Magnus Jirström

The African Food Crisis: Lessons from the Asian Green Revolution.

Why can Asia now feed its rapidly growing population, but Africa continues to experience famine? This book is the outcome of a three-year project coordinated by a group of Swedish researchers with ...

Cassava commercialization in Southeastern Africa.

Purpose - Cassava production surged noticeably in Southeastern Africa beginning in the 1990s. The purpose of this paper is to examine the commercial responses and food security consequences of cassava production growth in the region. Design/methodology/approach - The paper incorporates a mix of quantitative analysis, based primarily on original analysis of national farm household survey data, together with key informant interviews with value chain participants in the three neighboring countries of Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. Findings - In the cassava production zones, cassavas high productivity translates into per kilogram carbohydrate costs 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the cost of cereals such as maize and wheat, thereby opening up a range of profitable opportunities for commercialization of cassava-based foods, feeds and industrial products. Despite this potential, cassava commercialization in Southeastern Africa remains in its formative stages, with only 10 per cent to 30 per cent of production currently marketed. Unlike West Africa, where cassava commercialization has centered on marketing prepared cassava-based convenience foods, the emerging cassava markets in Southeastern Africa have centered on fresh cassava, low value-added cassava flour, and experiments in industrial processing of cassava-based starches, biofuels and feeds. Strategic investment in a set of key public goods (breeding, training in food sciences and food safety, and research on in-ground cassava storage) can help to shape this transition in ways that benefit both commercial interests and the food security of vulnerable households. Originality/value - The paper compares cassava commercialization across differing agro-climatic zones, policy environments and food staple zones.

The state and agricultural intensification in sub-Saharan Africa.

Why can Asia now feed its rapidly growing population, but Africa continues to experience famine? This book is the outcome of a three-year project coordinated by a group of Swedish researchers with collaborating scholars from Africa and Asia. It provides a comparative study between Asian agricultural development during the Green Revolution in food production and the current problematic agricultural situation in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on case studies of eight African and eight Asian countries (focusing on the early part of the Green Revolution), this book presents a causal and explanatory model of Asian green revolutions. It discusses why such progress has been made in Asia, but has not yet occurred in Africa. It also examines the implications of the case studies for future development in Africa.

African Food Crisis - The Relevance of Asean Experiences.

Why can Asia now feed its rapidly growing population, but Africa continues to experience famine? This book is the outcome of a three-year project coordinated by a group of Swedish researchers with collaborating scholars from Africa and Asia. It provides a comparative study between Asian agricultural development during the Green Revolution in food production and the current problematic agricultural situation in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on case studies of eight African and eight Asian countries (focusing on the early part of the Green Revolution), this book presents a causal and explanatory model of Asian green revolutions. It discusses why such progress has been made in Asia, but has not yet occurred in Africa. It also examines the implications of the case studies for future development in Africa.

Spurts in Production - Africa's Limping Green Revolution.

Why can Asia now feed its rapidly growing population, but Africa continues to experience famine? This book is the outcome of a three-year project coordinated by a group of Swedish researchers with collaborating scholars from Africa and Asia. It provides a comparative study between Asian agricultural development during the Green Revolution in food production and the current problematic agricultural situation in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on case studies of eight African and eight Asian countries (focusing on the early part of the Green Revolution), this book presents a causal and explanatory model of Asian green revolutions. It discusses why such progress has been made in Asia, but has not yet occurred in Africa. It also examines the implications of the case studies for future development in Africa.

Enclosures in West Pokot, Kenya: Transforming land, livestock and livelihoods in drylands

Dryland livestock production systems are changing in many parts of the world, as a result of growing human populations and associated pressure on water and land. Based on a combination of social and natural science methods, we studied a 30-year transformation process from pastoralism to a livestock-based agro-pastoral system in northwestern Kenya, with the overall aim to increase the understanding of the ongoing transition towards intensified agro-pastoralist production systems in dryland East Africa.Key to this transformation was the use of enclosures for land rehabilitation, fodder production, and land and livestock management. Enclosures have more soil carbon and a higher vegetation cover than adjacent areas with open grazing. The level of adoption of enclosures as a management tool has been very high, and their use has enabled agricultural diversification, e.g. increased crop agriculture, poultry production and the inclusion of improved livestock. Following the use of enclosures, livelihoods have become less dependent on livestock migration, are increasingly directed towards agribusinesses and present new opportunities and constraints for women. These livelihood changes are closely associated with, and depend on, an ongoing privatization of land under different tenure regimes.The results indicate that the observed transformation provides opportunities for a pathway towards a sustainable livestock-based agro-pastoral system that could be valid in many dryland areas in East Africa. However, we also show that emergent risks of conflicts and inequalities in relation to land, triggered by the weakening of collective property rights, pose a threat to the sustainability of this pathway.

African farm dynamics and the sub-continental food crisis – the case of maize

Abstract This is a longitudinal study of smallholder farm dynamics in eight African countries, drawing on a sample of more than 3000 farm households. It deals with influences on smallholder maize production at three different levels: micro, meso and macro. Although the study points to inadequately exploited production potentials and a production system based primarily on self-provisioning the drivers behind dynamism in this context are clear. Dynamic production patterns are closely associated with smallholder access to modern crop technologies in combination with commercial incentives as expressed both at the meso and macro levels.

Assessing gender roles in a changing landscape: diversified agro-pastoralism in drylands of West Pokot, Kenya

Previous studies in drylands have shown that while gender roles are becoming more flexible, privatization and formalization of land tenure tends to marginalize women in drylands while environmental degradation leads to differential changes in gender workload. Chepareria, a ward in West Pokot County, has undergone the above-mentioned tenure and environmental changes and is nowadays dominated by private enclosures as a land management approach. This study reviewed in which ways these rangeland enclosures have influenced gender roles in the dryland systems of Chepareria in West Pokot, with specific regard to division of labour, financial responsibilities and decision-making processes on the household level, and also tries to identify the underlying driving forces that have contributed to the observed changes.Our results indicate that the workload of women has increased under new land fragmentation processes in rangelands due to increased responsibilities in cattle herding and income generation, but also that due to this, women have gained higher influence in household decisions concerning the family economy. It was found that women to a larger extent than before are engaged in small-scale business such as the selling of farm products and poultry keeping, hence getting financial resources under their own control. In this way, women are involved in decision-making processes and income generation to a higher extent than before, though they are still excluded from certain traditionally male-dominated spheres both within and beyond the household, such as the sale of cattle and the handling of larger amounts of financial resources.Under the new land fragmentation processes in Chepareria, women are increasingly seen as crucial income earners and they are enjoying a higher degree of financial independence, more decision-making power and a louder voice than before in household and public matters.

The role of urban-based agriculture on food security: Kenyan case studies

Kenya is rapidly urbanising. In the growing cities and towns, there is an increasing need for food supplies, creating demand for agricultural products. High unemployment rates, urban poverty, and food and nutrition insecurity force some urban dwellers to partly adopt livelihood strategies based on urban agriculture. Presently in Kenya, urban and peri-urban agriculture plays an important role in urban food system, because it enhances livelihood strategies for urban households, not least the poor. Using a sample of 2,009 households, this study characterised urban farming and urban-based rural farming in medium-sized towns of Thika and Kisumu, Kenya. It further assessed food security levels of urban households engaged in farming and households that do not farm. Results demonstrate that more than half of the households produced part of their food, either in urban or rural areas. About 37 per cent and 25 per cent of the respondents produced food in rural and urban areas, respectively. Generally, more of the households engaged in both urban farming and urban-based rural agriculture are more food secure compared with the non-farming households. Urban farming has a potential of improving household food security and provision of fungible income; hence, the practice should be included in the urban food policies.

What Influences Urban Mothers’ Decisions on What to Feed Their Children Aged Under Five—The Case of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mothers carry the prime responsibility for childcare and feeding in low-income countries. Understanding their experiences in providing food for their children is paramount to informing efforts to improve the nutritional status of children. Such information is lacking in Sub-Saharan Africa. To understand what influences urban mothers’ food acquisition and their motivations for selecting food for their children, 36 in-depth interviews were carried out with mothers having children under five years of age. Interviews were conducted in the local language, audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis which led to the identification of four major themes: mothers give-in to a child-driven diet; quick-fix versus the privilege of planning; keen awareness on food safety, nutrition, and diet diversity; and social, familial, and cultural influences. The findings indicate that child feeding practices are influenced by interlinked social and environmental factors. Hence, nutrition education campaigns should focus on targeting not only families but also their children. Attention should also be given to food safety regulations, as well as to the much-needed support of mothers who are struggling to ensure their children’s survival in low-income countries.