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- Systematic review on the impacts of community-based sheep breeding programs on animal productivity, food security, women’s empowerment, and identification of interventions for climate-smart systems under the extensive production system in EthiopiaAuthor(s): Belayneh, Tesfa; Taye, Mengistie; Haile, Aynalem; Nigussie, Zerihun; Najjar, Dina; Mekuriaw, Shigdaf; Van Dijk, Suzanne; E. Wassie, Shimels; Wilkes, Andreas; Solomon, Dawit (Elsevier (12 months), 2025-12-01)Date: 2025-10-01Type: Journal ArticleStatus: Timeless limited accessThis systematic review was conducted to appraise the impact of community-based sheep breeding programs in Ethiopia on animal genetic improvement, household food security, women’s empowerment, and to identify integrative climate-smart interventions. The review includes 51 documents from databases such as PubMed, AJOL, CAB Direct, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, together with grey literature and institutional reports. Community-based breeding programs (CBBP) in Ethiopia provide a participatory approach that empowers farmers by addressing the limitations of crossbreeding and nucleus breeding programs. CBBP have brought significant improvements in growth and reproductive traits, food security, and women empowerment. Compared to baseline values, the intervention resulted in a 3.63 %, 5.6 %, 7.58 %, and 7.25 % improvement in birth weight, weaning weight, six-month weight, and yearling weight, respectively. Besides, litter size was improved by 0.09, and lambing intervals and age at first lambing were reduced by 21.31 days and 75.68 days, respectively. These gains has got translated into improved household livelihoods and food security through increased income from the sale of improved animals. Since 2019, seven women-led CBBPs comprising 486 members have been established, enhancing women’s participation in small ruminant breeding. For the implementation of small ruminant breeding, including CBBPs, 16 stakeholders with 34 linkages were identified. However, apart from research centers, kebele experts, and projects such as the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), most institutions have contributed little, largely due to unclear institutional frameworks. This gap has resulted in the malfunctioning of several CBBP villages. Despite notable achievements, the program continuous to face technical, financial, and institutional challenges persist. Strengthening CBBPs through the integration of climate-smart strategies remains critical for ensuring long-term sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- Molecular mapping of QTLs for stripe rust resistance in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)Author(s): Sharma, Renu; Sanwal, Satish Kumar; Prasad, Pramod; Kumar, Upendra; Yashveer, Shikha; Gangwar, OP; Udupa, Sripada M.; Sharma, Indu; Tiwari, Ratan; Sharma, Pradeep (BioMed Central, 2026-01-19)Date: 2026-01-19Type: Journal ArticleStatus: Open accessStripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, poses a major threat to global wheat production, adversely impacting grain yield, quality, and nutritional value. Identifying quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with resistance is essential for wheat breeders aiming to develop rust-resistant varieties through molecular breeding strategies. To unravel the genetic basis of resistance, a mapping population of 212 recombinant inbred lines (F8), derived from a cross between resistant parent (W8627) and the susceptible parent (PBW343), was evaluated against the most prevalent and virulent pathotypes at both the seedling and adult plant stages over two consecutive years (2021–22 and 2022–23). The area under the disease progression curve (AUDPC) and analysis of variance revealed high variability among the RILs across both years. For QTL mapping, genotyping was conducted using a comprehensive approach that combined a 3.9 K Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) array with SSR markers. This effort resulted in the identification of 602 DArT markers and 23 SSR markers, which were used to construct a robust integrated linkage map comprising 21 linkage groups which led to the identification of two seedling resistance QTLs, QYr.iiwbr.3BS.1 (3B) and QYr.iiwbr.6DS.1 (6D), as well as two consistent QTLs; QYr.iiwbr.2BL.1 (2B) showing the phenotypic variance of 9.67% with a LOD score 4.51 and QYr.iiwbr.6DS.2 (6D) explaining 7.33% phenotypic variance with LOD score 3.61 for adult plant resistance. Further, in silico analysis revealed putative candidate genes, including those encoding Inositol transporter-1 and protein transport protein sec16, which hold promise for future functional validation and deployment in rust resistance breeding.
