Browsing by Author "Moore, Keith M."

Now showing 1 - 20 of 102
  • Agri-‘culture’ and farmer identity in Botha-Bothe District: The context for conservation agriculture
    Moore, Keith M.; Marake, Makoala V.; Hawkins, M.; Lambert, Dayton M. (Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Tech, Office of International Research, Education, and Development (OIRED), 2011)
    This working paper is part of a larger study of the social networks supporting local innovation
  • Agricultural Actors, Networks and Mind-sets: Discovering the predisposition for CAPS in the Mt Elgon region of Uganda and Kenya
    Moore, Keith M.; Lamb, Jennifer Nicole; Laker-Ojok, Rita; Nyachwo, Julian; Sikuku, Dominic Ngosia; Ashilenje, Dennis S.; Mukhwana, Eusebius J.; Bashaasha, Bernard; Norton, James B. (Blacksburg, VA: SANREM CRSP, Virginia Tech OIRED, 2012)
    Scaling up conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS) for smallholders requires
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    Agricultural Actors, Networks, and Farmer Identity: Examining Perspectives and Adoption of Conservation Agriculture in Botha Bothe, Lesotho
    Lamb, Jennifer Nicole; Moore, Keith M.; Marake, Makoala V.; Lambert, Dayton M.; Wilcox, Michael D.; Eash, Neal S.; The LTRA 9 Team (Blacksburg, VA: Office of International Research and Development, Virginia Tech, 2013)
    Lesotho’s highly eroded land has the potential to be rejuvenated by the utilization of conservation agriculture (CA) practices. This paper considers the relationships between local mindsets for agricultural production, beliefs about CA, and social networks to comment on the current process of CA development and dissemination in Botha Bothe District. Surveys were conducted with 430 households from ten villages, some from the lowlands, some from the foothills, and others in the highlands. Follow-up surveys were conducted in one highland village and one lowland village, and the data was used for network analysis in order to understand the dynamics between social networks, farmers’ contacts, and adoption behaviors. Variations in responses were also analyzed with regard to gender and farm size. The authors find that lowland farmers are generally more supportive of CA than are highland farmers, that full adopters tend to receive information from sources external to the community, and that many important local actors are skeptical of CA.
  • Agricultural carbon finance projects: Can they be sustainable?
    Clements, C.; Moore, Keith M. (2014)
    Agricultural carbon schemes are purported to constitute a ‘triple win’ for sustainable development. Practices such as agroforestry, reduced tillage, and grasslands management can increase yields and improve resilience while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and providing revenues through the sale of carbon credits. Scaling up carbon credits involves complex institutional structures for promoting practices and aggregating carbon monitoring, reporting and verification. Scaling occurs across three scales of analysis: micro, meso, and macro. This presentation focuses on an analysis of the meso scale, where multiple levels of intermediaries are involved in governance and management. In the case of most agricultural carbon schemes, an external organization functions as a higher-level intermediary while pre-existing local associations are enrolled as lower-level intermediaries. Two case studies are evaluated based on stakeholder engagement, market linkages, and the generation and use of carbon revenues. This evaluation leads to questions which serve to guide evaluation of the sustainability of agricultural carbon finance projects.
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    Agricultural mindsets across social networks in four African countries
    Moore, Keith M.; Fornito, M.; Gunter, J.; Lamb, Jennifer; Sikuku, Dominic Ngosia; Shibonji, D.; Bashaasha, Bernard; Marake, Makoala V.; Keita, Moussa; Lambert, Dayton M.; Norton, James B. (2014)
    This PowerPoint presents research examining agricultural mindsets and social networks in Kenya, Uganda, Lesotho, and Mali. It identifies three agricultural mindsets exist which characterize farmer goals, values, and identities. These are: conventional agriculture (market-oriented production involving mechanical implements, agrochemical use and mono-cropping), risk-averse agriculture (livelihood diversification, distribution of risk, avoidance of market dependence), and conservation agriculture (minimal tillage, maintaining a soil cover and crop rotations). Mindsets of farmers and non-farm agents are explored through survey data. Relationships between actors, and mindsets of key actors are displayed in maps of social networks in Kenya and Uganda. The presentation concludes by emphasizing that agro-ecological, socio-cultural, and historical context matters, and calls for the development of an innovation system that is catalyzed by innovation brokers.
