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.

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.

This edited volume “Food Security in Africa” is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of food safety and availability, water issues, farming and nutrition. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by an expert active in the public health and food security research area. All chapters are complete in itself but united under a common research study topic. This publication aims at providing a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on Africa’s food security challenges, quality of water, small-scale farming as well as economic and social challenges that this continent is facing. Hopefully, this volume will open new possible research paths for further novel developments.

Authored by an experienced agriculturalist with substantial field experience in developing countries, this book adds to the literature on food security by proposing practical measures for improving plant-based food security in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Covering issues affecting food security, this book discusses ways of measuring farmers' resources, strategies for action, and an analysis of the challenges and problems faced, concluding with a discussion of ways in which stakeholders could work better together. This title is suitable for policy makers, international development agencies, NGO.

First Published in 1989. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.

This publication reviews issues related to land degradation, with focus on problems of soil fertility management in sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights some successful experiences in the region, constraints and possible solutions specific to the major agro-ecological zones and the importance of the holistic and participatory approaches for soil productivity improvement. The need for action and collaborative efforts of all stakeholders, within the framework of ongoing initiatives, are emphasized. It is hoped that this document will contribute to increase awareness of senior specialists and policy-makers about the problems and alternative solutions towards enhanced and sustained soil productivity.

Food security is defined as the ability of countries, regions, or households to meet their required levels of food consumption at all times. Food security is an important component of human welfare, and it can act as an indicator of a region's development. This book addresses the roles of trade, policy development, and economic cooperation in creating sustainable food security in the West African region. The largely micro-level analysis is conducted on empirical data from the household where decisions on production and consumption take place. Food security is discussed in terms of its component parts, namely: availability of food (production and trade), its accessibility (incomes and poverty status), and its utilisation (health and nutrition).

This book presents contemporary case studies of land use, management practices, and innovation in Africa with a view to exploring how multifunctional land uses can alleviate food insecurity and poverty. Food security and livelihoods in Africa face multiple challenges in the form of feeding a growing population on declining land areas under the impacts of climate change. The overall question is what kind of farming systems can provide resilient livelihoods? This volume presents a selection of existing farming systems that demonstrate how more efficient use of land and natural resources, labour and other inputs can have positive effects on household food security and livelihoods. It examines how aquaculture, integrated water management, peri-urban farming systems, climate-smart agriculture practices and parkland agroforestry contribute multiple benefits. Drawing on case studies from Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Burkina Faso, contributed by young African scientists, this book provides a unique perspective on multifunctional land use in Africa and illustrates how non-conventional uses can be profitable while promoting social and environmental sustainability. Tapping into the global discussion on land scarcity and linking food security to existing land use change processes, this volume will stimulate readers looking for diversified land uses that are compatible with both household and national food security ambitions. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of African development, agriculture, food security, land use and environmental management, as well as sustainable development more generally, in addition to policymakers and practitioners working in these areas.