233 research outputs found
New Technologies, Marketing Strategies and Public Policy for Traditional Food Crops: Millet in Niger
New technology introduction in this semiarid region of the Sahel is hypothesized to be made more difficult by three price problems in the region. First, staple prices collapse annually at harvest. Secondly, there is a between year price collapse in good and very good years due to the inelastic demand for the principal staple, millet, and the large changes in supply from weather and other stochastic factors. Thirdly, government and NGOs intervene in adverse rainfall years to drive down the price increases. Marketing strategies were proposed for the first two price problems and a public policy change for the third. To analyze this question at the firm level a farm programming model was constructed. Based upon surveying in four countries, including Niger, farmers state that they have two primary objectives in agricultural production, first achieving a harvest income target and secondly achieving their family subsistence objective with production and purchases later in the year. Farmers are observed selling their millet at harvest and rebuying millet later in the year. So the first objective takes precedence over the second. A lexicographic utility function was used in which these primary objectives of the farmer are first satisfied and then profits are maximized. According to the model new technology would be introduced even without the marketing strategies. However, the marketing strategies accelerated the technology introduction process and further increased farmersâ incomes. Of the three marketing-policy changes only a change in public policy with a reduction of the cereal imports substantially increases farmersâ incomes in the adverse years. In developed countries crop insurance and disaster assistance is used to protect farmers in semiarid regions during bad and very bad (disaster) rainfall years. In developing countries finding alternatives to the povertynutritional problems of urban residents and poor farmers to substitute for driving down food prices in adverse years could perform the same function as crop insurance in developed countries of facilitating technological introduction by increasing incomes in adverse rainfall years.inventory credit, marketing strategy, inorganic fertilizers, fertility depletion, farm level programming, micro-fertilization, sidedressing
Impacts of inventory credit, input supply shops, and fertilizer microdosing in the drylands of Niger:
"This study investigated the impacts of access to inventory credit, input supply shops, fertilizer microdosing demonstrations, and other factors on farmers' use of inorganic fertilizer and other inputs in Niger and on crop yields. We found that access to inventory credit and input supply shops has increased the use of inorganic fertilizer and seeds and that microdosing demonstrations have increased the use of inorganic fertilizer. Ownership of traction animals and access to off-farm employment have also contributed to the use of inorganic fertilizer, while larger farms use less fertilizer and labor per hectare. The impacts of these interventions and technologies depend on the crop mix. Inorganic fertilizer has a positive impact on millet and milletâcowpea yields when applied using microdosing, with an estimated marginal value-cost ratio greater than 3 for those crops indicating significant profitability. By contrast, microdosing has a negative impact on yields of the milletâsorghumâcowpea intercrop, suggesting that microdosing should not be promoted when sorghum is part of the crop mix. However, better access to input supply shops has contributed to higher yields of the milletâsorghumâcowpea intercrop. The predicted effect of inventory credit on farmers' income as a result of increased inorganic fertilizer use is an increase of 5,000 to 10,000 FCFA per hectare (about US20 per hectare in 2005) in millet or milletâcowpea production. Similarly, being 10 km closer to an input supply shop is predicted to increase farmers' income by 3,200 to 4,500 FCFA per hectare. These benefits do not take into account the impacts of the interventions on seeds or other inputs, which are also generally positive. The positive impacts are linked to the use of fertilizer microdosing, which has increased the productivity of fertilizer use in millet and milletâcowpea production, indicating synergies among the various interventions. They are also linked to these specific crops, because we found less favorable impacts of these interventions for the milletâsorghumâcowpea intercrop and for peanuts. Other interventions that could help to boost the use of inputs and productivity include promotion of improved access to farm equipment and traction animals and promotion of higher-value crops such as hibiscus. Further research on these topics appears warranted. Research on the implications of interventions on land degradation would also be useful." from Author's AbstractFertilizer microdosing, Inventory credit, Warrantage, Input supply shops, Drylands, Land management,
