Role of Local Knowledge in Mixed Livestock Production Systems

2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel M. Komwihangilo ◽  
Faustin P. Lekule ◽  
George C. Kajembe ◽  
Poul H. Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Livestock Feeds ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Crop And Livestock Production

Local knowledge is an important asset for smallholder farmers who operate differently in diverse crop and livestock production systems in the tropics. Various methods are needed for its acquisition, analysis, storage and communication. While local knowledge of livestock feeds and other resources is abundant, amalgamation of the positive aspects of this knowledge system with that emanating from contemporary scientific approaches is critical yet limited. The merger is desirable so as to achieve improved productivity and sustainability of mixed livestock production systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals Citron Watermelon Potential to Improve Crop Diversification and Reduce Negative Impacts of Climate Change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takudzwa Mandizvo ◽  
Alfred Oduor Odindo ◽  
Jacob Mashilo
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Citrullus Lanatus ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Crop Diversification ◽  
Drought Adaptation ◽  
Physiological Basis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sub Saharan

Citron watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides) is an underexploited and under-researched crop species with potential to contribute to crop diversification in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. The species is commonly cultivated in the drier parts of Southern Africa, mainly by smallholder farmers who maintain a wide range of landraces. Understanding the molecular and morpho-physiological basis for drought adaptation of Citron watermelon in these dry environments can aid in screening local germplasm, identification of suitable traits for crop improvement and improving food system resilience among smallholder farmers by adding to crop diversification. This paper reviews literature on drought adaptation of C. lanatus spp. (C3 xerophytes), using the systematic review approach. The review discusses; (i) the potential role of citron watermelon in adding to crop diversification, (ii) alternative food uses and potential by-products that can be processed from citron watermelon and (iii) the role of Sub-Saharan farmers as key actors in conserving citron watermelon germplasm and biodiversity. Finally, the review provides a summary of significant findings and identifies critical knowledge gaps for further research.

scholarly journals CIENCIA Y TECNOLOGÍA COLOMBO-SUIZA AYUDA A ALIMENTAR EL PLANETA: DE LA REVOLUCIÓN VERDE A LA REVOLUCIÓN MICROBIANA

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1Supl) ◽  
pp. 297-303
Author(s):  
Alia Rodriguez ◽  
Ian Robert Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Plant Breeding ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Rhizophagus Irregularis ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Natural Genetic Variation ◽  
Essential Nutrient ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Tropics

<p>Por milenios los agricultores han mejorado sus cultivos utilizando la variación genética y seleccionando las mejores variedades. Hoy nos enfrentamos a un reto sin precedentes: alimentar la creciente población mundial. Así, aumentar los rendimientos de cultivos de importancia global, para la seguridad alimentaria, como la yuca, es crucial. Esta raíz tropical alimenta aproximadamente 1.000 millones de personas en alrededor de 105 países en el mundo y sus productos son la tercera fuente de calorías más importante para los países del trópico (FAO, 2005). Esta planta es altamente dependiente de la asociación con hongos formadores de micorrizas arbusculares (HFMA). Estos hongos ayudan a la planta a obtener fósforo del suelo, un nutriente limitante principalmente en los suelos del trópico.  Recientemente mostramos que la inoculación de cultivos de yuca con Rhizophagus irregularis incrementó los rendimientos en dos localidades diferentes de Colombia (Ceballos <em>et al</em>., 2013). Más aún, conseguimos enormes diferencias en la productividad de la yuca, utilizando diferentes líneas genéticamente mejoradas del hongo R. irregularis, en condiciones de campo (Ceballos <em>et al</em>., 2014). Es improbable observar cambios tan dramáticos, en campo, en la producción de yuca, con un ciclo de mejoramiento de la planta. Así, combinando la agronomía con la biología y la genética, proponemos un cambio en el paradigma del mejoramiento vegetal, que pueda contribuir a resolver el problema de hambruna en el mundo.</p><p>Abstract<br /><br /></p><p>For millennia farmers have been improving crops by using their natural genetic variation, selecting the best varieties. Today we face an unprecedented challenge to feed the growing global human population that can only be achieved with major changes in how we combine science and technology with agronomy. Cassava is globally important, annually feeding almost a billion people in 105 countries. It is an important crop for subsistence farming throughout tropical and subtropical regions for smallholder farmers, but especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Cassava is highly dependant on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to survive. Mycorrhizal fungi form symbioses with all our major crops. They help plants obtain phosphate from the soil; an essential nutrient that limits cassava production in the tropics. Our Colombian-swiss group have shown a significant effect of Rhizophagus irregularis inoculation on yield of<br />cassava in field conditions in two locations in Colombia. Further, huge differences in the productivity of cassava can be achieved by inoculating it with genetically different lines of R. irregularis. The variation in cassava growth we observed is so large that it would be very unlikely in one generation of plant breeding to see similar variation in cassava growth. By combining agronomy with biology and genetics, we propose a shift in the paradigm of plant breeding that could help to solve the problem of hunger in the world.</p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Determinants of uptake and strategies to improve agricultural insurance in Africa: a review

