scholarly journals Innovation and the Quest to Feed the World

2020 ◽  
pp. 179-205
Author(s):  
David Donnan
Keyword(s):  
Support Groups ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Continuous Innovation ◽  
The World ◽  
Agricultural Innovations ◽  
Corporate Social

Abstract While global levels of hunger and malnutrition have dropped significantly in the last few decades, there are concerns that agricultural advancements and R&D spending are not enough to unlock the true agricultural innovation needed to feed the burgeoning 10 billion people. Government spending on agricultural R&D has decreased in the last decade and many of the large-scale NGO activities are now focusing on environmental and sustainability issues. With the evolution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, coupled with the growth of agricultural startups and venture funds, the role of agriculture and hunger relief has dramatically changed in the last several decades. A new focus on sustainable growth, capabilities development, and innovative approaches for smallholder farmers has created an environment of continuous innovation that has replaced many of the donation-based hunger relief initiatives of the past. Large corporations are working with local NGOs and support groups to tackle global hunger on a local basis. In the next decade, we should see more socially minded entrepreneurs that will work with NGOs and private businesses to solve the issues of smallholder farming and provide the opportunity to introduce both digital and agricultural innovations at the local level to further the quest to feed the world.

scholarly journals Precision Agriculture for Resource Use Efficiency in Smallholder Farming Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1158
Author(s):  
Cecilia M. Onyango ◽  
Justine M. Nyaga ◽  
Johanna Wetterlind ◽  
Mats Söderström ◽  
Kristin Piikki
Keyword(s):  
Resource Use ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
English Language ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Sub Saharan

Opportunities exist for adoption of precision agriculture technologies in all parts of the world. The form of precision agriculture may vary from region to region depending on technologies available, knowledge levels and mindsets. The current review examined research articles in the English language on precision agriculture practices for increased productivity among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 7715 articles were retrieved and after screening 128 were reviewed. The results indicate that a number of precision agriculture technologies have been tested under SSA conditions and show promising results. The most promising precision agriculture technologies identified were the use of soil and plant sensors for nutrient and water management, as well as use of satellite imagery, GIS and crop-soil simulation models for site-specific management. These technologies have been shown to be crucial in attainment of appropriate management strategies in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of resource use in SSA. These technologies are important in supporting sustainable agricultural development. Most of these technologies are, however, at the experimental stage, with only South Africa having applied them mainly in large-scale commercial farms. It is concluded that increased precision in input and management practices among SSA smallholder farmers can significantly improve productivity even without extra use of inputs.

scholarly journals Within-Season Changes in Land-Use Impact Pest Abundance in Smallholder African Cassava Production Systems

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Kalyebi ◽  
Sarina Macfadyen ◽  
Andrew Hulthen ◽  
Patrick Ocitti ◽  
Frances Jacomb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Bemisia Tabaci ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Manihot Esculenta Crantz

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), an important commercial and food security crop in East and Central Africa, continues to be adversely affected by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. In Uganda, changes in smallholder farming landscapes due to crop rotations can impact pest populations but how these changes affect pest outbreak risk is unknown. We investigated how seasonal changes in land-use have affected B. tabaci population dynamics and its parasitoids. We used a large-scale field experiment to standardize the focal field in terms of cassava age and cultivar, then measured how Bemisia populations responded to surrounding land-use change. Bemisia tabaci Sub-Saharan Africa 1 (SSA1) was identified using molecular diagnostics as the most prevalent species and the same species was also found on surrounding soybean, groundnut, and sesame crops. We found that an increase in the area of cassava in the 3–7-month age range in the landscape resulted in an increase in the abundance of the B. tabaci SSA1 on cassava. There was a negative relationship between the extent of non-crop vegetation in the landscape and parasitism of nymphs suggesting that these parasitoids do not rely on resources in the non-crop patches. The highest abundance of B. tabaci SSA1 nymphs in cassava fields occurred at times when landscapes had large areas of weeds, low to moderate areas of maize, and low areas of banana. Our results can guide the development of land-use strategies that smallholder farmers can employ to manage these pests.

scholarly journals FARMER RESEARCH NETWORKS AS A STRATEGY FOR MATCHING DIVERSE OPTIONS AND CONTEXTS IN SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (S1) ◽  
pp. 125-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
REBECCA NELSON ◽  
RICHARD COE ◽  
BETTINA I. G. HAUSSMANN
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Smallholder Agriculture ◽  
Research Networks ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Development Institutions

