ABSTRACT Smallholder farms in the humid highlands of East Africa are undergoing changes that ques... more ABSTRACT Smallholder farms in the humid highlands of East Africa are undergoing changes that question the notion of the rural space. Characterized by land degradation, increasing population pressure, intensive farming and continuous cropping in small plots, smallholder farmers have increasingly embraced additional forms of nonfarm income generation activities. The observed changes put to question parameters used in the analysis of smallholder farming systems in the region. In this paper, we endeavour to analyze how these changes in smallholder farming systems influence investments of proven sustainable land management practices. The paper is based on a study of 320 farm households comprising 494 plots in the western Kenya region. For cross-section data, use is made of the OLS and instrumental variable methods to explain investments in sustainable land management. In contrast to a number of recent studies, specification is made of non-farm income (NonFarmincome) as income from non-agricultural activities, and natural resource-based income (NRMincome) as income from natural resource management activities undertaken away from individual farm holdings. The NRMincome activities have an implication on landscape conservation, as they are mainly undertaken in communal and other public lands. Results show that non-farm income contributes to investments in soil prevention practices, contrary to the results of a number of studies looking broadly at off-farm incomes. The findings have implications for suitable policies for enhancing sustainable land management. This study argues that those policies need to focus on landscape level conservation, enhance non-farm income, and address impacts on communal lands and other common property regimes resulting from smallholder farmers’ natural resource management income strategies.
This manual is intended to assist facilitators in delivering a workshop with rural grassroots org... more This manual is intended to assist facilitators in delivering a workshop with rural grassroots organizations as part of a process of grassroots institutional development. This manual and training course was developed as part of an IFAD-funded project delivered through the Eastern & Southern Africa team of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) to strengthen rural grassroots organizations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in 2012. The project operated on the basis of three main objectives: •To enhance capacity of variants of grassroots institutions and provide support to harness broader collective action for rural service delivery •To improve enterprise development within the context of conservation, and community level asset accumulation •To build a regional institutional platform for knowledge sharing, scaling up and participation in sustainable land management policy making and development processes in East Africa This manual provides the framework to deliver a participatory workshop to...
International Conference on Banana and Plantain in Africa: Harnessing International Partnerships to Increase Research Impact, 2010
... Hillside cultivation is the most traditional form of land use, where staple crops (maize (Zea... more ... Hillside cultivation is the most traditional form of land use, where staple crops (maize (Zea mays), beans (Phaseolus spp.) and banana) and perennial cash crops (tea (Camellia sinensis) and coffee (Coffea spp.)) are grown. ... I sell one bunch for Tshs 1500–2000. ...
... A road map to institutionalize information exchange between farmers and information providers... more ... A road map to institutionalize information exchange between farmers and information providers was designed. ... Agricultural information is a key component in improving small-scale agricultural production and linking increased production to remunerative markets ...
... Hillside cultivation is the most traditional form of land use, where staple crops (maize (Zea... more ... Hillside cultivation is the most traditional form of land use, where staple crops (maize (Zea mays), beans (Phaseolus spp.) and banana) and perennial cash crops (tea (Camellia sinensis) and coffee (Coffea spp.)) are grown. ... I sell one bunch for Tshs 1500–2000. ...
Progressive and alarming degradation of the natural resource base interlinked with increasing rur... more Progressive and alarming degradation of the natural resource base interlinked with increasing rural poverty in the highlands of east and central Africa led to the establishment of the African Highlands Imitative (AHI) by research and development stakeholders in 1995. AHI was mandated to develop methodologies for integrated natural resource management (INRM) and institutionalize them in partner organizations. Many important lessons and experiences have been generated from INRM work in five pilot sites scattered in Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. However, the impact of these lessons on wider INRM discourse and practice has been limited. This is attributed to limited documentation and dissemination of knowledge products and failure by current formats of documentation that exclude dimensions that are useful to various users or practitioners. In recognition of this, AHI during the third phase (2002-2004) established a knowledge management system for enhancing the programmes’ capability i...
