Eastern and Southern Africa / Afrique orientale et australe

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    CGP Tanzania project newsletter, v. 3, December 2013
    (University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, CA, 2013-12) Omosa, Eileen; Parkins, John
    Welcome to the third issue of the Crop and Goat Project newsletter. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide timely information about the project as research and development efforts are taking place. The University of Alberta works closely with Sokoine University of Agriculture and the International Livestock Research Institute to provide research support for this project. In this newsletter, research activities at the University of Alberta are highlighted. Currently Alberta-based research involves four graduate students, one research associate and four faculty members who provide oversight on a range of activities.
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    InRef news : newsletter of the KARI-McGill Project, Innovating for Resilient Farming Systems, issue no. 4
    (McGill University, 2013) Kamau, Geoffrey; Brownhill, LeighMcGill University; Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI)
    The objective of the KARI-McGill project is to contribute to improved food security among women and men in hunger-prone communities in order to overcome barriers to farmer adoption of resilient farming systems. Some projects covered in this issue that indicate successful approaches towards resilience are: the movement away from maize production to “traditional” vegetables (green grams, cowpeas, and sweet potatoes); improved methods for keeping indigenous chickens along with farmer training; a local pearl millet industry, and field research preparations that include farmer participation.
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    InRef news : newsletter of the KARI-McGill Project, Innovating for Resilient Farming Systems, issue no. 2 and no. 3
    (2012) Brownhill, Leigh; Kamau, Geoffrey
    Key project activities are outlined and reviewed in this newsletter from McGill University (Canada). Agricultural projects involve innovation adoption towards food security, and includes field studies with participating farmers. Local and traditional food crops are a focus of research. The Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (KARI)-McGill project contributes to the development goal of enhanced food and nutrition security through a better understanding of food systems and drivers of food insecurity. The project engages a multi-disciplinary team of researchers with farmers and other stakeholders in the semi-arid counties of Makueni, Machakos and Tharaka-Nithi in the Eastern Province of Kenya.
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    Using interview triads to understand the barriers to effective food security policy in Kenya: a case study application
    (2012) Brownhill, Leigh; Hickey, Gordon
    This paper presents the results of an exploratory study on food security policy in Kenya. Key informant interviews are used to provide a ‘multiperspective’ lens through which to garner insights into Kenya’s food security policy processes and emerging resilient farming system practices. Seeking to situate the policy-making process in its ‘real-life’ institutional context, we identified three interlinked institutions (at government, research and farm levels) and interviewed individuals within each who could speak authoritatively on food policy challenges. We concentrated on Wote, a semi-arid agro-pastoral area in Makueni County, Eastern Province. From different starting points, the interviewees came to agree on the biggest challenges to the development of effective food security policy in Kenya: information, research and education. The paper further reflects on the methodology and assesses its potential efficacy in the study of hunger and its solutions, especially in the realm of knowledge integration, the democratization of research and policy-making processes and the opening up of reciprocal communication pathways amongst institutional actors.
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    Role of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in the attainment of household food security in Kenya: A policy and organizational review
    (2012) Miruka, Maureen K; Okello, Julius J; Kirigua, Violet O; Murithi, Festus M
    The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) is a government organization mandated to conduct research into, among others, crop and livestock production and marketing. In 2009, it launched a new strategic plan for the period 2009–2014, together with its implementation framework. This strategic plan aims to position KARI as a facilitator of growth in the agricultural sector in order to enable an average growth rate of 7 % per year over the next 5 years, as stipulated in the Kenya Vision 2030 policy. This paper reviews KARI’s new strategic plan within the context of recent policy reforms at national, regional and global levels. It specifically examines the strategy in the context of Vision 2030, the Kenya Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS), the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), and the Millennium Development Goals. The paper then discusses KARI’s newly adopted Agricultural Product Value Chain (APVC) approach, which is expected to position KARI strategically as a key player within the National Agricultural Research System (NARS). It also highlights progress in the implementation of the new strategic plan and APVC approach with specific emphasis on partnerships, markets and gender as key focus areas and the implications of these on food security in Kenya.
