Pastoralists in northern Kenya live with a high level of risk, including climatic shocks, disease, and insecurity. This article considers the potential role of index-based livestock insurance (IBLI) as a mechanism which pastoralists can use to manage climate-related risk. How might it complement or compete with existing risk-management practices? Is the current institutional and policy environment favourable to developing this type of product? This study uses an innovation systems perspective to explore and answer some of these questions, and to consider the strategic role of research and development actors in the development process.

Pastoralists in northern Kenya live with a high level of risk, including climatic shocks, disease, and insecurity. This article considers the potential role of index-based livestock insurance (IBLI) as a mechanism which pastoralists can use to manage climate-related risk. How might it complement or compete with existing risk-management practices? Is the current institutional and policy environment favourable to developing this type of product? This study uses an innovation systems perspective to explore and answer some of these questions, and to consider the strategic role of research and development actors in the development process.

This article reports on a study that investigated the adoption of sustainable rice farming practices and its social and cultural impact on rural women in Myanmar through the use of semi-structured interviews. The findings show that adoption resulted in a great variety of changes, which have impacted on both a personal level and at a community level. Families use extra income to invest in farming, nutrition and in their children by enabling them to acquire formal education rather than assisting with farm work. Much time and finances are also spent on community activities, which appear to strengthen community bonds and contribute to improved infrastructure, such as roads.

One focus of agricultural development is climate smart agricultural technologies and practices (CSA). Development practitioners invest in scaling these to have wider impact. Ineffective targeting stymies CSA’s contribution to poverty reduction by excluding many of the poor and/or including those for whom agriculture is not a pathway out of poverty. This viewpoint proposes the need to recognise differentiated livelihood pathways within smallholder agriculture, linked to farmers’ differential capacity to engage in climate risk management. A farmer and livelihoods typology provides a framework to improved targeting of CSA and to identifying where alternative interventions, such as social protection, are more appropriate.

A focus of agricultural development is climate smart agricultural technologies and practices (CSA). Development practitioners invest in scaling these to have wider impact. Ineffective targeting stymies CSA’s contribution to poverty reduction by excluding many of the poor and/or including those for whom agriculture is not a pathway out of poverty. We propose the need to recognise differentiated livelihood pathways within smallholder agriculture, linked to farmers’ differential capacity to engage in climate risk management. A farmer and livelihoods typology provides a framework to improved targeting of CSA and to identifying where alternative interventions, such as social protection, are more appropriate.

PR | IFPRI3; CRP2; Capacity Strengthening; F Strengthening institutions and governance | DSGD; DGO; PIM | CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

Evidence-based policy-making has become a critical aspect of development strategy in developing countries. Yet the assumption that policymakers will automatically use available evidence may not be valid in all contexts. To influence positive policy change requires an understanding of the unique policy process and drivers of policy change in the context of a particular country and sector. Strengthening the capacity of key agricultural policy stakeholders can facilitate evidence-informed policy-making. This article documents an approach to strengthening the capacity of parliamentarians in Ghana. It attempts to measure to what extent such investments could lead to informed policy-making to promote poverty reduction. Lessons are drawn from a group of Ghanaian parliamentarians following an exposure and learning visit to India.

This article puts forward a method for the analysis of constraints faced by developing countries’ smallholder producers. It is consistent with theories of constraints, efficient in terms of cost and researchers’ time, and accessible to a non-technical audience. A hybrid of workshop discussion and individual data collection, it also draws on data and analyses available in most developing countries. The article presents an application to smallholder livestock systems in Tanzania and Uganda, reporting results and analysis relating constraints to households’ characteristics and conditions, and their stated goals. While limitations are identified, it is proposed for application in other development fields.

This article puts forward a method for the analysis of constraints faced by developing countries’ smallholder producers. It is consistent with theories of constraints, efficient in terms of cost and researchers’ time, and accessible to a non-technical audience. A hybrid of workshop discussion and individual data collection, it also draws on data and analyses available in most developing countries. The article presents an application to smallholder livestock systems in Tanzania and Uganda, reporting results and analysis relating constraints to households’ characteristics and conditions, and their stated goals. While limitations are identified, it is proposed for application in other development fields.

An integral part of the pig and pork value chain in Uganda is trader activity. This article reports on a study that quantifies the nature of these traders in Mukono district, a major pig and pork marketing site adjacent to Kampala, Uganda. Little guidance is available from the literature about the sampling of traders for this kind of research, and the second task addressed by this study is to test sampling mechanisms and report on their influence on the statistical results generated. Different sources of sampling frame provided different samples, with some limited overlap. The two samples exhibited distinctly different profiles of traders.

This study explores the intra-household impact of improved dual-purpose cowpea (IDPC) from a gender perspective, in terms of productivity and food, fodder, and income availability, the impact of which is linked to the income thus placed in the women’s hands. Surplus income is important in providing food and nutritional benefits to the home, particularly during periods of risk. More importantly, income generated through the adoption of improved cowpea varieties has entered a largely female domain, where transfers of income reserves were passed on between women of different ages, with significant impact in terms of social and economic development. However, the technology has strengthened the separation of working spheres between men and women. Future technologies should, from the outset, explore provisions existing within the local rubric, to focus on women with the aim of expanding their participation in agriculture with the associated benefits to their families.

This study explores the intra-household impact of improved dual-purpose cowpea (IDPC) from a gender perspective, in terms of productivity and food, fodder, and income availability, the impact of which is linked to the income thus placed in the women's hands. Surplus income is important in providing food and nutritional benefits to the home, particularly during periods of risk. More importantly, income generated through the adoption of improved cowpea varieties has entered a largely female domain, where transfers of income reserves were passed on between women of different ages, with significant impact in terms of social and economic development. However, the technology has strengthened the separation of working spheres between men and women. Future technologies should, from the outset, explore provisions existing within the local rubric, to focus on women with the aim of expanding their participation in agriculture with the associated benefits to their families.

In the transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture, smallholders in Lao PDR need to get better organised to match market demand in terms of product volume and quality. This paper investigates the conditions for the emergence of cooperatives from existing farmers' groups. Our study revealed the importance of social networks and power relations as a factor of cohesion within groups. Local leadership plays a crucial role in connecting group members to the village and district institutions. Recommendations are provided to improve group management rules as a pre-requisite to turn groups into farmers' cooperatives.

The article investigates the linkages between gender, development and utilisation of technological innovations in Ghana. The study adopted an exploratory design and used thematic content analysis for the qualitative data derived from in-depth interviews with rice scientists and farmers. The findings revealed that research institutions lack the requisite mandate, capacity and resources to mainstream gender issues in research activities. The findings also showed that the varietal preference of male rice farmers is marketability, whereas that of their female counterparts is early maturity, suggesting differences in gender needs and concerns. Broader investment in rice research for gender-inclusiveness and equity is recommended.