SUMMARYThe agricultural research and development institutions in most developing countries are poorly equipped to support the needs of millions of smallholder farmers that depend upon them. The research approaches taken by these systems explicitly or implicitly seek simple, one-size-fits-all solutions for problems and opportunities that are extremely diverse. Radical change is needed to facilitate the agroecological intensification of smallholder farming. We propose that large-scale participatory approaches, combined with innovations in information and communications technology (ICT), could enable the effective matching of diverse options to the wide spectrum of socio-ecological context that characterize smallholder agriculture. We consider the requirements, precedents and issues that might be involved in the development of farmer research networks (FRNs). Substantial institutional innovation will be needed to support FRNs, with shifts in roles and relationships amongst researchers, extension providers and farmers. Where farmers’ organizations have social capital and strong facilitation skills, such alignments may be most feasible. Novel information management capabilities will be required to introduce options and principles, enable characterization of contexts, manage data related to option-by-context interactions and enable farmers to visualize their findings in useful and intelligible ways. FRNs could lead to vastly greater capacity for technical innovation, which could in turn enable greater productivity and resilience, and enhance the quality of rural life.

Perspective: The unfinished agenda

Water Policy ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd H. Dieterich
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
World Summit ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
Health And Development

New targets for drinking water and sanitation were the prime water-related outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. They aimed at better health and development. The critical mass needed to implement them must be created, primarily at the local level involving the people, governments and non-governmental organizations but with responsive participation and large-scale contributions of the international community. Many issues still need resolution in the light of experience since the 1980s. Let us launch a second Water Decade in 2004, world-wide, but vastly different from the Decade of the 1980s; a new Decade that will ensure enduring commitment and maintain the momentum created in Johannesburg.

Dimensions of CSR in Tourism Industry in India

2016 ◽  
pp. 169-188
Author(s):  
Prabhjot Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Voluntary Organizations ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Indian Government ◽  
The World ◽  
Corporate Social

Tourism in India should be developed in such a way that it accommodates and entertains visitors in a way that is minimally intrusive or destructive to the environment and sustains and supports the native cultures in the locations it is operation in. Moreover, since tourism is a multi-dimensional activity, and basically a service industry, it would be necessary that all wings of the Central and State governments, private sector and voluntary organizations become active partners in the Endeavour to attain sustainable growth in tourism if India is to become a world player in the tourism industry. The study is based on the secondary data and the main objective of this study is to study the Indian government policies and programmes of CSR and to analyze the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities undertaken by the tourism industry. India is the first country in the world which made CSR compulsory for business houses as per Companies Act -2013. In the Indian economy for promoting the community development, the corporate sector in India has to share responsibility with government.

Dimensions of CSR in Tourism Industry in India

2019 ◽  
pp. 322-341
Author(s):  
Prabhjot Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Voluntary Organizations ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Indian Government ◽  
The World ◽  
Corporate Social

Tourism in India should be developed in such a way that it accommodates and entertains visitors in a way that is minimally intrusive or destructive to the environment and sustains and supports the native cultures in the locations it is operation in. Moreover, since tourism is a multi-dimensional activity, and basically a service industry, it would be necessary that all wings of the Central and State governments, private sector and voluntary organizations become active partners in the Endeavour to attain sustainable growth in tourism if India is to become a world player in the tourism industry. The study is based on the secondary data and the main objective of this study is to study the Indian government policies and programmes of CSR and to analyze the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities undertaken by the tourism industry. India is the first country in the world which made CSR compulsory for business houses as per Companies Act -2013. In the Indian economy for promoting the community development, the corporate sector in India has to share responsibility with government.

Social Environmental Mining Conflicts in Mexico

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 48-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darcy Tetreault
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Resistance Movements ◽  
Mining Companies ◽  
Accumulation By Dispossession ◽  
Mining Projects ◽  
Social Environmental

Examination of social environmental conflicts around mining in Mexico indicates that neoliberal reforms have facilitated “accumulation by dispossession,” first by transferring public resources in the form of mineral rights and state-run mining companies to the private sector and second by dispossessing smallholder farmers and indigenous communities of their land, water, and cultural landscapes in order to allow mining companies to carry out their activities. The resistance movements that have emerged to confront this dispossession are led on the local level by people whose livelihoods, health, and cultures are threatened by large-scale mining projects. They reflect “the environmentalism of the poor” in that they seek to keep natural resources outside of the sphere of the capitalist mode of production. El examen de los conflictos socioambientales en torno a la minería en México indica que las reformas neoliberales han facilitado la “acumulación por desposesión”: primero, transferiendo recursos públicos en forma de concesiones mineras y compañías paraestatales al sector privado y, segundo, despojando a los pequeños agricultures y a las comunidades indígenas de sus tierras, agua y paisajes culturales con el fin de permitirle a las compañías mineras llevar a cabo sus actividades. Los movimientos de resistencia que han surgido para afrontar este despojo están dirigidos en el plano local por personas cuyos medios de subsistencia, su salud y su cultura se ven amenazadas por los proyectos de minería en gran escala. Ellos reflejan “el ecologismo de los pobres” ya que buscan mantener los recursos naturales fuera de la esfera del modo de producción capitalista.

