Rural Smallholder Farmers Research Articles

The Role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Rural Smallholder Farmers’ Response to Climate Change: Case Study of Nkomazi Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Climate change and variability have direct negative impacts on rural smallholder farmers. These impacts involve extreme climatic events such as excessive temperatures, prolonged droughts and floods which affect people’s livelihoods. This study was conducted in Nkomazi Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, South Africa. The main objective of the study was to investigate indigenous weather and climate indicators used by smallholder farmers and the role of indigenous knowledge in their farming systems. The research used qualitative methods, including focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The findings indicated that farmers observed animal behaviour, plants, atmospheric indicators and human ailments to predict weather.

Extension and advisory services roles in creating resilient value chain of smallholder rural farmers in Imo State, Nigeria

Extension and advisory services roles in creating resilient value chain of smallholder rural farmers in Imo State, Nigeria

Climate Change-Induced Impacts on Smallholder Farmers in Selected Districts of Sidama, Southern Ethiopia

Different factors control the types of adaptive strategies and likelihoods of experiencing climate change-induced impacts by smallholder farmers. By using a mixed research method, this study examines the types and determinants of climate change-induced impacts on smallholder rural farmers in drought-prone low lands of Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. Randomly selected (401) households were surveyed on climate change-induced impacts. Longitudinal climatic data were also collected from the Ethiopian National Meteorological Agency to assess the trend of rainfall (RF), temperature and drought incidents. The analyses of the data revealed that RF and temperature had shown decreasing and increasing trends, respectively, during the three decades under consideration (1983–2014). These changes in RF and temperature exposed farmers to climate-related epidemics, drought, harvest loss, and hunger. The logit model results revealed that different factors control the likelihood of exposure to climate change-induced impacts. The findings revealed that literacy level, involving women in family decisions and farmers’ involvement in adaptation planning, reduces the likelihood of exposure to climate change-induced hunger. Therefore, there is a need to work on human capital of the farmers through expanding education, strengthening women’s participation in family decision-making, and by improving public participation in climate change adaptation undertakings to minimize climate change-induced impacts.

Assessing the Status of Social Media Familiarity among Smallholder Farmers: A Case Study of Thika, Kiambu Kenya

Social media provides huge opportunities and incentives that could ease promotion of agricultural extension, facilitate real-time service delivery and enable wider farmer coverage. Ineffective dissemination approaches, expanding farmer population, low staffing, and aging agricultural extension agents continue to negatively affect the provision of agricultural extension services in Kenya. Despite the social media potential in agricultural communication, lack of awareness and low usage in the rural areas of developing countries have been documented. This study sought to establish the level of social media familiarity among smallholder rural farmers with the aim of exploring the possibility of usage in agricultural extension. The study was undertaken in Thika Sub-County of Kiambu County on 140 farmers through a researcher administered semi-structured questionnaire. Probability-proportional-to-size sampling method was employed to derive the sample size from existing extension farmer groups. Simple random sampling technique was further used to identify the actual respondents from each group. A low level of social media familiarity was established among the farmers with education, age and gender having significant influence. The study recommends awareness creation initiatives to promote social media familiarity with a particular focus on women who form the bulk of the farmers but with the lowest level of social media knowledge.

The role of fish-poultry integration on fish growth performance, yields and economic benefits among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania

Aquaculture practices from sub-Saharan Africa are characterised by low production, owing to improper technology. Production can be increased through integrating fish farming with other existing on-farm activities, particularly livestock husbandry. We assessed the role of fish-poultry integration on all male Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus growth performance, yields and economic benefits among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania. The study also compared phytoplankton species composition, abundance and biomass between the fish-poultry integration and non-integrated system. After 180 days of the experiment, all male O. niloticus cultured under fish-poultry integration exhibited significantly higher growth rates than those in the non-integrated system (p < 0.05). Gross fish yield (GFY), net fish yield (NFY) and net annual yields (NAY) obtained from fish-poultry integration were significantly higher than those from non-integrated system (p < 0.05). Partial enterprise budget analysis revealed that fish-poultry integration was more profitable than the non-integrated system. Moreover, fish-poultry integrated system produced significantly higher phytoplankton abundance and biomass than those from the non-integrated system. Results demonstrate that rural smallholder farmers can achieve higher growth rate, farm net yields and income by integrating all male O. niloticus with other on-farm activities than practising a stand-alone fish culture system.

