The Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) was established in the year 1963 by former President Dr. Cheddi Jagan. It became a state corporation in 1964 offering the Diploma in Agriculture and the Certificate in Agriculture Programmes, and graduated the first batch of 15 students in 1966. Agricultural diversification has become an important mechanism for economic growth by providing opportunities that facilitate technological advancement and demand driven government policy.
Agriculture is an essential component of food security, sustainable livelihoods, and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Smallholder farmers, however, are restricted in the number of crops they can grow due to small plot sizes. Agriculture inputs, such as fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, and improved seed varieties, could prove to be useful resources to improve yield. Despite the potential of these agriculture technologies, input use throughout much of SSA remains low.
The study focuses on how levels of innovation, measured by complexity and investments requirements of the adopted technologies, relates to innovative behavior and complying with social responsibility practices, as two indicators of the farmer's behavior towards innovation. A typology of farmers with different technological
levels was constructed based on multivariate techniques, according to the adoption of seven technologies. The main objective of the study was to relate SR and innovative behavior to the technology clusters
The paper is based on the analysis of cooperation in two different German case studies: One case deals with the development of a sustained value chain for ethical poultry production while the other case aims at the combination of different niche innovations for cultural landscape conservation. The empirical analysis is based on the categories ‘goals of the innovation and motives of cooperation’, ‘actors and their resources’, ‘distribution of costs and benefits’, ‘cooperation structure and management’.
There are very few published literature sources that focus on the potential benefits of m-Agri services in Africa and none of which explore their sustainability. This study, therefore, explores the evolution, provision, and sustainability of these m-Agri services in Africa. An overview of the current landscape of m-Agri services in Africa is provided and this illustrates how varied these services are in design, content, and quality.
This study reviews the available literature on processed non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in order to comprehensively identify relevant factors enabling or constraining their potential to contribute to rural development. Background and Objectives: NTFPs, such as wild foods, medicinal plants, and raw materials for handicrafts, make significant contributions to rural livelihoods. NTFPs can help fulfil households’ subsistence and consumption needs, serve as a safety-net in times of crises, and provide cash income.
This document examines the macroeconomic and sectoral context and the trends and outlook for crops, livestock, fisheries, forests and rural well-being, as well as the public policies and institutional framework for these sectors. Based on an analysis of the trends and prospects, each chapter offers a series of recommendations for the consideration of decision-makers, in an effort to help address the challenges posed by the global economic dynamics and to take advantage of opportunities.
This edition of “The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas,” covering 2015-2016, is divided into the following four chapters:
Chapter I: Macroeconomic Context: The author analyzes the evolution and outlook for financial and macroeconomic markets, which determine the conditions in which agriculture in the Americas will have to operate.
African agriculture is currently at a crossroads, at which persistent food shortages are compounded by threats from climate change. But, as this book argues, Africa can feed itself in a generation and help contribute to global food security. To achieve this Africa has to define agriculture as a force in economic growth by: advancing scientific and technological research; investing in infrastructure; fostering higher technical training; and creating regional markets.
This policy brief deals with the following points: (i) Given the importance of agriculture and the rural medium for countries’ growth and development, policy makers must strengthen the institutional structure of rural extension and increase public and private investment; (ii) Abundant natural resources, knowledge, technology, and extensionists are not enough.