Doctoral Degrees (Agricultural Economics)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/6552

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 47

Agribusiness investments and postharvest losses in smallholder vegetable supply chains: insights from eThekwini municipality, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2024) Qange, Siphesihle.; Mdoda, Lelethu.; Mditshwa, Asanda.
Smallholder agriculture, constituting over 60% of Africa's population, is vital for the continent's economy. However, it often faces neglect in development policies, hindering its potential contributions to income and welfare improvement. Postharvest losses, particularly in the vegetable supply chain, are a major challenge, with a 30–40% loss in sub-Saharan Africa's chain of fruits and vegetables. Moreover, over 10 million tons of annual food waste are reported in South Africa. These postharvest losses impact food availability and threaten agribusiness investment, discouraging local and foreign investors. Therefore, this study aimed to comprehensively investigate the dynamics of agribusiness investments, perceptions, and the impacts of postharvest losses within the smallholder vegetable supply chains, focusing on insights from smallholder farmers in the eThekwini Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The study adopted a crosssectional research design and multi-stratified random sampling technique to gather primary data from 238 smallholder vegetable farmers through structured questionnaires in 10 district municipalities based on smallholder farmers' vegetable production intensity. Descriptive statistics revealed that most (56%) of the farmers are females with an average of 45 years and a household size of 5 members. Farmers spent an average of 12 years in school, mostly unemployed (76%), relying on farming for income (78%), and earning an average monthly income of R8,568.37. The Zero-inflated Poisson model was used to estimate the drivers of postharvest losses. The results indicated that demographic factors such as age and household size positively influence postharvest losses, with older farmers and larger households experiencing higher rates of PHLs. Conversely, higher educational levels, greater farm experience, and access to extension services are associated with reduced PHLs. The Ordered Probit Model (OPM) revealed that older farmers and those with larger household sizes experience more severe postharvest losses. In contrast, higher education levels, greater farm experience, and access to extension services are associated with reduced severity of losses. Specifically, an increase in household size decreases postharvest loss severity during harvesting but increases it at the market stage. Each additional year of schooling decreases loss severity during harvesting but increases it at the market stage. An increase in the distance from the market decreases loss severity during harvesting but increases it during transportation and at the market stage. Using the Log-linear regression model, the study delved into the principal causal factors contributing to PHLs along the vegetable supply chain. The log-linear regression analysis reveals several factors significantly impacting postharvest losses among smallholder vegetable farmers in eThekwini Municipality. Adverse weather conditions emerge as a major determinant, significantly increasing postharvest losses at both the harvest and market stages due to crop damage and unfavourable handling conditions. The analysis also highlights that greater distance to markets exacerbates postharvest losses by prolonging travel times and stressing inadequate infrastructure, affecting the availability and price of fresh produce. Farm experience is crucial in reducing losses, as experienced farmers employ more effective practices. Conversely, older farmers face challenges in adopting modern postharvest management practices, resulting in increased spoilage and waste at the market stage. The relationship between agribusiness investments and postharvest losses among smallholder vegetable farmers was also explored using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), which revealed that investing in transport infrastructure, providing financial support, and managing input costs are crucial for mitigating postharvest losses (PHLs) in the vegetable supply chain. Improved transport infrastructure reduces PHLs by 61%, financial support decreases PHLs by 54%, and managing input costs reduces PHLs by 23%. These strategic investments enhance efficiency, profitability, and sustainability, benefiting smallholder farmers and the broader agricultural economy. Additionally, the study looked at the environmental impact of postharvest losses along the vegetable supply chain: the case of smallholder vegetable farmers. Greenhouse gas emissions were quantified using the IPCC principles. The findings suggested that the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the tractor during ploughing were estimated at 0.0159349 metric tons of CO2, indicating a low level of emissions. Furthermore, emissions resulting from crop residues were calculated for each crop, with cabbage emitting 72.8063 kgCO2- eq and spinach emitting 83.2072 kgCO2-eq. Emission from other crops was also estimated, and the cumulative total greenhouse gas emissions amounted to 2256.9963 kgCO2-eq. Lastly, Multinomial Endogenous Switching Regression (MESR) provided significant insights into the impact of postharvest losses (PHLs) on farm income at different stages of the vegetable supply chain. The estimated treatment effects highlight that PHLs during the harvesting, transportation, and marketing stages substantially negatively impact farm income. Based on these findings, it is recommended that policymakers and stakeholders adopt a multifaceted approach to address the critical challenges identified in the smallholder vegetable farming sector. Primarily, targeted interventions should be prioritized to mitigate the pervasive issue of postharvest losses. This entails strategically improving existing infrastructure, particularly transportation networks, and implementing modern storage facilities. By integrating sustainable practices into policy frameworks, policymakers can mitigate the environmental impact of conventional fertilizers and promote a harmonious balance between agricultural productivity and ecological well-being.
Ghana’s fertilizer subsidy program (gfsp) and complementarity of agricultural intensification technologies: any role to build household food security resilience?
(2024) Alhassan, Nuhu Jinbaani.; Zegeye, Edilegnaw Wale.
There is a decline in recent times of Ghana’s agricultural sector’s contribution to national GDP. In addition, the position of the crops sub-sector slipped from being the second largest economic activity in 2018 to being the third largest economic activity in 2019. Agriculture in Ghana remains largely subsistent, contributing almost 80% of the national food consumption. These declines have risen concerns among policy makers about meeting the country’s food security needs and achieving SDGs 1 and 2. Food insecurity persists in Ghana. For instance, Ghana remains not self-sufficient in maize production. This situation is often blamed on poor yields from farmers’ fields. Decline in soil fertility has been cited in the literature as the cause of low yields. Subsequently, increased use of mineral fertilizers is being promoted in Ghana since it is considered as the alternative to improving crop yields. Climate change/variability and other shocks including increased cost of mineral fertilizer have compelled the government of Ghana to implement the Ghana’s Fertilizer Subsidy Program (GFSP). Consequently, increasing application of mineral fertilizers has been reported in the literature of between six to ten times more since 2010 than it was in the 2000s. The number of farmers using mineral fertilizers has also increased due to Fertilizer Subsidy Programs (FSPs). In the long-run, crop yield tends to increase with the application of mineral fertilizers only when integrated with that of organic materials. This calls for implementation of sustainable production systems that enhance efficiency of mineral fertilizers and soil health. Without widespread adoption of sustainable intensification practices among smallholder farmers, declining soil fertility and food insecurity will persist in SSA. This study is, therefore, aimed at addressing three identified empirical knowledge gaps in the literature regarding FSPs, farmers’ own investments in promoting intensification practices, rural development, and food (in)security. Firstly, there was the dearth of assessment that is rigorous of the impact of FSPs on sustainable intensification practices. Earlier empirical assessments on FSPs centered on their evolution and concepts, advantages and disadvantages associated with their implementation. These disadvantages finally led to their halt. Evidence exists regarding the impacts of Fertilizer Subsidy Programs (FSPs) on household welfare and input market development. However, studies in the past have not looked at the contribution of FSPs to sustainable intensification practices and, farm inputs in general, among smallholder farmers. Addressing this gap could help policy makers in designing and implementing agricultural policies and programs that address environmental sustainability, climate change-related issues and rural development. The second identified gap was the paucity of literature on the contribution of FSPs to all the four food security dimensions. Empirical evidence remains limited in explaining food security’s complex nature and its drivers to policy makers and development practitioners. The current approach does not] offer a holistic pathway in addressing food insecurity since it results from multiple drivers such as availability, access, utilization and stability of food. Evaluating what policies, socio-economic characteristics and institutional factors positively impact on these multiple dimensions of food security could help government formulate policies that could reduce food insecurity in Ghana. The third gap identified was limited attention given to the complementarity of ISFM practices in improving household food security. In addition, exit strategy has not been provided in the current literature for FSPs despite reported evidence of their unsustainability due to capture by people of influence, inefficiencies and poor targeting of program beneficiaries. Widespread adoption of ISFM practices could serve as exit strategies for FSPs, not only in Ghana but SSA as a whole. Empirical studies on the impact of ISFM practices in improving soil organic carbon has largely been limited to field experiments in Ghana. This makes it difficult to relate the impact of ISFM practices to household food security. With proper empirical evidence on the impact of complementarity of ISFM practices on households’ food security using household survey data, policies could be designed to enhance adoption of the complete package of ISFM practices at the plot level. Following the knowledge gaps identified, the specific objectives of the study were to: (i) assess the extent to which GFSP affected adoption of agricultural intensification technologies and gross farm inputs; (ii) investigate the impact of GFSP on multiple dimensions of household food security; and (iii) examine the impacts of the complementarity of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) technologies on multiple dimensions of food security. First, two-stage least squares with instrumental variables (2SLS-IV) and endogenous switching regression (ESR) were used to study the effect of participation in Ghana’s Fertilizer Subsidy Program (GFSP) on the adoption intensity of Sustainable Intensification Practices (SIPs) and gross farm inputs. A nationally representative dataset of 4,365 maize-growing households for two survey periods (2012/13) and (2016/17) who purchased mineral fertilizers was used for the study. The study finds that participation in the GFSP increased the adoption intensity in both SIPs and gross farm inputs. The implication is that investments into climate-smart technologies and gross farm inputs by beneficiaries of GFSP is attributable to participation in the program. This finding explains the crucial role of GFSP as a pro-rural development policy beyond just the provision of mineral fertilizers to smallholder maize farmers to achieve increased productivity. This is because of the forward and backward linkages between rural agricultural input markets and farmers’ direct purchases of farm inputs. The study also found mutual aid schemes, farmer cooperatives, agricultural loans, household wealth, and connection of a farm household dwelling to the national