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Enabling smallholder farmers to sustainably improve their food, energy and water nexus while achieving environmental and economic benefits

Author

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  • Gathala, Mahesh K.
  • Laing, Alison M.
  • Tiwari, T.P.
  • Timsina, J.
  • Islam, Md. S.
  • Chowdhury, A.K.
  • Chattopadhyay, C.
  • Singh, A.K.
  • Bhatt, B.P.
  • Shrestha, R.
  • Barma, N.C.D.
  • Rana, D.S.
  • Jackson, Tamara M.
  • Gerard, B.

Abstract

Traditional cropping practices in the Eastern Gangetic Plains, South Asia, are resource intensive, requiring large inputs of water, energy and human labor. They are also inefficient, with relatively low productivity for the inputs used although the climate, soil and water resources of the region indicate that greater productivity is achievable. In on-farm experiments conducted across three countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal) we compared the performance of traditional and improved management practices to understand which better facilitated the production of food-grain crops while reducing energy and water demands, thus improving the sustainability of cropping system energy requirements. Benefits of improved over traditional management practices included increases of up to 10% in crop grain yields; up to 19% in water productivity; up to 26% in energy productivity; and reductions of up to 50% in labor. These metrics combined to reduce the cost of production under improved management by up to 22% and to increase gross margins by up to 100% (although in most instances gross margins increased by 12–32%). CO2-equivalent emissions reduced by 10%–17% compared to traditional practices.

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  • Gathala, Mahesh K. & Laing, Alison M. & Tiwari, T.P. & Timsina, J. & Islam, Md. S. & Chowdhury, A.K. & Chattopadhyay, C. & Singh, A.K. & Bhatt, B.P. & Shrestha, R. & Barma, N.C.D. & Rana, D.S. & Jacks, 2020. "Enabling smallholder farmers to sustainably improve their food, energy and water nexus while achieving environmental and economic benefits," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:120:y:2020:i:c:s1364032119308524
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2019.109645
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    7. Jue Wang & Keyi Ju & Xiaozhuo Wei, 2022. "Where Will ‘Water-Energy-Food’ Research Go Next?—Visualisation Review and Prospect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-19, June.
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    11. Kumar, Sachin & Rana, Surinder Singh & Abdelrahman, Kamal & Uddin, Md Galal & Fnais, Mohammed S. & Abioui, Mohamed, 2024. "Impact of conservation agriculture and weed management on carbon footprint, energy efficiency, and sustainability in maize-wheat cropping systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    12. Hasanain, Mohammad & Singh, V.K. & Rathore, S.S. & Meena, Vijay Singh & Meena, Sunita Kumari & Shekhawat, Kapila & Singh, R.K. & Dwivedi, B.S. & Bhatia, Arti & Upadhyay, P.K. & Singh, Raghavendra & Ba, 2025. "Sustainable strategies in maize-wheat systems: Integrating tillage, residue, and nutrient management for food-energy-carbon footprint optimization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    13. Brown, Brendan & Paudel, Gokul P. & Krupnik, Timothy J., 2021. "Visualising adoption processes through a stepwise framework: A case study of mechanisation on the Nepal Terai," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    14. Emma Karki & Akriti Sharma & Brendan Brown, 2022. "Farm mechanisation in Nepal's Terai Region: Policy context, drivers and options," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(2), pages 287-305, March.
    15. Akter, Shaheen & Gathala, Mahesh K. & Timsina, Jagadish & Islam, Saiful & Rahman, Mahbubur & Hassan, Mustafa Kamrul & Ghosh, Anup Kumar, 2021. "Adoption of conservation agriculture-based tillage practices in the rice-maize systems in Bangladesh," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    16. Meena, Ram Swaroop & Pradhan, Gourisankar & Kumar, Sandeep & Lal, Rattan, 2023. "Using industrial wastes for rice-wheat cropping and food-energy-carbon-water-economic nexus to the sustainable food system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    17. Arenas-Calle, L. & Sherpa, S. & Rossiter, D. & Nayak, H. & Urfels, A. & Kritee, K. & Poonia, S. & Singh, D.K. & Choudhary, A. & Dubey, R. & Kumar, V. & Nayak, A.K. & McDonald, A., 2024. "Hydrologic variability governs GHG emissions in rice-based cropping systems of Eastern India," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    18. Feng, Meiqing & Chen, Yaning & Duan, Weili & Fang, Gonghuan & li, Zhi & Jiao, Li & Sun, Fan & Li, Yupeng & Hou, Yifeng, 2022. "Comprehensive evaluation of the water-energy-food nexus in the agricultural management of the Tarim River Basin, Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    19. Yuxuan Xu & Jie Lyu & Ying Xue & Hongbin Liu, 2022. "Does the Agricultural Productive Service Embedded Affect Farmers’ Family Economic Welfare Enhancement? An Empirical Analysis in Black Soil Region in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-22, November.

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