Responding to land degradation in the highlands of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia:

Improving the long-term sustainability and resilience of smallholder agriculture in Africa is highly dependent on conserving or improving the quality of the natural resource. Conservation agriculture is conceived around more integrated and effective management strategies for provisioning both food and other ecosystem services. If unattended to, land degradation would reduce agricultural productivity and increase pressure on marginal environments in the Tigray highlands of Ethiopia, adversely affecting food security and livelihoods of smallholder farmers. This paper answers some pertinent questions about mass mobilization of free compulsory labor for ecological restoration in Tigray. It details perception of changes in climate; the process of collective decisionmaking; resistance, documentation, and enforcement of rules; methods of conflict resolution; knowledge and information networks; arrangements for benefit sharing of communal resources; and the role of gender in mass mobilization for communal work. We analyzed data collected from 20 villages in 3 districts in the Tigray region through a household survey using a structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, and personal observations. The results reveal that the people are motivated to provide their free labor to restore the ecology to increase agricultural productivity and production to avoid food insecurity and improve their general livelihood. Availability of institutions in terms of grassroots organizations and rules and regulations was a major factor in the positive response to the call for action. The commitment of the government at both the national and local levels (through sensitization and mobilization for group formation and provision of tools and construction materials); the ethnic homogeneity of the population; and the existence of the Orthodox Church, where most of the people were members, were major factors for the success of the community mobilization for collective action in Tigray. Social networking with neighbors, the clergy, and leaders of grassroots organizations provided the knowledge and information on climate variability and solutions required to conserve the ecology and improve human livelihood. We also observed that there were no differences in gender division of labor except that women worked half the workload of men in a day; the women also did the cooking and cleaned up the surroundings after eating at the site. Both men and women played active roles in leadership with regard to mobilization of people, communal work planning and scheduling, conflict resolution, and sharing of community products. An impact assessment of the ecological conservation in Tigray on agricultural productivity and production and food security would be useful. It will be interesting to replicate the study in other areas in Ethiopia and other countries where the societies may not be homogenous to find out the level of commitment of the people to communal work.Collective action, ecological restoration, free labor, Land degradation,

Review of agricultural extension in India: Are farmers' information needs being met?

Despite a wide range of reform initiatives in agricultural extension in India in the past decades, the coverage of, access to, and quality of information provided to marginalized and poor farmers is uneven. This paper aims to ascertain why farmers are not accessing information and where information gaps exist, despite the variety of extension approaches in India. Using information provision and access as the basis for analysis, the paper reviews some of the major agricultural extension programs in India by considering their ability to provide information and facilitate information sharing and use in farming communities. The review gives a broad overview of the current extension scene in India while providing a synthesis of recent debates and the observations of various authors as well as working groups in the Ministry of Agriculture and the Planning Commission. The paper examines the challenges and constraints of each agricultural extension approach as it attempts to provide farmers with access to information that is relevant to their farm enterprises. As a result of this analysis, opportunities are identified for increasing extension services' effectiveness and efficiency in reaching smallholder farmers. Research gaps are also identified. The review concludes that there is an increasing need to work in partnership and to share knowledge and skills in order to provide locally relevant services that meet the information needs of marginal and smallholder farmers in India.agricultural extension, Knowledge, information, Innovation, Public-private partnership, Gender, Education,

Rebuilding after emergency: Revamping agricultural research in Sierra Leone after civil war

