Download or read book Diffusion of Information in Agriculture in Senegal written by Rudolf Witt and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2008-03 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diploma Thesis from the year 2005 in the subject Economics - Case Scenarios, grade: 1,3, University of Hannover (Institut für Entwicklungs- und Agrarökonomik), language: English, abstract: Using participatory training approaches such as farmer field schools (FFS) is perceived to be an appropriate technique to improve farmers' knowledge of complex agro-ecological systems and Integrated Production and Pest Management (IPPM) technologies. However, the FFS approach appears to be more costly than alternative less intensive approaches of knowledge transfer. High per capita expenditures are more justified, if knowledge can be disseminated through informal farmer-to-farmer interactions. Participatory extension approaches therefore rely on interpersonal channels and group mechanisms for diffusing greater awareness and facilitating learning among the group of untrained farmers. Although diffusion is not an explicit goal of the FFS approach, it is nevertheless a desired side-effect, which could invalidate the reproach of fiscal unsustainability. Several empirical studies found that knowledge generated by participatory extension training does not always sufficiently diffuse to non-participating farmers, because of the complexity of knowledge imparted in the course of a FFS. Farmers nevertheless exchange their experiences with each other, and thus, information about IPPM is being disseminated in the villages. This diffusion of information can have a significant impact on adoption behavior and be an important factor for a successful introduction and establishment of an innovation like IPPM. This case study, conducted in the Région de Niayes in Senegal in 2004, investigates the effects of training intensity on the diffusion of information. The objective of the study was to identify the factors determining the intensity of information diffusion. A set of predominantly closed questions was used to generate data on demographic, farm-, IPPM-, and information-related issues, which

Download or read book Diffusion of Information in Agriculture in Senegal written by Rudolf Witt and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2008-03-25 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diploma Thesis from the year 2005 in the subject Economics - Case Scenarios, grade: 1,3, University of Hannover (Institut für Entwicklungs- und Agrarökonomik), language: English, abstract: Using participatory training approaches such as farmer field schools (FFS) is perceived to be an appropriate technique to improve farmers’ knowledge of complex agro-ecological systems and Integrated Production and Pest Management (IPPM) technologies. However, the FFS approach appears to be more costly than alternative less intensive approaches of knowledge transfer. High per capita expenditures are more justified, if knowledge can be disseminated through informal farmer-to-farmer interactions. Participatory extension approaches therefore rely on interpersonal channels and group mechanisms for diffusing greater awareness and facilitating learning among the group of untrained farmers. Although diffusion is not an explicit goal of the FFS approach, it is nevertheless a desired side-effect, which could invalidate the reproach of fiscal unsustainability. Several empirical studies found that knowledge generated by participatory extension training does not always sufficiently diffuse to non-participating farmers, because of the complexity of knowledge imparted in the course of a FFS. Farmers nevertheless exchange their experiences with each other, and thus, information about IPPM is being disseminated in the villages. This diffusion of information can have a significant impact on adoption behavior and be an important factor for a successful introduction and establishment of an innovation like IPPM. This case study, conducted in the Région de Niayes in Senegal in 2004, investigates the effects of training intensity on the diffusion of information. The objective of the study was to identify the factors determining the intensity of information diffusion. A set of predominantly closed questions was used to generate data on demographic, farm-, IPPM-, and information-related issues, which are considered important to capture the diffusion processes. The data has been analysed using a logistic regression model as well as the ordinary least-square (OLS) -estimation model. The results show that the proportion of trained farmers affects the dissemination of IPPM-related information. A higher share of FFS participants increases the individual exposure of non-participants. In addition, the quantity of information that is shared is higher. A second level of impact is the stage of adoption of FFS farmers and the observability of IPPM practices and benefits, which is a crucial variable for the intrinsic motivation of exposed farmers to adopt such technologies.

Download or read book Diffusion of Information Among Small scale Farmers in Senegal written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Identification and Assessment of Stage of Readiness for Diffusion to Farmers of Agricultural Technologies and Technology Systems in Senegal Second Draft Report 13 January 1988 written by USAID/Senegal. Technology Assessment Team and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Proceedings of the International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers written by Food and Agriculture Organization and published by Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). This book was released on 2019-08-15 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first International Symposium on Agricultural Innovation for Family Farmers called for inclusive research and education systems to facilitate innovation; robust bridging institutions; support to family farmers; and integrated policies and increased investments to create an enabling environment for innovation and scaling up. Innovation is the process whereby individuals or organizations bring new or existing products, processes or ways of organization into use for the first time in a specific context. Innovation in agriculture cuts across all dimensions of the production cycle along the entire value chain - from crop, forestry, fishery or livestock production to the management of inputs and resources to market access. The symposium provided inspiration for innovation actors and decision makers to unlock the potential of innovation to drive socio-economic growth, ensure food and nutrition security, alleviate poverty, improve resilience to changing environments and thereby achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Download or read book From Best Practice to Best Fit A Framework for Analyzing Pluralistic Agricultural Advisory Services Worldwide written by Regina Birner, Kristin Davis, John Pender, Ephraim Nkonya, Ponniah Anandajayasekeram, Javier Ekboir, Adiel Mbabu, David J. Spielman, Daniela Horna, Samuel Benin, and Marc Cohen and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Outcome Harvesting written by Ricardo Wilson-Grau and published by IAP. This book was released on 2018-11-01 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you a grant maker, manager or evaluator who must assess your work to improve as well as be accountable for the use of resources and results? Does the project, program or organization you fund, manage or evaluate contend with substantial uncertainty about what to do and what will be the results? Do you thus experience constant change and unexpected and unforeseeable actors and factors in your intervention? Do you need to know what you are achieving and how in real time? And therefore, do you seek an alternative to conventional monitoring and evaluation of social change results? If yes, then you are the audience for this book. Beginning in 2002, working closely with co-evaluators and commissioners of evaluations, the author developed Outcome Harvesting to enable evaluators, grant makers, and managers to identify, formulate, verify, and make sense of changes that interventions have influenced in a broad range of cutting–edge innovation and development projects and programs around the world. Over these years, he led Outcome Harvesting evaluative exercises involving almost 500 non-governmental organizations, networks, government agencies, funding agencies, community-based organizations, research institutes and university programs. In over fifty evaluations, with forty co-evaluators he has harvested thousands of outcomes on six continents. Outcome Harvesting has proven useful in evaluations of a great diversity of initiatives: human rights advocacy, political, economic and environmental advocacy, arts and culture, health systems, information and communication technology, conflict and peace, water and sanitation, taxonomy for development, violence against women, rural development, organic agriculture, participatory democracy, waste management, public sector reform, good governance, eLearning, social accountability, and business competition, amongst others. In this book, the author explains the steps of Outcome Harvesting and how to customize them according to the nine underlying principles. He shares his experience and gives practical advice on how to work with Outcome Harvesting and remain true to its essential features.

Download or read book Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization A Framework for Africa written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-03-13 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This framework presents ten interrelated principles/elements to guide Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (SAMA). Further, it presents the technical issues to be considered under SAMA and the options to be analysed at the country and sub regional levels. The ten key elements required in a framework for SAMA are as follows: The analysis in the framework calls for a specific approach, involving learning from other parts of the world where significant transformation of the agricultural mechanization sector has already occurred within a three-to-four decade time frame, and developing policies and programmes to realize Africa’s aspirations of Zero Hunger by 2025. This approach entails the identification and prioritization of relevant and interrelated elements to help countries develop strategies and practical development plans that create synergies in line with their agricultural transformation plans. Given the unique characteristics of each country and the diverse needs of Africa due to the ecological heterogeneity and the wide range of farm sizes, the framework avoids being prescriptive.

Download or read book Farming Systems Research into the 21st Century The New Dynamic written by Ika Darnhofer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-06-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Farming Systems Research has three core characteristics: it builds on systems thinking, it depends on the close collaboration between social and biophysical sciences, and it relies on participation to build co-learning processes. Farming Systems Research posits that to contribute towards sustainable rural development, both interdisciplinary collaborations and local actor engagement are needed. Together, they allow for changes in understanding and changes in practices. This book gives an overview of the insights generated in 20 years of Farming Systems Research. It retraces the emergence and development of Farming Systems Research in Europe, summarises the state-of-the-art for key areas, and provides an outlook on new explorations, especially those tackling the dynamic nature of farming systems and their interaction with the natural environment and the context of action.

Download or read book Evaluating Climate Change Action for Sustainable Development written by Juha I. Uitto and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-01-11 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is open access under a Creative Commons license. This authoritative book presents the ever progressing state of the art in evaluating climate change strategies and action. It builds upon a selection of relevant and practical papers and presentations given at the 2nd International Conference on Evaluating Climate Change and Development held in Washington DC in 2014 and includes perspectives from independent evaluations of the major international organisations supporting climate action in developing countries, such as the Global Environment Facility. The first section of the book sets the stage and provides an overview of independent evaluations, carried out by multilateral development banks and development organisations. Important topics include how policies and organisations aim to achieve impact and how this is measured, whether climate change is mainstreamed into other development programs, and whether operations are meeting the urgency of climate change challenges. The following sections focus on evaluation of climate change projects and policies as they link to development, from the perspective of international organisations, NGO’s, multilateral and bilateral aid agencies, and academia. The authors share methodologies or approaches used to better understand problems and assess interventions, strategies and policies. They also share challenges encountered, what was done to solve these and lessons learned from evaluations. Collectively, the authors illustrate the importance of evaluation in providing evidence to guide policy change to informed decision-making.

Download or read book Farming Systems and Poverty written by John A. Dixon and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2001 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.

Download or read book Sustainable Intensification written by Jules N. Pretty and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-06-25 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.

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 Computing in Research and Development in Africa written by Abdoulaye Gamatié and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-10-11 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes the trends, challenges and solutions in computing use for scientific research and development within different domains in Africa, such as health, agriculture, environment, economy, energy, education and engineering. The benefits expected are discussed by a number of recognized, domain-specific experts, with a common theme being computing as solution enabler. This book is the first document providing such a representative up-to-date view on this topic at the continent level.

Download or read book Lost Crops of Africa written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1996-02-14 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scenes of starvation have drawn the world's attention to Africa's agricultural and environmental crisis. Some observers question whether this continent can ever hope to feed its growing population. Yet there is an overlooked food resource in sub-Saharan Africa that has vast potential: native food plants. When experts were asked to nominate African food plants for inclusion in a new book, a list of 30 species grew quickly to hundreds. All in all, Africa has more than 2,000 native grains and fruitsâ€""lost" species due for rediscovery and exploitation. This volume focuses on native cereals, including: African rice, reserved until recently as a luxury food for religious rituals. Finger millet, neglected internationally although it is a staple for millions. Fonio (acha), probably the oldest African cereal and sometimes called "hungry rice." Pearl millet, a widely used grain that still holds great untapped potential. Sorghum, with prospects for making the twenty-first century the "century of sorghum." Tef, in many ways ideal but only now enjoying budding commercial production. Other cultivated and wild grains. This readable and engaging book dispels myths, often based on Western bias, about the nutritional value, flavor, and yield of these African grains. Designed as a tool for economic development, the volume is organized with increasing levels of detail to meet the needs of both lay and professional readers. The authors present the available information on where and how each grain is grown, harvested, and processed, and they list its benefits and limitations as a food source. The authors describe "next steps" for increasing the use of each grain, outline research needs, and address issues in building commercial production. Sidebars cover such interesting points as the potential use of gene mapping and other "high-tech" agricultural techniques on these grains. This fact-filled volume will be of great interest to agricultural experts, entrepreneurs, researchers, and individuals concerned about restoring food production, environmental health, and economic opportunity in sub-Saharan Africa. Selection, Newbridge Garden Book Club

Download or read book International Review of Agriculture written by and published by . This book was released on 1937 with total page 2358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vols. for 1931- include Bulletin of agricultural economics and sociology, Crop report and agricultural statistics, Bulletin of agricultural science and practice, International bulletin of plant protection.

Download or read book The State of Food and Agriculture 2021 written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2021-11-23 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of agrifood systems to shocks and stresses and led to increased global food insecurity and malnutrition. Action is needed to make agrifood systems more resilient, efficient, sustainable and inclusive. The State of Food and Agriculture 2021 presents country-level indicators of the resilience of agrifood systems. The indicators measure the robustness of primary production and food availability, as well as physical and economic access to food. They can thus help assess the capacity of national agrifood systems to absorb shocks and stresses, a key aspect of resilience. The report analyses the vulnerabilities of food supply chains and how rural households cope with risks and shocks. It discusses options to minimize trade-offs that building resilience may have with efficiency and inclusivity. The aim is to offer guidance on policies to enhance food supply chain resilience, support livelihoods in the agrifood system and, in the face of disruption, ensure sustainable access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to all.