Smallholder Farming Systems In Africa Research Articles

Growth performance, mortality, and carcass yield evaluation of pure and reciprocal crosses between Sasso and Wassache chickens

The indigenous chicken production has become an integral part of smallholder farming systems in Africa. Their products are preferred due to their taste and flavor; crossbreeding using exotic breeds can improve the productivity of these chickens without sacrificing their genetic merits. This study was aimed at improving the Wassache chicken. F1 generations of the crosses between the Wassache and Sasso chickens were simultaneously evaluated for growth traits, mortality, and carcass yield in a pure and reciprocal cross design. Data on body weight, performance, and mortality were collected on 451 birds (Sasso × Sasso [SS] = 110; Wassache × Wassache [WW] = 113; Sasso × Wassache [SW] = 113 and Wassache × Sasso [WS] = 115) for 12 weeks. On the 12th week of the study, 20 birds from each genotype were dissected to determine carcass yield. All data collected were analyzed using Minitab 19. The results showed significantly higher (P < 0.05) values reported for the SS genotype in all parameters studied. Likewise, the reciprocal crosses showed higher performance in growth and carcass traits next to pure Sasso. However, the feed conversion ratio and dressing percentage of the hybrids did not differ (P < 0.05) from those of the SS and WW genotypes. Within the reciprocal crosses, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in all parameters measured except for hatch weight where the WS showed a higher (P < 0.05) hatch weight compared to the SW cross. The study encourages the crossbreeding of the Wassache and Sasso chickens for improved meat production in this region.

Distribution, Characterization and the Commercialization of Elite Rhizobia Strains in Africa.

Grain legumes play a significant role in smallholder farming systems in Africa because of their contribution to nutrition and income security and their role in fixing nitrogen. Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) serves a critical role in improving soil fertility for legumes. Although much research has been conducted on rhizobia in nitrogen fixation and their contribution to soil fertility, much less is known about the distribution and diversity of the bacteria strains in different areas of the world and which of the strains achieve optimal benefits for the host plants under specific soil and environmental conditions. This paper reviews the distribution, characterization, and commercialization of elite rhizobia strains in Africa.

Improvement of smallholder farming systems in Africa

AbstractThis forum paper provides a synthesis and discussion of 14 categories of lessons learned from experiences for achieving farm‐level impact with smallholder farmers in Africa. These lessons were reported in a symposium hosted by the Agronomy in Africa community of the American Society of Agronomy. The lessons, listed in order of frequency of reporting, were the need to: have adequate infrastructure and services; enable spontaneous adoption; have multi‐disciplinary and institutional collaboration; build on previous adoption of good agronomic practices (GAP); have farmer participation in research; encourage and learn from smallholder adaptations; make GAP promotion demand‐driven; allow GAP choices; address challenges and trade‐offs to GAP adoption; enable GAP‐by‐GAP adoption; reconcile conflicting messages; offer adequate profit potential with acceptable risk; reduce labor needs, especially for women; and build capacity for farming system improvement along the chain from farmer to research. The lessons are discussed and conclusions are reported.

The economic potential of residue management and fertilizer use to address climate change impacts on mixed smallholder farmers in Burkina Faso

There are large yield gaps in the mixed smallholder farming systems of Africa, with limited opportunities to sustainably increase productivity and adapt to climate change. In this study, the ex-ante potential of residue retention and fertilization measures to meet this challenge is assessed using a positive mathematical programming (PMP) model. This micro-economic model captures decision making at the farm level for a sample population in Northern Burkina Faso for the 2010 to 2045 simulation period. In contrast to previous studies of mixed farms in this area, we model each individual farm in the sample population, instead of one or a small number of representative farms. We are therefore able identify groups of farms for which each measure is profitable, applied either individually or as a combined package. This approach also enables simulation of the economic impacts from indiscriminate applications of the measures or “smart” applications which are restricted to the farms that profit from the measures. Our findings are aligned with other studies showing that residue retention causes trade-offs between crop and livestock production, while fertilization can synergistically raise returns to both production activities. The annual profit losses from the “middle of the road” RCP6 trajectory of climate change assumed in this study were estimated to reach 15% by 2045. The smart package of measures increased aggregate profit the most, although not by nearly enough to claw back the losses from climate change. The fertilizer measures were the next most profitable, with indiscriminately applied residue retention being the only measure to reduce aggregate profit relative to this climate change baseline. Importantly, the measures that are the most profitable at the aggregate level are not necessarily those that would be the most widely adopted. For example, residue retention is profitable for a larger share of the sample population than fertilization. The advantage of the population scale analysis used in this study is that it prevents measures such as residue retention, which can benefit a significant share of farms, from being disregarded by practitioners because they appear to be unprofitable at the aggregate level or when viewed through the lens of an average representative farm. Finally, amidst the growing emphasis of studies on the benefits of packages compared to individual measures, the findings from this study are more equivocal about this choice, suggesting that extension programs should have the flexibility to apply measures individually or as a package.

