Enhancing the diversity of agricultural production systems is increasingly recognized as a potential
means to sustainably provide diversified food for rural communities in developing countries, hence
ensuring their nutritional security. However, empirical evidences connecting farm production
diversity and farm-households’ dietary diversity are scarce. Using comprehensive datasets of
market-oriented smallholder farm households from Indonesia and Kenya, and subsistence farmers
Earlier high-value Tilapia, Koi and Pangus fry are mostly bought by lead farmers only while small farmers use low-yielding local species. A breakthrough was reached during Phase 2 of the Katalyst project, when hatcheries started marketing high-yielding fish fingerlings to small farmers. The promotion included pond management and cultivation improvements that further increased farmers’ productivity.
Natural hazards have become more frequent and intense in the last few decades, increasing the often significant negative impacts on the gross domestic product of countries in southern Africa and undermining development efforts. Forecasts are negative as a result of climate change, which is increasingly linked to more frequent and severe weather patterns that are expected to have a dramatic impact on these countries‘ economies and environments.
Farmers in Asia like to grow cassava because the crop will tolerate long dry periods and poor soils, and will produce reasonable yields with little inputs. Most farmers realize, however, that cassava production on slopes can cause severe erosion, while production without fertilizer inputs may lead to a decline in soil productivity. Research has shown that cassava yields can be maintained for many years with adequate application of fertilizers, and that there are various ways to reduce erosion.
The farmer-inventors mostly use tacit knowledge and practical skills to create their inventions with the objective of increasing efficiency as a means to improving family farm viability. Farmer-inventors with entrepreneurial intentions were less inclined to share their ideas freely and described financial and temporal constraints in commercialising their inventions. The Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) concept was used to frame an analysis of farmer-inventors’ interactions with innovation support organisations from the perspective of the farmers themselves.
International agricultural research is often motivated by the potential benefits it could bring to smallholder farmers in developing countries. A recent experimental literature has emerged on why innovations resulting from such research, which often focuses on yield enhancement, fail to be adopted due to either external or internal constraints. This article reviews this literature, focusing on the traits of the different technologies and their complexity and distinguishing between yield-enhancing, variance-reducing, and water- or labor-reducing technologies.
Innovation has become the promising concept to overcome problems and enhance agricultural performance in agricultural research and policies. In the past, innovation was mainly seen as being developed by science or enterprises, and only recently the focus has shifted from a linear to a systemic perception, acknowledging that innovation is a dynamic process that implies the participation of a diversity of stakeholders. Consequently the role of multiple stakeholders, including farmers, in the innovation process receives more attention.
Innovative approaches are needed to shift towards more sustainable, equitable and healthy agri-food systems. Building on the increasing recognition of the relevance of traditional agroecological knowledge (TAeK) in sustainable food systems, this paper aims to describe innovative agri-food initiatives and explore how the use and valorization of TAeK may transform conventional agri-food systems. It employs a case-study approach in Spain, where we conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 representatives of alternative agri-food initiatives.
This paper synthesizes literature on the relationship between food supply chains and children's and adolescents' diets and food accessibility. A scoping review was used to identify 47 original studies and seven review articles covering an additional 106 original studies. Studies were primarily cross-sectional and case studies, and most focused on younger children.