Coordinations hydrauliques et justices sociales : 4e Séminaire international et interdisciplinaire du Programme commun systèmes irrigués, Montpellier, France, 25-26 novembre 2004, 2006
Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a concept whose applicability relies on simultaneous application... more Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a concept whose applicability relies on simultaneous application of three basic principles: 1) Minimum soil disturbance or no tillage; 2) Permanent soil cover; and 3) Crop rotations/associations (Giller et al. 2009; Hobbs 2007; Lahmar 2010; Thiombiano and Meshack 2009). It specifically aims to address the problems of soil degradation resulting from agricultural practices that deplete the organic matter and nutrient content of the soil hence leading to higher crop yields and lower production costs. CA therefore is a combination of tested scientific technologies, and its practice in Africa is now maturing with increasing demand for more sustainable agricultural practices and better natural resources management and conservation (Thiombiano and Meshack 2009).
Through the JOLISAA (JOint Learning in Innovation Systems in African Agriculture) project, smallh... more Through the JOLISAA (JOint Learning in Innovation Systems in African Agriculture) project, smallholder-oriented, multistakeholder innovation systems were explored in South Africa. After an inventory of cases was compiled, three cases were identified for deeper exploration and cross analysis. Local teams of resource persons familiar with the cases were set up for each case. The first case involved bulk buying, where several stakeholders developed a system that allowed farmers to collectively purchase farm inputs, making use of funds derived from savings and credit groups. The second case involved the Agricultural Research Council and University of the Free State working with farmers to develop and test infield rainwater-harvesting technologies. The last was an outcome of the BASED (Broadening Agricultural Services and Extension Delivery) programme, which introduced a new extension approach that gave rise to experimentation related to soil fertility management practices. In all three ...
This paper reviews trends in rainfed maize production in Mexico over the past several decades, an... more This paper reviews trends in rainfed maize production in Mexico over the past several decades, and the experience of lNIF AP/ OMMYT/ OR AD on-farm research (OFR) in Mexico's lowland tropics, to evaluate the prospects for increased maize production in rainfed regions. National production data show that rainfed maize area has remained stable since 1960 and has even decreased in the last decade; average yields have been leveling off since 1980 after strong gains in the 1970s. However, the cate of growth in maize yields necessary to meet the demand expected in the year 2000 (1.7% per year) far surpasses yield growth rates registered since 1980. Futhermore, prices of inputs and credit used for maize production are likely to be less favorable in the future than they were in the past, meaning that the afea planted to maize and maize yields are likely to decline unless new technologies become available. Results of six years of OFR in Mexico's lowland tropies indicate that it is poss...
In Mexico, large-scale adoption of no-tillage has not yet taken place. An innovative approach aim... more In Mexico, large-scale adoption of no-tillage has not yet taken place. An innovative approach aimed at facilitating the adoption of no-tillage and other sustainable agricultural practices is being launched in the irrigated part of Guanajuato State in Central Mexico, a region in need of urgent changes if grain production is to remain viable for smallholders. The main features of this approach include giving farmers and their associations a central role in all decision-making, ensuring a tight interaction among farmers, extension agents and researchers in generating and diffusing no-till technologies, using training as a key strategy for creating the willingness and knowledge base necessary to implement changes, and adopting a menu-driven approach to technological change. It also rely on the creation of a large inter-institutional platform to encompass in one single project such diverse activities as applied research, farmers' experimentation, training, technical assistance, and t...
Sustainable Intensification in Smallholder Agriculture, 2017
his chapter presents key results obtained by the Joint Learning in and about Innovation Systems i... more his chapter presents key results obtained by the Joint Learning in and about Innovation Systems in African Agriculture (JOLISAA) team across its three target countries. It presents the approach used by JOLISAA for assessing innovation experiences and the diversity of experiences actually assessed. The chapter summarises the key insights into innovation processes gained from a cross-analysis of the case studies JOLISAA selected. It also provides lessons and recommendations about how best to assess and support innovation and make it more inclusive, with an emphasis on how to document and support local innovation. JOLISAA undertook its assessment in five major, partly overlapping phases: development of an analytical framework; inventory of innovation cases; collaborative case assessment; cross-analysis of cases; and development of policy recommendations. After the case assessments were completed, the cross-analysis was conducted at country level and across Benin, Kenya and South Africa
L'agriculture de conservation (AC) presente plusieurs avantages notamment d'ordre agronom... more L'agriculture de conservation (AC) presente plusieurs avantages notamment d'ordre agronomique, environnemental et socio-economique. En ce sens, elle est une alternative interessante pour relever les multiples defis auxquels doit faire face le secteur agricole aujourd'hui. Mais, l'etat des lieux de cette forme d'agriculture en Afrique francophone de l'ouest et du centre (AOC) ou la problematique de l'agriculture durable est tres forte reste mal connu. Ceci se traduit par une faible visibilite de l'AOC et une sous representation de ses ressortissants dans les evenements, manifestations internationales et initiatives centrees sur l'agriculture de conservation. Parmi les diverses possibilites existantes pour combler cette lacune en preparation de la 3eme Conference mondiale d'agriculture de conservation (3-7 octobre 2005, Nairobi/ Kenya), l'organisation d'une conference electronique est apparue comme une solution interessante permettant en...
(...) Ce numéro s’intéresse aux processus d’innovation agricole, dans toute leur diversité et leu... more (...) Ce numéro s’intéresse aux processus d’innovation agricole, dans toute leur diversité et leur complexité, au Nord comme au Sud et selon différents points de vue d’acteurs. Il a été structuré en trois parties pour des raisons de clarté, mais la ventilation des textes entre les trois parties a parfois présenté un caractère arbitraire, de nombreux textes traitant de plusieurs aspects. (...
