Willingness to pay for improved maize seeds among smallholder farmers

Kenya is considered to be a developing country. This means that basic needs such as nutrition are not met for an extended period of time (www, Sida 1, 2012). Approximately half of the population is living under the poverty line (www, CIA 1, 2012). Agriculture is the largest sector in the country, employing 75% of the population. These are thereby directly dependent on the sufficiency of outputs received. This makes efficient, easy-accessible and cheap agricultural practices an important matter in order to improve food security. Maize is the prime staple food commodity in Kenya and represents a substantial share of people’s nutritional intake. It exist a number of improved maize seeds on the market, that grow plants with a better pest resistance and provides a higher yield for the farmers. This study is the result of questionnaire based interviews with 52 small scale Kenyan farmers. The study was located to two separated areas; Bondo in western Kenya, and Kibugu in central Kenya. The questionnaire captured the farmers’ use and perceived importance of the use of soil-fertility enhancing practices and improved seeds. Willingness to pay for two types of improved maize seeds was measured through a payment card. It was required to use different seeds for the two areas due to diverse climate conditions. Through the results a number of factors was determined that decides how farmer choose which practices to use. Those were familiarity, monetary cost, accessibility, time consumption and social acceptance. Practices that already were used to a large extent received high importance while expensive and time consuming practices received low importance. Farmers have constraints in their production which sometimes prevent them from using the practices wished for. These are mainly time, money and for Kibugu also the amount of land. The Willingness to pay for the seeds was 98 Kenya Shillings per kilogram for Kibugu and 87 for Bondo. Both these amounts are significantly lower than the market price for improved seeds at the spring of 2012 (~175-200 KSH/kg). Farmers stated that the high price prevented them from purchasing as much seeds as wished. This indicates that the market price is too high. There are few actors on the seed market in these rural areas which enables the suppliers to exercise market power, in this case by setting a price above equilibrium. An increased competition would lead to price reductions and a higher consumption which could benefit the farmers and help secure food safety in Kenya. A regression was made over the correlation between the willingness to pay for improved seeds and the use of other input factors. Farmers that already use other inputs such as animal manure, hired labor and chemical fertilizer should also have a demand for improved seeds according to Liebig's law of minimum and expansion path theory. The regression showed that income, the use of chemical fertilizer, animal manure and crop residues have a positive effect on willingness to pay, whilst hired labor have a negative effect.Kenya anses vara ett utvecklingsland vilket innebär att grundläggande behov som ett tillräckligt näringsintag inte alltid uppfylls (www, 1 Sida 2012). Ungefär hälften av befolkningen lever under fattigdomsgränsen (www, CIA 1, 2012). Jordbruket är den största sektorn i landet och sysselsätter 75% av arbetskraften, vilka därmed är beroende av att produktionen genererar en tillräcklig avkastning för deras försörjning (www, Sida 1, 2012). Tillgängligheten av effektiva och billiga jordbruksmetoder är en viktig fråga. Majs är den viktigaste basgrödan i Kenya och står för en stor del av befolkningens näringsintag. Det finns ett antal förbättrade majsutsäden på marknaden som ger mer resistenta växter och en högre avkastning för bönderna. Denna studie är ett resultat av enkätbaserade intervjuer med 52 småskaliga lantbrukare i Kenya. Studien var lokaliserad till två separata områden; Bondo i västra Kenya och Kibugu i centrala Kenya. Genom enkäten kartlades användningen av samt den upplevda vikten av olika metoder för att öka markbördigheten. Betalningsviljan (Willingness to pay) för förbättrade majsutsäden mättes med betalningskort (Payment Card). Två olika typer av förbättrade utsäden valdes då detta krävdes på grund av platsernas olika klimatförhållanden. Genom resultaten urskiljdes ett antal faktorer som avgör lantbrukarens val av vilka metoder denne använder i sin produktion. Dessa var tradition, monetär kostnad, tillgänglighet, tidsåtgång och social acceptans. Metoder som redan användes i stor utsträckning hade stor betydelse, medan dyra och tidskrävande metoder fick låg prioritet. Jordbrukarna har begränsningar i sin produktion som ibland hindrar dem från att använda en önskad metod. Dessa är främst tid, pengar och i Kibugu även marktillgång. Betalningsviljan för utsädena var 98 Kenyanska shilling per kilogram för Kibugu och 87 för Bondo. Båda dessa belopp är betydligt lägre än marknadspriset för förbättrat utsäde våren 2012(~ 175-200 KSH / kg). Lantbrukarna uttryckte att det höga priset hindrade dem från att köpa så mycket utsäde som de önskade. Detta indikerar att marknadspriset är för högt. Det är få aktörer på utsädesmarknaden i dessa rurala områden, vilket möjliggör för säljarna att utöva marknadsmakt. I detta fall sker det genom att priset sätts över jämviktspriset. Ökad konkurrens skulle leda till prisreduceringar och högre konsumtion vilket skulle gynna bönderna och hjälpa till att säkra mattillgången i Kenya. En regression gjordes över korrelationen mellan betalningsviljan för förbättrat utsäde och användningen av andra insatsfaktorer. Lantbrukare som redan använder övriga insatsfaktorer såsom gödsel, inhyrd arbetskraft och handelsgödsel borde även ha en efterfrågan på förbättrat utsäde enligt Liebigs minimilag och expansionsvägs teori. Regressionen visade att inkomst, användningen av handelsgödsel, gödsel och plantrester har en positiv effekt på betalningsviljan, medans inhyrd arbetskraft har en negativ effekt

