5pgs, The Covid-19 pandemic, global trends, and technological advancements lead to the perception that digitalization is about the most sustainable means of growing Africa’s agribusiness and food supply chains. Many global agribusinesses have successfully integrated digital technologies to enhance operational efficiencies and business relations with their upstream and downstream actors. However, evidence is scant on the uptake of digital technologies among small and medium agribusiness firms in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Against this backdrop, this review paper identifies research gaps regarding the adoption and implication of digitalization in building sustainable food systems for African economies. Our preliminary finds show some sustainable practices in the SSA food supply chains by adopting specific technologies related to production, grain storage, food waste management, and warehouse management but very low adoption of food processing technologies and digital marketing platforms. Most importantly, the application of the Internet of Things, Big data, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and/or Business Analytics is very rare. Most of the digitalization process tends to be mobile-based.
Tests for the relationship between foreign direct investment and economic growth among some developing countries distributed between three geographic areas, over the period 1990-2005. Findings show that foreign direct investment do positively affect economic growth in Africa and Latin America/the Caribbean.
19 pages., ISSN: 2168-3565 (Print)
2168-3573 (Online), Via online journal, Biodiversity conservation outside designated protected areas remains challenging in South Africa, where 80% of the biodiversity resources occur on private and communal lands. This applies to the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, which is the focus of this study. Landholders logically choose agricultural production ahead of conservation, which they often perform using non-ecological methods. Extension is well positioned to promote ecological agriculture, but its current contribution is unknown. This study examined the role of extension in ecological agriculture in KZN by investigating extension’s promotion of ecological agriculture among smallholder farmers and the factors impacting their employment of ecologically compatible practices. Data was collected through semistructured interviews with 44 respondents, comprising 5 provincial biodiversity conservation practitioners, 1 national biodiversity conservation manager, and 1 national and 4 provincial agricultural extension managers, selected by purposive sampling; as well as 25 extension officers and 8 farmers, selected by convenience sampling. The study found that extension mainly engages in technology transfer and distribution of production inputs, which poses challenges to biodiversity conservation. Extension shows little concern for biodiversity, and effectively promotes its degradation. Four sets of factors impacting extension’s capacity to promote ecological agriculture emerged: household/community-level, governmental, extension management, and ecological factors. Key among these were inadequate involvement of youth and men in agriculture; inadequate household production resources; poor collaboration and coordination between extension and biodiversity conservation institutions; top-down extension intervention; poor extension management and delivery capacities; and irregular and inadequate rainfall, as well as droughts and flooding. The study concluded that there is a need for a clearly articulated extension and biodiversity conservation policy supporting appropriate linkages and better coordination and integration of services among extension and biodiversity agencies within the National and Provincial Departments of Agriculture and with farmers; more effective agricultural education in schools; strengthening extension support systems; and creating conducive atmospheres for effective extension.
Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as a credible alternative to tackle food insecurity under the changing climate is gaining wide acceptance. However, many developing countries have realized that concepts that have been recommended as solutions to existing problems are not suitable in their contexts. This paper synthesizes a subset of literature on CSA in the context of small-scale agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa as it relates to the need for CSA, factors influencing CSA adoption, and the challenges involved in understanding and scaling up CSA. Findings from the literature reveal that age, farm size, the nature of farming, and access to extension services influence CSA adoption. Many investments in climate adaptation projects have found little success because of the sole focus on the technology-oriented approach whereby innovations are transferred to farmers whose understanding of the local farming circumstances are limited. Climate-smart agriculture faces the additional challenge of a questionable conceptual understanding among policymakers as well as financing bottlenecks. This paper argues that the prospects of CSA in small-scale agriculture rest on a thorough socio-economic analysis that recognizes the heterogeneity of the small farmer environment and the identification and harnessing of the capacities of farming households for its adoption and implementation
Adekunle,Julius (Editor) and Williams,Hettie V. (Editor)
Format:
Book, Edited
Publication Date:
2013
Published:
Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
334 p., A volume of 16 essays analyzing the issues of blackness and identity of the African Diaspora in global perspective. Focuses on the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
African Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank, Economic Development Institute (EDI), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Management Systems International (MSI)
Format:
Manual
Publication Date:
1985-07
Published:
Africa
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 132 Document Number: C19932
African Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank, Economic Development Institute (EDI), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Management Systems International (MSI)
Format:
Manual
Publication Date:
1985-07
Published:
Africa
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 132 Document Number: C19933
African Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank, Economic Development Institute (EDI), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Management Systems International (MSI)
Format:
Manual
Publication Date:
1985-07
Published:
Africa
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 132 Document Number: C19934
African Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank, Economic Development Institute (EDI), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Management Systems International (MSI)
Format:
Manual
Publication Date:
1985-07
Published:
Africa
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 132 Document Number: C19935
African Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank, Economic Development Institute (EDI), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Management Systems International (MSI)
Format:
Manual
Publication Date:
1985-07
Published:
Africa
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 132 Document Number: C19936
African Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank, Economic Development Institute (EDI), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Management Systems International (MSI)
Format:
Manual
Publication Date:
1985-07
Published:
Africa
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 132 Document Number: C19937
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 97 Document Number: C07850
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Mimeographed, 1994. 2 p. Paper presented at the International Agricultural Communicators in Education Conference, Moscow, ID/Pullman, WA, July 16-20, 1994.