More than just corn and calories: a comprehensive assessment of the yield and nutritional content of a traditional Lacandon Maya milpa

The traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of Lacandon Maya is expressed in their swidden (i.e., slash-and-burn), sequential agroforestry system. Successional pathways are initiated through controlled burns of secondary forest and by cultivating milpa: a swidden polyculture agroecosystem dominated by maize (corn; Zea mays). While past research demonstrated that traditional Maya milpas yield large quantities of corn that can meet caloric requirements for Lacandon communities, no studies have comprehensively quantified the yields of other crops cultivated in Lacandon milpas or assessed whether they can meet other nutritional requirements for local people. Using a case study approach, this research measured the agricultural yields and nutritional content of all foods (including crops and wild game) harvested from a traditional Lacandon milpa. Following traditional Lacandon agroforestry management practices, we performed a controlled burn of secondary forest and planted crops and trees in an experimental milpa in Lacanja Chansayab, Chiapas, Mexico. Over 3 years, we harvested, weighed, and calculated the nutritional content of all foodstuffs obtained from the milpa. Assuming an average family size of 5.3 individuals, yields from an average-sized milpa can meet most United States Food and Drug Administration daily value nutritional requirements per capita, including calories, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar, protein, vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, zinc, and niacin. Diets derived exclusively from milpa may be deficient in saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, calcium, and iodine, and harvests vary intra- and inter-annually. Lacandon farmers can supplement these harvests by foraging in their managed forest. These results underscore the potential of Lacandon agroforestry management to provide rural smallholder farmers in the Lacandon rainforest with food sovereignty while maintaining nearby forest cover to conserve biodiversity and other ecosystem services.

The Relevance of Smallholder Farming to African Agricultural Growth and Development

Farms less than two hectares constitute most farm holdings in Africa. Most of these farms are operated by rural smallholder farmers who are dependent on agriculture for their economic livelihoods. However, they are constrained by lack of capital assets that would enable them to increase agricultural productivity, food security and income. Despite these challenges, smallholders contribute significantly to the rural economy, and play a significant role in natural resource conservation. Therefore, they represent a critical population to include in poverty reduction efforts. Recent initiatives by African leaders aim to increase public expenditures on agriculture in order to spur economic development, position smallholders to play a significant role in regional growth. To understand the relevance of smallholder farming to Africa’s development agenda, this paper reviews the body of knowledge on smallholder farmers, the constraints and opportunities they face, and their use of practices which embody the tenets of ecological and climate-smart agriculture despite little public investment in this area. This paper recognizes the role of smallholder farmers and concludes that smallholder agriculture will be a driver of economic growth and development in Africa. In order to achieve this, adequate investment should be focused on eliminating the challenges faced by smallholder farmers. Keywords: Smallholder farmers, Sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural development, climate-smart agriculture, green agriculture

Ethnography in Agricultural Research: A Tool for Diagnosing Problems and Sustaining Solutions

In order to meet the future challenges of African agriculture, scientists and policy makers will need to move away from prescriptive measures, to more adaptive ways of understanding and addressing problems based on local capabilities and resources. Ethnographic frameworks and methods are one adaptive tool that researchers can use in parsing out complex situations within the context of local practice and culture. This paper highlights the use of an ethnographic framework called the Livelihoods as Intimate Government (LIG) approach and its application in Ghana and Malawi. The authors demonstrate how without preconceived ideas about what challenges exist, the LIG approach is able to illuminate some of the most pressing needs that affect the livelihoods of rural smallholder farmers. Preconceived notions tend to lead to poor diagnosis of problems, which then results in misplaced solutions and misapplication of funds to implement recommended strategies. Use of LIG sets parameters that are specific to the local context, which promotes development of appropriate policies, and sustainability of food security programs, ensuring that limited funds are used appropriately.Keywords: Ethnography, field methods, Ghana, Malawi

Climate change adaptation in Nigerian agricultural sector: A systematic review and resilience check of adaptation measures

