How African Agriculture expresses differences between Men and Women

Posted on February 27, 2017 by

Millions of dollars have gone into promoting gender equality in many developing countries. More millions continue to be poured into gender programmes. However, it has remained easy to conduct workshops and write documents on gender than to address messy gender issues. Several gender discussions and policies are pitched at a high level of abstraction such Read more about How African Agriculture expresses differences between Men and Women[…]

How can African agricultural economies balance opportunities and risks?

Posted on February 20, 2017 by

Risk has been part of life since time immemorial. Even before the dawn of modern banking, risk could not be separated from human survival opportunities such as hunting and gathering food. African forests teemed with dangerous animals, rendering hunting a risky adventure. One would spend a whole day or an entire week without catching game Read more about How can African agricultural economies balance opportunities and risks?[…]

Using experimentation to balance short term agricultural gains with long term value creation

Posted on February 13, 2017 by

Climate change and unstable agricultural markets in developing countries are forcing agricultural actors to rely on constant experimentation. Historical knowledge is no longer enough for decision-making as contexts are always shifting. The level of complexity is such that farmers, traders and financial institutions cannot fully depend on individual meticulous planning. There are so many copycats Read more about Using experimentation to balance short term agricultural gains with long term value creation[…]

Why ‘financial inclusion’ may not be the correct terminology

Posted on February 6, 2017 by

Over the past few years, financial authorities and development organizations in Africa have become fond of ‘financial inclusion’ as a process of involving many people in banking services. Unfortunately, such a notion reduces everything to money when focus should be on understanding socio-economic dynamics. Progress is less about money but more about grasping socio-economic ecosystems. Read more about Why ‘financial inclusion’ may not be the correct terminology[…]