The importance of shea tree to the people of south-western Nigeria cannot be over emphasized considering both the economic and environmental uses of the tree. However, efforts have not been made to propagate its production by the farmers as the shea tree still grows in the wild state. It would be worthwhile to investigate farmers’ perception of shea nut tree as an economic tree and their attitu...

The effects of changes in cropping production technologies, systems and input and output markets on smallholders growing tree crops for export, and the consequences on pest management strategies, including augmentative and conservation biological control, are discussed in the context of pest and crop management research, technology development and farmer training. Evolving approaches in extensi...

— It is widely agreed that smallholder-led agricultural growth would contribute most to improved food security and reduced poverty. Yet, how to achieve broader and more sustainable access by smallholder farmers to productivity-enhancing inputs for food crop production remains a largely unsolved riddle. In light of the great institutional diversity across cotton sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, th...

Across the tropics, smallholder farmers already face numerous risks to agricultural production. Climate change is expected to disproportionately affect smallholder farmers and make their livelihoods even more precarious; however, there is limited information on their overall vulnerability and adaptation needs. We conducted surveys of 600 households in Madagascar to characterize the vulnerabilit...

The study evaluated the major constraints hampering the effective functioning of the Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) in Kogi State, Nigeria. Using the food crop farmers as a case study, a multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select three agricultural zone in Kogi State ( zone A, B, and C).Primary data were collected through the use of structure...

the importance of shea tree to the people of south-western nigeria cannot be over emphasized considering both the economic and environmental uses of the tree. however, efforts have not been made to propagate its production by the farmers as the shea tree still grows in the wild state. it would be worthwhile to investigate farmers’ perception of shea nut tree as an economic tree and their attitu...

BACKGROUND Sorghum is one of the main staple crops for the world's poorest and most food insecure people. As Ethiopia is the centre of origin and diversity for sorghum, the crop has been cultivated for thousands of years and hence the heritage of the crop is expected to be rich. Folksong based appraisal of bioecocultural heritage has not been done before. METHODS In order to assess the bioeco...

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) is a staple food crop grown by subsistence farmers in the semi-arid tropics of South Asia and Africa. It remains highly valued by traditional farmers as it is nutritious, drought tolerant, short duration, and requires low inputs. Its continued propagation may help vulnerable farmers mitigate climate change. Unfortunately, the land area cultivated wi...

BACKGROUND Livestock rearing is one of the oldest and most important types of smallholder farming worldwide. The sustainability of livestock production depends on the efficient utilization of locally available resources. Some traditional methods of raising livestock may offer valuable lessons in this regard. This study documented and evaluated local knowledge of wild forage plants in the Dulong...

This paper discusses the potential benefits from shade management in agroforestry systems for taro cropping. Trial work to evaluate weed growth, taro production, and cultivar responses to shade levels are reviewed. It is concluded that weed growth can be reduced in tree-shaded plots without reducing corm production. Higher crop biomass is obtained when taro is grown under fifty percent shade co...