Technology adoption and farmer efficiency in multiple crops production in eastern Ethiopia: A comparison of parametric and non-parametric distance functions

This study compares the empirical performances of the parametric distance functions(PDF) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) with applications to adopters of improved cereal production technology in eastern Ethiopia. The results from both approaches revealed substantial technical inefficiencies of production among the sample farmers. Technical efficiency estimates obtained from the two approaches are positively and significantly correlated. However, the DEA approach is shown to be very sensitive to outliers as well as to the choice of orientation. The PDF results are relatively more robust. The results from the preferred PDF approach revealed that adopters of improved technology have average technical efficiencies of 79%, implying that they could potentially raise their food crop production by an average 21% through full exploitation of the potentials of improved varieties and mineral fertilizer. The results confirm that food production even under improved technology involves substantial inefficiency. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential underlying factors influencing farmer efficiency under improved technology, such as poor extension, education, credit, and input supply systems.Multiple outputs, Distance functions, DEA, Technical efficiency, Ethiopia, Farm Management, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

MEASURING THE IMPACT OF ETHIOPIA'S NEW EXTENSION PROGRAM ON THE PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY OF FARMERS

This paper employed a robust stochastic efficiency decomposition technique that accounts for scale effects to derive the technical, allocative, and overall productive efficiency of two samples of farmers, participants and non-participants in the New Extension Program (NEP), in two agro-climatic zones in eastern Ethiopia. Using data for the 2001/2002 agricultural year, we find that both groups of farmers in the two zones have considerable overall productive inefficiencies. In the wet highlands, although the participants in NEP used a superior technology and have higher technical efficiencies, their allocative efficiencies turned out to be lower than the non-participant farmers, relative to their respective technologies. However, both groups exhibit similar productive efficiencies. In the dry lands, apart from using homogeneous production technologies, the two groups do not have significantly different technical and allocative efficiencies and that they have similar productive efficiencies. Therefore, we find no empirical evidence of a positive impact of NEP on overall productive efficiency in both agro-climatic zones. An investigation of the influence of several socio-economic and institutional factors revealed that education, credit, previous participation in extension programs, off-farm income and the share of the leading cropping system have a positive impact on efficiency.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Determinants of adoption and intensity of use of improved maize varieties in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia: A Tobit analysis

This study employed a Tobit model to examine factors that influence the adoption and intensity of utilisation of improved maize varieties in the West Shoa Zone in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The estimated results indicate that level of education, household labour, farm size, extension services, farm income, and timely availability of improved maize seeds significantly influence the adoption and intensity of use of improved maize. It also showed that the impact of off-farm income and age of the household head on adoption and intensity of use of improved maize seed was insignificant.Crop Production/Industries,

The Efficiency-Equity Tradeoffs in Agricultural Research Priority Setting: The Potential Impacts of Agricultural Research on Economic Surplus and Poverty Reduction in Nigeria

Public agricultural research has come under increasing pressure to redefine its strategic priorities to contribute to poverty alleviation goals. However, the issue of whether the poor benefit more from agricultural research that pursues efficiency or equity objectives remains unresolved, largely due to lack of empirical evidence on the nature and magnitude of the efficiencyequity tradeoffs. This paper estimates the potential impacts of agricultural research on economic surplus and poverty reduction in Nigeria, identifies strategic priorities according to both efficiency and equity criteria, and examines the nature and magnitude of the efficiencyequity tradeoffs. The results show that there are no significant efficiencyequity tradeoffs because the rural poor in Nigeria depend mainly on the production of food staples for both consumption and household income. Although introducing a poverty dimension does not result in a significant shift in strategic priorities, greater benefits to the poor are possible through poverty-based targeting without compromising total benefits. However, efforts made towards the realization of potential benefits to the poor from pursuing either efficiency or equity objectives would be more important than mere targeting of research. Therefore, both agricultural research and support services, including extension, credit, input supply, and infrastructure, should be targeted to the poor to achieve poverty alleviation goals through agricultural research.poverty reduction, economic surplus, research priority setting, Nigeria, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, I32, I38, O13, O32, Q16,

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

Livelihood Strategies of Resource-Poor Farmers in Striga-Infested Areas of Western Kenya.

