Gender discrimination and its impact on income, productivity, and technical efficiency: evidence from Benin

This paper examines the occurrence and impact of gender discrimination in access to production resources on the income, productivity, and technical efficiency of farmers. Through an empirical investigation of farmers from Koussin-Le´le´, a semi-collective irrigated rice scheme in central Benin, we find that female rice farmers are particularly discriminated against with regard to scheme membership and access to land and equipment, resulting in significant negative impacts on their productivity and income. Although women have lower productivity, they are as technically efficient as men. The findings suggest that there is considerable scope for improving the productivity of women through increasing their access to production resources

Who is quitting? An analysis of the dis-adoption of climate smart sorghum varieties in Tanzania

Purpose – New agricultural technologies are continuously generated and promoted for adoption by farmers with the expectation that they bring about higher benefits than older technologies. Yet, depending on the perceived benefits, the user of the technology may choose to stop using it. This paper aims to analyze what drives farmers to dis-adopt climate smart sorghum varieties in Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses cross-sectional farm household level data collected in Tanzania from a sample of 767 households. The determinants of dis-adoption are explored using a bivariate probit with sample selection model. Findings – The authors find that while farmers switch between different sorghum varieties, most farmers actually quit sorghum production. Older farmers and those facing biotic stresses such attacks by birds are more likely to dis-adopt sorghum. Practical implications – These findings suggest that there is scope for improving and sustaining the adoption of sorghum varieties in Tanzania once extension services are strengthened. The findings also point to a well-founded theory on the role ofmarkets in enhancing the overall sustainability of food systems. Social implications – The study findings have broader implications for understanding the sustainability of improved technology adoption Originality/value – Dis-adoption is also positively associated with the lack of access to markets underscoring the role of markets in enhancing the overall sustainability of technology adoption and food systems

The Diffusion and Adoption of Green Revolution Technologies: Lessons and policy implications from Pigeonpea farmers in Kenya

Significant advances have been made in generating high yielding varieties which are part of the so called Green revolution technologies. Raising hopes for a pulse green revolution, a number of improved varieties of pigeonpea have also been developed and released in Africa. The key motivation of this study is that, despite their perceived advantages in raising productivity, the diffusion and adoption of such varieties remains low We apply a quasi-experimental approach to data obtained from rural Kenya to assess the patterns of adoption of improved pigeonpea varieties and their determinants. The sample adoption rate of improved pigeonpea is found to be 36% while the potential adoption rate is estimated at 48%. The adoption gap resulting from the incomplete exposure to the improved pigeonpea is 12%. Adoption is found to be prominent among farmers with residences close to the agricultural offices, and among younger and wealthier farmers. The findings suggest that there is scope for increasing the adoption of improved pigeonpea, especially among young farmers once they are exposed to the new technologies and once the associated policy and technical constraints are addresse

The impact of HIV/AIDS on labor markets, productivity and welfare in Southern Africa: A critical review and analysis

Global estimates of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic as of 2007 shows that about 33 million people are living with HIV, the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The international labor organization (ILO) estimates that at least 23 million workers in the prime labor force (aged15 to 49 years) are infected with HIV. More than 70% of the world’s HIV/AIDS infected population lives in Africa. Within the Africa region, the Southern Africa region has the largest HIV prevalence rate. It is estimated that more than 30% of total world HIV population lives in Southern Africa. In this paper, we analyze the extent to which the HIV/AIDS pandemic impacts the labor markets, productivity and welfare in Southern Africa. We hypothesize that the pandemic can reduce the labor force and productivity, consequently leading to the deterioration in welfare and stagnation of the economy. The analysis finds out that a significant proportion of the labor force has been lost to HIV. In addition to the loss of workers due to AIDS, the cost of caring for AIDS patients is enormous and has resulted into the erosion of productivity and profitability in both the formal and informal sectors. Due to the disproportionate HIV/AIDS prevalence rate between age groups and sex, the pandemic is changing the age and sex distribution of the labor force. The average age of the labor is declining due to the early entry by young and inexperienced people into the labor force. HIV is exerting negative impact on household welfare through the loss of income initially earned by a household member that is a victim of HIV/AIDS, and that through increased medical expenses by the household on the AIDS victim, most of the household income is spent on medication other than other household needs. Some economies in the region are already facing a reduction in economic growth due to the HIV pandemic and it is observed that if efforts to prevent its spread are not intensified, such economies would face stagnation at some poi

The impact of credit constraints on the adoption of hybrid maize in Malawi

This paper investigates the impact of credit constraints on the adoption of hybrid maize among rural households in Malawi. To address the endogenous and binary nature of the household's credit constraints status, we employ a treatment-effects model to consistently estimate the effect of credit constraints. Results reveal that after effectively correcting for endogeneity, credit constraints have a negative and significant effect on the amount of land allocated to hybrid maize. Results also show that farmers with larger land holdings allocate more land to hybrid maize. Although less likely to report credit constraints, older farmers allocate less land to hybrid maize than younger farmers. These findings suggest that there is scope for increasing the cultivation of hybrid maize in Malawi if credit is targeted at younger farmers that are credit-constrained

Assessment of smallholder seed groups performance and market linkages in Southern Malawi. Series Paper Number 12

ICRISAT in partnership with the Rural Livelihoods Support Project was implementing a two year project since 2009 to promote production of groundnuts and pigeon peas in Chiradzulu and Thyolo districts. The project was providing start-up seed of improved pigeon peas and groundnut varieties and technical advice. The variety received for pigeon peas was ICP40 while for groundnuts farmers were given Nsinjilo and CG7. The groups were multiplying the seed and sharing the seed on pass-on scheme. This study was thus conducted to assess the performance of the smallholder seed groups and explore opportunities for linking with the market for seed through the agro-dealer network and other initiatives as marketing outlets for seed. The study methodology involved interviews with selected agro-dealers operating in the project area and focus group discussions with selected farmer groups involved in seed multiplication. In total the study involved nine community seed groups, six in Chiradzulu district and three in Thyolo district and three agro-dealers (2 from Chiradzulu and one from Thyolo). The groups were clear of their objectives to multiply seed to increase access to seed within their communities and engage in small scale seed business. The outcome of these activities would be increased production of pigeon peas and groundnuts and improved livelihoods and incomes. The membership composition for the visited groups shows that most groups were involving more women than men. This means that women were being actively engaged in seed multiplication for the legumes as such they would be primary beneficiaries of the accrued benefits of the project support. Community members joined the groups on voluntary basis based on their willingness to participate in growing the crop. The project provided training to some of the groups in Chiradzulu and in Thyolo. But some groups did not yet receive training. For the groups that received training, the training mainly comprised of crop management aspects. For most groups, the seed support was received once when they started in 2009 and they have been able to multiply it and pass on to others and realized some excess seed for sale. Most of the groups had been able to realize some significant and increasing harvest in the two years so that other farmers have also benefited from the produced seed including sale of excess produce by some groups. For example, Nankuyu group (a group of 20) in Chiradzulu district produced 500kg of pigeon peas in 2009/10 season and increased to 1000kg in 2010/11 season. A number of other farmers also benefited from the produced seed as the groups have been able to share the seed with other farmers thereby expanding access to improve seed of both groundnuts and pigeon peas. This means that the objective of increasing access to seed to other needy farmers was being realized through these groups. The study has highlighted a number of challenges faced by the groups during the two years which affected their production levels. These included lack of training and extension services; late distribution of seed by the project; poor weather; occurrence of pests and diseases; and poor storage condition and storage pests for both pigeon peas and groundnuts. The groups also faced a number of marketing challenges which included: low production limiting the amount for sale; no linkage with reliable and competitive markets; lack of information on profitable market opportunities; high transport costs to markets in the city; and poor road network The seed groups have not yet had any interactions with agro dealers in the area or any other organized seed marketing organizations. However the interviewed agro-dealers are eager to link up with the seed groups to purchase from them the seed and sell in their input retail outlets as long as the seed is of good quality and prices are not exorbitant. The main constraints affecting the seed trading for the agro-dealers include: lack of adequate capital to buy seed stock and run their business; high transport costs; and competition with large seed companies. The groups indicated that the market available is mostly for grain and not seed as the local seed market is not developed and linkages are not yet developed. Apart from selling to vendors and local markets, some groups (e.g. Nankuyu group) have been able to explore and link up with larger buyers with support from ICRISAT. They have been able to sell their grain produce for pigeon peas collectively to Export Trading in Blantyre with assistance from the project and this has helped them to realize better returns. Overall the groups have not been very successful as smallholder seed producing groups. The ICRISAT support may have provided the start-up seed and increased access to good seed for the targeted communities but the groups were not systematically developed and supported to become sustainable seed producing groups. The main reasons include lack of or inadequate training on seed production and government standards and requirements for seed production. Almost all farmer groups interviewed from the two districts indicated that they are not aware of the requirements for seed production as prescribed by either government or seed companies. There is need to link the farmer groups in the project area to organizations which focus on producing and marketing improved seeds in tandem with requirements for seed production as prescribed by either government or seed companies. This can be attained if the farmer groups are linked to organizations such as Association of Smallholder Seed Multiplication Action Group (ASSMAG). The project supported groups can get organized into Seed Multiplication Action Groups (SMAGS) in the districts or join the existing SMAGs and access marketing linkages that has already been developed. ASSMAG works collectively through groups at different levels and ASSMAG coordinates production trainings, seed certification activities, seed processing and seed marketing-related issues of all the member groups. This would be of benefit to the farmer groups in the project area. To achieve maximum benefits and ensure sustainable small scale seed groups the following needs to be taken into consideration: Training of farmers on group dynamics, production technologies and practices; Facilitation of governance issues for sustainability; coordinated effort on marketing; sourcing of foundation seed and distribution to farmers; organizing inspections and seed testing

