It is extremely challenging to formulate and evaluate agricultural development strategies for regions as large and diverse as proposed in the Action Areas, and it will require multiple perspectives and thoughtful simplifications (Omamo et al., 2006). Empirical studies in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda (Pender et al., 1999; Pender et al., 2004; Ehui and Pender, 2005) suggest that interaction of the three socio-economic and biophysical layers —population density, agricultural potential and market access — provide good explanatory power in predicting the type of agricultural enterprises and development pathways encountered in different rural communities, as the layers are strongly related to the feasibility and attractiveness of specific development and livelihood strategies (Wood et al., 1999). Omamo et al. (2006) used for East and Central Africa (ECA) GIS tools and databases to gain a better appreciation of the regional patterns of agriculture and of agricultural development challenges and opportunities. The GIS analysis disaggregates the region into geographical units, called ‘development domains’, in which similar agricultural development problems or opportunities are likely to occur, based on the spatial layers population density, agricultural potential and market access. The breakdown is done by classifying each of the three factors into two values: high or low.
Comments
comments powered by Disqus