Agroecology, sustainable and secure food systems 9781774078464, 9781774076477, 1774076470

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Agroecology, Sustainable and Secure Food Systems

Agroecology, Sustainable and Secure Food Systems

Saket Kushwaha

www.delvepublishing.com

Agroecology, Sustainable and Secure Food Systems Saket Kushwaha Delve Publishing 224 Shoreacres Road Burlington, ON L7L 2H2 Canada www.delvepublishing.com Email: [email protected]

e-book Edition 2021 ISBN: 978-1-77407-846-4 (e-book)

This book contains information obtained from highly regarded resources. Reprinted material sources are indicated and copyright remains with the original owners. Copyright for images and other graphics remains with the original owners as indicated. A Wide variety of references are listed. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data. Authors or Editors or Publishers are not responsible for the accuracy of the information in the published chapters or consequences of their use. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or grievance to the persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or thoughts in the book. The authors or editors and the publisher have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission has not been obtained. If any copyright holder has not been acknowledged, please write to us so we may rectify. Notice: Registered trademark of products or corporate names are used only for explanation and identification without intent of infringement.

© 2021 Delve Publishing ISBN: 978-1-77407-647-7 (Hardcover)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Prof. Saket Kushwaha, currently the Vice Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University is specialized in resource management and sustainable agriculture development. After his higher studies from Banaras Hindu University, he joined Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, Nigeria in 1993 and taught various courses on Agriculture Economics and Management at undergraduate, post graduate and Ph.D. level. Prof. Kushwaha rose to the rank of Professor at ATBU in the year 1999 and in 2006 he joined Bananas Hindu University (BHU), India as professor in agriculture economics and became the Vice Chancellor of Lalit Narayan Mithila University for one term 2014-2017. He has more than 100 publications in national and international journals of repute, supervised 24 Ph.D. students and authored 17 books / book chapters. Prof Kushwaha is life member of 10 Professional Bodies and sits in the panel of editorial boards. Worked extensively in the field of Zero Emission Research Initiatives (ZERI) propagating the mission of sustainable development under the aegis of “Waste is Wealth” concept. He is also the recipient of 17 national and international awards which includes award from Sulabh International Gold Medal in 2016 for sanitation management. 27 years of teaching, research, extension and community service experience with 23 years in administration. Handled over 10 national and International projects majorly funded by World Banks. Coordinated USAID project on Cowpea Research Support Programme (CRSP) in Nigeria for 10 years from 1996 to 2006. Working with NGOs and mega agriculture farms for Green Farm Planning.

TABLE OF CONTENTS



List of Figures.................................................................................................xi

Preface.........................................................................................................xiii Chapter 1

Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change.................................................... 1 Abstract...................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Factors Threatening Agricultural Production.......................................... 2 1.2 The Role Of Crop Wild Relatives In Future Food Security...................... 3 1.3 The Project Approach............................................................................ 5 1.4 Shallow Lake Agroecosystem: Agriculture, Biodiversity & Fish Production........................................................................................ 9 References................................................................................................ 13

Chapter 2

Outstanding Practices In Agroecology 2019............................................ 15 2.1 Africa – Regeneration Through Connecting Seeds With Culture and Nature In Africa (2007)............................................................. 16 2.2 Benin – Premium Hortus (2016).......................................................... 22 2.3 Brazil – Community Organic Waste Management And Urban Agriculture - “Revolution of The Buckets” (2008)............................. 28 2.4 Cameroon – Participatory Domestication of Indigenous Trees For The Delivery Of Multifunctional Agriculture By Agroforestry (1994)......................................................................... 33 2.5 China – Shared Harvest And Rural Regeneration (2009)...................... 39 References................................................................................................ 46

Chapter 3

The Contribution of Agriculture In Rural Development........................... 51 3.1 Introduction........................................................................................ 52 3.2 Cross-Cutting Trends, Narratives And Processes In Developing Countries..................................................................... 54 3.3 Leading Narratives.............................................................................. 58 3.4 Asia.................................................................................................... 60

3.5 Latin America..................................................................................... 67 3.6 Gender And Agricultural Development In Climate Change................. 72 References................................................................................................ 86 Chapter 4

The Intensification of Agriculture And Changes In Technology............... 89 4.1 Introduction........................................................................................ 90 4.2 Modern Agricultural Technology Adoption In Sub-Saharan Africa...................................................... 92 4.3 Factors Affecting The Adoption Of Modern Agricultural Technology In Sub-Saharan Africa................................................... 95 4.4 Revisiting The Relationship Between Farm Size And Productivity........ 99 4.5 What Is A Farm And How Is It Measured?......................................... 100 4.6 From Land Grabs To Land Development: The Past And the Potential Of Private Investment In Frontier Agriculture............. 104 4.7 Staples Production: Efficient “Subsistence” Smallholders Are Key to Poverty Reduction, Development And Trade....................... 107 References.............................................................................................. 112

Chapter 5

Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience............................................ 113 5.1 What Is Climate Resilience?.............................................................. 114 5.2 How Does Climate Change Affect Agriculture ................................. 115 5.3 Climate Change And Animals........................................................... 117 5.4 Negative Impacts Of Climate Change In Agriculture......................... 119 5.5 Climate Change and Crops............................................................... 121 5.6 Climate Change and Livestock.......................................................... 122 5.7 Effects Of Precipitation..................................................................... 123 5.8 Principles That Guide Agriculture To Become Sustainable................. 125 References.............................................................................................. 139

Chapter 6

Information And Communication Technology In Agriculture................ 141 6.1 Farmer To Farmer Knowledge Sharing............................................... 143 6.2 Techmode Knowledge Sharing.......................................................... 144 6.3 Participant Experience-Innovative Technology Approach In Agricultural Knowledge Sharing................................................ 145 6.4 Building Bridges In Agriculture......................................................... 146 6.5 Making Knowledge Work ................................................................ 147

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6.6 How To Make Ict Affordable And Easily Accessible For Farmers In Rural Areas................................................................... 150 6.7 Ict As An Enabler Of Agricultural Innovation Systems........................ 154 6.8 Emerging Trends In Ict For Land Administration................................. 163 References.............................................................................................. 168 Chapter 7

Climate Change And Modern Agriculture.............................................. 171 7.1 Introduction...................................................................................... 172 7.2 Climate Change And Its Impact On Pest Control And Use of Pesticides on The Farms............................................................. 173 7.3 Adaptations To Climate Change........................................................ 179 7.4 Mitigating Climate Change............................................................... 184 7.5 Reduction Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions......................................... 184 7.6 Removal Of Greenhouse Gases From The Atmosphere...................... 188 References.............................................................................................. 189

Chapter 8

The Importance of Empowering Women................................................ 193 8.1 Introduction...................................................................................... 194 8.2 What Is Women Empowerment? ...................................................... 194 8.3 Women Empowerment In Agriculture............................................... 195 8.4 Rural Women Empowerment To Agriculture...................................... 197 8.5 Gender Issues In Food Farming......................................................... 200 8.6 The Role Of Rural Women In Agriculture.......................................... 203 8.7 Feminization Of Agriculture.............................................................. 203 8.8 Challenges That Women Face In Agriculture..................................... 205 8.9 Dealing With The Gap Between Men And Women In Agriculture..... 208 References.............................................................................................. 210

Index...................................................................................................... 211

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LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: demonstrates further examples of how some CWR have been used in the recent past and also shows the CWR taxa are promising targets for crop improvement efforts in the future Figure 2.1: Sheep grazing on farmland; encouraging agroecological approach on farmland Figure 2.2: Women harvesting vegetables in Shanggula village, Guangxi province, China Figure 3.1: Maize grown under drip irrigation system Figure 3.2: A rice mill factory in China Figure 3.3: Crop sprinkler – free stock photo Figure 4.1: Angolan agriculture students are training in the UK in order to return home and kickstart the rural economy Figure 4.2: The inverse relationship between farm productivity and the size of farms cultivated Figure 4.3: U-shaped relationship between farm size and productivity Figure 5.1: A flooded rice field Figure 5.2: Unprecedented growth in biotech crops Figure 5.3: Family members showing their farm produce Figure 6.1: Small-scale farmer receiving advice from agricultural research experts Figure 6.2: A Smartphone Figure 7.1: An armyworm destroying maize Figure 7.2: Rainwater harvesting Figure 7.3: Mulching Figure 7.4: The contribution of different regions to global CO2 between 1750 and 2015 Figure 8.1: Women in Tanzania watering vegetables in their farm Figure 8.2: Women and a man weeding crops Figure 8.3: Women harvesting vegetables from their farm

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PREFACE

As a result of the industrial revolution that kicked off in the 1970s, the earth’s surface has been warming up at a high rate. There is a rise in temperature due to the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This causes the planet to retain heat from the sun. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. Trees and oceans should help absorb the carbon dioxide that has been released. However, they cannot handle the current large amount that is in the earth’s atmosphere. The forests are shrinking, and even less carbon dioxide can thus be absorbed. The high levels of carbon dioxide are already acidifying the ocean. This kills coral reefs and triggering a dangerous rise in sea levels, thus an increase in extreme weather events. This is known as climate change. Climate change is hitting farmers hard. Farming methods that treat soil like dirt are making big problems even worse — but using science to build healthy soils and create resilience landscapes, farmers, government and everyone on the planet earth needs to help and be part of the solution. Thus, this book will help you understand the best practices that can be done through agroecology to make sure that it helps in giving us sustainable and secure food systems. You will learn how agriculture can be transformed through agroecology. The outstanding practices here should help in solving food security for the increasing population. Moreover, the practices also help in coming up with a solution to climate change, since agriculture is one of the contributors to climate change. There is a need to change our agricultural practices. Three significant areas in agriculture can help us transform the world. This includes the farmer’s knowledge of the best agricultural practices. How best do our farmers know what should be done on their farms for sustainable farming? Women have been known for the major role that they play in agriculture. Have they been as benefited as men do? What challenges do they face when it comes to agriculture and food security? Will there be a change if we empower women as sustainable goals require? There is a need for new technologies if we are looking forward to being able to take care of the growing population today and in the future. The questions are: What are the latest technologies and innovations that can help improve

the agricultural sector? How best can these technologies help farmers? What knowledge do the farmers have on the available techniques? To answer these questions, you need to keep on reading. There is a lot of information on agroecology as a solution to climate change. Moreover, it is the foundation when it comes to sustainable and secure food systems.

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Chapter

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Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change

CONTENTS Abstract...................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Factors Threatening Agricultural Production.......................................... 2 1.2 The Role Of Crop Wild Relatives In Future Food Security...................... 3 1.3 The Project Approach............................................................................ 5 1.4 Shallow Lake Agroecosystem: Agriculture, Biodiversity & Fish Production........................................................................................ 9 References................................................................................................ 13

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ABSTRACT The main objective of this chapter is to explain why to protect and collect the genetic range of plants with the behaviors or characteristics required to adapt the most important food crops globally to climate change. This initiative also aims to allow the access of this diversity in a way that plant breeders can use it readily to produce varieties that can adapt to certain climatic conditions that farmers, especially the ones from developing countries often experience. Such an initiative is highly required to secure the world’s food production in the future. This chapter aims to enlighten researchers and scientists in this field and help them discover effective solutions for adapting agriculture to climate change.

1.1 FACTORS THREATENING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION Agricultural production is currently under threat and needs swift measures to be put in place in order to curb the threats. The world’s total population of human beings is estimated to be over 9.3 billion by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014). Also, there is expected to be a change in diets in regards to oils, animal products, and other foodstuffs that are resource-intensive. Hence, this is proving to be a great disaster and a threat to agricultural production systems (Kastner et al. 2012; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109: 6868–6872; Global changes in diets and the consequences for land requirements for food). At the same time, climate change poses a great threat. In addition, arable land, and other resource limitations, water – as well as degraded soils challenge agricultural production. This widening difference between supply and demand is causing grave concerns for future food security. A great population of the world will experience times where there will be high temperatures by 2050. This increase in temperature will be probably followed by more variable rainfall across the world. (Battisti, D. and Naylor, R. L. 2009; Historical warnings of future food insecurity with unprecedented seasonal heat). Crops will be affected in various ways. For example, rice flowers may show increased sterility during higher temperatures. At the time of flowering, maize often gets sensitive to hot temperatures and drought. Wheat senescence is faster under warmer conditions and starts earlier than normal (Lobell, D. B., Sibley, A. and Ivan Ortiz-Monasterio, J. 2012. Extreme heat effects on wheat senescence in India. Nature Climate

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Change, 2: 186–189). Models show possible yield losses of 6–10% per 1°C of warming in the average temperature of the growing season when you add up these and other effects. (Guarino, L. and Lobell, D. B. 2011; A walk on the wild side. Nature Climate Change). This means the globe could experience great production losses in the future. Putting more land under farming is not an option in other parts of the world unless there is a serious impact on the provision of ecosystem services and serious impacts on wild biodiversity. Hence, an important solution to this is increasing agricultural yields in a framework of sustainable intensification (Garnett, T., Appleby, M. C., Balmford, A., Bateman, I. J., Benton, T. G.Bloomer, P, 2013). Creating a more favorable policy and improving agricultural practices can be considered as a significant headway. Such policies can help to avoid food wastage. However, such measures can only provide a partial solution. It is equally important to embrace agriculture in harsh climatic conditions by breeding crop varieties. Examples of possible plant traits that can be considered are many ranging from enhanced root growth to faster grain filling.

1.2 THE ROLE OF CROP WILD RELATIVES IN FUTURE FOOD SECURITY When compared to their wild relatives, it is clear that domestication has led to a severe reduction in genetic diversity among most crops (domestication bottleneck, e.g., Olsen, K. M. and Gross, B. L., 2008). Plant breeders will need all the genetic diversity that they can get in order to meet the challenges of the future. Some of this diversity can be found in traditional crops that are still being cultivated by farmers across the world. On the other hand, a much wider perspective of diversity can be easily found within the genomes of the wild plant species closely related to crops (so -called crop wild relatives or CWR). In the past, CWRs have been successfully used by farmers in plant breeding. (Hajjar, R. and Hodgkin, T. 2007). In addition, they play a critical part in the breeding efforts that aim to help adapt agriculture to climate change (Guarino, L. and Lobell, D. B. 2011. A walk on the wild side. Nature Climate Change). For example, a wild rice (Oryza officinalis) was recently used to change the flowering time of the rice cultivar Koshihikari (O. sativa), it helped to avoid high temperatures

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during the day (Ishimaru, T., Hirabayashi, H., Ida, M., Takai, T., San-Oh, Y. A.Yoshinaga, S, 2010).

Figure 1: demonstrates further examples of how some CWR have been used in the recent past and also shows the CWR taxa are promising targets for crop improvement efforts in the future. The Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change project will help secure and make available to plant breeders the underutilized diversity in these CWR (Jena pers. comm., October 15, 2013).

The most common examples of use revolve around biotic stresses and host plant resistance although adaptation to salinity, cold, and drought have all been improved in crops through the use of CWR. This is equally important since the varieties of various plant pathogens are predicted to change with climate change. Hence, many parts of the world may encounter disease pressures that have not been seen previously (Garrett, K. A., Dendy, S. P., Frank, E. E., Rouse, M. N. and Travers, S. E. 2006). Despite the wild species themselves displaying poor values for some traits, CWRs have positively influenced the quality traits and increased yields (Tanksley, S. D. and McCouch, S. R. 1997. Seed banks and molecular maps: unlocking genetic potential from the wild. Science). A call of action, arising from a previous meeting of international experts

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on crop wild relative genomics (December 2012 in Asilomar, CA), has expressed the importance of exploring untapped plant biodiversity, such as wild relatives planted in seed banks around the world, since it is the best way to improve crops in the face of climate change (McCouch, S., Baute, G. J., Bradeen, J., Bramel, P. K.Buckler, E. 2013). There are around 50,000 to 60,000 species of CWR, of which 10,000 may be considered to be of high potential value when it comes to food security, with 1,000 of these being very closely related to the most important food crops (Maxted, N. and Kell, S. 2009. Establishment of a global network for the in situ conservation of crop wild relatives). Climate change is expected to cause further pressures since up to 75% of these species may be threatened in the wild (Jarvis, A., Lane, A. and Hijmans, R. J. 2008. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 126: 13–23). The conservation of CWR is highly recognized as a high priority (FordLloyd, B. V., R. 2011), and the conservation of these species in their natural habitats is important for their continued evolution (Maxted, N. and Kell, S. 2009. Establishment of a global network for the in situ conservation of crop wild relatives: status and needs, Rome, Italy: FAO), although the effectiveness of some in situ conservation efforts may be impacted by climate change (Jarvis, A., Lane, A. and Hijmans, R. J. 2008; The effect of climate change).

1.3 THE PROJECT APPROACH The Millennium Seed Bank of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, Kew, and the Royal Botanic Gardens has begun on a long-term, global effort to conserve, collect, and implement the use of the wild relatives of crops. The project will run for ten years and it is expected to focus on the wild relatives in the gene pools of 29 focal crops (i.e., sweet potato, vetch, wheat, rye, sorghum, sunflower, pigeon pea, potato, rice, oat, pea, pearl millet, finger millet, grass pea, lentil, bean, carrot, chickpea, cowpea, eggplant, faba bean, apple, Bambara groundnut, banana, barley) of great advantage and value to food security, all of which are included in Annex 1 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Battisti, D. and Naylor, R. L, 2009). While in close collaboration with programs of the International

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Agricultural Research Centers of the CGIAR, natural resources and national agricultural research programs in developing countries and other crop expert institutions, the project will: •

• • •

identify those CWR that are most endangered, are most likely to contain a diversity of value to adapting agriculture to climate change; collect threatened and novel diversity of CWR from the wild and give them to Gene Banks for conservation; evaluate the newly collected CWR and other CWR already in the collection; and make the final information and products widely available.

1.3.1 Identify Those CWR That Are Missing from Existing Collections At the moment, there is not yet a single global assessment that exists regarding the state of conservation of CWR of potential use in adapting crops to climate change. There has been a thorough focus on the analysis of gaps in ex situ conservation of CWRs, but on a very limited number of crop gene pools (Maxted, N., MabuzaDlamini, P., Moss, H., Padulosi, S., Jarvis, A. and Guarino, L. 2004). Such analyses have typically lacked assessment of analysis of gaps in ex situ conservation of CWR and vulnerability in situ. Furthermore, of recent, the technologies were insufficiently developed to permit visualizing, analyzing, and compiling of the multilayer datasets necessary. Consequently, for most of the crop gene pools, there are no country-level guides and global strategies for comprehensive collecting to safeguard ex situ CWRs. The first step undertaken by the project includes the collation of CWR taxa for over 173 crop gene pools into a checklist, through collaboration with the University of Birmingham, UK (Wiersema, J., Kell, S., Fielder, H., Dobbie, S.Castañeda-Álvarez, N. P, 2013). This checklist has been used by project partners to focus compilation of eco-geographic data from major taxonomic experts, online datasets, gene banks, and herbaria. There are more than 5.4 million records contained in the project database and over 15,000 of which are newly digitized by the project from herbarium specimens. The basis for the gap analysis is formed by this dataset – a collaborative initiative headed by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), which is currently looking for gaps to fill in ex situ collections for all of the

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world’s major crop gene pools, including the subset of a few focal gene pools of the project, and the results have been produced online ( This dataset forms the basis for the gap analysis, a collaborative initiative led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), which is now identifying gaps in ex situ collections for the world’s entire major crop gene pools. This includes the subset of 29 focal gene pools of the project, the results of which have recently been reported online (Crop Wild Relatives and Climate Change., 2013) Online resources include www.cwrdiversity. org/ (http://www.cwrdiversity.org/)

1.3.2 Collect Novel and Threatened Diversity of CWR from the Wild and Provide Them to Gene Banks for Conservation In recent decades, there has been a decline regarding the collection of plant genetic resources in general. For example, in ex situ collections, wild species are widely thought to be under-represented at 2-18% of the sum holdings. There are also huge differences in species coverage (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010). The project of adapting agriculture to climate change has supported countries all over the world in collecting CWR gene pools from their native habitats, coordinated by the Millennium Seed Bank. In total, national partners collected over 6,000 CWR accessions between 2013 and 2017. The Millenium Seed Bank also provided other capacity building to national partners and produce detailed collecting guides regarding the same. Vital field data, such as a description of the plants from which the seeds are collected and precise information on the collecting location, were collected together with the seeds and pressed plant specimens. The seeds are held by the appropriate CGIAR international collection, the Millennium Seed Bank, and the country of origin and at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Following international gene bank standards, seeds for long-term conservation will be dried and stored at low temperatures. Species new to long-term conservation will need the establishment of germination protocols. Seeds will be available for crop improvement and evaluation under the terms and conditions of the ITPGRFA.

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1.3.3 Evaluate the Newly Collected CWR and Other CWR Already in Collections for Useful Traits; and Prepare Them for Use in Crop Improvement In order to enhance crop adaptation to climate change, there will be a need to develop germplasm lines incorporating novel, useful diversity from CWRs and make them available to farmers and breeders all over the world. CWRs have been used in breeding efforts for a variety of traits in the past. •

However, many CWR taxa have never been used in improvement for most of these crops. In addition, few of the varieties that included crossbreeds of CWR have often been put on evaluation regarding their performance in various conditions that often affect future climate conditions. There are no big improvements that have been recently made in regards to the implementation of CWRs for advancing several other crops, such as sweet potato, grasspea, pigeon pea, rye, sorghum, faba bean, cowpea, finger millet, alfalfa, apple, bambara groundnut, carrots, and eggplant – all of which are considered to be priority crop gene pools for adapting agriculture to climate change. The use of CWR for the improvement of materials that are of interest to breeders is known as “pre-breeding.” The adaptation of agriculture to climate change will involve international partners who are of the same idea to support the pre-breeding project in several focal crops using existing pre-bred lines that are already available in gene banks but have not been previously used, but also CWR accessions and some of the newly collected accessions. The results of the pre-breeding on focal crops and wild relatives, as reported by Bretting, P. K.Buckler, E. 2013., Bradeen, J., and McCouch, S., Baute, G. J, includes a blueprint for the efficient use of CWR diversity and is also considered as an important factor in this research. The research will support efforts made to evaluate these newly developed materials under field conditions, in an effort to demonstrate their utility.

1.3.4 Make the Resulting Products and Information Widely Available In the meantime, information systems providing access to data on the usefulness, location, and identity of germplasm, including CWR, should hold ex situ, since they are limited in their coverage. Thus lack of information regarding existing germplasm collections constrains agricultural research for adaptation to climate change (Food and Agriculture Organization of the

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United Nations. 2010: The second report on the state of the world’s plant genetic resources). An online information portal on ex situ collections (GENESYS) and a gene bank data management system (GRIN–Global) have been developed by previous projects by the Global Crop Diversity Trust. However, there is still a need for adoption by national programs and investment for widespread deployment. In order to incorporate more gene banks, this can only be made available through this project, a broader range of data and the results of the evaluation of the project’s products.

1.3.5 Expected Results This project is aimed to contribute positively and worldwide to conserve biodiversity, food security, agricultural development, ultimately, benefiting consumers and food producers globally. The outputs include: • pre-bred material and evaluation data; • germination protocols; • seed collections in long term storage; • maps displaying the results of the gap analyses; • list of priority species for collecting worldwide; and • an online global checklist of CWR. The adaptation of agriculture to climate change has created a resource website that aims to act as a hub that contains all the project’s outputs and makes it accessible to the public (Crop Wild Relatives and Climate Change. (2013) Online resourcewww.cwrdiversity.org/ (http://www.cwrdiversity. org/)

1.4 SHALLOW LAKE AGROECOSYSTEM: AGRICULTURE, BIODIVERSITY & FISH PRODUCTION The main objective of this research was to find out if agricultural practices and shallow lake management practices in the surrounding regions favor great biodiversity, which can be beneficial when it comes to production of local fish products, and also if the aquaculture and agricultural practices can

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preserve an acceptable water quality while maintaining a sufficient level of fish production at the same time. The study area, the Dombes region, was developed by glacial activity during the quaternary period (Avocat, 1975). The so-called drumlins entail a plateau of about 1,000 km2 with long, fan-shaped morainic mounds. It has an altitude of approximately 280 m. In addition, three fluvial valleys flank the plateau about 50–100 m below the plateau. Substantial amounts of loess were mainly deposited in the depressions between the drumlins during the late Würm glaciation (Williams, 2006). Much of the loess was leached as a result of the post-glacial rain that created decalcified clay soils in the depressions that induce water stagnation when the soils get wet (Avocat, 1975). More sandy soils dominate in the morainic areas. The distance of annual precipitation varies between 800 and 1,200 mm (Blanchet, 1993; Bernard and Lebreton, 2007). The history of the Dombes and its shallow lake system began back in the 13th century (Guichenon 1650 cited in Sceau 1980).

1.4.1 Structure of the Shallow Lakes The shallow lakes were developed in smaller depression sizes in order to drain surrounding loamy-clayey soils to enable farming of cereal crops and to facilitate efficient fish production. During the medieval period, fish production activity expanded largely since there was a need to get fish during a period that had very strict food prescriptions. Today, approximately 2,100 shallow lakes with about 24,000 ha, and that are located in agricultural areas with forests, cropped fields, and good pastures portray the characteristics of the Dombes region (Bernard and Lebreton 2007). The shallow lakes vary in their respective sizes ranging from the ones that are less than 1 ha to some which are larger than 100 ha. The average depth of the shallow lakes is approximately 1 m. The fish farming carried out in the shallow lakes is aimed towards culture of pike, roach, tench and carp (Bernard and Lebreton, 2007). It entails a wide system that shifts grain farming and fish farming on the same piece of land. In order to harvest the fish efficiently, the shallow lakes get emptied annually and then gets refilled later. The shallow lakes are left to dry up after 3–4 years to get cultivated mainly with crops including sorghum, maize, and oats for one year – although some do not get cultivated (Wezel et al. submitted). During the wet phase, the water that fills shallow lakes comes either from a system of ditches that lead into the shallow lake and that collects rainwater

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from the catchment or from a shallow lake situated at a higher elevation. The research that was presently done in the Dombes region touches different disciplines and different scales. Different sediment parameters and physicalchemical water get analyzed for a selection of shallow lakes at the scale of a shallow lake, which is known here as the field/plot scale mentioned above. This helps to evaluate its changes and the trophic status during a year (ecology). This type of research has been carried out by different researchers before more components were added in order to have a more holistic approach. Species diversity and richness of amphibians, dragonflies, marcophytes, macro-invertebrates, and phytoplankton are further investigated (Ecology). Also, managers of the shallow lakes regularly provide data on annual fish harvest (socio-economy). Land use and biotopes within the catchment of shallow lakes (agroecosystems scale) and within a 100 m radius around the shallow lakes (field scale) are analyzed by ground surveys and aerial photograph interpretation (geography, landscape ecology). Farmers also get interviewed about their agricultural practices such as pesticide use, nutrient management, fertilization and water drainage in the catchment and on the fields adjacent to the shallow lakes (field scale; agronomy). The question about the managers or owners of the shallow lakes is an issue concerning lake management and different fish production practices (lake/ field scale; socio-economy). Finally, in order to investigate the network of stakeholders, an analysis is carried out regarding the manufacturing, marketing and selling of the fish produced from the shallow lakes, and the branding label showing the geographical region where the fish was caught (food system scale; sociology, socio-economy). The various analyses carried out helps in evaluating the complex reactions of the parameters analyzed as well as their singular results. Sediment parameter and water quality are analyzed to evaluate how these parameters are influenced by lake management practices and land use around, but also to evaluate the trophic status of the shallow lakes itself. The diversity and richness of the different species groups are evaluated in relation to agricultural practices and biotopes present in the vicinity of lakes, but also in relation to lake management as well as for the trophic status of the shallow lakes. The most complex one is the evaluation of the fish production since it is evaluated in relation to the trophic status of shallow lakes, which is directly determined by agricultural land use around the lakes

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and lake management practices. In addition, the influence of several species groups such as macro-invertebrates, marcophytes, and phytoplankton, are evaluated in relation to fish production because of being important for nutrient turn-over in the water or being a source of feed for fish in the water. Finally, it gets evaluated when the existence of certain biodiversity (the biotopes and the species groups) can be used to describe the value when it comes to marketing of the fish production, or more specifically for the product quality, or even its label. Figure 1 given above demonstrates the general food systems approach of agroecology (Soldat and Wezel ,2009) where the products of agriculture within an agroecosystem and influences and interactions from and to the politics, society, economy, and environment are taken into consideration.

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Garnett, T., Appleby, M. C., Balmford, A., Bateman, I. J., Benton, T. G.Bloomer, P. 2013. Sustainable intensification in agriculture: Premises and policies. Science, 341: 33–34 Guarino, L. and Lobell, D. B. 2011. A walk on the wild side. Nature Climate Change, 1: 374–375.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar] Battisti, D. and Naylor, R. L. 2009. Historical warnings of future food insecurity with unprecedented seasonal heat. Science, 323: 240–244. , [Google Scholar] Bureau, U.S. Census. “American FactFinder - Results” “EU-Project Automatic milking”. Wageningen UR. 20 February 2008. Archived from the original on 20 February 2006. Retrieved 15 March 2013. Arese Lucini, Okeleke, and Tricarico (2016). “Analysis: Market size and opportunity in digitizing payments in agricultural value chains” Ishimaru, T., Hirabayashi, H., Ida, M., Takai, T., San-Oh, Y. A.Yoshinaga, S. 2010 Wolf, S.A. and Wood, S.D. (1997). “Precision farming: environmental legitimation, commodification of information, and industrial coordination” World Bank (2017-06-27). ICT in Agriculture (Updated Edition): Connecting Smallholders to Knowledge, Networks, and Institutions. The World Bank. Poublanc, Christophe (26 October 2018). “Let’s Get Digital: UnBlocking Finance for Farmers in Senegal” FAO 2017. The Future of Food and Agriculture: Trends and Challenges. Olsen, K. M. and Gross, B. L. 2008. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105: 13701– 13702 Garrett, K. A., Dendy, S. P., Frank, E. E., Rouse, M. N. and Travers, S. E. 2006 Guarino, L. and Lobell, D. B. 2011. A walk on the wild side. Nature Climate Change, 1: 374–375 Tanksley, S. D. and McCouch, S. R. 1997. Seed banks and molecular maps: unlocking genetic potential from the wild. Science, 277: 1063– 1066

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16. Maxted, N. and Kell, S. 2009. Establishment of a global network for the in situ conservation of crop wild relatives: status and needs, Rome, Italy: FAO 17. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2010. The second report on the state of the world’s plant genetic resources.http:// www.fao.org/agriculture/crops/core-themes/theme/seeds-pgr/sow/ sow2/en/ (http://www.fao.org/agriculture/crops/core-themes/theme/ seeds-pgr/sow/sow2/en/)(Accessed: 15 February 2013

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CONTENTS 2.1 Africa – Regeneration Through Connecting Seeds With Culture and Nature In Africa (2007)............................................................. 16 2.2 Benin – Premium Hortus (2016).......................................................... 22 2.3 Brazil – Community Organic Waste Management And Urban Agriculture - “Revolution of The Buckets” (2008)............................. 28 2.4 Cameroon – Participatory Domestication of Indigenous Trees For The Delivery Of Multifunctional Agriculture By Agroforestry (1994)......................................................................... 33 2.5 China – Shared Harvest And Rural Regeneration (2009)...................... 39 References................................................................................................ 46

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The recognition “Outstanding Practices in Agroecology 2019” highlights practices that promote resilient agricultural practices, nurture sustainable food production systems and empower small-scale food producers that help strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change and help maintain ecosystems. Organized by the Startup TAGS (Technology for Agroecology in the Global South) in collaboration with the World Future Council, the recognition aims to speed up action towards peaceful, sustainable, and just societies while raising global awareness for the exemplary practices. Every year, the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture together with the International Green Week occasion takes place in Berlin, Germany. The Outstanding Practices in Agroecology 2019 got launched in January 2019. 15 countries get to receive recognitions out of 77 nominations from 44 countries, including practices from across Latin America, Asia and Africa.

2.1 AFRICA – REGENERATION THROUGH CONNECTING SEEDS WITH CULTURE AND NATURE IN AFRICA (2007) 2.1.1 In Brief The African Biodiversity Network (ABN) works hand in hand with eleven African countries to revive indigenous/traditional, agroecological farming systems, which are negatively affected by industrial agricultural practices. Seed sovereignty and diversity is the main concern of ABN’s Climate Seeds and Knowledge (CSK) program. In order to achieve this, the practice is driven by communities, fully inclusive and involves activities such as household seed storage systems and seed banks; seed selection, saving and multiplication; integrated pest management; use of natural fertilizers and composting; intercropping; seed exchanges and sharing; community dialogues; exchange visits; seed maps and seasonal calendars; community research groups; seed festivals, ceremonies and practice of rituals; and community ecological governance. Currently, CSK has 4,640 farmers getting involved in retrieving seeds and has retrieved 470 varieties.

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2.1.2 About The Practice At A Glance Organization: African Biodiversity Network (ABN) in collaboration with partners across Africa (Network of NGOs). Implemented in: 11 African countries: Botswana (Gaborone), Zimbabwe (Bikita), South Africa (Kwa Zulu Natal, Stellenbosch, Mpumalanga), Burkina Faso (Wa-gadugu), Togo (Lome), Ghana (Tamale, Waa), Rwanda (Mugahan-ga District), Benin (Avrankou), Tanzania (Moshi and Kilimanjaro), Uganda (Buganda and Bunyoro), and Ethiopia (Telecho, Sheka, Tigray and Bale). Year: 2007 Beneficiaries: 4,230 households of smallscale farmers (in African communities collaborating with ABN’s partners) Topic(s): Agrobiodiversity, Production, Africa

2.1.3 Problems Targeted / Context The practice started as an act of empowering small-scale farmers to regenerate seed diversity to bring back their control regarding the food production and farming system. It was initiated from the idea that the ability to save your own seed every year helps the farmer gain resilience and strength. The diversity of seed has been lost due to subsequent policies and years of colonialism that have not protected such diversity. This happens in many communities where they work alongside their partners. Small-holder farmers often get vulnerable to climate shocks due to the loss of seed diversity. Hence, this leads to shock and loss of control by the farmers, which later gets them in the hands of companies that sell seeds to them every year, deterring them from exchanging and saving their own seeds. Also, the role of African women as the hub of knowledge regarding seed conservancy has been forgotten and neglected, as they have been excluded and marginalized from these processes. The current dominant seed forces and industrial agriculture have also contributed towards neglecting the contribution and value of women as the knowledge base in the production of indigenous seeds. Initiatives such as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and Plant Breeders’ Rights or International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) are creating a dramatic erosion of diversity globally. Smallholder farmers can now smile since they are now being empowered by the practice offered by ABN in a mission to revive community seed diversity.

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For the last 15 years, ABN has worked with communities and partners in 12 countries across Africa to develop the practice. They initially worked with less of a focus on seed through exchange programs, partner meetings and visits to other countries. But then discovered its importance and started creating ways in which seeds could again become key concerns in community processes. Due to this, ABN decided to start the Climate Seed & Knowledge program. Some of their key partners, for instance, Melca and ISD (Ethiopia), EarthLore (South Africa), ICE (Kenya), and RAINS (Ghana) initiated the process of collaborating with African communities through eco-calendars, seed maps, community dialogues, and training on agroecology (including composting, storage systems, land preparation, seed banks, and promoting an understanding of the relationship between the environment and farming systems, etc). The key role of African women and their knowledgebase started as a process and they started bringing all the women together. Other partners started to join and to spread the work after the piloting of these methodologies (African Biodiversity Network (2013), Seeds for Life Report: https://africanbiodiversity.org/ seeds-for-life-scalingup-agrobiodiversity/).

2.1.4 Key Features of the Solution The main aim of the ABN practice is to build the resilience of ecosystems and communities in the face of climate change, to protect wild relatives and increase seed diversity and thus biodiversity in general, and to promote food and seed sovereignty in regenerative livelihoods in Africa. Its key objectives are to revive seed biodiversity through building confidence through knowledge exchange and reviving knowledge by means of responsibility, complementary roles, memory using eco-calendars, and community dialogue. The practice focuses on the ecological and social regeneration of seeds. It involves recuperation of lost seeds and related knowledge and practices, women’s knowledge and establishment of communities of practice on seeds, seed selection, saving and multiplication, integrated pest management, use of natural fertilizers and composting, seed exchanges and sharing, intercropping, seasonal calendars and seed maps, ex-change visits, community dialogues, community research groups, seed festivals, ceremonies and practice of rituals, community ecological governance, seed festivals, seed banks and household seed storage systems.

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The practice is implemented across Africa by the Gaia Foundation and ABN in collaboration with local partners (e.g. National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) in Uganda, Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) in Kenya, and Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS) in Ghana). Communities and partners are working hand in hand with policymakers to help farmers understand the importance of community seeds and knowledge systems e.g. RAINS (Ghana) established a good relationship with Department of Agriculture and Nutrition and lobbied against passage of Plant Breeders Bill (2015); ISD (Ethiopia) campaigns continually and annually organizes Green Action Week to raise awareness of ecological principles, and ICE (Kenya) with Greenpeace Africa lobbying for agro-ecology support.

2.1.5 Innovative Aspects •

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It is fully inclusive, encouraging development on local resources and knowledge, being driven by communities themselves, and enriched with modern science. Encouraging farmers’ reconnection with nature for a holistic approach in all farming practices. Addressing not only ecological but also social regeneration of seeds

2.1.6 Facts and Figures •

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Eight partners have supported communities in practices of ecological systems and gaining legal recognition of laws e.g. MELCA (Ethiopia). The effort contributed by five countries is helping to integrate ‘Youth, Culture and Biodiversity’ principles into schools e.g. RAINS (Ghana) empowering hundreds of children in schools in biodiversity platforms. Six toolkits created: legal education workshops, experiential exchanges, Earth Jurisprudence, eco-cultural seasonal calendars, eco-cultural maps, and community dialogues. Six communities, each partner works with more than one community and 4,640 farmers working on seed revival. 470 varieties of seeds revived, such as different kinds of pumpkin, cowpeas, green grams, pigeon peas, sorghum (white and red), and millet (finger and bulrush).

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2.1.7 Outcome, Impact & Effectiveness •

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Empowering women by promoting them in leadership roles and helping them reconnect with their deep knowledge to revive indigenous seeds. Farmers are now more able to send their children to school, have improved their health, have more food now than before, are less reliant on external inputs, and poverty level has gone down to 75%. Ensuring food security throughout the year by educating farmers about the counter-intuitive mechanism of farming and growing plants for two seasons (yields are much better in the second season although they may be less productive in the first season). Making communities their own custodians of seeds in order to re-establish seed sovereignty.

2.1.8 Outlook, Transferability, Scalability & Cost-Efficiency There is a need for capacity building in order to further scale-up, to identify the right communities for setting up community research groups. In terms of technology, tracking seed belts and seed mapping could help to increase regeneration of seed diversity and to recuperate the lost seeds; live videos would be useful in training, and simple video camcorders would be useful in capturing the practical aspects. The practice has proven to be transferable and scalable due to its implementation in several countries throughout Africa (Soldat and Wezel, 2009). The ABN is working on decentralizing through setting up subregional and country nodes to help expand the practice further over the next few years, in addition to its collaboration with local partners. Since the practice focuses on home-grown and not exotics seeds, it tends to be a little bit cost-effective. The practice is more sustainable and has fewer costs since it is embedded in the community’s own structures of governance. In 2016, the practice received € 512.064 (Kshs 59,747,400.10) external funding from The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) (1%), partner contributions (8%), SwedBio (30%), NORAD (52%), and Bread for the World (9%). In 2018, the African Biodiversity Network (ABN) was awarded £25,000 in funding as part of a 2018 Lush Spring Prize Influence Award (African Biodiversity Network (2016), Annual Highlights & Audited Financial Statements African Biodiversity Network, 2017).

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2.1.9 Interviewee Feedback Total points awarded: 22.5 out of 23 Summary: The practice only lost 0.5 points and scored excellently across all future justice principles, receiving full marks for its current (but shifting) dependence on external funding. •

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Common but differentiated obligations - 2/2 – No burden placed on vulnerable groups. It uses communal technologies and promotes the local economy. Interrelationship and Integration – human rights, environmental, economic and social objectives – 3/3 Promotes a healthy and wide variety of diets. It believes in communal ownership of seeds and social justice so that everyone can gain access. The practice is holistic regarding its approach. Human Security and Governance 3/3 – encourages transparency because everyone is accountable and everything is communitarian. Promotes farmers as “custodians of seeds” and encourages communal ownership. Access to information and public participation – 3/3 – Indigenous knowledge and information sharing are at the core of all activities. Community discussion groups run to revive the cycle of seeds, encouraging co-creation of knowledge. Documents and reports are also produced and shared with everyone. Members of the communities become custodians of knowledge. Precautionary approaches to human health, ecosystem, and natural resources – 2/2 – Revival of crops ensures better health in general by preventing diseases. It has no harm since it only seeks to copy nature. Equity and eradication of poverty – 4/4 – Indigenous knowledge and small-scale farmers empowered and initiated eradication of poverty. No reliance on external inputs. Local solutions and traditional practices are put at the forefront. Youth also find a lot of space to grow, market and learn about seeds. Improve equity, especially for women, as it boosts the valuation of their knowledge. Sustainable use of resources – 5.5/6 – Pests are kept minimal through diversity. 0.5 was awarded for the question on economic sustainability because it strives for self-maintenance but still

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relies on foreign funding. Chemical fertilizers are banned. It focuses on processes of increasing biodiversity, connecting seeds with culture, natural composting (recycling) and healing the soil.

