Academic article

This study in the International Journal of Agricultural Extension examined the perception of rural youths toward Agriculture as a profession in Nigeria. Data for the study were obtained through interview and structured questionnaires administered to one hundred and twenty respondents. »

In this paper in the Agricultural Systems Journal, the authors provide climate smart agriculture (CSA) planners and implementers at all levels with a generic framework for evaluating and prioritising potential interventions. This entails an iterative process of mapping out recommendation domains, assessing adoption potential and estimating impacts. Through examples, related to livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa, each of the steps is demonstrated and how they are interlinked. »

This article is addressing an action oriented research agenda towards the challenges that climate-change brings. The authors see a strong research-implementation gap, as the growing number of climate impact studies on crop yields, provides marginal increases in knowledge. Therefore, the authors call for the scientific agenda to turn its attention to practical options in the face of climate change. According to the authors, the new agenda will face four key challenges. »

This issue explores gender-based disparities in resource access and its contribution to uneven production levels between men and women. As farmers continue to develop methods of climate change adaptation, unequal access to resources could prevent women from adapting at the same pace as their male counterparts. Findings presented in the special issue demonstrate that providing women with engagement opportunities and adaptation resources will greatly reduce the variance in agricultural productivity between men and women, which currently range from four to 25 percent globally. »

This article by Michael R. Carter, Sarah A. Janzen and Quentin Stoeffler suggests that insurance can help manage climate risk and food insecurity. If well-designed, insurance contracts can be implemented and priced at a reasonable level, despite the uncertainties that attend climate change. Evidence from the Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) index insurance project in the pastoral regions in East Africa suggest that practical difficulties can be overcome and that insurance can have the impacts that underlay the positive theoretical evaluation. »

The study in the International Journal of Agricultural Research, Innovation and Technology aimed to determine the effects of rural-urban youth migration on farm families in Benue state, Nigeria. The study recommends that Nigerian government should provide adequate physical and social infrastructure in rural areas in order to encourage youths to remain in agriculture, reduce rural-urban youth migration as well as sustain agriculture for enhanced food security. »