electricity grid to positively and significantly increased adoption intensity of SIPs and gross farm inputs. This finding highlights the fact that besides government policy such as GFSP towards improving adoption of SIPs and rural development, rural infrastructure and farmer institutions also have a critical role to play. Secondly, the impact of participation in GFSP on multiple dimensions of food security was examined using propensity score matching without replacement, nearness neighbor matching, inverse probability weighting, and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment. The food availability dimension in terms of average yield of maize was 1.5 ton/Ha, still lower than the potential yield estimate of 5.5 tons/Ha by Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture. It implies that complementary adoption of technologies is key to bridging this productivity gap. Food access and stability dimensions increased in 2017 compared to 2013. However, the utilization dimension of food security declined, implying that the diversity of food intake may not necessarily be explained by increases in the access dimension of food security in terms of food and total household expenditures. The empirical results indicate that the overall average treatment effect of the GFSP was positive and statistically significant for food availability and food access. The GFSP increased maize yield/Ha between 29 to 34 percent at p < 0.01 among program beneficiaries. For food access, the GFSP increased household consumption expenditure by 37 percent at p < 0.01. The effect of GFSP on the stability dimension of food security was also positive, though weaker statistically against robustness checks. There was, however, negative effect of GFSP on food utilization. The study could not find a straight forward relationship between participation in the GFSP and household food security, as food availability may not necessarily lead to better utilization or nutrition. The less impressive performance of GFSP on utilization and stability dimensions of food security implies that maize growing households who benefited from the program are still food insecure. The positive and significant relationship between the value of agricultural equipment owned and engagement in off-farm enterprise with participation in GFSP may imply that smallholder farmers who may have 2Ha or less of farmland under cultivation but can afford the full cost of fertilizer are benefitting from the subsidy program. The study also found significant and negative correlation between increasing farm size and participation in the subsidy program. It means that farmers with farm sizes greater than 2Ha have not benefitted from the program. Finally, the study examines the impacts of the complementarity of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) technologies on multiple dimensions of food security using the Multinomial Endogenous Switching Regression (MESR). Regarding the complementarity of adoption of ISFM technologies, the results show very low adoption of complementary technologies among maize growing households in Ghana. The empirical results from the MESR showed that all the ISFM choices positively and significantly determined all the dimensions of food security. Joint adoption of the complete ISFM package gives the highest gain in all the dimensions of food security, except the stability dimension. Joint adoption of mineral and organic fertilizers gave the highest gain for achieving household food stability. The implication is that the availability dimension of food security can be met whilst households’ food utilization can still fall below acceptable threshold. Rural development interventions have to focus on the adoption of the complete ISFM package. Otherwise, the piecemeal adoption of any one or two components will not have the desired impact. Input subsidy programs should include organic fertilizers to optimize program benefits. The implication is that policy makers and farmers should see organic and mineral fertilizers as complementarities but never as substitutes as it is currently the case in Ghana. From the multinomial logit results, the study found that household characteristics (e.g., number of years a household spent in school, land ownership, and household head engagement in off-farm work) and institutional factors (such as presence of a mutual aid scheme, access to extension visits, and distance to agriculture office) positively and significantly increased the likelihood of joint adoption of all the ISFM technologies. This finding underscores the need for a dual approach in promoting the adoption of ISFM practices among smallholder farmers by policy makers. This approach should take into account the role of government in increasing the number of extension staff and provision of the necessary infrastructure and logistics and the role of pro-farmer institutions such as farmer credit schemes and cooperatives. Future studies could quantify the potential contribution of ISFM technologies, and broadly, SIPs to the national GDP. Such an effort could add empirical evidence on the pay-offs associated with these technologies for increased adoption by smallholder farmers. Examining these and other related questions employing panel data could result in better understanding of the temporal and spatial dimensions of ISFM practices and their food security impacts and environmental sustainability.
An assessment of the maize structure, channel choice and market participation by the smallholder maize farmers in Zimbabwe: a case of Mazowe district=Ukuhlolwa kwesakhiwo semakethe yommbila, ukukhethwa komgudu kanye nokubamba iqhaza emakethe ngabalimi abancane bommbila eZimbabwe: ucwaningo ngesifunda saseMazowe.
(2023) Munyati, Vincent Tinashe.; Mudhara, Maxwell.; Sinyolo, Sikhulumile.
Marketing plays a crucial role in alleviating poverty, as well as in achieving food security and sustainable development goals, especially among smallholder maize farmers. Maize marketing has the potential to improve the resilience of households against food insecurity, which is caused by multiple factors which may be natural factors, socio-economic and institutional factors. Smallholder maize farmers find it difficult to participate in the maize market because of a range of limitations, such as poor transport facilities, information asymmetry and the lack of a market infrastructure, which reduces their motivation to partake and which may be echoed in concealed expenses that make it challenging to enter the markets and productive resources. This study ascertained the factors that determine the likelihood and intensity of smallholder maize farmers participating in the maize markets, and it also assessed the market choices made by the smallholder farmers in the Mazowe District of Zimbabwe and analysed the maize marketing structure and its effects on the maize marketing performance. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 382 smallholder farmers and 27 agro-dealers in the Mazowe District. The study adopted a mixture of tools for data collection, including a questionnaire, observations and discussions. The Heckman Selection Model was used as the main analytical tool to estimate market participation and the intensity of this participation, while the Multinomial Logit Model was used to assess the market choices of the farmers and the Herfindalf-Hirschman Index and Gini coefficients were used to measure the concentration of maize traders in the Mazowe District. Due to the narrow index of the maize marketing options in the country, only three distinct alternatives were isolated, namely, the farm gate, the local market and the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), a government parastatal. The results indicated the significant factors that were associated with the likelihood and intensity of the farmers’ market participation, namely, the age of household head, the number of maize buyers at the district level, their extension contacts, membership of a marketing association and the distance to the output market. Contrary to the apriori expectations, the distance to the market had a positive and significant impact on their intensity to participate in the maize market. Other factors that significantly influenced the market choice selection of the smallholder farmers were the age of household head, the extension contacts, market information, the distance to the market and the price offered to maize producers at the market. The number of visits by extension workers significantly increased the likelihood that a maize producer would sell his produce at the local market, rather than at the farm gate. The distance to the market significantly influenced the probability of choosing the local market over the farm gate. As the distance to the local market increases, the smallholder farmers in the Mazowe District preferred the farm gate for selling their produce. In this study, the popular marketing channel for the smallholder farmers was the farm gate; although the prices offered here were often not competitive, the farmers opted for it because of the low transaction costs. The results also indicated that the number of buyers in the maize grain market is too small to make it competitive. The few traders exhibited collusive behaviour with regard to price-setting. The local market channel and G.M.B had a lower Shepherd Marketing Efficiency Index. While both indices were low, when they were compared to the standard in literature, the GMB channel was the least efficient. Most farmers indicated that selling their grain to the GMB involved bureaucracy and late payments, which have negatively affected the marketing efficiency. These late payments have short-circuited the ability of small-scale farmers to generate a cash-flow with which to fund their agriculture activities. The study recommends that there should be mechanisms for developing the capacity of farmers to access marketing information, in order for them to make an informed decision regarding which marketing channel to choose. Governments need to think about how to help smallholder maize farmers to engage better with the existing profitable market channels. Being a member of an association increases the probability of a farmer selling to more lucrative markets. Farmer groups have the advantage of bulking and hence increasing the economies of scale. There is need for farmers to invest more in collective action. It is also easier and cheaper for traders to enforce quality and grade requirements by reaching farmers groups, rather than individual farmers. Iqoqa Abalimi bommbila abancane bakuthola kunzima ukubamba iqhaza emakethe yommbila ngenxa yohlu lwemikhawulo, njengezindawo zokuthutha ezingezinhle, ulwazi olungaxhumani, kanye nokuntuleka kwengqalasizinda yemakethe, okunciphisa ugqozi lwabo lokuhlanganyela futhi okungase kuzwakaliswe ngezindleko ezifihliwe ezenza kube yinselela ukungena ezimakethe kanye nezinsiza ezikhiqizayo. Lolu cwaningo lwaqinisekisa izinto ezinquma amathuba nokujula kwabalimi bommbila abancane ababambe iqhaza ezimakethe zommbila, lwaphinde lwahlola ukhetho lwemakethe olwenziwe ngabalimi abancane eZimbabwe. IHeckman Selection Model yasetshenziswa njengethuluzi eliyinhloko lokuhlaziya ukulinganisa iqhaza lemakethe kanye nokujula kwalokhu kubamba iqhaza, kanti iMultinomial Logit Model yasetshenziselwa ukuhlola ukukhetha kwemakethe futhi iHerfindalf- Hirschman Index yasetshenziselwa ukulinganisa ukuhlanganiswa kommbila. Ngenxa yenkomba encane yezinketho zokumaketha ummbila, kwatholakala izindlela ezintathu kuphela ezihlukile, okungukuthi, isango lepulazi, imakethe yendawo kanye neBhodi Lokumaketha Okusanhlamvu. Imiphumela ikhombise izinto ezibalulekile ezihambisana namathuba nokujula kokubamba iqhaza kwemakethe yabalimi, okungukuthi, iminyaka yenhloko yasekhaya, inani labathengi bommbila ezingeni lesifunda, abaxhumana nabo ukwandisa, ubulungu benhlangano yokumaketha kanye nebanga eliya emakethe yokudayisa. Imiphumela ikhombise ukuthi inani labathengi emakethe yommbila lincane kakhulu ukuthi lingayenza ibe nokuncintisana. Ucwaningo luncoma ukuthi kufanele kube nezindlela zokuthuthukisa amandla abalimi okuthola ulwazi lokumaketha, ukuze benze isinqumo esinolwazi mayelana nokuthi yimuphi umgudu wokumaketha okufanele bawukhethe. Ukuba yilungu lenhlangano kwandisa amathuba okuthi umlimi athengisele izimakethe ezinenzuzo. Kunesidingo sokuthi abalimi batshale imali eningi esenzweni esihlangene. Kulula futhi kushibhile kubathengisi ukuphoqelela izidingo zekhwalithi nebanga ngokufinyelela emaqenjini abalimi, kunabalimi ngabanye.
An ex ante assessment of the farm-level impacts of further developing sugarcane biorefineries in the South African context.
(2022) Mafunga, Wadzanai Penelope.; Ferrer, Stuart Richard Douglas.; Stark, Annegret.
