Download or read book Institutional Constraints to Small Farmer Development in Southern Africa written by Ajuruchukwu Obi and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-04-27 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Southern Africa region has experienced more than its fair share of problems in recent years. Just when it seemed that the hardships wrought by the devastating cycle of droughts and floods of 2000 to 2002 were a thing of the past, other problems emerged. At one level, there have been the weak and often erratic governance mechanisms and political crises in some countries of the region, leading to severe disruptions in agricultural production to the point that supplies and markets have virtually disappeared. At another level, socio-cultural rigidities have often militated against the adoption of efficient farming practices, resulting in sub-optimal choices that lock smallholders into a low equilibrium trap. In the face of the disappearing supplies and missing markets, these have engendered hyper-inflationary trends of a magnitude unknown anywhere else in the world. But in the midst of all this apparent dreariness, cases are emerging from which immense lessons can be drawn. This book assembles a collection of research papers based on studies completed in 2008 and 2009 in Southern Africa that examine various dimensions of the institutional constraints small farmers are facing in the region and how they are going about dealing with them. The papers draw from these diverse and polar experiences and present some theoretical and practical insights that should form the basis for more in-depth, country-level, sector-specific analyses, focusing mainly on citrus, horticultures, cotton and livestock. The thematic issues of income inequality, land reform, natural resource management and value chain governance and chain choice, are covered in this book and are expected to be of interest for a wide constituency, including researchers, development practitioners, rural animators, and policy makers.

Download or read book Local Institutional Innovation and Pro poor Agricultural Growth written by Marijke D'Haese and published by Garant. This book was released on 2003 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Unlocking markets to smallholders written by Herman D. van Schalkwyk and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-03-10 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book assesses the institutional, technical and market constraints as well as opportunities for smallholders, notably, emerging farmers in disadvantaged areas such as the former homelands of South Africa. Emerging farmers are previously disadvantaged black people who started or will start their business with the support of special government programs. Public support programs have been developed as part of the Black Economic Empowerment strategy of the South African government. These programs aim to improve the performance of emerging farmers. This requires, first and foremost, upgrading the emerging farmers skills by providing access to knowledge about agricultural and entrepreneurial practices. To become or to remain good farmers they also need access to suitable agricultural land and sufficient water for irrigation and for feeding their cattle. Finally, for emerging farmers to be engaged in viable farming operations, various factors need to be in place such as marketing and service institutions to give credit for agricultural inputs and investments; input markets for farm machinery, farm implements, fertilizers and quality seeds; and accessible output markets for their end products. This book develops a policy framework and potential institutional responses to unlock the relevant markets for smallholders.

Download or read book Agricultural Development in Southern Africa written by Allan Low and published by Heinemann Educational Publishers. This book was released on 1989 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this innovative book Allan Low uses the theory of household economics to establish the link between the stagnation of African farming and the rapid development of modern market sectors in southern Africa.

Download or read book Building a Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture in Sub Saharan Africa written by Abebe Shimeles and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-06-01 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are the challenges and action points for agricultural sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa? This open access collection of papers offers technical analyses, policy recommendations and an overview of success stories to date. Each carefully selected paper provides valuable insights for improved policy making and defines relevant strategic priorities on Africa’s sustainable transformation process, which is in line with the international development agenda. Although agriculture remains the main source of income for Africa’s population, the sector is rain-fed subjecting it to the vagaries of weather and climate change. This volume demonstrates the rationale of developing a competitive, inclusive and sustainable agribusiness sector for Africa’s food security and structural transformation. From the impact of Bioenergy crop adoption and Drought Index Insurance to Agro-Industrialization, this volume is important reading for individual researchers, academic associations and professional bodies interested in African agricultural development.

Download or read book Transforming Agriculture in Southern Africa written by Richard A. Sikora and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-27 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a synthesis of the key issues and challenges facing agriculture and food production in Southern Africa. Southern Africa is facing numerous challenges from diverse issues such as agricultural transformations, growing populations, urbanization and climate change. These challenges place great pressure on food security, agriculture, water availability and other natural resources, as well as impacting biodiversity. Drawing on case studies from Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the chapters in this book consider these challenges from an interdisciplinary perspective, covering key areas in constraints to production, the most important building blocks of good farming practices, and established and emerging technologies. This book will be a valuable support for informing new policies and processes aimed at improving food production and security and developing sustainable agriculture in Southern Africa. This informative volume will be key reading for those interested in agricultural science, African studies, rural studies, development studies and sustainability. It will also be a valuable resource for policymakers, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and agricultural practitioners. This title has been made available as Open Access under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CCBY-NC-ND) license and can be accessed here: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429401701

Download or read book Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2020 written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2020-06-30 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This annual report monitors and evaluates agricultural policies spanning all six continents, including the 36 OECD countries, the five non-OECD EU Member States, and 13 emerging economies.