Impacts of Inventory Credit, Input Supply Shops and Fertilizer Micro-Dosing in the Drylands of Niger
This study investigates the impacts of access to inventory credit (warrantage), input supply shops, fertilizer micro-dosing demonstrations, and other factors on farmers' use of inorganic and organic fertilizer in Niger, and the impacts on crop yields. We find that access to warrantage and input shops and participation in fertilizer micro-dosing demonstrations have increased use of inorganic fertilizer. Access to off-farm employment and ownership of traction animals also contribute to use of inorganic fertilizer. Use of organic fertilizer is less affected by these factors, but is substantially affected by the household's crop mix, access to the plot, ownership of durable assets, labor and land endowments, and participation in farmers' associations. Land tenure influences both inorganic and organic inputs, with less of both on sharecropped and encroached plots. Inorganic fertilizer has a positive impact on millet yields, with an estimated marginal value-cost ratio greater than 3, indicating significant profitability. Organic fertilizer has a positive impact on millet-cowpea yields. We find little evidence of complementarity between inorganic and organic fertilizer. Since warrantage, input supply shops and fertilizer micro-dosing demonstrations increase use of inorganic fertilizer which in turn increases millet yields, these interventions indirectly increase millet yields, although the impacts are relatively small. These findings support promoting increased input use through promotion of inventory credit, input supply shops and fertilizer micro-dosing demonstrations. Other interventions that could help to boost productivity include promotion of improved access to farm equipment and traction animals and improved access to land under secure tenure.Crop Production/Industries,
Gender and innovation in agriculture: a case study of farmers varietal preference of drought tolerant maize in southern Guinea Savannah region of Nigeria
Maize is one of the worldsâ three primary cereal crops, sustainable increasing production of this crop is important to farmers to be able to meet the ever increasing consumption of maize which is one of the major reasons for the development of Drought tolerant maize variety (DTMA). The study analyses farmersâ varietal preference of drought tolerant maize in Southern Guinea Savannah region of Nigeria. It specifically determined the socioeconomic characteristics of farmers, identified their gender based preference for Drought Tolerant maize variety and elucidated the reasons for preference. Three-stage stratified sampling technique was used. Well-structured questionnaire was used to collect information from a total of 48 farmers. Descriptive, Ranking and LSD were used to analyse the data collected. The result of the analysis showed that majority of the male and female farmers have primary education and are youths. The result of varietal preference differs between genders in some locations Male farmers identified big cobs with full grains, big seed, and multiple cobs as the main reasons for their preference while female farmers identified yellow colour of seed, nutrient fortified seed and big cobs with full grains as the main reasons for their preference. It is therefore recommended that effort should be made to involve male and female farmers in the varietal selection procedure as to facilitate easy adoption of hybrid maize. The women are more concerned with the food security of their family and hence are important segment in maize innovation that improve the food security of farming households. It is therefore imperative that Programmes and policies should not exclude female farmers
Caractérisation des ménages producteurs de maïs en zone de savane sÚche au Bénin
