Prosperity and Innovation in the Past and Future of Agriculture in Eastern Africa (PIPFA)

东非农业的过去和未来的繁荣与创新（PIPFA）

• 批准号: AH/T00424X/1
• 负责人: Matthew Davies
• 金额: $ 21.99万
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT00424X%2F1
• 关键词: Prosperity; Innovation; Past; Future; Agriculture

Despite the fact that approximately 85% of total agricultural output across the African continent is produced by small-holder farmers, with the small-holder farming sub-sector accounting for 75% of Kenya's total agricultural output, there remains a persistent imagining amongst some academics, policy makers and NGOs that African farming practices are static, inefficient and inherently vulnerable in the face of environmental change and population growth. These ideas have in turn supported a longstanding modernising paradigm whereby African agriculture is argued to require a host of 'new' technical inputs such as mechanisation, chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and hybrid and GM crops. This process has deep colonial roots and, in the wake of pressing issues surrounding climate change and population growth, has re-emerged in recent calls for a new African Green Revolution. However, this 'modernising' paradigm has failed to deliver sustainable prosperity, suggesting that alternative frameworks are required. By analysing how small-holder farmers in Eastern Africa innovate in daily practice, this project will reconsider why wholesale attempts at modernisation have often failed and, in the process, offer alternative ways toward prosperous rural livelihoods. Working with multisectoral partners currently active in food systems research and delivery, we challenge the 'modernisation' imperative by historicising contemporary farming practices in Kenya and diachronically exploring ongoing processes of innovation and ingenuity that seem to have been characteristic of African farming for centuries, arguing instead that these may offer crucial insights into the future of farming practice in the region. The premise that African farming systems have historically been diverse and highly adaptive draws upon a wealth of archaeological and historical material that demonstrates how they have developed in dynamic ways over several thousand years, continuously diversifying as they became integrated into expansive inter-continental exchange networks with SW Asia, India and China. Such processes continued into the 19th century when, with the formalisation of colonisation, new waves of domesticates and concepts surrounding soil and forest conservation were introduced by 'professional' colonial agricultural officers. Whilst many of these colonial interventions understood African agricultural systems as resistant to change (Anderson 2018; Beinhart 2000), we argue here for a more nuanced narrative wherein small-holders selectively adopted and propagated new ideas, practices, crops and materials (Moore 2018). In this view farmers experiment, generate knowledge, and selectively adopt the ideas of others on a daily basis. We argue that this historic process of creative innovation, selective valuation and intelligent (re-)combination is what constitutes what are often referred to (and often brought into opposition) as both 'tradition' and 'modernity' and that this historical reconceptualization offers an important new starting point for revaluing, supporting and extending farmers capabilities. Working with diverse partners we will co-design original empirical research with small-holder 'digital farmers' in Elgeyo-Marakwet Kenya. We have specifically chosen to work with partners from both the UK and Kenya and from academic, NGO, international and policy sectors so as to share diverse institutional practices and agenda and to co-design and deliver research that will stimulate institutional responses and specific policy recommendations. By working with, challenging, and supporting partners active in food systems research and delivery we aim to have multiple tangible impacts on policy making and farming livelihoods more broadly, thus demonstrating the important value of arts and humanities led multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research.

尽管这一事实是，小型农民生产了大约85％的非洲大陆农业产出总量，而小型农业农业领域占肯尼亚总农业总产量的75％，但在某些学术界，决策者，决策者和Ngos的发展中，仍然存在着持久的想象，并且在环境中的发展且效果不佳，并且在不断的范围内都具有不利的范围。这些想法反过来又支持了长期的现代化范式，在这种范式中，非洲农业被认为需要许多“新”技术投入，例如机械化，化肥和农药以及混合和GM农作物。这一过程具有深层的殖民地根源，并且在围绕气候变化和人口增长的紧迫问题之后，在最近呼吁进行新的非洲绿色革命的呼吁中重新出现。但是，这种“现代化”范式未能带来可持续的繁荣，这表明需要替代框架。通过分析东非的小型农民如何在日常实践中进行创新，该项目将重新考虑为什么批发尝试现代化经常失败，并在此过程中为繁荣的农村生计提供了另一种方式。我们与目前活跃于食品系统研究和交付的多部门合作伙伴一起，通过历史使肯尼亚的当代农业实践的历史性挑战“现代化”，并进行了直觉探索持续的创新和创造力的过程，这些过程似乎是非洲农业的特征，相反，这些企业可能会为未来的农业实践提供了重要的洞察力。历史上，非洲农业系统的前提是多种多样，高度适应性的借鉴了许多考古和历史材料，这些材料表明了它们在几千年的时间内以动态方式发展的方式，随着它们成为与SW Asia，India，India和中国的广阔的跨大陆交换网络的不断分散。这样的过程一直持续到19世纪，当时，随着殖民化的形式化，“专业”殖民地农业官员引入了围绕土壤和森林保护的新繁殖者和围绕土壤和森林保护的概念。尽管这些殖民干预措施中的许多人都将非洲农业体系理解为对变革的抵抗力（Anderson 2018; Beinhart 2000），但我们在这里争论更细微的叙述，其中小型持有人选择性地采用并传播了新的思想，实践，作物，农作物和材料（Moore 2018）。在此视图中，农民每天都有实验，产生知识并有选择地采用他人的思想。我们认为，这种创造性创新，选择性估值和智能（重新）组合的历史性过程是构成通常被称为“传统”和“现代性”的（通常引起反对）的原因，而这种历史重新概念化为重新估计，支持和支持农民的能力提供了重要的新起点。 与不同合作伙伴合作，我们将与肯尼亚Elgeyo-Marakwet的小型持有人“数字农民”共同设计原始实证研究。我们专门选择与来自英国和肯尼亚的合作伙伴以及来自学术，非政府组织，国际和政策部门的合作伙伴，以共享各种机构实践和议程，并共同设计和提供研究，以刺激机构的回应和特定的政策建议。通过与积极参与食品系统研究和交付的合作伙伴的合作，我们的目标是更广泛地对政策制定和耕种生计产生多种切实影响，从而证明了艺术和人文学科的重要价值领导了多学科和跨学科研究。

项目成果

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History: Asia and Africa.

古代历史百科全书：亚洲和非洲。

• 发表时间: 2023
• 作者: Davies, M I

Rethinking Global Prosperity

重新思考全球繁荣

• 发表时间: 2023
• 作者: Davies M I J

Supporting the capacities and knowledge of small-holder farmers in Kenya for sustainable agricultural futures: A Citizen Science pilot project

支持肯尼亚小农的能力和知识，实现可持续农业未来：公民科学试点项目

• DOI: 10.14324/111.444/000155.v1
• 发表时间: 2022
• 作者: Davies M

Ecological Knowledge of indigenous plants among the Marakwet Community (Embobut Basin), Elgeyo Marakwet County (Kenya)

• DOI: 10.32859/era.20.1.1-16
• 发表时间: 2020-06
• 期刊: Ethnobotany Research and Applications
• 作者: B. Wanjohi;E. Njenga;V. Sudoi;W. Kipkore;H. Moore;M. Davies

Farmer Led Regenerative Agriculture For Africa

农民主导非洲再生农业

• 发表时间: 2020
• 作者: Lunn-Rockliffe S