Africa

This article examines agricultural policy discourses in Senegal to address the use of language in agricultural policy discourses, in spite of increasing evidence that narratives matter for policy-making. This paper shows that reconciling perspectives on the dichotomies that prevail in agricultural development policy today have remained scarce. There is a need to develop a reconciling perspective on low agricultural productivity in Africa. »

This report highlights options for sustainably promoting growth in the livestock sector, drawing from what four African countries have done successuflly in terms of institutional and policy innovation as well as programmatic interventions. By adapting the lessons, African governments can meet their national and international commitments to agricultural growth and transformation. »

This article uses examples from Sudan to examine how and why the resilience ‘regime of practices’ has functioned as a form of neoliberal governmentality, and argues that it has created a fantasy in which conflict in Darfur is invisible. Social and political analysts, however, have criticized resilience approaches for failing to consider power relations. »

This brief summarises insights from a  study which examines the lessons that can be drawn from previous crises to inform responses to Covid-19 in rural Africa. How Covid-19 and responses to it will unfold in rural Africa is uncertain, but recovery from previous crises has often been quick and strong, even when the measures taken have been quite modest.  »

This archive reflects on 50 years of research on pastoralism at IDS. Much has changed, but there are also important continuities. The capacity to respond to today’s turbulent world, to make productive use of marginal environments, to make use of mobility to respond to heightened uncertainty, and to adapt and innovate are all features of pastoralism that can be important in meeting wider, global challenges. »

This publication aims to anwser the question: “How do farmers respond to the vegetable activities, and why?” in northern Uganda. A farmer outreach program was developed to promote use of good quality seed and good horticulture practice. Of all participants, one-third adopted 1 or more technologies. »