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Why the elite should stop imposing their expectations on smallholder farmers
Bankers expect smallholder farmers to repay loans at a particular interest. For economists, African smallholder farmers are supposed to master…
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How to move from ordinary to best agricultural practices
‘Best practice’ is not even a mouthful but what it means in practice remains unclear to many people who use…
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Very few organizations are benefiting from fragmented information
Very few organizations are benefiting from fragmented information Many African farmers and traders live complex economic and financial realities. For…
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We cannot achieve food systems transformation by ignoring mass markets
African leaders who really care about food systems transformation cannot ignore what is happening in the mass market. Ignoring these…
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African countries cannot build a strong African Continental Free Trade Area without investing in data first
How can African countries hope to make the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) work when there are no systems…
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Closing gaps between indigenous knowledge systems and digital solutions
One of the major challenges in Africa’s digital agriculture space is that software developers try to develop digital solutions based…
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Artificial intelligence cannot generate market intelligence on its own
While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being touted as a solution to many data-related challenges, it cannot generate agricultural market intelligence…
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Indigenous Knowledge Systems have their own data collection methods
Whereas imported western methods of collecting data focus on scientific questionnaires, in African communities and mass markets conversations and stories…
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Mass market signals are becoming more important in a changing climate
With frequent reports El Nino weather phenomena across the world, signals from mass markets are becoming major sources of critical…
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What mass markets say about the political economy of African food systems
By bringing diverse commodities and people together across boundaries, African mass markets create space for issues that are usually left…
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Pitfalls of taking community voices for granted in food systems projects
Most conversations about food systems and climate change that happen in global conferences and capital city workshops continue to miss…
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African territorial markets continue to protect food cultures and identities
If there were no territorial markets many food ingredients and related recipes would have disappeared. Besides keeping rural and urban…