The changing climate is adversely affecting the productivity and livelihoods of Nigerian smallholder rural farmers. Several studies predict worsening outcomes for future climate events, for example heat waves, drought and intense precipitation. Farmers are required to adopt several measures to thrive, given the observed or expected climate change events. Existing studies about the interaction between climate change the agriculture sector has focused evaluating the bi-directional causal relationships, and identifying adaptation measures, but research on the climate resilience aspect of these adaptation measures is missing, or at best, low. This study aims to fill this gap in knowledge by assessing resilience and contribution to sustainability of farmer-adopted measures aimed at addressing risks posed by climate change. We conduct a systematic review of 95 studies concentrating on climate adaptation by smallholder rural farmers in Nigeria in the period 2010 to 2019. We assess the climate resilience of adaptation measures using the Ifejika-Speranza Resilience Check Toolkit. Our findings show that farmers are using climate-resilient adaptation measures; however, we could not ascertain how these have led to sustainable agricultural systems, since it is not the focus of the current study. Our findings show that majority of the adaptation studies in Nigeria are focused on crop farming subsystem. The major agricultural ecosystems and the broad adaptation areas are: Crop farming (improved soil and land management, crop-specific Innovation, water management practices, climate information services and education, access to finance, and off-farm diversification), livestock farming (improved livestock management systems, improved breeding strategies, sustainable health improvement, proper feed formulation early maturing and heat-resistant bird varieties), and fish farming (water harvesting measures, organic material, quick-maturing varieties).

Women Empowerment for Agricultural Development

Agriculture is the main occupation in India giving employment to about 58 per cent of the people. The contribution of agriculture and allied sector in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country has reached about 14 per cent in 2011–2012. India being a fast-growing country, still remains as one of the country with farmers below poverty line in the world. It is prone to weather-related shocks and experiences high levels of food insecurity, particularly among rural populations and smallholder farmers. Women play a critical role in agricultural growth in India, but they face persistent obstacles and economic constraints limiting further inclusion in agriculture. In the over-all farm production chain, women's average contribution is estimated at 55–66 per cent of the total labor with percentages much higher in certain regions. Women- farmers, a quarter of the world's population, produce over 50 per cent of the world's food and share 43 per cent of the agricultural labour force. The women invest almost 10 times more of their earnings than man on the well-being of the family, including family health, child health, education and nutrition. Yet, they have less access than men to agricultural related assets, inputs and services. Women's empowerment is a socio-political concept that involves cognitive, psychological, economic and political dimensions. The women constitute almost half of the work force engaged in agriculture. The rural women participate in a broad range of agricultural activities such as production, processing preservation and utilization of food. They play a key role in the entire food system starting from the selection of seeds, sowing, manuring, drying, storing and feeding the family from the harvested product. Even though women contribute 60 to 80 per cent of the labor in agriculture and animal husbandry, their involvement in selection of suitable crops and adoption of innovative and good management practices, is very low. The major reasons may be the limited role of women in decision making in agricultural land production, gender discrimination in the land, lack of awareness about the new technologies in agriculture and the poor access to female extension professionals for consultation about their farm lands. Various aspects relating to women empowerment, role of women in innovation system and decision making, contribution of women towards household nutritional security and the way forward for actions to be taken on priority are suggested in this paper.

The Role of Government Institutions in Supporting Smallholder Farmers’ Adaptation to Climate Change in Gombe State, Nigeria

Climate change is now an everyday reality, with far reaching consequences, especially for poor agricultural communities, who suffer the most diverse effects of climate change. Over past few years, efforts have been diverted from reaction, to pre-emptive, in a bid to ensure that the most vulnerable can adapt to the challenges of climate change. Impacts of climate change are felt more by poor communities who depend on subsistence agriculture for survival. In order to adapt to climate change, there is need for this poor rural communities to be supported in various ways, by both government and non-government entities. This study investigates the role of government institutions in supporting climate change adaptation among smallholder farmers in Gombe State, Nigeria. Primary data was generated using structured questionnaire. This was administered to 240 randomly selected members of the farming communities, local leaders and members of government institutions working on environmental management in the State. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and factor analysis methods. Results show that a number of factors are responsible for determining the government support towards adaptation in both crop and animal production among smallholder farmers. The study findings revealed different challenges encountered by crop farmers, livestock farmers and government institutions in trying to implement mechanisms of adaptation to climate change in Gombe State, Nigeria. The study recommended that government should engage rural smallholder farmers, non-governmental organizations and civil society in this effort, and that it should encourage local mechanisms in order to ensure sustainability of the adaptation efforts.

