Inadequate and poorly distributed rainfall and declining soil fertility have led to low crop productivity in most smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, there has been a renewed quest for sustainable and resource-use efficient agricultural production practices. Zai pit technology is a practice that has the potential to alleviate water stress and enhance soil fertility. We assessed the factors that influence farmers' adoption and utilisation of Zai pits in Tharaka-Nithi County in upper Eastern Kenya. ...

Alternaria leaf blight (ALB) has been shown in recent years to be one of the major potential disease threats of sunflower capable of causing yield losses in all major production areas. The aim of this study was to determine the causal agent, prevalence and geographical distribution of ALB in the major sunflower production areas of South Africa. Surveys were conducted during 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15 growing seasons at commercial sunflower production fields and at commercial cultivar trials. In the three growing ...

Agricultural production in Kenya is dominated by smallholder enterprises which provide up to 60% of the country's workforce. The agrarian transition to enhance smallholder participation in neoliberal capitalistic markets demands compliance to sanitary and phytosanitary standards and with codes for worker's welfare and thus the concept of decent work. Evaluation of decent work deficits in the informal economy however remains a challenge associated with sector uniqueness and differences in socio- cultural attributes ...

Whereas there is abundance of information on community groups that engage in income generation in rural agricultural and peri-urban areas, information on community groups in pastoral areas still remains scarce. However, in the recent past, a growing trend of such groups has been observed in the pastoral areas in northern Kenya. This study therefore explores how these groups have emerged since Kenya’s independence in 1963 to date, and which factors have contributed to their evolution. A full survey on all income-generating ...

The present study in Quezon, Philippines, assessed the sustainability of small-scale production systems, based either on native or on exotic sow breeds, using different survey tools in a socio-economic approach. In two research periods, data sets with 49 households and 68 households, respectively, all smallholder farmers keeping ≤5 sows, were compiled. In 2016, four municipalities were purposively selected, each representing one of Quezon’s four districts. In 2017, two municipalities, both with larger populations of ...

Small-scale farmers, whose livelihood and food security greatly depends on farming, are constantly exposed and vulnerable to the risks of extreme weather events. The current study explored how the perception and attitude on agricultural risks of small-scale farmers from the upland, lowland and waterside ecosystems in Siniloan, Laguna in Philippines influence the way they respond and cope with extreme weather events. The study employed quantitative and qualitative data collection methods particularly farm surveys, ...

Madagascar is recognised as having both a high level of poverty and a food shortage. The contribution of the agricultural sector to the national income is higher than for any other sector, though this sector remains insufficiently developed to sustain national food demand. In order to increase food production, the diversification of staple food in conjunction with the detection of best-yield genotypes may be considered the simplest and least expensive alternative approach. For this reason, the response of productive ...

Biochar application to soils increases biomass and crop yields, especially with rates higher than 100 t ha−1. Yet, there is limited knowledge on the combined effect of biochar and chemical fertiliser under different tillage systems. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of maize-cob biochar (BC) (rates of 5 and 10 t ha−1) combined with chemical fertiliser micro-dosing (MD) at a rate of 25% of the recommended quantity on total shoot dry matter (DM) and plant height of maize cultivated under flat (F) ...

Agrifood chains that are based on the values defined by end consumers are able to secure a competitive edge over other chains, but securing that competitive edge requires a thorough understanding of the consumers and their value preferences. This study was conducted with a view to understanding domestic apple consumers in Malang, Indonesia, and using that information to guide the opportunities for domestic apple supply chain development in Indonesia. Data were collected through an intercept survey of 200 apple ...

The baobab tree is an underutilised indigenous fruit tree in sub-Saharan Africa which, at the same time is vulnerable to overexploitation in areas close to centres of demand, as currently baobab use is limited to wild, baobab trees. Baobab seedlings are known to form root tubers, but little is known about their growth characteristics and its yield potential. This study aims to investigate the root tuber and leaf development of baobab seedlings grown from seeds of five provenances, sown at three different planting ...