Person:
Rahut, D.B.

Loading...
Profile Picture
Email Address
Birth Date
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Job Title
Last Name
Rahut
First Name
D.B.
Name
Rahut, D.B.

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Farmers′ use of climate change adaptation strategies and their impacts on food security in Kenya
    (Elsevier, 2023) Gebre, G.G.; Yuichiro Amekawa; Fikadu, A.A.; Rahut, D.B.
    Publication
  • Climate change mitigation options among farmers in South Asia
    (Springer, 2020) Aryal, J.P.; Rahut, D.B.; Sapkota, T.; Khurana, R.; Khatri-Chhetri, A.
    Agriculture in South Asia is highly vulnerable to climate change due to increasing variability in rainfall and rising temperatures leading to the incidence of extreme climatic events such as foods, droughts, heat/cold waves, and storms. Agriculture sector also contributes to the causes of climate change through the emission of greenhouse gasses (GHGs). Hence, adaptation-led mitigation measures are required to sustain agricultural productivity, farm income and reduce GHG emissions wherever possible. This study presents a systematic review of agriculture emission reduction opportunities with a particular focus on agricultural production systems in South Asia. Our review indicates that the adoption of better soil, water, nutrient management practices, and technologies has enormous potential to reduce GHG emissions from agriculture, thereby contributing to the mitigation of climate change. Many existing practices and technologies have the potential to improve both adaptation and mitigation in agriculture which can signifcantly contribute to complying with nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of South Asian countries. However, barriers to the adoption of GHG mitigating agricultural practices, mainly the fnancial and institutional barriers, need to be appropriately addressed to achieve the desired level of mitigation.
    Publication
  • Impact of climate-change risk-coping strategies on livestock productivity and household welfare: empirical evidence from Pakistan
    (Elsevier, 2018) Rahut, D.B.; Ali, A.
    Using the primary datasets collected from 700 livestock farmers from all four major provinces of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit Baltistan, this paper analyzes the impact of climate-change risk coping strategies on household welfare. A Poisson regression model was used to estimate the determinants of the livestock ownership and multivariate probit model to assess the determinants of the measures taken to manage the climatic-risk challenge for livestock. A propensity score matching approach (PSM) was used to assess the impact of the adopted climate-risk management strategies on livestock farmers. Findings indicated that in Pakistan livestock farmers generally adopt four main types of strategies to cope with climate risk: livestock insurance, selling of livestock, allocation of more land area for fodder and migration. The results show that age, education, wealth, access to extension services, and membership in NGOs, influence the livestock farmers' choice of climate-risk-coping mechanisms. The livestock farmers who adopted risk-coping mechanisms generally fared better. Increasing the land area allocated to fodder seems to increase production of milk and butter, resulting in higher income and lower poverty levels. Those who bought insurance had more milk production and a lower poverty level, while those who sold livestock to cope with climate risk decreased production but increased household income and lowered poverty levels. Migration seems to have a negative impact on production and income. Impact assessments confirm that purchasing livestock insurance and increasing fodder areas are more effective compared to the selling of livestock and migration. Agricultural climate policy should focus on creating awareness as well as increasing access to extension services among livestock farmers on climate risk and risk-coping strategies to mitigate the impact on rural livelihoods.
    Publication
  • Potential benefits of drought and heat tolerance for adapting maize to climate change in tropical environments
    (Elsevier, 2018) Fantaye, K.T.; Kruseman, G.; Cairns, J.E.; Zaman-Allah, M.; Dagne Wegary Gissa; Zaidi, P.H.; Boote, K.; Rahut, D.B.; Erenstein, O.
