15 research outputs found
Analysis of Participatory Research Projects in the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
Through a survey of scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in 2004, this study assessed the extent to which participatory methods had been used by the center, how they were perceived by the scientists, and how participatory research could be applied more effectively by CIMMYT and partners. Results for 19 CIMMYT projects suggest among other things that participatory approaches at the center were largely “functional”—that is, aimed at improving the efficiency and relevance of research—and had in fact added value to the research efforts. The authors suggest that CIMMYT should (1) create a more conducive environment for scientists to share experiences on such approaches and (2) better document their impacts on farmers’ livelihoods and well-being.Economic analysis, Research projects, Research methods, Quantitative analysis, Surveys, Statistics, Evaluation, Scientists, Research institutions, Mexico., Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, E10, A50,
ESTIMATING GENDER DIFFERENCES IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY: BIASES DUE TO OMISSION OF GENDER-INFLUENCED VARIABLES AND ENDOGENEITY OF REGRESSORS
This study evaluates managerial differences between men and women and assesses the degree of bias introduced by omission of gender-influenced variables and ignoring the endogeneity of farmer characteristics and input levels. The results also give insight to improving research methods for isolating the gender impact on productivity.Labor and Human Capital, Productivity Analysis,
Analysis of Participatory Research Projects in the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
Through a survey of scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT) in 2004, this study assessed the extent to which participatory methods had been used by
the center, how they were perceived by the scientists, and how participatory research could be applied
more effectively by CIMMYT and partners. Results for 19 CIMMYT projects suggest among other
things that participatory approaches at the center were largely “functional”—that is, aimed at
improving the efficiency and relevance of research—and had in fact added value to the research
efforts. The authors suggest that CIMMYT should (1) create a more conducive environment for
scientists to share experiences on such approaches and (2) better document their impacts on farmers’
livelihoods and well-being
Welfare impacts of technological change on women in southern Mali
It has often been hypothesized that new agricultural technologies could have an adverse impact on women because additional
labor required of them reduces the time spent and therefore income earned from private-field activities. This study shows that
the expansion of cotton cultivation on the household communal fields in southern Mali associated with the introduction of new
technologies results in increased payments to women for their increased labor on the cotton fields. Unfortunately, these
payments are small compared to the loss of revenue from private-plot production. Thus, the net effect of the expansion of
household cotton cultivation is a reduction in incomes of women who cultivate private plots. Short-run policy implications of
this study are that improving women's income requires concern with their private-plot earnings. For example, profitability of
the private-field crops could be increased with higher input use. In the long run, as land becomes even more constrained,
emphasis needs to be placed on institutional changes to increase women's bargaining power so that they obtain larger shares of
the new income streams resulting from technological change on the communal field. Institutional changes already occurring in
the region, with the apparent objective of increasing women's (and non-household head men's) bargaining power, include
organized work teams and the movement toward smaller, nuclear families.© 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
Rethinking Impact: Understanding the complexity of poverty and change; Key issues discussed at the workshop
This paper presents six key issues from the Rethinking Impact: Understanding the complexity of poverty and change Workshop (RIW) held in Cali, Colombia, March 26–28, 2008. The workshop discussed how agricultural and natural-resources research can be more effective in generating solutions for poverty alleviation and improving gender, social inclusion and equity, and how such research can be brought into the mainstream and how its impact can be assessed. A diverse group of over 60 participants (42% women) from 33 organizations (54% CGIAR and 46% non-CGIAR) attended the meeting. In this paper, we do not purport to represent a consensus of opinion among this diverse group, but rather our perspectives as the meeting organizers. These ‘take home messages’ were informed by an active dialogue before, during and after the meeting. We are associated most closely with the CGIAR and much of the discussion at the meeting was focused on the CGIAR. Therefore, the key issues are primarily oriented toward the CGIAR, but they would certainly be relevant to other organizations with similar goals and challenges
Rethinking Impact: Understanding the complexity of poverty and change; Key issues discussed at the workshop
This paper presents six key issues from the Rethinking Impact: Understanding the complexity of poverty and change Workshop (RIW) held in Cali, Colombia, March 26–28, 2008. The workshop discussed how agricultural and natural-resources research can be more effective in generating solutions for poverty alleviation and improving gender, social inclusion and equity, and how such research can be brought into the mainstream and how its impact can be assessed. A diverse group of over 60 participants (42% women) from 33 organizations (54% CGIAR and 46% non-CGIAR) attended the meeting. In this paper, we do not purport to represent a consensus of opinion among this diverse group, but rather our perspectives as the meeting organizers. These ‘take home messages’ were informed by an active dialogue before, during and after the meeting. We are associated most closely with the CGIAR and much of the discussion at the meeting was focused on the CGIAR. Therefore, the key issues are primarily oriented toward the CGIAR, but they would certainly be relevant to other organizations with similar goals and challenges
ESTIMATING GENDER DIFFERENCES IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY: BIASES DUE TO OMISSION OF GENDER-INFLUENCED VARIABLES AND ENDOGENEITY OF REGRESSORS
This study evaluates managerial differences between men and women and assesses the degree of bias introduced by omission of gender-influenced variables and ignoring the endogeneity of farmer characteristics and input levels. The results also give insight to improving research methods for isolating the gender impact on productivity
29 p
In recent years, there has been increasing interest in farmer research groups (FRG) to catalyse farmer
participation in research, and to widen the impact of participatory research. However, there is dearth of
systematic empirical studies that evaluates the quality of participation in FRG. Using empirical data from a
sample of 21 FRGs in Kabale, Uganda, this paper investigates what types of participatory research
occurred at the different stages of the research process, how farmer participation occurred, who
participates in FRG, what are the factors that determined farmers' participation in FRG, and what criteria
should be used in monitoring and evaluating the performance of FRG. Results showed that the types of
participation were more of functional consultative and collaborative types, but varied in the different stages
of the research process as farmers were increasingly taking on more roles and responsibilities. Results
showed that farmer participation in FRG tend to follow a "U" shaped curve, with high participation at the
initial stages of the process, followed by dramatic decrease as many farmers drop out from the groups, and
slow increases towards the end of the first seasons. Similarly, there was a significantly higher participation
of male farmers at the beginning of the process, compared to women. However, as FRGs progressed, the
proportion of men decreased while the relative proportion of women increased dramatically to reach about
67% of farmers in mixed groups, and 24% of the FRGs were women only. These results suggest that FRG
proved to be a more effective mechanism to involve women and the resource-poor farmers in research who
would otherwise be bypassed by conventional approaches. The results of the Logit regression model
confirmed that the probability of participating in FRG was higher for women compared to men, and that
there were no significant differences in wealth circumstances between FRG members and the rest of the
community. We argue that FRG as an approach has a great potential for catalyzing the participation of
farmers as partners in research and development activities. However, this requires significant support and
personal commitment of researchers to broaden the scope of FRGs from a functional consultative type to a
more collegial empowering type, and from variety evaluation to broader natural resources management
research and other developmental issues