Catfish and trout aquaculture in Tennessee--an economic analysis

An economic analysis was conducted to examine the structure and outlook of the commercial production and marketing of catfish and rainbow trout in Tennessee. The analysis was primarily based on data collected from 93 percent of the identified catfish producers and 95 percent of the identified trout producers in Tennessee. The production systems for catfish and trout were categorized by size, location, type of production facility, source of fish stocks, equipment inventories, feeding practices, harvest methods, labor requirements, yields and ownership characteristics. The marketing systems were categorized by market channels, market volume, producer participation, form of product (live or processed) and price received. The average catfish producer in Tennessee utilized 15.8 acres of ponds averaging 2.4 acres. Yields in 1984 averaged 598 pounds. Average sales per producer were $8,439. Live fish sales occurred in five market channels and producer processed fish sales in four market channels. The average trout producer in Tennessee utilized an isothermal spring with an average discharge of 1,296 gallon per minute (g.p.m.). Yields in 198A averaged 1,679 pounds per 100 g.p.m. Average sales per producer were$45,711. Live fish sales occurred in six market channels and processed fish sales in five market channels. Enterprise costs and returns were estimated for representative enterprises in Tennessee. Using the average 198A price for live catfish of $0.98, a negative net return to land, labor, capital and management of -$975 was estimated for the representative catfish enterprise. Using the average 1984 price for live trout of $1.48 a positive net return to land, labor, capital and management of$14,186 was estimated for the representative trout enterprise. The outlook for these industries was indicated by producer intentions for 1986 production and their concerns and attitudes toward these industries in Tennessee. Producers of both catfish and trout projected an increase in 1986 production over 1985 levels. Production of catfish and trout in Tennessee was hampered by small local markets and a substantial degree of regional competition. Currently lacking the production base to support a major processing facility, the expansion of these industries in Tennessee will require greater utilization of the existing markets currently in use

Investing in agrochemicals in the cocoa sector of Côte d’Ivoire: Hypotheses, evidence and policy implications

This paper presents empirical evidence to show how socioeconomic factors affect the adoption of and investment in agrochemicals in the cocoa sector of Côte d’Ivoire. The analysis uses primary farm-level data collected in 2002 from a nationally representative sample of more than one thousand cocoa farmers. The study describes the status of the adoption of various chemical inputs and uses a multiplicative heteroscedastic Tobit model to identify and quantify the impact of the socioeconomic environment on the incentive to invest. The results generally show that farmer, household and village characteristics are all important in explaining the farmers’ decisions. The paper concludes by outlining a number of implications for strategic targeting of farmers and locations. These should serve as entry points for a successful diffusion of efficient pest, disease and soil management programs.Chemical input, Tobit model, Cocoa sector, Socioeconomic factors, Côte d’Ivoire, Crop Production/Industries,

Assessing Potential Impact of a Farmer Field School Training on Perennial Crop in Cameroon

This study is an attempt of the combination of multiple data sources referring to the same time period and to the same farmer population, it aims at assessing the potential impact of a cocoa Farmer Field School Training on Integrated Pest Management in Cameroon. Using a combination of a latitudinal and a longitudinal comparison, the results indicate that FFS-trained farmers have significantly more knowledge about crop husbandry practices than those in the non-participant comparison group. A 32% production increase and 45% income increase relative to the non-participants was estimated in the latitudinal analysis. The longitudinal comparison is showing significant adoption rates of 94, 93, 90, 66 and 35 % respectively for shade management, phytosanitary harvest, pruning, improved spraying practices and grafting of improved materials. There was a 47 % reduction in the frequency of spraying fungicides and a 17 % reduction in the number of sprayers applied per treatment following the implementation of the training. Labour inputs increased significantly for pruning, phytosanitary harvest, and shade management but decreased for spraying. A partial budget analysis reveals that the IPM practices lowered overall costs of production by 11 % relative to previous practices. The two different analytical tools (longitudinal and latitudinal) are convergent in their results, showing more evidence about the higher potential impact of the farmer field school training on the restructuring process of the cocoa sector in Cameroonintegrated pest management, farmer field school, adoption rate, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use, Marketing, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Socio-Economic Impact of a Cocoa Integrated Crop and Pest Management Diffusion Knowledge Through a Farmer Field School Approach in Southern Cameroon

We focused on the Socio-Economic Evaluation of Farmer Field School Training on Integrated Pest Management in the humid forest region of Cameroon. The main objective was to assess the impact of training on integrated pest management (IPM) on cocoa farmer field school graduates. The results indicate that shade management, phytosanitary harvest, pruning, improved spraying practices and grafting of improved materials were adopted at the rate of 94, 93, 90, 66 and 35 % respectively, with the overall rate of adoption being 76 %. There was a 47 % reduction in the frequency of spraying fungicides and a 17 % reduction in the number of sprayers applied per treatment following the implementation of the training. Labour inputs increased significantly for pruning, phytosanitary harvest, and shade management but decreased for spraying. A partial budget analysis reveals that the IPM practices lowered overall costs of production by 11 % relative to previous practices. The poster presenting the synthesis of this work comprises a general introduction, a methodology and study area map, results and discussion which comprise two photographs of farmer field school activities, a graph and a table of different technical results, a short conclusion and recommendation.integrated pest management, farmer field school, adoption rate, Crop Production/Industries,

Carbon storage in Ghanaian cocoa ecosystems

Background: The recent inclusion of the cocoa sector as an option for carbon storage necessitates the need to quantify the C stocks in cocoa systems of Ghana. Results: Using farmers’ fields, the carbon (C) stocks in shaded and unshaded cocoa systems selected from the Eastern (ER) and Western (WR) regions of Ghana were measured. Total ecosystem C (biomass C + soil C to 60 cm depth) ranged from 81.8 to 153.9 Mg C/ha. The bulk (~89 %) of the systems’ C stock was stored in the soils. The total C stocks were higher in the WR (137.8 ± 8.6 Mg C/ha) than ER (95.7 ± 8.6 Mg C/ha). Conclusion: Based on the cocoa cultivation area of 1.45 million hectares, the cocoa sector in Ghana potentially could store 118.6–223.2 Gg C in cocoa systems with cocoa systems aged within 30 years regardless of shade management. Thus, the decision to include the cocoa sector in the national carbon accounting emissions budget of Ghana is warranted