Poor Farmers Research Articles

Niger improvement : Current status and future strategies

The present research efforts of breeding are reviewed in relation to the potential, considering the niger cultivation by resource poor farmers. The history of domestication and the diversity in the plant genetic resources is critically analysed for the formulation of crop improvement strategies with the emphasis on enhancing the average low yield levels in India and in the African subcontinent. The utilization of primary gene pool and the potential uses of wild species are included. Niger improvement is analysed considering population improvement, development of superior inbreds and future strategies for hybrid development. Further biotechnology, mutation and resistance breeding for biotic and abiotic stresses are considered for the production of agronomic types with wider adaptation. Niger being a cross pollinated crop, where seed quality is a serious concern, maintenance breeding and nucleus seed production is covered in detail, since 30-50 per cent productivity improvement can be realised, easily through the intervention of quality seed supply. The production and protection technologies are reviewed for improvement inniger productivity. The potential areas for future line of research are indicated for productivity improvement in niger.

SECURING AFRICA’S FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

The war in Ukraine laid bare a vexing and persistent structural vulnerability in most African countries.8 The continent, with 60 percent of the world’s unused arable land, cannot feed itself because of low yields, poor farm management practices, and distortions in agricultural markets. Consequently, the continent is overly dependent on food and fertilizer imports to feed its people. Africa’s farmers find it increasingly difficult to enhance productivity, create jobs, and boost wealth in the agricultural sector The Ukraine crisis should be a wake-up call. African countries must embrace a food systems approach to scale-up food production, overhaul farm management practices, and improve food marketing to move beyond food security and attain food sovereignty. This will not only ensure the availability of affordable food, but it will also help countries attain a number of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including: SDG #2 zero hunger, SDG #3 good health and wellbeing, SDG #5 gender equality, SDG #8 decent work and economic growth, and SDG #10 reduced inequalities.

Use of soil test kits in assessing soil fertility of castor growing soils of semi-arid tropics

Resource poor farmers use semi-arid tropic soils of southern India for castor cultivation. These soils are wellknown for their low soil fertility thus resulting in poor castor seed yield. Conventional soil tests of laboratory willtake more time. Based on these, fertiliser recommendations to the farmers is seldom delivered in time. Soil test kits (STKs) developed by Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad and Coromandal Fertilisers Ltd.,Secunderabad is quiet handy in determining the physico-chemical properties on the spot and advice fertiliserrecommendations to the farmers. In the present study, results obtained by using these STKs and conventionallaboratory testswere compared. The parameters viz., pH, organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and micronutrients (zinc, boron and iron) were in close agreement with that of laboratory tests. Thus, for a quick diagnosis of soil fertility status, STKs are highly useful and accordingly fertiliser recommendations can be given to farmers.

Understanding the contexts of effectiveness of adaptation to climate change and variability: a qualitative study of smallholder farmers in central Ethiopia

ABSTRACTAlthough most studies showed the positive impact of climate change adaptation on farmers’ livelihoods, not all strategies are effective. Based on a qualitative study of smallholder farmers in central Ethiopia, this study examined the roles of contextual factors in contributing to or constraining the effectiveness of adaptation strategies. The results show that (i) strategies heavily reliant on rainfall were less effective; (ii) farmers with fatalistic attitudes utilized survival-oriented and low-return strategies, which were less effective to protect them from the effects of climate change and variability (CCV); (iii) farmers who had access to livelihood assets effectively responded to CCV through diversification of adaptation strategies and involvement in high-return strategies; (iv) Inadequate extension services, inefficient supply of farm inputs, and limited inclusivity of poor farmers undermined the roles of formal institutions in supporting effective adaptation. The findings attest to the importance of thoroughly understanding the wider contexts in which adaptation strategies are implemented to ensure their effectiveness. Building the adaptive capacity of farmers through pro-poor measures opens opportunities for engagement in high-return adaptation strategies, thereby promoting the building of sustainable livelihoods by all farmers.

