Are Farmers Searching for an African Green Revolution? Exploring the Solution Space for Agricultural Intensification in Southern Mali

Ollenburger, Mary; Crane, Todd A.; Descheemaeker, Katrien

doi:10.1017/s0014479718000169

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(65 reference statements)

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“…Therefore, sustainable intensification (SI) has been proposed as a multi-objective paradigm, combining yield increases with long-term socio-economic and environmental improvements (Garnett et al, 2013;Loos et al, 2014;Pretty, 1997). SI represents a goal, rather than the pathway to achieve it, and requires different actions in different contexts (Ollenburger, Crane, Descheemaeker, & Giller, 2019;Petersen & Snapp, 2015). To achieve lasting adoption of SI practices by smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa, three main knowledge and information challenges need to be overcome.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

User-centred design of a digital advisory service: enhancing public agricultural extension for sustainable intensification in Tanzania

Ortiz-Crespo¹,

Steinke²,

Quirós³

et al. 2020

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability

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Sustainable intensification (SI) is promoted as a rural development paradigm for sub-Saharan Africa. Achieving SI requires smallholder farmers to have access to information that is context-specific, increases their decision-making capacities, and adapts to changing environments. Current extension services often struggle to address these needs. New mobile phone-based services can help. In order to enhance the public extension service in Tanzania, we created a digital service that addresses smallholder farmers' different information needs for implementing SI. Using a co-design methodology-User-Centered Designwe elicited feedback from farmers and extension agents in Tanzania to create a new digital information service, called Ushauri. This automated hotline gives farmers access to a set of prerecorded messages. Additionally, farmers can ask questions in a mailbox. Extension agents then listen to these questions through an online platform, where they record and send replies via automated push-calls. A test with 97 farmers in Tanzania showed that farmers actively engaged with the service to access agricultural advice. Extension agents were able to answer questions with reduced workload compared to conventional communication channels. This study illustrates how User-Centered Design can be used to develop information services for complex and resource-restricted smallholder farming contexts.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

User-centred design of a digital advisory service: enhancing public agricultural extension for sustainable intensification in Tanzania

Ortiz-Crespo¹,

Steinke²,

Quirós³

et al. 2020

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability

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“…Eksvärd, 2010). Additionally, some research suffers from tokenism, where lip service is paid to participation without truly engaging farmers' concerns and perspectives (Ollenburger et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmer research networks in principle and practice

Richardson¹,

Coe

Descheemaeker³

et al. 2021

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability

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In 2013, the Collaborative Crop Research Program (McKnight Foundation), initiated support for farmer research networks (FRNs). FRNs were envisaged as a general approach to networked participatory research aimed at supporting the agroecological intensification (AEI) of smallholder farming in ten countries in Africa and the Andes region in South America. The 30 FRNs ranged in size from 15 to more than 2,000 farmers. Rather than imposing a rigid FRN model, the programme used principles to guide action and reflection. The principles concerned ways of working with farmers, conducting research, and networking. This approach made it possible to reflect on how principles were interpreted, implemented, and used to guide learning in different contexts. This paper reports on insights gained from facilitated learning from 2013-2019 and focuses on subsets of diverse FRNs. Of the 30 FRNs supported, four were analyzed at some depth, reports and interviews were analyzed for 16, and a survey was conducted for 21. Relying on principles rather than an operational model has allowed for their progressive application, as participatory processes, farmer engagement, organizational capital, trust, and networks are built. Any reduced clarity and coherence seem outweighed by greater adaptability to context and resulting creativity.

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“…Development agencies and international agricultural research centres such as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), increasingly focus on promoting an African Green Revolution involving increased inputs in the form of improved seeds, chemical fertilizer, irrigation, and mechanized agriculture. The approach of these programs is primarily technical and quantitative in the form of higher yields (Scoones and Thompson 2011, Davidson 2012, Ollenburger et al 2019. While experts see intensification as the way forward for African agriculture, adoption of some of the recommended practices by smallholder farmers remains low.…”

Section: Tanzanian Policies: Smallholder Farming and Intensificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Modern’ Farming and the Transformation of Livelihoods in Rural Tanzania

Snyder¹,

Sulle²,

Massay³

et al. 2021

Prosperity in Rural Africa?

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This chapter focuses on smallholder agriculture and livelihoods in north-central Tanzania. It traces changes in agricultural production and asset ownership in one community over a twenty-eight-year period. Over this period, national development policies and agriculture programmes have moved from socialism to neoliberal approaches. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, we explore how farmers have responded to these shifts in the wider political-economic context and how these responses have shaped their livelihoods and ideas about farming and wealth. This case study clearly debunks the idea that rural farmers are slow to respond to ‘modern’ farming methods or that smallholder farming is stagnant and cannot reduce poverty. While changes overall are very positive in this rural community, challenges remain as land sizes are small and markets often unreliable. This research cautions against a shift in emphasis to large-scale farming as a strategy for national development. It suggests instead that increased investment in supporting smallholder farming is critical for addressing poverty and rural well-being.

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Are Farmers Searching for an African Green Revolution? Exploring the Solution Space for Agricultural Intensification in Southern Mali

Cited by 27 publications

References 48 publications

User-centred design of a digital advisory service: enhancing public agricultural extension for sustainable intensification in Tanzania

User-centred design of a digital advisory service: enhancing public agricultural extension for sustainable intensification in Tanzania

Farmer research networks in principle and practice

‘Modern’ Farming and the Transformation of Livelihoods in Rural Tanzania

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