Latest articles
Medium-scale farming as a policy tool for agricultural commercialisation and small-scale farm transformation in Nigeria
May 12, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog Land ownership patterns are changing in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana, Kenya and Zambia, medium-scale farms (MSFs), of between 5 and 100ha now account for more land than large-scale investors. Most African countries' national agricultural investment plans and policy strategies officially
APRA Working Paper 91: Effects of Commercialisation on Seaonsal Hunger: Evidence from Smallholder Resettlement Areas, Mazowe Distrct, Zimbabwe
May 12, 2022 / Publications Working Papers Agricultural transformation towards intensive commercial production is a key facet of current development strategies pursued by African governments, aimed at improving welfare outcomes of farm households. However, in Zimbabwe, there is concern that increased commercialisation, especially through tobacco production, may
Journal Article: Livestock, Crop Commercialization and Poverty Reduction in Crop-Livestock Farming Systems in Singida Region, Tanzania
May 12, 2022 / Journal articles Publications Livestock is an important component of crop-livestock farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This paper examined the effect of livestock on crop commercialization and poverty reduction among smallholder farmers in crop-livestock farming systems in Singida Region, Tanzania. It was hypothesized
Journal Article: Choice of Tillage Technologies and Impact on Paddy Yield and Food Security in Kilombero Valley, Tanzania
May 11, 2022 / Journal articles Publications This paper analyses choice of alternative tillage technology options and their impact on paddy yield and food security in Kilombero valley of Morogoro Region, Tanzania. The results show that the choice of any tillage technology option combining hand hoe with
ALRE Working Paper 4: COVID-19: APRA’s Contribution to Understanding the Effects in Rural Africa
May 5, 2022 / ALRE Working Paper Publications The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 initiated a remarkable pivot within APRA in which a new COVID focussed research programme was rapidly designed, approved and launched. The first APRA COVID-19 blogs appeared in April 2020, a comprehensive
ALRE Working Paper 3: African Media Coverage: APRA’s Contribution to Understanding of Agricultural Change
May 5, 2022 / ALRE Working Paper Publications The Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) programme made significant efforts to engage with the local/national media as a way of disseminating research findings and consequent policy implications. This was assisted by early planning as part of the Participatory Impact
What are the gender-focused challenges within agriculture and commercialisation, and how can we approach tackling these?
May 5, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog Agriculture remains the dominant employment activity among most households in Ghana, which currently engages 61% of the economically active population aged 15 years and above. However, returns to agrarian livelihood remain lower than gains from other sectors of the economy.
The Effects of COVID-19 on Food Equity and Nutrition Security in sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from a Multi-Phase Assessment
May 4, 2022 / COVID Country Report Publications The COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa has elicited reactions that are also seen worldwide: widespread and indefinite health effects, and deep reverberations on almost all parts of daily life, from livelihoods, to freedom of movement and the availability of foods
A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa – Synthesis Report 3
May 4, 2022 / COVID Country Report Publications Since it began in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to considerable concerns about the viability of local food systems and rural livelihoods across sub-Saharan Africa. This paper presents the results of a three-round assessment of the effects of COVID-19
APRA ICE Insight 5: The Power of Blogs to Share Research and Communicate Policy Lessons
May 4, 2022 / APRA ICE Insight Publications Over the course of the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Programme (2016-22), researchers produced over 150 publications, including Working Papers, Briefs, COVID-19 Papers, Journal Articles and several books. The intended audience of these publications varied, from the academic community
APRA ICE Insight 4: e-Dialogues Spark Debate on the Dynamics of Agricultural Commercialisation
May 4, 2022 / APRA ICE Insight Publications In early 2022, the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Programme of the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC), in partnership with the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Foresight4Food, held an e-Dialogue series: Towards an Equitable and Sustainable Transformation of
APRA ICE Insight 3: Communicating New Evidence Through APRA Working Papers and Briefs
May 4, 2022 / APRA ICE Insight Publications Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) has been a six-year research programme of the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC), aiming to identify the most effective pathways to agricultural commercialisation that empower women, reduce rural poverty and improve nutrition and security in
