Ken E Giller
Biographic Data
| ID | 86554 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ken E Giller |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ken E |
| FAMILY NAME | Giller |
| SIGNATURE | GILLER K E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wageningen University & Research |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5998-4652 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 81 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Understanding youth engagement in cocoa farming: Motivations, challenges, access to support services and farm performance in central Cameroon
We investigated the motivations of youth in Cameroon to engage in cocoa farming, their challenges, their participation in agricultural programmes, their access to services and their performance, and the factors influencing these. A quantitative approach focused on young cocoa farmers, beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the New Generation Programme was used. We surveyed 309 young cocoa farmers selected through a multi-stage stratified sampling…
The importance of strengthening the research base and evaluation of climate change mitigation outcomes associated with cropping practices: Comment on: “The carbon footprint of conservation agriculture…
In their recent study ‘The carbon footprint of conservation agriculture’, Freitag et al. (2024) conclude that the practice of conservation agriculture (CA) significantly reduces greenhouse gas (GHG...
Why smallholders (do not) adopt productivity-increasing technologies? Developing a smallholder adoption-process model through an in-depth qualitative study in Ethiopia
Research and innovation have developed an impressive number of technologies that can increase the agricultural productivity of African smallholders. The impact of technology is nevertheless hindered by the heterogenous and unpredictable adoption patterns of smallholders. Most current studies examine farm-level constraints and environmental barriers (e.g., distance to market and access to financial capital) as the main explanation for variations i…
A participatory scenario analysis of potential small-scale farming systems in rural Thaba Nchu and Emmaus regions of South Africa
Despite substantial government investments, small-scale farming in South Africa has largely failed to deliver anticipated improvements in rural livelihoods. This has led to growing skepticism about its role in rural development strategies. This study investigated context-specific small-scale farming systems in two contrasting communal areas: semi-arid Thaba Nchu and sub-humid Emmaus. We applied a two-step approach: (1) desktop analysis to propose…
Are Aspirations of Rural Households Aligned with National Rural Development Policies? Understanding Aspirations of Small-Scale Farming Households in the Former Homelands of South Africa
This study examines the livelihood aspirations of rural farming households in South Africa’s former homelands and the disconnect between these aspirations and current agricultural policies. Using a mixed-methods approach, including life history interviews and farm mapping, the study finds that farming is not universally regarded as the primary livelihood strategy. In Thaba Nchu, farming is seen as a potential income source, whilst in Emmaus, it i…
Growing cotton to produce food: Unravelling interactions between value chains in southern Mali
Regenerative Agriculture: An agronomic perspective
Agriculture is in crisis. Soil health is collapsing. Biodiversity faces the sixth mass extinction. Crop yields are plateauing. Against this crisis narrative swells a clarion call for Regenerative Agriculture. But what is Regenerative Agriculture, and why is it gaining such prominence? Which problems does it solve, and how? Here we address these questions from an agronomic perspective. The term Regenerative Agriculture has actually been in use for…
Herbicide Induced Hunger? Conservation Agriculture, Ganyu Labour and Rural Poverty in Central Malawi
Herbicide use is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. While herbicides promise improved weed-control, labour savings and even reduced land degradation – they are promoted to enable Conservation Agriculture (CA) adoption – there are concerns about their health and environmental risks. Yet, their socio-economic implications have been largely ignored. We investigated the effects of herbicide use on casual labour relations (ganyu) in Central Malawi usin…
Farmers’ Perceptions as a Driver of Agricultural Practices: Understanding Soil Fertility Management Practices in Cocoa Agroforestry Systems in Cameroon
In Africa, cocoa yields are low, partly due to soil fertility constraints and poor management. While peoples’ knowledge, aspirations, and abilities are key factors explaining their behaviour, little is known about the rationales that underpin soil fertility management practices (SFMPs) of cocoa farmers. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory survey in two contrasting regions in Cameroon where cocoa is an important crop: the humid forest…
Sustainable development goal 2: Improved targets and indicators for agriculture and food security