Costs and benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through conversion of wetlands into forest

This thesis calculates the costs and benefits of turning wetlands into forest in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Wetlands emit methane, which has a high global warming potential relative to carbon dioxide, while forests sequester carbon. This benefit in mitigated global warming is compared to the cost of loss in ecosystem services like biodiversity and recreational value. A hypothetical wetland located in the middle of Sweden with average post drainage fertility potential and temperature sum was drained for timber production. The net present value of all benefits and costs up to 2050 was found to be 0.43 million SEK per hectare and the results are mainly driven by wetland emissions and price of carbon dioxide. The sensitivity analysis shows that the result can range from -0.41 to 1.84 million SEK per hectare.Denna uppsats beräknar kostnaderna och fördelarna av att omvända våtmarker till skog för att minska utsläpp av växthusgaser. Våtmarker avger metan, som har en hög Global Warming Potential i förhållande till koldioxid, medan skogar binder kol. Denna fördel i dämpad global uppvärmning jämförs med kostnaden av förlust i ekosystemtjänster som biologisk mångfald och rekreationsvärden. En hypotetisk våtmark belägen i mitten av Sverige med en genomsnittlig efter dränering fertilitet potential och temperatursumma dränerades för virkesproduktion. Det diskonterade nuvärdet av alla förmåner och kostnader upp till 2050 visade sig vara 0.43 miljoner kronor per hektar och resultaten drivs främst av utsläpp från våtmarken och priset på koldioxid. Känslighetsanalysen visar att resultatet kan variera från -0,41 till 1,84 miljoner kronor per hektar

Economic valuation of drinking water quantity and quality: A literature review

This literature review is a part of the research project Risk-based prioritization of water protection in sustainable spatial planning (WaterPlan), funded by the Swedish research council Formas. The aim of the project is to enable well-informed analyses and prioritization of measures for protecting water sources as a part of future urban development. One key to prioritization is knowledge about the economic values of drinking water quality and quantity. The purpose of the literature review is therefore to map earlier studies of such values, and to use this mapping for (a) evaluating the opportunities to transfer results from earlier studies to a Swedish setting, and (b) learning from earlier experience how potential new primary valuation studies in a Swedish setting could be designed.The literature review allowed some main valuation situations among the studies to be identified. Based on these different situations, the following rough categorization of studies was performed: i. Improvements in water quality/quantity (10 studies)ii. Preservation of water quality/avoiding water quality deterioration (5 studies)iii. Avoiding quantity restrictions/ensuring stable supply (6 studies)iv. WTP to reduce risks to drinking water sources (5 studies)v. Meta and benefit transfer studies (8 studies)vi. National valuation studies (6 studies)The report includes a listing of all identified studies according to this categorization.The results from the literature review indicate that there is a lack of suitable value estimates to allow for benefit transfer to Swedish conditions to evaluate the drinking water service in relevant policy scenarios. It is therefore concluded that new valuation studies might be needed for fulfilling the objectives of the WaterPlan project.One possible approach for carrying out new valuation studies is to follow the demand function approach. This approach is therefore reviewed, but it is found that the approach entails some important weaknesses for the case of Sweden. One important reason is that there is not an actual well-functioning market for drinking water in Sweden. The report therefore also reviews the use of stated preference studies for valuing drinking water quantity and quality. This review indicates experiences that can be helpful in the development of new valuation studies in Sweden which follow the stated preference approach

Integrating Ecosystem Services into Risk Assessments for Drinking Water Protection

Water protection is a widely supported goal in society, but competing interests often complicate the implementation of water protection measures. Moreover, the benefits of protection efforts are typically underestimated as risk assessments focus on the provision of drinking water and neglect the additional services provided by a clean drinking water source. We developed a list of water system services (WSS) that allows assessment of all biotic and abiotic services provided by a drinking water source. The WSS were derived from the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). The objectives of this paper are to (i) introduce the concept of WSS, (ii) describe a procedure on how to develop a region-specific list of WSS and present a list of WSS specifically tailored to Sweden, (iii) present how to integrate WSS into a risk assessment for drinking water, and (iv) illustrate a practical application on a Swedish case study. The results, presented as an assessment matrix, show the provided services and contrast the hazard sources with their impact on all services. The WSS assessment can be used to communicate and negotiate the extent of water protection measures with relevant stakeholders and illustrate synergies and trade-offs of protective measures beyond drinking water protection

Multiple signaling pathways regulate the transcriptional activity of the orphan nuclear receptor NURR1

The orphan nuclear receptor nurr1 (NR4A2) is an essential transcription factor for the acquisition and maintenance of the phenotype of dopamine (DA)-synthesizing neurons in the mesencephalon. Although structurally related to ligand-regulated nuclear receptors, nurr1 is functionally atypical due to its inability to bind a cognate ligand and to activate transcription following canonical nuclear receptor (NR) rules. Importantly, the physiological stimuli that activate this NR and the signaling proteins that regulate its transcriptional activity in mesencephalic neurons are unknown. We used an affinity chromatography approach and CSM14.1 cells of mesencephalic origin to isolate and identify several proteins that interact directly with nurr1 and regulate its transcriptional activity. Notably, we demonstrate that the mitogen-activated protein kinases, ERK2 and ERK5, elevate, whereas LIM Kinase 1 inhibits nurr1 transcriptional activity. Furthermore, nurr1 recruits ERK5 to a NBRE-containing promoter and is a potential substrate for this kinase. We have identified amino acids in the A/B domain of nurr1 important for mediating the ERK5 activating effects on nurr1 transcriptional activity. Our results suggest that nurr1 acts as a point of convergence for multiple signaling pathways that likely play a critical role in differentiation and phenotypic expression of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons

Identification of IgG1 isotype phosphorylcholine antibodies for the treatment of inflammatory cardiovascular diseases

Background Phosphorylcholine (PC) is an important pro-inflammatory damage-associated molecular pattern. Previous data have shown that natural IgM anti-PC protects against cardiovascular disease. We aimed to develop a monoclonal PC IgG antibody with anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic properties.Methods Using various techniques PC antibodies were validated and optimized. In vivo testing was performed in a femoral artery cuff model in ApoE3*Leiden mice. Safety studies are performed in rats and cynomolgus monkeys.Results A chimeric anti-PC (PC-mAb(T15), consisting of a human IgG1 Fc and a mouse T15/E06 Fab) was produced, and this was shown to bind specifically to epitopes in human atherosclerotic tissues. The cuff model results in rapid induction of inflammatory genes and altered expression of genes associated with ER stress and choline metabolism in the lesions. Treatment with PC-mAb(T15) reduced accelerated atherosclerosis via reduced expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress markers and CCL2 production. Recombinant anti-PC Fab fragments were identified by phage display and cloned into fully human IgG1 backbones creating a human monoclonal IgG1 anti-PC (PC-mAbs) that specifically bind PC, apoptotic cells and oxLDL. Based on preventing macrophage oxLDL uptake and CCL2 production, four monoclonal PC-mAbs were selected, which to various extent reduced vascular inflammation and lesion development. Additional optimization and validation of two PC-mAb antibodies resulted in selection of PC-mAb X19-A05, which inhibited accelerated atherosclerosis. Clinical grade production of this antibody (ATH3G10) significantly attenuated vascular inflammation and accelerated atherosclerosis and was tolerated in safety studies in rats and cynomolgus monkeys.Conclusions Chimeric anti-PCs can prevent accelerated atherosclerosis by inhibiting vascular inflammation directly and through reduced macrophage oxLDL uptake resulting in decreased lesions. PC-mAb represents a novel strategy for cardiovascular disease prevention.Cardiolog

Functional studies on the nuclear receptor Nurr1

The nuclear receptor (NR) superfamily comprises the largest family of ligand-activated transcription factors in eukaryotes, and it plays critical roles in many aspects of vertebrate development and physiology. The NR family is well conserved throughout evolution, and is found in organisms as diverse as nematodes, flies and mammals. The family includes receptors for small lipophilic ligands such as the steroid receptors, thyroid hormone, vitamin D3 and retinoids. These molecules can easily pass through the plasma membrane, enter the cell and bind their cognate receptor, thereby regulating the transcription of target genes. The ligands thus provide a direct link between signaling molecules and transcriptional response. The superfamily contains receptors for known ligands and it contains a large number of socalled "orphan receptors", for which ligands do not exist or have not been identified. Nurr1 is an orphan receptor that is mainly expressed in the central nervous system where it plays a critical role in the development of the midbrain dopamine neurons. These are the cells that degenerate in patients with Parkinson's disease. Nurr1, together with two-subfamily members NGFI-B and Nor1, is unique within the NR family by being encoded by immediate early genes that are rapidly induced by various stimuli, for example by growth factors. Nurr1 can bind to DNA as monomers and promotes constitutive transcriptional activation that is dependent on two distinct activation functions (AF1 and AF2), located in the amino- and carboxyterminal regions of Nurr1, respectively. The present studies aimed at functionally characterizing Nurr1 and determing the domains that are important for the activity of the receptor. We showed that the Nurr1 ligand binding domain (LBD) contributes to constitutive activation in a manner that depends on cell type, in the absence of exogenously added ligands. The unusual structured features of Nurr1 AF2 suggested an alternative mechanism for coactivator recruitment, subsequently supported by the crystal structure of the Nurr1 LBD. This domain has a distinctly different surface for binding of potential coactivators. These results demonstrated that Nurr1 AF2 has an intrinsic ability to activate transcription, which suggests that other factors that can modulate the Nurr1 activity remain to be identified. By characterizing the function of AF1, we identified a short core activation region located close to the amino-terminal end of Nurr1. In addition, we showed that the amino-terminal activation domain is a potential target for crosstalk via MAPK-dependent phosphorylation events. Gene-targeting of the Nurr1 gene leads to agenesis of the midbrain dopamine neurons. The highly homologous gene of Nurr1 in humans is thus a good candidate gene for treating disorders with an involvement of the dopamine neuron system, such as Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia (SZ) and manic depression. By sequencing genomic DNA, three different unique missense mutations were identified in patients suffering from psychosis, two in SZ and one in manic-depressive disorder. All three mutations were located in exon 3 and resulted in a decrease in transcriptional activity, when analyzed in vitro

Jag är ju en klättrare vare sig jag vill eller inte... : Om kvinnliga klättrare

Idrott, och i synnerhet klättring, har länge varit dominerat av män och förknippas ofta med manlighet. Därför problematiseras ofta kvinnlighet och idrott. Syftet med denna studie var att ur ett genusperspektiv skapa förståelse för klättrande kvinnors syn på prestation, identitet och kroppsuppfattning. De intervjuer som genomfördes med kvinnliga klättrare tolkades med tematisk analys. Resultatet visar att prestation var den främsta motivationsfaktorn tillsammans med de sociala aspekterna inom klättringen. För många var klättring en stor del av livet, de identifierade sig som klättrare, trots att stereotypen av en klättrare allmänt verkar anses vara en man. Det vältränade kroppsidealet inom klättringen upplevdes som självklart, men det sågs även en gräns för hur muskulös en kvinna kunde vara innan hon framstod som oattraktiv. Det viktigaste är att tjejerna får delta på sina villkor och att de inte alltid behöver jämföras med männen

Samtal i studiecirkel : Hur går det till när cirkeldeltagare gör cirkel?

Hur går det till när studiecirkeldeltagare agerar i studiecirkel och vad gör de när de tillsammans skapar en studiecirkel? I denna studie är samtalandet i studiecirkeln i fokus. Underlaget består av inspelade cirkelsamtal från tre olika cirklar i Mellansverige. Tidigare forskning har beskrivit studiecirkelkaraktär i huvudsak utifrån deltagares utsagor i intervjuer och enkäter. I stället för att fråga cirkeldeltagare om vad de anser om cirkeln och sitt deltagande i den, studeras själva cirkelaktiviteten, samtalandet. Här ges exempel på hur det går till när cirkeln görs gällande, hur deltagarna förhåller sig till varandra och hur de gemensamt bygger upp en gruppidentitet. Närmare bestämt hur de samtalande skapar cirkeln genom det sätt som de organiserar sitt samtal och hur de själva talar om cirkeln i sina sammankomster. Deltagarna interagerar intensivt med varandra i cirklarna filosofi och litteratur. I språkcirkeln tenderar ordningen att struktureras mer i linje med en ’traditionell skolordning’. I filosofi- och litteraturcirklarna faller de samtalande in i varandras tal, kommenterar när den andre talar, skrattar och ställer frågor. Detta agerande kallas här för samproduktion av en gemensam berättelse; ett sätt att visa samhörighet med de andra deltagarna och med gruppen. Ett sätt att göra cirkelStudieförbund och civilsamhäll