Demand Estimation for US Apple Juice Imports: A Restricted Source Differentiated AIDS Model

Although this paper focuses on apple juice, a restricted version of source differentiated Almost Ideal Demand System (RSDAIDS) was used to examine U.S. import demand for fresh apple, apple juice and other processed apple. Apple imports were differentiated by type and source of origin and the RSDAIDS model was estimated after imposing the general demand restrictions of adding-up, homogeneity and slutsky symmetry. Seasonality and trend variables were also included on the model. The estimation results showed that U.S. demand for apple juice from China was price inelastic with relatively high expenditure elasticity. We believe the result partially explains why China managed to have a 60 percent import market share in the sub-market despite U.S. imposition of high duties on Chinese apple juice.Import demand estimation, apple juice, RSDAIDS, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade,

Innovation Systems and Technical Efficiency in Developing-Country Agriculture

The paper uses a stochastic frontier analysis of production functions to estimate the level of technical efficiency in agriculture for a panel of 29 developing countries in Africa and Asia between 1994 and 2000. In addition, the paper examines how different components of an agricultural innovation system interact to determine the estimated technical inefficiencies. Results show that the mean level of technical efficiency among the sampled countries was about 86 percent, with some modest increases during the period in question. These results suggest that there is room for significant increases of production through reallocations of existing resources. Despite significant variation among countries, these results also indicate quite a number of least developed countries have high mean efficiency scores, implying a need to focus on investment that pushes the production frontier outward in these countries. Several measures of agricultural R&D achievement and intensity, along with educational enrollment, are found to enhance agricultural efficiency. On the other hand, countries with higher levels of official development assistance, foreign direct investment, and a greater share of land under irrigation are found to be performing poorly in their agricultural efficiency score.agricultural innovation systems, technical efficiency, developing country agriculture, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis,

Analysis of Fruit Consumption in the U.S. with a Quadratic AIDS Model

The Quadratic AIDS model was estimated to analyze the U.S. fruit consumption using annual per capita consumption data and prices for a demand system consisting of fresh fruit, fruit juice and other processed fruit. All Marshallian own price elasticities are found to be negative and the demand system is dominated by complementarity relationships. Both own and cross price Marshallian elasticities are less than one. Fruit juices are found to be expenditure elastic conditional on the total expenditure on fruits while fresh fruits and other processed fruits are found to be expenditure inelastic. However, fresh fruit is close to being unitary expenditure elastic. After allowing for curvature in the Engel function, U.S. fresh fruit demand is found to be more responsive to changes in income than in previous studies.Demand estimation, U.S fruit consumption, Quadratic AIDS, AIDS, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing,

The pedagogy of teacher education in Ethiopia: Reconstructing understandings and practices on teaching about teaching and learning to teach

There is an argument that Marshal McLuhan’s ‘the medium is the message’ adage is more likely to be underpinned in the context of teacher education since pedagogy is not only a means of delivering content in teacher education but also the content (what) in teachers’ professional preparation. The quality of teacher education depends heavily on the practice of teacher educators and the learning experiences of student teachers: Pedagogy of teacher education. The pedagogy of teacher education is conceptualized as teaching about teaching and learning to teach. Using primary data from teacher educators and student teachers and secondary data sources (documents and research studies), the paper examined and reflected on Ethiopian teacher education pedagogy. Questionnaire, interview and observation were used to collect primary data. The findings revealed ingrained assumptions that student teachers learn to teach by learning theories and facts of different courses through lectures, discussions, and group work. Teacher educators in the study characterized their typical classroom as a combination of ‘reviewing of the previous lesson, explanation, discussion, and lesson summary’ which inherently reflects features of a typical classroom in Ethiopian schools. When asked which pedagogies help student teachers to learn to teach, teacher educators mentioned group work, discussion, lecturing, oral questioning and classwork, quiz, and practicum (ordered in terms of frequencies). It is argued that teaching about teaching and learning to teach are customarily reduced to the delivery and learning of course contents rather than the ‘how’ of teaching through teacher educators’ modeling and reflection, student teachers’ school experiences, or other pedagogies that develop learning to teach among student teachers. Teacher educators’ practices, however, in some cases demonstrated elements of active learning techniques aimed at improving mastery of content and practicing teaching skills. However, their interview responses on preparing teachers largely lack pedagogies relevant to learning to teach. Efforts to improve the quality of education in general and teacher education, in particular, should prioritize the critical examination and reform of teacher educators’ preparation, professional developments, and pedagogical practices at teacher education colleges and universities

The Contribution of Preschool Teacher Education Program in Equipping Teachers with Indicators of Relevant Curriculum in Ethiopia

