The aim of this paper is to characterise the innovativeness of individual farms in the Łódź region. Based on a domestic and foreign literature study, the most frequently used variables connected with farms (namely, the type of agricultural activity, economic size and VAT settlement system) were selected. The analysis of selected variables that characterise the innovative activity of the researched entities was carried out using the basic measures of structural analysis and interdependence of phenomena.
Agriculture is an essential component of food security, sustainable livelihoods, and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Smallholder farmers, however, are restricted in the number of crops they can grow due to small plot sizes. Agriculture inputs, such as fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, and improved seed varieties, could prove to be useful resources to improve yield. Despite the potential of these agriculture technologies, input use throughout much of SSA remains low.
Following the food price crisis in 2008, African governments implemented policies aiming at crowding in investment in rice value chain upgrading to help domestic rice compete with imports. This study assess the state of rice value chain upgrading in West Africa by reviewing evidence on rice millers’ investment in semi-industrial and industrial milling technologies, contract farming and vertical integration during the post-crisis period 2009–2019. We find that upgrading is more dynamic in countries with high rice production and import bills and limited comparative advantage in demand.
Many smallholder farmers in developing countries grow multiple crop species on their farms, maintaining de facto crop diversity. Rarely do agricultural development strategies consider this crop diversity as an entry point for fostering agricultural innovation. This paper presents a case study, from an agricultural research-for-development project in northern Ghana, which examines the relationship between crop diversity and self-consumption of food crops, and cash income from crops sold by smallholder farmers in the target areas.
The objective of this paper is to analyse the olive oil value chain (OVC) in the Governorate of Medenine (south-east of Tunisia) and the relationships between its main operators for an effective involvement and better performance and resilience of olive sector. Based on semi structured interviews and participatory multi-stakeholders’ workshops, OVC has been analysed and described. MACTOR approach has been applied to establish linkages among chain operators and activities in a partnership approach.
Agricultural research and extension systems are central to unlock the potential of agricultural innovation and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Public agricultural research, extension and advisory services are essential for increasing productivity and promoting sustainable agricultural growth and alleviating poverty.
At present, agricultural policies in Kenya often ignore specific target groups because there is a lack of contextual information on farmers’ specific socio-economic conditions. The aim of this study was to fill this knowledge gap by answering the following research questions: 1. What determines the adaptive capacity of AIV farmers in Kenya? 2. How does access to capital assets differ by farming household characteristics and between the selected areas? 3. What are the AC levels of AIV farmers in the selected zones of Kenya? 4.
Food security is predicted toface considerable challenges in the upcoming period. This couldbe more profound in developing countries due to rapid societal change and ecological pressure in theseregions. Concerted efforts to deal with these challenges areof great importance, including accelerating th euse of improved agricultural input technology (IAIT) such as high yield varieties of seeds and improved fertilizer formulas. This type of innovation is more suitable to being introduced amongst developing countries farmers in order to increase their productivity.
This study examines interventions in two agricultural development projects in Ghana which aimed to build competitiveness of selected value chains to generate growth and reduce poverty – the Northern Rural Growth Project, implemented between 2009 and 2016, and the Market Oriented Agriculture Programme, which began in 2004 and is still in place.
This thesis is situated in this field of inquiry and studies entrepreneurship in agriculture. It explores how we can further develop both agriculture and sustainable rural areas. Farmers have traditionally played a significant role in rural areas and rural development, and still do. However in pace with societal development and the reduced number of farms and farm production, their role has changed. Today, they are considered as raw material producers, being the first link in a food chain, and active in landscape conservation in the countryside.