Farm and farmer capital foster adoption of improved quality agrochemical inputs in the cotton-wheat zone of the Punjab, Pakistan

Adoption of yield-enhancing agricultural inputs fosters agricultural intensification in low-income countries. In Pakistan, initial adoption of agrochemicals is already widespread; the low quality of much of the inputs contributes to severe health, environmental and enduring pest problems, however. While the positive influence of farm capital and farmer capital on initial adoption is well documented, the adoption of improved quality inputs is little researched. We reduce the knowledge gap investigating smallholder adoption of improved quality agrochemical inputs in the Punjab, Pakistan. Using multi-stage random sampling, a pre-tested and piloted farming household survey was administered to smallholder farming households from 18 villages across three districts of the cotton-wheat zone (N=275). Ordered probit models show that several farming and farm capital variables (cotton crop area, farm machinery, no-tillage farming, adoption in the neighbourhood) as well as several farmer capital variables (age, education, off-farm income, agricultural extension services, source of agricultural credit) influence adoption of improved quality agrochemical inputs. Of these variables, an intensification of agricultural extension service visits appears as the most promising policy option. From a fundamental science point of view, our results provide, for the first time, evidence that adoption of improved quality agrochemical inputs is influenced principally by the same variables as initial adoption

The role of crop protection products of multinational brands for agricultural sustainability in the cotton-growing zone in Pakistan

Despite the use of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton in Pakistan, the country is still far behind in farm harvest per unit compared to other cotton-producing countries such as China and Turkey. Cotton is a pest-sensitive crop, and inappropriate crop protection products contribute to lower agricultural sustainability. This issue attracts additional attention in developing countries such as Pakistan, where generic formulation/sub-standard crop protection products are easily and abundantly available. However, the impact of the application of crop protection products of multinational brands in contrast to generic formulation/sub-standard crop protection products on total farm revenue is explicitly not documented. We employ a stochastic frontier production framework using a survey of smallholder farming households in the cotton-growing zone in Pakistan (N=266). The estimates of stochastic frontier production models show a positive relationship between the use of crop protection products of multinational brands and total farm revenue. The estimates of technical inefficiency models show that specialisation and regional dummy, among others, emerge as the key to determining the smallholders’ technical inefficiency. To get higher farm revenue and technical efficiency, we propose the agricultural policy makers of Pakistan to explicitly focus on the quality of crop protection products. Moreover, agricultural policy makers are advised to revisit the cropping system in the study area. This revisit may positively contribute to agricultural sustainability

Differential Influence of Relative Poverty on Preferences for Ecosystem Services: Evidence from Rural Indonesia

Ecosystem services generate benefits that enter human consumption either directly or indirectly via their contribution to human production activities. In this contribution, we provide evidence that (i) the demand of peasants for ecosystem services in rural Indonesia depends on relative poverty; and that (ii) the type of reaction to poverty depends on the specific relation of the ecosystem services to peasant production and consumption. In early 2005 a representative choice experiment study was conducted in the Lore Lindu area in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, to quantify regional economic preferences (marginal willingessto- pay: MWTP) for four different ecosystem services (n=249; rattan and water availability, shading in cacao agroforestry, population size of the endemic forest dwelling dwarf buffalo "anoa"). Relative poverty was calculated with the 2005 data using a 0,1-normally distributed relative poverty index developed from a socio-demographic household survey administered to the same sample in 2004. For shading in cocoa, a linearly decreasing trend is observed indicating a stronger preference for "sun-grown" cocoa in the less poor farmers indicating a constant poverty elasticity of WTP. The empirical poverty elasticity for anoa supports its luxury good characteristic only in part. For rattan and water, we find an inverted U-shape relation between MWTP for ecosystem services and relative poverty - probably due to serious restrictions in the ability to pay in the poorest households and a smaller resource dependency in the less poor households. In sum, the relationship between relative poverty and MWTP for ecosystem services appears more complex than classical micro-economic theory admits.Relative poverty, Choice experiment, ecosystem services, environmental valuation, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q21, Q51, Q56, Q57,

