This is one of the first comprehensive books on the crisis of the Tanzanian economy and society during the 1980s, including the manifestations of the problems and the responses to them at different levels. It frankly examines the long-term causes of the crisis and endeavours to map ways ahead.
The book provides a comprehensive discussion about the role of agricultural seed in sustainable peasant agriculture and concludes by presenting new principles for sustainable poverty-oriented plant breeding.
In response to the climate crisis, there has been much focus on climate-smart agriculture (CSA); namely, technologies and practices that enhance adaptation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and contribute to food security; the so-called triple win. Success has tended to be measured in terms of the number of farmers adopting CSA with less focus given to the impacts especially on human development. CSA can inadvertently lead to‘maladaptation’ whereby interventions reinforce existing vulnerabilities either by beneftting powerful elites or by transferring risks and exposure between groups. Such maladaptive outcomes often stem from overly technical adaptation programming that is driven by external objectives and discounts the social and political dynamics of vulnerability. Increasingly a more nuanced picture is emerging. This reveals how a failure to contextualize CSA in relation to the structural socioeconomic dynamics associated with agricultural systems that render some categories of farmer especially vulnerable to climate change, undermines CSA’s contribution to reducing rural poverty and increasing equity. In response, there is a growing focus on transformative orientations that pursue a more deep-seated approach to social, institutional, technological and cultural change in order to address the structural contributors to vulnerability and diferential exposure to climate risk. Addressing these questions requires a robust consideration of the social contexts and power relations through which agriculture is both researched and practiced. For agriculture to be transformative and contribute to broader development goals, a greater emphasis is needed on issues of farmer heterogeneity, the dangers of maladaptation and the importance of social equity. This entails recognizing that resilience encompasses both agroand socio-ecological dimensions. Furthermore, practitioners need to be more cognizant of the dangers of (i) benefting groups of already better of farmers at the expense of the most vulnerable and/or (ii) focusing on farmers for whom agriculture is not a pathway out of poverty. The success of these approaches rests on genuine transdisciplinary partnerships and systems approaches that ensure adaptation and mitigation goals along with more equitable incomes, food security and development. The greater emphasis on social equity and human well-being distinguishes climate-resilient from climate-smart agriculture.
Urbanisation and long-lasting civil wars and conflict mean that the demographic pattern in Sudan is changing drastically. Nevertheless, 60%–80 % of Sudanese engage in subsistence agriculture. Agriculture remains a crucial sector in the economy as a major source of rawmaterials, food and foreign exchange. It employs the majority of the labour force, and serves as a potential vehicle for diversifyingthe economy. However, no rigorous studies have explained productivity in this sector inrelation to food security. The situation has worsened because agriculture in particular has been neglected sincethe advent of oil production in the early 2000s. Moreover, Sudan’s agricultural growth has been unbalanced, with the majority of irrigated agriculture concentrated in the Centre and ahuge disparity in development indicators between the best- and worst-performing regions. Thus, studies show that the vast majority of Sudanese are reported to be food insecure, especially internally displaced persons and in conflict regions such as Darfur, Kordofan and other regions.
Background: Gender disparities in access to inputs, markets, financial inclusion, and participation in strategic value chains are major developmental challenges in emerging economies. Participation in the edible insect value chain has become an essential source of income, food, and nutrition in some African countries. This paper uses a bivariate probit model to examine the gender differentials for primary mopane worm harvesters' participation in primary processing and market participation during COVID-19 in South-Eastern Zimbabwe. Using a structured questionnaire, the data was gathered from 393 primary harvesters in five purposively selected wards in the Gwanda District of Zimbabwe. This study examines the gender differentials for primary mopane worm harvesters' participation in primary processing and market participation during COVID-19 in south-Eastern Zimbabwe.
Results: Results show that women are likelier to participate in primary value addition to preparing for the lean season opportunities. There are gender differentials in the participation in markets during COVID-19. Results show a significant negative relationship between participants' ages and female engagement in mopane processing and a positive correlation with female involvement in lean COVID-19 season marketing. Male harvesters' participation in the lean market during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly correlated positively with age and education level, while the choice to participate in the lean market was negatively correlated with the dependency ratio.
Conclusions: Collaborative, community-centric, and gender-accommodative development of the mopane worm value chain is important. Focal issues are on supporting primary value addition for lean season market participation and during market shocks such as COVID-19. This can be a leap towards gender equality and improving livelihoods of women and men in mopane harvesting areas. The study recommends marketing and district-specific policies explicitly addressing mopane worm harvesting and marketing affects market participation and primary value-addition decisions.
