scholarly journals Increasing Female Enrollment for Agricultural Programs of Study in Sub-Saharan Africa: What Motivates Women to Pursue Careers in Agriculture?

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Mukembo ◽  
José M. Uscanga ◽  
M. Craig Edwards ◽  
Nicholas R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Subjective Norms ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Programs Of Study ◽  
The Impact

Women in developing countries, especially in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), play a critical role in ensuring food security and sovereignty for their families and nations. Unfortunately, in spite of this, their significance in the agricultural sector is seldom fully appreciated. Further, very few women in SSA are professionally trained agriculturists (Beintema & Di Marcantonio, 2009; Kanté, Edwards, & Blackwell, 2013), which has likely contributed to their low productivity per hectare in the agricultural sector compared to their male counterparts (O'Sullivan, Rao, Banerjee, Gulati, & Vinez, 2014). This study investigated the experiences of young, aspiring female agriculturists from Uganda who were members of Young Farmers’ Clubs (YFC) at high school to understand better how their club experiences may have impacted their career choices. Findings indicate the participants’ YFC activities, especially supervised agripreneurship projects (SAPs) and field trips, had transformative impacts on their choosing to study agriculture. However, gender stereotypes associated with females pursuing agricultural careers were still prevalent and discouraged them from becoming professional agriculturists. More research should be conducted about the impact of subjective norms (Ajzen, 1991) on females preparing to pursue careers in agriculture.

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.

scholarly journals African agriculture in the context of COVID-19: Finding salvation in the devil

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-310
Author(s):  
Guy Blaise Nkamleu ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Food System ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

The world is facing unprecedented challenges from COVID-19, which is disrupting lives and livelihoods. The pandemic could profoundly affect the African continent and wipe out hard-won development gains, as sub-Saharan Africa heads into its first recession in 25 years. Beyond the multispatial impact of the coronavirus in Africa, its effects on the agriculture and food system is of particular interest, as food security could be the most affected area and, at the same time, agriculture could be the sector that could help African economies recover quicker from the impact of COVID19. This paper supports the view that COVID-19, as devilish as it may be, offers an opportunity to revive interest in the agricultural sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed immense pressures on African countries to raise additional resources, and consequently Africa’s growing public debt is again coming back to the centre stage of the global debate. The conversation on African debt sustainability has begun to dominate the scene and will flood the debate in the near term. While the observed, growing calls for debt relief for African countries are legitimate, we support in this paper that one should not divert attention from the long-term solutions needed to strengthen Africa’s resilience. These long-term solutions lie where they always have: in agriculture. With COVID-19, shipping agricultural inputs and food products from other continents to Africa has become disrupted and is accelerating the trend towards shortening supply chains. This will leave a potential market for inputs and food produced on the continent. COVID-19, together with the launching of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), have aligned the stars in favour of a decisive transformation of the agriculture sector on the continent. Agriculturalists and development experts need to be aware of their responsibility at this time, as they need to advocate for the topic of agricultural development to return to the centre and the heart of the agenda of discussions on how to respond to the consequences of Covid-19 in Africa. In this sense, and unexpectedly, COVID-19 is an opportunity for the agricultural sector.

scholarly journals The Sub-Saharan Africa carbon balance, an overview

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 2085-2123 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bombelli ◽  
M. Henry ◽  
S. Castaldi ◽  
S. Adu-Bredu ◽  
A. Arneth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Balance ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Carbon Sink ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Cycle System ◽  
First Results ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This study presents a summary overview of the carbon balance of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by synthesizing the available data from national communications to UNFCCC and first results from the project CarboAfrica (net ecosystem productivity and emissions from fires, deforestation and forest degradation, by field and model estimates). According to these preliminary estimates the overall carbon balance of SSA varies from 0.43 Pg C y−1 (using in situ measurements for savanna NEP) to a much higher sink of 2.53 Pg C y−1 (using model estimates for savanna NEP). UNFCCC estimates lead to a moderate carbon sink of 0.58 Pg C y−1. Excluding anthropogenic disturbance and intrinsic episodic events, the carbon uptake by forests (0.98 Pg C y−1) and savannas (from 1.38 to 3.48 Pg C y−1, depending on the used methodology) are the main components of the SSA sink effect. Fires (0.72 Pg C y−1), deforestation (0.25 Pg C y−1) and forest degradation (0.77 Pg C y−1) are the main contributors to the SSA carbon emissions, while the agricultural sector contributes only with 0.12 Pg C y−1. Notably, the impact of forest degradation is higher than that caused by deforestation, and the SSA forest net carbon balance is close to equilibrium. Savannas play a major role in shaping the SSA carbon balance, due to their large areal extent, their fire regime, and their strong interannual NEP variability, but they are also a major uncertainty in the overall budget. This paper shows that Africa plays a key role in the global carbon cycle system and probably could have a potential for carbon sequestration higher than expected, even if still highly uncertain. Further investigations are needed, particularly to better address the role of savannas and tropical forests. The current CarboAfrica network of carbon measurements could provide future unique data sets for better estimating the African carbon balance.