The pursuit of global food security and agricultural sustainability, the dual aim of the second sustainable development goal (SDG-2), requires urgent and concerted action from developing and developed countries. This, in turn, depends on clear and universally applicable targets and indicators which are partially lacking. The novel and complex nature of the SDGs poses further challenges to their implementation on the ground, especially in the face…
Changes in soil organic carbon stocks after conversion from forest to oil palm plantations in Malaysian Borneo
The continuous rise in the global demand for palm oil has resulted in large-scale expansion of industrial oil palm plantations-largely at the expense of primary and secondary forests. The potentially negative environmental impacts of these conversions have given rise to closer scrutiny. However, empirical data on the effects of conversion of forests to industrial oil palm plantations on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks is scarce and patchy. We ev…
Agricultural land use change and associated driving forces over the past 180 years in two municipalities of the Brazilian Cerrado
Agricultural intensification and policy interventions: Exploring plausible futures for smallholder farmers in Southern Mali
Collective action in a smallholder oil palm production system in Indonesia: The key to sustainable and inclusive smallholder palm oil
Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms
Significance We collated a unique dataset covering land use and production data of more than 13,000 smallholder farm households in 93 sites in 17 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. The study quantifies the importance of off-farm income and market conditions across sites differing strongly in agroecology and derives generally applicable threshold values that determine whether farm households have enough food available to feed their families. The…
Migration and Self-Protection Against Climate Change: A Case Study of Samburu County, Kenya
Key role of China and its agriculture in global sustainable phosphorus management
Growing global demand for food leads to increased pressure on phosphorus (P), a finite and dwindling resource. China is the largest producer and consumer of P fertilizer in the world. A mass balance analysis of historical P use on China's arable land shows that P input substantially exceeds crop P uptake leading to the accumulation of residual soil P. A Dynamic P Pool Simulator (DPPS) model is applied to estimate future P demand in China's arable…
Three Interwoven Dimensions of Natural Resource Use: Quantity, Quality and Access in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area
When yield gaps are poverty traps: The paradigm of ecological intensification in African smallholder agriculture
Yield gaps are pervasive in African smallholder agriculture, and are large for almost all crops in all regions. There is consensus that poor soil fertility and nutrient availability are the major biophysical limitations to agricultural production in the continent. We identify two major yield gaps: (1) the gap between actual yields (YA) and the water-limited yield potential (Yw), which is the maximum yield achievable under rainfed conditions witho…
Analysis of trade-offs in agricultural systems: Current status and way forward
Trade-off analysis has become an increasingly important approach for evaluating system level outcomes of agricultural production and for prioritizing and targeting management interventions in multifunctional agricultural landscapes. We review the state-of-the-art for trade-off analysis, assessing different techniques by exploring a concrete example of trade-offs around the use of crop residues in smallholder farming systems. The techniques for pe…
Biodiesel policy for family farms in Brazil: One-size-fits-all
The Use of Woodland Products to Cope with Climate Variability in Communal Areas in Zimbabwe
Woittiez, L. S., M. C. Rufino, K. E. Giller, and P. Mapfumo. 2013. The use of woodland products to cope with climate variability in communal areas in Zimbabwe. Ecology and Society 18(4): 24. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-05705-180424
Zhombwe (Neorautanenia brachypus (Harms) C.A.Sm.) – A recent discovery for mitigating effects of drought on livestock in semi-arid areas of Southern Africa
In semi-arid areas drought results in cattle death making people vulnerable to poverty. Drought conditions are set to increase as climate change is increasingly becoming an important threat to food security. In southern Africa, people recently discovered Neorautanenia brachypus (Harms) C.A.Sm., as an important medicinal feed that they now use to help cattle survive drought. N. brachypus was evaluated with the aim of providing scientific substanti…
Failing to Yield? Ploughs, Conservation Agriculture and the Problem of Agricultural Intensification: An Example from the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe
Agricultural intensification, or increasing yield, has been a persistent theme in policy interventions in African smallholder agriculture. This article focuses on two hegemonic policy models of such intensification: (1) the ‘Alvord model’ of plough-based, integrated crop-livestock farming promoted in colonial Zimbabwe; and (2) minimum-tillage mulch-based, Conservation Agriculture, as currently preached by a wide range of international agricultura…
