Stefan Sieber

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Verified

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• Professor
• Professor habil. agr., head of department at Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research

Investment in modern agricultural practices (MAPs) is crucial for improving crop productivity and household food availability in developing countries like Tanzania, where agriculture forms the backbone of the economy. This study assesses the impact of improved maize seeds on productivity across Tanzania’s agroecological zones using data from the Ta...

Digital technologies have affected all aspects of human life and have become an integral e lement of sustainable development, and rural and agricultural areas are no exception to this rule. Despite the high potential of online social networks (OSNs) in connecting rural communities and solving the challenge of accessing farmers due to the geographic...

Forest-Savannah transition zones are increasingly vulnerable due to their position between the savannah and forest ecosystems, and their ecological and biophysical characteristics. This study evaluates the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and land cover (LULC), degradation, and wildfire links. Random Forest (RF) classifier was used in Google Ear...

Global climate change is projected to disproportionately impact cereal crop yields in developing regions, such as Kenya, due to increased vulnerability and limited adaptation capacity of the population. This study examines the current and projected influence of climate change on maize yields in two major maize-producing counties of Kenya. Utilizing...

Agroforestry is a sustainable land-use strategy that requires better integration of diverse knowledge systems. This paper examines how formal knowledge systems for cacao agroforestry systems in Colombia are structured, and how farmers understand and manage these systems. We interviewed 42 actors involved in knowledge production and dissemination an...

Digital village construction (DVC) is a crucial pathway for increasing farmland productivity, reducing agricultural waste, and ultimately achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, its effects on the sustainable intensification of cultivated land use (SICLU) remain unclear. To bridge this gap, this study investigated the impact effect...

Climate change is expected to significantly affect agricultural production in East Africa (EA). In this study, we synthesized the DSSAT-CERES-Maize model calibrated and evaluated experiments to analyze the sensitivity of climatic variables on maize yield in the region. We used calibrated cultivar coefficients of locally adopted varieties in twelve...

Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) has gained significant attention as a global initiative to address forest and land degradation. While most studies emphasize the diverse benefits of FLR, very few have investigated the extensive nature of its adoption. This study investigates the drivers that determine the adoption and intensity of FLR practices a...

Investment in modern agricultural practices (MAP) is crucial for improving crop productivity and household food security in developing countries like Tanzania, where agriculture forms the backbone of the economy. This study assesses the impact of improved maize seeds on productivity across Tanzania's agroecological zones using data from the Tanzani...

Forest landscape restoration (FLR) is a promising tool for restoring ecological functionality and improving human well-being in degraded landscapes. The success of FLR efforts depends on the interests, perceptions, and actions of local communities, extension services, Non-Governmental Organizations, and policymakers. While much research focuses on...

This study explores climate-smart agriculture (CSA) adoption and the application of agroecology (AE) principles among Tanzanian smallholders, using a survey of 315 households (HHs). Findings reveal that most CSA adopters integrate several AE principles, though application varies by CSA practices. Socioeconomic factors, like HH head, HH size, land o...

Diversification is a strategy adopted by farming households to meet several challenges. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence to support these positions. We contribute to filling this research gap by providing quantitative evidence of the impact of diversification on the additional income of cocoa-producing households. This study aims to a...

This work aims to know the conservation status and efforts in Latin American grasslands through the analysis of the relationship between the spatial distribution of socio-ecological components in complex networks. Using a Remote Sensing approach the study seeks to understand the role and contribution of private reserves for lowland grasslands an Sa...

Transformation towards sustainability in critical areas of biodiversity conservation and food production: A governance perspective from South America

This research investigates the role of Indigenous and local burning practices in shaping fire regimes across Paraguay’s grasslands and savannahs. With a focus on the Gran Chaco and Pantanal ecoregions, the study employs a multi-phase, mixed-methods approach that integrates qualitative, quantitative, and spatial analyses. The first phase consists of...

