scholarly journals Using Participatory Approaches to Enhance Women’s Engagement in Natural Resource Management in Northern Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7072
Author(s):  
Peter Cronkleton ◽  
Kristen Evans ◽  
Thomas Addoah ◽  
Emilie Smith Dumont ◽  
Mathurin Zida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Change Initiatives ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Over Exploitation ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Multi Phase

From 2016–2019, the West African Forest-Farm Interface (WAFFI) project engaged with smallholder farmers in northern Ghana to explore mechanisms to improve the influence of under-represented peoples, particularly women, in decision-making processes and platforms that affect their access to natural resources. Through a multi-phase process of participatory activities, including auto-appraisal, participatory action research (PAR) and facilitated knowledge exchange, villagers and researchers worked together to document and develop a better understanding of the challenges and changes facing women and men in the region to generate social learning. Among these challenges, the degradation of forest resources due to over exploitation, weak governance and conflict of use over shea trees (Vitellaria paradoxa) were particularly important for women. The WAFFI approach created a scaffold for social learning that strengthened the capacity of local stakeholders to share their perspectives and opinions more effectively in multi-stakeholder forums and dialogue related to resource use and land use change initiatives.

scholarly journals Fruit Tree-Based Agroforestry Systems for Smallholder Farmers in Northwest Vietnam—A Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 451
Author(s):  
Van Hung Do ◽  
Nguyen La ◽  
Rachmat Mulia ◽  
Göran Bergkvist ◽  
A. Sigrun Dahlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Fruit Trees ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Fruit Tree ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Forage Grass ◽  
High Investment

Rapid expansion of unsustainable farming practices in upland areas of Southeast Asia threatens food security and the environment. This study assessed alternative agroforestry systems for sustainable land management and livelihood improvement in northwest Vietnam. The performance of fruit tree-based agroforestry was compared with that of sole cropping, and farmers’ perspectives on agroforestry were documented. After seven years, longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.)-maize-forage grass and son tra (Docynia indica (Wall.) Decne)-forage grass systems had generated 2.4- and 3.5-fold higher average annual income than sole maize and sole son tra, respectively. Sole longan gave no net profit, due to high investment costs. After some years, competition developed between the crop, grass, and tree components, e.g., for nitrogen, and the farmers interviewed reported a need to adapt management practices to optimise spacing and pruning. They also reported that agroforestry enhanced ecosystem services by controlling surface runoff and erosion, increasing soil fertility and improving resilience to extreme weather. Thus, agroforestry practices with fruit trees can be more profitable than sole-crop cultivation within a few years. Integration of seasonal and fast-growing perennial plants (e.g., grass) is essential to ensure quick returns. Wider adoption needs initial incentives or loans, knowledge exchange, and market links.

Identification and prioritization of farmers' innovations in northern Ghana

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 537-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justice A. Tambo ◽  
Tobias Wünscher
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Plant Residues ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Innovation Contest ◽  
Scientific Validation ◽  
Livestock Diseases

AbstractFarmers are innovators and experimenters and not just adopters of introduced technologies. The innovations developed by farmers could complement the highly promoted externally driven technologies in addressing the numerous challenges facing agriculture. The aim of this paper was to identify outstanding innovations developed by smallholder farmers in northern Ghana, and prioritize the high potential ones for further scientific validation or dissemination. Using an innovation contest that rewards farmers' creativity, we identified 29 promising innovations. Additionally, 19 innovations were scouted through a household survey. The innovations are largely extensive modifications of existing practices or combinations of different known practices in unique ways to save costs or to address crop and livestock production constraints. While some of the identified innovations can be recommended or disseminated to other farmers, most of them may require further validation or research. However, validating all of these innovations will be very expensive and time-consuming. We propose the multi-criteria decision-making analysis (MCDM) as a simple method to prioritize farmers' innovations. Using this method, we find that among the most promising innovations are those involving the control of weeds, pests and diseases using plant residues and extracts, and the treatment of livestock diseases using ethnoveterinary medicines. We briefly explain the six most highly ranked innovations. This case study from northern Ghana provides further proof that smallholder farmers develop diverse and spectacular innovations to address the myriad challenges they face, and these need to be recognized and promoted. We also conclude that contest and MCDM are useful methods that can be applied in unearthing and prioritizing farmer innovations, respectively.