2.2 BENIN – PREMIUM HORTUS (2016) 2.2.1 In Brief Premium Hortus is an African Greentech company for agroecology, specializes in e-commerce, dealing with organic production, agroecological products and producer support in Benin. Available as a mobile and web platform, Premium Hortus enables customers to sign up, order, pay online, to get organic products in short food supply chain delivered safely to their homes. On the other hand, Premium Hortus offers farmers the opportunity to educate themselves thanks to the technical management advice that informs the farmers of the latest innovations. Waste is limited and recycled for organic composting, biogas, and the cosmetic industry. Results show that Premium Hortus helped farmers to reduce their harvest loss up to 50% and reduce carbon emissions by 47% compared to industrial agriculture. Premium Hortus is in the expansion phase and currently implemented in Morocco, Togo, and Cameroon.

2.2.2 About The Practice At A Glance Organization: Premium Hortus (Company) Implemented in: Abomey-Calavi (Benin), Cotonou. Year: 2016 Beneficiaries: Small farmers, 70% of whom are women and youth, and consumers (hotels, restaurants, and households). Topic(s): Technology, Distribution, Consumption, and Production.

2.2.3 Problems Targeted / Context Benin, just like many other African countries has had a steady growth in its urban population, with high demand for garden produce, such as vegetables and fruits, and, where food insecurity affects 16% of children and a third of families are malnourished. Large quantities of chemical inputs and fertilizer are used, and they lack modern agricultural technology since

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they still use the traditional system in distribution. This causes significant soil and water pollution, low productivity and biodiversity loss, while an increasing population, being vulnerable to price spikes and climate change. In this context the e-commerce platform Premium Hortus is combining local knowledge, management and ICTs to promote and develop agroecology and sustainable food. In 2012, a group by the name Young Agribusiness Men Project (BYAM), was formed and it included young men taking part in agribusiness. In 2013, they acquired five large cultures in Glazoué (traditional vegetables, chili, cassava, yam), thanks to the intermediation between buyers and agroecologists. Premium hortus was then formed following experimentation projects and research. They used small contributions from its founders to support its creation. The business model has been improved and evaluated, thanks to the support of the Swiss Confederation and OIF. It benefited from incubation at UAC START-UPVALLEY, which is considered as the largest incubator in West Africa, and several support, follow-up, and training in quality management.

2.2.4 Key Features of the Solution Premium Hortus’ main goals are to strengthen the resilience of small farmers by offering them technical support, to promote a circular and inclusive economy by creating short circuits that benefit consumers and producers, and to develop a Greentech for scaling up agroecology in Africa. Premium Hortus is an online platform, which enables consumers to access their online shop and purchase fresh, organic produce. They offer more than 60 varieties of local exotic vegetables and fruits to be delivered to their restaurant or home. Premium Hortus currently delivers to 700 local hotels, restaurants and households, using new logistics, customized biodegradable packaging, and green transport. This is one of the best projects to be carried out in West Africa. Premium Hortus ensures security and speed of online payments by cryptocurrency and QR code for its customers, and the marketing of the final products of the farmers. Depending on the subscription (either no subscription, premium subscription or periodical subscription; low price variability accessible in all seasons), Premium Hortus guarantees relatively fixed costs. Furthermore, the company supports the consumers financially during hard times (weddings,

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birthdays, etc) by providing them with a credit assurance system (CALIM+). Food transfers and donations are also encouraged through the platform to limit waste. Hence, it is considered as a Zero Stock system. Before delivery, it automatically generates more than 40% of sales, with a 48% variable cost margin rate and an average cash-flow of € 58,339.Apart from the project, Premium Hortus also works for hand in hand with organic market gardener groups, such as the Réseau Africain des Ma-raîchers Eco Santé (African Eco-Health Market Gardeners Network, RAMES), which are located on the outskirts of Cotonou. Farmers of the RAMES network make their own fertilizer using chicken feces and compost manure. In addition, Premium Hortus guarantees access to biofertilizers through collaboration with a local start-up known as Biophyto. HORTUS AGRIBOOST provides technical support to farmers, in terms of management Technology (Biotechnology, CleanTech), - Starting (product introduction) and -Consulting (personal and practical advice, training for agro-ecological companies). The training help farmers in terms of ensuring the creation of new ‘agroecologists’ who can go out there and apply the various agroecology methods and access new markets on their own. Up-to-date, the program has trained more than 400 ‘green entrepreneurs’ and provided them with the tools necessary to implement agroecological methods. Premium Hortus has also worked with other organizations to organize seminars and summits, such as the International Seminar on SouthSouth Cooperation on Agroecology (March 2018) using the theme “Food Security, Agroecology and Resilient Seed Conservation in Africa”, and the sessions were attended by more than 21 producers who discussed and shared ideas on resilient peasant seeds, climate change, soil amendment and restoration, agroecology, and food security.

2.2.5 Innovative Aspects • •

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The platform limits waste through recycling (composting) and food transfer. Envisions an “organic visa card” and has set up a food assurance credit, which allows consumers to access healthy food during their financially difficult times. Empowers farmers by offering them support in green business management and by ensuring small variation in prices. Provides technical management and support for farmers through training.

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The first platform of urban agroecology in West Africa enables local short circuits.

2.2.6 Figures and Facts •

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Premium Hortus was recognized as “Innovation for Agroecology” by the FAO and Winner of the ICAF Award (Climate Initiatives) 2017 at COP23. Consistent access to more than 700 urban households subscribing to their agroecological products without food waste. By 2017, the online sales platform had 1,069 users. Access of more than 400 producers to certified natural, biofertilizers and bio-pesticides, made from local plants. More than 400 small farmers and green entrepreneurs have been trained in business management with technical support in agroecology and access to markets. The company currently employs 15 people.

2.2.7 Effectiveness, Impact and Outcome •

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Adoption of specific bio-fertilizers, certified and locally produced from weeds, replaces 8,000 kg/ha of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. 60% reduction of food waste for the subscribers, in particular in vegetables and fruits. More than 43 farms have improved living conditions, increased revenues, lower production costs, and good productivity (45% more). Creation of at least 500 sustainable jobs/year in rural farms comprising 70% are women and young people. Saving of 31% of direct energy on a total 3,088 Kwh / ha/year used for self-propelled in conventional agriculture, tractors irrigation, and transportation, for a total of 6,727 Kwh / year; Reduced about 47% greenhouse gases out of a total 1,681 kg/ha / year emitted by conventional agriculture. 200 youth trained in 2017 in Agriculture Business Plan and Modern Techniques of Fundraising (Biophyto, 2018).

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Preserves the health, biodiversity, soil, and water of more than 400,000 African house-holds. Farmers reduced their harvest loss by up to 50 %.

2.2.8 Outlook, Transferability, Scalability & Cost-Efficiency Premium Hortus managed to finance itself through low personal contributions during its creation. The business became profitable, sustainable and viable within 3 years, with overall costs of an estimated EUR 61,329 and an average turnover of EUR 138,114 (76,875 profit). The rate of profitability was at 15% by 2017. The company plans to have a minimum increase of 50% in performance by 2020, compared to 2017. They often seek support from partners such as the ISW (International Secretariat for Water), ICAF (Initiatives Climat Afrique Francophone), UN WOMEN, the Swiss Confederation, IFDD (Institute of Francophonie for Sustainable Development), and FAO. Premium Hortus is fundraising at least EUR 50,000 from investors as the business is in the expansion phase (implementation in Cameroon, Togo, and Morocco). They also seek advice to improve and knowledge sharing by other innovators to up-scale, as well as resources to expand. Premium Hortus can be able to replicate on a higher scale its practice, thanks to their technology in particular, such as collection and treatment of agro-ecological big data, Food Insurance Credit System, online payment solutions, e-commerce of healthy products, good management of food-free storage, emission measurement, pest management, and control of water through drip irrigation (FAO, 2018).

2.2.9 Interviewee Feedback Number of points: 22.5 out of 23 Summary: The interviewee provided a lot of information regarding all aspects of the practice, and comprehensive answers were satisfactory for all questions. Overall, only 0.5 points were lost. •

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Common but differentiated obligations - 2/2 – It works with terrain diagnostics and appropriate for the target area. Each consumer is allowed to come to the farm. There is less waste, no vulnerable party, and a lowering of costs for producers. Interrelationship, Integration - human rights, economic, environmental, social, and economic objectives - 3/3 –

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Primarily a resilience approach that protects the most vulnerable and integrates justice. Support for agroecology methods and producers throughout. The promotion of diversified and healthy diets is central and easily accessible for people to whom this would otherwise be impossible. Human security and governance 3/3 – Strategic operations and transparent internal governance system. The company is registered in the African Organisation of Intellectual Property. Code of conduct which gives sanctions to those who don’t abide by the regulations. All seeds do not create farmer dependence since they are selected with rigor. Access to information and Public participation - 3/3 – Participative approach links producers and consumers, and takes the needs of all parties into consideration. Information provided for all on commercial activities, quality, and price. Good links with researchers. A precautionary approach to the ecosystem, natura resources and human health - 2 / 2 Food security reinforced. The system of certification removes risk since it is based on a participative approach. Activities safeguard the health of biodiversity, ecosystem, the agricultural system, and human health. Eradication of poverty and equity - 4/4 – Addresses poverty through the reduction of waste and supporting access to healthy food. The distribution system supports and empowers producers. Producers also become less vulnerable. 200 jobs created yearly. Information for consumers on how food benefits them. There is assured security in payment. Local techniques and markets are the basis of all activities. Many young people and women involved. Sustainable use of resources – 5.5/6 – Valuation and preservation of natural resources through sustainable water management, organic practices, and soil conservation. All waste managed, reduced and reused. Crop rotation favorable for biodiversity, chase away pests rather than killing them. Circular economy techniques and use biomass to feed and support the entire agricultural system. 50% of expenses covered by subscriptions. Economically feasible and sustainable.

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2.3 BRAZIL – COMMUNITY ORGANIC WASTE MANAGEMENT AND URBAN AGRICULTURE “REVOLUTION OF THE BUCKETS” (2008) 2.3.1 In Brief The “Revolution of the Buckets” provides a new twist towards the way communities handle organic waste management in socially troubled areas such as Brazil and Florianópolis. With the training and cooperation of local people, this program is highly cost-effective and ensures a weekly collection of 8 tons of organic waste and allows its transformation into compost manure. This participative and decentralized waste management system has ensured food security and contributed to the production of nutritious food for participating families and produced 1,200 tons of organic manure so far, thanks to its promotion of urban agriculture (CEPAGRO, 2017). However, after receiving significant exposure in recent years, the growth of the project is limited because of insufficient funds, and it is being practiced by other organizations in other cities across Brazil.

2.3.2 About The Practice At A Glance Organization: Community group (Partnership between the University, the community and NGO CEPAGRO) Implemented in: Several communities: Santa Catarina (Brazil), Florianópolis, Monte Cristo Neighborhood, and Community Chico Mendes. Year: 2008 Beneficiaries: Urban farmers, local community Topic(s): Urban agriculture, waste

2.3.3 Problems Targeted / Context Waste is generally collected by large companies in large Brazilian cities and its treatment is one of the three largest urban expenditure items. In addition, waste is unnecessarily wasted instead of being reused in urban agriculture. Since 2016, projects promoting composting and urban agriculture (in schools for example) have been carried out in Florianopolis. However, frequent composting has led to the proliferation of rats and the multiplication of diseases. Consequently, two women from the community offered to explain selective sorting to the inhabitants while collecting waste, under the

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condition that they received funding to run the project. A small project was set up in 2018, thanks to the financial support of the NGO CEPAGRO. The project became successful and is being practiced all over Brazil. The communities being assisted live in peripheral areas of Florianópolis (where many families live in a situation of poverty), where migration is very intense. The project hence also addresses social issues. The program integrates young offenders and encourages community engagement, through its participatory and bottom-up approach, helping to curb the socio-environmental problems and offer effective solutions.

2.3.4 Key Features of the Solution The main goal of the practice is to ensure the support of urban agriculture and the recovery of organic waste for a better quality of life. It seeks to be an example of community and decentralized waste management systems, to generate work and income, to promote community articulation and capacity building, urban agriculture, and environmental education and awareness. It also seeks to reduce the number of rats. The adopted methodology is based on the participation of local agents and the result of 10-years of practice. Meetings and workshops organized at the community level create an identity around waste recycling and provide technical training for local people that can be extended to a neighborhood scale. Buckets with a lid to separate the organic waste were given to 150 participating families in each street of Nossa Senhora da Glória and Chico Mendes (the buckets are sealed to avoid contact with vectors). The families then take the buckets back to one of the 38 Voluntary Delivery Points (VDPs) when they get filled. The VDPs place with containers distributed throughout the community. Four community agents are assigned the task of collecting organic waste using a wheelbarrow that is specially designated for collecting the containers. The collection of organic waste from VDPs takes place twice a week (Rota Verbum, 2018). The buckets are then brought to a composting yard after the collection and composted according to the method of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). Waste is mixed with straw and sawdust and placed in static lines. This process gives the waste enough time to decompose within a period of 4 months. The buckets are then returned back to the VDPs once they have been emptied. The compost is then transformed into organic fertilizer, which is used to grow plants and herbs at the headquarters in the América Dutra Machado School and other urban gardens. It is partly given

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to the members of the community for urban agriculture and is partly sold, to partially fund the activities of the Bucket Revolution. The community group, which is a partnership between the University, the community, and NGO CEPAGRO are considered as the main stakeholders of the project.

2.3.5 Innovative Aspects • • • •

A participative and decentralized approach to waste treatment. Promotion of social cohesion and integration through community management of waste. Engaging the public in the circular economy. Promoting self-confidence, empowering the community, and autonomy of locals.

2.3.6 Facts and Figures •

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The 30,000 inhabitants of Monte Cristo with 40 VDPs, indirectly installed 4 school gardens and community space, the production of 3 tons fertilizer that supply the need of 25 yards, and the monthly collection of 10 tons of organic waste. Reduction of the number of diseases and rats, thanks to the collection of buckets. 1,600 beneficiaries: 500 people from four neighborhood institutions for children; plus 500 people from four school units (schools and daycare centers); and 150 (i.e. 600 people) families directly benefitting from the organic collection of waste.

2.3.7 Outcome, Impact & Effectiveness • • •

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Today, urban agriculture is being continually promoted, the streets are cleaner and the number of diseases has decreased. There is an improvement of health and safety in the neighborhood, thanks to the less contact with rats that are often attracted. The program managed to integrate 30 young offenders within a period of 10 years, and worked to raise awareness to the process of composting and planting gardens. 5.6 tonnes of organic waste are recycled every month. Reuse of organic waste through transforming and composting a

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problem into a solution for urban agriculture and agro-ecology; 1,200 tons of organic waste already transformed into manure, producing medicinal plants and organic food.

2.3.8 Outlook, Transferability, Scalability & Cost-Efficiency The costs of implementation of the practice are 104,150 reals (24,131 €) for 100 families during one year, including administration, interns and technicians expenses of the composting yards, and material and salary for community agents. The growth of the project is limited because of the lack of support of the government, remuneration and lack of infrastructure and also because of the large waste industry in Brazil. All these are in accordance with the nomination. Despite all these, the practice is spreading all over Brazil: is now replicated by the Banco do Brazil Foundation in 4 Brazilian cities; won the national second place in social technology award of Banco do Brazil Foundation in 2013; it inspired the Brazilian National Solid Waste Policy; the city of São Paulo introduced the project of decentralized composting yards to treat waste from food markets and fairs; and the SECS Network of Santa Catarina replicated the projects in three hotels of the Florianopolis state (De Abreu, Marcos José, 2013). The state could fund the work of Revolution of the Bucket since ½ of the waste is organic and the transportation cost of waste in a municipality are one of the main items of expenditure (136 reals per ton or 43 dollars) The movement would need a composting yard in the Ecoparque model (installation of environmental education, orchards and vegetable gardens), and an agreement with the government to set up a landfill diversion service and payment for environmental service programs. Technology would play a big part when it comes to improving the process of composting the waste, the transportation of the waste, the sifting and processing of the compost manure ready to be sold. It would also help in accessing markets for the products in networks, stores and fairs.

2.3.9 Interviewee Feedback Number of points: 20.5 out of 23 Summary: The interviewee provided a lot of comprehensive and vital information regarding the project, the problems it sought to solve and the

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benefits it already seems to be witnessing on socio-environmental welfare in the target areas. Generally, the practice scored very well across all of the seven Future Justice Principles, although it lost some half points due to lack of direct action on some points, however, these were due to limited project scope and not due to any shortcomings. •

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Interrelationship, Integration - human rights, environmental, economic and social objectives - 2.5 /3 – These principles motivate the entire revolution. Positive effect on food diversity (indirectly contributing 0.5). The practice provides environmental services for the society and permits people (who otherwise wouldn’t) to get access to sufficient food and organic fertilizer. Human security and governance 3/3 – Dialogues and structures in place to ensure and increase transparency. Monitoring and social control ensure no corruption. Access to information and public participation - 3/3 – All created and run together with the public. Horizontal exchange, knowledge co-creation and information sharing are central. A precautionary approach to the ecosystem, natural resources and human health - 2 / 2 – Promotes agro-ecological technology. Social technology developed together with the community (who has decision power). No use of chemicals. Eradication of poverty and Equity - 3.5/4 – A social technology that relies on the efforts and co-operation of the community to better the lives of all. It works mainly and closely with women and young people, and it is one of the leading roles for black women. Promotes local solutions and a circular economy. Local markets indirectly enabled through the vegetable sale and subsequent sale of compost (Farias, Eduardo, 2010). Sustainable use of resources – 4.5/6 – Optimization and recycling of resources are key factors considered during operations. Promotes diversity through more gardens (there is no real focus on integrating animals or agroforestry 0.5). Reduction of rats or pests through the removal of wastes from gardens or streets. Soil fertility and self-regulation supported. Little focus on synergies in food systems, but definitely contributes to the circular economy (0.5). Financial sustainability – mostly survives

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with money from specific projects, awards received public calls and through the sale of compost.

2.4 CAMEROON – PARTICIPATORY DOMESTICATION OF INDIGENOUS TREES FOR THE DELIVERY OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL AGRICULTURE BY AGROFORESTRY (1994) 2.4.1 In Brief The project “Participatory Domestication of Indigenous Trees for the Delivery of Multifunctional Agriculture by Agroforestry” was created to eliminate social deprivation and land degradation by helping farmers to put agroforestry techniques into action. Knowledge exchange and capacity building among farmers are encouraged in Rural Resource Centers (RRC). Livelihood diversification through the creation of new-local microenterprises is encouraged, as well as private institutions, governments and NGOs. RRCs offer farmers links to networks, interactive learning, access to knowledge and activities, including training in nursery development, entrepreneurship, group dynamics, seed and seedling production, tree propagation, post-harvest processing, storage and marketing. In Cameroon, local partners and the research institute World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) have worked closely with the community to serve over 10,000 households, host 150 nurseries, and open 10 RRCs, however, activities there stopped 6 years ago in 2012 due to lack of funds. 4 million trees of 25 species were planted and 14 RRCs were established in Mali between 2016 and 2017, and it engaged 178 schools, 38 women’s co-operatives (25,000 women) and 80,000 farmers in 183 villages on 23,000 ha.

2.4.2 About The Practice At A Glance Organization: World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF, International Agricultural Research Institute, part of CGIAR) with NGOs, CBOs and local communities Implemented in: Cameroon / Mali Year: 1994/2016 Beneficiaries: Local communities, especially women and youth

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Topic(s): Agroforestry, Cameroon, Production, Africa

2.4.3 Problems Targeted / Context The project addresses injustice, unemployment, climate change and environmental degradation, social deprivation, loss of biodiversity, ecological dysfunction above and below ground, poverty, soil infertility, food insecurity, and malnutrition and thus converts the trade-offs usually considered to be an inevitable consequence of modern conventional agriculture into ‘trade-ons’. It started by asking farmers the changes they would wish to see in agriculture and this developed into a self-help approach among the grassroots farmers to the participatory domestication of nut trees and the highly nutritious indigenous fruit which are culturally and traditionally important and local foods that are locally marketed. It is developed based on the ICRAF research in Cameroon from 1994 to 2009 and development projects implemented by partners and ICRAF from 2000 until today (Leakey, R.R.B. and Asaah, E.K., 2013), Underutilized Species as the Backbone of Multifunctional Agriculture – The Next Wave of Crop Domestication). Through word of mouth local dissemination, the project grew from 10 farmers in 2 villages to more than 10,000 farmers in 500 villages. It also developed by creating Rural Resource Centres for community capacity building across many relevant skills. One of the communities won a UNDP Equator Prize in 2010. In order to restore soil fertility and agroecological functions, a 3-step generic model was developed to reverse the cycle of social deprivation and land degradation, and hence it helped to create new local micro-enterprises in the rural economy and also to fill the yield gap in common staple food production. This led to alternative livelihoods and further income generation. This approach is defined as applied agroecology since it involves delivering multifunctional agriculture through agroforestry.

2.4.4 Key Features of the Solution The main objectives and goals of the project are to address social inequity, malnutrition, extreme poverty, and food insecurity, through capacity building in appropriate and affordable approaches in subsistence or smallholder farmer communities, using low technologies based on income generation together with agro-ecological approaches.

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Figure 2.1: Sheep grazing on farmland; encouraging agroecological approach on farmland.

Rural Resource Centers (RRCs) use a bottom-up approach, providing skills and knowledge about agroecology to communities and farmers, and enabling them to improve their productivity and living conditions. In addition, the centers create a platform that links local farmers to governments and local NGOs, and with resources, storage, inputs and post-harvest processing and marketing. Agricultural produce markets and the suppliers are considered as one of the fundamental principles, to help them acquire technologies and knowledge. Capacity strengthening activities supported by the centers include training in tree propagation, seed and seedling production, nursery development, entrepreneurship, and group dynamics. All these require farmers to commit their own effort and time without payment. This in-kind, self-help approach has been extremely effective because it builds on the farmers’ own experience and interests. Plant nurseries (and subsequent knowledge transfer) and RRCs provide farmers with knowledge and strengthen their capacities to combine agro-ecology together with basic horticultural techniques. They learn to domesticate and identify the most useful trees from the local forest area (e.g. for selling on the market, medicine, personal consumption), whilst simultaneously bringing benefits to the natural systems in terms of biodiversity and soil fertility. Hence, the established centers serve as a hub for learning new farming techniques and enable the best practices to spread efficiently and quickly (Leakey, 2017). Some centers have special features, for example, in climate-smart agriculture, cacao production (drying material, post-harvest techniques) or

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soil fertility technologies. The relationship between RRCs varies at farm level depending on the type of regions and farms. The RRC supports the farmer in the setting up an orchard where land is available for trees to be planted, and they are integrated with normal farming systems (small farmers tend to plant 20-50-100 trees). ICRAF works hereon with NGOs/CBOs and other partners to oversee the works and implementation hereon with CBOs or NGOs together with local communities and other partners in Rural Resource Centers. Besides the word of mouth, community-based organizations are the main reason behind the successful dissemination of agroforestry practices.

2.4.5 Innovative Aspects • • • • • •

It creates a balanced and functioning ecosystem and recycles natural resources in a way that rehabilitates degraded land. Diversifies farming systems with culturally important indigenous food tree species Uses a holistic and integrated approach to rural development Empowers farmers through a self-help bottom-up approach, including youth and women It has led to improvements in local infrastructure (storage facilities, etc.). It is a low-cost project based on community-based local incentives and appropriate technologies.

2.4.6 Figures and Facts • •

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Over 1.6 million trees planted. The tree Products and Agricultural Program launched in NorthWest and West Cameroon is working hand in hand with more than 485 communities, 50 entrepreneurs and 10,000 farmers. 10 RRCs got established in Cameroon, serving over 10,000 households and hosting 150 nurseries. In 2010, one of the communities won a UNDP Equator Prize. 40 nurseries got established, where farmers studied tree propagation techniques and the trees were disseminated among farmers.

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2.4.7 Outcome, Impact & Effectiveness • •

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Led to the improvement of local infrastructures Empowerment of women and youth – it is largely youth and women who go-ahead to offer the extra products for trade. Research has also shown that this is occasionally used to carry out educative activities. Local entrepreneurs (mainly women) generated $1,000’s through trade of farm-grown tree products and post-harvest processing; Likewise, average income of participating communities rose from almost nothing to over $26,000; Indeed when the fruit trees are grown together with the cash crops, farmers’ incomes can improve by USD 500 per hectare from the additional sale of fruit. Self-sustaining of local communities and improvement of food security.

2.4.8 Outlook, Transferability, Scalability & Cost-efficiency The main costs can be derived from the development of community-based RRCs, which cost between one to 20 million in more dangerous and driest areas (e.g. Sahel). The infrastructure costs are minimal and are minimal and are sometimes hosted in existing buildings. Likewise, that means that the opening costs are very minimal considering the focus on appropriate low technology means. The vegetative propagation does not require electricity or piped water. The practice stopped six years ago due to insufficient funds and after being in existence in Cameroon for 18 years. However, these activities are still being practiced by communities across the country. Over 50 indigenous food trees species are included in domestication programs worldwide after being inspired by the Cameroon experience (PyeSmith C., 2010). Hence, this shows the scalability and the replicability of the practice. The funding for Rural Resource Centres and political will are the main constraints that prevent the implementation of these projects. 14 RRCs were established in 183 villages in Mali and it engaged 80,000 farmers who participated in the program in 2016 to 2017. The practice needs funding for capacity-building at the community level, i.e. salaries and operating costs, training of CBO/NGO trainers, and availability of technical expertise in horticultural activities such as vegetative propagation of trees.

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However, there is often a lack of income to support sophisticated techniques and a very poor level of education since the activities are implemented and led by local community members. It is also little or no relevance regarding high tech approaches.

2.4.9 Interviewee Feedback Number of points: 22 out of 23 Summary: The interviewee provided relevant information in regards to the project, showing how it started small and later expanded across the country and finally in other countries across Africa. Although the project scored very well in various principles, it only lost twice with 0.5 marks. 1

Common but differentiated obligations – 2/2 – Easily adapted to the region because it uses locally available species and resources desired by the local population. There is no burden for any party since it is all voluntary work. 2 Interrelationship, Integration – environmental, economic, social and human rights objectives – 3/3 – Environmental benefits and social justice are incorporated throughout the project. Encourages tree planting and values natural resources. Ensured job creation and diversification of income resources. Diversifies diets. 3 Human security and governance - 3/3 – No unethical conduct. There is no worry about corruption when it comes to tree domestication. It has championed accessibility and transparency for all and has also signed some conventions. It encourages farmers to protect genetic resources. 4 Access to information and public participation – 3/3 – Bottom-up approach with the public research organization and public sectors. Everything is in the public domain and is open to everyone. There is a lot of work that engages Universities in Cameroon. Lots of local knowledge throughout Cameroon. The co-creation of knowledge depends on the co-ordination with RRC. 5 A precautionary approach to the ecosystem, natural resources and human health – 2/2 – There is no GMO and tree domestication doesn’t encourage chemicals. Try to avoid monoculture since they believe it is a risk that may drive all

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farmers to go for one specific crop. Eradication of poverty and equity – 3.5/4 – There is a bottom-up approach that seeks to ensure equity and social justice. Techniques are easy to learn and understand because responsibility is given to the farmers. It’s often run by young people who fill the job gaps available in the local areas through RRC. The women are empowered and given the title of seed keepers. Promotes some research on markets and local solutions, but not too extensive hereon (0.5 marks). Sustainable use of resources – 5.5/6 – Champions regeneration of natural resources by promoting indigenous tree species. Recycles nutrients from the soil and promotes diversity by spreading various local trees. Economic sustainability is fair, however, relies on external funding (0.5).

2.5 CHINA – SHARED HARVEST AND RURAL REGENERATION (2009) 2.5.1 In Brief Dr. Shi Yan has been implementing Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in China since 2008. She did this after popularizing the term as part of her Ph.D. research. CSA is a socio-economic model of agriculture that is community-owned. It is a system of delivery that has been collecting and delivering locally produced and organic food to more than 600 families in Beijing. Operations are based on ‘Shared Harvest’ farm, where farmers and livein ‘interns’ are also trained in CSA methods. After 2008, a surge of 1,000 farms has converted to CSA methods and continue to grow despite policy barriers. In Bei-jing, Dr. Yan has created a CSA education center and hosted in 2015 the 6th International CSA Symposium in China. Organization: China CSA Network (NGO), Shared Harvest Farm (Social enterprise) Implemented in: Shunyi district, Beijing (China) Year: 2009, 2012 Beneficiaries: Smallholders

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Topic(s): Community Supported Agriculture, Consumption, Production, Distribution

2.5.2 Context/Problems Targeted The practice aims to fight against conventional and modern agriculture, as implemented in China since the seventies, which is responsible for soil degradation and air pollution (through the use of pesticides and fertilizers). Agricultural modernization since the economic opening of China has left its contemporary farmers atomized and weak and the very old and very young are the only ones remaining, hence the village life has been ‘hollowed out’. Even the government has made supportive moves towards promoting modern, industrial agriculture through ecological farming. This practice advocates for a biological and sustainable agriculture through supporting youth training, smallholders, social justice and food safety. The concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) was established in China by a young academic known as Dr. Shi Yan. After working in the Earthrise Farm, a small CSA in Western Minnesota, she went ahead to become a farmer. Shi Yan builds her first CSA in China, in 2008, an organic Little Donkey Farm, in a village northwest of Beijing. China’s CSA network was launched in 2009. After 5 years of development, Shared Harvest started as an initiative to offer urban people safer food and train farmers, especially young people to get familiarized with CSA methods and sustainable agriculture. The project was initiated in 2012 and got support from Tsinghua University and Renmin University of China. As a result, an ambitious and hardworking movement for community supported agriculture got launched.

2.5.3 Key Features of the Solution The main goal of Shared Harvest is to promote sustainable rural development, serve agricultural producers and consumers, and also promote a healthy lifestyle. Sincere community, real farmers, real food is committed to building a bridge of trust, allowing consumers to enjoy safe and nutritious food, so that farmers get a reasonable and fair income while promoting the development and construction of safe food community (FAO, 2016), Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition). Shared Harvest is a public-interested, service-oriented social enterprise started by a group of young people, under the leadership of Dr. Shi Yan, in

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Mafang Village of Eastern Bei-jing in May 2012. They adopt CommunitySupported-Agriculture (CSA) model to cooperate with local farmers in Beijing producing local, seasonal and organically-grown veggies and other food products. They invite urban citizens to become members connecting with the people who grow the food for them, getting back to the earth and nature. In 2013, they developed their production scale from one to two farms, located in Tongzhou and Shunyi District. They also expanded their products to farmer’s markets, local restaurants, schools, and organizations interested in purchasing directly from us. Shared Harvest currently includes the following aspects: It promotes the concept and the practice of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), a socio-economic model of agriculture and food production. It consists of a community of individuals who pledge to support a farming operation, in effect making the farmland community-owned. Growers and producers provide mutual support and share the risk of food production. Members/ supporters pay a fee and then receive a share of the produce (Charles Dan, 2011), How Community Supported Agriculture Sprouted in China).

Figure 2.2: Women harvesting vegetables in Shanggula village, Guangxi province, China. Source: https://www.iied.org/nurturing-shoots-chinas-sustainable-agriculture

The CSA usually operates according to a system of weekly delivery and collection of boxes of fruit and vegetables, dairy products or meat. In this context, people receive 200kg of vegetables per year. The consumers of Shared Harvest are either buyers who purchase her organic products every week or self-farming customers, who cultivate crops on 30 square meters of

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rented land. Both groups sign contracts with the farm and pay certain costs in advance. Shared Harvest supports sustainable and organic agriculture. It believes in small-scale agriculture, in recycling and in other practices that have been used in China over centuries before the industrialization of agriculture. It trains returning consumers and “new farmers” – the name for (young) agricultural converts to the CSA methods. Dr. Shi Yan is actively involved in the National Steering Committee of Agricultural Vocational training, a training that supports new agriculture, which works with technology and modern business philosophy. In order to learn about crop sharing, cultivation methods and farm management, 5 to 10 “new farmers” become interns at a farm for at least 8 months and receive a small stipend in addition to room and board. Short term volunteers are also welcomed. In addition, Shared Harvest and Good Farm APP Cooperation Organization teach CSA agriculture to new farmers. The practice also advocates for healthy eating and food education in schools. Sharing crop orchards aim to connect youth to agriculture and to learn about crop sharing. The program cooperates with 8 schools and universities. Over 60 categories of vegetables are shared annually and distributed to consumers. Distribution and production depend on the principle of local, organic production standards. Produce is not certified organic (as due to new standards introduced in 2013, requiring each crop to be certified separately, certification would cost CNY150,000 per year or €19,164). Biological agents are used for the prevention and treatment of soils, plants and pests instead of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. To facilitate the transition of conventional farmers to biological agriculture, they sometimes authorize the use of a small amount of pesticides (transparent records for consumers). Currently, the common harvest is distributed to 1,000 families. An internet platform & app was created for CSA farms in order to exchange information and to recruit new members. The platform & app reduced the farmer’s labor costs since the number of service representatives was reduced from 3 to 1. The program also provides organic farm consulting and supports social activities related to ecology, environmental protection, education and advocates for a simple lifestyle. Recently Beijing local government has begun to support ecological farming. For example, if you use organic fertilizer, they will subsidize 70%. Shared Harvest also uses biogas supported by the local government.

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2.5.4 Innovative Aspects •

A holistic approach, promoting social, economic and environmental sustainability. • Innovates concepts of ecology and environmental protection, agricultural technology, organizational form, publicity and education. • Builds a “food community”, using the PGS approach, based on guided peer review and support, as well as mutual knowledge building. Promotes short circuits, by linking directly producers and consumers, and by creating awareness on food production and organic agriculture.

2.5.5 Facts & Figures •

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By 2017, Shared Harvest owns 60 mu of vegetable planting base and 110 mu of forestland breeding base in Mafang Village, Xiji Town, Tongzhou District, has 50 mu in Long-wanyu Town, Shunyi District, a 230-mu vegetable planting/fruit tree base and a 60-mu rice planting base in Wuchang, Heilongjiang. It currently has 1,000 CSA members and 50 employees (producers, food service and traders). Its consumer base comprises 800 members from Beijing who subscribe and pay in advance to shield farmers from instability. A growing number of ‘group buyers’ (300 in 2016), who collectively order goods for weekly pickup at 5 locations in Beijing. The total running expenses for 20 working weeks on the farm are 2,000 to 2,500 yuan ($293 to $366). The farm guarantees each contractor at least 200 kilograms of fresh organic food. According to the nomination, in the past 10 years, 50,000 people have been trained/informed each year about CSA, 20% of them are smallholders and the rest is the public. 200 training sessions were organized and Dr. Yan provided 500 services as an advisor. The “Have Seed, Have Courage Initiative” involved more than 1 million people.

2.5.6 Outcome, Impact & Effectiveness •

Dr. Yan’s CSA techniques have (since 2008) spread to 1,000 Chinese farms, which have converted to CSA methods, equaling

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•

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500,000mu (33,334 ha) of chemical and pesticide-free land. Farmers at Shared Harvest earn 3,000 to 4,000 Yuan (USD 370630) a month, which is comparable to workers in second or thirdtier cities employed in basic white-collar work. According to the nomination, it reduced the use of 2,500 thousand tons of synthetic pesticides; stopped pesticide use by 240,000 liters, and reduced industrial-sized pro-cessing of animal waste by 25,000 thousand cubic meters. Furthermore, by bringing the CSA model to Chinese farmers, it has transformed the lives for over 100,000 farmers who are part of the CSA farms by increasing family incomes. Since the introduction of CSA farms in China, over 500,000 families are now sourcing their food directly from organically grown farms.

2.5.7 Outlook, Transferability, Scalability & Cost-Efficiency The cost of implementation of the practice encompasses land cost, production cost, infrastructure input labor cost, qualified consultant cost, accommodation and transportation cost, etc. The farms are funded through a group of consumers and farmers (not much investment is needed). The total running expenses for 20 working weeks on the farm is 2000 to 2500 Yuan ($292.8 to $366). The CSA concept is already replicated all over China. Up-scaling the practice would require food education and technical support, training and supportive policies. Integrated technology systems (production, customers’ service, agroecology practice, etc.) would help make huge improvements.

2.5.8 Interviewee Feedback Number of points: 23 out of 23 Summary: The interviewee provided a good insight into the development of Shared Harvest, its values, methods and training schemes, as well as interactions with customers in the city. CHINA: All questions Shared were asked well and Rural inno ar Regeneration aweren ypoints(2009) deducted - full marks throughout. 1

(Sustainable use of resources) – 6/6 – Optimizes use of natural resources through animal-sourced fertilizer, compost and biogas use. On the soil level, big changes have been noticed in terms

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of the number of worms. Diversity is a focus of activities, noted an increase in wild animals around. The project has been selffinancing since the beginning – last year’s income was around $1.5 million with a profit of 10%, used to build a new greenhouse, to start new projects. 2 (Equity and eradication of poverty) - 4/4 – Poverty is key, aims to make consumers and farmers equal so that consumers contribute to good livelihood. It creates jobs for youths through internships and more women on the farm than men. Reaches local consumers and markets. 3 (Precautionary approach to human health, natural resources and ecosystems) - 2 / 2 – Organic farming is fundamental for human health – healthy soil, environment and food. 4 (Public participation and access to information) - 3/3 – Spreads awareness regarding where food comes from through social media and practical training programs. Extensive work with farmers’ cooperatives, NGOs, embassies, schools and universities. A lot of knowledge exchange between farmers. 5 (Governance and human security) 3/3 – Established a consumers’ core group. Annual meeting of stakeholders, all things are transparent, simple structure with no room for corruption. Farmers get trained up as sustainable managers of their own natural resources. 6 (Integration, interrelationship- human rights, social, economic and environmental objectives) - 3/3 – Socioeconomic and environmental integration is at heart. Healthy soil, food and people. A good relationship with people has developed because of this. Promotes a healthy diet and re-connection to nature, which has been lost through city life. 7 (Common but differentiated obligations) - 2/2 – CSA is a global concept, has been replicated throughout the world, but here it is specifically implemented for a Chinese context.

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African Biodiversity Network (2013), Seeds for Life Report: https:// africanbiodiversity.org/ seeds-for-life-scaling-up-agrobiodiversity/ 2. African Biodiversity Network, Report: Celebrating African Rural Women: Custodians of Seed, Food and Traditional Knowledge for Climate Change Resilience: https://www.gaiafoundation.org/ postlibrary/celebrating-african-rural-women/ 3. Naturinda. Women Vital for Food Security in NAPE.or.ug: http://www. nape.or.ug/project-news/ pnews/153-women-vital-for-food-security 4. Ngotho (2015), Tharaka women strive to bring back indigenous seeds in The Star.co.ke: https:// www.the-star.co.ke/news/2015/09/01/ tharaka-women-strive-to-bring-back-indigenous-seeds_ c1194189 5. Lush Award (2018), Lush Spring Prize 2018 Influence Award Winner: African Biodiversity Network: https://uk.lush.com/article/lush-springprize-2018-influence-award-winner-african-biodiversity-network and Video: https://vimeo.com/269225541 6. African Biodiversity Network, films - Kamburu film: https://vimeo. com/7096771; Seeds of Free7. Dom film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-bK8X2s1kI; and Seeds of Sovereignty film: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=9GLYIw_QdjQ 8. FAO (2018), Benin Innovations in Agroecology. Premium Hortus: http://www.fao.org/3/ BU696EN/bu696en.pdf 9. 100 Projects for the Climate: Project Page Premium Hortus: http://100projetspourlecli-mat.gouv.fr/en/projects/616-premiumhortus 10. DUHEM Vincent (2015), „Bénin: des jardins maraîchers au coeur des villes“, In Jeune Afrique: http://www.jeuneafrique.com/228658/ economie/benin-des-jardins-maraichers-au-coeur-des-villes/ 11. Biophyto (2018): http://biophyto-benin.com/Global Green Growth Institute (2018), “Use ICTs for Scaling up agroecology to achieve the SDGs: PREMIUM HORTUS, the African greentech for Agroecology in implementation in Morocco”, In: IPS news: http://www. ipsnews. net/2018/09/use-icts-scaling-agroecology-achieve-sdgs-premiumhortus-afri-can-greentech-agroecology-implementation-morocco/ 12. JACKSON Tom (2018), “23 African startups finalsits of Pitch AgriHack”, In Disrupt Africa: http://disrupt-africa.com/2018/07/23-

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african-startups-finalists-of-pitch-agrihack/ Jeunes Entrepreneurs Verts (2018), Johannes Elvice Goudjanou : http://www.jeunes-entrepreneurs-verts.org/Annuaire-des-Jeunes-Entrepreneurs-Verts/ Johannes-Elvice-GOUD-JANOU?uri=%2FAnnuaire-des-JeunesEntrepreneurs-Verts Presentation Premium Hortus. The African Greentech (2018): https:// drive.google.com/ file/d/1yatL_nN2j76LdC7S0VY3eO-pT6xsMlo8/ view Theau Benoit (2018), Premium Hortus Benin, video: https://vimeo. com/241588385 FAO (2018), 2nd FAO Symposium on Agroecology in Rome. Exhibition Report and Debate: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1bbvahs9twa23aj/ Rapport%20d%27Exposition%20et%20 D%C3%A9bat%20 INNOVATION%20FOR%20AGROECOLOGY%2C%202nd%20 Symp%20 FAO.pdf?dl=0 The International Forum Youth Entrepreneurship Green in Marrakech (FORUM JEV, 2018), Report: http://www.jeunes-entrepreneursverts.org/Le-Forum/Restitutions Some further video links: https:// vimeo.com/241588385f ; https://youtu.be/w9_3TLzO-eNQ; https:// youtu.be/IrHyeZDTjak ; https://youtu.be/IrHyeZDTjak; https://youtu. be/ MBSK5UeeK4Y; https://youtu.be/vHoV5NBDYOo; https:// youtu.be/rvOO8jPlruc; www. initiativesclimat.org; https://youtu.be/ ZvKn4bLVLGg ; https://solarimpulse.com/compa-nies/premiumhortus CEPAGRO website: https://cepagroagroecologia.wordpress.com CEPAGRO (2017), Revolução Dos Baldinhos: Gestão Comunitária de Resíduos Orgânicos e Agricultura Urbana, Video: https://www. youtube.com/watch?time_continue=603&v=wJwTJ4CyDBc CEPAGRO (2017), Agricultura Urbana: Diagnóstico e Educação Ambiental na Comunidade da Praia das Areias do Campeche – Florianópolis (SC): https://www.slideshare.net/Cepagro/agri-culturaurbana-diagnstico-e-educao-ambiental-na-comunidade-da-praia-dasareias-do-campe-che-florianpolis-sc CEPAGRO (2016), Manual Revoluço dos Baldinhos – A Tecnologia Social da Gestao Comunitaria de Residuos Organicos e Agricultura Urbana: https://www.slideshare.net/Cepagro/cartilha-revolucao-dosbaldinhos-a-tecnologia-social-da-ge-stao-comunitaria-de-residuosorganicos-e-agricultura-urbana

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21. CEPAGRO (2016), 2ª TS CEPAGRO – Revolução dos Baldinhos, Video: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=z1Sd8uYKnCQ&frags=p l%2Cwn 22. De Abreu, Marcos José (2013), Gestão comunitária de residuos orgánicos: o caso do Projeto Revolução dos Baladinhos (PRB), Capital Social e Agricultura Urbana ( Master’s Thesis of Co-Founder): https:// repositorio.ufsc.br/bitstream/handle/123456789/107404/320464. pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y 23. Farias, Eduardo (2010), Revolução dos Baldinhos: Un modelo de gestão comunitáia de residuos orgánicos que promove a agricultura urbana (Thesis of Student at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina): http://tcc.bu.ufsc.br/CCATCCs/agronomia/ragr80.pdf 24. Rota Verbum (2018), The bucket revolution - Interview with Marquito, Video: https://www.you-tube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=sVgry_ T3lF8 Peixto Clarissa (2016), Bucket Revolution. A Florianópolis community becomes a model of community waste management, Believe Earth: https://believe.earth/en/bucket-revolution/ 25. World Agroforestry Center, Rural Advisory Service: What works. A synthesis on innovative ap-proaches for benefiting empowering farmers: http://www.worldagroforestry.org/downloads/Pu-blications/ PDFS/BR15010.pdf 26. Leakey (2017), Multifunctional Agriculture. Achieving Sustainable Development in Africa. Acade-mic Press: London, 468 pages: https:// bit.ly/2ClfvNA 27. Leakey, R.R.B. and Asaah, E.K. (2013), Underutilised Species as the Backbone of Multifunctional Agriculture – The Next Wave of Crop Domestication. Acta Horticulturae 979: 293-310: https://bit.ly/2POid1s 28. Leakey, R.R.B. (2014), The role of trees in agroecology and sustainable agriculture in the tropics. Annual Review of Phytopathology 52: 113133: https://permaculturenews. org/files/The_Role_of_Trees_in_ Agroecology_and_Sustainable_Agriculture_in_the_Trop-ics.pdf 29. Leakey, R.R.B. (CABI, 2012), Living with the Trees of Life – Towards the Transformation of Tropical Agriculture: https://bit.ly/2ErPs8O 30. Further publications available on: www.rogerleakey.com 31. Pye-Smith C. (2010): A Window on a Better World. An innovative agroforestry develop32. ment programme is transforming lives and landscapes in rural

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34.

35. 36. 37. 38. 39.

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Cameroon. In: ICRAF Trees for Change no. 5. Nairobi: World Agroforestry Centre: http://www.worldagrofo-restry.org/downloads/ Publications/PDFS/B16612.pdf Oakland Institute (2011), The Agricultural and Tree Products Program in Cameroon, http://afsafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ Agroforestry_Cameroon.pdf FAO (2016), Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition. Proceedings of the International Sym-posium on Agroecology in China, page 61-66: http://www.fao.org/3/CA0153EN/ca0153en.pdf Charles Dan (2011), „How Community Supported Agriculture Sprouted In China“, in: National Public Radio Inc.: https://www.npr.org/ sections/thesalt/2011/09/24/140670551/how-communi-ty-supportedagriculture-sprouted-in-china?t=1536571656731. Lu Yang (2009), „Shi Yan and Her „Little Donkey“ Green Farm - All China Women‘s Federation“, in Women of China: http://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/ html1/people/ever-yday/10/2667-1.htm Van Diggelen (2015), “BBC Dialogues: China’s Organic Farming Pioneer, Shi Yan“ in Fresh Dialogues: https://www.freshdialogues.com/2015/07/14/bbcdialogues-chinas-organic-farming-pioneer-shi-yan/ Yu Katrina (2015), „Meet the woman leading China‘s new organic farming army“, in Alja-zeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/ features/2015/11/woman-leading-china-or-ganic-farming-armybeijing-151123140338900.html

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CONTENTS 3.1 Introduction........................................................................................ 52 3.2 Cross-Cutting Trends, Narratives And Processes In Developing Countries..................................................................... 54 3.3 Leading Narratives.............................................................................. 58 3.4 Asia.................................................................................................... 60 3.5 Latin America..................................................................................... 67 3.6 Gender And Agricultural Development In Climate Change................. 72 References................................................................................................ 86

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The perspective of agriculture has changed over the years. There has been a change in the trends, narratives and processes that influence agricultural transformation and rural development in developing countries. This chapter focuses on these trends, narratives and processes. The role of gender in agricultural transformation and climate change is also looked at. It highlights the need to incorporate gender into developing strategies that enhance the adaptive capacity of the agricultural sector to climate changes and formulating policies that guide mitigation of climate changes. In addition, it looks at how the government and other political institutions interact with other farmers. Lastly, agricultural political economy is discussed with respect to agricultural policy making.

3.1 INTRODUCTION Governments in the developing countries largely concentrated on developing the manufacturing and service industries. For a long time, the agricultural sector was neglected despite the fact that more than seventy percent of the population in the countries was employed in the agricultural sectors. Though being home to a majority of the population, the rural areas lagged behind in the development processes. The two decades before 1980 saw an increase in interest in the agricultural sector in rural areas. This was due to the long-held idea that agriculture was the primary driver in rural development. The period after 1980 saw a decline in the rate of investment in the agricultural sector as policies mainly focused on the non-agricultural sectors to propel development in the rural areas. The growth of expenditure on agriculture was 2.3%; before growing to 4.3% in the 1990s and improving to 4.6% in the new millennium (Fan & Saurkar, 2008). The start of the new millennium has seen a re-emergence of agriculture as the primary driver in the development of rural areas. Governments are prioritizing agriculture to bring about structural change. There is an increase in the need to practice agriculture not only for food security but also as a business venture that contributes to the growth of both physical and social structures in rural areas. Researchers are working around the clock to increase the agricultural production realized from the farms. In the Maputo declaration of 2003, heads of states from African countries agreed that their spending on agriculture was extremely low and that they needed to increase the spending to at least ten percent. The Malabo declaration of 2006 saw the reaffirmation of the same. The proportion of public spending on agriculture still continues to lag behind. In Kenya, for

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example, the public spending on the agricultural sector has stalled between three and six percent (KBA, 2018). For most developing countries in Africa, this figure has averaged between 5.4 percent and 7.8 percent between 2000 and 2005; trailing not only the developed countries but also developing countries from other regions like Latin America (Akroyd & Smith, 2007). Although the governments are yet to hit their target of ten percent of their spending; this is an improvement from the previous years where public spending on agriculture went as low as two percent. Hence, governments and policymakers in the region are slowly but progressively changing their position on the role of agriculture in the development of rural areas. Small scale family farms are still part of a long-standing debate on matters development the predictions on the possible changes brought about by these small farms, when the urban and industrial sectors take the largest shares of any economic activity, agriculture in the developing world is dominated by family-oriented smallholdings. Debates continue as to what extent failing in marketing will force an acceptable cost to the public. There should be an increase in the provision of goods and services and a range of institutional innovations known to reduce the problem. International donors and organizations support the ideas by smallholders leading to an increase in food production through the use of better innovations addressing market failures. In the Asian continent, there should be support for smallholders with better public policy that facilitates access to farm extension, inputs, and financial products. Other areas, like in Latin America there is no such strong support for smallholders. In sub-Saharan Africa, governments get attracted to larger farm owners in a bid to boost productivity. On a wider scale, the agricultural and rural development landscape shows notable policies. The first one being governments being wary of market interventions making it impossible to resolve the failures in the rural market. The second policy lies in the rural-urban gap that relates to health and education. The existing gaps lead to the development of these services leading to notable improvements in welfare. The third effect is the widespread success of social protection. The last two cases do not directly address the underlying causes of poverty and exclusion. This then calls for innovative ideas and deeply rooted plans to tackle poverty and underdevelopment. International developments have brought back the political economy of agriculture and food policy to the agenda involving international trade and development agenda. The failure to agree on the World Trade Organization’s

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(WTO) deliberations brings the important role of political considerations and their role in agricultural policy. The employment decline in the agricultural sector and crop production in rich countries, agricultural policy is not proportional to the effort placed in negotiations. The failure of effective agricultural policies leads to a global food crisis. The absence of cultural policies in place to encourage investment and productivity in developing countries that are also used to taxes. Such crises lead to international tensions, such as putting trade embargos like banning exports and using the bans to restrain the movement of goods and services. The outcome in such a scenario will lead to affecting many households and individuals with endemic poverty. The tension between countries also escalates the food price increases made worse by rich countries that give farmers subsidies in the production of renewable energy resources. On the other hand, when farmers complain about the taxation of their products, governments would protect them by imposing import tariffs. Countries doing this model include the United States biofuel exporters claimed that their production, and thus farm incomes, were being taxed by import tariffs on biofuels designed to protect domestic agricultural interests, most notably in the United States and the European Union (EU). To illustrate this both in developing and developed countries, despite decades of arguments posed by respected scholars who argue against agricultural subsidies and tariffs is enough proof that politics dominate agricultural and trade policy-setting. To understand the situation in both developing and developed nations it is crucial to know the political aspect in a particular state. We can train our focus on relevant matters or developments in the study of the political economy of agriculture and food policies.

3.2 CROSS-CUTTING TRENDS, NARRATIVES AND PROCESSES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES The context of agriculture and rural development in developing countries has changed since the start of the new millennium. The circumstances that influence agricultural transformation today have changed. The debates and narratives have changed. The processes in agriculture and rural development have changed too. For other developing regions like Asia and Latin America, some of the trends, narratives, processes and perspectives have not changed since the 20th century.

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Then the following are some of the new trends that are driving the processes of agricultural transformation and structural change in the developing countries: •

•

•

There has been a tremendous change in the rates and extent of economic transformation in developing countries. The economy of China has grown so tremendously that the country is emerging as one of the main economic powers of the 21st century. Other countries like Ethiopia, registered an economic growth rate averaging between eight and ten percent per annum in the period between 2006 and 2016. Other developing countries in Africa that have been registering an impressive growth rate include Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Tanzania and Ghana (Focus economics, 2019). The increase in the countries’ economic growth has generated a new wave of investments in the field of agriculture; thereupon increasing the number of technologies, capital and finances available for agricultural transformations. Food prices increased to an all-time high during the period around 2008. While this impacted the nutrition of both developing and developed countries negatively, it led to an increase in the private and public investments in the agricultural sector. The processes of “land grabbing” that have characterized the period after 2008 can partly be linked to the spike in the prices of goods and services during the period and most especially the prices of agricultural products. More people are moving to urban areas. In 2015, about half of the population in the world lived in urban centers. People all over the world have been moving to towns, cities and other urban centers in search of better living conditions and opportunities. The developing countries have not been left behind. Although most of its population lives in rural areas, the rate of population movements to the towns has been highest in Africa at a rate of 3.5 percent. The proportion of Africans has grown impressively from twenty eight percent to more than forty percent. This not only provides the manufacturing and service industries in the cities with adequate manpower but also increases the demand for food and other agricultural products in the developing countries. This promises to continue growing the rate of agricultural transformation and hence, rural development (Huang, 2015).

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•

•

•

•

The demographic composition of the Sub-Saharan part of Africa is changing. In the 20th century, women in the region had an average of more than six children, in a report released in 2014 promisingly the average number of children per woman has gone down to four. This is a reflection that the region-wide campaigns on contraception and family planning are bearing fruits even if not as rapid as it should. As the countries develop, it is projected that the population growth of the countries will stagnate. This would reduce the already excessive pressure on the natural resources within the country. The political environment in the region is changing. Dictatorial governments are giving way for democratically elected governments. With the current wave of globalization, curtains are progressively drawing on dictatorial governments. The rise of the middle class, a characteristic of the current wave of globalization, has led to an increase in the proportion of the country that is educated and critical on matters governance. The instantaneous dissemination of information, due to technological advancements like the internet has led to a rapid spread of civic education. As a result, the region is experiencing unprecedented peaceful transitions of power. After the post-election violence of 2008 in Kenya for example, the country has been able to conduct two relatively peaceful election cycles. The context of agricultural development in the 1990s that were grossly marred with postelection violence has therefore changed. There has been an increase in the focus on environmental protection to enhance agricultural sustainability. Agricultural activities have led to the encroachment of forest lands to increase the size of land under cultivation. Soil erosions and leaching have led to a reduction in the organic content of the soils and hence, soil degradation. The soils are slowly losing their biodiversity due to increased use of chemicals like pesticides and herbicides. There has been an increase in the debates on environmental protection in the processes of agricultural farming. Organic farming is gaining prominence in the region. There has been an overall change in the policies that guide the agricultural transformation processes and rural development. This has positioned agriculture as the main driver of rural development

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in the rural areas of developing countries. The policies are formulated both at the national and international levels. These factors have changed the perspectives of agriculture. Agriculture is now viewed, not only as of the main driver in economic development but also as a business that can support many of the unemployed members of the rural societies. There has been an increase in the number of research projects that seek to improve the agricultural production of a variety of crops. While trials show that the developed crop varieties can increase the crop yields; the amount of agricultural production once they are planted is still low. The focus has thus been to increase agricultural production to level the amount of agricultural production in the trials. There are varied opinions on what exactly should be done with agriculture to develop rural areas. Some recommend pushing for small scale farmers to move from subsistence farming to large scale farming. They argue that by increasing the efficiency of large scale farms, the country can increase the productivity of cash crops and food crops like; to provide employment for the populations living in rural areas and create a surplus that will encourage trade in agricultural produce. Some push for focusing on subsistence farmers to increase the production of staples like cereals, roots and tubers. Enhancing the efficiency of subsistence farmers, they argue, will be the best way to enhance the economic development of rural areas. African farmers have been able to sidestep some external challenges in the years. The 2008 financial crisis that affected the OECD economies into recession was less marked in developing regions, Africa included because their financial systems were not integrated very strongly into the floundering global financial markets. As a result, economic growth was reduced only marginally in Asia and Africa. The region has, in contrast, benefited from the new domestic opportunities presented by demographic trends. Population growth has started to slow down: fertility rates that were once as high as six births or more for sub-Saharan Africa in the early 1990s had fallen to below five by 2014. An increasing share of the population is of working age, with large numbers of young people entering the labor market, close to 200 million are expected to be in the workforce, an increase of about 3 percent a year (Fox et, al. 2013). This is a real opportunity, but only if decent jobs can be created for them. Urbanization presents another opportunity. While urbanization has not been even or rapid across all African countries, it is clearly underway (Potts 2012). In the 70s, 18 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lived

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in urban areas: by 2010, this had risen to 37 percent – a level of urbanization that is higher than might be expected from per capita incomes, when compared with the historical experience of other countries (Henderson et al, 2013). Urbanization, combined with economic growth and rising incomes, has expanded the African urban middle class. Their number is expected to increase by 60 percent in the near future. Food sales are predicted to rise by more than 50 percent within the same period (USDA, 2013). Much of the increased demand in the cities will be for higher-value perishable foods like dairy, meat, fruit and vegetables including processed foods, with clear implications for the agricultural sector.

3.3 LEADING NARRATIVES The renewed interest in agricultural development in the context of the changes of recent decades has seen the emergence of a compelling narrative – that is, a shared understanding of an issue as an opportunity or a problem with an accompanying diagnosis of the causes and objectives, and a set of potential policy responses. This narrative is supported by three strands: • Agricultural growth as an economic transformation • Agriculture as a business entity • Closing the yield gaps for food crops. These elements bring the narrative linked with the notion of sustainable intensification that tends to prevail in official forums when the government, development partners, private sector and foundations meet. Sections of civil society and some academics, however, propose a counter-narrative that stresses agroecology and food sovereignty. Agricultural growth as part of economic transformation the increased rates of economic growth seen in sub-Saharan Africa since the mid-1990s may be welcome, but its nature and effects have been questioned. The concern is that growth is based either very narrowly on minerals and oil, or else comes from traditional export agriculture. In both cases, growth has been supported by rising prices for commodities. It seems, therefore, that economies are not being actually transformed: There has been only a limited shift from primary activity in agriculture and mining to manufacturing and services, while productivity in all sectors and especially agriculture is increasing too slowly for sustained economic transformation.

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According to (McMillan and Rodrik, 2012) between 1990 and 2005 labor seemed to move from higher to lower productivity activities in Africa, with increasing fragmentation of the workforce in agriculture and personal services, retarding growth and development. While interest in transformation centers on manufacturing and high-value services, there are concerns about how to raise agricultural productivity as an end in itself and to allow labor to leave farming for higher-value activity. Attention has focused on the low productivity, especially land productivity, of much of Africa’s farming, which is seen as achieving very low yields when compared with Asia, as well as growing too slowly if not actually stagnating. The immediate causes have been identified as the underuse of capital and inadequate know-how, while some also see insecure land tenure as deterring investment (Omamo, 2003; Binswanger-Mkhize, 2009; Wiggins and Leturque, 2010).

3.3.1 Agriculture as a Business The year 2000 saw the emphasis on shifting away from seeing agriculture as an activity run by the farm household to meet multiple objectives, not all of them purely economic. This perspective reflected in the livelihoods approach that became popular earlier during the 1990 era (Ellis, 2000). Now it is suggested that small-scale producers should see agriculture as a business, first and foremost. This calls for a shift in the outlook and behavior of farmers, in effect a formalization of smallholder agriculture supported by policy and programs to facilitate greater market engagement.

3.3.2 Closing the Yield Gap for Food Crops The yield gap, i.e. the gap between crop yields per hectare achieved by African farmers and those achieved in research trials or in other parts of the world has been a long-standing concern for both researchers and policymakers. In West Africa, for example, farmer yields from rain-fed crops are reported to be typically between one third and one half of their potential (Nin Pratt et al, 2011). The debate about the reasons for these gaps focuses predominately on access to new technologies, the incentives to use them, and whether farmers have the inputs and technical support to realize their potential. Interest in closing yield gaps has intensified in the 2000s (Lobell et al, 2009; Neumann et al, 2010; van Ittersum and Cassman, 2013; van Ittersum et al, 2013). Agricultural scientists have become increasingly confident that improved management and technologies are available that can close the yield gap for

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many crops and livestock produced in Africa. What’s more, some scientists believe that advances in biotechnology will help to address some of the remaining challenges of farming on land that has medium and low potential, such as advances in drought tolerance, as well as the biofortification of vitamins in staple crops. The revival of interest in the yield gap has helped to drive a strong narrative: the most direct and effective way to address the problems of food availability.

Figure 3.1: Maize grown under drip irrigation system.

3.4 ASIA 3.4.1 Continuing Trends In contrast to Africa, rural Asia has seen a continuation of trends that were apparent before 2000, rather than any significant changes. Four trends have been particularly important for agricultural and rural development: • Slower population growth • Growing industrialization and urbanization • Significant changes in diets • Higher world prices for food and other agricultural commodities. Population growth has slowed across Asia as fertility rates have continued to fall. In the early 1970s, fertility rates for the region stood at around six

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births for every adult female. Towards the end of 2012, the average fertility rate had gone below 2 in East Asia less than the expected rate for a growing population. In the south, it was below 2.6. The slowdown in population growth has been especially marked in rural areas, where outmigration has been reducing the population still further. However, in 2004 rural population of South Asia has grown at less than 1 percent a year, while in the east it fell by 1.25 percent a year. The declining of rural populations takes the center stage across Asia, reversing the earlier trends of population increase that reigned for many centuries. Asia’s industrialization and urbanization have been in progress and it has drawn people out of their jobs in rural to settle in cities. This trend creates an opportunity for farmers to market products of higher value in the growing cities and for rural non-farm businesses with good access to the cities to link to urban supply chains. Urbanization and rising incomes are both associated with significant changes in diets (FAO, 2008). The 1970s saw a substantial increase in the consumption of vegetables, fruits, animal produce and vegetable oil. Processed foods are increasingly consumed in urban areas. In general, farmers have seen greater demand for higher-value produce, especially for livestock products. These changes have been accompanied by rising levels of people who are overweight and obese (Keats and Wiggins, 2014), although much of Asia still has a lower prevalence of obesity than countries of similar income levels in other regions. The Pacific islands, however, are exceptional: some of the highest rates of obesity in the world can be found in places such as Samoa and Tonga (Stevens et al, 2012). While slowing population growth, falling rural populations and growing cities are all trends that are likely to continue in the near future, changes in diet are harder to forecast. There are concerns that Asian diets may come to resemble those of North America and Europe, with heavy consumption of animal produce. Or they may remain distinctively Asian, with plenty of fresh vegetables, steamed rice and fish, albeit with more meat and dairy than in the past. The Japan experience shows that high incomes do not necessarily result in people abandoning traditional diets. However, fast-food chains are expanding their markets in the region, offering foods high in fats, sugar and salt that are promoted by seductive advertising. Finally, world prices for food and other agricultural produce have been on the rise with significant margins. On the other hand, China, India and some other countries were able to insulate local prices against rising world

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prices through controlling their trade and use of domestic stocks when food prices started soaring. China is a special case because as the price of rice in China rose, the cost of other products such as fuel, fertilizer, and labor also increased.

3.4.2 Emerging Processes and Perspectives Diverging rural Asia: well-connected versus marginal areas Asia’s urbanization and the growth of its urban economy have been concentrated in favorable locations that are well connected to other cities and the rest of the world. More often than not, cities have grown in areas of high potential for agriculture that tend to be irrigated and where new agricultural technology has been most applicable. The combination of growing demand from nearby cities, particularly for higher-value produce, plus good conditions for agriculture, has contributed to a marked division in rural Asia between these areas and those less well-favored or frankly marginal because of their more remote location and poorer resources. Typically, well-connected areas are the ones that see the intensification and commercialization of farming, particularly in relation to small-scale family farming. The rural non-farm economy also tends to thrive in such areas. Agricultural growth that creates links in production and in consumption as farmers spend their increased incomes stimulates the non-farm economy. In addition, it seems that some rural non-farm activities are benefiting increasingly from being close to cities, including rural workshops that supply parts to urban manufacturing plants. Furthermore, rural households in well-connected areas have more opportunities to work in the urban economy, either by commuting from the rural home or by undertaking short migrations. The more marginal areas, where livelihoods often have to rely on little more than rain-fed agriculture, have considerably fewer opportunities. One of the few areas of economic growth in such areas is tourism to places of natural beauty and wilderness. Otherwise, migrating out may often be the best or in many cases the only option for the young and for newly-formed households. These differences are accentuated by improvements to agricultural supply chains. A ‘quiet revolution’ in value chains for staples such as potatoes and rice in Bangladesh, China and India is taking place. Supply chains, where some of the final product value is added after the product leaves the farm, are lengthening in the distance while reducing the number

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of intermediaries. Practically all the change is taking place in the more dynamic, commercializing locations of the rural economy (Reardon et al, 2012). Higher urban incomes and demand for year-round high-quality produce such as potatoes in South Asia have allowed part of these improvements to supply chains to be driven by supermarkets, whose prices for staples in Delhi and other cities are now lower than those of traditional retailers. Products are increasingly differentiated and traceable, such as rice packaged in branded packs in Beijing supermarkets. On the supply side, modern cold storage allows quality to be maintained. Such stores now handle around percent of potatoes in India. Wholesalers operating stores buy directly from farmers, offering both improved prices and credit. Government intervention in the form of subsidies has supported the development of cold stores in India, but strengthening the national electricity grid has been even more important. In China, in particular, larger and more efficient rice mills have replaced smaller mills and are now transporting rice, buying from farms and selling directly to supermarkets, thereby bypassing traditional intermediaries.

Figure 3.2: A rice mill factory in China. Source: https://www.cbecl.info/2012/09/auto-rice-mill-machines.html

The changes go beyond processing and distribution, however. They can also be seen in input and factor markets that thrive on the increased profitability for farmers engaged in the evolving supply chains. These include markets for land and machine rentals, farm chemicals and water.

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Old and potentially exploitative arrangements of credit that were locked into input supply and marketing by a landlord are now being displaced by more modern arrangements (Reardon and Timmer, 2014). The downside of these changes is that they tend to engage with farms that have more resources and that are better located (family) farms – those that can provide reliable produce of sufficient quality. It is the marginal farms that tend to be left out. As a result, such changes have the potential to widen existing social differences, even though increased activity in supply chains and multipliers from commercializing farms may generate more rural jobs. However, and more importantly, the proximity of cities increases the opportunities for more diversified options for farm households that are disadvantaged by their lack of land, capital or labor.

3.4.3 Rising Rural Wages: Causes and Consequences Rural wages are rising across much of rural Asia, or at least in the arc from the south of the region and through the south-east to its eastern edge. The rise began in some countries long before the new century, but the trend has become more marked since then. In China, for example, extraordinary increases were registered in rural wages, in Vietnam, the median rural wage rose by more than three times, in Bangladesh the average (male) rural wage increased, and in India, rural wages rose between 2005 and 2012. Furthermore, increases have accelerated since the mid-2000s in several countries, including China, India and Vietnam. Where the data are readily available, differences have narrowed between male and female wages, and between more and less prosperous regions (Wiggins and Keats, 2014b). Cross-country analysis suggests two significant drivers of increasing wages. One is the slowdown in the growth of the rural population, accentuated by outmigration. As a result, the supply of cheap labor in some rural areas is stagnating and shrinking and there are now reports of labor shortages in rural Bangladesh, one of the most densely settled rural areas in the world. The other driver is the growth of manufacturing and the urban economy in general, presumably raising the demand for labor from the rural areas (Wiggins and Keats, 2014b). Stepping out of farming: the rural non-farm economy, migration and the middle-income trap? Rural livelihoods are becoming more diverse; an expectation confirmed by district and village studies that track change through time (for Tamil Nadu, see Harriss et al, 2010 and Djurfeldtet al, 2008; for Bihar, Datta et al, 2014; and for northeastern Thailand, Rigg et al,

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2012). Typically, households that once would have depended on agriculture, either farming on their own account or working on the fields of others, now have opportunities either in the local rural non-farm economy, in commuting to the nearest town or city or migrating to urban centers (both national and international). What’s more, for those on low incomes, these options offer better rewards than most farm work. These new options, rural incomes are rising even when agricultural production and productivity have risen only modestly. In India, for example, neither manufacturing nor agriculture has been growing fast enough to provide enough jobs for the expanding workforce, but the rural non-farm economy has been growing more quickly than most sectors for several decades. By the late 2000s, six out of every ten new jobs created in rural areas were non-farm. Increasingly, rural households in India work off-farm. The probability with probably many more households engaged in secondary non-farm occupations. Rural incomes rose at an annual average rate of 5.7 percent in constantly similar to that seen in urban areas despite the modest growth of agriculture. While returns to agriculture grew for both farmers and laborers, incomes from rural non-farm activities grew faster (Binswanger, 2012). Migration seems to be increasing; it is remarkable how few migrants move permanently from their villages. On the contrary, many retain their village links and return even after decades away. Observers of contemporary Thailand (Rigg et al, 2014) see a danger here: that migrants do not specialize and invest in skills sufficiently because they see their migration as only temporary. This limits improvements in labor productivity and prevents both the village and the urban economy from taking the next steps up the economic ladder. Progress in farming, non-farm activity, and migration has lifted people out of poverty, but propelling them from medium to high incomes may prove more challenging. Asia’s green revolution has taken place largely on small-scale, family farms. In the past, these farms have had advantages over larger units in the supervision of labor and flexible operations. Improved technology has been largely neutral in scale. And governments have often acted to make sure that they have had access to inputs, technical advice, credit and a guaranteed price for any marketed surplus. The advantages of machinery over ever more costly labor may change this. So too may the requirements of new supply chains that may be more efficient, but demand more from their farmer suppliers in produce quality – freshness, uniform maturation, size, shape,

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color and so on. Requirements for certification, traceability and credence characteristics such as no use of child labor, careful use of pesticides, and organic standards may also increase the pressure towards the increased scale of the enterprise. The current dominance of smallholders may, therefore, change (Timmer,2005). Land consolidation may be likely, for example. Household members may leave the more marginal small farms altogether, either remaining in their village and taking local employment in the non-farm economy or else migrating for urban jobs. Where some of their unused lands is rented out, this will allow the operational holdings of those remaining in farming to increase, although reluctance to cut all ties with the land may well make this a slow process.

Figure 3.3: Crop sprinkler – free stock photo.

Maetian Irrigation system was initiated 400 years ago by local farmers. There are 4 check Dams across the river for 1000 Acre land for rice cultivation. The system covers 3000 acres of land. The main crops are rice, vegetables, flowers and maize. One imponderable is the environment. Asia has developed its farming with scant regard to environmental costs, and the imperatives of producing food and creating livelihoods have taken precedence over environmental sustainability. The results can be seen in salination of irrigation schemes, pollution from run-off of farm chemicals and from farm animal waste, acidification of soils subjected to repeated applications of manufactured fertilizer, deforestation and drainage of wetlands, loss of biodiversity both

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on and off farms, and the overdrawing of groundwater aquifers (UN and ADB, 2012; Rosegrant et al, 2007). At some point – indeed, with increasing urgency – this needs correction. Given that some farming contributes to greenhouse gases, the action is all the more necessary. And layered on top of this, there is climate change itself, which will require farming systems that are more resilient to more variable weather.

3.5 LATIN AMERICA 3.5.1 Continuing Trends As with Asia, relatively little has changed in the circumstances of agricultural and rural development in Latin America since 2000. This is a wide-ranging list, spanning economic liberalization, better public services, and improved governance, set against a context of economic growth, urbanization and environmental deterioration. Latin America and the Caribbean is truly a very different place compared to a generation ago (Berdegué and Fuentealba, 2014). As outlined earlier in this report, world prices for agricultural commodities have risen since 2000. This, together with continuing increased demand from Asia constitutes a major opportunity for Latin America as a region that still has large areas of land and water that can be cultivated and where production costs can be low. In common with Asia, Latin America is now seeing its rural population decline, albeit to a lesser extent per year and with considerable variations across countries. The region’s less well-developed countries still have rising rural populations, but the two most populous countries, Brazil and Mexico, both have falling rural populations as most countries of the Southern Comer.

3.5.2 Emerging Processes and Perspectives Latin America has a long and vigorous tradition of social science, often producing critiques of social structures and power relations that had resulted in some of the highest rates of inequality anywhere in the world. Sharp divisions in perspectives have often arisen between those favoring reform and those who see that only radical changes will make any lasting difference. During the 2000s ideas have developed against a political landscape where left-of-center governments are common and split between reformists who accept liberal economies but use the state to achieve social

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improvements, and radical nationalist regimes more skeptical of liberal economy and prepared to intervene in this sphere (Castañeda, 2006). Some of the achievements of the reformists call into question some of the more radical narratives. Unlike Africa and Asia, agricultural and rural issues are less central to economic and social policy in Latin America, as might be expected in a region where most people live in urban areas. Four sets of issues for agriculture and rural development can be picked out. One is a narrative about an agricultural opportunity in a continent that has natural advantages for agricultural exports that have not yet been fully exploited. The other three are concerned with how to deal with enduring rural poverty and deprivation, whether that be by harnessing spatial processes, by addressing the problems of small family farms or by direct measures to raise the incomes of poor rural people.

3.5.3 Opportunity and the need to be Competitive There is hardly anywhere else in the world that has quite the agricultural potential of parts of Latin America. The rise in prices on world agricultural markets, the potential of underused land and especially water (Nepstad, 2011; Piñeiro and Bianchi,2011), and the experience of large-scale exporting of both standard commodities, such as soy from Brazil and Argentina, and high-value produce, such as fruit, vegetables and flowers from Mexico, Colombia and Chile, means that the region has opportunities to expand production. Therefore, those who see opportunities in agricultural exports have had to defend their position. Piñeiro and Bianchi (2011), for example, take issue with common objections to a focus on primaries, arguing that the idea of a secular decline in the terms of trade for primaries is increasingly dubious and that the pitfalls of the ‘resource curse’ (where rents lead to Dutch disease and poor governance) can be avoided. To take advantage of such opportunities, the region has to maintain and increase its competitive advantages in both agriculture and logistical supply chains. Sufficient public investment in transport infrastructure is needed to overcome the congestion in Brazilian ports and to replace costly road haulage by river navigation and rail to get produce out of the interior of South America (Chaddad and Jank, 2006). Investments in transport would be easier to fund if the distortions in public spending for agriculture were corrected. Studies carried out in the early 2000s (de Ferranti et al, 2005; Soto Baquero et al, 2006; López and Galinato, 2006) showed the quite extraordinary degree to which agricultural

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budgets were spent on subsidies effectively private transfers of which typically ended up with wealthy farmers, ranchers and agribusiness. More generally on policy, the importance of not overtaxing export agriculture a curse of Latin America in the past – has been stressed (Foster and Valdés ,2011), as has the cost of policy distortions to agricultural productivity (Ludena, 2010). Trade deals are seen as advantageous in improving the region’s access to the markets of the North (Salcedo et al, 2010). This narrative comes close to recommending a fully liberalized economy with minimal state action. Some evidence shows that when the heaviest distortions and controls are removed, agriculture grows with Brazil from the late 1980s onward often cited as the prime example (Barros, 2009; Chaddad and Jank, 2006). Others would qualify this, remembering the banking collapse of the early 80s in Chile, and the way that export agriculture was subsequently fostered in that country by modest, but astute and strategic, state support (Foster and Valdés, 2011). This narrative barely considers the condition of small, family farms: when it does, the expectation is that they will benefit from the reduction of net taxation of agriculture and investment in transport and other public goods in rural areas. But there is a reluctance to offer more support for small farms, fearing that this could lead to the reintroduction of distorted policies and protectionism, and divert funds from public goods to subsidies albeit better-targeted subsidies than in the past (Chaddad and Jank, 2006). Nevertheless, the force with which advocates of further liberalization make their case reflects the strength of opposing voices that reject unfettered liberalization and globalization. These views, in their various degrees of radicalism, have gained the upper hand in many countries. Latin America is unusual in the number of ruling parties that take left-of-center positions and that have been re-elected. Given this context, the region has some rather different and influential perspectives on agricultural and rural development.

3.5.4 Differentiation: Territories and Family Farms A very different theme emerges from those looking at both social and geographical differences in Latin America. As in Asia, a sharp distinction can be drawn between those rural areas that are well connected to cities and ports, often with medium to high potential land and sometimes with underemployed land and water to put to use, and those areas that are more remote and marginal. The former areas include those where export agriculture flourishes, often with production in large units, as well as peri-urban zones

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where farms of varying sizes can produce for the urban markets (de Janvry and Sadoulet, 2004). Supply chains in these well-connected areas often work effectively and efficiently. Where agriculture employs labor intensively, as for example in the production of flowers, fruit and vegetables, many jobs may be on offer in fields and packing sheds. Some of the more remote areas, despite their current isolation, 17 have a long-standing and quite dense settlement, with smallholdings predominating. Rural households in such areas have often suffered from the inadequate pubic provision of services such as education and health, find it difficult to access financial services, and may face discrimination because of their ethnicity and language. Increasingly, their livelihoods depend on rural non-farm activities and migration, both domestic and international. In the past, their situation would have been seen as desperate since rising rural populations meant sub-division of land and a dilution of the few assets they had. However, that situation has been reversed in some cases as a result of shrinking rural populations and outmigration, as those who remain in rural areas take on the fields of those who have left, as seen in parts of the Bolivian altiplano (Urioste, 2005).

3.5.5 Prospects for Small Family Farms Past analyses have been quite negative about the prospects of smallholders in Latin America, seeing them as structurally disadvantaged in national and international systems and, therefore, unlikely to prosper without radical reforms (Kay, 2006). Indeed, in some radical accounts – such as those held by the leadership of Nicaragua after the 1979 revolution, for example – smallholders have been seen as relics from some pre-capitalist or feudal past that should be replaced by larger-scale units with social intentions along the lines of collectives or state farms (Biondi Morra, 1993). More recent assessments are less gloomy (CEPAL, 2013; IFAD RIMISP, 2014): successful regions, it is observed, often have dynamic smallholders. Yet even here, there are differences of opinion. For some, judicious public support to smallholders may allow them to participate in economic growth. Others see economic opportunity as more limited, but they stress the value of the small family farm as the nucleus of diverse livelihoods, as social support, and as a repository of cultural values. It is this intrinsic value, rather than any economic potential, that has inspired the vigorous social movements that have emerged in Latin America in recent decades to demand land, public support and protection for small family farms.

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There is, it seems, a considerable diversity of opinion on the economic viability of small farms, the social desirability of maintaining them, and on policies that are appropriate for them. This diversity reflects the diverse processes and outcomes seen across the region, but it also arises from the evidence that qualifies or contradicts the dire predictions expressed about the impacts of economic liberalization. Even then Latin America’s experience of profound revolutions – Mexico 1910, Bolivia 1952, Cuba 1959, and Nicaragua 1979 has not been that promising. Most revolutionary regimes have found it difficult to break the mold or, having done so, to deliver prosperity to the economy in the 80s and 90s and, above all, joined the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, the decline of the Mexican peasantry and of maize farming were widely expected. It has not quite turned out that way: areas under maize have actually increased, encouraged by state support.

Figure 3.4: Workers harvest different varieties of maize from the fields of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Texcoco, Mexico. The ears collected from each individual plant are kept separate in order to gather precise data on their productivity. Source: color/

https://www.croptrust.org/our-mission/cropsincolor/crops/maize-in-

Despite legislation in the early 1990s to make ejido (collective) land tradable, there has been no widespread dispossession of smallholders. In fact, rural poverty in Mexico has fallen since 1994 albeit not dramatically.

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3.5.6 Transfers, Poverty and Equality In the 1990s, Mexico and other countries introduced cash transfers targeted to poor households in rural areas, conditional on those households sending their children to school and taking infants to health centers. Mexico’s program Prospera (initially called Progresa, then Oportunidades) has been repeatedly evaluated, with positive reports of reduced poverty, improved education, health and nutrition. As a result, the program has been expanded to include more ambitious elements, such as giving rural youth a trust fund to invest in training or business, with the fund growing the longer they stay in school. For a middle-income country, with only a quarter of the population in rural areas, Prospera is affordable. Brazil has created and expanded its Bolsa Familia program that also transfers cash to poor households (Bastagli, 2010; Cecchini and Madariaga, 2011). In both Brazil and Mexico, such transfers are credited with contributing to an unexpected reduction in inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient (Lustig, 2013). They have also contributed to the equally welcome, and also unexpected, decline in rural poverty seen in the 2000s. Those writing in the early 2000s (David et al, 2000; Kay, 2006) were dismayed to see only slight reductions in rural poverty during the 1990s. They thought, therefore, that structural obstacles were preventing poverty reduction. However, the percentage of rural households living in poverty fell to below 50 percent by 2012 (CEPAL, 2012). This has happened with little structural change: part of the reason probably lies with the transfers.

3.6 GENDER AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN CLIMATE CHANGE Climate change occurs when alterations of the surface of the earth lead to the development of new patterns of weather that affect the earth and its inhabitants for decades or even centuries. Human activities on earth have contributed to the development of climate changes by the emission of greenhouse gases and pollutants into the earth’s atmosphere. Agriculture is one of the human activities that have contributed to climate change. The following are ways through which agriculture contributes to climate changes: •

Forest lands are being encroached to avail more land for agricultural production. Deforestation leads to carbon emissions into the atmosphere that then contributes to global warming. The

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period between 2000 and 2009, witnessed the clearance of more than 30 acres of forests every year. This contributes to about eighteen percent of the carbon emissions to the environment (Scientific American, 2012). The deforestation of the Amazon, the largest forest in the world, contributes to an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which then interacts with other greenhouse gases to increase the average temperatures on the surface of the earth. Loss of biodiversity – intensification of agriculture has led to a reduction in the nutrients that support agricultural production. Crops that form the natural ecosystem are thus lost. The excessive use of pesticides and herbicides has led to the death of insects that aerate the soils and pollinate crops. Biodiversity through the ecosystems it supports reduces the amount of carbon emissions in the air. The loss of diversity thus leads to an increase in the amount of carbon emissions in the air thus contributing to global warming. Through soil erosion – livestock rearing loosens the upper layers of the soil and accelerates soil erosion. Biodiversity is further lost due to soil erosion. Soil erosion is also accelerated by over-cultivation of lands, loss of vegetation cover during land preparation and intensification of agriculture. The declining amount of organic matter in the soils – the organic matter of soil is washed away during erosions, which are exacerbated by agricultural activities. Natural vegetation contributes more organic matter to soils than agriculture. Water pollution at the Coasts – application of farm inputs like herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides contaminate water bodies like rivers and lakes. This water is carried to the oceans increasing pollution in the coastal regions. The natural ecosystems in the oceans due to the loss of aquatic life influence the biodiversity of the oceans negatively. As biodiversity contributes to a reduction in the amount carbon emissions, loss of this diversity increases the global temperatures. Soils are becoming more saline – soils are becoming saltier due to an increase in the global temperatures. This is due to global warming caused by agricultural actives. Increased salinity, in turn, reduces agricultural production. It is a vicious cycle.