In rural Cambodia, inland freshwater and rice field fisheries are key sources of income, animal protein, and important ecosystem services. As the flood pulse in the Tonlé Sap floodplain recedes post-monsoon, leaving rice fields and local water bodies dry, Community Fish Refuges (CFRs) offer a promising path to sustain dry season fish stocks, aquati...

Introduction Climate change threatens agricultural production, particularly in developing countries, where agriculture supports over 2.5 billion people. Women, who comprise 43% of the agricultural labor force, are particularly vulnerable due to gender inequalities, especially in African societies. While Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) offers potent...

Gender programing is now a major pillar in combating gender inequality and promoting female empowerment. However, interfering with local gender systems and altering gender norms may be ineffective, perhaps triggering severe consequences for women if it neglects female realities and needs. Nascent research on agricultural fem-ininities is still unde...

Research on climate and conflict often emphasizes violence and its drivers, overlooking the prevalence of collaboration in shaping social relations. Addressing this gap, this study undertakes a comparative institutional analysis of community-level responses to climate threats in violence-prone settings. The research explores conditions that incenti...

Cropland expansion, driven by increasing population pressure and economic demands, is a major contributor to accelerating deforestation. While most studies have focused on the spatial and temporal analysis of landscape changes using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing, there has been less emphasis on the socioeconomic analysis o...

Considering the projected impacts of climate change in upcoming decades, innovative educational approaches should encourage inventive problem-solving techniques and societal change, fostering transformative climate adaptation. The value of drama in climate adaptation education remains a novel area in the environmental education research literature...

One possible solution for regaining ecological functionality and enhancing human well-being in deforested and degraded landscapes is Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR). Togo has set a goal to restore 1.4 million hectares of lands by 2030. Despite the national commitment to FLR, no significant progress has been made and drivers that impact FLR adopt...

Despite efforts by governments, industry, civil society and other key stakeholders to ensure fairer farmer incomes , eradicate child labour, and address causes of cocoa-related deforestation, results on the ground in Côte d'Ivoire are limited. Given the less tangible social dimensions that evade quantitative methods and unfold over time in complex...

Agricultural production under contractual agreements is considered profitable, enabling the integration of smallholder farmers into agricultural commodity value chains. This calls for agricultural policies targeting rural development to emphasize the support for such initiatives. In Tanzania, small-scale farmers’ involvement in contract farming (CF...

Brazil is one of the world’s largest beer producers and also a major food producer. These activities generate a large amount of residues which, if disposed of inappropriately, can have adverse effects on the environment. The objective of this research was to evaluate the potential of using these residues for both mushroom cultivation (traditional u...

This article analyses the Buckets Revolution, an urban agroecological movement in a Brazilian favela that emerged to address waste management issues. We aim to explore the movement’s achievements in promoting socio-ecological justice in a vulnerable community of the Global South through agroecology, investigating: i) what socio-ecological problems...

The alteration of the natural environment by human activities has increased in recent decades, with a significant impact on the organisms that inhabit it. One of the most apparent consequences of environmental alterations is the occurrence of climatic changes. The city of Joinville is situated in the southern region of Brazil. It has achieved a not...

Enhancing farm productivity in Ethiopia through the adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) is crucial for bridging the gap between food demand and supply, while also ensuring the sustainability of agro-ecosystems. However, the synergistic effects of different types of technologies within ISFM remain inadequately understood. This st...

Urbanization and ecological efforts in China have significantly altered agricultural land use affecting both the quantity and quality of arable land. There has been a rise in the use of energy, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastic films to enhance production. However, these unsustainable farming practices have led to higher greenhouse gas emissions...

The intensification of resource extractivism around the world poses multiple challenges and fosters the development of new governance structures, especially among communities on the frontlines of resource extraction. Through a narrative inquiry based on narrative interviews with local actors and experts, this article centres on governance as a resi...

