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In an effort to inform strategic options to improve agricultural productivity, we examine the impact of social service expenditures on the marginal productivity of agricultural inputs. Increasing agricultural productivity is often advocated as a way to reduce poverty, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where many people still rely on agriculture as...
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Every state copes with the question of which level of government should bear responsibility for social services such as health care and education. Tanzania is no exception. The current government infrastructure of Tanzania is based on the principle of Decentralization by Devolution (DbyD) and can be seen as a reaction to previous structures based o...
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... Especially during the 2010s, countries across the region have invested heavily in primary education, especially Ethiopia, and enrolment rates in primary education in 2010 are similar across the region (World Bank 2015), although disparities across countries still remain for secondary education. Allen et al. (2012) demonstrated particularly high returns to district level education investments in both the Kilimanjaro and southern highlands regions in Tanzania. Moreover, where farm size is particularly constrained, as in central Kenya, Shreffler and Nii-Amoo Dodoo (2009) found that investing in children's education "is adopted as a substitute for land inheritance when land resources are scarce". ...
The potential for sustainable intensification of highland perennial farming systems in East Africa given the limitations of declining farm size.
... Especially during the 2010s, countries across the region have invested heavily in primary education, especially Ethiopia, and enrolment rates in primary education in 2010 are similar across the region (World Bank 2015), although disparities across countries still remain for secondary education. Allen et al. (2012) demonstrated particularly high returns to district level education investments in both the Kilimanjaro and southern highlands regions in Tanzania. Moreover, where farm size is particularly constrained, as in central Kenya, Shreffler and Nii-Amoo Dodoo (2009) found that investing in children's education "is adopted as a substitute for land inheritance when land resources are scarce". ...
Knowledge of Africa's complex farming systems, set in their socio-economic and environomental context, is an essential ingredient to developing effective strategies for improving food and nutrition security.
This book systematically and comprehensively describes the characteristics, trends, drivers of change and strategic prioritiesf or each of Africa's fifteen farming systems and their main subsystems. It shows how a farming systems perspective can be used to identify pathways to household food securiity and poverty reduction, and how strategic interventions may need to differ from one farming system to another. In the analysis, emphasis is placed on understanding farming systems drivers of change, trends and strategic priorities for science and policy.
Illustrated with full-colour maps and photographs throughout, the volume provides a comprehensive and insightful analysis of Africa's farming systems and pathways for the future to improve food and nutrition security. The book is an essential follow-up to the seminal work 'Farming Systems and Poverty' by Dixon and colleagues for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Bank, published in 2001.
... Especially during the 2010s, countries across the region have invested heavily in primary education, especially Ethiopia, and enrolment rates in primary education in 2010 are similar across the region (World Bank 2015), although disparities across countries still remain for secondary education. Allen et al. (2012) demonstrated particularly high returns to district level education investments in both the Kilimanjaro and southern highlands regions in Tanzania. Moreover, where farm size is particularly constrained, as in central Kenya, Shreffler and Nii-Amoo Dodoo (2009) found that investing in children's education "is adopted as a substitute for land inheritance when land resources are scarce". ...
This book applies a unique, structured, systems methodology for characterizing and grouping large populations of farm households with broadly similar livelihood, production and consumption patterns, and for whom similar development strategies would be appropriate.
As a result African households across the continent are grouped into 15 major farming systems and 58subsystems.
The farming systems analysis integrates an extensive range of spatial data, administrative statistics, assessment reports and expert knowledge, in order to update the 2001 FAO/World Bank farming systems analysis.
Pattern recognition is key to teasing out the diversity inherent to African agriculture and to understanding common livelihood patterns (derived from crops, trees, livestock, fish and off-farm income), constraints and opportunities which define each farming system.
The principle of central tendency is used to identify the core length of growing period and travel time to the nearest market town, which are two key indicators of access to agricultural resources and access to agricultural services, respectively, that shape livelihood patterns in each farming system.
The method allows farming system drivers, trends and strategic interventions to be identified for policymakers, investors and research planners, using a synthesis of UN statistics, assessment reports and expert knowledge.
National governments, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, have limited budgets and are forced to make difficult funding decisions regarding the provision of social services and the support of agricultural programs. These provisions can play a critical role in rural incomes and agricultural production but due to data constraints, the effects of different types of social services on agricultural productivity in this region have not been analyzed in detail. This research provides indication that certain types of social services can influence agricultural production efficiency using the currently available data and multiple empirical methods. Specifically, it estimates the role of social services in the efficiency of input use for agricultural production, using both Stochastic Frontier Analysis and a Structural Equation Model. Ultimately, our conclusions are substantially limited by data constraints, but provide some indication that certain types of social services can influence agricultural production efficiency for a select set of African countries
