Abstract

Slash and burn agriculture is no longer feasible due to the rising population pressure and a dwindling resource base. Crop production intensification is required to produce more food per unit area of land, while rebuilding soil fertility. We explored the impact of reallocation of limited resources on crop productivity across farms of different resource endowment in central Mozambique. The results suggested that decreasing the cropped area and concentrating resources (fertiliser, manure and labour within the farmers' means) to smaller fields can increase total farm maize production for poor as well as relatively richer farmers in central Mozambique, but that the fertility of the retained and abandoned land is important for the overall outcome. Concentrating resources to smaller areas would in most cases also lead to increased concentrations of soil organic carbon (SOC), indicating positive effects on soil fertility and crop productivity in the long term. However, this apparently does not apply when only fertiliser is used and if harvest residues and weeds are removed or burnt. Organic inputs are thus also required, such as retention of crop residues, and applications of manure if available can further increase SOC. The study has revealed that sustainable intensification or crop production requires that multiple constraints be addressed simultaneously. Success of crop intensification options will also depend on proper targeting to different farm types as well as variability in soil fertility. Differences in resource ownership and biophysical circumstances lead to different opportunities for individual farmers even within the same area. While targeted interventions for individual farmers might not be feasible, targeting defined farmer/endowment groups may be a sustainable pathway to increase productivity. Although smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have limited assets, the study revealed opportunities to increase crop productivity without substantial capital inputs, but more efficient use and targeting. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Limited resources; Farm typologies; Intensification; Weed pressure; Maize-legume intercropping; Nutrient inputs

Published in

Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
2016, Volume: 216, pages: 125-136
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

SLU Authors

• Dahlin, Sigrun

  • Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

SLU Plant Protection Network


Sustainable Development Goals

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns


UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2015.09.033

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/73800