Potential of Opuntia seed oil for livelihood improvement in semi-arid Madagascar

The coastal area of the Mahafaly Plateau in southwestern Madagascar is prone to droughts, as well as to other environmental risks, resulting in frequent crop failures, famines, and extreme poverty. Thus, the identification of potential complementary livelihood sources has been identified as a crucial step for the sustainable development of the region. In this contribution, we assess the potential of prickly pear seed oil production as an income alternative for local communities. The prickly pears are cacti in the genus Opuntia Mill. and they are highly abundant in the region, particularly as living fences on farmland. From the seeds of its fruit, high-priced seed oil can be extracted. To investigate its economic potential, we inventoried prickly pears in field hedgerows through vegetation inventories and estimated the amount of seed oil that could be produced per household based on field sampling and laboratory analysis. To assess the socioeconomic impact of a potential large-scale project of regional Opuntia seed oil production, we conducted interviews with 51 farming households on human Opuntia consumption, the utilization of its cladodes as fodder, and other livelihood functions.Five different prickly pears occur in the research region. We found that two out of these five species are highly important socioeconomically (Opuntia monacantha and O. streptacantha) and contribute >50% to total food intake during periods of food shortage. Likewise, these species are consumed as a key water source and used as livestock fodder. In contrast, the other three Opuntia species are barely eaten by local residents or by livestock (O. dillenii, O. stricta and O. phaeacantha). These species are more spiny, and their fruits are virtually inedible due to a much higher seed content. The combination of low nutritional value and high seed content suggests promising seed oil production potential for these types of Opuntia. To avoid competition between human nutrition and the commercialization of local Opuntia seeds, sourcing strategies should exclusively target the fruit of the two high seed  species. However, investments for oil mills, skilled staff, and adequate logistics would be needed to create local value from this underrated resource in the Mahafaly region

Determinants of the compliance of honey producers with HACCP-based quality management: The case of family apiculture in Northeastern Brazil

101 p.Worldwide the progress in food technology and the growing knowledge of food health hazards awakened the concern to protect consumers. In this sense the adoption of the HACCP system took place as mandatory requirement in developed countries. It was not any different in Brazil; the government too adopted the HACCP system as a mandatory standard for food processing industry in 1998, and in 2004 as well for the primary production of honey. In order to analyze the factors which influence the compliance of honey producers with HACCP-based quality management, the author of the present thesis conducted an empirical survey in three micro-regions of the State of Ceará/Brazil. The interviews were made with 115 beekeepers. The results showed that the beekeepers’ knowledge of the HACCP-based quality management is positively influenced by the attendance in beekeeping courses and selling directly to the exporting firm. Knowledge turned out to be a precursor of the implementation. Better knowledge has also a positive impact on the improvements on the infrastructure for extracting the honey. Infrastructure showed to improve the levels of the implementation of the HACCP-based quality management. That is the reason why the distance to the nearest constructed house especially designed to extract honey turned out to be negatively correlated with the implementation. Higher levels of implementation lead to the register into the MAPA, subsequently the beekeepers start to be inspected by the SIF and to comply with the Brazilian legislation. It was found that only 11% of the beekeepers are inspected by the SIF and do not receive an extra price for complying with the national legislation. Facing that 90% of the beekeepers have less than 100 beehives with bees and extract honey on average 3.22 times per year, the construction of collective houses for extracting honey are a vital issue. This construction should be facilitated by the government. It should be the obligation of the State who provides legislation to make it easier for the beekeepers to comply with it. In this sense, the house for extracting honey should be subsidized by the government. This subsidy could be with donations of materials for the constructions or with special credit programs for group of beekeepers

Win-win opportunities combining high yields with high multi-taxa biodiversity in tropical agroforestry