"The civil war in Sierra Leone, caused by a mix of political, social, and economic factors, had a huge impact on the overall economy in general and on the performance of the agricultural sector in particular. The agricultural research system of Sierra Leone was severely affected by the civil war. Research infrastructure was destroyed, laboratories were damaged and abandoned, and well-trained researchers and scientists fled from the country. With the cessation of hostilities in 2002, the government of Sierra Leone concentrated its efforts on the resettlement of displaced persons and on social and economic reconstruction. The efforts of the government include the rehabilitation and reorganization of the former National Agricultural Research Coordinating Council (NARCC), which was coordinating agricultural research in Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI) Act was passed by the parliament of Sierra Leone in 2007 to replace NARCC. As a new organization, SLARI needed to make strategic decisions to guide its operations in order to make it effective in responding to the demands of stakeholders within the food and agriculture system. To provide a focus for SLARI and link its agenda to national development priorities, a strategic plan and operational plan were developed. The methodology used to design the SLARI strategic plan applied an organizational innovation model through which the plan was nested within the strategic plan of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and Conseil Ouest et Center Africain pour la Recherche et le Développement Agricoles (CORAF) / West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD), and the operational plan was hinged on Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP) and Framework for African Agricultural Productivity (FAAP) principles. This would ensure synergy with regional and subregional strategies. The strategic plan would promote increased coordination, interaction, interlinkages, partnerships, and networks among the various agents associated with agricultural research for development systems in Sierra Leone. It would also help achieve SLARI's vision of increasing food security and wealth among Sierra Leone's rural population. For SLARI to make a meaningful contribution to agricultural development in Sierra Leone, the operational plan must be implemented in such a way that the results envisaged in the strategic plan can be achieved. This requires funds and commitment from all stakeholders, especially the government of Sierra Leone." from authors' abstractwar, Agriculture, Development, Research, Strategic plan, Operational plan, Science and technology, Agricultural research,

Evaluation of value-added agricultural advisory services: Case study of agriclinics in Southern India

Introduction of private enterprises to deliver agricultural advisory services is seen as a strategy to increase the coverage and effectiveness of the pluralistic extension system in developing countries. The Indian national program of agriclinics and agribusiness centers, started in 2002, aims to provide farmers with a reliable alternative to the private input dealer by subsidizing technically trained agricultural graduates to establish their own agricultural input shops and agriclinic laboratories. In 2008, Tamil Nadu state began its own version of the program, called Agriclinics cum Mini Soil Testing Laboratories, which provides subsidized funding to establish soil testing laboratories by primary agricultural cooperative banks (PACBs) or independent agricultural graduates.public–private partnership, Privatization, soil testing, agriclinic,

Interactions between health and farm-labor productivity:

In the 21st century, agriculture remains fundamental to economic growth, poverty alleviation, improvement in rural livelihood, and environmental sustainability (World Bank 2007). Three-quarters of the world's poor live in rural areas, particularly in Asia and Africa (Ravallion, Chen, and Sangraula 2007), and depend on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood. This report provides an overview of current knowledge of the impact of health issues on farm-level productivity and decisionmaking, and the impact of agriculture on health. Findings are based on a review of the relevant studies of agricultural regions throughout the developing world. Two conceptual frameworks are used to frame this research: (1) Examining the two-way linkages between agriculture and health (2) Tracking the pathway from a disease condition to its effects, including impacts on household decisionmaking and ultimate impacts on livelihood. Agriculture underpins the health of rural households. It provides income that makes households resilient to health shocks; it provides food to meet their nutrient and energy needs; and it provides medicinal plants for treating ailments. But agricultural systems can also have negative effects on health. Agricultural development may lead to environmental change with adverse health impacts: for example, irrigation dams that create suitable conditions for mosquitoes may lead to increased incidence of malaria locally. The use of agricultural inputs such as pesticides by untrained farm personnel often causes illness. Improper food harvesting and storage practices allow mycotoxins to flourish. Lack of diet diversity can lead to malnutrition. Certain animal diseases also can infect humans. Labor migration (including agricultural labor migration) can contribute to high incidence of HIV infection. The effects of ill health on farm households include three broad impacts: absenteeism from work due to morbidity (and eventual death); family time diverted to caring for the sick; and loss of savings and assets in dealing with disease and its consequences. The long-term impacts of ill health include loss of farming knowledge, reduction of land under cultivation, planting of less labor-intensive crops, reduction of variety of crops planted, and reduction of livestock. The ultimate impact of ill health is a decline in household income and possible food insecurity—that is, a severe deterioration in household livelihood. The research found that the household's ability to cope with a shock reflected both its asset portfolio—including human, physical, and financial assets—and its intangible social resources. Good health must be seen as both an investment and consumption asset, like agricultural production, in that it has compounding returns. Health problems, conversely, may trigger a cycle of lowered agricultural productivity and poor health. At the household level, the investment in health can improve resilience and enhance the ability to cope with emergencies, including ill health. But an investment in health in turn requires an adequate livelihood. Access to appropriate inputs (knowledge, land, tools, fertilizer, and seeds) and remunerative markets is necessary to improve the productivity, health, and resilience of farm households.health, Labor, productivity,

