Agricultural Development In sub-Saharan Africa Research Articles

Impact of adoption of soil and water conservation technologies on technical efficiency: Insight from smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa

In an attempt to enhance agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa, the region has witnessed an influx of approaches to agricultural technology development and dissemination in the past decades. Yet there is paucity of empirical evidence that links these past approaches to productivity indicators or justify the phasing out of the existing approaches with the new ones. We use cross-sectional baseline data, which were collected in 2008 over 2130 smallholder farmers and 242 villages in East and Central Africa before the implementation of the most recent approach to agricultural research and development known as integrated agricultural research for development (IAR4D), to examine whether the adoption of soil and water conservation technologies (SWCT) generated and disseminated through the past approaches have had an impact on technical efficiency. Taking into account the endogeneity of technology adoption and assuming that impact is heterogeneous across the population, we use an instrumental variable approach to estimate local average treatment effect (LATE). The data suggest that adoption of SWCT has had no significant impact on technical efficiency of smallholder farmers in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, the impact is negative for smallholder farmers in Uganda as well as for the pooled sample, although the magnitude is small. Thus, the findings justify the need for the introduction of another approach such as IAR4D, which aims at internalising external factors that constrain adoption of improved technologies and technical efficiency. Key words: Impact, adoption, soil and water conservation, technical efficiency, integrated agricultural research for development (IAR4D), local average treatment effect (LATE), Sub-Saharan Africa.

Agriculture and food systems in sub-Saharan Africa in a 4°C+ world

Agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa faces daunting challenges, which climate change and increasing climate variability will compound in vulnerable areas. The impacts of a changing climate on agricultural production in a world that warms by 4°C or more are likely to be severe in places. The livelihoods of many croppers and livestock keepers in Africa are associated with diversity of options. The changes in crop and livestock production that are likely to result in a 4°C+ world will diminish the options available to most smallholders. In such a world, current crop and livestock varieties and agricultural practices will often be inadequate, and food security will be more difficult to achieve because of commodity price increases and local production shortfalls. While adaptation strategies exist, considerable institutional and policy support will be needed to implement them successfully on the scale required. Even in the 2°C+ world that appears inevitable, planning for and implementing successful adaptation strategies are critical if agricultural growth in the region is to occur, food security be achieved and household livelihoods be enhanced. As part of this effort, better understanding of the critical thresholds in global and African food systems requires urgent research.

Secretome of Animal Trypanosomes

Animal trypanosomosis is one of the most severe constraints to agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa and is also an important disease of livestock in Latin America and Asia. The causative agents are various species of protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Trypanosoma, among which T. congolense and T. evansi are the major pathogenic species. The extracellular position of trypanosomes obliges us to consider both the parasite and its excreted/secreted factors in the course of the physiopathologic process. The advent of proteomics led us to propose a comparative approach of the proteome (i.e., the whole parasite content) and the secretome (i.e., naturally excreted/secreted molecules) of T. congolense and T. evansi with particular attention to common and specific molecules between strains of differing virulence and pathogenicity. The molecular identification of differentially expressed trypanosome molecules correlated with either the virulence process or the pathogenicity will provide new potential molecular targets for improved field diagnosis and chemotherapy of animal trypanosomosis.

Sustainable agricultural development in sub‐Saharan Africa: the case for a paradigm shift in land husbandry

AbstractIn order to tackle poverty and hunger in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) there is a strong case for a focus of effort on improving rainfed agricultural systems. The challenge is to deliver a transformation of agricultural productivity in such systems without adverse impacts on environmental goods and services. We examine the growing advocacy of ‘conservation agriculture’ (CA) as the desired approach and assess the evidence to support the assertion that it can deliver sustainable agricultural development in SSA. We examine in particular the evidence which derives from experience with ‘zero tillage sustainable agriculture’ in Brazil. We ask the question, is there a case for a paradigm shift in land husbandry? The case for a paradigm shift hangs on the premise that conventional practice promotes land degradation, while adoption of CA practice delivers a range of benefits through promoting soil ecosystem health. The guiding principle is to promote biological tillage through minimizing mechanical soil disturbance and maintaining permanent organic soil cover. We examine evidence of benefits in the context of the wider debate on low‐external‐input technology. We conclude that CA does not overcome constraints on low‐external‐input systems and will deliver the productivity gains that are required to achieve food security and poverty targets only if farmers have access to fertilizers and herbicides. We conclude also that widespread adoption of the new paradigm amongst millions of small farmers in order to achieve the ‘doubly green revolution’ in SSA is subject to the familiar constraints of knowledge transfer and success will depend upon creating innovation networks. Further, we conclude that amongst small‐scale farmers partial adoption will be the norm and it is not clear that this will deliver soil health benefits claimed for full adoption of the new paradigm.

A conceptual framework for ecologically and socially sustainable land management and agricultural development in Africa

Agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa witnessed an initial period of growth in the few years after independence (1960s) and went into decline after the 1980s. This spurred many governments to embark on structural adjustment programmes that are only just showing the first signs of improvement. This raises some searching questions concerning the process of formulating and implementing reforms with a long-term vision of sustainable agricultural development in the continent. Drawing from past experiences, this paper explores the conceptual framework needed to achieve ecologically and socially sustainable agriculture in Africa. This paper argues that conventional agriculture has been severely limited by its disciplinary and reductionist approach. Despite the usefulness of modern agricultural technologies and insights, they have been applied in isolation and without sufficient concern for the indigenous knowledge-base of farmers and for ecological effects, which has rendered them debatable and sustainability unattainable. This paper, therefore, elaborates a holistic framework, which integrates various scientific disciplines, ecologically oriented and People-Centred Agricultural Development (PCAD) principles for achieving long-term impacts and sustainability under changing socio-economic, political and ecological framework conditions.

