Insect pests are among the most important constraints limiting sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) production in Africa. However, there is inadequate information about farmers' knowledge, perceptions and practices in the management of key insect pests. This has hindered development of effective pest management approaches for smallholder farmers. A standard questionnaire was used to interview individu...

Should agricultural development programmes target women in order to increase productivity? This article analyzes the challenges in distinguishing women's agricultural productivity from that of men. Most of the literature compares productivity on plots managed by women with those managed by men, ignoring the majority of agricultural households in which men and women are both involved in manageme...

— This article investigates determinants and impacts of cooperative organization, using the example of smallholder banana farmers in Kenya. Farmer groups are inclusive of the poor, although wealthier households are more likely to join. Employing propensity score matching, we find positive income effects for active group members. Yet price advantages of collective marketing are small, and high-v...

This paper employed the endogenous switching regression and propensity score matching methods to analyse the impact of row-planting technology on rice productivity using 470 rice farms in Northern Ghana. The empirical findings showed that the adoption of row-planting technology exerted greater positive impact on rice yields of smallholder farmers. In addition, rice yields of adopters and non-ad...

Information is a key component in improving smallholder agricultural production and linkages to remunerative markets, thus improve rural livelihoods, food security and national economies. The dynamics of using phones among farmers linking them to market outlets and other service providers are discussed. . The paper isolate strength, weakness and threats while analysing insights associated with ...

We have several exciting new titles for all with a concern about the future of the world's citizens. This year, ITDG Publishing is issuing its own edition of The World Guide 2003/2004, the definitive 'alternative' reference guide to the countries of our planet. Feeding the Market is a highly readable account of smallholder farmers struggling to trade in an era of globalization. For an excellent...

Herbs have been used by all cultures for centuries; each area of the world uses herbs local to that area. Western herbs tend to work slowly to restore health and balance to the body, while Chinese herbology contains some fast acting herbs. Oriental herbs can be divided into two categories, food and medical. Herbal medicines have always been a form of therapy for livestock among resource poor sm...

In this paper we draw preliminary lessons from four large, threeto five-year-long, agriculture value chain projects being implemented by DAI among smallholder farmers with varying degrees of nutrition sensitivity. The projects are located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Malawi, and Tajikistan, and are supported by USAID and the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future (FTF) ini...