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Agricultural production

The Role of Food Banks in Food Security in Uganda : the Case of the Hunger Project Food Bank, Mbale Epicentre

Upphovsperson: Watuleke, Joseph
Utgivare: Uppsala
År: 2015
Ämnesord: Food security, Food supply, Smallholders, Farming, Agricultural production, Food storage, Livelihood, Sustainable development, Uganda
This study addresses the role the food bank plays in food security, sustainable livelihoods and building resilience to climate change among smallholder farmers in Uganda, and in particular eastern Uganda. Currently, it is difficult to measure the socioeconomic impact of the food bank on smallholder farmers in eastern Uganda due to the difficulty of isolating its contribution from that of interrelated programmes and farmer activities. It is, however, evident that the food bank plays a significant role in improving the smallholder farmers’ food production and incomes. The food bank is actively engaged in training smallholder farmers in modern farming methods, providing improved seeds and safe storage facilities for farmers’ produce, helping farmers to diversify their livelihood sources and providing climate-related information. Prolonged drought and lack of access to sufficient seeds of good quality are the main sources of food insecurity among smallholder farmers. Distance from the food bank and lack of access to information are among the other factors that affected many farmers’ ability to participate in food bank activities. Community ownership of the food bank is still lacking, and this is a long term threat to the sustainability of the project. There is therefore an urgent need to establish community-managed food banks at lower levels that ensure community ownership; equitably distribute benefits among target farmers; encourage seed-saving among farmers; initiate community-supported agriculture programmes to improve access to farm credit; and invest in rainwater harvesting for irrigation.

From Global Land Grabbing for Biofuels to Acquisitions of African Water for Commercial Agriculture

Upphovsperson: Olanya, David Ross
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Agrarian Change, Property and Resources | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Africa, Land acquisition, Biomass energy, Fuel Water resources, Agricultural production, Commercial farming, Foreign investment, Property rights, Livelihood, Environmental aspects, Government policy
Expansion of biofuel investment in Africa has been supported by indebted poor governments because of perceived potential benefits such as sustainable energy development, support to poor farmers, development of rural economies and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the intensity of the biofuels political economy in poor countries worsens inequality for the vulnerable poor. This is evidenced by large-scale land acquisitions in Africa for biofuel and crop production primarily for foreign consumption – food, animal feeds and energy crops. The search for land in African countrieshas been triggered by growing concerns over food and energy security in developed countries following the global food crisis of 2008. Moreover, these recent developments in large-scale land acquisitions in Africa are not a new phenomenon, but represent the renewal of old practices incommercial agriculture, which is either conducted through purchases or long-term leases. In addition to biofuel expansion, this study notes that current large-scale land acquisitions in sub-Saharan Africa have been further driven by demands to access water resources for other commercial agricultural crops. The land purchases or leases automatically guarantee access to African water. This demand for water is a response to climate change: most industrialists believe that acquiring land near a main water reservoir will guarantee future agricultural potential. Few analyses have been done on the land-water access nexus. This article considers recent developments in large-scaleland acquisitions in Africa in terms of water security for commercial agriculture to safeguard the production of agricultural crops with a large water footprint. Using political economy analysis, this article examines national policy on these acquisitions, the rights accorded to foreign investors and how land acquisitions undermine indigenous rights to the common resources that have been the mainsource of livelihood in sub-Saharan Africa.

Gender and agricultural supply responses to structural adjustment programmes : a case study of smallholder tea producers in Kericho, Kenya

Upphovsperson: Ongile, Grace Atieno
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 1999
Ämnesord: Kenya, East Africa, Agricultural production, Tea, Structural adjustment, Smallholders, Gender, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
This study investigates the gender implications of agricultural sector reform in Kenya. The author focuses on smallholder tea production with the aim of pinpointing the factors that influence the adoption of tea among male and female farmers assessing female farmers' perceptions of the changes in living standards over the research period, and suggesting appropriate policy reforms to ensure that women's interests are taken into account in the design of agricultural reforms.