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,

A History of the Brockport Collegiate Institute: 1832 to 1867

This thesis was done by Miss Butler at the University of Rochester. She was a Brockport native who graduated from the Normal school in 1929, later attending University of Rochester for her bachelors and master\u27s degrees. She taught for many years in the Brockport schools, retiring in 1968. Her thesis is a fine historical account of the old Collegiate Institute, and gives a detailed, careful accounting of the beginnings of the school, the physical plant, the nature of teaching, textbooks used, the financial challenges, student life and much more. An excellent analysis on the life of a 19th century private academy

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,

Social Dynamics in Second Language Accent: Trends in Applied Linguistics

This volume offers a definitive source for understanding social influences in L2 pronunciation, demonstrating the importance of empirical findings from a number of research perspectives, and outlining the directions that future work can take. The aim is to present a coherent argument for the significance of social factors and how they contribute to phonological acquisition.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/engl_books/1009/thumbnail.jp

The poverty impacts of improved cowpea varieties in Nigeria: a counterfactual analysis

Open Access Article; Published online: 12 June 2019Adoption of improved agricultural technologies has long been recognized as critical for reducing poverty through increased productivity, incomes, and asset accumulation. Using a nationally representative survey data from a sample of over 1500 households in Nigeria, this paper evaluates the impacts of adoption of improved cowpea varieties on income and asset poverty reduction using an endogenous switching regression model. The results showed that adoption of improved cowpea varieties increased per capita household income and asset ownership by 17 and 24 percentage points, respectively. The results based on the observed and counterfactual income and asset distributions further showed that adoption reduced both income poverty and asset poverty by 5 percentage points. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy options for increasing adoption and impacts of improved cowpea varieties in Nigeria

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,

Intra-household impact of improved dual-purpose cowpea on women in northern Nigeria

This study explores the intra-household impact of transfer of improved dualpurpose cowpea from a gender perspective. Increased productivity by IDPC, has increased food, fodder and income availability. The impact of which is linked to the income it has placed in the women’s hands. Surplus income has been found to be extremely important in providing food and nutritional benefits to the home, particularly during periods of risk. Most importantly, income generated through the adoption of IDPC has entered a largely female domain, where transfers of gifts and income reserves were passed on from generation to generation. Having meaningful impact towards the social and economic development for the women. However, the technology has strengthened the separation of working spheres between men and women, with the associated seclusion of wives. Future IITA technologies, should attempt from the onset, to use alternatives, existing within the local rubric, to target women, with the aim of expanding their participation and contribution to agriculture with the associated benefits to their families

Socio-economic factors and smallholder cassava farmers' access to credit in south-western Nigeria

Open Access JournalRésumé Facteurs socio-économiques et accès au crédit des petits producteurs de manioc dans le sud-ouest du Nigeria L'accès au crédit est un facteur important pour l'augmentation de la productivité agricole. Le modèle " Tobit" a été utilisé pour évaluer les facteurs qui influencent l'intensité de l'accès au crédit des petits producteurs de manioc du sud-Ouest du Nigeria. Les données primaires utilisées ont été collectées, auprès de 856 ménages, lors d'une enquête conduite par l'International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) en 2011. Les résultats du modèle empirique Tobit indiquent que seules sept des 11 variables sont statistiquement liées à l'intensité de l'accès au crédit. Cependant, seules les variables cheptel, production totale de manioc, valeur monétaire des actifs productifs du ménage et taille du ménage ont une influence positive et statistiquement différente de zéro sur l'intensité de l'accès au crédit. L'augmentation de ces variables permettrait d'augmenter le montant du crédit auquel un agriculteur pourrait avoir accès. Les politiques qui mèneront à l'amélioration de la diversification par l'élevage, l'augmentation de la production de manioc et l'accumulation d'actifs des agriculteurs sont recommandées pour cette région. Abstract Access to credit is an important factor in the attainment of agricultural productivity increase. We adopted a Tobit model to assess the factors that influence the intensity of rural smallholder cassava farmers' access to credit in Southwest Nigeria, using primary data collected from 856 rural households by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in 2011. The results of the empirical Tobit model indicate that seven out of the 11 variables included in the model are statistically related to the intensity of access to credit. However, only total livestock unit, cassava output, monetary value of the households' productive assets and household size are positively and statistically significant. This implies that increase in output, diversification of households' income sources into livestock production and accumulation of assets are important variables that have the potential to enhance farmers' access to larger amounts of credit. Therefore, policies that will lead to improve farmers' outputs and/or increase diversification and assets accumulation are recommended for this region