This study explores the relationship between outmigration and gender roles in two villages in North Tapanuli, on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. In a symbolic sense, land and women have always represented security to Toba Batak men as they travelled in search of a livelihood. The main purpose of this study is to throw light on the options open to the women staying behind and the adjustments they make, as well as their reasons for making them. The approach followed is an anthropological one. It combines an analysis of actor-oriented perceptions and strategies with an insight into the structural forces that formed the context of migration as it developed from the late nineteenth century through the colonial period until today
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The objective of this paper is to explore the extent to which systems approaches to innovation are reflected in the crop protection literature and how such approaches are used. A systematic literature review is conducted to study the relation between crop protection and systems approaches to innovation in 107 publications. The analysis of the crop protection literature demonstrates that only a small fraction is systems-oriented as compared to the bulk of publications with a technology-oriented approach. The analysis of agricultural innovations systems literature shows that, although crop protection is addressed, the potential of this systems approach remains largely unexplored for crop protection innovation. A large share of the publications included in this review focus on cropping or farming 'systems' while 'innovation' often equals the development, transfer, adoption and diffusion of crop protection technologies at farm level. There is relatively little attention for the institutional and political dimensions of crop protection and the interactions between farm, regional and national levels in crop protection systems. The traditional division of roles and responsibilities of researchers as innovators, extension personnel as disseminators, and farmers as end-users, is challenged only to a limited extent. The majority of publications discusses ways to optimise existing features of crop protection systems, without exploring more structural transformations that may be required to enhance the resilience of crop protection systems.
Rice is one of the most important crops for food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). There exists, however, a widening gap between its regional demand and supply. Competition from weeds is typically one of the major biophysical constraints in upland rice, frequently leading to significant yield losses and sometimes to complete crop failure, thereby threatening the food security of subsistence farmers. However, weed management practices that are currently employed to avoid such losses are associated with high weeding labor demands. This study examined the relationships between weeding times per farm, average time per hectare per weeding and rice yields of upland rice farmers in SSA, with the objective of estimating the impact of weeds on rural households' economies in SSA reliant on upland rice production systems. To this end, we analyzed survey data collected from 992 farmers in four countries (Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo and Uganda). The counterfactual outcomes framework of modern evaluation theory was used to estimate the Average Treatment Effect (ATE) of the number of times a farm is weeded on weeding labor efficiency, as measured by the average number of hours spent per hectare at each weeding, and on crop productivity expressed as rice grain yield per hectare. A single weeding required 173 h per hectare, while weeding twice required 130 h per hectare per weeding (259 h per hectare in total) and weeding three times required 125 h per hectare per weeding (376 h per hectare in total). Correspondingly, a single weeding was associated with an average rice yield of 1.2 t ha−1, weeding twice yielded 1.7 t ha−1 and weeding three times yielded 2.2 t ha−1. Compared to the situation where the farm is weeded only once and controlling for other factors, the model estimated yield gains of a second weeding to be 0.33 t ha−1 and a third weeding to result in a gain of 0.51 t ha−1. The estimated labor gains were respectively 64.2 and 68.1 h per hectare per weeding for a second and a third weeding. We conclude that weeding an upland rice crop more than once in SSA increases weeding labor efficiency by about 37 % and rice productivity by more than 27 %. Rather than motivating farmers to increase their labor inputs for manual weeding, however, we propose that more research and development funds should be devoted to developing, testing and promoting locally adapted strategies of labor-saving weed management in rice in sub-Saharan Africa. This will result in a significant contribution to regional food security and poverty alleviation.
