April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories
Kenya's agricultural sector has been starved of finance and financial services for decades. This makes it difficult for smallholders to intensify their farming activities and commercialise their activities. Most smallholders are served by traders similarly low on capital and without
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories
The Malawi Agricultural Input Subsidy Programme (MAISP) which started in 2005/06 targeting smallholder farmers through a voucher programme has benefited from periodic evaluation and research conducted by FAC researchers Ephraim Chirwa and Andrew Dorward and other members of the Social
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories
FAC researchers' evaluation of Malawi's 2006/7 Agricultural Input Support Programme (MAISP) continued with completion of core sections of the programme evaluation for 2007/8 and 2008/091. FAC team members continue to work closely with the Ministry to help maximise the long-term
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories
The FAC Pastoralism Theme organised an international conference with Tufts University on the "Future of Pastoralism in Africa", which was held on 21-23 March 2011 at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Addis Ababa. Over 100 scholars from around
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories
Meeting in Lisbon FAC coordinator Ruth Hall (South Africa) and FAC researcher Joseph Yaro (Ghana) were invited to participate the Land Policy Initiative & Coalition for Dialogue on Africa event, a Policy Forum on Foreign Direct Investments in Land in
April 18, 2012 / Working Papers
Christine Okali January 2012 One of the great ironies of the last 40 years is that sub-Saharan Africa, a continent of ‘female farming par excellence’ (Boserup 1970), became populated, at least within much development discourse, by rural women represented as
April 18, 2012 / Impact Stories
Future Agricultures (through the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, South Africa – PLAAS) partnered with the Pan African Parliament (PAP) to hold a continental seminar with African parliamentarians, entitled “Making Investment Work for Africa: A Parliamentarian Response to
April 18, 2012 / Working Papers
Ephraim W. Chirwa, Mirriam Matita and Andrew Dorward December 2011 Since the 2005/06 agricultural season, the government of Malawi has been implementing a targeted agricultural input subsidy programme through the provision of fertilizers and maize seeds to smallholder farmers at
April 18, 2012 / Policy Briefs
Policy Brief 50 by Steve Wiggins Small farmers in Africa have long been engaged with markets — for produce, inputs such as fertiliser, credit, labour, land and information. Opportunities to do so are increasing with urbanisation and better roads linking
April 18, 2012 / FAC blog
Prof Bruce Campbell, CCAFS program director, opened the launch with an introduction to the report, which aims to synthesise 16 reports that have been produced over the past 3 years. Four report commissioners were also present to introduce the report
April 18, 2012 / Pathways to Commercialisation
Two research updates have been published from the Commercialisation theme. They provide an update on our case studies in Tanzania and Ethiopia, examining how small farmers have been able to take opportunities to commercialise under different conditions.
April 16, 2012 / Research Update
Commercialisation theme Research Update 04by Khamaldin Mutabazi, Ntengua Mdoe & Steve Wiggins With minimal assistance and direction, small farmers in central Tanzania have created thriving plots of irrigated onions, marketed in Dar, other parts of Tanzania and in the region.
