The promotion of land, soil and water conservation measures has been a widespread development in sub-Saharan Africa in a bid to tackle degradation and improve productivity. As a result, several governments have launched various campaigns on soil, land and water conservation measures. The aim of this study is to determine some of the factors that influence farmers’ awareness (knowledge) and adoption of land, soil and water conservation practices. Data for this study was collected from 312 households using a questionnaire survey in the Chinyanja Triangle of Southern Africa.
This paper comparatively analyzes the structure of agricultural policy development networks that connect organizations working on agricultural development, climate change and food security in fourteen smallholder farming communities across East Africa, West Africa and South Asia.
This study examines whether agroecological farming practices, when employed by highly vulnerable households in sub-Saharan Africa, can improve food security and dietary diversity. The research involved a four-year study with 425 smallholder households, selected purposively based on high levels of food insecurity and/or positive HIV status. The households carried out agroecological experiments of their own choosing over a four-year period.
In this paper, the authors apply an innovative multisectoral diagnostic to examine the entry points for potential interventions in food systems to improve the diets in a rural population in Malawi. The paper is structured as follows: The authors begin by describing the country context and the methods necessary to diagnose and contextualize dietary problems in target populations, prioritizing nutritious foods based on their relative and potential contribution to diets.
This paper begins with a brief review of research on nutrition-sensitive value chains in developing countries. It then presents the Value Chains and Nutrition framework for intervention design that explores food supply and demand conditions across a portfolio of local value chains that are relevant for improving nutrition outcomes. The authors explore the framework in a case study on rural Malawi. Available evidence highlights the dominance of maize in diets, but also the willingness of rural households to consume other nutritious foods (e.g.
Animal-source foods (ASF), such as fish, provide a critical source of nutrients for dietary quality and optimal growth of children. In sub-Saharan Africa, children often consume monotonous cereal-based diets, a key determinate of malnutrition such as stunting. Identifying existing sources of ASF for children’s diets will inform the development of nutritious food systems for vulnerable groups.
La nouvelle édition annuelle de Défis Sud propose un regard sur les agricultures, avec des faits, des chiffres et des prévisions. Face à l’augmentation de la population, au réchauffement climatique et à la perte de ressources naturelles, les solutions proposées pour répondre au défi de la sécurité alimentaire mondiale devraient davantage miser sur l’agriculture familiale et l’agroécologie.
Comment se porte le secteur laitier ? En Europe, il n’en est pas à sa première crise. Au Sud, il subit les conséquences de la surproduction et des exportations massives.
La publication de ce numéro double consacré à l’agriculture familiale marque un tournant de l’histoire de la revue Défis Sud. Depuis vingt ans, votre revue a resserré son projet éditorial sur les questions agricoles et de développement rural.
Au niveau familial, l’émigration constitue souvent une recherche de revenus, de sécurité, mais aussi une manière de faire face à des problèmes socio-politiques et des conflits. A l’encontre des clichés, l’émigration n’est pas forcément défavorable à l’agriculture familiale.