Ebook: Understanding Options for Agricultural Production

The first premise of this book is that farmers need access to options for improving their situation. In agricultural terms, these options might be manage­ ment alternatives or different crops to grow, that can stabilize or increase household income, that reduce soil degradation and dependence on off-farm inputs, or that exploit local market opportunities. Farmers need a facilitating environment, in which affordable credit is available if needed, in which policies are conducive to judicious management of natural resources, and in which costs and prices of production are stable. Another key ingredient of this facilitating environment is information: an understanding of which options are viable, how these operate at the farm level, and what their impact may be on the things that farmers perceive as being important. The second premise is that systems analysis and simulation have an impor­ tant role to play in fostering this understanding of options, traditional field experimentation being time-consuming and costly. This book summarizes the activities of the International Benchmark Sites Network for Agrotechnology Transfer (IBSNAT) project, an international initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). IBSNAT was an attempt to demonstrate the effectiveness of understanding options through systems analysis and simulation for the ultimate benefit of farm households in the tropics and subtropics. The idea for the book was first suggested at one of the last IBSNAT group meetings held at the University of Hawaii in 1993.

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Understanding Options for Agricultural Production is a synthesis of a global multidisciplinary network of scientists from around the world. This book describes the outputs of the IBSNAT network, including topics on data standards and the minimum data set, crop simulation models of major food crops, and application programs to assess risk resulting from implementation of different management options and strategies. These outputs were integrated into a single portable and functional software product referred to as DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer). Complete descriptions of the CERES, CROPGRO, SUBSTOR, and CROPSIM models in DSSAT are presented for the first time by their developers. Applications of these models and DSSAT to explore options and outcomes, ranging from irrigation and fertilizer management at the plot level, to global climate change studies at the country level, are presented by users of the systems approach to agricultural production and development in both developing and more developed countries.

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Understanding Options for Agricultural Production is a synthesis of a global multidisciplinary network of scientists from around the world. This book describes the outputs of the IBSNAT network, including topics on data standards and the minimum data set, crop simulation models of major food crops, and application programs to assess risk resulting from implementation of different management options and strategies. These outputs were integrated into a single portable and functional software product referred to as DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer). Complete descriptions of the CERES, CROPGRO, SUBSTOR, and CROPSIM models in DSSAT are presented for the first time by their developers. Applications of these models and DSSAT to explore options and outcomes, ranging from irrigation and fertilizer management at the plot level, to global climate change studies at the country level, are presented by users of the systems approach to agricultural production and development in both developing and more developed countries.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiii
Overview of IBSNAT....Pages 1-7
Data for model operation, calibration, and evaluation....Pages 9-39
Soil water balance and plant water stress....Pages 41-54
Nitrogen balance and crop response to nitrogen in upland and lowland cropping systems....Pages 55-77
Cereal growth, development and yield....Pages 79-98
The CROPGRO model for grain legumes....Pages 99-128
Modeling growth and development of root and tuber crops....Pages 129-156
Decision support system for agrotechnology transfer: DSSAT v3....Pages 157-177
Modeling and crop improvement....Pages 179-188
Simulation as a tool for improving nitrogen management....Pages 189-204
The use of a crop simulation model for planning wheat irrigation in Zimbabwe....Pages 205-220
Simulation of pest effects on crops using coupled pest-crop models: the potential for decision support....Pages 221-266
The use of crop models for international climate change impact assessment....Pages 267-292
Evaluation of land resources using crop models and a GIS....Pages 293-311
The simulation of cropping sequences using DSSAT....Pages 313-327
Risk assessment and food security....Pages 329-345
Incorporating farm household decision-making within whole farm models....Pages 347-365
Network management and information dissemination for agrotechnology transfer....Pages 367-381
Crop simulation models as an educational tool....Pages 383-388
Synthesis....Pages 389-392
Back Matter....Pages 393-400

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Understanding Options for Agricultural Production is a synthesis of a global multidisciplinary network of scientists from around the world. This book describes the outputs of the IBSNAT network, including topics on data standards and the minimum data set, crop simulation models of major food crops, and application programs to assess risk resulting from implementation of different management options and strategies. These outputs were integrated into a single portable and functional software product referred to as DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer). Complete descriptions of the CERES, CROPGRO, SUBSTOR, and CROPSIM models in DSSAT are presented for the first time by their developers. Applications of these models and DSSAT to explore options and outcomes, ranging from irrigation and fertilizer management at the plot level, to global climate change studies at the country level, are presented by users of the systems approach to agricultural production and development in both developing and more developed countries.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiii
Overview of IBSNAT....Pages 1-7
Data for model operation, calibration, and evaluation....Pages 9-39
Soil water balance and plant water stress....Pages 41-54
Nitrogen balance and crop response to nitrogen in upland and lowland cropping systems....Pages 55-77
Cereal growth, development and yield....Pages 79-98
The CROPGRO model for grain legumes....Pages 99-128
Modeling growth and development of root and tuber crops....Pages 129-156
Decision support system for agrotechnology transfer: DSSAT v3....Pages 157-177
Modeling and crop improvement....Pages 179-188
Simulation as a tool for improving nitrogen management....Pages 189-204
The use of a crop simulation model for planning wheat irrigation in Zimbabwe....Pages 205-220
Simulation of pest effects on crops using coupled pest-crop models: the potential for decision support....Pages 221-266
The use of crop models for international climate change impact assessment....Pages 267-292
Evaluation of land resources using crop models and a GIS....Pages 293-311
The simulation of cropping sequences using DSSAT....Pages 313-327
Risk assessment and food security....Pages 329-345
Incorporating farm household decision-making within whole farm models....Pages 347-365
Network management and information dissemination for agrotechnology transfer....Pages 367-381
Crop simulation models as an educational tool....Pages 383-388
Synthesis....Pages 389-392
Back Matter....Pages 393-400
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