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ALRE Working Paper 7: Informing the Debate on the Rise of Medium-Scale Farmers in Africa
August 4, 2022 / ALRE Working Paper Publications This case study explores how APRA evidence is informing an emerging debate on medium-scale farmers (MSFs) through stronger empirical evidence of the broad variation across different contexts. This research has generated healthy internal debate between APRA teams which is contributing
ALRE Research Note 6: ALRE Report on Evidence Demand on Inclusive Agricultural Commercialisation in Africa
June 9, 2022 / ALRE Research Note Publications The Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) programme has generated new evidence and insights into different pathways to inclusive agricultural commercialisation. As part of APRA, the Accompanied Learning on Relevance and Effectiveness (ALRE) team worked to understand how evidence demand
ALRE Research Note 5: Lessons Learnt From Delivering the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Programme
June 6, 2022 / ALRE Research Note Publications The Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) programme was a six-year (2016–2022), £7 million research initiative of the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC), to produce high-quality evidence to inform policy and practice on future agricultural commercialisation options and investments in sub-Saharan
ALRE Working Paper 6: Rice: APRA’s Contribution to Informing and Influencing Policy Debates Around Rice in East Africa
May 30, 2022 / ALRE Working Paper Publications Rice production across Africa varies in many aspects due to socio-political, climatic, and environmental differences in the region. The research and outreach activities of the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) programme aimed to generate policy-relevant insights on more inclusive
ALRE Working Paper 5: Accompanied Learning: Reflections on How ALRE Enhanced APRA’s Relevance and Effectiveness
May 30, 2022 / ALRE Working Paper Publications This case study explores the claim that the Accompanied Learning for Relevance and Effectiveness (ALRE) approach contributed to stronger relevance and effectiveness of the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) research programme. This report outlines the accompanied learning function of
APRA ICE Insight 6: Raising the Profile of Agricultural Policy Research: National Engagement as a Pathway to Change
May 30, 2022 / APRA ICE Insight Publications Throughout the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Programme of the Future Agricultures Consortium, country research teams were encouraged to engage at district and national levels. Towards the end of APRA, during 2021, each country team held final district and
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
Journal Article: The Politics of Land, Resources & Investment in Eastern Africa’s Pastoral Drylands
February 22, 2022 / Journal articles Publications The rush for land and resources has featured prominently in recent studies of sub-Saharan Africa. Often happening alongside regional projects to upgrade and expand infrastructure, this urgency to unlock untapped economic potential has generated heated debate around the social and
A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Zambia
December 20, 2021 / COVID Country Report Impact Assessment Publications COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. The speed with which the pandemic spread geographically, and the high rate of mortality of its victims prompted many countries around the world to institute ‘lockdowns’ of
A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Tanzania
December 20, 2021 / COVID Country Report Impact Assessment Publications Since the outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019, the pandemic has brought both social and economic impacts to global communities, although to varying degrees. Since the onset of the pandemic, different regions have responded in various ways by
Journal Article: Private and State-Led Contract Farming in Zimbabwe: Accumulation, Social Differentiation and Rural Politics
December 17, 2021 / Journal articles Publications Contract farming schemes often amplify existing patterns of socio-economic differentiation. In Zimbabwe, processes of differentiation were underway before the current expansion of contract farming and they have deepened through the Fast Track Land Reform process. This article examines how pre-existing
A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Nigeria
December 13, 2021 / COVID Country Report Impact Assessment Publications The first case of COVID-19 in Nigeria was reported on 27 February 2020. By 30 March 2020, Nigeria had recorded 131 confirmed cases and two deaths. To mitigate the impending health crisis, the Nigerian Government quickly commenced a series of