Response to ‘Combining sustainable agricultural production with economic and environmental benefits
We suggest that a recent commentary piece in The Geographical Journal on Conservation Agriculture (CA) and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) (Kassam and Brammer 2012 was misleading because it drew very selectively from the literature, and presented its conclusions as both widely accepted and uncontroversial. Kassam and Brammer's intervention in the continuing debates around CA and SRI can be understood as a manifestation of the new ‘contes…
Biofuel, dairy production and beef in Brazil: Competing claims on land use in São Paulo state
This paper examines the competing claims on land use resulting from the expansion of biofuel production. Sugarcane for biofuel drives agrarian change in So Paulo state, which has become the major ethanol-producing region in Brazil. We analyse how the expansion of sugarcane-based ethanol in So Paulo state has impacted dairy and beef production. Historical changes in land use, production technologies, and product and land prices are described, as w…
Migration and Self-Protection Against Climate Change: A Case Study of Samburu County, Kenya
Collective action in a smallholder oil palm production system in Indonesia: The key to sustainable and inclusive smallholder palm oil
Competing Claims on Natural Resources: What Role for Science
Giller, K. E., C. Leeuwis, J. A. Andersson, W. Andriesse, A. Brouwer, P. Frost, P. Hebinck, I. Heitkönig, M. K. van Ittersum, N. Koning, R. Ruben, M. Slingerland, H. Udo, T. Veldkamp, C. van de Vijver, M. T. van Wijk, and P. Windmeijer. 2008. Competing claims on natural resources: what role for science?. Ecology and Society 13(2): 34. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02595-130234
Sustainable development goal 2: Improved targets and indicators for agriculture and food security
The pursuit of global food security and agricultural sustainability, the dual aim of the second sustainable development goal (SDG-2), requires urgent and concerted action from developing and developed countries. This, in turn, depends on clear and universally applicable targets and indicators which are partially lacking. The novel and complex nature of the SDGs poses further challenges to their implementation on the ground, especially in the face…
Application of Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping in Livelihood Vulnerability Analysis
Murungweni, C., M. T. Van Wijk, J. A. Andersson, E. M. A. Smaling, and K. E. Giller. 2011. Application of fuzzy cognitive mapping in livelihood vulnerability analysis. Ecology and Society 16(4): 8. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-04393-160408
Drivers of land use change and household determinants of sustainability in smallholder farming systems of Eastern Uganda
Smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa have undergone changes in land use, productivity and sustainability. Understanding of the drivers that have led to changes in land use in these systems and factors that influence the systems' sustainability is useful to guide appropriate targeting of intervention strategies for improvement. We studied low input Teso farming systems in eastern Uganda from 1960 to 2001 in a place-based analysis comb…
Response to ‘Combining sustainable agricultural production with economic and environmental benefits
We suggest that a recent commentary piece in The Geographical Journal on Conservation Agriculture (CA) and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) (Kassam and Brammer 2012 was misleading because it drew very selectively from the literature, and presented its conclusions as both widely accepted and uncontroversial. Kassam and Brammer's intervention in the continuing debates around CA and SRI can be understood as a manifestation of the new ‘contes…
Analysis of trade-offs in agricultural systems: Current status and way forward
Trade-off analysis has become an increasingly important approach for evaluating system level outcomes of agricultural production and for prioritizing and targeting management interventions in multifunctional agricultural landscapes. We review the state-of-the-art for trade-off analysis, assessing different techniques by exploring a concrete example of trade-offs around the use of crop residues in smallholder farming systems. The techniques for pe…
The Use of Woodland Products to Cope with Climate Variability in Communal Areas in Zimbabwe
Woittiez, L. S., M. C. Rufino, K. E. Giller, and P. Mapfumo. 2013. The use of woodland products to cope with climate variability in communal areas in Zimbabwe. Ecology and Society 18(4): 24. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-05705-180424
Action research on alternative land tenure arrangements in Wenchi, Ghana: Learning from ambiguous social dynamics and self-organized institutional innovation
Three Interwoven Dimensions of Natural Resource Use: Quantity, Quality and Access in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area
Strengthening understanding and perceptions of mineral fertilizer use among smallholder farmers: Evidence from collective trials in western Kenya
