Piloting, testing and scaling parental training: a multi-partnership approach in Côte d’Ivoire

Background and objectivesEarly Childhood Development is high on the policy agenda in Côte d’Ivoire, where the government has identified it as part of its overall approach to improve human capital outcomes. This paper describes a multi-partner approach to piloting, monitoring, adaption, testing and scaling of parental training for ECD. It discusses the learnings from the pilots, and present early evaluation results from two RCTs, focusing on parental participation in trainings and acceptability of messages, with the objective to inform national scaling strategies. As such, this paper illustrates how “MEL systems contributed to ensuring that positive early childhood development (ECD) outcomes were improved as interventions were seeking to achieve scale,” one of the research questions outlined in the call description for the special issue. The paper further provides a real-world example of “How MEL systems can support contributions and buy-in from a variety of stakeholders as ECD interventions (seek to) achieve impacts at scale (e.g., through the public system)?MethodsFive training approaches to improve caregivers’ knowledge and practices around nutrition, preventive health, stimulation, and disciplining were piloted at small scale between 2018 and 2020. An intensive process evaluation was embedded to identify strengths and weaknesses, adapt through an iterative phase, and ultimately make recommendations for their scale up against 11 defined criteria. In early 2021, the two most promising approaches were scaled through two clustered randomized control trials to more than 150 villages each. A cost-effectiveness study was designed in consultation with government stakeholders, centered around targeting different caregivers and decision makers in the household and the extended family and on enhancing community interactions around ECD.ResultsThe evaluation of the five pilots identified one model recommended to be scaled, and one other model to scale after further adaptations. Monitoring and evaluation data from the two models at scale show high levels of participation and acceptability of core messages. Experimental variations involving community champions and fathers increase participation.ConclusionThe iterative and multi-partner process led to two models of parenting training that have wide acceptability. Future work will analyze impacts on cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes, together with cost analysis

L’incertitude en tant que frein à l’adoption de pratiques d’atténuation dans l’agriculture

Hidden costs limit the reduction of GHG emissions associated to agricultural productions. Uncertainty is inherent in farmers’ production decisions, and impact them through different drivers: beliefs, risk, information, ambiguity, are just as many elements that can limit the spread of mitigation practices in the agricultural sector. In this thesis, we first present a complete literature review about agri-environmental measures and the diverse approaches of uncertainty in microeconomics and agricultural economics. We then develop a model of adoption decision showing that 3 hidden costs associated to uncertainty can prevent new practices’ adoption in a non-additive way and coexist (option value, risk premium, informational externalities), so that the regulator must socialize them in order to reduce GHG emissions. Then, we implement a land conversion model and extent it in an empirical estimation strategy of the impact of herb yields volatility on the shadow value of grasslands in the French forage mix. The multinomial logistic model is estimated through an instrumental approach using meteorological data. Finally, we make a survey of a sample of farmers in order to measure their attitudes towards risk and ambiguity (Multiple price list) and estimate their impact on nitrogen fertilization decisions, according to the whole application and the splitting practice.Des coûts cachés limitent la réduction des émissions de GES liées aux production agricoles. L’incertitude est inhérente aux décisions de production des agriculteurs, et les impacte via divers canaux : croyances, risque, information, ambiguïté, sont autant de freins qui peuvent limiter la diffusion de pratiques d’atténuation dans le secteur agricole. Dans cette thèse nous présentons d’abord une revue de littérature complète sur les mesures agro-environnementales et sur les différentes approches utiles de l’incertitude en microéconomie et économie agricole. Nous développons ensuite un modèle de décision d’adoption montrant que 3 coûts cachés liés à l’incertitude peuvent limiter l’adoption de nouvelles pratiques de manière non additive et coexister (valeur d’option, prime de risque, externalités informationnelle), de sorte que le régulateur doit les socialiser dans un objectif de réduction des émissions de GES. Puis, nous adoptons un modèle de conversion des terres et en déduisons une stratégie empirique d’estimation de l’impact de la volatilité des rendements herbagers sur les valeurs implicites des prairies dans le mix fourrager français. Le modèle logistique multinomial est estimé par une approche instrumentale utilisant des données météorologiques. Enfin, nous menons une enquête sur un échantillon d’agriculteurs afin de mesurer leur attitudes face au risque et à l’ambiguïté (Multiple price list) et estimer leur impact sur les décisions de fertilisation azotée, en terme d’application totale et de splitting

Uncertainty as a barrier to adoption of mitigation practices in the agricultural sector

