scholarly journals Priorities for Sweetpotato Research in Developing Countries: Results of a Survey

HortScience ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1200-1206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith O. Fuglie
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Vitamin A Deficiency ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Small Enterprise ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Planting Material ◽  
Sub Saharan

International institutions like the International Potato Center (CIP) strive to provide “global public goods” in the form of improved technologies applicable to large regions of the developing world. To identify priorities for sweetpotato improvement, CIP conducted a survey of knowledgeable scientists in developing countries to elicit their perspectives on the most important constraints facing poor and small-scale sweetpotato growers in their countries. Respondents scored productivity and other constraints according to their importance in the region or country where they worked. Mean and weighted mean scores were estimated to provide a group judgment of the most important constraints facing sweetpotato farmers in developing countries. The survey results showed that there are a few key needs facing farmers in all major sweetpotato producing areas, but there are other very important needs specific to certain regions. The needs that scored highest in all or most of the major sweetpotato producing areas in developing countries are: i) control of viruses (through varietal resistance, quality planting material, and crop management); ii) small-enterprise development for sweetpotato processing; iii) improvement in availability and quality of sweetpotato planting material; and iv) improved cultivars exhibiting high and stable yield potential. Some differences emerged, however, in priority needs of the two major centers of sweetpotato production: Additional priorities for sub-Saharan Africa include improved control of the sweetpotato weevil and cultivars with high β-carotene content to address vitamin A deficiency. For China, other top needs are: i) conservation and characterization of genetic resources; ii) prebreeding; iii) cultivars with high starch yield; and iv) new product development. The different sets of priorities reflect differences in the role of sweetpotato in the rural economy and also different capacities of the agricultural research system in these regions of the world. Compared with earlier surveys, there now seems to be a greater need for postharvest utilization research, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, partly reflecting a demand constraint due to the crop's status as an inferior food.

Building Innovation Systems for Small-Scale Agricultural Activities in Sub-Saharan Africa

2016 ◽  
pp. 276-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olawale Oladipo Adejuwon
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
Innovation Systems ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agricultural Activities ◽  
Research Systems ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Successful Innovation

The failure of agricultural research systems to provide appropriate technologies to enhance competitiveness in small-scale agricultural activities in sub-Saharan Africa has been well documented. Recognising the peculiarities of such activities, this chapter proposes that a system of innovation where; the actors interact with each other; a combination of science- and experience-based mode of learning and innovation is used and; users provide producers of innovations with feedback will produce appropriate innovations for the sector. It is further hypothesized that the success of this system will be dependent on; the number, scope and strength of interactions among actors; brokerage activities; and an initial successful innovation system for downstream activities. The chapter also undertakes a qualitative assessment of the some-what successful Cassava and the not-so-successful palm oil sectors in Nigeria to highlight the importance of the framework and the differences between successful and ineffective innovation systems.

scholarly journals Technological Innovations for Improving Cassava Production in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwige Gaby Nkouaya Mbanjo ◽  
Ismail Yusuf Rabbi ◽  
Morag Elizabeth Ferguson ◽  
Siraj Ismail Kayondo ◽  
Ng Hwa Eng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Research Systems ◽  
Genomic Tools ◽  
Cassava Production ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

Cassava is crucial for food security of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. The crop has great potential to contribute to African development and is increasing its income-earning potential for small-scale farmers and related value chains on the continent. Therefore, it is critical to increase cassava production, as well as its quality attributes. Technological innovations offer great potential to drive this envisioned change. This paper highlights genomic tools and resources available in cassava. The paper also provides a glimpse of how these resources have been used to screen and understand the pattern of cassava genetic diversity on the continent. Here, we reviewed the approaches currently used for phenotyping cassava traits, highlighting the methodologies used to link genotypic and phenotypic information, dissect the genetics architecture of key cassava traits, and identify quantitative trait loci/markers significantly associated with those traits. Additionally, we examined how knowledge acquired is utilized to contribute to crop improvement. We explored major approaches applied in the field of molecular breeding for cassava, their promises, and limitations. We also examined the role of national agricultural research systems as key partners for sustainable cassava production.

scholarly journals Shackled Orange: Biofortified Varieties in the Sweetpotato Commodity Chain in Mozambique

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Roland Brouwer ◽  
Ilaria Tedesco
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin A Deficiency ◽  
Home Delivery ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Commodity Chain ◽  
Planting Material ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Government ◽  
Rural Producers ◽  
Price Differences

Biofortified, orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) varieties are being promoted as a part of a strategy to reduce Vitamin A Deficiency among rural and urban populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper uses the commodity chain approach to understand whether markets may stimulate or not the production of the new orange sweetpotato varieties on Mozambique’s main consumer market, Maputo, its capital and largest city. It shows that the chain linking rural producers to the city’s consumers is operated by private actors; the government provides basic infrastructures and price information. International donors are involved through the dissemination of planting material and nutrition information in support the marketing of OFSP. The commodity chains of white and orange-fleshed varieties are entwined with no clear price differences. The annual marketed volume is estimated at 8,000 tonnes, mostly produced by smallholders and sold to consumers by sidewalk and open-air market retailers. This market segment is dominated by women. A small group of specialized - male and female - commercial OFSP producers supplies about 0.5% to 1% of this market selling directly to a specific group of clients who either buy at farm gate or through home delivery. The conclusion is that the existing commodity chain fails to stimulate the production of OFSP and the expansion of its benefits to wider sections of the population suggesting that the emphasis should be on having biofortified varieties that can compete successfully with the conventional ones at the farm-level.

scholarly journals Spatial frameworks for prioritization of agricultural research and development

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Rattalino Edreira ◽  
Jose Andrade ◽  
Kenneth Cassman ◽  
Martin van Ittersum ◽  
Marloes van Loon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Current Production ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Food security interventions and policies need reliable estimates of actual crop production and the scope to enhance production on existing cropland. We assess the performance of two widely used “top-down” gridded frameworks (GAEZ and AgMIP) versus an alternative “bottom-up” approach that estimates extra production potential locally, for a number of representative sites, and then upscales the results to larger spatial scales (GYGA). Our results show that estimates from top-down frameworks are alarmingly unlikely, with estimated potential production being lower than current production at some locations. The consequences of using these coarse estimates to predict food security are illustrated by an example from sub-Saharan Africa. Our study shows that current foresights on food security, land use, and climate change and associate priority setting on AR&D based on yield potential and yield gaps derived from top-down approaches are subject to a high degree of uncertainty and would benefit from incorporating estimates from bottom-up approaches.

Democratic demands and social policies: the politics of health reform in Ghana

2011 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Carbone
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Health Reform ◽  
Policy Diffusion ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Policy Feedback ◽  
International Policy ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTIt is commonly assumed that the advent of democracy tends to bring about social welfare improvements. Few studies, however, have examined empirically the impact of third-wave democratisation processes on social policies in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Through a diachronic comparison, this paper examines the effects of Ghana's democratisation process on the evolution of its health policy. It shows that the emergence of democratic competition played an important role in the recent adoption of a crucial health reform. A policy feedback effect on politics and a process of international policy diffusion were additional but secondary factors.

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