How the market can convert agricultural commodities into career pipelines

Besides climate change and environmental degradation, a major challenge facing many African rural communities is migration of skills and talent to urban centres. There is no price for guessing who wins in the competition for talent between rural and urban communities. Building rural agricultural markets is one way of converting agricultural commodities and value chains Read more about How the market can convert agricultural commodities into career pipelines[…]

Moving decision making closer to points of impact and knowledge

In most developing countries, decisions that affect farmers and rural communities are often made by policy makers and development agencies who do not reside in those communities. However, digital technologies are revealing the benefits and possibilities of improving the quality of services by moving decision-making to where impact is felt. For instance, using mobile phones Read more about Moving decision making closer to points of impact and knowledge[…]

Why everyone should pay attention to knowledge life cycles

If you did not know that knowledge has a life cycle you are not alone.  However, that should not be a consolation. Effectively managing knowledge begins with realizing that knowledge has a life cycle. Just as each valuable commodity has a life cycle, knowledge has a life cycle especially in the current knowledge economy. To Read more about Why everyone should pay attention to knowledge life cycles[…]

How niche markets influence agricultural commodity prices

One of the most persistent myths in African agriculture is that commodity prices are set by traders, negatively referred to as ‘middlemen’. Paying lip service to understanding market dynamics has seen most interventions designed to get rid of ‘middlemen’ failing dismally. Working with agriculture markets for the past years has opened eMKambo’s eyes to the Read more about How niche markets influence agricultural commodity prices[…]

Translating common sense into agribusiness models

Knowledge generation and sharing has been happening in every community since time immemorial. However, there has not been enough recognition of the way knowledge is structured from individual knowledge to household knowledge to community knowledge and to inter-community knowledge sharing. The way most African communities engage with knowledge is different from academic learning where one Read more about Translating common sense into agribusiness models[…]

Increasing odds of success through characterizing value chain actors

A fine-grained view of agricultural opportunities in most developing countries can result from better  characterization of value chain actors such as farmers. In addition to revealing interdependencies between value chain actors, a nuanced understanding of African agriculture can foster dynamic resource allocation. However, accurate farmer characterization remains a pain in the Palahuru for financiers and Read more about Increasing odds of success through characterizing value chain actors[…]

eMKambo Masterclasses – First Session

As agricultural niches become congested and highly competitive, evidence-based decision making has never been so important. It is against these trends that eMKambo (www.emkambo.co.zw) will be conducting a series of master classes to answer the following questions: How can farmers and other value chain actors set prices for their commodities without passing through a complex Read more about eMKambo Masterclasses – First Session[…]

Learning from Invisible CoPs: The role of informal actors and relationships in African food systems

Background Climate change-induced food insecurity and global socio-economic instability compels us to continuously revisit   food demand and supply models, especially in developing countries. Conventional approaches like the notion of formal value chains are no longer enough to fully understand food systems. In many African countries, it seems invisible Communities of Practice (CoPs) such as informal Read more about Learning from Invisible CoPs: The role of informal actors and relationships in African food systems[…]

How the market can inform better farmer characterization

In a rapidly changing knowledge economy, it no longer makes sense to continue characterizing farmers in developing countries by the size of land on which they produce agricultural commodities. Informal agriculture markets provide various ways through which African farmers can be characterized beyond the smallholder, communal, commercial and other forms which are becoming inadequate. For Read more about How the market can inform better farmer characterization[…]

ANALYSIS:What has gone wrong with the groundnut market in Zimbabwe?

Groundnut has traditionally been a famous cash cow in Zimbabwe. Many Cabinet ministers, captains of industry, academics and bankers can testify to have gone to school because their parents were able to raise school fees through groundnut production and marketing. From those who knew him, the founder of Zimbabwe’s largest poultry company Irvine’s Day Old Read more about ANALYSIS:What has gone wrong with the groundnut market in Zimbabwe?[…]