Peter Steward - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Peter Steward
Aim Conservation conflict takes place where food production imposes a cost on wildlife conservati... more Aim Conservation conflict takes place where food production imposes a cost on wildlife conservation and vice versa. Where does conservation impose the maximum cost on production, by opposing the intensification and expansion of farmland? Where does conservation confer the maximum benefit on wildlife, by buffering and connecting protected areas with a habitable and permeable matrix of crop and non-crop habitat? Our aim was to map the costs and benefits of conservation versus production and thus to propose a conceptual framework for systematic conservation planning in agricultural landscapes. Location Worldwide. Methods To quantify these costs and benefits, we used a geographic information system to sample the cropland of the world and map the proportion of non-crop habitat surrounding the cropland, the number of threatened vertebrates with potential to live in or move through the matrix and the yield gap of the cropland. We defined the potential for different types of conservation conflict in terms of interactions between habitat and yield (potential for expansion, intensification, both or neither). We used spatial scan statistics to find 'hotspots' of conservation conflict. Results All of the 'hottest' hotspots of conservation conflict were in sub-Saharan Africa, which could have impacts on sustainable intensification in this region. Main conclusions Systematic conservation planning could and should be used to identify hotspots of conservation conflict in agricultural landscapes, at multiple scales. The debate between 'land sharing' (extensive agriculture that is wildlife friendly) and 'land sparing' (intensive agriculture that is less wildlife friendly but also less extensive) could be resolved if sharing and sparing were used as different types of tool for resolving different types of conservation conflict (buffering and connecting protected areas by maintaining matrix quality, in different types of matrix). Therefore, both sharing and sparing should be prioritized in hotspots of conflict, in the context of countryside biogeography.
Conservation agriculture in Africa: climate smart agricultural development, 2022
Climate change and soil fertility decline are threatening food security in southern Africa and ef... more Climate change and soil fertility decline are threatening food security in southern Africa and efforts have been made to adapt current cropping systems to the needs of smallholder farmers. Conservation Agriculture (CA) based on minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention and crop diversification has been proposed as a strategy to address the challenges smallholder farmers face. Here we analyse the potential contributions of CA towards adaptation to the effects of climate change by summarizing data on infiltration, soil moisture dynamics and crop productivity under heat and drought stress. The data were taken in the main from CIMMYT's on-farm and on-station trial network. Data show that CA systems maintain 0.7-7.9 times higher water infiltration than the conventional tilled system depending on soil type, which increases soil moisture during the cropping season by 11%-31% between CA treatments and the conventional control treatment. This leads to greater adaptive capacity of ...
Bundles of Joy? Using the ERA database to explore the outcomes of CSA practice interactions. Pres... more Bundles of Joy? Using the ERA database to explore the outcomes of CSA practice interactions. Presentation at the Global Science Conference for Climate-Smart Agriculture, 8-11 October 2019, Bali, Indonesia
Presentation at the Global Science Conference for Climate-Smart Agriculture 8-11 October 2019. Ba... more Presentation at the Global Science Conference for Climate-Smart Agriculture 8-11 October 2019. Bali, Indonesia
Data on the performance of agricultural management practices and technologies was inaccessible an... more Data on the performance of agricultural management practices and technologies was inaccessible and impractical. ERA compiled and organized it into a dynamic analytical engine that generates actionable, user-centered decision-making suppor
Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) makes financial sense for businesses. Governments are increasingl... more Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) makes financial sense for businesses. Governments are increasingly holding the private sector responsible for their role in climate change impacts. Extreme weather events are incredibly costly for businesses. This is particularly true in agriculture, which relies heavily on favorable weather conditions. CSA practices and technologies are central to the transformative changes necessary to maintain the stability—and profitability—of the food system in the face of climate change. Where robust information on the benefits, costs, and risks of interventions is missing or incomplete, would-be investors, including donors, governments, businesses, and farmers, remain uninformed of the potentially massive dividends climate-smart investments could offer. This dearth of viable business models ultimately hinders the mainstreaming of productive, climate-resilient, low-emissions agriculture. Robust business-case analyses of CSA could accelerate the scaling of promis...
