Download or read book Improving Smallholder Access to Purchased Inputs in Sub Saharan Africa written by Ann Gordon and published by Practical Action Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This series focuses upon policies which affect the management of natural resources in support of sustainable livelihoods, primarily in developing countries. Its core is issues which affect livelihoods of poor people in rural areas, but it also recognizes linkages - notably the role of non-natural resource components in livelihoods, the interests of the urban poor, and the role of associated factors such as health and education. It aims to provide topical analysis to inform development practitioners concerned with issues of poverty in development.
Download or read book The Role of Smallholder Farms in Food and Nutrition Security written by Sergio Gomez y Paloma and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-01-01 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book discusses the current role of smallholders in connection with food security and poverty reduction in developing countries. It addresses the opportunities they enjoy, and the constraints they face, by analysing the availability, access to and utilization of production factors. Due to the relevance of smallholder farms, enhancing their production capacities and economic and social resilience could produce positive impacts on food security and nutrition at a number of levels. In addition to the role of small farmers as food suppliers, the book considers their role as consumers and their level of nutrition security. It investigates the link between agriculture and nutrition in order to better understand how agriculture affects human health and dietary patterns. Given the importance of smallholdings, strategies to increase their productivity are essential to improving food and nutrition security, as well as food diversity.
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 Agricultural Input Subsidies written by Ephraim Chirwa and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2013-09-26 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes forward our understanding of agricultural input subsidies in low income countries.
Download or read book Agricultural Mechanization in Sub Saharan Africa written by Karim Houmy and published by Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). This book was released on 2013 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The manual work carried out by farmers and their families is often both arduous and time consuming and in many countries this is a major constraint to increasing agricultural production. Such day-to-day drudgery is a major contributoring factor in the migration of people, particularly the young, from the rural countryside to seek the prospect of a better life in the towns and cities. Farm production can be substantially increased through the use of mechanical technologies which both are labor-saving and directly increase yields and production. This document provides guidelines on the development and formulation of an agricultural mechanization strategy and forms part of FAO's approach on sustainable production intensification.
Download or read book Soil Fertility Management in Sub Saharan Africa written by W. Graeme Donovan and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World Bank Technical Paper No. 408. This report is a critical review of the technical, economic, and institutional constraints on improving soil fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the actions recommended to address them. Action plans prepared for Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Mali examine the demand for and supply of mineral fertilizers, the exploitation of local mineral resources, the prevention of soil erosion and increasing soil-water retention, and soil fertility management using organic technologies and management practices.
Download or read book New Directions for Smallholder Agriculture written by Peter B. R. Hazell and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 641 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the same time, many other smallholders are successfully intensifying and succeeding as farm businesses, often in combination with diversification into off-farm sources of income.
Download or read book Agricultural Systems Agroecology and Rural Innovation for Development written by Sieglinde Snapp and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2017-02-17 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agricultural Systems, Second Edition, is a comprehensive text for developing sustainable farming systems. It presents a synthetic overview of the emerging area of agroecology applications to transforming farming systems and supporting rural innovation, with particular emphasis on how research can be harnessed for sustainable agriculture. The inclusion of research theory and examples using the principles of cropping system design allows students to gain a unique understanding of the technical, biological, ecological, economic and sociological aspects of farming systems science for rural livelihoods. This book explores topics such as: re-inventing farming systems; principles and practice of agroecology; agricultural change and low-input technology; ecologically-based nutrient management; participatory breeding for developing improved and relevant crops; participatory livestock research for development; gender and agrarian inequality at the local scale; the nature of agricultural innovation; and outreach to support rural innovation. The extensive coverage of subjects is complemented with integrated references and a companion website, making this book essential reading for courses in international agricultural systems and management, sustainable agricultural management, and cropping systems. This book will be a valuable resource for students of agricultural science, environmental engineering, and rural planning; researchers and scientists in agricultural development agencies; and practitioners of agricultural development in government extension programs, development agencies, and NGOs. - Provides students with an enhanced understanding of how research can be harnessed for sustainable agriculture - Incorporates social, biological, chemical, and geographical aspects important to agroecology - Addresses social and development issues related to farming systems
Download or read book The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa written by Stein T Holden and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first systematic attempt to address emerging land markets and their implications for poverty, equity, and efficiency across a number of African countries. The high incidence of poverty and the need for increased agricultural productivity remain acute in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, where a lack of secure land rights and a growing scarcity of land relative to the size of the population are becoming increasingly critical issues. Indeed, land issues in the region are high on the international policy agenda. Yet our knowledge about land tenure security and other rural factor markets (such as labor, oxen, manure, purchased inputs, and credit) is far from adequate to formulate sensible policies. The case studies in the book show that, while land markets and especially informal markets have been rapidly emerging in densely populated parts of Africa - and have generally been to the benefit of the poor--their functions remain imperfect. This is due to policy-induced tenure insecurity and the fragmentation of agricultural land. Applying rigorous quantitative analyses, the book provides a basis for taking into account the role of land markets in national land policies. All too often, the authors argue, land policies have been extreme, either prohibiting all land transactions or giving unrestricted freehold rights to a small elite at the expense of the poor. From the long experience in Asia, it is known that such policies are detrimental to both production efficiency and equity of land use. The authors argue that future policies in Africa should work with the markets. Regulations should be imposed only with careful testing that they are having the intended effects. The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa is a resource for teaching in developed and developing countries, as it provides both comprehensive reviews of the literature and detailed case studies. It is intended to facilitate the dialogue between researchers and policymakers, as well as inspire researchers to go further in their investigations and build an even stronger basis for good policies. The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa is the first publication in the new Environment for Development (EfD) book series. EfD books focus on research and applications in environmental and natural resource economics as they are relevant to poverty reduction and environmental problems in developing countries. The EfD book series is part of the EfD initiative. (www.environmentfordevelopment.org)
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 World Development Report 2008 written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007-10-15 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world's demand for food is expected to double within the next 50 years, while the natural resources that sustain agriculture will become increasingly scarce, degraded, and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In many poor countries, agriculture accounts for at least 40 percent of GDP and 80 percent of employment. At the same time, about 70 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas and most depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. 'World Development Report 2008' seeks to assess where, when, and how agriculture can be an effective instrument for economic development, especially development that favors the poor. It examines several broad questions: How has agriculture changed in developing countries in the past 20 years? What are the important new challenges and opportunities for agriculture? Which new sources of agricultural growth can be captured cost effectively in particular in poor countries with large agricultural sectors as in Africa? How can agricultural growth be made more effective for poverty reduction? How can governments facilitate the transition of large populations out of agriculture, without simply transferring the burden of rural poverty to urban areas? How can the natural resource endowment for agriculture be protected? How can agriculture's negative environmental effects be contained? This year's report marks the 30th year the World Bank has been publishing the 'World Development Report'.
Download or read book The Road Half Traveled written by Mylène Kherallah and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2000 with total page 23 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The need for agricultural reform; How far did reforms go? Impact of the reforms; The future of agricultural market reform in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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 Fertilizer Use in African Agriculture written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The good practice guidelines - which form the basis of an interactive policymaker's tool kit included on a CD accompanying the book - relate not only to the more focused problem of encouraging increased fertilizer use by farmers, but also to the broader challenge of creating the type of enabling environment that is needed to support the emergence of efficient, dynamic and commercially viable fertilizer marketing systems."--Jacket.
Download or read book Tropical Vegetable Production written by Raymond A. T. George and published by CABI. This book was released on 2011 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume consists of two parts. Part 1 comprises 6 chapters concerning the principles and practice of tropical vegetable production (including site, topography, soils and water; site management, seeds and types of cultivars; support for farmers; crop preparation and management; reducing pre- and postharvest losses and marketing surpluses). In Part 2, the crops have been mainly dealt with according to their taxonomy as botanical families, either as single or groups of families per chapter. These include: Alliaceae; Cruciferae [Brassicaceae]; Cucurbitaceae; Solanaceae; Leguminosae; leafy vegetables; Araceae, Convolvulaceae, Dioscoreaceae, Euphorbiaceae; Andean tubers and roots and crops of the Lamiaceae and Apiaceae; and Gramineae [Poaceae] and Cyperaceae. Examples of the indigenous species which can be regarded as important sources of edible vegetative materials which are not dealt with in the main text have been listed in Appendix 1. Contact details of the main international research stations are provided in Appendix 2. This book has been written with the hope and purpose that it will be used by technical, college and university students during their studies of horticulture, crop production and agriculture; it is also for students on other allied courses and agriculturists who find themselves needing more vegetable-orientated information in the course of their professional activities. It is aimed to assist in the production of extension, advisory and research staff and officers who will be the core of trainers, advisors, researchers and extension workers in tropical and subtropical countries.
Download or read book Food Security in Africa written by Barakat Mahmoud and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2021-01-20 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume “Food Security in Africa” is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of food safety and availability, water issues, farming and nutrition. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by an expert active in the public health and food security research area. All chapters are complete in itself but united under a common research study topic. This publication aims at providing a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on Africa’s food security challenges, quality of water, small-scale farming as well as economic and social challenges that this continent is facing. Hopefully, this volume will open new possible research paths for further novel developments.
Download or read book Agribusiness in Africa written by Barbara Dinham and published by Africa World Press. This book was released on 1984 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: