Actions for Evaluating Agronomic and Social Dimensions of Rice Production : Increasing the Productivity of Smallholders in the NERICA

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Evaluating Agronomic and Social Dimensions of Rice Production : Increasing the Productivity of Smallholders in the NERICA /Rice Value Chain in Guinea

Author
Traore, Abou
Published
[University Park, Pennsylvania] : Pennsylvania State University, 2018.
Physical Description
1 electronic document
Additional Creators
Glenna, Leland Luther
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Graduate Program
Restrictions on Access
Open Access.
Summary
Recent debates about efforts to increase food security in West Africa focus on improving agronomic measures to secure crop yields as a development strategy to fight food insecurity and extreme poverty. Despite these efforts, crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa remain the lowest compared to other regions in the world. Research interests focusing on smallholder farmers access to technologies, improved seeds, micro-credit, markets, and gender relations in solving crop yield gaps are inadequately conducted in Guinea. Rice is a staple food and the most cultivated grain in Guinea, but its production cannot satisfy the national rice consumption demand, leaving the government to rely on rice importation. Two underlying factors are the leading causes of low yields. First, efforts to increase production have been largely dominated by agronomic determinism and market-oriented approaches that do not necessarily help smallholder farmers. Second, the social institutional capacities of smallholder farmers to absorb, and adopt new technologies have been often overlooked in efforts attempting to increase productivity. This dissertation examines the agronomic yield gap model (Y= G x E x M) and social dimensions of NERICA growers in the northeast region of Guinea to understand the variation in smallholder farmers yields. Using a sequential mixed-methods design, this research analyzed smallholder farmers yields and their access to improved seeds, markets, and input technologies such as fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, while also measuring planting techniques, gender and labor relations within different rice farmer groups. This dissertation found that the agronomic model has not yet produced significant results to rice yield increases in the region. Therefore, I use political ecology as a framework to propose a sustainable intensification approach that includes taking into account not only the biophysical contexts of yields but also the social, economic, and ecological considerations of smallholder farmers.
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Dissertation Note
Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University 2018.
Reproduction Note
Microfilm (positive). 1 reel ; 35 mm. (University Microfilms 10-13804061)
Technical Details
The full text of the dissertation is available as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file ; Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view the file.
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