IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v5y2013i4p1632-1644d25066.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Challenges for Crop Production Research in Improving Land Use, Productivity and Sustainability

Author

Listed:
  • Huub Spiertz

    (Center for Crop Systems Analysis, Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 430, Wageningen 6700 AK, The Netherlands)

Abstract

The demand for food, feed, and feedstocks for bioenergy and biofactory plants will increase proportionally due to population growth, prosperity, and bioeconomic growth. Securing food supply and meeting demand for biomass will involve many biological and agro-ecological aspects such as genetic plant improvement, sustainable land use, water-saving irrigation, and integrated nutrient management as well as control of pests, diseases and weeds. It will be necessary to raise biomass production and economic yield per unit of land—not only under optimum growing conditions, but even more under conditions constrained by climate, water availability, and soil quality. Most of the advanced agronomic research by national and international research institutes is dedicated to the major food crops: maize, rice, wheat, and potato. However, research on crops grown as feedstock, for bio-energy and industrial use under conditions with biophysical constraints, is lagging behind. Global and regional assessments of the potential for growing crops are mostly based on model and explorative studies under optimum conditions, or with either water or nitrogen deficiencies. More investments in combined experimental and modeling research are needed to develop and evaluate new crops and cropping systems under a wide range of agro-ecological conditions. An integral assessment of the biophysical production capacity and the impact on resource use, biodiversity and socio-economic factors should be carried out before launching large-scale crop production systems in marginal environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Huub Spiertz, 2013. "Challenges for Crop Production Research in Improving Land Use, Productivity and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-13, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:4:p:1632-1644:d:25066
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/4/1632/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/5/4/1632/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Herdt, Robert W., 2012. "People, institutions, and technology: A personal view of the role of foundations in international agricultural research and development 1960–2010," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 179-190.
    2. Wolf, J. & Bindraban, P. S. & Luijten, J. C. & Vleeshouwers, L. M., 2003. "Exploratory study on the land area required for global food supply and the potential global production of bioenergy," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 841-861, June.
    3. Ong, H.C. & Mahlia, T.M.I. & Masjuki, H.H. & Norhasyima, R.S., 2011. "Comparison of palm oil, Jatropha curcas and Calophyllum inophyllum for biodiesel: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 3501-3515.
    4. Derek Byerlee & Alain de Janvry & Elisabeth Sadoulet, 2009. "Agriculture for Development: Toward a New Paradigm," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 15-31, September.
    5. Qu, Futian & Kuyvenhoven, Arie & Shi, Xiaoping & Heerink, Nico, 2011. "Sustainable natural resource use in rural China: Recent trends and policies," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 444-460.
    6. Kevin W. Boyack & Katy Börner, 2003. "Indicator‐assisted evaluation and funding of research: Visualizing the influence of grants on the number and citation counts of research papers," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 54(5), pages 447-461, March.
    7. Acosta-Michlik, Lilibeth & Lucht, Wolfgang & Bondeau, Alberte & Beringer, Tim, 2011. "Integrated assessment of sustainability trade-offs and pathways for global bioenergy production: Framing a novel hybrid approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 2791-2809, August.
    8. Erb, Karl-Heinz & Haberl, Helmut & Plutzar, Christoph, 2012. "Dependency of global primary bioenergy crop potentials in 2050 on food systems, yields, biodiversity conservation and political stability," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 260-269.