APRA ICE Insight 2: Making the Most of the Media
May 4, 2022 / APRA ICE Insight Publications To disseminate policy-relevant messages based on APRA research at country and regional levels, the Information and Communication and Engagement (ICE) team encouraged country teams to build relationships with the media from early on in the programme. This is not something
APRA ICE Insight 1: Investing in Social Media Pays Big Dividends
May 4, 2022 / APRA ICE Insight Publications Over the past six years, the use of social media, including Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, has been a vital part of APRA’s Communications Strategy in raising awareness of the programme’s activities and outputs. Since 2016, APRA’s social media profile has
APRA Working Paper 90: Agricultural Commercialisation Pathways and Gendered Livelihood Outcomes in Rural South-Western Ghana
May 4, 2022 / Publications Working Papers It is widely assumed that agricultural commercialisation leads to increased incomes and therefore better livelihood outcomes for farmers, including smallholders. But are the gains from commercial agriculture equitably distributed? Are there pathways to agricultural commercialisation that are more effective than
APRA Working Paper 89: Impact of Commercialisation Pathways on Income and Asset Accumulation: Evidence from Smallholder Farming in Zimbabwe
May 4, 2022 / Publications Working Papers Smallholder agricultural commercialisation has been seen as an important pathway out of rural poverty in developing countries. However, little empirical evidence is available in sub-Saharan Africa that examines the relationship between commercialisation pathways taken by farmers and welfare outcomes, such
APRA Working Paper 88: Agricultural Commercialisation, Gender Relations and Women’s Empowerment in Smallholder Farm Households: Evidence from Zimbabwe
May 4, 2022 / Publications Working Papers Agricultural commercialisation has been identified as an important part of the structural transformation process, as the economy grows from subsistence to highly commercialised entities that rely on the market for both inputs and for the sale of crops. However, this
APRA Brief 36: Pathways to Inclusive Smallholder Agricultural Commercialisation: Which Way Now?
May 4, 2022 / APRA Briefs Policy Briefs Publications Agricultural commercialisation has the potential to provide a number of beneficial outcomes, including higher incomes and living standards for smallholder farmers. However, for these outcomes to be achieved, commercialisation must be inclusive and broad-based so as to link a large
APRA Brief 35: The Dilemma of Climate-resilient Agricultural Commercialisation in Tanzania and Zimbabwe
May 4, 2022 / APRA Briefs Policy Briefs Publications The implications of climate change for agricultural commercialisation – and the implications of agricultural commercialisation for climate change – are profound. On the one hand, agricultural production is, by nature, highly sensitive to climate change and variability. On the other,
APRA Brief 34: The Political Economy of Agricultural Commercialisation: Insights from Crop Value Chain Studies in Sub-Saharan Africa
April 28, 2022 / APRA Briefs Policy Briefs Publications Agricultural commercialisation is seen as one of the most important avenues for fundamental structural transformation and development in sub-Saharan Africa, and is assumed to help enhance a wide array of household welfare indicators among rural households whose livelihoods directly derive
Protected areas: national assets or shared heritage?
April 25, 2022 / FAC blog What are the roles of protected areas in national development? Are parks national, even global, assets preserved for posterity and for protecting biodiversity, or are they part of a shared, local heritage, where nature and human use must be seen
ALRE Working Paper 2: Publishing Evidence: APRA’s Contribution to Knowledge on the Pathways to Inclusive Agricultural Commercialisation in Africa
April 25, 2022 / ALRE Working Paper Publications Overall, it is considered that the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) programme has contributed a significant body of additional, rigorous, trusted and accessible published knowledge on the effect of agrarian change on women, youth and poorer households, which is
Far from inclusive: smallholder farmer commercialisation in Malawi
April 21, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog What are the trends and patterns emerging in Malawi’s agricultural commercialisation process? What is the influence of these trends on poverty and food security, and the drivers of the process? How inclusive is agricultural commercialisation in the country? This blog,
A tale of two countries: patterns and drivers of smallholder commercialisation in Ghana and Nigeria
April 19, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog What are the emerging patterns of agricultural commercialisation in Ghana and Nigeria? Are there geographical and gender differences in commercialisation among households? How have poverty levels changed over time? What are the key drivers of agricultural commercialisation in the two