A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Ghana
December 8, 2021 / COVID Country Report Impact Assessment Publications The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted food systems in Ghana since its emergence in the country in March 2020. According to the United Nations World Food Programme, the socio-economic impact of the pandemic caused by the imposition of restrictions on social
A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Kenya
December 6, 2021 / COVID Country Report Impact Assessment Publications Kenya confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on 12 March 2020. Like many governments across the world, the Kenyan government implemented various measures aimed at slowing down local spread of the virus and cushioning the population against the negative economic
A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Malawi
November 22, 2021 / COVID Country Report Impact Assessment Publications The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to national and global economies with devastating effects on food systems and livelihoods across the globe. These effects of the pandemic on poverty, hunger, and malnutrition, among others, are likely to be greater among
A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Ethiopia: The Case of Fogera Plain
November 15, 2021 / COVID Country Report Impact Assessment Publications The COVID-19 pandemic has not only led to the loss of human life and resulted in an unprecedented challenge to public health, but has also seriously affected food systems and work opportunities. As a global pandemic, COVID-19 has impacted food
A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Zimbabwe
November 9, 2021 / COVID Country Report Impact Assessment Publications Written by: Vine Mutyasira The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to affect agri-food systems around the world and lay bare its fragility, worsening the welfare of millions of smallholder farmers whose livelihoods are anchored on agricultural activities. For the vast majority
APRA Research Note 5: Agricultural Commercialisation in South-Western Ghana
October 28, 2021 / APRA research note Publications The Agricultural Policy Research in Africa study in Ghana consists of three work streams. This report contains results of the analyses of Work Stream 1 (WS1) baseline and endline survey datasets for Ghana. Oil palm commercialisation arrangements and outcomes are
Journal Article: Agricultural Commercialisation and Changing Labour Regimes in Zimbabwe
August 3, 2021 / Journal articles Publications This paper explores the emerging labour regimes and the consequences for agricultural commercialisation across multiple land-use types in post land reform Zimbabwe. The livelihoods of farmworkers, including those still resident in former labour compounds, are explored. The paper examines patterns
ALRE Working Paper 1: From Field Research to Policy Change – Lessons from FAC and APRA
August 2, 2021 / ALRE Working Paper Publications Written by: Martin Whiteside The Institute of Development Studies has led consortia of UK and African organisations in two large programmes of agricultural policy research: the original Future Agricultures Consortium programme, running from 2005 to 2014, and the successive Agricultural
Responses of Rice Farmers Engaged in Vegetable Production: Implications of the Collapse of Vegetable Prices in the Fogera Plain
July 27, 2021 / APRA research note Publications Written by: Dawit Alemu and Tirhas Kinfe Since the early 1980s, the Fogera Plain has been one of Ethiopia’s major rice production areas. The introduction of rice, its commercialisation and the subsequent increased surplus production has led to the ability
Journal Article: The politics of mechanisation in Zimbabwe: tractors, accumulation and agrarian change
July 26, 2021 / Journal articles Publications This article explores whether mechanisation affects patterns of accumulation and differentiation in Zimbabwe's post land reform where policy consistently disadvantages smallholders. Is the latest mechanisation wave any different? The article considers dynamics of tractor access and accumulation trajectories across and
Journal Article: Tractors, States, Markets and Agrarian Change in Africa
July 16, 2021 / Journal articles Publications Mechanisation has made a comeback to agricultural policy in Africa, encouraging scholars to revisit seminal literature on induced innovation. Recent studies emphasise the role for markets in addressing Africa’s mechanisation gaps and warn about past government failures to be avoided.
