Author: Publisher: CIMMYT
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 48
Book Description
Potential Impact of Investments in Drought Tolerant Maize in Africa
Author: Drought-tolerant Maize in East Africa
Author: Laura Anne PaulPublisher:
ISBN: 9781392473337
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Crop failure from drought has severe economic and welfare consequences for farmers, particularly in Eastern and Southern Africa. The vulnerability of households without resources exacerbates the consequences of crop failure. Improved crop varieties, such as Drought-Tolerant (DT) maize, can increase yield levels while decreasing yield variability. Yet farmers are slow to adopt DT maize varieties despite the potential for increased yield stability and income security. Chapter 1 introduces the research questions, focused on why DT adoption is low, Chapter 2 provides a literature review on maize, drought, and DT technologies, and Chapter 3 describes the data from On-Farm Trials, weather data, and household survey data. These set up the analysis in Chapter 4 of DT maize yield outcomes, and in Chapter 5 on the role of availability bias in adoption decisions. Chapter 6 concludes the dissertation, suggesting the limitations of DT maize as a solution to food insecurity in East Africa. In the first of two analytical chapters, Chapter 4 identifies the unconditional and stochastic advantages of the DT trait using high resolution climate data, while also demonstrating heterogeneity among farms. DT maize has a significant unconditional yield advantage over comparison varieties in the On-Farm Trials. Further, there is a stochastic benefit, or protective effect, to the DT trait: it is indeed a more resilient variety under drought conditions. The DT maize has an average yield gain of 10% over comparison varieties under normal rainfall levels, and that benefit increases to 12% in drought conditions. There is significant heterogeneity in returns from the DT maize seed technology--lower-productivity farms experience the weakest unconditional and stochastic benefits. Variation in realized advantages might reduce the large expected benefits from the DT maize technology. Chapter 5 analyzes the adoption of DT maize in the context of expectations of the stochastic and heterogeneous benefits to the technology. A farmer's adoption decision is based on subjective beliefs about the likelihood of drought and the crop response to drought stress. Farmers' expectations of drought likelihood depend on experience and on common cognitive biases. The adoption decision model gives insight into the limited uptake of DT maize due to the role of information and expectations. Detailed household survey data combined with high-resolution climate and yield data show that adoption patterns indicate only a limited comprehension of how the DT trait actually works. Additionally, cognitive biases, such as recency and salience bias, might encourage adoption of DT among farmers.
Maize
Author: Akbar HossainPublisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 1838802614
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 158
Book Description
Maize is a staple cereal after wheat and rice. It is an important source of carbohydrate, protein, iron, vitamin B and minerals for many poor people in the world. In developing countries maize is a major source of income in resource-poor farmers. As maize is used both as silage and as crop residue and the grains of maize are usually used for food, starch and oil extraction industrially, the demand for maize is rising day by day. Therefore, it is imperative for improvement of maize to meet the increasing demand. This book entitled "Maize - Production and Use" highlights the importance of maize and the improved management approaches for improving the productivity of maize in the era of changing climate.
Characterization of Maize Germplasm Grown in Eastern and Southern Africa
Author: Publisher: CIMMYT
ISBN: 9290592397
Category : Corn
Languages : en
Pages : 62
Book Description
Characterization of maize production in Southern Africa: synthesis of CIMMYT/DTMA household level farming system surveys in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Author: Genetically Engineered Crops
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and MedicinePublisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309437385
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 607
Book Description
Genetically engineered (GE) crops were first introduced commercially in the 1990s. After two decades of production, some groups and individuals remain critical of the technology based on their concerns about possible adverse effects on human health, the environment, and ethical considerations. At the same time, others are concerned that the technology is not reaching its potential to improve human health and the environment because of stringent regulations and reduced public funding to develop products offering more benefits to society. While the debate about these and other questions related to the genetic engineering techniques of the first 20 years goes on, emerging genetic-engineering technologies are adding new complexities to the conversation. Genetically Engineered Crops builds on previous related Academies reports published between 1987 and 2010 by undertaking a retrospective examination of the purported positive and adverse effects of GE crops and to anticipate what emerging genetic-engineering technologies hold for the future. This report indicates where there are uncertainties about the economic, agronomic, health, safety, or other impacts of GE crops and food, and makes recommendations to fill gaps in safety assessments, increase regulatory clarity, and improve innovations in and access to GE technology.
