Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in Africa
There is a recognized need for the participation of local communities in designing and implementing agricultural interventions for the sustainable intensification in smallholder systems. This study examines the perspectives of local community leaders towards the widely promoted, but not widely adopt...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2018-05-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2018.1472410 |
| _version_ | 1797681228604768256 |
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| author | Brendan Brown Ian Nuberg Rick Llewellyn |
| author_facet | Brendan Brown Ian Nuberg Rick Llewellyn |
| author_sort | Brendan Brown |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is a recognized need for the participation of local communities in designing and implementing agricultural interventions for the sustainable intensification in smallholder systems. This study examines the perspectives of local community leaders towards the widely promoted, but not widely adopted, practice of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in African smallholder systems. Perceptions from 47 community leaders (both from traditional local authorities and farmer organizations) across six African countries are documented regarding how CA matches the wants, needs and capabilities of farmers in their communities. While community leaders generally perceived CA as potentially beneficial, they also indicated that CA is not currently perceived as feasible within their communities and hence has limited relevance. Three key themes were identified that limit both CA use and sustainable intensification more generally: [1] a perceived reluctance of farmers to engage with the community platform as part of a higher input, market-oriented production system; [2] informational constraints due to non-functional exchange mechanisms; and [3] a lack of local adaptation of CA underscored by the persistence of top-down, linear research and extension approaches. Through greater understanding of local perspectives, a clearer picture emerges of the need for greater participatory engagement and local adaptation if sustainable intensification of African smallholder agricultural systems is to be achieved. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:41:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5bfd3295f7ef42f084c7e0f9ab230274 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1473-5903 1747-762X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:41:42Z |
| publishDate | 2018-05-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-5bfd3295f7ef42f084c7e0f9ab2302742023-09-19T15:22:20ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Agricultural Sustainability1473-59031747-762X2018-05-0116328629610.1080/14735903.2018.14724101472410Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in AfricaBrendan Brown0Ian Nuberg1Rick Llewellyn2The University of AdelaideThe University of AdelaideCSIRO Agriculture and FoodThere is a recognized need for the participation of local communities in designing and implementing agricultural interventions for the sustainable intensification in smallholder systems. This study examines the perspectives of local community leaders towards the widely promoted, but not widely adopted, practice of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in African smallholder systems. Perceptions from 47 community leaders (both from traditional local authorities and farmer organizations) across six African countries are documented regarding how CA matches the wants, needs and capabilities of farmers in their communities. While community leaders generally perceived CA as potentially beneficial, they also indicated that CA is not currently perceived as feasible within their communities and hence has limited relevance. Three key themes were identified that limit both CA use and sustainable intensification more generally: [1] a perceived reluctance of farmers to engage with the community platform as part of a higher input, market-oriented production system; [2] informational constraints due to non-functional exchange mechanisms; and [3] a lack of local adaptation of CA underscored by the persistence of top-down, linear research and extension approaches. Through greater understanding of local perspectives, a clearer picture emerges of the need for greater participatory engagement and local adaptation if sustainable intensification of African smallholder agricultural systems is to be achieved.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2018.1472410adoption gapqualitative assessmentafricaparticipatory developmentconservation agricultureagricultural extension |
| spellingShingle | Brendan Brown Ian Nuberg Rick Llewellyn Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in Africa International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability adoption gap qualitative assessment africa participatory development conservation agriculture agricultural extension |
| title | Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in Africa |
| title_full | Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in Africa |
| title_fullStr | Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in Africa |
| title_short | Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in Africa |
| title_sort | further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in africa |
| topic | adoption gap qualitative assessment africa participatory development conservation agriculture agricultural extension |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2018.1472410 |
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