The adaptation top crosses of anthocyanins corn in lowland zone of Palu Indonesia

Anthocyanins corn held to increase of human health, the color of seeds was orange to black. The experiment was to studied characters of some families as top crosses anthocyanins corn under interaction genotypes (G), and season (S) in valley of Palu in Indonesia. The experiment was conducted by randomized complete block design with three replications in experimental farm of Sidondo under two season rainy and dry condition. There are ten top crosses populations as anthocyanins corn as candidate included check to evaluated on 2017. The objective of experiment was to study of characters and to find of which is genotypes was stable and high yield to promoting as candidate for F1 top crosses varieties. Interaction data between genotype (G) and season (S) were analyzed manually. The result show that there are significant interaction GxS and founded the genotypes would be promising as new F1 candidate was PMU(S1) Synt. F. C1-2-3xtester: PPH(S1) C2. The potential would be founded 6.0 - 7.0 t/ha, characters of candidate was scored one of plant aspect, position of ear height is middle of plant height, and there are 45 days for anthesis. The released top crosses of anthocyanin corn would be develop under poor farmers for aims to increase income, health and anticipated of mall nutrition.

Who are the Poor Farm households' in Nigeria and is this Population Changing Over Time?

ABSTRACT: Reducing poverty in developing economies is a major challenge faced by the development stakeholders. Although poverty is a worldwide phenomenon, it has been observed that Nigeria is one of the countries that is worst hit by the poverty with biting effects more on the rural dwellers where the bulk of the population lives. Using the nationally representative household survey panel data by the World Bank/National Bureau of Statistics, from the 2012 to 2016 period to provide answers to what are the household demographic, farm, and geospatial characteristics that drive the likelihood of farm households entering, exiting, and re-entering poverty using the costs of basic needs approach as a marker of poverty. Four poverty levels were used in analyzing the household survey data. The two waves of poverty mobility in Nigeria approximately revealed 51.2 percent of poor farm households' in wave 1, and 42 percent in wave 2 were at risk of spending their entire lives in poverty. The probability of existing and entering two-year poverty mobility which started at 25 percent rose to 45 percent for four-year poverty mobility indicating that over time more farm households, have experienced changes in the status of their consumption expenditure relative to the poverty line. Close to households who begin poor, those who moved out of poverty in any of the other years had better endowments in terms of land and livestock ownership, urban residence, and involvement in non-farm income portfolios. It is concluded that older heads, higher educational attainment, engagement in crop/livestock production, and non-farm livelihood activities, strongly reduce the likelihood of farm households' poverty entry. Therefore, policy strategies aimed at dealing with poverty mobility should be heterogeneous across the poor farm households. Also, as the chronically poor lack physical assets and earning endowments, policy efforts should focus on education or other forms of skills acquisition programs in order to raise their livelihood portfolios and boost their earning capacity.

Gerakan Samin: Konflik Hutan, Ratu Adil dan Perlawanan Kultural Petani Blora

The Samin movement is a consequence of the accumulation of people's misery due to the oppressive policies of the Dutch colonial government and is motivated by the uniformity of the mindset of the masses regarding the belief in the emergence of the figure of Ratu Adil within Samin Suro(se)ntiko. The purpose of this writing is to find out, identify the journey and development of the Samin Movement in Blora and interpret the character of Samin Suro(se)ntiko and his teachings. The Samin movement was not only a rejection of the colonial government's policies, but also influenced the culture, way of life and spirituality of its followers. Spirituality in the understanding of the Samin lies in the teachings of the ‘Agama Adam’ which is not an abstract doctrine but a gaman (weapon/life guide) and not a special ritual to the ‘Pengeran’ (God) but the behavior of everyday life. ‘Agama Adam’is actually the life guide (ageman) of the Samin people which is reflected clearly and concretely in their own lives. ‘Agama Adam’ is the basis for swagraha or non-violent resistance from the Samins. Without this source, it will be difficult to understand how the Samin as innocent poor farmers (wong cilik) have great courage in positioning themselves to oppose state power and reject it.

