Category: Agricultural Intelligence

Making sense of invisible advantages in rural African communities

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Many rural African communities have seen development programmes and business models come and go. What has kept these communities alive is their invisible advantages in the form of local culture. A community’s culture is basically a collection of unwritten rules, norms and values that influence people’s behavior. The fact that these are unwritten rules makes Read more about Making sense of invisible advantages in rural African communities[…]

ANALYSIS:What has gone wrong with the groundnut market in Zimbabwe?

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Groundnut has traditionally been a famous cash cow in Zimbabwe. Many Cabinet ministers, captains of industry, academics and bankers can testify to have gone to school because their parents were able to raise school fees through groundnut production and marketing. From those who knew him, the founder of Zimbabwe’s largest poultry company Irvine’s Day Old Read more about ANALYSIS:What has gone wrong with the groundnut market in Zimbabwe?[…]

The joys and benefits of learning directly from plants and animals.

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In spite of the current obsession with formal learning approaches where people are encouraged to learn from each other, many African farmers remain convinced they can learn more from plants and animals. That is how, over generations, they have acquired knowledge from plant and animal medicines. Every rainy season provides farmers and every curious person Read more about The joys and benefits of learning directly from plants and animals.[…]

How to be a catalyst for better agricultural outcomes in 2017

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Developing countries which embrace a business – as – usual approach to agricultural development will take more than a century to eradicate food insecurity. Continuing with 2016 patterns implies 2017 will not be an improvement of what happened in the past years. It is no longer enough to be an agricultural change agent. All value Read more about How to be a catalyst for better agricultural outcomes in 2017[…]

How can farmers and agribusinesses prepare themselves for success in 2017?

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Most agricultural interventions into African communities do not sufficiently prepare farmers and local agribusinesses for growth and success. That is why as soon as support dries up, most agricultural actors struggle to stay on their feet.  There are many cases where those looking for a market often fail to satisfy it once they find it.  Read more about How can farmers and agribusinesses prepare themselves for success in 2017?[…]

What makes informal institutions superior at embedding Knowledge!

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Where formal organizations try to store their knowledge in the form of corporate processes and procedures, informal institutions like people’s agriculture markets pack their knowledge into routines and memorable metaphors. For many generations, the majority of African communities have thrived on knowledge condensed into idioms, metaphors and routines.  This way of dealing with knowledge has Read more about What makes informal institutions superior at embedding Knowledge![…]

Why some farmers and traders succeed by listening to their own advice

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An increase in advice from diverse sources is becoming counter-productive for smallholder farmers in many developing countries. Besides over-saturation, there is no shortage of conflicting advice. Many farmers are wondering why they are being blamed for not taking farming as a business when the majority of formally educated graduates are busy looking for jobs rather Read more about Why some farmers and traders succeed by listening to their own advice[…]

Rainy seasons show how developing countries struggle with preserving food

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While rainfall can easily be associated with high agricultural production, in many African countries abundant rains also come with enormous damage to food that has already been produced. At least 30% of food in Africa is said to be lost before it is consumed. Too much rainfall accounts for a significant proportion of such post-harvest Read more about Rainy seasons show how developing countries struggle with preserving food[…]

Overcoming misconceptions about involving users in creating knowledge

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One of the most enduring misconceptions in developing countries is the notion that if farmers and rural people are not involved in creating knowledge they will not adopt what comes from outside. As a result, billions of US dollars have gone into diverse versions of participatory development approaches. Unfortunately, as soon as donor funding dries Read more about Overcoming misconceptions about involving users in creating knowledge[…]

Lessons from how informal markets keep agricultural knowledge fresh

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Just as agriculture markets prefer fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs and other commodities, knowledge on all these commodities should also be kept fresh. It is through regular visits to the market that farmers are able to keep their knowledge fresh.  Farmers who extend loans to traders in the form of commodities also extend knowledge about Read more about Lessons from how informal markets keep agricultural knowledge fresh[…]