John Lamers

In the Syrdarya region of Uzbekistan, the influence of atmospheric precipitation on changes in the degree of salinity and chemical composition of the upper 30 cm soil layer was studied. Experiment options: 1 - loosening the soil to a depth of 70 cm, 2 - loosening, followed by soil treatment with preparation containing polymaleic acid. A decrease in the degree of soil salinity by 7 - 8 dS/m has been established with the help of only 302 mm of precipitation, without water wasted for leaching. The decrease in soil salinity was: according to EU, 56% - in option 2, and 52% - in option 1. According to TDS, the salinity reduction was: - 61 and 52%, according to SO “4. - 58 and 47%. The content of calcium in the variant with the use of Biosolvent decreased by 48%, and in the control variant, it increased by 15%. It has been estimated that with a decrease in salinity from 16 to 8 dS/m, a possible increase in the yield of a salt-tolerant barley crop by 1.6 t/ha is possible. Taking into accoun...

Agriculture in Mali, a country in Sahelian West Africa, strongly depends on rainfall and concurrently has a low adaptive capacity, making it consequently one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change worldwide. Since early-season drought limits crop germination, and hence growth, ultimately yield during rain-fed depending on production is commonly experienced nowadays in Mali. Germination and establishment of key crops such as the staple sorghum could be improved by seed priming. The effects of hydro-priming with different water sources (e.g., distilled, tap, rain, river, well water) were evaluated respectively for three priming time durations in tepid e.g., at 25 °C (4, 8, and 12 h) and by hot water at 70 °C (in contrast to 10, 20, and 30 min.) in 2014 and 2015. Seed germination and seedling development of nine sorghum genotypes were monitored. Compared to non-primed seed treatments, hydro-priming significantly [p = 0.01] improved final germination percentage, germination ra...

State initiated land reform and privatization processes in Caucasian Azerbaijan, which were designed to boost the agricultural sector, resulted in the creation of farmers without farming tradition and with insufficient skills to engage in own farming. Since 1999, the private Agro Information Centre (AIM) strives to bridge this gap by implementing a situation-spec ific, client-oriented training and advisory concept. AIM has trained 210 private, village-based agricultural advisors (AAs) and introduced feebased extension to meet farmers’ demands. Between 2000 and 2004, various training and educational programs on production techniques, communication skills, and farm entrepreneurship were conducted that combined lectures, field visits, on-the-job-training, and tailor-made coaching. The 210 AAs served 13,185 farmers/clients and concluded 3,247 verbal and written contracts with a total value of 213 Million Manat (ca 43,500 USD), which amounted to an annual average income of ca 215 USD. Af...

In El-Beltagy, A.; Saxena, M. C. (Eds.). Sustainable development in drylands: meeting the challenge of global climate change. Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Development of Drylands, Alexandria, Egypt, 7-10 November 2008. Theme 8 - Reducing greenhouse gas emission through harnessing renewable energy in the dry areas. Giza, Cairo, Egypt: International Dryland Development Commission (IDDC).

A household survey conducted in the Sahel, combined with an extensive literature search of baseline studies, complemented on-station research on spatial soil and crop growth variability from a farmers viewpoint. Farmers explained spatial variability in crop growth in terms of differences in soil types, soil fertility and degradation, as well as their cultivation and management practices. Farmers counteract spatial crop growth variability by within-field fallow; kraaling; spot applications of manure, crop residues and household waste; by intentionally moving their settlements; and by exploiting the micro-environmental differences around specific tree and shrub species. However, these strategies also enforce the spatial crop growth variability. The accuracy of farmers' comprehensive knowledge of agriculture, soil, animal husbandry and agro-forestry was confirmed by compartmentalized on-farm and on-station studies conducted in the same region, although explanations of farmers and r...

... As previously reported for soils fertilized with mineral fertilizer, N2O emissions increased when mineral N content of the soil was not limiting and the soil water content was above a certain threshold (del Prado et al. 2006; Dobbie and Smith 2003; Skiba et al. 1992). ...

The establishment of forests on small-scale marginal lands in the Amu Darya Lowlands in Uzbekistan is an alternative use of land abandoned from cropping. Over four consecutive years biomass data were collected from Elaeagnus angustifolia, Ulmus pumila, and Populus euphratica plantings and complemented with data of mature trees (15–20 years) growing naturally on marginal land. These formed the basis for