Coordinations hydrauliques et justices sociales : 4e Séminaire international et interdisciplinaire du Programme commun systèmes irrigués, Montpellier, France, 25-26 novembre 2004, 2006
Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a concept whose applicability relies on simultaneous application... more Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a concept whose applicability relies on simultaneous application of three basic principles: 1) Minimum soil disturbance or no tillage; 2) Permanent soil cover; and 3) Crop rotations/associations (Giller et al. 2009; Hobbs 2007; Lahmar 2010; Thiombiano and Meshack 2009). It specifically aims to address the problems of soil degradation resulting from agricultural practices that deplete the organic matter and nutrient content of the soil hence leading to higher crop yields and lower production costs. CA therefore is a combination of tested scientific technologies, and its practice in Africa is now maturing with increasing demand for more sustainable agricultural practices and better natural resources management and conservation (Thiombiano and Meshack 2009).
Through the JOLISAA (JOint Learning in Innovation Systems in African Agriculture) project, smallh... more Through the JOLISAA (JOint Learning in Innovation Systems in African Agriculture) project, smallholder-oriented, multistakeholder innovation systems were explored in South Africa. After an inventory of cases was compiled, three cases were identified for deeper exploration and cross analysis. Local teams of resource persons familiar with the cases were set up for each case. The first case involved bulk buying, where several stakeholders developed a system that allowed farmers to collectively purchase farm inputs, making use of funds derived from savings and credit groups. The second case involved the Agricultural Research Council and University of the Free State working with farmers to develop and test infield rainwater-harvesting technologies. The last was an outcome of the BASED (Broadening Agricultural Services and Extension Delivery) programme, which introduced a new extension approach that gave rise to experimentation related to soil fertility management practices. In all three ...
This paper reviews trends in rainfed maize production in Mexico over the past several decades, an... more This paper reviews trends in rainfed maize production in Mexico over the past several decades, and the experience of lNIF AP/ OMMYT/ OR AD on-farm research (OFR) in Mexico's lowland tropics, to evaluate the prospects for increased maize production in rainfed regions. National production data show that rainfed maize area has remained stable since 1960 and has even decreased in the last decade; average yields have been leveling off since 1980 after strong gains in the 1970s. However, the cate of growth in maize yields necessary to meet the demand expected in the year 2000 (1.7% per year) far surpasses yield growth rates registered since 1980. Futhermore, prices of inputs and credit used for maize production are likely to be less favorable in the future than they were in the past, meaning that the afea planted to maize and maize yields are likely to decline unless new technologies become available. Results of six years of OFR in Mexico's lowland tropies indicate that it is poss...
In Mexico, large-scale adoption of no-tillage has not yet taken place. An innovative approach aim... more In Mexico, large-scale adoption of no-tillage has not yet taken place. An innovative approach aimed at facilitating the adoption of no-tillage and other sustainable agricultural practices is being launched in the irrigated part of Guanajuato State in Central Mexico, a region in need of urgent changes if grain production is to remain viable for smallholders. The main features of this approach include giving farmers and their associations a central role in all decision-making, ensuring a tight interaction among farmers, extension agents and researchers in generating and diffusing no-till technologies, using training as a key strategy for creating the willingness and knowledge base necessary to implement changes, and adopting a menu-driven approach to technological change. It also rely on the creation of a large inter-institutional platform to encompass in one single project such diverse activities as applied research, farmers' experimentation, training, technical assistance, and t...
Sustainable Intensification in Smallholder Agriculture, 2017
his chapter presents key results obtained by the Joint Learning in and about Innovation Systems i... more his chapter presents key results obtained by the Joint Learning in and about Innovation Systems in African Agriculture (JOLISAA) team across its three target countries. It presents the approach used by JOLISAA for assessing innovation experiences and the diversity of experiences actually assessed. The chapter summarises the key insights into innovation processes gained from a cross-analysis of the case studies JOLISAA selected. It also provides lessons and recommendations about how best to assess and support innovation and make it more inclusive, with an emphasis on how to document and support local innovation. JOLISAA undertook its assessment in five major, partly overlapping phases: development of an analytical framework; inventory of innovation cases; collaborative case assessment; cross-analysis of cases; and development of policy recommendations. After the case assessments were completed, the cross-analysis was conducted at country level and across Benin, Kenya and South Africa
L'agriculture de conservation (AC) presente plusieurs avantages notamment d'ordre agronom... more L'agriculture de conservation (AC) presente plusieurs avantages notamment d'ordre agronomique, environnemental et socio-economique. En ce sens, elle est une alternative interessante pour relever les multiples defis auxquels doit faire face le secteur agricole aujourd'hui. Mais, l'etat des lieux de cette forme d'agriculture en Afrique francophone de l'ouest et du centre (AOC) ou la problematique de l'agriculture durable est tres forte reste mal connu. Ceci se traduit par une faible visibilite de l'AOC et une sous representation de ses ressortissants dans les evenements, manifestations internationales et initiatives centrees sur l'agriculture de conservation. Parmi les diverses possibilites existantes pour combler cette lacune en preparation de la 3eme Conference mondiale d'agriculture de conservation (3-7 octobre 2005, Nairobi/ Kenya), l'organisation d'une conference electronique est apparue comme une solution interessante permettant en...
(...) Ce numéro s’intéresse aux processus d’innovation agricole, dans toute leur diversité et leu... more (...) Ce numéro s’intéresse aux processus d’innovation agricole, dans toute leur diversité et leur complexité, au Nord comme au Sud et selon différents points de vue d’acteurs. Il a été structuré en trois parties pour des raisons de clarté, mais la ventilation des textes entre les trois parties a parfois présenté un caractère arbitraire, de nombreux textes traitant de plusieurs aspects. (...
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