Des coûts cachés limitent la réduction des émissions de GES liées aux production agricoles. L’incertitude est inhérente aux décisions de production des agriculteurs, et les impacte via divers canaux : croyances, risque, information, ambiguïté, sont autant de freins qui peuvent limiter la diffusion de pratiques d’atténuation dans le secteur agricole. Dans cette thèse nous présentons d’abord une revue de littérature complète sur les mesures agro-environnementales et sur les différentes approches utiles de l’incertitude en microéconomie et économie agricole. Nous développons ensuite un modèle de décision d’adoption montrant que 3 coûts cachés liés à l’incertitude peuvent limiter l’adoption de nouvelles pratiques de manière non additive et coexister (valeur d’option, prime de risque, externalités informationnelle), de sorte que le régulateur doit les socialiser dans un objectif de réduction des émissions de GES. Puis, nous adoptons un modèle de conversion des terres et en déduisons une stratégie empirique d’estimation de l’impact de la volatilité des rendements herbagers sur les valeurs implicites des prairies dans le mix fourrager français. Le modèle logistique multinomial est estimé par une approche instrumentale utilisant des données météorologiques. Enfin, nous menons une enquête sur un échantillon d’agriculteurs afin de mesurer leur attitudes face au risque et à l’ambiguïté (Multiple price list) et estimer leur impact sur les décisions de fertilisation azotée, en terme d’application totale et de splitting.Hidden costs limit the reduction of GHG emissions associated to agricultural productions. Uncertainty is inherent in farmers’ production decisions, and impact them through different drivers: beliefs, risk, information, ambiguity, are just as many elements that can limit the spread of mitigation practices in the agricultural sector. In this thesis, we first present a complete literature review about agri-environmental measures and the diverse approaches of uncertainty in microeconomics and agricultural economics. We then develop a model of adoption decision showing that 3 hidden costs associated to uncertainty can prevent new practices’ adoption in a non-additive way and coexist (option value, risk premium, informational externalities), so that the regulator must socialize them in order to reduce GHG emissions. Then, we implement a land conversion model and extent it in an empirical estimation strategy of the impact of herb yields volatility on the shadow value of grasslands in the French forage mix. The multinomial logistic model is estimated through an instrumental approach using meteorological data. Finally, we make a survey of a sample of farmers in order to measure their attitudes towards risk and ambiguity (Multiple price list) and estimate their impact on nitrogen fertilization decisions, according to the whole application and the splitting practice

Role of Farmers’ Risk and Ambiguity Preferences on Fertilization Decisions: An Experiment

In the context of climate change, the agricultural sector offers a large number of mitigation possibilities through diverse practices, such as the reduction of pollutant inputs. However, most farmers do not adopt the mitigation practices recommended, including the reduction of nitrogen fertilization. At the same time, various uncertainties characterize agricultural production, so that the farmer’s risk and ambiguity preferences may be potential determinants to the adoption of mitigation practices. In this context, the objective of the article is to determine if the farmer’s risk and ambiguity preferences explain (or not) the fertilization decision. A questionnaire was submitted to French farmers to elicit risk and ambiguity preferences through lottery choices, and ask questions about fertilization. Two regressions were realized, the first to explain the total fertilization and the second to identify the determinants of the first fertilization application. The results reveal that respondents were mostly risk-averse and ambiguity-neutral. In addition, risk and ambiguity aversion impact fertilization practices through diverse drivers in opposite directions. Indeed, being risk-averse is associated with a lower level of total fertilization, whereas ambiguity aversion has a positive and significant impact on the level of fertilization at the first application. This last result highlights the need to reduce the uncertainty farmers face

La neutralité carbone ? Un objectif hors d’atteinte sans implication forte de l’agriculture

National audienceLa neutralité carbone ? Un objectif hors d’atteinte sans implication forte de l’agricultur

Freins à l'adoption de mesures d'atténuation des gaz à effet de serre dans l'agriculture : Quels rôles pour l’aversion au risque et l’aversion à l’ambiguïté ?

La responsabilité du secteur agricole français en matière d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) n’est plus à prouver. Face à ce constat, des mesures d’atténuation sont proposées aux agriculteurs français. Or, une étude récente montre que ceux-ci auraient intérêt économiquement à mettre en place ces mesures, mais qu’ils ne le font pas. Partant de là, les auteurs se demandent si l’aversion au risque et l’aversion à l’ambiguïté des agriculteurs pourraient apporter un nouvel éclairage sur les freins à l’adoption des mesures d’abattement. Pour cela, ils présentent et utilisent les théories économiques du risque et de l’ambiguïté existantes, ainsi que la littérature empirique s’attachant à caractériser les préférences individuelles face au risque et à l’ambiguïté.The responsibility of the French agricultural sector for greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) is no longer to be proven. Faced with this, mitigation measures are proposed to French farmers. However, a recent study shows that it would be economically advantageous for these measures to be put in place, but they do not. On this basis, we question whether risk aversion and aversion to ambiguity of farmers could shed new light on the obstacles to the adoption of abatement measures. To do so, we present and use the existing economic theories of risk and ambiguity, as well as the empirical literature that attempts to characterize individual preferences in the face of risk and ambiguity