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    Agricultural Mindsets Across Social Networks: Kenya, Uganda, Lesotho and Mali
    Moore, Keith M. (2014)
    This presentation describes research which assesses agricultural knowledge flows and mindsets among farmers in Kenya, Uganda, Lesotho, and Mali. It begins with a discussion of communicative competence, principles for enhancing innovative performance, and knowledge networks. Background information to the studies is provided, including an explanation of network components. Results from three surveys in four countries are then examined, with assessments of both agricultural mindsets and agricultural support networks in each location.
  • Agricultural training and education to feed the future: SANREM educating for sustainable intensification
    Moore, Keith M. (2014)
    This PowerPoint presents the training activities of SANREM Innovation Lab, and of the other Feed the Future Innovation Labs. It describes the education challenge, as well as innovations in learning and in graduate training.
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    Agroforestry Preferences, Identity, and Collaboration Potential Among CAR Refugees and Host Community Cameroonians
    Moore, Elizabeth Anderson (Virginia Tech, 2013-08-13)
    For the past 10 years, thousands of refugees from Central African Republic (CAR) have crossed into Cameroon and settled in villages along the border.  Refugee influxes can produce ecological and social challenges to host communities.  While conflict is often a result, there is also an opportunity for collaboration and successful integration.  Agroforestry, the intentional incorporation and management of trees in agricultural systems, provides a tool that can respond to both social and ecological challenges by providing conservation farming techniques and increasing diversified home production of many needed products.  This research sought to understand the needs of community members for specific practices as well as preferences for social implementation of practices, using a frame of identity to help inform on integration and collaboration potential in agricultural projects.   The participatory research collected demographic data, employed a 20 point oral questionnaire, and utilized illustrated visual ranking and storytelling tools to gather information on 8 agroforestry practice and implementation preferences, identity, and social arrangement preferences among community members.  Agroforestry practices were divided between product-oriented and service-oriented practices.  We collected data from 122 individual interviews evenly divided between men and women, and CAR refugees and host community Cameroonians.   Results show that there are significant differences in agroforestry practice and implementation preferences across the sample, and between refugees and Cameroonians.  Most people felt that refugees and Cameroonians had similar traditions and needs, and that most areas of life should be integrated, however agriculture was an area that the people were more hesitant about mixing, demonstrating that arrangements and implementation of agricultural projects should be carefully designed and executed.  Those who preferred mixing of refugees and Cameroonians in fieldwork included members of all demographic groups, signifying the potential for integrated collaboration on community agricultural projects.  Results demonstrate that agroforestry projects have the potential to provide important valued resources to communities, create an opportunity for knowledge transfer and improved agricultural systems, and be the scene for positive contact between refugees and Cameroonians, leading to successful integration.
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    An analysis of institutional supports for community-based land management systems with carbon sequestration potential in Mali
    Roncoli, ‪Carla; Moore, Keith M.; Berthé, A.; Cissé, Salmana; Neely, Constance L.; Perez, C. (2003)
    This paper analyzes the role of institutional factors in the adoption and implementation of land management technologies with carbon sequestration potential among rural communities of the Sudan-Sahel region.
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    Atelier sur le conflit et la GRN: Leçons tirées et directions pour l'Afrique de l'Ouest
    Kodio, M.; Moore, Keith M.; Cissé, Salmana; Traore, A.; Traoré, Boureima (Watkinsville, GA: SANREM CRSP, 2000)
    OBJECTIF: Tenir un forum réunissant les partenaires de la région et du monde pour réviser l'état et le progrès des stratégies liées aux conflits et à la GRN dans les systèmes agropastoraux pour mieux coordonner et cibler la recherche. L'objectif spécifique est d'informer les partenaires régionaux du SANREM CRSP en Afrique de l'Ouest, chercher le conseil de ces partenaires régionaux sur les axes du projet, et développer les méthodes et les moyens pour mieux collaborer au niveau régional.
  • Building social infrastructure for decentralized NRM
    Moore, Keith M.; Cissé, Salmana; Touré, A. (Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University / Mali: Institut d'Economie Rurale, CARE, 2006)
    In this round table, we describe the process, successes and failures associated with developing a new platform (community-based natural resource management committee) for an ethnically diverse population (involving CSO, NGO, and government stakeholders) in the context of West African decentralization and supportive of local NRM decision making and practice consistent with environmental and socio-cultural conditions. The objective of the effort was focused on raising awareness of NRM issues and building leadership capacity to increase the horizontal linkages between stakeholders in the belief that such a common action platform can increase the flow of information and open debate leading to more carefully considered management decisions and, as a consequence, increase trust between communities. We demonstrate that building associational life is not only a matter of gathering people together -- men and women, regardless of ethnic or socio-professional status -- but also requires the development of individual capacities (training in functional literacy, association management, financial management, NRM texts, laws and codes, improved NRM practices, management and reconciliation of the conflicts, etc.) in order for them to assume active roles in the development of their community and to support the development of extracommunal relations and, in particular, the role played by training in conflict management, given its importance for the development of self-confidence and building of credibility for the committee in the development and the safeguarding of the community's natural resources.
  • Building social infrastructure for sustainable development
    Moore, Keith M.; Cissé, Salmana; Touré, A. (Wallingford, Oxon; Cambridge, Mass.: CABI Publishing, 2005)
    In chapter 7, Moore et al. describe the development of the commune-level NRMAC providing the social infrastructure that is both adapted to the exigencies of recent governmental decentralization and compatible with customary governance structures at the village level. They argue that it is not sufficient to simply assemble a group of men and women representing various ethnic groups and occupational categories, but it is also necessary to develop each member's individual capacities (functional literacy, leadership skills, association management, knowledge of codes and laws, etc.) in order to stimulate mutual trust and network building (social capital formation) between villages and clans and to help them to define their mission. Of particular importance is training in conflict management to build individual self-confidence and to provide a credible and valued service in the eyes of villagers.
  • Carbon sequestration from common property resources: Lessons from community-based sustainable pasture management in north-central Mali
    Roncoli, ‪Carla; Jost, C.; Perez, C.; Moore, Keith M.; Ballo, A.; Cissé, Salmana; Ouattara, K. (Elsevier Ltd., 2007)
    Carbon sequestration in soils has been presented as a potential mechanism to enhance productivity in semi-arid lands in Africa while contributing to the mitigation of greenhouse emissions. Most of the literature, however, focuses on assessing the capacity of existing technology to sequester carbon in soils. There is much less discussion in the literature on the social and institutional elements that need to be in place to realize the potential benefits of carbon sequestration. This paper contributes insights in this direction by analyzing a case of community-based pasture management in north-central Mali. The case study challenges common assumptions in carbon sequestration efforts, namely that land resources are devoted to a single use by resident users; have distinct boundaries and fall within identifiable territorial and administrative jurisdictions, and are subject to widely recognized claims and free of conflict. We suggest that this is not always the case. Findings indicate that carbon sequestration projects centered on rangelands need to allow for flexibility in livestock movements and resource availability and to account for the diverging interest of multiple stakeholders, including different types of pastoralists and farmers. We conclude that social capital formation and conflict management are key elements of a carbon sequestration strategy.
  • Challenges and opportunities for smallholder adoption of conservation agriculture
    Moore, Keith M.; Swenson, S. (Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Tech, Office of International Research, Education, and Development (OIRED), 2009)
    Conservation agriculture (CA) has been trumpeted as the solution for reducing soil degradation and increasing agricultural productivity throughout the world. Some farmland settings, such as in Brazil and the United States, have achieved high levels of CA adoption while other locations, such as in Africa, have little permanent adoption. A close review of the literature on adoption of CA technologies indicates that smallholder farmers are unlikely to adopt the practices that commercial farmers have so readily embraced. Locally constructed networks may support the development and diffusion of CA knowledge among smallholders. Networks can also provide access to resources for smallholder farmers since successful implementation of CA technologies requires farmers to increase the intensity of their farming. A series of hypotheses about conditions for the adoption of CA among smallholder farmers are examined. These hypotheses are grouped into four broad categories concerning inputs, delivery mechanisms, farm and farmer circumstances, and likely benefit streams as they apply to smallholders. This exercise is based on extensive case studies, characterizing CA innovation and diffusion among smallholders. The presentation introduces a model highlighting the main components of the generic CA system in order to identify the main obstacles impeding the successful adoption of conservation agriculture and the best bet hypotheses to be pursued in future attempts.
  • Collaborative research and education for sustainable agriculture in developing countries
    Moore, Keith M. (Blacksburg, VA: SANREM CRSP, 2008)
    The Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (SANREM) Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP) is one of nine programs designed in the context of Title XII of the Foreign Assistance Act to mobilize US university support for the overall US development assistance effort. The SANREM CRSP stems from a 1991 recommendation of the National Research Council to employ integrated, multidisciplinary research to simultaneously address livelihood and environmental protection in developing countries. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) funds and Virginia Tech manages this program for US and developing country scientists to conduct applied research and education which creates knowledge and tools to solve agricultural and natural resource problems that not only improve farmer livelihoods, but also protect the environment and essential natural resources.
  • Community organizing for natural resource management: Strategies for mitigating farmer-pastoralist conflict through decentralized governance
    Bertelsen, Michael; Cissé, Salmana; Moore, Keith M.; Touré, A. (Ankeny, IA: Soil and Water Conservation Society, 2009)
    This chapter describes how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local institutions are addressing the issues of decentralization, natural resource management (NRM), and ethnic conflicts in the Inland Delta in Sub-Saharan Africa. With an increasing population, political changes, a decrease in rainfall, and degrading natural resources, there has been an increase in violent conflicts between farmers and pastoralists. Local NGOs and institutions created the NRM Advisory Council (NRMAC) to build trust and new relationships among local communities, and establish long term institutional structures that will manage conflict, facilitate workshops and trainings, and encourage communication between villages and ethnic groups. Establishing these village level associations and bridging organizations will help to encourage a strong civil society, better ethnic relations, improved minority rights protection, and more sustainable natural resource management practices in West Africa.
  • Conflict and agropastoral development in the Sahel
    Moore, Keith M.; Bertelsen, Michael; Cissé, Salmana; Kodio, Amadou (London, UK: CAB International, 2005)
    This introductory chapter frames the issues of climate and technological change, population growth, and natural resource based conflict. In absence of the state effectively addressing this continued conflict, development assistance has played a major role in West Africa. Through outlining the different roles of development assistance actors, their methods for targeted and participatory interventions, this chapter also sets up an overview of the SANREM West Africa project and provides a general overview of the book.
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    Conflict and natural resource management in agricultural and pastoral systems of arid and semi-arid regions of West Africa: A review of the literature, key informant perspectives and lessons learned
    Moore, Keith M.; Kaboré, D.; Gnoumou, B.; Bertelsen, Michael (Blacksburg, Va.: SANREM CRSP WA, 1999)
    Recurrent drought-with its concurrent threat of climatic change, advancing desertification and the
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    Conflit et gestion des ressources naturelles dans les systems agraires et pastoraux des regions arides et semi-arides de l'afrique de l'ouest
    Moore, Keith M.; Kaboré, D.; Gnoumou, B.; Bertelsen, Michael (Blacksburg, Va.: Virginia Tech, Office for International Research and Development, 1999)
    La sécheresse endémique - avec sa menace concourante de changement climatique, de désertification avancée et de détérioration de la base des ressources naturelles ont intensifié les craintes d'une augmentation des conflits parmi les populations d'Afrique de L'Ouest. En particulier, les uniques systèmes agricoles et pastoraux et les peoples constitutifs du Sahel dAfrique de L'Ouest semblent de plus en plus vulnérables au conflit étant donné que les phénomènes liés à la pression démographique, au changement des conditions socio-économiques et aux conditions atmosphériques affectent tous dans la région. Cette communication a deux buts. Le premier but est de faire une synthèse des ouvrages publiés a ce sujet (formelle et "grise", comprise dans la bibliographie annotée ci-jointe) et les perspectives des informateurs clés impliqués dans les domaines de conflit, gestion des ressources naturelles, et système agropastoral du Sahel Ouest Africain (voir annexe A). Le deuxième but est d'analyser cette base de connaissance et d'expériences courantes afin didentifier où et comment le Programme collaborative de recherche de gestion durable d'agriculture des ressources naturelles de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (SANREM CRSP) peut intervenir d'une manière effective en vue de résoudre le conflit et améliorer la gestion des ressources naturelles (GRN) dans ces systèmes.
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    Conservation agriculture and ecosystem services
    Dillaha, Theo A. III; Heatwole Shenk, Cheryl B.; Moore, Keith M. (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 2010)
    Conservation agriculture has many agricultural and food security benefits. In addition, conservation agriculture has potential on- and off-site ecosystem service benefits that are the focus of this paper. Ecosystem services provided by conservation agriculture fall into three main categories: provisioning services such as increased food production; regulating services such as carbon sequestration and climate regulation, reducing losses of soil, pesticides, nutrients and other potential contaminants in surface and subsurface water flows, and water cycle improvements; and supporting services such as nutrient and storage and cycling. This paper focuses on the regulating service benefits of conservation agriculture: erosion control, reduced losses of pesticides and nutrients, and particularly water cycle benefits including increased water productivity (more crop per drop), infiltration, percolation, plant available water storage, groundwater recharge, plant available water, and stream baseflow and decreases in peak stream flows and downstream flooding.