scholarly journals The consequences of agricultural trade liberalization for developing countries: distinguishing between genuine benefits and false hopes

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BUREAU ◽  
SÉBASTIEN JEAN ◽  
ALAN MATTHEWS
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Agricultural Trade ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Agricultural Trade Liberalization ◽  
The Impact

Recent analyses suggest that the impact of agricultural trade liberalization on developing countries will be very uneven. The Doha Round focuses on tariff issues, but some developing countries currently have practically duty-free access to European and North American markets under preferential regimes. Multilateral liberalization will erode the benefits of these preferences, which are presently rather well utilized in the agricultural sector. While South American and East Asian countries should benefit from an agricultural agreement, African and Caribbean countries are unlikely to do so. The main obstacles to the exports of the sub-Saharan African and Least Developed Countries appear to be in the non-tariff area (sanitary, phytosanitary standards), which increasingly originate from the private sector and are not dealt with under the Doha framework (traceability requirements, etc.). An agreement in Doha is unlikely to solve these problems and open large markets for the poorest countries. While this is not an argument to give up multilateral liberalization, a more specific and differentiated treatment should be considered in WTO rules, and corrective measures should be implemented.

scholarly journals Impact of Global Financial Crisis on IDB Member Countries: The Case of Gulf Cooperation Council and Sub-Saharan Africa

2008 ◽  
Vol 47 (4II) ◽  
pp. 583-601
Author(s):  
Zafar Iqbal
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Fuel Prices ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
The Impact

The year 2008 witnessed three major crises (food, energy, global financial and economic crises) and their impacts were increasingly felt worldwide. Since the eruption of global financial crisis from September 2008, international financial markets have become more turbulent, and the global economic slowdown is expected to deepen further. Virtually no country, developing or developed, has escaped from the impact of the global financial turbulence, although countries that entered the crisis with less integration into the global economy have generally been less affected. There is an increasing concern that the ongoing global financial turbulence is likely to transform into human crisis, particularly in the developing world. Although, it will take sometime to assess the full impact of the these crises on developed as well as developing countries, various preliminary estimates have been reported about the losses due to these crises. For example, Kuwait Foreign Minister revealed in Arab Economic Summit that Arab investors lost $2.5 trillion just in four months (September to December 2008) due to credit crunch.1 Similarly, according to the latest estimate by the Asian Development Bank, the global financial market losses reached $50 trillion in 2008, which is equivalent to one year of world GDP.2 Like other developing countries, the impacts of these crises have also been increasingly felt in IDB member countries. Firstly, a large number of member countries were affected due to high food and fuel prices and since September 2008, they are being affected directly and indirectly by the global financial crisis although the channels of transmission are different from those operating in relatively more developed member countries.

Impact of the Global Gag Rule

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yana van der Meulen Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Logistic Regressions ◽  
Health Survey Data ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Low Exposure ◽  
The Impact

Chapter 6 offers new econometric estimates of the impact of the global gag rule on abortion rates. The analysis identifies the policy impact as the difference in abortion rates before and after the 2001 policy reinstatement and the difference between countries with high and low exposure to the policy. Abortion rates are constructed using Demographic and Health Survey data from 51 developing countries. Results from logistic regressions indicate that the global gag rule is associated with a threefold increase in the odds of women getting an abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean, a twofold increase in sub-Saharan Africa, and no net change in the Middle East and Central Asia. Results also indicate no consistent relationship between strict abortion laws and abortion rates. In the majority of developing countries exposed to the global gag rule, the policy failed to achieve its objective of discouraging women from getting an abortion.

