Your search found 7 records
1 Kafle, Kashi; Songsermsawas, T.; Winters, P. 2021. Impacts of agricultural value chain development in a mountainous region: evidence from Nepal. Rome, Italy: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). 33p. (IFAD Research Series 65)
Agricultural value chains ; Farm income ; Small scale systems ; Smallholders ; Market access ; Household income ; Food security ; Dietary diversity ; Resilience ; Rural poverty ; Commodities ; Agricultural prices ; Price indices ; Food insecurity ; Livestock ; Highlands ; Villages ; Minority groups ; Women ; Econometric models / Nepal / Karnali / Achham / Dailekh / Jajarkot / Jumla / Kalikot / Salyan / Surkhet
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050432)
https://www.ifad.org/documents/38714170/42926104/research_65.pdf/74dee600-7e5e-98ea-944d-d5d10bbc0eae?t=1620738318823
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050432.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050432.pdf
(1.65 MB) (1.65 MB)
This analysis investigates the potential mechanism and the practical significance of the impacts of agricultural value chain development in a geographically challenging rural area of a developing country. We use data from a carefully designed primary survey administered in the hill and mountainous region in Western Nepal. Using the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment method, we show that linking small-scale producers with regional and local traders can help increase agricultural income. We unpack the potential mechanism of the impact pathway and show that the increase in agricultural income is a consequence of higher agricultural revenues, owing to a higher volume of sales at lower prices. We argue that value chain intervention in rural areas, where land is not fully exploited, can lead to acreage expansion or crop switching, which eventually results in higher supply at lower output prices. The positive impact on household income is practically significant in that it translated into improved food security, dietary diversity and household resilience. These findings are robust to various specifications. Targeted value chain interventions that strengthen and stabilize small-scale producers’ access to markets can contribute to rural poverty reduction via an increase in agricultural income.
2 Hawkins, P.; Geza, W.; Mabhaudhi, T.; Sutherland, C.; Queenan, K.; Dangour, A.; Scheelbeek, P. 2022. Dietary and agricultural adaptations to drought among smallholder farmers in South Africa: a qualitative study. Weather and Climate Extremes, 35:100413. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2022.100413]
Drought ; Climate change adaptation ; Dietary diversity ; Agriculture ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Coping strategies ; Food systems ; Food consumption ; Food insecurity ; Vulnerability ; Rural communities ; Resilience / South Africa / KwaZulu-Natal / Msinga / Richmond / Umbumbulu
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050972)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221209472200007X/pdfft?md5=e32af5d9ee4281d00ea13ff36c307b87&pid=1-s2.0-S221209472200007X-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050972.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050972.pdf
(3.14 MB) (3.14 MB)
Building resilience to environmental change is an integral part of long-term climate adaptation planning and local policy. There is an increased understanding of the impact of climate change on global crop production however, little focus has been given to local adaptation pathways and rural smallholder community responses, especially regarding food security. It is becoming increasingly evident that local level decision-making plays a vital role in reducing vulnerability to environmental change. This research aimed to qualitatively investigate coping and adaptive strategies adopted by smallholder farming households to respond to the impacts of drought in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Focus group discussions (n = 7) consisting of 5–9 participants and individual interviews (n = 9) using pre-tested topic guides, involving a total of 57 adults were conducted in rural areas of drought-affected districts: Msinga, Richmond and Umbumbulu of KwaZulu-Natal, in July 2018. The data were analysed using thematic analysis in NVivo 12. Thematic analysis identified three principal themes: 1. Perceived effects of droughts on the local food system and diets; 2. Current coping strategies; and 3. Enablers for successful adaptation. All sites reported a change in food consumption habits, with the majority perceiving drought to be the main driver behind a shift from vegetable-based to starch-based diets and decreased animal source food consumption. Only short-term coping strategies were implemented across the study sites. However, knowledge of long-term adaptation strategies existed but was unattainable to most respondents. Recommendations of perceived context-specific long-term adaptation strategies that could be used at a local scale were communicated by the respondents. However, they would need external help to actualize them. A need exists to support smallholder communities’ short-term response methods to drought to achieve more holistic resilience and successful adaptation. Short-term adaptation strategies, if implemented alone, often have significant tradeoffs with longer-term adaptation and building resilience. This study highlights the need for targeted, contextualised policy solutions to improve smallholder productivity during drought through a strategic combination of both short- and longer-term adaptation measures, i.e. short-term adaptation should be guided by a long-term adaptation strategy. Proper planning, including the use of climate scenarios combined with information on nutritional status, is needed to develop context-specific and transformative adaptation strategies. These strategies should aim to strengthen resilience at a local level and should be included as policy recommendations.