It is widely recognized that mineral fertilizers must play an important part in improving agricultural productivity in western Kenyan farming systems. This paper suggests that for this goal to be realized, farmers’ knowledge must be strengthened to improve their understanding of fertilizers and their use. We analyzed smallholder knowledge of fertilizers and nutrient management, and draw practical lessons from empirical collective fertilizer-respo…
Action research on alternative land tenure arrangements in Wenchi, Ghana: Learning from ambiguous social dynamics and self-organized institutional innovation
Competing Claims on Natural Resources: What Role for Science
Giller, K. E., C. Leeuwis, J. A. Andersson, W. Andriesse, A. Brouwer, P. Frost, P. Hebinck, I. Heitkönig, M. K. van Ittersum, N. Koning, R. Ruben, M. Slingerland, H. Udo, T. Veldkamp, C. van de Vijver, M. T. van Wijk, and P. Windmeijer. 2008. Competing claims on natural resources: what role for science?. Ecology and Society 13(2): 34. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02595-130234
Conservation agriculture and smallholder farming in Africa: The heretics’ view
Strengthening understanding and perceptions of mineral fertilizer use among smallholder farmers: Evidence from collective trials in western Kenya
It is widely recognized that mineral fertilizers must play an important part in improving agricultural productivity in western Kenyan farming systems. This paper suggests that for this goal to be realized, farmers’ knowledge must be strengthened to improve their understanding of fertilizers and their use. We analyzed smallholder knowledge of fertilizers and nutrient management, and draw practical lessons from empirical collective fertilizer-respo…
Drivers of land use change and household determinants of sustainability in smallholder farming systems of Eastern Uganda
Smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa have undergone changes in land use, productivity and sustainability. Understanding of the drivers that have led to changes in land use in these systems and factors that influence the systems' sustainability is useful to guide appropriate targeting of intervention strategies for improvement. We studied low input Teso farming systems in eastern Uganda from 1960 to 2001 in a place-based analysis comb…
Biofuel, dairy production and beef in Brazil: Competing claims on land use in São Paulo state
This paper examines the competing claims on land use resulting from the expansion of biofuel production. Sugarcane for biofuel drives agrarian change in So Paulo state, which has become the major ethanol-producing region in Brazil. We analyse how the expansion of sugarcane-based ethanol in So Paulo state has impacted dairy and beef production. Historical changes in land use, production technologies, and product and land prices are described, as w…
Application of Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping in Livelihood Vulnerability Analysis
Murungweni, C., M. T. Van Wijk, J. A. Andersson, E. M. A. Smaling, and K. E. Giller. 2011. Application of fuzzy cognitive mapping in livelihood vulnerability analysis. Ecology and Society 16(4): 8. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-04393-160408
Zhombwe (Neorautanenia brachypus (Harms) C.A.Sm.) – A recent discovery for mitigating effects of drought on livestock in semi-arid areas of Southern Africa
In semi-arid areas drought results in cattle death making people vulnerable to poverty. Drought conditions are set to increase as climate change is increasingly becoming an important threat to food security. In southern Africa, people recently discovered Neorautanenia brachypus (Harms) C.A.Sm., as an important medicinal feed that they now use to help cattle survive drought. N. brachypus was evaluated with the aim of providing scientific substanti…
Failing to Yield? Ploughs, Conservation Agriculture and the Problem of Agricultural Intensification: An Example from the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe
Agricultural intensification, or increasing yield, has been a persistent theme in policy interventions in African smallholder agriculture. This article focuses on two hegemonic policy models of such intensification: (1) the ‘Alvord model’ of plough-based, integrated crop-livestock farming promoted in colonial Zimbabwe; and (2) minimum-tillage mulch-based, Conservation Agriculture, as currently preached by a wide range of international agricultura…
Response to ‘Combining sustainable agricultural production with economic and environmental benefits
We suggest that a recent commentary piece in The Geographical Journal on Conservation Agriculture (CA) and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) (Kassam and Brammer 2012 was misleading because it drew very selectively from the literature, and presented its conclusions as both widely accepted and uncontroversial. Kassam and Brammer's intervention in the continuing debates around CA and SRI can be understood as a manifestation of the new ‘contes…
When yield gaps are poverty traps: The paradigm of ecological intensification in African smallholder agriculture
Yield gaps are pervasive in African smallholder agriculture, and are large for almost all crops in all regions. There is consensus that poor soil fertility and nutrient availability are the major biophysical limitations to agricultural production in the continent. We identify two major yield gaps: (1) the gap between actual yields (YA) and the water-limited yield potential (Yw), which is the maximum yield achievable under rainfed conditions witho…
