Christine Okali

Farmer participatory research : rhetoric and reality

PREFACE vii 1 Introduction 1 2 An Introduction to Farmer Participatory Research 13 3 Associated Themes and Concepts 26 4 Farmer Participatory Research in Practice 47 5 Key Issues in Implementation 71 6 Analysis of Current Trends and Practice 93 7 Monitoring and Evaluation 119 8 Future Directions: linking evaluation indicators to project design 127 REFERENCES 137

Sheep and goats, men and women: Household relations and small ruminant development in southwest Nigeria

Abstract Small ruminant production systems are described for the humid areas of southern Nigeria. Differences in ownership patterns between men and women are detailed and the unique nature of small ruminants among agricultural resources is emphasized. Development paths that maintain small ruminants in their positions as minor enterprises in existing farming systems are delineated, and the implications of these models discussed in the light of intra-household processes. Alternative models are reviewed and compared.

Tomatoes, Decentralization, and Environmental Management in Brong Ahafo, Ghana

ABSTRACT This article uses the example of environmental management issues being raised in the context of intensive, small-scale tomato production in Ghana to explore one of the key challenges of decentralization, how to reconcile the potential conflicting interests of local populations and stakeholders at other levels. It explores the contradiction between the push for more local natural resource management and the continuing role of central government in the setting of environmental policy. The article argues for a flexible, coevolutionary approach to environmental regulation so that rural residents whose livelihoods are directly dependent on natural resources are not unduly disadvantaged by policy and regulations that may have limited immediate relevance to their locality.

Young People, Agriculture, and Transformation in Rural Africa: An "Opportunity Space" Approach

Over the last decade, both agriculture and young people have become increasingly prominent on African development agendas. Politicians, policymakers, and development professionals have confronted food price volatility, food insecurity, and the phenomenon of large-scale land grabs on the one hand, and the entrenched under- and unemployment among young people—the (youthful) human face of the phenomenon of jobless growth—on the other. It is perhaps not surprising that many have put two and two together, concluding that engagement in production agriculture (including crops, livestock, and fisheries) is an obvious (if not the obvious) opportunity through which to address the problem of limited economic opportunity for young people in rural areas. Associated with this view is the assumption that rural young people would be better off if they did not migrate to urban areas, thus avoiding exposure to risky and illegal behavior (sex, HIV/AIDS, drugs, crime) and potential entanglement in dangerous political activity. 1