12 research outputs found
Climate-smart agriculture and rural livelihoods: the case of the dairy sector in Malawi
Over the last decade climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has been promoted as a new approach
to deal with the impacts of climate change on agriculture while simultaneously trying to
mitigate emissions and improve food security. This approach suggests that these multiple
goals – adaptation, mitigation and food security - could be achieved simultaneously by
adopting specific technologies. At its core, CSA describes agricultural interventions that can
1) sustainably increase agricultural productivity, and hence food security and farm incomes;
2) help adapt and build resilience of agricultural systems to climate change; and 3) reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture (including crops, livestock and fisheries).
The main focus of CSA is on smallholder producers, many of whom are already marginalized
by existing food production systems, their livelihoods increasingly affected by changes in
climate. Unsustainable agricultural practices are common amongst these groups. However,
there is an increasing awareness of the need to sustain the natural resource base in order to
maintain or increase productivity.
Malawi is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, with chronic food
insecurity affecting large parts of the population, and climate variability increasingly
noticeable across the country. Agriculture is practiced predominantly on small holdings, with
more than 80% of the population depending on land-based income. In this context, the
introduction of climate-smart projects and technologies with the potential to deliver triple
wins could improve farmers’ incomes and food security, increase their resilience to climate
change impacts, as well as deliver global benefits via climate change mitigation.
This dissertation looks at the adoption levels of various, potentially climate-smart agricultural
practices by smallholder dairy farmers in Malawi, with the view of establishing the current
level of engagement in these practices, and identifying the factors that influence adoption.
Results show the importance of the socio-economic and institutional factors in explaining the
probability of adopting different agricultural practices. In particular, the findings indicate the
importance of well-informed and targeted extension support as one of the major enabling
factors for the adoption of improved practices. The findings further show that farmers’
climate change perceptions play a key role in the adoption of climate-smart practices.
Overall, the thesis concludes that a number of currently unsustainable dairy farm
management practices could be improved upon to achieve double or triple-win benefits
within a reasonably short timescale, many of them at low cost. In addition, limited adoption
rates of several sustainable practices that are already in place could be improved with the
provision of more training, knowledge sharing and extension advice and support on the
benefits of these practices. However, the thesis argues that before implementing projects and
policies that promise triple wins, a careful evaluation of benefits, including mitigation,
adaptation, and food security, and risks must be carried out, as triple wins will not be
achievable in many cases due to the local and external constraints including lack of skills and
knowledge, and lack of funding. In this respect, whether climate-smart agriculture could
become a globally sustainable approach to the climate change problem in agriculture, remains
to be seen
Age estimation of Russian individuals by teeth using the London Atlas
Conhecer a idade de um indivÃduo, vivo ou morto, é essencial em diversas situações. O método London Atlas utiliza desenvolvimento e erupção dentais para estimar a idade. Testar o método em diferentes populações é importante para avaliar sua performance. Esse estudo objetivou analisar o desempenho do London Atlas em uma amostra de origem russa, utilizando radiografias panorâmicas. Uma amostra de 703 indivÃduos russos (n = 405 mulheres, 57,61% e n = 298 homens, 42,39%), com idades entre 8 e 23 anos foram analisadas. Resultados obtidos mostram uma superestimação em indivÃduos de 8 a 14 anos e subestimação nos grupos de 15 a 23 anos. A diferença média entre idades estimadas e reais não excederam o valor de 0,7 anos nos indivÃduos com idade abaixo de 19 anos. Essa diferença aumentou em até três anos em indivÃduos de 20 a 23 anos. Diferenças estatisticamente significantes foram encontradas entre homens e mulheres com 17 e 18 anos (p<0,05). O London Atlas é adequado para crianças e adolescentes de origem russa, com idades de 8 a 19 anos. No entanto, observou-se resultados insatisfatórios para sua aplicação em indivÃduos acima de 20 anos.Knowing an individual's age is necessary for several situations, both in the living and the deceased. The London Atlas uses dental development and eruption to estimate age. Testing the method in different populations is necessary to assess its performance. This study aimed to assess the performance of the London Atlas method in a Russian sample using panoramic radiographs. A sample of 703 panoramic radiographs of Russian individuals (n = 405 females, 57.61% and n = 298 males, 42.39%) with ages between 8 and 23 years were analyzed. The results showed overestimation in individuals from 8 to 14 years and underestimation from 15 to 23 years. The mean difference between estimated and chronological ages did not exceed 0.7 years among individuals with ages below 19 years. The difference increased to over three years in individuals from 20 to 23 years. Statistically significant differences were found between females and males between 17 and 18 years (p<0.05). The London Atlas is suitable for Russian children and adolescents aged between 8 and 19 years; however, it showed unsatisfactory results for application in individuals over 20 years
Public perceptions on tree breeding solutions to Ash dieback
This data was generated in conjunction with a UK study of public perceptions to different tree-breeding solutions to ash dieback. This study was a component of a wider BBSRC-funded research project that aims to develop new approaches for identifying genes conferring tolerance to Chalara.
