WHICH OPTIONS FIT BEST? OPERATIONALIZING THE SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL NICHE CONCEPT

SUMMARYThe large diversity of farms and farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa calls for agricultural improvement options that are adapted to the context in which smallholder farmers operate. The socio-ecological niche concept incorporates the agro-ecological, socio-cultural, economic and institutional dimensions and the multiple levels of this context in order to identify which options fit best. In this paper, we illustrate how farming systems analysis, following the DEED cycle of Describe, Explain, Explore and Design, and embedding co-learning amongst researchers, farmers and other stakeholders, helps to operationalize the socio-ecological niche concept. Examples illustrate how farm typologies, detailed farm characterization and on-farm experimental work, in combination with modelling and participatory approaches inform the matching of options to the context at regional, village, farm and field level. Recommendation domains at these gradually finer levels form the basis for gradually more detailed baskets of options from which farmers and other stakeholders may choose, test and adjust to their specific needs. Tailored options identified through the DEED cycle proof to be more relevant, feasible and performant as compared to blanket recommendations in terms of both researcher and farmer-identified criteria. As part of DEED, on-farm experiments are particularly useful in revealing constraints and risks faced by farmers. We show that targeting options to the niches in which they perform best, helps to reduce this risk. Whereas the conclusions of our work about the potential for improving smallholders’ livelihoods are often sobering, farming systems analysis allows substantiating the limitations of technological options, thus highlighting the need for enabling policies and institutions that may improve the larger-scale context and increase the uptake potential of options.

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Flood Based Farming Systems in South-Eastern Africa: Smallholder Farmers’ Choice

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-498 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Arab Msume ◽

Giulio Castelli ◽

Faidess Mwale

Keyword(s):

Capital Investment ◽

Crop Production ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Eastern Africa ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Human Welfare ◽

Direct Observations ◽

Sub Saharan

<p>Agriculture is critical for human welfare and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, especially rainfed agriculture remains vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in the region. This has generated increasing interest in practices such as Flood Based Farming Systems (FBFS) which enable turning flood water into an opportunity for crop production for smallholder farmers living in flood plains. Despite this interest, there is limited knowledge about farmers&#8217; preference in terms of choices about a specific FBFS and therefore about which specific FBFS needs improvements for realizing its full benefits. The present study characterizes FBFS in Balaka District, Eastern Malawi, in order to develop a pilot approach for gaining knowledge and insights about farmers&#8217; preferences. Data were collected from a sample of 398 questionnaires, direct observations, focus group discussions and key informant interviews, and they were analyzed through SPSS. Results show that Flood Recession Agriculture (FRA) was predominantly practiced (54%), together with other FBFS such as Depression Agriculture (DA), Spate Irrigation (SI) and Dug Outs (DO). Low capital investment and low level of awareness of farmers were referred to be critical for FRA adoption with (p<0.00003) and (p<0.004) respectively. Therefore, investing on FRA, which has already proven to be used in the area, could be a key to improve food security in the area.&#160;</p>

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Micro-livestock in smallholder farming systems: the role, challenges and opportunities for cavies in South Kivu, eastern DR Congo

Tropical Animal Health and Production ◽

10.1007/s11250-019-02112-9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 52 (3) ◽

pp. 1167-1177

Author(s):

Charlotte J. Klapwijk ◽

Marc Schut ◽

Piet J. A. van Asten ◽

Bernard Vanlauwe ◽

Ken E. Giller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Herd Size ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Dr Congo ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Mixed Crop ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

