What Impact Are EU Supermarket Standards Having on Developing Countries Export of High-Value Horticultural Products? Evidence from Kenya

European Union (EU) retailers are setting global benchmarks for the production of fresh food, and are asking their suppliers for produce to be certified according to food safety and quality standards. Compliance to these standards for developing countries small-scale producers entail costly investment in variable inputs and long term structures. Limited empirical evidence exists either to refute or confirm the concern that the proliferation and enhanced stringency of these standards marginalize smallholders from global market. This article therefore explores the costs of compliance, factors explaining the smallholder decision to adopt EU private quality standard and the impacts of the standard on farm financial performance. We develop a two-stage standard treatment effect model to account for self-selection as a source of endogeneity. Analysis is based on a random cross section sample of 439 small-scale export vegetable producers in Kenya whose production was monitored in 2005/2006. We demonstrate that adopters and non-adopters are distinguishable by their asset holding and household wealth, access to services, labor endowment and level of education. Once we control for endogeneity problem, we found that small-scale producers can benefit substantially from adopting the standard at the farm level.Kenya, export vegetables, adoption, EurepGAP standard, impact assessment, International Relations/Trade,

Gender, weather shocks and welfare: evidence from Malawi

This paper explores the gender-differentiated effects of weather shocks on households’ welfare in Malawi using panel data aligned with climatic records. Results show that temperature shocks severely affect household welfare, reducing consumption, food consumption and daily caloric intake. The negative welfare effects are more severe for households where land is solely managed by women, a finding that sheds light on the gender-unequal impact of temperature shocks. Our evidence also suggests that women’s vulnerability to temperature shocks is linked to women’s land tenure security, as temperature shocks impact significantly women’s welfare only in patrilineal districts, where statistics show that investment in agricultural technologies is lower

Determinants of Agricultural Technology adoption: the case of improved groundnut varieties in Malawi

This paper applies the Average Treatment Effect (ATE) framework on data obtained from a random cross-section sample of 594 farmers in Malawi to document the actual and potential adoption rates of improved groundnut varieties and their determinants conditional on farmers’ awareness of the technology. The fact that not all farmers are exposed to the new technologies makes it difficult to obtain consistent estimates of population adoption rates and their determinants using direct sample estimates and classical adoption models such as probit or tobit. Our approach tries to control for exposure and selection bias in assessing the adoption rate of technology and its determinants. Results indicate that only 26% of the sampled farmers grew at least one of the improved groundnut varieties. The potential adoption rate of improved groundnut for the population is estimated at 37% and the adoption gap resulting from the incomplete exposure of the population to the improved groundnut is 12%. We further find that the awareness of improved varieties is mainly influenced by information access variables, while adoption is largely influenced by economic constraints. The findings are indicative of the relatively large unmet demand for improved groundnut varieties suggesting that there is scope for increasing the adoption rate of improved groundnut varieties in Malawi once the farmers are made aware of the technologies and if other constraints such as lack of access to credit are addressed.groundnuts, adoption, Average Treatment Effect, Malawi, Crop Production/Industries,

Global agrifood supply chain, EU food-safety standards and African small-scale producers : the case of high-value horticultural export from Kenya

[no abstract

Climate Resilience Pathways of Rural Households. Evidence from Ethiopia

This paper explores the resilience capacity of rural Ethiopian households after the drought shock occurred in 2011. The work develops an original empirical framework able to capture the policy and socio-economic determinants of households’ resilience capacity by making parametric statistical assumption on the resilience distribution. To this end, the analysis employs a two-wave representative panel dataset aligned with detailed weather records while controlling for a large set of household- and community-level characteristics. The analysis shows that the majority of these factors affects significantly resilience capacity only in the group of households affected by the drought shock, suggesting that the observed effect relates to the adaptive capacity enabled by these factors, rather than a simple welfare effect. Three policy indications emerge from the findings of the empirical model. First, government support programmes, such as the PSNP, appear to sustain households’ resilience by helping them to reach the level of pre-shock total consumption, but have no impact on the food-consumption resilience. Secondly, the “selling out assets strategy” affects positively on households’ resilience, but only in terms of food consumption. Finally, the presence of informal institutions, such as social networks providing financial support, sharply increases households’ resilience by helping them to reach pre-shock levels of food and total consumption. Policies incentivizing the formation of these networks, through the participation of households to agricultural cooperative, agricultural associations, or community projects, may also help farmers in recovering their wealth level after a weather shoc

