Awareness and use of m-banking services in agriculture: The case of smallholder farmers in Kenya

Smallholder farmer access to agricultural finance has been a major constraint to agricultural commercialization in developing countries. The ICT revolution in Africa has however brought an opportunity to ease this constraint. The mobile phone-based banking services that started in Kenya urban centers have spread to rural areas and even other countries. Using these services farmers could receive funds invest in agriculture finance transactions. This study examines the awareness and use of m-banking services among rural farmers in Kenya. It also assesses the factors conditioning the use of such services. The study finds high awareness of m-banking services among the smallholder farmers. It also finds that education, distance to a commercial bank, membership to farmer organizations, distance to the m-banking agents, and endowment with physical and financial assets affect the use of m-banking services. It discusses the implications of these findings for policy and practice.Mobile phones, m-banking services, awareness and use, smallholder farmers, Kenya, Financial Economics,

The architecture of the Sudanese agricultural sector and its contribution to the economy between 1990 and 2021

The paper reviews the performance of the Sudanese agricultural sector over the last three decades (1990 through 2021) and examines the drivers of that performance. Key findings show that the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product was greater during the 1990–1999 period than during the other two decades; agricultural productivity as well was higher in that decade than in the subsequent two decades. The sector has remained a major source of employment and livelihood. During the last decade reviewed (2010–2021), the sector regained its leading position as a generator of foreign currency. Public investment in agriculture and government spending allocated to the sector were lower than in other countries in the region. Political elites have generally lacked commitment to development plans in the sector. Political developments in Sudan have disrupted more recent efforts to revitalize the sector. Climate change, as manifested in rising temperature, declining rainfall, and drought, is a substantial determinant currently affecting the sector. The paper discusses some broad recommendations for improving the performance of the Sudanese agricultural sector

Made in Africa : How to make local agricultural machinery manufacturing thrive?

Manufacturing can play a key role in sustained economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction in Africa. Agricultural machinery manufacturing can contribute to driving overall manufacturing, given the increasing demand for mechanization from Africa’s 85 million farms and the rapidly growing agro-food processing sector. But while agricultural mechanization creates large opportunities for manufacturing, harnessing this potential in today’sglobalized world requires African manufacturers to compete with (low-cost) imports from today’s manufacturing powerhouses such as India and China. This policy brief presents insights from a study on the characteristics, opportunities, and challenges for local agricultural machinery manufacturers in four African countries, Benin, Kenya, Mali, and Nigeria. The policy brief is based on a survey among ca. 400 randomly chosen manufacturers which assessed business characteristics and opportunities and challenges. The survey was supplemented with qualitative methods (participatory mapping, key-informant interviews) to examine key factors and actors affecting the enabling business environment of local manufacturing – and to derive policy recommendations on how to make local agricultural machinery manufacturing thrive

Impacts of agricultural mechanization: Evidence from four African countries

Agricultural mechanization is on the rise in Africa. A widespread replacement of manual labor will change the face of African agriculture. Despite this potentially transformative role, only few studies have looked at the potential effects of mechanization empirically, mostly focusing on yields and labor alone. This is the first paper that explores agronomic, environmental and socioeconomic effects together, thereby revealing linkages and trade- offs, some of which have been hitherto unknown. Data were collected using a novel data collection method called “Participatory Impact Diagrams” in four countries: Benin, Kenya, Nigeria and Mali. In 130 gendered focus group discussions, 1,330 respondents from 87 villages shared positive and negative effects experienced due to agricultural mechanization and were able to develop their own theory of change. This is the first study that gives a voice to the rural population on mechanization and allows them to identify causal impact chains. Regarding agronomic and environmental aspects, respondents perceived mechanization as a way to reduce labor shortages, improve timeliness and enhance land preparation, leading to higher yields. However, it is also associated with the cutting of farm trees as well as farmland expansion, and, subsequently, deforestation and a decline in firewood availability. Respondents also experienced that (plough-based) mechanization can have detrimental effects on soil fertility and cause erosion, which was associated with yield drops and risks in the long-term. Regarding socioeconomic effects, mechanization was reported to increase incomes, reduce drudgery and free up time for other farm and off- farm activities. However, mechanization was also linked with social tensions and conflicts, for example, related to land issues, which can pitch farmers against pastoralists. Tensions and conflicts also play out across gender. Some effects remain ambiguous. For example, depending on local factors, mechanization reportedly increases or decreases employment. Further research and policy efforts are needed to ensure that mechanization contributes to an African agricultural transformation that is sustainable from a social, economic and environmental perspective

From Potentials to Reality: Transforming Africa’s Food Production : Investment and policy priorities for sufficient, nutritious and sustainable food supplies

This study identifies ways in which Africa can realize its potential to secure a supply of food for affordable and healthy diets through the sustainable use of its own resources. The focus is on investment, cooperation, and policy action. The agenda proposed here is intended to be a long-term one, but one that should be initiated in the short term with concrete actions

Von den Potenzialen zur Realität: Wie die afrikanische Lebensmittelproduktion gesteigert werden kann : Investitionen und politische Prioritäten für eine ausreichende, nährstoffreiche und nachhaltige Lebensmittelversorgung

Diese Studie zeigt Wege auf, wie Afrika sein Potenzial zur Sicherung der Versorgung mit Nahrungsmitteln für eine erschwingliche und gesunde Ernährung durch die nachhaltige Nutzung seiner eigenen Ressourcen ausschöpfen kann. Der Schwerpunkt liegt dabei auf Investitionen, Zusammenarbeit und politischen Maßnahmen. Die hier vorgeschlagene Agenda ist langfristig angelegt, sollte aber bereits kurzfristig mit konkreten Maßnahmen eingeleitet werden

Economics of Land Degradation Initiative: Methods and Approach for Global and National Assessments

Healthy land ecosystems are essential to sustainable development, including food security and improved livelihoods. Yet, their key services have usually been taken for granted and their true value underrated, leading to land degradation becoming a critical global problem. This pattern of undervaluation of lands is about to change in view of the rapidly rising land prices, which is the result of increasing shortage of land and high output prices. Despite the urgent need for preventing and reversing land degradation, the problem has yet to be appropriately addressed. Policy actions for sustainable land management are lacking, and a policy framework for action is missing. Such a framework for policy action needs to be supported by evidence-based and action-oriented research. The Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) initiative seeks to develop such a science basis for policy actions to address land degradation. The purpose of this methodological paper is to provide with sound and feasible standards for ELD assessment at global and national levels. Only if some basic standards are identified and adhered to, comparative assessments can be conducted between countries and useful aggregation of findings, based on these case studies, can be achieved. Therefore, using the Total Economic Value (TEV) framework, the paper identifies minimum core standards that need to be adhered to in all country case studies to generate comparable material for international assessment and ELD policy guidance. It also identifies additional and desirable areas of information and analyses that would add value to the country case study material. The proposed framework is also intended as a forward-looking agenda which can guide future research

An Optimization Model for Technology Adoption of Marginalized Smallholders: Theoretical Support for Matching Technological and Institutional Innovations

The rural poor are often marginalized and restricted from access to markets, public services and information, mainly due to poor connections to transport and communication infrastructure. Despite these unfavorable conditions, agricultural technology investments are believed to unleash unused human and natural capital potentials and alleviate poverty by productivity growth in agriculture. Based on the concept of marginality we develop a theoretical model which shows that these expectations for productivity growth are conditional on human and natural capital stocks and transaction costs. Our model categorizes the rural farm households below the poverty line into four segments according to labor and land endowments. Policy recommendations for segment and location specific investments are provided. Theoretical findings indicate that adjusting rural infrastructure and institutions to reduce transaction costs is a more preferable investment strategy than adjusting agricultural technologies to marginalized production conditions

Methodological Review and Revision of the Global Hunger Index

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a multidimensional measure of hunger that considers three dimensions: (1) inadequate dietary energy supply, (2) child undernutrition, and (3) child mortality. The initial version of the index included the following three, equally weighted, non-standardized (i.e. unscaled) indicators that are expressed in percent: the proportion of the population that is calorie deficient (FAO's prevalence of undernourishment); the prevalence of underweight in children under five; and the under-five mortality rate. Several decisions regarding the original formulation of the GHI are reconsidered in light of recent discussions in the nutrition community and suggestions by other researchers, namely the choice of the prevalence of child underweight for the child undernutrition dimension, the use of the under-five mortality rate from all causes for the child mortality dimension, and the decision not to standardize the component indicators prior to aggregation. Based on an exploration of the literature, data availability and comparability across countries, and correlation analyses with indicators of micronutrient deficiencies, the index is revised as follows: (1) The child underweight indicator is replaced with child stunting and child wasting; (2) The weight of one third for the child undernutrition dimension is shared equally between the two new indicators; and (3) The component indicators of the index are standardized prior to aggregation, using fixed thresholds set above the maximum values observed in the data set. The under-five mortality rate from all causes is retained, because estimating under-five mortality attributable to nutritional deficiencies would be very costly and make the production of the GHI dependent on statistics about cause-specific mortality rates by country and year that are published irregularly, while the expected benefits are limited