Livestock CRP Vietnam 2019-2021 Site selection process

[The Livestock CRP can] focus on difficult regions with high poverty and ethnic minorities, showing how research can deliver impact in challenging area, but can also conduct active research in medium scale intensified livestock areas to address priority issues on market, feeds and forage, animal diseases, food safety, AMR and the environment. While poverty rates have reduced rapidly over the past decade at national level, there remain sizable pockets of poverty at regional level, particularly in North-West, Central Highlands and Mekong Delta regions. In these areas, livestock, particularly indigenous pigs and cattle, play an important livelihoods function and could raise household income if market access, productivity, and animal disease constraints are overcome. This suggests a need for a targeted, regional approach for livestockoriented research in Vietnam

The adoption and impact of an improved drought-tolerant, dual-purpose groundnut variety in Southern India

This paper looks at the adoption and impact of an improved groundnut cultivar in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Despite positive results in farmer-participatory varietal selection, adoption was extremely low despite promotional efforts of a local NGO. The few farmers who adopted the variety generated significant benefits. They earned higher profits per hectare and their agricultural asset portfolios (a measure of wealth) increased significantly more than those of non-adopters. This raises the question of why, if the variety is beneficial, adoption is so low. Some possible explanations and their implications for future varietal development and dissemination are discussed

What was the impact of dairy goats distributed by the Crop-Goat project in Tanzania?

In Tanzania most goat production is extensive and aimed at selling live animals with limited direct impact on food security and nutrition. The Crop and Goat Project (CGP), implemented in Kongwa and Mvomero districts, aimed at improving income, food security and nutrition of poor households by promoting dairy goat production integrated with cassava and sweet potatoes. Within the project area, village leaders generated a list of 70 potential goat recipients in each of the 4 intervention villages, based on resources and capacity. Out of these, 108 households received a total of 229 dairy goats over the project period. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impacts of introducing dairy goats on income, assets and food consumption. A baseline survey at project initiation was conducted among 552 households in 2012, including all households which later received goats. Out of these, 373 households were interviewed a second time in 2014. This sample includes 98 of the beneficiary households, 102 potential beneficiary households, not having received a project goat, and 120 non-potential households in project villages. Analysis of the baseline data revealed that beneficiary households were different to potential and non-potential households in terms of non-livestock assets and food consumption. Therefore, the study applies a difference-in-differences (DD) approach in combination with propensity score matching to overcome the observed bias for estimating the impact of the project intervention. Results from the econometric analysis show the interventions had no significant effect on livestock or total income. Unsurprisingly, the project does appear to have significantly increased household ownership of small ruminants and total livestock. We also find a significant increase in the food consumption score of the survey respondent in project households, but no significant effect on the consumption score of the index child. Finally, we see a significant increase in the respondent's frequency of consuming dairy products, though none for the index child. Results suggest that dairy goats in this context have a stronger impact on household nutrition than on income although a better understanding of intra-household food allocation is required to support child nutrition

Are there gender differences in access to and demand for East Coast fever vaccine? Empirical evidence from rural smallholder dairy farmers in Kenya

Women lag in the adoption of agricultural innovations compared to men, mainly due to gender inequalities in access to complementary inputs, capital, and knowledge/information. The Infection-and-Treatment-Method (ITM) is considered a safe and effective method of controlling East Coast fever. However, since its commercialisation in Kenya differences in demand for this vaccine among smallholder men and women dairy cattle keepers have not been assessed. Using a sample of 448 respondents, we used an Average-Treatment-Effect framework to estimate ITM adoption rates under awareness constraints and the determinants of adoption among smallholder male-headed (MHHs) and female-headed (FHHs) households. We found some difference in ITM awareness between MHHs (57 per cent) and FHHs (46 per cent). However, gender adoption gaps in the actual and potential adoption rates were considerable, with actual adoption rates of 41 per cent and potential adoption rate of 62 per cent among MHHs, compared to 19 per cent actual and 31 per cent potential adoption for FHHs. The smaller adoption gap for FHHs indicates that only increasing awareness amongst FHHs will not reduce inequities. ITM adoption in both household headships was mainly determined by education, extension interventions, access to financial services, and social capital. In addition to this, ITM adoption in FHHs was positively influenced by age, land-size, and group membership. To realise adoption beyond the current potential and to reduce inequities at the scale-up stage, gender-specific interventions targeting resource-poor women cattle keepers would be effective, in addition to ensuring that women have access to extension and financial services