The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of Teacher Education Program in equipping preschool teachers with some indicators of relevant curriculum practice as guiding principles of development and learning, appropriate curriculum, learning cycles, and fit methods of instruction and assessment means for children in Ethiopia. A survey method was employed in conducting the study. The data for the study were collected from 221 teacher-trainees using questionnaires of rating scale with open-ended questions and five trainers using interview questions. The data were analysed using frequency, percentage, and sums. The data from survey questionnaire indicated that the contribution of Teacher Education Program in acquainting trainees with guiding principles of child development and learning, developmentally appropriate curriculum, learning cycles of children, fit methods of instruction and assessment means for children did not get high level of agreement from the respondents. The data from interview and open ended questions revealed obstacles as lack of qualified teachers, unsuitable curriculum materials, difficult courses, negative attitude to the profession, time shortage and absence of centres for skills development in the training program. Measures useful for alleviating problems were also indicated parallel to the problems

Teachers’ Ethical Professional Practices in Higher Education Institutions: An Instrumental Case Study

The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ ethical professional practices in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences in Haramaya University. Instrumental case study design was employed because such design is used when the researcher focuses on one case to understand other similar cases. Fifteen, information-rich study participants were selected purposively. In-depth interviews, FGD, and document analyses were used for collecting data. Data were analyzed thematically. The study revealed that ethical professional practices of teachers are important for upholding respect and prestige in the teaching profession. Despite this, however, the ethical professional practices in the College were deteriorating and deserve attention. The study showed particularly that many unethical professional practices of teachers were exhibited in the college such as lack of transparency in relation to the assessment of students’ achievements, coming late and absence from class, threatening students for the teacher’s own fault, lack of communication with students, and ignoring students’ problems. It is concluded that the status of ethical professional practices in the College deserves close attention. It is recommended that there should be close supervision, professional support, and training on ethical professional practice by the College and other concerned entities of the university

Irrigation and agricultural transformation in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s rivers and streams (Figure 1) and its ground water potential of 2.6 billion m3 of groundwater potential (Awulachew et al., 2008) is estimated to have a potential to irrigate 5.3 million hectares of land. So far, less than 5 percent of the potentially irrigable land is currently irrigated, exposing the country’s agriculture to the vagaries of nature. The startling divergence between irrigation potential and utilization has been the subject of policy discussions in the recent decade, which results in a significant impetus towards irrigation development in the country both in expressed commitments and actual investments. For instance, the current 10-year development plan of the country placed irrigation as the main catalyst for accelerated agricultural transformation. In terms of investment, there are at least 13 ongoing large-scale irrigation development projects with a combined command area of more than 400,000 hectares (close to twice the current size of irrigated area by smallholder farmers). The government has also recently allowed duty-free imports of irrigation technologies to encourage small-scale irrigation development

Evaluating the pathways from small-scale irrigation to dietary diversity: evidence from Ethiopia and Tanzania

Interventions that aim to increase water availability for agriculture hold great potential for improving nutrition through increasing food production, generating income, enhancing water access and sanitation and hygiene conditions, and through strengthening women’s empowerment. Yet there is scarce evidence on the linkages between small-scale irrigation and the pathways through which nutrition outcomes can be achieved. Using data from a cross-sectional household survey collected in Ethiopia and Tanzania, we explored the potential for small-scale irrigation to contribute to improved diets, and identify the pathways through which irrigation affects dietary diversity as measured by the Household Dietary Diversity Score. Unadjusted comparisons show that irrigating households in both countries produced more vegetables, fruits and cash crops, are less food insecure, have a higher value of production, and have higher production diversity and dietary diversity compared to non-irrigating households. Econometric results of a simultaneous equation (3SLS) model showed that irrigation leads to better household dietary diversity mainly through the pathway of increasing household incomes. However, these results are statistically significant only in the case of Ethiopia, and not in Tanzania. While irrigation increased production diversity in Ethiopia, the benefits of increased dietary diversity cannot be attributed to these changes in production after controlling for the effect of income. Other factors, such as gender of the household head and having off-farm income, also influence dietary diversity in Ethiopia. These findings suggest that the potential for irrigation to influence diets is highly context-specific. Understanding the particular pathways and entry points for nutrition-sensitive agriculture approaches could help to improve their benefits for nutrition

The role of water in transforming food systems

The United Nations Food Systems Summit aimed to chart a path toward transforming food systems toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the essentiality of water for food systems, however, the Summit has not sufficiently considered the role of water for food systems transformation. This focus is even more important due to rapidly worsening climate change and its pervasive impacts on food systems that are mediated through water. To avoid that water "breaks" food systems, key food systems actors should 1) Strengthen efforts to retain water-dependent ecosystems, their functions and services; 2) Improve agricultural water management; 3) Reduce water and food losses beyond the farmgate; 4) Coordinate water with nutrition and health interventions; 5) Increase the environmental sustainability of food systems; 6) Explicitly address social inequities; and 7) Improve data quality and monitoring for water-food system linkages