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APRA Brief 6: Agricultural Commercialisation Pathways: Climate Change and Agriculture
September 20, 2018 / APRA Briefs Given the highly climate-sensitive character of agricultural production, climate change has obvious and important ramifications for agricultural commercialisation, which in turn has a bearing on poverty, gender empowerment, and food and nutrition security. The nature and extent of climate change
Working Paper 17: The Political Economy of Agricultural Commercialisation in Malawi
August 30, 2018 / Working Papers This paper examines the political economy of agricultural commercialisation in Malawi over the past three or so decades both in a contemporary and historical perspective. Drawing insights from Keeley and Scoones (2003) and Chinsinga and Poulton (2014), the underlying argument
Working Paper 16: The Political Economy of Agricultural Commercialisation in Africa
August 30, 2018 / Working Papers Much of the existing literature on the political economy of agricultural policy in Africa, including studies by the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) and Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA), adopts a case study approach to explore the dynamics of policymaking
A Longitudinal Tracker Study on Groundnut Commercialisation and Livelihood Trajectories in Malawi
August 29, 2018 / APRA research note APRA seeks to generate new evidence on agricultural commercialisation pathways in rapidly changing rural contexts in Africa, assessing outcomes in relation to poverty, women’s empowerment and food and nutrition security. In Malawi, APRA intends to study the role of groundnut
APRA Brief 5: Agricultural growth trends in Africa
August 17, 2018 / APRA Briefs This brief is based on a working paper, which seeks to inform future APRA research. In so doing, the brief helps to address debates about the feasibility of developing smallholder agriculture through commercialisation. In particular, it seeks to address the
APRA Brief 4: Policy Processes and Political Economy: Tanzania Country Review
August 17, 2018 / APRA Briefs This brief highlights key features of the political landscape that affect the prospects for and the outcomes of agricultural commercialisation in Tanzania. It contends that the evolving nature of Tanzania’s ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), helps to explain observed
APRA Brief 3: Rural Transitions, Economies and Rural–urban Links
August 17, 2018 / APRA Briefs This brief aims to summarise existing understandings of rural transformation and transitions in Africa. Agricultural development takes place within the wider context of overall economic development. In the process, changes in agriculture — such as the increased commercialisation of farms
Working Paper 15: The Political Economy of Agricultural Commercialisation In Ghana: A Review
August 15, 2018 / Working Papers This paper examines the political economy of agricultural commercialisation in Ghana from the year 2000 to 2018. Agriculture is a major economic activity in Ghana, contributing about 20 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employing 42 percent
Working Paper 14: The Political Economy of Agricultural Commercialisation in Ethiopia: Discourses, Actors and Structural Impediments
July 30, 2018 / Working Papers Written by Dawit Alemu and Kassahun Berhanu This country review aims to identify the key dynamics, actors and associated discourses of agricultural commercialisation in Ethiopia. To this end, we aim to shed light on the forces and factors that influence policy
Working Paper 13: Agricultural Growth Trends in Africa
July 30, 2018 / Working Papers This paper reviews thinking about agricultural development in Africa since 2010, and the record of agricultural development in the continent since 1990. In many respects, the context for agricultural development has changed for the better since 1990. Renewed growth with
Combining capital and labour to help farmers commercialise in Mvurwi, Zimbabwe
June 25, 2018 / APRA blog FAC blog Written by Toendepi Shonhe Patterns of agricultural commercialisation have changed over time in Zimbabwe – as the APRA Zimbabwe team observed during field studies in 2017, family farming in subdivided farms is on the increase across differentiated settlement models in the
APRA Brief 2: Agricultural Commercialisation Lessons from Asia and Latin America
June 14, 2018 / APRA Briefs Using evidence gathered in Asia and Latin America, this brief draws out lessons in smallholder commercialisation that may be instructive for sub-Saharan Africa. The brief provides a summary of a longer report on agricultural production, as well as a review
APRA Brief 1: What is Agricultural Commercialisation: Who Benefits and how do we Measure it?
