| 1. |
- Daum, Thomas, 1990, et al.
(författare)
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Connected cows and cyber chickens? Stocktaking and case studies of digital livestock tools in Kenya and India
- 2022
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Ingår i: Agricultural Systems. - : Elsevier BV. - 0308-521X. ; 196
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- CONTEXT: There are high hopes that digital tools can reduce constraints to livestock development, which in turn promises to alleviate poverty, improve food and nutrition security, and reduce environmental footprints. Yet, little systematic evidence exists on the state of digital livestock in low- and middle-income-countries. Thus, it remains unclear whether such high hopes are justified. OBJECTIVE: Focusing on India and Kenya, we aim to better understand, among others, the degree of technological sophistication of the digital tools used, the types of value chains and constraints addressed, the types of business models pursued, and more broadly the opportunities and challenges of digital tools for agricultural development. METHOD: We combine a review of digital tools in India and Kenya with three “on-the-ground” case studies: Herdman, a tool for Indian dairy organizations working with small-scale livestock keepers, facilitating data collection and supervision of field agents; Farmtree, a tool supporting medium-scale livestock keepers in India to manage their herds, and iCow, an e-extension tool for farmers in Kenya. For the review, we develop a conceptual framework that distinguishes different types of tools: 1) “simple digital tools”, providing generic information, 2) “smart digital tools”, providing tailored information based on data entered by livestock keepers, 3) “smart digital tools”, using data from sensors, 4) “digital tools for value chains”, enabling the integration of value chain actors, 5) “automated digital systems”, which are coupled with robots, allowing for automation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Digital tools provide many new options to address constraints to livestock development. So far, most tools are “simple digital tools”, followed by “smart digital tools” using manual data and tools for value chains. Such tools that only require smartphone ownership are the “sweet spot” for supporting digital livestock development; however, even embodied “smart digital tools” using sensors can be of relevance for small-scale livestock keepers with appropriate organizational models. Most digital tools focus on dairy production, suggesting neglect of other types of livestock, and there are few tools for pastoralists. SIGNIFICANCE: The conceptual framework as well as many of the lessons learned are of relevance to understanding the contribution of digital tools to livestock development - and agricultural development more broadly - in low- and middle-income-countries. While digital tools are no silver bullets – and come with some new challenges such as data security and sovereignty concerns - they are likely to become a key pillar of agricultural and livestock development in the near future.
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| 2. |
- Daum, Thomas, 1990, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanization, digitalization, and rural youth - Stakeholder perceptions on three mega-topics for agricultural transformation in four African countries
- 2022
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Ingår i: Global Food Security. - : Elsevier BV. - 2211-9124. ; 32
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mechanization, digitalization, and rural youth engagement are central to African agricultural transformation. Each of these topics is associated with debates on opportunities, risks, and appropriate policy actions, which become visible in international research discourses and policy fora. In contrast, little is known about the viewpoints of national stakeholders. This paper explores the viewpoints of 195 respondents from different stakeholders categories in Benin, Kenya, Nigeria, and Mali. The results reveal hitherto neglected aspects, e.g., the role of animal traction, the continued appeal of state-led mechanization, and data sovereignty concerns. Gender, age, and education influence the viewpoints on some topics. Paying attention to local stakeholders can help to choose and design the most promising policies/programs and ensure their implementation on the ground.
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| 3. |
- Daum, Thomas, 1990, et al.
(författare)
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The forgotten agriculture-nutrition link: farm technologies and human energy requirements
- 2022
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Ingår i: Food Security. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1876-4517 .- 1876-4525. ; 14, s. 395-409
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the quest to reduce global under- and malnutrition, which are particularly high among smallholder farmers, agriculture-nutrition linkages are receiving increasing attention. Researchers have analyzed the link between the quantity and diversity of food that farmers produce and nutritional outcomes but paid limited attention to a third agriculture-nutrition link: the link between how food is produced and nutritional outcomes. This neglect persists despite the majority of smallholder farmers relying on hand tools for farming, which implies heavy physical work and, thus, high energy requirements. To address this research gap, this study compares the energy requirements of farm households in rural Zambia that are characterized by three different levels of mechanization: hand tools, animal drought power, and tractors. 1638 days of detailed time-use and nutrition data were collected from 186 male and female adults and boys and girls during different seasons (land preparation, weeding, and harvesting/processing) using an innovative picture-based smartphone app called “Timetracker”. This data served to calculate different proxies for physical activity and energy requirements using “Ainsworth’s Compendium of Physical Activities”. The results suggest that detailed time-use data offers great potentials to study physical activity and energy requirements. The findings show strong linkages between farm technologies, physical activity levels, and energy requirements, suggesting that this agriculture-nutrition link deserves more scientific and political attention to reduce under- and malnutrition among smallholder farmers.
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| 4. |
- Namyenya, Angella, et al.
(författare)
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E-diary: a digital tool for strengthening accountability in agricultural extension
- 2022
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Ingår i: Information Technology for Development. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0268-1102 .- 1554-0170. ; 28:2, s. 319-345
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study aimed to assess the potential of smartphone applications for strengthening accountability in public agricultural extension services. Therefore, a smartphone application called ‘e-diary’ was developed and tested in Uganda. A Design Science Research approach was used for the development and assessment of the e-diary. Individual face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions were used for data collection. Data analysis was conducted using the content analysis method. The findings indicate that smartphone applications have the potential to strengthen accountability in the public agricultural extension services by enabling remote supervision in real-time, which reduces the costs and time of supervision. However, the study also indicates that the successful implementation of such tools requires incentives such as awards of recognition. These findings contribute to the understanding of the potential role of ICTs in strengthening the management of public services (such as agricultural extension) in developing economies.
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| 5. |
- Omulo, Godfrey, et al.
(författare)
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Are emerging farmers the missing link for mechanised Conservation agriculture? Viewpoints from Zambia
- 2022
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Ingår i: Development in Practice. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0961-4524 .- 1364-9213. ; 32:3, s. 411-417
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Conservation agriculture’s (CA) potential to improve resilience to climate change, environmental degradation, and food insecurity across Africa is hampered by critical challenges, especially high labour requirements without mechanisation. Yet, whether medium-scale farmers owning 5–100 hectares of farmland and tractors can be the antidote for CA upscaling remains unclear. Based on insights from Zambia, the authors argue that medium-scale farmers can contribute to CA upscaling since they cultivate large farms and rent tractors to smallholder farmers. Harnessing the synergies between CA, mechanisation, and medium-scale farmers requires research on how they perceive CA, the enabling environment for mechanised CA, and appropriate policies.
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| 6. |
- Omulo, Godfrey, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of mechanized conservation agriculture and conventional tillage in Zambia: A short-term agronomic and economic analysis
- 2022
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Ingår i: Soil and Tillage Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-1987. ; 221
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The rise of medium-scale farmers across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is offering Conservation agriculture (CA) a new perspective. Such farmers not only cultivate increasingly large land areas but also provide machinery services, share knowledge, and can act as role models to smallholders. Although mechanization may incentivize CA adoption in SSA, little research has focused on the performance of mechanized CA using four-wheel tractors (4WTs). This study explores the short-term agronomic and economic differences between mechanized conventional tillage and mechanized CA. An on-farm experiment was set up in a randomized complete block design in Zambia to compare 1) disc harrowing (DH) plus residue burning, 2) ripping tillage (RT), and 3) direct seeding (DS) plus soil cover. The experiment focused on maize and soyabean and covered two years, of which the first was more “dry” and the second more “wet”. All treatments were replicated four times and crops were rotated in the subsequent season. All operations were performed using a 60 hp 4WT. For both maize and soyabeans, DS and RT treatments resulted in higher grain yields during the dry season than DH. However, in the wet season, DH and RT resulted in significantly higher yields than DS for maize, but not for soyabeans. RT and DS plots showed higher plant densities in maize and soyabeans at germination and maturity than DH plots. RT plots produced significantly higher maize vegetative biomass (5928 kg ha−1) in the dry season while in the wet season DS recorded significantly higher biomass yields (7886 kg ha−1). The cumulative time for all agronomic operations except harvesting for both maize and soyabean was significantly lower in DS while DH and RT treatments recorded no significant differences. Fuel-saving was significantly higher in DS and RT than in DH plots for the two crops. Maize gross margin was highest in DS plots (US$790 ha-1) in the dry season compared to US$746 ha-1 for DH and US$768ha-1 for RT. In the wet season, DH plots had the highest gross margins for maize (US$685 ha-1) as compared to US$576 ha-1 for DS and US$581 ha-1 for RT. Regarding soyabeans, DS treatments had the highest gross margins in both seasons, US$537 ha-1 and US$392 ha-1, respectively. The results of this short-term study demonstrate the potential of mechanized CA among small and medium-scale farmers in SSA.
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