Farmers rarely apply CSA technologies in isolation and there is a strong demand for evidence abou... more Farmers rarely apply CSA technologies in isolation and there is a strong demand for evidence about which bundles of practices work together to enhance outcome performance. The ERA database brings together thousands of African CSA studies giving us unprecedented power to explore trade-offs when bundling a diverse suite of practices together across a diverse range of outcome indicators. We have developed a range of analytical algorithms and plotting functions to assess performance of technology bundles to be integrated as apps on the ERA website
In the present analysis, we first create a projection of the number of beneficiaries (rural indiv... more In the present analysis, we first create a projection of the number of beneficiaries (rural individuals and households) in climate hazard areas using geospatial datasets on climate hazards and rural population. We find that: (1) By 2030, CGIAR’s work on climate adaptation is projected to benefit 234 million rural people in 59 million rural households in regions facing significant climate hazards. (2) Some 66% of the projected individual beneficiaries are in SA (34%) and SEA (32%). India (26%) and China (24%) alone account for about 50% of beneficiaries globally. Approximately 15% are in SSA, equally divided between ESA and WCA; the remaining beneficiaries are in LAC (7%) and CWANA (11%). (3) Adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, climate-adapted varieties, and climate-related advisory services will increase productivity by an average of 24 % and, in at least 62% of cases, will also reduce interannual yield variability. Despite these significant potential upside gains, cha...
Thousands of studies have been published on agricultural innovations in Africa, but those data ar... more Thousands of studies have been published on agricultural innovations in Africa, but those data are generally difficult to access. To make those data accessible, we conducted a systematic review of the impact of more than 100 potential CSA practices on over 50 indicators of productivity, resilience and mitigation in Africa (Rosenstock et al. 2015). The result is a powerful database combining information from more than 1700 studies of CSA in Africa
Speed talk presentation at the Global Science Conference for Climate-Smart Agriculture, 8-11 Octo... more Speed talk presentation at the Global Science Conference for Climate-Smart Agriculture, 8-11 October 2019. Bali, Indonesia
National governments across Sub-Saharan Africa include climate-smart agriculture (CSA) - context-... more National governments across Sub-Saharan Africa include climate-smart agriculture (CSA) - context-specific interventions that support resilience, productivity, and climate mitigation-in plans and policies and strategies to jointly address climate change, agricultural production and rural livelihood goals. This paper synthesizes the evidence on field-based CSA management practices generated through ten years of research led by the CGIAR in Tanzania, an agriculturally diverse country in East Africa that has prioritized climate-smart agriculture practices in its climate adaptation strategies. Tanzania provides an illustrative example of how countries can use evidence of impacts, synergies and tradeoffs to prioritize activities for sustainable development.
The provision of tailored weather and climate information services (WCIS) to help adapt decision ... more The provision of tailored weather and climate information services (WCIS) to help adapt decision making to climate variability is gaining increasing recognition. This study analyzes the impact of seasonal and daily weather forecasts mediated by a multidisciplinary working group (MWG), a co-production model for weather and climate information. A two-season balanced dataset in combination with panel econometrics was used to explore the impact of uptake of weather and climate information uptake and the impact on farmers’ agricultural income in Senegal. The data were complemented by participatory surveys that provide richer contextual information to explain the impact pathways. Results show that the use of weather and climate information increased the value of crop produce by between 10-25\% for farmers with access to an MWG. Coordinated platforms that involve diverse stakeholders like the MWGs play a critical role in co-producing weather and climate information that are more usable to ...
