Analyse diagnostique des systemes de culture en riziculture de bas-fonds a Gagnoa, au centre ouest de la Cote d’Ivoire

L’analyse diagnostique des systèmes de culture en riziculture de bas-fond vise une meilleure compréhension des pratiques culturales, l’estimation des résultats techniques et économiques, et l’identification des contraintes de production du riz en écologie de bas-fonds en Côte d’Ivoire. L’étude a été réalisée dans le pôle de développement rizicole de Gagnoa au Centre Ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire. La méthode de collecte des données était l’enquête de groupe au niveau village et l’enquête individuelle au niveau ménage basées sur une approche d’automatisation de collecte des données à l’aide des tablettes et Smartphones. La méthodologie d’échantillonnage stratifié et aléatoire a été utilisée. L’enquête a concerné 32 villages et 384 producteurs, à raison de 12 riziculteurs par village. Les résultats ont montré que 80% des riziculteurs chefs de ménage étaient de sexe masculin contre 20 % de riziculteurs chefs de ménage de sexe féminin. La superficie moyenne emblavée pour le riz était de 1 ha. Les rendements, encore faibles, variaient entre 1,53 et 1,70 t/ha, respectivement, en riziculture de bas-fond non aménagé (sans irrigation) et en riziculture de basfond aménagé (avec irrigation). Concernant les performances économiques, le revenu net d’exploitation en riziculture de bas-fond sans irrigation (33.903fcfa/ha) était inférieur à celui de bas-fond avec irrigation (78.083 fcfa/ha). Les riziculteurs à Gagnoa sont confrontés à plusieurs contraintes dont les plus citées sont les mauvaises herbes (29,2 %), les ravageurs, notamment les oiseaux, les mammifères rongeurs et les insectes (15,4 %) et l’insuffisance des moyens financiers (13,9 %). Ces résultats constituent une base utile pour les interventions futures dans le domaine de la riziculture pour assurer la sécurité alimentaire en Côte d’Ivoire.Mots clés: riz de bas-fonds, rentabilité, contraintes, Côte d’IvoireEnglish Title: Analysis of rice cropping systems in lowland ecology in Gagnoa, in the middle west of  Côte d’IvoireEnglish AbstractAnalysis of rice cropping systems in lowland ecology in Gagnoa, in the Middle West of Côte d’Ivoire aims a better understanding of agricultural practices, estimation of technical and economic performance and identification of constraints of rice production. This study was done in the rice hub of Gagnoa. Focus-group and household level interviews with tablets and Smartphones were used for data collection. Stratified and random sampling methods were adopted to select 32 villages and 384 rice producers (12 rice growers per village).Results showed that 80 % of household heads are male and 20 % are female. Rice area in the region was on average 1 ha per household. Yields, still low, varied from 1.53 to 1.70 tons/ha in rainfed lowland and irrigated lowland, respectively. Regarding the economic performances of cropping systems, net revenue in rainfed lowland (33.903 fcfa/ha) is lower than the one in the irrigated system (78.083 fcfa/ha)...infestation (29.2 %), rice pest such as birds, rodent and insects (15.4 %) and lake of credit (13.9 %). These results are useful for further investigations in the rice production for food security in Côte d’Ivoire.Keywords: lowland rice, profitability, constraints, Côte d’Ivoir

Agribusiness Cluster Impact Analysis on Economics Effectiveness of Soybean Producers in Benin

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of agricultural clusters on the economic effectiveness of Benin's soybean producers. The questionnaire has been sent to a total of 360 of producers those belonging to an Agribusiness Cluster (ABC) and who do not participate. The invested producers were selected randomly. The data have been analyzed by the process of propensity scores matching (PSM), but before that the technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of these producers were estimated using the function of the stochastic borders. At the end of the analyses, the producers in the study area are average effectively at 53.64%. The results show that some of the method of estimating the ABC membership effect, the agribusiness cluster has a positive and significant positive effect on economic efficiency. So policies can be based on this tool in this perspective to make more produce producers globally. Keywords: Agribusiness Cluster (ABC); Economic efficiency; Pairing of propensity scores; Soybea