What influence farmers’ relative poverty in China: A global analysis based on statistical and interpretable machine learning methods

Poverty eradication has always been a major challenge to global development and governance, which received widespread attention from each country. With the completion poverty alleviation task in 2020, relative poverty governance becomes an important issue to be solved in China urgently. Because of a large population, poor infrastructures, insufficient resources, and long-term uneven development raising the living standard of farmers in rural areas is critical to China's success in realizing moderate prosperity. Therefore, identifying the poor farmers, exploring the influence factors to relative poverty, and clarifying its effect mechanism in rural areas are significant for the subsequent poverty governance. Most of the previous studies adopted the method of apriori assuming the factor system and verifying the hypothesis. We innovatively constructed a relative poverty index system consistent with China's actual conditions, selecting all the possible variables that could affect relative poverty based on the existing literature, including individual characteristics, psychological endowment, and geographical environment, and rebuilt an experimental database. Then, through data processing and data analysis, the main factors influencing the relative poverty of farmers were systematically sorted out based on the machine learning method. Finally, 25 chosen influencing factors were discussed in detail. Research findings show that: 1) Machine learning algorithm is proved it could be well applied in relative poverty fields, especially XGBoost, which achieves 81.9% accuracy and the score of ROC_AUC reaches 0.819. 2) This study sheds light on many new research directions in applying machine learning for relative poverty research, besides, the paper offers an integral framework and beneficial reference for target identification using machine learning algorithms. 3) In addition, by utilizing the interpretable tools, the “black-box” of ML become transparent through PDP and SHAP explanation, it also reveals that machine learning models can readily handle the non-linear association relationship.

The Efficacy of Three Botanical Leaf Powders (Ocimum gratissimum, Azadirachta indica, and Carica papaya) in the Control of Rice Weevil (Sitophilus oryzae)

Rice is an economically important crop and the most important staple food for the world’s population. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of three botanical leaf powders, scent leaf, neem and paw-paw in the control of rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae on stored rice grain. The leaf powders were mixed with the rice grain at the quantities of 3g, 6g, 9g and 12g per 20g of rice. In the control, no treatment was used. The plant leaves were dried under room temperature and ground into fine powders. The experimental design adopted for the experiment was Complete Randomized Design (CRD) and each treatment was replicated four times for each experiment. Ten (10) adult S. oryzae unsexed were introduced into each vial including the control and were subsequently covered with muslin cloth held tightly in place by a rubber band to avoid their escaping. The experiments were monitored for 96 hours. The results showed that all the plant leaf powders were good grain protectants. Scent leaf recorded its highest percentage mortality of 40% in 6g, 9g, and 12g after 48 hours, whereas neem had its highest percentage mortality of 40% in 6g and 12g at 48 hours, while paw-paw recorded its highest mortality of 40% in 9g and 12g at 48 hours. No mortality was recorded in the control experiment. These botanical leaves powders especially scent leaf should be incorporated into grain protection practice of resource poor farmers and small scale rice dealers.

PROTOCOL: The effects of agricultural output market access interventions on agricultural, socio-economic and food and nutrition security outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.

Development agencies and international donors' efforts are increasingly focusing on better integrating poor and remote farmers into agricultural markets to address the chronic issues of rural poverty and hunger in low- and middle-income countries. Using systematic methods for information retrieval, critical appraisal and evidence synthesis, this research aims to examine evidence on the effects of five focal types of agricultural market access interventions: (i) farm-to-market transport infrastructure interventions; (ii) output market information interventions; (iii) initiatives creating new marketplaces and alternative marketing opportunities; (iv) contract farming initiatives; (v) interventions improving storage infrastructure. In this review, we will study evidence of the magnitude and direction of intervention effects on agricultural, socio-economic, and food and nutrition security outcomes. We will examine evidence of the distribution of reported effects across different contexts, interventions and sub-groups of the population (e.g., according to sex, socio-economic status, farm size, etc.). We will also report on included studies' risk of bias and on what evidence is available on intervention costs, or their cost-effectiveness. This protocol outlines this review's planned methods and the criteria for selecting and including studies in its analysis.

Is policy convergence required to improve women’s empowerment in agriculture? Evidence from West Bengal

ABSTRACT Farmers’ use of agricultural technology is necessary for reducing poverty. However, women make up most poor smallholder farmers in India and are generally unable to access relevant opportunities. Tandem to supporting women farmers in technology adoption is increasing their empowerment. While women’s empowerment has been on policy agendas in India for several years, progress has been slow and results are mixed. Using primary data from West Bengal, this study finds that female farmers with access to agricultural technologies will likely have social advantages over those without, but institutional and social support is necessary to facilitate real empowerment and overall development.

