Factors that affect the adoption of improved maize varieties by smallholder farmers in Central Oromia, Ethiopia.

This study aims at identifying factors which affect the adoption of improved maize varieties in three woredas in Central Oromia, Ethiopia. The study utilized cross-sectional farm household level data collected by CIMMYT from 300 randomly selected sample households in 2012/13. Both descriptive and econometric methods have been used to analyze the data. The descriptive statistics were utilized to compare adopters and non-adopters. The logit model was employed to assess the adoption determinants.The descriptive analyses results show the existence of significant mean and proportion difference between adopters and non-adopters in terms of farmer characteristics. Adoption of the improved maize varieties among households was found to be positively influenced by adult-literacy, family size, livestock wealth, access to output market and credit access for the new varieties. On the other hand, farmer associations, distance to main markets and fertilizer credit negatively influenced adoption. Thus, the finding of this study revealed that educating farmers, strengthening extension services, improving farmer associations and improving market opportunities are some of the measures that need to be taken to enhance adoption of improved maize varieties by farmers. Keywords: improved maize varieties, small-holder farmers, adoption, determinants, Ethiopi

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic

Impact of improved maize varieties adoption on smallholder farmers’ marketed maize surplus in Oromia regional state, Ethiopia

Adoption of improved agricultural varieties in Africa is low. This situation is not different in Ethiopia. Though increasing yield is a priority, mere increase in production do not motivate farmers to adopt new varieties. When farmers are able to produce more and can sell in the output markets, they will have much more incentive to adopt the new varieties and be productive. This study, therefore, aims at evaluating the impact of adoption of improved maize varieties on farmers’ market participation in three woredas of the Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. The study utilized cross-sectional household level data collected by CIMMYT in 2012/2013 from 300 randomly selected sample households. Both descriptive and econometric methods have been used to analyze the data. The descriptive analyses results show the existence of significant mean and proportion difference between adopters and non-adopters in terms of HHH age, education, family size, livestock ownership, land holding, distance to main market, accesses to output and input markets, access to extension services, and access to credit in favour of adopters. The results of the logit model show that adoption of the improved maize varieties among households was found to be positively influenced by adult-literacy, family size, livestock wealth, access to output market and credit access for the new varieties. On the other hand, farmer associations, distance to main markets and fertilizer credit influenced adoption negatively. Moreover, the results of the ATE model show a robust and positive increase in marketed maize grain per household which ranges from around 442kg in the case of kernel-based matching at bandwidth of 0.05 to 483kg in the case of radius matching at a radius of 0.03 at p<0.01. The results from this study revealed that the significant impact of adoption on improving the farmers’ participation to output markets. Therefore, it is recommended to promote adoption of the improved varieties as it is essential for inducing farmers’ market participation that helps them in generating income and in improving their lives.African Economic Research Consortium (AERC

Impact of improved maize varieties adoption on smallholder farmers’ marketed maize surplus in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Adoption of improved agricultural varieties in Africa is low. This situation is not different in Ethiopia. Though increasing yield is a priority, mere increase in production do not motivate farmers to adopt new varieties. When farmers are able to produce more and can sell in the output markets, they will have much more incentive to adopt the new varieties and be productive. This study, therefore, aims at evaluating the impact of adoption of improved maize varieties on farmers’ market participation in three woredas of the Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. The study utilized cross-sectional household level data collected by CIMMYT in 2012/2013 from 300 randomly selected sample households. Both descriptive and econometric methods have been used to analyze the data. The descriptive analyses results show the existence of significant mean and proportion difference between adopters and non-adopters in terms of HHH age, education, family size, livestock ownership, land holding, distance to main market, accesses to output and input markets, maccess to extension services, and access to credit in favour of adopters. The results of the log it model show that adoption of the improved maize varieties among households was found to be positively influenced by adult-literacy, family size, livestock wealth, access to output market and credit access for the new varieties. On the other hand, farmer associations, distance to main markets and fertilizer credit influenced adoption negatively. Moreover, the results of the ATE model show a robust and positive increase in marketed maize grain per household which ranges from around 442kg in the case of kernel-based matching at bandwidth of 0.05 to 483kg in the case of radius matching at a radius of 0.03 at p<0.01. The results from this study revealed that the significant impact of adoption on improving the farmers’ participation to output markets. Therefore, it is recommended to promote adoption of the improved varieties as it is essential for inducing farmers’ market participation that helps them in generating income and in improving their lives.Economic Research Consortium (AERC

MAPPING LOCAL PATTERNS OF CHILDHOOD OVERWEIGHT AND WASTING IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES BETWEEN 2000 AND 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic