Vieira, Luciana Marques (author) and Aguiar, Luis Kluwe (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2009
Published:
Brazil
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C29856
Notes:
Pages 327-345 in Adam Lindgreen, Martin K. Hingley and Joelle Vanhamme (eds.), The crisis of food brands: sustaining safe, innovative and competitive food supply. Gower Publishing Limited, Surrey, England. 352 pages.
4 pages., Via online journal., Raising the productivity of smallholders
is a necessary condition for increasing incomes and
improving livelihoods among the rural poor in most
developing countries. This increased productivity is
essential to both household food security and to
agriculture-based growth and poverty reduction in the larger
economy. Smallholder productivity is limited by a variety of
constraints including poor soils, unpredictable rainfall,
and imperfect markets, as well as lack of access to
productive resources, financial services, or infrastructure.
Information and communication technologies (ICT) are also
vitally important to commercial and large-scale agriculture,
and to agriculture-related services and infrastructure such
as weather monitoring and irrigation. This note focuses on
the sometimes less-obvious importance of ICT in improving
the information, communication, transaction, and networking
elements of smallholder agriculture in developing countries.
Jiggins, Janice (author) and Roling, Niels (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2009
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C29794
Notes:
Pages 264-267 in Ian Scoones and John Thompson (eds.), Farmer First revisited: innovation for agricultural research and development. Practical Action Publishing, Warwickshire, U.K. 357 pages., "The 'technological treadmill has obviously failed to reduce rural poverty, especially in Africa." - " Agricultural research institutes and universities are often dominated by agricultural economists and natural scientists, who typically do not consider the behaviour of real people and social processes as part of their mandate." Authors call for more collaboration involving social scientists.