http://196.191.116.215/handle/12345789/171 2026-05-17T01:18:41Z http://196.191.116.215/handle/1235678/88841 Integrating innovation systems perspective and value chain analysis in agricultural research for development: Implications and challenges Ponniah Anandajayasekeram and Berhanu Gebremedhin The environment in which agricultural discovery and innovation occurs has been constantly changing with resultant significant influences on the organization and the social processes of discovery and innovation. As a result, there have been significant paradigm shifts in agricultural knowledge generation, dissemination and utilization. Currently, the knowledge generation, dissemination and utilization processes within the agricultural sector are guided by four complementary and mutually reinforcing concepts and principles: the innovation systems perspective (ISP); value chain approach; impact orientation; and research for development (R4D). Impact orientation and R4D are implicit in the concept of ISP. A major challenge confronting the agricultural research for development (AR4D) community is how to integrate these different concepts in the design, implementation and evaluation of AR4D. However, an operational model that integrates ISP and value chain approach into AR4D is lacking. This paper is an attempt to develop such an operational model. The paper also addresses the emerging issues and challenges in the integration process and its institutionalization within the broader framework of AR4D. 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://196.191.116.215/handle/1235678/88806 Challenges for Agricultural Research Francisco López Martin and Angela Hilmi Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems (CRP) was established in 1979 to strengthen co-operative efforts among research scientists and institutions. Its main objective is to strengthen scientific knowledge and provide relevant scientific information and advice to inform policy decisions related to the sustainable use of natural resources in the areas of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The Programme is anchored in both the policy and scientific communities in the fields of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, which, more than ever, develop in a multidisciplinary environment. This happens so as to respond to the varied demands from a range of stakeholder groups with interests in these fields, and to take into account an evolving globalised world in which food production systems are interlinked. 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://196.191.116.215/handle/1235678/58433 The Natural World and Science Education in the United States Ajay Sharma Cory Buxton The book can be seen as consisting of three major parts. The first part (Chaps. 1 and 2) sets the stage for the empirical studies that are presented in the second part (Chaps. 3, 4, 5, and 6). In the third part (Chap. 7), we summarize our results and propose a conceptual framework for ecology and environmental science-related topics in science education. The first part includes this and the next chapter, in which we begin by surveying the context in which this book is situated and then proceed to discuss “Evolving Views on the Nature of Nature,” in which we present the conceptual framework that guided our work. Chapter 2 begins with an exploration of the modern conception of nature and how it has enabled Western societies to study and exploit the natural world for their own utilitarian purposes since the beginning of the industrial revolution. We then examine the understanding of nature in modern science and its eventual failure to explain a world that is populated by hybrid entities that are both social and natural in all their manifestations and relations. This is followed by an exploration of the emerging contours of an amodern view of nature that currently guides much of research in ecology and environmental sciences. In the end we present the theoretical framework that shaped our research 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z http://196.191.116.215/handle/1235678/58425 Rural Development Planning in Africa Eric Britton, Ruth K. Oniang’o Meleckidzedeck Khayesi Contributing to African rural development planning experience fulfils a long passion I have had not only in research but also in wanting to improve the living conditions in rural areas of Africa. I have not only read about and carried out research on African rural development programmes, but also experienced the African rural development landscape in a personal way. I was born and raised in a rural district in Kenya. I have been involved in the ordinary rural life in Kenya. I am always fascinated with the rising of the sun, when my rural community wakes up; the development of the day, when this community gets engaged in several activities; and the setting of the sun, when the community settles down to evening meals and storytelling, and then retires to sleep. I remember well how other boys and I would be tending cattle in the afternoon and evening, while the girls would be fetching water and preparing meals. I remember how we, the young ones, would spend the day at school while our parents would be working on their farms or doing other important life-sustaining activities. My rural community has also changed in several ways. Numerous members now own cell phones, radios and many modern gadgets. I have witnessed a number of rural development initiatives being introduced and implemented in my own local district and others parts of Kenya. Though I moved away to study and work in Nairobi and abroad, I have maintained links with my rural origins. I have been involved in discussions and initiatives seeking to support the development of African rural areas and Africa in general. I cannot fully describe the joy and peace I always get when I am in my rural community. Listening to cattle mooing, cocks crowing, children making joyful sounds as they play, a mother calling her children to come to the house to eat, and news about happy and sad events in the community remind me a lot about the importance of the basics of life. 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z