Sustainable Agriculture In Africa Research Articles

Building resilience of agricultural workers in the agrifood system in a post COVID-19 Era in Africa

In many economies in Africa, agriculture is the backbone for the economy. Additionally, it contributes significantly to the employment of many citizens in Africa. The COVID-19 pandemic affected various sectors across the world ranging from economically, socially, and physically. COVID-19 impacted agriculture and the work life of many agricultural workers in Africa. The effects of COVID-19 in African agriculture, calls for reengineering of the future and work life for agriculture workers in a post COVID-19 era. Agricultural workers are the drivers of agriculture, they are classified into various categories ranging from farmers, extension service providers, agribusiness development providers, among others. This paper through a theoretical review of thematic literature highlights how COVID-19 impacted on agricultural workers and agriculture in Africa. It also provides solutions towards the re-engineering of work life for agricultural workers in a post COVID-19 era. Reconstructing of work life in a post COVID- 19 era is key to job creation and a food secure continent. This results in an active workforce and other economic sectors working well and a thriving continent. The paper entails findings that farmers, agribusiness service providers and governments in Africa will find useful to ensure sustainable agriculture in Africa. Agricultural service providers, local and international organizations in the agriculture space will use the findings to design interventions that will enable smooth transition in the work life in a post COVID-19 era leading to a thriving agriculture landscape in Africa.

Agriculture for Economic Development in Africa Evidence from Ethiopia, by Naoto Emelie RohneTill, Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2022. ISBN: 978‐3‐031‐07900‐9.

Rural SociologyEarly View Book Review Agriculture for Economic Development in Africa Evidence from Ethiopia, by Naoto Emelie Rohne Till, Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2022. ISBN: 978-3-031-07900-9. Eliaza Mkuna, Corresponding Author Eliaza Mkuna [email protected] Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Economics, Mzumbe University, Morogoro, TanzaniaSearch for more papers by this author Eliaza Mkuna, Corresponding Author Eliaza Mkuna [email protected] Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Economics, Mzumbe University, Morogoro, TanzaniaSearch for more papers by this author First published: 30 May 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12500Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL References Adedeji, Atilade Adedayo, Max M. Häggblom, and Olubukola Oluranti Babalola. 2020. “Sustainable Agriculture in Africa: Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) to the Rescue.” Scientific African 9:e00492. Badiane, Ousmane, Xinshen Diao, and Thomas Jayne. 2021. “ Africa's Unfolding Agricultural Transformation.” Pp. 153– 92 in Agricultural Development: New Perspectives in a Changing World, edited by K. Otsuka and S. Fan. Part Two: Regional Issues in Agricultural Development. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Opoku, Eric Evans Osei and Isabel Kit-Ming Yan. 2019. “Industrialization as Driver of Sustainable Economic Growth in Africa.” The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development 28(1): 30– 56. Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue ReferencesRelatedInformation

Soil and Water Conservation in Africa: State of Play and Potential Role in Tackling Soil Degradation and Building Soil Health in Agricultural Lands

Africa’s lands are largely vulnerable and threatened by soil degradation and low water availability, especially in semi-arid and arid regions, limiting crop and livestock productivity and farmer livelihood options. Therefore, in African agricultural lands, adopting/improving measures that conserve soil and water resources is crucial. This review aims to provide an update on soil and water conservation (SWC) in terms of farmer practices and research actions and explore how SWC technologies and practices represent a pathway to build or re-establish soil health and enhance sustainable agriculture in Africa. It also aims to increase knowledge on best-fit SWC approaches. Soil conservation, which includes measures of controlling soil erosion and maintaining or improving soil fertility, is inseparable from water conservation. On agricultural lands, the two are typically co-addressed. Increasing plant biomass production through improved water, crop and soil management practices, and managing this biomass judiciously, have direct and indirect impacts on conserving soils and water resources, particularly in drylands. This study focuses on rainfed agricultural systems. We discuss the barriers and challenges to scaling up best-bet SWC technological and management options. Moreover, we show that options, such as Conservation Agriculture (CA), Agroforestry (AF), as well as integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) and field-scale rainwater harvesting (RWH), remain promising for the preservation and improvement of soil health in Africa’s farmlands and improving the resilience of agrosystems to climate change and variability as well as droughts.

