Browsing by Author "Richards, P."
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Item Assessing production constraints, management and use of sorghum diversity in north-east Ghana: A diagnostic study(NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 2004-12) Kudadjie, C.Y.; Struik, P.C.; Richards, P.; Offel, S.K.This paper reports on the results of a diagnostic study conducted to assess the problems and needs of sorghum farmers in north-east Ghana with the aim of determining the type of research that would be useful for them in their own context. The importance of the crop and its position within the cropping system are identified. Sorghum is still an integral part of the livelihoods of farmers. The crop is very versatile and not only contributes to food security but also plays a part in the socio-culrural, socio-economic, and religious aspects of the lives of farmers. Farmers have different uses for the varieties they grow, which depends on the morphological, agronomic and gastronomic traits of the crop. Sorghum varieties introduced from the research institutions have several problems including lodging, poor grain quality, bird damage and precocious germination. Farmers have developed management strategies for dealing with some of these problems. Nevertheless, further work is required by breeders to make the varieties more acceptable to users. Sorghum production constraints identified include poor soils, erratic rainfall and pest infestation of the grain during storage. The diagnostic study suggests that because farmers produce their own seed, enhancing their ability to improve the quality of their seed would be of benefit to them. The study further underscores the importance and value of diversity for farmers. It also highlights their understanding of diversity, and management and use of variation in their agronomic practices. Areas identified for further research together with farmers aim at enhancing farmers' knowledge towards strengthening their practices in diversity management and improving seed storage practices.Item Convergence of sciences: the management of agricultural research for small-scale farmers in Benin and Ghana(NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 2005-09) Hounkonnou, D.; Kossou, D.K.; Kuyper, T.W.; Leeuwis, C.; Richards, P.; Roling, N.G.; Sakyi-Oawson, O.; Huis, A.V.The Convergence of Sciences programme (CoS) addresses the sub-optimal impact of science on the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers in West Africa, particularly in Benin and Ghana where it operates. CoS aims to develop insights into the pathways through which investment in science and technology can improve rural lives. To this end, CoS features participatory experimental and action research by eight PhD students, who each develop technologies and institutional arrangements with groups of farmers. The ninth PhD student carries out comparative 'research on agricultural research'. The current article deals with a higher aggregation level than the individual project: the management of the programme as a whole. How did CoS try to zero in on the small windows of opportunity West African farmers face? How did it manage the ensuing issues of trans-disciplinarity, and of interaction among students, (social and natural science) supervisors, and other key stakeholders? How does it face up to the issues that arise with respect to scaling up? One of the most interesting aspects of CoS is that it not only deals with technical innovation within the constraining institutional and policy framework conditions, but also experiments with incipient ideas about how to stretch them.Item Seed systems for African food security: linking molecular genetics and cultivator knowledge in West Africa(International Journal of Technology Management, 2009) Richards, P.; DeBruin, H.M.; Hughes, S.G.; Kudadjie-Freeman, C.; Offei, S.K.; Struik, P.C.A challenge for African countries is how to integrate new sources of knowledge on plant genetics with knowledge from farmer practice to help improve food security. This paper considers the knowledge content of farmer seed systems in the light of a distinction drawn in artificial intelligence research between supervised and unsupervised learning. Supervised learning applied to seed systems performance has a poor record in Africa. The paper discusses an alternative – unsupervised learning supported by functional genomic analysis. Recent work in West Africa on sorghum, African rice and white yam is described. Requirements for laboratory-based analytical support are outlined. A science-backed ‘farmer first’ approach – while feasible – will require a shift in policy and funding by major investors.Item Understanding variation in sorghum through with farmers experimentation(International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 5(2-3): 124-139, 2007) Kudadjie, C.Y.; Struik, P.C.; Richards, P.; Offei, S.K.; Atengdem, P.B.The need for an appropriate research strategy to build upon the knowledge of sorghum farmers in north-east Ghana in terms of diversity management and variety maintenance was identified in a previous diagnostic study. A joint experimental framework was established to encourage interaction between the knowledge systems of farmers and scientists. The paper focuses on outlining the process and outcome of the joint learning approach adopted. Researchers and farmers used scientific experimentation both to investigate inter-varietal, intra-varietal and random variation in sorghum. For better understanding and exchange of ideas, researchers sought to understand farmers' concepts of a variety and how they perceive diversity (i.e. researchers sought to enter into and interrogate the farmer knowledge system). Results provide evidence that farmers' management practices are shaped by local perceptions of diversity, and that systematic exploration of both scientific and local ideas, aimed at points of convergence might help farmers better to link their management practices to variation revealed through experimentation. It has been widely reported that African farmers are willing experimenters, but the present study offers specific evidence on the advantages of using a joint experimental approach to enhance farmers' capacity to understand complex phenomena associated with plant variation.Item Understanding variation in sorghum through with-farmer experimentation(International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2007-01) Kudadjie, C.Y.; Struik, P.C.; Richards, P.; Offei, S.K.; Atengdem, P.The need for an appropriate research strategy to build upon the knowledge of sorghum farmers in north-east Ghana in terms of diversity management and variety maintenance was identified in a previous diagnostic study. A joint experimental framework was established to encourage interaction between the knowledge systems of farmers and scientists. The paper focuses on outlining the process and outcome of the joint learning approach adopted. Researchers and farmers used scientific experimentation both to investigate inter-varietal, intra-varietal and random variation in sorghum. For better understanding and exchange of ideas, researchers sought to understand farmers' concepts of a variety and how they perceive diversity (i.e. researchers sought to enter into and interrogate the farmer knowledge system). Results provide evidence that farmers' management practices are shaped by local perceptions of diversity, and that systematic exploration of both scientific and local ideas, aimed at points of convergence might help farmers better to link their management practices to variation revealed through experimentation. It has been widely reported that African farmers are willing experimenters, but the present study offers specific evidence on the advantages of using a joint experimental approach to enhance farmers' capacity to understand complex phenomena associated with plant variation. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Unlocking the Potential of Contract Farming: Lessons from Ghana(The Gatekeeper Series, IIED 139 (3): 2-14, 2008) Kudadjie-Freeman, C.; DeBruin; Hockzona, M.; Hughes, S.G.; Richards, P.; Offei, S.K.; Struik, P.C.There has been many reviews and evaluation of contract farming and its usefulness for the small farmer in Africa. Some see contractual arrangements as disadvantageous to farmers, while others see them as beneficial- Despite these debates, contract farming is to likely to continue as a means of keeping small farmers involved in markets. It is therefore important to learn from past experiences in order to improve the working of the system as a whole. This paper analyses sorghum contract farming in north-east Ghana in order to explore ways of making such arrangements viable for small farmers. The analysis draws on the convergence of sciences approach, which sees both science and social relation interactions among the relevant stakeholders as important for developing small farmer-related agricultural innovations (technology, procedures, new forms of organization). The study reveals that the failure and problem encountered in this particular contracting scheme were both technical and institutional. The technical issues were a combination of pest problems, the environment and the sorghum variety chosen. The institutional issues involved the contractual arrangements and relations between the contracting parties. The authors argue that if contracts are to be fair, they must allow for compensation, contingencies and production risks. But scientific knowledge is required in order to adequately incorporate these elements. The authors suggest technological and institutional changes to improve contract farming. Science is needed to tackle specific technical problems likely to be faced by farmers, these should then become a basis for negotiating beneficial contract terms for all parties. They also suggest that while farmers could improve their negotiation power by forming organisations, governments should also strengthen the institutional and legal framework process for small farmers, who are often the weaker of the contracting parties.