Job share Knowledge Exchange Fellowship: Regenerative agriculture for sustainable plantation ecosystems

工作分享知识交流奖学金：可持续种植园生态系统的再生农业

• 批准号: NE/X001687/2
• 负责人: Nicholas Girkin
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Nottingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FX001687%2F2
• 关键词: Job; share; Knowledge; Exchange; Fellowship

Plantation ecosystems underpin the production of a range of commodities including tea and coffee and supports the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers. However, these ecosystems face a range of challenges, including declining soil fertility and increased soil erosion, and yields that are maintained through high nitrogen fertiliser applications. Across most production areas, climate change is reducing yields and crop quality, impacting farmer livelihoods. Regenerative agriculture (RA) describes a suite of practices designed to deliver beneficial outcomes for agroecosystems, with a focus on improving soil health and soil carbon sequestration, lower agrochemical inputs, and increasing biodiversity. This results in a healthier, more climate resilient ecosystem. For plantation crops, approaches include agroforestry and intercropping, reduced soil disturbance, and the use of organic fertilisers and composts as alternatives to inorganic fertilisers. At present, adoption is low due to limited research on specific techniques for certain crops, and knowledge and financial barriers. However, many techniques have significant similarities across regions and crops, and thus evidence of the benefits and possible trade-offs have the potential to be more widely applied. Adopting such an approach will help accelerate the incorporation of RA into current management practices. In this project, we will focus on the adoption of RA in tea and coffee production in East Africa. We will primarily work in Kenya, as tea and coffee are key regional exports and underpins the livelihoods of over a million smallholder farmers, but production is vulnerable to climate change. In the longer-term, and with the help of our partners and networks, we hope to expand our scope to include further crops and regions. To achieve our aim, this fellowship will facilitate knowledge exchange between researchers, agribusinesses, NGOs and smallholder farmers in tea and coffee ecosystems, building on the relationships and networks already established by the applicants (Dr Nick Girkin and Dr Kenisha Garnett) and Cranfield University. We will adopt a transdisciplinary approach, bringing our diverse background, experience and collective expertise in tropical ecosystem processes, RA, and the social sciences.We will synthesise NERC-remit science on RA's environmental benefits for tea and coffee ecosystems, with evidence of the social and economic impacts of adoption and combine this with new knowledge generated through the sharing of ideas, experience and expertise between researchers, agribusinesses and smallholder famers. We will adopt a co-production approach to our work with smallholders, to generate insights on current sustainable practices, and identify barriers to change, and delivery models. We will use this evidence to create materials to inform discussions with policymakers (e.g. the All-Parliamentary Group on Agroecology for Sustainable Food and Farming), NGOs (e.g. Rainforest Alliance) and businesses (e.g. Ekaterra) around the benefits of RA and means of incentivising adoption. Working collaboratively with our partners and a network of smallholder farmers, we will co-develop a RA toolkit for plantation crops, which can inform practice and promote adoption.A key impact of this fellowship will be the translation of NERC-remit science to improve the sustainability of tea and coffee production, bringing environmental, social and economic benefits to smallholders in the long-term. We will achieve our aim with support from a range of partners including agribusiness (e.g. Ekaterra), NGOs (e.g. Rainforest Alliance) and regional research institutions (e.g. Kenyatta University). We anticipate the knowledge exchange and engagement of stakeholders across our networks can be sustained and that the network will be self-maintaining after the fellowship, to deliver a long-term legacy by increasing the sustainability and climate resilience of plantation ecosystems.

种植园生态系统支撑着包括茶叶和咖啡在内的一系列商品的生产，并支持着数百万小农的生计。然而，这些生态系统面临着一系列挑战，包括土壤肥力下降和土壤侵蚀加剧，以及通过高氮肥施用保持产量。在大多数生产地区，气候变化正在降低产量和作物质量，影响农民的生计。再生农业（RA）描述了一套旨在为农业生态系统提供有益成果的实践，重点是改善土壤健康和土壤碳固存，降低农业化学品投入，增加生物多样性。这将带来一个更健康、更具气候适应力的生态系统。对于种植园作物，方法包括农林业和间作，减少土壤扰动，使用有机肥料和堆肥替代无机肥料。目前，由于对某些作物的具体技术研究有限，以及知识和财政障碍，采用率很低。然而，许多技术在不同地区和不同作物之间有着显著的相似性，因此，这些技术的好处和可能的权衡有可能得到更广泛的应用。采用这种方法将有助于加速将RA纳入当前的管理实践。在这个项目中，我们将重点关注在东非的茶叶和咖啡生产中采用RA。我们将主要在肯尼亚开展工作，因为茶叶和咖啡是该地区的主要出口产品，是100多万小农生计的基础，但生产容易受到气候变化的影响。从长远来看，在我们合作伙伴和网络的帮助下，我们希望扩大我们的范围，包括更多的作物和地区。为了实现我们的目标，该奖学金将促进研究人员，农业综合企业，非政府组织和茶叶和咖啡生态系统的小农之间的知识交流，建立在申请人（Nick Girkin博士和Kenisha Garnett博士）和克兰菲尔德大学已经建立的关系和网络的基础上。我们将采用跨学科的方法，带来我们在热带生态系统过程，RA和社会科学方面的不同背景，经验和集体专业知识。我们将综合关于RA对茶和咖啡生态系统的环境效益的NERC-remit科学，以及采用的社会和经济影响的证据，并将联合收割机与通过研究人员之间分享想法，经验和专业知识而产生的新知识相结合，农业综合企业和小农。我们将采用共同生产的方式与小农户合作，以深入了解当前的可持续实践，并确定变革的障碍和交付模式。我们将利用这些证据创建材料，为政策制定者（例如可持续粮食和农业生态学议会小组），非政府组织（例如雨林联盟）和企业（例如Ekaterra）围绕RA的好处和激励采用的方式进行讨论提供信息。通过与我们的合作伙伴和小农户网络的合作，我们将共同开发一个用于种植园作物的RA工具包，该工具包可以为实践提供信息并促进采用。该奖学金的一个关键影响将是将NERC的科学转化为提高茶叶和咖啡生产的可持续性，为小农户带来长期的环境，社会和经济效益。我们将在一系列合作伙伴的支持下实现我们的目标，包括农业综合企业（如Ekaterra），非政府组织（如雨林联盟）和区域研究机构（如肯雅塔大学）。我们预计，我们的网络中的知识交流和利益相关者的参与可以持续下去，并且该网络将在奖学金之后自我维护，通过提高种植园生态系统的可持续性和气候适应力来提供长期遗产。