Empirical studies on agricultural technology adoption generally divide a population into adopters and nonadopters, and analyse the reasons for adoption or nonadoption at a point in time. In reality, technology adoption is not a one-off static decision, rather it involves a dynamic process in which information gathering, learning and experience play pivotal roles, particularly in the early stage of adoption. A conceptual framework for an adoption pathway is suggested in which farmers move from learning to adoption, to continuous or discontinuous use over time.
Many of the world’s food-insecure and undernourished people are smallholder farmers in developing countries. This is especially true in Africa. There is an urgent need to make smallholder agriculture and food systems more nutrition-sensitive. African farm households are known to consume a sizeable part of what they produce at home. Less is known about how much subsistence agriculture actually contributes to household diets, and how this contribution changes seasonally. We use representative data from rural Ethiopia covering every month of one full year to address this knowledge gap.
This presentation was realized for the GFAR workshop on "Adoption of ICT Enabled Information Systems for Agricultural Development and Rural Viability" (at IAALD-AFITA-WCCA World Congress, 2008). It presents lessons learned through linking research to extension, including examples from projects in Nigeria, Colombia, Uganda ,Costa Rica, Egypt and Bhutan.
Ethiopian agriculture is changing as new actors, relationships, and policies influence the ways in which small-scale, resource-poor farmers access and use information and knowledge in their agricultural production decisions. Although these changes suggest new opportunities for smallholders, too little is known about how changes will ultimately improve the wellbeing of smallholders in Ethiopia. The authors of this paper examine whether these changes are improving the ability of smallholders to innovate and thus improve their own welfare.
This presentation bring successful examples of Sustainable intensification of maize-legume cropping systems for food security in eastern and southern Africa (SIMLESA): Gender Equitable Benefits through Agricultural Innovation Platforms (AIPs) in Rwanda, considerations of gender in the formal maize seed sector in Uganda and Capacity Building initiatives
This report synthesizes findings from seven country scoping studies on gender-responsive approaches to rural advisory services (RAS) in Africa. The studies, which were conducted in (Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda), were meant to identify existing policies, programmes, approaches, and tools into which gender considerations had been injected, and then to provide them as RAS to farmers, with specific focus on women and youth
The objective of this research was to scrutinize factors that impeded research-farmer relationship in the context of agricultural innovation system from researchers’ perspective in Ethiopia. The research design used for this study was qualitative research approach. Respondents were interviewed using a snowball sampling technique. Data were collected primarily using in-depth interview, documents and analysed descriptively using the principle of grounded theory.
Esta guía sobre Monitoreo, Evaluación y Aprendizaje fue preparada bajo el proyecto Desarrollo de Capacidades para Sistemas de Innovación Agrícola (CDAIS), una asociación global (Agrinatura, FAO y ocho países piloto) que tiene como objetivo fortalecer la capacidad de los países y las partes involucradas para innovar en complejos sistemas agrícolas, logrando así mejores medios de vida en las zonas rurales. CDAIS utiliza un enfoque de ciclo de aprendizaje continuo para apoyar los sistemas nacionales de innovación agrícola en ocho países de África, Asia y América Central.
This guide is developed by synthesizing successful field experiences within a project known as Improving Productivity & Market Success of Ethiopian Farmers Project or IPMS Project. The main purpose of the IPMS project was to test methods, approaches, and processes that can help transform Ethiopian smallholder agriculture from subsistence to a market‐oriented agriculture.
Agricultural knowledge and innovation system (AKIS) has a strong potential to enhance economic performance of farming and contribute to agricultural sustainability, as it may increase synergies and complementarity among actors. This paper is aimed to develop a proposed framework to strengthen AKIS in the study area based on the results of this study. This paper explores perception and views about strengthening AKIS in Dakhalia governorate of Egypt by applying a multi-actor approach. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through face-to-face interviews and focus group discussion.