Too much, too soon? Early-maturing maize varieties as drought escape strategy in Malawi

Article

Grewer, Uwe, Kim, Dong-Hyuk and Waha, Katharina. 2024. "Too much, too soon? Early-maturing maize varieties as drought escape strategy in Malawi." Food Policy. 129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102766
Article Title

Too much, too soon? Early-maturing maize varieties as drought escape strategy in Malawi

ERA Journal ID13528
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsGrewer, Uwe, Kim, Dong-Hyuk and Waha, Katharina
Journal TitleFood Policy
Journal Citation129
Article Number102766
Number of Pages13
Year2024
ISSN0306-9192
1873-5657
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102766
Web Address (URL)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919224001775
AbstractAdopting early-maturing maize varieties can substantially increase yield and yield stability in suitable environments. Actionable recommendations that specify where early-maturing varieties can be suitably applied are lacking across low-income countries. We found for maize in Malawi that varieties with longer maturity duration provide on average the highest yield. However, if water stress occurs, we found that its timing determines which seed variety performs best. If water stress conditions are confined to the late season, early-maturing varieties escape drought and perform better than medium- and late-maturing varieties. Instead, if water stress conditions start already from mid-season, early-maturing varieties perform worst. Our results demonstrate that the typical seasonal timing of water stress can serve as a suitable criterion for recommending where to adopt early-maturing varieties. Finally, we propose an integrated research framework that complements our econometric analysis and allows to derive actionable variety suitability recommendations at the country level.
KeywordsSeed policy; Drought; Smallholder agriculture; Technology adoption; Variety recommendations; Household survey data
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020300207. Agricultural systems analysis and modelling
Byline AffiliationsCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia
University of Queensland
University of Augsburg, Germany
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/zqz44/too-much-too-soon-early-maturing-maize-varieties-as-drought-escape-strategy-in-malawi

Log in to edit

Download files

Published Version
1-s2.0-S0306919224001775-main.pdf
License: CC BY 4.0
File access level: Anyone

