The paper describes the existing mechanisms of innovation diffusion particularly focusing on the initial phase to introduce the results of innovative projects into the government system of Uzbekistan. The paper aims to analyze the existing bureaucratic, legal and political matrix for the introduction of ZEF project innovations into practice. The innovations developed by the staff of the ZEF/UNESCO project in Uzbekistan range from their content and purpose of use from technological to institutional ones. The innovations considered in this paper are mainly technological ones.
Technological innovations have driven economic development and improvement in living conditions throughout history. However, the majority of smallholder farmers in sub‐Saharan Africa have seldom adopted or used science‐based technological innovations. Consequently, several scholars have been persistently questioning the effectiveness of intervention models in smallholder agriculture.
The aim of the paper is to evaluate the impact of value-webs as an innovation in agricultural production on welfare of cassava smallholders in Nigeria. The estimation procedure involved the alternative process of multivalued treatment models when treatment units have multiple values. The study thus extends previous impact studies which focused on estimating causal effects from binary treatment units. The treatment units were determined from the extent of utilization of cassava which informed the classification of households into value-web groups.
The study analyzes the current state of Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) in Africa and presents its challenges and opportunities. A review of the ATVET in selected Sub-Saharan Africa countries shows that there are far too few training opportunities for young people and that often, the training offered does not match the needs of the private sector and of local administrations. ATVET trainings focus primarily on production skills and on producers themselves with
This paper analyzes the status of Pakistan’s agriculture in the world and quantifies the potential of improving productivity and quality of value chain at its different nodes. A great potential of expansion in the value chain of large number of agricultural commodities produced in Pakistan are observed. Just bringing the average crop yield levels at par to the world average yield can generate over US$11 billion additional revenues to the producers. Despite lower yield, majority of commodities have lower prices compared to the world average prices at the farmgate.
This report is a summary of the several activities pursued within the Program of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation (PARI) to contribute to sustainable agricultural growth, food and nutrition security in Africa and India. The Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Tropics and Subtropics worked in the identification of technological innovations and further intervention in the dairy value chain, offering a potential solution for cooling milk from the earliest stage of milk production and
This study examines the price transmission mechanisms in the Bloemfontein beef market using the producer price and retail prices at four retail outlets collected over a period of 3 years. It further estimates the causality links between the producer and retail prices. The traditional (Engle-Granger) and standardized (Enders & Siklos) Augmented Dickey- Fuller procedures were used to test for co-integration and asymmetry in price transmission
This paper analyzes the integration of coffee producers into potential sustainability-oriented market segments. The analysis is presented through the lens of value chains by mapping the different coffee chains present in a predominantly coffee growing region, Kodagu, district, India as well as the governance structures that influence interactions and strategies for upgrading
The study analyzed the value chain of natural rubber in Nigeria. The study specifically mapped the natural rubber value chain and identify the functions performed by the respondents in the chain; identified the existing marketing channels and estimated the marketing margin at each value addition point. Data for the study were collected using a well-structured questionnaire administered to 425 respondents selected using a two–stage sampling process involving random and purposive sampling techniques
The first section of this paper outlines the effect of gender norms on the productivity and incomes of women in the agricultural sectors of various African countries. The main challenges faced by women in value chains are outlined, including limited land rights, lower education levels and lower financial inclusion, as well as traditional division of labour in the household. These constraints are examined in turn, and their implications in terms of agricultural productivity and earnings are discussed.