Oluwole Fatunbi

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) Accra Ghana · Directorate of research and Innovation

Given Africa's productive potential, addressing constraints to agricultural productivity in Africa will need inventive techniques will need inventive techniques. Having in mind the aforementioned, the study explores the impact of developing concerns in African agriculture, such as maize fall armyworm, cereal aflatoxins, African swine fewer in pigs,...

It is unclear to what extent environmental and social sustainability goals have been included into agricultural education systems, which have traditionally been focused on increasing agricultural productivity. In sub-Saharan Africa, the urgent need to increase productivity while also ensuring environmental and social sustainability has led to signi...

The lifelong learning for farmers program of the Commonwealth of Learning relies heavily on innovation platforms to address the critical information gap left by agricultural research and development, which often fails to reach the intended rural farmers. The fundamental tenet is that these activities require a space for stakeholders to collaborate,...

Asset development is a crucial tactic for advancing social and economic development in Southern Africa. But until now, there has not been any solid evidence of how asset-building strategies affect Southern African households. This study investigates the relationship between participation in innovation platforms and the acquisition of assets among f...

The lifelong learning for farmers program of the Commonwealth of Learning relies heavily on innovation platforms to address the critical information gap left by agricultural research and development, which often fails to reach the intended rural farmers. The fundamental tenet is that these activities require a space for stakeholders to collaborate,...

Manufacturing has the potential to drive economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction, but African manufacturers face challenges in competing with global markets. Agricultural machinery manufacturing may be one niche where African manufacturers can succeed. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities facing local agricultural manufa...

A sorghum Value Chain Analysis (VCA) was undertaken at the Bubaare Sorghum Innovation Platform (IP). The analysis points out that the chain starts with seed production and distribution to small-holder IP farmers who are the main players in production and marketing. Based on the VCA, innovation opportunities exist in Uganda that can influence expans...

Strategies for Continous Development of Climate Smart Agriculture Technologies in Africa document research and analysis on the need to tease out the much-needed technologies that align with the climate-smart agriculture principles. The book strives to answer pertinent questions on climate-smart agriculture in Africa. Key question one: Demystifying...

https://hub.ifdc.org/handle/20.500.14297/2085

This is the third in a series of the policy briefs that emanated from the Biennial Africa Stakeholders' Conference on Climate Smart Agriculture which held during 14 - 16 September 2022 in Accra, Ghana. The Biennial Africa CSA Conference was part of the Science and Partnership for Agriculture Conference organised by Forum for Agricultural Research i...

This is the second in a series of the policy briefs that emanated from the Biennial Africa Stakeholders' Conference on Climate Smart Agriculture which held during 14 - 16 September 2022 in Accra, Ghana. The Biennial Africa CSA Conference was part of the Science and Partnership for Agriculture Conference organised by Forum for Agricultural Research...

Manufacturing can play a key role in sustained economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction in Africa. Agricultural machinery manufacturing can contribute to driving overall manufacturing, given the large number of gradually mechanizing African farms and the rapidly growing agro-food processing sector. But harnessing these potentials in tod...

This is the first in a series of the policy briefs that emanated from the Biennial Africa Stakeholders' Conference on Climate Smart Agriculture which held during 14 - 16 September 2022 in Accra, Ghana. The Biennial Africa CSA Conference was part of the Science and Partnership for Agriculture Conference organised by Forum for Agricultural Research i...

Malnutrition is a big problem on the African continent, especially among children ages zero to twenty-four months up till a time that covers the 1st 1000 days of life. Expert opinion suggests that Africa could integrate more commodities into its food systems to solve this problem, especially using its underutilized food commodities. These commoditi...

Mechanization, digitalization, and rural youth engagement are central to African agricultural transformation. Each of these topics is associated with debates on opportunities, risks, and appropriate policy actions, which become visible in international research discourses and policy fora. In contrast, little is known about the viewpoints of nationa...

Agricultural mechanization, digital agriculture, and rural youth engagement are three megatrends occupying policymakers focused on agricultural transformation across Africa. Each of these topics is associated with debates on opportunities and risks and appropriate policy actions. While the contested nature of these debates becomes visible in (inter...

Technology generation, transmission and adoption are vital to the development of agriculture and the derivation of social-economic benefits from the sector. African agricultural development is low compared to other continents in the world. This is often attributed to poor adoption of technologies with the speculation that the research sector in Afr...

Citation: Kombat, R.; Sarfatti, P.; Fatunbi, O.A. A Review of Climate-Smart Agriculture Technology Adoption by Farming Households in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sustainability 2021, 13, 12130. Abstract: Climate change is a major constraint to the progress of Africa's agriculture, food, and nutrition security; its effect is tied to geographical position and...

