Innovation in forage development: empirical evidence from Alaba Special District,southern Ethiopia

Forage development is one of the strategies to address feed scarcity and low livestock productivity in Ethiopia. In line with government strategy, multiple actors took part in a forage development programme for six years (2004–09) in Alaba Special District, in southern Ethiopia. This paper analyses the six-year forage development programme, comparing its two phases, from an innovation systems perspective to identify best practices. The study shows that key forage innovative practices are: targeting innovative forage farmers, developing local forages, establishing private forage sources, forage promotion and diversifying capacity building. These best practices can be scaled up and out to address feed scarcity and increase livestock productivity.

Innovation en matière de développement des forages : données empiriques du District spécial d'Alaba, sud de l'Éthiopie

Le développement de forages fait partie des stratégies mises en ?uvre pour lutter contre l'insuffisance de fourrage et la faible productivité du bétail en Éthiopie. Conformément à la stratégie gouvernementale, de multiples acteurs ont pris part à un programme de développement de forages pendant six ans (2004–09) dans le District spécial d'Alaba, dans le sud de l'Éthiopie. Ce document analyse le programme de développement de forages de six ans, en comparant les deux phases d'un point de vue de systèmes d'innovation afin d'identifier les meilleures pratiques. Cette étude montre que les pratiques clés innovantes en matière de forages sont : ciblage des agriculteurs innovants utilisant des forages, développement des forages locaux, établissement de sources privées pour les forages, promotion des forages et diversification du renforcement des capacités. L'échelle de ces meilleures pratiques peut être accrue en termes de portée et de nombre afin de lutter contre la pénurie de fourrage et d'augmenter la productivité du bétail.

Inovação no Desenvolvimento das Forrageiras: Evidência Empírica do Distrito de Alaba Special, no sul da Etiópia

O desenvolvimento das forrageiras é uma das estratégias para abordar a escassez de ração e baixa produtividade da produção de gado na Etiópia. Alinhados com a estratégia do governo, vários agentes participaram de um programa de desenvolvimento de forrageiras durante deis anos (2004–09) no Distrito de Alaba Special, no sul da Etiópia. Este artigo analisa o programa de desenvolvimento das forrageiras de seis anos de duração, comparando suas duas fases a partir de uma perspectiva de sistemas de inovaçóo para identificar as melhores práticas. O estudo mostra que as práticas cruciais e inovadoras relativas ás forrageiras são: ter como alvo produtores inovadores de forrageiras, desenvolver forrageiras locais, estabelecer fontes de forrageiras privadas, promover as forrageiras e diversificar a capacitação. Estas melhores práticas podem ser intensificadas e expandidas para abordar a escassez de ração e aumentar a produtividade do gado.

Innovación en el cultivo de forrajes: datos empíricos del Distrito Especial de Alaba en el sur de Etiopía

El cultivo de forrajes es una de las estrategias para responder a la escasez de alimentos y a la baja productividad ganadera en Etiopía. En línea con la estrategia gubernamental, varios productores del Distrito Especial de Alaba en el sur de Etiopía participaron en un programa de cultivo de forrajes durante seis años (2004-2009). Para identificar las mejores prácticas, este ensayo analiza el programa y compara sus dos fases desde una perspectiva de innovación de sistemas. El programa mostró que las prácticas más innovadoras para la producción de forraje son: orientar a los productores que utilizan nuevas prácticas en sus cultivos de forraje, desarrollar forrajes locales, crear fuentes privadas de forrajes, promover los forrajes y diversificar el fortalecimiento de capacidades. Estas buenas prácticas pueden darse a conocer y propagarse para responder a la escasez de alimentos e incrementar la productividad ganadera.     

How to strengthen the development effectiveness of local purchase for food aid

Taking the case of Burkina Faso, the paper analyses effects of local purchase on marginal producers. It argues that because of imports of food together with ‘distress sales’ on the part of the producers, perfect market conditions do not exist. Therefore market price does not equal the optimal price. In the absence of an optimal price, price interventions are justifiable and this makes payment to local farmers of a ‘fairer’ price both possible and desirable. The additional income thus generated will not only give the producers greater access to food, but also the ability to invest in order to increase production.