In the context of Uganda, this study delves into gender-based strategies aimed at enhancing women's engagement in milk safety, value addition and marketing within smallholder livestock farming. The objectives were twofold: first, to document the current practices of women in milk safety, value addition, and marketing channels; second, to examine the constraints, opportunities, and strategies related to the production of safe milk and milk products, along with accessing sustainable markets. Conducted in four sub-counties of Kiruhura district, this research employed both qualitative participatory methods and structured questionnaires, including twelve focused group discussions and twenty key informant interviews with both women and men. Notably, 217 structured questionnaires were administered. The findings illuminate that women play a central role in milk processing, water provisioning, sanitation, hygiene practices and were the primary contributors to milk value addition, particularly in the production of butter and ghee. Despite their active involvement, women face challenges in accessing adequate milk quantities, employ traditional labor-intensive procedures and encounter difficulties in marketing their processed products. Men, often the household heads, held decision-making authority over milk consumption and control the selling of milk, contributing to gender disparities. Addressing these challenges necessitates comprehensive support, including training and capacity-building initiatives for both men and women in milk value addition, credit access, and market entry. The study underscores the potential for improved women's access to milk quantities, particularly for butter and ghee production, to strengthen rural livelihoods and boost dairy production in Uganda.
"Ethiopia has shown encouraging economic development in the past years. The swirls of economic bubbles are impacting the different regions of the country. At the moment, there are several national and regional development projects being implemented in the Gambella Region in Western Ethiopia. However, being part ofthe development scheme of the federal state does not necessarily guarantee that this peripheral region will be integrated and brought closer to the political, cultural and economic core.
This report is an attempt to contribute to this debate by focusing on two major themes: large-scale agriculture and the villagization programmes. It examines the dynamics of Gambella’s political economy and the process of incorporating the region – and the Nuer transhumant communities in particular – into the national economy. Specifically, it explores how processes of commercial farming investments and the villagization programme impact Nuer pastoralists. A policy recommendation to be concluded from this research is to acknowledge the nexus between two pastoral development approaches – pastoral area development vs. pastoralism development – so as to make them run in tandem without one excluding the other. By recognising them as mutually reinforcing, pastoralism could be promoted while resources are developed."
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a fungal disease that affects a variety of cereals. FHB is most commonly caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum. FHB infected crops can develop a wide variety of mycotoxins, which are very dangerous to humans and animals. FHB is currently being controlled by chemical fungicides, which are very dangerous for the environment and are only effective under certain conditions. Resistant varieties and well-chosen agricultural technologies can help reduce the prevalence of FHB in plants. However, at present there are no fully resistant varieties. The article analyses the possible ways to identify FHB infected areas in winter wheat and barley crops and how this data can be used to map field infestation. For the detection of FHB is used field scanning and analysis of the multispectral or hyperspectral data results on field contamination. According exact field locations affected by FHB, harvesting trajectories can be designed to distinguish between completely uninfected, minimally infected, and heavily infected plants. According to this, the harvest can later be sorted into top quality, medium and low quality.
This study addresses the role the food bank plays in food security, sustainable livelihoods and building resilience to climate change among smallholder farmers in Uganda, and in particular eastern Uganda. Currently, it is difficult to measure the socioeconomic impact of the food bank on smallholder farmers in eastern Uganda due to the difficulty of isolating its contribution from that of interrelated programmes and farmer activities. It is, however, evident that the food bank plays a significant role in improving the smallholder farmers’ food production and incomes. The food bank is actively engaged in training smallholder farmers in modern farming methods, providing improved seeds and safe storage facilities for farmers’ produce, helping farmers to diversify their livelihood sources and providing climate-related information. Prolonged drought and lack of access to sufficient seeds of good quality are the main sources of food insecurity among smallholder farmers. Distance from the food bank and lack of access to information are among the other factors that affected many farmers’ ability to participate in food bank activities. Community ownership of the food bank is still lacking, and this is a long term threat to the sustainability of the project. There is therefore an urgent need to establish community-managed food banks at lower levels that ensure community ownership; equitably distribute benefits among target farmers; encourage seed-saving among farmers; initiate community-supported agriculture programmes to improve access to farm credit; and invest in rainwater harvesting for irrigation.