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Thu, 13 Oct 2016 11:19:26 +0000
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This is Dick Tinsley again,

Sitting in Colorado at the western end of the e-conference means I don't get to see most posting before John our faithful moderator is trying to call it quits for the day and head home. This allows me to review all the day's posting before making leisurely replies. Thus please allow me a few comments

1. Thanks to Arbab Ghulam Qadir (Message 20) for his endorsement of my 4000 kcal/daily calorie requirement for undertaking a full day of agronomic field work (Message 14). 
2. This does bring into question what I see as a lack of quantifying information on what diets and nutrition are like for most smallholders. I see a lot of conceptual reports on the fact of under-nutrition and malnutrition but few on what the actual diets are. The information I mention on my webpages and some article actually comes from one source which only listed about 5 countries or districts. I think the source is FAO. Does anyone have any more detailed references? The FAO reference I used was discouraging as it was in the order of only 2000 kcal/day, or half the estimated 4000 kcal. In the same line, has anyone done any surveys on subsistence stock of grain or tubers farmers are holding for their own consumption. This would provide at least an estimate of dietary energy.
3. I also noted a lot of interest in training programs. I know how much we like training programs. They are great for easy monitoring & evaluation proof of accomplishment.  However, this might need some careful review. I think training is only good if:
a. The beneficiaries lack the knowledge of what is being trained, and
b. Have the means to utilize the information once they have received it. 
In the case of nutrition I will question if either of these 2 conditions occur. I would contend that most beneficiaries have a modest to reasonable knowledge of what is being offered, but more likely don't have the means to take advantage of this. Thus, before jumping into a massive training program, take some time to survey the inherent knowledge of your trainees and what would hinder their taking full advantage of the information. With regards to nutrition I would venture they don't have the monetary means to purchase or labor to divert to produce it.
4. In addition I noted the interest in diversification of crops. Be careful and make certain they have the operational means to do so. Please note most smallholders are most likely maxed-out or even overextended with the limited labor and other operational resources placing a major drag on the physical potential as usually promoted by my agronomic colleagues. Thus, in order to diversify the crop selection into more nutritious crops, something must give, either in area being cultivated to other crops, or quality of crop management. Please note that farmers are not really interested in maximum yield or maximum return to land, they are more interested in maximum returns to their labor, which represent a disconnect between farmers and research/extension personnel. Also, their ultimate interest in to "maximize the total returns to all farm enterprises" often compromising the management of one enterprise or crop to enhance the management on another enterprise. 
5. This also gets back to my major concern that I will restate: "until you have the 4000 kcal needed for a full day of agronomic field work, which is the higher priority, producing the calories needed to extend the work day that will minimize your food insecurity, or diversifying you cropping system for more nutritious balanced diet". I have been promoting the need to address this issue for a couple years now, but no one has responded. Can someone in this conference address it? My thoughts are that until you can put in a full day of work, calories trump balanced diet. But then I am just a humble agronomist.
6. It also gets back to my concern for operational limits and while I don't mean to harp on it will again call your attention to the article Operational Feasibility as I think it is a game changer in that is can shift focus from extension/education to facilitating access to the resources needed to improve implementation. The link: http://webdoc.agsci.colostate.edu/smallholderagriculture/OperationalFeasibility.pdf 
7. Finally, at least for this evening, the mention of animals. I realize and appreciate animals as part of smallholder systems, but from the time & effort perspective they can be time consuming and an major interference to agronomic production. In Ethiopia with the massive animal numbers, farmers can spend up to 4 hrs per day on animal husbandry. This then limits the time they can spend with their crops. Please look at webpage on Ethiopia diet which contains some estimate of dietary energy and work day divided between animal and crop activities. The link: http://smallholderagriculture.agsci.colostate.edu/ethiopia-diet-analysis/ 

Thank you for indulging this unrepentant heretic. 

Richard L. Tinsley
Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523
USA
Phone: +1-970-225-6249
Fax: +1-970-491-0564
Email: Richard.Tinsley (at) colostate.edu

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