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•

Soils are becoming more acidic – the pollution due to agricultural chemicals leads to a reduction in the pH levels of the water bodies. This, in turn, leads to a loss in the biodiversity of the ecosystems and thus an increase in global warming. Agriculture depends on the physical environment i.e. rainfall and temperature. Climatic changes like global warming, reduction in rainfall and environmental pollutions negatively affect crop cultivation, crop rearing, and the fisheries industry among other agricultural sectors. The following are some of the effects climate change has on the agricultural sector: •

•

•

•

•

Reduced crop yields. Every crop has an optimal temperature at which crop production is highest. When this temperature is exceeded, the output of a crop declines and eventually stalls. Climate change has led to an increase in the average global temperatures, which has led to a reduction in the crop yields of crops like cereals. The reduction in the yields of crops is further aggravated by frequent droughts and the increase in the amount of carbon emissions in the environment. Biodiversity loss – increased average global temperatures increase the amount of water evaporation from the surface of the earth. This increases the soil salinity and reduces the pH of water bodies like oceans. The plants and animals that make up natural ecosystems. As biodiversity supports associated ecosystems, agricultural production reduces biodiversity losses. Warmer temperatures increase the annual insect cycles. There is, therefore, an increase in the number of pests. Warmer temperatures also increase the propagation of pathogens. Increased number of pests and diseases has further reduced the yield of crops and hence agricultural production. Increased temperatures have led to an increase in the number of heat strokes. In addition to causing the death of livestock, they increase the vulnerability of the animals to pests and diseases and reduce the fertility of the animals. The productivity of the animals is thus reduced. Animals depend on pasture. An increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reduces the quality of pasture and hence, the quality of animal products in the markets. The increased frequency of natural calamities like droughts reduces the amount of food available for the livestock. Generally, the

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production of livestock products is reduced. • Warmer temperatures enhance the growth of pests and disease pathogens. A high incidence of diseases reduces both the quality and quantity of animal products that are offered in the markets. • Death of aquatic life due to an increase in the acidity and pollution of water bodies. The amount of fish and seafood in the markets has reduced. • Climate change leads to an increase in sea levels. This leads to an incidence of calamities like flooding in low lying regions especially coastal regions. Agricultural food protection is affected by natural disasters like floods and hurricanes whose occurrences are bound to occur more frequently in the presence of climate changes like global warming. • Due to an increase in the incidence of droughts, trees are dying at a high rate leading to an increase in the rate of desertification. The forest cover is thus lost. The overall impact of climate change is the reduction in food production. The food security of the population is threatened. There has been a growing concern on the role of agricultural intensification on climate change. The policy makers, governments and farmers are after coming up with measures to ensure that the environment is protected in the process of producing food for communities. One of the proposed ways to reduce the harmful effects on the environment is the use of biofuels in place of petroleum- based fuels. This threatens to continue piling more pressure on agricultural lands, worsening environmental degradation even more. In rural areas, gender still plays a huge role in the allocation of roles. As a result, in the mitigation of the effects of climate change and adaptation to climate change in a given region; gender plays a role. Traditionally, men focused on cash crop production while women focused on food crop production for the responsibility of providing for the households was mostly that of womens’. Agricultural intensification was in many cases a preserve of men. The contribution of the various genders in the exploitation of natural resources is therefore varied. Although they sometimes times complement each other in the exploitation of natural resources, men contribute more to natural resource exploitation. This is encouraged by traditions and customs that only allowed men to own land. Women only used the lands because they were married to the men but were never allowed to own the land on their own. Sometimes they needed

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permission from their husbands to use a natural resource. The sub-Saharan part of Africa show disparities in literacy levels with more educated men than women. The adoption of modern agricultural technology is thus more among the men compared to adoption among the women. Differences in natural resource exploitation due to gender make gender an important component in the mitigation of climate change. The participation of women in the decision-making processes of reducing climate change continues to be low. Before the agrarian revolution, men concentrated on hunting while women concentrated on gathering crops and small animals. In modern times the rural parts of developing countries women are mostly limited to growing family gardens while men are cash crop oriented. Family gardens contain a wider variety of crops, unlike cash crop plantations that focus on one crop and employ intensive methods of agricultural production. While the activities of women contribute to the preservation of biodiversity, most of the activities that were undertaken by men contributed to a loss of biodiversity. More and more women need to be brought on board in the preservation of the biodiversity of a region as they have vast knowledge on a wide variety of crops that contribute to the preservation of biodiversity. Loss of biodiversity affects genders differently. Garden farms rely almost exclusively on the natural environment while large scale agricultural production relies mostly on farm inputs like fertilizers. Loss of biodiversity affected the garden farms and hence the women more than the men.

3.6.1 Gender Dimensions in Climate Change due to Agricultural Activities Climate changes have led to a reduction in the amount of food available for households. Communities have to adapt to the climatic changes by adopting hybrid varieties, modern technology and farm inputs to enhance the productivity of their farms. Customs and traditions dictated that the responsibility of providing food, firewood and other sources of fuel belonged to the women. In the face of climate change, it takes women more energy and time to acquire enough food for the families. This led to the deterioration of the health of women and girls. Girls were also tasked with the responsibility of providing households with water. Girls end up spending more time and energy in the acquisition of water. They are now more prone to water-related

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diseases like schistosomiasis and amoebiasis. Climate change affects the genders differently. Adaptation to climate change involves the adaptation of modern technology. Modern technology adoption depends upon the availability of information, literacy levels and the availability of finances. Disparities in developing countries led to low literacy levels among women. The adoption of modern technology among women was slowed down, and therefore the impacts of climate change affect women more than men. Another adaptation that has characterized the era of climate change is the movement of persons from rural areas to urban centers in search of more income to supplement the dwindling income from the agricultural sector. In most cases, it involves the movement of men from the rural areas to urban centers leaving the role of agricultural production entirely to the women. The operation of modern technology like tractors was assigned to masculinity. More men are involved in the operation of heavy farm machinery while women stick to methods of production that are not capital intensive. The reduction of climate change focuses on reversing the various causes of climate change i.e. adoption of biofuels to reduce the amount of carbon emission into the environment by petroleum-based fuels and formation of carbon sinks through afforestation and reforestation. Food preparation is majorly a preserve of women in the rural areas of developing countries. Targeting the women in a community to reduce the amount of carbon emission due to petroleum-based fuels in the kitchen could be more effective rather than looking at gender. The contribution to carbon emissions by men in the developing countries includes their participation in activities like logging. Different genders contribute to climate change differently. Climate change affects different genders differently. Mitigation of climate change has however failed to take into account the role of gender. The linkage between the various roles played by gender and climate change may be the missing link in the formulation of policies that reduce the effects of climate change.

3.6.2 The Interaction of Farmers with Political Institutions, Impact and Ideology Agricultural production takes place in organized communities with an organized governing body, a set of rules, customs and traditions. Human beings and governments are inseparable, and since agriculture is an

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important component of human life; agriculture is bound to be affected by political institutions. Political institutions constitute organizations within a government that make, implement and reinforce laws. They include the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. Political parties and trade unions are also classified as political institutions. The political system of a country, comprising the various institutions that set rules and guidelines for a community, may affect the agricultural system of a country negatively or positively. The government comes up with policies that either propel agriculture on the path to development or stall the development of the sector. The interactions between the farmers and government, between the government and trade unions, have an impact on the agricultural production of the region. Policies formulated by the government affect the agricultural sector directly by targeting the production, processing, marketing, distribution and consumption of agricultural products. In addition, policies can affect agriculture indirectly when they target sectors that are interlinked with the agricultural sector. The government can influence agricultural production through incentives, taxation, regulations and government investments.

3.6.3 Agriculture and Government Incentives The realization that agriculture is a major driver in the development of a country has led many developing countries to institute measures that encourage people to invest in the agricultural sectors. Different countries have different ways of encouraging investments in agriculture. By influencing the market prices of farm inputs and influencing trade and markets in their locality, governments hope to enhance the agricultural production of their countries. MAFAP (Monitoring and Analyzing Food and Agricultural Policies ), an organization that was formed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) branch of the United Nations (UN) to analyze the various policies the governments of developing countries had come up with to influence agricultural production in the region (Balié & Ghins, 2017). Governments have been trying to protect their markets, hence influencing the prices of the agricultural products in the markets. The nominal protection rate (NPR) for cashew nuts with shells rose from -55.6 in 2005 to 6.7 in 2006. Similarly, the NPR for cattle in Burkina Faso rose from -36.8 in 2005 to -4.3 in 2017 (MAFAP, 2017). Protection is mainly through tariffs that reduce competition from international commodities.

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Developing countries like Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya offered agricultural incentives by subsidizing the farm inputs that were necessary for large scale production of agricultural products. Between 1960 and 1980, these governments subsidized farm inputs on a large scale (Dorward, 2009). In addition to controlling the markets and subsidies, the governments offer incentives though free lands. Land deals with international corporations led to the famous “land grabbing” that has been trending since 2008.

3.6.4 Government Taxation on Agriculture Government taxes on agriculture can either be implicit or explicit. Taxes in the agricultural sector can be levied on the various farm inputs, on the other factors of production or on the output. Land taxes have been hailed for their equity. The people who own large pieces of land get to pay more taxes while the people with small pieces of land pay less. Heavy taxation on farm inputs increases the cost of production and pushes many farmers away from agricultural production. Reduced taxes on the other encourage agricultural production. Taxation on agricultural output increases the cost of agricultural products reducing their demand in the markets.

3.6.5 Government Participation in the Production of Agricultural Products The government owns, fully or in partnership with other development partners, to produce food in disadvantaged regions. These regions include arid and semi-arid regions where land development through irrigation schemes is capital intensive and locals are not able to grow food due to insufficient funds. The Kenyan government expanded the Katilu irrigation scheme in Turkana, an arid part in the northern part of the country prone to droughts and famines. The irrigation scheme that is owned by the National Irrigation Board (NIB) enlarged the scheme from 500 to 2000 acres to improve the food security in the region. The national owns more than six thousand acres of land and has enhanced the food security of the country.

3.6.6 Formulation of Laws that Regulate Agricultural Production in the Country The governments, through bodies like the legislature, formulate laws that govern the processes of agricultural production in a country. It regulates the amount and type of lands that can be put under cultivation through the

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distribution of title deeds. It regulates the processing of agricultural products by controlling the number of companies along with the quality and quantity of companies processing foods in an economy. The quality of the foods available for the population is also controlled through standard companies spread across the region. The government formulates laws that guide and control the formation of cooperatives and trade unions. Cooperatives play an important role in the processing and marketing of agricultural products. They market produce on behalf of the farmers, therefore getting rid of one of the barriers of entry into agricultural production. They also provide farmers with credit facilities that enable farmers to acquire farm inputs and farm machinery. Trade unions advocate for the rights of the farmers and ensure that the working conditions of workers within the agricultural sector are conducive.

3.6.7 The Government Plays a Role in the Improvement of the Sectors that Support the Agricultural Sector The government is responsible for improving the physical infrastructure of the country. The physical infrastructure is in turn responsible for the growth of the agricultural sector. Encouraging the growth of Savings and credit facilities that offer farmers loans. Insurance companies run by governments provide farmers with loans at an affordable rate, hence helping small-hold farmers acquire farm inputs and farm machinery at an affordable price. The government is the political institution that most affects the agricultural transformation of a country by investing in research to enhance the productivity of land and cultivated crop varieties. One of the fundamental principles of political institutions is democracy. Dictatorial governments in the sub-Saharan region have been paving the way for democratically elected governments. Farmers, who comprise the majority of voters in most of the countries, therefore have a direct say on who will be responsible for the formation and implementation of agricultural policies in the countries. It is widely accepted that democratic governments are more responsive to the needs of the population than dictatorial governments. Have democratically elected governments been responsive to the agricultural sector? What role does democracy play in the growth and development of the agricultural sector? Between 1970 and 1990, the economic policies that were implemented in Africa had many common features. The public sectors experienced many deficits and the banking system had to bail them out severally. The

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governments had no clear-cut priorities. Government investment was haphazard, made worse by the extremely exaggerated exchange rates. Agricultural products attracted very little prices in the markets and despite the heavy subsidization of inputs and farm machinery, agricultural production remained low. In a bid to enhance their entry into the global markets, the governments protected the manufacturing industries and at most times at the expense of the agricultural sector. Monopoly was a characteristic feature of the marketing institutions and inefficiency stalled the progression of positive change (Robinson & Healey, 1992). After 1989, the region experienced changes in the political environment. Multi-party politics were introduced in countries like Kenya that were hitherto ruled by one dictatorial party. The countries also initiated reforms that put term limits on their leaders, dealing with the dictatorial governments that had ruled the region a heavy blow. Consequently, the region experienced unprecedented economic growth across all sectors including the agricultural sector (Bates, Fayad, & Hoeffler, 2012). The liberalization in the political environment of the countries led to free flow and exchange of ideas between citizens and the government. Although it is difficult to measure the impact and extent of ideology, it has contributed to the formulation of policies that directly or indirectly affects the farmers and the agricultural sector as a whole (Robinson & Healey, 1992). The political climate change influenced the ideologies that the government and the elite members of the society held onto. The authoritarian governments focused on the protection of the manufacturing industry as industrialization was viewed as a progression in development. The agriculture sector, although supporting the majority of the population, was largely neglected. This led to slowing in the economic growth of the countries. With the political changes that swept across the region the huge portion of the majority in the rural areas were given a voice by the ballot. While they could choose the governments with the manifestos most impactful on their lives, the democratic governments started examining the interests of the majority lest their governments fell out of favor. Investments in research and education were intensified. Policies that favored the growth of the agricultural sector saw the light of the day. Since the majority of the population was concentrated in the agricultural sector, economic growth started growing at higher witnessed rates. Democratic governments used resources more efficiently and prudently. The earlier authoritarian regimes were unresponsive to the demands of the

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people. Public funds were squandered. Critics of the governments were brutally silenced. The government, therefore, had the monopoly of ideologies. Since the governments did not have to worry about re-election, as their term limits were infinite, corruption was widespread in the governments. With these blackmarks gone with the introduction of multi-party politics, economic growth accelerated. Political institutions like the judiciary and legislature strengthened under then division of powers that characterize democratic governments. Farmers could petition the government when their rights were infringed on. This was unheard of during the authoritarian regimes. Parliamentarians shifted from being rubber stamps of the authoritarian governments to responsive representatives of their electors. Issues, even those against the executive arms of the governments, could be debated in parliament without any intimidation. The wave of change also influenced the growth of trade unions across the countries. Although the trade unions had been in existence since the colonial periods, their voices were suppressed by authoritarian regimes. With the introduction of more liberal governments, dissenting voices could air their ideologies. The farmers found their voice in the various trade unions that advocated for better terms for workers. Democratic principles applied not only in the government but in other political institutions like trade unions. Agriculture was pushed into the development agenda of the time. Ideological differences between the countries of the Sub-Saharan governments are a glaring fact and vary the way the countries approach the formation of policies. Countries like Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Kenya adopted capitalism, focusing on the growth of the private sector at the expense of publicly owned institutions. Many parastatals have been privatized in countries like Kenya in what has been termed as a move to enhance their efficiency. Capitalist countries also encourage a freer movement of capital, finances and technology across their borders. They are most open to the waves of globalization. Socialism was adopted in Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania) and Ghana. The policies that were formulated during the communist regimes advocated for fairness and equality among members of the countries. Unlike in capitalist states where agriculture, rural development and poor people in the rural areas were relatively neglected; socialism focused on improving the living conditions in the rural areas. Another ideology that the developing countries in the sub- Saharan part of Africa adopted was the Afro-Marxist

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ideology that gained preference in Ethiopia and Madagascar among other countries. The ideology encouraged the participation of the state in the production processes of the countries in their entirety. Parastatals bloomed at the expense of private investments (Robinson & Healey, 1992). Capitalism in agriculture can be traced to as far back as the colonial period when the settler farmers acquired huge chunks of land disenfranchising Africans with the help of the colonial government. Africans were forced by the governments to live in the squatters and provide cheap labor in the farms. They were not allowed to cultivate crops and rear livestock as it would lead to competition in the markets. The effect was the accumulation of huge amounts of wealth by the white settlers. Production of cereals and animal products in South Africa is being expanded to serve not only the South African markets but also all markets across Africa and supply the global markets. This is done by focusing on the development of agriculture through the private sector. Contrary to Marx’s definition of capitalism, where the predominant feature should have been the separation of manufacturers and producers from the processes of production; the adoption of capitalism has seen the use of political powers to control the distribution of land and labor within sectors in South Africa (Williams, 1990). In the Tanzanian case, government policies tried to prevent the accumulation of wealth in a few hands. In 1977, the constitution of the Republic of Tanzania stated its primary goal as “to facilitate the growth of a nation of equal and free individuals enjoying freedom, justice, fraternity and concord, through the pursuit of the policy of socialism and self-reliance which emphasizes the application of socialist principles”. The founding president of the nation popularized socialism which he fondly referred to as ‘Ujamaa’. Unlike the capitalist countries that focused on the development of the manufacturing industry and favored the rise of private investors, Ujamaa focused on improving the lives of the poor in the rural areas and therefore encouraged the development of subsistence farming (Lofchie, 1976). Agriculture in the ‘Afro-Marxist’ states depended upon the nature of the government that was in place. Widespread corruption in the governments led to a drop in the agricultural growth while efficient systems led to an improvement of agriculture. Response to government policies as the production processes is entirely controlled by the state. The afro Marxist ideology, together with the socialist ideology, is slowly disintegrating as the capitalist ideology continues to spread. In the sub -Saharan part, agricultural production and agricultural policy formulations are driven by capitalist ideologies.

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3.6.8 The Political Economy with Respect to Agricultural Policy Making Policy refers to an action or an initiative by a government that is targeted at solving problems within a country, enhance the performance of an economic sector, improve the working and living conditions of its citizens. Agricultural policies are therefore initiatives adopted by a government to enhance the agricultural production process, increase the quantity and quality of agricultural products, as well as enhance the transportation, processing, marketing and consumption of agricultural produce. The governments in the Sub-Saharan parts of Africa, upon the recognition of agriculture as the backbone of their countries, have been formulating policies both at the international and national levels; to enhance the transformation of the region. Rural development policies have been formulated to enhance the growth of the countries’ rural areas. At the international level, African countries came up with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Ratified during the 37th summit of African heads of state, in Lusaka; it sought to enhance the realization of millennium development goals (MDGs) in Africa. Its main objectives were to reduce poverty and hunger in Africa, promote growth and development that was sustainable, increase the rate of women empowerment and enhance the integration of African economies into the global markets (Nsouli & Funke, 2003). One of the components of NEPAD, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) focuses on the realization of an annual growth of at least six percent in the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) and a dedication of at least ten percent of their public expenditure on the agricultural sector (African Union, 2003). It provides a pan African framework that enables the member countries to formulate policies that impact on agriculture positively. In addition to the policies adopted at international summits, member countries are also formulating policies at a national level. Agricultural policymaking and policymaking, in general, entails a series of steps. The following are the steps involved in the policymaking process: •

Agenda setting – this entails the process by which a situation in the society is acknowledged as of public and national interest. These include situations that have evolved to become conspicuous and ended up as a point of discussion in the general public. Political parties while seeking to be reelected come up with

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issues they would like to tackle while in the government. Once in government, different leaders prioritize different issues and this prioritization of issues constitutes the setting of an agenda for policy formulation. Communities, groups and individuals can contribute to a government’s setting of an agenda by identifying a situation in the society, analyzing how the situation could pose problems for a community or a country, analyze possible solutions and engage the government. Formulation of policy – this involves the approaches the government intends to solve the identified problem. It involves the presentation of the problem in the form of a bill in the legislative organs of the government. During the debates, alternative approaches are discussed until one of the approaches is agreed upon by the majority of the legislature. Adoption of the policy – this is the decision making process. The government picks on or more of the proposed approaches. The decision may involve the enactment of a law, repealing of an act of parliament, etc. Policy implementation – involves bringing together the organs of government to initiate the process of tackling the problem as proposed by the adoption organ. The implementation of a policy depends upon the type and magnitude of the problem in question, it takes into consideration the type of people that will be affected by the policy and the type of change that is expected in implementing a given policy. Evaluation of the policy – using a number of frameworks the policy is analyzed to assess whether the effects of its implementation are in line with the objectives that were outlined at the start of the implementation process. Termination of policy – a policy may be terminated if its effects are not in line with the objectives of the policy, if the objectives have been achieved or if a different policy is adopted to replace it.

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REFERENCES 1.

African Union. (2003). Comprehensive Africa agriculture development programme. Midrand, South Africa: NEPAD. 2. Balié, J., & Ghins, L. (2017). Agricultural policy incentives in subSaharan Africa in the last decade (2005–2016). FAO Agricultural Development Economics Technical Study (FAO) eng no. 3. 3. Bates, R. H., Fayad, G., & Hoeffler, A. (2012). The state of democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa. . International Area Studies Review, 15(4), , 323-338. 4. Dorward, A. (2009). Rethinking Agricultural Input Subsidy Programmes in a Changing World [Prepared for FAO]. 5. Focus economics. (2019, March 19). The fastest growing economies in the world (2019-2023). Retrieved August 16, 2019, from Focus Economics: https://www.focus-economics.com/blog/fastest-growingeconomies-in-the-world 6. Huang, J. (2015, January 28). African Urbanization. Retrieved August 16, 2019, from Population connection: https://www. populationconnection.org/african-urbanization/ 7. Lofchie, M. F. (1976). Agrarian socialism in the Third World: the Tanzanian case. 8. MAFAP. (2017). Data | MAFAP | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved August 17, 2019, from Fao.org: http:// www.fao.org/in-action/mafap/data/en/ 9. Nsouli, M. S., & Funke, M. N. (2003). The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Opportunities and Challenges. International Monetary Fund. , No. 3-63. 10. Robinson, M., & Healey, J. (1992). Democracy, governance and economic policy: Sub-Saharan Africa in comparative perspective. ODI, London. 11. Scientific American. (2012, November 13). Deforestation and Its Extreme Effect on Global Warming. Retrieved August 16, 2019, from Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ deforestation-and-global-warming

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12. Wiggins, S. (2016). Agricultural and rural development reconsidered: A guide to issues and debates. IFAD Research Series, (1) , 1-61. 13. Williams, G. (1990). Capitalism and agriculture: the South African case. In Collected Seminar Papers. Institute of Commonwealth Studies (Vol. 40) , 141-148.

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The Intensification of Agriculture and Changes in Technology

CONTENTS 4.1 Introduction........................................................................................ 90 4.2 Modern Agricultural Technology Adoption In Sub-Saharan Africa...................................................... 92 4.3 Factors Affecting The Adoption Of Modern Agricultural Technology In Sub-Saharan Africa................................................... 95 4.4 Revisiting The Relationship Between Farm Size And Productivity........ 99 4.5 What Is A Farm And How Is It Measured?......................................... 100 4.6 From Land Grabs To Land Development: The Past And the Potential Of Private Investment In Frontier Agriculture............. 104 4.7 Staples Production: Efficient “Subsistence” Smallholders Are Key to Poverty Reduction, Development And Trade....................... 107 References.............................................................................................. 112

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Over the years, the production, transportation, processing and marketing of agricultural products changed with the change of technology and science. The current face of agriculture is a result of a series of transformations that can be traced back to the periods surrounding the various waves of technological advancements. As technology is one of the catalysts of globalization, the various waves of globalization were characterized by technological advancements and innovations that enhanced the technical efficiency of agricultural farms.

4.1 INTRODUCTION The measure of technical efficiency relates to the output of the farms with the farm inputs employed. It concerns itself the amount of agricultural production per unit factor input. A farm is said to have a technically efficient system of agricultural production when it ensures the maximum possible production while utilizing the least amount of the factors of production i.e. labor, capital, land and entrepreneurship. The amount of agricultural production either increases while the amount of farm inputs remains constant or the amount of agricultural production is not altered with the removal of some inputs. An increase in a farm’s technical efficiency reflects an increase in the productivity of the various factors of production. During the first wave of globalization, for instance, technological inventions like the cotton gin, steel plows and combined harvesters enhanced the technical efficiency of the agricultural systems. With mechanization in the field of agriculture, a few workers in the farms could produce enough for the whole population, leaving most of the labor force to concentrate on industries. The technological advancements in the field of agriculture not only revolutionized agriculture but also catalyzed the industrial revolution. Agricultural intensification refers to the process by which the technical efficiency of the farms is enhanced. Agricultural intensification is the increment of agricultural production per unit factor input (The ethics of sustainable agricultural intensification). Agricultural intensification is said to have occurred in the event that outputs of a given land have increased without a corresponding increase in the amount of the factors of production. It reflects an increase in the productivity of the various factors of production i.e. land, labor, capital and entrepreneurship. Land initiatives that prove successful in land development are mostly in Latin America, where markets work well for land, water, and financial markets. Some of these large Brazilian companies majoring in land development and subdivision, sale or rental of land as well as being successful in concessions

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for private irrigation for family farms but controlled by the state. In Africa, where capital scarcity is deeply rooted there is the need to invest in land privately for better this means there is a potential to benefit from the land where state capacity is weak. To go beyond the land model in Africa, the investors involved in the land development phase and farmers from the family must have land tenure rights. For the less likely scenario where the locals can get secure access allowing the local community to undertake common action to give access to land. In such a case the local population has secure access to land and they can use the communities to bring all their collective ideas in return for payments from the production gains. The cost of a transaction during negotiations is usually high. Such arrangements will only serve where land development will be attractive to immigrant farmers from different locations. In areas with a small population, investments attract the migrant farmers and encourage them to see the relevance of developing an agrarian structure. However, transaction costs of this kind of negotiations to get an equitable deal between communities, immigrant settlers, and investors. When immigrants are from different ethnic groups, negotiations become difficult. The second thing to do is for the investor to enforce contracts with tenants or farmers making purchases of land with long-term loans provided. The lack of a strong contractual obligation or its enforcements, this will only work crops like sugarcane, where the company enjoys a processing monopoly that can enforce loan repayments. Due to the absence of the needed prerequisites, it leads to large companyowned land developers pursuing large-scale agricultural production immediately they develop the land. A lot of talks have been going on with regard to the private-public partnership to help in the facilitation of smallholder’s access to land by reducing the risk to private investors. These initiatives are still on a piloting program, judging their success rate now is uncalled for. Nonetheless, the experience in other countries illustrates the growing potential of pushing private investors on land development to work with family farming in Africa. Governments willing to give large land concessions at reduced rates build strong requirements needed to invest in land development. The inclusion of smallholders needed to offset risks and the cost of doing business relating to land use for development. We can then

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say that land transfer to independent smallholders or outgrowers seems to be reliable and more efficient.

4.2 MODERN AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA The green revolution of the 20th century led to a global increase in agricultural production. A majority of the developing countries adopted the inventions, innovations and research initiatives that revolutionized agricultural production then. The new technologies included: chemical fertilizers and pesticides; high yielding varieties (HYV) of cereal crops, use of machines in agricultural production, irrigation of drylands and incorporation of technology in management practices in the farms. The countries that adopted the “new” technologies experienced a major boost in the volumes and quality of the agricultural products they offered the markets. It led to growth in both their agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. The developed countries adopted the technologies at a higher rate than the developing countries. Even among the developing countries, there were disparities in the rates of adoption. This then calls for the following questions: why were there disparities in the adoption of modern technologies? What were the factors that influenced the rate and extent to which a country adopted the new technologies? Various theories have come up to explain the processes of technology adoption in the various sectors of an economy. These theories seek to explain how a new technology moves from the point of its point of development to farmers all over the world; the processes by which technology is accepted within a population and incorporated in the production process. The theories explain why some people adopt a new idea, research or technology earlier than others. Some of the theories, therefore, shed a light on why most of the developing countries lagged behind in the adoption of new technologies, especially in the field of agriculture. These theories are broadly classified as Diffusion theories, user acceptance theories, personality theories, decisionmaking theories and organization structures. •

Diffusion theories came up to explain how technology moves from one point to another, why it follows the observed patterns and the rates of adoption by various communities around the world. According to Everett Rodgers, the proponent of the theory,

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the spread of technology is influenced by the type of technology, the channels through which the technology is communicated, the timing of the technology and the type of social systems in existence at the time of its discovery. He classified the adopters of technology as the innovators, the early adopters, the early majority, the late majority and the laggards. The innovators are the very first people that have the desire to try out an idea. They love risks and are adventurous. Literally, nothing needs to be done so as to appeal to the people in this group, since they will readily try out any idea. The early adopters are those who are comfortable with the idea of change and just need a little convincing through items like manuals. The early majority only adopt an idea after they are convinced that it can work. They are appealed with stories of the innovation having worked elsewhere. A late majority is a group of people who only try out a new innovation after it has been adopted by a huge group of people. Lastly, the laggards are those people who are very conservative and their traditions and customs do not allow them to try out a new technology (Sahin, 2006). •

User acceptance theories try to explain the factors that determine the extent and rate of technology. It presupposes that this is determined by the consumer’s perceived usefulness of the technology and the perceived ease of use of the technology by the consumers. The theories under this category include the theory of reasoned action, the technology acceptance model (TAM), the theory of planned behavior and the motivational models (Davis, 1985). Although the theories of technology adoption explain how technology is adopted in various sectors, the adoption of agricultural technology in developing countries was affected by many factors, some of which were unique to the countries. Historically, the periods of technology adoption can be classified into pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. During the pre-colonial periods, developing countries relied on simple unsophisticated tools and methods to cultivate crops and rear livestock. The colonial period saw the introduction of machines like tractors that were exclusively used on white settler farms. The industrialization process kicked off and with that came sophisticated tools and methods of production; although their application was largely limited to the white settler farms. In the post-colonial period, the adoption of the various technological advancements that marked the green revolution of the 20th century still

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remained low. The use of machines in agricultural production has either remained at low levels for a long while or gone down. For instance, while the total sum of tractors in the process of agricultural production in Europe rose to thirteen million in 1990 from five million in the year 1960; the use of the same tractors in Sub-Saharan Africa was 172,000 rising to 275,000 in 1990. Although Sub-Saharan Africa had higher use of tractors in 1960, their rate of technological adoption trailed that of other developing countries like Asian countries. Among the developing countries in the Sub-Saharan part of Africa also showed discrepancies in their rates of technological adoption. South Africa, together with other countries in the southern part of Africa, had a higher rate of tractor use in the farms. In 2000, Nigeria was leading the other Sub-Saharan countries in the use of tractors, with twenty eight percent of the tractors in use being on Nigerian farms. Angola came second and Kenya followed closely (Mrema, Baker, & Kahan, 2008).

Figure 4.1: Angolan agriculture students are training in the UK in order to return home and kickstart the rural economy.

The use of fertilizers to improve agricultural production has also been lower in the Sub-Saharan part of Africa when compared to other regions. The region only consumes two percent of the fertilizers produced globally. This is despite the fact that a fifth of the world’s arable land in the world is in the region. The use of fertilizers in the year 2006 was eight kilograms of fertilizer per hectare while the global average was about eighty kilograms per hectare (Gro Intelligence, 2016). Consequently, the Sub-Saharan part of

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Africa is yet to achieve the high levels of agricultural production associated with the Green revolution. Recently, the debate of fertilizer use to enhance agricultural production was reignited, reviving hopes of the revolution. The rate of fertilizer use continues to be low. The difference between the rates of uptake in different countries has also sparked off debates (Jayne, Mather, & Mghenyi, 2010). Small hold farmers in Sub-Sahara also continued using the traditional seed varieties. The low rates of High Yield Varieties (HYV) adoption also contributed to the low rate of increase in agricultural production. The traditional varieties take longer to mature, are more susceptible to diseases and their average yield per hectare was relatively low. As a result, the number of agricultural products produced in the region increased slowly at a slower rate when compared to other regions like Asia, North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. The commercialization of agriculture in Sub-Saharan countries has therefore taken long to materialize. The majority of the rural farmers practice subsistence farming with the household as the major source of labor.

4.3 FACTORS AFFECTING THE ADOPTION OF MODERN AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA The adoption of any technology depends upon the type of technology, the type of clients, the socio-economic status of the people and the political environment of a country. The following are the factors affecting the adoption of modern agricultural technology in Africa: •

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Low education levels of most of the farmers. Most of the farmers in the rural areas of developing countries lack adequate formal education. Due to the perception that agriculture is a preserve of the poor man’s job, most of the educated members of the society are concentrated in cities looking for job opportunities in the service and manufacturing industries. The education sector in rural areas is also lacking. Most of the farmers lack knowledge of the existence, working and importance of the various types of technologies that are a prerequisite of a green revolution. The demographic characteristics of the populations. Agricultural production in the rural areas of developing countries is dominated by elderly farmers when compared to other regions. As the age of

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farmers increase, so does their pervasiveness to new technologies. The interest to invest in long term ventures reduces with advances in the age of farmers. The elderly farmers are also more resistant to change, choosing instead to stick to the old and familiar way of doing things. In addition, the literacy levels in the older generation of farmers are lower than the levels in the younger generations. The cost of various technologies is high. The cost of buying and transporting fertilizers in Sub-Saharan countries is high. Farmers in those countries spend four times more than the farmers in the other regions in the world (Gro Intelligence, 2016). Since most of the producers are small-hold farmers in rural areas, the acquisition of fertilizers becomes an impossible task. The shipping fertilizers in the region of the movement of the same from the ocean to the interior lands where they are needed are also costly further increasing the cost of the fertilizers. This has led to an increase in the use of animal manure instead of commercial fertilizers. The animal manures not only contain lower amounts of nutrients but also encourage the spread of pests and diseases. Lack of appropriateness. Customs and traditions in most communities in the region demand men to subdivide land into smaller pieces of land for inheritance. This has led to land fragmentations, and most of the farmers only hold small pieces of land. This is made worse by the high rate of population growth in developing countries. The average size of land among the smallhold farmers hardly exceeds three hectares. This gets rid of the need to invest in farm machinery as the pieces of land can be cultivated by the use of simple farm tools and simple farming methods. For those with a considerable size of land, their pieces of land are scattered all over impairing the use of machines. Availability of information on the new technology. The adoption of technology is influenced by a farmer’s perceived usefulness of an invention or innovation. Perceived usefulness is determined by how much information is available about the technology. Availability also minimizes the uncertainties that cloud farmers. Most of the farmers are also skeptical, making the adoption of modern. While education enables a farmer to process information about the existence, operation and importance of technology, the unavailability of such information slows the adoption of the

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technologies even among the literate farmers. • Availability of extension services. Agricultural extension officers provide the missing link between innovators and farmers. They offer technical advice to the farmers while providing them with information on the various technological inventions and innovations. In some cases, they also supply high yield varieties of cereals and inputs like fertilizers to the farmers. They close the gaps that arise due to the unavailability information and illiteracy levels. • The availability of savings and credit facilities in a country. The new technologies are relatively more expensive. In the presence of microfinance institutions, the new technologies can be obtained at a loan. The terms and conditions of credit facilities in the developing countries are unfortunately unfavorable for the farmers. Many require farmers to provide security, which is in most cases unavailable. • Off-farm incomes enable farmers who cannot get hold of credit facilities to acquire farm inputs and new technologies. In developing countries however, most of the small-hold farmers in rural areas depend solely on agriculture. • Labor market problems. In most developed countries, the adoption of modern agricultural technology was catalyzed by a shortage of labor in the farms. This was due to the improvement in the manufacturing and service industries and an increase in the rural-urban migrations. In some developing countries, however, the manufacturing and service industries are lagging behind. The availability of labor, which in most cases is unskilled, has stalled the adoption of modern agricultural technologies as this labor is considered more affordable. • Poor quality of farm inputs in the Sub-Saharan countries. The quality of fertilizers sold in the area, for example, lacks most of the nutrients. One survey analyzed the chemical composition of the fertilizers and came to the conclusion that the fertilizers were lacking in about 30 percent of the nutrients (Gro Intelligence, 2016). The application of these fertilizers on farms does not lead to any significant change in the productivity of the farms. The reduced rate of modern agricultural technologies in the processes of agricultural production has had a number of effects in the Sub-Saharan

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parts of Africa. The following are some of the impacts the non-adoption of the modern technologies has had on the region: •

The poverty levels in the region are relatively high. It is considered the poorest region in the world with forty eight percent of the population living in extreme poverty. The amount of extreme poverty in the Sub-Saharan part of Africa contributes to about thirty three percent of the extreme poverty in the world. In 2010, the extremely poor in the world earned an average of eighty seven cents every day, an increase from the seventy four cents they earned in 1981. The average would have crossed the one dollar mark were it not for the extreme from Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank, 2017). The average income of small household farmers has been reducing over the years. • Food security continues to be a challenge in the region. Globally, the number of people who are malnourished averages 815 million. The largest proportion of these people is found in the Sub-Saharan part of Africa. Due to food insecurity in the region, millions of people face “an urgent and imminent threat to their peace, security and stability”. The cases of undernourishment have increased from 20.8 percent in the year 2015 to 22.7 percent. The absolute numbers of undernourishment also grew from two hundred million in 2015 to two hundred and twenty million cases in 2016 (FAO, 2017). • The soil fertility of the region has been declining alarmingly. One of the main causes of soil degradation in the Sub-Saharan parts of Africa is the inadequate application of fertilizers during crop cultivation and manure use on the farms. It is the region with the lowest consumption of fertilizers in the world with an average of twelve kilograms of fertilizers per hectare. The rate of replacing nutrients like potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus is lower than the rate at which they are lost (FAO, 2015). The soil fertility degradation is worsened by the spreading wave of deforestation, soil leaching and erosion. •

The agricultural production process is still labor-intensive. The farms employ a lot of workers who spend long hours to cultivate the land without a commensurate increase in agricultural production. As the farms hold back a huge workforce, the service

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and manufacturing industries in the cities have also stalled. Job creation is thus negatively impacted. The growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the various countries that make up the Sub-Saharan part of Africa has either been growing slowly, stalled or regressed. The economic growth in the Sub-Saharan part of Africa has been below three percent for five years. Economic growth has been trailing population growth (World Bank, 2018). While this stagnation can be attributed to a myriad of reasons, the poor growth of the agricultural sector is one of the reasons. The poor growth is a result of the delayed adoption of modern agricultural technology.

4.4 REVISITING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FARM SIZE AND PRODUCTIVITY The relationship between the size of cultivated land and the yield per hectare has been a point of discussion for more than a century now. John Stuart Mill, a philosopher of the 19th century, was among the first people to relate the productivity of the land to the size of the land that was cultivated. He posed that there was an inverse relationship between the farm size and its productivity. Chayanov (1926) observed the inverse relationship in Russia. The smaller the farm, the more productive it tended to be. This relationship emphasizes the role of small landholdings in the economic development of countries. The amount of farm input per hectare increases with a reduction in the size of agricultural farms. Small farms are mostly cultivated using family labor. As the farm size increases, so does the use of wage labor in the production process. Large farms rely almost exclusively on wage labor and as a result, the cost of cultivating large farms is relatively high. In addition to low costs of production, small farms encourage intensive farming which leads to an increase in the production of a farm (Sen, 1962). In absolute numbers, agricultural production increases with an increase in the amount of the factors of production, with land included. The percentage change in agricultural production is, however, lower than the percentage change in land size. The elasticity of labor was also explored as a cause of the phenomenon (Saini, 1971). The inverse relationship between farm size and productivity was also furthered by diseconomies of a large scale.

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While the relationship between farm size and productivity has been explored for years, a comparison of the various findings has been a challenge. This is because various studies have used varying measures for productivity. Some scholars used the amount of agricultural output per unit of land while others employ the amount of agricultural output per unit of the different inputs. Other measures of productivity that have been used this far include the technical efficiency of a farm, the amount of profit earned per unit of land, value added per unit piece of land (Helfand & Taylor, 2017). This hugely contributed to the confusion that has marred the study of this product. The relationship between farm size and productivity starts with the definitions of a farm and productivity. There are various definitions of a farm, and this has negatively impacted on the exploration of this topic. What is a farm? How do we measure farm sizes? What is productivity? What are the methods employed in the measurement of farm output and the different factors of production?

4.5 WHAT IS A FARM AND HOW IS IT MEASURED? A farm is a business entity whose primary activity is the production of agricultural products. A farm is therefore not limited to the land and buildings dedicated to the cultivation of crops and rearing of livestock. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a farm is “any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the year.” Traditionally, a farm was defined and measured simply as “the area of land under cultivation” or “the area from which food has been harvested”. With the advent of intensive farming methods like vertical farming technology and greenhouse farming; the definition has accumulated inadequacies. A land that would have been classified as small traditionally now has an output commensurate with that of large farms. And even traditionally some crops like pumpkins do not allow “one-time” harvesting; they were harvested in bits almost throughout the year (Gollin, 2018). The size of the land can be measured by the number of farm inputs that are put into use, in a given piece of land, over a given period of time: •

Measuring land – the physical size of land can be measured by the use of surveys. With technological advancements, surveys are being replaced by GPS devises. This allows farmers to measure the sizes of the land under cultivation at their own convenient

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time and get rid of the costs of contracting surveyors. Measuring labor – this involves the enumeration of labor-time units spent on the farm, spent on the processes of acquiring farm inputs and any activity that contributes to the production processes in the farms. Measuring intermediates – this involves the calculation of the finances that are spent to buy seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, pesticides and herbicides. Measuring the outputs – the outputs in agricultural production include the total sum of monetary values of all the products harvested from the farms.