Analysis on trend evolution and driving factors of soil protection services in eastern sandy region of China

Soil erosion is the leading cause of global environmental degradation that accelerates soil degradation through climate and land use/land cover changes. The eastern sandy region of China is located at vast arid and semi-arid desert areas, and is characterized by arid climate, extreme rainfall events, vegetation degradation and poor farming practices, with serious land desertification, sandstorm disaster and soil erosion. Soil protection is the primary way to suppress soil erosion, including windbreak and sand fixation (WSF) and soil conservation (SC) service. The spatio-temporal patterns, spatial relationships and driving factors of soil protection services (WSF and SC) in eastern sandy region of China were investigated using National Wind Erosion Survey Model of China (NWESMC) and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). The results indicated that: (1) In eastern sandy region, the total soil erosion was 17.31 × 107 t from 2000 to 2020, of which wind and water erosion was 15.8 × 107 t and 1.51 × 107 t, respectively. (2) The total amount of soil protection was 45.5 × 107 t, with WSF and SC showing opposite spatio-temporal pattern. (3) Climate factors played dominant role for the change of soil protection service, with wind speed weakening being the main reason for the weakening of WSF service, the increase of precipitation enhancing SC service. Human activities (such as ecological engineering) may play a significant part in the future. The study has implications for soil protection in arid and semiarid regions worldwide, and can offer scientific recommendations for land management and soil remediation in sandy areas of China.

Impacts of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Vegetation Diversity of Tropical Highland in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has undergone a substantial shift in land use and land cover (LULC), which is home to the majority of the human and animal population. Land degradation has occurred in the Ethiopian highlands as a result of modifications in LULC caused by poor farming methods, high livestock population, and human pressures. Most researchers identified the many LULC drivers and their impact on floristic composition. All of these manifestations have the potential to have major consequences for land users and individuals whose livelihoods rely on the products of a healthy environment. This change in LULC type, combined with poor land management practices in Ethiopia, puts land in jeopardy of erosion, resulting in accelerated soil degradation. All LULC variables, such as the spread of various agricultural activities, the production of fuelwood and charcoal, cutting trees for construction resources, settlements, and revenue growth, are associated with population increase and resettlement. In Ethiopia, the lack of a relevant forest policy implementation on the ground is recognized as a cause pushing deforestation and other landscape changes. This review paper aimed to compile the effects of land use land cover changes on Ethiopian vegetation.

Cultivation of Cassava (Manihot Esculentus C.) With Selected Legumes for Growth, Yield and Economic Advantages as Climate Change Mitigations

Cassava (Manihot esculentus Crantz.) is a monoecious perennial shrub that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtr++=opical regions for its edible, starchy, tuberous roots. It is ideal for intercropping with short-duration crops, which are often harvested before the cassava canopy closes. Thus, intercropping cassava, especially with legumes, is an important way for poor farmers to provide additional crop yield during the early growth stage. Moreover, the incorporation of legumes into cassava-based cropping systems may offer one of the most feasible ways of enhancing protein intake and nutritional security of farming households. Accordingly, a 1-year field study on cassava intercropped with three legumes (haricot bean, mung bean, and soybean) in southern Ethiopia was conducted to determine the effect of intercropping on the growth, yield, and economic advantage of the cassava. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The results revealed that there were significant (P<0.05) differences for cassava plant height, leaf number, stem width, number of storage roots per plant, storage root weight, dry matter, and root yield due to cassava legume intercropping. Cassava- haricot bean intercropping increased root yield by 28% as compared to cassava-mung bean (21%), and cassava-soybean (18 %), respectively. And it can improve land-use efficiency by 31% as compared to cassava-soybean and cassava-mung bean intercropping. The partial budget analysis also revealed that cassava planted with haricot bean gave the highest economic benefit of 199,250 Birr ha-1. Further researches on relative planting time of legumes with cassava and soil fertility variation under sole cassava and intercropping systems are important for improving productivity of growers under the study area.