3 Acheampong, P. P.; Obeng, E. A.; Opoku, M.; Brobbey, L.; Sakyiamah, B. 2022. Does food security exist among farm households? Evidence from Ghana. Agriculture and Food Security, 11:24. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-022-00362-9]
Food security ; Households ; Farmers ; Food consumption ; Dietary diversity ; Policies ; Indicators ; Agroecological zones ; Models ; Probit analysis / Ghana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051069)
https://agricultureandfoodsecurity.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s40066-022-00362-9.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051069.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051069.pdf
(1.21 MB) (1.21 MB)
Background: Food security exists when households have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food at all times that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Food security remains a serious challenge for many households in Ghana and the situation is even more prevalent among smallholder farmers. Therefore, this study had its objectives to assess food security status and also estimate their determinants for policy recommendations.
Methodology: Using data collected from 2,603 farm households across Ghana and employing an ordered probit model the determinants of food security among farm households were assessed. The food security indicator, Food Consumption Score (FCS) which combines diet diversity, frequency of consumption and relative nutritional importance of different food groups was used to determine food security status of farm households.
Results: Results showed that farm households (76%) across Ghana were within the acceptable household food consumption groups. Nonetheless, 19% and 6% of farm households, respectively, were within the borderline and poor food consumption groups, respectively. Determinants of food security included experience, gender, improved variety adoption, access to credit and location.
Conclusion: Food security risk is prevalent among farm households in Ghana. Based on the results on determinants of food security, the suggestions are that government and private institutions should create an enabling environment to enhancing credit access and encouraging adoptions of improved crops varieties for increased production.
Methodology: Using data collected from 2,603 farm households across Ghana and employing an ordered probit model the determinants of food security among farm households were assessed. The food security indicator, Food Consumption Score (FCS) which combines diet diversity, frequency of consumption and relative nutritional importance of different food groups was used to determine food security status of farm households.
Results: Results showed that farm households (76%) across Ghana were within the acceptable household food consumption groups. Nonetheless, 19% and 6% of farm households, respectively, were within the borderline and poor food consumption groups, respectively. Determinants of food security included experience, gender, improved variety adoption, access to credit and location.
Conclusion: Food security risk is prevalent among farm households in Ghana. Based on the results on determinants of food security, the suggestions are that government and private institutions should create an enabling environment to enhancing credit access and encouraging adoptions of improved crops varieties for increased production.
4 Njuki, J.; Eissler, S.; Malapit, H.; Meinzen-Dick, R.; Bryan, E.; Quisumbing, A. 2022. A review of evidence on gender equality, women’s empowerment, and food systems. Global Food Security, 33:100622. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2022.100622]
Gender equality ; Women’s empowerment ; Food systems ; Women’s participation ; Gender norms ; Food security ; Dietary diversity ; Nutrition ; Agriculture ; Aquaculture ; Value chains ; Sustainability ; Decision making ; Households
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051480)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221191242200013X/pdfft?md5=d7edf467e75f2e53a633d24f3ae50e78&pid=1-s2.0-S221191242200013X-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051480.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051480.pdf
(1.66 MB) (1.66 MB)
Achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in food systems can result in greater food security and better nutrition, and in more just, resilient, and sustainable food systems for all. This paper uses a scoping review to assess the current evidence on pathways between gender equality, women’s empowerment, and food systems. The paper uses an adaptation of the food systems framework to organize the evidence and identify where evidence is strong, and where gaps remain. Results show strong evidence on women’s differing access to resources, shaped and reinforced by contextual social gender norms, and on links between women’s empowerment and maternal education and important outcomes, such as nutrition and dietary diversity. However, evidence is limited on issues such as gender considerations in food systems for women in urban areas and in aquaculture value chains, best practices and effective pathways for engaging men in the process of women’s empowerment in food systems, and for addressing issues related to migration, crises, and whether local food systems food systems are more empowering to women. And while there are gender informed evaluation studies that examine the effectiveness of gender- and nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs, evidence to indicate the long-term sustainability of such impacts remains limited. The paper recommends keys areas for investment: improving women’s leadership and decision-making in food systems, promoting equal and positive gender norms, improving access to resources, and building cross-contextual research evidence on gender and food systems.
