Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Soil quality
• Depletion of soil
organic matter and
nutrients
• Poor soil structure
• Vulnerability to
erosion and other
degradation
processes
Access to services
Climate change
• Low access to extension
and soil/plant analytical
services
• Low availability and
access to recommended
inputs (seed, fertilizers,
irrigation, machinery)
• Poor connection with
market
• Low resilience to
extreme events
(e.g., drought, heat
wave)
• Low capacity to
adapt
Small
landholder
farmers
Closed
systems
Polluted
environments
Soil/water
management
• Low-risk traditional
systems
• Labor-intensive and
low-input systems
• Technology for low
but stable yields in
poor seasons
FIGURE 1.1
Characteristics of small landholder farmers of the tropics.
Furthermore, most small landholders are not connected with a market and are sub-
sistence farmers.
Nutrient mining, leading to depletion of soil organic matter (SOM) and plant
nutrients, is a widespread problem in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the
Caribbeans, and Andean regions. Negative nutrient budget in SSA has occurred
owing to decades of extractive farming (Bekunda et al. 2010). Such nutrient min-
ing practices have exacerbated elemental imbalances, resulting in loss of N and K
in soils of southwest Mexico (Flores-Sanchez et al. 2011). On sloping lands (e.g.,
Andean and Central American hillsides), soil degradation, genetic erosion, and pov-
erty are serious issues with smallholder farmers (Ashby et al. 1999).
There are several factors affecting the agronomic productivity of small land-
holder farms. These factors, outlined in Table 1.1, are relevant to the characteristics
explained in this section, and must be addressed through scientific innovation and
prudent governance. Resource-poor farmers generally occupy medium- and low-
potential land of marginal productivity (Eswaran et al. 1997). However, small farms