Resolving ecological-economic trade-offs between biodiversity and yields is a key challenge when addressing the biodiversity crisis in tropical agricultural landscapes. Here, we focused on the relation between seven different taxa (trees, herbaceous plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, and ants) and yields in vanilla agroforests in Madagascar. Agroforests established in forests supported overall 23% fewer species and 47% fewer endemic species than old-growth forests, and 14% fewer endemic species than forest fragments. In contrast, agroforests established on fallows had overall 12% more species and 38% more endemic species than fallows. While yields increased with vanilla vine density and length, non-yield related variables largely determined biodiversity. Nonetheless, trade-offs existed between yields and butterflies as well as reptiles. Vanilla yields were generally unrelated to richness of trees, herbaceous plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and ants, opening up possibilities for conservation outside of protected areas and restoring degraded land to benefit farmers and biodiversity alike

Differences in Power Structures Regarding Access to Natural Resources at the Village Level in Central Sulawesi (Indonesia)

The mountain forests of the Indonesian province of Central Sulawesi include core areas of the global Wallacea biodiversity “hotspot”. Remote sensing data indicated that deforestation rates around Central Sulawesi’s Lore-Lindu National Park differ more strongly between villages than could be explained by differences in the individual characteristics of the village households as assessed by quantitative village censuses. This setting provided the background for a study into inter-village differences in power structures regarding access to natural resources. Our results are abstracted from 3*10 semi-structured, qualitative interviews with key informants from the leading groups of autochthonous and migrant households of three contrasting villages. In village A, nearly feudal power relationships are exerted by a group of local “first settler” families that dominate formal village leadership as well as the influential Council of Traditional Leaders (Lembaga Adat), and that restrict deforestation and land transactions. No such institutional restrictions exist in village C. Traditional power relationships are replaced by economic power based on petty capitalist type production of the international agricultural commodity cocoa. Deforestation is muchhigher in village C. In village B, traditional institutions and power structures still appear in place although land transactions are less restricted than in village A, resulting also in high deforestation rates. While contrasting problematic social effects, our study highlights the potential efficacy of traditional institutions in the regulation of access to resources. ----- Die Bergregenwälder Zentralsulawesis sind Teil des globalen Wallacea-Biodiversität-"Hotspots" und beheimaten viele endemische Tier- und Pflanzenarten. Die Entwaldung im Bereich des dortigen Lore-Lindu Nationalparks unterscheidet sich zwischen umliegenden Dörfern stärker, als dies durch quantitative Haushaltsdaten zu erklären ist. Darauf aufbauend untersuchten wir Unterschiede in den Machtstrukturen bezüglichdes Zugangs zu natürlichen Ressourcen zwischen einzelnen Dörfern. Unsere Ergebnisse basieren auf 3*10 halbstrukturierten, qualitativen Interviews mit Schlüsselinformanten und Führungspersonen der autochthonen und der hinzugezogenen Bevölkerung aus drei sich unterscheidenden Dörfern. Untersuchungsdorf A ist gekennzeichnet durch feudale Machtstrukturen ausgehend von einer Gruppe autochthoner Familien, die nahezu alle Positionen der formalen Dorfführung und des traditionellen Dorfrats (Lembaga Adat) innehaben und die Entwaldung und Landverkäufe begrenzen. Solche institutionellen Restriktionen bestehen im Untersuchungsdorf C kaum. Die traditionellen und formalen Machtverhältnisse wurden hier weitgehend durch ökonomische Machtverhältnisse ersetzt, welche sich wiederum auf den Erwerbsanbau der internationalen Handelsware Kakao gründen. Die Abholzungsraten sind hier deutlich höher. Im Dorf B sind die traditionellen Machstrukturen oberflächlich noch vorhanden, Landverkäufe sind aber weniger stark begrenzt – und die Abholzungsraten ebenfalls recht hoch. Zusammenfassend belegt die Studie die relative Effektivität traditioneller Institutionen, den Zugang zu natürlichen Ressourcen zu regulieren, deckt jedoch auch deren problematische soziale Auswirkungen auf