Africa

This Expert Meeting, organized by the Integrated Seed Sector Development (ISSD) Africa Program, in collaboration with partners, took place in Cape Town, 16-17 March 2016. The meeting aimed to present and discuss the findings so far of ISSD Theme 3: Matching global commitments with national realities. The meeting was divided in three sessions, each centered around one of three action learning questions. The outcomes of these discussions and consultations are briefly summarized in the report. »

This publication by the Centre for Development Innovation (CDI) and The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) provides readers with a valuable understanding of how agri-food markets can contribute to food security and rural poverty reduction, while still building profitable commercial relations. The report gives the outcomes of the ‘From Islands of Success to Seas of Change’ initiative on scaling inclusive agri-food markets. »

This article elaborates on how ownership of assets by women could positively influence the development outcomes at the household and individual levels. The research draws lessons out of eight mix-methods projects that evaluated the impacts of agricultural development projects on individual and household assets. The results show that assets both affect and are affected by projects, indicating that it is both feasible and important to consider assets in the design, implementation, and evaluation of projects. »

This article investigates how other indicators than just international food price spikes influence food price volatility and child malnutrition in Niger and Malawi. In recent times, considerable attention has been paid to the nutritional impact of the sharp hikes in the international food prices which took place in 2007–8 and 2010–11. While understandable, this growing focus has perhaps obscured the impact of other variables affecting malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa. »

This study by LIVES is aimed at developing a baseline understanding of poultry producers in order to identify potential areas of improvement for action research and poultry value chain system development. There are little research and development efforts directed at village poultry in Ethiopia resulting in the sub-sector being highly underdeveloped in terms of its productivity and linkages between producers and consumers. Consequently, the nation is not benefitting much from the potential of village poultry in nutrition or income. »

This article in the Outlook on Agriculture journal, assesses the feasibility and potential success of upgrading strategies (UPS) as well as their assessment criteria as developed by German and Tanzanian agricultural scientists. The results form part of a larger participatory research project conducted in two climatically representative regions of Tanzania: semi-arid Dodoma and subhumid Morogoro. This paper presents the findings with respect to food processing, waste management and bioenergy, along with income generation and market participation. »