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CLIMATE- SMART AGRO PASTORAL ECOSYSTEM TRANSFORMATION IN EAST AFRICA

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CLIMATE- SMART AGRO PASTORAL ECOSYSTEM TRANSFORMATION IN EAST AFRICA

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ESSA project - SMART AGRO PASTORAL ECOSYSTEM TRANSFORMATION IN EAST AFRICA

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About Us CLIMATE- SMART AGRO PASTORAL ECOSYSTEM TRANSFORMATION IN EAST AFRICA The ESSA project is funded by the of the European Union in 2020-2024. The Project aims to contribute to the pastoralist households' transition towards climate-smart agropastoral systems in sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopian and Kenya) by understanding of the dynamics of and inter linkages between tropical ...

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HOW SMART INNOVATIONS THROUGH RESEARCH CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE PASTORALISM IN EAST AFRICA IN THE FUTURE?

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HOW SMART INNOVATIONS THROUGH RESEARCH CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE PASTORALISM IN EAST AFRICA IN THE FUTURE?

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How smart innovations through research can contribute to the development of sustainable pastoralism in East Africa in the future?
Which mechanisms best contribute to the transformational adaptation in pastoral systems in response to climate and environmental change? The Earth observation and environmental sensing for climate-smart sustainable agropastoral ecosystem transformation in East Africa - ESSA project aims to contribute to the pastoralist households' transition towards climate-smart agropastoral systems in Ethiopia and Kenya.

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Climate-smart agropastoral ecosystem transformation in East Africa | University of Helsinki

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Associate 1. Geospatial Information Institute, Ethiopia

Associate 2. Kenya Water Towers Agency, Kenya

Associate 3. Holeta Bee Research Centre, Ethiopia

Associate 4. Action for Development , Ethiopia

Associate 5. Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Ethiopia

Associate 6. Basins Development Authority, Ethiopia

Associate 7. Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopia

Associate 8. Wondo Genet Agricultural Research Centre, Ethiopia

Associate 9. Yabello Pastoral and Dryland Agriculture Research Centre , Ethiopia

Associate 10. Sekota Dryland Agriculture Research Centre, Ethiopia

Associate 11. Taita Taveta University, Kenya

Associate 12. Maruru Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 13. Jibidishe Ufaulu Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 14. Iyale Angamiza Jangwa Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 15. Mbughu Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 16. Msisinenyi Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 17. Nguvu Kazi Cooperative Society LTD, Kenya

Associate 18. Nyuki ni Asali Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 19. Taita Environmental Initiative , Kenya

Associate 20. Tsavo Beekeepers Association, Kenya

Associate 21. Unison Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 22. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Associate 23. County Government of Taita Taveta, Kenya

Associate 24. Kenya Forest Service, Kenya

Associate 25. Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives of Kenya

Associate 26. Ministry of Water & Sanitation and Irrigation of Kenya

Associate 27. Directorate of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing , Kenya

Associate 28. Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Ethiopia

Associate 29. Eastern Arc Mountain Ranges, Kenya

Associate 30. Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Kenya

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Partners | Climate-smart agropastoral ecosystem transformation in East Africa | University of Helsinki

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University of Helsinki is the coordinator of the ESSA project which is is built around eight key components and implemented in cooperation with eight partner organizations and over 30 associate organizations.

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ESSA in DeSIRA LIFT module “Identifying your (potential) contributions to AIS strengthening and related challenges”

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ESSA in DeSIRA LIFT module “Identifying your (potential) contributions to AIS strengthening and related challenges”

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Another learning session was successfully implemented to support the DeSIRA projects' understanding of the complexities of Agriculture Innovation Systems (AIS) in their specific contexts.

The module "Identifying your (potential) contributions to AIS strengthening and related challenges" was the first one in a series of activities of the course "Conducting Action-Research for strengthening Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS): Successes and challenges of DeSIRA projects", implemented by DeSIRA LIFT SA1.