June 14, 2018 / APRA Briefs The first in our series of APRA briefs gives an overview of ‘agricultural commercialisation’ — it gives a brief analysis of the various players and stakeholders involved, and situates the broader concept of agricultural commercialisation within a specifically African context.
Working Paper 12: The Political Economy of Agricultural Commercialisation in Zimbabwe
June 14, 2018 / Working Papers Written by Toendepi Shonhe Debates on Zimbabwe’s agricultural development have centred on different framings of agriculture viability and land redistribution, which are often antagonistic. Yet, emerging evidence of agricultural commercialisation pathways shows complex and differentiated deepening and stagnations across settlement models.
Race and privilege in Zimbabwe: a rural and urban divide
June 6, 2018 / FAC blog A recent paper in Africa by Rory Pilossof and Jacob Boersema offers a nuanced and differentiated account of ‘white’ attitudes to land reform. Distinguishing urban-based whites and ‘farmers’ (although recognising the blurring and connection between the two), they highlight that there was not
Promoting Ethiopia’s Rice Industry for Import Substitution
May 11, 2018 / FAC blog Prepared by Dawit Alemu Image:P1100852 (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) With the considerable increase in rice consumption in Africa, sourced mainly from imports, and the burden this is creating on meagre foreign currency reserves, a number of initiatives are currently being implemented
Agriculture, Diversification, and Gender in Rural Africa: Longitudinal Perspectives From Six Countries
May 2, 2018 / FAC blog Written by Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt Image: CIAT (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) The past decade and a half have witnessed a push for smallholder-based agriculture among policymakers, donors and civil society as the way to lower poverty and increase food production. Concurrently, policies and
The gaze from space: how satellites can deceive
May 1, 2018 / FAC blog There has been a proliferation of studies using remote sensing analyses of land use in Zimbabwe published recently. I seem to get sent loads to review. One by Simbarashe Jombo, Elhadi Adam and John Odindi came out recently in Land Use
APRA in Malawi: Engaging with District Stakeholders
April 24, 2018 / News Written by Mirriam Matita Image: Extensive farming in central Malawi (CC BY-SA 2.0) On the 17th April 2018 Malawi APRA Country Team Leads Mirriam Matita and Blessings Chinsinga introduced APRA research project to the Ntchisi District Executive Committee (DEC). Bringing together
Agricultural change in Africa: How cookbooks and recipes got a bum rap
April 24, 2018 / FAC blog Written by Jim Sumberg Image: C. Schubert (CCAFS).jpg For at least three decades, agricultural research and extension in Africa has been castigated for being top-down and non-participatory and burdened by an overly simplistic, linear, research-centric model of change. This critique
Groundnut marketing in Malawi: a review of farmer experiences
April 20, 2018 / APRA blog FAC blog By Mirriam Matita et al Image: Groundnut harvesting 5 (CC BY-SA 2.0) As part of APRA’s research in Malawi, field work was conducted in Mchinji and Ntchisi districts to document farmer’s experiences of agricultural commercialisation since the 1980s, particularly of
Reconfiguring rural authority after land reform
April 18, 2018 / FAC blog Grasian Mkodzongi’s excellent paper – ‘I am a paramount chief, this land belongs to my ancestors’: the reconfiguration of rural authority after Zimbabwe’s land reforms’ – recently won the Ruth First prize in the Review of African Political Economy. The paper explores
Working Paper 11: Rural Transitions, Economies and Rural–Urban Links
March 26, 2018 / Working Papers Written by Steve Wiggins, Rachel Sabates-Wheeler and Joseph Yaro APRA’s cross-cutting theme on rural transitions, nonfarm rural economies and rural–urban links intends to address two sets of issues. One concerns the way in which commercialisation of agriculture interacts with the development
Reconfigured Agrarian Relations in Zimbabwe
March 26, 2018 / FAC blog Although the story of my life is not apparent in this book, this is a culmination of the twists and turns in my professional career, after 2000. As an agribusiness credit manager, serving the largely white commercial farmers of Zimbabwe
Kilombero Stories
March 21, 2018 / FAC blog Written by Colin Poulton Kilombero Valley in central Tanzania has attracted attention due to the presence of several large-scale agribusiness investments. However, in August 2017, an APRA team that visited the valley were struck by other forms of agricultural commercialisation
Military muscle and populist promises: authoritarian populism in southern Africa
March 20, 2018 / FAC blog Last week I was at an amazing gathering at the ISS in The Hague, which brought together nearly 300 activists and academics to discuss the origins and implications of authoritarian populism. A short reflection on some of the themesemerging was published
Land reform and transformative social policy
March 19, 2018 / FAC blog A new article published by UNISA is out by Freedom Mazwi, Rangarirai Muchetu and Musavengana Chibwana based on the major district level survey carried out by the Sam Moyo African Institute for Agrarian Studies. It focuses on the social policy dimensions of
This is a possibility, but that’s a real opportunity
March 16, 2018 / FAC blog Written by Jim Sumberg. Image: Dominic Chavez_World Bank Our IFAD and APRA-funded work on youth and the rural economy in Africa has brought into focus the notion of a “landscape of opportunity”. Our assumption is that a better understanding how rural
Mining and agriculture: diversified livelihoods in rural Zimbabwe
March 15, 2018 / FAC blog Easther Chigumira has recently published an excellent paper in The Journal of Rural Studies, Political ecology of agrarian transformation: The nexus of mining and agriculture in Sanyati District, Zimbabwe. It’s well worth a read if you can get past the pay-wall. Here
Working Paper 10: Partnerships, Platforms and Policies: Strengthening Farmer Capacity to Harness Technological Innovation for Agricultural Commercialisation
March 13, 2018 / Working Papers Written by Hannington Odame and Dawit Alemu Innovation capacity presupposes capacity to harness science, technology and innovation (STI) for agricultural commercialisation. Agricultural commercialisation requires an enabling policy environment on STI issues such as the impact of climate change, nutrition, improved seed
Working Paper 9: Agricultural Commercialisation Pathways: Climate Change and Agriculture
March 12, 2018 / Working Papers Written by Andrew Newsham, Sarah Kohnstamm, Lars Otto Naess and Joanes Atela This paper presents a review of recent literature on the implications of climate change for agricultural commercialisation, focusing chiefly on sub-Saharan Africa, and incorporating evidence, where relevant, from around
Panic, privilege and politics: South Africa’s land expropriation debate
March 9, 2018 / FAC blog South Africa’s land reform policy is a mess. A combination of incompetence, poor policy and scandal have meant that there has been little progress in years. The parliamentary High Level Panel report effectively dissects the problems. But in recent days, the land
NEW BOOK: Land reform in Zimbabwe: challenges for policy
February 7, 2018 / FAC blog Zimbabwe’s land reform continues to be controversial, but in the post-Mugabe era there is at least the prospect of sensible policies to get agriculture and rural economies moving. In the coming months there will be hordes of consultants and advisers
Ten priorities for getting agriculture moving in Zimbabwe
February 1, 2018 / FAC blog Agriculture is taking centre stage in plans for the revival of Zimbabwe’s ailing economy under the new leadership of Emmerson Mnangagwa. Getting agriculture moving in Zimbabwe is a big task. The radical land reform of 2000 has left many outstanding
Plantations, outgrowers and commercial farming in Africa: agricultural commercialisation and implications for agrarian change
January 26, 2018 / FAC blog Whether or not investments in African agriculture can generate quality employment at scale, avoid dispossessing local people of their land, promote diversified and sustainable livelihoods, and catalyse more vibrant local economies depends on what farming model is pursued. In this
Working Paper 8: Social Difference and Women’s Empowerment in the Context of the Commercialisation of African Agriculture
January 25, 2018 / Working Papers Written by Helen Dancer and Naomi Hossain This paper was commissioned to support the research design activities of the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Consortium, generating new evidence on pathways to agricultural commercialisation, on the theme of social difference and
Working Paper 7: Agricultural Commercialisation: Lessons from Asia and Latin America
January 25, 2018 / Working Papers Written by Steve Wiggins This paper aims to draw out lessons from experiences of smallholder commercialisation in Asia and Latin America that may be instructive for sub-Saharan Africa. It addresses the following questions: To what extent has agriculture in Asia and
At Davos, can Zimbabwe re-engage with the global economy on its own terms?
