Technical constraints to ruminant livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa

1993 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 13-24
Author(s):  
R. R. von Kaufmann ◽  
H. A. Fitzhugh
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Ecological Zone ◽  
Human Welfare ◽  
Developed Country ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Research Centres

AbstractConstraints do not only occur in production systems. They also limit the support available from research and extension and they have serious consequences for human welfare in Africa and for the whole community of nations.The agricultural research agendas in sub-Saharan Africa are indicating more concern for appropriate technology and interest in collaboration but support for research is declining when it is most urgently needed. Food production in sub-Saharan Africa is not keeping pace with demand and this is a cause of instability that will constrain all other attempts at development.The effect of the constraints is most evident on the deteriorating environment which is evident in each agro-ecological zone despite the different potentials and pressures. Animal productivity is low but has the potential for substantial improvement. Misconceptions and a lack of faith in the potential for improvement are themselves constraints in the sense that they discourage donor support for research to alleviate the real problems. Opportunities for improvement have been identified in each agro-ecological zone.There are three major categories of research institutions: national agricultural research systems, international agricultural research centres and developed country research centres. Each has its own comparative advantages and a vital rôle to play in collaboration with the others. With the limitation in research resources there is an urgent need to develop appropriate research methods and techniques that can be applied sufficiently to have impact across the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. These are particularly required in regard to food production. Research opportunities are identified in plant genotypes, animal health, animal genotypes and extension and input supply.

scholarly journals Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium mass balances in an irrigated quinoa field

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Alvar-Beltrán ◽  
Marco Napoli ◽  
Abdalla Dao ◽  
Amoro Ouattara ◽  
Leonardo Verdi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Potassium Nitrate ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Environmental Costs ◽  
Mass Balances ◽  
Crop Evapotranspiration ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Phosphorus And Potassium ◽  
Nitrogen Phosphorus

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) needs to increase its food production to alleviate food insecurity exacerbated by climate variability and from increasing food demand. Balancing macronutrient inputs becomes essential for sustaining yields, increasing farmer's income and minimizing environmental costs deriving from fertilizer misuse. The present study calculates the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) mass balances by estimating macronutrient inputs and outputs of a quinoa field cultivated under full and deficit irrigation conditions (100 and 50 % crop evapotranspiration- ETc), in either the presence or absence of N fertilizer (100 and 0 kg ha-1 of N). The emerging findings show that to produce one ton of quinoa biomass (including seeds, stems and leaves) 12.7, 1.6 and 35.5 kg ha-1 of N, P and K, respectively, need to be added into the soil. While N and K are required at medium to fairly high amounts, P is needed in lower amounts. Hence, fertilizers in the form of potassium nitrate (KNO3) are more suitable than those with higher phosphorus concentrations, phosphate (PO43-). Overall, evidences from field experimentations are necessary for integrating farming input recommendations on crop agronomic guidelines, driven by national agricultural research institutions, and for promoting sustainable agriculture in SSA.

CHALLENGES AND LESSONS WHEN USING FARMER KNOWLEDGE IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN AFRICA

2009 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. A. VAN ASTEN ◽  
S. KAARIA ◽  
A. M. FERMONT ◽  
R. J. DELVE
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Farmer Knowledge ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Local Adaptations ◽  
Farmer Participatory Research ◽  
Agricultural Research And Development ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Environmentally Sound

SUMMARYFarmer participatory research (FPR) approaches are now considered mainstream and are especially applicable for developing appropriate technology options in complex, diverse and risk-prone regions, where local adaptations are crucial. Although the advantages of using farmer knowledge to guide scientific research are numerous and well documented, the challenges and potential pitfalls that befall biophysical researchers, in particular, when using FPR approaches have received much less attention, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Our experiences show that in certain cases, the methods used to collect farmer knowledge are flawed, leading to inaccurate or incomplete information being gathered. This potentially leads to the development and promotion of unsustainable, unprofitable or socially unacceptable technologies. This paper uses a series of examples to illustrate that discrepancies between farmer and researcher observations may occur because (i) farmers and scientists may not have sufficient insight into the systems complexity, (ii) farmers and scientists use different reference frameworks, and (iii) methodological errors may lead to farmers intentionally or unintentionally providing false or ‘desired’ information to achieve (short-term) benefits. This paper concludes by providing guidelines to improve the integration of farmer and scientific knowledge in order to develop appropriate technology options that are both environmentally sound and adaptable to local conditions.

scholarly journals Participatory potato seed production: a breakthrough for food security and income generation in the central highlands of Ethiopia

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abebe Chindi ◽  
Egata Shunka ◽  
Atsede Solomon ◽  
W. Giorgis Gebremedhin ◽  
Ebrahim Seid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Crop Protection ◽  
Potato Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Potato Seed ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Potato Varieties ◽  
Production Technologies ◽  
Sub Saharan