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2021
Agricultural Systems, 2022
CONTEXT: Climate change and variability have been identified as major threats to key sectors such... more CONTEXT: Climate change and variability have been identified as major threats to key sectors such as agriculture that drive economic growth and sustainable development in developing countries. The provision of tailored weather and climate information services (WCIS) that meet users' expectations can play an important role in helping decision makers adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change and climate However, the evidence base showing the benefits of WCIS is still thin. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzes the impact of uptake of tailored seasonal and daily weather forecasts that are mediated by a multidisciplinary working group (MWG) on crop productivity and household income of smallholder farmers in Senegal. METHODS: A two-season balanced dataset in combination with panel econometrics was used to explore the impact of uptake of weather and climate information on crop income for farmers in Senegal. The data were complemented by participatory surveys that provide richer contextual information to explain the causal pathways that link farmers' uptake with increased crop income for farmers with access to the MWG. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Results show that the use of weather and climate information increased the value of crop produce by between 10 and 25% for farmers with access to an MWG. Coordinated platforms that involve diverse stakeholders like the MWGs play a critical role in co-producing weather and climate information that are more usable to farmers, thereby improving uptake and livelihoods. The impact pathways and implications for policy are discussed. SIGNIFICANCE: This study expands the limited evidence base on the role of weather and climate services in improving the livelihoods of smallholder by (i) going beyond the use of cross-sectional and using longitudinal data, (ii) analyzing causal impacts on farmer's livelihoods, i.e., crop yields and household income and (iii) using participatory approaches to better explain the causal impact pathways
Animal Conservation, 2017
When making decisions about reintroducing a species, practitioners need to consider whether the r... more When making decisions about reintroducing a species, practitioners need to consider whether the release site contains habitat suitable for those species, whether past extinction drivers have been remedied and whether reintroduction is the best option for the species to recolonise the release site. These concerns are captured within two paradigms; the habitat and metapopulation paradigms. We use cost-distance analysis to assess the need for reintroduction of two bird species, Rodrigues Fody and Rodrigues Warbler, to Anse Quitor reserve on Rodrigues Island, testing hypotheses based on these underlying paradigms. Given a lack of detailed field studies of dispersal across the landscape on either species we rely on expert judgement. Our results show that experts believe Rodrigues Fody will naturally colonise Anse Quitor but that Rodrigues Warbler may not, at least within a time frame of 10 years. This information and treatment of expert judgement allows greater justification in reintroduction planning. Our method shows one way to assist in reintroduction decision making in poorly studied systems.
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2019
Aim Conservation conflict takes place where food production imposes a cost on wildlife conservati... more Aim Conservation conflict takes place where food production imposes a cost on wildlife conservation and vice versa. Where does conservation impose the maximum cost on production, by opposing the intensification and expansion of farmland? Where does conservation confer the maximum benefit on wildlife, by buffering and connecting protected areas with a habitable and permeable matrix of crop and non-crop habitat? Our aim was to map the costs and benefits of conservation versus production and thus to propose a conceptual framework for systematic conservation planning in agricultural landscapes. Location Worldwide. Methods To quantify these costs and benefits, we used a geographic information system to sample the cropland of the world and map the proportion of non-crop habitat surrounding the cropland, the number of threatened vertebrates with potential to live in or move through the matrix and the yield gap of the cropland. We defined the potential for different types of conservation conflict in terms of interactions between habitat and yield (potential for expansion, intensification, both or neither). We used spatial scan statistics to find 'hotspots' of conservation conflict. Results All of the 'hottest' hotspots of conservation conflict were in sub-Saharan Africa, which could have impacts on sustainable intensification in this region. Main conclusions Systematic conservation planning could and should be used to identify hotspots of conservation conflict in agricultural landscapes, at multiple scales. The debate between 'land sharing' (extensive agriculture that is wildlife friendly) and 'land sparing' (intensive agriculture that is less wildlife friendly but also less extensive) could be resolved if sharing and sparing were used as different types of tool for resolving different types of conservation conflict (buffering and connecting protected areas by maintaining matrix quality, in different types of matrix). Therefore, both sharing and sparing should be prioritized in hotspots of conflict, in the context of countryside biogeography.
Conservation agriculture in Africa: climate smart agricultural development, 2022
Climate change and soil fertility decline are threatening food security in southern Africa and ef... more Climate change and soil fertility decline are threatening food security in southern Africa and efforts have been made to adapt current cropping systems to the needs of smallholder farmers. Conservation Agriculture (CA) based on minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention and crop diversification has been proposed as a strategy to address the challenges smallholder farmers face. Here we analyse the potential contributions of CA towards adaptation to the effects of climate change by summarizing data on infiltration, soil moisture dynamics and crop productivity under heat and drought stress. The data were taken in the main from CIMMYT's on-farm and on-station trial network. Data show that CA systems maintain 0.7-7.9 times higher water infiltration than the conventional tilled system depending on soil type, which increases soil moisture during the cropping season by 11%-31% between CA treatments and the conventional control treatment. This leads to greater adaptive capacity of ...
Bundles of Joy? Using the ERA database to explore the outcomes of CSA practice interactions. Pres... more Bundles of Joy? Using the ERA database to explore the outcomes of CSA practice interactions. Presentation at the Global Science Conference for Climate-Smart Agriculture, 8-11 October 2019, Bali, Indonesia
Presentation at the Global Science Conference for Climate-Smart Agriculture 8-11 October 2019. Ba... more Presentation at the Global Science Conference for Climate-Smart Agriculture 8-11 October 2019. Bali, Indonesia
Data on the performance of agricultural management practices and technologies was inaccessible an... more Data on the performance of agricultural management practices and technologies was inaccessible and impractical. ERA compiled and organized it into a dynamic analytical engine that generates actionable, user-centered decision-making suppor
Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) makes financial sense for businesses. Governments are increasingl... more Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) makes financial sense for businesses. Governments are increasingly holding the private sector responsible for their role in climate change impacts. Extreme weather events are incredibly costly for businesses. This is particularly true in agriculture, which relies heavily on favorable weather conditions. CSA practices and technologies are central to the transformative changes necessary to maintain the stability—and profitability—of the food system in the face of climate change. Where robust information on the benefits, costs, and risks of interventions is missing or incomplete, would-be investors, including donors, governments, businesses, and farmers, remain uninformed of the potentially massive dividends climate-smart investments could offer. This dearth of viable business models ultimately hinders the mainstreaming of productive, climate-resilient, low-emissions agriculture. Robust business-case analyses of CSA could accelerate the scaling of promis...
Farmers rarely apply CSA technologies in isolation and there is a strong demand for evidence abou... more Farmers rarely apply CSA technologies in isolation and there is a strong demand for evidence about which bundles of practices work together to enhance outcome performance. The ERA database brings together thousands of African CSA studies giving us unprecedented power to explore trade-offs when bundling a diverse suite of practices together across a diverse range of outcome indicators. We have developed a range of analytical algorithms and plotting functions to assess performance of technology bundles to be integrated as apps on the ERA website
In the present analysis, we first create a projection of the number of beneficiaries (rural indiv... more In the present analysis, we first create a projection of the number of beneficiaries (rural individuals and households) in climate hazard areas using geospatial datasets on climate hazards and rural population. We find that: (1) By 2030, CGIAR’s work on climate adaptation is projected to benefit 234 million rural people in 59 million rural households in regions facing significant climate hazards. (2) Some 66% of the projected individual beneficiaries are in SA (34%) and SEA (32%). India (26%) and China (24%) alone account for about 50% of beneficiaries globally. Approximately 15% are in SSA, equally divided between ESA and WCA; the remaining beneficiaries are in LAC (7%) and CWANA (11%). (3) Adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, climate-adapted varieties, and climate-related advisory services will increase productivity by an average of 24 % and, in at least 62% of cases, will also reduce interannual yield variability. Despite these significant potential upside gains, cha...