Comment renforcer l'efficacité pour le développement de l'achat local de l'aide alimentaire

En prenant le cas du Burkina Faso, ce document analyse les effets de l'achat local sur les producteurs marginaux. Il soutient que, du fait de l'importation de produits alimentaires, conjuguée aux ventes sous l'effet de la détresse effectuées par les producteurs, les conditions de marché parfaites n'existent pas. Ainsi, le prix du marché n'est pas le prix optimal. Comme il n'y a pas de prix optimal, les interventions au niveau des prix sont justifiables et le versement aux agriculteurs locaux d'un prix « plus juste » est à la fois possible et souhaitable. Les revenus supplémentaires ainsi générés donneront aux producteurs non seulement un accès supérieur aux produits alimentaires, mais aussi la possibilité d'investir afin d'accroître la production.

Como fortalecer a efetividade do desenvolvimento de compras locais para ajuda alimentar

Tendo como base o caso de Burkina Faso, o artigo analisa os efeitos da compra local sobre produtores marginais. Ele argumenta que por causa das importaçóes de alimentos juntamente com vendas de sofrimento por parte dos produtores, as condiçóes perfeitas de mercado não existem. Portanto, o preço de mercado não é igual ao preço timo. Tendo em vista que não existe preço ótimo, as intervençóes de preço são justificáveis e o pagamento a produtores rurais locais de um preço mais justo é possível e desejável. A renda adicional assim gerada, não apenas dará aos produtores um maior acesso a alimentos mas também a capacidade de investir para aumentar a produção.

Cómo mejorar la eficiencia del desarrollo mediante la compra local de la ayuda alimentaria

Basándose en el caso de Burkina Faso, este ensayo analiza los efectos de las compras locales realizadas por productores marginales. Sostiene que, debido a la importación de alimentos y a las “ventas de pánico” de los productores, no existen condiciones de mercado perfectas. Por lo tanto, el precio de mercado no es equivalente al precio óptimo. Como no existe un precio óptimo, se justifican las intervenciones en los precios, y el pago de un precio “más justo” a los productores locales es no sólo posible sino deseable. Los ingresos adicionales asi generados permitirán que los productores dispongan de más alimentos y de los medios para invertir e incrementar su producción.     

Connecting smallholders with dynamic markets: a market information service in Zambia

Commodity markets have changed significantly in the past two decades, with smallholders increasingly requiring robust market intelligence to understand and secure benefit from the new environment. This article explores the approach to, and lessons stemming from, an IFAD-financed market information service in Zambia. It finds that by locating the service within a pre-existing institution with legitimacy and credibility, the service has secured the interest of a wide range of actors, and has better enabled smallholders and traders to access and utilise relevant, up-to-date, and actionable information to shape decision-making. The article concludes by discussing the key considerations that shaped the institutional analysis, and the issues that will influence the financial sustainability of the service.     

Women's benefits from agricultural technologies: evidence from poultry production among Nigerian fisherfolk

In many rural households, women are much more involved than men in poultry production. This article examines the introduction of exotic chickens into communities along the shorelines of Kainji Lake in Nigeria and the consequent impact on women's participation and decision making within the household. Women's household decision-making power, particularly in terms of spending money from the sale of chickens and their own extra income, is stronger when the household keeps improved chicken species. The rearing of improved chicken species was positively correlated with social-status enhancement, especially for women.     

Contribution of parkland trees to farmers’ livelihoods: a case study from Mali

Native species of trees and shrubs contribute significantly to farmers' livelihoods by supplying food, medicinal products, fodder, and wood. In the case study reported in this article, this contribution to farmers' annual revenue varied from 26 per cent to 73 per cent, and was as high as US$ 650 a year for households for which agroforestry products were the primary source of revenue. Household consumption was not quantified in the study, but farmers' comments confirmed that native trees also played an important role in assuring food security, especially in the ‘hunger period’ when grain stores are low and farmers are waiting for the next harvest.     

Mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS on rural livelihoods in Southern Africa

A variety of interventions to mitigate the increasing impact of the HIV and AIDS epidemic on smallholder agricultural production and food security are currently implemented in sub-Saharan Africa. However, documentation and dissemination of such interventions is limited and patchy. Building on emerging experiences from the field, this article seeks to move beyond charting the impacts of HIV and AIDS on rural livelihoods to review existing mitigation policies and programmes, identify the challenges to mitigation, and provide suggestions for future mitigation strategies and policy priorities. The experiences cited in the article are mainly drawn from the hardest-hit regions in Southern and Eastern Africa, but they provide useful lessons for AIDS-affected rural communities in other contexts. The main conclusion is that, as current initiatives are to a large extent ad hoc and localised, there is a need for documentation, dissemination, and scaling up of existing interventions, as well as greater coherence and co-ordination in policies and programmes to extend their reach and make the most of limited resources.     