AbstractQuality seed is one of the major bottlenecks hampering the production and productivity of potato not only in Ethiopia but also in Sub-Saharan Africa. Since the 1970’s, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research has generated a number of improved potato production technologies such as improved varieties with accompanying agronomic practices, crop protection measures, postharvest handling techniques and utilization options. The developed technologies were promoted from 2013-2015 via technology promotion and popularization to the Wolmera, Adea-Bera and Ejere districts with the objective of creating awareness and up scaling of improved potato production and utilization technologies. The Potato Improvement Research Program and the Research and Extension Division of Holetta Research Center in collaboration with extension staff of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) undertake this activity. The farmers were selected and organized in Farmer Field Schools and all stakeholders were engaged before distributing potato seeds and planting on selected farmers’ fields for demonstrating of potato production technologies. A total of 899 farmers and 40 agricultural experts were trained and 27.7, 9 and 5.5 tons of quality seeds of Gudanie, Jalenie and Belete potato varieties, respectively, were delivered as a revolving seed with their recommended agronomic packages; this amount of seed covered 21.1 ha. A total of 16 farmer groups from Wolmera, 7 from Adea-Berga, and 11 from Ejere participated. They produced over 434 tons of relatively clean seed and constructed 8 diffused light stores. In addition to the demonstration of improved potato varieties, information dissemination was also an important component of the program to raise awareness for a large numbers of potato growers through farmers’ field days, pamphlets, and mass media. Each year about three field days were organized and more than 1500 pamphlets were distributed to farmers invited from neighboring districts and ‘Kebeles’ to enhance speed. Through this intervention farmers are now harvesting a yield of about 26-34 t/ha up from 8t/ha when they were using inferior quality potato seed; this has made the farmers in the intervention area more food secure especially during the usually food scarce months of August to October when cereal crops are generally yet to mature. The farmers are also getting additional income from the sale of excess potato and are able to better meet other necessary costs like school fees, for their children.

Water treatment and supply: intermediate education in Sub-Saharan Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 578-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Byars ◽  
B. Antizar-Ladislao
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Experimental Learning ◽  
Treatment Technologies ◽  
Technical Expert ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Water Supply And Treatment ◽  
Water Provision

In 1973 the economist E.F Schumacher wrote ‘Small is Beautiful’. In this he created the vision of a concept known as ‘intermediate technology’. Directly from this grew the popular ‘appropriate technology’ movement. An appropriate technology, in the ideal sense, is designed with special consideration of the environmental, ethical, cultural, social, political, and economical aspects of the community it is intended for. The term ‘appropriate technology’ is continually used when referring to water supply and treatment technologies in international development. The widespread provision of hand-pumps in Africa by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) fully characterises the approach and remains the most prominent display of technologies, transferred on a charitable basis, between the developed and developing countries. However, after years of NGOs working with hand-pumps in Africa the first signs are showing that there are widespread problems with the current approach. In many cases the nature of ‘appropriateness’ is determined from the perspective of an external technical expert and not by the communities themselves. The lack of appropriateness is leading to severely unsustainable projects. This paper explores the linkage that has not been clearly mapped in technology transfer, i.e., the use of scientific and technical education. The focus of the transfer is on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to evaluate ‘appropriateness’ from the perspective of the end user. It explores the concept of ‘Intermediate Education’ – a method of using experimental learning to address a systemic weakness in safe water provision in development.

Pastoralism in sub-Saharan Africa

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Gifford-Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Human Genetics ◽  
Lipid Analysis ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
Southwest Asia ◽  
Sheep And Goats ◽  
Pastoral Mobility ◽  
Sub Saharan

African pastoralism is distinctive from that of Southwest Asia, focusing on dairy production with cattle, sheep, and goats. The latter were domesticated in Southwest Asia and introduced, but debate continues on whether indigenous African aurochs contributed genes to African domestic cattle. Pastoralism emerged in what was then a grassy Sahara and shifted south with the mid-Holocene aridification. Zooarchaeology and genetics show the donkey is a mid-Holocene African domesticate, emerging as an aid to pastoral mobility during increasing aridity. Pastoralism is the earliest form of domesticate-based food production in sub-Saharan Africa, with farming emerging millennia later. Human genetics and lipid analysis of Saharan ceramics shows an early reliance on dairying. With the emergence of pastoralism, new economies and social relations emerged that were carried by pastoralists across the whole of Africa.

Recommendations: The Development of the Agrarian Sector, with Emphasis on Food Production and Distribution

1988 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-33
Author(s):  
Michael F. Lofchie ◽  
Gleb V. Smirnov
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Food Distribution ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Debt Burden ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Ecological Problems ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Investment Goods

A critical problem for Africa is that of food production and distribution, highlighted by declines in food production, widespread hunger, and famine. There are several interrelated sources of this problem, both domestic and external. Among them are ecological problems, engendered by climatic and natural conditions; land fertility depletion in many regions of sub-Saharan Africa; the extreme scarcity of financial resources, accentuated by the debt burden and falling terms of trade; a deficit of investment goods and research and development facilities needed for agricultural development; and weaknesses in rural infrastructure, both economic and social. Unbalanced interaction between the rural and urban economies as well as archaic socioeconomic structures play a major role in the problems of food distribution, with consequent effects on food production.

scholarly journals Ancient DNA reveals a multistep spread of the first herders into sub-Saharan Africa

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 365 (6448) ◽  
pp. eaaw6275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Prendergast ◽  
Mark Lipson ◽  
Elizabeth A. Sawchuk ◽  
Iñigo Olalde ◽  
Christine A. Ogola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Multiphase Model ◽  
Later Stone Age ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Pastoral Neolithic

How food production first entered eastern Africa ~5000 years ago and the extent to which people moved with livestock is unclear. We present genome-wide data from 41 individuals associated with Later Stone Age, Pastoral Neolithic (PN), and Iron Age contexts in what are now Kenya and Tanzania to examine the genetic impacts of the spreads of herding and farming. Our results support a multiphase model in which admixture between northeastern African–related peoples and eastern African foragers formed multiple pastoralist groups, including a genetically homogeneous PN cluster. Additional admixture with northeastern and western African–related groups occurred by the Iron Age. These findings support several movements of food producers while rejecting models of minimal admixture with foragers and of genetic differentiation between makers of distinct PN artifacts.

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