The gross sugar production in South Africa (SA) tends to exceed the quantity demanded locally. Surplus sugar is sold in the global market at prices that are typically below the cost of sugar production in SA. This amongst other factors has threatened the long-term sustainability for sugarcane production and the industry is seeking for solutions. Expanding the product portfolio is one method and the South African Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan to 2030 (which was signed in 2020) could aid the process as it has a special focus on feasible and attractive sugarcane-based biorefinery products opportunities, both locally and internationally. A biorefinery scenario challenges the current cane payment system which does not explicitly include payment for fibre, non-sucrose and other fermentable sugars in the event that these become necessary feedstock for biorefineries. In addition, the total proceeds shared between growers and millers are only for local and export sugar and molasses sales, after deduction of the industry’s administration costs. This needs careful reconsideration once sugarcane biobased biorefinery products form part of the product portfolio. The main objective of this study was to conduct an ex ante analysis of the impact of sugarcane biorefinery establishment on farm-level and mill biorefinery investment decisions. A literature review including but not limited to a description of the division of proceeds and the cane payment system in South Africa and other countries involved in sugarcane biorefining as well as an outline of ex ante assessment studies in biorefining, was conducted. Literature findings showed that, despite increased feasibility studies in biorefining, studies that link product price interactions, demand and supply of sugarcane and its by-products in South Africa to the farm and mill level impacts of further developing sugarcane biorefineries are lacking. Additionally, the review demonstrates that there are strong economies of size in biorefinery investments and the economic viability of a biorefinery depends on availability of sufficient reasonably priced feedstock delivered to the mill, or providing incentives to growers to supply the biorefinery with sufficient feedstock. Cane payment systems and division of proceeds scenarios were also identified as influencing the biorefinery investment and grower decisions. Although there are many biorefinery products that can be produced from sugarcane, a limited sub-set of these were considered in this study to demonstrate the concept of further developing sugarcane biorefineries in South Africa. The selection of biorefinery products was, in part, informed by data availability. In particular, technoeconomic and feasibility studies carried out in South Africa informed the choice of which biorefinery products to include in this study. Lysine from syrup, bio-ethanol from clear juice and bio-methanol as well as electricity which both could be produced from bagasse were the biorefinery products that were assessed in this study. A partial equilibrium analysis was conducted by compiling and merging three mathematical linear programming representative farm models of a ‘typical’ sugarcane farm for the Eston Cane Supply area, as well as a linear programming model of a representative mill with options to invest in the production of various products (referred to as the biorefinery appended to the mill (BAM) throughout the study). The three farm representative models were constructed with the inclusion of a high fibre variety of cane, energy cane. Demand for molasses, sucrose and sugarcane fibre by the biorefinery appended to the sugar mill was derived from the domestic and export market demands for methanol, ethanol, lysine and co-generation of electricity. The model was verified using the white-box validation method which involves establishing whether model components accurately represent real world components through inspecting output reports. It was then optimised using a scenario which maximises the total revenue for the partnership of Eston cane growers and the miller for the purposes of division of proceeds. Sensitivity analyses for the different biorefinery product pricing scenarios show that with the current status quo in the SA sugar industry, there is no motivation for the growers to adopt energy cane and the millers to produce any biorefinery products. Moreover, a pseudo-supply curve for the Eston Central region show that without energy cane a price of R1 500 per ton of bagasse over and above payment for sucrose and molasses increases the quantity of fibre supplied by less than 5%. By contrast, in a scenario with energy cane, a price of an average of R445 per ton of bagasse gives rise to a 60% increase in the quantity of fibre supplied. Other notable observations as the fibre price increases include, planting more land under cane as macadamia production declines and an evident shift in sugarcane cultivar selection. There is a direct relationship between fibre supplied by the growers and bagasse produced in the mill in this study. Market prices for each of the biorefinery products had to be inflated for biorefinery production to begin. At market prices of R12 000, R20 000, R40 000 per ton the mill produces 18 000, 45 000 and 65 000 tons of methanol, ethanol and lysine respectively. Other mill decisions that were adjusted as bagasse prices altered are a switch to the use of a more efficient boiler at a bagasse price of R140. This results in the availability of over 20 000 Megawatt hours (MWh) of surplus electricity annually for sale to the national grid at a price of R344/ MWh (an average price based on the highest and lowest indexed tariffs for bioenergy produced in the Renewable Energy IPP Procurement Programme (REIPPPP)). The optimal solution indicates that the greatest revenue is realised in a scenario that includes lysine, electricity, sugar and molasses with all the sugar produced in all scenarios sold locally. Currently in SA, some sugar is exported and the biorefinery product market prices are below R10 000 per ton except lysine which sells at approximately R20 000 per ton. Cogeneration of electricity for sale to the national grid seems to be the likely viable option as it does not involve huge investment costs and also makes use of bagasse which has currently no other use in the mill except burning it for fuel. Viability of a sugarcane biorefinery is dependent on a number of factors that include feedstock supply and the right biorefinery product market prices which make biorefinery production feasible. In this study, for the products considered, it is clear that diversification is possible only when market prices are much higher than the prevailing prices. This suggests that biorefinery establishment will require some sort of government protection for example subsidies to ensure feasibility of production for the products used in this study. Maximisation of total proceeds requires creation of the right price incentives so that the growers supply the optimal quantities and cultivars of cane to the mill. This has implications for the pricing of cane and the final division of proceeds from sugarcane production, milling and bio-refinery operations. While it is possible to resuscitate the industry, establishing sugarcane biorefineries requires systems thinking that calls for stakeholders to look at the whole supply chain in totality as the decisions of one affect the other.
Ex-ante demand assessment of human excreta recovery and reuse in agriculture.
(2022) Gwara, Simon.; Zegeye, Edilegnaw Wale.; Odindo, Alfred Oduor.
Abstract available in PDF.
Groundnut variety replacement, market structure, marketed surplus and demand for improved varieties in Malawi: the case of smallholders and traders.
(2020) Katunga, Admire.; Ortmann, Gerald Friedel.; Zegeye, Edilegnaw Wale.
Groundnut is an important crop for the Malawian agricultural sector. It has the potential to increase agricultural farm incomes and contribute to improving food security for the predominantly maizebased food production system. The Government of Malawi also considers groundnut as one of the legume crops to complement dwindling export earnings from tobacco, which is the main export crop for the country. Despite its potential to contribute to the economic wellbeing of smallholders and the economy at large, the empirical literature has not adequately investigated how factors inherent in the production and marketing chain affect the performance of the groundnut subsector. Given this, the objectives of this study were to: investigate factors that determine smallholder' replacement decisions of conventional and modern varieties of groundnuts; assess effects of marketed surplus on demand for improved varieties by smallholders, and determine market competitiveness and entry barriers for groundnut markets among intermediary traders in central and northern Malawi. These objectives were achieved with survey data collected from groundnut smallholder producers and intermediary traders. Simple and systematic random sample sizes of 416 and 124 respectively were selected. The study focused on five potential groundnut producing districts, namely, Lilongwe, Mchinji, Kasungu and Salima in central Malawi, and Mzimba in northern Malawi. Several econometric techniques were applied to analyze the data, namely, Bivariate Probit (BVP), Endogenous Switching Probit (ESP), and the Multivariate Probit (MVP) regression models. The empirical results of the Bivariate Probit (BVP) model indicated that among the smallholders that replaced conventional with improved varieties, few reverted to the cultivation of the former. Other findings suggest that the probability that farmers would replace groundnut varieties, improved or conventional, was lower than the probability for not replacing them. Conversely, the probability of maintaining modern varieties was higher than that of maintaining conventional ones. Further results indicated that the production of groundnuts for food and income increased the probability of replacing both conventional and improved varieties. The statistical significance and the probability for this dual-purpose production were stronger and higher in the replacement of conventional varieties than for the modern ones. Factors related to the road infrastructure network decreased the likelihood of replacing conventional varieties, whereas institutional factors and smallholder' productive assets increased the likelihood of replacement of the same. Finally, farm household characteristics and related institutional factors positively influenced the probability of replacing modern groundnut varieties. These findings suggest that promoting dualpurpose production of groundnuts could increase the adoption of modern varieties while concurrently maintaining the diversity of the conventional ones. Farmers that belong to farmer organizations, those experienced in groundnut production and human capital development of the farmers, are also critical in contributing to the conservation of conventional varieties through strategies that mitigate their erosion. The results of the Endogenous Switching Probit (ESP) showed that marketed surplus had a positive effect on demand for improved varieties. The average treatment effect for smallholders with a marketed surplus (ATET) on the probability that they demanded improved varieties increased by 40%. Conversely, the average treatment effect for smallholders that did not have marketed surplus, the untreated (ATU), on the probability that they demanded improved varieties declined by 14%. Further, the marginal treatment effect (MTE) and average treatment effect (ATE) of marketed surplus on the probabilities to demand improved varieties increased by about 30% and 26%, respectively. Other results of this analysis revealed that despite groundnut productivity remaining constant for over a decade at smallholder level, marketed surplus, as indicated by the average commercialization index, was observed to be about twice the household's average consumption index. This finding suggests that farmers are orienting themselves towards the commercialized production of groundnuts. Access to market information, being involved in piece work jobs, yield per hectare and the proportion of total land allocated to the production of groundnuts had a positive and significant effect on marketed surplus. The positive average effects of marketed surplus on demand for improved varieties suggest that farmers that are inclined to intensify market participation value high yielding traits from improved varieties more than any other groundnut varietal attributes. The findings of the study suggest that demand for improved varieties among smallholders could increase if policy interventions could also focus on the challenges that smallholders encounter in the output market. In this case, increased crop productivity, engagement of smallholders in off-farm economic activities, and enhancing access to output market information are critical. In other results, an interval Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) revealed the existence of a competitive structure in the local, district, and city groundnut markets. However, the Multivariate Probit (MVP) regression model showed more entry barriers in the local and city markets than in the district market. Such findings suggest that the existence of competitive market structures does not imply the absence of trader entry barriers into the markets. Other results of the MVP showed that experience in business and sole ownership of business positively influenced entry into the district and local markets, respectively. Market transaction costs and storage infrastructure negatively and positively influenced entry into local and city markets, respectively, while the quantity of produce transacted positively and negatively influenced entry into both local and city markets, respectively. Access to credit and informal credit sources positively and negatively influenced entry into city markets, respectively. Membership in informal trader' associations positively influenced entry into city markets. The findings of the study suggest that policy facilitation for the formation of formal trader associations and access to credit from formal financial institutions could enhance trader' participation in the city groundnut markets. Further, public-private partnership investment in storage facilities and public investment in road infrastructure is critical in reducing market transaction costs, which could enhance the participation of intermediary traders in the local and city groundnut markets. The overall findings of the study attest to the need for policy support for an integrated smallholder groundnut seed system that would contribute to the growth and development of smallholder agriculture. Strategies that would enhance the adoption of improved varieties and minimize losses of indigenous germplasm are critical. In this vein, the marketed surplus has shown to be relevant to increase the demand for improved varieties among the smallholders. There is also a need for policy support in reducing constraints that prevent intermediary traders from enhancing their participation in the groundnut markets. In such a way, they would continue to render marketing services to smallholders, which otherwise could be costly if undertaken by themselves. One crosscutting issue that merits attention for policy support is infrastructural development in improved road networks from crop production centers to the distribution of produce along the marketing chain of groundnuts.
