Investigation of fertilizer usage in Malawi within the rural livelihood diversification project using generalized linear models and quantile regression.

Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.Malawi’s economy relies heavily on agriculture which is threatened by declines in soil fertility. Measures to ensure increased crop productivity at household level include the increased use of inorganic fertilizers. To supplement the Government’s effort in ensuring food security, Rural Livelihood Diversification Project (RLDP) was implemented in Kasungu and Lilongwe Districts in Malawi. The RLDP Project was aimed at increasing accessibility and utilisation of inorganic fertilizers. We used the data collected by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), to investigate if there could be any significant impacts of the interventions carried out by the project. A general linear model was initially used to model the data. Terms in the model were selected using the automatic stepwise procedure in GLMSELECT procedure of SAS. Other models that were used included a transformed response general linear model, gamma model based on log link and its alternative inverse link, and quantile regression procedures were used in modelling the amount of fertilizer use per acre response given a set of fixed effect predictors where households were only sampled at baseline or impact assessment study. The general linear model failed to comply with the model assumption of normality and constant variance. The gamma model was affected by influential observations. Quantile regression model is robust to outliers and influential observations. Quantile regression provided that number of plots cultivated, timeline, household saving and irrigation interaction, and the interaction between plots and timeline significantly affected the amounts of fertilizers applied per acre amongst the 25% of the households who apply lower levels of fertilizer per acre

Gender differences in climate-smart adaptation practices amongst bean-producing farmers in Malawi: The case of Linthipe Extension Planning Area

Agriculture is amongst the vulnerable sectors to climate change and its associated impacts. Most women are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change than men. Climate Smart Agriculture ensures increased productivity thereby enabling food security, income security and wealth creation amongst the farming households. A study was carried out to understand the gender differences in access and use of climate-smart agriculture, challenges and solutions that men and women farmers use to adapt to climate change. Data was collected from 246 randomly sampled households from 14 villages at Linthipe Extension Planning in Dedza district in Malawi. The multivariate probit model was employed to understand the influence of sociodemographic, farm-level, and institutional factors in the application of climate-smart agriculture in the study area. Findings from this study indicate that there are differences in the adoption and use of climate-smart agriculture technologies in bean production amongst different gender categories. More women compared to men and youths tend to use fertilizer, use improved seeds and plant early in order to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Most men adopt and use irrigation, whilst the youth mostly adopted and used pesticides and conservation agriculture practices. The study recommends policies that would ensure the promotion of gender-responsive climate-smart agriculture technologies, improved access to inputs, and capacity building through training

Mainstreaming gender in the multi-stakeholder platforms project

To harmonise the understanding of basic concepts and knowledge necessary for effective gender mainstreaming in the MSP Project. To sensitise and build knowledge on gender amongst stakeholders in the MSP Project Guide stakeholders on developing indicators, monitoring their work and reporting on gender outcome