In the past decade a political and economic crisis has unfolded in Zimbabwe, resulting in two-digit negative growth rates, sky-rocketing inflation, decline in the rule of law and a disintegration of markets, notably rural input, output and labour markets. There has been little or no primary data collection to document the effects of these crises on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. This p...

Worldwide there are between 10 and 11 million hectares of coconuts. With the marked fluctuations and long term decline in copra and coconut oil prices the integration of livestock and coconuts is economically increasingly attractive. Traditionally used for weed control in plantations so that coconuts could be located, cattle (and sheep and goats) are increasingly seen as important parts of the ...

| Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a major infectious disease among cattle, other farm animals, and human population. It results from infection ofMycobacterium bovis.A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1000clinically suspected bovine animals (435 cows and 565 buffaloes) of smallholder dairy farms in five towns i.e., Bin Qasim, Gaddap, New Karachi, Korangi and Super highway of Karachi, Pakistan...

The objective of this study was to determine the financial efficiency of health and pig management education intervention in reducing the incidence rate of porcine cysticercosis to smallholder pig farmers in Mbulu District, northern Tanzania. We used investment appraisal analytical method (a simple form of cost-benefit analysis) in an Excel spreadsheet model. Sensitivity analyses were also cond...

Traditional smallholder farming systems are characterized by low yields and high risks of crop failure and food insecurity. Through a biophysical model, PARCHED-THIRST and a socio-economic farming systems simulation model, OLYMPE, we evaluated the performance of farming practices based on maize yield, gross margin and total family balance over a 10-year period in semi-arid Olifants River Basin ...

In recent decades, significant international assistance has been provided to assist the establishment of market information systems (MISs) in a range of developing countries, including many in Africa. However, experience with state-run MISs, looking to provide current price information to market participants, has not been encouraging. Volatile horticultural markets provide particular challenges...

Land-use changes threaten biodiversity and ecosystem services. Some of the last remaining forest fragments in Ethiopia, and the world’s only habitats that retain genetically diverse wild Arabica coffee populations, have experienced rapid recent conversion to coffee farms, plantations and agricultural fields. We examined patterns of remnant woody plant diversity in the remaining forests, and ass...

The agricultural research and development institutions in most developing countries are poorly equipped to support the needs of millions of smallholder farmers that depend upon them. The research approaches taken by these systems explicitly or implicitly seek simple, one-size-fits-all solutions for problems and opportunities that are extremely diverse. Radical change is needed to facilitate the...

There is strong advocacy for agricultural machinery appropriate for smallholder farmers in South Asia. Such 'scale-appropriate' machinery can increase returns to land and labour, although the still substantial capital investment required can preclude smallholder ownership. Increasing machinery demand has resulted in relatively well-developed markets for rental services for tillage, irrigation, ...