An economic analysis of smallholders’ heterogeneity and the impact of Jatropha curcas cultivation on household welfare in the Mangochi district, Malawi.
(2021) Chamdimba, Owen Yoram.; Ortmann, Gerald Friedel.; Zegeye, Edilegnaw Wale.
The renewed interest in biofuels among many countries globally is on account of potential increased energy security, environmental and rural development benefits. Biofuels development in Malawi has the potential to achieve these objectives. The agricultural sector is the engine of the economy. Tobacco, the current primary foreign exchange earner, faces dwindling revenues from anti-smoking campaigns. Smallholders are also affected by various shocks, including weather variation, which increase vulnerability to food insecurity. There is no doubt that Malawi needs to diversify its economy to mitigate shocks and improve rural livelihoods. The Malawi government recognises, among other strategies, increased use of renewable energy sources, increased agricultural productivity, and diversification as its key priority areas. The smallholder out-grower biofuels production schemes deliver on two key government priority areas as renewable energy sources and crop diversification with the potential to open new markets, create rural jobs, and improve livelihoods. Generally, research on energy crops in Malawi is thin. The nexus of livelihood, food security, and biofuels production has not been examined in Malawi. Thus, this study aims to: (1) identify sources of smallholder heterogeneity and farmer typologies among energy crop producers, to inform livelihood improvement interventions in Southern Malawi; (2) analyse the determinants and the impact of Jatropha curcas cultivation on resilience to food insecurity shocks among smallholders, and (3) examine the welfare impacts of Jatropha curcas cultivation on smallholders in Southern Malawi. The study used cross-section data collected in 2014 using purposive and random sampling strategies from 298 smallholders in the Mangochi District of Southern Malawi. Mangochi District was chosen following reconnaissance survey results where Bioenergy Resources Limited (BERL), a consortium of Dutch Companies engaged in biofuels promotion in Malawi, was getting the bulk of Jatropha curcas seeds. The empirical research techniques employed include Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Cluster Analysis (CA), Endogenous Switching Regression model (ESR), Propensity Score Matching (PSM), and the Endogenous Treatment Effects (ETE) model. The multivariate analysis results identified five typologies that were generally distinguished by gender, asset holdings, labour endowments, level of agricultural input use, and output sales. The typologies exhibited various constraints and opportunities for livelihood improvement. Notably, more Jatropha curcas cultivating farmers, particularly female-headed households, belonged to typologies with low to medium resource endowments as compared to non-growers. There were variations in possible interventions across many of the typologies identified. Hence, interventions and strategies must target the identified typologies, where capacity is available to increase their impact and relevance. The portfolio of interventions identified range from human capital (extension), labour-intensive strategies such as work for inputs to social protection measures (safety-nets). The endogenous treatment effects model results showed that shocks, various capital assets, and institutional factors were significant determinants of resilience to food insecurity. Jatropha curcas cultivating farmers, particularly female-headed households, had significantly less resilience capacity to food insecurity compared to their counterparts. These results imply that policies and strategies that promote increased access to services and build people's capacity (such as institutional support to credit, quality education) should be given priority to increasing resilience to food insecurity. The findings of the propensity score matching and endogenous switching regression methods suggest that, when selection bias and endogeneity were accounted for, there were welfare benefits to smallholder Jatropha curcas feedstock producers. As such, there is a need for more empirical research on other potential biofuels to inform the Malawi biofuels policy in the future. In sum, the study has shown that biofuels are not a panacea that reduces rural poverty and improves the welfare of smallholders. Thus, future research must focus on developing and disseminating a portfolio of more profitable technology/practice packages for Jatropha curcas to contribute to rural household welfare. Furthermore, the study recommends policy efforts aimed at increasing resilience to food insecurity shocks. This could be achieved by increased access to credit, quality education, and strengthening climate forecasting capacity through research in climate models. Promotion of climate-smart agriculture practices is also recommended to reduce the impact of weather shocks. Where capacity is available, tailor-made interventions for livelihood improvement such as income or crop diversification, public works for inputs, and safety nets need to target specific groups based on smallholders' unique characteristics to account for heterogeneity.
Evaluation of institutional integration, farmer participation and performance in smallholder irrigation schemes in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
(2020) Phali, Lerato Eunice.; Mudhara, Maxwell.; Ferrer, Stuart Richard Douglas.; Makombe, Godswill.
Smallholder irrigation schemes (SIS) are pivotal in sustaining livelihoods and creating employment in rural communities of South Africa. The South African govern ment has made efforts to rehabilitate and revitalize such schemes; however, current realities of poor scheme performance, low farmer participation and dilapidated infrastructure raise questions about providing the irrigation improvements. SIS beneficiaries are usually low-income farmers faced with various production constraints, whose success rests on the schemes’ institutional environments. The government adopted the Irrigation Management Transfer to foster collective responsibility and rule compliance and to improve the performance and to decentralize the management of SIS. However, in many cases, the lack of awareness of formal institutions and stakeholder involvement hinders the effective management of the schemes. Given the shortcomings of the SIS, this study evaluates institutional integration, farmer participation and SIS’ water-user performance. The study's specific objectives were to assess the institutional integration in the SIS governance in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province, South Africa; to assess the determinants of the household-level perceptions of scheme governance; to evaluate the determinants of farmer’s participation in the management of SIS and lastly; to estimate water-use performance in SIS The study adopted qualitative and quantitative techniques to address the objectives. Data were collected from 341 households across four SIS in KZN. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were held to obtain more information on scheme governance. The chosen schemes have different features such as institutional arrangements, farmer composition, and production challenges, and are representative of the average SIS in South Africa. The study evaluated the horizontal and vertical institutional integration of water governance in SIS Stakeholder interactions in the schemes were assessed through Exploratory Social Network Analysis to identify, categorize, and investigate stakeholder challenges. The Management Transition Framework, an interdisciplinary framework for evaluating water systems, management processes and multi-level governance regimes, was adopted to analyse institutional integration. Considering that good governance is a prerequisite for the effective management of common-use resources, the determinants of perceptions of governance were evaluated using the multiple regression model. Principal Components Analysis, Structural Equation Modelling, and multiple regression were used to generate participation in management indices, evaluate the relationship between management constructs and evaluate the determinants of water-users’ participation in SIS management, respectively. Furthermore, the study assessed the performance of water-users across the four SIS, given their different institutional arrangements. Technical Efficiency was used as a proxy for water-user performance and was measured using Cobb-Douglas and Trans-log production functions. A Stochastic Meta-Frontier Analysis (SMFA) method was employed to measure the overall efficiency of water-users across schemes and determine technical gap ratios. In assessing institutional integration in SIS governance, the study found that information asymmetries hindered horizontal integration. Simultaneously, the fiscal and capacity challenges, low accountability, and transparency amongst stakeholders led to the lack of vertical integration. The results indicate a lack of integration in SIS governance. Empirical results show that farmers that are satisfied with the informal institutions, being the rules and norms set locally to govern the scheme farmers, value the involvement of the traditional authorities in scheme management, including their contribution in rule enforcement. Age, agricultural training, water adequacy, participation in scheme activities, psychological capital and land tenure have a positive effect on perceptions of governance. The study found that irrigators who participated in the regulation and control of SIS also participate in information sharing activities. Furthermore, participation in SIS management is composed of four management constructs that have different determinants. The study found that governance perceptions, land tenure security, credit access, and co-operative membership are determinants of participation in the management of SIS. In evaluating water-user performance, the SMFA results yielded an overall average meta-efficiency of 0.85, which is relatively high. The efficiency model results showed that perceptions of governance, farmer psychological capital, land tenure security, credit access, co-operative membership, and gender significantly affect water-users’ performance. The study recommended the need for stakeholders to understand existing institutions and their roles, i.e., The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Department of Water and Sanitation, extension officers. Synergies and improved coordination among institutions are prerequisites for effective governance. Additionally, transparency and accountability should be improved to attain vertical integration. Awareness of formal institutions and stakeholder involvement should be encouraged to foster farmer participation in SIS management. Improved stakeholder engagement and inclusion of informal institutions in policy formulation can achieve integration and better water management in the schemes. Farmers should receive and participate in agricultural and irrigation training to increase their participation in irrigation scheme management, which can foster the sustainable use of water. Interventions should strengthen institutions and focus on the empowerment of farmers through relevant training, land tenure security, and credit access. Furthermore, improved water supply adequacy and its availability for use in the schemes should enhance its productivity.
Adoption and impact of climate-smart agriculture technologies in integrated crop-livestock farming systems.
Mujeyi, Angeline.; Mudhara, Maxwell.
