The tradeoff analysis approach : lessons from Ecuador and Peru

In the first part of this paper we identify some of the factors that have limited the success of impact assessment, including the use of benefit-cost analysis as the paradigm for impact assessment. We then present a new approach to integrated assessment of agricultural production systems called Tradeoff Analysis that can be used for impact assessment. This approach has two principal features: first, it is participatory in the sense that stakeholders are integrated into the process of impact assessment; and second, it provides a systematic method to integrate disciplinary data and models to support informed policy decision making. In the final section of the paper, we use our experience in developing and testing the Tradeoff Analysis approach to assess the ways that this new paradigm for impact assessment may overcome the factors that have limited the success of impact assessment in the pas

Determinants of farmers’ access to fertilizer under fertilizer task force distribution system in Kogi State, Nigeria

This study investigated the determinants of farmers' access to fertilizer under Fertilizer Task Force Distribution System in Kogi State, Nigeria. A multi-stage random technique was used to select 160 farmers for the study. Probit model analysis on the factors that influence farmers' access to fertilizer showed that age of the farmers, farm size (negative), distance to procurement centers, and social participation (positive) significantly influenced the probability of farmers' access to fertilizer. Effective strategies of task force in the procurement and distribution of fertilizer perceived by the respondents among others are: distribution of fertilizer through local government agricultural offices, subsidy at source including transportation subsidy to delivery points, and promotion of subsidies for the poor farmers, development of private agro-dealers network. It is envisaged that these factors could serve as a guide to policy-makers regarding procurement and distribution of fertilizer to enhance farmers' access and crop productivity in Nigeria

Ecohealth Through an Ability Studies and Disability Studies Lens

Purpose – The goal of this chapter is to cultivate interest in the societal dynamic of ability expectations and ableism, a dynamic first thematized by the disabled people rights movement but which is also broadly applicable to the study of the relationship between humans, animals, and environments. Another aim of this chapter is to think about disabled people within ecosystem approaches to health through the ableism framework and to show that insights gained from disability studies are applicable to a broader study of health within contexts of environmental degradation. Building from this approach, the reader is invited to consider the utility of the conceptual framework of eco-ability ‘‘expectations’’ and eco-ableism as a way to understand health within coupled social- ecological systems. Methodology/approach – This chapter uses an ability expectation and ableism lens and a disability studies and ability studies approach to analyze the relationship between humans, animals, and environments. Findings – Certain ability expectations and ableism are responsible for (a) the invisibility of disabled people in ecological health discourses; (b) the standoff between anthropocentric and biocentric/ecocentric approaches to health; and (c) the application of scientific and technological advancements to address problems arising out of current relationships between humans, animals, and environments. Originality/value of chapter – The reader is introduced to the concepts of ableism and eco-ableism, which have not yet been used in EcoHealth discourses and flags the need for further engagement with disability issues within the field.Ye