scholarly journals A Strategy for Technology Development for Semi-Arid Sub-Saharan Africa

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-161
Author(s):  
John H. Sanders ◽  
Barry I. Shapiro ◽  
Sunder Ramaswamy
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Organic Fertilizer ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Inorganic Fertilizers ◽  
Strategy Evaluation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Semi Arid

This article proposes a strategy for agricultural technology development for semi-arid West Africa. The strategy evaluation consists of two aspects: a) a review of the successes in the region; and b) analysis with mathematical programming of the potential impacts and constraints to various new technologies tested in the region. The technology development strategy indicates how further productivity gains can be made by responding to the two principal constraints of water availability and soil fertility. These constraints must be simultaneously resolved but the strategy needs to be adapted for different soil characteristics and economic environments. The major emphasis is on the importance of the rapid introduction of inorganic fertilizers combined with techniques to increase water availability; organic and inorganic fertilizers need to be considered complements in the semi-arid regions. Farmers are already introducing labour intensive variations of these techniques in the most degraded regions. The policy concern is to encourage government policymakers to put a high priority on fertilizer and increase the availability of inorganic fertilizer while research efforts continue to develop improved methods for complementary use of organic fertilizer.

Hydro-climatic and Water Availability Changes and its Relationship with NDVI in Northern Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faustin Katchele Ogou ◽  
Vincent Nduka Ojeh ◽  
Edward Naabil ◽  
Chukwuemeka I. Mbah
Keyword(s):  
Water Availability ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan

Community Education in New HIV Prevention Technologies Research

2009 ◽  
pp. 328-338
Author(s):  
Busi Nkala
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Infection ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Survival Sex ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Health Programmes

An estimated 39.5 million people are living with HIV worldwide. There were 4.3 million new infections in 2006 with 2.8 million (65%) of these occurring in sub-Saharan Africa with important increases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where there are some indications that infection rates have risen by more than 50% since 2004. In 2006, 2.9 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses (UNAIDS, 2006). The continued increase in new HIV infection is a call for concern. It is imperative that more innovative ways of combating the infections are found sooner. There is an enormous body of evidence that HIV infection is caused mainly by sexual contact. There is also undisputed evidence that there are other contributing factors such as extreme poverty, survival sex, gender inequality, lack of education, fatalism, religious barriers and others. This chapter seeks to support the need to do more research in finding new technologies and innovative ways of dealing with the spread of HIV. The chapter suggests that the involvement of researched communities be effectively involved. Involving communities in finding solutions will help, in that research protocols and health programmes will take into account the cultural acceptability of the new technologies and systems and ensure that recipients of health services become effective organs of change. The chapter seeks to highlight the fact that, if the recipients are involved in all stages of development of health programmes, including technologies, we may begin to see changes in how new technologies are taken up or may shift toward getting technologies that are acceptable. There are various suggested and implemented ways which aid in achieving the protection for individuals and communities; such as community involvement, community participation and community education (Collins, 2002; Gupta 2002), this chapter will focus on community education and a proposal for a community principle.

Understanding the Weak Performance of Technology in Urban Management

2016 ◽  
pp. 928-947
Author(s):  
Claire Simonneau
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Urban Management ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Land Information System

The article questions the appropriation of existing urban planning and management tools in Sub-Saharan Africa, through a multiple case study: the implementation of a land information system (or simplified cadastre) in three cities in Benin. An ethnographic exploration of the use of the tool is conducted. The first section presents the historical context of the design of land information systems, framed by the urban management paradigm, and unwarranted confidence in new technologies. The second section presents the theoretical framework and the methodology of the research, inspired by public policy analysis and development anthropology. The third section describes findings of the multiple case studies. A vicious circle is highlighted, made up of: lack of political support, obsolescence, and decline of cost-effectiveness. The fourth section discusses the results of the ethnographic inquiry. These are, essentially, the interpretation of the paradoxes, blockages, and conflicts in the implementation of the tool in light of social, political and economic dynamics that take place at the local level, although unexpected by the creators of the tool.