In Zimbabwe, smallholder farmers who rely on rain-fed crop-livestock systems for their livelihoods face multiple constraints which include a shortage of labour, inadequate capital to purchase inputs, low soil fertility, pests, disease outbreak, and low productivity as a result of climate change and variability. Climate change has caused prolonged droughts, reduced rainfall amounts and changing rainfall patterns, threatening the welfare of agriculture-based households. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies have been promoted as a panacea to address the negative effects of climate change. To date, the adoption of CSA has been low and on small land sizes. However, to ensure maximum benefits from CSA and scale up adoption, a better understanding is required regarding smallholder farmer adoption patterns. This study mapped adoption patterns, analysed common CSA technology bundles, measured the impact of CSA on household welfare and modelled optimal enterprise mix for farmers adopting CSA. Data was collected through a cross-sectional household survey of 386 multistage randomly selected respondents from four districts in Zimbabwe. Analysis was done using multivariate statistical techniques of principal component analysis and cluster analysis as well as the Cragg double hurdle model, multinomial logistic regression model, endogenous Switching Regression model, Cost-Benefit Analysis, stochastic profit frontier model and multiobjective goal programming. The findings based on the PCA-Clustering analysis showed that patterns of CSA varied across the household typologies. Resource endowed and experienced farmers have a high use of technologies such as crop rotation and minimum tillage that require more resources while resource-constrained clusters avoided resource-intensive CSA technologies. The Cragg double hurdle model results showed that the adoption of CSA is significantly affected by distance to the tarred road, access to weather information, livestock income share, and ownership of transport assets. Adoption intensity is significantly affected by factors such as sex of household head, labour size, frequency of extension contact, access to credit, access to weather forecasts, off-farm income, distance to input and output markets, number of traders and asset ownership. In light of these findings, policies that ensure access to weather forecasts information, coupled with frequent access to extension officers by farmers and access to credit will go a long way in encouraging farmers to scale up the use of CSA. Additionally, government efforts should be directed towards input markets decentralization which can be done through policy incentives to the private sector which brings markets closer to farmers. Also, the establishment of tarred roads in rural areas will incentivise farmers to increase the adoption intensity of CSA while on the other hand attracting more traders to the rural areas. The multinomial logistic selection model results reveal that observable household and market access characteristics influence the likelihood of a farming household adopting three identified prominent technology bundles/combinations. The results highlight that household characteristics (gender of household head, labour size), farm characteristics (soil type), and institutional factors (market access, information access and access to credit) are the main factors that determine the adoption of various CSA technology combinations. The results encourage the government to design policies aimed at improving farmers’ knowledge with regards to CSA. These should include early warning systems and programs that enhance access to information, markets and credit. The econometric results of the Endogenous Switching Regression model showed that the soil fertility status of the fields and access to weather forecasts had a significant impact on the farmer’s decision to adopt CSA. The Average Treatment effect of the Treated and Average Treatment effect of the Untreated was positive and significant for adopters and non-adopters indicating that CSA adoption had resulted in a significant positive impact on the welfare of the farmers. Analysis of outcomes revealed that farmer and farm characteristics as well as market factors significantly affected household welfare. Household income with reference to adoption was significantly affected by factors such as education of household head, labour size, TLU, off-farm income and asset index. Food security was influenced by factors such as education of household head, TLU, access to safe water, access to sanitation, access to inputs and output markets. Results from the cost-benefit analysis revealed that maize performs best under CSA technologies. The cost-benefit analysis results point to the potential of CSA in positively influencing profitability as a result of reduced costs and improved productivity. The profit inefficiency model showed that extension contact, number of traders locally and adoption of CSA had significant negative coefficients implying that as these variables increase, profit inefficiency among maize growing farmers then decreases. The findings call for development practitioners to incorporate market linkages that bring buyers closer to the farmers and support for extension staff to be able to have frequent contacts with farmers. Results of the multi-objective goal programming model suggest a reduction in the area committed to field crops and point towards concentrating on high-value crops such as horticulture and larger ruminants such as cattle.
Economic analysis of supermarkets as a marketing channel choice for fresh produce smallholder farmers in Eswatini.
(2020) Dlamini-Mazibuko, Bongiwe Porrie.; Ferrer, Stuart Richard Douglas.; Ortmann, Gerald Friedel.
The growth of supermarkets in Eswatini has been dominated by South African supermarket chains that typically have access to established procurement channels from South Africa. Whilst some supermarkets do procure some fresh produce from local farmers, others exclusively procure from South Africa. This facilitation of market access for imported fresh produce in Eswatini – a threat for local farmers - differentiates this study from previous research on the impacts of supermarkets on farmers in developing countries. In particular, supermarket requirements imposed on producers in conjunction with competition from imports has important implications for local farmers’ direct access to these markets, the types of fresh produce procured, and the relationships formed, which therefore, impact on farm incomes of smallholder farmers in Eswatini. Therefore, the primary objectives of the study are to show the procurement system of vegetables in Eswatini as a complex system; analyse the nature of the farmer-buyer relationships; determine the factors affecting the choice of marketing outlets; and estimate the impact of supermarket participation on income of smallholders in Eswatini. The study focused on the procurement of fresh produce, namely cabbages, spinach and lettuce from Hhohho and Manzini, where the majority of supermarkets in Eswatini are located. A combination of sampling methods has been used in the study. A random sampling method was used to select a sample of 110 smallholder farmers supplying vegetables to traditional markets and NAMBoard, (a parastatal that, amongst other functions, assists farmers with production, processing, storage, transportation, distribution of their produce and the sale of scheduled products) and about 60 smallholders were supplying supermarkets. Informants from the vegetable supply chain were purposely selected with the view of being directly and indirectly, involved in the chain. The thesis is structured as four research papers that address the above-stated objectives. The first research paper examines the procurement system of vegetables in Eswatini as a complex system using the Theme Network Analysis (TNA). TNA allows for the identification of linkages of key themes associated with the procurement of vegetables by formal markets and other pertinent themes that can be further investigated for solutions to the system. In the second paper, factor analysis and discriminant analysis were used to determine farmer-buyer relationships between informal and formal marketing channels based on relationship satisfaction, trust and commitment. Results from the discriminant analysis revealed that there is a statistical significant difference between formal and informal marketing channels, and those farmers supplying formal markets perceived levels of satisfaction, trust, and commitment better than for informal markets. The third research paper involved the application of the Multivariate Probit (MVP) model to estimate the factors influencing the choice of marketing outlet selection strategies. The marketing outlets observed were supermarkets, NAMBoard and traditional markets, and the results showed that these outlets were substitutes. This implies that when it comes to marketing outlet selection, farmers would select one outlet over the other based on economic and practical factors; if the conditions for supplying one market outlet are inaccessible for smallholders, another market will be selected. The selection decision is influenced by risk attitude, assets ownership, institutional variables, transaction costs and market attributes. Lastly, the fourth paper involved the application of the Endogenous Switching Regression model to determine the factors influencing participation in supermarkets and the effect participation has on income of suppliers. The results revealed structural differences between farmers supplying supermarkets and traditional markets, particularly with respect to the size of the farm and off-farm income. The result also revealed that smallholders supplying supermarkets earned a relatively higher income than those supplying traditional participants. The main conclusions of the study are as follows: the characteristics of supermarkets and farmers, as well as the nature of the product, add to the complexity of the procurement system. The TNA enhanced the understanding of the identified issues contributing to the complex procurement systems; hence, strategies for improvement can be investigated. The key challenges identified were inconsistent supply of produce, lack of finance, and transport, high procurement requirements and high transaction costs. The social responsibility approach that supermarkets use for smallholders is attributed to these procurement challenges, which means that buying from local smallholders is not one of the business strategies for retailers. Therefore, policy regulations set to limit imports and encourage domestic procurement while developing smallholders to be able meet procurement requirements are necessary. The introduction of such policies may reduce imports, which are regarded as a threat to local farmers. Secondly, the nature of the buyer-seller relationships between the marketing channels is discrete, which is characterised by flexibility and lack of commitment between farmers and the buyers. The factors affecting the choice of marketing outlets and the effect on supermarket participation are crucial for the sustainable growth of smallholder vegetable farmers in Eswatini. The farmers’ risk preference, different assets owned, institutional factors, and the duration the marketing outlet takes to make payment for produce influence supermarket channel selection decisions. The implications of these results (factors) provide empirical guidelines necessary for farmers when selecting marketing channels. Policies aimed at the commercialization of smallholder farmers involving the establishment of institutions and the acquisitions of assets such as the provision of education (skills training), improved market information, extension services, mobile phone, transportation and farm size to produce marketable surplus are critical for the improvement of supermarket participation leading to improvement of farmers’ income. The study, therefore, recommends a coordinated and comprehensive supply chain approach, which will enhance a broader understanding of the vegetable marketing system and the achievement of a mutually beneficial relationship that will enhance smallholder farmers’ access to markets and further improve their household welfare from income earned from participating in these markets.
Households’ consumption and quality perceptions of local (ofada) rice in South-West Nigeria.
(2020) Ogunleke, Ayodeji Oluwaseun.; Baiyegunhi, Lloyd James Segun.