April 16, 2012 / Research Update
Commercialisation theme Research Update 03by Samuel Gebreselassie Despite decades-old local awareness and knowledge on production of irrigated high value cash crops, many farmers only began to expand irrigated onions and tomatoes for sale once the local agricultural bureau began to
April 16, 2012 / News
Poster presentation given by Lars Otto Naess at the Planet Under Pressure conference, London, March 2012. The poster outlines a project examining the key narratives on climate change in the agricultural sector, and the individuals, organisations and political processes associated
April 16, 2012 / Growth and Social Protection
In this video, two contributors to the book Seasonality, Rural Livelihoods and Development - Robert Chambers and Stephen Devereux - explain why seasonality has been neglected and why it is important for policy. Watch the video on YouTube
April 16, 2012 / Seasonality Revisited
Stephen Devereux, one of the editors of the book Seasonality, Rural Livelihoods and Development, explains why seasonality has been neglected and why it is important for policy. Watch the video on YouTube
April 13, 2012 / CAADP
Future Agricultures members were at the 8th CAADP Partnership Platform meeting in Nairobi, 3-4 May 2012. We have published three new Policy Briefs on pastoralism and technology transfer: Pastoralism in the Horn of Africa: diverse livelihood pathways From technology transfer
April 13, 2012 / Policy Briefs
CAADP Policy Brief 07 by Kate Wellard-Dyer Smallholder agriculture is the core contributor to agricultural production in most African countries and the main driver for food security, poverty reduction and growth. But productivity remains desperately low with limited use of
April 13, 2012 / Policy Briefs
CAADP Policy Brief 06 by Kate Wellard-Dyer Pastoralists in the Horn of Africa have struggled for centuries with drought, conflict and famine. They are resourceful, innovative and entrepreneurial peoples, by necessity. While there are profound difficulties in creating secure livelihoods
April 12, 2012 / Journal special issues
Journal of Peasant StudiesVolume 39, Issue 2, 2012 This Journal of Peasant Studies issue draws new theorisation together with 17 cases from African, Asian and Latin American settings, and links critical studies of nature with critical agrarian studies, to ask:
April 11, 2012 / FAC blog
The meeting brought together over 100 participants from Non Governmental Organisations, government agencies and donor community. The main purpose was to chart out the possible future of the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) from a political economy perspective, drawing from
April 11, 2012 / Policy Briefs
Policy Brief 49 By Charity Mutonodzo-Davies and Douglas Magunda Over much of the past decade, the Zimbabwean government and donor organisations have implemented agricultural input support programmes, comprised of private suppliers (seed houses and fertiliser manufacturers), wholesalers and rural agro-dealers,
April 11, 2012 / Policy Briefs
Policy Brief 48 by Dawit Alemu Full title: The Political Economy of Ethiopian Cereal Seed Systems: State Control, Market Liberalisation and Decentralisation This FAC Policy Brief examines the political and economic processes governing Ethiopian cereal seed systems by analysing the
April 11, 2012 / Policy Briefs
Policy Brief 47 by Kojo Amanor Full title: From Farmer Participation to Pro-poor Seed Markets: The Political Economy of Commercial Cereal Seed Networks in Ghana Since the 1980s public research systems in seed production in sub-Saharan Africa have increasingly come
April 11, 2012 / Policy Briefs
Policy Brief 46 by Blessings Chinsinga This FAC Policy Brief examines the political economy of input programmes and identifies maize and input subsidies as central to agricultural political debates. Subsidy programmes that are centred on the supply of seed and
April 11, 2012 / Policy Briefs
Policy Brief 45 by Hannington Odame and Elijah Muange In a bid to return the country to food self-sufficiency, the Government of Kenya has been spearheading strategies for a new ‘Green Revolution’ in the food producing sector, as spelt out
April 11, 2012 / Science, Technology and Innovation
Six new Policy Briefs shed light on the political economy of seeds in Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. They arise from the work of the Science, Technology and Innovation theme of the Future Agricultures Consortium. These Policy Briefs also
April 10, 2012 / Policy Briefs
Policy Brief 44 by John Thompson and Ian Scoones Drawing on lessons from case studies from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe conducted by the Future Agricultures Consortium during 2009-11, this Policy Brief assesses the political economy of cereal seed
April 10, 2012 / The Political Economy of Seed System Reform
Policy Brief 44 Drawing on lessons from case studies from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe conducted by the Future Agricultures Consortium during 2009-11, this Policy Brief assesses the political economy of cereal seed system research and development programmes and
April 6, 2012 / FAC blog
If we clarify this from the outset we may have better strategies for engaging with them. Some examples or strategies of positive engagement from the presentations at the Young People, Farming and Food conference were: Building on viable groups based
April 5, 2012 / FAC blog
The argument is usually made in terms of market failure: left to the market, we can expect to see less than optimal investment in crop research, and particularly in relation to the food crops on which smallholder farmers depend. From
April 5, 2012 / FAC blog
Getnet Tadele presented perceptions of farming as a livelihood in Ethiopia where the government in various policies is emphasizing the need to cultivate a new generation of literate farmers. Christine Okali presented a case study of livelihood building in rural
April 5, 2012 / FAC blog
Is poverty the main driver for youth to decide to migrate? In general, lack of investments, to improve decent work prospects for young people in rural areas, often results in lower living standards and the consequent de-population of rural areas.