Eco-regional conservation and development in Madagascar: a review of USAID-funded efforts in two priority landscapes

The need for eco-regional or landscape-scale conservation and development has been widely recognised in Madagascar, yet implementation remains problematic. The approach was initially driven by biodiversity-conservation concerns, without enough emphasis on sustainable development, especially agriculture. Current challenges include consensus building for eco-regional visions, strengthening partnerships with government institutions, and negotiating land-use trade-offs within focal landscapes. Increased attention to revenue generation from agriculture and forest products, as well as enhanced communication and widespread participation by all stakeholders, should augment the success of broad-scale conservation and development programmes.     

Gold mining and corporate social responsibility in the Wassa West district,Ghana

Despite a boom in gold mining in Ghana's Wassa West district (WWD), unemployment and poverty have deepened, partly due to loss of farmland to surface mining but more so because of the limited opportunities for wage employment in the district's ‘revived’ gold-mining industry. However, the large-scale mining companies are implementing some alternative livelihood programmes (ALPs) as part of their corporate social-responsibility (CSR) agenda. While the ALPs have provided some employment and income-earning opportunities and skills training, the prospects for their sustainability depend on how the challenges confronting the various programmes are addressed. This will require a well-coordinated approach involving all the key stakeholders.     

Private extension-service provision for smallholder horticultural producers in Kenya: an approach

An approach to establishing improved private extension-service provision for smallholder horticultural producers in Kenya was developed between 2003 and 2005 by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology and Natural Resources Institute in the UK, in collaboration with EurepGAP FoodPLUS GmbH and the House of Quality–South Africa, international NGOs, export companies, and out-grower farmer groups. The approach focused on good agricultural practices, food safety, EU regulations on maximum pesticide-residue limits, and the EurepGAP Standard. The approach is not a blueprint, but the lessons learned are applicable to similar smallholder production systems in other African countries.     

Using community indicators for evaluating research and development programmes: experiences from Malawi

Evaluations involving stakeholders include collaborative evaluation, participatory evaluation, development evaluation, and empowerment evaluation – distinguished by the degree and depth of involvement of local stakeholders or programme participants in the evaluation process. In community participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E), communities agree programme objectives and develop local indicators for tracking and evaluating change. PM&E is not without limitations, one being that community indicators are highly specific and localised, which limits wide application of common community indicators for evaluating programmes that span social and geographic space. We developed community indicators with six farming communities in Malawi to evaluate a community development project. To apply the indicators across the six communities, we aggregated them and used a Likert scale and scores to assess communities' perceptions of the extent to which the project had achieved its objectives. We analysed the data using a comparison of means to compare indicators across communities and by gender.     

“Yes we are here,living, but malaria is surrounding us”: sustainable livelihoods and malaria in Tanzania

This paper examines connections between sustainable livelihoods and the ability to deal with health risks, in the Kilombero Valley in Tanzania where rates of mortality and morbidity from malaria remain high. Application of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) to a narrative of daily lives demonstrates that villagers have experienced a reduction in assets, income, and capital, which limits their ability to follow health promotion advice. The focus on livelihoods highlights possible local developmental interventions that could have a significant impact on improving the health and well-being of the villagers, with potential relevance to other places in the Global South.     

Key challenges in Malawi’s paprika supply chain: new insights into contract farming

Contract farming is a vital tool for linking small-scale farmers with modern supply chains. This study explored challenges resulting from contracting in the paprika supply chain in Malawi. The study used focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and email correspondence with 100 supply chain participants. The identified challenges include: inadequate input provision via the contract, a lack of opportunities to bargain and participate in contract design, and side-selling. While the contract secured the outlet for paprika, it failed to provide a reliable paprika supply for the contracting company. Thus, Malawi’s case analyses the potential of contract farming to champion the development of vulnerable economies.     

Exploring the interface between community development and cooperative development within South Africa – a challenge of theory,practice and policy

During the past few years within South Africa there has been a proliferation of state-led community development initiatives tasked to form community-based cooperatives. It is into such a context that research was conducted during 2011–13 into how South African community development workers understand and conduct their professional practice in relation to cooperative formation.

Findings from the research consider issues such as: a dilemma of statecraft – working within instrumental contexts; the emotional work required of the practitioner; and, finally, confusing the developmental process. The discussions contribute to both theory-building and practice wisdom, while also contributing to South African cooperative policy.     

Understanding households’ livelihood choices,wealth, and poverty in Accra,Ghana

This article reports on a study that aimed to deepen understanding of the factors which influence livelihood choices, and perceptions of wealth and poverty, in Accra, Ghana. Focus group discussions and household surveys were held in ten selected communities. Although parents are able to influence their households’ livelihood choices, the prevailing socio-economic circumstances are more likely to determine what household members are likely to do. Perceptions of wealth and poverty are influenced by factors both internal and external to households, indicating the complexity and variety of interrelated assets which the poor depend on for their livelihoods.     

Attitude counts: engaging with rice farmers in West Africa

An international project called PADS promoted participatory learning and action research with inland valley rainfed rice farmers in West Africa. All countries received the same training, similar funding, and the same leadership. Although the staff in Ghana were conscientious and gave much training to the farmer beneficiaries, the Mali staff explicitly encouraged farmers to experiment. Farmers in Mali responded to this favourable attitude by experimenting more than those in Ghana, and in qualitatively more interesting ways. Long-term engagement with grassroots organisations may be as conducive to changing public servants' attitudes as the actual participatory approach promoted on the ground.

L'attitude compte: travail avec des riziculteurs en Afrique de l'Ouest

Un projet international appelé PADS a favorisé l'apprentissage participatif et la recherche-action avec des riziculteurs pratiquant la culture pluviale dans les vallées de l'intérieur des terres en Afrique de l'Ouest. Tous les pays ont reçu la même formation, un financement similaire et le même leadership. Alors que les membres du personnel du Ghana étaient consciencieux et dispensaient une formation considérable aux agriculteurs bénéficiaires, le personnel du Mali encourageait expressément les riziculteurs à faire des expériences. Les riziculteurs du mali ont réagi à cette attitude favorable en faisant plus d'expériences que ceux du Ghana, et ce de manières plus intéressantes sur le plan qualitatif. L'engagement à long terme avec les organisations de la base populaire peut être tout aussi propice à la modification des attitudes des fonctionnaires que l'approche participative même promue sur le terrain.

As atitudes contam: Engajamento com produtores de arroz na África Ocidental

Um projeto internacional chamado PADS promoveu uma pesquisa sobre aprendizado e ação participativa com produtores de arroz irrigado com água da chuva no interior do vale na África Ocidental. Todos os países receberam o mesmo treinamento, financiamento semelhante e a mesma liderança. Embora os funcionários de Gana estivessem cientes e oferecessem bastante treinamento aos produtores beneficiários, os funcionários de Mali incentivaram explicitamente os produtores a experimentar. Os produtores de Mali responderam a esta atitude favorável experimentando mais do que aqueles de Gana e de maneiras mais interessantes em termos qualitativos. O engajamento de longo prazo com organizações de base pode contribuir para mudar as atitudes dos servidores públicos tanto quanto a abordagem participativa real promovida na base.

La actitud cuenta: el trato personal con campesinos arroceros de África Occidental

Un proyecto internacional llamado PADS promovió el aprendizaje participativo y la investigación-acción entre campesinos que cultivaban arroz de secano en los valles centrales de África Occidental. Todos los países participantes recibieron la misma capacitación, un financiamiento similar y las mismas orientaciones. Si bien el personal de Ghana era muy diligente y transmitió muchos conocimientos a los campesinos beneficiarios en capacitaciones, el personal de Malí se centró más explícitamente en animarlos para que experimentaran. Los campesinos de Malí respondieron a esta actitud estimuladora realizando más experimentos y de maneras cualitativamente más interesantes que los campesinos de Ghana. El compromiso de largo plazo con organizaciones de base puede ser tan importante para lograr un cambio en la actitud del servidor público como el método participativo que se promueve en la actualidad sobre el terreno.