Two sessions were carried out on March 21st with the aim to provide for lively interactions between English speakers in the first session and French and Spanish speakers in the second session.

During these intense two-hour discussions, 73 professionals from DeSIRA projects shared their significant contributions to improve AIS, as well as the challenges they face at the niche level when working with service providers, and in their endeavors to influence policy.

To introduce the topic, Aurelie Toilier, DeSIRA LIFT´s project leader, indicated that the purpose of AIS thinking is to approach innovation from a systemic perspective by paying attention to the way in which innovation emerges from complex interactions between a wide range of actors in particular conditions.

The project's representatives remarked on their activities to increase farmers' capacities to deal with the challenges they face at the niche level. Thus, several projects provide training to farmers and their organizations ( IRFFS in Liberia, ESSA in Ethiopia and Kenya, InACC in Nigeria, ABRIGUE in Colombia, TRANSFORMA-INNOVA in Costa Rica) and to the extension services (IRFFS). ABRIGUE and ESSA carry out participatory research, and Malawi DeSIRA is developing and deploying climate-smart agriculture technologies.

To the same extent, the projects are aware of the need for flexibility in their tasks and the roles they perform: researchers will need to step outside of their area and respond to concrete problems in the niches; agricultural advisory service providers have to switch from extending research outputs to users and to facilitate collaborations among multi-stakeholder partners. These changing roles require a set of new skills to navigate the complexity of AIS.

All projects seemed to agree that connecting with development actors, including NGOs, is a must in order to better understand and respond to realities regarding how innovation and change occur. For this purpose, several projects are setting-up multi-stakeholder innovation facilities, such as Living Labs, innovation platforms and innovation poles, such as the projects Santés&Territoires (in Laos, Cambodia and Benin), Malawi, and INV-Niger. Various initiatives work in non-formalized multistakeholder processes (GRAPE in Nepal, FO4RI, ABRIGUE), while others are facilitating dialog among AIS actors (InACC, ABRIGUE). Also, several projects indicated that they have sought specific partnerships through contractual arrangements of the involvement of private sector providers to facilitate support to farmers for acquiring inputs such as seeds and small machinery.

Several challenges at the managerial level were highlighted. For example, the project ABRIGUE, indicated the need for methodologies and tools to promote the exchanges to better incorporate diverse local knowledge. Also, FO4RI, a global project with 13 subprojects working in very dissimilar conditions, stressed the necessity to work more effectively to strengthen capacities for agroecological transition. Several projects are promoting dialogue among AIS stakeholders (ABRIGUE, TRANSFORMA-INNOVA) in an attempt to help coordinate the many interventions that frequently occur in the territories, which often have similar objectives but are disconnected.

There were also multiple action points pointed out during the webinar, for example: using communication about AIS thinking and the development and dissemination of AIS-related knowledge products to enhance the embracement and implementation of AIS thinking in the future.

Finally, several of these topics will be further discussed during the upcoming modules:

Module 2: Acting at the innovation niche level (28th of March)

Module 3: Acting at the level of innovation support services (4th of April)

Module 4: Acting at the level of institutional and policy environments of innovation (20th of April)

Module 5: Conclusion and joint reflection on action research strategies to strengthen AIS in the DeSIRA Initiative (TBD)

For more information and registration to these modules, please see here

For more information: community@desiralift.org
Please see the PowerPoint presentations from the session below Conducting Action-Research interventions for strengthening national Agricultural Innovation Systems: ​ successes and challenges in DeSIRA projects​. INTRODUCTORY MODULE -French/Spanish-speaking session​ Image 1: Screenshot Spanish group discussion, photo Ricardo Ramirez

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Succesfully implemented learning session to support the DeSIRA projects' understanding of the complexities of Agriculture Innovation Systems (AIS) in their specific contexts.

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Another learning session was successfully implemented to support the DeSIRA projects' understanding of the complexities of Agriculture Innovation Systems (AIS) in their specific contexts. The module "Identifying your (potential) contributions to AIS strengthening and related challenges" was the first one in a series of activities of the course "Conducting Action-Research for strengthening Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS): Successes and challenges of DeSIRA projects", implemented by DeSIRA LIFT SA1.

