Journal Articles

In this study the authors apply the conjectural variation approach to determine whether Ugandan rice traders exercise oligopsony power in the market for domestic rice. Using an econometric system of four equations, the null hypothesis of competitive behaviour is valid at different price elasticities of agricultural supply, ranging from inelastic to elastic supply. This implies that there is no evidence that rice traders apply oligopsony power when purchasing milled rice from farmers.

The aim of this study was to identify CSA practices in rice cropping systems and to determine the factors that determine farmers' adoption. Interviews were conducted with 440 rice farmers, 70% of whom were women, in 16 focus groups, nine of which were exclusively for women, in the Sikasso region of Mali. Data was collected through interviews, surveys and focus group discussions. The results showed that crop diversification, improved rice varieties, crop rotation, tree planting, micro-dosing and rice production, micro-dosing of organic manure and micro-dosing of mineral fertiliser were CSA practices that were widely adopted in the study area.

In this article, the authors inform us that a regional geopolitical conflict and sudden, massive supply disruptions have revealed the vulnerabilities of our global link between fuels, fertilisers and food. With soaring nitrogen (N) fertiliser prices threatening food security, differentiated responses are needed to maintain staple grain yields in over- and under-fertilised farming systems. In this article, they propose some solutions that could help resolve this situation.

This study addresses the issue of inorganic fertilizer use by assessing spatial variation in fertilizer use and its association with rice yield and yield gap in 24 SSA countries through a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed articles, theses and grey literature published between 1995 and 2021. The results showed a large variation in N, P and K fertiliser application rates and rice yield and an opportunity to reduce the yield gap by increasing N and P rates, particularly in irrigated rice systems.

In this study, the authors present an approach based on deep learning for instantaneous estimation of rice yield using red-green-blue images. A convolutional neural network applied to this data at harvest time predicted a 68% variation in yield with a relative root mean square error of 0.22. The model developed successfully detected genotypic differences and the impact of agronomic interventions on yield in the independent data set.

This study evaluates the new digital extension services approach to long-term adoption of digital extension technologies. Ten business profiles were tested with a sample size of 1440 farmers. Using the RiceAdvice as case study, the researchers used choice experiment and the alternative-specific mixed logit model to determine most preferred business profile and analyze its determinants. The study revealed an indirect approach to the long-term adoption of digital extension technologies as most suitable for small holder farmers ‘adoption.

This article shows how important it is for sub-Saharan Africa to have an accurate estimate of nutrient concentrations without resorting to laboratory analysis of plants, as farmers generally do not have access to laboratories. They show that quantifying nutrient concentrations in rice grains is essential for assessing nutrient uptake, utilization efficiency and balance for develop fertilizer recommendations. The results suggest that estimates of macronutrient and micronutrient intake in rice grain can be obtained simply by using regionally averaged concentrations of each nutrient for sub-Saharan Africa.

This article explains how improving the efficiency of applied fertilizer use increases farmers' return on fertilizer investment by reducing nutrient inputs and improving yields. The results showed that the supply of native nutrients in the absence of fertilization varied considerably from one farmer's field to another within the same irrigation system. Utilization efficiency of applied nutrients decreased with increasing native nutrient supply, indicating that a site-specific fertilizer recommendation is needed based on the levels of native nutrient supply in each farmer's field.

This study shows that identifying the biophysical factors that affect the performance of irrigated crops under semi-arid conditions is essential to the success of profitable and sustainable agriculture under variable climatic conditions.  The results indicate that improving the performance of irrigated rice in the Kou Valley irrigation system would require growing more rice at lower altitudes (e.g. < 300 m above sea level) and closer to the system's water intake, in conjunction with good management of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus through fertilization.

This study provides new insights into the co-occurrence of rhizosphere bacteria and archaea and the long-term impact of inorganic fertilization on these communities across developmental stages of field-grown rice. The long-term impact of inorganic fertilization on these communities across the developmental stages of field-grown rice could help to develop strategies to successfully manipulate microbial communities to improve rice yields

This study assesses the impact of the improved GEM parboiling system on the livelihoods of women rice parboilers and the factors affecting adoption of the GEM system, and estimates its impact on income, production rates and food security in Benin. In general, the results indicate that supporting and promoting the training of women parboilers in GEM and contact with extension agents is a means of increasing adoption and access to the technology and, consequently, improving their livelihoods.

This study examines the role of gender in income distribution among rice farmers in rural Ghana. The study used a two-stage BFG model, using primary data collected from rice farmers. The results show that gender, land ownership and childcare negatively influence women's use of inorganic fertilizer and also show that gender (women), childcare and location (where women have limited access to land) have a significant and inverse influence on inorganic fertilizer use.

This article aims to understand consumer preferences for rice quality attributes in Uganda and Kenya. The method consisted of collecting rice samples from retail markets in different districts/towns in the two countries and analyzing them in a grain quality laboratory to determine the physico-chemical characteristics of rice. The result is that Ugandan consumers are willing to pay a premium for rice with a relatively high proportion of intact grains, but ignore white grains.

This paper examines gender-specific rice trait preferences and their role in the adoption of improved rice varieties among male and female rice farmers in Ghana. Four hundred rice-farming households and 261 consumers were surveyed in 20 communities using a simple random sampling technique. The results show differences in preferences for cooking quality traits and postharvest traits among men and women farmers

This paper identifies some ways to effectively transfer complex and gender-biased technology information and knowledge (TIK) to both men and women by analyzing the diffusion of Smart-valleys technology in West-Africa. ANOVA and Fisher’s exact tests were applied to data collected from 1120 lowland rice farmers in West Africa. Results confirm the general gender inequality in TIK communication.

In this paper, authors evaluated farmers' local strategies for adapting to water scarcity in dry climatic zones of West Africa, as a necessary foundation for co-designing adaptive technologies that are more efficient than farmers' existing strategies.

In this article, authors developed a mid-season drainage technology to reduce iron toxicity and increase rice yield and water productivity and the suitable domains for its application. This is a significant contribution to increasing rice yield in iron-toxicity-affected rice fields in Africa, which cover 897,000 ha.

This paper contributes to the growing literature on empowerment by proposing a new survey-based, multi-domain empowerment measurement tool, the Individual Empowerment Index (IEI). Results from applying the IEI approach to data collected show that Female farmers have less control over their lives and are less empowered than male farmers. The new IEI is a suitable tool and is recommended for quantitative and rigorous impact assessment and monitoring of programs and projects empowerment indicators.

In this article, Genetic control of submergence tolerance was studied in an African landrace of moderately submergence tolerant rice 'TOS6454. A total of 57 lines carrying both qSUB2 and qSUB9 alleles were superior to all other lines in submergence tolerance.Pyramiding qSUB2 with the SUB1 gene locus is expected to further improve submergence tolerance in elite rice varieties.