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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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Price as an outcome of negotiations between diverse market actors
African agriculture is one of the most misunderstood ecosystems, especially by investors and development organizations. There is a persistent tendency…
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The power of an end to end view of agricultural value chains
Very few actors in African agriculture can see the entire value chain and its nodes. As a result, production activities…
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When data and evidence become currency
Most of the information disseminated to African smallholder farmers and rural marginalized entrepreneurs is barely enough for progressive decision making.…
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Why value chain actors should identify their most critical knowledge
From all the training, guidance and ideas directed at poor and marginalized farmers, it is often difficult for these actors…
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How the market can convert agricultural commodities into career pipelines
Besides climate change and environmental degradation, a major challenge facing many African rural communities is migration of skills and talent…
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Moving decision making closer to points of impact and knowledge
In most developing countries, decisions that affect farmers and rural communities are often made by policy makers and development agencies…
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How external expertise can undermine local community knowledge
Many rural communities in developing countries are now more familiar with external experts and consultants who visit them to ask…
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Why everyone should pay attention to knowledge life cycles
If you did not know that knowledge has a life cycle you are not alone. However, that should not be…
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How niche markets influence agricultural commodity prices
One of the most persistent myths in African agriculture is that commodity prices are set by traders, negatively referred to…
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Translating common sense into agribusiness models
Knowledge generation and sharing has been happening in every community since time immemorial. However, there has not been enough recognition…
