This study uses a multi-case dataset to question current assumptions about the gender differentiation of forest product use. We test some of the commonly held ideas on how men and women access, manage, and use different forest products. Overall, we found significant gender differentiation in the collection of forest products, which seems to support the claim that there are distinctive “male” and “female” roles associated with the collection of forest products. However, we also found that men play a much more important and diverse role in the contribution of forest products to rural livelihoods than previously reported, with strong differences across tropical Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Tag: income
Using Value Chain Innovation Platforms to improve the quality of coffee in Mt. Elgon region of Uganda
Son tra marketing strategy
Fruiting patterns of macrofungi in tropical and temperate land use types in Yunnan Province, China
Integrated natural resource management as pathway to poverty reduction: Innovating practices, institutions and policies
Poverty has many faces and poverty reduction many pathways in different contexts. Lack of food and income interact with lack of access to water, energy, protection from floods, voice, rights and recognition. Among the pathways by which agricultural research can increase rural prosperity, integrated natural resource management deals with a complex nexus of issues, with tradeoffs among issues that are in various stages of denial, recognition, analysis, innovation, scenario synthesis and creation of platforms for (policy) change. Rather than on a portfolio of externally developed ‘solutions’ ready for adoption and use, the concept of sustainable development may primarily hinge on the strengths and weaknesses of local communities to observe, analyse, innovate, connect, organize collective action and become part of wider coalitions. ‘Boundary work’ supporting such efforts can help resolve issues in a polycentric governance context, especially where incomplete understanding and knowledge prevent potential win-win alternatives to current lose-lose conflicts to emerge. Integrated research-development approaches deal with context (‘theory of place’) and options (‘theory of change’) in multiple ways that vary from selecting sites for studying pre-defined issues to starting from whatever issue deserves prominence in a given location of interest. A knowledge-to-action linkage typology recognizes three situations of increasing complexity. In Type I more knowledge can directly lead to action by a single decision maker; in Type II more knowledge can inform tradeoff decisions, while in Type III negotiation support of multiple knowledge + multiple decision maker settings deals with a higher level of complexity. Current impact quantification can deal with the first, is challenged in the second and inadequate in the third case, dealing with complex social-ecological systems. Impact-oriented funding may focus on Type I and miss the opportunities for the larger ultimate impact of Type II and III involvements.
Remote Sensing and Climate Data for Targeting Landscape Restoration in Africa
Tackling land degradation and restoring degraded landscapes require information on areas of priority intervention, since it is not economi-cally and technically possible to manage all areas affected. Recent developments in data availability and improved computational power have enhanced our understanding of the major regional drivers of land degradation and possible remedial measures at different scales. In this study, we have used land degradation hotspots, which were identified using satellite and climate data covering the period of 1982–2003 (Vlek et al. 2010). We then simulated the potentials of different management measures in tackling land degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Scenario analysis results show that about 14 million people can benefit from the application of sustainable land management (e.g., integrated soil fertility management, conservation agriculture, and soil and water conservation) techniques targeted to improve the productivity of croplands. Fallowing degraded areas and allowing them to recover (e.g., through exclosures and agroforestry) could improve land productivity. However, this intervention requires appropriate and improved methods that can accommodate the needs of about 8.7 million people who utilize those “marginal” areas for crop production or livestock grazing. This chapter presents the benefits of utilizing long-term satellite data to analyze the potentials of targeted land management and restoration measures for improv-ing land productivity in SSA. This approach and framework can also be used to design suitable land-use planning for the restoration of degraded areas and to perform detailed cost-benefit and trade-off analysis of various interventions.
Tree Seed and Seedling Supply and Distribution System in Uganda
In Uganda, the tree seed sector is largely centralized, limiting access by farmers to high quality seedlings due to distant supply locations. This has left suppy of most of the tree germplasm to the informal sector, characterized by road-side tree nurseries and seed dealers who have limited knowledge on seed sourcing and collection and seedling production. Through semi-structured and key informant interviews, a sample survey involving 73 smallholder tree seed collectors, processors and tree nursery operators, this study investigates the role of government, smallholder tree seed collectors, processors and suppliers, nursery operators and the private sector in Uganda’s tree seed and seedling production and supply system. The study also identifies constraints in the seed and seedlings distribution system in Uganda and suggests key policy and institutional reforms. The source of tree germplasm is found to be heavily influenced by ease of access. About 60%) of the germplasm is purchased by individual farmers for their own planting. Low quality seed, limited seed sources and overgrown seedlings remain key deficiencies in the tree seed sector. Potential business opportunities in the tree seed and seedling production and supply value chain are identified, including production and sale of high quality germplasm. These will enhance availability of tree germplasm of high quality to meet the growing need for afforestation and reforestation in Uganda.
