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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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African agriculture is witnessing a shift from physical to value chain collateral
While African financial institutions are still stuck with traditional banking models invented in the West, African agricultural value chains have…
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How can agricultural policy makers stay ahead of trends?
The way public and private institutions have been set up in most developing countries does not create space for adequately…
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How informal markets are redefining agricultural extension
Given their openness and competitive nature, informal agriculture markets enable farmers to see their knowledge gaps. This shows up in…
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From acronyms and buzzwords to building local institutions
In spite of promises surrounding mobile technology, African communities still face enormous barriers to accessing reliable, relevant and usable information…
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How do we stop financial inclusion from becoming financial slavery
Financial inclusion has become one of the buzzwords in many African countries including Zimbabwe. It is as if financial institutions,…
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How can Africans move from chatting to serious wealth creation?
Like any other innovation, the explosion of ICTs and social media has come with merits and demerits in most developing…
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Why producers should always get a clear view of the competitive landscape
While African countries seem to be encouraging their farmers to produce for exporting to developed countries, those countries are looking…
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Why farmers should understand consumers and the pains of knowledge sharing
In a world increasingly driven by ICTs, farmers should not be satisfied with feedback from supermarkets and contract companies. Nothing…
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How agriculture markets are more than just memorizing facts and figures
A close look at informal agriculture markets across Africa shows they thrive on implicit knowledge that cannot be manipulated through…
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Principles of demand-driven agricultural practice
A significant portion of billions of dollars that have gone into agriculture in developing countries have been absorbed by supply-driven…
