Janice Jiggins

Agriculture at a Crossroads

The present path of agricultural development will not achieve development goals according to a recent assessment, but a solid foundation for improvements exists.

How poor women earn income in sub-Saharan Africa and what works against them

Abstract In sub-Saharan Africa, household-based agricultural activity remains the foundation of rural livelihoods — and women do most of the work. Their activities are under increasing stress; they and their children are falling into poverty even as their need for cash income is increasing. Although they keep a foothold in the household economy, increasingly women are dependent on self-employment or wage work for survival; they have little access to services and few opportunities to become more productive. Their situation is exacerbated by continuing male dominance and unequal household responsibilities. The informal sector offers opportunities for entrepreneurship, especially in trading or small-scale agroindustry, but unlicensed activity is discouraged in many countries. Some women also find themselves competing with businesses that are run or licensed by the state. Several micro level interventions are identified that support womens income-earning activities and may halt further deterioration in rural livelihoods.

EVALUATING COTTON INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) FARMER FIELD SCHOOL OUTCOMES USING THE SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS APPROACH IN INDIA

SUMMARY Farmer field schools (FFSs) were conducted in southern India to reduce pesticide input and enhance sustainability of cotton production systems. This study was carried out to determine the additional benefits of FFSs in the social and economic arena, using the sustainable livelihoods (SL) concept to frame the evaluation. Farmers who had participated in the integrated pest management (IPM) FFSs perceived a range of impacts much beyond the adoption of IPM practices. The reduced cost of cultivation allowed for financial recovery from debt and the building of physical assets. IPMFFS households and production systems were perceived by the participants to have become more economically resilient than Non-IPMFFS control groups when faced with adversity. In the participants’ view, IPMFFSs also led to enhanced individual and community social well-being, a benefit valued in particular by the women participants. The study tested a new application of the SL conceptual framework as a tool for evaluation.

Farmers' knowledge and perception of cotton pests and pest control practices in Benin: results of a diagnostic study

Cotton production constraints in Benin as perceived by farmers were studied from May to July 2003. The knowledge, perceptions and practices of farmers growing cotton under different pest management regimes were analysed. The methods used were open and semi-structured interviews with groups and individuals, as well as participatory exercises (brainstorming, prioritization, and problem analysis). Pest damage, low price of produce, late payment for seed cotton, and increasing input costs were the main production constraints perceived by producers. Regardless of the pest management system practised, most of the farmers adapt the recommendations of the research institute and nongovernment organizations to their livelihood systems. In general, farmers had a poor understanding of the key concepts underlying alternative pest control systems. Pest damage was considered important and farmers were eager to share their knowledge, perceptions and practices in pest management. The study provides the foundation for the creation of a learning platform; actors will be invited to collaborate in participatory experimental agricultural technology development linked to the farmers’ needs. In order to develop sustainable pest management strategies further interactive research is proposed, involving all stakeholders.

Reducing the Incidence of Acute Pesticide Poisoning by Educating Farmers on Integrated Pest Management in South India

Abstract Sixty-five farmers reported on pesticide use and the signs and symptoms of acute pesticide poisoning when using two different plant protection strategies: in 2003 using chemical controls and in 2004 using an approach to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) based on an ecological analysis of the field conditions. Exposure to organophosphates was confirmed as a serious risk factor for occupational poisoning. The adoption of IPM reduced the use of pesticides and halved the incidence of acute pesticide poisoning. Overall, the pesticide use spectrum shifted towards lower WHO Hazard Classes. A reduction of adverse health effects was attained through a reduction in exposure to toxic pesticides and behavioural changes. Given that other strategies to reduce the rate of acute poisoning have proven ineffective, interventions aiming to minimize pesticide poisoning in India and in other developing countries with similar rural conditions should focus on restricting the use of highly toxic compounds and educating farmers on IPM.

Farmers' adoption of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids and the persistence of landraces in Southwest China: implications for policy and breeding

This paper examines changes in the distribution of maize hybrids and landraces in the mountainous areas of southwest China over 1998–2008, farmers’ reasons for cultivar adoption and the implications for national policies in relation to seed production and breeding, based on baseline data and a survey conducted in Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou. The study traced the dynamic changes in the adoption of hybrids and landraces in farmers’ fields, explored how individual farmer’s choices can influence local landrace distribution, and investigated the space for conducive policy and innovative action for on-farm conservation of maize genetic resources. The research showed that although there is strong farmers’ interest in accessing modern maize hybrids, farmers also express strong reasons for maintaining at least some of the landraces that satisfy local agronomic context and social preferences. Farmers recognized that hybrids have a number of advantages but they also indicated some disadvantages of the current available hybrids e.g. with respect to seed quality, local adaptability, taste and cost of seeds, but also lack of information on the performances of the new hybrids. Based on farmers’ reasoning and experiences, the requirements have been identified for improving yield combined with local preferences (agronomic, cultural and socio-economic). The paper concludes by identifying options for how China might seek to develop resilient seed systems for smallholder farmers in poor areas, under changing climatical conditions and volatile markets. Participatory Plant Breeding is among the options considered for bringing farmers’ needs into conservation and breeding strategies for improving local adaptation.

Can convergence of agricultural sciences support innovation by resource-poor farmers in Africa? The cases of Benin and Ghana

The article introduces the IJAS special issue on the Convergence of Sciences (CoS) research programme that took place in Benin and Ghana between 2002 and 2006. CoS sought to develop pro-poor pathways of science. Starting initially from the assumption that science impact could be improved by developing farm technologies that are appropriate for the circumstances of resource-poor farmers, the nine researchers soon ran into the very limited windows of opportunity that the farmers face. Improving productivity at the farm level is thwarted by limited access to markets, infrastructure, inputs, credit and services, and by cheap imports. Farmers have no political clout, and agriculture is a source of rent for a host of actors including local and national governments. In these conditions, poverty reduction requires institutional change rather than participatory technology development. All nine researchers tried in their own way to deal with the institutional dimension. This special issue reports on these attempts. The introductory article provides background and context for understanding the institutional issues involved.

The cocoa mirid (Hemiptera: Miridae) problem: evidence to support new recommendations on the timing of insecticide application on cocoa in Ghana

The government’s cocoa spraying gangs in Ghana treat about two million hectares of the crop against black pod disease and mirids, the key insect pests of cocoa in West Africa, each August through to December, based on recommendations issued in the 1950s. A few cocoa farmers use additional pesticides. We studied the temporal distribution of two important mirid species, Distantiella theobroma (Dist.) and Sahlbergella singularis Hagl., in 1991, 1999, 2003 and 2012 to determine the appropriate timing for the application of control measures in current farming systems. There was a significant correlation between mirid abundance and pod availability on trees, as well as the number of basal shoots and the cocoa variety grown. Mirid populations peaked between January and April and from September to October. Surveys (interviews and focus group discussions involving over 300 farmers in 33 cocoa-growing districts) on pesticide use, sources of recommendations, and perceived successes and failures of current cocoa pest treatments suggested that the 1950 recommendations on the timing of insecticide application need revising.

Agricultural research: from recommendation domains to arenas for interaction. Experiences from West Africa.

Agricultural research designs tend to be bounded by agroecological conditions, farming systems and other dimensions assumed to be homogeneous for the population of interest (that is, a recommendation domain or population for whom a technology or practice is expected to be relevant). Scaling is then a question of ‘rolling out’ results across the domain. But what if technology adoption and institutional context explain the variance in the output of smallholders, and agricultural development is also a question of institutional innovation? What if a domain is seen as a system of interest among actors who have a stake in the system and as an arena for concerted action and institutional innovation? This paper reports on six years of action research that attempts to answer these questions. It compares experimental interventions and subsequent systemic changes within each of nine agroenterprise domains. The experience suggests that the research approach used can explain variance in smallholder output that, in present-day West Africa, is not explained by technology adoption.

TOWARDS A REGIME CHANGE IN THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SEED SUPPLY SYSTEM IN CHINA

This paper explores changes in the organization of seed supply in China over the last decade by means of a multi-level institutional analysis. At the landscape level, the implications for China of the regulation of plant genetic resources through various international treaties and conventions are reviewed in the light of the evolution of the global seed industry. At the regime level, the transition in the Chinese context to market-based seed supply and the development of commercial and public seed sectors are examined. The study then analyses trends in seed supply at the niche level, with reference to participatory maize (Zea mays L.) breeding in three provinces in southwest China where high rural poverty persists. This work offers radical novelty in variety development and seed provision on behalf of smallholder farmers. However, a series of technical, organizational and market ‘mismatches’ are demonstrated within the existing seed regime. The participatory work emphasizes breeding for diverse cultivars adapted to specific ecosystems but these are prevented from reaching commercial markets by existing varietal testing procedures. Participatory breeding has potential to address farmers’ varietal needs as agriculture modernises and to support the public function of research institutes, but within mainstream intellectual property regimes the public value of participatory breeding cannot be accommodated adequately. Yet, when coupled to institutional innovations for recognising intellectual property and sharing benefit among all those who contribute, participatory breeding may initiate a powerful dynamics for change within seed regimes and a sui generis seed system suited to the Chinese context.