In Search of Development: Some Directions for Further Investigation

1986 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaki Ergas
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sahara Desert ◽  
Absolute Poverty ◽  
The West ◽  
14Th Century ◽  
Capita Food ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan

The rapidly deteriorating social and economic situation in sub-Saharan Africa, and the need for large-scale action to reverse that ominous trend, are captured well in the following paragraph:It is becoming evident that Africa is in a state of breathtaking and grievous crisis whose… likes may not have been seen anywhere in the West since the 14th century Plague. Twenty-nine of the world's 36 poorest nations are to be found south of the Sahara desert… and 24 of them are now appealing for emergency aid to ward off famine… The percentage of Africans living in absolute poverty rose from 82 percent to 91 percent through the 1970s. In 1983 per capita food production was down by 14 percent from 1981. Five million Africans are currently refugees. Five million African children died this year; another five million were crippled by malnutrition and disease.

Hybrid Information Systems for Agriculture: The Case of Cattle Trypanosomiasis in Africa

1994 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain J. Mckendrick ◽  
George Gettinby ◽  
Yiqun Gu ◽  
Andrew Peregrine ◽  
Crawford Revie
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Hybrid System ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Software Systems ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Scale Population ◽  
Sub Saharan

Large scale population growth in sub-Saharan Africa makes it imperative to achieve an equivalent increase in food production in this area. It is also important that any increase be sustainable in the long-term, not causing lasting damage to local ecosystems. Recent advances in information technology make the successful diffusion of relevant expertise to farmers a more practical option than ever before. How this might be achieved is described in this paper, which considers the transfer of expertise in the diagnosis, treatment and management of trypanosomiasis in cattle. Using current technology, the combination of different software systems in one integrated hybrid system could allow the delivery of high quality, well focused information to the potential user.

Poverty, Agricultural Intensification, and the Environment (The Distinguishedl Lecture)

1994 ◽  
Vol 33 (4I) ◽  
pp. 463-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Pinstrup Andersen ◽  
Rajul Pandya-Lorch
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Agricultural Intensification ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Crop Varieties ◽  
Annual Population ◽  
Cultivable Land ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Technological Constraints

As the world's population increases by almost 100 million people each year during the next two to three decades-the largest annual population increase in history- agricultural intensification, i.e. production of more food on land already being cultivated, is a must. There is little scope for increasing cultivated land in Asia, North Africa, and Central America, while in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America, physical and technological constraints are likely to restrain large-scale conversion of potentially cultivable land [Dram and Hojjati (1994)]. Agricultural intensification is already the main source of increased food production. I Intensive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation technology, in combination with higher-yielding crop varieties, has led to enough food being produced in the world such that if it were evenly distributed, no one would go hungry. Global food production per capita increased from about 260 kilograms (kgs) in 1950 to about 350 kgs in the early 1990s [FAD (1992)]. In developing countries the corresponding increase was from 170 kgs to 250 kgs.

The Hardest Case

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Paarlberg
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Income Growth ◽  
Food Crisis ◽  
Extreme Poverty ◽  
Farm Productivity ◽  
Rural Income ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan

This article examines the worsening food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses how food production has failed to keep pace with population growth, partly due to low farm productivity. Because most Africans are farmers, lagging production per capita translates into little or no rural income growth, and hence little or no increase in the capacity to purchase food. Decades of lagging farm productivity have resulted in a doubling of the number of Africans living in extreme poverty, from 150 million in 1980 to approximately 300 million in 2013. The analysis then turns to the reasons behind the government’s failure to boost farm productivity. The article also considers the potential solutions to the current food and farming crisis.

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 Assessing Future Water Demand and Associated Energy Input with Plausible Scenarios for Water Service Providers (WSPs) in Sub-Saharan Africa

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2169
Author(s):  
Pauline Macharia ◽  
Nzula Kitaka ◽  
Paul Yillia ◽  
Norbert Kreuzinger
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Energy Input ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Water Service ◽  
Current State ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan

This study examined the current state of water demand and associated energy input for water supply against a projected increase in water demand in sub-Saharan Africa. Three plausible scenarios, namely, Current State Extends (CSE), Current State Improves (CSI) and Current State Deteriorates (CSD) were developed and applied using nine quantifiable indicators for water demand projections and the associated impact on energy input for water supply for five Water Service Providers (WSPs) in Kenya to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach based on real data in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, the daily per capita water-use in the service area of four of the five WSPs was below minimum daily requirement of 50 L/p/d. Further, non-revenue water losses were up to three times higher than the regulated benchmark (range 26–63%). Calculations showed a leakage reduction potential of up to 70% and energy savings of up to 12 MWh/a. The projected water demand is expected to increase by at least twelve times the current demand to achieve universal coverage and an average daily per capita consumption of 120 L/p/d for the urban population by 2030. Consequently, the energy input could increase almost twelve-folds with the CSI scenario or up to fifty-folds with the CSE scenario for WSPs where desalination or additional groundwater abstraction is proposed. The approach used can be applied for other WSPs which are experiencing a similar evolution of their water supply and demand drivers in sub-Saharan Africa. WSPs in the sub-region should explore aggressive strategies to jointly address persistent water losses and associated energy input. This would reduce the current water supply-demand gap and minimize the energy input that will be associated with exploring additional water sources that are typically energy intensive.

