CABI and the Cereal Growers Association (CGA) have been sharing information with farmers in Kenya on how to effectively and safely manage the continuing threat of the invasive fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). This was achieved thanks to a development communication campaign that combined video sharing through a network of lead farmers and social media.
Gender integration focuses on applying a gender lens to look at how social relations of gender and underlying power dynamics affect men’s and women’s participation in and benefit from development programmes. In Plantwise, gender mainstreaming aimed to (1) understand gender relations and how they affected access to agricultural advisory services and adoption of plant health management practices, and (2) remove gender related barriers to access and adoption and improve gender equity.
The invasive pest, fall armyworm (FAW) was confirmed to be in Ghana in 2016. Stakeholders, including CABI, worked to support the development of a national FAW management plan. A review of the management plan implementation was undertaken using outcome harvesting, a Sprockler inquiry and key informant interviews. Results showed evidence of stakeholder collaboration, leading to increased public awareness of FAW and related management practices, and more coordinated research into low-risk management options.
This publication is one of four CABI briefings on climate change. The key messages in this briefing are:
• Farmers need timely, accurate, and clear advice on how to manage pest risks
• Digitally-enabled early warning systems can help farmers adapt and minimize losses
• The complex interactions between pests, plants, and the environment under future climate change scenarios need further research to determine best practices
• Scaling digital climate information services will require a sharp focus on equity and inclusion
This publication is one of four CABI briefings on climate change. The key messages in this briefing are:
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.
Structural transformation of agriculture typically involves a gradual increase of mean farm sizes and a reallocation of labor from agriculture to other sectors. Such structural transformation is often fostered through innovations in agriculture and newly emerging opportunities in manufacturing and services. Here, we use panel data from farm households in Indonesia to test and support the hypothesis that the recent oil palm boom contributes to structural transformation. Oil palm is capital-intensive but requires much less labor per hectare than traditional crops.
Productivity growth in smallholder agriculture is an important driver of rural economic development and poverty reduction. However, smallholder farmers often have limited access to information, which can be a serious constraint for increasing productivity. One potential mechanism to reduce information constraints is the public agricultural extension service, but its effectiveness has often been low in the past.