Supplementary Data for FOSE96 - Getting the focus right: production constraints for six major food crops in Asian and African farming systems

Example Questionnaires

These examples are for Rounds 1 and 2 of the survey for chickpea in the rice-wheat system of South Asia. A similar style and content was used for the other crops and systems.

Round 1 Invitation for Chickpea

Dear Colleague

We would like to invite you to participate as a panelist in a study of smallholder farm constraints and research priorities with CHICKPEA in farming systems featuring extensive poverty. The study is being coordinated by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) for the Generation Challenge Program (GCP) (see of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) over the period April 2008 to February 2009. Results will help guide priority setting and resource allocation in the CGIAR international agricultural research institutes and with colleagues in national research systems.

The overall study involves six crops (including wheat, rice, sorghum, cassava and cowpea, as well as chickpea). Implementation of the study is in conjunction with other CGIAR centers that have interest with these crops; principally ICRISAT, IITA, CIAT, IRRI, WARDA, and ICARDA.

There remain large gaps between the yields which smallholder farmers could achieve and those they do get on their farms. Constraints to increasing crop production and thereby reducing poverty include abiotic (e.g., soil and climatic), biotic (e.g., weeds, pests and diseases), crop management (e.g., low plant population, late planting) or socio-economic (e.g., lack of market access). The relative importance of these constraints varies across different farming systems and crops. Genetic or management related approaches to high priority constraints can be identified to help set research priorities. On completion, we will share with you a report of the results which may be of use in your own programs. Your input and contribution to the study will be acknowledged.

The frame for the study is an FAO-World Bank classification of farming systems across six regions of the world (see The GCP has identified a sub-set of 15 key farming systems characterized by extensive poverty in which key GCP crops are widely grown. Chickpea is important in six of those farming systems; one in Sub-Saharan Africa and five in South Asia. Short descriptions of the cowpea systems are in the attached file (Farming Systems and Yield Gap for Chickpea.doc).

This study will use a rapid procedure to synthesize knowledge and experience of expert panels, one for each crop in each farming system. The interaction with expert panelists moves through several rounds with refinement of the questions from round to round, leading to a consensus on priorities. The identity of individual respondents through this procedure will not be disclosed.

We are about to start the study on chickpea and your name has been suggested to help contribute cowpea information for international agricultural priority setting. If you are willing we would be grateful if you would take around 60 to 90 minutes of your time to fill in the attached questionnaire (First Questionnaire Chickpea.doc).

Please send back the completed form by Email to with copy to It would be extremely helpful to have your reply by 4 July.

We look forward to your response and further interaction for the next round. Many thanks in advance for your time and advice.

Yours sincerely

John Dixon, Director, Impacts Targeting and Assessment Unit

Stephen Waddington and Xiaoyun Li, Consultants

CIMMYT

12 June 2008

FIRST ROUND QUESTIONNAIRE:FOR CHICKPEA

Personal Information

Your name: ……………………………………………………

Your discipline: ………………………………………………

Years of work experience: ………………………………….

Highest degree: ………………………………………………

Work institution:…………………………………………….

Position: ………………………………………………………

Telephone number: ……………………………

Preferred Email address: …………………….

Instructions: Please read carefully the background information in the separate file called Farming Systems and Yield Gap for Chickpea.doc before completing the questionnaire below.

How much do you know about each farming system described?

We are interested to receive filled questionnaires from persons/panelists with a range of backgrounds and knowledge. Panelists may include persons from government, university and private sector agricultural research (plant breeders, agronomists, plant protection, agric economics, etc), agricultural extension and training, NGOs, farmer organizations, agric input/seed companies, etc.

Knowledge will vary. Some persons may know about many crops in only part of one farming system, others a lot about all aspects of one crop in several systems, others may have more knowledge about only certain aspects of the crop.Some may have a very broad and very deep knowledge. For this study we are seeking and welcome contributions from persons with any of the above types of knowledge or experience.

Please mark your assessment of your knowledge with an X in the following table.