Drought Stress in Maize (Zea mays L.)
Author: Muhammad AslamPublisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783319254401
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This book focuses on early germination, one of maize germplasm most important strategies for adapting to drought-induced stress. Some genotypes have the ability to adapt by either reducing water losses or by increasing water uptake. Drought tolerance is also an adaptive strategy that enables crop plants to maintain their normal physiological processes and deliver higher economical yield despite drought stress. Several processes are involved in conferring drought tolerance in maize: the accumulation of osmolytes or antioxidants, plant growth regulators, stress proteins and water channel proteins, transcription factors and signal transduction pathways. Drought is one of the most detrimental forms of abiotic stress around the world and seriously limits the productivity of agricultural crops. Maize, one of the leading cereal crops in the world, is sensitive to drought stress. Maize harvests are affected by drought stress at different growth stages in different regions. Numerous events in the life of maize crops can be affected by drought stress: germination potential, seedling growth, seedling stand establishment, overall growth and development, pollen and silk development, anthesis silking interval, pollination, and embryo, endosperm and kernel development. Though every maize genotype has the ability to avoid or withstand drought stress, there is a concrete need to improve the level of adaptability to drought stress to address the global issue of food security. The most common biological strategies for improving drought stress resistance include screening available maize germplasm for drought tolerance, conventional breeding strategies, and marker-assisted and genomic-assisted breeding and development of transgenic maize. As a comprehensive understanding of the effects of drought stress, adaptive strategies and potential breeding tools is the prerequisite for any sound breeding plan, this brief addresses these aspects.
Africa in a Changing Global Environment
Author: Mutanga, Shingirirai SaviousPublisher: Africa Institute of South Africa
ISBN: 0798303751
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 238
Book Description
Africa is one continent severely affected by the ravaging effects of global environment change yet it is least responsible for this. The continent's rural and urban poor are particularly vulnerable to reduced agricultural production, worsening food security, increased incidence of both flooding and drought, spreading of disease and heightening risk of conflict over scarce land and water resources. As such this timely book consisting of chapters authored by scholars from multidisciplinary backgrounds provides the reader a variety of contexts from which to understand the impacts of global environmental change and how affected African communities are adapting an mitigating the scourge. In addition it discusses different models for mitigation and adaptation applicable to local contexts.
Advances in Molecular Breeding Toward Drought and Salt Tolerant Crops
Author: Matthew A. JenksPublisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402055773
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 819
Book Description
With near-comprehensive coverage of new advances in crop breeding for drought and salinity stress tolerance, this timely work seeks to integrate the most recent findings about key biological determinants of plant stress tolerance with modern crop improvement strategies. This volume is unique because is provides exceptionally wide coverage of current knowledge and expertise being applied in drought and salt tolerance research.
Aid Effectiveness for Environmental Sustainability
Author: Yongfu HuangPublisher: Springer
ISBN: 9811053790
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 466
Book Description
This collection examines the role that foreign aid can play in dealing with the severe global challenge of climate change, one of the most pressing international development issues of the 21st century. Addressing the key threats of rising temperatures, changes in precipitation, coastal erosion and natural disasters, the book considers the implications for policy and future research, particularly in developing countries. Focusing on the worth of foreign aid in ensuring environmental sustainability, this collection consider how it can be used to improve access to sustainable energy, to promote efficient use of energy resources, to improve emission reduction and support the preservation of biodiversity in forests. Advancing our knowledge about foreign aid and climate change, it provides policy recommendations for the donors and recipient country governments. A cutting edge text on one of the most pressing international development issues of this century, this is key reading for all scholars of international development and climate change.