Technology generation, transmission and adoption are vital to the development of agriculture and the derivation of social-economic benefits from the sector. African agricultural development is low compared to other continents in the world. This is often attributed to poor adoption of technologies with the speculation that the research sector in Afr...

The Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) is the approach suggested by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) through the sub Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSA CP) to address the acknowledged shortcoming of African Agricultural Research and Development’s (ARD) failure to achieve impact on the farmer’s field...

The Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) is the approach suggested by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) through the sub Saharan Africa Challenge Program (SSA CP) to address the acknowledged shortcoming of African Agricultural Research and Development’s (ARD) failure to achieve impact on the farmer’s field....

Agricultural mechanization is on the rise in Africa. A widespread replacement of manual labor and animal traction will change the face of African agriculture. Despite this potentially transformative role, only a few studies have looked at the effects of mechanization empirically, mostly focusing on yields and labor alone. This is the first paper th...

Agricultural mechanization is vital to achieving sustainable livelihood, food security and national development. Mechanization is pertinent for Africa where the predominant production system remains the smallholder’s system. The use of technologies from the West continue to face lots of constraints despite investment. The recent two-wheel tractors...

The study was conducted to identify the effects of agricultural mechanization on rural communities. Three states (Oyo, Niger and Kaduna) were purposively selected based on farm mechanization (predominantly) practised in the areas. Participatory Impact Diagram (PID) was used in locations where a sub-sample of the interviewed beneficiaries of a machi...

Agricultural mechanization is on the rise in Africa. A widespread replacement of manual labor will change the face of African agriculture. Despite this potentially transformative role, only few studies have looked at the potential effects of mechanization empirically, mostly focusing on yields and labor alone. This is the first paper that explores...

Urban and peri-urban forestry has emerged as a complementary measure to contribute towards eliminating urban hunger and improved nutritional security. However, there is scanty knowledge about the composition, diversity, and socioeconomic contributions of urban food trees in African cities. This paper examines the diversity and composition of the ur...

For many African countries, the structure of the economy is still tilted towards agriculture and agro-allied industries. In recent times, investment in agriculture is being championed as one of the key routes to bolstering African economies, providing jobs for the burgeoning youthful population, and lifting many Africans out of poverty. However, th...

Nigeria is the largest producer of plantain in West Africa, having an annual production of about 2.4 million metric tons, with about 49% of farming households producing plantain as their main crop. Presently in Nigeria, plantain production is becoming a significant economic activity for income for both large scale and small-holder farmers, and it i...

The case for demand-driven research and development has received important considerations among governments, donors and programme implementing partners in development planning and implementation. Addressing demand is believed to be a bottom-top approach for designing and responding to development priorities and is good for achieving development out...

The case for demand-driven research and development has received important considerations among governments, donors and programme implementing partners in development planning and implementation. Addressing demand is believed to be a bottom-top approach for designing and responding to development priorities and is good for achieving development out...

In Africa, 80% of households in urban areas are food insecure and is coupled with a dramatically changing urban food culture towards increased consumption of sugary and fatty foods. Consequently, incidences of obesity and undernourishment in many African cities are becoming escalating. Urban and peri-urban forestry emerges as a complementary measur...

The need to bring existing and upcoming technologies to scale has been highlighted broadly by policy makers and development practitioners in Africa. This felt need came along with the mantra that Africa have a lot of technologies on the shelve that are yet to be translated to socio economic benefit for the stakeholders in the sector. Whether this i...

Innovation Opportunities in Sweet Potato production in Kenya aims to bridge the gap in knowledge, by reviewing the existing knowledge on scaling technologies and innovation. It provides a comprehensive review of knowledge and systematically propose various strategies to ensure that agricultural technologies are scaled up and scaled out for mega soc...

Mangoes is a major agricultural commodity in Mali, the volume of mangoes produced is estimated at 575 000 tons per year. Mango production is an important socio-economic activity in Mali, providing employment in rural areas and income through exportation.This book aims to bridge this gap in knowledge, by reviewing the existing knowledge on scaling t...

This book attempt to analyses the small ruminant livestock production and marketing systems in Benin Republic, to identify the constraints, source solutions and explicate the innovation opportunities within the industry. The book explicated both the technological, institutional or infrastructural modification including market, policies, social inte...

This is a technical report about a Potato Value Chain analysis (VCA) that was conducted at the Gataraga Potato Innovation Platform ( IP). The analysis indicated that small-holder farmers were the main players in producing Irish potatoes and marketed by retailers in local markets and urban areas including Kigali. In spite of potato production seemin...

Collective market participation can reduce transaction costs and information asymmetries, which can build up market power. The objective of this study was to evaluate decisions to participate in collective marketing and its effect on household income among smallholder farmers in an Innovation Platform (IP). This study targeted the Balaka IP in Mala...

One of the very numerous decisions that smallholder farmers face world wide relates to market participation in agricultural markets and, consequently choosing the appropriate marketing channel for their agricultural produce. Such decisions impact on their incomes and subsequently on their welfare. The objective of this study was to determine how a...

Despite continued progress in the development and promotion of improved agricultural technologies, and the gradual process in agricultural research for development (R4D) programmes, adoption rates are relatively low in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Recommendations have, therefore, been made by national and international research instituti...

The use of Innovation Platform (IP) to foster agricultural research and development has received great acceptance among the ARD stakeholders in Africa. An IP is a partnership framework that engages partners along and outside the commodity value chain or system of operation to jointly identify and proffer solution in a sustainable fashion. the solut...

This publication contains the compilation of different innovations generated on the plantain commodities from various IPs. Its gives a succinct description of the commodity, its agronomy, production techniques, production trends, the role of the commodity in food chain and other traditional uses. The uses of the commodities and data on nutritional...

Le FARA a publié ce manuel de formation des formateurs dans le but de contribuer au renforcement des capacités des spécialistes de la recherche agricole et des acteurs des secteurs connexes en leur inculquant les concepts, principes et méthodes de la recherche agricole intégrée pour le développement (IAR4D) dans le but de susciter des innovations e...

The IAR4D concept has generated a large volume of success stories on many Innovation Platforms where it was implemented for the proof of concept and on the platforms of Complementary projects. It is noteworthy that in course of developing the IAR4D concept FARA engaged is series of trial efforts to arrive at a valid framework for the implementation...

This Book, “Facilitation strategies and experiences for managing Research for Development (R4D) on an innovation platform” synthesizes the available knowledge on strategies to effectively engage research and development actors on an IP. It also documents experiences in platform facilitation strategies. The experiences documented are drawn from the...

In an effort to determine factors influencing cocoa farmer’s participation in innovation platform (IP) activities of the Humidtropics programme, data was collected from purposively selected 177 farmers using multistage technique sampling technique and was gathered through the use of structured interview schedule. Data were collected and analysed wi...

The use of the Innovation platform was mainstreamed into the CGIAR systems research efforts at its inception and was embraced by the Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics tagged “Humidtropics”. Humidtropics program uses the IP as its operation framework in addition to its Research for Development Platform. The Humidtropics program embraces the s...

This blended learning program lead by ILRI draws on the practice briefs, the workshop experience and materials from partners including IITA, Wageningen University, ICRAF and FARA. It comprises an online component of 14 modules and a 3-day workshop. The final component of the course is a face-to-face workshop which provides learners with opportuniti...

The existing knowledge for scaling is limited to scaling technologies, while there is a dearth of knowledge on scaling concept and framework. This book is addressing this lack of adequate knowledge on the framework and strategies for scaling up and scaling out an agricultural research and development concept. The book contains a rich synthesis of a...

This study determined the change and distribution of land-uses/covers along the landscape, and evaluated the nutrient status of the top soil layer in the Lake Kivu Pilot Learning Site (LKPLS) benchmarked micro-catchments. Soil physical and chemical properties were quantified using triplicate soil samples collected from each land-use/cover at two de...

Storage of maize is very important for food security, especially in developing countries; like Ghana. However, several abiotic and biotic factors cause considerable losses during its storage. Therefore, the work studied the effectiveness of hermetic triple layer biodegradable bags (HTLBB) and polypropylene interwoven bags (PIB) in reducing losses o...

While in the past, increased use of inputs and expansion of agricultural land accounted for a good part of agricultural growth in Africa, improvements in productivity will need to be a major driver of growth in the future. Thus, agricultural innovations are needed to sustainably increase productivity, i.e. output per unit of all inputs, while maint...

The low productivity of Africa agriculture has received considerable attention of researchers, policy makers and development agencies in recent past. The different problems confronting the growth and productivity of agriculture is rooted in the way agricultural research and development activities are conducted. The conventional linear method solely...

In order to facilitate a scientific assessment of the viability of the IAR4D concept, this paper analyzed the factors affecting adoption of agricultural technologies as well as determined the profitability of cereals and legumes in the Sudan savanna of Nigeria. Data were obtained from the baseline study conducted in 2008 as well as other official s...

he Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D) is FARA’s suggested approach as a response to the shortcomings of African Agricultural Research and Development (ARD) in terms of its failure to achieve impact beyond the localities in which it is conducted and the accumulation of so-called ‘improved technologies’ on research shelves ra...

he poor performance of traditional agricultural research for development (ARD) approaches is reflected in the low adoption rates of technologies, poor linkages among agricultural value chain actors and the pervasive unprofitability of farm enterprises in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). To enable agricultural research play a more effective role in catal...