IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agisys/v178y2020ics0308521x18312241.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Participatory approach for developing knowledge on organic rice farming: Management strategies and productive performance

Author

Listed:
  • Orlando, Francesca
  • Alali, Sumer
  • Vaglia, Valentina
  • Pagliarino, Elena
  • Bacenetti, Jacopo
  • Bocchi, Stefano
  • Bocchi, Stefano

Abstract

Rice is the third grown crop worldwide and responsible of significant environmental impacts. Nevertheless, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the organic rice’ performance and management, probably due to the limits encountered by the reductionist approach in studying complex systems such as an organic paddy. The study proposes a knowledge-intensive and qualitative research methodology based on researcher-farmer participatory approach, with the aim to improve the state of knowledge on organic rice, explore the yield potential and variability, and identify the successful agronomic practices. A wide range of cropping systems placed in North Italy were monitored and analysed during three years by a multi-actor network. Knowledge was generated from collected data and information, integrating the scientific and empirical knowledge on the basis of the DIKW hierarchy and through mutual learning and knowledge sharing tools. The organic rice field proved to be a complex and difficult to predict system, which evolves over the time, under the on-going pressure of the bottom-up innovations, and whose performance depends on many interacting elements. The results highlighted three main knowledge-intensive management strategies, not involving universal recipes but a range of agroecological principles and flexible solutions that the farmers adapt to the time- and space- variability through an active adaptive management. Yield showed a wide variability (0–7 t/ha) and normal distribution (median 4 t/ha). The lower, middle and upper quartiles of yield showed a mean of about 2, 4 and 6 t/ha, respectively, with high variance associated with upper and lower quartiles. The variability sources related to the management and effectiveness in weed control have mainly determined the productivity gap, “Know-how” (suitability of the chosen management plan), “optimization” (timely and accuracy of interventions) and “seed bank” (previous operations and land uses affecting the weeds dynamics) were responsible of the low yield in 77%, 54% and 31% of the cases, respectively, drowning out the impact of climate, soil and variety.

