Farming Systems and Food Security in Africa
Priorities for Science and Policy Under Global Change
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Book Description
Knowledge of Africa’s complex farming systems, set in their socio-economic and environmental context, is an essential ingredient to developing effective strategies for improving food and nutrition security.
This book systematically and comprehensively describes the characteristics, trends, drivers of change and strategic priorities for each of Africa’s fifteen farming systems and their main subsystems. It shows how a farming systems perspective can be used to identify pathways to household food security and poverty reduction, and how strategic interventions may need to differ from one farming system to another. In the analysis, emphasis is placed on understanding farming systems drivers of change, trends and strategic priorities for science and policy.
Illustrated with full-colour maps and photographs throughout, the volume provides a comprehensive and insightful analysis of Africa’s farming systems and pathways for the future to improve food and nutrition security. The book is an essential follow-up to the seminal work Farming Systems and Poverty by Dixon and colleagues for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Bank, published in 2001.
Table of Contents
Part I Introduction
1. Africa through the farming systems lens: context and approach
John Dixon, Dennis Garrity, Jean-Marc Boffa, Adama Coulibaly, Medhat El-Helepi, Chris Auricht and George Mburathi
2. Methods and data sources
Christopher M. Auricht, John Dixon, Jean-Marc Boffa, Harrij van Velthuizen and Günther Fischer
Part II Analysis of farming systems
3. Maize mixed farming system: an engine for rural growth and poverty reduction
Malcolm Blackie, John Dixon, Maxwell Mudhara, Joseph Rusike, Sieglinde Snapp and Mulugetta Mekuria
4. The agropastoral farming system: Achieving adaptation and harnessing opportunities under duress
Jean-Marc Boffa, John Sanders, Sibiri Jean-Baptiste Taonda, Pierre Hiernaux, Minamba Bagayoko, Shadreck Ncube and Justice Nyamangara
5. The highland perennial farming system: Sustainable intensification and the limits of farm size
J.K. Lynam
6. The Root and Tuber Crop Farming System: diversity, complexity and productivity potential
Samuel Adjei-Nsiah, Godwin Asumugha, Emmanuel Njukwe and Malachy Akoroda
7. The cereal-root crop mixed farming system: a potential bread basket transitioning to sustainable intensification
Amir Kassam, Eric Kueneman, Rosemary Lott, Theodor Friedrich, NeBambi Lutaladio, David Norman, Martin Bwalya, Anne-Sophie Poisot and Saidi Mkomwa
8. The highland mixed farming system of Africa: diversifying livelihoods in fragile ecosystems
Tilahun Amede and Mulugeta Lemenih
9. The tree crop farming system in the humid lowlands of Africa: stagnation, innovation and forest degradation
Jim Gockowski
10. The pastoral farming system: Balancing between tradition and transition
Jan de Leeuw, Philip Osano, Mohammed Said, Augustine Ayantunde, Sikhalazo Dube, Constance Neely, Anton Vrieling, Philip Thornton and Polly Ericksen
11. The fish-based farming system: maintaining ecosystem health and flexible livelihood portfolios
Olivier Hamerlynck, Wanja Dorothy Nyingi, Jean-Luc Paul and Stéphanie Duvail
12. The forest-based farming system: highly diverse, annual and perennial systems under threat
Stefan Hauser, Lindsey Norgrove, Eric Tollens, Christian Nolte, Valentina Robiglio, and James Gockowski
13. Large-scale irrigated farming system: The potential and challenges to improve food security, livelihoods and ecosystem management
Timothy Olalekan Williams, Jean-Marc Faurès, Regassa Namara and Katherine Snyder
14. The arid pastoral and oasis farming system: key centres for the development of trans-Saharan economies
Mahamadou Chaibou and Bernard Bonnet
15. Perennial mixed and island farming systems: exploiting synergies for maximum system productivity
M. Mudhara, J.P. Lombard, A.R. Palmer and J. Dixon
16. Urban and peri-urban farming systems: feeding cities and enhancing resilience
Diana Lee-Smith, Gordon Prain, Olufunke Cofie, René van Veenhuizen and Nancy Karanja
Part III Synthesis and conclusions
17. Farming and food systems potentials
John Dixon, Jean-Marc Boffa, Timothy Olalekan Williams, Jan de Leeuw, Günther Fischer and Harrij van Velthuizen
18. Ways forward: strategies for effective science, investments and policies for African farming and food systems
John Dixon, Dennis Garrity, George Mburathi, Jean-Marc Boffa, Tilahun Amede and Timothy O. Williams
19. Conclusions: implementation of the farming systems approach for African food security
Dennis Garrity, John Dixon and George Mburathi
Editor(s)
Biography
John Dixon is Principal Adviser Research & Program Manager, Cropping Systems and Economics, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Canberra, Australia.
Dennis Garrity is Senior Fellow at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), based in Nairobi, Kenya, UNCCD Drylands Ambassador, and Chair of the EverGreen Agriculture Partnership.
Jean-Marc Boffa is Director of Terra Sana Projects and Associate Fellow of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya.
Timothy Olalekan Williams is Regional Director for Africa at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), based in Accra, Ghana.
Tilahun Amede is Principal Scientist and Systems Agronomist at the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Nairobi, Kenya.
Christopher Auricht is Managing Director of Auricht Projects, a niche international consulting firm based in Adelaide, Australia.
Rosemary Lott is Director of Vegetation Connections Pty Ltd, and an Assistant Director, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Canberra, Australia.
George Mburathi is a former FAO Deputy Regional Representative for Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.