Nigeria is arguably the largest importer of dairy products in Africa. Available statistics shows that up to 98% of the total dairy products consumed in the country are imported; and that about 75% of the entire dairy market is controlled by FrieslandCampina WAMCO (FCW). The purpose of this study is to examine the basis for the prevailing import orientation in the dairy industry since 1973. Is the orientation traceable to operations of multinational companies or the institutional and governance challenges in the country?
This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion in the scientific literature on the advantages and disadvantages of privatization of extension and advisory services and the shift from thinking in terms of the traditional Agricultural Knowledge System towards a broader Agricultural Innovation System.
This paper looks at brokerage functions in a project on building innovation capacity through improved networking. Innovation capacity influences how actors respond to changes in their environments. In such dynamic environments well connected sets of actors are at an advantage in that they can combine skills to address the emerging opportunities and challenges. However, policy and cultural barriers especially in African innovation systems raise the transaction costs of networking leading to weak connectivity among actors thus poor innovation capacity.
Many indigenous vegetables are generally underutilized across different cultures, but they remain alternatives to exotic vegetables that often are expensive. This study investigated effects of participation in indigenous vegetable production on livelihood of farmers. Multistaged sampling was used to collect data from 222 vegetable farmers sampled from using a semi-structured questionnaire. Principal component analysis and endogenous switching regression (ESR) were employed for analysis
This synthesis report presents the outputs of the workshop organised by CTA at its headquarters in Wageningen, The Netherlands, 15-17 July 2008. The outputs are presented in two main parts, each corresponding to one of the workshop objectives, and ends with a section on the way forward as suggested by the workshop participants. It also includes a first attempt to come to a consolidated generic framework on AIS performance indicators, based on the outputs of the different working groups.
Present-day society asks more from agriculture than just the production of food. Agriculture is now required to be concerned with the quality of food, ecosystem services, inclusion of marginalized populations, revitalization of rural territories, energy production, etc. This opening up of the future of agriculture encourages rural actors to experiment with new farming systems, using imagination, creativity and determination to replace dominant models. At the same time, low-cost mass-production systems continue on their way, with promises of a future based on green technologies.
This article describes the creation of an innovation platform in Masalala, north-western Tanzania, in order to improve smallholder paddy production and reduce inefficiencies in access to inputs and credit. Other value chains actors, including millers and buyers, have also benefitted from an improved supply of better quality paddy
The present study intended to propose insights on the contribution of innovation and competitiveness in meat production chains. A systematic review of the literature was carried out, considering manuscripts published in the Scopus, Web of Science and Science Direct databases. Based on the search and exclusion criteria, the analyzed portfolio consisted of 18 works related to the main animal production chains (i.e. pork, chicken, beef, and sheep)
This teaching case study is to stimulate readers to think strategically and come up with innovative solutions to the challenges that Songxiaocai faces. The materials used to write this case is drawn from the sources including the semi-structured interviews with managers within Songxiaocai Company, online information, and materials
The goal of this work is to review methodologies to analyze value chains, particularly within the agribusiness sector. The first part of the analysis delves into the value chain concept, with the aim of discovering how the concept has changed from an historical perspective, and what would be an acceptable narrow definition.