Poverty is a rural dilemma and continues to be a persistent multidimensional problem. It is associated with poor farmers, small farm systems, the landless, resource endowments, the socioeconomic environment and externalities. Over 75% of the poor live and work in rural areas, trapped in a poverty...
Devendra, C.
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Chantalakhana, C.
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[Animals, poor people and food insecurity: Opportunities for improved livelihoods through efficient natural resource management]
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Animals, poor people and food insecurity: Opportunities for improved livelihoods through efficient natural resource management
This review paper discusses the relevance and potential importance of food-feed systems in Asian agricultural systems, and in particular the role and contribution of legumes to these systems. A food-feed system is one that maintains, if not increases, the yield of food crops, sustains soil fertil...
Extending livestock grazing to the steep slopes has led to unstable grazing systems in the East African Highlands, and new solutions and approaches are needed to ameliorate the current situation. This work was aimed at studying the effect of livestock grazing on plant attributes and hydrological ...
Taddese, G.
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Mohamed-Saleem, M.A.
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Astatke, A.
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Ayaleneh, W.
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[Effect of grazing on plant attributes and hydrological properties in the sloping lands of the East African highlands]
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Effect of grazing on plant attributes and hydrological properties in the sloping lands of the East African highlands
Assesses the effect (balance or imbalance) of the present relationships between the natural resource base and human activities; examines the role of some potentially destabilising forces, i.e, international markets, government programmes and socio-economic stratification; and reviews government's...
Arntzen, J.W.
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[Natural resources and rural agriculture: In balance or imbalance? The example of Botswana's rangelands]
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Natural resources and rural agriculture: In balance or imbalance? The example of Botswana's rangelands
To meet the challenges of poverty and environmental sustainability, a more integrated approach to research is required. Such an approach must embrace the complexity of systems and redirect research towards the greater inclusion of issues such as participatory approaches, multi-scale analysis and ...
Campbell, Bruce M.
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Sayer, Jeffrey A.
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[Integrated natural resource management: linking productivity, the environment and development]
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Integrated natural resource management: linking productivity, the environment and development
The types of technology change catalyzed by research interventions in integrated natural resource management (INRM) are likely to require much more social negotiation and adaptation than are changes related to plant breeding, the dominant discipline within the system of the Consultative Group on ...
Douthwaite, Boru
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Haan, Nicoline C. de
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Manyong, Victor M.
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Keatinge, J.D.H.
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[Blending "hard" and "soft" science: The "follow-the-technology" approach to catalyzing and evaluating technology change]
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Blending "hard" and "soft" science: The "follow-the-technology" approach to catalyzing and evaluating technology change
Assessing the impact of integrated natural resource management (INRM) research poses a challenge to scientists. The complexity of INRM interventions requires a more holistic approach to impact assessment, beyond the plot and farm levels and beyond traditional analysis of economic returns. Impact ...
Gottret, María Verónica
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White, D.
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[Assessing the impact of integrated natural resource management: Challenges and experiences]
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Assessing the impact of integrated natural resource management: Challenges and experiences
Three case studies show that natural resource management (NRM) research aimed at sustainably improving the well-being of African small-holder farmers is complex, and that monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is an essential tool in coping with this complexity, supported by an ‘innovation systems’ view...
Douthwaite, Boru
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Delve, Robert J.
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Ekboir, Javier M.
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Twomlow, Stephen
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[Contending with complexity: The role of evaluation in implementing sustainable natural resource management]
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Contending with complexity: The role of evaluation in implementing sustainable natural resource management
Agricultural research and development organizations are increasingly under pressure to shift from enhancing productivity of food crops to improving profitability and competitiveness of small-scale farming, and linking smallholder farmers to more profitable markets. What is not obvious however, is...
Sanginga, Pascal C.
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Best, R.
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Chitsike, C.
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Delve, Robert J.
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Kaaria, Susan K.
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Kirkby, Roger A.
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[Enabling rural innovation in Africa : An approach for integrating farmer participatory research and market orientation for building the assets of rural poor]
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Enabling rural innovation in Africa : An approach for integrating farmer participatory research and market orientation for building the assets of rural poor
Ecoregional research has the potential to help address some of the huge challenges facing agriculture in developing countries by developing technologies that work under different agro-ecological conditions, and the processes by which these technologies can be adapted to work in other areas with s...
Douthwaite, Boru
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Baker, Derek
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Weise, S.F.
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Gockowski, J.
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Manyong, Victor M.
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Keatinge, J.D.H.
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[Ecoregional research in Africa : Learning lessons from IITA´s benchmark area approach]
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Ecoregional research in Africa : Learning lessons from IITA´s benchmark area approach