Perceptions of extension officers regarding public extension services: a case study of horticultural extension officers in the Hhohho region, Eswatini

The role of public extension in the sustainability and development of rural smallholder farmers is central to rural development. Although the benefits of public extension cannot be quantified to justify its funding, it remains pivotal to the success of poor smallholders with low literacy levels. The reports on agricultural extension in Eswatini paints blink picture on public extension. Data was collected on a census of 13 horticultural EOs alongside a snowballed sample of 82 farmers across the Hhohho region. The senior extension staff participated in a group discussion. The EOs were predominantly young males and were not trained in extension service delivery. The farmers were predominantly older females and had low levels of education. The EOs perceived themselves as good in horticultural issues and average in farmer management and agribusiness issues. They faced a number of challenges including work overload, being under-staffed, poorly resourced, inactive farmer groups, inconsistency of farmers’ participation, and poor personal welfare. Institutionalising smallholder farmers in the community development plans (CDPs) and organising them into formal groups like cooperatives was identified as the first step towards improving public extension. This should be supported by training of EOs on Extension and business management. This would improve the efficiency of offering extension services and other benefits of collective operations. This would also reduce the EOs required per RDA and will enable the government to improve the welfare and operations of EOs. Keywords: Public extension services, smallholder farmers, extension officers, perceptions

Res Nullius vs. Res Communis in Matters of Communal Lands of Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia

Communal land is among the key factors in the enhancement of rural livelihood because it enables mixed farming practices. Although communal lands are prime sources of livelihood in rural farming communities, empirical evidence shows gaps in their legal recognition and protection in Ethiopia. There are encroachments which include government intrusion, informal land sale, distribution, and handing out land (selling communal land in informal markets) as Kebele’s contribution for development projects. These factors entrench poverty by sidelining the rural poor at the grassroots whose life is anchored on these lands. These problems also entail violation of human rights of the rural population. This article interrogates the misconception which tends to consider communal lands (customary land tenure) as res nullius (ownerless property) while such lands are in fact res communis (community property). The article uses the Hadiya Zone as a case study. It is argued that there is the need for the effective implementation and amendment of land laws which require political will to ensure tenure security of communal lands thereby securing and diversifying the livelihoods of poor smallholder rural farmers and ensuring human rights . Key terms Communal lands · Livestock · Poverty · Livelihoods · Rural Poor · Tenure security

Information behaviour of rural smallholder farmers in some selected developing countries: A literature review

The literature from some selected developing countries has demonstrated that rural smallholder farmers need various information sources in pursuit of their goals of increasing production and improving their living standards. According to the sampled studies, the majority of smallholder farmers access information on crop production. Smallholder farmers are aware of information sources despite challenges faced in accessing and using information. The majority of smallholder farmers access information through personal experiences, family members and friends. Despite access to various information sources, the literature has shown that smallholder farmers face various challenges in accessing and using information sources. The major challenges reported by the literature are lack of mobility, lack of finances, lack of rural information centres, and lack of visits by extension officers. The review has highlighted the lack of literature on the information behaviour of smallholder farmers in Malawi despite the fact that the country is an agricultural economy. The review is adapted from the Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS) thesis authored by Austine Phiri at Mzuzu University.

Roads and farming: the effect of infrastructure improvement on agricultural intensification in South-Western Kenya

ABSTRACTCombining new longitudinal and geo-referenced road map data with household panel survey data targeting rural smallholder farmers in South-Western Kenya, we implement a fixed effect (FE) estimation with other controls to assess the causal impact of the change in road access from 2004 to 2012 on the change in farming practices such as hybrid seed adoption, fertiliser intensification, high value crops adoption and market participation for milk and cereals. We construct effective time distance indicators which measures the shortest driving time to the nearest market and nearest large town. We find evidence of diversification into high value crops farming, fertiliser intensification and milk market participation in areas experiencing improved roads. It suggests that the recent road infrastructure investment in South-Western Kenya foster agricultural productivity and market participation by rural smallholder farmers. Also, it implies that the investment has the pro-poor effect since the road improvement occurred in more remote areas.

