Agriculture Commons^™

Market Development In Support Of Sorghum And Millet Farmers In Tanzania And Zambia, J. Mark Erbaugh, Emmanuel R. Mbiha, Fredy T.M. Kilima, Precious Hamukwala, Gelson Tembo, Donald W. Larson

INTSORMIL Presentations

Problem: Sorghum and millet productivity, production and consumption have been stagnant or declining for 20 years.

Challenge: How to increase the productivity and incomes of sorghum and millet farmers to improve food security and accelerate economic growth.

Solution: Better technology and linking producers to markets are important parts of the solution to the problem.

Objectives

Examine the effects of new production and marketing technology on sorghum and millet producers’ income and productivity in Tanzania and Zambia.

Identify better technologies, enhance market linkages between producers and buyers, improve quality and diversify utilization to ensure food security and increase farm income.

Conclusions: …

Eagle Lager: A Sorghum Success Story On Many Levels, Ian Mackintosh

INTSORMIL Presentations

In 1999 in Uganda we were faced with a static but highly competitive market.

Needed to grow our market and to do this we needed to make beer cheaper

It was felt that a suitable local ingredient would reduce the cost of manufacture and stimulate local agriculture and the economy as well as provide opportunities for growth and profit for the company.

An extensive base line study of the Ugandan agricultural sector was undertaken to determine what was “out there.”

It was clear that there was enormous potential but little else.

Sorghum seemed the logical starting point because there was …

Virtues Of Sorghum: Utilization And Supply Chain Management, Lloyd W. Rooney

INTSORMIL Presentations

Discusses the consumer demands, value-added supply chain, strategy for value-added products, functionality of sorghums and millets, sorghum food use in Central America, plant breeding and improvement of grain quality, sorghum image, special sorghums as a particularly healthy food item, food utilization, improving sorghum quality, effect of molds, insects, and weathering on grain quality, and mycotoxins.

Reflections On The Sua-Intsormil Project (2005-2011), Sokoine University Of Agriculture, Joseph J. Mpagalile, Wenceslaus R. Ballegu

INTSORMIL Presentations

Discusses the Sokoine University of Agriculture-INTSORMIL Project that ran from 2005 to 2011. Covers training, research strategy, and stakeholders, and includes recommendations for future projects.

Food Entrepreneurship Curricula, Joseph J. Mpagalile, Wenceslaus R. Ballegu, Jeremia Makindara

INTSORMIL Presentations

SUA Food Entrepreneurship Program Mission Statement: To educate and assist entrepreneurs in developing their sorghum based food manufacturing business. Covers ideas generation, market research, business development, regulations, food safety, brand development, sales and distribution, and with a focus on product development.

Developing Entrepreneurship, The Tanzania Experience: Sua-Intsormil Project, Joseph J. Mpagalile, Wenceslaus R. Ballegu

INTSORMIL Presentations

Project Title: Building a Sustainable Infrastructure for Product Development and Food Entrepreneur/Industry Technical Support: A Strategy to Promote Increased Use of Sorghum and Millet in East Africa.

Long Term Program Objectives: Development of successful entrepreneurial businesses that add-value to sorghum and millet such that:

~Farmers have an established outlet for cash sales of high-quality sorghum and millet

~Small businesses or cooperatives develop processing capabilities enabling the incorporation of sorghum and millet into a wide variety of food products

~Markets and market channels for sorghum and millet-based products develop.

Further develop research, extension and marketing expertise of National Agricultural Research Institutes …

Economic Analysis Of Small Scale Sorghum Processing In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Jeremia Makindara, Joseph J. Mpagalile, Wenceslaus Ballegu

INTSORMIL Presentations

Due to small scale food processing initiatives, several entrepreneurs dealing in small scale sorghum processing have emerged in Tanzania and especially in urban centers such as Dar es Salaam. The recent initiative that has contributed to this is the SUA-INTSORMIL Project that started in 2005. However, despite such initiatives being received by many entrepreneurs, very few economic studies have been conducted to assess the benefits obtained by sorghum processing entrepreneurs and the challenges they face are not well explained. This study therefore assessed costs and benefits obtained by small scale sorghum processing entrepreneurs in Dar es Salaam and the challenges …

Sorghum Millet And Other Grains Crsp, Leader With Associates Cooperative Agreement No. Eep-A-00-06-00160: The New Program, John Yohe

INTSORMIL Presentations

INTSORMIL was created in 1979 by USAID and BIFAD as a long-term mechanism for agriculture development. It is meant to utilize capacity of U.S. land grant universities increase research capacity Increase food production. INTSORMIL was replaced in 2006 by the SMOG, Sorghum, Millet and Other Grains CRSP. The focus of these programs in Africa has been on sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, tef, and fonio. The programs have facilitated investigation of soil and water (environmental considerations), integrated pest management, nutrition and health, broadening market access, mitigating post-harvest constraints, enhancing productivity and livelihood in marginal areas, increasing income, improving food quality, …

Sorghum And Pearl Millet Seed Value Chains In Zambia: Opportunities And Challenges For Smallholder Farmers, Priscilla Hamukwala

INTSORMIL Presentations

Sorghum and pearl millet rank second and third, respectively, as important staple cereals after maize.

