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

Drivers of Collective Action and the Welfare Gains of such Initiatives among smallholder farmers: Experiences from Kenya

This study assessed the determinants of participation and intensity of participation in collective action initiatives. It also examined the effect of participation in such initiatives on household commercialization and on household welfare (incomes). It uses a double hurdle approach (a logit regression model to examine the determinants of participation in collective action and a Poisson regression model to assess the factors that determine the intensity of participation). The study then tests the difference in mean incomes and commercialization between participants and non-participants. The study finds that farmer/household specific variables, farm specific variables, endowment variables and regional variables influence the decision to participate as well as the extent of participation in collective action initiatives. Results further indicate that there exist significant differences in output and input market participation (commercialization) and in mean incomes as a result of participation in collective action initiatives influence the decision to participate in collective action initiatives. The implication of these findings is that for collective action initiatives to be to be effective in achieve the desired goals of helping farmers commercialize, capacity of farmers (e.g. through trainings) to operate and manage them should be improved. Stronger linkages with other institutions like public institutions, credit institutions should be encouraged and fostered so as to address the needs of the farmers. The study discusses the implications of these findings for policy

Impact of land degradation on household poverty: evidence from a panel data simultaneous equation model

The debate on the land degradation – poverty linkages is inconclusive. However, the inter-linkages between land degradation and poverty are thought to be strong in the rural areas of low income countries where livelihoods predominantly depend on agriculture. This study seeks to contribute to the existing literature by establishing the causal relationships between poverty and land degradation and examines its magnitude using nationally representative panel data in Malawi and Tanzania. While using a simultaneous equation model and controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, the findings suggest that poverty contributes to land degradation as a result of poor households’ inability to invest in natural resource conservation and improvement. Land degradation in turn contributes to low and declining agricultural productivity, which in turn contributes to worsening poverty. Specifically, land degradation significantly increases the probability of household poverty by 35% in Malawi and 48% in Tanzania. Poor households have 69% and 67% more likelihood to experience land degradation in Malawi and Tanzania respectively. These findings suggest the importance of including land degradation perspective in poverty analysis among the rural households who heavily depend on land resources for their livelihoods. The pathways through which land degradation influence poverty should be explored so as to improving household welfare

Armed conflict and business operations in Sudan: Survey evidence from agri-food processing firms [in Arabic]

Non-PRIFPRI1; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; SSSPDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategie