Farmer Innovation In Africa

Download or read book Farmer Innovation in Africa written by Chris Reij and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-07-10 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of Africa's major untapped resources is the creativity of its farmers. This book presents a series of clear and detailed studies that demonstrate how small-scale farmers, both men and women, experiment and innovate in order to improve their livelihoods, despite the adverse conditions and lack of appropriate external support with which they have to contend. The studies are based on fieldwork in a wide variety of farming systems throughout Africa, and have been written primarily by African researchers and extension specialists. Numerous lively examples show how a participatory approach to agricultural research and development that builds on local knowledge and innovation can stimulate the creativity of all involved - not only the farmers. This approach, which recognizes the farmers' capacity to innovate as the crucial component of success, provides a much-needed alternative to the conventional 'transfer of technology' paradigm. This book is a rich source of case studies and analyses of how agricultural research and development policy can be changed. It presents evidence of the resilience and resolution of rural communities in Africa and will be an inspiration for development workers, researchers and policy-makers, as well as for students and teachers of agriculture, environment and sustainable development.

Download or read book The New Harvest written by Calestous Juma and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African agriculture is currently at a crossroads, at which persistent food shortages are compounded by threats from climate change. But, as this book argues, Africa can feed itself in a generation and can help contribute to global food security. To achieve this Africa has to define agriculture as a force in economic growth by advancing scientific and technological research, investing in infrastructure, fostering higher technical training, and creating regional markets.

Download or read book Conservation Agriculture in Africa written by Saidi Mkomwa and published by CABI. This book was released on 2022-01-11 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tillage agriculture has led to widespread soil and ecosystem degradation globally, and more particularly in the developing regions. This is especially so in Africa where traditional agricultural practices have become unsustainable due to severe exploitation of natural resources with negative impacts on the environment and food system. In addition, agricultural land use in Africa today faces major challenges including increased costs, climate change and a need to transform to more sustainable production intensification systems. Conservation Agriculture has emerged as a major alternative sustainable climate smart agriculture approach in Africa and has spread to many African countries in the past decade as more development and research, including in sustainable mechanization, has enabled its extension and uptake. It is key to transforming Africa's agriculture and food system given its ability to restore soil health, biodiversity and productivity of millions of smallholder farms as well as larger-scale farms. This book is aimed at all agricultural stakeholders in the public, private and civil sectors in Africa engaged in supporting the transformation of conventional tillage agriculture to Conservation Agriculture. The book will be of interest to: researchers, academics, students, development stakeholders, public and private sector investors and policy makers as well as institutional libraries across the world.

Download or read book Innovation Africa written by Pascal Sanginga and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-05-04 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Innovation by with and for farmers in Africa is one of the major contemporary challenges of development. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in these issues.' Professor Ian Scoones Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex UK 'This book takes the theme of innovation and its mainstreaming in research and extension a major step forward. I am impressed by the wide range of subjects and the diversity of authors.' Chris Reij Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The Netherlands Agricultural research extension and education can contribute greatly to enhancing agricul.

Download or read book An evolving paradigm of agricultural mechanization development: How much can Africa learn from Asia? written by Diao, Xinshen, ed. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2020-12-07 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agricultural mechanization in Africa south of the Sahara — especially for small farms and businesses — requires a new paradigm to meet the needs of the continent’s evolving farming systems. Can Asia, with its recent success in adopting mechanization, offer a model for Africa? An Evolving Paradigm of Agricultural Mechanization Development analyzes the experiences of eight Asian and five African countries. The authors explore crucial government roles in boosting and supporting mechanization, from import policies to promotion policies to public good policies. Potential approaches presented to facilitating mechanization in Africa include prioritizing market-led hiring services, eliminating distortions, and developing appropriate technologies for the African context. The role of agricultural mechanization within overall agricultural and rural transformation strategies in Africa is also discussed. The book’s recommendations and insights should be useful to national policymakers and the development community, who can adapt this knowledge to local contexts and use it as a foundation for further research.

Download or read book African Farmers, Value Chains and Agricultural Development written by Alan de Brauw and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-11-02 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a thorough introduction to and examination of agricultural value chains in Sub-Saharan Africa. First, the authors introduce the economic theory of agri-food value chains and value chain governance, focusing on domestic and regional trade in (and consumption of) food crops in a low-income country context. In addition to mainstream and heterodox thinking about value chain development, the book pays attention to political economy considerations. The book also reviews the empirical evidence on value chain development and performance in Africa. It adopts multiple lenses to examine agricultural value chains, zooming out from the micro level (e.g., relational contracting in a context of market imperfections) to the meso level (e.g., distributional implications of various value chain interventions, inclusion of specific social groups) and the macro level (underlying income, population and urbanization trends, volumes and prices, etc.).Furthermore, this book places value chain development in the context of a process the authors refer to as structural transformation 2.0, which refers to a process where production factors (labor, land and capital) move from low-productivity agriculture to high-productivity agriculture. Finally, throughout the book the authors interpret the evidence in light of three important debates: (i) how competitive are rural factor and product markets, and what does this imply for distribution and innovation? (ii) what role do foreign investment and factor proportions play in the development of agri-food value chains in Africa? (iii) what complementary government policies can help facilitate a process of agricultural value chain transformation, towards high-productive activities and enhancing the capacity of value chains to generate employment opportunities and food security for a growing population.

Download or read book Innovation Platforms for Agricultural Development written by Iddo Dror and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-12-22 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Innovation Platforms (IPs) form the core of many Agricultural Research for Development programmes, stimulating multi-stakeholder collaboration and action towards the realization of agricultural development outcomes. This book enhances the body of knowledge of IPs by focusing on mature IPs in agricultural systems research, including the crop and livestock sectors, and innovations in farmer cooperatives and agricultural extension services. Resulting from an international IP case study competition, the examples reported will help the many actors involved with agricultural IPs worldwide reflect on their actions and achievements (or failures), and find tools to share their experience. Chapters feature case studies from Central Africa, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nicaragua and Uganda. Authors reflect critically on the impact of IPs and showcase their progress, providing an important sourcebook and inspiration for students, researchers and professionals.