5 DeClerck, F. A. J.; Koziell, I.; Benton, T.; Garibaldi, L. A.; Kremen, C.; Maron, M.; Del Rio, C. R.; Sidhu, A.; Wirths, J.; Clark, M.; Dickens, Chris; Carmona, N. E.; Fremier, A. K.; Jones, S. K.; Khoury, C. K.; Lal, R.; Obersteiner, M.; Remans, R.; Rusch, A.; Schulte, L. A.; Simmonds, J.; Stringer, L. C.; Weber, C.; Winowiecki, L. 2023. A whole earth approach to nature-positive food: biodiversity and agriculture. In von Braun, J.; Afsana, K.; Fresco, L. O.; Hassan, M. H. A. (Eds.). Science and innovations for food systems transformation. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. pp.469-496. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15703-5_25]
Food systems ; Biodiversity ; Agriculture ; Nature-based solutions ; Nutrition ; Healthy diets ; Dietary diversity ; Food security ; Ecosystem services ; Climate change ; Environmental factors
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051666)
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-031-15703-5_25?pdf=chapter%20toc
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051666.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051666.pdf
(0.62 MB) (630 KB)
Agriculture is the largest single source of environmental degradation, responsible for over 30% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 70% of freshwater use and 80% of land conversion: it is the single largest driver of biodiversity loss (Foley JA, Science 309:570–574, 2005, Nature 478:337–342, 2011; IPBES. Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. IPBES Secretariat, Bonn, 2019; Willett W et al. The Lancet 393:447–492, 2019). Agriculture also underpins poor human health, contributing to 11 million premature deaths annually. While too many still struggle from acute hunger, a growing number of individuals, including in low to middle-income countries (LMICs), struggle to access healthy foods. Greater consideration for, and integration of, biodiversity in agriculture is a key solution space for improving health, eliminating hunger and achieving nature-positive development objectives.
This rapid evidence review documents the best available evidence of agriculture’s relationships with biodiversity, drawing on the contributions of leading biodiversity experts, and recommends actions that can be taken to move towards more biodiversity/nature-positive production through the delivery of integrated agricultural solutions for climate, biodiversity, nutrition and livelihoods. The analysis, which takes a whole-of-food-system approach, brings together a large body of evidence. It accounts for aspects not typically captured in a stand-alone primary piece of research and indicates where there are critical gaps.
This rapid evidence review documents the best available evidence of agriculture’s relationships with biodiversity, drawing on the contributions of leading biodiversity experts, and recommends actions that can be taken to move towards more biodiversity/nature-positive production through the delivery of integrated agricultural solutions for climate, biodiversity, nutrition and livelihoods. The analysis, which takes a whole-of-food-system approach, brings together a large body of evidence. It accounts for aspects not typically captured in a stand-alone primary piece of research and indicates where there are critical gaps.
6 Hlatshwayo, S. I.; Ngidi, M. S. C.; Ojo, T. O.; Modi, A. T.; Mabhaudhi, T.; Slotow, R. 2023. The determinants of crop productivity and its effect on food and nutrition security in rural communities of South Africa. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7:1091333. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1091333]
Agricultural productivity ; Crop production ; Food security ; Nutrition security ; Rural communities ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Households ; Food insecurity ; Dietary diversity ; Irrigation systems ; Small-scale farming ; Models / South Africa / Mpumalanga / Limpopo
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051971)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1091333/pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051971.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051971.pdf
(0.40 MB) (405 KB)
Introduction: High crop productivity has the potential to improve the food and nutrition security status of not only smallholder farmers but also households in general. However, smallholder farmers operate in a dynamic environment whereby their crop production is affected by various factors that hinder it from lessening food insecurity and malnutrition in rural areas. The study investigated the determinants of crop productivity and its effect on household food and nutrition security status in South Africa.
Methods: This study employed a quantitative research method. A total of 1520 households were selected using the multi-stage stratified random sampling technique. Out of the total sample size of 1520, 386 were crop producers, 176 producers were from Mpumalanga province, and 210 producers were from the Limpopo province.
