Depleting groundwater resources and increasing energy demand with the huge dependence of India’s agriculture on groundwater and energy, and especially in water deficit rice-based production systems, are posing a serious threat to sustained food, water, and energy security. Sustainability concerns of water, energy, and input-intensive rice-based crop production systems have increased the realization for developing and scaling up alternative agro-techniques that can significantly reduce the water and energy requirements in crop production without compromising on crop yield. The interconnectedness between water, energy, and food makes the concept of water, energy, and food (WEF) nexus more relevant to explore integrated solutions to efficient use of limited and/or declining water and energy resources. Conservation agriculture (CA) is gaining currency as an alternate system for rice/cereal-based production systems to conserve water and energy, improve soil health, reduce cost of cultivation, and preserve ecology. This paper explores the concept of WEF nexus and how CA addresses the challenge of harmonizing the synergy among water, energy, and food though WEF ‘nexus gains’ especially in the context of groundwater irrigated rice/cereal based cropping systems.

In this study, we focus on water quality as a vehicle to illustrate the role that the water, energy, and food (WEF) Nexus perspective may have in promoting ecosystem services in agriculture. The mediation of water quality by terrestrial systems is a key ecosystem service for a range of actors (municipalities, fishers, industries, and energy providers) and is reshaped radically by agricultural activity. To address these impacts, many programs exist to promote improved land-use practices in agriculture; however, where these practices incur a cost or other burden to the farmer, adoption can be low unless some form of incentive is provided (as in a payment for ecosystem services (PES) program). Provision of such incentives can be a challenge to sustain in the long term, if there is not a clear beneficiary or other actor willing to provide them. Successfully closing the loop between impacts and incentives often requires identifying a measurable and valuable service with a clear central beneficiary that is impacted by the summative effects of the diffuse agricultural practices across the landscape. Drawing on cases from our own research, we demonstrate how the WEF Nexus perspective—by integrating non-point-source agricultural problems under well-defined energy issues—can highlight central beneficiaries of improved agricultural practice, where none may have existed otherwise.

In this study, we focus on water quality as a vehicle to illustrate the role that the water, energy, and food (WEF) Nexus perspective may have in promoting ecosystem services in agriculture. The mediation of water quality by terrestrial systems is a key ecosystem service for a range of actors (municipalities, fishers, industries, and energy providers) and is reshaped radically by agricultural activity. To address these impacts, many programs exist to promote improved land-use practices in agriculture; however, where these practices incur a cost or other burden to the farmer, adoption can be low unless some form of incentive is provided (as in a payment for ecosystem services (PES) program). Provision of such incentives can be a challenge to sustain in the long term, if there is not a clear beneficiary or other actor willing to provide them. Successfully closing the loop between impacts and incentives often requires identifying a measurable and valuable service with a clear central beneficiary that is impacted by the summative effects of the diffuse agricultural practices across the landscape. Drawing on cases from our own research, we demonstrate how the WEF Nexus perspective—by integrating non-point-source agricultural problems under well-defined energy issues—can highlight central beneficiaries of improved agricultural practice, where none may have existed otherwise.

The crucial challenge for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa is feeding a growing population while preserving the natural resource base of the agricultural system. In future, this challenge will be exacerbated by soil degradation and climate change. Conservation Agriculture (CA) has been promoted as a strategy that can improve yields, soils and effective water use. CA thus has potential to increase the resilience of farming systems facing the mentioned challenges. However, CA since its introduction in sub-Sahara Africa has not moved from the invention to the innovation stage: the CA innovation seen as a package is not meeting the farmers’ needs, capabilities and opportunities. Overall, the attempt to transfer this innovation in a conventional linear way from science to farm has been disappointing. The INCAA project is designed as an action research process aimed at targeting the challenging (and often missing) interfaces of science-driven technology and local realities in innovation systems. The overall objective of INCAA is to mentor and analyse a learning process that supports the innovation of CA in sub-Saharan Africa. The case studies of the project are Laikipia County, Kenya and Koumbia District, Burkina Faso. Building on the experiences of past projects, INCAA will (1) map benefits and adaptations of CA in innovation systems around the partner projects; (2) foster joined learning of stakeholders to test and validate CA tools; and (3) develop learning strategies for an innovation process towards CA including institutional and individual dimensions. This project will start from those who take the final decision on the fate of CA - the farmers. By assessing how farmers have actually adapted and implemented CA, we can derive lessons on the benefits and losses related to such CA modes for all stakeholders involved in the agricultural system. This contribution will 1) introduce the overall conceptual, methodological and structural design of the project and 2) highlight its first preliminary results which so far show high influence of gender aspects towards the adoption decision process. Differing roles of and expectations towards men and women within the farming communities are often an invisible obstacle for further adoption of CA.