The linkages between agriculture and malaria: Issues for policy, research, and capacity strengthening

"Malaria afflicts many people in the developing world, and due to its direct and indirect costs it has widespread impacts on growth and development. The global impact of malaria on human health, productivity, and general well-being is profound. Human activity, including agriculture, has been recognized as one of the reasons for the increased intensity of malaria around the world, because it supports the breeding of mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite. Malaria can cause illness (morbidity), disability, or death; and all three effects have direct and indirect costs that can affect productivity. Since agriculture is the main activity of rural people in many endemic areas, it has been suggested that effective malaria control measures can be devised if attention was paid to the two-way effects of agriculture and malaria. There is the need to compute the direct costs of malaria treatment and control and the impacts of those costs on the ability of farm households to adopt new agricultural technology and improved practices, and keep farm and household assets. It is equally important to know the indirect costs of seeking health care and taking care of children and others who are afflicted by malaria and the relationship of the indirect costs to the farm labor supply and productivity. On the other hand, many agricultural activities like irrigation projects, water-harvesting and storage, land and soil management techniques, and farm work sequencing can lead to increase in mosquito populations and therefore increase the incidence of malaria in agricultural regions. This paper has raised issues on the two-way effects of agriculture and malaria and recommended areas that require policy actions and further research. The research findings can then be used in devising effective policies for controlling malaria in endemic areas of the world and assist in preparing a tool kit for capacity development on agriculture and malaria." from authors' abstractMalaria, Agriculture, Development, technology, Impact, Research, Policy, Capacity strengthening, Innovation, Institutional change, Science and technology,

Institutional and public expenditure review of Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture

The need for agricultural ministries to have the capacity to develop appropriate policies and effectively implement them is becoming increasingly important as African countries, following on their commitment to Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), pursue economic growth through agriculture-led development. The ministries need to take the lead in pulling together evidence based strategies and building partnerships that ensures their ownership. As donors begin to align their policies with those of governments, an increasingly large share of external support to agriculture is likely to be delivered in the form of support to budgets rather than specially implemented projects. Capacities of ministries and effectiveness public systems will have significant bearing on effectiveness and impact of investments in agriculture. This public expenditure and institutional review of Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture offers insights on diagnosing limitations to and identifying strategies for improving the capacity of ministries to make effective use of human and financial resources. The review makes use a conceptual framework in which mission and functions, organizational capacity – a combination of structures, processes and resources –and organizational incentives interact to produce organizational performance. Indicative strategies are recommended that the ministry can use to generate discussions internally and developed a set a reforms that are owned. They key message is that to improve performance both capacity and incentives faced by organizations need to be addressed.agriculture, ministry, capacity, expenditure review, institutions,

High food prices: The what, who, and how of proposed policy actions

"The complex causes of the current food and agriculture crisis require a comprehensive response. In view of the urgency of assisting people and countries in need, the first set of policy actions— an emergency package—consists of steps that can yield immediate impact: 1. expand emergency responses and humanitarian assistance to food-insecure people and people threatening government legitimacy, 2. eliminate agricultural export bans and export restrictions, 3. undertake fast-impact food production programs in key areas, and 4. change biofuel policies. A second set of actions—a resilience package—consists of the following steps: 5. calm markets with the use of market-oriented regulation of speculation, shared public grain stocks, strengthened food-import financing, and reliable food aid; 6. invest in social protection; 7. scale up investments for sustained agricultural growth; and 8. complete the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. Investment in these actions calls for additional resources. Policymakers should consider mobilizing resources from four sources: the winners from the commodity boom among countries; the community of traditional and new donor countries; direct or indirect progressive taxation and reallocation of public expenditures in the affected countries themselves; and mobilization of private sector finance, including through improved outreach of banking to agriculture. Because of countries' diverse situations, the design of programs must be country driven and country owned. Accountability for sound implementation must also rest with countries. At the same time, a new international architecture for the governance of agriculture, food, and nutrition is needed to effectively implement the initiatives described, and especially their international public goods components. Global and national action is needed, through existing mechanisms, well-coordinated special initiatives, and possibly a special fund." from TextFood prices, Food supply, Food demand, Social protection, Agricultural research, Agricultural policy, Agricultural subsidies,