Intraclass Correlation Coefficients for Designing Cluster-Randomized Trials in Sub-Saharan Africa Education

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 500-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Kelcey ◽  
Zuchao Shen ◽  
Jessaca Spybrook
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Randomized Trials ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Education Outcomes ◽  
Randomized Studies ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Variance Explained

Objective: Over the past two decades, the lack of reliable empirical evidence concerning the effectiveness of educational interventions has motivated a new wave of research in education in sub-Saharan Africa (and across most of the world) that focuses on impact evaluation through rigorous research designs such as experiments. Often these experiments draw on the random assignment of entire clusters, such as schools, to accommodate the multilevel structure of schooling and the theory of action underlying many school-based interventions. Planning effective and efficient school randomized studies, however, requires plausible values of the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the variance explained by covariates during the design stage. The purpose of this study was to improve the planning of two-level school-randomized studies in sub-Saharan Africa by providing empirical estimates of the ICC and the variance explained by covariates for education outcomes in 15 countries. Method: Our investigation drew on large-scale representative samples of sixth-grade students in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and includes over 60,000 students across 2,500 schools. We examined two core education outcomes: standardized achievement in reading and mathematics. We estimated a series of two-level hierarchical linear models with students nested within schools to inform the design of two-level school-randomized trials. Results: The analyses suggested that outcomes were substantially clustered within schools but that the magnitude of the clustering varied considerably across countries. Similarly, the results indicated that covariance adjustment generally reduced clustering but that the prognostic value of such adjustment varied across countries.

Land conflicts and social differentiation in eastern Uganda

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Kandel
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Social Differentiation ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Current Period ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Historical Developments ◽  
Eastern Uganda

ABSTRACTRising competition and conflict over land in rural sub-Saharan Africa continues to attract the attention of researchers. Recent work has especially focused on land governance, post-conflict restructuring of tenure relations, and large-scale land acquisitions. A less researched topic as of late, though one deserving of greater consideration, pertains to how social differentiation on the local-level shapes relations to land, and how these processes are rooted in specific historical developments. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Teso sub-region of eastern Uganda, this paper analyses three specific land conflicts and situates them within a broad historical trajectory. I show how each dispute illuminates changes in class relations in Teso since the early 1990s. I argue that this current period of socioeconomic transformation, which includes the formation of a more clearly defined sub-regional middle class and elite, constitutes the most prominent period of social differentiation in Teso since the early 20th century.

Economic freedom and tax revenue performance in sub-Saharan Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 610-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Oladapo Alabede
Keyword(s):  
Capita Income ◽  
Economic Freedom ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Tax Revenue ◽  
Traditional Theory ◽  
Per Capita Income ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tax Effort ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan

Purpose This study aims to expand the conventional tax effort model to incorporate relevant economic freedom variables to investigate whether economic freedom fosters tax revenue performance in `sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Design/methodology/approach This study uses data from 42 countries across the four sub-regions of SSA from the period 2005 to 2012 with 252 year-country observations in an unbalanced panel method. The data were statistically treated using feasible generalised least square (FGLS) and panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) estimate techniques. Findings The findings are twofold. First, the principal finding of the study suggests that economic freedom promotes tax revenue performance. Precisely, the FGLS analysis indicates that property rights freedom, freedom from corruption and investment freedom, as well as the composite economic freedom, exerted positive significant impact on tax revenue performance. This implies that country, which attained high degree of economic freedom, is likely to have higher tax-to-GDP ratio than a country with low level of economic freedom. Secondly, the results of most conventional variables conform to the prediction in the traditional theory except per capita income. Specifically, agriculture share in GDP and per capita income indicate negative significant relationship with tax revenue performance. Originality/value Because little is known empirically about the connection between economic freedom and tax revenue performance, this study extended the conventional tax effort model to incorporate the economic freedom to bridge the knowledge gap due to the absence of empirical evidence on the relationship between economic freedom and tax effort.

scholarly journals Resource frontiers and agglomeration economies: The varied logics of transnational land-based investing in Southern and Eastern Africa

AMBIO ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilini Abeygunawardane ◽  
Angela Kronenburg García ◽  
Zhanli Sun ◽  
Daniel Müller ◽  
Almeida Sitoe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Data ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agglomeration Economies ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Forestry Investments ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Investment Location

AbstractActor-level data on large-scale commercial agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa are scarce. The peculiar choice of transnational investing in African land has, therefore, been subject to conjecture. Addressing this gap, we reconstructed the underlying logics of investment location choices in a Bayesian network, using firm- and actor-level interview and spatial data from 37 transnational agriculture and forestry investments across 121 sites in Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. We distinguish four investment locations across gradients of resource frontiers and agglomeration economies to derive the preferred locations of different investors with varied skillsets and market reach (i.e., track record). In contrast to newcomers, investors with extensive track records are more likely to expand the land use frontier, but they are also likely to survive the high transaction costs of the pre-commercial frontier. We highlight key comparative advantages of Southern and Eastern African frontiers and map the most probable categories of investment locations.

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