Why we need a healthy handshake between numbers and intuitions
Due to the hype surrounding Big Data, there is a temptation for economic planners in developing countries to over-depend on quantitative data (numbers) at the…
Making sense of invisible advantages in rural African communities
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…
ANALYSIS:What has gone wrong with the groundnut market in Zimbabwe?
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…
The joys and benefits of learning directly from plants and animals.
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…
How to be a catalyst for better agricultural outcomes in 2017
Developing countries which embrace a business – as – usual approach to agricultural development will take more than a century to eradicate food insecurity. Continuing…
How can farmers and agribusinesses prepare themselves for success in 2017?
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…
What makes informal institutions superior at embedding Knowledge!
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…
Why some farmers and traders succeed by listening to their own advice
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…
Rainy seasons show how developing countries struggle with preserving food
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…
Overcoming misconceptions about involving users in creating knowledge
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…