Research to Policy Influencing – Lessons from APRA on Efficiency, Effectiveness and Sustainability
July 15, 2021 / ALRE Research Note Publications Written by, Martin Whiteside This paper presents some of the learning on efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability generated by an accompanied learning process; which supported the latter part of a six-year research programme on agricultural commercialisation covering nine African countries and
Journal Article: Insights into Smallholder Capacity for Agricultural Commercialisation: Evidence from Four African Contexts
July 13, 2021 / Journal articles Publications Over the last 15 years, the agricultural economics and development literature has amply highlighted success stories of smallholder farmers in developing countries, illustrating their increased engagement and integration with markets, in other words, higher rates of commercialisation. Yet, this seeming
Journal Article: A Revisit of Farm Size and Productivity: Empirical Evidence from a Wide Range of Farm Sizes in Nigeria
June 4, 2021 / Journal articles Publications The relationship between farm size and productivity has been studied extensively in the agricultural and development economics literature. However, most of the documented evidence in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is based on samples of small-scale farms operating 5 ha or less,
APRA Research Note: The Covid-19 Pandemic and Household Rice Consumption Patterns in Ethiopia: The Case of Addis Ababa
April 30, 2021 / APRA research note Publications Written by, Dawit Alemu and Gashaw T. Abate. The outbreak of COVID-19 also resulted in moderate changes to the operation of the domestic rice value chain in Ethiopia. These were caused by changing responses of value chain actors (domestic and
Journal Article: Old Tractors, New Policies and Induced Technological Transformation: Agricultural Mechanisation, Class Formation and Market Liberalisation in Ghana
March 14, 2021 / Journal articles Publications This article examines the recent uptake of tractor ploughing services in northern Ghana. It examines the historical continuities in mechanisation and the emergence of a class of medium-scale commercial farmers. In the light of this, it questions the thesis that
Journal Article: Of Zinc Roofs and Mango Trees: Tractors, the State and Agrarian Dualism in Mozambique
March 11, 2021 / Journal articles Publications This paper reviews the latest mechanisation programme by the Mozambican government, asking how it is politically driven and how it shapes and is shaped by agrarian structures. Old ideas about agrarian dualism are reproduced today, albeit with a new language
Journal Article: The Resurgence of Agricultural Mechanisation in Ethiopia: Rhetoric or Real Commitment?
January 31, 2021 / Journal articles Publications Ethiopia’s agricultural development strategies bypassed smallholder mechanisation for decades. Mechanisation returned to the policy agenda in 2013 but recent pro-mechanisation rhetoric lacks operational commitments. Based on primary and secondary data, this paper traces the policies and policy narratives that have
Rapid Assessment of the Impact of Covid-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa – Synthesis Report 2
January 14, 2021 / APRA research note Evidence Review Publications Written by, Marco Carreras, Amrita Saha and John Thompson. This report presents a summary of findings emerging from the second round of a three-wave rapid assessment led by the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Programme of the Future Agricultures
Impact of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Zambia – Round 1 Report
January 11, 2021 / COVID Country Report Impact Assessment Written by, Chrispin Matenga and Munguzwe Hichaambwa. To assess the impact of COVID-19 on local food systems and livelihoods, a total of 115 small-scale farming households (102 male- and 13 female headed) were interviewed from five communities (Lilanda, Luang (Mankanda),
Impact of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Malawi – Round 2 Report
January 4, 2021 / COVID Country Report Impact Assessment Written by, Mirriam Matita and Masautso Chimombo. COVID-19 continues to impact households and economies worldwide. For this reason, in June 2020 APRA started assessing its likely effects on food systems and livelihoods in Malawi. This report presents insights from the
Impact of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Zimbabwe -Round 2 Report
December 18, 2020 / COVID Country Report Publications Written by, Vine Mutyasira. In response to COVID-19, the Government of Zimbabwe enforced a nationwide lockdown on 30 March 2020, closing most sectors of the economy, including informal markets. However, with limited cases, lockdown movement restrictions were eased and supermarkets,
Impact of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Tanzania – Round 2 Report
December 18, 2020 / COVID Country Report Publications Written by, Gideon Boniface and C.G. Magomba. On 8 June 2020, the Government of Tanzania officially declared the country to be free of COVID-19 and all restrictions have since been lifted. As of 3 December 2020, Tanzania had only 509
Impact of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Kenya – Round 2 Report
December 18, 2020 / COVID Country Report Publications Written by, John Olwande and Miltone Ayieko. Since 12 March 2020, when Kenya reported the first COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Health confirmed a total of 45,076 cases and 839 deaths, as of 19 October.1 Despite the rising number of