Targeting rural development interventions : empirical agent-based modeling in Nigerien villages

International audienceThe aim of this article is to analyze the impact of development interventions on the population of three Nigerien villages that differ in terms of their agro-ecological, social and economic characteristics. This is performed by simulating the behavior of individuals in an agent-based modeling framework which integrates the village characteristics as well as the family internal rules that condition access to economic and production activities. Villagers are differentiated according to the social and agro-ecological constraints they are subjected to. Two development project interventions are simulated, assuming no land scarcity: increasing the availability of inorganic fertilizers for farmers and an inventory credit technique based on millet grain. Two distinct approaches were used to model the rationale of farmers' decision making: gains or losses in economic value or gains or losses in within-village ''reputation''. Our results show that village populations do not respond en masse to development interventions. Reputation has little effect on the population behavior and should be considered more as a local proxy for wealth amongst villagers, suggesting the monetization of these societies. Populations involve themselves in the two simulated development interventions only at sites where savings are possible. Some level of household food security and investment capacity is actually required to take part in the development interventions, which are largely conditioned by family manpower and size. As long as uncultivated land remains available in the village territory, support for inorganic fertilizers has little impact in the absence of any intensification process. Inventory credit engages a maximum of 25% of the population at the site with medium agro-ecological conditions. Therefore, both interventions should be viewed as a potential support tool for a limited part of the population capable of going beyond the survival level, but not as a generic poverty-alleviation panacea

Benchmarking humanitarian support : empirical agent-based modeling of development action types in Nigerian villages

International audienceThe purpose of this article is to simulate and analyze the impacts of development interventions on the population of three different sites in Sahelian millet-cropping Niger (Sahelian Africa), taking account the differentiation of social and agro-ecological constraints on the different types of villagers. The work is based on a previous article (Saqalli, 2006), which has shown that using an individual Agent-based model (ABM) is a relevant approach to integrate agro-ecological, social and economic characteristics of a system and that family internal rules have strong impacts on village and environment evolutions. Two development project interventions are simulated in a context of no land scarcity: inorganic fertilizers availability for farmers and an inventory credit technique based on millet yields that some villagers may choose to use. Two rationalities are tested, one upon economic values and the second upon the intra-village "reputation" gains. Our results illustrate that a village cannot be considered as a whole and project operators must take in account the precise target population rather than all adult villagers. Project involvements concern only sites where savings for securization or intensification are possible: These proposals need actually some food security and investment capacities that are largely conditioned by family manpower and size. Inorganic fertilizers have little success without any intensification process in a context of good land availability. Inventory credit intervention engages a maximum of 25% of the population in the site with medium agro-ecological conditions. Reputation has little effect on the population behavior and should be considered more as a local wealth estimation factor between villagers. Therefore, one should consider these proposals as a potential support tool for a limited part of the population capable to go beyond the survival level,but not as a global poverty-alleviation panacea

Testing Social-driven Forces on the Evolution of Sahelian Rural Systems: A Combined Agent-based Modeling and Anthropological Approach

International audienceThis article presents the results of a methodology combining an extensive fieldwork, a formalization of field-based individual rules and norms into an agent-based model and the implementation of scenarios analyzing the effects of social and agro-ecological constraints on rural farmers through the study of three different sites in Nigerien Sahel. Two family transition processes are here tested, following field observations and literature-based hypotheses: family organizations can evolve between a patriarchal mode and a non-cooperative one because of family income redistribution tensions. Family inheritance systems can shift between a "customary" mode and a "local Muslim" one through family land availability tensions. Our results show that both agro-ecological and socio-economic characteristics determine the simulated family type distribution and consequently the allocation of resources. Results from simulations with no evolution processes show that villages specialize themselves on different economic activities according to natural resources: An intensification gradient is observed from the most favored site, with more local productions and improved ecological indicators, to the less-favored one, with a growing proportion of the population wealth coming from migration remittances and "off-shore" livestock. Once introducing such processes, the differentiation also occurs within the population level, subdividing it into specializing groups according to their size, their assets and their social status. Emerging individualistic family types increase the village populations' robustness through different and site-specific evolutions

Reconstituting family transitions of Sahelian western Niger 1950-2000 : an agent-based modelling approach in a low data context

International audienceThis research analyses the impacts of the family organization on the diversity of income sources and the sustainability and the dynamics of rainfed farming systems of Sahelian Niger, through an individual-centred agent-based model which variables were defined through anthropological investigation. Results show that family organisation has strong effects on wealth levels and distribution and on demographic growth. They also suggest a historic shift from the patriarchal mode to a mono-nuclear mode in the 70's in this specific area, due to a higher resilience of the latter thanks to a broader diversification and a better adequacy between wealth and family demograph