Figure 4.2: The inverse relationship between farm productivity and the size of farms cultivated. Source: https://marcfbellemare.com/wordpress/7610

In trying to explain the reverse relationship between farm productivity and farm sizes, some economists posed that it could have been due to omission of some variables like labor or due to some measurement errors, given that it was advanced at a time when the measurement of soil variables like soil moisture had not been explored. Technological advancements have made it possible to not only measure the various inputs accurately but to also measure outputs with precision. This age has also seen the rise of the

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internet and telecommunication improvement, which have revolutionized the management of farms and hence record keeping and data management. Most of the studies have come up with, and accepted, the “U-shaped relationship” between farm size and land productivity. It advances the fact that the “relationship between farm size and productivity is neither monotonic nor equivocal” (Savastano & Scandizzo, 2017). According to the U-shaped relationship, the productivity of land reduces initially as the farm size decreases, only up to a given point beyond which, the productivity of the land increases with an increase in the farm sizes.

Figure 4.3: U-shaped relationship between farm size and productivity. The yaxis represents agricultural productivity while the x-axis represents the farm sizes in hectares. Source: https://growthecon.com/assets/papers/Foster_Rosenzweig_2017.pdf

The inverse relationship between farm size and production was mainly a result of studies that were done in India, where more than eighty percent of the cultivated lands are small (less than ten acres in size). In developed countries like the United States however, lands this small only make up for less than percent of the cultivated lands. Data shows that the productivity of the large farms in the already developed countries is higher than the agricultural production in smaller farms. In contrast, data from the developing countries show that productivity is higher in smaller farms than in the larger farms (Foster & Rosenzweig, 2017).

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According to Forster & Rosenzweig (2017), who while working with data collected from a survey of villages in India, found out that most of the workers on the farms do not work for the average 8hrs/day; since most of them are hired on a daily basis to provide labor to the small landholders. The small farmers mainly depend on family labor whose value is not quantifiable. The extremely small farms are adequately served by family labor. As the land increases in size, farms start outsourcing for labor. The outsourced labor comes with extra costs as they need to cover transportation costs from their places of residence to the farms. The small farms, as the farm size increases in size, the productivity of the land reduces because the cost of labor increases progressively. At a certain size of the farm however, the farms employ workers on full-time service. They work for eight hours a day and most of them live in servant quarters within the farms. The productivity of labor at this is thus higher than that employed by medium-sized farms. This, however, is not the explanation for the increased productivity with an increase in the farm size after a certain threshold. The researchers realized that large farms have a higher capability of employing high-quality machinery on their farms. Due to economies of scale, they are also able to acquire quantity discounts when buying farm machinery. The average quality of machinery and farm inputs used in large farm sizes make them more productive than the medium-sized farms. They are even more productive than the small scale farmers. Forster & Rosenzweig (2017) used the example of a power sprayer. They found out that the average number of hours a sprayer is used per acre reduces with the size of the land after the size of the farm goes beyond twelve acres. The larger farms are able to use more quality power sprayers and hence, time spent on spraying is reduced significantly. The saved time is put onto better use on the farms thus increasing the productivity of the lands. The increase in productivity due to the quality of the equipment does not hold true for farms bigger than 25 acres. This, they attributed to the fact that their country of interest did not possess the appropriate technology for the cultivation of extremely large farms which are a rarity in the country. In Kenya, a survey was done in the Western and Rift Valley regions to determine whether the widely accepted inverse relationship between farm size and productivity could hold true. The inverse relationship between farm size and productivity was preserved for farms that were less than six hectares. Between 10 and 70 hectares, however, productivity increased with an increase in the size of the farms (Muyanga & Jayne, 2019). This supported the U-shaped relationship between farm size and farm productivity.

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4.6 FROM LAND GRABS TO LAND DEVELOPMENT: THE PAST AND THE POTENTIAL OF PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN FRONTIER AGRICULTURE “Land grabbing” is a comparatively new term that is used to refer to the processes by which public and private investors acquire huge chunks of lands in “legal grey areas and no man’s land between traditional land rights and modern forms of agriculture” (Global Agriculture). In Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Sudan and Mali, a sum total of 2,492,684 hectares were acquired between 2004 and 2008. This is after excluding acquisitions that were less than one thousand hectares (Cotula, 2009). The wave of land acquisitions has been enhanced by government policies and incentives meant to attract foreign investors into the countries. The current wave of globalization, having increased the rate of capital and labor flow across international borders, has increased the rate of land acquisition. Between 2017 and 2018, Foreign direct investments (FDI) to the Sub-Saharan part of Africa increased by thirteen percent to about thirty two percent billion US dollars (Unctad, 2019). While the land acquisitions deprived the local communities of their natural resources, they have created a fertile ground for land development. Land development is the process of changing the landscape of land to make it suitable for economic purposes like agriculture. The process of land development is capital-intensive, and the local communities do not have enough capital to develop the lands. Traditionally, land development was encouraged by government subsidies which were expensive for the governments to maintain. Encouraging investors to acquire these lands repositions agricultural exports as one of the main sources of income in the region. The land acquisitions are thus part of the governments’ deals, and plans, to intensify agricultural production in the region. One of the earliest examples of the role of private investors in land development is the Chao Phraya Project in Thailand. A treaty signed between the British government and Thailand – Bowring Treaty of 1956 – led to an increase in the production of rice in Thailand. This subsequently led to an increase in the amount of rice was exported to the global markets. The Siam Canals, Land and Irrigation Company dug canals that opened up one hundred and forty two thousand hectares in the Rangsit region by allowing floodwaters to drain away. This led to an increase in rice production during the rainy season. Its main undoing was that it failed to direct water into the region during drought periods. This led to severe food shortages in periods

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that experienced water shortage. Although unsuccessful, the Siam Canals, Land and Irrigation Company set the Chao Phraya Delta region on the path to development (Leslie, 1973). Currently, the Illovo Sugar Company, a satellite company of the Associated British Foods (ABF) is one of the largest producers of sugarcane in the Sub-Saharan region. Save for contributing to raising the quantity and quality of sugar produced in the region, the company provides employment to the members of the host countries: Swaziland, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi. The Kakira Sugar Company in Uganda is another example of private investors in a country’s economy. The company provides employment to about ten thousand Ugandans. The acquisition of large chunks of land in the sub-Saharan part of Africa is driven by a number of factors including: •

•

•

•

•

The need to enhance food security for the members of the countries. The demand for food in the developing rises has been growing due to the high population growth rates. The food crises are made worse by climate changes like global warming, soil degradation and shifts of labor from the rural areas to the urban centers. The increased demand for petroleum-based fuels. Coupled with the high levels of pollution due to the fuels, the demand for biofuels has gone high. This has led to increased demand for land to expand agricultural production not only for food production but also for the provision of raw materials for the manufacture of biofuels. Profit-motivation. The rise in food prices in 2008 drove some private investors into the business of producing agricultural products. The price of land in the Sub-Saharan region is relatively cheaper when compared to the pricing in other regions in the world (Cotula, 2009). The rise of carbon markets. Carbon markets target the reduction of greenhouse gases in the environment. International corporations with interest in carbon markets are acquiring huge tracts of land throughout the world for purposes of afforestation and reforestation. More and more governments in the Sub-Saharan region are coming up with policies to encourage foreign investment. This

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is motivated by the desire to improve their agricultural sectors, provide employment opportunities for their citizens and generally improve the gross domestic products of their countries. Mali, for example, came up with an investment code in the years 1991 and 2005 to improve investment by foreign companies (Cotula, 2009). These land acquisitions have been hailed as drivers of large scale land development. Land development is, in turn, an important factor in agricultural transformation and agricultural intensification in the developing countries. The following are some of the reasons private investors play in the development of lands: •

•

•

•

•

•

Converting unproductive farms to productive lands through irrigation schemes. In the middle of the 20th century, Great Britain acquired land in Sudan and Egypt. Through irrigation, they were able to grow cotton for the markets in the United Kingdom. International corporations like Karuturi, an Indian corporation; the Saudi Star Corporation of Saudi Arabia are building irrigation schemes in Ethiopia to increase the farm size under cultivation. South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt have given out more than eight million hectares of land for development through agricultural irrigation (JB, 2012). Large scale cultivation of both cash crops and food crops for export and local consumption. The boom of cash crops like tea, coffee and sugarcane in the Sub-Saharan part of Africa can be in one way or another be attributed to “land grabbing” in the region. Afforestation and reforestation. Planting of forests to turn around the effects of climate change and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions could lead to an improvement in the country’s ecosystem which could, in turn, lead to agricultural development. By providing employment to the locals, the private investors provide households with off-farm incomes that in turn improve the small farming in the rural areas. Some of the developed lands are sold or leased to small scale farmers. Relieved of the task of developing the lands, small-hold farmers will go on to have an increase in their production of agricultural products. Increased adoption of modern agricultural equipment and technologies. With the spread of land grabs, the flow of modern

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equipment to developing countries has increased. In addition, agricultural exports of countries are increased, improving the economies of the countries. “Land grabbing” has not been without challenges. Most of the investment projects initiated on the acquired lands have failed to take off. In Mozambique for instance, large projects for biofuels production have stalled and failed to pick up. The acquisition of large lands has at some instances led to the displacement of communities from their lands. Communities that practice pastoralism and hunting activities have been deprived of their land rights. This is further fueled by the fact that these communities do not have well document evidence to claim ownership of the lands. Some critics also argue that the jobs provided by the private investors are few, based on favoritism, short-lived and hence, unable to impact on the affected communities. There also is a possibility that the land is leased to foreign investors by politicians for selfish interests. The interests of the communities are not taken into account. Land acquisitions have piled pressure on natural resources available to a community. In some cases, land development involves encroaching natural resources like forests. Lastly, some private investors are on the spot for violation of the terms of their contracts; with some eating up community land instead of developing frontier areas.

4.7 STAPLES PRODUCTION: EFFICIENT “SUBSISTENCE” SMALLHOLDERS ARE KEY TO POVERTY REDUCTION, DEVELOPMENT AND TRADE. Most economists emphasize the need for small-hold farmers to move away from subsistence farming and commercial farming so as to enhance economic development and increase the volume of trade. The progression from subsistence to commercial farming is however limited by many factors. These factors include: •

• •

Unavailability of adequate land. Most of the farms in developing countries are small farms due to the rapidly increasing population, land fragmentation and inadequate funds to purchase more land. Lack of information and knowledge. Many farmers lack information on how to go about increasing the yield of their farms. Unavailability of farm implements like fertilizers, farm machinery and pesticides that are required in commercial farming. In the

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cases where the inputs are available, the inputs are expensive making it difficult for the mostly poor farmers to acquire them. • The farmers lack managerial skills which are a prerequisite of running a large farm successfully. • Poor physical infrastructure; preventing the delivery of farm inputs and machinery from the markets to the farms. This also prevents the movement of agricultural products from the farms to the markets. The transportation of farm inputs is also costly. • The farmers lack marketing skills that are an important component in the commercialization of agriculture. • High illiteracy levels that hinder the interpretation of information on not only the use of farm machinery but also the market information. • In some instances, customs and traditions contribute to farmers holding onto the traditional methods of doing things. Their traditions are impermeable and so are their traditional ways of doing things. Subsistence farming has therefore persisted in most of the developing countries. The farms rely almost exclusively on family labor for land cultivation, weeding, harvesting and livestock rearing. The main purpose of this type of farming is to provide the household with food. As a result, the families carry out mixed farming rearing a wide variety of livestock and cultivating a wide range of crops. Stable foods are the most commonly cultivated crops. Staple foods are the foods that are the most commonly consumed foods within a community and constitute the foods from which the community obtains its nutrients. In the Sub-Saharan parts of Africa, 80% of the arable lands are under the control of these smallholders. They work on farms less than ten hectares. The smallholder farms are home to more than one billion extremely poor people whose primary and sole incomes are from agriculture. They depend entirely on the crops cultivated on the small farms and animals kept in the homesteads. The population provides the family labor that subsistence farming is dependent on. Women provide forty-three percent of the labor on the farm in all the developing countries in the world and about half of the labor in the sub-Saharan parts. The total sum of agricultural produce from these farms comprises more than eighty percent of the food that is produced in developing countries (Lowder, Skoet, & Raney, 2016).

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In most countries, more than half of their staples are meant for household consumption. In Russia, for instance, more than two-thirds of the food produced was for household consumption in 2003. Their production cannot be quantified in terms of money because the products were consumed at the point of production. As measurement in the subsistence economy is not usually quantifiable, at least not accurately, most of the subsistence farmers have been classified wrongly among the extremely poor. Uganda, a developing country in East Africa whose economy depends heavily on the agricultural sector, had more than fifty percent of its food production; being consumed at the point of production. The situation is similar in most developing countries, where most staples are consumed by the growers. The amount of trade among subsistence farmers is very little. The only trading that occurs is targeted at raising finances for purchasing farm inputs like hybrid seeds and farm inputs (Lipton, 2017). Malnutrition levels in the subsistence farmers, and especially among subsistence farmers, have been reported to be high. This is attributed to an insufficiency of most household farms. The staples are mostly carbohydrates and thus high in caloric content. Overconsumption of one variety of food has led to an increase in cases of kwashiorkor and in households where the family sizes are too large to be fed by the small farms; under nutrition cases have been reported. Overnutrition has also been attributed to subsistence farming due to over-reliance of families on staples that have very high caloric content. The first-millennium development goal was to reduce hunger and poverty in the world. The goal was to reduce to half the number of people living under one dollar a day and to halve the proportion of the world living with hunger between 1990 and 2015. It also sought to provide productive employment and dignified work for all persons. As of 2015, the proportion of people living under 1.25 US dollars a day had been reduced from fortythree percent in 1990 to fourteen percent in 2015. The total number of people living in extreme poverty reduced from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million people in 2015. The proportion of the middle class tripled between 1990 and 2015. While the proportion of people that were undernourished in 1990 was 23.3 percent, the figure reduced to 12.9 percent in 2014 (Way, 2015). In 2019, the proportion of the world that lives in poverty has reduced to ten percent. The sub-Saharan part of Africa, however, continues to lag behind with forty-one percent of its people living in poverty. Out of the twentyeight countries that are classified as poor, twenty-seven of them are found in the sub-Saharan region (World Bank, 2019).

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In addition to the high levels of hunger and extreme poverty, the development levels of the region trail behind the rest of the world. More than sixty percent of its population lack appropriate health care; experience poor living standards and have no access to quality education. Illiteracy levels are as high as thirty five percent (UNDP, 2017). The human development index in the region has thus fallen behind that of the other regions. The volume of trade in the region is also lower than the volume of trade in other regions throughout the world. The region is moving away from trading with developed countries, preferring emerging giants like China. While the region continues to grope through under-development, low trade and high poverty levels; small-hold farmers continue to hold onto the production of staples like maize, bananas, and other cereals. Focusing on moving these households from subsistence farming to commercial farming, to enhance trade and reduce poverty levels could lead to success; but how about focusing on making the subsistent farming more efficient? The following are ways, through which efficient subsistent farming can reduce poverty levels, enhance the region’s development and increase the volume of trade: •

•

•

Enhancing the availability of food. Through the application of quality farm inputs like fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides; the region can increase the amount of food available for the household. This not only increases the amount of food available in a household but also increases the caloric intake of the family. By providing enough energy for family labor, the productivity of the farms will be increased even further. This also provides energetic labor for the non-agricultural sectors within the community. With increased productivity, similar pieces of land can provide a surplus of food production for the family. Surplus agricultural production encourages trade, which in turn encourages specialization in the production of one particular crop or one particular livestock. With a surplus production, the food can be sold after the whole family is fed; to provide additional income for the families (CO Meiburg, 1963). Traditions and customs among most of the African communities did not allow commodification of essential goods and services like food. Commodification was seen as selfish as people believed in feeding the poor that could not afford food. They believed that food was a basic supply and every person whether or without

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means should access food. Most could not bring themselves that food could, and should be sold, to enhance the development of a region. The traditions were based on free sharing. Encouraging commodification in these communities, although difficult, could lead to an increase in the incomes of families and hence reduce the poverty levels of the communities. • The efficient production of staples in a community will help in realizing the nutrition needs of the communities in the region. This will enhance the human development indices of the regions and hence the overall development of the region. Enhancing the efficiency of subsistence farming has not been a priority for the government in developing countries. Instead, subsistence farming is viewed as a characteristic of low economic development. It is regarded as traditional. It is labeled small scale farming. It is synonymous with peasants (JW Waceke, 2004). This notion can be traced back to the fact that subsistence farming employs very few external inputs and therefore leads to a low amount of agricultural production. Most government policies actually target the reduction of subsistence farming in favor of commercialized farming in a bid to enhance economic development, reduce poverty and increase trade(Worl Bank, 2016)

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REFERENCES 1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9.

Rural Science Graduates Association (2002). Cordell, Dana (2009). “The story of phosphorus: Global food security and food for thought”. Global Environmental Change. Rockström, Johan; Williams, John; Daily, Gretchen; Noble, Andrew; Matthews, Nathanial; Gordon, Line; Wetterstrand, Hanna; DeClerck, Fabrice; Shah, Mihir (2016-05-13) Grimble, Robin (April 2002). “Rural Poverty and Environmental Management : A framework for understanding” Danielle Treadwell, Jim Riddle, Mary Barbercheck, Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, Ed Zaborski, Cooperative Extension System Tilman, David; Cassman, Kenneth G.; Matson, Pamela A.; Naylor, Rosamond; Polasky, Stephen (2002-08-08). “Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices”Thomson, Amanda; Simpson, Ian; Brown, Jennifer (October 2005).  Food and Agriculture Organization (November 1996). Cohen, Juliana F.W; Richardson, Scott; Parker, Ellen; Catalano, Paul J; Rimm, Eric B (2014). Chance, Quentin; Meyer, Morgan (2017-06-06).

Chapter

5

Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience

CONTENTS 5.1 What Is Climate Resilience?.............................................................. 114 5.2 How Does Climate Change Affect Agriculture ................................. 115 5.3 Climate Change And Animals........................................................... 117 5.4 Negative Impacts Of Climate Change In Agriculture......................... 119 5.5 Climate Change and Crops............................................................... 121 5.6 Climate Change and Livestock.......................................................... 122 5.7 Effects Of Precipitation..................................................................... 123 5.8 Principles That Guide Agriculture To Become Sustainable................. 125 References.............................................................................................. 139

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The world’s climate is changing, and this is undeniable. Today, we get more rains, droughts, and the risk of flooding has increased. The weather is getting more extreme, and the whole world is vulnerable. Take, for example, the heavy rains that have affected many cities lately. Traffic stops, basements become filled with water and business close for days. Extreme weather events are impacting on agriculture and allied sectors. This is, in turn, challenging the food security of the nation. Thus there is a need for an initiative on climate resilience agriculture globally.

The effect of this climate change affects profoundly on food security globally. Farmers who produce our food are the ones who are struck by the consequences of climate change. Thus, fishers, herders, and farmers need to build their resilience and ability to adapt to changes in climate to help feed the growing population. This should be done without depleting our precious reserve of soil and water. For this reason, the entire universe needs smart agriculture. This is not a new technique; however, it is an approach to identify the best practices that can respond to climate change. It should also adjust the systems to suit the local environment now and in the future as well. This is all about increasing production and income sustainably. It’s also about adapting and building resilience to the impact of climate change. However, wherever possible, it should always be about reducing greenhouse gases.

5.1 WHAT IS CLIMATE RESILIENCE? Climate resilience is the capacity for a socio-ecological system to absorb stresses and maintain function in the face of internal stresses imposed upon it by climate change. It, therefore, helps us to adapt, reorganize, and evolve to more desirable configurations. This should improve the sustainability of the system leaving it better prepared for future climate change impacts. With the rising awareness of change impacts by both national and international bodies, building climate resilience has become an essential goal for both institutions. The critical focus of climate resilience is to address the vulnerability that the communities, states, and countries have concerning the environmental consequences of climate change. Currently, climate resilience strategies are through social, economic, technological, and political implemented at all scales of society. This is done from local communities to the global level. Thus everyone is conserved with addressing climate resilience hence the reason why it is a priority globally.

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Today, the universe has suffered global warming. This has, therefore, lead to a more rapid change in the climate. The dry areas are becoming drier, and those that were wet are becoming wetter. It is recorded that there is intense precipitation. Thus there is a rise in the sea level. An increase in water level in the sea creates fear that it is going to flood in the neighborhood. There is, therefore, a reason to make better choices that work will work now and also in the future. The world population is expected to rise in the coming years. Agriculture is expected to have a vital role to play in feeding the increasing population. However, this may be slowed down by climate change. For this reason, agriculture must adapt to climate changes and help mitigate climate impacts. Thus, there is a need to introduce climate-smart agriculture. Climate-smart agriculture is an approach that was conceived to address climate change and food security simultaneously. This is not a new set of practices at the field level. However, it’s a new approach to agricultural development policymaking. This practice is believed to be holistic since it tries to achieve a sustainable increase in agricultural production. The practices also help in adapting to the new realities of the weather pattern. It is also trying to capture the mitigation of greenhouse gases. Climate-smart is specific since it cannot be a recipe for all. Remember, some areas are wet and those that are dry; hence, there are different weather patterns for particular regions. To come with a solution for a specific area, we need to build a robust evidence base to understand the impacts of climate on food security in different conditions and different regions and countries. This will need the support of every person to make it succeed. If we are looking forward to having some potential benefits in the future, then we need to address this climate change before it is too late.

5.2 HOW DOES CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECT AGRICULTURE Every agricultural production is always at the mercy of the weather and the climate. Therefore, there is a need for adequate rainfall and ideal temperature. However, when precipitation patterns or temperature changes out of the normal range, it impacts negatively on agriculture. There is beauty in the order at which plants are arranged on land. Crops spread beautiful to the horizon. For this beauty to be felt, farmers have to

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work on them. As farmers work on the crops, the weather is something that every farmer has to deal with on a daily basis. The agricultural canvas heavily depends on sunshine, moisture and good weather. However, this is changing due to climate change. The question about climate change goes way beyond the weather, seasonal challenges to agricultural production. Research shows that increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses are increasing temperatures globally. We really need to be mindful of what we can do to mitigate and make sure that we are equipped to adapt to climate change based on the long term impact that we witness today. Studies point to an increase in temperature to about three percent by 2050. This is due to an increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. High temperatures could mean more droughts may be experienced hence; there will be stress on the crops. An increase in temperature may reduce the nutritional quality of the crops like which is known to be the source of zinc and iron. An increase in temperature also brings about stress in animals. Stress in animal agriculture will impact on the production of dairy production. Thus this will lead to a reduction of things like milk production. This type of climate change will affect global vegetable products and fresh fruit production as well. Climate change will also impact on the wide production of corn soybeans and wheat fields as well. Therefore, there will be an impact on both animal and human food supplies. A rise in temperature will also impact the food sources from rivers, lakes and oceans. There is a change in water levels and water conditions due to climate change. For this reason, the water levels have risen up to serve as a risk to floods. On the other hand, an increase in water levels affects the fishing industries. Changing water conditions may be a reason for an increase in lobster numbers in the coastal main. Yes, this is good news. However, an increase in water temperature has been cited to be the reason for an increase in the lobster population. The increased carbon dioxide that is absorbed by the ocean is also a threat to the fishing industry. This changes the chemistry of seawater by making it be acidic. This change affects mostly the shellfish, lobsters, and snow crabs. The change in sea chemistry makes it hard for fishes to form shells and skeletons.

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5.3 CLIMATE CHANGE AND ANIMALS Today, most of us can identify with long rains, extreme heats, or cold and great products on animals used in agriculture. These changes in climate have an impact on milk production, animal health, or feed efficiency. The farm inputs that are affected mostly by climate change are feed and forage. These changes shift comes with shifts in temperature and rainfall or by extreme events such as floods and droughts. These changes can affect both the quality and quantity of feed and forage. Climate changes indicate a longer growing season. Pests, weeds, and diseases can also follow temperatures and precipitation patterns. This can also impact negatively on feeds and forages. Farmers confirm that the change in the dairy farm is weather patterns and harvest windows. Water is another farm input that animal agriculture cannot survive without. Animals use water to drink, and it is also be used for growing feeds. This water may come from rivers; snow melts, pond, groundwater aquifers, lakes, and rain-fed streams. Seasonal variation in climate may affect the availability or quality of water in the farms. Weather and climate also play a role in farm inputs and energy. Be it electricity or diesel fuel. Back up, generators come in handy when it comes to farm inputs. A generator is even more essential to areas that experience more torrential rain or storms. On a natural scale, fuel prices are affected by tropical weather events. Therefore energy inputs are not only vulnerable to energy supply but also changes in price. Apart from an impact on the farm input, the effect of animal agriculture is also witnessed in animal production. Heat stress is a hinder to animal production. An increase in the occurrences of warmer temperatures or more humid conditions can result in additional challenges. According to a study by St-Pierre in 2003, beef, swine, dairy, and poultry industry were losing 2.4 billion dollars per year due to the impact of heat stress. These impacts included a decrease in the animals’ performance, increased mortality, and a decrease in r4eproduction. Heat stress can be witnessed in several different types of farm animals. These effects can vary depending on the kind of species. For example, farmers lose milk production during the summer. For dairy products, it’s easy to monitor stress with milk production. However, heat stress also affects the reproduction of animals as well. There will be 35-70% drops on

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dairy animal reproduction with an increase in temperature. It’s, therefore, confirmed that the dairy cows would focus more on producing milk than in reproducing. Again, if you want to verify if your animal is stressed, then you will notice that it will be panting more, salivating more, breathing more often, and they will stand up to allow air to flow across them. In poultry, if the humidity is high, they will try to work harder to make sure that they get rid of extra heat. This is because the heat loss is inefficient. For this reason, poultry will have to pant more and for more extended periods. By this, they will be using more energy. Birds will tend to spend the feed energy in trying to keep up with the panting process hence a decrease in feed intake. Thus there will be a worse conversion of feed energy. Bodyweight gain in meat birds will not be achieved. Again, temperature will also reduce the reproduction rate. Temperature also affects calcium deposition on the shells; hence, there will be thinner eggshells, thus a reduction in egg quality. From the above, we can understand that the most common impacts of heat stress on animals are loss in productivity and reproductive problems. However, these impacts vary based on the type of species. Impacts are functions of the duration of heat events and the durability of the animal to cool down in the evening. If temperatures do not drop at night, then the animals cannot cool down. Animals can also be affected by cold. With too much snow, the animals can freeze to death. Again, animals are affected by abrupt changes in temperatures. For example, from cold temperatures to warmer temperatures. Animals, therefore, need time to adapt to the changes in weather. Climate changes can also impact on the spread of diseases and pests. Warmer temperatures, mild winters, and changing rainfall amounts result in a migration of pests to different geographical areas. Farm logistics also suffers when it comes to climate change. This includes the timing and transporting of young animals’ feeds and supplies to the farm or from the farm. This can be in the feeding of the animals, the scheduling of reproduction animal movement, manure management, milking equipment and schedules, farm management, and more. Manure management is one of the areas that is affected mostly. This is as a result of extreme weather events. If it is wet, everything is delayed, and storage takes more time than it should. Changes in the amount, timing, and intensity of rainfall put farmers at risk, especially when it comes to overtopping manures. When it comes to manure application, changes in

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precipitations can create issues in logistics with either the timing application or the increased potential for runoff pollution problems. Moreover, any changes in temperatures make it difficult to estimate crop nutrient availability. Climate changes also impact pasture management. Some grazing areas may not be available due to flooding or drought conditions. On the other hand, farms may be vulnerable to transporting animals or products. Time for extreme heat or cold may not only affect the animals but human labor on the farm. Flooding or heavy snowfall may prevent farmers and farm employees from reaching the farm. Climate and weather changes also affect farm exports. Marketed and sold farm products are affected by climate change. For example, livestock producers have seen their profits affected in recent years. This is due to the impacts of drought. During drought, every farmer will opt to sell their animals. During this period, the price of animals will decrease. On the other hand, the cost of feed will increase as there will not be enough due to drought. This is, therefore, a disaster for livestock producers. Climate change can impact farm-specific impacts along with regional, national, and global impact. Effects such as heat stress, flooding, or droughts are easy to identify. Other impacts, such as manure management labor, pests, roads, and bridges, are species-specific.

5.4 NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN AGRICULTURE Climate change and agriculture are interrelated processes. These two take place on a global scale. Climate changes affect agriculture in several ways, including changes in average temperatures, rainfall, and climate extremes. There are also changes in pests and diseases, atmospheric carbon dioxide, and ground-level ozone concentrations. Due to climate change, we also witness changes in the nutritional qualities of food and changes in sea level. Today, climate change is a threat to the agricultural sector globally. It is believed that climate change will negatively affect crop production in low latitude countries, while the effect in northern latitudes may be positive or negative.

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Figure 5.1: A flooded rice field. Photo: Nonie Reyes / World Bank.

Climate change may increase the risk of food insecurity for some vulnerable groups, such as the poor. Agriculture is believed to contribute to climate change through anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gasses. This can also be through the conversion of non-agricultural land into agricultural land. Agriculture, forestry, and land-use change contributed around 20-25% global annual emission in 2010. The impact of climate change on agriculture is related to variability in the local climate rather than in the global climate pattern. The extent of earth’s surface temperature has increased. The international aspect of trade and security in terms of food implies the need to consider the effects of climate change on a global scale. A study published in Science suggests that due to climate change, Southern Africa could lose about 30% of its maize by 2030. Crops yield is believed to able to fall sharply based on climate change. A fall of about 30% in productivity is expected. The fish industry will also be severely affected. Climate change induced by effects crops differently based on the region that is has grown in. For example, there may be a drop in crop yield in some areas while there will be high yield is expected in others. Favorable impacts on crops depend on a large extent on the realization of potentiality beneficial effects of carbon dioxide growth. This is also accompanied by water use

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efficiency. The decrease in yields may be due to the shortening of the growing period, reduction in water and availability, and poor vernalization. In the long run, the climatic change could affect agriculture in several ways. This includes productivity in terms of the quality and quantity of crops. Agricultural practices through changes in water use and agricultural inputs such as herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizers. Environmental effects based on the frequency and intensity of soil drainage, soil erosion, reduction of plant diversity. Organisms may become less competitive as well as humans may have an agency to develop more competitive microorganisms. Rapid climate changes pose more threats to agriculture. This is more evident in countries with poor soil and climatic conditions. This is due to less time for optimum natural selection and adaptation. Today, both minor and significant droughts have an impact on agriculture. Initially, substantial weather changes were adapted to without much hardship. Changes in crop phenology provide relevant evidence of the response to recent climate changes. Significant phenology has been observed for both agriculture and forestry in the Northern Hemisphere. Droughts have been occurring more frequently because of global warming. This is expected to be more intense in Africa, southern Europe, and the Middle East. Their impacts are aggravated because of increased water demands, population growth, urban expansion, and environmental protection efforts in many areas. Droughts result in crop failure and loss of pasture grazing lands for livestock. Research shows that with an increase in temperature, there will be a decrease in productivity. This is more applicable to some cereals in low latitudes and productivity increase in high latitudes. \from the points mentioned above, we realize that climate change affects climate change directly or indirectly. Direct effects are witnessed in extreme weather such as drought, floods, and increases in sea level, and many more. This, in turn, affects crops or livestock development due to more carbon in the soil. On the other hand, indirect effects increase pests and pathogens in plants and livestock.

5.5 CLIMATE CHANGE AND CROPS •

•

An increase in temperature is believed to cause failure in pollination most of the time. For example, during warmer winters, insects are not available to help in cross-pollination. High temperatures also decrease crop quality. There will be more

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•

•

carbon dioxide gas that is being absorbed in the soils. Therefore nitrogen and organic matter won’t be sufficient enough to be absorbed by plants. Changes in weather patterns affect soil water availability in areas where people plant crops all year round may be affected by the change in weather patterns. Therefore, there is more drought or more precipitation; then, the soil water will not be sufficient for the crops. Some plants require cold periods to welcome them back. This is essential to those plants that come back every year. Therefore, with no cold periods, these plants will not come back.

5.6 CLIMATE CHANGE AND LIVESTOCK •

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Hot temperatures stress animals. Therefore, there will be a reduction in the production of milk, meat, fertility, and eggs. With a fall in reproduction, there will be fewer meat, eggs and dairy as there will be no more animals that are being reproduced. With an increase in carbon dioxide in the soil, there will be a decrease in organic matter and nitrogen. Therefore, the reduced quality of pasture and rangeland for livestock. Again there will be no enough pasture to support the livestock.

Weeds diseases and pests Weeds can cause about 34% loss in crops; insects cause an 18% loss while diseases cause about a 16% loss in crops. Incase climate change proceeds, then there will be an increase in the percentages. An increase in Carbon dioxide and temperature may cause the rapid growth of some weeds. These weeds will then have an opportunity to take over our crops. Due to a rapid increase in weeds, there will be a need for using herbicides. This means that herbicides will have fewer effects; hence, there will need to use more and more. An increase in temperature may result in drought. This will cause an increase in pathogens (aflatoxin). Aflatoxin will grow while the host plant will not have a chance to grow; hence, they will diminish. For this reason, we will have fewer plants.

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An increase in temperatures causes more insects to survive. They will, therefore, have an opportunity to have more offspring every spring. This will increase the generation of insects yearly since they will not die.

5.7 EFFECTS OF PRECIPITATION 5.7.1 Extreme weathers Precipitation is expected to rise or fall in different areas. In cases where there is a rise in rainfall, there is a possibility of drought. This shift of weather patterns may alter crop water requirements, productivity, and water cost. Crops will either need more or less water based on their location. This water costs will rise in places that are experiencing droughts. This, in turn, will reduce productivity as there may be too much water; hence, the crops will drown and fail. 

5.7.2 Soil erosion A rise in precipitation causes more decay in the soil. This, in turn, will reduce the quantity of nutrients in the soil as the topsoil will be washed away.

5.7.3 Cost Climate change also impacts profoundly on the value of agricultural products. For example, at higher temperatures, farmers will need a manmade system to help in the cooling effects. These will increase the cost of driving equipment and energy prices.  How can we protect agriculture from climate change? Food is precious and very vulnerable. However, if it is not produced in an environmentally sustainable way, it may not mean life as we intend it to be. Agriculture generates more greenhouse gasses than all the transport combined globally. Today we have a considerable inefficiency system. There is a massive amount of resources that are going into our entire food system. However, there is little that is coming out. We need to address these challenges. In case we don’t, there is a real possibility of not being able to feed the world’s population. Today, the planet cannot take an increase in intensive agriculture anymore. Life will change and hence, the industries as well. There is a need

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to take care of the planet as we are on the verge of the next revolution. This revolution may transform farming forever. Climate change will impact strongly on low latitude areas. It is believed that we may have areas that will completely abandon agricultural production. We should understand that it takes about 500 years to produce inch topsoil. However, we are losing this at an alarming rate. It is essential, therefore, that we bring back carbon where we are losing it our soils. This is a critical issue. There is a need to bring back the organic matter into the soil. Initially, the universe had the best soil and climate condition to produce grains for a slow cause base. However, this has changed, and today there is a need to create a digital system to control farming business and make sustainable. Thus, the introduction of precision farming is important. This type of agriculture allows us to apply farm inputs that are needed and in the amounts are necessary for the farms. This technology gives the farmers a chance to know the information about the soil conditions and crop rotation for the last years. This dynamic is to help improve efficiency and enter in a new form of the green revolution — this is based on how we are using resources. Concerning agriculture, satellites can do a lot. They can monitor moisture, crop growth, and amounts of nutrients. These satellites can use data and should more available for free to any individual that wishes to use them. Today, we are at a stage where now that the agricultural industry is transforming. The transformation is based on the new digitized form. There will be the use of robotic automation, big data; thus, there will be a need for fewer natural resources. Therefore the farmers will be growing more produce with lesser resource usage. If the soil is managed well, it can be a carbon stock. Therefore with restorative farming practices, then the planet can be in a position to address climate change issues. This can be dong alongside with efficient food production. The need for protein will drive future food trends. Protein can be found in animal agriculture, and it will be a significant impact on the environment. Cows have two major issues; it is very inefficient in producing food, and it is also a ruminant; thus, it produces a lot of methane. Cows need about eight times food as much as we get out of them. Methane is a vital greenhouse gas. There are undoubtedly exciting startups that are taking place. Today there is

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an introduction of a meat-free burger. Probably the algae or the insects may occupy the alternative protein space.  Change is not only in the new technology; however, farmers need to get informed as well. They need to try new business ideas to try changing how they do things. With these pieces of information distributed to the farmers, the planet would have empowered the farmers. Today, some farmers are practicing soilless farming. We need to understand that we need to do something about our future. We need to start taking care of this planet as we only have plants that can sustain us efficiently. This affects the whole nation, and the government needs to do more if we are to maintain soil farming. We can change the world by not fearing innovation but being able to practice it. Therefore, to adjust to the changing climate, we need to adapt by: •

• •

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Adjusting the planting time. We can move planting times to later in the years. Thus the plants will not bloom early and die through fast. Choose crops that are more tolerant and do not need much water. There is also a need to restrict food trade. This will allow us to grow our food to feed our people rather than trading with the whole world and always struggling to make enough food. This will cause other countries to work hard to grow their food. Soil conversion should be done to switch off the soil to keep more nutrients and keep crops growing. 

5.8 PRINCIPLES THAT GUIDE AGRICULTURE TO BECOME SUSTAINABLE The worlds’ population is growing, and by 2050 we will need to double our food production. To live sustainably, the structures that meet our basic needs must work towards regeneration rather than consumption and depletion. We need to find alternatives that exist to produce food. This is what we need when it comes to sustainable agriculture. Maintenance of soil fertility is essential for increased production in a sustainable environment. This can be done through organic farming since it aims to control pests and diseases with no harm to the environment. This type of farming produces quality food, feeds for animals that can be sold at a reasonable price.

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There is a need for genetic engineering, advanced pesticides, and fertilizers. State of sustainable art farming puts an end to the natural chemical addiction. It is based on the usage of better practices as opposed to the use of expensive methods. These practices need the following principles;  •

Sustainable farmers build healthy soils by planting a variety of crops and rotating them. Plants with proper crop rotation always work on keeping pests in the check. This type of practice will not hurt the bugs that you will need like those essential colonies.    • These farmers raise their animals on farms instead of cramped factories.  • They federalize using compost and livestock for planting healthy soil crops. This choice will impact massively on everyone. As opposed to sustainable farming, industrial agriculture will degrade and erode topsoils. Sustainable agriculture will not use millions of pounds of antibacterials, and it will not lead to dangerous new bacteria. Moreover, this type of farming will not produce toxic runoffs that pollute water bodies.  Sustainable farming is known to be suitable for both the environment and farmers. The only question that bothers many is if this type of farming can feed the world. Yes, Studies show that sustainable agriculture produces too. Moreover, it has proven to be even better during drought seasons.  If we want to make it through sustainable farming, we will have to follow these guidelines. We should have the power to buy or grow the food that we need. This is all that is involved in sustainable farming. Sustainable farmers, therefore, prove that we can enjoy healthy food, and each has the power to make this happen. We can stand up and speak out for sustainable farmers around the world.  

5.8.1 Agro Ecological Practices for Climate Change Adaptations No matter your political stance on the causes, the evidence of climate change is here with us. With the current political climate surrounding mitigation and options being very contentious, more talks are based on the need for adaptation to the changes that are predicted as a result of greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere. The following practices may help us to adapt to current situations.

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Every year, populations grow more and more. This increase in population is putting a more massive strain on the planet’s land and water resources. Therefore there is a need to sustain the increasingly fragile ecosystems and meet the demand for food and energy without jeopardizing the ability of future generations. Today, it is essential that our agricultural practices be as sustainable as possible more than ever. This means that we need to get more from our cultivated lands with a lighter environmental footprint and in an economical way. Farmers are providing solutions globally. Today, farmers are using agricultural technology to help address food, fuel, and water shortages. Since biotech crops were introduced, farmers have been producing increased crop yields, and there is also improvement in productivity. Thus there is more food for people and more feeds for animals at affordable prices and better income for farmers.

Figure 5.2: Unprecedented growth in biotech crops. Source: https://www.borgenmagazine.com/unprecedented-growth-in-biotechcrops/

Farmers depend on healthy soils and nutrients and adequate water supplies year after year. Today, farmers are getting help from new technologies, which is enabling them to be better environmental stewards while meeting the worlds growing demands for their crops. Many use food, fuel feeds, and fiber. Biotech crops are also helping people to meet nutritional needs, which is more critical in developing countries. They also offer farmers resistance to pests and crop diseases. Agricultural biology also helps farmers to cope with

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drought and water shortages. Drought can mean a loss of a years’ service in a matter of weeks. Drought can devastate the entire community. Today, biotech crops are often hardier, and they use water more efficiently. Besides, drought-tolerant corn will soon be available to farmers. Through technology, biotech may also come up with flood-tolerant rice that can withstand extreme weather conditions. The environment also benefits from biotechnology. Ina around 1961, one acre of crops was harvested for each person’s food supply globally. In 2006, this number decreased by about 50%. This means that we are feeding more people today on less land. The development of pest resistance crops also means that fewer pesticides application are necessary. This helps reduce further agricultural, environmental footprint. Biotechnological approaches not only help in feeding the population of the world and conserve land, but they can also help us feel it more sustainably too. A developing world’s population requires more energy. It is shown that in 2006, the United States used about a quarter of the world’s oil supplies. The international energy agency predicts that global energy use could increase by 50% between now and 2030. This energy is sourced from non-renewable fossils fuel. Scientists, however, have developed new sources of sustainable energy such as biofuels that are derived from high yield renewable plants. This energy can be converted to ethanol. In the future, the next generations’ biofuels generated from biocatalysts will make more significant contributions in meeting tomorrow’s energy needs. Biofuels also contributes towards a sustainable energy future while saving the environment. According to the renewable fuel association, today’s ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 29%. The equivalent to removing 2.1 million cars off American highways cellulosic ethanol is expected to reduce emissions by 85% or more. Some biotech crops grown for biofuels are built with no-till farming practices, which also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and runoffs from farmland. Tilling the soil less may cut erosion by about 44%. Less than one percent of global arable land is used for the production of feeds stocks for biofuels. According to recent studies, a recent study is over one billion acres of dormant cropland around the world that could be put into bioenergy production. Bioenergy crops have a lot of impact on sustainable agriculture. It can provide food, feed, fuels, and other high-value co-products from the same crops making the highest possible use of the land. Protein from advanced biofuel crops could even reduce the average of land required to feed livestock.