Farming Systems for Chickpea / Level of knowledge
A lot / Some / None
SS Africa-Highland Temperate Mixed / e.g. X
South Asia-Highland Mixed
South Asia- Rice
South Asia-Rice-Wheat
South Asia- Rainfed Mixed
South Asia- Dry Rainfed

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Instructions: For each farming system in which you have a lot or some knowledge, we invite you to complete the following steps. Please copy the questionnaire for each additional farming system you wish to answer about.

Please return each completed questionnaire to with copy to

______

Name of Farming System: = …………………………..

Step 1: Calculate the Smallholder Farm Yield Gap

Smallholder farms are usually the most common types of farm in a farming system, growing several typical crops, usually for mixed home consumption and marketing. Most such farmers will be relatively resource poor (small land area, little cash, few implements, may use own labor). Large-scale owner- or agribusiness commercial farms are not included in this study.

For this survey, theSmallholder farm grain yield gap = Best achieved grain yield on smallholder farms minus the Average achieved grain yields on smallholder farms.

Best achieved grain yield on smallholder farms = Best genotype of crop grown under biophysically optimal and high inputs (fertilizers, water, pesticides), and the best management practicable (careful spacings, weed control, plant protection measures, harvest, etc) but limited by soil conditions on farm (which may be poorer than research station), climatic risk. Financial/socio-economic limitations are not addressed (meaning likely to be grown above economic optimum).

[Obtain from best measured farm yields that farmers or extension can recall; highest yields achieved in on-farm experiments or demonstrations using best inputs and management]

Average achieved grain yields on smallholder farms =Average measured or reported grain yields of crop from smallholder fields in the farming system. This is an integrative measure of the result of various sets of socio-economic, abiotic, biotic, and management constraints on actual crop production. Average yield refers to the average across all years and locations.

[Get from averaged crop cuts from multi-farm surveys, farmer recall, extension surveys, national statistics records, expert knowledge]

For more background on these yield estimates, including examples, see the end of the Farming Systems and Yield Gap file.

Instructions:Now make your assessment of theBest achieved grain yield and Average grain yields currently achieved with the crop on smallholder farms in the farming system and mark them below. Then calculate the yield gap.

NOTE: Chickpea is often grown as a sole crop, but sometimes it is grown as an intercrop, or relay crop. If you are giving the grain yields of chickpea from intercrops, express the chickpea grain yield on a total land area basis (per ha) as if it came from a sparsely planted sole crop.

Step 1

Best achieved grain yield on smallholder farms (kg/ha) = ……

Average achieved grain yields on smallholder farms (kg/ha) = ……….

Smallholder farm grain yield gap (kg/ha) = ……….

Step 2: Estimate Yield Losses by Type of Constraint

Commonly crop production constraints can be allocated to four categories (socio-economic, abiotic, biotic and management-related) to account for most sources of loss.

Instruction:In the following table, apportion your estimate of the Smallholder farm yield gapacross these four categories of constraint in the farming system. For each constraint category please put the approx yield losses in kg/ha (and % losses) due to that type of constraint. Mark in the table cells.

Note: The sum of the yield losses over the four categories should not exceed the size of the yield gap you identified in Step 1.

Step 2 / Socio-economic / Abiotic / Biotic / Management / Total
Grain yield lossin kg/ha / e.g. 300 kg/ha / kg/ha
Grain yield loss as % / e.g. 25% / (ca 100%)

Instruction:Please check again the location of the farming system on the map and its description, before going to the next step.

Step 3: Verify and AddImportant Constraints

With guidance from several experts and from previous studies on constraints in these systems, we have come up with lists of tentative constraints that are likely to commonly and significantly affect production and income in the farming systems. These are broken into the four categories mentioned earlier (socio-economic, abiotic, biotic and management-related). Such constraints may be widely found for the crop in the system and may lead to significant yield or income losses. The constraints have been listed in the table below in the column labeled Step 3.