Social Enterprise in Europe: At the Crossroads of Market, Public Policies and Third Sector

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Spatial fields’ dispersion as a farmer strategy to reduce agro-climatic risk at the household level in pearl millet-based systems in the Sahel: A modeling perspective

The rainfall pattern in the Sahel is very erratic with a high spatial variability. We tested the often reported hypothesis that the dispersion of farmers’ fields around the village territory helps mitigate agro-climatic risk by increasing yield stability from year to year. We also wished to evaluate whether this strategy had an effect on the yield disparity among households in a village. Based on a network of approximately 60 rain gauges spread over 500 km2 in the Fakara region (Southwest Niger), daily rainfall was interpolated at 300 m × 300 m resolution over a 12-year period. This data was used to compute, by means of the APSIM crop simulation model, millet biomass and grain yields at the pixel scale. Simulated yields were combined with the land tenure map of the Banizoumbou village in a GIS to assess millet yield at field and household level. Agro-climatic risk analysis was performed using linear regression between a spatial dispersion index of household fields and the inter-annual (instability) and inter-household (disparity) millet yield variability of 107 households in the village territory. We find that the spatial variability of annual rainfall induces an even higher spatial variability of millet production at pixel, field and household levels. The dispersion of farm fields reduces moderately but significantly the disparity of millet yield between households each year and increases the inter-annual yield stability of a given household. The less the household fields are scattered, the more the presence of a fertility gradient around the village enhances the inter-annual stability but also the disparity between households. Our results provide evidence that field dispersion is an effective strategy to mitigate agro-climatic risk, as claimed by farmers in the Sahelian Niger. Although the results should be confirmed by further research on longer term rainfall spatial data, it is clearly advisable that any land reforms in the area take into account the benefits of field dispersion to mitigate climatic risk

Radiative transfer model inversion using high-resolution hyperspectral airborne imagery – Retrieving maize LAI to access biomass and grain yield

Mapping crop within-field yield variability provide an essential piece of information for precision agriculture applications. Leaf Area Index (LAI) is an important parameter that describes maize growth, vegetation structure, light absorption and subsequently maize biomass and grain yield (GY). The main goal for this study was to estimate maize biomass and GY through LAI retrieved from hyperspectral aerial images using a PROSAIL model inversion and compare its performance with biomass and GY estimations through simple vegetation index approaches. This study was conducted in two separate maize fields of 12 and 20 ha located in north-west Mexico. Both fields were cultivated with the same hybrid. One field was irrigated by a linear pivot and the other by a furrow irrigation system. Ground LAI data were collected at different crop growth stages followed by maize biomass and GY at the harvesting time. Through a weekly/biweekly airborne flight campaign, a total of 19 mosaics were acquired between both fields with a micro-hyperspectral Vis-NIR imaging sensor ranging from 400 to 850 nanometres (nm) at different crop growth stages. The PROSAIL model was calibrated and validated for retrieving maize LAI by simulating maize canopy spectral reflectance based on crop-specific parameters. The model was used to retrieve LAI from both fields and to subsequently estimate maize biomass and GY. Additionally, different vegetation indices were calculated from the aerial images to also estimate maize yield and compare the indices with PROSAIL based estimations. The PROSAIL validation to retrieve LAI from hyperspectral imagery showed a R² value of 0.5 against ground LAI with RMSE of 0.8 m²/m². Maize biomass and GY estimation based on NDRE showed the highest accuracies, followed by retrieved LAI, GNDVI and NDVI with R² value of 0.81, 0.73, 0.73 and 0.65 for biomass, and 0.83, 0.69, 0.73 and 0.62 for GY estimation, respectively. Furthermore, the late vegetative growth stage at V16 was found to be the best stage for maize yield prediction for all studied indices

Communitarian perspectives on social enterprise

Concepts of social enterprise have been debated repeatedly, and continue to cause confusion. In this paper, a meta-theoretical framework is developed through discussion of individualist and communitarian philosophy. Philosophers from both traditions build social theories that emphasise either consensus (a unitarist outlook) or diversity (a pluralist outlook). The various discourses in corporate governance reflect these assumptions and create four distinct approaches that impact on the relationship between capital and labour. In rejecting the traditional discourse of private enterprise, social enterprises have adopted other approaches to tackle social exclusion, each derived from different underlying beliefs about the purpose of enterprise and the nature of governance. The theoretical framework offers a way to understand the diversity found within the sector, including the newly constituted Community Interest Company (CIC).</p