Scientific Data (Sep 2024)

Effects of changing farming practices in African agriculture

  • Todd S. Rosenstock,
  • Peter Steward,
  • Namita Joshi,
  • Christine Lamanna,
  • Nictor Namoi,
  • Lolita Muller,
  • Akinwale O. Akinleye,
  • Erica Atieno,
  • Patrick Bell,
  • Clara Champalle,
  • William English,
  • Anna-Sarah Eyrich,
  • Angela Gitau,
  • Dorcas Kagwiria,
  • Hannah Kamau,
  • Anna Madalinska,
  • Lucas Manda,
  • Scott McFatridge,
  • Elijah Mumo,
  • Alex Nduah,
  • Babra Ombewa,
  • Anatoli Poultouchidou,
  • Janie Rioux,
  • Meryl Richards,
  • Julia Shuck,
  • Helena Ström,
  • Katherine Tully

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03805-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

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Abstract Information on the effects of changing agricultural management on crop and livestock performance is critical for developing evidence-based policies, investments, and programs. Evidence for Resilient Agriculture (ERA) v1.0.1 presents a dataset that harmonizes and aggregates 112,859 observations from 2,011 agricultural studies taken place in Africa between 1934 and 2018. The dataset includes information on the effect of 364 combinations of management practices and technologies on 87 environmental, social, and economic indicators of outcomes. Observations are geolocated and temporally tagged and thus can be linked to other datasets such as historical weather, soil properties, and road networks. ERA offers a new resource for understanding the impacts of changing farming practices under diverse environmental contexts, providing data to support strategic interventions aimed to enhance productivity, resilience, and sustainability of African agriculture.