The fruits of success: a programme to domesticate West and Central Africa’s wild fruit trees is raising incomes, improving health and stimulating the rural economy
There are around 3000 species of wild fruit tree in Africa, representing an enormously important, and largely untapped, natural resource. For proof of the difference that these fruits can make to the health and welfare of rural communities, you need look no further than the participatory tree domestication programme managed by the World Agroforestry Centre in West and Central Africa. This booklet describes the remarkable progress made by the programme in Cameroon, where farmers and scientists have worked together to develop and domesticate superior varieties of African plum, bush mango, kola nut and several other species. Instead of having to search for the fruits and nuts of these trees in the wild, as their forebears did, farmers are now planting them on their land. Thanks to the domestication programme, farmers can now pay school fees for their children, something many could not afford in the past. They also have a much healthier diet, and sufficient income to improve their homes and buy mobile phones and other consumer goods. In short, the domestication programme has helped thousands of families to lift themselves out of poverty.
Banana Market Chain Improvement – Enhance Farmers’ Market Linkages in West Java, Indonesia
Farmers in Nanggung subdistrict live on or below the poverty line with access to less than 1 hectare of land, consisting of irrigated rice fields (0.3 ha) and upland tree gardens (0.5 ha). Traditionally, tree gardens products are intended for household consumption with some sales in local markets. Management is not intensive, the use agricultural inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, quality germplasm) is infrequent, and labor is focused on harvesting. Proximity to Jakarta and its infrastructure offer Nanggung farmers opportunity to target production to meet rising demand for fruit and vegetable products in lucrative urban and international markets. Fruit and vegetable products with a high demand include: banana, durian, mangosteen, rambutan, petai, jackfruit, chili peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn, peanuts, green beans and chickpeas. Banana holds particularly high potential, being the most common and profitable tree garden crop in Nanggung. Market demand far exceeds supply. Under Nanggung conditions bananas will produce fruit 12 months after establishment and then every 4-6 months thereafter. However, the quality of garden products is inconsistent and often inferior. Farmers have limited market knowledge and linkages. Farmers are interested in intensifying their tree farming activities, but hesitate because they are not sure where to focus their efforts. We report here ongoing work to assist Nanggung farmers improve their tree garden management to enhance both the quantity and quality of the products and strengthen their ability to respond to market opportunities. Banana is used as an example of how to achieve success.
Bamboo species -‘filter’ species to mitigate pollution and improve income for smallholder farmers?
Bamboo species (Gramineae bambuseae bambusoideae) provide important income and household consumption to low-income rural residents. According to a local knowledge study in Hoa Binh province, Vietnam, bamboo maintains fertility and productivity of the land because of surface litter accumulation, minimized leaching and long-term primary productivity. A study in Kenya shows that bamboo absorbs water faster than most other plants and is used to clean sewage water in some parts of the world. Bamboo may also be one strategic option of waste prevention and recycling. The uncontrolled dumping of large amounts of urban organic solid wastes in Vietnam causes pollution and ground water contamination. One of strategies since 1980s in dealing with this problem in northern Vietnam is composting solid waste to produce organic fertilisers (OF). However, farmers are skeptical to these OF and risk of the high concentrations of heavy metals is reported in literature. Our assumption is that Bamboo may function as an efficient ‘filter’, which takes up plant nutrients as well as trace (heavy) metals from the OF, and thereby mitigates the risk of environment al pollution. Significant nutrient inputs to the soil, obtained by applying OF together with a better land management, are expected to promote farm production of significant quantities of high quality bamboo products. This is an innovation for upland-lowland interaction for sustainable livelihood and environment protection.