Co-benefits of nutrient management tailored to smallholder agriculture.
GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY-AGRICULTURE POLICY ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENT 2021;
30:100570. [PMID:
34532218 PMCID:
PMC8429639 DOI:
10.1016/j.gfs.2021.100570]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Plant nutrition plays a central role in the global challenges to produce sufficient and nutritious food, lessen rural poverty, and reducing the environmental footprint of farming. Site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) provides field-specific solutions for smallholder farmers, potentially creating co-benefits of increased productivity and sustainability. Here we perform the first meta-analysis comparing SSNM with farmers’ fertilizer practice for maize, rice and wheat using 61 published papers across 11 countries. Relative to the farmer practice, across all crops SSNM increased grain yield by 12% and profitability by 15% with 10% less fertilizer nitrogen applied, thereby improving nitrogen use efficiency and reducing nitrogen pollution to the environment. Delivering it to millions of smallholder farmers requires use of digital decision support tools, but also policy incentives, links with financial and input supply services, and enhancing public-private partnerships.
Meta-analysis was performed to compare SSNM with farmers' fertilizer practice (FFP).
Data are from 61 published papers across 11 countries on maize, rice and wheat.
Overall, 0.6 Mg ha−1 yield and US$ 140 ha−1 profit gains were obtained with SSNM.
These benefits were achieved using 10% less N fertilizer than FFP.
Agronomic N use efficiency was 40% greater with SSNM than FFP.
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