Somebody said a Chinese student who goes to study business in the West will return home and do business the Chinese way. An Indian student will do the same. It is not yet clear whether an African business student will also come back home and conduct business the African way. While business principles may remain Read more about Global business principles – local nuances[…]

As agricultural value chains in developing countries become over-crowded and hyper-competitive, real-time awareness has never been so important. While digital technology is being presented as a solution,  more efforts have to go into ensuring information satisfies the needs of farmers, traders and other value chain actors who want to engage in evidence-informed decision making. Many Read more about Cultivating the power of real-time awareness[…]

Instead on choosing a few value chains in which to specialize, some agribusinesses in developing countries are being compelled to embrace an ecosystems approach to agriculture.  This is because each commodity has its limits. Many contract farming models are collapsing as value chains evolve into ecosystems where different agricultural commodities either complement or substitute each Read more about How ecosystems are replacing value chains in African food systems[…]

The capacity of data to accelerate agricultural transformation in developing countries is no longer questionable. However, a remaining challenge is limited capacity to set systems for continuous data collection. Without that capacity, it is difficult for policy makers to put in place a set of coherent building blocks for delivering tangible value to farmers, consumers Read more about The role of data in accelerating agricultural transformation[…]

While there is an increase in emphasis on evidence-based policy, evidence-based medicine and evidence-based this and that, people’s collective experiences may be more powerful than evidence alone. If African agriculture and rural development relied solely on evidence without people’s tangible experiences, most development initiatives would not achieve much. Evidence in the form of facts and Read more about Making sense of differences between evidence and experience[…]

For every US$500 million that has goes into agricultural production in Africa, another US$500 million is not injected into the market in order to stimulate demand for what is produced.  As a results, gluts continue to alternate with shortages of commodities. A major reason is lack of investment in gathering and re-using fluid evidence. Monitoring Read more about Using feedback to stabilize growth and expand opportunities[…]