ABSTRACT Smallholder farms in the humid highlands of East Africa are undergoing changes that ques... more ABSTRACT Smallholder farms in the humid highlands of East Africa are undergoing changes that question the notion of the rural space. Characterized by land degradation, increasing population pressure, intensive farming and continuous cropping in small plots, smallholder farmers have increasingly embraced additional forms of nonfarm income generation activities. The observed changes put to question parameters used in the analysis of smallholder farming systems in the region. In this paper, we endeavour to analyze how these changes in smallholder farming systems influence investments of proven sustainable land management practices. The paper is based on a study of 320 farm households comprising 494 plots in the western Kenya region. For cross-section data, use is made of the OLS and instrumental variable methods to explain investments in sustainable land management. In contrast to a number of recent studies, specification is made of non-farm income (NonFarmincome) as income from non-agricultural activities, and natural resource-based income (NRMincome) as income from natural resource management activities undertaken away from individual farm holdings. The NRMincome activities have an implication on landscape conservation, as they are mainly undertaken in communal and other public lands. Results show that non-farm income contributes to investments in soil prevention practices, contrary to the results of a number of studies looking broadly at off-farm incomes. The findings have implications for suitable policies for enhancing sustainable land management. This study argues that those policies need to focus on landscape level conservation, enhance non-farm income, and address impacts on communal lands and other common property regimes resulting from smallholder farmers’ natural resource management income strategies.
Innovations as Key to the Green Revolution in Africa, 2011
... A road map to institutionalize information exchange between farmers and information providers... more ... A road map to institutionalize information exchange between farmers and information providers was designed. ... Agricultural information is a key component in improving small-scale agricultural production and linking increased production to remunerative markets ...
Abstract: Kenya's natural resource base has dwindled over the ye... more Abstract: Kenya's natural resource base has dwindled over the years. The existence of many land-related laws, some of which are incompatible, has resulted in complex land management regimes, giving rise to fragmented interventions, poor land administration, and inadequate provision of agricultural services. The consequences are serious environmental problems aggravated by social, economic and political factors. Traditionally, land use practices were more sustainable, but many of these Landcare practices were discarded ...
ABSTRACT Smallholder farms in the humid highlands of East Africa are undergoing changes that ques... more ABSTRACT Smallholder farms in the humid highlands of East Africa are undergoing changes that question the notion of the rural space. Characterized by land degradation, increasing population pressure, intensive farming and continuous cropping in small plots, smallholder farmers have increasingly embraced additional forms of nonfarm income generation activities. The observed changes put to question parameters used in the analysis of smallholder farming systems in the region. In this paper, we endeavour to analyze how these changes in smallholder farming systems influence investments of proven sustainable land management practices. The paper is based on a study of 320 farm households comprising 494 plots in the western Kenya region. For cross-section data, use is made of the OLS and instrumental variable methods to explain investments in sustainable land management. In contrast to a number of recent studies, specification is made of non-farm income (NonFarmincome) as income from non-agricultural activities, and natural resource-based income (NRMincome) as income from natural resource management activities undertaken away from individual farm holdings. The NRMincome activities have an implication on landscape conservation, as they are mainly undertaken in communal and other public lands. Results show that non-farm income contributes to investments in soil prevention practices, contrary to the results of a number of studies looking broadly at off-farm incomes. The findings have implications for suitable policies for enhancing sustainable land management. This study argues that those policies need to focus on landscape level conservation, enhance non-farm income, and address impacts on communal lands and other common property regimes resulting from smallholder farmers’ natural resource management income strategies.
This manual is intended to assist facilitators in delivering a workshop with rural grassroots org... more This manual is intended to assist facilitators in delivering a workshop with rural grassroots organizations as part of a process of grassroots institutional development. This manual and training course was developed as part of an IFAD-funded project delivered through the Eastern & Southern Africa team of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) to strengthen rural grassroots organizations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in 2012. The project operated on the basis of three main objectives: •To enhance capacity of variants of grassroots institutions and provide support to harness broader collective action for rural service delivery •To improve enterprise development within the context of conservation, and community level asset accumulation •To build a regional institutional platform for knowledge sharing, scaling up and participation in sustainable land management policy making and development processes in East Africa This manual provides the framework to deliver a participatory workshop to...