Parasitic weeds in smallholder rice production systems, of which Striga asiatica, Striga hermonthica and Rhamphicarpa fistulosa are the main representatives, form an increasing problem for food and income security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The objective of this paper is to identify institutional and political constraints and opportunities for innovation to address parasitic weed problems in rice. Constraints and opportunities for innovation were studied across three nested systems: the parasitic weed control system, the crop protection system, and the agricultural system. Multi-stakeholder workshops, interviews and surveys were held to gather data on key constraints faced by different stakeholder groups across three parasitic weed infested study sites in both Tanzania and Benin. The results demonstrate that in both countries, the majority of institutional and political constraints relate to the functioning of the broader crop protection and agricultural systems and not specifically to parasitic weeds. Although differences were observed between the two countries and the different stakeholder groups, the majority of constraints perceived by the stakeholders were caused by a lack of capabilities and resources and a limited access to credit. Awareness raising of parasitic weed problems among farmers, extension and crop protection officers at the local level, combined with improved input and service supply and enhanced agricultural education and training curricula at the national level, were identified as important elements for improvement. More structural collaboration between key stakeholder groups is expected to contribute to a better recognition of agricultural problems, like that of parasitic weeds in rice, and a more timely identification of feasible solutions.Parasitic weeds in smallholder rice production systems, of which Striga asiatica, Striga hermonthica and Rhamphicarpa fistulosa are the main representatives, form an increasing problem for food and income security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The objective of this paper is to identify institutional and political constraints and opportunities for innovation to address parasitic weed problems in rice. Constraints and opportunities for innovation were studied across three nested systems: the parasitic weed control system, the crop protection system, and the agricultural system. Multi-stakeholder workshops, interviews and surveys were held to gather data on key constraints faced by different stakeholder groups across three parasitic weed infested study sites in both Tanzania and Benin. The results demonstrate that in both countries, the majority of institutional and political constraints relate to the functioning of the broader crop protection and agricultural systems and not specifically to parasitic weeds. Although differences were observed between the two countries and the different stakeholder groups, the majority of constraints perceived by the stakeholders were caused by a lack of capabilities and resources and a limited access to credit. Awareness raising of parasitic weed problems among farmers, extension and crop protection officers at the local level, combined with improved input and service supply and enhanced agricultural education and training curricula at the national level, were identified as important elements for improvement. More structural collaboration between key stakeholder groups is expected to contribute to a better recognition of agricultural problems, like that of parasitic weeds in rice, and a more timely identification of feasible solutions.Parasitic weeds in smallholder rice production systems, of which Striga asiatica, Striga hermonthica and Rhamphicarpa fistulosa are the main representatives, form an increasing problem for food and income security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The objective of this paper is to identify institutional and political constraints and opportunities for innovation to address parasitic weed problems in rice. Constraints and opportunities for innovation were studied across three nested systems: the parasitic weed control system, the crop protection system, and the agricultural system. Multi-stakeholder workshops, interviews and surveys were held to gather data on key constraints faced by different stakeholder groups across three parasitic weed infested study sites in both Tanzania and Benin. The results demonstrate that in both countries, the majority of institutional and political constraints relate to the functioning of the broader crop protection and agricultural systems and not specifically to parasitic weeds. Although differences were observed between the two countries and the different stakeholder groups, the majority of constraints perceived by the stakeholders were caused by a lack of capabilities and resources and a limited access to credit. Awareness raising of parasitic weed problems among farmers, extension and crop protection officers at the local level, combined with improved input and service supply and enhanced agricultural education and training curricula at the national level, were identified as important elements for improvement. More structural collaboration between key stakeholder groups is expected to contribute to a better recognition of agricultural problems, like that of parasitic weeds in rice, and a more timely identification of feasible solutions.
This paper introduces Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Innovation Systems (RAAIS). RAAIS is a diagnostic tool that can guide the analysis of complex agricultural problems and innovation capacity of the agricultural system in which the complex agricultural problem is embedded. RAAIS focuses on the integrated analysis of different dimensions of problems (e.g. biophysical, technological, socio-cultural, economic, institutional and political), interactions across different levels (e.g. national, regional, local), and the constraints and interests of different stakeholder groups (farmers, government, researchers, etc.). Innovation capacity in the agricultural system is studied by analysing (1) constraints within the institutional, sectoral and technological subsystems of the agricultural system, and (2) the existence and performance of the agricultural innovation support system. RAAIS combines multiple qualitative and quantitative methods, and insider (stakeholders) and outsider (researchers) analyses which allow for critical triangulation and validation of the gathered data. Such an analysis can provide specific entry points for innovations to address the complex agricultural problem under study, and generic entry points for innovation related to strengthening the innovation capacity of agricultural system and the functioning of the agricultural innovation support system. The application of RAAIS to analyse parasitic weed problems in the rice sector, conducted in Tanzania and Benin, demonstrates the potential of the diagnostic tool and provides recommendations for its further development and use. ; Peer Review
This 26th dossier d'Agropolis is devoted to research and partnerships in agroecology. The French Commission for International Agricultural Research (CRAI) and Agropolis International, on behalf of CIRAD, INRAE and IRD and in partnership with CGIAR, has produced this new issue in the 'Les dossiers d'Agropolis international' series devoted to agroecology. This publication has been produced within the framework of the Action Plan signed by CGIAR and the French government on February 4th 2021 to strengthen French collaboration with CGIAR, where agroecology is highlighted as one of the three key priorities (alongside climate change, nutrition and food systems).