This study took place in Ghana (Accra and Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem Municipal District) 20- 30 April 2015. The study was led by Luke Harman of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) along with local partners Dr Kofi Marfo and Mrs Joyce Haleegoah. The Ghana country study set out to focus particularly on the...

Tenure security is believed to be critical in spurring agricultural investment and productivity. Yet what improves or impedes tenure security is still poorly understood. Using household- and plot-level data from Ghana, this study analyzes the main factors associated with farmers’ perceived tenure security. Individually, farmers perceive greater tenure security on...

Agricultural intensification has only taken off to a very limited extent in Ghana. Adoption of land productivity-enhancing technology is low, even in areas with proximity to urban markets. Rather, farmers have increasingly been adopting labor-saving technologies such as herbicides and mechanization, for which vibrant private supply channels are emerging. Further...

Small-scale irrigation is increasingly recognized as a key strategy for enhancing agricultural productivity and food security under growing climate uncertainty in Africa south of the Sahara. Rainfed production dominates the region, but governments and other stakeholders are increasing investments in irrigation. As these efforts are being rolled out, the gender...

The Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) was declared in July 2010 by the African Union Heads of State and Government (at the 15th Ordinary Session of the AU Summit) in Kampala, Uganda. This decision was made in recognition of the unacceptable and chronic crisis of hunger and malnutrition...

Floods, droughts, heat waves, cold spells, and other natural disasters are large sources of risk for farmers. For instance, in semiarid areas of India, 89 percent of farming households cited drought as the largest risk to agricultural production. Climate change may make weather patterns more extreme and unpredictable, further exposing...

This paper characterizes the transition from small-scale farming and the drivers of farm size growth among medium- and large-scale farmers in Ghana. The research was designed to better understand the dynamics of change in Ghana’s farm structure and contribute to the debate on whether Africa should pursue a smallholder-based or...

Today more people live in cities than ever before, but we still depend on rural areas for our food. In the developing world, up to 80 per cent of food is produced on small farms that are usually family run. Yet it's also true that 70 per cent of the...

Intercropping or rotating cereal crops with legume crops are two of the strategies of integrated striga and soil fertility management. But keeping quality legume seed has two major challenges. First, the seed easily loses its ability to germinate. And second, we are not the only ones who love legumes. Let’s...

This research was designed to understand better the patterns of agricultural intensification and transformation occurring in Africa South of the Sahara using the Ghanaian case. The paper examines changes in farming systems and the role of various endogenous and exogenous factors in driving the conversion of arable lands to agricultural...

For decades, policymakers and development practitioners have debated benefits and threats of property rights formalization and private versus customary tenure systems. This paper provides insights into the challenges in understanding and empirically analyzing the relationship between tenure systems and agricultural investment, and formulates policy advice that can support land tenure...

Forest planning and policy making process in West Africa – and elsewhere in Africa for that matter – has largely been dominated by the State, with very little room for a meaningful participation of civil society. This state of affairs led to a management of forests and forest resources which...

The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa (NAFSN) launched in May 2012 under the auspices of the G8 aims to create the conditions that will allow the African countries concerned to improve agricultural productivity and develop their agrifood sector by attracting more private investment in agriculture. The...

Climate change is undermining the ability of African nations to feed themselves. Women smallholder producers are on the front line of dealing with the impacts, but are not first in line for international climate finance. Wealthy countries have committed to helping countries in Africa to adapt to climate change, but...

West African Agriculture is at a turning point. The combination of strong demand growth, sustained economic growth, higher global agricultural prices, and an improved policy environment has generated the most conducive conditions for Agricultural growth in over 30 years. West African countries and their Development Partners now clearly recognize the...

Le Ghana importe aujourd’hui plus d’un milliard de dollars de produits alimentaires, qui sont particulièrement sujets à des hausses de prix. Pour y remédier, on peut notamment investir dans des entrepreneurs locaux comme Janet Gyimah-Kessie. Elle possède une grande usine de transformation du manioc qui non seulement augmente la production...

This edition opens with a critical issue: the Ebola crisis and how Dimitra clubs are helping contain the threat of the epidemic in Senegal. The Dimitra approach not only allows to inform and raise awareness in rural communities, but above all ensures a space for communication, where everyone can express...

The debate about agricultural mechanization in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) has largely ignored the role of the capital service market in spreading the use of mechanical technologies. Yet, custom machinery hiring ser-vices have been essential for the widespread use and ownership of tractors and other agricultural machines in...

This edition of Nature & Faune journal will be a special Issue to mark the International Year of Soils. It is planned to be issued during the Conference of the African Soil Society taking place in Ouagadougou - Burkina Faso from 2nd to 10th December 2015. The special edition of...

Value chain development is adopted widely as a private sector–led approach to agricultural development that can benefit smallholders. The objective of this research is to understand how development organizations are conceptualizing and developing agricultural value chains in Ghana to include smallholders. The study is based on case studies of five...