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The ESSA project is funded by the DeSIRA programme of the European Union in 2020-2024. The project aims to contribute to the pastoralist households' transition towards climate-smart agropastoral systems in Ethiopia and Kenya by improving understanding of the dynamics of and interlinkages between tropical upland forest cover and semi-arid lowland landscapes, and by providing new knowledge on the multifunctionality of agropastoral landscapes through a system-wide view of food and nutrition security, diversified livelihoods and ecosystem sustainability leading to improvements.

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ESSA workshop finding local solutions for pastoralists in Kajiado and Taita Taveta counties.

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ESSA workshop finding local solutions for pastoralists in Kajiado and Taita Taveta counties.

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https://agriculture.uonbi.ac.ke/latest-news/essa-workshop

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Editorial: Greenhouse gas measurements in underrepresented areas of the world

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Editorial: Greenhouse gas measurements in underrepresented areas of the world

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Department of Environmental Sciences and Renewable Natural Resources, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Concepción, Chile

Cape Horn International Center, Punta Arenas, Chile

Department of Crop Sciences, Division Agronomy, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

Mazingira Centre for Environmental Research and Education, International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya

Background

Major efforts for quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) production and consumption in agricultural and natural ecosystems and understanding their drivers are currently being developed around the world, as well as on how climate change will influence ecosystem functioning and with that GHG emissions. These efforts include the monitoring of GHG fluxes with both manual and continuous measurements, mainly with closed soil-atmosphere flux chambers and micrometeorological approaches such as the eddy covariance technique, but also with other methods such as animal respiration chambers. These measurements can be used for calibrating models that simulate ecosystem functioning and their responses to climate change and to estimate local, regional or global GHG budgets. Despite these efforts, there is a large spatial concentration of GHG flux measurements in developed countries, while low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are underrepresented. As a result, the tropics and most Southern Hemisphere biomes are heavily underrepresented in flux networks ( 1, 2). At the same time, LMICs are regions with fast population growth and land-use change, thereby potentially creating critical uncertainties in national and global GHG budgets.

This situation potentially generates errors in model predictions for these underrepresented areas due to a lack of local data because it is often assumed that ecosystems in these areas behave identical to those sampled elsewhere in similar biomes, ecosystem types or plant functional types, despite differences in climate, ecosystem characteristics, and management. This gap in data availability potentially generates a critical bias for predictions at the global scale.

Furthermore, local data characterizing GHG emissions from management systems in LMICs are urgently needed to develop meaningful interventions to reduce GHG emissions and to help LMICs achieve their climate change mitigation goals. Many LMICs still rely on Tier 1 GHG emissions reporting, which does not allow for quantifying the mitigation potential of interventions. To achieve this, countries must move to at least Tier 2 reporting, for which local GHG emission factors that represent local production systems and management practices are required.

Research results included in this Research Topic

In this Research Topic of Frontiers in Soil Science we report research results from underrepresented areas in Africa (4 studies), South America (2 studies), and Europe (1 study). Sibret et al. described the first eddy covariance system installed at the second largest tropical forest in the world, located at the Congo basin ( Figure 1). The measurements of carbon dioxide (CO ₂) and water (H ₂O) fluxes that started in 2020 will be complemented with methane (CH ₄) and nitrous oxide (N ₂O) flux measurements using the eddy covariance technique, which will provide key information on the full GHG budget of this relevant area. Farmer et al. measured heterotrophic soil CO ₂ emissions in drained peatlands in Uganda used for growing potatoes and found significant effects of microtopography, water table and previous soil disturbance on the fluxes. After reviewing available studies on GHG emissions and soil organic carbon (SOC) storage from livestock systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, Graham et al. found that while some progress has been made in the past decade, large data gaps remain, particularly regarding manure management, small ruminants, agropastoral/pastoralist systems, and in general from West Africa. While in the available studies soil organic carbon stocks show agreement with IPCC estimates, differences were found with IPCC Tier 1 emission factors for different types of animals, highlighting the need for local country-specific emission factors. Kibet et al. measured the three main GHG fluxes (CO ₂, CH ₄ and N ₂ O) during one year in five common land use systems within a small farm in western Kenya that are representative for stallholder systems in the area, which will allow filling a gap in the national GHG budget.