Heritage values and legal rules

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy C. Wells ◽  
Lucas Lixinski
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Heritage Studies ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Critical Heritage ◽  
Fundamental Shift ◽  
New Framework

Purpose Existing regulatory frameworks for identifying and treating historic buildings and places reflect deference to expert rule, which privileges the values of a small number of heritage experts over the values of the majority of people who visit, work, and reside in historic environments. The purpose of this paper is to explore a fundamental shift in how US federal and local preservation laws address built heritage by suggesting a dynamic, adaptive regulatory framework that incorporates heterodox approaches to heritage and therefore is capable of accommodating contemporary sociocultural values. Design/methodology/approach The overall approach used is a comparative literature review from the fields of heterodox/orthodox heritage, heterodox/orthodox law, adaptive management, and participatory methods to inform the creation of a dynamic, adaptive regulatory framework. Findings Tools such as dialogical democracy and participatory action research are sufficiently pragmatic in implementation to envision how an adaptive regulatory framework could be implemented. This new framework would likely require heterodox definitions of law that move beyond justice as a primary purpose and broaden the nature of legal goods that can be protected while addressing discourses of power to benefit a larger group of stakeholders. Practical implications The authors suggest that an adaptive regulatory framework would be particularly beneficial for architectural and urban conservation planning, as it foregrounds considerations other than property rights in decision-making processes. While such a goal appears to be theoretically possible, the challenge will be to translate the theory of an adaptive regulatory framework into practice as there does not appear to be any precedent for its implementation. There will be issues with the need for increased resources to implement this framework. Originality/value To date, there have been few, if any, attempts to address critical heritage studies theory in the context of the regulatory environment. This paper appears to be the first such investigation in the literature.

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

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.

Review of Climate Change Adaptation and Social Protection Policies of Ghana

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwasi Frimpong ◽  
Eddie Van Etten ◽  
Jacques Oosthuzien ◽  
Victor Nufam Fannam
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Heat Stress ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
African Region ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Adaptation Policies

Smallholder farming has become a significant livelihood coping strategy of the population in Ghana. However, in the last decade the upsurge of climate change and the effect of heat stress vulnerability on smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana are alarming. This article investigates the chances of using social protection and climate change adaptation policies towards the management of risks associated with heat stress emanating from climate change. It reviews salient literature on heat stress, social protection, and climate change policies and develops a model upon which both domestic and international interest in climate and social protection policies of Ghana and Sub-Sahara Africa can reduce or aggravate heat stress impacts on smallholder farmers both at their working environment and at household level. It exemplifies the efficacy of the strength of social protection and climate change adaptation policies in Ghana and its impacts on vulnerable rural smallholder farmers and how such situation is replicated in many parts of Africa. It outlines further measures that can be undertaken by governments and international donor agencies to revamp the destitution of smallholder farmers to climate change and heat stress in African region.

scholarly journals An investigation of the effects of PICSA on smallholder farmers’ decision-making and livelihoods when implemented at large scale – The case of Northern Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Clarkson ◽  
Peter Dorward ◽  
Henny Osbahr ◽  
Francis Torgbor ◽  
Isaac Kankam-Boadu
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Northern Ghana

scholarly journals Influence of multi-stakeholder innovation platform approach on smallholder farmers marketing decisions

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
N Mango ◽  
C Makate ◽  
M Lundy ◽  
S Siziba ◽  
K Nyikahadzoi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Innovation Platform

scholarly journals The Effects of Chieftaincy and Land Conflicts on the Socio-political Development of Northern Ghana

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Francis Issahaku Malongza Bukari ◽  
Stephen Bugu Kendie ◽  
Mohammed Sulemana ◽  
Sylvester Zackaria Galaa
Keyword(s):  
Civic Education ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Conflict Theory ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Realistic Group Conflict Theory ◽  
Group Conflict Theory

This paper assesses the effects of inter-ethnic chieftaincy and land conflicts on the socio-political development of northern Ghana. The knowledge gap the study sought to fill is the use of theoretical antecedents to illustrate that conflicts have some merits for socio-political development and that conflict theories equally depict solutions to conflicts. Methodologically, the study makes use of content analysis of secondary data, by following the tenets of the realistic group conflict theory. Examples were drawn from the Konkomba, Gonja, Nanumba, Dagomba, Kusasi, Mo and the Sissala disputes of emancipation. It was revealed that major positive effects of the conflicts include improvement in the decision-making processes on community development issues, strengthening of inter-ethnic unity and helping to redeem the identity of a group. The destruction of life and property is the major demerit. It was recommended that civic education on the causes and effects of the conflicts by authentic participation of potential disputants could provide a more sustainable way of preventing conflict.

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