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Baudron, F.

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Baudron
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Baudron, F.

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  • Chapter 5. Response options across the landscape
    (Open Book Publishers, 2015) Sunderland, T.; Baudron, F.; Ickowitz, A.; Padoch, C.; Ros-Tonen, M.; Sandbrook, C.; Vira, B.; Chambers, J.; Deakin, E.; Foli, S.; Jeary, K.; Parrotta, J.A.; Powell, B.; Reed, J.; Ogalleh, S.A.; Neufeldt, H.; Serban, A.
    Publication
  • Drivers, farmers’ responses and landscape consequences of smallholder farming systems changes in southern Ethiopia
    (Taylor & Francis, 2019) Kebede, Y.; Baudron, F.; Bianchi, F.; Tittonell, P.
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  • Testing the various pathways linking forest cover to dietary diversity in tropical landscapes
    (Frontiers, 2019) Baudron, F.; Tomscha, S.; Powell, B.; Groot, J.; Gergel, S.; Sunderland, T.
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  • Should fertilizer recommendations be adapted to parkland agroforestry systems? Case studies from Ethiopia and Rwanda
    (Springer Verlag, 2019) Sida, T.S.; Baudron, F.; Ndoli, A.; Tirfessa, D.; Giller, K.E.
    Aims This study aimed to disentangle tree-crop fertilizer interactions in agroforestry systems, which has been suggested as an entry point for sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although tree-crop systems generate multiple economic and ecological benefits, tree-crop competition commonly occurs. We hypothesized that mineral fertilizers affect facilitative and competitive interactions differently in tree-crop systems. Methods Tree-crop-fertilizer interactions were explored for wheat growing under Faidherbia albida, and maize growing under Acacia tortilis and Grevillea robusta through omission trials of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in open fields and fields under tree canopy, using a split plot design. The experiments were conducted in Ethiopia and Rwanda, replicated four times, and over two seasons. Results Our results demonstrated that the presence of F. albida significantly improved N and P use efficiencies, leading to significantly higher (P < 0.001) grain yields in wheat. This tree species contributed around 64 kg ha−1 yr.−1 of mineral N. The P use efficiency of wheat under F. albida was double that of open field wheat. By contrast, G. robusta and A. tortilis trees lowered nutrient use efficiencies in maize, leading to significantly less maize grain yields compared with open fields receiving the same fertilization. Probabilities of critically low crop yields and crop failure were significantly greater for maize growing under the canopy of these species. Conclusions Our results showed that recommended fertilizer rates led to facilitative interaction only with F. albida, highlighting that fertilizer recommendations need to be adapted to agroforestry systems.
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  • Agro-ecological options for fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda JE Smith) management: providing low-cost, smallholder friendly solutions to an invasive pest
    (Elsevier, 2019) Harrison, R.; Thierfelder, C.; Baudron, F.; Chinwada, P.; Midega, C.; Schaffner, U.; Van den Berg, J.
    Fall armyworm (FAW), a voracious agricultural pest native to North and South America, was first detected on the African continent in 2016 and has subsequently spread throughout the continent and across Asia. It has been predicted that FAW could cause up to $US13 billion per annum in crop losses throughout sub-Saharan Africa, thereby threatening the livelihoods of millions of poor farmers. In their haste to respond to FAW governments may promote indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides which, aside from human health and environmental risks, could undermine smallholder pest management strategies that depend to a large degree on natural enemies. Agro-ecological approaches offer culturally appropriate low-cost pest control strategies that can be readily integrated into existing efforts to improve smallholder incomes and resilience through sustainable intensification. Such approaches should therefore be promoted as a core component of integrated pest management (IPM)programmes for FAW in combination with crop breeding for pest resistance, classical biological control and selective use of safe pesticides. Nonetheless, the suitability of agro-ecological measures for reducing FAW densities and impact need to be carefully assessed across varied environmental and socio-economic conditions before they can be proposed for wide-scale implementation. To support this process, we review evidence for the efficacy of potential agro-ecological measures for controlling FAW and other pests, consider the associated risks, and draw attention to critical knowledge gaps. The evidence indicates that several measures can be adopted immediately. These include (i)sustainable soil fertility management, especially measures that maintain or restore soil organic carbon; (ii)intercropping with appropriately selected companion plants; and (iii)diversifying the farm environment through management of (semi)natural habitats at multiple spatial scales. Nevertheless, we recommend embedding trials into upscaling programmes so that the costs and benefits of these interventions may be determined across the diverse biophysical and socio-economic contexts that are found in the invaded range.
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  • Landscape composition overrides field level management effects on maize stemborer control in Ethiopia
    (Elsevier, 2019) Kebede, Y.; Bianchi, F.; Baudron, F.; Tittonell, P.