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    Knowledge integration and the adoption of new agricultural technologies: Kenyan perspectives
    (2012) Eidt, Colleen M; Hickey, Gordon M; Curtis, Mark A
    The study aims to identify and better understand the barriers to knowledge integration for improved agricultural technologies and their adoption. Results suggest a potential link between farmers’ levels of community organization and levels of trust, with levels of knowledge integration surrounding agricultural technologies and their adoption. Increasing the planning and follow-up of newly introduced agricultural technologies has the potential to encourage interdisciplinary approaches and improve food security outcomes.
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    Preface : challenges and opportunities for enhancing food security in Kenya
    (2012) Hickey, Gordon M; Pelletier, Bernard; Brownhill, Leigh; Kamau, Geoffrey M; Maina, Immaculate N
    Achieving sustainable food security in Sub- Saharan Africa is one of the main challenges facing African governments and the international community. The 2007– 2008 food crisis and ongoing chronic hunger problems clearly demonstrate that millions of people on the continent, including in relatively stable countries such as Kenya, are dangerously vulnerable to economic, political and climatic shocks that threaten food availability and accessibility. At the heart of the strategies to build resilience and tackle food insecurity is the need for effective institutional and policy frameworks that can support local innovations while taking into account the biophysical, social and economic constraints within which rural livelihoods operate. The papers included in this Special Issue of Food Security support the view that for food security initiatives in Kenya to be effective, they must embrace solutions that are equitable, generalizable and ecologically sound to ensure sustainability. Ultimately, to improve innovation and technology adoption, a systems approach that allows women and men, wealthy and poor farmers to engage with scientific and political elites in the design and implementation of food-related research and development initiatives must be embraced. There is also the need to develop tools and approaches that can assist smallholder farmers, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders to share a better understanding of the multiple factors driving food insecurity and hindering the implementation of effective policies and institutions.
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    Knowledge integration and the adoption of new agriculture technologies
    (2011) Eidt, Colleen M; Hickey, Gordon M; Curtis, Mark A
    The Kenyan experience of food insecurity provides an opportunity to identify and better understand the barriers to integrating knowledge, specifically with regards to agricultural technologies and their adoption. There is a link between farmers’ levels of community organization and knowledge integration. This poster illustrates various dimensions of the project which worked with participating farmers to successfully introduce new agricultural technologies to communities for the purpose of increased food security.
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    Food security situation in Kenya and the Greater Horn of Africa
    (2011) Murithi, Festus M
    The presentation reviews the context of food insecurity in Kenya, including geographical conditions, crops and crop yields, desertification, and domestic production and consumption. Agricultural and livestock support programmes are listed, as well as research support which includes the Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (KARI) partnership with McGill University (Canada). Strategic responses to drought are outlined
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    Empowering Women in Agricultural Research Processes for Enhanced Food Security-Case studies from Kenya
    (2012) Miruka, Maureen
    The presentation reviews two projects that focus on integrating gender considerations in agricultural research with specific research on gender interventions. Some approaches used are: Farmer Field Schools; Mother-Baby Trials; Primary & Secondary Participatory Agricultural Technology Evaluation (PPATEs, SPATEs) & Participatory Action Learning and Research (PLAR). Women face a number of disadvantages, such as limited mobility and access to productive resources. Women tend to lose income and control as a product moves from the farm to the market. Men take over when there is income to be generated from women’s productivity.
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    Baseline survey report of selected rural kebeles in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State
    (2011-01) Dejene, Sintayehu; Tessema, Worku
    The study is part of a larger project, “Improved food security in the highlands of Ethiopia through improved and sustainable agricultural productivity and human nutrition.” The study sites were selected based on criteria which include potential and actual cultivation of pulses like bean, lentil and chickpeas. Survey results from case studies of 60 randomly selected rural households are presented covering various issues pertinent to household characteristics, crop and livestock production, input use, household income and expenditure, social services and food habits. The communities depend mainly on rainfed agriculture, crop production, and cattle for milk.
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    Innovating for resilient farming systems in semi-arid Kenya : 'a KARI/McGill collaborative food security research project'
    (2012) Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI); McGill University
    The poster provides information regarding an agricultural innovation project in Kenya, including project locations, institutions, and partners. Strategies are needed to scale up farmer adoption of agricultural and institutional innovations to enhance the resilience of farming systems and food security. Improved practices will be evaluated and included in the research findings.