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Nshakira-Rukundo ◽  
Juliet Wanjiku Kamau ◽  
Heike Baumüller
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Agricultural Insurance ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Weather Shocks ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract Weather shocks affect smallholder farmers and pastoralists in Sub-Saharan Africa unequally. Agricultural insurance has emerged as a safety net option to protect farmers’ welfare. However, in comparison to other regions, fewer African farmers and pastoralists have adopted agricultural insurance. This review synthesises broad recent literature on why insurance take-up has remained low and highlights six key themes, including: (1) product quality, (2) product design, (3) affordability, (4) information and education, (5) behavioural and sociocultural factors, and (6) the role of government in enabling markets. We shed light on how insurance uptake can be encouraged.

scholarly journals Energy and the Evolution of Farming Systems: The Potential of Mixed Farming in the Moist Savannah of Sub-Saharan Africa

1996 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jabbar
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Population Pressure ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Mixed Farming ◽  
Sub Saharan

The moist savannah zone in sub-Saharan Africa is regarded as a high potential area for crop and livestock production. Currently, human labour is the principal source of power for crop production and the level of commercial energy use is very low. Agropastoralism and pastoralism are the principal methods of livestock production. Crop-livestock mixed farming, in which manure and animal power are important energy sources in the production process, is only now emerging. The integration of crops and livestock and the implications for agricultural energy sources are related to population pressure and labour intensity, the intensification of crop production with and without livestock, the role of traction in general and in specific niches, the contribution of livestock to the development process in terms of food or other inputs, and the role of public policy and intervention in development.

scholarly journals Efficiency and possibilities for Arabica coffee-banana management systems switching in the Mt. Elgon landscape of Uganda

1970 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-439
Author(s):  
C. Sebatta ◽  
J. Mugisha ◽  
F. Bagamba ◽  
E.A. Nuppenau ◽  
S.E. Domptail ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Or Efficiency ◽  
Arabica Coffee ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Sub Saharan

Sustainably intensifying rural agricultural systems is now a development goal that has gained momentum in the recent decades due to a rapidly growing population and feeds directly into the Sustainable Development Goals of ending poverty and hunger. By 2050, the world will be inhabited by 10 billion people, 68% of whom will be city dwellers which will pose serious food and livelihoods security threats to millions of people, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to analyse technical efficiency of four production systems in Arabica coffee-banana farming system of the Mt. Elgon in Uganda and assesses possibilities for switching from one system to another. The study was motivated by the notion that smallholder farmers do not easily adopt new systems because of opportunity costs related to input substitution, input and/or efficiency reduction and systems redesigning. We estimated a production function to measure technical efficiency and ordered the intensification pathways to create a Technical Efficiency (TE) gradient. An ordered logit model was then estimated to determine the factors influencing farmers to switch among systems, by adopting one or more following a TE gradient. Results showed that farmers produced 50% of the maximum possible Arabica coffee output, indicating huge gaps between actual and potential yields. Use of fertiliser for the lowest efficiency. Low-input-low-output pathway and improved coffee genotypes, manure and labour intensification for the higher technical efficiency clusters such as conventional and mild agroecological would also significantly increase the chances of switching from low to highly efficient and sustainable Arabica coffee production systems in the Mt. Elgon watershed of Uganda.

scholarly journals How Conflicts Affect Land Expansion by Smallholder Farmers: Evidence from Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adesoji Adelaja ◽  
Justin George ◽  
Thomas Jayne ◽  
Milu Muyanga ◽  
Titus Awokuse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Farm Households ◽  
Smallholder Farms ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
Utility Maximisation ◽  
Conflict Zone ◽  
Sub Saharan

The expansion of smallholder farms into larger farm sizes is a key strategy for growing agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. This strategy could simultaneously expand farm incomes while addressing poverty since the majority of farms in sub-Saharan Africa are smallholder farms. There is limited existing research on the possible role of conflicts in stymying the ability of smallholder farmers to transition into larger-scale farming and on the impacts of conflicts in areas that are not directly within active conflict zones. In this paper, we investigate the impacts of conflict on the ability of smallholder farmers to transition to larger scales in two regions that are not in a traditional conflict zone, by developing a household utility maximisation model to explain choices made by farm households in response to conflict.

scholarly journals Citron Watermelon Potential to Improve Crop Diversification and Reduce Negative Impacts of Climate Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2269
Author(s):  
Takudzwa Mandizvo ◽  
Alfred Oduor Odindo ◽  
Jacob Mashilo
Keyword(s):  
Food System ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Citrullus Lanatus ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Crop Diversification ◽  
Drought Adaptation ◽  
Physiological Basis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sub Saharan

Citron watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides (L.H. Bailey) Mansf. ex Greb.) is an underexploited and under-researched crop species with the potential to contribute to crop diversification in Sub-Saharan Africa. The species is cultivated in the drier parts of Southern Africa, mainly by smallholder farmers who maintain a wide range of landrace varieties. Understanding the molecular and morpho-physiological basis for drought adaptation in citron watermelon under these dry environments can aid in the identification of suitable traits for drought-tolerance breeding and improve food system resilience among smallholder farmers, thus adding to crop diversification. This paper reviews the literature on drought adaptation of Citrullus lanatus spp. (C3 xerophytes), using the systematic review approach. The review discusses the potential role of citron watermelon in adding to crop diversification, alternative food uses, and potential by-products that can be processed from the crop, and it analyzes the role of Sub-Saharan African farmers play as key actors in conserving citron watermelon germplasm and biodiversity. Finally, the review provides a summary of significant findings and identifies critical knowledge gaps for further research.

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