ABSTRACT In the last decades,water in Uzbekistan in the Aral Sea Basin (ASB) has become scarce due to numerous internal and external factors, such as the growing demand for water resources by the upstream countries, expansion of the irrigated areas to feed the growing population, and the poor condition of irrigation and drainage networks, which causes high water losses. Most ASB countries have an agricultural profile and are challenged to consolidate their efforts in identifying and introducing suitable management practices to ease the advancing deterioration of natural resources. In Uzbekistan, agriculture diverts up to 95 % of the country’s available water for irrigating agricultural crops, specifically cotton, commonly causing elevated groundwater tables and secondary soil salinization. However, cotton is one of the major sources of income for food and energy for most of the rural households and forms the basis of the entire cotton value chain, including cotton processing. The combined findings of the value chain analysis (VCA) of the Uzbek cotton sector and the water footprint analysis (WFA) can provide valuable information for decision making, as they include both the economic and environmental aspects of crop production, in contrast to the individual findings of these analyses. The integrated approach reveals two practicable options: (i) reducing agricultural water use by upgrading irrigation and drainage networks and introducing water saving technologies on the field level, and (ii) promoting the shift of water use from the high water-consuming agricultural sector to an industrial sector with lower water consumption with the focus on yarn production within the cotton chain. Increasing water use efficiency, processing products with a higher value added, and raising water users’ awareness on water shortage and “real” water value are recommended for achieving food and water security in the region. Keywords: Central Asia, Uzbekistan, water footprint, value chain analysis, cotton sector

ABSTRACT Phosphorus (P) deficiency is a major impediment to securing crop productivity on the acid, sandy soils of Sudano-Sahelian West Africa (SSWA). However, given the low profitability of many annually applied fertilization strategies with imported P, the effects of yield-enhancing, alternative P-sources, such as rockphosphate (RP), should be considered. Therefore, the financial performance of 14 strategies – including 2 annual and 11 long-term fertilization strategies plus 1 farmers’ practice – were compared in three rainfall zones in SSWA. The comparison comprised the net present value, the annuity, the internal rate of return, and a risk analysis. Agronomic data came from a four-year, five-location trial complemented by information on farming systems, labor demands, and input-output prices. Compared with farmers’ practices, none of the P-fertilization strategies were financially superior at all locations. The financial performance of medium-term RP-strategies tended to increase with rainfall, but remained highly variable. Net returns on land with high rates of RP were often superior to annual inputs of mineral-P, but never the best alternatives. In most cases, the most profitable strategies comprised medium-level RP-applications with or without supplementary hill-placed NPK-fertilizer (also known as “micro-dosing”). The financial performance of medium quantities of RP sometimes increased and sometimes decreased with supplementary nitrogen (N) additions. The combination of hill-placed NPK and broadcast RP as well as N-applications with broadcast RP are alternatives to the use of RP alone. Our results can assist researchers and development institutions in advocating and implementing more effective strategies to enhance agricultural production in SSWA.

ABSTRACT Der Baumwollanbau in Zentralasien gehört zu den wichtigsten Ursachen für eine der verheerendsten menschengemachten Umweltkatastrophen: die Austrocknung des Aralsees. Die ökologische Situation kann nur verbessert werden, wenn dies nicht mit ökonomischen Einbußen einhergeht. Am Beispiel der usbekischen Baumwollregion Choresm läßt sich zeigen, dass dies möglich ist. Der Wasser- und Landverbrauch kann ohne Einkommenseinbußen um mehr als zwei Drittel verringert werden. Dazu muss die Wertschöpfung durch die Weiterverarbeitung der Fasern vor Ort und den Export höherwertiger Produkten erhöht werden.

ABSTRACT This study addresses the three primary types of commodities produced and traded in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan. The data used in the following analysis was collected over a 23 month period, between 2003 and 2004 on the Urgench and Khiva markets for ten commodities. This report aims to shed light on the role of agricultural markets during the transition period from a command to a market economy. The season and harvest period had a very strong influence on the established price of vegetables and fruits both in the different market types and locations. Except for rice and meat, prices of the other agricultural products depended strongly on their import from administrative regions inside Uzbekistan. Price differences of all commodities between markets were caused in the first place by transport costs. Due to the relatively low transport costs between regions, the price margins and hence the profit margins for traders were low. The analysis of the commodity flow chains revealed that aside from cotton, all other commodities were produced primarily for domestic consumption. Only rice and meat were exported to other regions of Uzbekistan. It is argued that the Khorezm region has presently a comparative advantage to other regions in Uzbekistan for rice production and animal husbandry.

In an on-station agroforestry experiment conducted in south-west Niger, the effects of seven windbreak species and of a soil mulch made from crop residue on wind erosion and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) production were monitored. Within a distance of 20 m, strips of the perennial grass, Andropogon gayanus, reduced total annual soil flux by 6–55% and hedges of Bauhinia rufescens 2 m in height reduced soil flux by 47–77% compared with unsheltered control plots. No significant overall windbreak effect on millet stover and grain yields was found. In contrast, erosion reduction and yield increases due to mulch application were highly significant. Soil mulch is a promising alternative to complex windbreak–millet cropping systems in regions where direct economic benefits for farmers are not ensured by windbreaks.