scholarly journals Contents and Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility Website Reporting in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Seven-Country Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Lena Kühn ◽  
Markus Stiglbauer ◽  
Matthias S. Fifka
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Csr Reporting ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Political Environments ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in developing countries has recently received increasing attention, and scholars have pointed to the strong contextuality of CSR in the respective regions. Regarding the latter, however, sub-Saharan Africa has been scrutinized only marginally by academia. Moreover, empirical research on the impact of the institutional context has been scant, despite its attributed importance for CSR. Our article seeks to fill a part of this research gap by investigating CSR website reporting of 211 companies in seven sub-Saharan countries. The study’s aim is twofold: First, we identify to what extent sub-Saharan companies report on CSR and which contents they disclose. Second, by building on institutional theory, we investigate how the socio-economic and political environments influence CSR reporting. For this purpose, we examine the impact of country-level and company-level determinants. We find that the sample African companies’ CSR efforts focus strongly on local philanthropy and therefore differ substantially from Western CSR approaches. Furthermore, we evidence that GDP and level of governance standard positively affect CSR reporting. Our study contributes to the literature by empirically evidencing the contextuality of CSR in Africa and by explaining how specific country- and company-level determinants contribute to or hamper the development of CSR in developing countries.

What Should be the Focus of Agricultural Policy Reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa? A CGE Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-435
Author(s):  
Jean Balié ◽  
Badri Narayanan
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Import Substitution ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Market Development ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time ◽  
Data Constraints

While a lot of research has been conducted on agricultural subsidies and other forms of policy transfers in developed and developing countries alike, substantial data constraints have characterised those conducted in developing countries. For this study, we employ a novel and uniquely developed dataset on these policies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), to analyse the impact of policy reforms, using the latest available GTAP 9.1 Data Base, in the widely employed GTAP framework, for the first time. We simulate the scenarios of removal of output subsidies, removal of ‘market development gaps’ within and outside the country. Our results indicate that removing market development gaps is likely to increase the agricultural output without affecting trade much, while removing the subsidies could harm output a lot by import-substitution of the costly domestic output. We conclude that governments in SSA may do well to focus on developing their markets better rather than cutting the assistance to their farmers, which could in fact be counter-productive instead of raising the efficiency of domestic farmers through competition. JEL Classification: C68, Q11, Q13, Q17, Q18

Constraints to using livestock to meet dietary needs in developing countries: role of vaccines.

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (058) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia L. Baldwin
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Selective Breeding ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Animal Source Foods ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
Climate Stress ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Animal agriculture and animal-source foods (ASF) play a critical role in food security, childhood nutrient sufficiency, and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. Here, we consider constraints to production of ASF in Africa with a focus on infectious animal diseases and climate stress and their control, by vaccines and selective breeding, respectively. This is not a meta-analysis but rather is meant to act as an overview or primer for discussing the value of livestock in developing countries, constraints to this, possible solutions, and finally some roadblocks to accomplishing this. The material provided is based on our own knowledge gained through careers in this field as well as discussions with colleagues.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF MICROFINANCE BANKS IN RURAL AREAS OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 80-90
Author(s):  
Isabelle Musanganya ◽  
Chantal Nyinawumuntu ◽  
Pauline Nyirahagenimana
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Bank Loans ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

Many researchers consider microfinance as a tool for poverty reduction. Even more, especially in post-conflict African countries, micro-financial institutions are seen as an opportunity of reconciliation. Lending from microfinance institutions to that from traditional banks and examine their respective effects upon economic growth has been practiced in some sub-Saharan countries. Considerable progress in research has been found that microfinance loans raise growth comparatively to that of traditional banks. A lot of number of researches carried out in sub-Saharan countries even in other developing countries outside of Africa did not find strong evidence that bank loans raise growth. There is, however, some evidence that bank loans do increase investment, whereas microfinance loans do not appear to do so. Differently, other researchers highlighted clearly that microfinance can provide its contribution on poverty reduction and better access to finance needed for startup micro-entrepreneurs along the world. These results suggest that microfinance loans are not primarily invested as physical capital in developing countries, but could still augment total factor productivity, whereas banks may have been financing non-productive investments. Herein, we highlighted the impact of microfinance banks on developing countries economic growth. We also indicate how microfinances system incorporated in rural areas boosted the lifestyle of poor people in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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