Frøsikkerhet i nærvær av klimasjokk og sosioøkonomisk ulikhet i Afrika

Access to diverse and well-adapted seeds is vital in helping farmers raise crop yields, agricultural incomes, and food security, reducing poverty and inequalities, and improving human well-being. The realization of benefits attached to seed as an asset in agro-based communities requires that households are seed secure. Household seed security as a concept requires that farmers and farming communities have ready access to adequate quantities of quality seed and planting materials of crop varieties, adapted to their agro-ecological conditions and socioeconomic needs, at planting time, at all times. The access dimension of seed security needs better empirical and theoretical underpinning to realize the concept's potential for short-term and long-term seed sector development - a policy goal. This thesis contributes to this scholarly literature. The main objective is to investigate opportunities and constraints to seed access and utilization in smallholder farming in the context of increasing climate variability, socioeconomic inequality, and pervasive transaction costs that characterize seed markets, focusing on three African countries: Malawi, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. Four independent but related empirical research papers address this objective. The first paper focuses on Ethiopia and household's behavioral responses in their local and improved seed use and crop diversification decisions to recent exposure to covariate climate shocks and idiosyncratic household shocks. The second paper focuses on seed purchase, an important dimension for understanding seed access, and explores the influence of previous exposure to drought shocks, gender, and wealth endowments on the likelihood and extent of purchasing seeds of key crops in Malawi, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. Paper three addresses the evolution of crop diversification and response to rainfall shocks in Malawi and Tanzania. Lastly, paper four analyses the dynamic nature of transaction costs in seed markets that can facilitate (or constrain) seed access through purchase from available markets in Malawi and Ethiopia. A few key conclusions and implications emanate from this research. Crop diversification, sourcing seeds off-farm through purchase, and improved seed varieties are strategies for buffering against production risk in smallholder agriculture. However, socioeconomic disadvantages and recurrent rainfall (drought) shocks make households more seed insecure and make adaptation more difficult. Pervasive transaction costs characterize access to seed through the market and reduce household seed security. However, accumulating market knowledge, experience, and networks helps smallholder farmers marginally reduce transaction costs in access to purchased seeds over time, supporting seed diversity and adaptation to rainfall shocks. The conclusions from this research support the call for the promotion of integrated approaches to seed system development. Besides using farmer-saved seeds and local seed varieties, farmers also use improved seeds and seeds purchased through both formal and informal channels. As formal channels represent the most likely primary source for new varieties, policy should address the inequality in access to such channels through supply-side measures such as increasing the production of affordable quality-controlled seeds, plus reducing barriers to input market access and demand-side measures such as social protection programs, enhanced extension, and information access. At the same time, informal seed systems continue to be the backbone of the seed systems farmers use, and seed policies and regulations should enable the co-existence of formal and informal systems. An integrated seed systems approach supported with policies that will reduce inequities in accessing seed from commercial sources will improve the accessibility of improved and local seed varieties and serve the poor and vulnerable groups.Tilgang til mangfoldige og veltilpassede frø er avgjørende for å hjelpe bønder med å øke avlingene, landbruksinntektene og matsikkerheten, redusere fattigdom og ulikheter og forbedre menneskers velvære. Realisering av fordeler knyttet til frø som eiendel i agrobaserte samfunn krever at husholdningene er frøsikre. Husholdningenes frøsikkerhet som konsept krever at bønder og jordbrukssamfunn har klar tilgang til tilstrekkelige mengder kvalitetsfrø og plantematerialer av avlingsvarianter, tilpasset deres agroøkologiske forhold og sosioøkonomiske behov, til enhver tid. Tilgangsdimensjonen for frøsikkerhet trenger bedre empirisk og teoretisk forankring for å realisere konseptets potensial for kortsiktig og langsiktig frøsektorutvikling - et politisk mål. Denne avhandlingen bidrar til denne vitenskapelige litteraturen. Hovedmålet er å undersøke muligheter og begrensninger for frøtilgang og utnyttelse i småbruk i sammenheng med økende klimavariabilitet, sosioøkonomisk ulikhet og gjennomgripende transaksjonskostnader som preger frømarkedene, med fokus på tre afrikanske land: Malawi, Tanzania og Etiopia. Fire uavhengige, men beslektede empiriske forskningsartikler tar for seg dette målet. Den første artikkelen fokuserer på Etiopia og husholdningens atferdsresponser i deres lokale og forbedrede frøbruks- og avlingsdiversifiseringsbeslutninger for nylig eksponering for kovariate klimasjokk og idiosynkratiske husholdningssjokk. Den andre artikkelen fokuserer på frøkjøp, en viktig dimensjon for å forstå frøtilgang, og utforsker påvirkningen av tidligere eksponering for tørkesjokk, kjønn og rikdomsbegavelser på sannsynligheten og omfanget av å kjøpe frø av viktige avlinger i Malawi, Tanzania og Etiopia. Papir tre tar for seg utviklingen av avlingsdiversifisering og respons på nedbørssjokk i Malawi og Tanzania. Til slutt analyserer papir fire den dynamiske karakteren av transaksjonskostnader i frømarkeder som kan lette (eller begrense) frøtilgang gjennom kjøp fra tilgjengelige markeder i Malawi og Etiopia. Noen få sentrale konklusjoner og implikasjoner kommer fra denne forskningen. Avlingsdiversifisering, sourcing frø off-farm gjennom kjøp, og forbedrede frø varianter er strategier for buffering mot produksjonsrisiko i småbruket landbruk. Sosioøkonomiske ulemper og tilbakevendende nedbørssjokk (tørke) gjør imidlertid husholdningene mer frø usikre og gjør tilpasning vanskeligere. Gjennomgripende transaksjonskostnader preger tilgangen til frø gjennom markedet og reduserer husholdningenes frøsikkerhet. Å samle markedskunnskap, erfaring og nettverk hjelper imidlertid småbønder marginalt med å redusere transaksjonskostnadene i tilgangen til kjøpte frø over tid, og støtter frømangfold og tilpasning til nedbørssjokk. Konklusjonene fra denne forskningen støtter oppfordringen om å fremme integrerte tilnærminger til utvikling av frøsystemer. I tillegg til å bruke bondelagrede frø og lokale frøsorter, bruker bøndene også forbedrede frø og frø kjøpt gjennom både formelle og uformelle kanaler. Ettersom formelle kanaler representerer den mest sannsynlige primærkilden for nye varianter, bør politikken adressere ulikheten i tilgangen til slike kanaler gjennom tilbudssidetiltak som å øke produksjonen av rimelige kvalitetskontrollerte frø, samt redusere barrierer for tilgang til inngangsmarkedet og etterspørselssidetiltak som sosiale beskyttelsesprogrammer, forbedret utvidelse og informasjonstilgang. Samtidig er uformelle frøsystemer fortsatt ryggraden i frøsystemene bøndene bruker, og frøpolitikk og forskrifter bør muliggjøre sameksistens av formelle og uformelle systemer. En integrert frøsystemtilnærming støttet med retningslinjer som vil redusere ulikheter i tilgang til frø fra kommersielle kilder, vil forbedre tilgjengeligheten av forbedrede og lokale frøvarianter og betjene de fattige og sårbare gruppene

