If developing countries treated farming like other professions, many farmers would have graduated from smallholder farming to large-scale farming in line with growth-oriented changes related to land size and markets. By now, millions of farmers have become extension officers and agricultural lecturers. Agricultural colleges would be training farmers as opposed to training extension officers on Read more about The value of bringing dignity and respect back to the farming profession[…]

If owning land and related natural resources was a panacea to development, communities and people who own fertile land would be enjoying better living standards than the landless. Evidence in many African countries is beginning to show that capacity to produce commodities and control the market is more important than owning land, water and the Read more about When and why capacity to produce is more important than land ownership[…]

The seasonal nature of most African food systems implies there are times when indigenous fruits, tubers, tomatoes and other commodities ripen at once. This presence challenges in harvesting and storing these commodities in ways that extend shelf life and preserve nutritional elements. When indigenous fruits are in season, they are too abundant such that very Read more about Circumstances under which flexible bridging finance makes all the difference[…]

Although many Africans living in rural people still think what comes from the city is superior, on the contrary, demand for indigenous food grown in rural areas is increasing in many African cities. Triggered by rising consumer awareness about the value of eating health and natural remedies, this trend is an opportunity for enterprising Africans Read more about Increasing potential for promoting indigenous food through supply chains[…]

Supeficial value addition may not transform indigenous food systems Adding value to indigenous foods has, for decades, focused on general processes like adding salt, adding sugar, sun drying, boiling and processing food into liquid.  However, these processes have remained too superficial to lead to any meaningful industrial transformation that can change lives. It appears modern Read more about Superficial value addition may not transform indigenous food systems[…]

For a very long time, the development sector has used external consultants to gather baseline information before implementing a new project in a new community.  While the main advantage of that approach is that an outsider can see what community members may not see about themselves, there are more advantages in empowering communities to conduct Read more about Communities can conduct their own baseline studies if properly empowered[…]

How informal economies and mass markets fight poverty and destitution If there was no informal sector most Africans would be destitutes. African territorial markets and the informal sector are the real unsung heroes of the African continent. For decades, these self-organized institutions have quietly embraced the burden of helping poor people move up the economic Read more about How informal economies and mass markets fight poverty and destitution[…]

African policy makers may see formalization of the informal sector as a panacea to economic development but what makes informality more attractive has not been adequately researched.  Informal knowledge exchange is the order of the day in oral cultures where the bulk of the information and rules of engagement are not documented.  For instance, a Read more about Integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems with Modern Science through informality[…]