    Climate change and population growth pose great challenges to the food security of the millions of people who grow maize in the already fragile agricultural systems in tropical environments. There is an urgent need for maize varieties that are both drought and heat tolerant given the already prevailing drought and heat stress levels in many tropical environments, which are set to exacerbate with climate change. In this study, the crop growth simulation model for maize (CERES-Maize) was used to quantify the impact of climate change on maize and the potential benefits of incorporating drought and heat tolerance into the commonly grown (benchmark) maize varieties at six sites in Eastern and Southern Africa and one site in South Asia. Simulation results indicate that climate change will have a negative impact on maize yield at all the sites studied but the degree of the impact varies with location, level of warming and rainfall changes. Combined hotter and drier climate change scenarios (involving increases in warming with a reduction in rainfall) resulted in greater average simulated maize yield reduction (21, 33 and 50% under 1, 2 and 4 °C warming, respectively) than hotter only climate change scenarios (11, 21 and 41%, respectively). Incorporating drought, heat and combined drought & heat tolerance into benchmark varieties increased simulated maize yield under both the baseline and future climates. The average simulated benefit from combined drought & heat tolerance was at least twice that of heat or drought tolerance and it increased with the increase in warming levels. The magnitude of the simulated benefits from drought tolerance, heat tolerance and combined drought & heat tolerance and potential acceptability of the varieties by farmers varied across sites and climate scenarios indicating the need for proper targeting of varieties where they fit best and benefit most. It is concluded that incorporating drought and heat tolerance into maize germplasm has the potential to offset predicted yield losses and sustain maize productivity under climate change in vulnerable sites.
    Publication
  • Climate variability and change in Bihar, India: challenges and opportunities for sustainable crop production
    (MDPI, 2017) Fantaye, K.T.; Aggarwal, P.K.; Mequanint, F.; Shirsath, P.B.; Stirling, C.; Khatri-Chhetri, A.; Rahut, D.B.
    Climate change and associated uncertainties have serious direct and indirect consequences for crop production and food security in agriculture-based developing regions. Long-term climate data analysis can identify climate risks and anticipate new ones for planning appropriate adaptation and mitigation options. The aim of this study was to identify near-term (2030) and mid-term (2050) climate risks and/or opportunities in the state of Bihar, one of India’s most populous and poorest states, using weather data for 30 years (1980–2009) as a baseline. Rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures, and evapotranspiration will all increase in the near- and mid-term periods relative to the baseline period, with the magnitude of the change varying with time, season and location within the state. Bihar’s major climate risks for crop production will be heat stress due to increasing minimum temperatures in the rabi (winter) season and high minimum and maximum temperatures in the spring season; and intense rainfall and longer dry spells in the kharif (monsoon) season. The increase in annual and seasonal rainfall amounts, and extended crop growing period in the kharif season generally provide opportunities; but increasing temperature across the state will have considerable negative consequences on (staple) crops by affecting crop phenology, physiology and plant-water relations. The study helps develop site-specific adaptation and mitigation options that minimize the negative effects of climate change while maximizing the opportunities.
    Publication
  • Climate change impacts and potential benefits of heat-tolerant maize in South Asia
    (Springer, 2017) Fantaye, K.T.; Zaidi, P.H.; Gbegbelegbe, S.D.; Böber, C.; Rahut, D.B.; Getaneh, F.; Seetharam, K.; Erenstein, O.; Stirling, C.
    Monitoring of genetic gain in crop genetic improvement programs is necessary to measure the efficiency of the program. Periodic measurement of genetic gain also allows the efficiency of new technologies incorporated into a program to be quantified. Genetic gain within the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) breeding program for eastern and southern Africa were estimated using time series of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids. A total of 67 of the best-performing hybrids from regional trials from 2000 to 2010 were selected to form an era panel and evaluated in 32 trials in eight locations across six countries in eastern and southern Africa. Treatments included optimal management, managed and random drought stress, low-nitrogen (N) stress and maize streak virus (MSV) infestation. Genetic gain was estimated as the slope of the regression of grain yield on the year of hybrid release. Genetic gain under optimal conditions, managed drought, random drought, low N, and MSV were estimated to have increased by 109.4, 32.5, 22.7, 20.9 and 141.3 kg ha−1 yr−1, respectively. These results are comparable with genetic gain in maize yields in other regions of the world. New technologies to further increase the rate of genetic gain in maize breeding for eastern and southern Africa are also discussed.
    Publication