Instruction:For the farming system you are assessing, we would now like you to review the lists of tentative constraintsin the table.

Please add/describe any other constraints that you feel are important for the crop in the farming system, but that we have missed. Add them to the rows marked OTHER = at the bottom of each section.

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Step 3 / Step 4 / Step 5 / Step 6 / Step 7 / Step 8
Constraints / Identify 4-6 serious constraints on small farms in each constraint category / Is the constraint getting worse or lessening?
(+ = worse, - = lessening) / Reduction of grain yield caused by the constraint
(in kg/ha)
Average Range / Proportion of crop land affected by constraint each year
(as a %) / Frequency of years when constraint present
(as a %)
Yes/No / e.g. + / e.g. 250 / e.g. 50-400 / e.g. 35% / e.g. 5%
Socio-economic
  1. Inadequate farmer production and utilization knowledge or training

  1. Insufficient access to agricultural information (from extension, research, traders, radio, etc) and market intelligence (when and to whom to sell)

  1. Supply chain discontinuities – preventing smooth flow from producer to consumer with adequate rewards for all in the chain

  1. Lack of farmer awareness of commercial (vs. subsistence) opportunities

  1. Farmers perceive a significant risk with producing the crop

  1. Difficult access to finance (household cash, credit)

  1. High cost /nonavailability of quality seedfrom suppliers for planting (high germination, disease free, weed free, with desired plant growth habit)

  1. Fertilizer expensive/in short supply

  1. Hired labor shortage

  1. Farm family labor shortage

  1. High cost of pest or disease control (pesticides, sprayers, etc)

  1. Difficult access to formal market for grain sale (market distant, small, uncertain)

  1. Variable and low price of grain or other products in local markets

  1. Transport shortages (for inputs, grain marketing)

  1. Lack of policy support for crop (i.e. unfavorable policies relative to alternative crops)

  1. Imports depress local prices and thus discourage commercial production by farmers

  1. Lack of appropriate presentation and packaging of grain for sale (which would enhance price)

  1. Lack of commercial processing (dhal making) facilities

OTHER =
OTHER =
Abiotic
  1. Drought (water deficit) or soil surface drying, during crop establishment

  1. Progressive droughtwith developing crop and through grain filling

  1. Excessive soil moisture(waterlogging) at any stage of crop growth

  1. Excessively high temperature (heat) stress, especially around pod fill

  1. Cold stress/frost damage

  1. Soil physical degradation (soil erosion, crusting, compaction)

  1. Soil fertility depletion (declines in SOM; soil biota) (Other than NPK) (Note N fixation deficiency in biotic below)

  1. P deficiency

  1. S deficiency

  1. Ca, K deficiency

  1. Deficiency of minor nutrients (including those involved with N fixation) (e.g. Mo, B)

  1. Soil acidity; Al and Mn toxicity

  1. Salinity/alkalinity

OTHER =
OTHER =
Biotic
  1. Ineffective nodulation/ Rhizobium/ N fixation on farm causing N deficiency symptoms

  1. Weed competition (from common weeds; possibly also parasitic Orobanche)

  1. Animal browse damage

  1. Helicoverpapod borers

  1. Leaf, stem, flower, seed insect pests (e.g. aphids, leaf miner, armyworm, seed beetles)

  1. Planted seed and seedling diseases (e.g. damping off, collar rot)

  1. Botrytis grey mould

  1. Ascochyta blight

  1. Other leaf, stem, pod diseases (e.g. stem rot, leaf spot)

  1. Plant viral diseases

  1. Root/soil pests (e.g. cutworms, wireworm, nematodes)

  1. Root/soil diseases (e.g. Fusarium wilt, dry and wet root rots)

  1. Seed storage pests (e.g. weevils/bruchids)

  1. Seed storage diseases

OTHER =
OTHER =
Management-related
  1. Continuous cropping (no rotation) of chickpea leading to pest and disease buildup