- Wheat/pea intercropping with reduced nitrogen inputs maintains crop productivity but lowers soil nitrate residues and N2O emissions: Evidence at crop and cropping system levelsAuthor(s): Li, Gege; Liu, Jianli; Yao, Jianfeng; He, Tiankang; Xiao, Jianke; Nangia, Vinay; Liu, Yang (Elsevier (12 months))Date: 2026-03-12Type: Journal ArticleStatus: Timeless limited accessCereal-legume intercropping is a promising strategy for enhancing agricultural productivity while reducing nitrogen (N) fertilizer inputs. However, the extent to which intercropping systems combined with optimized N input can simultaneously deliver high agronomic productivity, low environmental impact, and favorable economic performance remains insufficiently resolved. To address this issue, a two-year field experiment involving wheat monoculture, pea monoculture, and wheat/pea strip intercropping was conducted under crop-specific N application rates. Wheat received 0, 180, and 240 kg N ha–1, pea received 0, 90, and 135 kg N ha–1, with the same crop-specific N rates used in both monoculture and intercropping. The results demonstrated that wheat/pea intercropping significantly increased system grain yield (13.03%), N uptake (8.67%), and N use efficiency (8.50%) compared with the monoculture-based predicted values. This intercropping system also reduced overall soil nitrate N residues and nitrous oxide emissions by 8.29% and 6.62%, respectively. In addition, the intercropping system generated the highest net economic benefit at 135 kg N ha–1. These advantages were predominantly driven by the wheat component. A comprehensive evaluation further revealed that wheat/pea strip intercropping combined with 135 kg N ha–1 exhibited the best system performance in terms of agronomic productivity, reduced environmental impacts, and economic performance. Collectively, these findings suggest that this intercropping–N management strategy can simultaneously enhance food security, boost farmers’ economic returns, and mitigate environmental pressures in the Guanzhong Plain, offering a short-term pathway to improve cropping system sustainability.
- Negotiating Groundwater Scarcity and Land Insecurity: Rural Livelihood Strategies in Northern TunisiaAuthor(s): Gharbi, Ines; Dhehibi, Boubaker; Ferchichi, Ghada; Toukebri, Wael; Aribi, Fatma; Elloumi, Mohamed (SAGE Publications (UK and US))Date: 2026-04-20Type: Journal ArticleStatus: Timeless limited accessTunisia’s current food dependency highlights deep structural challenges facing the agricultural sector, which struggles to meet domestic demand and ensure an exportable surplus. This crisis is especially acute in irrigated agriculture, despite its central role in regional development. A key policy challenge lies in integrating irrigated agriculture, which is dynamic yet shaped by informal and unequal access to land and water, into a sustainable development framework. This study focuses on irrigated perimeters in northern Tunisia and examines how farmers adapt to increasing precarity and negotiate resource scarcity and climatic variability. Although the hydro-agricultural strategy has contributed to regional growth, it has failed to ensure long-term sustainability and now faces structural limits. Overexploited and fragile groundwater resources, growing competition among users, and fragmented governance threaten its viability. Addressing these challenges requires stronger regulation, transitioning to new governance models, promoting alternative agronomic systems, and restructuring agrarian structures to enhance food security, improve environmental services, and build system resilience.
- Dryland Pasture, Forage and Range Network News- Issue 18Author(s): (ICARDA), International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), 1999-12-01)Date: 1999-12-01Type: NewsletterStatus: Open accessThese vast areas of rangelands represent an important economic resource which significantly contributes to natìonal income and provides livelihood for pastoral people of the countries of the Near East region. Nationalization of rangelands has decreased the control of local communities over land resources and enhanced overexploitation and agricultural encroachment, resulting in wide degradation and desertification.