scholarly journals DEWORMING DELUSIONS? MASS DRUG ADMINISTRATION IN EAST AFRICAN SCHOOLS

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (S1) ◽  
pp. S116-S147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Allen ◽  
Melissa Parker
Keyword(s):  
Drug Administration ◽  
Mass Drug Administration ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Field Research ◽  
World Health ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Curative Therapy ◽  
School Based ◽  
The World

SummaryRecent debates about deworming school-aged children in East Africa have been described as the ‘Worm Wars’. The stakes are high. Deworming has become one of the top priorities in the fight against infectious diseases. Staff at the World Health Organization, the Gates Foundation and the World Bank (among other institutions) have endorsed the approach, and school-based treatments are a key component of large-scale mass drug administration programmes. Drawing on field research in Uganda and Tanzania, and engaging with both biological and social evidence, this article shows that assertions about the effects of school-based deworming are over-optimistic. The results of a much-cited study on deworming Kenyan school children, which has been used to promote the intervention, are flawed, and a systematic review of randomized controlled trials demonstrates that deworming is unlikely to improve overall public health. Also, confusions arise by applying the term deworming to a variety of very different helminth infections and to different treatment regimes, while local-level research in schools reveals that drug coverage usually falls below target levels. In most places where data exist, infection levels remain disappointingly high. Without indefinite free deworming, any declines in endemicity are likely to be reversed. Moreover, there are social problems arising from mass drug administration that have generally been ignored. Notably, there are serious ethical and practical issues arising from the widespread practice of giving tablets to children without actively consulting parents. There is no doubt that curative therapy for children infected with debilitating parasitic infections is appropriate, but overly positive evaluations of indiscriminate deworming are counter-productive.

scholarly journals Smallholder farmers’ perceptions of agricultural extension in adoption of new technologies in Kakamega County, Kenya

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Newton M. Nyairo ◽  
Linda J. Pfeiffer ◽  
Mark Russell
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Agricultural Extension ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Adoption Process ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Agricultural Innovations

This exploratory study assesses factors that harness agricultural technology adoption among smallholder farmers in Kakamega County, Kenya by evaluating the key variables that influence sustainable adoption of agricultural innovations in the area. A survey was randomly administered in June and July 2018 among smallholder farming households in seven sub-counties (N=78) of Kakamega County. A logistic regression model, capturing factors presumed to influence the adoption of agricultural innovations, was estimated. Results suggest that even in smallholder farms, the farm size is important in adoption of innovations. Results also indicate limited or no farmer interaction (55%) with extension services. Farmers reported application of fertilizer and use of push-pull technology as less important in maintaining soil health. The regression model findings suggest that variables typically presumed to influence adoption in the literature are insignificant in this case study. The statistical significance of the farm size variable implies that agricultural extension messages can be tailored to a variety of farmer audiences for suitable adoption based on farm size. The diffusion of innovation theory remains a valid and relevant framework in studying adoption. This study reiterates the critical role that farmers or their environment play in the adoption process.

scholarly journals Processes of Acquiring Large Scale Land by Investors in the Pru District of Ghana: A Critical Inquest

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
The Government ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Farming Households

The study examines the process of acquiring large-scale land for investment in the Pru district. Ghana has become one of the destinations for large-scale land deals in Africa, attracting high foreign investments in the agricultural sector. Over the past ten years, the Government of Ghana have leased out large tracts of land for investors, mainly foreign investors. The Pru district in the Bono East Region have large-scale land acquisition by investors. This study aims to examine the process through which large scale land are acquired in the district. The study employed a mixed method approach, where smallholder farmers were interviewed. Focus group discussions were conducted to achieve the objective of the study as well as computing statistical analysis for the socio-demography for the respondents. Both primary and secondary data were employed in the study and the qualitative data was analysed thematically whiles inferential and descriptive statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 20). The study found out that process of acquiring large tract of land for investment purposes include identification of vacant lands, deciding to lease the vacant lands, advertising the vacant lands, assessment of the land by prospective investors, negotiating terms of leasehold and documentation and transfer of ownership. The findings revealed that occupants of farmlands do not participate in decisions leading to the acquisition of those lands by investors, which has a significant influence on the effects of large-scale land acquisition on the livelihood of smallholder farming households. The study recommended that households should be given the opportunity to negotiate for better terms of compensation from investors and the government especially for farming households losing their farmlands.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document