Fish is a key source of income, food, and nutrition in Zambia, although unlike in the past, capture fisheries no longer meet the national demand for fish. Supply shortfalls created an opportunity to develop the aquaculture sector in Zambia, which is now one of the largest producers of farmed fish (Tilapia spp.) on the continent. In its present form, the aquaculture sector exhibits a dichotomy.
La présente étude porte sur l’analyse de la chaîne de valeur de la pomme de terre dans les régions de Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima (TTH) et Casablanca-Settat (CS). Notre point de départ est une analyse descriptive des données récoltées sur le terrain et de la revue bibliographique. Puis, à travers une analyse fonctionnelle, nous identifions les acteurs de la chaîne, leurs fonctions et formes d’organisation, et les flux d’échange tout au long de celle-ci.
Les technologies agricoles jouent un rôle central dans la production alimentaire mondiale. Une étude récemment publiée par le Conseil des technologies de l’information et des communications (CTIC) s’est penchée sur la question. On y fait valoir que les technologies sont nécessaires à l’amélioration de l’efficacité de la production agricole et de la durabilité des denrées alimentaires.
In recent decades, the confluence of different global and domestic drivers has led to progressive and unpredictable changes in the functioning and structure of agri-food markets worldwide.
The adoption of modern technologies in agriculture is crucial for improving productivity of poor farmers and poverty reduction. However, the adoption of modern technology has been disappointing. The role of value chains in technology adoption has been largely ignored so far, despite the dramatic transformation and spread of modern agri-food value chains. We argue that value chain organization and innovations can have an important impact on modern technology adoption, not just by downstream companies, but also by farmers.
The food production and processing value chain is under pressure from all sides—increasing demand driven by a growing and more affluent population; dwindling resources caused by urbanization, land erosion, pollution and competing agriculture such as biofuels; and increasing constraints on production methods driven by consumers and regulators demanding higher quality, reduced chemical use, and most of all environmentally beneficial practices ‘from farm to fork’.
Rwanda has experienced exceptional economic growth since 2000 despite more than 60% of the predominately-agrarian population living on less than $1.25 a day. Approximately 76% of the country’s working population are engaged in agricultural production, which makes up about one-third of the national economy. Agriculture is also an important source of foreign exchange, making up about 63% of the value of Rwanda’s exports.
In response to population growth, rising income and urbanisation, the demand for livestock products, such as milk, meat and eggs is growing in Ethiopia. The growing demand for milk products offers opportunities for smallholders to realize better livelihoods. Whereas the growing demand for milk products in Ethiopia is widely recognised, the dairy sector has not been able to produce adequate milk to satisfy this demand, mainly due to low productivity of dairy animals.
The rapid transformation of agri-food value chains in Africa and other developing countries has important implications for economic growth and poverty reduction. Policy makers increasingly recognize this but there is a need for a better understanding of what value chain transformation entails and what the main policy options are. This paper provides an overview and analysis of different value chain models that have emerged in the past decades and reviews the literature on the main development implications.
Mobile phone use is increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa, spurring a growing focus on mobile phones as tools to increase agricultural yields and incomes on smallholder farms. However, the research to date on this topic is mixed, with studies finding both positive and neutral associations between phones and yields. In this paper we examine perceptions about the impacts of mobile phones on agricultural productivity, and the relationships between mobile phone use and agricultural yield.