Economics of animal genetic resources use and conservation

Economic analysis can play an important role in the sustainable management of animal genetic resources (AnGR). The first report on The State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (first SoW-AnGR) (FAO, 2007a) included a section on methods for economic evaluation 1 that provided an overview of the various types of value that can be distinguished (direct and indirect use values, option values, bequest values and existence values) and described potential methods and tools for assessing them. It also presented some examples of the use of these methods and tools and the findings obtained. This updated section provides an overview of recent developments in the economics of AnGR use and conservation. The revised title reflects the way in which this field of work has moved beyond just the development and testing of methods

The economics of managing crop diversity on-farm: Case studies from the genetic resources policy initiative

The purpose of this book is to assess a variety of economic issues as they relate to agro-biodiversity and show how addressing these issues can assist in agro-biodiversity policy-making. This is illustrated using empirical data from some of the countries (Ethiopia, Nepal and Zambia) which are part of the Genetic Resources Policy Initiative. The empirical chapters apply the relevant economic methods, including regression analysis, choice experiments, hedonic pricing, contingent valuation and farm business income analysis. The authors discuss the economics of managing crop diversity on-farm in the context of crop variety attribute preferences, farmers' perception of agro-biodiversity loss, and value addition and marketing of the products of traditional crop varieties. The case studies include detailed analysis of traditional varieties of groundnut, maize, rice, sorghum, and teff. The results are relevant not only to GRPI countries but also to other countries concerned with the sustainable utilization of these resources. Overall, the studies illustrate how genetic resources issues can be integrated into rural development interventions

Understanding farmers’ preferences for artificial insemination services provided through dairy hubs

Africa has a shortage of animal products but increasing demand because of population growth, urbanisation and changing consumer patterns. Attempts to boost livestock production through the use of breeding technologies such as artificial insemination (AI) have been failing in many countries because costs have escalated and success rates have been relatively low. One example is Kenya, a country with a relatively large number of cows and a dairy industry model relevant to neighbouring countries. There, an innovative dairy marketing approach (farmer-owned collective marketing systems called dairy hubs) has been implemented to enhance access to dairy markets and dairy-related services, including breeding services such as AI. So far, the rate of participation in these dairy hubs has been slow and mixed. In order to understand this phenomenon better and to inform dairy-related development activities by the Kenyan government, we investigated which characteristics of AI services, offered through the dairy hubs, farmers prefer. To do so, we applied a choice experiment (CE), a non-market valuation technique, which allowed us to identify farmers' preferences for desired characteristics should more dairy hubs be installed in the future. This is the first study to use a CE to evaluate breeding services in Kenya and the results can complement findings of studies of breeding objectives and selection criteria. The results of the CE reveal that dairy farmers prefer to have AI services offered rather than having no service. Farmers prefer AI services to be available at dairy hubs rather than provided by private agents not affiliated to the hubs, to have follow-up services for pregnancy detections, and to use sexed semen rather than conventional semen. Farmers would further like some flexibility in payment systems which include input credit, and are willing to share the costs of any AI repeats that may need to occur. These results provide evidence of a positive attitude to AI services provided through the hubs, which could mean that AI uptake would improve if service characteristics are improved to match farmer preferences. The dairy hubs concept is currently in the implementation phase with most hubs at startup phase, hence understanding which AI service characteristics farmers prefer can inform the design of high-quality and cost-effective AI services in the future

Increasing farmer participation in institutional innovative system: The case of dairy hub marketing in Kenya

The total available area for sustainable agriculture in Kenya is about 17% of the country's land area. As the country's population pressure on land increases, growth in agricultural production must substantially come from enhanced productivity of land already under cultivation, and from capital investments in transforming marginal lands to zones of high-value agricultural production. While this would increase pressure on marginal lands, increasing productivity will reduce pressure on these (marginal) lands. This is because intensification will reduce the need to expand production into marginal fragile lands. Improved smallholder dairying has long been identified as a route towards enhancement of the country's agricultural production. Eastern Africa is Africa's most promising region for dairy production with Kenya having one of the largest dairy industries in the region. History shows that Kenya's dairy industry has evolved through a sequence of distinct phases that saw the collapse or reorganisation of the industry: from establishment of organised milk marketing through a state-controlled system of cooperatives, to the collapse of the system, that left the producers with the duty of coordinating both production and marketing themselves. Collective milk marketing, through co-operatives and farmer groups, still appeals to farmers owing to economies of scale, convenient payment arrangements and, access to input credit as well as other dairy related services. However, cooperative development efforts have for the past years, not yielded the desired impacts. For efforts to improve and encourage sustainable intensification in smallholder dairy business though institutional innovative system (in this case, the “dairy hub marketing”) to yield fruits, clear understanding of barriers and opportunities is pertinent for targeting in order to increase intensification. This study uses a tobit model to analyse factors that affect the intensity of use of dairy marketing Hubs in the East African Dairy development project. Primary data was collected from 300 dairy farmers in Western Kenya milk shed. While farmers using the hub were found to have a comparatively high economic endowment, indicating the merits of hub participation, the analysis reveals the need to prioritise the focus on increasing dairy intensification and consequently milk production through breed improvement and other production-relevant strategies while investing in elaborate market access system

Assessing the total economic value of threatened livestock breeds in Italy: Implications for conservation policy

The total economic value (TEV) of two threatened Italian cattle breeds (Modicana and Maremmana) was investigated using a choice experiment survey. Most respondents (85%) support breed conservation, their stated willingness-to-pay easily justifying EU support. The high landscape maintenance, existence and future option values of both breeds (around 80% of their TEVs) suggest that incentives mechanisms are indeed needed in order to allow farmers to capture some of these public good values and hence motivate them to undertake conservation-related activities. The positive direct use values of both breeds (around 20% of their TEVs) imply that niche product markets aimed at enhancing the private good values associated with conservation could also form elements of a conservation and use strategy for these breeds