Problems caused by eating unsafe food are a major health issue in many countries. Contamination by bacteria or toxins can cause these health risks, particularly for young children whose bodies are still developing.

Farming is an inherently high-risk activity, and farmers’ livelihoods depend on a set of interlinked environmental factors including weather, soil conditions, disease, pests, and more.

While agricultural value chains are rapidly evolving (Reardon, 2015; Reardon et al., 2021; Barrett et al., 2022), research attention has increasingly taken notice of the important role played by actors in the ag ricultural midstream.

Too often, smallholder farmers suffer severe financial consequences from extreme weather events, pests, and disease; and climate change will increase the frequency at which natural hazards occur.

Background

Climate change has exacerbated the frequency and severity of extreme weather events affecting the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa.

This policy note summarizes findings from an assessment of the impact of community-based monitoring and accountability forums – popularly known as barazas – implemented by the government of Uganda.

Aflatoxin is a poisonous substance produced by a fungus, Aspergillus flavus, that occurs naturally in soils of cultivated and non-cultivated areas.

Measuring yields accurately is critical for evaluating the impact of interventions that aim to increase agricultural productivity.

Smallholder farmers may suffer losses from ex-treme weather events, pests and disease. This is expected to worsen in the face of climate change.

The right to safe food is enshrined in the Kenyan constitution.

Health shocks (unpredictable illnesses and injuries) are an important source of risk for individuals in developing countries.

In smallholder households that engage in commercial agriculture, women are often involved in the phys-ical labor related to the cash crop, but do not engage in the market-facing activities.

The application of digital tools to agricultural extension and advisory services has attracted considerable attention in recent years.

Since 2014, Digital Green and the Government of Ethiopia have been piloting a video-mediated approach to agricultural extension provision.

Traceability means it is possible to trace food back to its origin.

In this paper, we test the impact of a simulated market premium for food safety, and of bundling rainfall insurance with an aflatoxin-reducing technology (Aflasafe KE01), on smallholder farmers’ adoption of this technology.

This paper characterizes consumer demand for food safety and the dynamic impact of a social marketing campaign to promote a tested, third party verified maize flour in Kenya, where dietary exposure to the fungal toxin aflatoxin is a major public h

The purpose of this research note is to describe relevant policies and standards, and to summarise recent research and literature to gain insight into compliance with dairy standards in Kenya.

This project tests two approaches to increasing women’s integration into and returns from cash crop value chains.