  1. Plant too little chickpea to be of help to soil fertility or crop system sustainability

  1. Competition in field from other crops

  1. Presence of irrigation, favoring irrigated crops as competitors and raising humidity to cause chickpea diseases

  1. Use of unimproved or unsuitable varieties (e.g. with inappropriate plant habit, poor fit to crop season or crop system, pestand disease susceptible, etc)

  1. On farm shortages of saved seed to plant (e.g. after droughts)

  1. Use of poor quality saved seed for planting

  1. Lack of appropriate machinery for land preparation and planting

  1. Short or risky planting period/window (poor choice of planting time, late planting)

  1. Seed germination and crop establishment difficulties (on poor seedbed, on drying soils, with reduced till)

  1. Unsuitable seeding rates/plant populations (too low or too high, bad spacing)

  1. Inadequate fertilizer use and management (types-including mineral/organic, amounts, timings, placement)

  1. Poor choice of weeding practice (ineffective tool or herbicide, wrong timing)

  1. Unsustainable residue management (removal of haulm residues for forage/fodder)

  1. Grain harvesting difficulties (slow, high losses, etc)

  1. Poor or unavailable crop processing technology for grain

  1. Lack of knowledge/facilities for proper seed/grain storage (to be able to sell at times of higher price)

OTHER =
OTHER =
Total / Total yield loss
= ???

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Step 4: Identify the Most Important Constraints

Please continue working in the table above, in the column headed Step 4.

Instruction:Next, within each of the four constraint categories, please identify the 4-6 most important constraints (including the new ones you may have added) in each of the 4 categories, according to your estimate of their importance or seriousness for the crop in the farming system.

You will end up selecting a total of between 16 and 24 constraints.

Step 5: Assess Trends with the Constraints

Instruction:In the next column (Step 5) in the table, please mark whether you feel the constraintis getting worse or lessening?

If you feel the constraint has been/will be increasing in importance/seriousness over the last 5 years to next 5 years, mark with +

If the constraint is decreasing in importance over that period, then mark with –

If the constraint is about the same, mark with =

Step 6: Estimate Grain Yield Losses

Many possible constraints can lead to crop yield losses. Clearly some constraints are highly variable over fields and years (drought effects, diseases, degree of late planting), while others tend to be found on many similar fields each year (possibly soil infertility, or N deficiency); others on just a few fields, patches of fields or plants (maybe a soil insect); others may affect the entire production of the crop (e.g. lack of market or policy support).

Instruction:In the next column (Step 6) of the main table, for each of the 16-24 important constraints that you identified, estimate the average crop yield losses (in kg/ha) associated with this constraint on smallholder farms in the farming systemwhen the constraint is present. This should be a typical situation rather than extreme. In the column to the right in Step 6, add the range of losses encountered with each of these important constraints.

Note: The sum of losses due to the important constraints you identify in the four categories should approach the yield gap you estimated in Step 1. It may be between 70 and 90% of the yield gap. Interactions among constraints may complicate the assessment and various other minor constraints may complete the yield gap. Please crosscheck as you go along, add the yield losses up for your important constraints and put a figure at the bottom of the yield loss column. The sum cannot exceed 100% of the yield gap.

Step 7: EstimateCropLand Area Affected

How widespread is the constraint?

Instruction: In the column labeled Step 7, please add your estimate of the proportion (%) of fields/crops affected by each important constraint in an average year.

Step 8: Estimate Frequency of the Constraint

How frequently do you find the constraint? Is it there every year, or found only some years?

Instruction: In the last column on the right of the table (Step 8), for each of your constraints estimate the proportion (%) of years with the constraint.

Step 9: Identify Secondary Effects of Constraints on Household Income

Finally, one last request this round.

Many constraints may reduce household income solely by reducing grain or leaf yield. Some others may have additional effects on household income. For example, these could be associated with poor grain quality (not yield) and thus market price losses.

Instruction:Do you feel that there is income loss additional to that associated with chickpeagrain yield losses for important constraints in this system? (please write responses in italics) ……………………..…………………………………