This paper is a case study of capacity strengthening activities carried out at the Agricultural Research Corporation in Sudan between July 2008 and March 2011. These activities were undertaken through the project ‘Strengthening Capacity for Agricultural Research and Development (SCARDA)’ which was implemented in the East and Central Africa region by the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa.
The study began with a review of literature on Malawi’s pigeon pea sector. Specifically, the literature review examined secondary material on pigeon pea production, trade (international and export market) and consumption/demand in Malawi. The literature review also included a quick analysis of secondary data on pigeon pea to understand trends in production, productivity, marketing, pricing, processing and consumption/demand.
This paper sheds light on how to harvest the "youth dividend" in Sub-Saharan Africa by creating jobs in agriculture. The agriculture that attracts the youth will have to be profitable, competitive, and dynamic. These are the same characteristics needed for agriculture to deliver growth, to improve food security, and to preserve a fragile natural environment.
This briefing paper aims to raise debate about agricultural information management (AIM) in the CORAF region. It draws attention to initiatives concerned with AIM and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from global to local levels. Using these examples, we pose questions as to what AIM is, highlight some key dilemmas, and some promising initiatives that may provide inspiration for debate about information in development. The paper is part of the SCARDA Inception Report Volume 3. Briefing Paper, FARA (Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa), Accra, Ghana (2008).
Governments in sub-Saharan Africa and their donors have made business investment a major policy goal, supported by a variety of incentives designed to support business investment in agriculture. However, little is known about the factors which influence agribusiness investment in Africa, and how effective these incentives have been. This paper examines the motivations of agribusiness investment, the effectiveness of government and donor policy incentives, and the relevance of these incentives for four different commercialisation pathways.
El modelo de Agencias de Gestión de la Innovación para el Desarrollo de Proveedores (AGI-DP) se diseñó e implementó con extensionistas rurales desde el año 2009 y hasta el 2014. Permite llevar a la práctica la selección, capacitación, desarrollo, seguimiento y evaluación de equipos técnicos especializados en extensionismo en red.
This paper addresses four questions: · What lessons can be drawn from the "rise and decline" of NARS in Africa? · What can African research managers learn from some of the successful reforms of NARS in Asia and Latin America over the past 10 to 15 years? · What are the major challenges facing the NARS in the ASARECA region in the coming 10-20 years? · What are the critical reforms and the incentives needed to develop pluralistic, accountable, productive and financially self-sustaining NARS in AFRICA?
Les démarches de développement local sont assez standardisées : à partir d'un diagnostic territorial, on met en oeuvre un appui technique et financier aux organisations locales, pour la réalisation de projets dont elles assureront la gestion. Mais les organisations locales sont de nature variée, toutes n'ont pas forcément envie de gérer les équipements qu'elles demandent ; ceux-ci sont plus ou moins complexes à gérer et certains relèvent des prérogatives communales. Enfin, le diagnostic initial dépend de la logique d'ensemble de l'action.
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.