Since development agencies often implement interventions through collective-action groups such as farmer cooperatives and self-help groups, there is a need to understand how participation is affected by group-level and leader attributes. This study collected gender-disaggregated, quantitative and qualitative data on sixty-eight self-help groups in Zambia to understand the participation of men and women farmers in different crop-production activities. Results show that participation rates of men and women are the same across all maize production activities except harvesting. The gender composition of members influenced men’s and women’s participation in group activities: when men were fewer in a group, they (men) participated more, while when more women were in a group (above 53 percent), the women participated less. Leader’s education level, knowledge of group agenda, and frequency of meetings also affected participation rates. To design collective action groups that promote gender equity outcomes, gender composition of groups should be considered.
For many years, rural women have been creating their own agri-food processing companies, that promote local agriculture by bringing to the market original foods in products that are accessible to urban populations. The aim of CDAIS is to support their...
One option for practically applying innovation systems thinking involves the establishment of innovation platforms (IPs). Such platforms are designed to bring together a variety of different stakeholders to exchange knowledge and resources and take action to solve common problems. Yet...
This work examined the determinants of the adoption of improved Irish potato technologies by farmers in three divisions of the Western Region of Cameroon. Data were collected from 170 farmers from 14 villages in our study area using a mixed-method...
This study identified gender-based constraints affecting the production, processing and marketing of biofortified cassava in two states in Nigeria, using a mixed methods approach. The study identified major differences between the two study sites (Benue and Oyo). The scale of...
This paper draws lessons from selected country experiences of adaptation and innovation in pursuit of food security goals. It reviews three cases of systems of innovation operating in contrasting regional, socio-economic and agro-ecological contexts, in terms of four features of...