The Evolution of Socioeconomic-Related Inequalities in Maternal Healthcare Utilization: Evidence from Zimbabwe, 1994-2011

Abstract: Inequalities in maternal healthcare are pervasive in the developing world, a fact that has led to questions about the extent of these inequalities across socioeconomic groups. Yet, despite a growing literature on maternal health across Sub-Saharan African countries, relatively little is known about the evolution of these inequalities over time for specific countries. This study sought to examine and document the trends in the inequalities in prenatal care use, professional delivery assistance, and the receipt of information on pregnancy complications in Zimbabwe. We assess the extent to which the observed inequalities have been pro-poor or pro-rich. The empirical analysis uses data from four rounds of the nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey for Zimbabwe conducted in 1994, 1999, 2005/06 and 2010/11. Three binary indicators were used as measures of maternal health care utilization; (1) the receipt of four or more antenatal care visits, (2) the use of professional delivery assistance, and (3) the receipt of information regarding pregnancy complications for the most recent pregnancy. We measure and explain inequalities in maternal health care use using Erreyger’s corrected concentration index. A decomposition analysis was conducted to determine the contributions of each determining factor to the measured inequalities. We found a significant and persistently pro-rich distribution of inequalities in professional delivery assistance and knowledge regarding pregnancy complications was observed between 1994 and 2010/11. Also, inequalities in prenatal care use were pro-rich in 1994, 2005/06 and 2010/11 periods and pro-poor in 1999. Furthermore, we stratified the results by rural or urban status. The results reveal a rising trend in observed inequalities in maternal health care use over time. Our findings suggest that addressing inequalities in maternal healthcare utilization requires coordinated public health policies targeting the more poor and vulnerable segments of the population in Zimbabwe

Demand for prenatal care and its impact on neonatal, infant and child mortality in Zimbabwe: Evidence from the Demographic and Health Surveys

