Africa

This report presents a review of national land and agricultural policies and policy formulation and implementation processes in Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique and Zambia. The report presents lessons on good and bad practice of agricultural policy formulation and implementation in Africa and recommends strategies. »

A team of researchers from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in collaboration with Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) carried out a Climate Smart Agriculture Rapid Appraisal (CSA-RA) in four districts in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT). The CSA-RA, part of a project funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), was used as a tool to assess within and between district variations in farming systems, agricultural management practices, challenges for current agricultural practices, and climate vulnerability among smallholder mixed crop-livestock farmers. »

This paper by La Via Campesina and GRAIN is further exploring seed laws and legislative processes. They explore how seed laws make farmers’ seeds illegal and which types of seed laws are promoted by the industry. Furthermore, special attention is paid to the struggles of farmers with examples from Africa, America, Asia and Europe. »

This World Bank Group (WBG) working paper (PDF), explores the development of integrated regional markets and agricultural input supply chains for farmers in West Africa. The paper is a result of consultations with seed, fertilizer, and regional trade experts in the region. The working paper offers recommendations to build on the progress of West African governments that have worked on the development of trade rules and quality control methods. »

This article elaborates on the impacts of dairy intensification to human nutrition and household food security. While dairy intensification could improve human nutrition and food security due to higher incomes for the farmers, it could as have negative impacts. This is related to the increasing workload of mothers which could have negative effects on infant and young child feeding (IYCF), since mothers could experience more stress, have less time for feeding and have specific beliefs about the timing and appropriate types of complementary foods. »

This working paper (PDF) from Brookings Institution states that the objective of inclusive growth is linked to that of food and nutrition security. The Government of Morocco is implementing a rural development strategy with two pillars: the first pillar focuses on large modern farms, and the second pillar focuses on smallholder and family farming. The author argues that the twin goals of inclusive growth and food security would be best achieved by emphasizing the importance of the second pillar. »