    9. Fraser, Evan D.G., 2011. "Can economic, land use and climatic stresses lead to famine, disease, warfare and death? Using Europe's calamitous 14th century as a parable for the modern age," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 1269-1279, May.
    10. Jiang, Dong & Zhuang, Dafang & Fu, Jinying & Huang, Yaohuan & Wen, Kege, 2012. "Bioenergy potential from crop residues in China: Availability and distribution," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 1377-1382.
    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. Ajay Kumar & Sushil Kumar & Komal & Nirala Ramchiary & Pardeep Singh, 2021. "Role of Traditional Ethnobotanical Knowledge and Indigenous Communities in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Jinmeng Zhang & Shiqiao Zhang & Min Cheng & Hong Jiang & Xiuying Zhang & Changhui Peng & Xuehe Lu & Minxia Zhang & Jiaxin Jin, 2018. "Effect of Drought on Agronomic Traits of Rice and Wheat: A Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-14, April.
    3. Filipa Monteiro & Luís Catarino & Dora Batista & Bucar Indjai & Maria Cristina Duarte & Maria M. Romeiras, 2017. "Cashew as a High Agricultural Commodity in West Africa: Insights towards Sustainable Production in Guinea-Bissau," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-14, September.
    4. Lu, Junsheng & Hu, Tiantian & Geng, Chenming & Cui, Xiaolu & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang, 2021. "Response of yield, yield components and water-nitrogen use efficiency of winter wheat to different drip fertigation regimes in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    5. Riccardo Testa & Anna Maria di Trapani & Filippo Sgroi & Salvatore Tudisca, 2014. "Economic Sustainability of Italian Greenhouse Cherry Tomato," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-15, November.
    6. László Szőllősi & Adél Dorottya Erdős, 2023. "Income and Asset Situation of Companies Producing Arable Crops in the Visegrad Countries," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, August.
    7. Pour, Nasim & Webley, Paul A. & Cook, Peter J., 2018. "Opportunities for application of BECCS in the Australian power sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 615-635.
    8. Yonglin Shen & Xiuguo Liu, 2015. "Phenological Changes of Corn and Soybeans over U.S. by Bayesian Change-Point Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-23, May.
    9. Abdulazeez Hudu Wudil & Asghar Ali & Khalid Mushtaq & Sajjad Ahmad Baig & Magdalena Radulescu & Piotr Prus & Muhammad Usman & László Vasa, 2023. "Water Use Efficiency and Productivity of Irrigated Rice Cultivation in Nigeria: An Application of the Stochastic Frontier Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-19, May.
    10. Bocca, Felipe Ferreira & Rodrigues, Luiz Henrique Antunes & Arraes, Nilson Antonio Modesto, 2015. "When do I want to know and why? Different demands on sugarcane yield predictions," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 48-56.
    11. Han Li & Mingyang Qi & Baoxia Du & Qi Li & Haozhang Gao & Jun Yu & Chunguang Bi & Helong Yu & Meijing Liang & Guanshi Ye & You Tang, 2023. "Maize Disease Classification System Design Based on Improved ConvNeXt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Lu, Junsheng & Xiang, Youzhen & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Hu, Tiantian, 2021. "Sustainable high grain yield, nitrogen use efficiency and water productivity can be achieved in wheat-maize rotation system by changing irrigation and fertilization strategy," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    13. Rashmi Kumari & V. Devadas, 2017. "Modelling the dynamics of economic development driven by agricultural growth in Patna Region, India," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 6(1), pages 1-27, December.
    14. José Luis Villalpando-Aguilar & Daniel Francisco Chi-Maas & Itzel López-Rosas & Victor Ángel Aquino-Luna & Jesús Arreola-Enríquez & Julia Cristel Alcudia-Pérez & Gilberto Matos-Pech & Roberto Carlos G, 2022. "Urban Agriculture as an Alternative for the Sustainable Production of Maize and Peanut," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.

