Collaborative Research T he International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), working with hundreds of partners in developing countries, produces technologies and knowledge that better enable farmers, mainly smallholders, to enhance ecoefficiency in agriculture. This means we help make production more competitive and profitable as well as sustainable and resilient through economically and e...

Institutional innovations are increasingly seen as key to achieving not only agricultural growth, by overcoming market failures, but also to ensure that poor smallholders also benefit from this process. This paper analyses institutional arrangements for vegetable marketing in East Africa from a transaction cost perspective. Marketing of vegetables is still dominated by spot markets with some, b...

1 Copyright of the paper is reserved by IFAD. The paper may not be reproduced in part or in full and in any form without written permission of the Conference Organisers at IFAD (SUMMARY This paper provides an overview of agricultural and economic characteristics of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), in comparison with other developing regions and the opportunities which the medium-term outlook holds for...

Food security in the East African Highlands is dependent upon the productivity of lands managed by smallholders who face difficult challenges in maintaining the fertility of their soils. A study was conducted to identify indicators of soil fertility status that are consistent with farmers’ perceptions of soil fertility. Physical, chemical and biological properties of soils were measured from pa...

The largest demographic in India suffering from the adverse impacts of global climate change are small farmers. India’s rural population is approximately 800 million, with the majority being households dependent on small-scale agriculture. For these smallholders, facing a common rural reality of disempowerment and limited disposable household capital, the agro-ecological results of climate vola...

This paper describes the participation of smallholders in commercial horticultural farming in Kenya and identifies constraints and critical factors that influence their decision to participate in this industry by selling their produce. The study employs panel survey data on smallholder producers of both international (export) and domestic market vegetables and controls for unobserved heterogene...

The quality of planting material is one of the key factors that determine the success of tree farming and reforestation activities. In the Philippines, low quality seedlings are commonly used in smallholder plantings for reasons such as the limited supply of high quality seedlings and smallholders’ lack of awareness of the benefits of using high quality planting stock. The ACIAR-funded seedling...

Despite describing a decline in soil fertility, Northern Ghanaian smallholders have not universally adopted use of organic, sustainable soil amendments such as compost. Farmers’ decisions about whether to use compost depend on their need and ability to do so. The agroecological context of a single rainfall season with low soil organic matter means that farmers’ need to compost is a paramount fa...

Access to agricultural markets and marketing information are essential factors in promoting competitive markets and improving agricultural sector development. The agricultural sector employs majorities in developing countries and it contributes greatly to the development of these countries. Unluckily, majorities of the farmers are smallholders living in isolated rural areas and thus lack approp...

The effects of changes in cropping production technologies, systems and input and output markets on smallholders growing tree crops for export, and the consequences on pest management strategies, including augmentative and conservation biological control, are discussed in the context of pest and crop management research, technology development and farmer training. Evolving approaches in extensi...