Sustainable Intensification Practices (SIPs) continue to be generally acknowledged as a key factor for increasing agricultural productivity while being environmentally benign. SIPs assure the safety, quality, and availability of food. However, despite the potential benefit of SIPs, their adoption among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA...

Ghana's economy relies heavily on agriculture, with subsistence farming being the primary source of income for rural households. Over 50% of the food grown worldwide is produced by women. Land ownership is paramount to be recognized as a cocoa farmer in Ghana, as most land is owned by men following traditional inheritance. This gives men access to,...

Although social learning (SL) conceptualization and implementation are flourishing in sustainability sciences, and its non-rigid conceptual fluidity is regarded as an advantage, research must advance the understanding of SL phenomenon patterns based on empirical data, thus contributing to the identification of its forms and triggering mechanisms, p...

Research on energy transition to clean cooking suggests that the use of participatory approaches to design and evaluate the project impacts results in sustained adoption, user satisfaction, and continuous knowledge exchange between scientists and local stakeholders. However, the results of participatory approaches are mixed, and studies on long-ter...

Macro-level landscape patterns are often a result of a strong influence on human decisions at the micro level. The abilities and objectives of decision-makers should be explicitly addressed to improve our understanding of land use transformation. This research explores the factors influencing smallholder farmers to transform their land use while im...

Mango remains an important tropical and sub-tropical crop, ranking as the sixth most cultivated and popularacross the globe. Despite thriving in many tropical and sub-tropical areas, regions previously dedicated to mango cultivation are undergoing a shift to different agricultural pursuits due to a lack of sustainable mangooutput. Due to the spatia...

The urgency to restore landscapes to counteract deforestation, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss has resulted in a global commitment to landscape restoration. Many frameworks and tools have emerged for the design and implementation of restoration activities. The frameworks tend to focus on selected dimensions of sustainability, with the major...

Key messages and recommendations • Current FLR frameworks emphasize ecological restoration, overlooking in particular the social dimension of restoration and broad participation throughout FLR processes. • Understanding restoration as a multi-dimensional transformation process is key to facilitate long-term success of restoration initiatives. • A...

Mitigating maladaptation and effectively managing climate risks are crucial components of strategic planning in agriculture amidst climate change. Evaluation serves as a pivotal element in this process, facilitating the identification of effective adaptation strategies tailored to local contexts. Consequently, it's imperative to thoroughly evaluate...

Agricultural production assessments are crucial for formulating strategies for closing yield gaps and enhancing production efficiencies. While in situ crop yield measurements can provide valuable and accurate information, such approaches are costly and lack scalability for large-scale assessments. Therefore, crop modeling and remote sensing (RS) te...

Prioritizing watershed management interventions relies on delineating homogeneous precipitation regions. In this study, we identify these regions in the Brazilian Legal Amazon based on the magnitude of Sen’s Slope trends using annual precipitation data from September to August, employing the Google Earth Engine platform. Utilizing the silhouette me...

Executive statement • Tenure and land governance models are decisive factors of FLR success. • Tenure arrangements and who benefits from FLR must be well-defined prior to implementation. Different approaches exist from individual land tenure to communal. • Significant gaps in communal land use policies still exist and need to be addressed. • There...

Climate variability impacts various global challenges, including food security, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and human well-being. However, climate patterns and trends and community perceptions at spatially-explicit levels have been minimally addressed. The spatial and temporal trends of climate conditions in Bagamoyo District in Tanzania wer...

El CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security realizó una evaluación participativa sobre los riesgos de seguridad relacionados con el clima que enfrentan 14 comunidades en cinco países diferentes. Esta investigación pretende desarrollar un entendimiento matizado de las experiencias cotidianas de estas comunidades, con respecto a conexiones entre clima, paz y seg...

Land use and land cover (LULC) change remains a major concern in many countries. To examine how land is used for increased actions on forest landscape restoration (FLR) issues, this study analyses LULC changes from 1991 to 2022 and predict future patterns for the years 2050 in Tchamba Prefecture, Togo, using remote sensing and the Cellular Automata...