Thousands of studies have been published on agricultural innovations in Africa, but those data ar... more Thousands of studies have been published on agricultural innovations in Africa, but those data are generally difficult to access. To make those data accessible, we conducted a systematic review of the impact of more than 100 potential CSA practices on over 50 indicators of productivity, resilience and mitigation in Africa (Rosenstock et al. 2015). The result is a powerful database combining information from more than 1700 studies of CSA in Africa
Speed talk presentation at the Global Science Conference for Climate-Smart Agriculture, 8-11 Octo... more Speed talk presentation at the Global Science Conference for Climate-Smart Agriculture, 8-11 October 2019. Bali, Indonesia
National governments across Sub-Saharan Africa include climate-smart agriculture (CSA) - context-... more National governments across Sub-Saharan Africa include climate-smart agriculture (CSA) - context-specific interventions that support resilience, productivity, and climate mitigation-in plans and policies and strategies to jointly address climate change, agricultural production and rural livelihood goals. This paper synthesizes the evidence on field-based CSA management practices generated through ten years of research led by the CGIAR in Tanzania, an agriculturally diverse country in East Africa that has prioritized climate-smart agriculture practices in its climate adaptation strategies. Tanzania provides an illustrative example of how countries can use evidence of impacts, synergies and tradeoffs to prioritize activities for sustainable development.
The provision of tailored weather and climate information services (WCIS) to help adapt decision ... more The provision of tailored weather and climate information services (WCIS) to help adapt decision making to climate variability is gaining increasing recognition. This study analyzes the impact of seasonal and daily weather forecasts mediated by a multidisciplinary working group (MWG), a co-production model for weather and climate information. A two-season balanced dataset in combination with panel econometrics was used to explore the impact of uptake of weather and climate information uptake and the impact on farmers’ agricultural income in Senegal. The data were complemented by participatory surveys that provide richer contextual information to explain the impact pathways. Results show that the use of weather and climate information increased the value of crop produce by between 10-25\% for farmers with access to an MWG. Coordinated platforms that involve diverse stakeholders like the MWGs play a critical role in co-producing weather and climate information that are more usable to ...
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2021
Agricultural Systems, 2022
CONTEXT: Climate change and variability have been identified as major threats to key sectors such... more CONTEXT: Climate change and variability have been identified as major threats to key sectors such as agriculture that drive economic growth and sustainable development in developing countries. The provision of tailored weather and climate information services (WCIS) that meet users' expectations can play an important role in helping decision makers adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change and climate However, the evidence base showing the benefits of WCIS is still thin. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzes the impact of uptake of tailored seasonal and daily weather forecasts that are mediated by a multidisciplinary working group (MWG) on crop productivity and household income of smallholder farmers in Senegal. METHODS: A two-season balanced dataset in combination with panel econometrics was used to explore the impact of uptake of weather and climate information on crop income for farmers in Senegal. The data were complemented by participatory surveys that provide richer contextual information to explain the causal pathways that link farmers' uptake with increased crop income for farmers with access to the MWG. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Results show that the use of weather and climate information increased the value of crop produce by between 10 and 25% for farmers with access to an MWG. Coordinated platforms that involve diverse stakeholders like the MWGs play a critical role in co-producing weather and climate information that are more usable to farmers, thereby improving uptake and livelihoods. The impact pathways and implications for policy are discussed. SIGNIFICANCE: This study expands the limited evidence base on the role of weather and climate services in improving the livelihoods of smallholder by (i) going beyond the use of cross-sectional and using longitudinal data, (ii) analyzing causal impacts on farmer's livelihoods, i.e., crop yields and household income and (iii) using participatory approaches to better explain the causal impact pathways
Animal Conservation, 2017
When making decisions about reintroducing a species, practitioners need to consider whether the r... more When making decisions about reintroducing a species, practitioners need to consider whether the release site contains habitat suitable for those species, whether past extinction drivers have been remedied and whether reintroduction is the best option for the species to recolonise the release site. These concerns are captured within two paradigms; the habitat and metapopulation paradigms. We use cost-distance analysis to assess the need for reintroduction of two bird species, Rodrigues Fody and Rodrigues Warbler, to Anse Quitor reserve on Rodrigues Island, testing hypotheses based on these underlying paradigms. Given a lack of detailed field studies of dispersal across the landscape on either species we rely on expert judgement. Our results show that experts believe Rodrigues Fody will naturally colonise Anse Quitor but that Rodrigues Warbler may not, at least within a time frame of 10 years. This information and treatment of expert judgement allows greater justification in reintroduction planning. Our method shows one way to assist in reintroduction decision making in poorly studied systems.
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2019