Phenotypic attributes and production performances of Agonda Goan pig

The aim of study was to evaluate morphometric traits, growth and reproduction performance of indigenous Agonda Goan pigs reared under coastal climate which supports livelihood development of resource poor farmers. Population size in breeding tract varied depending on farmers’ preference for breeding and consumers’ demand for pork. Data (n=74) on different parameters were recorded both from farmer’s flock and institute pig unit. Body measurements such as body length, height at withers, chest girth and neck girth of both were measured using measuring tape. The body weights at different ages i.e., birth, weaning and monthly interval up to one year of age were recorded using digital weighing balance. The average body length, chest girth, height at withers and neck girth were 102.68±3.22 cm, 99.86±3.64 cm, 58.32±1.19 cm and 73.09±4.18 cm, respectively. The mean bristle yield (g/cutting), bristle length(cm) and bristle diameter (micron) were 38.08±5.85, 4.45±0.04 and 268.21±9.84 in males, and 88.16±16.95, 5.69±0.07 and 270.93±11.07 in female pigs, respectively. The mean weight at birth was 0.59±0.01 kg and at weaning was 3.76±0.12 kg. The yearling weights of adult male and female were 46.58±4.50 and 47.27±6.46 kg, respectively. The average litter size at birth and at weaning was 7.21±0.41 and 5.93±0.28, respectively. Pre-weaning and postweaning growth rates were 79.25±9.86 and 153.85±13.34 g/day, respectively. This unique germplasm has potential for sustainable production with improved pig breeding programs. However, the breed is under constant threat due to indiscriminate crossbreeding with unbalanced admixture and replacement with exotic breeds for which immediateconservation and improvement programs are essential to save the breed.

Phenotypic attributes and production performances of Agonda Goan pig

The aim of study was to evaluate morphometric traits, growth and reproduction performance of indigenous Agonda Goan pigs reared under coastal climate which supports livelihood development of resource poor farmers. Population size in breeding tract varied depending on farmers’ preference for breeding and consumers’ demand for pork. Data (n=74) on different parameters were recorded both from farmer’s flock and institute pig unit. Body measurements such as body length, height at withers, chest girth and neck girth of both were measured using measuring tape. The body weights at different ages i.e., birth, weaning and monthly interval up to one year of age were recorded using digital weighing balance. The average body length, chest girth, height at withers and neck girth were 102.68±3.22 cm, 99.86±3.64 cm, 58.32±1.19 cm and 73.09±4.18 cm, respectively. The mean bristle yield (g/cutting), bristle length(cm) and bristle diameter (micron) were 38.08±5.85, 4.45±0.04 and 268.21±9.84 in males, and 88.16±16.95, 5.69±0.07 and 270.93±11.07 in female pigs, respectively. The mean weight at birth was 0.59±0.01 kg and at weaning was 3.76±0.12 kg. The yearling weights of adult male and female were 46.58±4.50 and 47.27±6.46 kg, respectively. The average litter size at birth and at weaning was 7.21±0.41 and 5.93±0.28, respectively. Pre-weaning and postweaning growth rates were 79.25±9.86 and 153.85±13.34 g/day, respectively. This unique germplasm has potential for sustainable production with improved pig breeding programs. However, the breed is under constant threat due to indiscriminate crossbreeding with unbalanced admixture and replacement with exotic breeds for which immediateconservation and improvement programs are essential to save the breed.

Climate Change and Urban Poor: Water-related Behavior in Jakarta

Jakarta is a growing urban centre that is facing two problems: climate change and urban poverty. City authority of Jakarta has yet to prepare comprehensive public policies to address the two challenges of the city that has over 9 million population. As a coastal city, Jakarta has a coastline up to 25 km long. The average elevation of land surface is 7 meters above sea level. Around 40 percent of land surface are below the sea level. There are thirteen rivers flowing rainwater from high land of West Java through the city running into Jakarta Bay. Therefore the threat of climate change is not only due to rising sea levels but also flooding and drought. It is estimated that around 1 million of the urban poor experiencing the vulnerability since most of them are illegally occupying the low land surrounding riversides. The extreme weather is now happen frequently both in urban and rural area. Since poor farmers and farm workers have no saving, some of them have trying to get the job in cities such as Jakarta. Their daily income is around USD 6 to USD 11. This article discusses how the urban poor act toward the impact of climate change. Since the urban poor have only subsistence income, they choose to live at the riversides in the all part of the city. They utilize the water resources for many purposes, utilize the short underground water table and also dump the waste into the river. This study discusses what the poor urban know and do regarding the water resources and its relationship with any evidence of climate change impact and vice versa. As an attempt to explore the possibility of linkages with climate change as an anthropogenic behaviour, this study tries to develop how the current water governance effectively address the problem

Effects of traditional brewery dried residue and field pea hull mixtures supplementation on feed utilization and performance of Washera sheep fed natural pasture grass hay as basal diet.

