With the commercialization of agriculture, women are increasingly disadvantaged because of persistent gender disparities in access to productive resources. Farmer collective action that intends to improve smallholder access to markets and technology could potentially accelerate this trend. Here, we use survey data of small-scale banana producers in Kenya to investigate the gender implications of recently established farmer groups. Traditionally, banana has been a women’s crop in Kenya. Our results confirm that the groups contribute to increasing male control over banana.
There is an emerging body of literature analysing how smallholder farmers in developing countries can benefit from modern supply chains. However, most of the available studies concentrate on export markets and fail to capture spillover effects that modern supply chains may have on local markets. Here, we analyse the case of sweet pepper in Thailand, which was initially introduced as a product innovation in modern supply chains, but which is now widely traded also in more traditional markets.
Objective
The association between farm production diversity and dietary diversity in rural smallholder households was recently analysed. Most existing studies build on household-level dietary diversity indicators calculated from 7d food consumption recalls. Herein, this association is revisited with individual-level 24 h recall data. The robustness of the results is tested by comparing household- and individual-level estimates. The role of other factors that may influence dietary diversity, such as market access and agricultural technology, is also analysed.
Natural resource management practices, such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), have been proposed to tackle agricultural challenges such as decreasing productivity growth and environmental degradation. Yet, the benefits of system technologies for farmers are often debated. Impacts seem to be context-specific, which is especially relevant in the small farm sector with its large degree of agroecological and socioeconomic heterogeneity. This was not always considered in previous research.
The recent proliferation of mobile phones in rural Africa has also led to increased interest in mobile financial services (MFS), such as mobile money and mobile banking. Such services are often portrayed as promising tools to improve agricultural finance, especially among smallholders who are typically underserved by traditional banks. However, empirical evidence on the actual use of MFS for agricultural activities is thin. Here, we use nationally representative data from Kenya to analyze the use of mobile payments, mobile savings, and mobile credit among the farming population.
Comment concilier un développement agricole durable avec la lutte contre le changement climatique et la préservation de la biodiversité ? Pour relever un tel défi, les décideurs politiques, techniques et socio-économiques ont désormais accès à des informations environnementales précises et précieuses. Il s’agit notamment des images satellitaires et des données environnementales produites à partir de ces images.
Dans le cadre du développement durable et des innovations dans les systèmes agroalimentaires, les systèmes mixtes horticoles (vergers et maraîchage) visent à répondre aux enjeux actuels auxquels l’agriculture est confrontée, à savoir une diminution de la pollution des sols, une meilleure gestion des ressources (eau, énergies) et un enrichissement de la biodiversité, tout en continuant d’assurer des fonctions alimentaires. Ils combinent des productions à la fois diversifiées et relativement intensifiées, leur permettant de s’insérer en périphérie urbaine.
Mobile phone based money services have spread rapidly in many developing countries. We analyze micro level impacts using panel data from smallholder farmers in Kenya. Mobile money use has a large positive net impact on household income. One important pathway is through remittances, which contribute to income directly but also help to reduce risk and liquidity constraints, thus promoting agricultural commercialization. Mobile money users apply more purchased inputs, market a larger proportion of their output, and have higher farm profits.
This publication is based on invited papers presented at the conference "Agricultural Biotechnology in Developing Countries: Towards Optimizing the Benefits for the Poor", held in November 1999 at the Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn. The conference was convened in collaboration with the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH (now Aventis CropScience) and the German Foundation for International Development (Deutsche Stiftung fUr internationale Entwicldung - DSE).
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