Abstract: The effect of the quality of prenatal care on child mortality outcomes has received less attention in sub-Saharan Africa. This study sought to explore the consequence of the quality of prenatal care and its individual components on neonatal, infant and under-five mortality using the three most recent rounds of the nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey data for Zimbabwe conducted in 1999, 2005/06 and 2010/11. The model for the demand for the quality of prenatal care is estimated using an OLS regression while the child mortality models are estimated using standard probit regressions. Since infant mortality rates and access to quality prenatal care might differ by rural and urban residence, we estimate separate models for the overall sample, urban and rural samples. The results indicate that a one-unit increase in the quality of prenatal care lowers the risks of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality by nearly 36%, 29.31%, and 27.53% respectively for the overall sample. The probability of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality is lowered by about 41.67%, 35.18%, and 30.77% respectively for urban-born children following a one-unit increase in the quality of prenatal care. For the rural sample, we found that a one-unit increase in the quality of prenatal care lowers the risks of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality by nearly 34.61%, 27.12%, and 25.35% respectively. These findings are all statistically significant at the 1% significance level. Examining the effect of individual prenatal care components on child mortality revealed that blood pressure checks, information on pregnancy complications, iron supplementations, and tetanus vaccinations are all important in lowering child deaths. Overall, our results suggest the need for public health policy makers in Zimbabwe to focus on ensuring high-quality prenatal care especially in low-income and rural segments of the population to save Zimbabwe’s children

The Evolution of Socioeconomic-Related Inequalities in Maternal Healthcare Utilization: Evidence from Zimbabwe, 1994-2011

Abstract: Inequalities in maternal healthcare are pervasive in the developing world, a fact that has led to questions about the extent of these inequalities across socioeconomic groups. Yet, despite a growing literature on maternal health across Sub-Saharan African countries, relatively little is known about the evolution of these inequalities over time for specific countries. This study sought to examine and document the trends in the inequalities in prenatal care use, professional delivery assistance, and the receipt of information on pregnancy complications in Zimbabwe. We assess the extent to which the observed inequalities have been pro-poor or pro-rich. The empirical analysis uses data from four rounds of the nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey for Zimbabwe conducted in 1994, 1999, 2005/06 and 2010/11. Three binary indicators were used as measures of maternal health care utilization; (1) the receipt of four or more antenatal care visits, (2) the use of professional delivery assistance, and (3) the receipt of information regarding pregnancy complications for the most recent pregnancy. We measure and explain inequalities in maternal health care use using Erreyger’s corrected concentration index. A decomposition analysis was conducted to determine the contributions of each determining factor to the measured inequalities. We found a significant and persistently pro-rich distribution of inequalities in professional delivery assistance and knowledge regarding pregnancy complications was observed between 1994 and 2010/11. Also, inequalities in prenatal care use were pro-rich in 1994, 2005/06 and 2010/11 periods and pro-poor in 1999. Furthermore, we stratified the results by rural or urban status. The results reveal a rising trend in observed inequalities in maternal health care use over time. Our findings suggest that addressing inequalities in maternal healthcare utilization requires coordinated public health policies targeting the more poor and vulnerable segments of the population in Zimbabwe

Demand for prenatal care and its impact on neonatal, infant and child mortality in Zimbabwe: Evidence from the Demographic and Health Surveys

Abstract: The effect of the quality of prenatal care on child mortality outcomes has received less attention in sub-Saharan Africa. This study sought to explore the consequence of the quality of prenatal care and its individual components on neonatal, infant and under-five mortality using the three most recent rounds of the nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey data for Zimbabwe conducted in 1999, 2005/06 and 2010/11. The model for the demand for the quality of prenatal care is estimated using an OLS regression while the child mortality models are estimated using standard probit regressions. Since infant mortality rates and access to quality prenatal care might differ by rural and urban residence, we estimate separate models for the overall sample, urban and rural samples. The results indicate that a one-unit increase in the quality of prenatal care lowers the risks of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality by nearly 36%, 29.31%, and 27.53% respectively for the overall sample. The probability of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality is lowered by about 41.67%, 35.18%, and 30.77% respectively for urban-born children following a one-unit increase in the quality of prenatal care. For the rural sample, we found that a one-unit increase in the quality of prenatal care lowers the risks of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality by nearly 34.61%, 27.12%, and 25.35% respectively. These findings are all statistically significant at the 1% significance level. Examining the effect of individual prenatal care components on child mortality revealed that blood pressure checks, information on pregnancy complications, iron supplementations, and tetanus vaccinations are all important in lowering child deaths. Overall, our results suggest the need for public health policy makers in Zimbabwe to focus on ensuring high-quality prenatal care especially in low-income and rural segments of the population to save Zimbabwe’s children

Demand for prenatal care and its impact on neonatal, infant and child mortality in Zimbabwe: Evidence from the Demographic and Health Surveys