The major feedstuffs (natural pasture and crop residues) used for sheep in Ethiopia are fibrous and the crude protein (CP) content is less than 7% that is inadequate to meet the maintenance requirement of sheep. These poor quality feeds should be improved and can be improved through supplementation with nutritious feedstuff. Therefore, to overcome this challenge, there is a need to look for some alternatives but locally available and cheap sources of protein. In this regard, traditional brewery dried residue (TBDR) and field pea hull (FPH) could be an important sources of feed for ruminant livestock. This experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of supplementing mixtures of TBDR and FPH on the feed intake, digestibility, live weight gain, and economic feasibility of the feeding treatments. In a 3-month experiment, 20 yearling intact male Washera sheep were blocked based on their initial BW of 22.1±1.58kg (mean±standard error of mean), and treatment diets were randomly assigned within a block. Treatments comprised feeding natural pasture grass hay (NPGH) ad libitum+50g ground nut cake (GNC) (T1 , control); T1 +supplemented with 25% TBDR:75% FPH (T2 ); T1 +50% TBDR:50% FPH (T3 ) and T1 +75% TBDR:25% FPH (T4 ). The supplement feed was offered twice a day at 08:00 and 16:00 while, common salt lick and water were available all time. NPGH, FPH, TBDR, and GNC in the current study contained 5.7%, 13.4%, 22.2%, and 45.4% CP and 62%, 61%, 34%, and 20% neutral detergent fibre, respectively. Sheep in supplemented treatments had higher (p<0.05) apparent digestibility percentage of dry matter and nutrients than those in T1 . Among the supplemented treatments, sheep fed T4 recorded 4.49kg extra (p<0.0001) body weight as compared to that fed T1 by growing at an average of 49.8g/day and returned the highest net income (255.8 Ethiopian birr) CONCLUSION: Thus, based on the highest body weight gain and net return, the combinations of 75% TBDR and 25% FPH (T4 ) appeared to be recommendable for poor farmers.

Salinity hazard drives the alteration of occupation, land use and ecosystem service in the coastal areas: Evidence from the south-western coastal region of Bangladesh

Understanding the salinity effects on the rural livelihood and ecosystems services are essential for policy implications and mitigations. Salinity-driven modulation in land use and land cover, community traditional occupations, and ecosystem service have been elucidated in the present investigation. The study was carried out in the south-western region of Bangladesh as a representative case using focus group discussions, questionnaire survey, and remote sensing techniques. The findings showed that salinity-induced land use changes seriously threatened ecosystem services, employment and livelihoods. Shrimp farming was found to have replaced the majority of agricultural and bare lands, which led to the poor locals losing their land. The increasing land transformation to shrimp ponds as a coping strategy with salinity was not reported to be a viable option as maximum marginal poor people were unable to run the capital-intensive shrimp aquaculture. Eventually, many rich people occupied the cropland for shrimp farming which forced the traditional farmers and fishermen to leave their job and sell their labor. Many of the traditional services derived from the ecosystems were drastically reduced or got lost. The ultimate effect on the traditional livelihoods of the communities increased vulnerability and reduced resilience. The findings could aid in formulating realistic policies and action for ensuring the future resilience of the community through an appropriate adaptation strategy, such as introducing salinity-tolerant crops and integrated farming to safeguard the interest of the poor farmers. Despite the geographical locality of the study, its implications are global given the identical salinity concerns in other emerging nations' coastal regions.

TVA and the Grass Roots at 75: The Legacy of a Planning Classic

Planning struggles with the tension between professional expertise and public voice. The approaching 75th anniversary of Philip Selznick's classic, TVA and the Grass Roots, is an apt time to revisit that tension. In Selznick's analysis, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was a modernist institution aligning with local agricultural elites at the expense of vulnerable Black and poor farmers. He coined the term ‘informal co-optation’ to characterize TVA's affiliation with the powerful. We bring renewed attention to informal co-optation and the institutional aspects of engagement by examining how Selznick's analysis was received contemporaneously, and then considering recent scholarship and the current implications of Selznick's work.