Closing yield gaps in China by empowering smallholder farmers

Nature

Volumn 537, Issue 7622, 2016, Pages 671-674

  Zhang, Weifeng ^a   Cao, Guoxin ^a   Li, Xiaolin ^a   Zhang, Hongyan ^a   Wang, Chong ^a   Liu, Quanqing ^b   Chen, Xinping ^a   Cui, Zhenling ^a   Shen, Jianbo ^a   Jiang, Rongfeng ^a   Mi, Guohua ^a   Miao, Yuxin ^a   Zhang, Fusuo ^a   Dou, Zhengxia ^c  

^a CHINA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY   (China)

^b INSTITUTE OF CEREAL AND OIL CROPS   (China)

^c UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AGRICULTURAL LAND; AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION; CROP YIELD; ECONOMIC ANALYSIS; EMPOWERMENT; INNOVATION; LIMITING FACTOR; MANAGEMENT PRACTICE; PARTICIPATORY APPROACH; SMALLHOLDER;

AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT; AGRICULTURAL WORKER; AGRONOMY; ARTICLE; BIOTECHNOLOGY; CHINA; CROP PRODUCTION; EMPOWERMENT; HUMAN; PARTICIPATORY MANAGEMENT; PRIORITY JOURNAL; RURAL POPULATION; SCIENTIST; SOCIOECONOMICS; SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE; CLIMATE CHANGE; ECOLOGY; ECONOMICS; ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY; GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND AGING; MAIZE; PLANT SEED; PROCEDURES; STATISTICS AND NUMERICAL DATA; TIME FACTOR; WHEAT;

CHINA;

NITROGEN; WATER;

CHINA; CLIMATE CHANGE; CROP PRODUCTION; ECOLOGY; ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY; FARMERS; NITROGEN; RURAL POPULATION; SEEDS; SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS; TIME FACTORS; TRITICUM; WATER; ZEA MAYS;

EID: 84989827623     PISSN: 00280836     EISSN: 14764687     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1038/nature19368     Document Type: Article

References (34)

1. Tilman, D., Cassman, K. G., Matson, P. A., Naylor, R., & Polasky, S. Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices. Nature 418, 671-677 (2002).
2. Tilman, D., Balzer, C., Hill, J., & Befort, B. L. Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of agriculture. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 20260-20264 (2011).
3. Godfray, H. C. J., et al. Food security: the challenge of feeding 9 billion people. Science 327, 812-818 (2010).
4. Mueller, N. D., et al. Closing yield gaps through nutrient and water management. Nature 490, 254-257 (2012).
5. Lobell, D. B., Cassman, K. G., & Field, C. B. Crop yield gaps: their importance, magnitudes, and causes. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 34, 179-204 (2009).
6. van Ittersum, M. K., et al. Yield gap analysis with local to global relevance-A review. Field Crops Res. 143, 4-17 (2013).
7. Foley, J. A., et al. Solutions for a cultivated planet. Nature 478, 337-342 (2011).
8. Chen, X., et al. Producing more grain with lower environmental costs. Nature 514, 486-489 (2014).
9. Fan, S. G., Brzeska, J., Keyzer, M., & Halsema, A. From subsistence to profit: transforming smallholder farm. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC http://www.ifpri.org/(2013).
10. Tittonell, P., & Giller, K. E. When yield gaps are poverty traps: The paradigm of ecological intensification in African smallholder agriculture. Field Crops Res. 143, 76-90 (2013).
11. Denning, G., et al. Input subsidies to improve smallholder maize productivity in Malawi: toward an African green revolution. PLoS Biol. 7, 2-10 (2009).
12. Ray, D. K., Ramankutty, N., Mueller, N. D., West, P. C., & Foley, J. A. Recent patterns of crop yield growth and stagnation. Nat. Commun. 3, 1293-1299 (2012).
13. George, T. Why crop yields in developing countries have not kept pace with advances in agronomy. Glob. Food Secur. 3, 49-58 (2014).
14. West, P. C., et al. Leverage points for improving global food security and the environment. Science 345, 325-328 (2014).
15. Zhang, X. Y., Pei, D., & Chen, S. Y. Root growth and soil water utilization of winter wheat in the North China Plain. Hydrol. Processes 18, 2275-2287 (2004).
16. Jia, X. P., et al. Farmer's adoption of improved nitrogen management strategies in maize production in China: an experimental knowledge training. J. Integr. Agric. 12, 364-373 (2013).
17. Vereijken, P. A. Methodical way of prototyping integrated and ecological arable farming systems (I/EAFS) in interaction with pilot farms. Eur. J. Agron. 7, 235-250 (1997).
18. Cash, D. W., et al. Knowledge systems for sustainable development. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 100, 8086-8091 (2003).
19. Waddington, H., & White, H Farmer Field Schools: From Agricultural Extension to Adult Education 17 (International Initiative for Impact Evaluation 2014).
20. MacMillan, T., & Benton, T. G. Agriculture: Engage farmers in research. Nature 509, 25-27 (2014).
21. van den Noort, P. C. Land consolidation in The Netherlands. Land Use Policy 5, 11-13 (1987).
22. Rosegrant, M. W., & Cline, S. A. Global food security: challenges and policies. Science 302, 1917-1919 (2003).
23. Swanson, B. E., & Samy, M. M. Developing an extension partnership among public, private, and nongovernmental organizations. J. Int. Agric. Extension Educ. 9, 5-10 (2002).
24. Fisher, M. Public-private collaboration to advance agronomy. CSA News, Madison https://dl.sciencesocieties.org (2012).
25. Li, Y., et al. An analysis of China's fertilizer policies: Impacts on the industry, food security, and the environment. J. Environ. Qual. 42, 972-981 (2013).
26. National Bureau of Statistics of China Handan Statistical Yearbook (China Statistics Press, Beijing, 2015).
27. Zhao, Y., Chen, X. P., Cui, Z. L., & Lobell, D. B. Using satellite remote sensing to understand maize yield gaps in the North China Plain. Field Crops Res. 183, 31-42 (2015).
28. Niu, L. A., Hao, J. M., Zhang, B. Z., & Niu, X. S. Influences of long-Term fertilizer and tillage management on soil fertility of the North China Plain. Pedosphere 21, 813-820 (2011).
29. Jia, W Z., Xu, G. H., & Niu, J. G. The Land Productivity Investigation and Quality Evaluation of Quzhou County [in Chinese with English abstract] (China Agriculture Press, Beijing, 2009).
30. Chen, J., et al. Use of water balance calculation and tritium to examine the dropdown of groundwater table in the piedmont of the North China Plain (NCP). Environ. Geol. 44, 564-571 (2003).
31. Lu, D. J., et al. Manure limits wheat yield losses due to delayed seeding. Agron. J. 107, 2294-2302 (2015).
32. Chen, X. P., et al. Integrated soil-crop system management for food security. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 6399-6404 (2011).
33. SAS Institute SAS User's Guide: Statistics (SAS Institute, 1998).
34. Zhang, N., Du, X., Jiang, D. L., & Cui, Y. H. Effect of sowing date on growth and yield of summer corn (Zea mays L). J. Agric. Univ. Hebei [in Chinese with English abstract] 32, 7-11 (2009).