Rice has become an essential crop in Africa, with imports into the African continent accounting for more than a quarter of the world’s trade in rice. It has become one of the fastest-growing food sources to both rich and poor households. In Nigeria’s household food consumption, rice is the fifth most common food after tubers, vegetables, beans, and sorghum representing about 5.8% of households’ spending. In recent years, local rice production has expanded significantly in Nigeria and is increasingly becoming an alternative to foreign rice with government’s initiative to make the country self-sufficient in rice production under its Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and other policy initiatives put in place to address the local rice supply-demand gap. Following improvements in processing, polishing and packaging, many local rice brands with enhanced physical quality attributes that can compete favourably with imported rice brands are now available in Nigerian markets. Among these local rice varieties, local (ofada) rice is peculiar to but not limited to South-west, Nigeria and has been gaining international recognition in the recent time. The general objective of this study is to estimate households’ consumption and quality perceptions of local (ofada) rice in South-west, Nigeria. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 600 rice consuming households through a well-structured questionnaire. Different econometric techniques (IV-Tobit, Factor and cluster analyses, Hedonic pricing model, Kendall concordance test, Profile deviation analysis) were used to analyse the data. The results of the descriptive statistics show that on the average, quantity of local (ofada) rice consumed by a household ranges from 6.19kg to 25.8kg per month with income ranging from ₦38,265.35 to ₦157,224.71. The dietary knowledge score registered an average of 4.67 (out of 10). Also, over 50 percent of the households are headed by male, 85 percent are married, 54.8 percent has family size of less than five people, while 50 percent of the participating households have two or more income earners. The result of IV-Tobit reveals that dietary knowledge is significantly influenced by factors such as being a household meal planner or having a household member(s) on a special diet. Dietary knowledge as hypothesized, was found to positively influence the consumption of local (ofada) rice, as were some sociodemographic variables. The results of factor analysis show that households valued virtually all the local (ofada) rice attributes. Three clusters of local (ofada) rice consumers’ households were identified under segmentation and each segment (cluster) has different concerns and interests towards local (ofada) rice variety. Cluster 1 considered all the attributes of local (ofada) rice variety as important and was named meticulous cluster; cluster 2 valued physical appearance of the local (ofada) rice and was named extrinsic cluster; while cluster 3 was named casual because it was neutral to all the attributes considered for quality perceptions of local (ofada) rice, indicating a type of ethnocentric behaviour of the consumers. The result of Kendall concordance coefficient shows 73.74% agreement in ranking quality attributes of local (ofada) rice by consumers’ households. Colour, perceived nutrient level, taste, grain shape and rate of breakage were the most ranked quality attributes with Mean Attribute Ranking Scores (MARS) of 1.56, 1.69, 3.12, 5.53, and 5.86, respectively. Households are willing to pay Marginal Implicit Prices (MIPs) of ₦71.03 ($0.20), ₦45.23 ($0.13), ₦32.98 ($0.09), ₦21.06 ($0.06), and ₦14.41 (0.04), per kg for colour, grain cohesion, grain shape, perceived nutrient level and perceived chemical storage while discounting MIPs of ₦60.55 ($0.17), ₦19.36 ($0.05), ₦17.14 ($0.05) and ₦6.00 ($0.02) for texture, rate of breakage, perceived freshness, and low swelling capacity per kg of local (ofada) rice, respectively. The result of profile deviation analysis also reveals significant negative consumer satisfaction and loyalty implications of deviating from ideal consumer profile. Both consumer loyalty and consumer satisfaction have the same level of negative consequences. When considering the aggregate (total) profile deviation in both cases, the variance explained by the models are almost the same for satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, when looking at the disaggregated Profile Deviation (PD) effects, both hedonistic value and trust are predicting negative consumer satisfaction and loyalty outcomes. This suggests that improving consumer satisfaction and loyalty have similar challenges and required same task. It is consumer hedonistic value and trust in local (ofada) rice that account for the significance of the total Profile Deviation result. Therefore, this study recommends that nutritional information that are appealing about local (ofada) rice variety be introduced through advertisements on different media such as radio, television and print media. Also, a marketing-mix determination should be adopted, which involves developing and implementing a strategy for delivering an effective combination of want-satisfying features to consumers within target market for local (ofada) rice as the aim is to make the variety available across the country. In addition, modern rice processing and polishing that incorporate traditional technology are required to improve both extrinsic and intrinsic qualities (swelling capacity, rate of breakage, texture, etc.) of local (ofada) rice to enhance consumers’ households acceptability, affordability and competitiveness. Lastly, efforts should be made by the concerned authorities and stakeholders in the rice value chain in making sure that there is reduction in cost of production in order to lower the market price of local (ofada) rice and in extension, local rice generally
The integration of freely available medium resolution optical sensors with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery capabilities for American bramble (Rubus cuneifolius) invasion detection and mapping.
(2018) Rajah, Perushan.; Mutanga, Onisimo.; Odindi, John Odhiambo.
The emergence of American bramble (Rubus cuneifolius) across South Africa has caused severe ecological and economic damage. To date, most of the efforts to mitigate its effects have been largely unsuccessful due to its prolific growth and widespread distribution. Accurate and timeous detection and mapping of Bramble is therefore critical to the development of effective eradication management plans. Hence, this study sought to determine the potential of freely available, new generation medium spatial resolution satellite imagery for the detection and mapping of American Bramble infestations within the UNESCO world heritage site of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park (UDP). The first part of the thesis determined the potential of conventional freely available remote sensing imagery for the detection and mapping of Bramble. Utilizing the Support Vector Machine (SVM) learning algorithm, it was established that Bramble could be detected with limited users (45%) and reasonable producers (80%) accuracies. Much of the confusion occurred between the grassland land cover class and Bramble. The second part of the study focused on fusing the new age optical imagery and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery for Bramble detection and mapping. The synergistic potential of fused imagery was evaluated using multiclass SVM classification algorithm. Feature level image fusion of optical imagery and SAR resulted in an overall classification accuracy of 76%, with increased users and producers’ accuracies for Bramble. These positive results offered an opportunity to explore the polarization variables associated with SAR imagery for improved classification accuracies. The final section of the study dwelt on the use of Vegetation Indices (VIs) derived from new age satellite imagery, in concert with SAR to improve Bramble classification accuracies. Whereas improvement in classification accuracies were minimal, the potential of stand-alone VIs to detect and map Bramble (80%) was noteworthy. Lastly, dual-polarized SAR was fused with new age optical imagery to determine the synergistic potential of dual-polarized SAR to increase Bramble mapping accuracies. Results indicated a marked increase in overall Bramble classification accuracy (85%), suggesting improved potential of dual-polarized SAR and optical imagery in invasive species detection and mapping. Overall, this study provides sufficient evidence of the complimentary and synergistic potential of active and passive remote sensing imagery for invasive alien species detection and mapping. Results of this study are important for supporting contemporary decision making relating to invasive species management and eradication in order to safeguard ecological biodiversity and pristine status of nationally protected areas.
The nexus of crop and income diversification, commercialisation and household welfare: empirical evidence from Ethiopia.
(2019) Kidane, Mekonnen Sime.; Wale, Edilegnaw Zegeye.
Abstract available in pdf.
Economic analysis of determinants of grain storage practices and implications on storage losses and household food security in Makoni and Shamva Districts in Zimbabwe.
(2017) Chuma, Teresa.; Mudhara, Maxwell.; Govereh, Jones.
Despite notable advances in grain storage practices, many smallholder farmers in southern Africa still rely on traditional practices for storing staple crops such as maize. Traditional storage practices do not offer adequate protection of grain against pests such as the Larger Grain Borer (LGB) hence significant post-harvest losses (PHL) are recorded in storage. More so, little attention has been given to the study of the economics of PHL and storage technology, particularly in the smallholder farming areas where issues of food security and poverty are concentrated. This study meant to compare the economic viability of traditional and improved storage technologies, examine the factors that influence smallholder farmers‟ choice of storage technologies, analyse determinants of willingness to pay for a metal silo, and determine the effects of storage technologies on household hunger gap and market participation in Zimbabwe. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 417 households chosen using the multi-stage sampling method in Makoni and Shamva Districts. Various econometric methods such as cost-benefit analysis, multinomial logit, logit, ordered probit and truncated regression models were used to analyse the data. Storing maize grain using hermetic technologies was found to be most profitable when compared to untreated and ACTELLIC dust (pirimiphos-methyl) treated polypropylene bags. The benefit-cost (B/C) ratios were also greater for hermetic technologies. Comparing the two hermetic technologies, the super grain bags were found to be more profitable than the metal silo. Nevertheless, both technologies were superior to the smallholder farmers‟ storage technology of treated bags. Sensitivity analysis results, on the other hand, revealed that both hermetic storage technologies are sensitive to reduction in investment period. This is a result of the high investment costs that are associated with the technologies. The results, however, indicated that super grain bags are more suitable for smallholder farmers who are resource limited and cannot invest in a silo since super grain bags have a higher financial return than a metal silo. On the other hand, metal silos are the most suitable and robust storage technology for smallholder farmers who have long-term storage investment plans. It should, however, be noted that to create and keep gas-tight conditions in metal silos or super grain bags is a demanding and expensive task that requires pronounced scientific and technical skills. Dissemination of the technology should thus encompass farmer and artisan training package on proper handling and management of the hermetic technologies to reap maximum benefits from the inert atmospheres created. Provision of credit may be required to allow farmers to meet the high initial investment costs. Household head‟s age, education years, marital status, total grain stored, the value of non-food crops, business and wages income, and access to extension services were found to have a diverse influence on the choice of grain storage technologies. Older households had higher chances of using the insecticide storage technology indicating that farming experience influences the choice of grain storage technologies. Therefore, the government and development agents should target older household heads for promotion and dissemination of storage technologies. Marital status also increased the chance of using the insecticide storage technology suggesting that married household heads are less risk-averse. Therefore, government and storage technology development agents should target married households for dissemination, without marginalizing unmarried household heads. Furthermore, the total grain stored influenced smallholder farmers to use the insecticide storage technology versus the no insecticide technology. Thus, policies that promote agricultural production will enhance the use of improved storage technologies among smallholder farmers. Hence, the government should support agricultural production activities of smallholder farmers. Thus, policies that promote agricultural production will enhance the use of improved storage technologies among smallholder farmers. Hence, the government should support agricultural production activities of smallholder farmers. Households with a higher value of non-food crops showed higher chances of using the insecticide storage technology relative to the no insecticide technology. Hence, development agents and the government should develop programs that support the production of non-food crops in smallholder areas without side-lining maize production. Results showed that better-educated smallholder farmers had higher chances of using the insecticide storage technology. The government should develop adult learning programs in the areas to increase access of farmers to education. However, smallholder farmers with income from business and wage activities showed less likelihood to use the insecticide storage technology. This implies that such smallholder farmers have fewer chances of storing grain hence are more likely not to choose the insecticide storage technology. Although access to extension had a negative influence on the choice of storage technology, it is important that government develops specific extension training programs on storage technology particularly the use of insecticide storage so as to equip farmers with proper storage skills and information. In terms of farmers‟ willingness to pay for a metal silo, the results found that the household head‟s age, marital status, non-food crop quantity, equipment value, vegetable income, storage loss and informal activity participation were the key determinants of willingness to pay for a one-tonne metal silo storage technology in Zimbabwe. The results revealed that married respondents and young farmers are more ready to pay for metal silos than their counterparts. While it is recommended that development agents promoting the metal silo technology should target these households for a sustainable approach, care should be taken not to marginalize their counterparts. All the income variables except equipment value showed a positive influence on WTP for a metal silo. Increasing household‟s income will help to ease the financial constraints that often impede technology investment among smallholder farmers. Therefore, policies that encourage diversification of agriculture and also provision of credit are recommended in order to increase WTP for a metal silo. The amount of grain lost in storage had a positive influence on farmers‟ WTP for a metal silo. This suggests that current storage practices are not effective against storage losses and the metal silo can be an alternative effective storage to curb storage losses and hence improve their food security and livelihoods. The study results revealed that storage practices had significant effects on both maize marketing behaviour and hunger gap of smallholder farmers. The use of insecticide storage increased the chances of farmers becoming net sellers of maize. Using insecticide storage reduces the amount of grain that is lost in storage hence farmers are able to preserve the amount of grain available for consumption and also for sale. This implies that safe storage of maize promotes smallholder farmers‟ net maize selling behaviour thus reducing poverty and also contributing to improved food security. Investment in safe grain storage technologies is thus a fundamental key policy issue in developing countries and as such government should design storage policies that encourage dissemination and promotion of safe grain storage technologies at the household level. Household head‟s gender, marital status, quantity harvested, market location, farming systems and district location were other factors that influenced maize marketing decisions of smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. Moreover, results showed that the majority of the households experienced hunger gap. On average, households that experienced it had a hunger gap intensity of 4.7 months. This means that food insecurity is an issue of concern among smallholder farmers. Policymakers should come up with effective measures to safeguard lives of people either by boosting production or promoting safe storage of maize grain. Several household socio-economic characteristics such as age, household size, gender, marital status, location, education years, and being an A1 model or old resettlement farmer and no treatment storage significantly influence the occurrence of household hunger gap. Farmers who used no treatment on stored grain had better chances of not incurring hunger gap in the study areas. Hence, there is need to investigate the location-specific characteristics of smallholder farmers. The government may also develop programs targeted to improve post-harvest knowledge and skills of smallholder farmers. Smallholder farmers record significant storage losses which lead to the hunger gap. Protecting grain crops is thus an important step towards ensuring food security. Larger household size increased chances of experiencing hunger gap, which suggests the need to implement effective family planning methods to keep the family sizes small. Development agents should provide effective family planning education and training to farmers in the rural areas. Farmers who had larger sizes of cultivated land showed lower chances of experiencing hunger gap than their counterparts. Therefore increasing smallholder farmers‟ access to land will alleviate the problem of hunger gap and food insecurity. Households with a higher level of education had lower chances of incurring hunger gap, therefore, the government should develop adult learning programs to increase literacy levels of households in the area and hence reduce hunger gap occurrence. It was also observed that hunger gap differs by location, farming system, and storage practices. Farmers in Shamva district showed higher chances of experiencing a hunger gap than those in Makoni district, while farmers in the A1 model and old resettlement schemes had better chances of incurring no hunger gap. These farmers have better access to land, and other productive resources thus lower chances of incurring hunger gap. Hence, government supported input schemes should target areas where farmers have less access to inputs so as to improve productivity. On the other hand, the quantity of grain harvested, total grain stored, income from business and wages and land size had a negative effect on hunger gap intensity while hunger gap intensity increased if the household head was married and no insecticide storage technology was used to store maize grain. To sum up, the study, recommends that government should develop policies that encourage farmers to invest in improved storage technologies such as the hermetic metal silo, and also to provide credit to farmers to enhance adoption and dissemination of new improved storage technologies. The study further recommends that government should develop effective extension programs tailor-made to increase and improve smallholder farmers' post-harvest management knowledge and skills, respectively.