Willingness of Rural and Peri-Urban Women Smallholder Farmers to Participate in Home-Grown School Feeding Farming Contracts in Ghana

The Ghanaian government has implemented a Home-Grown School Feeding Program, which mandates that school caterers source food from local producers. The volume of local purchases, however, remains low. This study explores constraints faced by local producers—particularly women—in selling their production to local schools. We present results of an agricultural household survey, which includes questions pertaining to a series of hypothetical school-grower contracts. We find that women state slightly lower willingness to participate in contracts compared to men, something that is partially explained by their differential ability to dictate the management of land and use of household income.

Quantifying nutrient deposition and yield levels of maize (Zea mays) under Faidherbia albida agroforestry system in Zambia

Abstract Inherently low soil fertility and costly chemical fertilizers contribute to low maize yield and food insecurity among rural smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The use of fertilizer trees such as Faidherbia albida (Faidherbia) to improve the soil fertility and yield of maize is recognized by many as a good practice. This study examined the litterfall pattern, quantity, and nutrient deposition from 8-, 15- and 22-year old Faidherbia trees at two locations in Zambia before and during the 2014/15 and 2015/16 rainy seasons. Litterfall including its nutrient content was estimated using nylon mesh litter traps erected under three randomly selected representative Faidherbia trees of each age. Further, we assessed the yield levels of maize grown under 8-, 15- and 22-year old Faidherbia trees. All trees started dropping litter before the onset of the rains in both seasons. The leaf litterfall averages of the two seasons were 1.6, 1.7 and 3.8 t DM ha−1 from 8-, 15- and 22-year-old trees, respectively. These litterfall quantities translate to potential carbon and nutrient deposition of 0.7–1.6 t C ha−1, 34–83 kg N ha−1, 1.8–4.3 kg P ha−1 and 10–26 kg K ha−1 per year. The yield levels of maize for the two growing seasons under Faidherbia tree canopy were 7–12 times higher than from outside the canopy, and these yield differences were much more pronounced in the driest year (2015/16 growing season). The large nutrient deposition through litterfall and increase in maize yield under Faidherbia tree canopies show the potential of these trees to contribute to food security and mitigate the risk of crop failure on resource-poor smallholder farmers’ fields, especially in drought years.

Does mixed crop‐livestock farming lead to less diversified diets among smallholders? Evidence from Laos

AbstractMalnourishment continues to remain a challenge in developing countries. As the undernourished are largely smallholder farmers, it is widely assumed that farm diversification and mixed crop‐livestock agricultural systems can help alleviate this problem. However, empirical evidence in this context is limited. Hence, we use a two‐year panel's data from Laos to examine whether farm production diversity as well as a mixed crop‐livestock farming system improves household dietary diversity among smallholder farmer. The results from the fixed effects regression indicate that although farm production diversity does lead to a higher dietary diversity, the effect diminishes with continued farm diversification. The counterfactual analysis from the endogenous switching regression reveals that mixed crop‐livestock farming systems do not necessarily enhance dietary diversity. However, we further find that purchasing food from the markets plays an important role in enhancing the dietary diversity of rural smallholder farmers.

Information needs and barriers of rural smallholder farmers in developing countries

The purpose of the study was to investigate the information needs and barriers of rural smallholder farmers in Mzimba North in Malawi. A mixed methods approach was adopted for the study and the Wilson’s Model of Information Behaviour (1996) guided the study. A questionnaire and focus group discussion guide were used to collect data from 202 rural smallholder farmers. The study found that the major information need of rural smallholder farmers was crop husbandry as revealed by the majority of rural smallholder farmers 149 (77.6). The study found that majority of rural smallholder farmers 180 (94.8%) were aware of information sources. The study also found that the predominant information sources consulted by rural smallholder farmers were personal experiences as indicated by the majority of rural smallholder farmers 185 (96%). The major challenge faced by rural smallholder farmers was lack of mobility as revealed by the majority of rural smallholder farmers 147 (76.6). The study recommends that the Department of Agriculture Extension Services (DAES) should empower the social structures such as families in rural settings with agricultural information.

PROTOCOL: Impact of the food environment on diet-related health outcomes in school-age children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

PROTOCOL: Impact of the food environment on diet-related health outcomes in school-age children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.