Diversification and a multidisciplinary approach for raising agriculture production and attaining food security in smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa

Agriculture is the primary economic activity for between 50 and 90 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan African countries. Ninety five percent of the food that is produced in Sub-Saharan Africa is grown through rain-fed agriculture. This implies that the region will suffer most from climate change due to its dependence on rain-fed agriculture. Vulnerability to climate change will be especially significant among the resource poor smallholder farmers in African countries whose livelihoods depend on rain-fed agriculture in marginal areas. African agriculture is characterized by variations in farming systems with about 90% of the farming occurring in integrated systems. In these mixed farming systems, the food security challenge may require an integrated approach to match the existing systems. A rainbow evolution which emphasizes the need for diversified systems may be the best practice in raising agricultural productivity. A multidisciplinary approach based on the theory of embededdness whereby farmers, researchers, extension institutions, and political institutions work together can further raise agriculture production and improve food security. Social networks in communities of farmers provide channels for identifying problems and farmers? knowledge integrated with that of research and extension can provide sustainable solutions for food production in smallholder farming systems in Africa.?

Ecological management of cereal stemborers in African smallholder agriculture through behavioural manipulation.

1. Africa faces serious challenges in feeding its rapidly growing human population owing to the poor productivity of maize and sorghum, the most important staple crops for millions of smallholder farmers in the continent, with yields being among the lowest in the world.2. A complex of lepidopterous stemborers attack cereals in Africa. However, their effective control is difficult, largely as a result of the cryptic and nocturnal habits of moths, and protection provided by host stem for immature pest stages. Moreover, current control measures are uneconomical and impractical for resource‐poor farmers.3. An ecological approach, based on companion planting, known as ‘push–pull’, provides effective management of these pests, and involves combined use of inter‐ and trap cropping systems where stemborers are attracted and trapped on trap plants with added economic value (‘pull’), and are driven away from the cereal crop by antagonistic intercrops (‘push’).4. Novel defence strategies inducible by stemborer oviposition have recently been discovered, leading to the attraction of egg and larval parasitoids, in locally adapted maize lines but not in elite hybrids. We also established that landscape complexity did not improve the ecosystem service of biological control, but rather provided a disservice by acting as a ‘source’ of stemborer pests colonising the crop.5. Here we review and provide new data on the direct and indirect effects of the push–pull approach on stemborers and their natural enemies, including the mechanisms involved, and highlight opportunities for exploiting intrinsic plant defences and natural ecosystem services in pest management in smallholder farming systems in Africa.

Sense and nonsense in conservation agriculture: Principles, pragmatism and productivity in Australian mixed farming systems

Adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) principles in Australia increased rapidly during the 1990s and it now boasts the highest adoption rates worldwide. These principles of (1) diverse rotations (2) reduced (or no-) till systems and (3) the maintenance of surface cover make good sense in extensive, mechanised, rain-fed cropping systems on erosion-prone, structurally-unstable soils. Indeed reduced fuel and labour costs, soil conservation and moisture retention are the most commonly stated reasons for adoption of CA principles by farmers in Australia. Yet even in Australia, while broadly applicable, the adaptation and application of CA principles within specific farming systems remains pragmatic due to the diverse biophysical and socio-economic factors encountered. Most “no-till” adopters continue some strategic tillage (∼30% cropped area) for a range of sound agronomic reasons, intensive cereal systems dominate, and partial removal of crop residues as hay or by grazing livestock is commonplace within the largely mixed-farming systems. Although this challenges the notion of “ideal” CA principles (zero-till with no soil disturbance, full stubble retention and >3 species in rotations) this high degree of flexibility in CA principles as practiced in southern Australian mixed farming systems makes sense to optimize both economic and environmental outcomes. In addition, some proposed ecosystem service benefits of CA such as soil carbon sequestration and energy efficiency have been recently questioned. Though the socio-economic factors of small-holder farming systems in Africa and south Asia are more diverse and clearly different to Australian farms, some of the biophysical challenges and economic realities are shared (infertile soils, variable and extreme climates, relatively low input levels, integrated crop–livestock systems, small profit margins, highly variable income). It is therefore useful to consider from a biophysical standpoint why a pragmatic approach to CA principles has been necessary, even in a relatively high-adopting country like Australia, and why we should expect similarly ‘imperfect’ adoption of CA (if at all) in the diverse smallholder systems of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. We review aspects of CA adoption in Australia in an effort to draw out important lessons as CA principles are adapted elsewhere, including the smallholder farming systems of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Analysis of Communication and Dissemination Channels Influencing the Adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility Management in Western Kenya

Purpose: The following study was carried out to evaluate the socio-economic factors influencing access to Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) information and knowledge among farmers in western Kenya, and subsequent ISFM uptake with a view to assessing communication gaps. Design/Methodology/Approach: Structured questionnaires were administered to 120 farmers from Vihiga and Siaya districts. In Vihiga, farmers were sampled in a systematic random manner from farmer groups lists, whereas in Siaya, farmers were selected based on randomly selected diagnostic trial sites of the Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) project. Findings: Community-based and mass media channels were found to be significantly advantageous to farmers. Farmers’ preferred information sources and channels included own experiences, farmer field days and farmer groups, respectively. A probit regression model indicated that off-farm income, education level, distance from nearest information centre, livestock value, and district of residence were the socio-economic variables that significantly influenced farmer access to ISFM information and knowledge, and subsequent uptake. In conclusion, farmer field days and farmer groups should be promoted as vehicles for agricultural information communication and dissemination. Practical Implications: The study has practical implications for dissemination of agricultural technologies, especially in small-holder farming regions, characterized by high poverty and poor infrastructure. Originality/Value: The study is original because channels for communication and dissemination of ISFM technologies are poorly documented or non-existent in western Kenya, and in most small-holder farming systems in Africa. The adoption behaviour of ISFM technologies in relation to socio-economic factors by farmers is still poorly understood.