South Kivu ◽

Sub Saharan

AbstractLivestock play multiple roles for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Mixed crop-livestock systems are common in South Kivu, eastern DR Congo, but herd sizes are small and numbers of large livestock (i.e. cattle) have declined, due to high population density, recent conflicts and extreme poverty. Over half of the farmers keep cavies, a type of micro-livestock fitting the circumstances of smallholders and a valuable asset especially for the poorest households. To characterize cavy husbandry practices, detailed monthly on-farm data on cavy numbers, weights, herd dynamics and feeding practices were collected over 15 months and from households in two contrasting sites in South Kivu. Cavy herds contained on average 10 animals and strongly varied in size over time and between households. The main reasons for keeping cavies were meat consumption, especially for children, and the opportunity to generate petty cash. A large difference was observed in adult cavy live weights between the sites (an average of 0.6 and 1.0 kg per animal in Kabamba and Lurhala, respectively) and attributed to differences in cavy husbandry and genetics. In both sites, quantities of fresh fodder on offer were larger than fodder demand by 50–100%, but no correlation was found between amount of fodder on offer and cavy weight. Farmers faced several constraints to cavy production, including substantial declines in cavy herd size due to predation or theft and a lack of knowledge regarding breeding and feeding. Hence, the introduction of cages to limit mortality and fodder cultivation to improve feed quality were opportunities for improving cavy production. Overall, micro-livestock present a promising entry-point for development initiatives, also outside DR Congo, because of their potential to decrease poverty and improve human nutrition.

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

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13031158 ◽

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.

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Circular Bioeconomy Research for Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Innovations, Gaps, and Actions

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13041926 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 1926 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Shiferaw Feleke ◽

Steven Michael Cole ◽

Haruna Sekabira ◽

Rousseau Djouaka ◽

Victor Manyong

Keyword(s):

Gap Analysis ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

International Institute ◽

The Public ◽

Secondary Sources ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Sub Saharan

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has applied the concept of ‘circular bioeconomy’ to design solutions to address the degradation of natural resources, nutrient-depleted farming systems, hunger, and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Over the past decade, IITA has implemented ten circular bioeconomy focused research for development (R4D) interventions in several countries in the region. This article aims to assess the contributions of IITA’s circular bioeconomy focused innovations towards economic, social, and environmental outcomes using the outcome tracking approach, and identify areas for strengthening existing circular bioeconomy R4D interventions using the gap analysis method. Data used for the study came from secondary sources available in the public domain. Results indicate that IITA’s circular bioeconomy interventions led to ten technological innovations (bio-products) that translated into five economic, social, and environmental outcomes, including crop productivity, food security, resource use efficiency, job creation, and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Our gap analysis identified eight gaps leading to a portfolio of five actions needed to enhance the role of circular bioeconomy in SSA. The results showcase the utility of integrating a circular bioeconomy approach in R4D work, especially how using such an approach can lead to significant economic, social, and environmental outcomes. The evidence presented can help inform the development of a framework to guide circular bioeconomy R4D at IITA and other research institutes working in SSA. Generating a body of evidence on what works, including the institutional factors that create enabling environments for circular bioeconomy approaches to thrive, is necessary for governments and donors to support circular bioeconomy research that will help solve some of the most pressing challenges in SSA as populations grow and generate more waste, thus exacerbating a changing climate using the linear economy model.

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REVIEW OF SEASONAL CLIMATE FORECASTING FOR AGRICULTURE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s0014479710000876 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 47 (2) ◽

pp. 205-240 ◽

Cited By ~ 148

Author(s):

JAMES W. HANSEN ◽

SIMON J. MASON ◽

LIQIANG SUN ◽

ARAME TALL

Keyword(s):

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Seasonal Forecast ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Seasonal Forecasting ◽