Analysis of trade-offs in agricultural systems: Current status and way forward
Trade-off analysis has become an increasingly important approach for evaluating system level outcomes of agricultural production and for prioritizing and targeting management interventions in multifunctional agricultural landscapes. We review the state-of-the-art for trade-off analysis, assessing different techniques by exploring a concrete example of trade-offs around the use of crop residues in smallholder farming systems. The techniques for pe…
Biodiesel policy for family farms in Brazil: One-size-fits-all
The Use of Woodland Products to Cope with Climate Variability in Communal Areas in Zimbabwe
Woittiez, L. S., M. C. Rufino, K. E. Giller, and P. Mapfumo. 2013. The use of woodland products to cope with climate variability in communal areas in Zimbabwe. Ecology and Society 18(4): 24. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-05705-180424
Key role of China and its agriculture in global sustainable phosphorus management
Growing global demand for food leads to increased pressure on phosphorus (P), a finite and dwindling resource. China is the largest producer and consumer of P fertilizer in the world. A mass balance analysis of historical P use on China's arable land shows that P input substantially exceeds crop P uptake leading to the accumulation of residual soil P. A Dynamic P Pool Simulator (DPPS) model is applied to estimate future P demand in China's arable…
Three Interwoven Dimensions of Natural Resource Use: Quantity, Quality and Access in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area
Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms
Significance We collated a unique dataset covering land use and production data of more than 13,000 smallholder farm households in 93 sites in 17 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. The study quantifies the importance of off-farm income and market conditions across sites differing strongly in agroecology and derives generally applicable threshold values that determine whether farm households have enough food available to feed their families. The…
Migration and Self-Protection Against Climate Change: A Case Study of Samburu County, Kenya
Collective action in a smallholder oil palm production system in Indonesia: The key to sustainable and inclusive smallholder palm oil
Changes in soil organic carbon stocks after conversion from forest to oil palm plantations in Malaysian Borneo
The continuous rise in the global demand for palm oil has resulted in large-scale expansion of industrial oil palm plantations-largely at the expense of primary and secondary forests. The potentially negative environmental impacts of these conversions have given rise to closer scrutiny. However, empirical data on the effects of conversion of forests to industrial oil palm plantations on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks is scarce and patchy. We ev…
Agricultural land use change and associated driving forces over the past 180 years in two municipalities of the Brazilian Cerrado
Agricultural intensification and policy interventions: Exploring plausible futures for smallholder farmers in Southern Mali
Sustainable development goal 2: Improved targets and indicators for agriculture and food security
The pursuit of global food security and agricultural sustainability, the dual aim of the second sustainable development goal (SDG-2), requires urgent and concerted action from developing and developed countries. This, in turn, depends on clear and universally applicable targets and indicators which are partially lacking. The novel and complex nature of the SDGs poses further challenges to their implementation on the ground, especially in the face…
Farmers’ Perceptions as a Driver of Agricultural Practices: Understanding Soil Fertility Management Practices in Cocoa Agroforestry Systems in Cameroon
In Africa, cocoa yields are low, partly due to soil fertility constraints and poor management. While peoples’ knowledge, aspirations, and abilities are key factors explaining their behaviour, little is known about the rationales that underpin soil fertility management practices (SFMPs) of cocoa farmers. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory survey in two contrasting regions in Cameroon where cocoa is an important crop: the humid forest…
Regenerative Agriculture: An agronomic perspective
Agriculture is in crisis. Soil health is collapsing. Biodiversity faces the sixth mass extinction. Crop yields are plateauing. Against this crisis narrative swells a clarion call for Regenerative Agriculture. But what is Regenerative Agriculture, and why is it gaining such prominence? Which problems does it solve, and how? Here we address these questions from an agronomic perspective. The term Regenerative Agriculture has actually been in use for…
Agriculture (26 works) · Economics (21 works) · Geography (20 works) · Agricultural Innovations and Practices (19 works) · Business (17 works) · Biology (14 works) · Ecology (14 works) · Agroforestry (13 works) · Environmental Science (13 works) · Agricultural economics (12 works)