Suggested Citation

  • Orlando, Francesca & Alali, Sumer & Vaglia, Valentina & Pagliarino, Elena & Bacenetti, Jacopo & Bocchi, Stefano & Bocchi, Stefano, 2020. "Participatory approach for developing knowledge on organic rice farming: Management strategies and productive performance," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:178:y:2020:i:c:s0308521x18312241
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2019.102739
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X18312241
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agsy.2019.102739?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. de Ponti, Tomek & Rijk, Bert & van Ittersum, Martin K., 2012. "The crop yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 1-9.
    2. Elsa T.A. Berthet & C�cile Barnaud & Nathalie Girard & Julie Labatut & Guillaume Martin, 2016. "How to foster agroecological innovations? A comparison of participatory design methods," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(2), pages 280-301, February.
    3. Julie Ingram, 2008. "Agronomist–farmer knowledge encounters: an analysis of knowledge exchange in the context of best management practices in England," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 25(3), pages 405-418, September.
    4. repec:lib:0000of:v:3:y:2017:i:1:p:20-33 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Benjamin Borgy & Xavier Reboud & Nathalie Peyrard & Régis Sabbadin & Sabrina Gaba, 2015. "Dynamics of Weeds in the Soil Seed Bank: A Hidden Markov Model to Estimate Life History Traits from Standing Plant Time Series," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(10), pages 1-15, October.
    6. Bhagat, R. M. & Bhuiyan, S. I. & Moody, K., 1996. "Water, tillage and weed interactions in lowland tropical rice: a review," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 165-184, October.
    7. Stoop, Willem A. & Adam, Abdoulaye & Kassam, Amir, 2009. "Comparing rice production systems: A challenge for agronomic research and for the dissemination of knowledge-intensive farming practices," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(11), pages 1491-1501, November.
    8. Murray Bruges & Willie Smith, 2008. "Participatory approaches for sustainable agriculture: A contradiction in terms?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 25(1), pages 13-23, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tavseef Mairaj Shah & Durga Prasad Babu Nasika & Ralf Otterpohl, 2021. "Plant and Weed Identifier Robot as an Agroecological Tool Using Artificial Neural Networks for Image Identification," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-31, March.
    2. Giovanni Dara Guccione & Elena Pagliarino & Ilaria Borri & Alessandra Vaccaro & Patrizia Borsotto, 2021. "A Participatory Analysis of the Control and Certification System in the Italian Organic Rice Value Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, February.
    3. Elena Pagliarino & Secondo Rolfo, 2021. "Examining Researchers’ Attitudes, Barriers, and Opportunities for Participatory Research: The Case of the Riso-Biosystems Project on Organic Rice," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-24, April.
    4. Mariem Baccar & Jacques-Eric Bergez & Stephane Couture & Muddu Sekhar & Laurent Ruiz & Delphine Leenhardt, 2021. "Building Climate Change Adaptation Scenarios with Stakeholders for Water Management: A Hybrid Approach Adapted to the South Indian Water Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-15, July.
    5. Claudio Cordoba Correoso & Feni Agostinho & James Rodrigo Smaniotto & Mari Carissimi Boff & Pedro Boff, 2022. "Sustainability Assessment of Family Agricultural Properties: The Importance of Homeopathy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-22, May.
    6. Aare, Ane Kirstine & Lund, Søren & Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik, 2021. "Exploring transitions towards sustainable farming practices through participatory research – The case of Danish farmers' use of species mixtures," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    7. Li-Wei Liu & Chun-Tang Lu & Yu-Min Wang & Kuan-Hui Lin & Xingmao Ma & Wen-Shin Lin, 2022. "Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) Growth Modeling Based on Growth Degree Day (GDD) and Artificial Intelligence Algorithms," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Prost, Lorène & Reau, Raymond & Paravano, Laurette & Cerf, Marianne & Jeuffroy, Marie-Hélène, 2018. "Designing agricultural systems from invention to implementation: the contribution of agronomy. Lessons from a case study," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 122-132.
    2. Movedi, Ermes & Valiante, Daniele & Colosio, Alessandro & Corengia, Luca & Cossa, Stefano & Confalonieri, Roberto, 2022. "A new approach for modeling crop-weed interaction targeting management support in operational contexts: A case study on the rice weeds barnyardgrass and red rice," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 463(C).
    3. Blasi, E. & Passeri, N. & Franco, S. & Galli, A., 2016. "An ecological footprint approach to environmental–economic evaluation of farm results," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 76-82.
    4. Atanu Mukherjee & Emmanuel C. Omondi & Paul R. Hepperly & Rita Seidel & Wade P. Heller, 2020. "Impacts of Organic and Conventional Management on the Nutritional Level of Vegetables," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-25, October.
    5. Charlotte Lybaert & Lies Debruyne & Eva Kyndt & Fleur Marchand, 2021. "Competencies for Agricultural Advisors in Innovation Support," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    6. Janet MacFall & Joanna Lelekacs & Todd LeVasseur & Steve Moore & Jennifer Walker, 2015. "Toward resilient food systems through increased agricultural diversity and local sourcing in the Carolinas," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(4), pages 608-622, December.
    7. Mohamed Allam & Emanuele Radicetti & Valentina Quintarelli & Verdiana Petroselli & Sara Marinari & Roberto Mancinelli, 2022. "Influence of Organic and Mineral Fertilizers on Soil Organic Carbon and Crop Productivity under Different Tillage Systems: A Meta-Analysis," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-19, March.
    8. Nesar Ahmed & Shirley Thompson & Giovanni M. Turchini, 2020. "Organic aquaculture productivity, environmental sustainability, and food security: insights from organic agriculture," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(6), pages 1253-1267, December.
    9. SIngh Verma, Juhee & Sharma, Pritee, 2019. "Potential of Organic Farming to Mitigate Climate Change and Increase Small Farmers’ Welfare," MPRA Paper 99994, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Matthias Bürgi & Panna Ali & Afroza Chowdhury & Andreas Heinimann & Cornelia Hett & Felix Kienast & Manoranjan Kumar Mondal & Bishnu Raj Upreti & Peter H. Verburg, 2017. "Integrated Landscape Approach: Closing the Gap between Theory and Application," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-13, August.
    11. de la Cruz, Vera Ysabel V. & Tantriani, & Cheng, Weiguo & Tawaraya, Keitaro, 2023. "Yield gap between organic and conventional farming systems across climate types and sub-types: A meta-analysis," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    12. Natalia Brzezina & Birgit Kopainsky & Erik Mathijs, 2016. "Can Organic Farming Reduce Vulnerabilities and Enhance the Resilience of the European Food System? A Critical Assessment Using System Dynamics Structural Thinking Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-32, September.
    13. Patrick M. Carr & Greta G. Gramig & Mark A. Liebig, 2013. "Impacts of Organic Zero Tillage Systems on Crops, Weeds, and Soil Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-30, July.
    14. Marie Lassalas & Sabine Duvaleix & Laure Latruffe, 2024. "The technical and economic effects of biodiversity standards on wheat production," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 51(2), pages 275-308.
    15. Dapeng WANG & Liang ZHENG & Songdong GU & Yuefeng SHI & Long LIANG & Fanqiao MENG & Yanbin GUO & Xiaotang JU & Wenliang WU, 2018. "Soil nitrate accumulation and leaching in conventional, optimized and organic cropping systems," Plant, Soil and Environment, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 64(4), pages 156-163.
    16. Aurélie Cardona & Cristiana Carusi & Michael Mayerfeld Bell, 2021. "Engaged Intermediaries to Bridge the Gap between Scientists, Educational Practitioners and Farmers to Develop Sustainable Agri-Food Innovation Systems: A US Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-13, October.
    17. Karlsson, Johan O. & Röös, Elin, 2019. "Resource-efficient use of land and animals—Environmental impacts of food systems based on organic cropping and avoided food-feed competition," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 63-72.
    18. Debuschewitz, Emil & Sanders, Jürn, 2021. "Bewertung der Umweltwirkungen des ökologischen Landbaus im Kontext der kontroversen wissenschaftlichen Diskurse," 61st Annual Conference, Berlin, Germany, September 22-24, 2021 317076, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    19. Mariarosaria Agostino, 2016. "Organic Agriculture, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Environmental Efficiency: An Empirical Study on OECD Countries," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(11), pages 1-78, November.
    20. Louvet, Apolline, 2022. "Extinction threshold and large population limit of a plant metapopulation model with recurrent extinction events and a seed bank component," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 22-37.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:178:y:2020:i:c:s0308521x18312241. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.