Are small Sub-Sahara African farmers willing to pay for vegetative propagated orange fleshed sweetpotato planting material? Evidence from Central Mozambique

This paper evaluates farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the vegetative propagated orange fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) planting material that is many times considered as a public good. Famers’ WTP for OFSP vines was elicited by conducting a real choice experiment (RCE) among 121 small sweetpotato growers in central Mozambique with prior experience growing OFSP but with no participation in OFSP vine distributions in the previous 3 years of the experiment. Results reveals a higher farmers’ willingness to pay for OFSP varieties (US$0.07-0.12) compared to the non-orange planting material (US$ 0.03) and compared to the traditional subsidized price of clean sweetpotato vines (US$ 0.06) used in Mozambique. These results may encourage formation of a network of private vine multipliers that would supply permanently OFSP planting material in wider areas.Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, International Development, Production Economics, Q16,

Do Pesticide Hazards to Human Health and Beneficial Insects Cause or Result from IPM Adoption? Mixed Messages from Farmer Field Schools in Nicaragua

This paper analyzes the interaction between farmer training in pest management and effects on acute pesticide poisoning and populations of beneficial insects in Nicaragua. Using farm level data from Nicaraguan bean growers, including graduates of Farmer Field Schools (FFS), other integrated pest management (IPM) outreach methods, and farmers without exposure to IPM, we found that small farmers are influenced by pesticide-related acute illness experiences when adopting IPM practices and making decisions about pesticide use. However, exposure to IPM extension programs failed to reduce the use of highly toxic pesticides and increased the number of self-reported acute illness symptoms during the most recent bean crop season. IPM training did result in growth of beneficial insect populations.ecosystem service, integrated pest management, agricultural extension, Nicaragua, Farm Management, Q16,

Multi-Institutional Implementation of Farmer Field Schools among Nicaraguan Bean Growers. Do Different NGOs Perform Differently?

This paper analyzes how different characteristics of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working as extension providers affect the delivery of agricultural technologies to farmers. Using farm level data from 436 Nicaraguan bean growers, we evaluate how the institutional characteristics of the NGOs that implement farmer field schools (FFS) affect their impacts on farmer choices of pest management inputs, their adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) and resulting net revenues and pesticide exposure from bean production. After controlling for endogeneity of participation in IPM training programs and for a clustered and stratified sample design, results reveal that institutional focus, expertise in IPM and the capacity of extension providers implementing FFS significantly influence FFS impacts on input choices and adoption of IPM. FFS participation by itself has no influence on farmer' pest management decisions or their net revenues.Crop Production/Industries,

WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AMONG SLASH-AND-BURN FARMERS IN THE PERUVIAN AMAZON: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEFORESTATION AND GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETS

A Contingent Valuation survey shows that the possibility of trade in carbon sequestration services exists between utility companies and slash-and-burn farmers in the Amazon and that farmers positively value the environmental services of the forest. Global environmental markets could enhance the effectiveness of traditional forest conservation efforts while benefitting resource-poor farmers.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Changes in food access by mestizo communities associated with deforestation and agrobiodiversity loss in Ucayali, Peruvian Amazon

Few longitudinal studies link agricultural biodiversity, land use and food access in rural landscapes. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that, in a context of economic change, cash crop expansion is associated with deforestation, reduced agrobiodiversity and changes in food access. For this purpose, we analysed data collected from the same 53 upland and floodplain mestizo households in Ucayali, Peru, in 2000 and 2015. We found an emerging transition towards less diversified food access coupled with loss of forest cover and reduced agricultural biodiversity. In 2015, diets appeared to rely on fewer food groups, fewer food items, and on products increasingly purchased in the market compared to 2000. Wild fruits and plants were mentioned, but rarely consumed. Agricultural production systems became more specialised with a shift towards commercial crops. Peak deforestation years in the 15-year period appeared linked with incentives for agricultural expansion. Our results suggest an overall trend from diversified productive and “extractive” systems and more diverse food access, towards specialized productive systems, with less diverse food access and stronger market orientation (both in production and consumption). The assumption in the food and agricultural sciences that increased income and market-orientation is linked to improved food security, is challenged by our integrated analyses of food access, agrobiodiversity, land use and forest cover. Our results highlight the importance of longitudinal, multidimensional, systemic analyses, with major implications for land use, food and health policies. The potential risks of parallel homogenisation of diets and agricultural production systems require interdisciplinary research and policies that promote integrated landscape approaches for sustainable and inclusive food systems

Producción de Yuca en Colombia: ¿Que tanto conocemos?