April 5, 2012 / FAC blog
Even though it can be a way to empower people, education has also been framed as preparing young people for the wrong employers, leading to educated unemployed young people engaged in ‘time-pass’ – waiting, often for long periods, for opportunities
March 22, 2012 / Young People Farming and Food Conference
Newsletter from the third and final day of the Young People, Farming and Food Conference in Accra, 19-21 March 2012.
March 21, 2012 / Young People, Farming and Food conference papers
By Ben White, ISS Almost all countries in the world face serious problems of mass youth unemployment and underemployment, with unemployment rates much higher in rural than in urban areas. Small-scale agriculture is now, and if it survives in the
March 21, 2012 / FAC blog
The big messages coming out of the research that seemed to particularly hit home include: 1. Young people’s aspirations towards the agri-food sector are as varied as young people themselves. It was clear from the papers and the ensuing discussion
March 21, 2012 / Young People Farming and Food Conference
Newsletter from the second day of the Young People, Farming and Food Conference in Accra, 19-21 March 2012.
March 21, 2012 / FAC blog
As in the first livelihood session on day 1, we were provided with some exciting signs of ongoing processes of change within the agri-food sector in which young men and women had been able to identify with, and respond to,
March 20, 2012 / FAC blog
Speaking in the same session, Professor Ramatu Al-Hassan, of the department of agribusiness and agriculture economics at the University of Ghana, said: “it’s important to support young people to take advantage of agricultural opportunities in Africa.” That will involve breaking
March 19, 2012 / Young People, Farming and Food conference papers
By Joseph Ayodele Ariyo and Michael Mortimore Youth farming is a dilemma of agrarian policy that has defied resolution for decades. This short discussion illustrates the dilemma in relation to a recent attempt to introduce an enclave of large-scale commercial
March 18, 2012 / Young People, Farming and Food conference papers
by Kangai Elosy and John Mburu This paper draws on the case of youth smallholder fresh produce production and marketing in Eastern and Central Kenya. Specifically, the paper focuses on how youth farmers have embraced the opportunities that facilitate GlobalGAP
March 16, 2012 / Young People, Farming and Food conference papers
by K.K. Lewa, and J.M. Ndungu Full title: Does educational level influence the choice of farming as a livelihood career? Results of an empirical study from coastal lowland Kenya Kenya’s long – term economic development strategy -“Vision 2030”- identifies agriculture
March 16, 2012 / Young People, Farming and Food conference papers
by Yisak Tafere and Tassew Woldehanna The data presented in this paper is drawn from Young Lives longitudinal study in Ethiopia. It used three rounds of surveys and qualitative sub-studies conducted among the same children born in 1994 drawn from
March 16, 2012 / Young People, Farming and Food conference papers
by Courtney Paisley and Gbadebo Odularu Full title: Engaging Young Professionals in the Agri-food Sector: Strategies, Lessons and Experiences from YPARD and YPARD Africa Though the African agrifood sector has been growing steadily in the last decade, the contribution of
March 16, 2012 / Young People, Farming and Food conference papers
by Nana Akua Anyidoho, Jennifer Leavy and Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere Our paper considers the question of young people’s aspirations in agriculture in light of the renewed interest in the agricultural sector as a viable basis for development in sub-Saharan Africa and
March 16, 2012 / Land
The Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) has announced the awards of its Small Grants programme for 2012. The LDPI is a network to promote 'engaged research' on the recent explosion of (trans) national commercial and corporation-driven land transactions. Out of
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