There is an urgent need to increase agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa in a sustainable and economically-viable manner. Transforming risk-averse smallholders into business-oriented producers that invest in producing surplus food for sale provides a formidable challenge, both from a technological and socio-political perspective.
This book addresses the issue of agricultural intensification in the humid highland areas of Africa regions with relatively good agricultural potential, but where the scarce land resources are increasingly under pressure from the growing population and from climate change.
In addition to introductory and synthesis chapters, the book focuses on four themes: system components required for agricultural intensification; the integration of components at the system level; drivers for adoption of technologies towards intensification; and the dissemination of complex knowledge. It provides case studies of improved crop and soil management for staple crops such as cassava and bananas, as well as examples of how the livelihoods of rural people can be improved.
The book provides a valuable resource for researchers, development actors, students and policy makers in agricultural systems and economics and in international development. It highlights and addresses key challenges and opportunities that exist for sustainable agricultural intensification in the humid highlands of sub-Saharan Africa.
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ix | |
| Foreword |
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xvi | |
| List of abbreviations |
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xviii | |
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1 Agro-Ecological Intensification Of Farming Systems In The East And Central African Highlands |
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1 | (19) |
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2 Agricultural Intensification And The Food Security Challenge In Sub-Saharan Africa |
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20 | (16) |
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3 The Agro-Ecological Solution?! Food Security And Poverty Reduction In Sub-Saharan Africa, With An Emphasis On The East African Highlands |
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36 | (17) |
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| Part I Systems Components |
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53 | (62) |
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4 CIALCA Interventions For Productivity Increase Of Cropping System Components In The African Great Lakes Zone |
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55 | (15) |
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5 Exploring The Scope Of Fertilizer Use In The East African Region |
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70 | (7) |
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6 The 4R Nutrient Stewardship In The Context Of Smallholder Agriculture In Africa |
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77 | (8) |
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7 Mitigating The Impact Of Biotic Constraints To Build Resilient Banana Systems In Central And Eastern Africa |
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85 | (20) |
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8 Challenges For The Improvement Of Seed Systems For Vegetatively Propagated Crops In Eastern Africa |
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105 | (10) |
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| Part II System Integration |
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115 | (70) |
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9 CIALCA's Efforts On Integrating Farming System Components And Exploring Related Trade-Offs |
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117 | (15) |
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10 Towards Ecologically Intensive Smallholder Farming Systems: Design, Scales And Trade-Offs Evaluation |
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132 | (13) |
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11 Using The 'Livestock Ladder' As A Means For Poor Crop-livestock Farmers To Exit Poverty In Sud Kivu Province, Eastern DR Congo |
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145 | (11) |
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12 N2africa: Putting Nitrogen Fixation To Work For Smallholder Farmers In Africa |
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156 | (19) |
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13 Integrating Climate Change Adaptation And Mitigation In East African Coffee Ecosystems |
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175 | (10) |
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| Part III Drivers For Adoption |
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185 | (56) |
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14 Agricultural Technology Diffusion And Adoption In Banana- And Legume-Based Systems Of Central Africa |
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187 | (13) |
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15 Supply And Demand Drivers Of The Sustainable Intensification Of Farming Systems Through Grain Legumes In Central, Eastern And Southern Africa |
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200 | (10) |
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16 Assessing And Improving The Nutritional Diversity Of Cropping Systems |
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210 | (11) |
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17 Disseminating Agroforestry Innovations In Cameroon: Are Relay Organizations Effective? |
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221 | (10) |
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18 Participatory Re-Introduction Of Vicia Faba Beans In Resource-Poor Farming Systems: Adoption Of A Farmer-Led Initiative |
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231 | (10) |
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| Part IV Communicating And Disseminating Complex Knowledge |
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241 | (60) |
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19 Walking The Impact Pathway: CIALCA's Efforts To Mobilize Agricultural Knowledge For The African Great Lakes Region |
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243 | (11) |
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20 Scalability And Farmer Heterogeneity: Implications For Research On Sustainable Intensification |
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254 | (14) |
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21 Integrated Agricultural Research For Development (IAR4D): An Approach To Enhance The Livelihoods Of Smallholder Farmers In The Lake Kivu Region |
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268 | (13) |
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22 Communication Channels Used In Dissemination Of Soil Fertility Management Practices In The Central Highlands Of Kenya |
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281 | (11) |
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23 Targeting Farmers' Priorities For Effective Agricultural Intensification In The Humid Highlands Of Eastern Africa |
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292 | (9) |
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| Index |
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301 | |
Bernard Vanlauwe is the director for Central Africa and Natural Resource Management at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Piet van Asten is a systems agronomist at IITA-Uganda working on sustainable intensification of perennial-based cropping systems (coffee, banana, cocoa) in Africa's humid zones, based in Kampala, Uganda.
Guy Blomme is a Bioversity International scientist working on germplasm and integrated disease management for more resilient and productive banana-based cropping systems in east and central Africa, based in Kampala, Uganda.
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