuel Syndrome

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-154
Author(s):  
Vinay Singh ◽  
Neeraj Kumar ◽  
Anuj K. Dwivedi ◽  
Rita Sharma ◽  
Manoj K. Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agronomic Traits ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Biomass Composition ◽  
Phylogenomic Analysis ◽  
Myb Transcription Factors ◽  
Myb Genes ◽  
R2r3 Myb ◽  
R2r3 Myb Transcription Factors

Background : Large scale cultivation of sorghum for food, feed, and biofuel requires concerted efforts for engineering multipurpose cultivars with optimised agronomic traits. Due to their vital role in regulating the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid-derived compounds, biomass composition, biotic, and abiotic stress response, R2R3-MYB family transcription factors are ideal targets for improving environmental resilience and economic value of sorghum. Methods: We used diverse computational biology tools to survey the sorghum genome to identify R2R3-MYB transcription factors followed by their structural and phylogenomic analysis. We used inhouse generated as well as publicly available high throughput expression data to analyse the R2R3 expression patterns in various sorghum tissue types. Results: We have identified a total of 134 R2R3-MYB genes from sorghum and developed a framework to predict gene functions. Collating information from the physical location, duplication, structural analysis, orthologous sequences, phylogeny, and expression patterns revealed the role of duplications in clade-wise expansion of the R2R3-MYB family as well as intra-clade functional diversification. Using publicly available and in-house generated RNA sequencing data, we provide MYB candidates for conditioning biofuel syndrome by engineering phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and sugar signalling pathways in sorghum. Conclusion: The results presented here are pivotal to prioritize MYB genes for functional validation and optimize agronomic traits in sorghum.

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