The data was generated from a questionnaire survey adminstered by YouGov in March 2016. A second data set available on ORA relates to a similar survey of UK publics attending countryside events
Public perceptions on tree breeding solutions to Ash dieback
This data was generated in conjunction with a UK study of public perceptions to different tree-breeding solutions to ash dieback. This study was a component of a wider BBSRC-funded research project that aims to develop new approaches for identifying genes conferring tolerance to Chalara.
The data was generated from a questionnaire survey adminstered by YouGov in March 2016. A second data set available on ORA relates to a similar survey of UK publics attending countryside events
Processors pricing and smallholders’ milk supply response in Malawi: An application of the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effects that the practice of setting prices of
milk sporadically has on the deliveries of milk to processors in Malawi. This is of
particular importance due to two factors: first, Malawi has a significant inflationary
process, which erodes quickly the real price paid to farmers, and second, the
existence of an informal parallel market for milk which may absorb some of the milk
that otherwise would go to the processors. If the real price paid by processors is not
adjusted, the informal market becomes more attractive as farmers can sell there their
milk with less quality control and at a similar price. This paper explores the response
of deliveries of milk to processors to changes in the real price paid for milk, using a
nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL). The results indicates that the
response differ by processor and in most of the cases is asymmetric. Managerial
implications are explored
How Responsive to Prices is the Supply of Milk in Malawi?
Dairy is a key investment sector for the Government of Malawi. Advocacy institutions operating in the country have successfully lobbied for increasing the duty applied for powder milk, with the aim of improving the price received by farmers. It should be noted that whilst an increase of the price paid to farmers would rise their revenues (assuming the same amount of milk delivery), it might also bring additional blessings, in the sense that if farmers respond to prices, they may rise their revenues beyond the increase in prices, and furthermore, they would expand their delivery of milk to processors offsetting the imports of powder milk and reducing their idle capacity in factories. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to measure the responsiveness of the deliveries of milk at the milk bulking groups to prices paid to farmers (i.e., the elasticity of supply faced by processors). This is done using a unique dataset that comprises information by milk bulking group from January 2009 to February 2013. The results indicate that the supply of milk is price responsive. The price elasticity in the short term is equal to 0.6 and in the long term is 1.44. This indicates that farmers’ revenues not only benefit from an increase in the price of milk but also from the increase in the quantity produced. Furthermore, it indicates the possibility that domestic producers could offset imports of milk powder by processors, although answer to this requires further research
How Responsive to Prices is the Supply of Milk in Malawi?
Dairy is a key investment sector for the Government of Malawi. Advocacy institutions operating in the country have successfully lobbied for increasing the duty applied for powder milk, with the aim of improving the price received by farmers. It should be noted that whilst an increase of the price paid to farmers would rise their revenues (assuming the same amount of milk delivery), it might also bring additional blessings, in the sense that if farmers respond to prices, they may rise their revenues beyond the increase in prices, and furthermore, they would expand their delivery of milk to processors offsetting the imports of powder milk and reducing their idle capacity in factories. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to measure the responsiveness of the deliveries of milk at the milk bulking groups to prices paid to farmers (i.e., the elasticity of supply faced by processors). This is done using a unique dataset that comprises information by milk bulking group from January 2009 to February 2013. The results indicate that the supply of milk is price responsive. The price elasticity in the short term is equal to 0.6 and in the long term is 1.44. This indicates that farmers’ revenues not only benefit from an increase in the price of milk but also from the increase in the quantity produced. Furthermore, it indicates the possibility that domestic producers could offset imports of milk powder by processors, although answer to this requires further research
Age estimation of Russian individuals by teeth using the London Atlas
Knowing an individual's age is necessary for several situations, both in the living and the deceased. The London Atlas uses dental development and eruption to estimate age. Testing the method in different populations is necessary to assess its performance. This study aimed to assess the performance of the London Atlas method in a Russian sample using panoramic radiographs. A sample of 703 panoramic radiographs of Russian individuals (n = 405 females, 57.61% and n = 298 males, 42.39%) with ages between 8 and 23 years were analyzed. The results showed overestimation in individuals from 8 to 14 years and underestimation from 15 to 23 years. The mean difference between estimated and chronological ages did not exceed 0.7 years among individuals with ages below 19 years. The difference increased to over three years in individuals from 20 to 23 years. Statistically significant differences were found between females and males between 17 and 18 years (p<0.05). The London Atlas is suitable for Russian children and adolescents aged between 8 and 19 years; however, it showed unsatisfactory results for application in individuals over 20 years
Identifying Barriers for the Development of the Dairy Supply Chain in Malawi
Fractured supply chains have been identified as a barrier to growth for the
agricultural sector. Dairy is a key investment sector for the Government of Malawi,
donors such USA, Japan and Belgium have focused part of their development aid on
the sector. Despite this, domestic production response is unimpressive. This is not
surprising several factors hamper the sector development. This case study presents
some of the results of an analysis of the dairy supply chain in Malawi. The
methodology used consisted of a combination of surveys, semi-structure interviews
and secondary information from farmers to consumers. Highlights of the results are:
efficiency heterogeneity in dairy production and lack of cows constraining the pass-on
programme; infrastructure constraints at the milk bulking group level; prices paid to
farmers are sporadically adjusted in an inflationary context; low milk quality
standards due to lack of enforcement; high margins for mass consumption milk in
supermarkets.