International Conference on Banana and Plantain in Africa: Harnessing International Partnerships to Increase Research Impact, 2010
... Hillside cultivation is the most traditional form of land use, where staple crops (maize (Zea... more ... Hillside cultivation is the most traditional form of land use, where staple crops (maize (Zea mays), beans (Phaseolus spp.) and banana) and perennial cash crops (tea (Camellia sinensis) and coffee (Coffea spp.)) are grown. ... I sell one bunch for Tshs 1500–2000. ...
... A road map to institutionalize information exchange between farmers and information providers... more ... A road map to institutionalize information exchange between farmers and information providers was designed. ... Agricultural information is a key component in improving small-scale agricultural production and linking increased production to remunerative markets ...
... Hillside cultivation is the most traditional form of land use, where staple crops (maize (Zea... more ... Hillside cultivation is the most traditional form of land use, where staple crops (maize (Zea mays), beans (Phaseolus spp.) and banana) and perennial cash crops (tea (Camellia sinensis) and coffee (Coffea spp.)) are grown. ... I sell one bunch for Tshs 1500–2000. ...
Progressive and alarming degradation of the natural resource base interlinked with increasing rur... more Progressive and alarming degradation of the natural resource base interlinked with increasing rural poverty in the highlands of east and central Africa led to the establishment of the African Highlands Imitative (AHI) by research and development stakeholders in 1995. AHI was mandated to develop methodologies for integrated natural resource management (INRM) and institutionalize them in partner organizations. Many important lessons and experiences have been generated from INRM work in five pilot sites scattered in Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. However, the impact of these lessons on wider INRM discourse and practice has been limited. This is attributed to limited documentation and dissemination of knowledge products and failure by current formats of documentation that exclude dimensions that are useful to various users or practitioners. In recognition of this, AHI during the third phase (2002-2004) established a knowledge management system for enhancing the programmes’ capability i...
ABSTRACT Smallholder farms in the humid highlands of East Africa are undergoing changes that ques... more ABSTRACT Smallholder farms in the humid highlands of East Africa are undergoing changes that question the notion of the rural space. Characterized by land degradation, increasing population pressure, intensive farming and continuous cropping in small plots, smallholder farmers have increasingly embraced additional forms of nonfarm income generation activities. The observed changes put to question parameters used in the analysis of smallholder farming systems in the region. In this paper, we endeavour to analyze how these changes in smallholder farming systems influence investments of proven sustainable land management practices. The paper is based on a study of 320 farm households comprising 494 plots in the western Kenya region. For cross-section data, use is made of the OLS and instrumental variable methods to explain investments in sustainable land management. In contrast to a number of recent studies, specification is made of non-farm income (NonFarmincome) as income from non-agricultural activities, and natural resource-based income (NRMincome) as income from natural resource management activities undertaken away from individual farm holdings. The NRMincome activities have an implication on landscape conservation, as they are mainly undertaken in communal and other public lands. Results show that non-farm income contributes to investments in soil prevention practices, contrary to the results of a number of studies looking broadly at off-farm incomes. The findings have implications for suitable policies for enhancing sustainable land management. This study argues that those policies need to focus on landscape level conservation, enhance non-farm income, and address impacts on communal lands and other common property regimes resulting from smallholder farmers’ natural resource management income strategies.
Innovations as Key to the Green Revolution in Africa, 2011
... A road map to institutionalize information exchange between farmers and information providers... more ... A road map to institutionalize information exchange between farmers and information providers was designed. ... Agricultural information is a key component in improving small-scale agricultural production and linking increased production to remunerative markets ...
Abstract: Kenya's natural resource base has dwindled over the ye... more Abstract: Kenya's natural resource base has dwindled over the years. The existence of many land-related laws, some of which are incompatible, has resulted in complex land management regimes, giving rise to fragmented interventions, poor land administration, and inadequate provision of agricultural services. The consequences are serious environmental problems aggravated by social, economic and political factors. Traditionally, land use practices were more sustainable, but many of these Landcare practices were discarded ...
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