Perceptions and Aspirations: A Case Study of Young People in Ghana's Cocoa Sector

This article considers the question of young people's aspirations in agriculture in light of the renewed interest in the agricultural sector as a viable basis for development in sub?Saharan Africa (SSA), and the perception that young people's involvement is important for the success of this project. Life choices and outcomes are affected in part by aspirations. The nature and formation of young people's aspirations therefore have direct implications for emerging visions and future models of agriculture to the extent that young people's aspirations inform the decisions they make in relation to agriculture. The article takes issue with essentialising policy narratives about rural youth in agricultural areas that obscure the diversity that exists within that group. We need to investigate such diversity and its significance for young people's aspirations. Using the case of the cocoa sub?sector in Ghana, we analyse how the differences in young people's backgrounds and experiences with cocoa influences their expectations of the role of cocoa farming in their future

Los altos precios de los alimentos: El ‘qué', ‘quién' y ‘cómo' de las acciones de política propuestas

"La complejidad de las causas de la actual crisis alimentaria y agrícola requiere de una respuesta integral. En vista de que es urgente prestar asistencia a las poblaciones y los países necesitados, la primera serie de acciones de política —un paquete de emergencia— consiste en varios pasos para generar un impacto inmediato: 1. Incrementar las acciones de emergencia y la ayuda humanitaria para incluir a las poblaciones que experimentan inseguridad alimentaria y a las que amenazan la legitimidad gubernamental; 2. Eliminar la prohibición y las restricciones a las exportaciones agrícolas; 3. Emprender programas que permitan rápidamente expandir la oferta alimentaria en áreas clave; y, 4. Modificar las políticas de los biocombustibles. Una segunda serie de acciones de política —un paquete de resiliencia socioeconómica— consiste en los siguientes pasos: 5. Proveer tranquilidad en los mercados mediante una regulación de los movimientos especulativos a través de instrumentos de mercado, reservas públicas y compartidas de granos, un mayor financiamiento para la importación de alimentos, y una ayuda alimentaria confiable; 6. Invertir en protección social; 7. Incrementar paulatinamente las inversiones para un crecimiento agrícola sostenido; y, 8. Concluir las negociaciones de la Ronda de Doha de la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC). La inversión en estas acciones requiere de recursos adicionales. Las instancias decisorias deberán considerar la movilización de recursos provenientes de cuatro fuentes: los países que se han beneficiado del auge de los commodities agrícolas; la comunidad de países donantes, tanto tradicionales como nuevos; impuestos proporcionales, directos o indirectos, y la reasignación del gasto público en los propios países afectados; y la movilización de los recursos financieros del sector privado, lo que incluye una ampliación en la cobertura de los servicios financieros para la agricultura. Debido a las diversas situaciones que enfrentan, los mismos países deben dirigir y apropiarse del diseño de los programas. La rendición de cuentas en cuanto a una implementación acertada también deberá recaer en los países. Al mismo tiempo, se necesita una nueva estructura internacional de gobernabilidad para la agricultura, la alimentación y la nutrición, a fin de implementar de forma eficaz las iniciativas descritas, especialmente los componentes relativos a los bienes públicos internacionales. También es necesaria la acción, tanto en el ámbito mundial como nacional, a través de los mecanismos existentes, iniciativas especiales muy bien coordinadas y posiblemente un fondo especial." from TextFood prices, Food supply, Food demand, Social protection, Agricultural research, Agricultural policy, Agricultural subsidies,