Assessment of the veterinary cost recovery scheme in the Amhara region, Ethiopia

This study was conducted in November, 2015 in selected Woredas of Amhara region with the aim of assessing the impact of veterinary cost recovery on efficiency of public private livestock services and to share the experience of the region with other regional states. Structured questionnaire and a field survey with focus group discussion were applied on a total of 475 randomly selected households. Animal health service in the Amhara region is clearly dominated by the public sector. Private-sector involvement was prominent only in the veterinary drug sales and treatment services. Seventy five percent of livestock owners responded that they received veterinary services from their residence within 1km radius. The results indicated that only 18% of respondents were satisfied by clinical examination provided by public sector. There was wide disparity in the effectiveness of delivery of animal health services between public and private sectors in the study Woredas. Majority of farmers were not been satisfied with the services provided by private sector. The supply of drugs is increasing especially after implementation of veterinary cost recovery scheme but with the limited ranges. Most respondents had positive views regarding availability of veterinary drugs (62.2%) and vaccines (78.1%). Many livestock owners believed that illegal veterinary drug sales have decreased after implementation of veterinary cost recovery scheme (VCRS). The fact that payment for veterinary services has already been adopted by livestock owners in the study Woredas could be considered as a good opportunity to start a full cost recovery scheme as well as pave the way for initiating veterinary privatization in some pilot Woredas.Keywords: Amhara Region; Drug sales; Private; Public; Revolving fund; Veterinary cost recovery schem

Occupational formaldehyde exposure linked to increased systemic health impairments and counteracting beneficial effects of selected antioxidants

Background: Formaldehyde (FA) is a sensitizing agent that can produce an effective immune system response upon initial exposure. FA that can be used in many industries, medical and anatomical facilities, mainly cadaver-based gross anatomy laboratories, represent a risk to occupational health of professionals and students. The majority of FA exposures occur through inhalation, dermal, and eye contact. FA-induced effects are attributed to site-specific and dosedependent health impairments in many organs and organ systems. Much progress has been reported on FA-induced health impairments in respiratory tract, but a comprehensive study in different organ systems and the reverse effects of some novel antioxidants is still lacking. This review explores the cytotoxic effects of FA and its role as key signaling molecule, site specific and or dose dependent effects of FA in nasal cavity, carcinogenic effects of FA exposure in nasopharynx, effects of FA in lung macrophage functions and development of pulmonary fibrosis, dose dependent reproductive and genetic effects of FA, neurotoxic effects of FA and potential risk of FA in some beauty salons and cosmetic products. In addition, this study shows the counteracting beneficial role of melatonin, Nigella sativa, rose oils, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), vitamin E, and proanthocyanidins (PAs) against FA induced tissue damage.Methods: A comprehensive literature search highlighting the health impairments of FA and counteracting beneficial effects of promising antioxidants was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Medline Cochrane, to assemble relevant publications from open access international journals published only in English.Results: The search generated 411 articles of which 70 full research articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria and included in the review. The results of this study confirmed relentless toxic effects of FA exposure on various organs of human and other animals. Multiple findings also stated the efficacy of promising antioxidants against FA-induced tissue damage in animal models.Conclusion: Occupational exposure to FA is most likely due to inattention towards its side effects and lack of appropriate air filtering equipment or unmonitored concentration of FA in the working air. Therefore, re-evaluating the concentration of FA, proper ventilation, and assessment of working practices is highly recommended. Proper monitoring is also needed to improve compliance and protection of FA-based reproductive complications in females. Despite complete prevention is not viable, exposed personnel must be aware of FA-induced health effects and require assessing risks and acquiring practical measures in their working environment

Heterogeneous effects of sustainable agriculture practices: micro-evidence from Malawi

Are the effects of sustainable agricultural practices heterogeneous across agro-ecology and wealth in Malawi? Would a wealth-enhancing policy be associated with increased effectiveness of these practices? Focusing on a nationally representative set of Malawian agricultural households, the article answers the above questions by employing plot-level panel data matched with a set of geo-referenced rainfall and temperature records. The findings suggest a positive correlation between aggregate yield and the adoption of organic fertilizer. A similar result holds for legume intercropping and for hybrid seeds, which are associated to reductions in yield volatility between the two waves. Nevertheless, these effects appear heterogeneous across the agro-ecological zone of adoption, since a reduced number of farmers in selected locations can improve yields through the adoption of these practices. Further exploration suggests that less wealthy households show higher returns when adopting hybrid seeds or legume intercropping. Wealthier households, in contrast, report high yield only when treated with technology-enhancing practices, such as organic fertilizers and soil erosion control measures

Sub-chronic Toxicity of Anti-ectoparasitic Formulation Comprising Cymbopogon Citrates Essential Oil and Jatropha Curcas Fixed Oil in Swiss Albino Mice

Ectoparasites are found widely distributed in all agro-ecological zones of Ethiopia. The problems they cause can be alleviated through the use of traditional medicinal plants.  Cymbopogon citratus is one of the traditional herbs commonly used for such purpose.  This study was conducted to profile safety of the C. citratus based anti ectoparasitic formulation. The toxicity study had shown significant weight change in animal group that received 3.75% of the formulation. There were also significant changes in serum lipid profiles of treated group animals compared with the control. The level of uric acid in animals treated with 3.75% of the formulation showed significant increase compared with the control. Liver and kidney histopathology of both treatment group animals revealed few mononuclear leucocytic infiltrations.  The blood cell parameters and different biochemical findings had revealed no sign of toxicity. However; other measured parameters like the body weight, histological and some biochemical findings had shown both significant and insignificant sign of toxicities.  Therefore; it is important to consider the effect of the formulation in prolonged treatment on body weight, uric acid excretion and lipid metabolism