Assessing the Effectiveness of Agricultural R&D for Groundnut, Pearl Millet, Pigeonpea, and Sorghum in West and Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa

Arable land in sub-Saharan Africa is often cultivated during seasonal rains in regions where the supply of rainfall exceeds the demand for rainfall for only 2–7 months of the year. These rainfall supply and demand conditions define rainfed agriculture in the semi-arid tropics (SAT). In 1972, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) was established in India with a global mandate to increase agricultural production in the SAT, thereby enhancing poor people’s welfare in these rainfall-unassured production environments. Technically, the SAT encompassed large areas of Australia, Latin America and Asia, but the geographic focus at ICRISAT was always on peninsular India and sub-Saharan Africa where most rural and urban poor lived. By 2020, the total population of people in Asia’s and Africa’s SAT is projected to be about 850 million, comprising a 70% share for Asia and a 30% share evenly split between West and Central Africa and East and Southern Africa (Walker, 2009). When ICRISAT was founded in 1972, the relative importance of the two continental populations was about 80% for Asia’s SAT and 20% for Africa’s SAT. The total SAT population in 1972 was only about 35% of the projected population in 2020..

Assessing the Competitiveness of Groundnut Production in Malawi: A Policy Analysis Matrix Approach

Groundnut is an important component of the national food supply. It does not only have nutritional and dietary value, groundnut also provides cash to farmers; enrich the soil with nitrogen through biological nitrogen fixation; and its haulms can be used as fodder and fuel. Groundnut production has not kept up with the demands both local and export markets especially in terms of volumes over time. This has been in part due to low average yields resulting from continuous use of unimproved seed. In turn Malawi’s groundnut exports have also generally dwindled over time. The analysis of Malawian groundnut production using the Policy Analysis Matrix methodology shows that both traditional and improved technology groundnut production are both privately and socially profitable. This leads to the conclusion that protectionist policies that would raise domestic groundnut prices above the import parity prices determined in world markets are unnecessary

Impact of modern agricultural technologies on smallholder welfare: Evidence from Tanzania and Ethiopia

This paper evaluates the potential impact of adoption of improved legume technologies on rural household welfare measured by consumption expenditure in rural Ethiopia and Tanzania. The study utilizes cross-sectional farm household level data collected in 2008 from a randomly selected sample of 1313 households (700 in Ethiopia and 613 in Tanzania). The causal impact of technology adoption is estimated by utilizing endogenous switching regression. This helps us estimate the true welfare effect of technology adoption by controlling for the role of selection problem on production and adoption decisions. Our analysis reveals that adoption of improved agricultural technologies has a significant positive impact consumption expenditure (in per adult equivalent terms) in rural Ethiopia and Tanzania. This confirms the potential role of technology adoption in improving rural household welfare as higher consumption expenditure from improved technologies translate into lower poverty, higher food security and greater ability to withstand risk. An analysis of the determinants of adoption highlighted inadequate local supply of seed, access to information and perception about the new cultivars as key constraints for technology adoption