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Scientists, agricultural researchers, environmentalists, business leaders, and government are coming together to identify and explore sustainable farming practices that increase productivity, meet nutritional needs, and improve the socio-economic well-being communities around the world. It will also reduce agricultural footprints. The best kind of farming should pay attention to how nature works. Thus farmers should mimic this in ways that are productive for food land and what a chicken wants to live in. Should the chicken be in a confined burn or on fresh grass twice a day? If you look at the chicken scenarios, it is clear that the chicken thrives when they are raised in a way that mimics what they like to do if they were still the world. It is critical that if you don’t pay attention to how nature works, there is a possibility of running into problems and nature sorts of always has the last word. Healthy animals make healthy food. Animal farming is special. You still work towards making sure that the animals are happy. Every little task, be it a mundane small task, will be satisfying since this helps the animals thrive. Today, heavy rainfall causes manure storage to spill. These extreme patterns are expected to continue. Thus there is a need for every farmer to understand the best way that can help them manage the risk the government needs to come up with regulations that will help cab the risks that are involved. For instance, the country should come up with a regulation of making sure that the manure storage is large enough to hold like an eighty to a hundred days of manure production. Again, the state should also require that the manure lagoons be inspected regularly. Daily amounts of rainfall should also be recorded, and a plan is developed on what should be done in case the structure fails To be a super farmer, you need to take pride in seeing the soil of the world is fertile than it was before. In the case of chicken, you can keep them in a chicken shelter. This chicken shelter should be portable; hence can be moved from one place to the other. As it is pulled, make sure that the grass can grow up from where the chicken shelter was. The lawn should be tall, thicker, and greener. Remember, as a farmer, there is pride in making sure that you produce quality products while taking care of the environment. There is no problem when it comes to motivation on what you do as a farmer. The only problem that can be witnessed is being in a situation where you are forced to stop what you should be doing because of climate

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change. There is a need to focus on what benefits the environment. This type of benefit should be extended to people around today and even for future generations as well. This will not only satisfy the farmer, but it will impact the nation and the whole world as well. To any farmer who cares for the planet, there is a need for change today. However, the change is not only for the farmers only but about the whole world. Therefore, you should buy from the local, sustainable farms as it is the best thing for all parties that are involved. It should be noted that our decisions affect the world that we live in. If you support world industrial organic farmers, then you should know that that is the type of society that you are creating and sustaining. Ask yourself if your wish is to create a world that has beautiful farms that are right in your backyard — a place with a viable business for that farmer. More still, an area that the land has become more and more fertile with healthy food. Or better yet, do you want to support the people who are doing things right.

5.8.2 Building on Farmers’ Knowledge To save the world, we need to address global challenges now, as this is what the universe depends on. Therefore there is a need to create sustainable livelihoods. As we work on feeding the growing population, we need to find safe agricultural practices that will safeguard the environment. Thus we aim to make the global economy green. Farmers are vital when it comes to the green economy. Farmers will grow crops to feed, clothe, and produce another renewable for all of us. To achieve this, farmers manage the land, safeguard natural resources, and help in the protection of biodiversity. Globally, agriculture accounts for 37% of employment, 34% of land use, 70% of water use, and up to 30% of greenhouse emissions. 95% of agricultural workers live in developing countries. These countries, it is only willing farmers that grow the majority of the food of the world. Growth from agriculture is believed to be the only hope when it comes to reducing poverty than any other sector. It also has one of the highest potentials is for mitigating carbon emissions. The world needs about 70% more food come in 2050. Thus the agricultural sectors need to increase productivity and reduce waste. To achieve this, everybody is responsible, and therefore there is a need to help farmers’ access knowledge. Moreover, we need to know that it is each person’s responsibility that farmers’ access training and inputs that they need to sustainably improve the quantity,

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quality, and diversity of the crop they grow. There is also a need to help them adapt to weather changing patterns and to keep the soil fertile and to tackle pests. Farmers also need to access the market places to get supplies and information and to sell surplus crops more reliably and affordably, further reducing waste. This includes local storage, communications, and transport systems. If this is followed to the later, it will increase farmers’ earnings and create more jobs. Thus farmers can use this to reinvest in their farm, pay for better education and health care for their families. When the existing farms are more productive, natural habitats and biodiversity they support can remain intact. Therefore forests will continue to capture carbon dioxide and reduce the overall emissions that are related to climate change. Sustainable farming practices like conservation tillage also help soil degradation and keeps carbon in the soil. Technologies like drip irrigation can also reduce the amount of water that farmers need to use. Agriculture is essential to the green economy. We need to reverse the significant decline in government spending and foreign aid to agriculture that has been happening since the 1980s. We, therefore, need to invest in agricultural research and create science-based policies that give farmers of innovative solutions through which to choose. We need to enhance agricultural ability to create jobs and safeguard the environment. Over the next 50 years, we need to provide the planet with food, water, jobs, housing, education, and energy. To achieve this, we need to support sustainable agriculture for a green economy by putting farming first. The green economy needs the farmers’ to practice agroecology farming; thus, there is a need to understand all that is entailed.

5.8.3 What is agroecology farming? This is essentially one way to use natural resources more efficiently. Therefore, we need to reduce the dependency of agriculture on external inputs that links to fossil energy that we are running out of. There is a need to invent something different. Essentially agroecology needs to be called up as it is the only way to sustainable food systems. There is a need to plan this as there will be no choice in the coming years. This can be done on a large scale and some agroforestry programs. However, it can also be achieved by small scale farmers who are linked to the land. For this to succeed, countries need to put policies in place that

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favors farmers’ organization. This will allow farmers to share knowledge amongst them. Primarily, the government must invest the sharing of education, training of farmers in horizontal ways. Remember, the type of knowledge that one farmer needs may differ from the other based on the geographical region that they are in. Agroecology, therefore, needs to be localized, bottom-up, innovation developed.

5.9 Why agroecology? Reaching the goal of the agenda; sustainable development of a world without hunger and malnutrition calls for urgent action to make agriculture more sustainable, productive, and resilient. Climate change increases uncertainty and vulnerability for such transformations. Climate change is a game-changer for agricultural systems. Increment in adaptation is not enough; therefore, there is a need to transform the farming systems. We also need crop adaptation and diversification of the arrangements. This should be accompanied by an active reduction of greenhouse gases with the possibility of storing carbon in the soil. This can be achieved by trying an integrated agricultural process like agroecology. It can reduce environmental footprints of agriculture to guarantee the ecosystem that can ensure food and security for all. All over the world, the weather is unpredictable as a result of climate change. Hundred years ago, farmers knew when to do what in their farms. This has changed, and we have a different and unpredictable weather event. As a nation, we need to come up with solutions to help in improving agriculture. Thus the need for agroecology. Here farmers need to create diversity as much as we can with the crops that we produce. This should be based both on the number of species and variety. This helps in balancing, so if one thing is not going to work, then maybe the other will. With these changes, there is a need to build farmers’ knowledge on what should be done and how it should be done. There is a need to come together as a community, a country, and also globally to help save the lands for the future generation. The question is, what is the best approach for sustainable agriculture?

5.9.1 Holistic Approach in Agroecology Sustainability is easier said than done. It is easy when you say it, but it means a different thing. This means that everybody has a different definition

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of sustainability. Is the practice possible for the business or the operation that can be sustained over some time, and is it repeatable? Can it be done year after year, and it does what it is supposed to do, and the goals are to improve quality? You will realize that there are some practices that we have been doing that were not appropriate. For example, nitrates in the water. We have been overapplying nitrogen hence the reason for higher nitrates in our groundwater. Today, we are trying to manage this so that we don’t continue causing the problem. We can overcome this by trying to make a better situation Sustainable farming is taking into consideration of the next generation. Therefore we need to take care of our soil, water, and even the atmospheric air. It is a matter of tweaking the environment to understand what should be done to make it better. Farmers need to fight against nature in a lot of ways. They also need to work with nature. This is the reason why we need to look at the lands having cover crops, and it is a need to talk about soil moisture monitoring, Globally, farmers need clean and available water. Thus it is the responsibility of the farmers to take care of groundwater and surface water. Without this, farming changes a lot; hence, water quality should be a priority. However, water alone cannot produce food. There is a need to take care of the soil and the atmosphere, as well. All these are essential roles when it comes to feeding the growing population without depleting natural resources. Through sustainable agriculture, farmers need to be productive with fewer resources and less land to be efficient in our production. To achieve this, there is a need for continues learning sine there are new innovations. Technology in agriculture has changed over the last decade. There is a lot more site-specific crop management today. Today, farmers can manage field at smaller levels as opposed to what they use to do early on. This is done by the use of satellite imagery that helps in measuring crop health. The farmers can measure the crops during the growing seasons and be able to identify little areas of the fieldwork on how best to correct them. Farmers are also able to do grid sampling to them know the nutrients levels in the soil in different areas. They will, therefore, apply fertilizers in the amount needed and where they are required. The crops, therefore, receive higher efficiency from the inputs that are involved. All these that are learned are better if they can practice and also share them out with the public. Looking at what is involved, there is a need to team up together globally to make the future through sustainable agriculture. Farmers can never

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achieve this on their own; hence, there is a need to work together. Each person must be responsible if we want a better tomorrow. To make this, farmers need to be informed and acquire the best knowledge that will help them change their face of agriculture.

5.9.2 Farmer’s Knowledge and Information Development Climate change may increase the frequencies and magnitude of extreme weather in the world. This will add the problems that farmers are already coping with. An increasingly and unpredictable climate also means that farmers’ traditional knowledge of how farmers can predict changing partners may no longer be adequate. Moreover, traditional coping mechanisms may no longer be sufficient. Therefore, farmers need new tools to help them adapt to changes in the climate and the environment. They require reliable climate forecasts that will address their specific needs to adjust to the changing climate. Today, there is a need for a lot of projects to help in solving agricultural issues. Moreover, each farmer should be involved in every step of making agriculture sustainable. Thus, there is a need to bring together the local extension workers, farmers’ organizations, climate scientists, and agronomists to deliver better seasonal forecasts to farmers. Their goal should be to package and communicate forecasts in a way that makes sense to farmers and in a way that they can use in their daily lives. Climate scientist listens to farmers to explain how they live and cope with climate change currently. They should give them a chance to describe their traditional methods for predicting rainfall and other weather parameters. In turn, the climate scientist introduces the idea of a probabilistic forecast and trains the farmers to interpret this kind of information for use in their farming. The scientist highlights the links between the scientific knowledge on the one hand and what farmers traditionally know, on the other hand. Together they need to compare these two ways to reach a consensus forecast.

5.9.3 How to Put Knowledge into Farmer’s Hands Sharing information and data is a vital component for policy dialogue and policymaking to address the specific needs in agriculture and the environment. It is important for farmers to learn about food production. This is done in different ways as discussed below.

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5.9.4 Farming Knowledge Platform There are different platforms where farmers can get information and knowledge from, and they include:

5.9.5 Family Knowledge Platform There are over 500 million family farms out of 570 million farms worldwide. Family farming is the most predominant form of agriculture, both in developing and developed countries. It supplies more than 80% of the food in the world in terms of value.

Figure 5.3: Family members showing their farm produce. Source: https://www.sudamericarural.org/index.php/noticias/que-pasa/5697ven-a-la-agricultura-familiar-como-motor-de-desarrollo-y-crecimiento

Family farming is a means of organizing agricultural, forestry, fishery pastoral, and aquaculture production. This is managed and operated by families and predominantly reliant on family labor, including both women and men. Family farmers hold unique potentials towards more productive and sustainable food systems. Since the launching of the 2014 international year of family farming (IYFF), there is going beyond celebrations and put in place the concrete solution to support family farming. Sharing information and data is a vital component for policy dialogue and policymaking to address the specific need of family farmers.

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Since information on family farming is scattered and incoherent, there is a need to intergrade and systematize existing data to better info and provide knowledge-based assistance to policymakers, family farmers, researchers, and other development sectors. The family farming knowledge platform provides a single access point for international, regional, and national information related to family farming issues. This is through gathering digitized quality information on family farming from all over the world. Thus, family farmers can access information on; laws and regulations, public policies, publications, best practices, relevant data, and statistics globally. To achieve the goal of agroecology, there is a need for active collaboration. Therefore, there is a need to include the government, the United Nations agencies, farmers’ organizations, and the academy. This platform is intended for a wide range of users, from government offices to farmers’ organizations from academia, to civil societies and in governmental organizations who need access to qualified knowledge and related topics. The use of this platform can assist in facilitating policy discussions, policy designs, and decision making on family farming. Secure online access to programs, legislations updated statistics, publications, lessons learned, and initiatives foster knowledge and information dissemination for concrete actions and policymaking in support of family farming.

5.9.6 Farmers Linkage and Capacity Building Agriculture is a sector that produces food to feed the world. Through agriculture, we can get raw materials that are used in industries in agroprocessing and manufacturing companies. However, this sector is sometimes neglected by financial institutions. This is because lending to agricultural activities is widely considered to be a high-risk proposition. Among the risks to farmers are production risks such as weather and natural disasters as well as price and market risk. Lack of adequate infrastructure, poor road networks lack sufficient weather data, inadequate market information, difficulties association, militates against the attainment of expected output. Besides, agricultural lending faces additional challenges in the lack of data on farmers’ credit behavior as well as previous credit history. There is also the risk of farmers’ site selling crops as well as a history of subsidized or poor credit behavior. This challenge leads to excessive-high costs and risks in applying the same lending approach as is used for micro-business loans is a sure prescription for disaster.

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Decision making on agriculture depends on many variables that change from year to year beyond the farmer’s control. Farmers may not be in a position of knowing how many others are planting a specific crop. They don’t even know how average yields will fare in a given year. Often, a reasonable price one year always motivates a lot of farmers to move into the same crop the next year. This shift increases production in the face of constant demand driving down the price and making the crop much less attractive the following year. Capacity building is simply a process to empower farmers through various aspects. This begins with exposure through sensitivity. To succeed as farmers, they should be an awareness improvement, and this can be through experience, exposure, susceptibility. There should be someone guiding you as a farmer on what you should do or what you should not do based 2on the change in the climate. The experts who are conducting farmers know what is right and what is wrong. Agricultural education is essential. Everyone needs to understand what is happening elsewhere and knowhow best they can use technology to solve climatic problems. Therefore there are networks where farmers can involve themselves in. This network is to advise members to pave the way for new solutions and to make sure that they understand what is going on, which is policies in development. Thus they come up with what kind of solutions should be implemented. The networks have a role in communicating and disseminating the outputs from projects. Besides, there is a need to exchange networks and take advantage of the experience done by members in terms of agroecology for sustainable farming. Capacity building and linkage of farmers is vital in bringing the stakeholders and practitioners together. This is to increase the acceptance of technologies to farmers, landowners, and farm managers to help implement the projects in their fields. Countries like Israel offer agrostudies to help in capacity building and linkage of farmers. They invite agriculture students from different parts of the world and give them a chance to study and train the most advanced technologies and techniques that are available in the world. They do this by learning to combine knowledge and experience; this increases the world’s agricultural capacity and helps in food security creation. The students have a chance to work on the farms. Each farm has modern technology that provides the students with practical work experience. The students have a chance to practices the management of big current

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technological market-oriented farms. The goal of these studies is to create a high level of readiness for independent action when the student returns to their home country. The students work on horticulture and livestock based on what interest they have. All students are taught internationally as well as the agricultural economy and planning. They are teaching them tools that will enable them to become the best agricultural entrepreneurs in their home country. This is one of the agricultural collaboration that Israel has today with many different countries. This collaboration receives extensive spread enthusiasm from all the countries and universities that are participating in the program. These types of collaborations are essential as it not only helps to improve on students alone but also for the communities and the countries as well.

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REFERENCES 1.

Gupta, Joyeeta; Termeer, Catrien; Klostermann, Judith; Meijerink, Sander; van den Brink, Margo; Jong, Pieter; Nooteboom, Sibout; Bergsma, Emmy (1 October 2010).  2. Green, Donna; Alexander, Lisa; Mclnnes, Kathy; Church, John; Nicholls, Neville; White, Neil (11 December 2009).  3. Schneider, S.H., S. Semenov, A. Patwardhan, I. Burton, C.H.D. Magadza, M. Oppenheimer, A.B. Pittock, A. Rahman, J.B. Smith, A. Suarez and F. Yamin (2007). 4. World Bank (2010). The Cost to Developing Countries of Adapting to Climate Change: New Methods and Estimates. 5. Misra, Manoj (29 February 2016). “Smallholder agriculture and climate change adaptation. 6. Climate Analytics. “Africa’s Adaptation Gap, Technical Report: Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation Challenges, and Costs for Africa 7. Ofoegbu, Chidiebere; Chirwa, Paxie; Francis, Joseph; Babalola, Folaranmi (15 May 2017). “Assessing vulnerability of rural communities to climate change 8. Prowse, M., & Scott, L. (2008). Assets and adaptation: an emerging debate. 9. Jessica Brown, Neil Bird and Liane Schalatek (2010) Climate finance additionality: emerging definitions and their implications 10. Duus-Otterström, Göran; Jagers, Sverker C. (2011). “Why (most) Climate Insurance Schemes are a Bad Idea”. 11. McAneney, J, Crompton, R, McAneney, D, Musulin, R, Walker, G & Pielke Jr, R 2013, “Market-based mechanisms for climate change adaptation

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Information and Communication Technology in Agriculture

CONTENTS 6.1 Farmer To Farmer Knowledge Sharing............................................... 143 6.2 Techmode Knowledge Sharing.......................................................... 144 6.3 Participant Experience-Innovative Technology Approach In Agricultural Knowledge Sharing................................................ 145 6.4 Building Bridges In Agriculture......................................................... 146 6.5 Making Knowledge Work ................................................................ 147 6.6 How To Make Ict Affordable And Easily Accessible For Farmers In Rural Areas................................................................... 150 6.7 Ict As An Enabler Of Agricultural Innovation Systems........................ 154 6.8 Emerging Trends In Ict For Land Administration................................. 163 References.............................................................................................. 168

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Smallholdings in developing countries have long been associated with poor farm practices, intensive labor, low productivity, and low income. This has made the agricultural sector unattractive, particularly to a new generation of farmers. However, this seems to be changing. Information and Communication Technology or ICT is playing a role in making sure that youths are attracted to agriculture. ICT helps the agricultural sector by enhancing access to market information, production techniques, new technologies, and financing opportunities. This has changed the farmer’s perspective in developing countries. Therefore, farming is now moving from a back-breaking, poorly paid labor-intensive task to a dependable source of income.it is consequently seen as much more profitable and rewarding business (World Bank, 2015; World Bank’s e-sourcebook ICT in agriculture – connecting smallholder farmers to knowledge, networks and institutions). Young farmers stugggle to make ends meet because of unprofitable agricultural productivities. As soon as they get access to the use of ICT as a tool to increase their income from farming, they always want to be part of the agricultural sector. They then start by acquiring necessary ICT skills hence identify the potential ICT in making their farming activities profitable. Young farmers are trained in the ICT centers that also opened to other farmers and community members as well. By this, the next generation is taken care of in a sustainable manner as the current farmers will make sure that they practice sustainable agriculture. On the other hand, the youths also help in making sure that the practices as passed from one generation to the other hence, these sectors working on making sure that food production will be met when the population rises in the coming years. The training includes sessions on how to use ICT equipment and software that best address farming within the local context. Gradually, farmers start supplying their ICT to obtain reliable market price information. This will enhance their power to negotiate and their position in local traders, businesses, and other key value chain, players. Their digital competence, in combination with the right tools, helps them to keep records, identify crops that are in high demand. They can also access information about pest control and new farming practices and technologies. The earlier adopters of ICT for farm management now reap the benefits of their activities. This return on investment motivates them to continue applying their skills on their farms. Some of them start by renting or buying land in addition to obtaining land from their parents. This, in turn, offers employment opportunities to other people in the community (Success stories

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on information and communication technologies for agriculture and rural development; FAO, 2015). Due to the increased technical knowledge and higher income, the role of farmers will stand out clearly both internally and externally. This recognition of farmers’ position and added value will enable them to link up more effectively with the private sectors. This also encourages them and other farmers who have witnessed it continue using ICT in their farming. To ensure the future viability of the agricultural sector, there is a need to change the old farming practices and embrace change. The world should learn that if they do nothing to embrace change, then change will take us by surprise and embrace us by force. Agriculture is still the answer to a lot of challenges that are faced by the world today. It helps tackle poverty and generates employment. Farmers must be equipped with the right tools and skills that allow them to start their journey into profitable farming.

6.1 FARMER TO FARMER KNOWLEDGE SHARING This is also one way that farmers can build their knowledge when it comes to sustainable farming and climate change solutions. Today farmers have a variety of platforms that they can use for sharing pieces of information with the other farmers. These platforms can either be by farming groups, through text messages, social media, or even amongst farmers in a community. An example of such is We-Farm. This is a digital farming platform that allows cross knowledge farming that gives farmers a platform to obtain farming information and share ideas. This is done through basic mobile phones and SMS. This is a pure textbase platform since most farmers in rural areas do not have access to smartphones. Through We-Farm, farmers can send their questions on the struggles that they are having at their farm levels. Through the network, the other farmers can get them the answers to their questions. This is usually at no cost. So farmers can send as many questions as possible and get as many answers as possible. This platform comes in the farmer’s aid by creating accessible and easy to use as farmers can use them at the comfort of their homes. This will help bring the voices that the farmers require. As farmers in the developing countries are unheard, unsupported, and are wholly disconnected from what is expected of them. This means that these farmers have no information that

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they need to manage their farms. Thus this platform gives the farmers the information that they need. This helps the voice of the farmers to the center of attention and makes them part of the solution. This platform has about half a million smallholder farmers across the world. They are aiming at making sure that farmers have free vital information that will increase their productivity and yield — this platform also makes farmers heroes in their own right where the expertise is heard. Farmers are believed to have generations part of the experience that they either got from their parents or practice on the farm level. Thus this platform gives farmers the priority to provide their voice and also to connect and benefit from actual practical information gained over the years. However, these networks can be joined by everyone who wishes to enjoy it. Although this type of network majorly meant for the pear to pear connection (Information and communication technologies for sustainable agriculture; FAO, 2013)

6.2 TECHMODE KNOWLEDGE SHARING Climate change is a challenge for future generation. The fact is climate change is already hurting the ability of the world to feed people. This is felt by farmers across the world every day. Yields of crucial food staples like maize and wheat are declining in some of the world’s most important farming areas. On the other hand, droughts and floods are becoming more widespread and severe. As the population of the world continues to grow from 7 billion to more than 9 billion by 2050, agricultural reproduction will need to increase by 60%. The facts add up, and this climate change is a real challenge. Despite the problems that the farmers and the entire world are facing, there is good news to coat it up. Efforts are already everywhere to help farmers adapt to change. This is inspiring. These solutions are efforts of what we call agroecology. In East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, researchers, local farmers are coming together to identify the kind of farming practices technology and information sharing that are needed to deal with the effects of climate change. Today, there is a tool called green seeker. This tool is used to measure the nutrients in crops. Thus it helps the farmers to apply the right amount and kinds of fertilizers. The result of using this tool is healthier crops, higher yield, and there is no overuse of fertilizers. Remember, nutrients are

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significant contributors to greenhouse gas buildups. In Vietnam today, rice farmers are using an irrigation technique called alternate wetting and drying. This helps in reducing water use by up to 30%. It, therefore, results in high-cost savings for farmers. Besides, this is a lifesaver for farmers and their crops during times of drought In other areas, radio weather bulletins keep farmers informed. This information helps the farmers to know when they should prepare their fields for planting. Some farmers, like those in India, receive weather updates and timely planting advice on their mobile phones. Some farmers plant fruit trees to provide shade for other crops from the intense sun. These trees, in turn, give the farmer and their families fruits, food scrape for their livestock and wood for fuel. There are also new technologies on agriculture that provide the latest in farming information and tips. The farmer who has got this information in their community will be better equipped to make smart decisions in the face of climate change. There is also known as participatory scenario planning. This is a tool that enables farmers to access climate information that is the seasonal forecast. The farmers should understand what annual forecast is, what it means and translate to information that is relevant at your social skill, decision making and the things that you need to. It will help you understand the support and action that you need to take. Moreover, it helps farmers understand how support services are given, whom they are given to and to what extent. This is about the decision-making tool and its informed by the seasonal forecast. Farmers around the world are not waiting for anyone to realize the change in climate that is happening. They know it is, and they are taking actions now. They know that their lives and that of their communities depend on it. The best farming practices are that of agroecology. This is a new kind of smart farming practices, and they are known to the climate-smart.

6.3 PARTICIPANT EXPERIENCE-INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY APPROACH IN AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE SHARING A technology expert approaches a linear approach when it comes to innovative knowledge sharing. It starts with researchers, then extension officers and then farmers than to the marketer and then to the consumers.

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This approach has an emphasis on developing capacity on research through investments in scientific infrastructure. This is about social institutions restructure on the farm and even beyond the farm (Arese Lucini, Okeleke, and Tricarico, 2016). All mass extension approaches like radio, television, magazines and many more have a considerable reach of thousands and thousands of people. This will, therefore, reach millions of farmers. However, the impact of this approach may be rather small because of the complexity of the extension message. This may be different from the farmer’s field that has a massive effect on farmer’s practices. Farmers’ field approach reach potential is much smaller when it is compared to the mass approach. Farmers can try a plant clinic concept, which is a replication of the human health clinic concept. So this is a place where farmers go to when they have problems and then get advice from plan doctors. Plan doctors are people who have an extension mandate. This clinic is a contact point between extension and farmers. These doctors will give pieces of information to farmers and also collects pieces of information from farmers with the socalled prescription sheet. They are therefore recording data systematically from farmers to what kind of agricultural problem do farmers have for their crops or livestock that they are dealing with at the moment. Through these clinics, the doctors can identify any new thing like pest and come up with the best approach of managing it.

6.4 BUILDING BRIDGES IN AGRICULTURE Agriculture is the door that opens to a path that leads to the road crosses the bridge to a successful future. As a farmer, opening the right doors and finding your way can be daunting on its own. However, there is a need to find the right bridge that connects you to real opportunity. Real success is the only challenge here. For many decades, farmers have struggled to navigate their way through the vast sea of the rapidly changing career. However, agricultural companies need to invest in a pipeline of informed and talented farmers. These farmers should be looking for more than a source of income but who cares for the future generation as well. Today, we need to inspire the youth to get involved in agricultural practices. Therefore, some foundations are laid for organizations of the

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agricultural future. Such organizations are catalysts in the preparation of a new generation of farming experts (Wolf, S.A. and Wood, S.D., 1997). Participants for building bridges in agriculture are always immersed in sustainability, population growth, globalization technology, food safety, consumer preferences and other topics that reflect the global challenges of this generation. Through this process of discovery, this generation gets hands-on training on time management, interpersonal communication, critical thinking, decision- making, conflict management innovation team leadership and many other desirable communication skis. This can only be accomplished through intensive training and mentor relationships. Farmers are always those who are professionals, and hence, they are passing down what they have learned from one generation to the other. It is this kind of collaboration that is fond globally; this is for the sake of taking the experience to the next generation through the best practices. This will also allow the farmers to apply new concepts back at home. Such organizations will also pride the farmers with entrepreneur’s skills and opportunities, and they will be needed for diligent decision making. In other words, the organizations are all about the benefits of connecting the farmers with direct connections that will benefit every person that is involved from producers and consumers. The mission is to build bridges from one generation to the other. It also meant for farmers and leaders to foster engagement and innovation in food and agriculture. These bridges connect leaders, farmers. This is also used to bridge new ideas and opportunities with like-minded peers so that farmers do not make mistakes. These bridges are solids, and time tested. They are constantly evolving. These bridges get stronger over time simply because of the foundation that is caused by the people who built them (World Bank, 2017; ICT in Agriculture (Updated Edition): Connecting Smallholders to Knowledge, Networks, and Institutions). Building bridges is where the agricultural journey starts if you are wondering why then you need to know that this is the door that opens to the path that leads to the road that leads to a successful future.

6.5 MAKING KNOWLEDGE WORK For the sustainable development of a country relies heavily on agriculture. Thus there is a need to improve the agricultural sector to achieve food security. There is also a need to take care of the environment as well. To

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achieve all this, there is a need for smart agricultural practices. This will make sure that there is enough food for the growing population, and the environment is sustainable as well. To achieve these, researchers resorted to agroecological practices. These practices can never work if farmers and the stakeholders involved do not make use of the knowledge that they have. The question is, how do we make this knowledge work? To succeed in building sustainable agriculture, there is a need to involve everyone. The government should come out and come up with policies that benefit farmers and the environment. They should also be in a position to support the agricultural sectors financially to attain the best tool and equipment that can help them increase yield and production and take care of the environment as well. The government should also support researches financially to help them come up with the best and sustainable practices. Climate change should be an opportunity to learn from the mistakes that we have made. The knowledge that we had before is no longer going to be possible for sustainable agriculture in the future. The two main pillars of climate change are adaptations and mitigation. It is the responsibility of this generation to mitigate enough by bringing greenhouse down. We also need to change our methods of farming to something different that is sustainable. There is a need to mobilize the capacity, the knowledge the tools, the political and financial support and the scientific expertise increase resilience to climate change. This can be done through adaptation (Poublanc, Christophe, 2018; Let’s Get Digital: Un-Blocking Finance for Farmers in Senegal). Throughout history, humanity has adapted to changes in climate. They have done this by adapting to the sources available for food, housing, clothing water or warmth. Today, however, climate change is causing changes faster than the vulnerable population and ecosystem can cope with and adapt to. Adaptations will respond to the risks while at the same time, build future resilience. In 2010 adaptation committee was formed. The work of this committee is to try to bring people together. They aim to try to bring the government and other organizations towards working for a common vision of adaptation. In 2013, an adaptation forum was organized by an adaptation committee that brought together prominent leaders and individuals to highlight the agency on action and adaptation and the way forward. Adaptation is about political wealth. Yes, we don’t know everything, but we have enough knowledge to start us off. Thus there is a need to start and start strongly, and we will discover things along the way.

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With resilience as one of the significant solutions for climate change, there is a need to bounce back to recovery from replacement. The essential component that will help us achieve this is by learning. This type of learning can only take place when there is an exchange of information on success and failure. Resources for adaptation include much knowledge and information to support adaptation planning and action. The scientist can provide information on past and present conditions and future risks. Communities can prepare for climate change if they are not poor. They should have secure livelihoods, education, and information on climate change impacts, health care facilities, freshwater, sanitation and social support. Such people will stay better in the face of climate change (FAO, 2017; The Future of Food and Agriculture: Trends and Challenges). Helping people to prepare and respond to an extreme event is also essential. There is a need to put in place early warning systems, understanding the vulnerability of all members of the society and making sure that adequate shelter from storms is available. Access to quality and services and infrastructure also contributes to climate resilience society. Ensuring the ecosystem is healthy and diverse for instance, wetlands coastal areas and the forest is an essential aspect of ensuring resilience We need to know that climate change is global, but adaptation is local. The specific impact from each family determines the adaptation measures that are to be taken, community or city is experiencing. Local communities are feeling the effects of climate change first line since they are on the frontline. It is therefore essential that the knowledge of the communities is complemented with science. Their experience will inform the planning and implementation adaptation actions that can help solve their issues. The firsthand knowledge from the community can ensure that adaptation measures are effective and do increase resilience. There is a need to reform our model of development. The model should be one that encompasses the respect of human rights, good governance, compliance for the right of a community, respect for indigenous people’s rights. We cannot be hopeless. We may need help, but we are not helpless. Adaptation requires financial resources. Vulnerable developing countries need financial support to make the necessary investments. Resources for adaptation also involve a collaboration of many different people. Strategies to build disasters and climate resilience should engage all sectors of the society in government and require the input of all people that are involved.

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Sharing lessons and identifying the best practices are essential for adaptation. Building a long term vision based on the knowledge we gained is vital. Different countries have started adapting to their plans. This helps societies and nature to cope with climate change. There are many ways that this can be done; however, communities should decide on what is working best for them. Establishing awareness and communication channels among the local citizens and between the municipality and the relevant institutions was very important. The effects of adaptation can be immediate; however, people in vulnerable areas may need help to access resources, including financing and knowledge, .people can develop creative ideas and innovative solutions. They can build a partnership with local administration bodies and administrations. Climate change is an opportunity that helps us transform society. This is an opportunity that helps us learn from the mistakes that we have made and be able to build so that we can have a future for us and future generations. We don’t have plan B when it comes to climate change. We only have one planet, and we only have one option when it comes to climate change.

6.6 HOW TO MAKE ICT AFFORDABLE AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE FOR FARMERS IN RURAL AREAS It is more costly to provide ICT services to the sparsely populated rural areas compared to the densely populated urban centers. Dwellers in urban centers are in a better position to pay for the services when compared to the residents in rural areas (Caspary & O’Connor, 2003). Rural areas are usually located in remote areas, and hence the high cost of accessing them makes it even more expensive to roll out the services. In the instances that they are offered, they are restrictively expensive. Making ICT services requires interventions at the various levels of the access rainbow. Since most of the stakeholders involved in the provision of information, communication and telecommunication technologies have a multinational face, the provision of affordable ICT services requires interventions not only at the national level but also at an international level.

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6.6.1 Services Governments and service providers are perpetually looking for ways to make ICT services more affordable. Subscription services that allow consumers to pay for services are one of the ways through which the providers are making their services affordable for their clients. The subscription services allow farmers and consumers, in general, to talk more, send more text messages and browse the internet while using less money. Some of the service providers also allow consumers to make free calls or reduce rates for a given period of time, mostly at night. The government by offering incentives for competing companies increases the number of service providers in the economy to prevent the rise of monopolies. This not only reduces the cost of accessing mobile services in the country but also improves the quality of the services. Consumers also choose from a wide variety of services. Services offered are much more than accessing the hardware as they go beyond affordable access to locally relevant content through connectivity. Other factors include service providers, content creators and disseminators, information intermediaries, social facilitators, information literacy educators, and the governance channels that steer the performance of the services. Rural content has never been a concern of the public policies designed with the aim of achieving universal service and universal access. Converging the mass media and telecommunications sectors and the rise of the information society raises the profile of such concerns that is crucial to releasing a virtuous cycle of ICT adoption and use in rural areas. The service layer is a reflection of committing to work together when creating a network infrastructure, connectivity modalities, access devices, and content. The changes in the content in the worldwide marketplace indicate the erosion of traditional communication models that center on tariffs anchored in the use of time, the quantity of data transferred, or communications distance covered. Looking into such models means looking at how fast they are replaced using flexible subscription models and those cantered on successful interactions and transactions, paid for via micropayments. In the developing world, consumers are price-sensitive and less willing to pay for goods in the market. This micropayment is trending and poses some challenges to content and value-addition to service providers. The challenge is more complex by the marginal success of the government and the donor efforts to offer relevant content to the rural services in developing countries.

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Generally, rural information services focus on the provision of broadcast or push content, like rural radio programming, but the overall presence of mobile devices enables providers to source and share rural content. Mobile technology is now being used as an authoring tool in rural areas due to its widespread coverage. This, in the end, raises the demand for the existing rural infrastructure setup. When mobile devices are combined with broadcasting technologies such as radio, rural residents can participate in public debates that influence their decision-making. The reviewing of communication and media needs at the lowest developing countries (Dartey, 2009) brings out the same issues that are expressed through call-in radio programs that are gaining popularity every day. The programs allow the rural population to freely express their opinions on matters that affect them locally. The provision of ICT based services in rural areas in developing countries has some common and unique characteristics. The recurrent feature is by looking at the literacy or social facilitation level. Successful businesses leverage social networks and social value (UNDP, 2008). Working with rural residents as individuals and not as beneficiaries is essential in the delivery of a worthwhile value proposition. Rural farmers should be empowered to be trainers who can facilitate access to content and help in the facilitation of peers to access content, offer local support and maintenance. This then looks like the most successful business strategy appropriate for the delivery of ICT to the rural services to those who cannot afford their own phones or rural folks who cannot access phones belonging to other family members (Burrell, 2010). Sharing and collaboration using mobile phones improve social ties while at the sometimes leading to social-to-social inequalities. Divergence of focus is another trend that is common in the rural demanddriven information services related to the supply of technological services. Innovations tied to the content service innovations respond to the needs of the local users within the entertainment, social networking, game, and music domains. Carefully managing these services can be seen as a genuine driver of ICT use in demand-driven services that influences education, public awareness, health, and agriculture. Bringing new and popular content is one way of attracting and retaining users. The moment a user base is established, more content can be introduced, maybe something more practical like mobile banking. In as much as the spread of personal mobile phones is changing the way businesses operate, well-documented studies from payphone owners (Futch and McIntosh, 2009), the role of social ties is still a key building block in

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any business model that targets the delivery of rural ICT- based services. As pricing plans changed over the last few years, the public payphone is no longer profitable as a business asset. The impersonal nature of the payphone leads to addressing matters that relate to equal access. Looking at it from the public service provision, there should be equality in the access to technology and in particular, for women. Now, prepaid models appear to be a standard mode used in the provision of services in the developing world markets. This strategy may not be practical for rural content providers bearing in mind the risks involved when renewing the subscription.

6.6.2 Infrastructure The provision of telephone networks, fiber optic communication and cable television requires the availability of complementary infrastructures like roads and railway lines. In their absence, the extension of ICT services to remote rural areas becomes expensive. In order to cover the high cost of operation, providers of these technologies have to raise the cost of their services and appliances. A telecommunication network is made of a hierarchical architecture of networks. The primary source is referred to as the backbone while the network closest to the consumer is referred to as the “last mile connectivity”. Between the two ends are a series of sub-networks called the “backhaul connectivity”. The choice of an appropriate network for the provision of ICT services to rural communities determines how affordable it will be. For instance, the transformation from circuit-based to packet-switched networks is making the provision of ICT technology more affordable. Unlike in packetswitched networks where data is divided into packets that are numbered in a sequential manner and transmitted in independent paths to the end-user, data in circuit-based networks is transmitted as a whole in one strict and unchanging path. In addition, the separation of data into packets allows any type of fixed wired telecommunication service to transmit the data to the recipients (Barrett & Slavova, 2017). The government can influence the type of backhaul connectivity and the backbone connectivity that is available to the population. The choice of fiber optic backbones that are less costly compared to other types of connectivity offers the rural poor a chance to access ICT services. Mechanisms that the government can employ to ensure the provision of affordable backhaul and “last mile connectivity” connectivity options to rural areas include directly investing in the provision of the network, where operators owned by the

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government offer the service at a relatively affordable price; instituting initiatives that allow service providers to share physical infrastructure like poles to reduce the cost of offering the network to rural areas and improving the complementary infrastructure like road networks that facilitates easier and quicker movement of equipment to rural areas (Siochrú, 2008).

6.6.3 Appliances Mobile phones are an important aspect when it comes to the provision of ICT services to rural communities in developing countries. The majority of the population uses phones that can only make calls and send text messages, without access to the internet. There is a need for farmers to shift from the use of these phones to using phones that can access the internet. Allowing various manufacturers in the market will increase competition and reduce the market prices, at the advantage of consumers. Different providers offer different features on their phones which determine the pricing of the devices. China- based manufacturers are on the record for the provision of relatively affordable devices for the majority of the population. Formulating and implementing policies that increase the supply and demand for these gadgets in the markets will make them affordable.

6.7 ICT AS AN ENABLER OF AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS Agricultural Innovation Systems refer to the various players, support services, agricultural policies and support institutions that contribute to the development, adoption and use of new products, technologies and methods in the agricultural sector (FAO). The main constituents of agricultural innovation systems include research and development services, extension services as well as education and training services. The flow of technology and information to farmers depend upon the functioning and interaction of these components. ICT technologies enable individuals to interact and enhance the flow of information. ICT can be used to enhance the research process, extension services or dissemination of information from research institutions. The form of the approach used in enabling innovation in agriculture takes a linear approach: Scholars develop a creative way of dealing with drought by introducing the disease-resistant variety of wheat, use of extension services, advice farmers by demonstrating the use of alternatives of disease-resistant varieties that

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are available for farmers to plant. The issues to this way of working have been acknowledged (Freeman, 1987 and Lundvall, 1992).

Figure 6.1: Small-scale farmer receiving advice from agricultural research experts. Source: https://knowledge4food.net/agribusiness-based-advisory-services/

More research can be encouraged and the acts extended independently of the others to the extent that each group is somehow isolated. The liner approach can work without other stakeholders in agriculture such as universities, agribusiness, traders, and nongovernmental and civil society organizations. The exclusion is not well documented in most approaches that take to the innovation taking place in agriculture. New creations that usually take place include experimentation by farmers, networking among the farmers, the participation of the private sector, collaborating among extension who pursue a particular idea, researchers come together to work with farmers, and using all these factors and practices from fields that are not related to agriculture. Recently, farmers started using innovation concepts in explaining some notable economic performance driven by taking up the new surge to innovation as seen in developed countries. The innovation system is defined as a network of organizations, individuals, and enterprises with the same focus on bringing in new products, processes, and forms of organized economic use along with institutions and policies affecting behavior and performance (World Bank, 2006). This idea is recognition of interactions between people and ideas that push the innovation has the power to generate, access, and making use of knowledge (Hall, 2006). It is a recognition of the relevance of institutions and policies that encourage innovation.