Des Ă©tudes antĂ©rieures ont prĂ©dis que le maĂŻs deviendra une culture commerciale et assurera la sĂ©curitĂ© alimentaire mieux que toute autre culture. Dans le Nord du BĂ©nin par exemple, il vient en deuxiĂšme position aprĂšs le coton en tant que culture de subsistance et de rente. Selon le MinistĂšre de lâAgriculture, de lâĂlevage et de la PĂȘche (1997-2005), les superficies emblavĂ©es ont augmentĂ© de 583254 ha en 1997 Ă 714155 ha en 2004. Malheureusement, les rendements moyens ont stagnĂ© entre 1100 et 1250 kg/ha au cours de la mĂȘme pĂ©riode. Cette faiblesse de la productivitĂ© sâexpliquerait, entre autres, par la baisse de la fertilitĂ© des sols, lâutilisation de cultivars (semences, boutures etc..) inappropriĂ©s. Les paysans du Nord BĂ©nin utilisent essentiellement des semences traditionnelles. Par contre, on reproche gĂ©nĂ©ralement aux variĂ©tĂ©s amĂ©liorĂ©es plus productives dâĂȘtre trĂšs exigeantes en engrais minĂ©raux et pesticides spĂ©cifiques souvent difficiles Ă acquĂ©rir et de prĂ©senter des qualitĂ©s organoleptiques ne rĂ©pondant pas toujours aux exigences alimentaires des producteurs. La sĂ©cheresse est perçue par les agriculteurs dans bon nombre de zones agro Ă©cologiques comme un facteur perturbateur de la production des cultures dont le maĂŻs. AssociĂ©e aux dĂ©gĂąts des ravageurs, elle hypothĂšque les rendements et la qualitĂ© marchande des produits. Les effets nĂ©fastes de la sĂ©cheresse continuent donc de rĂ©duire la production dans les diffĂ©rentes zones agro Ă©cologiques du pays, du fait de lâabsence dâune large adoption de variĂ©tĂ©s tolĂ©rantes Ă ce facteur abiotique. Pour remĂ©dier Ă cette situation, le Centre international pour lâamĂ©lioration du maĂŻs et du blĂ© (CIMMYT) et lâInstitut international dâagriculture tropicale (IITA) ont initiĂ©
un projet de recherche sur le maĂŻs tolĂ©rant la sĂ©cheresse. Lâobjectif de ce projet est de rĂ©duire la faim et dâaugmenter la sĂ©curitĂ© alimentaire et financiĂšre des paysans aux ressources limitĂ©es, Ă travers la crĂ©ation et la diffusion des variĂ©tĂ©s de maĂŻs. Depuis son dĂ©marrage en 2007, de nouvelles technologies (variĂ©tĂ©s amĂ©liorĂ©es) sont en cours dâessais en station et en milieu rĂ©el. Ces variĂ©tĂ©s seront bientĂŽt proposĂ©es Ă la vulgarisation. Lâobjectif de cette recherche est dâĂ©tablir une situation de rĂ©fĂ©rence dans les zones dâintervention du projet DTMA en termes de niveau de vie des mĂ©nages, dâadoption des nouvelles variĂ©tĂ©s de maĂŻs et
dâadaptation aux catastrophes naturelles. Ce travail permettra de mieux apprĂ©cier lâimpact des interventions du projet DTMA en fournissant une base de comparaison. Ce document prĂ©sente la synthĂšse des enquĂȘtes de base rĂ©alisĂ©es dans les communes de Kandi et de TanguiĂ©ta dans le Nord BĂ©nin avec 175 exploitations tirĂ©es au hasardLâenquĂȘte a confirmĂ© le rĂŽle prĂ©pondĂ©rant que joue le maĂŻs dans la satisfaction des besoins alimentaire et financiers des populations de la zone. Cette Ă©tude a aussi permis de mettre en Ă©vidence les principales caractĂ©ristiques qui influencent et qui sont susceptibles dâinfluencer lâadoption de nouvelles variĂ©tĂ©s de maĂŻs. Lâun des principaux risques qui affectent les agriculteurs dans la zone dâĂ©tude est la fluctuation des prix de vente des rĂ©coltes. Pour pallier cette difficultĂ©, les exploitants bradent prĂ©maturĂ©ment leur production, recourent aux engrais minĂ©raux et organiques, et diversifient leurs activitĂ©s de production agricole. Les principaux chocs qui affectent la culture du maĂŻs sont : les dĂ©gĂąts causĂ©s par les animaux (en divagation), la sĂ©cheresse, la forte hausse du prix des intrants, et la baisse spectaculaire du prix du maĂŻs. Des efforts doivent ĂȘtre menĂ©s pour amĂ©liorer lâaccessibilitĂ© et la qualitĂ© des semences, de mĂȘme que la gestion de la fertilitĂ© des sols grĂące Ă des technologies adaptĂ©es. Selon les paysans, le DMR est actuellement la meilleure variĂ©tĂ© amĂ©liorĂ©e. Lâadoption des variĂ©tĂ©s amĂ©liorĂ©es semble ĂȘtre influencĂ©e par: lâappartenance aux associations, le genre, lâaccĂšs aux engrais chimiques (NPK, urĂ©e) et la taille de lâexploitation
Is taking gender into account for development and diffusion of agricultural innovations justified? The case of drought tolerant maize in Northern Benin
This study was initiated to contribute to the debate on the relationship between gender and adoption of innovations. It aims, under a participatory varietal selection, to identify the preferences of men and women farmers on maize varieties tolerant to drought in northern Benin. The methodology used is a comparison of two approaches to identify the best varieties according to gender. The first combines criteria weighting and a comparison of varieties. The second is based on the principle of democratic vote. Sixty farmers have participated in this study. The results of this work show two keys points. At the stage of criteria selection, women identified the organoleptic quality as a preferred seed characteristic. By comparing the results of the two methods of choice, it appears that both methods lead to the same results in the case of womenâs preferences, while in men groups, the results vary according to the methods. It contributes to the literature by showing how distinctly women can prioritize criteria that are not the top concern of the men and by the way, can contribute to increase the adoption of varieties that contains both preferences of men and women
Promoting the adoption of innovations through participatory approaches: example from northern Nigeria
Open Access JournalParticipatory research and development approaches involving all stakeholders along the value chain have recently been hypothesized to produce quicker outcomes than the linear technology transfer model. This paper analyzed the crop yield obtained by farmers and their uptake of improved technologies in a 2009 survey, one year after the completion of project field activities. It was a multi-stakeholder project involving research, extension, farmer groups, marketers and policymakers, that operated for 4 years (2005-2008) in Borno state of Nigeria. Survey results indicated that farmers who participated in project activitiesâ have been successful in increasing crop yields. Both yields and per capita production of major crops were statistically significantly higher (φ0.05) in project communities compared to non-project ones. It is also estimated that there was a decline in percentage of households in food insecurity situation in project communities. Probit regression revealed that participation in project activities had a positive and significant effect on household food security (φ0.05). It is then concluded that development interventions that involve multiple stakeholder partnership, use of participatory research and extension approach can help increase technology uptake among resourcepoor farmers as well as increase food production and food security in a region
Study of the dynamics of resource use and identification of policy gaps in agricultural production, processing, and marketing in the Sudan Savannas of Northern Nigeria
Assessing the impacts of cassava technology on poverty reduction in Africa
In Africa, there have been successes in cassava research in terms of the development of production technologies, particularly improved varieties with high yield potential. The study addresses the question of whether and to what extent adoption of improved cassava varieties has led to rural poverty reduction in four African countries, namely Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Zambia. Data for the study come from a household survey conducted in the above-mentioned countries through a multinational-CGIAR support to agricultural research for development of strategic crops (SARD-SC) project in Africa. Given the observational nature of the data, a parametric approach (endogenous switching regression model) is applied. The results indicate that the model detects selectivity bias. Accounting for the bias, we find that adoption of cassava technology has resulted in an approximately 10 percentage point reduction in the poverty rate. Given an adoption rate of 34 per cent and a 10 percentage point reduction in the poverty rate, an estimated 24,309 households (equivalent to 194,469 individuals) have managed to move out of poverty in these four countries as a result of adoption of the technology. We also find that adoption of the technology has benefitted non-poor and female-headed households, relative to poor and male-headed households. The results present important evidence in favour of promoting cassava technology in a targeted fashion as part of an effective poverty reduction and sustained agricultural growth strategy in Africa. Considering the large realised and even more pronounced potential impacts of the adoption of cassava technology on poverty reduction, it is vital that regional and global development organisations should continue supporting the existing cassava improvement programme to sustain the technology development efforts in the continent
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