Agricultural information needs of extension officers in Africa are identified as control of major pests, credit and co-operatives, proper handling of insecticides, marketing of agricultural products, etc. The information needs of farmers are identified to be in arears of the supply of fertilizers, pest and diseases control, planting materials and credits and loans. The emphasis on information needs of farmers is on "why," "who," "where," and "how" to obtain information. In order to understand the information needs of their client, librarians' and information specialists trainig and ecuation should be reoriented to include coursed on agricultural escienes, rural sociolgoy, adult education and computer sciences. The University of Botswana in agricultural information with the support of the Technical Centre for Agriculture (CTA), which is sponsoring the General Programme for Education, PROGEFIA. With the provision of appropriate and timely agricultural information to extension officers and farmers, an increase in agricultureal production in Africa may be attained.
Ainembabzi, John Herbert (author), van Asten, Piet (author), Vanlauwe, Bernard (author), Ouma, Emily (author), Blomme, Guy (author), Birachi, Eliud Abucheli (author), Nguezet, Paul Martin Dontsop (author), Mignouna, Djana Babatima (author), and Manyong, Victor M. (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2017
Published:
USA: International Association of Agricultural Economists
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 164 Document Number: D08258
Ajayi, A.O. (author), Ajayi, O.C. (author), Akinnifesi, F.K. (author), Sileshi, G. (author), and Mng'omba, S. (author)
Format:
Abstract
Publication Date:
2010-09-14
Published:
Ivory Coast
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 178 Document Number: C30710
Notes:
Paper presented at Tropentag 2010, Conference on International Research on Food Security, Natural Resource Management and Rural Development, Zurich, Switzerland, September 14-16, 2010. 1 page.
Special issue of the journal Daedalus., 205 p., Twelve noted international scholars examine selected significant aspects of the historical and contemporary experience of black peoples in the Americas and Africa.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C22086
Notes:
Pages 117-129 in Charles Okigbo and Festus Eribo (eds.), Development and communication in Africa. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Lanham, Maryland. 249 pages.
13 pages., Online via UI e-subscription., "Despite the broadening of the American palate, Americans have shown little interest in the cuisines of Sub-Saharan Africa. This article examines how this lack of interest in African cuisines may lie in the limited and often stereotyped representations of Africa."
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D02158
Notes:
Pages 43-61 in Blessing M. Maumbe (ed.), E-agriculture and e-government for global policy development: implications and future directions. Information Science Reference, Hershey, Pennsylvania. 321 pages.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C22085
Notes:
Pages 105-114 in Charles Okigbo and Festus Eribo (eds.), Development and communication in Africa. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Lanham, Maryland. 249 pages.
12 pages., In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), declining soil fertility is among the factors affecting optimal food production. Although a number of interventions have been implemented to improve soil fertility management (SFM) in SSA, their adoption especially among small scale farmers has been low. Although the literature provides considerable evidence of socio-economic factors which influence adoption, the subject of how communication influences adoption of SFM remains under-explored. This paper therefore reviewed studies on SFM communication in SSA. The objectives were to identify the current focus of studies on SFM communication, the current definitions of communication which informed such studies, and the type of SFM practices being communicated in the SSA region. Using specific search terms, articles were collected from various databases and content analysed. The review revealed five main themes as the focus of current studies on SFM. The study also revealed two main interpretations of communication which in turn influence the use of either diffusion or participatory communication strategies for SFM communication. The review also showed a focus on integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) messages in the SSA area. The study concludes that while each of the two communication strategies has their individual strengths, farmers prefer participatory strategies. This is because participatory strategies foster interaction and greater understanding; thereby, increasing the likelihood of farmer adoption of SFM practices in SSA. The review concludes by calling for further research on the use of participatory communication to engage farmers about various SFM practices in SSA.
