Agriculture faces an enormous global challenge of feeding nine billion people by 2050. This means a comprehensive intensification of agriculture is required. Ecological intensification is gaining momentum as a clearly defined vision for increasing agriculture productivity and sustainability. How ecological intensification could be tailored to benefit smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains the major question. In this study, we develop pathways relying on ecological intensification technologies and suiting different farm types of smallholder agriculture.
Cet article présente une enquête menée dans le nord-ouest du Nicaragua, qui vise à comprendre comment les flux d’argent et d’aliments générés par les activités diversifiées et multilocalisées des familles agricoles interviennent dans l’accès aux aliments et dans la perception de la sécurité alimentaire. Dans la région d’étude, l’agriculture familiale est caractérisée par des conditions agro-écologiques difficiles et repose sur la production vivrière et l’élevage bovin.
The challenge of food security in Nigeria hinges on several factors of which poor technical efficiency is key. Using a stochastic frontier framework, we estimated the technical efficiency of agricultural households in Nigeria and tested for the significance of mean technical efficiency of food-secure and food-insecure agricultural households. We further assessed the determinants of agricultural households’ inefficiencies within the stochastic frontier model and adopted a standard probit model to assess the determinants of households’ food security status.
Establishing food security remains a global challenge; it is thus a specific objective of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Successfully delivering productive and sustainable agricultural systems worldwide will form the foundations for overcoming this challenge. Smart agriculture is often perceived as one key enabler when considering the twin objectives of eliminating world hunger and undernourishment. The practical realization, deployment, and adoption of smart agricultural systems remain distant due to a confluence of technological, social, and economic factors.
Women are the backbone of the development of rural and national economies. There is no tool of development that is more effective than the empowerment of the rural women. Nigerian rural women lack sufficient economic resources that will enable them to articulate their needs and interests and organize themselves with a view to developing the nation.
The aim of this work was to identify procedures adopted by family farms in the centre and north of Portugal and Galicia (Spain), and to verify whether they resemble those used in organic farming. A checklist was prepared in Portuguese and Spanish and applied personally to managers of family farms. The participation was voluntary and 125 valid responses were collected.
De nombreux agriculteurs africains pratiquent des formes d'agriculture potentiellement qualifiables de "?biologiques?". Pourtant, la capacité de l'agriculture biologique à répondre aux enjeux de la sécurité alimentaire en Afrique est encore mal connue, car il existe peu de références expérimentales disponibles dans cette région. L'élicitation probabiliste est une méthode permettant de rendre compte de manière précise des connaissances d'experts sur une ou plusieurs quantités d'intérêt, et de décrire les niveaux d'incertitude associés.
L’eau d’irrigation est une ressource cruciale pour le développement économique et social en Tunisie. Dans un contexte de décentralisation et de délégation du rôle de l’État, une part importante de la gestion de cette eau d’irrigation a été confiée aux groupements de développement agricole (GDA). Ces groupements souffrent cependant d’un manque de reconnaissance de la part des usagers, qui se manifeste essentiellement par un faible consentement de leur part à payer les redevances.
A complex systems approach to innovation provides rich insights into the drivers, barriers, and key elements for innovation in rural systems. Through a case study of dry direct seeding (DDS) in smallholder systems in Laos, this article reveals a “perfect storm” of challenges and opportunities resulting in rapid adoption. Labour shortage, climate variability, and machinery availability are key factors.
he purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to take stock of the current state of knowledge about inclusive value-chain development (VCD) in the context of international agricultural research; and second, to draw out the implications for future research and action.
This paper is based on a review of recent research papers authored by professionals affiliated with international agricultural research centers and their partners in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.