Women and youth in rice and sunflower commercialisation in Tanzania: Inclusiveness, returns on household labour and poverty reduction
April 14, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog Over the last two decades, the Government of Tanzania, in collaboration with development agencies, has been supporting rice and sunflower commercialisation to improve livelihoods and reduce poverty among actors in these value chains. At the same time, the support has
Polygamy and agricultural commercialisation in Malawi
April 13, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog Agricultural commercialisation is perceived as a positive step towards development and economic growth in Malawi, as well as a source of household income and livelihoods among local communities. However, the process of commercialisation is hindered by a number of factors,
Journal Article: Irrigating Zimbabwe After Land Reform: The Potential of Farmer-Led Systems
April 7, 2022 / Journal articles Publications Farmer-led irrigation is far more extensive in Zimbabwe than realised by planners and policymakers. This paper explores the pattern of farmer-led irrigation in neighbouring post-land reform smallholder resettlement sites in Zimbabwe’s Masvingo district. Across 49 farmer-led cases, 41.3 hectares of
Journal Article: Young People and Land in Zimbabwe: Livelihood Challenges After Land Reform
April 7, 2022 / Journal articles Publications This article explores the livelihood challenges and opportunities of young people following Zimbabwe's land reform in 2000. The article explores the life courses of a cohort of men and women, all children of land reform settlers, in two contrasting smallholder
Marriage and agricultural commercialisation in Malawi
April 7, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog Despite agricultural commercialisation being considered a positive step towards Malawi’s development and economic growth, as well as a source of household income and livelihoods among local communities, there are a number of factors that impede this process. Our research established
Journal Article: Tobacco Farming Following Land Reform in Zimbabwe: A New Dynamic of Social Differentiation and Accumulation
April 7, 2022 / Journal articles Publications Tobacco has been central to the agrarian economy of Zimbabwe since the early 1900s, when it became the backbone of the new settler economy following colonisation. Since the land reform of 2000, tobacco has taken on a new impetus, with
APRA Brief 33: Is Rice and Sunflower Commercialisation in Tanzania Inclusive for Women and Youth?
April 7, 2022 / APRA Briefs Policy Briefs Publications Rice is Tanzania’s third most important staple crop after maize and cassava, and produced by more than 1 million households who are mostly small-scale farmers. Meanwhile sunflower is the most important edible oil crop in Tanzania, also grown mostly by
Journal Article: Is Agricultural Commercialisation Sufficient for Poverty Reduction? Lessons from Rice Commercialisation in Kilombero, Tanzania
April 7, 2022 / Journal articles Publications Agricultural commercialisation is widely promoted as a solution for poverty alleviation among smallholder farmers because it has been associated with rising cash income, improved nutrition and living standards. In Tanzania, agricultural commercialization is an important component for agricultural transformation to
Patterns and Drivers of Agricultural Commercialisation: Evidence from Ghana, Nigeria and Malawi
April 6, 2022 / Publications Research Papers Farm households differ in terms of their access to land, capital, labour, skills, as well as access to external services – hence, it is no surprise that the processes of agricultural commercialisation are experienced unevenly across different groups and geographies.
APRA Brief 32: Medium-Scale Farming as a Policy Tool for Agricultural Commercialisation and Small-Scale Farms Transformation in Nigeria
April 6, 2022 / APRA Briefs Policy Briefs Publications Recent evidence suggests that the changing structure of land ownership in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the major new trends affecting African agri-food systems. Research in several African countries shows a rapid rise of medium-scale farms (MSFs) of 5–50ha. MSFs
Journal Article: ‘Demonstration Fields’, Anticipation, and Contestation: Agrarian Change and the Political Economy of Development Corridors in Eastern Africa
April 6, 2022 / Journal articles Publications In much of Eastern Africa, the last decade has seen a renewed interest in spatial development plans that link mineral exploitation, transport infrastructure and agricultural commercialisation. While these development corridors have yielded complex results – even in cases where significant
APRA e-Dialogue summary: Strategies and pathways for supporting more equitable and resilient food systems in Africa
March 31, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog On 23 March 2022, representatives from APRA, along with fellow researchers and associates, came together virtually to discuss challenges that currently exist around equity and resilience within African food systems, and potential measures to negate these. The two-hour long session
Artisanal Palm Oil Processing in an Industrial Enclave in Ghana: Resilience, Resistance and Elision
