November 23, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
The final blog in a four-part series highlights the reflections of Abdelbagi Ismail, Principal Researcher at IRRI, on the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Foresight4Food, IFAD and APRA eDialogue session on the future of small-scale farming in Africa.
November 23, 2020 / FAC blog
This blog was written by Ian Scoones and first appeared on Zimbabweland. The debate about compensation of former white farmers in Zimbabwe continues to rage. The compensation agreement signed in July agreed a total amount of US$3.5 billion to pay for ‘improvements’ to
November 19, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In the third of a four-part blog series following the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Foresight4Food, IFAD and APRA eDialogue session on the future of small-scale farming, Jemimah Njuki, the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Director for Africa, reflects on
November 19, 2020 / News
On Wednesday, November 25, 12:15 – 14:00 GMT, we held the ‘Wrap-up and Policy Implications’, the fifth and final part of the eDialogue series: ‘What Future for Small-Scale Farming?’ Small-scale farmers are integral to food systems in much of the world.
November 16, 2020 / News
Following two widely-circulated media stories on a hard-hitting policy brief on agribusiness investment, and a report on how COVID-19 is affecting food systems and rural livelihoods, the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Malawi team have engaged with the press
November 16, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
The second instalment of a four-part blog series highlights the experiences and takeaways of independent consultant Martin Muchero, expert panellist from the Africa Regional Perspectives session of the third UN Sustainable Development Solutions Networks, Foresight4Food, IFAD and APRA eDialogue, regarding
November 12, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In the first of a four-part blog series, – Aida Isinika, APRA Tanzania Country Lead and Professor, Sokoine University of Agriculture, shares her experience of the third UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Foresight4Food, IFAD & APRA eDialogue session, all about
November 9, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In September 2020, the northern Amhara region of Ethiopia was hit hard again by floods, already displacing 300,000 people, according to the UN. APRA researchers Dawit Alemu and Abebaw Assaye assess the extent of the damage on rice production and
November 9, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
This post was written by Ian Scoones and first appeared on Zimbabweland. I had another catch-up with colleagues in Zimbabwe recently, reflecting on the COVID-19 situation and its consequences across our sites in Masvingo, Gutu, Mwenezi, Matobo and Mvurwi. This is now the
November 5, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In our latest blog, APRA academics Dawit Alemu and John Thompson summarise their latest working paper to look at the future of rice in Ethiopia. They look at the economic importance of the crop and examine the trends in production,
November 2, 2020 / News
After the successful high profile media coverage by the APRA Malawi team, the Tanzania team have followed suit by presenting a selection of their research findings to 23 different media houses during a special event held at the Sokoine Agricultural
November 2, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
This blog utilises the latest research to look at the different choices and outcomes facing small-scale oil palm farmers in south-western Ghana. The authors then examine household participation, transactions and trust, the welfare effects, and the implications of their research
November 2, 2020 / News
‘Transition Pathways and Strategies’, was the fourth part of the eDialogue series: ‘What Future for Small-Scale Farming?’ on Tuesday, November 10, 12:00 – 13:30 UTC/GMT Transition pathways and strategies for small-scale farming households was explored in this session, with a
October 29, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In the second of a two-part blog series, APRA researcher Stevier Kaiyatsa examines the Fairtrade groundnut arrangement in Mchinji, Malawi, and asks whether farmers not enrolled it still benefit? For part one on whether smallholder farmers in Malawi benefit from
October 29, 2020 / FAC blog
This blog was written by Ian Scoones and first appeared on Zimbabweland. The land reform story in Matabeleland has been under-researched, but now there are some new findings being published. This blog profiles two papers focusing on Matobo district, also one of our study
October 26, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In the first of a two-part blog series, APRA researcher Stevier Kaiyatsa examines new APRA research and determines whether smallholder farmers in Malawi that operate in isolation benefit from selling their agricultural produce to the small-scale traders in rural markets.