The conventionally managed cereal-based cropping systems in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of South Asia are energy intensive that overwhelm the farm profits and the environmental footprint. This research addresses a complex nexus between yield-energy-water-GHG footprints-economics of conservation agriculture (CA)-based intensified maize-wheat-mungbean rotation. This study evaluated the effect of long-term CA (2012–2020) with optimum nutrient management (2017–20) on energy budgeting, productivity, water and C-footprints, Water productivity (WP), and economics of the CA-based maize-wheat-mungbean system. CA-based permanent bed- and zero tillage flatbed with preceding crop residue retention were compared with the conventional till with preceding crop residue incorporation. These treatments were factored over three-nutrient management alternatives, i.e., GreenSeeker®-guided-N, site-specific nutrient management (SSNM), and recommended fertilizers' dose (Ad-hoc), were compared with farmers' fertilizers practices (FFP). Permanent bed and zero tillage treatments registered higher systems' productivity (18.2 and 12.0%), net returns (44.7 and 34.7%) and water productivity (35.6% and 22.1%), and C-sequestration (54.8 and 62.3%), respectively, over conventional till. Permanent bed- and zero tillage treatments increased the systems' net energy (NE), energy use efficiency (EUE), energy productivity (EP), and energy intensity (EI) by 22.6 and 14.0; 10.1 and 5.6; 9.7 and 5.4; 28.3 and 24.0%, respectively, over conventional till. Conventional till recorded higher net CO₂-eq emission (26.5 and 27.2%), C-footprint (20.8 and 14.5%), and water footprint (27.3 and 18.0%) than permanent bed- and zero tillage treatments. SSNM increased the system's productivity, water productivity, and energy use efficiency, while reducing the system's water- and C-footprints and net CO₂-eq emission. Thus, adopting permanent beds as a crop establishment method with SSNM could be a feasible alternative to attain higher productivity, profitability, and resource use efficiency in the maize-wheat-mungbean system in northwest India.

The knowledge and principles generated by CPWF-PN15 confirm that QSMAS can be a model production system for implementing conservation agriculture to achieve food security and sustainable development in drought-prone areas of hillsides in the sub-humid tropics, while providing ecosystem services in the face of land degradation and climate change. As an adoptable option to replace the slash and burn traditional system, QSMAS can improve smallholder livelihoods through eco-efficient use and conservation of natural resources. Participatory validation activities suggest that the conservation agriculture principles embedded in QSMAS can be readily accepted by resource- poor farmers and local authorities in similar agroecosystems | A. Castro et al., 'Quesungual slash and mulch agroforestry system (QSMAS): Improving crop water productivity, food security and resource quality in the sub-humid tropics', CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, 2011

The knowledge and principles generated by CPWF-PN15 confirm that QSMAS can be a model production system for implementing conservation agriculture to achieve food security and sustainable development in drought-prone areas of hillsides in the sub-humid tropics, while providing ecosystem services in the face of land degradation and climate change. As an adoptable option to replace the slash and burn traditional system, QSMAS can improve smallholder livelihoods through eco-efficient use and conservation of natural resources. Participatory validation activities suggest that the conservation agriculture principles embedded in QSMAS can be readily accepted by resource- poor farmers and local authorities in similar agroecosystems.

The conventionally managed cereal-based cropping systems in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of South Asia are energy intensive that overwhelm the farm profits and the environmental footprint. This research addresses a complex nexus between yield-energy-water-GHG footprints-economics of conservation agriculture (CA)-based intensified maize-wheat-mungbean rotation. This study evaluated the effect of long-term CA (2012–2020) with optimum nutrient management (2017–20) on energy budgeting, productivity, water and C-footprints, Water productivity (WP), and economics of the CA-based maize-wheat-mungbean system. CA-based permanent bed- and zero tillage flatbed with preceding crop residue retention were compared with the conventional till with preceding crop residue incorporation. These treatments were factored over three-nutrient management alternatives, i.e., GreenSeeker®-guided-N, site-specific nutrient management (SSNM), and recommended fertilizers' dose (Ad-hoc), were compared with farmers' fertilizers practices (FFP). Permanent bed and zero tillage treatments registered higher systems' productivity (18.2 and 12.0%), net returns (44.7 and 34.7%) and water productivity (35.6% and 22.1%), and C-sequestration (54.8 and 62.3%), respectively, over conventional till. Permanent bed- and zero tillage treatments increased the systems' net energy (NE), energy use efficiency (EUE), energy productivity (EP), and energy intensity (EI) by 22.6 and 14.0; 10.1 and 5.6; 9.7 and 5.4; 28.3 and 24.0%, respectively, over conventional till. Conventional till recorded higher net CO2-eq emission (26.5 and 27.2%), C-footprint (20.8 and 14.5%), and water footprint (27.3 and 18.0%) than permanent bed- and zero tillage treatments. SSNM increased the system's productivity, water productivity, and energy use efficiency, while reducing the system's water- and C-footprints and net CO2-eq emission. Thus, adopting permanent beds as a crop establishment method with SSNM could be a feasible alternative to attain higher productivity, profitability, and resource use efficiency in the maize-wheat-mungbean system in northwest India.

Rice cultivation in the South Asian region of Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) is running out of water, labour, low productivity and profitability. In addition, this system of crop production often ignores CO2-equivalent greenhouse-gas emissions, which are often rather significant. Although a dominant food-producing region in Asia is becoming poor in crop production, crop management approaches based on conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification (CASI) increase the crop yields and improve profitability while lowering the water, energy and labour requirements, as well as greenhouse-gas emissions. The use of CASI approaches in EGP region villages and districts enhances crop diversification and intensifies their production. It also facilitates employment opportunities and micro entrepreneurship in rural areas. In on-farm experiments traditional and improved approaches in rice-based cropping systems were compared. We discovered that CASI management approaches increased the crop yields by 10%, reduced labour demand by 50% and increased water and energy productivity by 19% and 26% respectively. Overall, these findings showed that using CASI lowered crop production costs by up to 22% and raised gross margins by 12–32% compared with traditional methods. CASI management also resulted in CO2-equivalent emissions that were between 10% and 17% lower than those with traditional management. Initially, this principal research was collaborated on with farmer support groups for further extension. To encourage CASI adoption and out-scaling on a scale outside of research domains, an actively supporting policy environment was required.