Revealed preference analysis of consumers' switching behaviour towards rice brands in Nigeria.
(2018) Obih, Uchenna.; Baiyegunhi, Lloyd James Segun.
Abstract in PDF file.
Entrepreneurial development pathways for smallholder irrigation farming in KwaZulu-Natal : typologies, aspirations and preferences.
(2017) Chipfupa, Unity.; Zegeye, Edilegnaw Wale.
Smallholder irrigation in South Africa is strategically recognized as an important sector in addressing rural poverty, food insecurity and rising youth unemployment. However, despite the government’s efforts and huge investment, the sector has failed to make a meaningful contribution to overcoming these challenges. The poor performance has been attributed to the failure of the existing programmes to develop the human and social capital to manage the schemes and effectively engage in market-oriented agricultural production. This has resulted in the inability of smallholders to utilize the opportunities availed through irrigation farming. South Africa’s national policies identify entrepreneurship as an appropriate intervention strategy for improving the performance of smallholder irrigation. However, to unlock entrepreneurship, a better understanding is required regarding smallholder farmer behaviour vis a vis the relevance/application of the concept to smallholders, and their aspirations, heterogeneity and preferences for irrigation water management. Thus, the objectives of the study were: to assess the validity and applicability of the mainstream concept of entrepreneurship to smallholder irrigation farming in South Africa and identify avenues of adaptation to make it relevant; to identify sources of smallholder heterogeneity and determine the farmer typologies in smallholder irrigation, accounting for psychological capital; to examine aspirations of smallholder farmers to expand irrigation crop production; and assess farmer preferences for managing irrigation water resources and their willingness to pay for irrigation water. The data for the study came from a stratified random sample of 328 smallholders in and around Makhathini and Ndumo-B irrigation schemes in Jozini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The data were collected through a household questionnaire survey and focus group discussions. The study employed literature review, descriptive analysis and several empirical approaches (Principal Component Analysis, Cluster Analysis, Heckman two-step selection model and choice experiment modelling). The research uniquely introduced and integrated the concept of psychological capital to the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework literature to enhance understanding of entrepreneurship among smallholder farmers. The findings showed that smallholders do not conform to the mainstream definition of entrepreneurship which is mainly the result of the neoclassical economics paradigm. This does not, however, mean that such farmers cannot be entrepreneurial, but it highlights the need for redefining the concept to suit their context. A paradigm shift is required to improve the performance of smallholder irrigation and unlock entrepreneurial spirit, putting smallholder behaviour at the centre for which the concepts of psychological capital and behavioural economics are expected to play a bigger part. There is also a need to embrace indigenous knowledge, the multipurpose nature of smallholder farming, heterogeneity and creating an enabling environment. In the end, the study proposed a contextualized definition of entrepreneurship for smallholders which places more significance on the willingness and ability of entrepreneurial smallholders, through their own initiatives, to address their challenges, even in the midst of constraints. The study revealed five farmer typologies in smallholder irrigation in South Africa: elderly and uneducated, cautious and short-sighted, financial capital and psychological capital endowed, social grant reliant, and land endowed rainfed farmers. Heterogeneity in these typologies is observed regarding psychological capital endowment, market access, collective action and access to credit. The results affirm the fact that the ‘one size fits all’ approach to agricultural policy and support is not appropriate. Heterogeneity among smallholders should be accounted for in future agricultural and rural development programmes. However, accounting for this heterogeneity is a double-edged sword. On one side it complicates tailor-made policy formulation and on the other side, if there is capacity, it makes the portfolio of policies and strategies impactful and relevant. Th study identifies psychological capital as important and recommends its recognition and nurturing as a key livelihood asset. The findings suggest that farmers’ willingness to expand irrigation farming activities is affected by positive psychological capital, access to markets, access to credit, land tenure security and membership to social groups. Their ability to achieve their aspirations is determined by asset ownership, access to markets and local resource use conflicts. This evidence further demonstrates the importance of developing positive psychological capital among smallholders. The priority areas for improving access to agricultural credit and markets include, among others, value chain financing, reforming the existing agricultural credit schemes and investment in road and transport infrastructure. Smallholders’ ability to achieve their aspirations and make better use of irrigation schemes should be enabled through improving access to physical capital assets, addressing land security concerns, and supporting institutions that promote social interaction and learning. The findings from the choice experiment demonstrate that valuing and recognizing the scarcity of irrigation water is essential for its sustainable use. The results suggest the need for irrigation water pricing to reflect irrigation intensity. They also show that improving agricultural production and productivity, with market access can enhance farmers’ willingness and ability to pay for irrigation water. The study reveals the need to consider multiple uses of irrigation water, while a focus on women smallholders has positive implications for sustainable management and use of irrigation water. It also recommends a shift towards volumetric water pricing at the farm or plot level in the irrigation schemes. In sum, the study has shown why it is of critical importance to take the mindset and human behaviour as the locus of interventions to improve the performance of smallholder irrigation schemes. It recommends a psychological and behavioural economics approach to understanding farmers’ decisions and behaviour and to provide the road map to realize the returns on investment in the smallholder irrigation sector. Agricultural extension approaches need to target for developing the psychological capital and entrepreneurial spirit of smallholders and supporting cooperatives deliver their mandate effectively. Furthermore, policies should assist in creating an environment that nurtures farmer entrepreneurial spirit, and that is supportive of smallholder entrepreneurs. This includes, but not limited to, encouraging and incentivizing own effort rather than embracing a culture of dependency.
Adoption and economic assessment of Integrated Striga Management (ISM) technologies for smallholder maize farmers in Northern Nigeria.
(2017) Hassan, Muhammad Bello.; Baiyegunhi, Lloyd James Segun.; Ortmann, Gerald Friedel.