-There are new market developments in the beer industry requiring farmers to increase productivity and production

-These markets can significantly affect access to improved seed, and thus increase decisions on utilization

-Even though market developments indicate great potential for the two crops, their supply has remained erratic

-There was need therefore to identify the constraining factors to steady supply of sorghum & millet grain through conducting a seed value chain

-Little is known about the existing seed acquisition channels, extent of utilization, how they function …

Zamace: Zambia Agricultural Commodities Exchange, Brian Tembo

INTSORMIL Presentations

Discusses what ZAMACE is, the services it offers including commodities trading, ZAMACE and the smallholder farmer, partnerships, and challenges including dispute resolution.

Economic Contribution Of The Agricultural Sector To The Arkansas Economy In 2008, Jennie Popp, Nathan Kemper, Wayne Miller, Katherine Mcgraw, Kyle Karr

Research Reports and Research Bulletins

This report is the fifth in a series of reports examining agriculture’s economic contribution to the Arkansas economy. Utilizing data from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), USDA Economics Research Service (ERS), USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc. (MIG), the economic contribution of agriculture on the Arkansas economy was estimated for the most recent year available, 2008. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by State information for Arkansas was compared with those of other states in the southeast U.S. to give a measure of the relative importance of agriculture in Arkansas.2 The total economic contribution …

Sorghum And Pearl Millet Improved Seed Value Chains In Zambia: Challenges And Opportunities For Smallholder Farmers, Priscilla Hamukwala, Gelson Tembo, Don Larson, Mark Erbaugh

INTSORMIL Scientific Publications

Sorghum and millet are a very important source of food and farm income for smallholder farmers, which can be enhanced especially if linked to new markets. These two crops have been widely viewed as minor traditional crops in the Zambian food systems. The two crops were displaced by maize in the 1900s with the opening of the copper mines. However, they remain important food crops for semi-arid areas of the country. In recent years, there have also been new market developments requiring farmers to increase productivity and production. Unfortunately significant productivity enhancements are impeded by low access to improved technologies …

Grain Sorghum Opportunities For The Future, Stephen C. Mason

INTSORMIL Presentations

Contains statistics about sorghum growing in the United States and world wide, with a focus on Nebraska.

Grain sorghum is an important crop worldwide, but has become a minor crop in Nebraska

Largely replaced by maize and soybean as major commodity crops

Small investment in research in both private and public sectors

Yield has increased more slowly for grain sorghum than for other crops

Modern maize hybrids and soybean varieties have increased stress tolerance, thus reducing this advantage of grain sorghum

Management is easier for corn and soybean than for sorghum – particularly weed control

Grain sorghum has lower cost …

Agricultural Situation And Outlook Fall 2010, Sara Williamson, Kenneth H. Burdine

Agricultural Situation and Outlook

No abstract provided.

Beef, Dairy, Equine, Poultry, Hogs, Sheep, And Goats, Kenneth H. Burdine, A. Lee Meyer

Agricultural Economics Presentations

No abstract provided.

Factors Impacting Burley Outlook, Department Of Agricultural Economics, University Of Kentucky

Agricultural Economics Presentations

No abstract provided.

Horticulture, Timothy A. Woods

Agricultural Economics Presentations

No abstract provided.

Restaurant Sales: Grocery, Wholesale & Foodservice Sales, Timothy A. Woods, Miranda Hileman

Agricultural Economics Presentations

No abstract provided.

Economic Outlook 2011: U.S. Economy And Agriculture, Craig Infanger

Agricultural Economics Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Kentucky Food Consumer, Timothy A. Woods

Agricultural Economics Presentations

No abstract provided.

Foodshed Foundations: Law's Role In Shaping Our Food System's Future, Margaret Sova Mccabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

[. . .] This symposium Article analyzes how we can rethink the architecture of law based on a foodshed model to provide a greater role for local, state, and regional government in the American food system. In turn, greater roles for different levels of government may help America achieve greater efficiencies in domestic food safety, nutrition and related public health issues, sustainability, and international trade.

Americans need a greater voice in the food system. The foodshed model is a powerful vehicle that allows us to conceptualize change, allowing greater citizen participation and a more nuanced approach to food policy. The …

Are Biotechnology And Sustainable Agriculture Compatible?, David E. Ervin, Leland L. Glenna, Raymond Adelard Jussaume

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Agricultural biotechnology has been largely opposed by advocates in the sustainable agriculture movement, despite claims by the technology’s proponents that it holds the promise to deliver both production (economic) and environmental benefits, two legs of the sustainability stool. We argue in this paper that participants in this polarized debate are talking past each other because assumptions about biotechnology and sustainability remain simplistic and poorly defined. Genetically engineered (GE) herbicide-resistant and insect-resistant crop varieties are the most visible current forms of agricultural biotechnology, and thus the form of biotechnology that many in the sustainability movement react to. However, these crops represent …