    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. Long, Huiling & Li, Xiaobing & Wang, Hong & Jia, Jingdun, 2013. "Biomass resources and their bioenergy potential estimation: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 344-352.
    2. Biberacher, Markus & Tum, Markus & Günther, Kurt P. & Gadocha, Sabine & Zeil, Peter & Jilani, Rehmatullah & Mansha, Muhammad, 2015. "Availability assessment of bioenergy and power plant location optimization: A case study for Pakistan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 700-711.
    3. Nick Middleton, 2018. "Rangeland management and climate hazards in drylands: dust storms, desertification and the overgrazing debate," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 92(1), pages 57-70, November.
    4. Salami, Mercy Funke & Bello, Julius & Osasona, Kehinde Kikelomo & Ibrahim, Rukayat Olajumoke & Kayode, Ajoke Oluwatoyin & Adebayo, Sijuwade Adebukola & Adejoh, Stella Ojone & Awoyemi, Adeseye Oluwasik, 2024. "Western Balkan Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development Vol 6 (1)," Western Balkan Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (WBJAERD), Institute of Agricultural Economics, vol. 6(1), June.
    5. Shirzad, Mohammad & Kazemi Shariat Panahi, Hamed & Dashti, Behrouz B. & Rajaeifar, Mohammad Ali & Aghbashlo, Mortaza & Tabatabaei, Meisam, 2019. "A comprehensive review on electricity generation and GHG emission reduction potentials through anaerobic digestion of agricultural and livestock/slaughterhouse wastes in Iran," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 571-594.
    6. Bianca AVRAM POP & Simona SABOU, 2018. "The Role Of Agriculture In Romanian Development," Business Excellence and Management, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 8(1), pages 5-18, March.
    7. Fredrick Bagamba & Proscovia R. Ntakyo & Geoffrey Otim & David J. Spielman & Bjorn Van Campenhout, 2023. "Policy and performance in Uganda's seed sector: Opportunities and challenges," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(3), May.
    8. Mohsen Jamali & Esmaeil Bakhshandeh & Mohammad Yaghoubi Khanghahi & Carmine Crecchio, 2021. "Metadata Analysis to Evaluate Environmental Impacts of Wheat Residues Burning on Soil Quality in Developing and Developed Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-13, June.
    9. Zhao, Xiqiang & Zhou, Xing & Wang, Guoxiu & Zhou, Ping & Wang, Wenlong & Song, Zhanlong, 2022. "Evaluating the effect of torrefaction on the pyrolysis of biomass and the biochar catalytic performance on dry reforming of methane," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 313-325.
    10. Corsini, Alberto & Pezzoni, Michele, 2023. "Does grant funding foster research impact? Evidence from France," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(4).
    11. Ibale, Douglas Amuli & Docquier, Frédéric & Iftikhar, Zainab, 2024. "Spatial Inequality, Poverty and Informality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    12. Ciarli, Tommaso & Ràfols, Ismael, 2019. "The relation between research priorities and societal demands: The case of rice," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 949-967.
    13. Odusola, Ayodele, 2017. "Agriculture, Rural Poverty and Income Inequality in sub-Saharan Africa," UNDP Africa Economists Working Papers 266998, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    14. Petra Hýsková & Štěpán Hýsek & Vilém Jarský, 2020. "The Utilization of Crop Residues as Forest Protection: Predicting the Production of Wheat and Rapeseed Residues," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-10, July.
    15. Yang, Jing & Song, Kaihui & Hou, Jian & Zhang, Peidong & Wu, Jinhu, 2017. "Temporal and spacial dynamics of bioenergy-related CO2 emissions and underlying forces analysis in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 1323-1330.
    16. Suttie, D. & Vargas-Lundius, R., 2016. "IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 2 - Migration and transformative pathways: a rural perspective," IFAD Research Series 280036, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    17. Lohan, Shiv Kumar & Jat, H.S. & Yadav, Arvind Kumar & Sidhu, H.S. & Jat, M.L. & Choudhary, Madhu & Peter, Jyotsna Kiran & Sharma, P.C., 2018. "Burning issues of paddy residue management in north-west states of India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 693-706.
    18. Batidzirai, B. & Smeets, E.M.W. & Faaij, A.P.C., 2012. "Harmonising bioenergy resource potentials—Methodological lessons from review of state of the art bioenergy potential assessments," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(9), pages 6598-6630.
    19. You, Heyuan & Zhang, Xiaoling, 2017. "Sustainable livelihoods and rural sustainability in China: Ecologically secure, economically efficient or socially equitable?," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 1-13.
    20. Chris W. Belter, 2013. "A bibliometric analysis of NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 95(2), pages 629-644, May.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:4:p:1632-1644:d:25066. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.