Abstract: The effect of the quality of prenatal care on child mortality outcomes has received less attention in sub-Saharan Africa. This study sought to explore the consequence of the quality of prenatal care and its individual components on neonatal, infant and under-five mortality using the three most recent rounds of the nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey data for Zimbabwe conducted in 1999, 2005/06 and 2010/11. The model for the demand for the quality of prenatal care is estimated using an OLS regression while the child mortality models are estimated using standard probit regressions. Since infant mortality rates and access to quality prenatal care might differ by rural and urban residence, we estimate separate models for the overall sample, urban and rural samples. The results indicate that a one-unit increase in the quality of prenatal care lowers the risks of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality by nearly 36%, 29.31%, and 27.53% respectively for the overall sample. The probability of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality is lowered by about 41.67%, 35.18%, and 30.77% respectively for urban-born children following a one-unit increase in the quality of prenatal care. For the rural sample, we found that a one-unit increase in the quality of prenatal care lowers the risks of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality by nearly 34.61%, 27.12%, and 25.35% respectively. These findings are all statistically significant at the 1% significance level. Examining the effect of individual prenatal care components on child mortality revealed that blood pressure checks, information on pregnancy complications, iron supplementations, and tetanus vaccinations are all important in lowering child deaths. Overall, our results suggest the need for public health policy makers in Zimbabwe to focus on ensuring high-quality prenatal care especially in low-income and rural segments of the population to save Zimbabwe’s children

Is poor sanitation killing more children in rural Zimbabwe? Results of propensity score matching method

Abstract: While studies in developing countries have examined the role of maternal and socio-demographic factors on child mortality, the role of poor sanitation (open defecation) on child mortality outcomes in rural communities of sub-Saharan Africa has received less attention. This study sought to examine the link between poor sanitation and child mortality outcomes in rural Zimbabwe. The analysis uses data from four rounds of the nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey for Zimbabwe conducted in 1994, 1999, 2005/06, and 2010/11. Using propensity score matching, we find that children living in households with no toilet facilities are 2.43 percentage points more liable to be observed dead by the survey date, 1.3, and 2.24 percentage points more likely to die before reaching the age of one and five years respectively. We also examined the possible differences in survival among female and male children. Our results indicate that male children are more liable to be observed dead by the survey date than female children. Also, female children have a slight survival advantage over boys during the under-five period. Our results suggest the need for more investments in basic sanitary facilities in Zimbabwe’s rural areas to mitigate the potential devastating impacts of poor sanitation on child survival

Is poor sanitation killing more children in rural Zimbabwe? Results of propensity score matching method

Abstract: While studies in developing countries have examined the role of maternal and socio-demographic factors on child mortality, the role of poor sanitation (open defecation) on child mortality outcomes in rural communities of sub-Saharan Africa has received less attention. This study sought to examine the link between poor sanitation and child mortality outcomes in rural Zimbabwe. The analysis uses data from four rounds of the nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey for Zimbabwe conducted in 1994, 1999, 2005/06, and 2010/11. Using propensity score matching, we find that children living in households with no toilet facilities are 2.43 percentage points more liable to be observed dead by the survey date, 1.3, and 2.24 percentage points more likely to die before reaching the age of one and five years respectively. We also examined the possible differences in survival among female and male children. Our results indicate that male children are more liable to be observed dead by the survey date than female children. Also, female children have a slight survival advantage over boys during the under-five period. Our results suggest the need for more investments in basic sanitary facilities in Zimbabwe’s rural areas to mitigate the potential devastating impacts of poor sanitation on child survival

The Evolution of Socioeconomic-Related Inequalities in Maternal Healthcare Utilization: Evidence from Zimbabwe, 1994-2011

Abstract: Inequalities in maternal healthcare are pervasive in the developing world, a fact that has led to questions about the extent of these inequalities across socioeconomic groups. Yet, despite a growing literature on maternal health across Sub-Saharan African countries, relatively little is known about the evolution of these inequalities over time for specific countries. This study sought to examine and document the trends in the inequalities in prenatal care use, professional delivery assistance, and the receipt of information on pregnancy complications in Zimbabwe. We assess the extent to which the observed inequalities have been pro-poor or pro-rich. The empirical analysis uses data from four rounds of the nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey for Zimbabwe conducted in 1994, 1999, 2005/06 and 2010/11. Three binary indicators were used as measures of maternal health care utilization; (1) the receipt of four or more antenatal care visits, (2) the use of professional delivery assistance, and (3) the receipt of information regarding pregnancy complications for the most recent pregnancy. We measure and explain inequalities in maternal health care use using Erreyger’s corrected concentration index. A decomposition analysis was conducted to determine the contributions of each determining factor to the measured inequalities. We found a significant and persistently pro-rich distribution of inequalities in professional delivery assistance and knowledge regarding pregnancy complications was observed between 1994 and 2010/11. Also, inequalities in prenatal care use were pro-rich in 1994, 2005/06 and 2010/11 periods and pro-poor in 1999. Furthermore, we stratified the results by rural or urban status. The results reveal a rising trend in observed inequalities in maternal health care use over time. Our findings suggest that addressing inequalities in maternal healthcare utilization requires coordinated public health policies targeting the more poor and vulnerable segments of the population in Zimbabwe