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6.7.1 ICT and Extension Services Information obtained from agricultural research processes is only important when applied by farmers in their agricultural production processes. The responsibility of providing information to farmers lies with providers of extension and advisory service providers. Sometimes in the presence of new technologies and methods that could enhance agricultural production, farmers are not aware of their availability. Extension and advisory services bridge this gap. In addition to providing farmers with the availability of new technologies and methods, they advise farmers on the best seed and crop varieties for their regions. They provide farmers with information on markets and market prices. When farmers have difficulties working with new technology, extension and advisory service providers chip in to help the farmers. The first point of development is the increase of widespread telecommunication networks enabling ICT to open up in rural areas. Technologies used by the farmers have not been effective due to their difficulty in getting into the hands of rural farmers. The expansion of telecommunications networks increases the speed, reliability, and accuracy of sharing information through text, voice, and applications used by farmers and stakeholders. Bandwidth with low network frequency has started to get into rural areas in developing countries. This creates opportunities for farmers to connect to extension workers, agribusiness, researchers, and among themselves. For example, in telecommunications, there is a facilitation of e- learning by freeing it from the classroom and the need for users to invest in other technologies as opposed to only owning a mobile phone. Power lines and sources are needed for regular use and maintaining the active ICT infrastructure for persistent expansion. The second point would be the use of cloud computing that has a lot of potentials to improve agricultural innovations. Cloud offers the pooling of resources that are elastic and are on-demand over the internet (Porcari, 2009). Specifically, cloud is described as a model computing to allow a convenient, on-demand network access to people who need the same computing resources such as networks, servers, storage, applications, and services that are provisioned and released with minimal effort on management or interaction from the service providers (Mell and Grance, 2009). The last few years have seen the services creating more opportunities for data sharing: something that was in the past considered expensive or out of reach for most people and institutions. It was then difficult even for students and

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researchers to explore for research purposes, which is a critical aspect of extending one’s education. For instance, Amazon Web Services can help one acquire either a Windows or Linux server by stating the features that the server should have. The needed resources or features are made available via the internet alongside the cost. The duration allowed for the use of a particular server is also stated. Cloud computing has elasticity and is known to have variable capacity. The third point is the movement in the direction of open access and public participation via online or mobile applications that work with agricultural development and innovations and not only through agricultural innovation or research institutions. Governments, the private sector, and some organizations share data and reports with the public and with each other through ICT. As ICT goes past its challenges interactions among people in far-flung locations, sharing of knowledge, and stakeholder meetings are widely accepted and have increased. Research at this level involves opinion and is diverse. Advisory services reach a wide range of targeted audiences and for those who need it. The fact that there is internet access, e-learning takes place outside any formal education. A web platform like the agropedia, the livestock program of the consultative group for the international agricultural research use the social tools to capture, record, and share discussions during project reviews and meetings. A wiki is a perfect example that was used to plan and report on meetings. Scientists say that meetings held in remote locations had all the information published online. The most significant feature when using the social reporting to sharing of information remains internal and closed. In a similar fashion, the Fodder Adoption Project organized an end- of-project meeting for participants in a project from Ethiopia, Syria, and Vietnam. The organizers used web tools for documentation and sharing of notes and direct contributions to research on meetings. In these cases, web applications directly contribute to research meeting organization, dissemination, and reporting. These are free and open-source and therefore affordable. If there is a video as part of the package, what is needed is a highspeed internet connection. Some levels of digital and technical skills are needed, participants should be willing to embrace extended digital kits and workflows, and have a non-judgmental attitude. These attitudes will make it much easier to create and transmit content for e-learning programs

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taking place between farmers and extension agents. The ability to transmit data is critical to innovation and increased production output by adopting better farming practices and technologies. Brokering of knowledge is now a profitable specialization. The final point is digital literacy that is on the rise alongside the use of ICTs, farmers, and traders in developing countries offer information services at a small fee. This is seen as a private action that can widen the availability of information in the rural areas by reducing pressure on extension agents, who are supposed to get timely and relevant information to farmers. The private sector takes the role of an advisory service provider and has seen more success that being in the public service with huge expectations. Recently, an increase in the cost of such services limits the input of the private firm’s involvement in such initiatives. Policymakers need to look at how the public advisory services and other forms of knowledge sharing will meet the needs of rural farmers not yet linked to the ICT innovation. This lack of communication makes it hard to access the network or may not even know how to use it effectively. ICT has enhanced the systems that provide farmers with new information and technologies: •

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ICTs provide extension and advisory service providers with information from research institutions, thus improving the quality of the information that rich the farms. Use of radios to disseminate information to rural farmers. Radios are relatively affordable, and information can reach farmers that cannot be accessed by wired telecommunication networks. Information can be disseminated in local languages. They are therefore more popular even among communities with high illiteracy levels. Extension agents can use radios to reach a wider audience. Using the Internet and mobile phones to disseminate information and technology. Farmers can use subscription services that enable them to access extension and advisory services through text messages at a fee. Websites can be designed to provide information and technical advice through farmers. Mobile phones enable extension agents to record audios and videos to enable farmers to learn how to operate some farm machinery and how to go about the production process efficiently and effectively.

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Developing countries across the world are coming up with a way of integrating ICTs into extension and advisory services. The following are some of the ways being employed by their governments and policymakers. •

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In India, the Reuters Market Light provides small sale farmers with information ranging from weather predictions, the market prices of agricultural products and farm inputs, how to cultivate land so as to maximize their output through mobile phones. The information is offered in local dialects making it easier for farmers who are not conversant with English to obtain information. The service has improved the technical efficiency of millions of smallhold farmers in the country (Prakash & Velu, 2009). Grameen’s Community Knowledge Workers (CKW), although first initiated in Uganda, operates in both Uganda and Colombia. The model provides farmers with accurate information on weather patterns and the markets. The farmers get access to the information through smartphones that are linked to databases that are regularly updated to provide the farmers with accurate information. It has provided employment to more than one thousand workers who in turn provide information to tens of thousands of workers. The main aim of the initiative is to alleviate hunger in Uganda and Colombia (McCole, Culbertson, Suvedi, & McNamara, 2014). A nonprofit organization, FIT-Resources Kenya, initiated the provision of extension and advisory service through a radio program in Kenya. “Mali Shambani” radio program started in 2006 and allows farmers and extension agents to interact. Farmers ask questions that get answered on the radio, thus providing information to a wide range of farmers in the country (Tang, Wang, & Zhao, 2015). Across international borders, Google SMS: A Farmer’s Friend, enables farmers who cannot access databases by sending a text message. It provides farmers with information that helps them prepare for cultivation, access information on the best practices that would increase the productivity of their farms and updates farmers on the market prices. The Farmer Voice Radio (FVR) also operates in different countries in the Sub-Saharan part of Africa. FVR serves smallholder farmers in the Sub-Saharan part of Africa.

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6.7.2 ICT and the Agricultural Research Process Agricultural research seeks new methods and information to enhance agricultural production, and ensure food security in the face of adverse conditions that threaten food security. The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), formed following a union of four organizations that foster agricultural research in the various organizations is responsible for ensuring food security in the region and promoting the realization of millennium development goals one and seven (FAO). This was in recognition of the vital role of agricultural research in the transformation of agriculture and hence rural development. FARA has been in search of ways to incorporate ICT into the research process (Maru, 2004). ICT enhances collaboration in the agricultural research process. Research is targeted at improving the productivity of farms in a given area. Before coming up with highly productive varieties and farm inputs that increase the agricultural output of a region; research institutions need data from the region. In addition, they require an understanding of the specific needs of the people in the region of interest. The use of ICT has made the dissemination of information between the research institution and the different stakeholders. Research institutions also need to share information with interested parties during the research process. This has been enabled by ICT tools. The Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research launched a CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture to encourage sharing of data and information that would help people predict outcomes, and produce more food in a sustainable manner (Rudgard, et al., 2011). Research organizations can use ICT to collect and analyze data. Sensors, together with the internet, are used to monitor remotely the characteristics of the soil. The institutions can get information on the soil moisture content and its various chemical compositions without necessarily visiting the farms. Surveys carried though the internet enables instantaneous dissemination of data from farmers to research institutions. Mobile phones, through text messages and voice calls, can also be used to conduct interviews. Automatic data entry reduces the manpower required. Secondary sources of power that are helpful to research organizations can also be found across different websites on the internet. Analysis of research is dependent upon computer software. Packages like SPSS enable researchers to analyze data. Data analysts use computerized

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data models in the extraction of data, removing data that has been corrupted, carrying out a qualitative analysis of the data and preparing reports of the data. Technological advancements in ICT enable people to simulate, visualize, model information and enables cloud computing. Dissemination of research information is done through ICT technologies. A research process leads to information that can be shared in the form of maps, articles or reports. The information generated from research can be shared through the internet, via websites, blog articles or repositories. 3D printing technologies enable the conversion of digital files into visually appealing reports for further dissemination.

6.7.3 Mobile Phones as a Marketing Tool Trends and Issues The main purpose of having a mobile phone for the public is to build on social interaction; and also a powerful marketing tool. Most calls, on a typical day, are made between family and friends. Business calls do not take up most of the time. Farmers need the skills to harness the economic benefits of a mobile phone. Younger farmers are more adept at using a phone compared to the older ones, so it is still a challenge for the older farmers to exploit the possible mobile phone’s business advantages. Building on the following section there is an indication that mobile phones bring in a positive impact on a farmer’s income. Farmers who use mobile phones to tap into the existing knowledge base to build up a network of contacts from different farms to gain more experience needed to understand the information coming from different farms. A mobile phone is a special tool which when combined with the internet forms a better tool for a farmer to manage his activities relating to marketing. Some data also show the rising number of farmers using mobile phones to help in marketing their produce. An example of a study in Bangladesh, China, India, and Vietnam indicates that more than 80 percent of farmers are mobile phone users (Minten, Reardon, and Chen n.d.). They use the phones to speak to various traders and are now able to create a demand for their produce. Half of the farmers completed their deals via the phone with the exception of rice farmers in China. The study illustrates how accessibility to phones is driving changes in how the market systems operate.

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Figure 6.2: A smartphone. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone

The more farmers get acquainted with the information and manage to hold on to a steady supply adds to the farmers’ market knowledge with more confidence to think of diversification into the high value yet perishable products. More knowledge means getting an accurate understanding of demand and gaining the ability to be in charge of production and supply chains. The trends picked by farmers are new and are changing towards a commercial leaning. The changes brought about by mobile phones are: • • • • •

•

Farmers get to deal with wholesalers or larger-scale middlemen and not the small scale middlemen; Farmers can conduct searches on various markets; Farmers can build a wider network of contacts will be more than peers with no mobile devices; Accessing more information helps farmers make better decisions; Transportation and logistics by taking advantage of the increasing economies of scale. Farmers organize and coordinate within the large network to consolidate volume. Coordination is easy to manage when they work as teams that can lower costs by enabling farmers to obtain higher prices; Price and location due to the ability to compare market prices

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give the farmers to change the time and location of marketing for better pricing; • Supply and demand give farmers the power over their production and sales. They can find new sources of demand by improving their ability to adjust supply and quality to the market. Farmers also get to learn about the quality, grades, and product presentation; • Product base diversification over the long term. Information leads to a better understanding of the demands that control the market and emerging consumer trends; and • Access to inputs by relevant decisions on which inputs are affordable and where or when to buy them. The challenges in the use of ICTs to access markets contribute to farmers not embracing the technology. Some find it difficult to transact through the internet due to a lack of trust on account of scammers especially on the internet. Farmers are not able to ascertain the quality of farm inputs and farm machinery offered in online markets. Consumers too, due to the inability to ascertain the quality of foods that are sold on the internet, shun online markets. The other challenges in the use of ICTs to access markets and value chains include low literacy levels, unavailability of complementary services like electricity and lack of funds to purchase devices. The connectivity in remote areas is low, leading to delays and loss of customers. The internet is full of information and it is difficult to ascertain the dependability of the sources.

6.8 EMERGING TRENDS IN ICT FOR LAND ADMINISTRATION Recent advances and convergence of technologies applied to land administration are creating new opportunities to generate greater efficiencies in delivering land administration services, to reach out to excluded segments of society, and to integrate land administration information into the wider e-government arena. This section summarizes some emerging opportunities.

6.8.1 Surveying and Satellites Advances in global positioning, mapping, and imaging technology present some of the most promising opportunities for ICT to support land administration services. By 2015, multi-constellation GNSS will provide around 100 satellites for global positioning. These new GNSS signals

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and constellations will provide better accuracy and reliability, leading to positioning to within centimeters in a mobile environment. This capacity opens up the potential for GNSS technology to reach a wider range of stakeholders, including citizens. The costs of surveying and the time it takes have prevented many poor communities from being surveyed the cost of the survey surpassed the value of their land. Fortunately, this situation is changing. National mapping agencies are introducing Continuously Operating Reference Stations, networks of geodetic-quality GNSS receivers that make data available for precise positioning for national survey and mapping programs, including cadastral surveying. This positioning infrastructure increases the efficiency and consistency of cadastral surveys and has multiple applications. A new generation of ground-based LiDAR, mounted on vehicles, is also emerging as the next “big” advance in surveying. Boundary features can be captured very quickly to an accuracy of around half of a centimeter, just by driving around. Normally such precision is not required, although some surveyors may claim that it is necessary. However, the location of physical features does not necessarily coincide with the location of legal boundaries, which means adjudication supported by human interpretation is still needed that can be costly and time-consuming. Finally, although aerial photographs have been used in recording boundaries since the 1950s in Kenya, for example, digital cameras, highresolution satellite imagery, digital terrain models, and new software techniques are increasing in availability, giving opportunities for more costeffective, efficient, and participatory ways of registering the boundaries of land rights. These approaches have been used successfully in Ethiopia (Lemmen and Zevenbergen 2010), Rwanda, Thailand, and Namibia. In Namibia, however, the systematic registration of communal land rights is cheaper than surveying with handheld GPS (Kapitango and Meijs 2010).

6.8.2 Free, Open-Source Systems Proprietary software has traditionally supported land administration systems, even though they have recently embraced open standards. Over the past decade, however, free, open-source systems have come to the forefront. Licenses for these programs give users the freedom to run the program for any purpose, to modify the program, and to redistribute copies of either the original or modified program without having to pay royalties to previous developers.

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The promise of open-source software is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to proprietary vendor lock-in. The development of systems based on open-source software also encourages local capacity building. The obvious advantages of open-source development can be seen in the emergence and success of major projects like the Apache HTTP server which runs more than half of all websites globally. The use of open-source solutions for land administration will increase in developing countries that cannot afford the high costs of licensing commercial solutions. A cooperative effort among IT experts to foster opensource software development and accessibility is led by FAO with support from the New Zealand’s University of Otago. The initiative, involving the extension of the Open-Source Cadastre and Registration software development concept (FAO and FIG, 2010) and its follow-on project, Solutions for Open Land Administration, will eventually offer governments a choice between licensing often restrictive and costly proprietary software and promoting the development of free, non-proprietary applications and communication software. Open-source GIS solutions are being implemented in land administration in Bavaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Ghana, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Samoa, and in Solothurn, Switzerland. They underpin the initial prototyping of the Social Tenure Domain Model (Lemmen et al. 2007). Open- source land registration and cadastral solutions are likely to succeed in countries where the government embraces the idea of using open-source software for its information systems and supports its use in education and research. Such a national context makes it easier to find local ICT specialists who are familiar with free, open-source products and form the human resource base to maintain systems. Although the total ownership costs, including license, maintenance, and support costs will probably be lower than costs for proprietary systems, underestimation, especially the costs surrounding software integration is not advised. Open-source software may make the maintenance easier by solving problems without external support and with advice from international users and developer communities. They are cheaper when there are no license fees to maintain and further develop the system. The use of free, opensource software will not change the fact that a proper business plan is a key requirement for introducing ICT systems for land administration (FAO and FIG 2010).

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6.8.3 Integration with Wider Agendas for E-Government and National Spatial Data Infrastructure Initiatives Most countries are developing initiatives to widen access to and use of geospatial information, but their maturity and success vary across the regions. In Latin America, for example, Chile, El Salvador, and Honduras are more advanced than others are. A good example of this type of initiative is Australia and New Zealand’s Spatial Information Council, which is responsible for coordinating the collection and transfer of land-related information between the different levels of government; and promoting the use of that information in decision making. NSDIs involve the cooperation of public and private organizations to implement interoperable technologies, data standards, and business approaches within a policy framework that facilitates the sharing and the reuse of geospatial information (Williamson et al, 2010). This effort normally supports the discovery of geospatial information at first but eventually supports web-based services based on that information. Over time, myriad versions of similar data sets will be synchronized to generate and reference common base themes in the data, such as transportation networks, property addresses, administrative boundaries, and land ownership, substantially increasing interoperability. Land administration information is a fundamental component of NSDIs. Participation in NSDIs promotes a culture shift of government agencies to share interoperable land and property information leading to a more integrated and effective e-government service for land administration, as experienced in Vietnam (Warnest and Bell, 2009d). •

• • •

•

GIS technology provides the framework within NSDI to manage, integrate, and spatially analyze multiple sources of geospatial information. Crowdsourcing is the term for citizens contributing content, and its roots lie in the increasing convergence of three phenomena: The widespread use of GPS and image-based mapping technologies by professionals and expert amateurs The emerging role of Web 2.0, which allows more user involvement and interaction using the example of “wikis,” which allow any number of interlinked web pages to be created and edited via a web browser, and standards-based authentication processes to contribute information to the web The growth of social networking tools, practices, and culture.

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Within land administration, there is growing recognition that the current surveyor-based paradigm is not scalable to meet the demand. Most lands are yet to be registered and the figure rises as urbanization increases to high levels of informal settlements and slums. One option to fill this gap is for surveyors to collaborate with citizens and communities to provide crowd-sourced land administration information. For example, community-supported mapping recently occurred under the Open Street Map.

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REFERENCES 1.

McCole, D., Culbertson, M. J., Suvedi, M., & McNamara, P. E. (2014). Addressing the challenges of extension and advisory services in Uganda: The Grameen Foundation’s community knowledge worker program . Journal of International Agricultural and Extension E . 2. Prakash, M. S., & Velu, C. (2009). Reuters Market Light: Business model innovation for growth. Economic Times. 3. Regattieri, A., Gamberi, M., & Manzini, R. (2007). Traceability of food products: General framework and experimental evidence. Journal of food engineering, 81(2) , 347-356. 4. Rudgard, S., Ballantyne, P. G., Castello, R. D., Edge, P., Hani, M., Maru, A., et al. (2011). ICTs as enablers of agricultural innovation systems. World Bank. 5. Siochrú, S. Ó. (2008). Retrieved August 19, 2019, from Rural Broadband Backbone: A case study of different approaches and potential.: http:// gb1. apc. org/es/system/files/APCProPoorKit_PolicyAndRegulation_ CaseStudyRural_EN_0. pdf 6. “World Bank’s e-sourcebook ICT in agriculture – connecting smallholder farmers to knowledge, networks and institutions (2011)”. World Bank. 20 May 2015. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016. 7. Clement, A., & Shade, L. R. (2000). The access rainbow: Conceptualizing universal access to the information/communications infrastructure. In Community informatics: Enabling communities with information and communications technologies. IGI Glo. 32-51. 8. FAO. (n.d.). Facilitating capacity development for agricultural innovation. Retrieved August 19, 2019, from www.fao.org: http:// www.fao.org/in-action/tropical-agriculture-platform/background/aisa-new-take-on-innovation/en/ 9. FAO. (n.d.). FARA - Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa |Policy Support and Governance| Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations . Retrieved August 19, 2009, from Fao.org: http://www. fao.org/policy-support/mechanisms/mechanisms-details/en/c/420874/ 10. Haryadi, S. (2018, March). Telecommunication Universal Access and Services: Theory and Practice. Retrieved August 18, 2019, from osf.io/ preprints/inarxiv/d8egp

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11. Huh, J. H. (2017). PLC-based design of monitoring system for ICT-integrated vertical fish farm. Human-centric Computing and Information Sciences, 7(1) , 20. 12. Kraemer, K. L., Dedrick, J., & Sharma, P. (2009). One laptop per child: vision vs. reality. . Communications of the ACM, 52(6), , 66-73. 13. Luo, J. Z., Jin, J. H., Song, A. B., & Dong, F. (2011). Cloud computing: architecture and key technologies. Journal of China Institute of Communications, 32(7), , 3-21. 14. Maru, A. (2004). ICT/ICM in agricultural research and development: status in sub-Saharan Africa. In A background paper for Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)/Regional Agricultural Information System (RAIS) Workshop, Accra, Ghana. 15. “Information and communication technologies for sustainable agriculture (2013)” (PDF). FAO. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016. 16. “Success stories on information and communication technologies for agriculture and rural development” (PDF). FAO. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016. 17. “EU-Project Automatic milking”. Wageningen UR. 20 February 2008. Archived from the original on 20 February 2006. Retrieved 15 March 2013. 18. Arese Lucini, Okeleke, and Tricarico (2016). “Analysis: Market size and opportunity in digitizing payments in agricultural value chains” 19. Wolf, S.A. and Wood, S.D. (1997). “Precision farming: environmental legitimation, commodification of information, and industrial coordination” 20. World Bank (2017-06-27). ICT in Agriculture (Updated Edition): Connecting Smallholders to Knowledge, Networks, and Institutions. The World Bank. 21. Poublanc, Christophe (26 October 2018). “Let’s Get Digital: UnBlocking Finance for Farmers in Senegal” 22. FAO 2017. The Future of Food and Agriculture: Trends and Challenges.

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Climate Change and Modern Agriculture

CONTENTS 7.1 Introduction...................................................................................... 172 7.2 Climate Change And Its Impact On Pest Control And Use of Pesticides on The Farms............................................................. 173 7.3 Adaptations To Climate Change........................................................ 179 7.4 Mitigating Climate Change............................................................... 184 7.5 Reduction Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions......................................... 184 7.6 Removal Of Greenhouse Gases From The Atmosphere...................... 188 References.............................................................................................. 189

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Climate change has had profound effects on all forms of life on the earth. This chapter focuses on the effects climate change has had on pests and pest control on the agricultural farms. It examines the measures and strategies that have been adopted by both farmers and governments to adapt to and mitigate climate changes.

7.1 INTRODUCTION In order to increase food production to feed the increasing global population, agriculture has been evolving over the years. Agricultural researchers and farmers are always looking for ways to increase agricultural production while reducing the amount of farm inputs applied on farms. Agricultural intensification has led to man putting more pressure on already scarce natural resources. Changes in agricultural processes have contributed to the climate changes that are being witnessed all over the world. The dependence of agriculture on the physical environment has made agriculture one of the most affected sectors in the face of climate change. Therefore, agriculture not only contributes to global warming but also bears the brunt of climate change. Climate change has attracted the interest of both national and international bodies. In 1988, the United Nations (UN) formed the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) to enable member countries to understand the science behind climate change; the impact climate change has had so far, the risks of not addressing the issue and the different methods that can be employed to reduce the effects of climate change. The panel synthesizes a report after reviewing the literature that is available on climate change. So far it released five synthesis reports. Between 1880 and 2012, the average global temperatures have increased by 0.85 degrees Celsius and the last three decades have been the warmest period the Northern hemisphere has experienced in the last eight hundred years. The ocean has become more acidic to an increase in its uptake of carbon dioxide. Regions with high salinity, where global warming has increased the rate of evaporation, are becoming more saline. In other areas, however, global warming has increased the rate of precipitation making the waters fresher. Ice sheets covering Antarctica and Greenland have been reducing in size. The global sea level went up by an average of 0.19 meters between 1901 and 2010 (IPCC, 2014). These climatic changes affect agricultural production processes both directly and indirectly. The increase in average global temperatures affects

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crop growth directly. The reduction in the pH levels of the sea lead to a loss of aquatic life. The changes also affect the growth of pests, diseases and herbs which in turn affect crop cultivation, livestock rearing, forestry and aquatic life. As a result, global warming affects pests and pest control on the farms.

7.2 CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON PEST CONTROL AND USE OF PESTICIDES ON THE FARMS Pests and diseases lead to the death of crops and livestock. They also lower the quality of crops and animal products that are produced by farms. The green revolution saw farmers use pesticides, herbicides and other agents of killing pests and disease pathogens on the farms. This increased both the quality and quantity of agricultural output in the world. Farmers across the world have been using these chemicals since long in their production processes. The unregulated use of chemical agents on the farms has led to loss of biodiversity of agricultural lands and reduced the productivity of the lands. Loss of biodiversity contributes to climate change which further reduces agricultural productivity. Climate change affects the control of pests and diseases in the following ways: •

•

Elevation of atmospheric carbon dioxide alters the behavior of herbivorous insects. Climate change has led to an increase in the amount of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. In the presence of huge carbon dioxide concentrations in the air, the plant’s ability to take up nitrogen is reduced; leading to low quality of crops (Feng, et al., 2015). Insects that feed on these crops have to eat more too. Insect pests have thus increased the rate of foliage destruction, highlighting the need for pest control even more. High carbon dioxide concentrations accelerate the growth rate of crops, proving a canopy that traps moisture. High moisture content enhances the proliferation of disease pathogens. In addition, an increase in carbon dioxide induces adaptive mechanisms in plants enhancing their resistance to disease pathogens and pests. Fungal spore formation is enhanced when the carbon dioxide concentration is high in the air (Coakley, Scherm, & Chakraborty, 1999). The increase in global average temperatures favors the growth of insects. Higher temperatures make insects more active. They end

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up consuming more leaves. The duration between the larval stage and the pupa stage reduces and insects mature faster. The number of reproductive cycles increases with the increase in temperature, therefore, increasing the number of insect generations per season. The absolute number of insects available to destroy crops thus increases. An increase in temperature also increases the number of insect species that are found in a given region (Coakley, Scherm, & Chakraborty, 1999).

Figure 7.1: An army worm destroying maize. Source: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001235388/army-wormoutbreak-wreaks-havoc-in-western-kenya-farms

•

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Climate changes lead to uncertain rainy seasons. The amount of humidity in the air has reduced with an increase in global temperatures. A rise in the moisture content of the air aids the proliferation of fungal pathogens that kill insects. Drier conditions, that are becoming more common in the wake of climate change, therefore enhance the proliferation of insects consequently raising the size of insect pest populations. Climate change also impacts on the distribution of other natural enemies. Climate changes induce adaptive transformations in pests. “Hardy” pest strains proliferate. These hardy strains not only enable the pest to survive the harsh climatic conditions but also require farmers to use more chemical concentrations to kill them. Traditionally, cold winters reduced the insect population by increasing the death rates. With the advent of global warming,

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winters are relatively warmer than they were over previous years. This makes more insects survive winter. The increase in carbon dioxide in the air also enhances wintering. Foliage proliferation and reduced decomposition rates increase the amount of leaves available to feed insects during the winter season. The subsequent warmer season thus starts with a huge insect population size. • With an increase in insect population sizes, the incidence and prevalence of insect-transmitted diseases are also bound to increase. Viral diseases that are transmitted by insects like aphids have reduced the output of potato cultivation. Due to the increase in global temperatures, the population of aphids has increased and so has the prevalence of viral diseases in potatoes (Robert, Woodford, & Ducray-Bourdin, 2000). • There has been a relative abundance in the number of invasive pests and diseases that target plants. • Climate change contributes to the extinction of some host species and also the pest species. The insects that are not able to adapt to climatic changes, die with time. The biodiversity of the natural ecosystems is tampered with and the productivity of lands goes down. Plant species also become extinct, reducing the amount of crops that the insect pests can feed on. They, therefore, concentrate on the consumption of the crops grown on the farms by farmers. Climate changes have led to an increase of carbon emissions into the environment, the average global temperatures increased and rainfall and wind patterns have changed. The overall effect on insect pests and disease pathogens has been a change in the population sizes of insect pests and disease pathogens, the spatial distribution of insects, the breeding patterns of insects and the type of pest varieties that the farmer has to deal with on the farms. These have affected the control of pests and diseases on the farms in the following ways: •

The natural defense mechanisms of plants have been affected. Plants have a natural ability to prevent pest infestation like antibiosis. In antibiosis, the plant produces chemical substances like phenazines and 2, 4-diacetylphloroglucinol that are harmful to pests and diseases. They reduce the life span and the population of pests and diseases that are available to feed on a crop (Pal & Gardener, 2006). Plants can also prevent colonization by pests and disease pathogens by altering the behavior of the causative

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•

•

agents, as in leaf trichomes. Other defense mechanisms available to plants include tolerance. An increase in the carbon dioxide concentration reduces the resistance of crops to soil disease pathogens by altering the hormone signaling mechanisms of the plants (Zhou, Van Leeuwen, Pieterse, Bakker, & Van Wees, 2019). Air pollution, increase in temperature and other changes in the physical attributes of the environment, as seen in global warming, affect the defense mechanisms of plants (Sharma, Srivastava, Durairaj, & Gowda, 2010). High carbon dioxide in the air makes plants less nutritious and hence insect pests eat more of the crops to enhance their nutrition. The plants, therefore, suffer more damage when the concentration of carbon emissions in the air is high. This has reduced the efficacy of biological pest control methods on the farms. Farmers are pushed into using chemical agents to reduce crop damages in the fields. To reduce the use of chemicals in the control of pests and diseases in the farms, researchers came up with transgenic crops, which have an intrinsic ability to resist disease pathogens and insect pests (Estruch, Carozzi, Desai, Duck, Warren, & Koziel, 1997). By altering the genetic makeup of the crops, they are conferred with an innate ability to fight disease and pest infestation. The new genetic makeup of the plants allows them to make a protein that enables them to fight off pathogens. In the presence of climate change however, the production of this protein and other protective substances produced by transgenic crops is reduced. Their ability to survive disease and pest infestation is thus reduced. The increase in the average global temperatures, the amount of carbon emissions and the change in rainfall and wind patterns have reduced the effectiveness of transgenic crops in adapting to the harmful effects of climate change. Climate change has rendered some of the insecticides and pesticides that were in use on the farms ineffective. High global temperatures reduce the effectiveness of permethrin in killing mosquitoes. The cause of this phenomenon is not clearly understood. Proposed mechanisms include the reduction of neuronal sensitivity with increased temperatures, increased diffusion of insecticides hence reducing the concentration of permethrin at a specific point (Delcour, Spanoghe, & Uyttendaele, 2015). The variability

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of insecticide and herbicide effectiveness depends upon the mechanism of action of the chemical components. • An increase in pest populations has increased the frequency and amount of pesticides and herbicides that are used on farms. Excessive use of insecticides leads to an emergence of strains of pests and diseases in a given region. This has precipitated the need for stronger chemical agents so as to curb the situation. The biodiversity of natural ecosystems continues to reduce. As these natural ecosystems usually allow pests, crops and diseases to interact in a sustainable nature, the loss of biodiversity also has a negative impact on the control of pests on farms. The use of stronger and more chemical agents leads to foods that may not be safe for human consumption flooding the markets. • Climatic changes have led to a change in the spatial distribution of crop pests and diseases. New pests have been introduced to regions that were originally cooler. The natural enemies in the regions may not be able to fight off the new varieties of pests and disease pathogens. Farmers in a given region are also caught unawares by the emergence of new strains, as they are difficult to predict. Climate change also leads to distortion of the balance between natural enemies and disease-causing organisms. Ineffectiveness in the control of pests on the farms increases crop damage. Insects like caterpillars feed on the leafy parts hence reducing the agricultural output of vegetables, fruits and even cereals. Stem borers lower the productivity of crops like maize. Insects also transmit diseases from one crop to another e.g. aphids transmit diseases among potatoes. Post-harvest, rodents feed on stored food. Weevils attack and destroy cereals. This reduces the amount of crops that are available for human consumption. Pests and diseases also increase the number of livestock that dies annually in a region. The food security of a region is thus reduced. The pesticide menace leads to an increase in the demand for insecticides and herbicides. Transnational trade, greatly facilitated by the current wave of globalization, has led to an increase in transnational trade in farm inputs. Trade is also enhanced by reduction in food security as people try to find new food markets. Enhanced movement of people across international borders leads to an increase in the flow of new pest strains between different countries, further complicating pest control in the face of climate change.

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Pests like rodents destroy farm machinery by nibbling on metallic parts, wooden components, wires and farm buildings. This, together with the need to use pesticides and herbicides frequently increases the cost of producing food in a country. Food prices in the markets increase, increasing the proportion of persons that face hunger and poverty. Pests and diseases are barrier towards the achievement of sustainable development goals. The control of pests and diseases that affect crops and livestock will improve the lives of people by ensuring production of quality and safe foods for the population. Enhancing agricultural production through pest control requires coming up with environment friendly methods of controlling pests and diseases; and assessing the current and future drivers of climate change, assessing the impacts and risks for future climate change and mitigating them before they occur. Important factors that will drive the process of climate change in the future include: •

Natural and anthropogenic radiative forcings – “Radiative forcings” refers to the balance between the solar radiations that reach the surface of the earth and the amount of solar radiation that is reflected back to space. The presence of greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere, released either due to natural activities or human activities, traps solar radiations that would have otherwise been reflected back to space contributing to an increase in the global average surface temperatures. Human activities that enhance “radiative forcing” include the continued use of aerosols. Volcanic aerosols are an example of natural “radiative forcing” (IPCC, 2014). •

Human activities that influence emissions – fossil fuel combustion, cement production lead to an increase in the amount of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. The process of industrialization, whose rate has been increasing with the spread of the current wave of globalization, has led to an increase in carbon emissions due to fossil combustion and cement production. Clearing of forest lands decreases carbon sinks that would have reduced the amount of carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

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7.3 ADAPTATIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE Adaptation is one of the ways by which individuals, communities, systems and organizations respond to climate changes around them. It refers to modifications that are aimed at reducing the harmful effects of the current or expected changes in the climate, avoiding the harmful effects altogether. It involves exploiting the opportunities presented by the changes (IPCC, 2014). People have been adjusting their ways of life and the way they produce goods among other activities to ensure that they survive through climate changes as they seek ways of preventing climatic changes. In the agricultural sector, adaptations to climate change refer to altering the agricultural production processes to improve the quantity and quality of food that is available to consumers. The measures that are being employed in the agricultural sector to reduce the harmful effects of climate change include the user adoption of drought resistance crops, shifting to methods of cultivation that preserve the moisture content of the soils, afforestation and reforestation. Why do we need to adapt to climate changes when we can adopt measures that will reduce the global average temperatures, reduce the rate of carbon emissions and develop carbon sinks across the world to lower carbon dioxide levels? •

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Anthropogenic activities have already contributed to a high amount of carbon emission in the environment. The average global surface temperatures have been increasing for the last few decades and they have been the hottest decades the world has experienced for centuries (IPCC, 2014). The adoption of adaptive measures is thus inevitable. Carbon emissions affect ecosystems both negatively and positively. High carbon dioxide levels accelerate the growth of plants, which could lead to greener forests. High temperatures increases the propagation of insects, some like bees are beneficial to human beings. Although the effects of climate change are mostly negative, it also presents human beings with a few opportunities that if capitalized on could change the way people obtain food. Adaptation seeks to take advantages of these opportunities. Despite measures to try and reduce the rate of carbon emissions, the levels still remain high. The process of reversing climate change is taking longer than expected. The effects of climate change are also being felt on a grander scale than it was projected.

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The population, therefore, has to come with measures to help them survive through the period of climate change while in search of measures to revert climate change. • Given the dynamic nature of climate change, it is difficult to predict whether or not measures to revert the processes of climate change will work. The populations therefore have to undergo adaptations to allow them to survive in the presence of climate change. • For the world to make impactful progress in reverting climate change, different regions have to work together. Mission 2020, a global strategy that was targeted at rapidly reducing the amount of carbon emissions, identified six milestones that need to be achieved by 2020 so as to reduce the total amount of carbon emissions (Hausfather, 2017). The progress in achieving the milestones has however been slow and uneven (Ge, Lebling, Levin, & Friedrich, 2019). There is a wide range of adaptation options for the agricultural production process. Changes at the farm level that will enable farmers to continue producing enough food for the entire population include: •

•

Use of drought resistant crop varieties. The frequency of natural calamities like drought has increased. The amount of rainfall has reduced and patterns of rain have been altered. A quarter of maize yields are lost in Sub-Saharan Africa. From 2007 to 2013, a project termed Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) supplied maize varieties that could tolerate the harsh climatic conditions to thirteen African countries in an attempt to reduce the huge proportion of yield loss due to droughts (Fisher, Abate, Lunduka, Asnake, Alemayehu, & Madulu, 2015). Encouraging the growth of sorghum, cassava, millet and other staple foods that are more drought-resistant than maize in the region, ensures food security in the region (Farm Africa, 2019). Researchers are also after producing crop varieties that take a shorter period to mature, to reduce yield losses to drought. Rainy seasons are becoming shorter due to climate change and farmers need crops that mature faster. Rainy seasons are no longer dependable in sustaining agriculture. The timing, period and amount of rainfall received vary from time to time. This precipitates the need for new technologies

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to enhance water harvesting for irrigation (Reij, Mulder, & Begemann, 1988). Adaptation to climate change involves the adoption of water collection technologies such as percolation ponds, irrigation tanks and check dams to harvest rainwater for irrigation (Sivanappan, 1997). Scaling up water harvesting will enable farmers to adapt to climate changes (Unfccc).

Figure 7.2: Rainwater harvesting.

•

•

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Changing the agricultural calendar. In sub-Saharan Africa, and in most other developing countries, farmers rely on seasons to cultivate crops. Farms are prepared during the dry season, planting occurs at the onset of the rain season and crops are harvested during the start of the subsequent dry season. Since climate change has led to a change in rain patterns, farmers should adjust their agricultural calendars to correspond with the emerging patterns. Shift from open field cultivation to greenhouse farming and vertical farms. They enable farmers to control the conditions under which their crops are grown. The over-reliance on the weather conditions to grow crops is done away with. Farmers are also able to produce food all year round. Adoption of transgenic crops. Through genetic engineering, crop varieties that are resistant to pests and diseases are developed.

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•

•

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These crops are able to thrive even with the increase in the size of insect pests and disease pathogens due to climate changes. These crops can also withstand the harsh climatic conditions and their yields are higher. Drought resistance types of livestock can also be developed to reduce death during droughts. Farmers can also contribute to the development of drought-resistant varieties of livestock by changing their breeding patterns. Adopting new technologies in the control of pests to handle the pest menace due to an increase in average global temperatures. Diversification. Different types of crops are affected differently by different amounts of heat and carbon emissions. Diversification allows the population to obtain food from one crop variety if the other crop fails. Diversification in forestry prevents an entire forest from being wiped out by droughts. Rearing different types of livestock on the farm also ensures food security. A shift in consumption patterns. The productivity of mushroom farms is enhanced by an increase in the average surface temperatures of the earth. Mushrooms also mature faster. Adapting to climate changes may involve changing into replacing animal products and plant proteins with sources of proteins like mushrooms whose growth is accelerated by climate changes and matures faster than livestock and crops. Mushroom farming, snail farming requires less water than crop cultivation and livestock rearing (Gyampoh, Idinoba, & Amisah, 2008). Adopting measures that preserve the moisture content of the soil. Techniques that can be used to reduce the rate of water evaporation from the soil include mulching, spreading composite manure on the soil surface and conservation tillage. Practicing crop rotation enhances the efficient utilization of the moisture content in the soil. Different crops draw water from the soil at different rates. Crop rotation may involve switching between shallow-rooted and deep-rooted crops. While shallow-rooted crops absorb the water closer to the surface, deep-rooted crops utilize the water in the deep layers that is not utilized by shallow-rooted crops. Other methods of conserving the moisture content of soils include strip cropping, deep tillage and measures that prevent soil erosion.

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Figure 7.3: Mulching. Source: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/smallfarms/mulching-strawberries

The adoption of adaptive measures by farmers varies from farm to farm and from country to country. The factors that determine the type of strategy that farms adopt to adapt to climate changes include: the age of the head of the household, the number of members in the household that can take part in agricultural production, how available credit and savings facilities are in the community, the number of livestock the household owns, availability of advisory and extension services in the community and the total income of the hold (Muzamhindo, Mtabheni, Jiri, Mwakiwa, & Benjamine, 2015). Countries in the Sub-Saharan part of Africa are adopting various strategies to enhance the adoption of adaptive measures in their countries. The association for strengthening agricultural research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) member countries share the development and promotion of drought-resistant crops as the main strategy towards agricultural adaptation in climate change. The strategies adopted in Burundi include: crops that are susceptible to damage by fungi are grown when there is little rain while crops that are mostly affected by pests are grown during rainy seasons; the government is promoting the cultivation of sunflowers and other crops that are resistant to droughts like soybeans. The adaptive strategies also extend to livestock rearing, forestry and energy sources (Nzuma, Waithaka, Mulwa, & Kyotalimye, 2010). Each country has adopted

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a National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) that it has incorporated into their Poverty Reduction Strategy Program (PRSP). The National Adaptation Programs of Action (NAPAs) allow countries that are least developed to outline activities that will address their most immediate needs in the process of adapting to the climatic changes being experienced in their countries. The implementation of those activities helps the countries to reduce the harmful effects of climate change on the economic, social, demographic and even political aspects of the countries. For instance, Burundi’s National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) identifies and prioritizes projects like: offering weather forecast companies support to avail information for future agricultural plans; rehabilitating areas whose agricultural production has gone down due to soil degradation; promoting the harvesting of water to support irrigation in the country’s dry areas; preventing and reducing the rate of soil erosion in susceptible parts of the country like Mumirwa and educating and providing information about climate change (Nzuma, Waithaka, Mulwa, & Kyotalimye, 2010). Organizations like the African Union, through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is also committed to enhancing the adoption of adaptation measures among farmers. In June 2014, heads of state from African countries adopted the “Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Vision 25*25 vision”, a strategy that was targeted at increasing the amount and quality of food produced in the African continent by having a minimum of twenty five million smallholder farmers in Africa practicing Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) by 2025.

7.4 MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE Mitigation of Climate change refers to the processes of reducing the global average surface temperatures by reducing the rate and amount of carbon emissions in our atmosphere. These include measures that reduce the production of greenhouse gases and the measures that reduce the amount greenhouse gases that have already accumulated in the atmosphere (UNFCCC).