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 Agriculture and economic transformation in the Middle East and North Africa A review of the past with lessons for the future written by Nin-Pratt, Alejandro and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2017-12-31 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The agriculture sector is key for economic and social development, but the sector’s potential has not received enough attention from policy makers and stakeholders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Political transitions, instability, and the resulting refugee crisis have shifted focus away from other pressing development challenges, including slow progress in economic diversification, high unemployment, and persistent high food insecurity and rural poverty. Despite its small contribution to GDP, agriculture is strategic for sustainable development in the MENA countries. Agriculture, for example, is central to achieve food and water security in a region characterized as one of the most food insecure and water scarce in the world. The sector’s role in employment is also central, given the region’s high structural unemployment. However, it will not be possible for MENA countries to develop agriculture without a pathway to structural economic transformation. The region has already started the process of transformation but longstanding challenges remain. This report aims to examine the drivers, constraints, and social implications of agricultural development in MENA and to explore possible cornerstones for new and sustainable development strategies in the context of economic transformation. More specifically, the report provides answers to the following questions: • What development strategies and policies did governments in MENA put in place over the past three decades and how did they affect the performance of agriculture? • How did the structural characteristics of the MENA countries affect agricultural development and the economic transformation process in the region? • What did we learn from the past performance of agriculture? What should be the central elements guiding future agricultural policies? • What are elements of a new and sustainable development strategy in MENA countries? • What is the role of agriculture and agro-industries for development in MENA?

Download or read book African Agriculture and the World Bank written by Kjell J. Havnevik and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Publishier's description :

Download or read book Institutional Economics Perspectives on African Agricultural Development written by Johann Kirsten and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Millions of Africans spend their entire lives poor, hungry, and malnourished, and most depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, either directly or indirectly. Despite its potential to drive economic growth and poverty reduction, however, African agricultural development has remained disappointing-whether because of underinvestment or poor returns to investments. This book, Institutional Economics Perspectives on African Agricultural Development, is inspired by the conviction that effective African agricultural development requires building better institutions. It provides an accessible synthesis of new institutional economics theory and research into understanding and improving African agriculture, particularly smallholder agriculture. Interspersing theory with case studies from a wide range of countries, the book addresses such policy issues as how markets for different commodities and services function in different political, cultural, and economic contexts. It not only makes an important contribution to the existing literature, but also provides development practitioners, policymakers, and graduate students working-or intending to work-in these fields with essential knowledge and tools for addressing these challenges. OVERVIEW: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework; Exchange in Goods and Services; Natural Resources Management; and An Institutional Perspective on the State: Its Role and Challenges."

Download or read book Food Crop Production by Smallholder Farmers in Southern Africa written by Ambayeba Muimba-Kankolongo and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2018-02-07 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Food Crop Production by Smallholder Farmers in Southern Africa: Challenges and Opportunities for Improvement evaluates traditional cultivation practices used by smallholder farmers, providing a synthesis of the latest information on increasing crop yield through adoption of research innovations. The book catalogs smallholder cultivation practices and recommends innovative strategies for improving the agriculture sector including: management practices that reduce net carbon emissions; technologies that improve soil structures and conserve the natural resources base; means of empowering female resources along value chains; and government commitment to adopt policies that enhance agriculture productivity by encouraging farmers to use environmentally sound cultivation technologies. Traditional farming techniques often produce negative impacts on the environment and ecosystem resulting in outbreaks of diseases and pests. In addition to the region’s recurrent droughts, these outbreaks of numerous diseases and pests, weeds and other invasive plants put thousands at risk of poverty and hunger, as well as malnutrition. This book presents enhanced agricultural production technologies for ensuring adequate food production, safety and nutritional quality for the population of Southern Africa and forms the basis for an increased SADC regional effort in food production through which financial and trade institutions can improve stakeholder capacities, encourage micro-enterprise development and enhance employment and regional trade. Provides a critical synthesis of data and information for increasing crop yield through adoption of research innovations Evaluates traditional and scientific interventions that address food security issues of the poor farmers in the region Presents agro-ecologies of countries in the region and how they relate to various cultivation practices Catalogs smallholder cultivation practices and recommends innovative strategies for improving the agriculture sector