October 22, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
APRA researchers Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool-Tasie and Salim Nuhu summarise their team’s effort to explore the beneficial relationship between small-scale and medium-scale farms in Nigeria, where frequent interactions between the two are boosting the productivity and welfare of small scale
October 22, 2020 / News
Three weeks since the Malawian government was brought to task by the national press following an APRA brief on agricultural policy, the APRA Malawi team has featured in The Nation Paper once again. Appearing under the headline “Covid-19 chokes food
October 19, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In this blog, APRA researcher Hazel M. Kwaramba looks at the different areas in which women in Mvurwi, Zimbabwe seek to construct livelihood – particularly strawberries, poultry and sweet potatoes – to examine pathways towards women empowerment, including policy recommendations.
October 15, 2020 / News
SIGN UP NOW for the next session on Wrap-up and Policy Implications,25th November The sessions on ‘Regional Perspectives’, explored the dynamics of small-scale agriculture and food system change across Africa, Asia and South America. The African session observed the trends
October 15, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
Tree crops are key to Nigeria’s economy, yet the production yield of crops such as cocoa is falls well below the demand. In our latest blog, APRA researcher Adebayo B. Aromolaran and his colleagues examine the different options available to
October 15, 2020 / FAC blog
This post was written by Ian Scoones and first appeared on Zimbabweland. The recent UN biodiversity summit reported disappointing results. Not one of the 20 indicators set a decade before were met. In many quarters, there is a growing cry for more assertive measures to protect and
October 12, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In this blog, researcher, pastoral development and dryland management specialist Guyo Roba reflects upon and summarises his recent working paper on how livestock commercialisation has impacted different actors and different wealth groups in Isiolo and Marsabit counties. He then provides
October 5, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In the second of a two-part blog series, APRA researchers Louis Hodey, Kofi Asante & Fred Dzanku look at the responses of agribusinesses and farm households to the pandemic, how the Ghanaian government has responded, and offer policy recommendations for
October 1, 2020 / News
APRA policy research has recently been featured in Malawi’s The Nation newspaper, as well as on the publication’s website. “Inducing agribusiness investment in Malawi: Insights from investors,” written by APRA researchers Henry Chingaipe, Joseph Thombozi and Horace Chingaipe, investigate the
September 28, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In the latest of a series of COVID19-related blogs, APRA Ghana researchers Louis Hodey, Kofi Asante & Fred Dzanku examine the implications of the pandemic on agriculture-based livelihoods in the first of a two-part blog series, including the impact on
September 28, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
This blog was written by Ian Scoones and first appeared on Zimbabweland. “Know your epidemic, act on its politics” was a lesson learned in the HIV/AIDS pandemic. As Alex De Waal argued back in March, it’s just as important for COVID-19. The pandemic is
September 24, 2020 / News
Written by Toby Penrhys-Evans, APRA ICE Team After almost 10 years on Twitter and posting over 3,000 Tweets, the Future Agricultures Consortium account, @FutureAgrics, has hit the significant milestone of 20,000 followers. The ever-increasing follower numbers highlights the relevance of
September 21, 2020 / FAC blog
Written by James Sumberg and first appeared on the Institute of Development Studies website. This blog features a short film – including a new French language version – that explores how young people engage with the rural economy in sub-Saharan
September 17, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In this blog, APRA researcher Vine Mutyasira examines the impact of lockdown measures on smallholder farmers in Mvurwi and Concession, Zimbabwe. He examines how these restrictions have hit agricultural production and commodity marketing, and gives recommendations on how to combat
September 10, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
Although the COVID19 pandemic has not yet affected Nigeria to the same extent as some countries, the Nigerian Government introduced strict lockdown measures across the country to restrict the spread of the virus. In our latest blog, APRA researchers Adebayo
September 10, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
This post was written by Ian Scoones and first appeared on Zimbabweland I had the latest long discussion on responses to COVID-19 in our rural study areas across the country on 5 September. Check out the earlier updates from 27 July, 15 June and 27 April The pandemic
September 10, 2020 / News
‘Local perspectives’ was the subject of the second e-Dialogue held on August 27, 2020. In a continuation of the new virtual series, ‘What future for small-scale farming? Inclusive transformation in challenging times’. The session looked at the challenges smallholders face
September 7, 2020 / FAC blog
By Jeremy Lind, Doris Okenwa and Ian Scoones In recent years, the gaze of global investment has been directed to Africa’s land and resources. Over the past decade, global capital from Europe, the Near East, China and elsewhere poured into
September 7, 2020 / FAC blog
This blog was written by Ian Scoones and first appeared on Zimbabweland As part of the on-going discussions about Zimbabwe’s new land policy, land tenure is a central concern. Zimbabwe has a multi-form land tenure system, involving different legal arrangements and different forms of authority.