Bambara Groundnut Rhizobacteria Antimicrobial and Biofertilization Potential.

Bambara groundnut, an underutilized crop has been proved to be an indigenous crop in Africa with the potential for food security. The rhizosphere of Bambara groundnut contains Rhizobacteria, with the ability to grow, adapt, and colonize their surroundings even in unfavorable conditions and have not been explored for their plant growth-promoting properties. The aim of this research was to determine the potential of rhizobacteria from Bambara groundnut soil samples as either biofertilizers or biocontrol agents or both to help provide sustainable agriculture in Africa and globally. Bambara groundnut rhizospheric soil samples were collected and analyzed for their chemical composition. Rhizobacteria isolates were cultured from the soil samples. Plant growth-promoting, antifungal activities and phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA were carried out on the isolates to identify the rhizobacteria. A 2-year field study planting was carried out to determine the effect of these rhizobacteria as biofertilizers for Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranean). The study was carried out in a complete randomized block experimental design with three replications. All the isolates were able to produce ammonia and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate, while 4.65, 12.28, and 27.91% produced hydrogen cyanide, indole acetic acid, and solubilized phosphate, respectively, making them important targets as biocontrol and biofertilizer agents. The field results revealed that treatment with rhizobacteria had significant results compared with the control. Characterization of selected isolates reveals their identity as B. amyloliquefaciens, B. thuringiensis, and Bacillus sp. These Bacillus isolates have proved to be plant growth-promoting agents that can be used as biofertilizers to enhance the growth of crops and consequent improved yield. This is the first time the rhizobacteria from the Bambara groundnut rhizosphere are applied as biofertilizer.

Genome Editing for Sustainable Agriculture in Africa.

Sustainable intensification of agriculture in Africa is essential for accomplishing food and nutritional security and addressing the rising concerns of climate change. There is an urgent need to close the yield gap in staple crops and enhance food production to feed the growing population. In order to meet the increasing demand for food, more efficient approaches to produce food are needed. All the tools available in the toolbox, including modern biotechnology and traditional, need to be applied for crop improvement. The full potential of new breeding tools such as genome editing needs to be exploited in addition to conventional technologies. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein (CRISPR/Cas)-based genome editing has rapidly become the most prevalent genetic engineering approach for developing improved crop varieties because of its simplicity, efficiency, specificity, and easy to use. Genome editing improves crop variety by modifying its endogenous genome free of any foreign gene. Hence, genome-edited crops with no foreign gene integration are not regulated as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in several countries. Researchers are using CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing for improving African staple crops for biotic and abiotic stress resistance and improved nutritional quality. Many products, such as disease-resistant banana, maize resistant to lethal necrosis, and sorghum resistant to the parasitic plant Striga and enhanced quality, are under development for African farmers. There is a need for creating an enabling environment in Africa with science-based regulatory guidelines for the release and adoption of the products developed using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing. Some progress has been made in this regard. Nigeria and Kenya have recently published the national biosafety guidelines for the regulation of gene editing. This article summarizes recent advances in developments of tools, potential applications of genome editing for improving staple crops, and regulatory policies in Africa.

Trade Openness, Foreign Direct Investment and Sustainable Agriculture in Africa

This study applied a panel data of 37 African countries in examining the impact of trade openness and foreign direct investment on sustainable agriculture towards the attainment of the United Nation (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially, SDG-2, with the aim of ending extreme hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Data for the study was sourced from the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) and World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank, for the period 2005 – 2019. To control for endogeneity, the study engaged the system Generalised Method of Moments (GMM). The result shows that FDI and trade openness have significant negative impact on agricultural sustainability in Africa. This result implies that, increase in FDI may decrease agricultural sustainability by 0.00294%, while increase in trade openness may lower agricultural sustainability by 0.430066 %. Therefore, the study concludes that while trade openness is negative, policy to raise local production towards export promotion should be encouraged. In addition, FDI should be encouraged to augment local employment and investment towards increasing output and productivity in the Africa region.