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 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 The Perception of and Adaptation to Climate Change in Africa written by David Maddison and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 53 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Innovative Institutions Public Policies and Private Strategies for Agro Enterprise Development written by Ralph D Christy and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2014-09-12 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an effort to promote agro-enterprises and agro-industries as viable forms of inclusive development, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and The Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD) in collaboration with the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE), organized an international symposium on the topic “Innovative Institutions, Public Policies, and Private Strategies for Inclusive Agro-Enterprise Development”, as part of the Triennial Meetings of the IAAE held in Foz do lguaçu, Brazil, in August 2012. This book contains the major papers presented at the symposium, which feature a wide range of country and regional experiences and examine the influence of markets and technology transfer to agro-enterprises on food security, poverty, and economic growth. The contributions also identify alternative market access strategies for sustainable economic development. This volume will enrich existing knowledge of agro-enterprises as a channel for promoting inclusive growth and reducing poverty levels across developing and emerging markets. Contents:PrefaceAbout the EditorsAbout the ContributorsAcknowledgementsIntroductionInstitutional Innovations Linking Small-Scale Farmers to Produce Markets in South Africa (Joyce M Chitja and Edward Mabaya)Innovative Business Models in the Thai Horticultural Sector: A Panel Data Analysis of the Impacts of GlobalGAP Certification (Sarah Holzapfel and Meike Wollni)Innovative Networks in Conservation Agriculture: Bajio Hub Case Study, Mexico (Gabriela Monsalvo-Velázquez, Ricardo Romero-Perezgrovas, Bram Govaerts and Roberto Rendón-Medel)Geography Matters: Evidence and Implications of Spatial Selection in Contract Farming Schemes in Southern India (Sudha Narayanan)Capabilities and Performance in Collective Marketing: The Importance of Learning to Cope with Agency Dillemas (Giel Ton, Lithzy Flores, Rubén Monasterios and Evaristo Yana)Social Innovation, Entrepreneurship and New Green Jobs: Successful Experiences in Mexico (Artemisa Montes Sylvan)Sweet Sorghum: A Smart Crop to Meet the Demands for Food, Fodder, Fuel and Feed (G Basavaraj, P Parthasarathy Rao, C Ravinder Reddy, A Ashok Kumar, S Datta Mazumdar, Y Ramana Reddy, P Srinivasa Rao, S M Karuppan Chetty and Belum V S Reddy)Promoting Food Processing Through Food Parks and Food Processing Special Economic Zones: The Indian Experience (Aradhna Aggarwal)Autonomy, Competence and Market Structure: Self-Determination Theory Applied to Small Agricultural Exporters from Latin America (Linda M Young and Theresa C Bushman)Promoting Agro-Enterprises in the Highlands of Ethiopia Through Improved Institutional Support Services: Experiences of Market-Oriented Dairy and Fattening Development (Berhanu Gebremedhin, Dirk Hoekstra and Azage Tegegne)The Role of Government in Ensuring a Level Playing Field: The Case of South Africa's Competition Commission and the Maize Milling Industry (Lulama Ndibongo Traub)The Quiet Revolution in Agri-Food Value Chains in Asia: Understanding the Fast Emergence of Cold Storages in Poor Districts in India (Bart Minten, Thomas Reardon, K M Singh and Rajib Sutradhar) Readership: Students of development studies, agribusiness practitioners, agricultural economists, food policymakers, and practitioners interested in finding out more about agribusiness and agri-industries across developing and emerging markets. Key Features:The book presents innovative institutional arrangements, novel analytical methods for analyzing them, and key policy prescriptions for bringing these innovations to scale in emerging/developing marketsIt offers, in a single volume, a unique set of cross-disciplinary research on agro-enterprise development conducted by practitioners and academics from around the worldKeywords:Agribusiness;Policy;Innovation;Development;Private enterprise;Food and Agriculture Organization;Cornell University;Rural infrastructure;Agro-industries;Competitiveness;Resource mobilizatiom

Download or read book Policies and Governance Structures in Woodlands of Southern Africa written by Godwin S. Kowero and published by CIFOR. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: