This study was undertaken to assess the utility of remotely sensed net primary productivity (NPP) data to measure agricultural sustainability by applying a new methodology that captures spatial variability and trends in total NPP and in NPP removed at harvest. The sustainable intensification of agriculture is widely promoted as a means for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and transitioning toward a more productive, sustainable, and inclusive agriculture, particularity in fragile environments.
The use of technology in agriculture plays an important role in the production chain cycle, as well as in the improvement of processes and productivity. To develop a model for measuring the technological capacity of family agriculture systems, it is necessary to assess the gaps related to indicators and the technological potentialities of these farmer groups, which are often not considered when they require financial support and do not get enough. Thus, the aim of this study is to identify the indicators used to evaluate the technological capacity of farm systems and agriculture.
Capacity development interventions are considered critical entry points for advancing gender equality in agricultural research systems. However, the impacts of capacity development programs are often difficult to track. Academic reviews highlight that insufficient attention is paid to the suitability of gender training programs to increase capacity and limited evidence is available on their longer-term impacts.
There is widespread need for gender-responsive agricultural research, yet the question of how this kind of research can be implemented and its success measured needs further interrogation. This paper presents a framework, developed on the basis of literature and validated by experts, for tracking the gender responsiveness of agricultural research throughout the research cycle, from the research plan to the dissemination of research findings. The framework was tested in Uganda and Rwanda on 14 research projects considered to be gender-responsive.
Grâce à l’analyse des capacités réalisée en complément des activités visant à améliorer la nutrition, les parties prenantes ont pu obtenir une vue d’ensemble des obstacles auxquels les institutions sont confrontées en Ouganda.
Le manque de capacités individuelles et organisationnelles compromet souvent l’impact à long terme de programmes qui par ailleurs sont techniquement solides. La FAO a donc mis au point des outils destinés à aider les pays à déterminer les déficits de capacités et à répondre à leurs besoins réels de manière durable. La présente note décrit
Bees provide a critical link in the maintenance of ecosystems, pollination. They play a major role in maintaining biodiversity, ensuring the survival of many plants, enhancing forest regeneration, providing sustainability and adaptation to climate change and improving the quality and quantity of agricultural production systems. In fact, close to 75 percent of the world’s crops that produce fruits and seeds for human consumption depend, at least in part, on pollinators for sustained production, yield and quality.
This paper analyses a monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) system developed within an agricultural research for development institution. The system applies aspects of the Outcome Harvesting tool and focuses on learning for adaptation and improvement of innovation processes. Developmental evaluation principles are applied to discuss its application. The MEL system provides insight into the processes and interactions with next users that generate outcomes.
Xanthomonas Wilt of Banana (BXW) is a complex problem in the African Great Lakes Region that is affecting the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers. Since the first disease reports from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2001, BXW has been studied widely. The majority of these studies focus on the technological or biophysical dimensions, while aspects and influence of socio-cultural, economic and institutional dimensions only recently started to gain attention.
The concept of technology adoption (along with its companions, diffusion and scaling) is commonly used to design development interventions, to frame impact evaluations and to inform decision-making about new investments in development-oriented agricultural research. However, adoption simplifies and mischaracterises what happens during processes of technological change. In all but the very simplest cases, it is likely to be inadequate to capture the complex reconfiguration of social and technical components of a technological practice or system.
The Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Pakistan, aims to increase agricultural productivity and the income of farmers in four sectors (cereals, livestock, vegetables, and horticulture) by increasing the use of modern technology and management practices, improving the performance of value chains, and increasing the capacity of the public and private sectors to support the agricultural production system.