In complex mixed crop-livestock systems with limited resources and biomass scarcity, crop residues play an important but increasingly contested role. This paper focuses on farming systems in the semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe, where biomass production is limited and farmers integrate crop and...

Crop residues have several uses in smallholder mixed crop-livestock systems. This paper examines determinants of households’ maize stover use as livestock feed, fuel and soil amendment in maize-based systems in Ethiopia. In these systems maize stover is primarily used as feed (56% of biomass)...

Much has been written on the tradeoffs that smallholder farmers face when having to allocate their biomass resources among competing objectives such as feed, fuel, mulch, compost or the market. This paper summarises yet a new body of evidence from 10 studies on tradeoffs in the allocation of...

A conservative ex-ante assessment of supply-shift gains alone (excluding social and environmental gains), shows that the investment in zero tillage (ZT) R&D by the Rice-Wheat Consortium and CIMMYT was highly beneficial with a benefit-cost ratio of 39, a net present value of US$ 94 million and an...

This paper discusses drought risk perception and management in five southern African countries. A sample of 1108 households was randomly drawn with different sample sizes across countries. Data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric statistical models. Drought...

To date, the most widely adopted resource conserving technology (RCT) in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP)has been zero-tillage (ZT) for wheat after rice, particularly in India. This report reviews and synthesizes the experience with zero tillage in the Indian IGP. Zero tillage of wheat after rice...