Addressing diarrhea prevalence in the West African Middle Belt: social and geographic dimensions in a case study for Benin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In West Africa, the Northern Sahelian zone and the coastal areas are densely populated but the Middle Belt in between is in general sparsely settled. Predictions of climate change foresee more frequent drought in the north and more frequent flooding in the coastal areas, while conditions in the Middle Belt will remain moderate. Consequently, the Middle Belt might become a major area for immigration but there may be constraining factors as well, particularly with respect to water availability. As a case study, the paper looks into the capacity of the Middle Belt zone of Benin, known as the Oueme River Basin (ORB), to reduce diarrhea prevalence. In Benin it links to the Millennium Development Goals on child mortality and environmental sustainability that are currently farthest from realization. However, diarrhea prevalence is only in part due to lack of availability of drinking water from a safe source. Social factors such as hygienic practices and poor sanitation are also at play. Furthermore, we consider these factors to possess the properties of a local public good that suffers from under provision and requires collective action, as individual actions to prevent illness are bound to fail as long as others free ride.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Combining data from the Demographic Health Survey with various spatial data sets for Benin, we apply mixed effect logit regression to arrive at a spatially explicit assessment of geographical and social determinants of diarrhea prevalence. Starting from an analysis of these factors separately at national level, we identify relevant proxies at household level, estimate a function with geo-referenced independent variables and apply it to evaluate the costs and impacts of improving access to good water in the basin.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>First, the study confirms the well established stylized fact on the causes of diarrhea that a household with access to clean water and with good hygienic practices will, irrespective of other conditions, not suffer diarrhea very often. Second, our endogeneity tests show that joint estimation performs better than an instrumental variable regression. Third, our model is stable with respect to its functional form, as competing specifications could not achieve better performance in overall likelihood or significance of parameters. Fourth, it finds that the richer and better educated segments of the population suffer much less from the disease and apparently can secure safe water for their households, irrespective of where they live. Fifth, regarding geographical causes, it indicates that diarrhea prevalence varies with groundwater availability and quality across Benin. Finally, our assessment of costs and benefits reveals that improving physical access to safe water is not expensive but can only marginally improve the overall health situation of the basin, unless the necessary complementary measures are taken in the social sphere.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The ORB provides adequate water resources to accommodate future settlers but it lacks appropriate infrastructure to deliver safe water to households. Moreover, hygienic practices are often deficient. Therefore, a multifaceted approach is needed that acknowledges the public good aspects of health situation and consequently combines collective action with investments into water sources with improved management of public wells and further educational efforts to change hygienic practices.</p

Performance environnementale et economique dans la production de la grande morelle (Solanum macrocarpon) au Sud du Benin : Une evaluation des efficacites technique, allocative, economique

L’objectif de cette étude est d’analyser les efficacités technique, allocative et économique dans la production de la grande morelle. Pour cela, une&nbsp; étude descriptive et analytique a été réalisée sur un échantillon de 126 maraîchers des sites de production de Houéyiho, de Sèmè-Kpodji et de&nbsp; Ouidah au sud du Bénin. Les efficacités technique et économique ont été estimées respectivement à l’aide des modèles frontières stochastiques translogarithmique et fonction de coût dual avec la spécification Cobb-Douglas. Le modèle de régression tobit a été utilisé afin d’identifier les facteurs déterminants les efficacités des producteurs. Les résultats obtenus montrent que les facteurs main-d’oeuvre et engrais chimique sont sur-utilisés, ce qui entraîne des inefficacités dans la production. Les efficacités technique, allocative et économique sont respectivement en moyenne de 0,689 ; 0,882 et de 0,607. L’âge du producteur, la superficie emblavée, la contribution de la grande morelle dans le revenu, le niveau d’instruction et la formation technique sont les principaux déterminants des efficacités technique, allocative et économique des producteurs de la grande morelle. Sur la base des résultats obtenus, il importe d’améliorer l’efficacité des producteurs et augmenter ainsi leur profit par la recherche de moyens de lutte efficace et le renforcement de l’encadrement technique des producteurs. Mots clés : efficacités, frontières stochastiques, fonctions translog, fonction Cobb-Douglas, Solanum macrocarpon. English title: Environmental and economic performance in the production of the great nightshade (&lt;i&gt;Solanum Macrocarpon&lt;/i&gt;) in southern Benin: An assessment of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies The objective of this study is to analyse the technical, allocative and economic efficiencies in the production of Solanum macrocarpon in Southern-Benin. For this purpose, a descriptive and analytical study was conducted among 126 Solanum macrocarpon growers in Cotonou, Sèmè-kpodji and Ouidah. The technical and economic efficiencies were estimated respectively using translogarithmic stochastic frontier models and dual cost function with the Cobb-Douglas specification. The Tobit regression model was used to identify the determinants of producers efficiencies. The results show that labor and chemical fertilizers are overused, leading to inefficiencies in production. The averages of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies are 0.689; 0.882 and 0.607 respectively. The age of the producer, the surface grown, the contribution of solanum in the income, the educational level and the training in farming are the principal determinants of the technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of the solanum’s producers. On the basis of result obtained, it is important to improve the efficiency of the producers and thus to increase their profit by the search for effective means of pest control and the reinforcement of producer’s technical framing. Key words: efficiency, stochastic frontier analysis, translog function, Cobb-Douglas function, Solanum macrocarpon

Drivers of adoption and impacts of the improved GEM parboiling system for rice value chain upgrading on livelihood of women rice parboilers in Benin