7.5 REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS Reducing carbon emissions is the main target for interventions aimed at mitigating climate change. Between 1750 and 2011, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased by forty percent while the amounts of

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methane increased by 150% and nitrous oxide increased by 20% (IPCC, 2014). These are the greenhouse gases that trap radiations that would have otherwise escaped to space. The trapped gases contribute to the rising of the global average temperatures. Carbon dioxide is a major player in the rise of temperatures globally and hence, the focus on carbon emissions. Figure 7.4 below shows how carbon emissions from different regions across the world have been changing. The total sum of carbon emissions has been increasing gradually leading to an increase in the average global temperatures. The amount of carbon emissions started to rise significantly during the second half of the 19th century. This can be attributed to the industrial revolution. Manufacturing industries contributed release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide that altered the carbon cycle. With the onset of globalization, the manufacturing industries mushroomed throughout the world accelerating the rate of carbon emissions into the environment. The average global surface temperature is projected to increase to about 1.5°C by the end of the twenty first century (IPCC, 2014).

Figure 7.4: The contribution of different regions to global CO2 between 1750 and 2015. Source: https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions

To reduce the amount of carbon emissions in the world, countries signed a treaty that came to be termed as ‘the Kyoto protocol in 1997’. The protocol went on to be recognized as international law in 2005. The developed countries that were party to the treaty received carbon emission targets e.g. members of the European Union were tasked with responsibility of reducing

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their carbon emissions by eight percent by 2012 while the United States received a target of seven percent. The responsibility of designing measures to reduce carbon emissions and meet their target rested on the member countries. The Kyoto Protocol employed three mechanisms: •

International trading in greenhouse emissions (the carbon market) – Carbon trading emphasizes the economic costs of carbon emissions, allowing the countries that produce the hugest amount of carbon dioxide to bear the cost. A country that has reached its set limit of carbon emissions has to buy emission units from countries that have not yet reached their emission limits. The growth of emissions markets propels countries institute measures on a national level so as to reduce the cost of buying emission units from other countries and to evade carbon emission taxes. •

Joint implementation mechanism – countries could take part in the reduction of carbon emissions in other countries to earn emission reduction units. Countries could acquire huge chunks of land in other countries; contribute to afforestation and reforestation so as to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A reduction in one tone of carbon dioxide is equivalent to one emission reduction unit. • The Clean Development mechanism – developed countries could meet their carbon emissions target by contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction (CER) credits. In 2016, yet another international agreement, the Paris Climate Agreement came into effect. The agreements also use carbon markets as a mechanism for reducing carbon emissions. The two agreements, together with the rise of carbon markets, highlight the global nature of the issue of carbon emission and the need for international cooperation in mitigation of climate change. The use of renewable energies like solar and wind energies to replace petroleum-based fuel reduces the amount emissions to the environment. Fossil fuel combustion contributes the largest proportion of carbon emissions that are contributing the warming in the Arctic (Winiger, et al., 2019). Using windmills and solar panels to power irrigation systems on the farms instead of using petroleum driven pumps. Agriculture can contribute to the reduction in the use of fossil fuels by providing raw materials for biofuels like ethanol that produce lower carbon emission into the atmosphere than fossil fuels.

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The use of energy-efficient tractors reduce reduces the amount of carbon dioxide produced from fuel combustion. The Electrification of rural areas will reduce the use of kerosene and further reduce the overall amount of carbon emissions. Proper land management reduces the amount of carbon emissions contributed by the agricultural sector. Soil holds a huge proportion of earth’s carbon in the form of organic matter. Microorganisms decompose organic matter to release carbon dioxide which is later utilized by plants to synthesize carbohydrates. Land tillage accelerates the rate of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Wetland like swamps and marsh lands store a huge proportion of the earth’s carbon. Due to agricultural intensification, farmers are able to cultivate land throughout the year. The use of fertilizers, insecticides and other chemical farm inputs adds to the carbon content of the soil. The encroachment and burning of wetlands to provide land for agricultural cultivation also contribute to an increase in carbon emissions from the agricultural sector. Agricultural practices like shifting cultivation and minimum tillage that conserve soil nutrients reduce agricultural carbon emissions. Adopting measures that reduce the amount of greenhouse emissions due to enteric fermentation will reduce global warming. Symbiotic bacteria in the digestive tract of cattle, sheep, goats and other ruminant livestock act on undigested and indigestible food materials to produce carbon oxide and methane gases that contribute to global warming. Emissions due to enteric fermentation can be reduced by enhancing the quality of fodder and using balanced food rations. Improving the overall health of the animals and improving the quality of livestock through breeding practices will contribute to reducing the amount and rate of carbon emissions (Gerber, Henderson, & Makkar, 2013). Deforestation increases carbon emissions. The increase in human population puts pressure on the available land. People thus resorted to clearing forest lands to avail more land for cultivation. Burning forests releases the carbon stored in the plants. Proceeding to till the cleared land leads to more emission of the carbon stored in the soils. Measures and regulations that discourage the clearing of forestland for agricultural practices, or for any other activity, will contribute to reducing carbon emissions in the country and thus help in the mitigation of climate change. Improving the management systems in aquaculture will reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from the fishing and fisheries industries.

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Nitric oxide, a contributor to global warming, is produced in significant amounts by fish (Hu, Lee, Chandran, Kim, & Khanal, 2012). Herbivorous and omnivorous fish species produce less amounts of nitric oxide when compared to carnivorous species.

7.6 REMOVAL OF GREENHOUSE GASES FROM THE ATMOSPHERE Afforestation and reforestation increases a region’s forest cover. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it to carbon compounds that are stored in its tissues, making forests an important carbon sink. The decomposing foliage on the surface of forests also stores in the form of organic matter. Both young and old-growth forests act as carbon sinks (Luyssaert, et al., 2008). In regions where aquaculture is practiced, protecting and enhancing the grown of mangrove forests will help increase the extent of carbon sinks.

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Coakley, S. M., Scherm, H., & Chakraborty, S. (1999). Climate change and plant disease management. Annual review of phytopathology, 37(1) , 399-426. 2. Delcour, I., Spanoghe, P., & Uyttendaele, M. (2015). Literature review: Impact of climate change on pesticide use. Food Research International , 7-15. 3. Estruch, J. J., Carozzi, N. B., Desai, N., Duck, N. B., Warren, G. W., & Koziel, M. G. (1997). Transgenic plants: an emerging approach to pest control. Nature biotechnology, 15(2) , 137. 4. Farm Africa. (2019). Drought-tolerant crops. Retrieved August 22, 2019, from Farmafrica.org: https://www.farmafrica.org/us/kenya/ sorghum-and-green-grams 5. Feng, Z., Rütting, T., Pleijel, H., Wallin, G., Reich, P. B., Kammann, C. I., et al. (2015). Constraints to nitrogen acquisition of terrestrial plants under elevated CO 2. Global Change Biology, 21(8) , 3152-3168. 6. Fisher, M., Abate, T., Lunduka, R. W., Asnake, W., Alemayehu, Y., & Madulu, R. B. (2015). Drought tolerant maize for farmer adaptation to drought in sub-Saharan Africa: Determinants of adoption in eastern and southern Africa. Climatic Change, 133(2) , 283. 7. Ge, M., Lebling, K., Levin, K., & Friedrich, J. (2019, February). Tracking Progress of the 2020 Climate Turning Point. Retrieved August 22, 2019, from World Resources Institute: https://www.wri. org/publication/tracking-progress-2020-climate-turning-point 8. Gerber, P. J., Henderson, B., & Makkar, H. P. (2013). Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in livestock production: a review of technical options for non-CO2 emissions (No. 177). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) . 9. Gyampoh, B. A., Idinoba, M., & Amisah, S. (2008). Water scarcity under a changing climate in Ghana: options for livelihoods adaptation. Development, 51(3) , 415-417. 10. Hausfather, z. (2017, June 28). Mission 2020: A new global strategy to ‘rapidly’ reduce carbon emissions | Carbon Brief. Retrieved August 22, 2019, from Carbon Brief: https://www.carbonbrief.org/mission-2020new-global-strategy-rapidly-reduce-carbon-emissions 11. Hu, Z., Lee, J. W., Chandran, K., Kim, S., & Khanal, S. K. (2012). Nitrous

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22. UNFCCC. (n.d.). Introduction to Mitigation. Retrieved August 22, 2019, from Unfccc.int: https://unfccc.int/topics/mitigation/the-bigpicture/introduction-to-mitigation 23. Winiger, P., Barrett, T. E., Sheesley, R. J., Huang, L., Sharma, S., Barrie, L. A., et al. (2019). Source apportionment of circum-Arctic atmospheric black carbon from isotopes and modeling. Science advances, 5(2), eaau8052 . 24. Zhou, Y., Van Leeuwen, S. K., Pieterse, C. M., Bakker, P. A., & Van Wees, S. C. (2019). Effect of atmospheric CO 2 on plant defense against leaf and root pathogens of Arabidopsis. European Journal of Plant Pathology , 1-12.

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8

The Importance of Empowering Women

CONTENTS 8.1 Introduction...................................................................................... 194 8.2 What Is Women Empowerment? ...................................................... 194 8.3 Women Empowerment In Agriculture............................................... 195 8.4 Rural Women Empowerment To Agriculture...................................... 197 8.5 Gender Issues In Food Farming......................................................... 200 8.6 The Role Of Rural Women In Agriculture.......................................... 203 8.7 Feminization Of Agriculture.............................................................. 203 8.8 Challenges That Women Face In Agriculture..................................... 205 8.9 Dealing With The Gap Between Men And Women In Agriculture..... 208 References.............................................................................................. 210

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8.1 INTRODUCTION There is a need to eliminate hunger, extreme poverty, and malnutrition by 2030. To achieve these, there is a need for action by the participants in the world economy, especially the small farmers, smallholders, and small enterprises. This can help alleviate poverty and hunger since they have insufficient access to the resources and services that they need to develop their full potential. Women are more affected when it comes to services and resource sufficiency. This is very damaging not only to themselves and to the families but the community, the nation, and the world as well. This access should be towards education, land, water, community decision-making process, that affects them at the end of the day. Women’s empowerment should be considered as economic empowerment. There are, therefore, a lot of programs that are there to address the issue of achieving women empowerment targets. These programs are targeting the cooking issues, environmental issues, and even women’s time issues (World Bank, 2012; 2013, Women’s Economic Advancement). The policy level is the fundamental entry point for addressing women’s economic empowerment issues. These policies should be that it affects the whole food system and not only agriculture. There is, therefore, a need to look for the areas that address women’s problems and have policies that can help address them adequately. There will be a very high level of participation, which shows that gender issues have greater attraction. Important people will give their views or their country’s experience. Besides, there will be technical round tables, and on this event, the world will be launching partnerships on addressing these issues. This will be at the country level, regional, and global levels.

8.2 WHAT IS WOMEN EMPOWERMENT? Women empowerment is an opportunity for women and girls to act freely. Thus, they have the chance to exercise their rights to be full and equal members of society. This is based on when to get married, how many children they should have, where they work, how to spend their money, or whether they can move around the streets freely. Women’s empowerment is not an add-on to the community, but it is the CORE of development for families, nations. The last 15 years is a testimony for women empowerment there has been a lot of progress that has been

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recorded. However, there is much that needs to be done. There is an increase in decision-making, and the gap between boys and girls is closing up in terms of primary education. However, the number of those attaining secondary school educations, the number of girls who are completing secondary school education, cannot be matched with the significant amount that enrolls at the beginning of secondary education. Women don’t get the same job benefits or wedges that they do in the formal sector. Gender-based violence is one of the most critical areas that need to be addressed. The society needs to understand that it is in its best interest for women to be empowered. This means that men and women should be behind it and come up with policies that enable women empowerment. Women’s empowerment should start at a tender age. There are a need to start with young girls and boys to help us cope with more advancement.

8.3 WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN AGRICULTURE When one talks about a farmer, what comes to your mind? Do they have an age, a gender, are they wearing overalls? What comes to your mind when they talk about a farm girl? What happens when you type a farm girl in Google and search for the images that best describe a farm girl? You will realize that one of the farm images on Google is this girl in cheeky denim shorts on a john deer tractor. She is not driving the tractor or using it for any practical purpose, but she is on it. What you will not see are the women who are choosing the occupation within the male-dominated industry of agriculture.

Figure 8.1: Women in Tanzania watering vegetables in their farm. Source: https://share.america.gov/u-s-india-share-farming-innovations-withafrica-and-asia/

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Statistics has it that between 2002 and 2007, the number of women who have been operating farms increased by 19% in the United States. What is means is that more women are taking management positions and making the day to day decisions on farms. What is impressive is that there is an increase in the number of women owning farms. Between 2002 and 2013, the number of women in the ownership role increased by about 30%. Women are coming into agriculture for various reasons. Some have inherited property. Others are embarking on a second career, and then some cannot bear the burden of an office job. Thus they choose to be intimately connected to something as necessary as food — the key ingredient to human survival. Choosing to work on farms as a woman is not easy. You will realize that they may be in a team of 20 workers; only three will be women what women go through when they are working in such places in more than it should be. They sometimes received comments based on their body parts like breasts, or even the buttocks. The agricultural field that was traditionally being managed by men, there is a new set of women who are joining the men today. These women are taking decision-making reins in their hands. They have, therefore, started successful commercial farms, family farms, and agribusinesses. They are doing this sustainable and profitably. They do this by investing in their families. These types of women are making a real difference. Today, the image of the female farmer that we typically see needs a facelift. Women are frustrated with the body size or strength that is often required to do a farm task independently. These types of women are resourceful, reliable, and usually energetic on their own. Women don’t have adequate restrooms on farms. They, therefore, have to walk or drive 10 to 20 minutes a way to get to a bathroom. She cannot pee beside the road like the boys, but how can she expose herself to do it, especially after receiving comments on her body parts or size? How about if she is in her periods? Women in farms are embarrassed when they have to pick their kids from school or even when they want to pick their groceries. This is due to the cultural expectations of women. Women across disciplines face hyper-sexualization of their different ways every day. There is a need to remember that women are people that feed us, heal our sick, steer the business, teach our children, and run our household. This is a lot to live up to in society. It is, therefore, possible and entirely doable to

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face sexism in whatever industry you are in. It doesn’t change the fact that when you are in the agricultural sector and you shake a man’s hands, and as a woman, yours is rougher than his. We need to take pride in the difference. There is, therefore, a need for women advocates in the agriculture industry or any industry. We all have the responsibility to recognize and understand no matter our body or level of attractiveness, and she is capable competent and able to do the job. No matter your line of work, you need to understand that women in your field have different experiences.

8.4 RURAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT TO AGRICULTURE Agriculture is the reason food is usually on the table yesterday, today and tomorrow. Across the world, it is the role of women to provide food to their families. However, most rural women indicate that their family food is secured. Meaning they were taking one meal or two meals a day. Thus, there is a need to address food security by sustainable agriculture or agroecology. There have been global conversations on what should be done on food shortages. However, women are not involved in those conversations. The critical project is to make sure that the women get course support (FAO, 2018; report on Gender Opportunities and Constraints in Land-related Agricultural Investments). Rural areas transport you to another time when nature and man is one thing. Here villagers lived for simple lives. There were enough to take care of the families naturally. However, this changed due to the cost of living. It took a direction from subsistence to a commercial way of development. Education raises the way of living, and the quest for a better idea of life has affected the equation. The villagers are, therefore, involved in incomegenerating projects making money from what they know best. Traditionally it’s the women who plant the seed, and they do the weeding, harvest the crops, cook the food, and serve the food. On the other hand, the men typically choose the variety that is to grow the food conventionally using organic fertilizers or no fertilizers at all. Then select the method that is to be used. They will determine which crops to sell and which to be kept for them and even where to sell. Gender inequality is not solely a matter of human rights. It is also an important issue that is interconnected with agricultural performance and food security. If women have the same access input as to their male counterparts,

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agricultural yield and product will increase. They are thus reducing the number of hungry people in the world. Evidence indicates that families where women enjoy equal status and control over decisions often allocate that more income to food, health, children’s education, and nutrition. These factors have a positive impact on society in general. Countries that are committed to gender equalities are also those that have achieved more exceptional standards. Even though this is widely recognized, discrimination around women is still widespread around the world (LeMoyne, Roger, 2011; Promoting Gender Equality: An Equitybased Approach to Programming).. Agrarian reforms and laws have favored man’s access to land. This is one of the examples of discrimination. Women’s contribution to rural economic activities is indispensable in all regions. Women often manage complex households and pursue manifolds for livelihood strategies. They often play multiple productive and reproductive roles, such as producing crops, tending animals, processing, and preparing food. Besides, they work as wedge laborious, fetching water and fuel, trading and marketing, educating children, caring for the elderly and sick and, maintaining their homes.

Figure 8.2: Women and a man weeding crops.

Agriculture remains one of the major employment sectors for women. However, many activities performed by women are neither captured by

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statistics nor defined as economically active employment in national’s accounts though they are essential to the well-being of the rural. Women are also engaged in the livestock sector, globally. Globally, 66% of poor livestock keeper’s 400 million people are women. They are predominantly involved in managing poultry and dairy animals. Evidence indicates that female-headed households are as successful as male-headed households in profiting livestock. However, women hold a smaller number of animals, which might be labor constraints or lack access to loans. The land is an essential productive asset for ensuring food and nutrition security as well as supporting income generation. Land ownership and control of land mean wealth status and power in rural societies, especially for those who are engaged in agriculture. Stark gender disparities and land holdings are acknowledged in all regions. Available data shows men make the majority of agricultural holders on the world. Moreover maleheaded households in developing countries tend to have two or three times larger landowning as compared to those that are headed by a female (The WomanStats Project; Property Rights in Law and Practice for Women). Today, there are a lot of new women out there who are taking the decision making responsibilities into their hands. They are not happy with the status quo of agriculture and food availability in their countries for them, their children, or their communities. Thus, the reason why the female farmer needs a facelift. If the gender gap is closed in the agricultural sector, it will help women achieve better yields to their farms, thus, contributing to higher overall food productivity and security. It is suggested that higher production has an additional impact, including, for example, increased demands for farm labors, locally produced goods, and services increased availability of food and reduction of food prices. Higher productions could also increase women’s employment as well as the income of female farmers. Closing gender gaps requires an improved understanding of the roles and relations. It also needs an understanding of the opportunities and constraints involving the males and females engaged in agriculture and rural development. Doing so requires the collection and use of meaningful gender indicators and sex-segregated data to inform policies and programs. A module on gender statistics provides simple technical guidance on the selection and production of sexist aggregated data via a core set of gender indicators.

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8.5 GENDER ISSUES IN FOOD FARMING We cannot assume that men with some invisible workers operate a farm. Are women carrying up a particular task in farming? Are they responsible for specific animals or duties? How are the farm assets shared between men and women? One common thing is that for the crop and animals that women trade, it is spent mostly on the welfare of the households. However, crops and animals those men trades are almost leaked out into a broader economy, and some are used on beer drinking. How do agricultural scientists, crop advisors, veterinarians, and credit banks deal with men and women in a farming community? Do men and women have access to the services on equal terms? Are there particular barriers that women tend to experience? The tragedy is the agricultural sector is compost mostly of men. Be it in the research sector, public and private sector, and even in the agriculture department in the universities. There may be cultural reasons why this has to happen. So still today, women’s needs and priorities in the farm, experience, and knowledge need to be advanced since they are not equal compared to that of men. Probably this may change with the advancement of communication technology. Women can access a mobile that has all the agricultural pieces of information that they may need, including details on data through the internet services of a smartphone.  Gender-inclusive in farming is of importance to society as a whole and our directional future development. The three main reasons are; •

Equality; the relationship between gender issues and matters of equality • Poverty; the relationship between gender and effects of poverty and how successful we are in relieving poverty • Climate change; gender issues are intimately related to how well we will be able to become more resilient in agriculture and food systems in the face of climate change. In some ways, the world has done quite an excellent job in the sense that in almost all societies now formal laws and national constitutions, as well as increasing areas of international laws, recognize men and women as having equal rights. Many national constitutions give full equality in terms of their citizenship rights. The difficulties remained in areas of local laws, local customs administrative, and regulations that determine the day to day lives of women. In many farming communities, the traditional and customary

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expectations on how men and women should behave, as well as customary laws constrains women’s advancement, even today.  Gender-inclusive farming matters because typically, women on the farm have access to land, animals, tree stocks only because they are a sister, daughter, or wife to somebody. Thus, the rights and benefits of these resources are derived from social status.  There is an assumption that agricultural modernization is to be based on men who are presumed to be the head of the formal household title to farmland and assets. The trouble is at a stroke, and women become insecure. In many societies, women are responsible for the farm produce like the dairy, chicken, particular tree crop, and specific food crop. To advance, they will need access to capital, to credits, working loans, and storage premises. However, without the collateral, they have nothing to offer in security when they take a loan. This is one of the primary reasons why women have a significant task in farming, and there are many women’s groups, savings, and credit groups. The financial records of this group can act as collateral or security for banks or credit organizations. Yes, this can help the women; however, it will take time. We all know that time is the major constraint that is facing the women and their energy with all the tasks that they have to do. The rewards of the land and capital go to the ones who own the asset. Unless the governments intervene to redistribute how the benefits that result from using those assets are shared, women are always going to be the losers if they don’t have formal ownership.  The world has done an excellent job of reducing some percentage of poverty. This is due to economic growth or the general rural areas development and many more. However, two particular investments have made an impact. These specific sectors are on education and reproductive health. However, there are factors like civil unrest, domestic wars, and agriculture and food systems. This mainly affects women and children. This is the real reason why women and children predominantly preoccupy most refugee camps. Thus for us to advance a stable food system in the world, we have to deal with these problems (Jazaïry, Idriss; Alamgir, Mohiuddin; Panuccio, Theresa, 1992; The State of World Rural Poverty). The effect of climate change is another indicator that things are changing for both men and women. This is seen in many parts of the world. Today, rainfall is becoming a lot less reliable in terms of the quantity, timing, or whether it rains there and not here. The temperatures too, are affected. This means that the habitual ways of farming are becoming a lot more

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challenging. We don’t know what new crops are needed to cope with the warmer temperatures. It takes time to get into production. Meanwhile, the real farming families who are struggling to cope are beyond the normal range of ability to cope.  Today, what we think of as a family is also changing very fast. Today we have women who never married children and those who never married and do not have children. This means that we have different kinds of households. With the fact that women are not supposed to inherit the land, a woman who could be productive in her area will never have an opportunity of owning the property if they are not married. This is a problem as farming may be the only thing that they could do to place food on the table. Food and farming are changing, and it’s on consumption patterns. Today, households have to spend some cash on purchasing food at a particular time of the year, for specific reasons, and particular kinds of products. It is even worse in the cities as if there is no cash, then that means that there is no food. This is devastating for unemployed women. This is the reason why every city has a food store bank. It is something that was used as an emergency measure and is used as a permanent safety net today. This is particularly valuable for women and their children.  Today we are no longer self-producing self-provisioning human beings anymore. This is the reason why there is an enormous concentration of control in the commercial food supply chain. This is seen from the supply of agrochemicals to producers to those who control commodity trades of bulk products. We need to ask the question from men and women’s point of view if this leads to a more secure world. If it doesn’t, what can we do about it?  These issues are important and very critical because one thing that has changed over a lifetime is that although we have achieved some crucial success in reducing the number of people who go to bed hungry, we haven’t solved the hunger problem. This is because we are reluctant to deal with food allocation (United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1999). The right to adequate food. Geneva: United Nations). There is a need to take the necessary actions to help us address these questions. Again, today, once most people are stable economically, their demand for protein increases to enjoy their increased income. The trouble is the way this is produced. The way we have fish from the wild is not sustainable. It demands too much fossil fuel and consumes too much water. The water of good quality is becoming the most scares resources in agriculture. Again agriculture is the largest user of water than any industry in the world. There

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is, therefore, a need to face up on what we are going to do about it. 

8.6 THE ROLE OF RURAL WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE All over the world, women work on farms either as farmers, laborers, entrepreneurs, and unpaid family workers both in the farm and household. This is weightier in the rural areas. The majority of these rural farmers are smallholder farmers who constitute about 43% of farmers. They, therefore, provide water, fuel, and income to sustain their families. Women have a role of feeling empty plates and hungry bellies. However, they run on empty stomachs. Rural women are not underperforming because productivity is slow. They are over performing, given the limiting resources that they have at their disposal. Together, this can be changed through laws that promote equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal participation. This can help them to feed their children more and even have a chance of selling their goods in the market. This can be achieved through various opportunities that they can benefit from trade and finance and make a strong inclusive economic growth. This can also be through essential services so that they can work with fewer risks to their health and have a bank account and access to energy and clean water. Besides, they can have a better division of labor so that they can have a better job on all the work that they do it at home, in the field, in the market, and the workplace (Singh, Roopam; Sengupta, Ranja, 2009). Through such programs, we can live as one so that rural women can out lift poverty. There is a need to spend on models that can work by building on the strengths of agencies that are involved. When women are empowered and can claim the rights and access to land, leadership, opportunities, and choices, then the economy will grow. Food security is enhanced, and prospects are improved for current and future generations. This is why the government, civil society, and business community of help by partnering and active support to make the program of empowering rural women a success.

8.7 FEMINIZATION OF AGRICULTURE Feminization in agriculture is picking up all over the world today. However, there are associated challenges with it. Feminization can become popular if it is appropriately addressed. This is why it is crucial.

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There is a recent development in this regard. Therefore today, we have an international day of rural development. This is observed every October 15th. It is also on this day that the national women’s farmers’ day is observed. This is a day that the ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare take the lead in celebrating the event. This shows how essential women farmers or feminization agriculture are. According to research, women are responsible for about 60-80% of food production and around 90% of dairy and chicken production. Therefore this means that women hold a significant role in food production (Deere, 2009).

Figure 8.3: Women harvesting vegetables from their farm. Source: https://news.globallandscapesforum.org/19488/women-agriculturefood-security-programming-promoting-meaningful-change/

Even if there is a high percentage of women representation in the agriculture sector, there is only a minor representation of women in society. This means that women are not seen when it comes to farming. Therefore they are working and no one is able to recognize their efforts in agriculture. Thus, they are known to be the less invisible workers. Their work or contribution is not recognized in society or society. Therefore there is underrepresentation in the society.

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8.8 CHALLENGES THAT WOMEN FACE IN AGRICULTURE Today the world has changed in terms of including women in various sectors; however, a lot has not been changed yet when it comes to agriculture. Therefore, women experience gender biasness when it comes to agriculture. Below are some of the challenges that women experience in agriculture:

Land ownership Research shows that it is only about 14% of women who have land ownership rights of the lands in which they cultivate. So even though there is a more significant contribution of women farmers, the ownership of; the land is less. The purchase of land is a factor that provides recognition to women farmers. There is no ownership; hence, they are cultivating someone else’s property. In most cases, this is the family land or the husband’s property. This is one of the reasons why women are more and more invisible when it comes to agriculture. Land ownership problem is the foundation to allot of challenges that women face. They had questions when it came to accessing financial institutions, access to government programs, inputs, and all the major announcements.

Availability of credit In most cases, formal financial institutions use loans a collateral provider of agricultural credit. However, only a few women have land ownership rights. Thus women who don’t own land cannot use it as a collateral way to access formal credit from financial institutions (Mehra and Rojas, 2008). This will, therefore, restrict the scope of these women farmers in getting structured finance. This, in turn, will affect the decision of women farmers. This, as the investment comes down, then there is a probability that the productivity will also come down. This is very frightening as there are no policies that can solve this crisis unless availability and distribution of land is taken care of.

Landholdings The landholding has doubled over the years. With an increase in land holdings, there is a decrease in the average size of the farms. Thus, as a result of increased; landholdings, the majority of farmers will fall the small

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and marginal category. Marginal farmers are those who hold less than hector of land. This is inclusive of the women’s farmers. This means that if there is a small minimal holder, then there will be a lower net return. This is because the economy of scales cannot be utilized appropriately. Therefore there will be lower productivity and net results.

Pay for women worker Today there are increased works for the women farmers. Women will be doing both households and farm work; however, in terms of payment, male workers are paid more than women. This is a crucial factor that is responsible for marginalization. This should be corrected. If a person gets more income, one will feel more secure.

Machinery If you consider the female cultivator laborers, they are engaged mostly in labor-intensive tasks. There is a lesser use of technology. Mechanization machines are used mainly by men as most of the machines is not gender friendly; thus, it is difficult for the female to use them. Therefore women will cultivate mostly and engage in labor-intensive types of agriculture.

Availability of resources Compared to men, women have fewer resources and modern inputs. For example, the availability of credit; it is known that the men are the one who owns the land. Therefore women cannot use the land to get collateral finance to help them in their businesses. Thus there is little access or availability of funds to the farmers. Input availability is also lesser on women as compared to that that is given to the men. Decision-making power also goes to the men. So there is limited scope for women farmers to decide on farming activities. As compared to women, men have access to the market than women (Awumbila, Mariama, 2006, “Gender equality and poverty in Ghana: implications for poverty reduction strategies). Despite the nature of the problems faced by women in agriculture, there are still spaces of intervention that are doable and those that we can work together and do. We can, therefore, come together in different ways to help come up with solutions that will help us find answers to the challenges that are faced by women in the agricultural sector.

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Approaches on improving the challenges faced by women in agriculture: Women’s immense contribution to agriculture remains mostly invisible in most parts of the world. There is a need to see women as an equal force. The contribution may be the answer to a sector that is on the crisis from farmers’ suicides. Due to urbanization, most males are attracted to the cities; therefore, lots of managing agriculture and livestock have fallen on women. Taking on an entire load of farming, women have to adapt a lot more to play full farmer roles — some of these being addressed by the government and international programs to try and customize farming for women. Traditionally there has been a distinct role of males and females in the economy. But with changes in dynamics, this too appears to be changing. Today women are being trained on how best they can manage their farms. All the skills required are given to them by the cooperative societies to the farmers. This calls for the need to address the challenges that are discussed above. These challenges can be addressed in the following ways.

Land ownership To so many of us, the land does not only provide a place called home; however, it gives us the means to provide for our meals. More than a third of the world works on agriculture. There is, therefore, a need to establish equal rights of land and resources for both men and women.

Credits Looking at the number of women who are malnourished and are practicing farming is so devastating. There is money to be made if we focus more on yields, and in turn, this will help the mothers to feed their families right. Remember, it is essential that the first 1000 days in a child’s life need to be feeding and get the right nutrition to help in brain development. Therefore if women cannot achieve the capitals that they are looking for in terms of farming, then they can organize themselves into groups of small farmers. This will help them prosper more like farmers. They will be able to get licenses like those for certified seeds, and hence, they can build their seed banks. They can also have permits to their fertilizer depots and all the inputs that farmers need (Mehra and Rojas, 2008). The key to this is to organize women’s small farmers; this will give the advantage of knowledge and skills. If the landowner can be solved and equal rights are put in place, then women can get collateral finances to help them

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upgrade their farming (Doss, 1999). Therefore there will be an increase in investment and hence, productivity. The provision of credits can also be made through microfinance institutions or initiatives to provide collateral-free loans to female farmers. Credit alone is may not be enough. The government can also play a role in making sure that women have access to technology farming and cultivation.

Landholdings To help solve this problem, collective farming should be engaged. These women will become more self-reliant (Milmo, J.T., 1991).

Machinery It is important to have gender machinery tools for various farm operations. Therefore there need to be incentives to the manufacturers. The banks must also provide subsidies to women cultivators to promote them in using these machineries. There is a need to provide different sets of tools too. More gender-friendly tools. Meaning they will be easier to handle, thus instead of a big grader, there is a need for a smaller one. These make things for women.

Resources Access to the resources and inputs should be equalized. To succeed in this, there should be proper policy action. Therefore the government should come up with policies that will equalize access of men and women to resources or inputs that are required by farmers (Saito and Weidemann, 1990).

8.9 DEALING WITH THE GAP BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE It is essential to include gender in both research and policy in climate change and agriculture. Because of the enormous impacts, climate change undermines poor livelihoods that pick up the pieces. It has a significant effect on gender-differentiated has implications because the roles of women and men are so different, and by; large, it affects women more in a more disproportionately adverse way (Pala, 1983). It should be known that women are not just victims but actors for change. At the local level, you will find out that women are always trying to save

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their communities by coming together on a network, working together to try to adapt and to be more resilient. There is a need to understand the underlying cultural norms and political systems to address the challenges that women are facing in agriculture. Often times, researchers will look at the technology and knowledge issues to address without taking into consideration the broader context. It’s increasingly understood that to address resilience to climate change and water drought in a landscape, there is a need to understand the biophysical world and how society interacts with that. Gender is part of this society component and the power relationship. So once this is followed, then a resilience solution can be designed based on it. It is the responsibility of everyone to do more when it comes to genderinclusive in agriculture. Those who have access to decision making tables should try to create space. Women have to deal with drought, water shortage, flooding food shortage more directly as compared to the men counterparts. They, therefore, know what makes a difference for them; thus, there is a need to give them a listening ear. For transformation to happen, we need to picture the needs of a female farmer, and the smallholder farmer in the remote areas. Women who carry their kids on their back, produce food, takes care of the family and custodian of the environment, which we all depend on. If we are looking for a trilliondollar industry in agriculture from all corners of the world by 2030, then we should ask ourselves how does that smallholder farmer participates in that remarkable economic growth story that could be the future of agriculture (Ezumah, Nkoli; Domenico, Catherine, 1995; Enhancing the Role of Women in Crop Production). Gender equity should not become a stand-alone issue or an additional component of all kinds of programs. This is just a part of how you tackle assessing vulnerability in the landscape and designing solutions. So we need both men and women, both boys and girls. This is just common sense to analyze the problem and develop the solution with those different roles put in mind.

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REFERENCES 1.

FAO, 2018; report on Gender Opportunities and Constraints in Landrelated Agricultural Investments 2. United Nations Gender equality and women’s empowerment. 3. LeMoyne, Roger (2011). “Promoting Gender Equality: An Equitybased Approach to Programming”. 4. The WomanStats Project. “Property Rights in Law and Practice for Women”. 5. Jazaïry, Idriss; Alamgir, Mohiuddin; Panuccio, Theresa (1992). The State of World Rural Poverty: An Inquiry into Its Causes and Consequences. New York: University Press. ISBN 9789290720034. 6. United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1999). The right to adequate food. Geneva: United Nations. 7. Singh, Roopam; Sengupta, Ranja (2009). “EU FTA and the Likely Impact on Indian Women Executive Summary.” Centre for Trade and Development and Heinrich Boell Foundation. 8. Ezumah, Nkoli; Domenico, Catherine (1995). “Enhancing the Role of Women in Crop Production: A Case Study of Igbo Women in Nigeria” (PDF). World Development. Awumbila, Mariama (2006). “Gender equality and poverty in Ghana: implications for poverty reduction strategies”. 9. Doss, Cheryl R. Twenty-five years of research on women farmers in Africa: Lessons and implications for agricultural institutions; with an annotated bibliography. 1999. CIMMYT Economics Program paper No. 99-02. Mexico D.F. 10. Milimo, J.T. Land tenure and agricultural development in Eastern Province. 1991. In R. Celis, J.T. Milimo, and S. Wanmali (eds.), Adopting Improved Farm Technology: A Study of Smallholder Farmers in Eastern Province Zambia. Washington D.C.: IFPRI.

INDEX

A African Biodiversity Network (ABN) 16, 17, 20 agricultural credit 205 agricultural development 9 agricultural development policymaking 115 agricultural farming 56 agricultural farms 90, 99 agricultural innovation systems 154, 168 agricultural land 11 agricultural policy 52, 54, 83 agricultural production 2 agricultural sector 52, 53, 54, 55, 58, 74, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 84 agricultural system 27 agrochemicals 202 agro-ecology 19, 31, 35

Agroecology 15, 16, 24, 25, 40, 46, 47, 48, 49 agroecosystem 12 Agroforestry 33, 34, 48, 49 air pollution 40 animal agriculture 116, 117, 124 animal reproduction 118 aquaculture 187, 188, 190 Associated British Foods (ABF) 105 atmosphere 116, 126, 133

B biocatalysts 128 bioenergy 128 Biofuels 128 biogas 22, 42, 44 biological agriculture 42 biotechnology 60

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C carbohydrates 109 carbon dioxide 73, 74, 172, 173, 175, 176, 178, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188 carbon emissions 72, 73, 74, 77, 173, 175, 176, 178, 179, 180, 182, 184, 185, 186, 187, 189 carbon markets 186 cement production 178 certified emission reduction (CER) 186 civil society 155 climate change 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 126, 130, 131, 132, 134, 139 Climate Seeds and Knowledge (CSK) 16 cloud computing 156, 161 communication channels 150 communication models 151 communication technology 200 Community Knowledge Workers (CKW) 159 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) 39, 40, 41 Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) 84 conflict management 147 conserve biodiversity 9 corn soybeans 116 credit banks 200 credit organizations 201 crop cultivation 173, 182 crop production 54, 74, 75 Crop rotation 27, 182 Crop sprinkler 66

Crops yield 120 crop wild relatives 3, 5, 14 crop yields 57, 59, 74 cultivate crops 93

D dairy farm 117 data transferred 151 decision making 145, 147, 166 demand land 70 diesel fuel 117 digital farming 143 digital system 124 distribution system 27 drip irrigation system 60 Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) 180 dry season 181

E Ecology 11 economic empowerment 194 economic growth 55, 57, 58, 62, 67, 70, 81, 82 economic performance 155 economic transformation 55, 58 electricity 117 entrepreneurs 203 entrepreneurship 33, 35, 90 entrepreneur’s skills 147 environmental integration 45 environmental pollutions 74 environmental protection 42, 43, 56 European Union (EU) 54

F Farmer Voice Radio (FVR) 159 farming systems 16, 18, 36

Index

farm machinery 77, 80, 81 farm management 42, 118 feed energy 118 feminization agriculture 204 fertilizers 121, 126, 133 fiber optic 153 financial crisis 57 financial resources 149 Florianopolis 28, 31 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 78 food diversity 32 food insecurity 22, 34 food policy 53 food security , 2, 5, 9 food sovereignty 58 food system 11 food transfer 24 Foreign direct investments (FDI) 104 fossil combustion 178 fossil energy 131 fossil fuel combustion 178

G gap analysis 6, 7 Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) 17 genetic engineering 181 GIS technology 166 Global Agriculture 104 global challenges 147 Global Crop Diversity 5, 9 global financial 57 globalization 56, 69, 82, 90, 104 global population 172 global temperatures 73, 74, 172, 174, 175, 176, 182, 185 global warming 72, 73, 74, 75

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green economy 130, 131 green entrepreneurs 24, 25 greenhouse gases 67, 72, 73, 114, 115, 132 green transport 23 gross domestic product (GDP) 84

H herbicides 121, 122, 173, 177, 178 hierarchical architecture 153 high yielding varieties (HYV) 92 horticulture 138 human health 21, 27, 32, 38, 45, 146 human rights 197

I ideologies 81, 82, 83 Information and Communication Technology 141, 142 innovation team leadership 147 insecticides 121 Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) 19 institute World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) 33 Integrated technology systems 44 Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) 172 international agricultural 157 International developments 53 international laws 200 international year of family farming (IYFF) 135 interpersonal communication 147

L lake management 9, 11 land degradation 33, 34

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land development 90, 91, 104, 106, 107 land fragmentations 96 Land grabbing 104, 107 landscape ecology 11 leadership 20, 40, 203 Linux server 157 livestock development 121 livestock products 61, 75

M magazines 146 management systems 187 manure management 118, 119 market engagement 59 Microorganisms 187 micropayments 151 milk production 116, 117 millennium development goals (MDGs) 84 mobile banking 152 mobile services 151 modern agricultural technology 22 modern conventional agriculture 34 modern technology 76, 77 Monopoly 81 mushroom farms 182

N National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) 184 National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) 19 National Irrigation Board (NIB) 79 natural ecosystems 73, 74, 175, 177 natural resources 27, 28, 32, 36, 38, 39, 44, 45, 172 network infrastructure 151

New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) 84 nitrous oxide 178, 185 nominal protection rate (NPR) 78 nursery development 33, 35 nutrient management 11

O online markets 163 organic farm 42 organic farmers 130 organic waste 28, 29, 30

P pasture management 119 pest control 142 pest management 16, 18, 26 phenomenon 176 plant diversity 121 Plant nurseries 35 policy dialogue 134, 135 policymakers 53, 59 political environment 95 political institutions 52, 78, 80, 82 political landscape 67 post-harvest processing 33, 35, 37 public investments 55

Q quality management 23

R Radios 158 reforestation 179, 186, 188 Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS) 19 renewable fuel 128

Index

reproductive cycles 174 rural market 53 Rural Resource Centers (RRCs) 35

S satellites 124 seed diversity 17, 18, 20 seedling production 33, 35 self-confidence 30 snail farming 182 social deprivation 33, 34 social enterprise 40 social interaction 161 social media 143 social protection 53 social science 67 social skill 145 social technology 31, 32 socio-ecological system 114 socio-economy 11 sociology 11 soil conservation 27 soil drainage 121 soil erosion 73 soil fertility 34, 35, 36, 98 soil infertility 34 soil moisture 133 soil nutrients 187 soil surface 182 solar radiations 178 sustainable agriculture 125, 126, 128, 131, 132, 133 sustainable development goals 178 sustainable energy 128 sustainable farming 143

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sustainable rural development 40

T technology acceptance (TAM) 93 telecommunication 102 telephone networks 153 television 146, 153 time management 147 topsoil 123, 124 transform society 150 transmit data 158 tree propagation 33, 35, 36

model

U Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) 17 United Nations (UN) 78 urban agriculture 28, 29, 30, 31 urban economy 62, 64, 65

V vertical farms 181 Voluntary Delivery Points (VDPs) 29

W waste management system 28 water management 27 water pollution 23 water temperature 116 Windows 157 wired telecommunication service 153 Women empowerment 194 World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 54