September 3, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
Basic hand hoes have always played a key part in rice production in Morogoro, Tanzania – but as ox-ploughs and tractors become more widely used, is there still a place for the traditional farm implement? Using information from a recent
August 24, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In our latest blog, APRA researchers Ntengua Mdoe, Gilead Mlay and Gideon Boniface examine the negative effect of the pandemic on Liliyan’s Catering Services Enterprise, and how it is bouncing back and coping with the financial hit. The researchers then
August 17, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In the final blog of a three-part series, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research researcher Agajie Tesfaye looks ahead and provides seven key recommendations on how the Ethiopian government can lessen the negative impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on day labourers, farmers
August 13, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In the second of a three-part blog series, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research researcher Agajie Tesfaye examines effects of COVID-19 on labour wages, service providers to labourers, rice production and the future implications on rice commercialisation. Check below for the
August 13, 2020 / FAC blog
This blog was written by Ian Scoones and first appeared on Zimbabweland. It has been 20 years since land reform and the issue of compensation for those who lost land has rumbled on. The government has always said it was committed to compensation
August 10, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In the first blog of a three-part series, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research researcher Agajie Tesfaye presents the preliminary findings and statistical analysis of research assessments that were conducted to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the labour supply of
August 6, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In a previous APRA blog, we explained how unscrupulous activities of loggers in Idanre, Ondo State, Nigeria were causing hardship for many cocoa farms. In this blog, APRA researcher Oluwasegun Ajetunmobi travels to Idanre to examine the poor state of
August 3, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
Matriliny – the transfer of wealth and inheritance through the female ancestral line – is a driving factor of land tenure practices, land access, use and control in the Ahanta and Mpohor Wassa East districts of the Western Region of
July 30, 2020 / News
Smallholder led transformation can reap from huge potential gains, chief among them is the obvious improvement in peoples’ lives’. APRA researcher Milu Muyanga shared his views in the first session of a new virtual series, on ‘What future for small-scale
July 30, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
This blog was written by Amrita Saha and Opeyemi Abebe. It was first published by the Commonwealth Secretariat. In Africa, micro, small and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) in the informal economy are particularly vulnerable to economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
July 30, 2020 / News
What, if anything, is special about youth with respect to their engagement in food systems? This is a question asked in a new paper ‘Youth and Food Systems Transformation’, which outlines the importance of the growing numbers of youth and
July 30, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
This blog was written by Ian Scoones and first appeared on Zimbabweland. COVID-19 has taken hold in Zimbabwe with a significant growth in community transmission observed in the past weeks. On July 24th, the total reported cases were 2296, with
July 27, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
This blog summarises APRA Working Paper 36, which investigates long-standing debate on the efficacy and capacity of the ‘small farm’ versus the ‘large farm ’in terms of meeting household and national food self-sufficiency and help achieving rural livelihoods outcomes. Written
July 23, 2020 / APRA blogFAC blog
In the second of a two-part mini-series, APRA researchers Ntengua Mdoe, Gilead Mlay and Gideon Boniface examine how actors in the rice value chain in Tanzania have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures that were introduced to
July 21, 2020 / News
July update The House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee’s report, The UK and Sub-Saharan Africa: prosperity, peace and development co-operation, was published on 10 July. Access it here. “We welcome the range of effective UK official development assistance
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