Farmers in the Lake Victoria crescent zone have over the years struggled with pests and diseases in a country full of fake agricultural inputs, access to markets, post-harvest losses, declining soil fertility and the changes of weather. The production for most farmers is rain fed and is greatly affected by climatic changes. The Mukono Wakiso innovation platform (IP) was formed to help farmers find solutions to these issues.
Weak public infrastructure may contribute to poverty and inequality. Studies have found that roads are a key factor affecting rural incomes in developing countries. Yet, there is relatively scant evidence of the economic impacts of rural roads at the individual household level. This study contributes to the literature by empirically analysing the effects of rural road construction on household income and income inequality in Nepal.
In the past 50 years, the application of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer to farmland resulted in a dramatic increase in crop yields but with considerable negative impacts on the environment. New solutions are therefore needed to simultaneously increase yields while maintaining, or preferably decreasing, applied N to maximize the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of crops. In this review, we outline the definition of NUE, the selection and development of NUE crops, and the factors that interact with NUE.
An analysis of the impact of simulation modelling in three diverse crop-livestock improvement projects in Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) reveals benefits across a range of aspects including identification of objectives, design and implementation of experimental programs, effectiveness of participatory research with smallholder farmers, implementation of system change and scaling-out of results. In planning change, farmers must consider complex interactions within both biophysical and socioeconomic aspects of their crop and animal production activities.