F. Johnsen - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by F. Johnsen
Sciences (UMB). Noragric's activities include research, education and assignments, focusing parti... more Sciences (UMB). Noragric's activities include research, education and assignments, focusing particularly, but not exclusively, on developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Noragric Reports present findings from various studies and assignments, including programme appraisals and evaluations. This Noragric Report was commissioned by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) under the framework agreement with Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the employer of the assignment (Norad) and with the consultant team leader (Noragric). The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this publication are entirely those of the authors and cannot be attributed directly to the Department of International Environment and Development Studies (UMB/Noragric). Johnsen, Fred H., Dismas L. Mwaseba, Felister M. Mombo. Farmer perspectives on the usefulness of technologies introduced by on-farm research. The case of the TARPII-SUA programme. Report No.
Improved technologies induce productivity growth that generates pro-poor improvement processes. H... more Improved technologies induce productivity growth that generates pro-poor improvement processes. However, improving welfare and equity is a difficult task. This study investigated whether interventions in agriculture benefit farmers who are more capable to derive sufficient gains than others using data from on-farm research projects in Tanzania.Data were collected during baseline and impact assessment studies using questionnaires. The distributions of income were assessed using coefficients of variation, Gini coefficients and Theil’s Tstatistic. Results show that the projects contributed to increase farm income through enhanced productivity and sales of products and these gains were equitably shared. To encourage adoption and sustainability of these interventions it is important to sensitize Local Government Authorities and Agricultural Sector Lead Ministries on these technologies to allow incorporation of research findings in development plans. Involvement of extension staff in research and demonstrations through farmers’ shows should also be encouraged to increase adoption. Key words : Agricultural research, Agricultural productivity; poverty and income inequality.
Journal of Environmental Management, 2002
The sustainability of wildlife resources in Africa is threatened by poaching for trophies and mea... more The sustainability of wildlife resources in Africa is threatened by poaching for trophies and meat as well as changes in land use. In order to motivate local people for sustainable wildlife management, efforts to transfer decision-making power as well as bene®ts from central to local level have been made in several countries. Such efforts have not yet been seen in Kilombero Game Controlled Area, which is the area covered by the present study. The paper documents the importance of wildlife to local people, explores local people's perceptions on wildlife management and identi®es constraints to sustainable wildlife management. A total of 177 household interviews in 5 villages and 129 interviews of pupils in schools have been conducted. The majority of pupils reported that their latest meal of meat was from a wild animal, and the most common species was buffalo. Apart from availability of cheap wildlife meat, advantages from living close to wildlife include the use of various parts of animals for, e.g. medical and ritual uses, and various plant products from wildlife habitats. Disadvantages include damages to crops, predation on livestock, and injuries to humans. The estimated loss of yield due to raiding by wildlife amounted to 21Á9 and 47Á8% of the harvest of rice and maize, respectively. Traditional wildlife management in Kilombero includes few rules to avoid resource depletion, because depletion has traditionally not been a problem due to low hunting technology and low human population. Government management includes strict rules, with hunting quotas as the main instrument, but the government has failed to enforce the rules. Ongoing discussions on new approaches to wildlife management like co-management and community-based management were largely unknown to the villagers in the area. Both poaching and agricultural expansion threaten the sustainability of Kilombero Game Controlled Area. It is suggested that transfers of decision-making power and bene®ts to local people is necessary in order to achieve sustainable management.
Journal of Bamboo and Rattan, 2005
The bamboo enterprises involving handicraft making and culm vending in Mvera, Dowa district, Mala... more The bamboo enterprises involving handicraft making and culm vending in Mvera, Dowa district, Malawi were studied from October to December 2003. The aims of the research were to find out the contribution of bamboo enterprises to household income and the management practices of the bamboo handicraft makers and bamboo collectors, and the activities of stakeholders in the bamboo industries in Mvera. Eighteen respondents were randomly selected from the bamboo culm vending community for questionnaire survey and stratified random sampling was used to select 74 respondents from bamboo handicraft making villages. Focus groups discussions on issues of bamboo enterprises were conducted in each of the five villages selected. Perceived stakeholders were consulted to examine their roles in bamboo enterprises. It was found that an average bamboo handicraft maker used 681 bamboo culms per year and an average bamboo culm vendor cut 1146 culms per year. It was also found that an average bamboo handicraft maker obtained MK 20 684 (US$ 190) per year from the cash sales of assorted handicrafts and an average bamboo culm vendor obtained MK 10 833 (US$ 100) per year from bamboo culm cash sales. An average bamboo entrepreneur obtained MK 3251 (US$ 30) from farm cash sales. However, the average bamboo entrepreneur consumed an amount of their own farm produce worth MK 26 679 (US$ 247), which was about 1.5 times as much as average bamboo income of MK 18 417 (US$ 170). All respondents indicated that the income from bamboo enterprise was mainly for household petty cash, i.e., hand-to-mouth consumption. No significant bamboo management practices were carried out by the entrepreneurs. Bamboos were naturally growing in Thuma Forest Reserve, where most of the bamboos were collected. A few stakeholders in bamboo enterprise and resource management were merely involved in actual promotion of bamboo handicraft industry and actual bamboo management by their policies and interventions.
Soil and Tillage Research, 2008
Soils in Ethiopia are traditionally ploughed repeatedly with an oxen-drawn plough before sowing. ... more Soils in Ethiopia are traditionally ploughed repeatedly with an oxen-drawn plough before sowing. The oxen ploughing system exposes the soil to erosion and is expensive for farmers without oxen. This study was undertaken to assess agronomic and economic impacts of ...
Page 1. Work in progress for public discussion Land Degradation in TanzaniaPerception from the Vi... more Page 1. Work in progress for public discussion Land Degradation in TanzaniaPerception from the Village Alemneh Dejene Elieho K. Shishira Pins Z. Yanda Fred H. Johnsen Page 2. ... 307 Narayan, Toward Participatory Research No. ...
Agroforestry Systems, 1994
Agroforestry Systems, 2006
This paper presents the results of a comparative study on conservation and conventional agricultu... more This paper presents the results of a comparative study on conservation and conventional agriculture among smallholder farmers in Zambia. It shows that conservation agriculture in Zambia as currently practiced does not reduce labor required during critical periods of the farming cycle. We argue that smallholder farmer decisions whether or not to adopt conservation agriculture goes beyond its agronomic and economic
Poverty can be categorized into income poverty and non-income poverty. At the smallscale Jarmers ... more Poverty can be categorized into income poverty and non-income poverty. At the smallscale Jarmers level income poverty results Jrom low productivity oj agricultural enterprises. hence low sales oj products. On the other hand. non income poverty encompasses a wide range oj live phenomena, including level oj education, poor survival strategies, poor nutritional status. lack oj clean and saJe drinking water, poor social wellbeing, vulnerability , etc. In 2000/01 about 62% oj households in Tanzania succumbed to income poverty. While the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) was silent on research as one oj the strategic approaches to reduce poverty in Tanzania, a study was conducted between 2001 and 2004 by Sokoine University oj Agriculture (SUA) in collaboration with the Agricultural Sector Lead Ministries (ASLMs) to evaluate the effectiveness oj onjarm research and development (R&D) approaches in bringing about poverty reduction amongst the smallholder Jarmers in the country. The study was based on 27 projects under Tanzania Agricultural Research Project Phase II (TARPII) managed by SUA (TARPII-SUA) conducted in the Eastern and Southern Highlands Zones oj country. By responding to a questionnaire. smallholder Jarmers evaluated technologies introduced through research. Results have shown that smallholder Jarmers' poverty could be signijkantly reduced by inb'oducing appropriate technologies. Thus. on average, participating Jarmers observed reductions in income poverty by the period oj this study. It is concluded that introduction oj technologies through onJarm research increases technology adoption and reduces income poverty.
Sciences (UMB). Noragric's activities include research, education and assignments, focusing parti... more Sciences (UMB). Noragric's activities include research, education and assignments, focusing particularly, but not exclusively, on developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Noragric Reports present findings from various studies and assignments, including programme appraisals and evaluations. This Noragric Report was commissioned by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) under the framework agreement with Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the employer of the assignment (Norad) and with the consultant team leader (Noragric). The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this publication are entirely those of the authors and cannot be attributed directly to the Department of International Environment and Development Studies (UMB/Noragric). Johnsen, Fred H., Dismas L. Mwaseba, Felister M. Mombo. Farmer perspectives on the usefulness of technologies introduced by on-farm research. The case of the TARPII-SUA programme. Report No.
Improved technologies induce productivity growth that generates pro-poor improvement processes. H... more Improved technologies induce productivity growth that generates pro-poor improvement processes. However, improving welfare and equity is a difficult task. This study investigated whether interventions in agriculture benefit farmers who are more capable to derive sufficient gains than others using data from on-farm research projects in Tanzania.Data were collected during baseline and impact assessment studies using questionnaires. The distributions of income were assessed using coefficients of variation, Gini coefficients and Theil’s Tstatistic. Results show that the projects contributed to increase farm income through enhanced productivity and sales of products and these gains were equitably shared. To encourage adoption and sustainability of these interventions it is important to sensitize Local Government Authorities and Agricultural Sector Lead Ministries on these technologies to allow incorporation of research findings in development plans. Involvement of extension staff in research and demonstrations through farmers’ shows should also be encouraged to increase adoption. Key words : Agricultural research, Agricultural productivity; poverty and income inequality.
Journal of Environmental Management, 2002
The sustainability of wildlife resources in Africa is threatened by poaching for trophies and mea... more The sustainability of wildlife resources in Africa is threatened by poaching for trophies and meat as well as changes in land use. In order to motivate local people for sustainable wildlife management, efforts to transfer decision-making power as well as bene®ts from central to local level have been made in several countries. Such efforts have not yet been seen in Kilombero Game Controlled Area, which is the area covered by the present study. The paper documents the importance of wildlife to local people, explores local people's perceptions on wildlife management and identi®es constraints to sustainable wildlife management. A total of 177 household interviews in 5 villages and 129 interviews of pupils in schools have been conducted. The majority of pupils reported that their latest meal of meat was from a wild animal, and the most common species was buffalo. Apart from availability of cheap wildlife meat, advantages from living close to wildlife include the use of various parts of animals for, e.g. medical and ritual uses, and various plant products from wildlife habitats. Disadvantages include damages to crops, predation on livestock, and injuries to humans. The estimated loss of yield due to raiding by wildlife amounted to 21Á9 and 47Á8% of the harvest of rice and maize, respectively. Traditional wildlife management in Kilombero includes few rules to avoid resource depletion, because depletion has traditionally not been a problem due to low hunting technology and low human population. Government management includes strict rules, with hunting quotas as the main instrument, but the government has failed to enforce the rules. Ongoing discussions on new approaches to wildlife management like co-management and community-based management were largely unknown to the villagers in the area. Both poaching and agricultural expansion threaten the sustainability of Kilombero Game Controlled Area. It is suggested that transfers of decision-making power and bene®ts to local people is necessary in order to achieve sustainable management.
Journal of Bamboo and Rattan, 2005
The bamboo enterprises involving handicraft making and culm vending in Mvera, Dowa district, Mala... more The bamboo enterprises involving handicraft making and culm vending in Mvera, Dowa district, Malawi were studied from October to December 2003. The aims of the research were to find out the contribution of bamboo enterprises to household income and the management practices of the bamboo handicraft makers and bamboo collectors, and the activities of stakeholders in the bamboo industries in Mvera. Eighteen respondents were randomly selected from the bamboo culm vending community for questionnaire survey and stratified random sampling was used to select 74 respondents from bamboo handicraft making villages. Focus groups discussions on issues of bamboo enterprises were conducted in each of the five villages selected. Perceived stakeholders were consulted to examine their roles in bamboo enterprises. It was found that an average bamboo handicraft maker used 681 bamboo culms per year and an average bamboo culm vendor cut 1146 culms per year. It was also found that an average bamboo handicraft maker obtained MK 20 684 (US$ 190) per year from the cash sales of assorted handicrafts and an average bamboo culm vendor obtained MK 10 833 (US$ 100) per year from bamboo culm cash sales. An average bamboo entrepreneur obtained MK 3251 (US$ 30) from farm cash sales. However, the average bamboo entrepreneur consumed an amount of their own farm produce worth MK 26 679 (US$ 247), which was about 1.5 times as much as average bamboo income of MK 18 417 (US$ 170). All respondents indicated that the income from bamboo enterprise was mainly for household petty cash, i.e., hand-to-mouth consumption. No significant bamboo management practices were carried out by the entrepreneurs. Bamboos were naturally growing in Thuma Forest Reserve, where most of the bamboos were collected. A few stakeholders in bamboo enterprise and resource management were merely involved in actual promotion of bamboo handicraft industry and actual bamboo management by their policies and interventions.
Soil and Tillage Research, 2008
Soils in Ethiopia are traditionally ploughed repeatedly with an oxen-drawn plough before sowing. ... more Soils in Ethiopia are traditionally ploughed repeatedly with an oxen-drawn plough before sowing. The oxen ploughing system exposes the soil to erosion and is expensive for farmers without oxen. This study was undertaken to assess agronomic and economic impacts of ...
Page 1. Work in progress for public discussion Land Degradation in TanzaniaPerception from the Vi... more Page 1. Work in progress for public discussion Land Degradation in TanzaniaPerception from the Village Alemneh Dejene Elieho K. Shishira Pins Z. Yanda Fred H. Johnsen Page 2. ... 307 Narayan, Toward Participatory Research No. ...
Agroforestry Systems, 1994
Agroforestry Systems, 2006
This paper presents the results of a comparative study on conservation and conventional agricultu... more This paper presents the results of a comparative study on conservation and conventional agriculture among smallholder farmers in Zambia. It shows that conservation agriculture in Zambia as currently practiced does not reduce labor required during critical periods of the farming cycle. We argue that smallholder farmer decisions whether or not to adopt conservation agriculture goes beyond its agronomic and economic
Poverty can be categorized into income poverty and non-income poverty. At the smallscale Jarmers ... more Poverty can be categorized into income poverty and non-income poverty. At the smallscale Jarmers level income poverty results Jrom low productivity oj agricultural enterprises. hence low sales oj products. On the other hand. non income poverty encompasses a wide range oj live phenomena, including level oj education, poor survival strategies, poor nutritional status. lack oj clean and saJe drinking water, poor social wellbeing, vulnerability , etc. In 2000/01 about 62% oj households in Tanzania succumbed to income poverty. While the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) was silent on research as one oj the strategic approaches to reduce poverty in Tanzania, a study was conducted between 2001 and 2004 by Sokoine University oj Agriculture (SUA) in collaboration with the Agricultural Sector Lead Ministries (ASLMs) to evaluate the effectiveness oj onjarm research and development (R&D) approaches in bringing about poverty reduction amongst the smallholder Jarmers in the country. The study was based on 27 projects under Tanzania Agricultural Research Project Phase II (TARPII) managed by SUA (TARPII-SUA) conducted in the Eastern and Southern Highlands Zones oj country. By responding to a questionnaire. smallholder Jarmers evaluated technologies introduced through research. Results have shown that smallholder Jarmers' poverty could be signijkantly reduced by inb'oducing appropriate technologies. Thus. on average, participating Jarmers observed reductions in income poverty by the period oj this study. It is concluded that introduction oj technologies through onJarm research increases technology adoption and reduces income poverty.