West Africa’s smallholders are dynamic and innovative and, if given the opportunity, could easily and sustainably double or treble their productivity. This would have a huge impact on the region’s food security and economic growth. The Convergence of Sciences programme has spent the past decade exploring new pathways for agricultural innovation that focus on enabling smallholders to capture opportunity.
In Ethiopia, village surveys were conducted in six villages and two expert workshops were organized to discuss the organization of the study and to evaluate the draft results. Based on household surveys, focus group discussions, and institutional stakeholder interviews, we assessed household vulnerability, analyzed the strategies households adopt to reduce the hazards faced, and evaluated the assistance households receive from institutions. Vulnerability profiles were formulated, which show that household vulnerability differs substantially among and within villages.
Mali is a vast, land-locked country in West Africa with a population of approximately 14.9 million, and a GDP per capita of USD480. The economy is largely rural, with over two-thirds of the population living off agriculture, notably cotton. Gold is the country’s largest export, though production has been declining and the industry faces an uncertain future as proven reserves are limited. The service sector, which represents 40 percent of GDP, is dominated by trade and commerce. Mali’s dependence on crops and gold makes it vulnerable to terms of trade shocks.
Policy processes are formal and informal negotiations in which heterogeneous groups of stakeholders seek to influence policy agenda setting and the development and implementation of policy. Innovation platforms can help balance the vested interests of market actors, civil society and other stakeholders to support policy processes. They can bring together different types of expertise, experience and interests, and facilitate learning between policymakers and market and civil society actors to develop negotiated and implementable policies and regulations.
Since February 2014, Mercy Corps has implemented the Irtoun (“Rise Again”) program, with a goal to enhance food security and economic resilience of communities recovering from the effects of conflict in northern Mali.
Following a cost modification in September of 2016, the program during the reporting period updated the beneficiaries, calculated the seed needs, met with extension services, retrained on project management and M&E tools, assessed the animal fodder, monitored village savings and loan associations and agents and started Irtoun II.
The aim of Program of Support to Agricultural Services and Farmers’ Organizations (PASAOP) was to assist the government of Mali in reducing poverty in the rural areas through increasing productivity of agricultural and nonagricultural activities, reinforcing institutional, organizational and technical activities of the services of the Ministry of Rural Development, improving the effectiveness of the agricultural producers’ organizations and experimenting agricultural extension service management transfer to beneficiaries and private service providers and farmers’ organization.
Lors de l'intervention d'une plate-forme d'innovation (groupe d'acteurs concernés) dans un domaine donné, nous avons tendance à attribuer les causes du changement aux actions de cette plate-forme. Cet article utilise le cas d'une plate-forme d'innovation dans le secteur du karité au Mali pour analyser comment les plates-formes d'innovation produisent les résultats escomptés.
Ce document fait le bilan du projet de recherche-action Agora dédié au renforcement de la gouvernance de services publics dans des communes du Bénin, du Burkina Faso et du Mali. Mené par Cités Unies France, le Gret, le Laboratoire Citoyennetés et plusieurs partenaires locaux de 2011 à 2014, Agora a couplé des phases de recherche, d’animation et d’apprentissage à la concertation entre les opérateurs, élus, agents de services techniques et usagers. Il se caractérise par la participation effective d’une équipe de chercheurs au dispositif de concertation.
Nous étudions le processus de transfert politique selon lequel les idées et valeurs du développement durable, mûries et véhiculées au niveau international, donnent lieu au niveau national à une recomposition des modes publics d’intervention en milieu rural. Au Mali et à Madagascar, les politiques de développement durable recouvrent des expressions différentes. Nous interprétons ces différences par une analyse comparative des stratégies des acteurs intervenant dans le jeu politique. Nous montrons que ces stratégies renvoient à des processus historiques.
La sécheresse qui sévit dans le Sahel depuis les années 1970 a fortement réduit les productions dans les principaux secteurs d’activités que sont la pêche, l’élevage et l’agriculture. Dans le Delta Intérieur du Niger au Mali (DIN), la pêche dont le développement est intimement lié aux fluctuations inter-saisonnières et interannuelles de la crue du fleuve Niger, est en crise. Les prises ont diminué de moitié, beaucoup de pêcheurs sont partis, certains ont adopté des pratiques non durables et les règles sociales subissent d’importantes modifications.