Economic evaluation of improved grain storage technology in Tanzania

United States Agency for International Developmen

Sustainable and equitable agricultural mechanization? A gendered perspective on maize shelling

Open Access Article; Published online: 09 Mar 2021How can agricultural mechanization be accomplished in a sustainable and equitable way? This question has gained increased prominence in mechanization research over the past few years. In this study, we apply the question to mechanized maize shelling in Tanzania as a case in point. Data from a survey with 400 farmers and from semi-structured interviews with 21 key informants are combined for a gender analysis that relies on Kabeer's concept of four institutional sites (household, community, market and government). The findings reveal that although mechanization reduces men's and women's perceived drudgery of shelling, relief depends on gendered patterns of labor allocation and decision-making at the household level. As a result, the transformation of inequitable norms emerges as paramount. Key informants identified additional aspects that would make mechanized shelling more equitable and sustainable, such as mainstreaming gender and mechanization in comprehensive agricultural training, or the sensitization of mechanized input suppliers and manufacturers to farmers' preferences (including gender-sensitive machine design). Concerted efforts in multiple institutional sites are needed to achieve lasting change in respect of equity in mechanization

Economic analysis of alternative systems for sorghum production in Southern Mali

This article aims to evaluate sorghum grain yields, cash income as well as risk-efficient choice associated with treatments of sorghum under the Africa RISING project in Mali. The analysis used the survey data related to on-farm trials covering the seasons 2014 and 2015. Four treatments have been experimented for sorghum including control treatment, treatment with only manure, treatment with mineral fertilizer, and treatment with manure and mineral fertilizer. Stochastic dominance analysis was used to evaluate the cumulative distributions of grain yields and cash income associated with each treatment. The results showed that the control treatment for sorghum is dominated by the manure and fertilizer treatments. The manure and mineral fertilizer treatment has higher yields and net returns compared to the three other treatments. The control treatment has a 50% chance of generating grain yields up to 850 kg/ha, while the manure treatment, mineral fertilizer treatment, and manure and mineral fertilizer treatment have the same probability of generating respectively 1,050 kg/ha, 1,275 kg/ha, and 1500 kg/ha. The net returns were estimated to US$122 for manure and mineral fertilizer treatment, US$ 87 for treatment with only mineral fertilizer, and US$ 84 for treatment with only manure. The cumulative distribution of manure and mineral fertilizer treatment was to the right of the remaining cropping treatments, indicating that manure and mineral fertilizer treatment provides higher returns to smallholder farmers than the alternative treatments for a given risk level. Risk-averse farmers will prefer treatment applying manure and mineral fertilizer if they can afford manure and chemical fertilization

Motivational factors influencing farming practices in northern Ghana

Socio-economic factors that influence the adoption of management practices and technologies by farmers have received wide attention in the adoption literature, but the effects of socio-psychological farmer features such as perceptions and motivations have been analysed to a lesser extent. Using farm household survey data from three regions in northern Ghana, this study explores farmers’ motivations and perceived adoption impediments for three sustainable intensification practices (SIPs): improved maize varieties, cropping system strategies, and combined SIPs (i.e. improved maize and cropping system strategies), and the effect of motivational factors on decisions to adopt SIPs. First, explorative factor analysis (EFA) was used in identifying factors of motivations and impediments for adoption of SIPs. Then, a multinomial logit model was used to analyze the effect of socio-economic farm characteristics and motivational factors on farmers’ decisions to adopt SIPs. EFA identified three motivational factors: personal satisfaction, eco-diversity and eco-efficiency, which differed in importance between the three regions. Across these regions, higher scores for aspects of personal satisfaction were associated with lower interest in improved maize varieties compared to cropping system strategies, while the opposite was true for eco-efficiency which was related to a stronger preference for improved maize varieties. Uncertainty, absence of social support, and resource constraints were identified as impediment factors. The logit model demonstrated that extension services seemed to support the use of improved maize varieties more than the implementation of cropping system strategies. We conclude that motivational factors significantly influence farmer adoption decisions regarding sustainable intensification practices and should be considered systematically in combination with socio-economic farm features and external drivers to inform on-farm innovation processes and supporting policies.</p

Does nitrogen matter for legumes? Starter nitrogen effects on biological and economic benefits of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) in Guinea and Sudan Savanna of west Africa

Open Access JournalThe hypothesis that application of starter nitrogen (N) fertilizer to cowpea may increase grain and fodder yields and profitability was tested in the Guinea and Sudan savanna zones of northern Ghana. Two cowpea varieties (Apagbaala: grain-type and Padi-Tuya: dual purpose) and three N fertilizer rates (0-30-30, 15-30-30 and 30-30-30 N-P2O5-K2O kg/ha) were evaluated using a 2 × 3 factorial treatments arrangement in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Grain and fodder yields, 100 seed weight (SW) and net return of Padi-Tuya increased significantly compared with Apagbaala in both zones. Application of starter N fertilizer increased grain yield, fodder yield, N use efficiency (NUE) and net return by more than 30% compared with the control in both zones. Padi-Tuya cowpea with 15 kg/ha N fertilizer was risk efficient at all risk aversion levels when only grain was considered, but Padi-Tuya with 30 kg/ha N fertilizer becomes the most risk efficient option when the value of fodder was included. The results suggest that small-scale farmers could apply starter N fertilizer at either 15 kg/ha N for grain only or 30 kg/ha N for both grain and fodder yields improvement of cowpea in West Africa and similar ecologies