January 23, 2018 / FAC blog As Emmerson Mnangagwa heads for the snowy slopes of Davos, Switzerland to rub shoulders with the global capitalist and political elite at the World Economic Forum, he must not forget the more radical ambitions of his background. His recent discussion over
Zimbabwe urgently needs a new land administration system
January 16, 2018 / FAC blog Zimbabwe urgently needs a new system of land administration to harness development in the agricultural sector. The country’s land use and ownership have been significantly reconfigured by the fast-track land reform programme undertaken during Robert Mugabe’s rule. Today, following the
Settling the land compensation issue is vital for Zimbabwe’s economy
January 12, 2018 / FAC blog In his inaugural address the new President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, confirmed that land reform was both historically necessary and irreversible. He also made a commitment to compensate farmers who were forced off their land during the fast track land
Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Official Launch
December 20, 2017 / News The Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) programme officially launched at the second Conference on Land Policy in Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Wednesday 15th November 2017. APRA is a five-year research programme aiming to analyse pathways to agricultural
Zimbabweland’s festive top 20, 2017
December 20, 2017 / FAC blog This has been quite a year for Zimbabwe. No-one would have guessed in January that by the end of the year there would have been a (not) coup, and a new president. The ongoing succession drama appeared to be endless,
Working Paper 6: What is Agricultural Commercialisation, Why is it Important, and how do we Measure it?
December 19, 2017 / Working Papers Written by Colin Poulton Agricultural commercialisation occurs when agricultural enterprises and/or the agricultural sector as a whole rely increasingly on the market for the sale of produce and for the acquisition of production inputs, including labour. It is an integral and
Working Paper 5: APRA Policy Processes and Political Economy: Tanzania Country Review
December 19, 2017 / Working Papers Written by Colin Poulton The objective of this review is to highlight key features of the political landscape that are considered to affect both the prospects for and the outcomes of agricultural commercialisation in Tanzania. It will highlight key dynamics and
Working Paper 4: Gender and Rural Livelihoods: Agricultural Commercialisation and Farm Non-Farm Diversification
December 19, 2017 / Working Papers Written by Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt This paper uses a cross-country comparative perspective in analysing gendered patterns of agricultural commercialisation and rural livelihoods. A first research question addresses whether female farm managers are in fact excluded from agricultural commercialisation (and by
Working Paper 3: Pro-Poor Agricultural Growth – Village Dynamics and Commercialisation Pathways
December 19, 2017 / Working Papers Written by Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt This paper takes a village-level perspective, drawing on an earlier study that used the same data, which suggested that patterns of pro-poor agricultural growth were highly spatially concentrated to particular villages. Qualitative fieldwork in these villages
Two speeches for ‘new era’ Zimbabwe
December 13, 2017 / FAC blog Over the last few weeks I have been in Zimbabwe, visiting our field research sites in Mvurwi, Matobo and Masvingo. It has been an exciting period, with fast-moving developments. The euphoria of November has given way to the realism of
“The path to prosperity starts with land reform”, says the Economist
November 27, 2017 / FAC blog It’s not often that the Economist magazine sings the praises of radical land reform. But on October 12th, the Banyan column on Asia proclaimed: “the path to prosperity starts with land reform”. The article caught my attention, and I read on.
Youth, smart phones and tractors in Africa – a new agrarian class?
November 15, 2017 / FAC blog Written by, Lidia Cabral and Jim Sumberg Farming mechanisation is back on the policy and research agenda. Although some old debates – on roles of the state and on appropriate type and scale of technology – remain relevant, there are