Seasonal Forecasts ◽

Climate Services ◽

Seasonal Climate ◽

Climate Forecasting ◽

Probabilistic Forecasts ◽

Sub Saharan

SUMMARYWe review the use and value of seasonal climate forecasting for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with a view to understanding and exploiting opportunities to realize more of its potential benefits. Interaction between the atmosphere and underlying oceans provides the basis for probabilistic forecasts of climate conditions at a seasonal lead-time, including during cropping seasons in parts of SSA. Regional climate outlook forums (RCOF) and national meteorological services (NMS) have been at the forefront of efforts to provide forecast information for agriculture. A survey showed that African NMS often go well beyond the RCOF process to improve seasonal forecast information and disseminate it to the agricultural sector. Evidence from a combination of understanding of how climatic uncertainty impacts agriculture, model-based ex-ante analyses, subjective expressions of demand or value, and the few well-documented evaluations of actual use and resulting benefit suggests that seasonal forecasts may have considerable potential to improve agricultural management and rural livelihoods. However, constraints related to legitimacy, salience, access, understanding, capacity to respond and data scarcity have so far limited the widespread use and benefit from seasonal prediction among smallholder farmers. Those constraints that reflect inadequate information products, policies or institutional process can potentially be overcome. Additional opportunities to benefit rural communities come from expanding the use of seasonal forecast information for coordinating input and credit supply, food crisis management, trade and agricultural insurance. The surge of activity surrounding seasonal forecasting in SSA following the 1997/98 El Niño has waned in recent years, but emerging initiatives, such as the Global Framework for Climate Services and ClimDev-Africa, are poised to reinvigorate support for seasonal forecast information services for agriculture. We conclude with a discussion of institutional and policy changes that we believe will greatly enhance the benefits of seasonal forecasting to agriculture in SSA.

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Development patterns under population pressure: Agricultural development and the cassava-livestock interaction in smallholder farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Agricultural Systems ◽

10.1016/0308-521x(95)93645-t ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 51-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Luc Christiaensen ◽

Eric Tollens ◽

Chuma Ezedinma

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Development ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Population Pressure ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Development Patterns ◽

Smallholder Farming Systems ◽

Sub Saharan

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Factors That Matter for Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Sub-Sharan Africa - The Zimbabwe Case

Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies ◽

10.36941/ajis-2021-0152 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 48

Author(s):

David Mhlanga

Keyword(s):

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Multinomial Logit Model ◽

Financial Inclusion ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Farm Income ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Hand Off ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Government

The study intended to investigate the factors that are important in influencing the financial inclusion of smallholder farming households in Sub-Saharan Africa with a specific focus on Zimbabwe. Motivated by the fact that there is an increase in the evidence of the importance of financial inclusion in fighting poverty and the fact that by merely having a bank account, financial inclusion cannot be guaranteed, the study went further to interrogate factors that influence smallholder farmers to have a transaction account, to borrow and to have insurance. Since the dependent variable of financial inclusion had more than two categories, with three unordered categories, transaction account, savings/credit account, and insurance, the multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the determinants of financial inclusion from these three categories of the dependent variable. The multinomial logit model results, with insurance as the reference category, indicated that the size of the household, transaction costs, gender and agricultural extension service were the factors influencing the demand for a household to open a transaction account. On the other hand, off-farm income and age of the household were the only two factors significantly influencing households to borrow. Therefore, it is imperative for, the government of Zimbabwe to come up with more policies that encourage farmers to participate in the formal financial market as financial inclusion can help to fight poverty and the general developments of societies. Received: 28 April 2021 / Accepted: 31 August 2021 / Published: 5 November 2021

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A Multi-Phase Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 on Food Systems and Rural Livelihoods in Zimbabwe

10.19088/apra.2021.034 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vine Mutyasira

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Rapid Assessment ◽

Policy Research ◽

Rural Livelihoods ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Response Measures ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Multi Phase

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 of sub-Saharan Africa, COVID-19 has coincided with a number of other macroeconomic shocks, which have also exacerbated the impacts of the pandemic on food security, nutrition and general livelihoods, as well curtailed policy responses and mitigation strategies. In Zimbabwe, the COVID-19 pandemic struck at a time the country was experiencing a worsening economic and humanitarian situation. This study focused more on community and household dynamics and response measures to cope with the pandemic. This paper presents a summary of findings emerging from a series of rapid assessment studies undertaken by the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Programme in Mvurwi and Concession areas of Mazowe District in Zimbabwe to examine how COVID-19 is affecting food systems and rural livelihoods in our research communities.

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