This study investigated the impact of population growth and climate change on land management practices. The study was conducted in Mbinga district located in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches were employed. Research data were collected using structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews, physical...

Ivorian cocoa farming faces multiple economic, ecological and societal challenges, raising concerns about its sustainability and resilience to shocks and constraints. In 2010, the Ivorian government adopted policies to promote agroforestry, zero deforestation and crop diversification. Indeed, agricultural diversification is a strategy to add functi...

Over the past decade, in West African cocoa production, efforts to deliver training on more sustainable production techniques or on more business-oriented farm management have been undertaken by various public and private actors. Yet, the success of these interventions seems to be limited, especially given the continuous low incomes of cocoa farmer...

Settlement expansion and commercial agriculture affect landscape sustainability and ecosystem service provision. Integrated landscape approaches are promoted to negotiate trade-offs between competing land uses and their reconciliation. Incorporating local perceptions of landscape dynamics as basis for such negotiations is particularly relevant for...

The landscape in southwestern Ghana faces rampant modification due to socio-economic activities, posing threats to ecosystem service provision and environmental sustainability. Addressing these threats involves empowering land-use actors to design landscapes that offer multiple benefits concurrently. This study employs a geodesign framework, integr...

Maize (Zea mays L.) productivity in Kenya has witnessed a decline attributed to the effects of climate change and biophysical constraints. The assessment of agronomic practices across agroecological zones (AEZs) is limited by inadequate data quality, hindering a precise evaluation of maize yield on a large scale. In this study, we employed the DSSA...

Benefits from development interventions may extend beyond their direct target group. This article evaluates both direct and spillover effects of multisectoral food and nutrition security interventions targeting rural smallholder women in Madagascar. The study uses cross-sectional data obtained from 715 rural women of reproductive age (15–49 years)...

As an effect of forest degradation, soil erosion is among Ethiopia’s most pressing environmental challenges and a major threat to food security where it could potentially compromise the ecosystem functions and services. As the effects of soil erosion intensify, the landscape’s capacity to support ecosystem functions and services is compromised. Exp...

Considering the projected impacts of climate change in upcoming decades, innovative educational approaches should encourage inventive problem-solving techniques and societal change, fostering transformative climate adaptation. The value of drama in climate adaptation education remains a novel area in the environmental education research literature...

Na intersecção da agricultura com a inovação e a sustentabilidade, os desafios no Brasil e a na Alemanha incluem temas como modernização e mecanização do setor, expansão de terras cultiváveis, combate ao êxodo da população rural e busca por uma gestão eficiente de fertilizantes. Considerando tais temas, o artigo dedica-se a uma comparação do agro n...

This study employs a multinomial logit model to examine the determinants of Land Tenure Formalization (LTF) under customary and statutory tenure systems using Living Standard Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) data for Tanzania’s National Panel Survey (NPS) wave of 2014/15. The findings show that household education leve...

Land degradation continues to be a major concern for agriculture in developing countries, including Tanzania. Agroforestry is one solution that benefits food production and reduces land degradation. However, various challenges hinder its widespread adoption. This study uses an integrated assessment framework, combining MESMIS (an indicator-based su...

Land degradation and forest fragmentation have been prominent issues in the Amazon since the 1970s, primarily driven by the suppression of primary forests due to land use changes. In this study, we propose an innovative approach by integrating artificial neural networks (ANN) and cellular automata Markov chain (CA-MA) models to predict future land...

Approaches to operationalising the linkages between climate, peace and security are increasingly demanded by international organisations. Yet, there is a limited understanding of what effective programming practices that address climate-related security risks entail. Critical voices argue that programme designs often rely on analyses that ignore st...

Diffusion of modern irrigation systems is one of the most important objectives of Iranian water policies targeting the sustainable use of water resources to resolve the water crisis. Despite considerable policy support, high subsidization, and a range of benefits, farmers have only minimally adopted modern irrigation systems in most parts of Iran....