Remote sensing applications in African agriculture and natural resources: Highlighting and managing the stress of increasing population pressure

Given current population trends and projections in sub-Saharan Africa, it is anticipated that substantial intensification of agricultural cropland is certain within the next decades. In the absence of adoption of improved technologies poor rural populations in this region will continue to degrade and mine the natural resources to ensure their survival. All these actions will have far-reaching implications for environmental quality and human health. However, only through the integration of environment and development concerns with greater attention to these link can we achieve the goal of fulfilling the basic needs, improved living standards for all, better protected and managed eco-systems and a safer, more prosperous future. The paper reviews case studies and provides examples of the integration, analysis, and visualization of information from remotely sensed, biophysical and socioeconomic information to assess the present situation hindering agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa. These studies show the interactions between socio-economic and environmental factors that can help governments and policy-makers assess the scope of the problems, examine alternatives and decide on a course of action. Sound decisions depend on accurate information, yet most African countries face severe competing demands for the financial and human commitments necessary to staff an information system equal to its policy-making requirements. The role of international data centers is reviewed in terms of their abilities to develop and maintain information systems that bring together available accumulated knowledge and data. This permits comparative studies, which make it possible to develop a better understanding of the relationships among demographic dynamics, technology, cultural behavioral norms, and land resources and hence better decision making for sustainable development.

Fertilizers to support agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa: what is needed and why

Substantial growth in inorganic fertilizer use is a prerequisite for sustained agricultural growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Increased fertilizer use can lead to modest but immediate and important increases in yields, while the profitability of other technologies will be stifled without adequate plant nutrients. Average fertilizer application rates in sub-Saharan Africa need to increase from 10 kg/ha to 50 kg/ha within 10 years to prevent mining of soil nutrients. That implies an 18% annual growth rate. This is substantially higher than trends in the region, but within a reasonable range of historically observed levels from other parts of the world. While over-use of fertilizers can create environmental problems, this is not a widespread problem in sub-Saharan Africa, and should not become one as a result of applying 50 kg/ha of inorganic fertilizers. Rather, near-term environmental concerns in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa will stem from the lack of intensification. Farmer demand for fertilizers and the physical capacity to make fertilizers available are the two key issues that determine whether a 50-kg/ha goal will be attained. However, demand-side incentives cannot be separated from fertilizer supply possibilities. Several studies document that the simple physical availability of fertilizers to farmers, in the appropriate quantity, packages and at the appropriate time of year, remains a main constraint on increased fertilizer use in sub-Saharan Africa.

Vector-borne disease control in sub-Saharan Africa: A necessary but partial vision of development

A comparative analysis of efforts to control four major vector-borne diseases that plague agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa — onchocerciasis (river blindness), bovine trypanosomiasis, malaria, and East Coast Fever — reveals numerous similarities in the technical reasons why control programs break down. The authors conclude that there is an urgent need to develop simpler control technologies and to pay more attention to the types of socioeconomic planning (including land-use planning) that must accompany or predate disease control efforts if they are to fulfill their full economic and social potential over time.

Technology adoption and Sub-Sahara african agriculture: The sustainable development option

This paper analyzes the institutional requirements for sustainable agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa. It examines the situation from the perspective of both the recipient and the donor of aid and identifies the institutional conditions under which Official Development Assistance (ODA) — a major source of funding for agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa — can become more effective in promoting sustainable development.

Implications of Liberalization Policies for Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

The 1980s have been characterized by strong advocacy for liberalization policies that attempt to expand the boundaries of the market and to reduce the role of the state in economic activity in developing countries. Such a drive is based on the assumption that less interventionist economies outperform interventionist ones. This study has a dual objective. It attempts to test this assumption using the agricultural sector of African countries and examines the potential impacts of liberalization policies on agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Research on Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Survey

This survey focuses on the rural economy which is broadly defined to include the agricultural sector plus rural nonfarm activities such as small-scale industry, trade, processing, and fishing. It reviews research on migration, employment, and income distribution in order to understand linkages between the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors.

Agricultural Development in the Third World edited by Carl K. Eicher and John M. Staatz Baltimore and London, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984. Pp. x + 491. $16.00 paperback. - Research on Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: a critical survey by Carl K. Eicher and C. Baker Doyle East Lansing, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural Economics, 1982. Pp.

Agricultural Development in the Third World edited by Carl K. Eicher and John M. Staatz Baltimore and London, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984. Pp. x + 491. 8.00 paperback, but free to individuals and institutions in the Third World and to U.S. A.I.D. officials. - Volume 23 Issue 1

Research on Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Survey

Research on Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Survey

Carl K. Eicher and Doyle C. Baker Research on Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: a Critical Survey. East Lansing, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural Economics, 1982. xi, 335 pp, map, table, extended references c. 1400 items. (MSU International Development Paper No. 1) ISSN 0731-3438. $U.S. 8.00, including postage (single copies available free of charge to individuals and institutions in

Carl K. Eicher and Doyle C. Baker Research on Agricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: a Critical Survey. East Lansing, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural Economics, 1982. xi, 335 pp, map, table, extended references c. 1400 items. (MSU International Development Paper No. 1) ISSN 0731-3438. $U.S. 8.00, including postage (single copies available free of charge to individuals and institutions in the Third World). - Volume 32