How African Agriculture is under-rated due to narrow notions of evidence

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When economists and policy makers in developing countries talk about evidence, in most cases they mean numbers or statistics. For instance in African countries, statistics dominate the language used to describe fiscal policies and budgets in monetary terms. Factors like contribution to GDP, production outputs per hectare and export earnings are all about figures. However, Read more about How African Agriculture is under-rated due to narrow notions of evidence[…]

How African Agriculture expresses differences between Men and Women

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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?

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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

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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

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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[…]

Which country has achieved economic growth through micro finance?

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If you answer the above question correctly, a ton of pearl millet is waiting for you at eMKambo. When many organisations across the globe are merging in order to sustain some level of competitiveness, why are developing economies finding it sensible to take the micro finance route? There is enormous evidence showing that companies that Read more about Which country has achieved economic growth through micro finance?[…]

Why we need a healthy handshake between numbers and intuitions

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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 expense of qualitative data (stories). There are many valid reasons why economic planners should not ignore local intuitions that offer a better interpretation of what is beyond the data (numbers). Read more about Why we need a healthy handshake between numbers and intuitions[…]

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.[…]