  • 44
    total views
  • 35
    total downloads
  • 2
    views this month
  • 3
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Guiding cultivar choice in smallholder agriculture: Identifying suitability hotspots for maturity groups of field crops
Grewer, Uwe, De Voil, Peter, MacCarthy, Dilys S. and Rodriguez, Daniel. 2025. "Guiding cultivar choice in smallholder agriculture: Identifying suitability hotspots for maturity groups of field crops." Resources, Environment and Sustainability. 20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resenv.2025.100204
Evaluating the impact of weather forecasts on productivity and environmental footprint of irrigated maize production systems
Collins, Brian, Lai, Yunru, Grewer, Uwe G, Attard, Steve, Sexton, Justin and Pembleton, Keith G.. 2024. "Evaluating the impact of weather forecasts on productivity and environmental footprint of irrigated maize production systems." Science of the Total Environment. 954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176368
Agricultural diversity, farmers’ definitions and uses: The case of Tasmanian farms
Tacconi, Francesco, Lefroy, Darcy, Waha, Katharina, Jonathan, Jonathan Jesus, Leith, Peat and Mohammed, Caroline. 2024. "Agricultural diversity, farmers’ definitions and uses: The case of Tasmanian farms." Journal of Rural Studies. 108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103266
Assessing the economic and mitigation benefits of climate-smart agriculture and its implications for political economy: a case study in Southern Africa
Branca, Giacomo, Arslan, Aslihan, Paolantonio, Adriana, Grewer, Uwe, Cattaneo, Andrea, Cavatassi, Romina, Lipper, Leslie, Hillier, Jonathan and Vetter, Sylvia. 2021. "Assessing the economic and mitigation benefits of climate-smart agriculture and its implications for political economy: a case study in Southern Africa." Journal of Cleaner Production. 285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125161
Study on the State of Agriculture in the Caribbean
Swinnen, Johan, Sabrie, Roble, Francescutti, Dino, Francken, Nathalie, Opazo, Cristian Morales, Ignaciuk, Adriana, Kuijpers, Rob, Mielitz, Carlos, Grewer, Uwe, Bubbico, Antonio and Veljanoska, Stefanija. 2020. Study on the State of Agriculture in the Caribbean. Italy. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). https://doi.org/10.4060/ca7190en
The sustainable intensification of farming systems. A review of cross-disciplinary research methods
Grewer, Uwe and Rodriguez, Daniel. 2019. "The sustainable intensification of farming systems. A review of cross-disciplinary research methods." CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources. 14 (60), pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1079/PAVSNNR201914060
Analyzing the greenhouse gas impact potential of smallholder development actions across a global food security program
Grewer, Uwe, Nash, Julie, Gurwick, Noel, Bockel, Louis, Galford, Gillian, Richards, Meryl, Junior, Ciniro Costa, White, Julianna, Galford, Gillian and Wollenberg, Eva. 2018. "Analyzing the greenhouse gas impact potential of smallholder development actions across a global food security program." Environmental Research Letters. 13 (4). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aab0b0
Assessing the up-scaling of sustainable land management and the associated GHG benefits under the Kagera TAMP Project
Rioux, Janie and Grewer, Uwe. 2017. "Assessing the up-scaling of sustainable land management and the associated GHG benefits under the Kagera TAMP Project." Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in practice in the Kagera Basin. Lessons learned for scaling up at landscape level - Results of the Kagera Transboundary Agro-ecosystem Management Project (Kagera TAMP). Italy. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). pp. 307-317
The theory of change for Climate Smart Agriculture: A guide to evidence-based national implementation
Arslan, A., Cavatassi, R., Grewer, U., Ignaciuk, A., Kanamaru, H., Kokwe, M., Rioux, J. and Sessa, R.. 2017. "The theory of change for Climate Smart Agriculture: A guide to evidence-based national implementation." Climate Smart Agriculture Sourcebook. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
A methodology for greenhouse gas emission and carbon sequestration assessments in agriculture: Supplemental materials for info series analyzing low emissions agricultural practices in USAID development projects
Grewer, Uwe, Bockel, Louis, Galford, Gillian, Gurwick, Noel, Nash, Julie, Pirolli, Gillian and Wollenberg, Eva. 2016. A methodology for greenhouse gas emission and carbon sequestration assessments in agriculture: Supplemental materials for info series analyzing low emissions agricultural practices in USAID development projects . Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Linking food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation: The case of sustainable land management in Malawi
Branca, Giacomo, Paolantonio, Adriana, Grewer, Uwe, Cavatassi, Romina, Longwe, Abiba, Cattaneo, Andrea, Vetter, Sylvia and Lipper, Leslie. 2016. "Linking food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation: The case of sustainable land management in Malawi." 52nd Annual Conference of the Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA). Rome, Italy 17 - 19 Sep 2015 Italy. Firenze University Press. https://doi.org/10.13128/REA-18669
Measuring Sustainability in Cotton Farming Systems: Towards a Guidance Framework
Williams, Allan, Mancini, Francesca, Ah Chuen, Michel Fok, Guedes, Denilson Galbero, Hake, Kater, Norman, Bill, O'Leary, Patricia, Soth, Jens, Plastina, Alejandro, Lynch, Matthew, Potts, Jason, Grewer, Uwe, van der Wulp, Harry, Demeranville, Jacqueline, Mahieu, Marie and Poisot, Anne-Sophie. 2015. Measuring Sustainability in Cotton Farming Systems: Towards a Guidance Framework. Italy. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The Mitigation Advantage: Maximizing the co-benefits of investing in smallholder adaptation initiatives
Chakrabarti, Soma, Bockel, Louis and Grewer, Uwe. 2015. The Mitigation Advantage: Maximizing the co-benefits of investing in smallholder adaptation initiatives . Italy. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Financing Climate-Smart Agriculture
Lipper, Leslie, Conrad, Bjorn, Braimoh, Ademola, Treguer, David, Van der Linden, Marco, Bockel, Luis, Grewer, Uwe and Sadeghian, Savis Joze. 2013. "Financing Climate-Smart Agriculture." Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook. Italy. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). pp. 375-412
Agriculture and Land Use Sector
Bockel, Louis, Sutter, Pierre Luc, Touchemoulin, Ophélie, Grewer, Uwe, Bisong, Francis, Braimoh, Ademola and Danyo, Stephen. 2013. "Agriculture and Land Use Sector." Cervigni, Raffaello, Roge, John Allen and Dvorak, Irina (ed.) Assessing low-carbon development in Nigeria : an analysis of four sectors (English). United States. World Bank. pp. 1-99