Sustainable agriculture in Africa: Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) to the rescue

The continued increase in the world's population is expected to make global food availability as one of the major concerns of our future. Nowhere are the concerns greater than in Africa. With a poor economy, the continent is expected to be home to many people in the next few years. Today, agriculture is faced with critical challenges of land degradation, reduced productivity, and susceptibility to abiotic and biotic stresses. To fight this threat, it is crucial to increase agricultural productivity within the next few decades. Given this, agricultural systems that are more sustainable and eco-friendly are being adopted. Recent insight reveals that plant growth-promoting bacteria, especially those residing in the root region (rhizosphere), may play a role in maintaining sustainable agricultural practices. Issues arising from the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are discussed alongside recent trends in plant microbiome studies. It is envisioned that PGPR will take over the place of synthetic compounds in agriculture, horticulture, silviculture, and approaches in the cleaning up of environmental pollutants. In this review, the roles of PGPR, utilization challenges in Africa and possible solutions are discussed.

Science and Technology Backyard model: implications for sustainable agriculture in Africa

Science and Technology Backyard model: implications for sustainable agriculture in Africa

The Role and Contribution of Plant Breeding and Plant Biotechnology to Sustainable Agriculture in Africa


 
 
 Africa’s economy is driven by agriculture, a sector that constitutes 32% of the continent’s GDP. The ongoing Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) in Africa hinges on a system change (from subsistence farming to agribusiness) approach that explores high productivity to strengthen the African economy. During the “Green Revolution” period, increased global yields of cereal crops were achieved through the interactions of breeding and agronomy. However, in the face of current challenges, such as climate change and need for new market niches, there is an increasing exigency to explore modern plant breeding (including biotechnology) to develop new varieties with the capacity for high yields in reduced chemical-input systems and with the genetic diversity needed to maintain yield stability in Africa ́s fluctuating climatic conditions. Biotechnology has significantly shortened the time required for the development of new cultivars, varieties and hybrids. Modern breeding tools include Double Haploid technology, marker assisted breeding, genomics, genetic engineering and genome editing. It is these tools that help accelerate the development of market responsive varieties needed for sustainable agriculture in Africa that will be highlighted.
 KEY WORDS: TECHNOLOGY, CROP IMPROVEMENT, GENETICS, MODERN BREEDING TOOLS.
 
 

The Role and Contribution of Plant Breeding and Plant Biotechnology to Sustainable Agriculture in Africa

Africa’s economy is driven by agriculture, a sector that constitutes 32% of the continent’s GDP. The ongoing Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) in Africa hinges on a system change (from subsistence farming to agribusiness) approach that explores high productivity to strengthen the African economy. During the “Green Revolution” period, increased global yields of cereal crops were achieved through the interactions of breeding and agronomy. However, in the face of current challenges, such as climate change and need for new market niches, there is an increasing exigency to explore modern plant breeding (including biotechnology) to develop new varieties with the capacity for high yields in reduced chemical-input systems and with the genetic diversity needed to maintain yield stability in Africa´s fluctuating climatic conditions. Biotechnology has significantly shortened the time required for the development of new cultivars, varieties and hybrids. Modern breeding tools include Double Haploid technology, marker assisted breeding, genomics, genetic engineering and genome editing. It is these tools that help accelerate the development of market responsive varieties needed for sustainable agriculture in Africa that will be highlighted.