Results and discussion: Most of the smallholder farmers do not have access to the irrigation system, mechanization, and agricultural inputs. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale showed that most smallholder farmers were food insecure, with 78% of the farmers in each province found to be food insecure. The results from Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) showed that in the overall sampled population, 50% of smallholder farmers had highly diverse diets. Only 50% of the smallholder farmers had high dietary diversity in each province. Irrigation systems and involvement in crop production had a positive influence on the crop productivity of smallholder farmers. The results from the Conditional Mixed Process (CMP) model showed that ownership of livestock, harvest, and disability in the family negatively impacted smallholder farmers' food security status while household size had a positive effect on the food security of smallholder farmers. The results also showed that social grants, agricultural assistance, and harvest had a negative impact on the nutrition status of smallholder farmers. While household size had a positive impact on the nutrition status of smallholder farmers.
Conclusion and recommendations: Factors such as irrigation systems and involvement in crop production influenced crop productivity. Household size influenced the nutritional status of smallholder farmers while harvest size affected the food security status. There is a need to encourage more households to get involved in farming. Government and non-governmental organizations need to support smallholder farmers with agricultural productive resources like irrigation systems to improve their crop productivity.
Methods: This study employed a quantitative research method. A total of 1520 households were selected using the multi-stage stratified random sampling technique. Out of the total sample size of 1520, 386 were crop producers, 176 producers were from Mpumalanga province, and 210 producers were from the Limpopo province.
Results and discussion: Most of the smallholder farmers do not have access to the irrigation system, mechanization, and agricultural inputs. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale showed that most smallholder farmers were food insecure, with 78% of the farmers in each province found to be food insecure. The results from Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) showed that in the overall sampled population, 50% of smallholder farmers had highly diverse diets. Only 50% of the smallholder farmers had high dietary diversity in each province. Irrigation systems and involvement in crop production had a positive influence on the crop productivity of smallholder farmers. The results from the Conditional Mixed Process (CMP) model showed that ownership of livestock, harvest, and disability in the family negatively impacted smallholder farmers' food security status while household size had a positive effect on the food security of smallholder farmers. The results also showed that social grants, agricultural assistance, and harvest had a negative impact on the nutrition status of smallholder farmers. While household size had a positive impact on the nutrition status of smallholder farmers.
Conclusion and recommendations: Factors such as irrigation systems and involvement in crop production influenced crop productivity. Household size influenced the nutritional status of smallholder farmers while harvest size affected the food security status. There is a need to encourage more households to get involved in farming. Government and non-governmental organizations need to support smallholder farmers with agricultural productive resources like irrigation systems to improve their crop productivity.
7 Sisay, K. 2023. Impact of irrigated agriculture on households' income and food security: evidence from the South-West region of Ethiopia. Irrigation and Drainage, 18p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.2898]
Food security ; Household income ; Farm income ; Irrigated farming ; Participation ; Econometrics ; Small-scale irrigation ; Irrigation schemes ; Technology ; Dietary diversity ; Households ; Rainfall / Ethiopia / Gimbo
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052278)
(1.21 MB)
This study was conducted to identify the determining factors of participation in irrigated farming and to estimate its impact on households' farm income and food security using cross-sectional data collected from Gimbo District, south-west Ethiopia. Primary data for this study were collected from 200 irrigator and 219 non-irrigator households using a structured questionnaire. Both descriptive and econometric analyses were employed to analyse the data using farm income, calorie intake, binary food security and dietary diversity as the outcome variables. As the propensity score matching result revealed, small-scale irrigation significantly and positively increases calorie intake, annual farm income and diet group by 320 kcal, 7653 Ethiopian birr (ETB) and 0.65 points, respectively. The results obtained from the logit model further revealed that the age of the household head, education level of the household head, distance of land from the irrigation source, land size, off-/nonfarm income, distance from the nearest market, slope of the land and access to irrigation services are the variables that were found to significantly affect participation in irrigation. Given the significant contributions of small-scale irrigation to rural households' annual farm income and food security, policy priorities should be placed on awareness creation about the relevance of irrigation technology by informing households of how much irrigator households differ from non-irrigators in terms of their annual farm income and food security. The study further recommends that the government and any other concerned bodies ought to toil in the expansion of irrigated farming and technological development of small-scale irrigation schemes.
Powered by DB/Text WebPublisher, from