This research study examines the use of narrative communication and storytelling as effective strategies for communicating climate change information to non-expert audiences in areas with poor educational infrastructure. The study emphasizes the significance of a narrative framework and the role of the scientific communicator in effectively transmi...

What are the effects and limits of Good Agricultural Practices dissemination, the Farmer Business School approach, and in-farm diversification strategies?

Rice is a staple food for over half the world's population. However, rice value chains significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and the destruction of wetland ecosystems. In addition, they are often associated with child labour and gender inequality, unfair product prices, and inadequate compensation for farmers. Many companies have res...

The Buckets Revolution is a local non‐governmental organization arisen from an initiative implemented in a favela, a marginalized community in the South of Brazil, led and conducted by its women to resist their condition of intersected subordinations and address the socioenvironmental problems caused by the lack of public care. Based on the underst...

Domestic livestock grazing accounts for roughly one quarter of the world's terrestrial surface and is a leading driver of biodiversity loss. Yet, it also provides a critical livelihood for nearly one billion smallholder farmers, creating a paradox that highlights the need for conservation strategies to balance human and ecological needs. Silvopasto...

Degradation exacerbates food and water insecurity, economic hardship, biodiversity loss, and the devastating effects of climate change. Given that ecosystem restoration is a global challenge, the United Nations declared 2021 to 2030 as the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. Many ecological restoration projects overlook social perspectives, resulting...

Wildfires annually burn extensive areas in the Amazonia. Still, more is needed to know about the complex combination of triggering socioeconomic factors and environmental policies that motivate and explain the growing wildfire activity and forest losses. This study assessed wildfire occurrence, exposure, and transmission to natural forests in prote...

This comprehensive study on gender and development-induced relocation examines 98 papers from the Scopus.com collection. Between June and July 2022, a search of the academic literature was conducted using a set of preliminary key words. Mendeley Desktop 1.19 has been used to expedite this electronic search. In order to minimize bias in the identifi...

Land is an essential natural resource for climate mitigation and peace. It is commonly connected with sources of GHG emissions and with drivers of (violent) conflict. Therefore, climate mitigation and peacebuilding strategies are co-designing sustainable land-use systems (SLUS) with affected communities to integrate land-based climate mitigation an...

The Kenyan mango value chain faces high post-harvest losses due to poor market access alongside a lack of storage technologies and processing facilities. Thus, using fruit processing methods, like solar drying, can enhance shelf life and help smallholder farmers access new markets, diversifying income and livelihoods. Nonetheless, the processing of...

In conflict studies, environmental peacebuilding (EPB) has become an established concept to explain how environmental cooperation among opposing parties provides a platform for peacebuilding. EPB literature has been shaped predominantly by political science perspectives, initially with a focus on interstate conflicts, and ecological dynamics have r...

Due to the severe effects of climate change on the agricultural sector, urgent action is required on the part of farmers and is, indeed, critical to reducing climate change impacts. However, reports globally revealed farmers’ engagement in climate change adaptation is still insufficient, ambivalent, and inconsistent and farmers do not consider adap...

Social-ecological ecosystem restoration involves interacting challenges, including climate change, resource overexploitation and political instability. To prepare for these and other emerging threats, we synthesized key restoration and social-ecological systems literature and derived three guiding themes that can help to enhance the adaptive capaci...

The adoption and usage of improved cookstoves have been promoted in the Global South to mitigate the adverse effects of relying on solid biomass for cooking. However, the uptake and continued use of improved cookstoves remain low. Several behavioral changing techniques have been used to increase the adoption of improved cooking stoves. Still, the m...

Mitigation activities, whether at the personal level relating to lifestyle or on the professional level, especially in the agriculture sector, are widely encouraged by scientists and policymakers. This research empirically analyses the association between agricultural experts’ perceptions about climate change and their intention to implement climat...