Figure 1 Tall tower installed at the Congo basin to measure greenhouse gas fluxes. Credit: Thomas Sibret.

By combining 9 years of eddy covariance data with satellite images, Marconato et al. successfully predicted monthly net ecosystem exchange in a crop rotation at the Pampas region in Argentina. The authors estimated net biome productivity after subtracting carbon exported in harvested biomass (between 60% and 80%). Working on a maize-soybean rotation also in Argentina, Vangeli et al. showed that in low-input cropping systems, no-tillage and use of legume cover crops can favour yields but may also increase N ₂ O emissions during the early stages of the following cash crop.

Finally, Pinto et al. set up a mesocosm study using the ¹⁵N isotope pairing technique to study GHG fluxes and nitrogen transformation processes during dry and wet cycles from the interface between aquatic and terrestrial systems. They found that drying enhanced both nitrification and denitrification rates and that N ₂ O fluxes from nitrification were related to organic matter content, while fluxes from denitrification were controlled by dissolved organic matter quality changes during the drying-rewetting cycles.

Problems faced by researchers in underrepresented areas

Based on a survey among authors and editors of this Research Topic, the dominating problems faced by researchers in underrepresented areas are 1) the lack of local funding for establishing studies on GHG fluxes that often require expensive equipment, which makes these studies dependent on bilateral funding that may or may not allow developing long-term research projects and can take several years until cooperation agreements are reached, 2) lack of qualified personnel, which requires training and therefore additional time and funding, 3) depending on the development status of the country, lack of proper roads and infrastructure at some remote locations may also be a problem, 4) safety of scientific equipment (e.g. risks from wildlife, theft, power fluctuations), and 5) administrative restrictions that hamper the transportation of equipment, samples and personnel across borders and can delay site setup and equipment installation.

After these hurdles have been met and research projects have been successfully established, the lack of continued funding keeps on being the main problem to sustain projects, keep research personnel on board, and maintain equipment functionality, which is further aggravated by high costs related to long distance travel of analysers and other sensors for in-factory calibration, repairs and other services, frequently exacerbated by high customs charges. This situation is often associated with a lack of replacement equipment, affecting data quality and generating long data gaps. Furthermore, security concerns linked to political instability and ethical conflict can restrict site access and make frequent and continuous measurements challenging.

Recommendations

The lack of measurements and estimations in some parts of the world is linked to several factors, including the lack of monetary and human resources, inaccessibility, and political instability. To improve the representation of GHG measurements around the world, our recommendation is to create funding opportunities for international collaboration, specifically aimed at establishing long-term projects in places and ecosystems where there is a known lack of GHG flux measurements. This funding should include resources for training local researchers on the relevance of the measurements, the use of instruments, the postprocessing of data, and the publication of results. Furthermore, decision makers should be included in the development of funding programs to ensure that data gaps and research questions that are of high relevance for the respective countries are addressed. Working on filling these data gaps is critical for improving our knowledge on global GHG emission patterns and controls, reducing model uncertainties, and developing meaningful and targeted interventions for climate change mitigation.