March 29, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog Artisanal and industrial palm oil processing have co-existed within Ghana’s production enclaves for a long time. The relationship between them tends to be complex, reflecting resistance, resilience, and systematic elision of artisanal processors in agricultural and trade policy. This was
APRA Working Paper 87: The Political Economy of Agricultural Commercialisation: Insights from Crop Value Chain Studies in Sub-Saharan Africa
March 17, 2022 / Publications Working Papers This paper is a synthesis of findings from 11 value chains case studies in six countries across sub- Saharan Africa, carried out as part of the APRA programme during 2020–21. The countries and their respective value chains case studies included:
Cocoa can still provide a living, but it’s a struggle
March 17, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog Since cocoa began to be cultivated in the 1880s in southern Ghana, it has created jobs, incomes and prosperity for the many farmers growing the crop. Until recently, cocoa farmers could make use of highly favourable conditions when clearing forests
Hired labour use, productivity, and commercialisation: the case of rice in the Fogera Plain of Ethiopia
March 15, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog Rice production is labour intensive with critical peak periods, which forces smallholder rice farmers to use hired labour in addition to family labour and emergence of rural labour market. This blog presents a summary of APRA Working Paper 83, which
APRA Working Paper 86: Returns to Commercialisation: Gross Margins of Commercial Crops Grown by Smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa
March 10, 2022 / Publications Working Papers What are the returns to smallholders when they grow commercial crops for sale in rural Africa? The gross value of production per hectare is sometimes reported, with some recent estimates ranging from as much as US$10,000/ha for irrigated vegetables in
Mixed fortunes for central Malawi’s farmer producer organisations
March 10, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog Malawi’s agriculture sector has a multiplicity of different types of farmer producer organisations (FPOs), operating at different levels. Farmer clubs, farmer associations, and farmer cooperatives are among the various names that FPOs are known as in Malawi, but what they
APRA Working Paper 85: In the Shadow of Industrial Companies: Class and Spatial Dynamics of Artisanal Palm Oil Processing in Rural Ghana
March 9, 2022 / Publications Working Papers This paper is concerned with the multiple opportunities and challenges of artisanal palm oil processing and the potential multiplier effects on local economies. It examines the effect of the presence of large oil palm plantations and their industrial processing mills
Climate-smart agriculture practices as a pathway to livelihood improvement in central Malawi
March 8, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices, used to promote sustainable agriculture, include technologies for soil fertility improvement, soil and water conservation and agroforestry tree cultivation. Their adoption, whilst patchy across Africa and particularly in Malawi, have the potential to support increases in
APRA Brief 31: Spillover Effects of Medium-Scale Farms on Smallholder Behaviour and Welfare: Evidence from Nigeria
March 3, 2022 / APRA Briefs Policy Briefs Publications Many countries across Africa are seeing an increasing share of farmland being classified as medium-scale farms (MSFs). MSFs are defined as farms operating between 5–100ha. MSFs co-exist with small-scale farms (SSFs, defined as farms below 5ha), who still constitute the
The third and final APRA e-Dialogue: Transition pathways and strategies for supporting more equitable and resilient food systems in Africa
March 3, 2022 / Events News Starting in October 2021 and running through 2022, the e-Dialogue series on agricultural commercialisation, agrarian change and rural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa has examined a range of topics including the emerging challenges and regional realities of smallholder transformation and COVID-19’s
Journal Article: Changing Farm Size Distributions and Agricultural Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa
March 3, 2022 / Journal articles Publications We review the literature on the distribution of farm sizes in sub-Saharan Africa, trends over time, drivers of change in farm structure, and effects on agricultural transformation, and present new evidence for six countries. While it is widely viewed that
Cocoa in Ghana: a smallholder sector
March 3, 2022 / APRA blog FAC blog In recent years there has been an increased focus in African agricultural research on the emergence of medium-scale farmers and their role in promoting the uptake of agricultural commercialisation. However, the social composition of farmers varies between food commodity chains;
APRA Brief 30: Ghana’s Cocoa Farmers Need to Change Gear: What Policymakers Need to Know, and What They Might Do
March 1, 2022 / APRA Briefs Policy Briefs Publications Cocoa farmers in Ghana face increasing challenges. In the past, many of them could make a living from cocoa thanks to the advantages – ‘forest rents’ – that initially apply when forest is cleared to create cocoa farms: fertile soils,