Sub-Saharan Africa

This study examines whether agroecological farming practices can improve food security and dietary diversity in Sub-Saharan Africa. findings indicate that poor, vulnerable farmers can use agroecological methods to effectively improve food and nutritional security in sub-Saharan Africa. The study also highlights how linking agroecology to participatory research approaches that promote farmer experimentation and gender equity also lead to greater health and well-being. »

This article aims to assess political and social outcomes of the formalisation and commercialisation of the seed sector, by comparing maize seed system development in Ethiopia, Malawi and Tanzania, combining policy analysis with quantitative analysis of farmers’ seed use. Climate-smart seed policies and seed system development strategies must be sensitive to differences between farming systems and different groups of farmers if they are to deliver socially fair outcomes. »

This paper begins a discussion on traceability in the pig value chain, with an initial focus on smallholder systems of Western Kenya. In the smallholder context, individual identification is proposed given that farmers may source pigs from different farms and will only keep a few at a time. Appropriate incentives would need to be explored to allow for widespread adoption of the intervention. »

This study estimates the extent to which land rental markets provide a pathway for youth to enter into agriculture, and how transaction costs may impede youth access to renting land. The article provides evidence that, while rental markets are important avenues for the acquisition of farmland by young farmers, the transaction costs faced by younger farmers attempting to access land rental markets appear to be higher than those faced by older farmers. »

This study examines the determinants and impacts of smallholder-producer participation in avocado export markets on labor inputs, farm yields, sales prices, and incomes in Kenya. Smallholder farmers can benefit from participation in avocado export markets and other supply chain activities. Providing households with access to foreign markets and up-to-date information on farm technology, along with the dissemination of simple and domestically invented technologies, could apparently achieve higher farm incomes, revenues, and sales prices. »

This report provides an overview of the evidence of the economic potential of food systems for the poor for the next ten years. Evidence shows that only the upper tier of small-scale farmers can access the more modern and commercialised food channels. For policy it is of importance to get the mix right in relation to the ability of smallholder farmers in the food system to “stepping up” or “hanging in” (farmers not able to scale up and commercialise) farming activities. »