Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the relationship between farming systems research and studies of decision-making as each bears upon the improvement of food production in Africa. It focuses on disciplinary or methodological contributions to farming systems research (FSR) and household studies and presents recent field studies of household behavior in Africa. The chapter discusses the importance of bringing insights from household decision-making studies to bear on some of the questions posed in farming systems research about the characteristics of African farming families. It identifies a number of substantive and pragmatic problems that arise in attempting to create a critical synthesis of household decision making analysis and FSR which might usefully inform agricultural policy and development. The chapter suggests that viable production and income-generating strategies by individual farming households depend upon their being embedded in supra-household networks.