The Economic Importance Of Draught Oxen On Small Farms In Namibia's Eastern Caprivi Region, Andrew B. Conroy, Mogos Yakob Teweldmehidin

Natural Resources & the Environment

The main aim of this study was to analyse and document the value of smallholder farmers’ use of Draught Animal Power (DAP) systems in the Eastern Caprivi Region and to test the economic viability of DAP usage versus using tractors. This study applied Rapid Rural Appraisal techniques (RRA), including a survey. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 312 farmers at their farms and data was gathered on the use of and economics related to the draught animal power system. Crop enterprise budgets, project reports, expert opinions and group discussions were analysed. The research found that the use of animal power performs …

The 2005/06 South Dakota Grain Marketing Patterns Study: A Grain Elevator Survey Report, Bashir Qasmi, Yonas Hamda, Scott Fausti

Economics Research Reports

U.S. agriculture is going through a transition and agricultural policies are being modified to make production of farm commodities more responsive to market forces. In this competitive environment, efforts on the part of commodity groups for market development are becoming increasingly important. However, in order to devise any market development plan for a commodity, the understanding of the present status of the marketing system is important. At a minimum, one needs to know the methods of buying and selling, types of buyers, shipment destinations, and transportation modes for the commodity. Corn, soybeans, wheat, and sunflower seeds are the most important …

Warm Season Annual Forage Performance Trials, Heather Darby, Rosalie Madden, Erica Cummings, Amanda Gervais, Philip Halteman

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

In 2010, the University of Vermont Extension continued their research to evaluate warm season annual forage systems. Warm season annual forages include grasses such as sorghum, sudangrass, sorghumsudangrass, Japanese millet, and pearl millet varieties. These grasses prefer the warmth of the summer months and generally thrive between June and August. Warm season annuals can be grazed or harvested for stored forage. Since warm season annuals thrive in hot weather they could supplement pasture during the summer slump. The summer slump is a period during the summer that cool season perennial grasses slow in growth and quality. The goal of this …

Oat Variety Trial Report, Heather Darby, Susan Monahan, Erica Cummings, Rosalie Madden, Amanda Gervais, Philip Halteman

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

Oats (Avena sativa L.) have a long history of being grown in the Northeast. Although most of the oats are planted for a cover crop or hay, growing oats for grain is another potential revenue source for farmers. According to the 2007 census, about 200 acres of land in Vermont is cultivated for oat grain production, with an average yield of 1747 lbs/acre. Unless, a hulless variety is grown, oats need to be hulled before being used for human consumption, and further processing is required to make oatmeal, steel cut oats or oat flour. The goal of this project was …

Sunflower Seeding Rate X Nitrogen Rate Trial Report, Heather Darby, Philip Halteman, Erica Cummings, Amanda Gervais, Rosalie Madden

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

The 2010 growing season was warmer and slightly wetter than normal through the majority of the spring. The month of May was considerably drier than normal, though June’s rainfall exceeded 30-year averages. No effect was apparent on germination rates. Accumulated growing degree days (GDDs) for the sunflower season totaled 3,120 from the beginning of June through the middle of October, when the sunflowers were harvested, which was 264 higher than the 30 year averages (table 1). These data were recorded at weather stations in close proximity to the research site.

Vermont Organic Corn Silage Performance Trial Results, Heather Darby, Amanda Gervais, Erica Cummings, Rosalie Madden, Philip Halteman

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

In 2010, the University of Vermont Extension conducted short and long season organic corn silage variety evaluations in cooperation with Vermont Technical College (VTC) and Organic Valley Farmers Advocating for Organics Program (FAFO). The purpose of the program was to provide unbiased performance comparisons of commercially available organic corn varieties. It is important to remember, however, that the data presented are from replicated research trials from only 3 locations in Vermont. Crop performance data from additional tests in different locations and often over several years should be compared before you make conclusions.

Heirloom Wheat Variety Trial, Heather Darby, Erica Cummings, Rosalie Madden, Amanda Gervais, Philip Halteman, Susan Monahan

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

The heirloom wheat project began in 2007; its primary purpose is to evaluate 15 heirloom wheat varieties to determine if they will thrive in Vermont’s climate. Heirloom wheat can bring a premium because of its superior taste. Many farmers are interested in determining what heirlooms are viable for Vermont growing conditions. Through this project three Vermont heirloom varieties are being reintroduced into the state. Defiance, Champlain, and Surprise were developed by Vermont plant breeder Cyrus Pringle at the turn of the twentieth century. In addition to the heirloom varieties, AC Barrie and Scarlet, modern spring wheat varieties commonly grown in …

Vermont Relative Maturity Corn Silage Trial, Heather Darby, Rosalie Madden, Amanda Gervais, Erica Cummings, Philip Halteman

Northwest Crops & Soils Program

In 2010, the University of Vermont Extension conducted an experiment to evaluate yield and quality of corn hybrids with a range of relative maturities. The goal is to document the best range of corn silage maturities to grow in this area to maximize corn yield and quality. It is important to remember that the data presented are from a single test at only one location. Hybrid-performance data from additional tests in different locations and often over several years should be compared before conclusions are drawn.