Striga hermonthica (del) Benth is threatening rural livelihoods in western Kenya where maize is the major food and cash crop. Vulnerability analysis was conducted on a sample of 802 households in eight districts of Nyanza and Western provinces. Farmers perceived Striga as the major cause of poverty and food insecurity. Both household income and child nutrition indicators showed alarming conditions for the majority of households. The coping strategies and informal safety nets were not capable of addressing the vulnerability issue successfully. A logistic regression model of determinants of poverty was estimated to examine the determinants and correlates of poverty. Results revealed certain characteristics of households that were more likely to be poor: poor access to land and farm assets; high dependency ratio; headed by older farmer with low education attainment; no off-farm work, no cash crops; depend on credit; Striga has been on the farm for long, high perceived yield loss to Striga given high dependency on maize for livelihoods; adopt no integrated Striga control options; and live in Bondo and Vihiga districts. The paper concludes with implications for policy to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the Striga-affected areas of western Kenya. Key words: livelihoods, maize, Striga, Kenya, Logitlivelihoods, maize, Kenya, Striga, logit, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Marketing, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Strategic assessment of yam research priorities.

This paper documents the procedure and findings of an ex-ante assessment of key yam research options. Following the general methodology agreed for the RTB priority assessment, the economic surplus model was used to estimate benefits for the different scenarios. In the end, five research options were considered for analysis based on available data and methodological suitability. These were (1) improved yam varieties with complementary ICM options, (2) clean planting materials and agronomic practices, (3) postharvest innovations, (4) pest and disease management options, and (5) ICM interventions. Model results show that, under the low adoption scenario, the land area coverable by different technologies ranged 220,000–870,000 ha in all the yam-growing countries

Smallholder farmers' willingness to pay for two-wheel tractor-based mechanisation services in Zambia and Zimbabwe

Mechanisation is back among top development policy priorities for transforming African smallholder agriculture. Yet previous and ongoing efforts ubiquitously suffer from lack of scientific information on end-user effective demand for different types of mechanical innovations to inform public investment or business development programmes. We assess smallholder farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for two-wheel tractor (2WT)-based ripping, direct seeding and transportation using a random sample of 2800 smallholder households in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Applying the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak Mechanism (BDM) experimental auctions, we find that at least 50% of sample households in Zambia and Zimbabwe were willing to pay more than the prevailing market prices for ripping. In nominal terms, sample households in Zimbabwe were willing to pay more than those in Zambia for the different services. Empirical results suggest that wealth is the strongest driver of WTP for tillage and seeding 2WT services while labour availability and using animal draft power reduce it. These findings imply a need to (i) raise awareness and create demand for 2WT-based services in an inclusive business manner that does not create perverse incentives and (ii) better target mechanisation to operations with comparative advantage, using approaches that bundle 2WT-based and other mechanisation services with asset-agnostic credit schemes or other interventions meant to overcome asset-mediated barriers

Willingness to pay for agricultural mechanization services by smallholder farmers in Malawi

One of the main barriers to adopting smallholder agricultural mechanization in developing countries is the mismatch between the economies of scale of machines and farm size. Private sector-led mechanization services hold a promise to address this challenge, but there is a lack of evidence on demand for smallholder mechanization services. This study estimates the farmers' willingness to pay for mechanization services using the double-bounded contingent valuation method and data from 1512 households. Results show that, on average, farmers are willing to pay 11%, 33%, and 5% more than prevailing market rates for land preparation, maize shelling, and transportation services, respectively. The amounts farmers are willing to pay for the mechanization services vary by sex, age group, size of cultivated land, the value of farmer assets, market access, and agroecology. Men are willing to pay 26%, 25%, and 11% more than women for land preparation, maize shelling, and transportation services. Moreover, 40% of female and 90% of male farmers are willing to pay more than or equal to the prevailing market rate for land preparation services. The high demand for mechanization services among smallholder farmers points to the need for making the machinery available to rural communities through mechanization service providers or machinery hiring centers run by the private sector. The paper concludes by discussing the contextual factors and policy options for promoting smallholder mechanization in Malawi. [EconLit Citations: O33, Q11, Q13, Q16]

Unexploited yield and profitability potentials of improved varietal technologies: the case of hybrid maize in Western Ethiopia

In view of the considerable potential for increasing food production through the generation and use of new agricultural technology, many developing countries have invested in agricultural research and extension. However, the issue of whether he intended production gains from new technologies have actually been realized by poor farmers has received little or no attention. This peruseda stochastic frontier efficiency decomposition methodology to derive the technical, allocative, and economic efficiency measures for a sample of hybrid maize producers in Western Ethiopia. The results revealed under exploitation of the potential of hybrid maize and indicated that farmers could increase production, on average, by 26% if they all adopted the recommended management practices. Furthermore, adoption of the recommended management practices coupled with optimum use of inputs, especially fertilizer, would enable the farmers to reduce production costs by an average of 39%. lncreased yields would lower per unit production cost and increase the profitability of maize production. This would in turn ensure sustainable use of improved agricultural technologies. Education, provision of input credit, and timely availability of critical inputs are positively and significantly related to the efficiency of hybrid maize production