La presentación se realiza en base a las publicaciones económicas relacionadas con el cultivo de la yuca, para poder contextualizar la produccion de yuca en Colombia. Esta presentacion se realiza como parte del Taller Sistemas de Propagación de Yuca organizado para multiples organizaciones del sector privado y publico relacionadas con el sector yuquero. El objetivo es continuar fortaleciendo las relaciones con nuestros socios y diseminar la información económica del cultivo de yuca

Joint adoption of rice technologies among Bolivian farmers

Bolivia has disseminated several improved technologies in the rice sector, but the average rice productivity in the country is far below the average trend in Latin America in recent years. Although the economic literature has highlighted the role of agricultural technology adoption in increasing agricultural productivity, gaps remain in understanding how rice growers are deciding to adopt and benefit from available improved rice technologies. Most previous adoption studies have evaluated the uptake of individual technologies without paying attention to the complementarities that alternative improved rice technologies may offer to farmers who face multiple marketing and production needs. This study uses data from a nationally representative sample of Bolivian rice growers to analyze farmers' joint decisions in adopting complementary agricultural technologies controlling for potential correlations across these decisions, as well as the extent of adoption of these practices. Evidence suggests that the decisions on multiple technology adoption are closely related, with common factors affecting both adoption and the extent of adoption. Furthermore, there is a need to better target resource-poor farmers, improve information-diffusion channels on agricultural practices, and better use existing farmers' organizations to enhance rice technology adoption

Adoption of improved varieties in adverse climatic conditions: Evidence from Nicaragua

This presentation summarizes the main results of a study made in Nicaragua to estimate the adoption of improved bean varieties (IVs) across different climatic environments, and the yield differences between adopters and non-adopters. We implemented a farmer-level survey representative of the most productive bean regions in the country. The results show that when comparing dry vs. non-dry regions ("corridors"), yields are 10.9% lower in the dry region; 29-31% of farmers have adopted IVs in non-dry and dry regions, respectively; and 28-29% of the bean area was planted to IVs in non-dry and dry regions, respectively. Although IV yields are statistically the same to non-IV yields (farmer-reported use of IVs), in dry regions, improved bean varieties yield 14.7% more than non-IVs, which is enough to feed 6-7 people for a year. This yield advantage (of IVs) dissapears under extreme dry conditions

Boletín informativo del sector arrocero Colombia 2005-2018

Según información de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO), la tasa de crecimiento del valor de la producción del arroz para 2005 fue superior a la tasa de crecimiento del PIB agropecuario e incluso al PIB nacional. Sin embargo, en los años siguientes, el crecimiento del valor de la producción del arroz fue más lento con respecto al PIB nacional e incluso para el año 2014 decreció. A partir de este año, ha crecido a una tasa menor que el PIB agrícola, lo que podría mostrar que otros cultivos son los que están impulsando este sector

Bean production systems in Nicaragua: technology adoption in the face of climate adversity

We documented the bean production systems in Nicaragua, focusing on the adoption of improved bean varieties (IVs) under adverse climatic (rainfall) conditions and its economic effect on adopting households. Using data from a representative sample of 589 farmers (341 located in the dry corridor), we demonstrate statistical differences in the socioeconomic characteristics, farm characteristics, and bean management practices between IV adopters and non-adopters, and by region (i.e., dry vs. non-dry corridors). Farmers in the dry corridor obtained significantly lower yields compared to farmers in non-dry areas. Further, 30% of farmers in Nicaragua had adopted at least one improved bean variety in the seasons of interest, and 28.3% of the bean area was grown with IVs. Adopting an IV positively affected yields --farmers obtained 11% higher yields-- but had no statistically significant effect on profits. The results highlight the importance of growing improved bean varieties under adverse rainfall conditions, as farmers who adopted an IV in the dry corridor obtained 13.2% higher yields than non-adopters in the same region. We did not find statistical yield differences between IV adopters and non-adopters in non-dry regions