Soil quality and farm profitability: A win-win situation

Farmers are more likely to adopt and adapt improved soil management strategies if their efforts lead to an immediate economic benefit. An encouraging policy environment, as well as farmer organisation also stimulates the adoption of conservation practices. In Mexico, farmers are adapting their maize-based cropping systems to conservation agriculture, leading to both higher profits and soil conservation

Evidence-Based Insurance Development for Nigeria’s Farmers: Briefing paper for Nigerian Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD)-CCAFS Knowledge-Sharing Workshop, London, 27-28 January 2015

Agricultural insurance has been a feature in Nigeria for over two decades. The Federal Government has plans to expand agricultural insurance in the Country as part of several initiatives under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA). The Government wishes to extend crop insurance to those farmers benefiting from fertilizer subsidies under the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES). The Government also wishes to implement weather index insurance (parametric insurance) in selected parts of the country susceptible droughts and floods. Experiences from index insurance initiatives worldwide provide important lessons for the development of crop index insurance in Nigeria. Experiences from India, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Senegal suggest that there is demand for index insurance; that the bundling of insurance with key farm inputs e.g. improved seed and fertilizer, makes the insurance package more attractive to farmers; but that several challenges still to overcome, including data management, basis risk, logistical and client communication. CCAFS could play a role in working with the Federal Government to overcome some of these challenges

Editorial: Revisiting the role of business, technical and financial services in fostering rural entrepreneurship

Over the past 15 or so years authors in Enterprise Development and Microfinance (EDM) have written extensively about the design and implementation of microfinance and its use by the poor, whether to respond to shocks and changing contexts, invest in education, or advance livelihood goals (Figure 1 overleaf). Coverage has ranged from the specifics of designing microfinance schemes, access to them by the poorest, and their impact on wellbeing and poverty. While the debate on microfinance is far from over, it is true that discussions have been more concerned with managing, saving, borrowing, and moving money, than about building viable businesses. Business development involving the poor, which in many cases focuses on rural small and medium enterprises (SMEs), requires us to address the demand for a range of services which, taken together, enhance the capacities of rural SMEs. Such services need to be affordable and reliable, and address the productive and business needs of SMEs, from small-scale processors to multi-tiered agricultural cooperatives. The issues are complex with lingering questions about how different types of service providers, from government agencies and NGOs to various private sector agents, can better design their services; and how, through adequate delivery mechanisms, the capacity and willingness of SMEs to employ such services can be strengthened. In this Editorial, we discuss some of the key issues for advancing rural entrepreneurship via improved services and provide an outlook for future discussions

Addressing conflict through collective action in natural resource management

The food security crisis and international “land grabs” have drawn renewed attention to the role of natural resource competition in the livelihoods of the rural poor. While significant empirical research has focused on diagnosing the links between natural resource competition and (violent) conflict, much less has focused on the dynamics of whether and how resource competition can be transformed to strengthen social-ecological resilience and mitigate conflict. Focusing on this latter theme, this review synthesizes evidence from cases in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Building on an analytical framework designed to enable such comparative analysis, we present several propositions about the dynamics of conflict and collective action in natural resource management, and a series of recommendations for action. These propositions are: that collective action in natural resource management is influenced by the social-ecological and governance context, that natural resource management institutions affect the incentives for conflict or cooperation, and that the outcomes of these interactions influence future conflict risk, livelihoods, and resource sustainability. Action recommendations concern policies addressing resource tenure, conflict resolution mechanisms, and social inequalities, as well as strategies to strengthen collective action institutions in the natural resource sectors and to enable more equitable engagement by marginalized groups in dialogue and negotiation over resource access and use

Routine versus needs-based MRI in patients with prolonged low back pain: a comparison of duration of treatment, number of clinical contacts and referrals to surgery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The routine use of radiology is normally discouraged in patients with low back pain (LBP). Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides clinicians and patients with detailed knowledge of spinal structures and has no known physical side effects. It is possible that insight into the pathological changes in LBP patients could affect patient management. However, to our knowledge, this has never been tested. Until June 2006, all patients at our specialised out-patient public clinic were referred for MRI on the basis of clinical indications, economic constraints, and availability of MRI (the "needs-based MRI" group). As a new approach, we now refer all patients who meet certain criteria for routine up-front MRI before the clinical examination (the "routine MRI" group).</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>The aims of this study were to investigate if these two MRI approaches resulted in differences in: (1) duration of treatment, (2) number of contacts with clinicians, and (3) referral for surgery.</p> <p>Design</p> <p>Comparison of two retrospective clinical cohorts.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Files were retrieved from consecutive patients in both groups. Criteria for referral were: (1) LBP or leg pain of at least 3 on an 11-point Numeric Rating Scale, (2) duration of present symptoms from 2 to12 months and (3) age above 18 years. A comparison was made between the "needs-based MRI" and "routine MRI" groups on the outcomes of duration of treatment and use of resources.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In all, 169 "needs-based MRI" and 208 "routine MRI" patient files were identified. The two groups were similar in age, sex, and severity of LBP. However, the median duration of treatment for the "needs-based MRI" group was 160 versus 115 days in the "routine MRI" group (p = 0.0001). The median number of contacts with clinicians for the "needs-based MRI" group was 4 versus 3 for the "routine MRI" group (p = 0.003). There was no difference between the two approaches in frequency of referral for back surgery (p = 0.81). When the direct clinical costs were compared, the "routine MRI" group was less costly but only by €11.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In our clinic, the management strategy of routinely performing an up-front MRI at the start of treatment did reduce the duration of treatment and number of contacts with clinicians, and did not increase the rate of referral for back surgery. Also, the direct costs were not increased.</p

Estimating maize genetic erosion in modernized smallholder agriculture

Replacement of crop landraces by modern varieties is thought to cause diversity loss. We studied genetic erosion in maize within a model system; modernized smallholder agriculture in southern Mexico. The local seed supply was described through interviews and in situ seed collection. In spite of the dominance of commercial seed, the informal seed system was found to persist. True landraces were rare and most informal seed was derived from modern varieties (creolized). Seed lots were characterized for agronomical traits and molecular markers. We avoided the problem of non-consistent nomenclature by taking individual seed lots as the basis for diversity inference. We defined diversity as the weighted average distance between seed lots. Diversity was calculated for subsets of the seed supply to assess the impact of replacing traditional landraces with any of these subsets. Results were different for molecular markers, ear- and vegetative/flowering traits. Nonetheless, creolized varieties showed low diversity for all traits. These varieties were distinct from traditional landraces and little differentiated from their ancestral stocks. Although adoption of creolized maize into the informal seed system has lowered diversity as compared to traditional landraces, genetic erosion was moderated by the distinct features offered by modern varieties

Twinning across the Developing World

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