Healthcare Technology Transfer in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Inductive Approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (08) ◽  
pp. 1950055
Author(s):  
Rian Marais ◽  
Sara S. Grobbelaar ◽  
Imke H. de Kock
Keyword(s):  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Healthcare Technology ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Transfer Method

The research addressed within this paper sets out to develop a framework towards facilitating health-related technology transfer (TT) to and within sub-Saharan African countries. In turn, this framework will attempt to alleviate healthcare burdens in developing nations through a combination of acquisitions and collaborative technology development. Systematic conceptual and comparative literature reviews have been conducted to identify the major characteristics of TT. The conceptual review has outlined the universal characteristics of TT such as TT methods, prominent stakeholders and the importance of knowledge transfer while the systematic comparative review exclusively evaluated sub-Saharan African healthcare TT characteristics such as infrastructure barriers and the marketability of the transfer object. The outcomes of the literature reviews have been clustered into five phases, forming the basis of the conceptual framework. This framework aims to guide a user through the phases of technology development, technology analysis, technology transfer method application, change management and commercialization by providing managerial best practices at each phase. The conceptual framework has been evaluated by incorporating the outcomes of 16 semi-structured interviews conducted with healthcare and TT industry experts. The final framework aims to provide guidelines for any stakeholder involved in healthcare technology transfer regardless of the healthcare implementation by highlighting best practices surrounding stakeholder co-creation, transfer method application and constructing a sustainable healthcare technology transfer venture.

Focused groundwater recharge in a dryland environment: hydrometric and isotopic evidence from central Tanzania

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Seddon ◽  
Japhet J. Kashaigili ◽  
Richard G. Taylor ◽  
Mark O. Cuthbert ◽  
Lucas Mihale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Recharge ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Managed Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Aquifer Recharge ◽  
Ephemeral Stream ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Semi Arid

<p>Groundwater, and its replenishment via recharge, is critical to livelihoods and poverty alleviation in drylands of sub-Saharan Africa and beyond, yet the processes by which groundwater is replenished remain inadequately observed and resolved. Here, we present three lines of evidence, from an extensively-monitored wellfield in central semi-arid Tanzania, indicating focused groundwater recharge occurring via leakage from episodic, ephemeral stream discharges. First, the duration of ephemeral streamflow observed from daily records from 2007 to 2016 correlates strongly (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.85) with the magnitude of groundwater recharge events observed and estimated from piezometric observations. Second, high-resolution (hourly) monitoring of groundwater levels and stream stage, established in advance of the 2015-16 El Niño, shows the formation and decay of groundwater mounds beneath episodically inundated adjacent streambeds. Third, stable-isotope ratios of O and H of groundwater and precipitation as well as perennial and ephemeral surface waters trace the origin of groundwater to ephemeral stream discharges. The identification and characterisation of focused groundwater recharge have important implications not only, locally, for protecting and potentially augmenting replenishment of a wellfield supplying the capital of Tanzania through Managed Aquifer Recharge but also, more widely, in understanding and modelling groundwater recharge in dryland environments.</p>

TRACING THE SEED: SEED DIFFUSION OF IMPROVED POTATO VARIETIES THROUGH FARMERS’ NETWORKS IN CHENCHA, ETHIOPIA

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
YENENESH TADESSE ◽  
CONNY J.M. ALMEKINDERS ◽  
ROGIER P.O. SCHULTE ◽  
PAUL C. STRUIK
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Potato Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Potato Varieties ◽  
Seed Tubers ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
New Varieties ◽  
Sub Saharan

SUMMARYThere are many prerequisites for potato production to meet its full potential as a food security crop for subsistence farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. One of these is the introduction of improved varieties. Traditionally, the introduction of new varieties is by government agencies or Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). To understand the diffusion of seed tubers (seeds) of new potato varieties in farmer networks, we analysed social factors influencing the sharing of seed of improved potato varieties amongst farmers in Chencha, Ethiopia. We interviewed 166 farmers and analysed 146 seed transactions. We used seed flow mapping to visualize seed sharing amongst farmers. We found that the social networks of farmers are differentiated by wealth, gender and religion, and that this differentiation affects the dispersion of new varieties through the farming communities: Wealthier farmers shared seed tubers most frequently and poor farmers did not share seed at all. Seed sharing was influenced by, but not restricted to, gender and religion categories. Most sharing was with relatives (as gifts) and neighbours (in exchange for labour). There weas no equal access to seed for all households because of (i) the targeting of the better off farmers by the NGO (ii) differences in frequency of sharing and (iii) terms and motivation of the transactions. Our results show that wealthy farmers most effectively multiply and share the seed of new varieties with medium wealthy and poor farmers. This study shows that for the introduction of new technologies into a community, its dynamics of social differentiation need to be understood.

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