Food insecurity and child malnutrition remain persistent problems in sub-Saharan Africa. Rice is a staple food for more than half of the world’s population. However, white rice is poor in micronutrients and records higher glycemic values compared to parboiled rice. An improved parboiling system called “Grain quality enhancer, Energy-efficient and durable Material” (GEM in short) allows the processing of quality rice with better physical and nutritional properties compared to traditional systems. This paper assessed the drivers and impact of the adoption of the GEM system on women’s livelihoods. A total of 822 rice women parboilers were randomly sampled and interviewed in Benin, in regions where the GEM system was introduced. We employed the endogenous switching regression model (ESR) to assess the impact of the GEM system. We found evidence that adoption of the GEM system increased women parboilers’ rice output rate (milling return), income and food security and reduced poverty. The impact of the GEM system is estimated at 14.4 kg of milled rice per 100 kg of paddy (21%), equivalent to US$ 7.3 of additional income (18%). A significantly lower poverty rate of 26% was found among households due to the adoption of the GEM system. These results are supported by women’s perceptions that the output rate, better nutritional value and reduction of broken rice during milling are major advantages of the improved parboiling system. Policy actions such as training of local fabricators and credit options are required for out-scaling and sustainability of the improved parboiling system

Is personalized better: Digital advisory and productivity differentials in rice farming in Nigeria

Personalized extension advisory deliver information that are more compatible with farmer production conditions and has a better chance of adoption and impacts. We exploit a rich four-round experimental panel data on RiceAdvice, a decision support app that provides personalized information on soil fertility management and other agri cultural practices to rice farmers. We evaluate the impact of the app on technological, managerial, frontier yield, and fertilizer productivity differentials, while accounting for differences in production technologies possessed by the different treatment groups. Re sults based on the true random effects estimator suggest that exposure to RiceAdvice significantly increases the production possibilities and managerial performance of rice smallholders exposed to it (treated farmers), leading to an upward shift in the produc tion frontier for those same farmers. Exposed farmers also have higher mean fertilizer productivity compared to the unexposed, especially when bundled with fertilizer in puts. The impacts are stronger in the early years but wanes over time. Ensuring consistent access to the app as well as fertilizer input could help sustain the gain

Moving toward rice self-sufficiency in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030: Lessons learned from 10 years of the Coalition for African Rice Development

The Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) was initiated as a policy framework with the aim of doubling rice production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the period from 2008 to 2018. This paper assesses the contribution of the CARD policy to rice production and forecasts the local rice supply and demand to provide a better understanding of the policies needed to attain rice self-sufficiency by 2030. A combination of the autoregressive integrated moving average method and counterfactual approach was adopted using rice statistical data from 23 countries in SSA. The results showed that the contribution of CARD to paddy rice production in 2018 was 10.2 million tons, equivalent to 74% of the target. This contribution resulted from increases in area and yield of 23% and 19%, respectively. However, the yield growth rate was not sustainable in almost two-thirds of countries. Investments in supply-push factors such as fertilizer and irrigation development, which were the focus in the past, have limited effects on rice production. We conclude that sustainable investments in demand-pull factors such as the private-led modern milling sector and contract farming development should be prioritized to achieve rice self-sufficiency in SSA

Value chain and multi-crop baseline of the Transforming Agrifood Systems in West and Central Africa Initiative (TAFS-WCA): A case study of Nigeria

This report presents the baseline survey of the Transforming Agrifood Systems in West and Central Africa (TAFS-WCA) initiative in Nigeria. Three regions of Nigeria were surveyed. Data were collected with smart tablets using the CSPro application. A total of 1200 actors in agricultural production and value chain were surveyed during the baseline data collection in in Rwanda. These are mainly rice, maize, soybean, beans, cassava, sweet potato, banana, African vegetables, inputs dealers, traders, processors and service providers. All data analyses were carried out with the STATA 16 software. Among the population of producers, 16.33% (196) are rice producers, 8.25% (99) are maize producers, 8.42% (101) are soybean producers, 8.83% (106) are bean producers, 8.58% (103) are yams producers, 8.00% (96) are cassava producers, 8.67% (104) are sweet potato producers, 8.25% (99) are banana producers, 8.33% (100) are African vegetables producers, 0.08% (1) are inputs dealer, 15.33% (184) are traders, 0.33% (4) are processors and 0.58% (7) are service providers. The average age of rice farmers is 40 years old and ranges from 15 to 80 years old, and their mean household size is 7 people. About 74% of actors are male and 93% are married. In addition, 87% of the respondents have received formal education and 82% have crop production as their main activity. Moreover, 97 % of producers grow crops during the rainy season, 2.29% during both seasons while 0.49% in dry season. It should also be noted that in the face of climate change, less than 30% and 22% of producers have access to forecasts of extreme events (drought, flood, strong wind, etc.) and information on seasonal forecasts (weather for the following 2-3 months) respectively. In relation to food security and the poverty index, preliminary results show that the vast majority of farmers’ households have an acceptable level of dietary diversity, meal frequency and nutritional importance of the food groups consumed; and the poverty index of the population is 49%