Promoting sustainable agriculture in Africa through ecosystem-based farm management practices: evidence from Ghana

BackgroundThe type of farming practices employed within an agro-ecosystem have some effects on its health and sustainable agricultural production. Thus, it is important to encourage farmers to make use of ecosystem-friendly farming practices if agricultural production is to be sustainable and this requires the identification of the critical success factors. This paper therefore examined the factors to consider in promoting sustainable agriculture production in Africa through ecosystem-based farm management practices (EBFMPs) using Ghana as a case study. The study employed mixed methods—qualitative and quantitative techniques. Data were collected through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 300 households. The Poisson and negative binomial models were employed to determine the factors that influence farmers’ intensity of adoption of EBFMPs. Eight (8) EBFMPs were used in the paper as the dependent variable, which are organic manure application, conservation of vegetation, conservative tillage, mulching, crop rotation, intercropping with legumes, efficient drainage system and soil bunding.ResultsThe paper found that the intensity of adoption of EBFMPs is significantly determined by the age of farmers, distance to farms, perception of soil fertility, knowledge of EBFMPs, number of extension visits and the type of irrigation scheme available to farmers.ConclusionsTo promote sustainable agricultural production in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa using EBFMBs, these factors must be considered.

Using System Archetypes to Identify Drivers and Barriers for Sustainable Agriculture in Africa: A Case Study in Ghana

The African agricultural system is characterized by complex challenges such as famine, food insecurity, poor soil and quality standards, political instability, and inappropriate agricultural practices. The behavior over time graph revealed that as the African population increases, people explore new agricultural land that is in direct conflict with the conservation of forested areas, hence degrading the environment. These challenges in addition to the depletion of natural resources have worsened the plights of African farmers. The increasingly complex nature of the agricultural industry in Africa has necessitated an urgent need for the use of a systemic rather than a traditional approach in solving problems in agriculture. System archetypes were applied as diagnostic tools to anticipate potential problems and problem symptoms. Eleven system archetypes serve as the means for gaining insights into the underlying system structures from which the archetypal behaviors emerge. As part of a suite of tools, they are extremely valuable in developing broad understandings about agriculture and their environments and contribute to more effectively understanding the cause of a fix ‘now’ that gives rise to a much bigger problem to fix ‘later’. The study revealed that opportunity and risk matrix as a policy tool does not solve the problems, but systemic approach would lead to the provision of the right management strategies. This approach facilitates adaptation and mitigation strategies towards the sustainable development for the agriculture in Africa. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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.

Stratification of soil aggregation and organic matter under conservation tillage systems in Africa

Soil degradation due to tillage has been reported Africa-wide. Other main causes of soil degradation are overgrazing, extensive cultivation of marginal lands, widespread clearing of vegetation for agriculture, deforestation, exploitation of unsuitable agricultural technologies, mis-management of arable lands, and frequent drought. Hence, declining soil fertility and increasing population pressure on lands are fragile bases on which to build expectations for improved crop production. This paper recognizes conservation tillage systems as one means for preventing food shortages and natural resources degradation throughout the continent. Conservation tillage has the potential for increasing soil organic matter content and enhancing soil aggregation. Conservation tillage systems can create an aggregated, fertile surface layer that is important from a soil erosion reduction perspective and thus for a sustainable agriculture in Africa. Some indigenous tillage systems in Africa can be adapted to meet objectives of conservation tillage systems. Further, recent technological developments in tillage and seeding machinery will certainly enhance the rate of farmer’s acceptance and adoption of conservation tillage.

Promoting Sustainable Extension Approaches: Farmer Field School (FFS) and its role in sustainable agricultural development in Africa

This paper discusses the concept of Farmer Field School and its role in a multidisciplinary research agenda for sustainable agriculture in Africa. The FFS as a group learning approach builds knowledge and capacity among farmers to enable them diagnose their problems, identify solutions and develop plans and implement them with or without support from outside. The paper suggests that a multi-disciplinary research agenda that will not only aim at technology development but will also seek ways of stakeholder participation in technology development, validation and dissemination. It concludes that this approach will not only increase agricultural productivity, it will also lead to sustainable agriculture in Africa. [IJARD Vol.3 2002: 46-53]

Sustainable Agriculture in Africa: Proceedings of the Agricultural Systems and Research Workshop and Selected Papers for the Canadian Association of African Studies Meeting

Sustainable Agriculture in Africa: Proceedings of the Agricultural Systems and Research Workshop and Selected Papers for the Canadian Association of African Studies Meeting