    Lepidopteran stemborers are a serious pest of maize in Africa. While farmers have adopted cultural control practices at the field scale, it is not clear how these practices affect stemborer infestation levels and how their efficacy is influenced by landscape context. The aim of this 3-year study was to assess the effect of field and landscape factors on maize stemborer infestation levels and maize productivity. Maize infestation levels, yield and biomass production were assessed in 33 farmer fields managed according to local practices. When considering field level factors only, plant density was positively related to stemborer infestation level. During high infestation events, length of tunnelling was positively associated with planting date and negatively with the botanical diversity of hedges. However, the proportion of maize crop in the surrounding landscape was strongly and positively associated with length of tunnelling at 100, 500, 1000 and 1500 m radius, and overrode field level management factors when considered together. Maize grain yield was positively associated with plant density and soil phosphorus content, and not negatively associated with the length of tunnelling. Our findings highlight the need to consider a landscape approach for stemborer pest management, but also indicate that maize is tolerant to low and medium infestation levels of stemborers.
    Publication
  • Is labour a major determinant of yield gaps in sub-Saharan Africa? a study of cereal-based production systems in Southern Ethiopia
    (Elsevier, 2019) Silva, J.V.; Baudron, F.; Reidsma, P.; Giller, K.E.
    We investigated the role of labour in explaining the yield gap of cereals at both crop and farm levels on smallholder farms in Southern Ethiopia. A household survey containing detailed information of labour use at crop and farm level of ca. 100 farms in a maize-based system around Hawassa and ca. 100 farms in a wheat based system around Asella was used for this purpose. Stochastic frontier analysis was combined with the principles of production ecology to decompose maize and wheat yield gaps. Actual maize and wheat yields were on average 1.6 and 2.6 t ha−1, respectively, which correspond to 23 and 26% of the water-limited yield (Yw) of each crop. For both crops, nearly half of the yield gap was attributed to the technology yield gap, indicating suboptimal crop management to achieve Yw even for the farmers with the highest yields. The efficiency yield gap was ca. 20% of Yw for both crops; it was negatively associated with sowing date and with the proportion of women's labour used for sowing in the case of maize but with the proportion of hired labour used for sowing and weed control in the case of wheat. The resource yield gap was less than 10% of Yw for both crops due to small differences in input use between highest- and lowest-yielding farms. The contribution of capital and farm power availability to crop yields, input use and labour use was analysed at the farm level. Labour calendars showed that crops cultivated in Hawassa were complementary, with peak labour occurring at different times of the year. By contrast, crops cultivated in Asella competed strongly for labour during sowing, hand-weeding and harvesting months, resulting in potential trade-offs at farm level. Oxen ownership was associated with capital availability, but not farm power in Hawassa and with both capital availability and farm power in Asella. Farmers with more oxen applied more nitrogen (N) to maize in Hawassa and cultivated more land in Asella, which is indicative of an intensification pathway in the former and an extensification pathway in the latter. Differences in land: labour ratio and in the types of crops cultivated explained the different strategies used in the two sites. In both sites, although gross margin per unit area increased linearly with increasing crop yield and farm N productivity, gross margin per labour unit increased up to an optimal level of crop yield and farm N productivity after which no further response was observed. This suggests that narrowing the yield gap may not be economically rational in terms of labour productivity. We conclude that labour (and farm power) is not a major determinant of maize yield gaps in Hawassa, but is a major determinant of wheat yield gaps in Asella.
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  • Debunking myths about agricultural labor and mechanization in Africa: fact sheet
    (CIMMYT, 2019) Gerard, B.; Baudron, F.; Yahaya, R.
    Publication
  • Understanding the factors influencing fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) damage in African smallholder maize fields and quantifying its impact on yield. A case study in Eastern Zimbabwe
    (Elsevier, 2019) Baudron, F.; Zaman-Allah, M.; Chaipa, I.; Chari, N.; Chinwada, P.
    Fall armyworm (FAW, Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) is an invasive lepidopteran pest established in most of subSaharan Africa since 2016. Although the immediate reaction of governments has been to invest in chemical pesticides, control methods based on agronomic management would be more affordable to resource-constrained smallholders and minimize risks for health and the environment. However, little is known about the most effective agronomic practices that could control FAW under typical African smallholder conditions. In addition, the impact of FAW damage on yield in Africa has been reported as very large, but these estimates are mainly based on farmers’ perceptions, and not on rigorous field scouting methods. Thus, the objectives of this study were to understand the factors influencing FAW damage in African smallholder maize fields and quantify its impact on yield, using two districts of Eastern Zimbabwe as cases. A total of 791 smallholder maize plots were scouted for FAW damage and the head of the corresponding farming household interviewed. Grain yield was later determined in about 20% of these fields. FAW damage was found to be significantly reduced by frequent weeding operations and by minimum- and zero-tillage. Conversely, pumpkin intercropping was found to significantly increase FAW damage. FAW damage was also found to be higher for some maize varieties, although these varieties may not be the lowest yielding. If the incidence of plants with FAW damage symptoms recorded in this research (32–48%, depending on the estimate used) is commensurate with what other studies conducted on the continent found, our best estimate of the impact of FAW damage on yield (11.57%) is much lower than what these studies reported. Although our study presents limitations, losses due to FAW damage in Africa could have been over-estimated. The threat that FAW represents for African smallholders, although very real, should not divert attention away from other pressing challenges they face.
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