Author contributions

Conceptualisation, writing-review and editing, supervision and funding acquisition: AM, JP-Q, and SL. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the scientists that contributed to this Research Topic. AM and JP-Q thank the support of the TRUESOIL project, funded by the 1 st external call from the European Joint Programme EJP SOIL. AM acknowledges the German TRUESOIL subproject Grant Number 031B1262, from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). JP-Q thank the funding provided by the New Zealand Government to support the objectives of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases and by ANID-Chile through grants FONDECYT 1211652, PIA/BASAL FB210006 (IEB), and FB210018 (CHIC). SL acknowledges the financial support of the CGIAR Initiatives Livestock and Climate and Mitigate+: Low-Emission Food Systems, which are supported by contributors to the CGIAR Trust Fund, as well as of the European Union through the EU-DeSIRA ESSA project (Earth observation and environmental sensing for climate-smart sustainable agropastoralism ecosystem transformation in East Africa).

Conflict of interest

The authors JP-Q and AM declared that they were editorial board members of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

The remaining author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Author disclaimer

The content of this article is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

References

1. Pastorello G, Trotta C, Canfora E, Chu H, Christianson D, Cheah YW, et al. The FLUXNET2015 dataset and the ONEFlux processing pipeline for eddy covariance data. Sci Data (2020) 7(1):1-27. doi: 10.1038/s41597-020-0534-3

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

2. Villarreal S, Vargas R. Representativeness of FLUXNET sites across Latin America. J Geophys Res Biogeosci (2021) 126(3):e2020JG006090. doi: 10.1029/2020JG006090

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Editorial: Greenhouse gas measurements in underrepresented areas of the world

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Major efforts for quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) production and consumption in agricultural and natural ecosystems and understanding their drivers are currently being developed around the world, as well as on how climate change will influence ecosystem functioning and with that GHG emissions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Associate 1. Geospatial Information Institute, Ethiopia

Associate 2. Kenya Water Towers Agency, Kenya

Associate 3. Holeta Bee Research Centre, Ethiopia

Associate 4. Action for Development , Ethiopia

Associate 5. Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Ethiopia

Associate 6. Basins Development Authority, Ethiopia

Associate 7. Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopia

Associate 8. Wondo Genet Agricultural Research Centre, Ethiopia

Associate 9. Yabello Pastoral and Dryland Agriculture Research Centre , Ethiopia

Associate 10. Sekota Dryland Agriculture Research Centre, Ethiopia

Associate 11. Taita Taveta University, Kenya

Associate 12. Maruru Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 13. Jibidishe Ufaulu Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 14. Iyale Angamiza Jangwa Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 15. Mbughu Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 16. Msisinenyi Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 17. Nguvu Kazi Cooperative Society LTD, Kenya

Associate 18. Nyuki ni Asali Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 19. Taita Environmental Initiative , Kenya

Associate 20. Tsavo Beekeepers Association, Kenya

Associate 21. Unison Self Help Group, Kenya

Associate 22. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Associate 23. County Government of Taita Taveta, Kenya

Associate 24. Kenya Forest Service, Kenya

Associate 25. Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives of Kenya

Associate 26. Ministry of Water & Sanitation and Irrigation of Kenya

Associate 27. Directorate of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing , Kenya

Associate 28. Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Ethiopia

Associate 29. Eastern Arc Mountain Ranges, Kenya

Associate 30. Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Kenya

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Partners | Climate-smart agropastoral ecosystem transformation in East Africa | University of Helsinki

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University of Helsinki is the coordinator of the ESSA project which is is built around eight key components and implemented in cooperation with eight partner organizations and over 30 associate organizations.

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ESSA Addis Ababa 2023 Seminar and Workshop Unveils Pioneering Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture in East Africa

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ESSA Addis Ababa 2023 Seminar and Workshop Unveils Pioneering Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture in East Africa

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ESSA Addis Ababa 2023 Seminar and Workshop Unveils Pioneering Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture in East Africa | Climate-smart agropastoral ecosystem transformation in East Africa | University of Helsinki

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The ESSA Addis Ababa 2023 Seminar & Workshop, spanning November 29th and 30th, organized by EIAR, UH, and AAU at Mado Hotel. Under the theme “Transforming Agropastoral Ecosystems Amidst Climate Challenges,” the event gathered regional leaders, policymakers, & researchers to tackle East Africa’s agricultural dilemmas.