The agricultural sector plays a crucial role in Nigeria. According to a recent report released by the Food and Agriculture organisation and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the agriculture sector contributed only 20% to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the year 2014. The sector remains critical to national food security, wealth creation, employment generation and above all poverty reduction, as over 70% of the workforce is engaged in the sector either directly or indirectly. However, the sector is being constrained by many factors. Significant among them are the infestation of the parasitic weed, Striga, drought, low soil nitrogen and climate change. Globally, the estimate of the land area affected and under threat by Striga spp. is about 44 million hectares (ha) of cultivable land. This weed impinges on the livelihoods of more than 100 million smallholder farmers. Striga mostly affects land planted with cereals, which lead to a substantial loss of cereal yield ranging between 10% and 100%, depending on crop and variety. Host plants severely affected are cowpea and cereals like rice and sugarcane. Cereal is usually the most severely damaged crops, followed by cowpea. The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) estimated that over 822,000 ha of maize farms in Nigeria is infested by Striga, which represents about 34% of the total farmland in Africa. Striga decreases maize productivity by 20% to 100%, sometimes leaving farmers with no harvest and little or no food. Based on the initial study output obtained in the Bauchi and Kano states, the major constraints plaguing maize and cowpea growing areas in the study region were identified to be Striga, stem borers, termites, storage insects, low and erratic rainfall, water logging, and low input. The majority of farmers (over 80%) in the surveyed states reported Striga as the most important constraint upon maize production. As a result of the intensity of Striga’s occurrence in northern Nigeria and its damaging effect on cereal and legume crops, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) commissioned and initiated an Integrated Striga Management in Africa (ISMA) project in collaboration with the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), the Bayero University Kano (BUK), the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), the Kano State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (KNARDA) and the Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BSADP). The ISMA is an extension project being implemented in two states, Kano and Bauchi, with a lag period of four years, starting from 2011-2014. Specifically STR varieties and other Striga management technologies needed to be developed in order to curb with Striga problems. This action was essential considering the economic importance of cereal production, particularly maize, and the magnitude of investment made towards improving maize production such as doubling the maize project via the Federal Government and donor agencies in northern Nigeria. There is a need to understand why many farmers are not adopting the ISM technologies despite its suitability and ease of application. At this stage, there is also a lack of research on the prospect of adoption and the economic benefits of using ISM technologies in northern Nigeria. This study was, therefore, an attempt to address these knowledge gaps. Furthermore, it provided an opportunity to draft relevant policy and management implications to inform future strategies in the agricultural sector, particularly in maize production. The specific objectives of the study were (i) to identify the socioeconomic characteristics of maize-producing households and their perceptions of ISM technology attributes in the study area; (ii) to determine factors influencing farming households’ potential adoption and intensity of adoption of ISM technologies in the study area; (iii) to estimate the potential impact of ISM technology adoption on livelihood improvement, income and food security of maize-farming households in the study area; and (iv) to assess the financial and economic profitability, and identify the constraints upon the adoption of ISM technologies at smallholder farm level in the study area. The data used for this study were collected by means of a multi-stage sampling procedure from a cross-section of 643 respondents selected from 80 communities (353 adopters and 290 non-adopters from both project intervention areas (PIAs) and non-project intervention areas (NPIAs). The results revealed a significant overall adoption rate of 55% of the targeted population in the study area. The difference in performance in terms of adoption between PIAs and NPIAs was 11%. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of on-farm trial evaluations with farmers through organized field days. Thus, the scaling out of the technologies to NPIAs will help potential adopters to make more informed decisions in eliminating Striga. In addition to on-farm trials and field days, the improvement of public knowledge about ISM technologies can be achieved through mass public education and awareness programmes. Results from the double hurdle regressions showed that the estimated coefficients of exogenous income and distance to extension office had a negative impact on adoption. Higher total farm income, polygamous households, past participation in on-farm trials, awareness of the technology, contact with extension agents and access to cash remittances had a positive impact and are the most significant factors likely to influence ISM technology adoption. Marital status, household size, farm size and access to cash remittances are the most significant factors influencing adoption intensity. Maize farmers in the study area, who adopted ISM technologies, were found to have obtained higher output than non-adopters, resulting in a positive and significant effect on their total farm income. Hence, policies targeted at increasing maize productivity through Striga management need to include ISM technologies as a potentially feasible option. This study recommends actions to improve farmers’ access to financial services in order to increase their liquidity. Nevertheless, immediate action will be an improvement in farmers’ access to extension services, as they have demonstrated to be a reliable source of information in rural areas. Results from the TE regression model indicated that adoption of ISM technologies played a positive role in enhancing farm productivity of rural households, with adopters producing about 47% higher maize output than that of non-adopters (p<0.001) after controlling for selection bias and endogeneity. Also, the result from the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) index showed that adopters are not as poor in terms of household income per adult equivalent when compared to non-adopters. The result from the endogenous switching regression (ESR), which accounts for heterogeneity in the decision to adopt or not, indicated that ISM technologies have a positive effect on farmers’ income, as measured by farm income levels per adult equivalent. It was also found that ISM adoption increased farming income by 66%, although the impact of technology on farming income was smaller for farm households who did adopt the technology than for those who did not adopt it. In the counterfactual situation, however, if non-adopters had adopted the technology, they would have gotten more benefit than adopters. It implies that the integrated approach to Striga management is beneficial to smallholder farmers and need to be scaled out to other areas prone to Striga. Results from the economic impact analysis also indicated that gross margins (GM), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and net benefit per capita for the ISM technologies are all positive across all locations. Therefore, farmers can recover their costs and maintain a positive balance. The highest GMs made ISM technologies a viable, profitable, bankable and potential option for northern Nigeria which is prone to Striga. ISM technologies guarantee significantly higher yields than local practices. Thus, the long-term economic worth indicators showed that ISM technologies could lead to increased income and poverty reduction. Also, its net present value (NPV), BCR and net benefits per capita are attractive. ISM technologies, especially maize-legume rotation with STR maize and Imazapyr-resistant maize (IRM), should occupy a central role in the design of Striga eradication campaign initiatives and sustainable management in maize fields. ISM technologies should therefore be prioritised, particularly in the Striga-infested areas of northern Nigeria. In general, findings from the study proved the need to support the provision of extension services, on-farm trials and field demonstration to remote areas, as the results suggest that distance to the extension office do influence adoption of ISM technologies. In an effort to enhance farmers’ access to ISM technologies, the public sector needs to take the lead in technology promotion and dissemination at the initial stages and create an enabling environment for effective participation of the private sector. Awareness campaigns for ISM technologies, combined with the improvement of appropriate access to these technologies and corresponding inputs, and accessible rural micro-finances at reasonable costs will offer the most likely policy mix to accelerate and expand the adoption of ISM technologies. While awareness of ISM technology is a major problem, it is clear that the availability of seed (for seed-based technologies) is a serious issue. Therefore, improvement in the Nigerian seed sector is required to boost adoption. High risk and fear of failure are related to farmers’ risk aversion. All technologies requiring cash investment reflect a face of fear and risk constraint for most farmers.
The impact of social grants on rural households' incentives to farm, market participation and farm entrepreneurship: evidence from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2016) Sinyolo, Sikhulumile.; Mudhara, Maxwell.; Zegeye, Edilegnaw Wale.
While there is general consensus on the need to reduce poverty and food insecurity in Africa, considerable debate exists on the effectiveness of transfers, such as social grants, in attaining these goals. The concern is that transfers may affect people’s social and economic behaviour negatively and entrench a culture of dependency and entitlement. This concern is echoed by policy-makers and academics in South Africa, where more than 16 million poor people were social grants beneficiaries in 2014. Even though a wide range of literature has explored many dimensions of the impact of social grants, limited in-depth research has explored the potential linkages between social grants and smallholder farming in South Africa. This is despite the importance of these two interventions, especially in the rural areas where poverty and household food insecurity are concentrated. The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of social grants on: incentives to farm, chemical fertiliser adoption, market participation and farm entrepreneurship in the rural areas of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province. Using a sample of 984 households randomly selected across four districts of the province, different econometric techniques (such as the logit transformation technique, Papke and Wooldridge model, propensity score matching, generalised propensity score method, double-hurdle model and the Bartlett factor score regression) were utilised to analyse the data. The social grants variable was captured in two ways: as a dummy showing whether a household has access to social grants and as a continuous variable indicating the level of household dependency on social grants. The study results indicated that social grants have a wide coverage, benefiting most of the rural households that were interviewed. The study indicated high levels of unemployment among the household members in the rural areas in KZN, implying shortage of economic opportunities in these areas. While this underscores the importance of smallholder farming as a livelihood option, the results indicated low areas of land under cultivation, reduced participation by unemployed household members in smallholder farming activities and low levels of farm entrepreneurship. The question answered in this study pertains to whether these outcomes are a result of the households’ access to, or dependency on, social grants. The study results revealed that the disincentive effects of social grants are not just about access, but about the level of dependency on them. This implies that there is value in introducing the dummy and the continuous variable, as the influence of the two variables varied for some of vi the different outcomes studied. The findings of the study were largely consistent with the disincentive hypothesis, indicating that access to social grants and the level of dependency on them generally had negative effects on individuals’ incentives to take part in smallholder farming activities. However, this result did not apply on all the outcome variables. The econometric results indicated that access to, and level of dependency on, social grants did not influence, either positively or negatively, the proportion of land under cultivation. This result, which was robust across several econometric techniques, suggests that the declining land under cultivation among rural households is not due to social grants. Instead the study identified several other constraints that policy-makers should focus on to improve the proportion of cultivated land area in the rural areas. In terms of the impact of social grants on household members’ participation in farming activities, the results were in line with the disincentive hypothesis. The results indicated that both access to, and increasing levels of dependency on, social grants led to a significant reduction in the number of the household members that participate in smallholder farming activities. The implication of this result is that, although social grants are targeted to the vulnerable household members, they also reach the unintended household members, creating disincentive effects. The increase in household income due to access to social grants increases the reservation wage of the household members and lowers their motivation to participate in farming activities. The increase in the reservation wage means that household members would require smallholder farming to be more remunerative than currently for them to participate in it. The study identified other variables that affect participation in smallholder farming by household members, highlighting the importance of expectations of farming success as a key motivator. Access to, and level of dependency on, social grants were found to have mixed impacts on chemical fertiliser adoption. While the results indicated that access to social grants was associated with higher levels of chemical fertiliser use, increasing levels of dependency on social grants was associated with decreasing intensity of chemical fertiliser use. This implies that, although social grants may relax the financial constraints facing rural farmers amidst imperfect credit markets, high levels of dependency on social grants results in disincentives to invest in farms. In order to promote self-sufficiency and independence among the rural poor, the study highlights the need to find strategies such as introducing subsidies and focussed training, to encourage rural households to invest part of their social grants in smallholder farming activities. In terms of commercialisation incentives, the results found that higher social grant-dependency was associated with decreased probability of market participation. This suggests that the households who depend more on social grants are more likely to be subsistence-oriented as they rely on social grants for income. After the decision to enter the market is made, households with access to social grants sold lower maize volumes compared to those with no access to social grants. The study concluded that social grants had negative effects on the incentives of rural households to commercialise their farming activities. This has negative implications on the government’s drive to increase commercialisation levels of smallholder farmers by helping them graduate from subsistence farming. The results identified a number of factors that significantly influenced household market participation, highlighting the importance of institutional support (e.g., extension, training and information) in reducing transaction costs and increasing market participation. The study results imply that policies aimed at reducing both fixed and variable transaction costs (such as improved road infrastructure and institutional support such as extension, training and organising farmers into groups) should be prioritised to increase both rates and levels of smallholder participation in the maize markets. The study results indicated that the high levels of dependency on social grants inhibit farm entrepreneurship development. This implies that social grants, especially in households where they are more important, have created disincentives that have hindered the entrepreneurial attitudes of rural households. Given that the entrepreneurial competencies can be learned and changed, the study identified the policy variables to enhance farm entrepreneurship. The study recommends that government should prioritise the provision of support services such as training, extension and credit support, in order to establish entrepreneurial rural households. A greater emphasis should be on identifying the gaps in the farmers’ entrepreneurship skills set and then training the farmers according to their needs. To sum up, the study found that rural households who depended more on social grants had fewer of their members participating in smallholder farming; used less chemical fertiliser; were less entrepreneurial and less likely to be market-oriented. Although access to social grants had a positive effect on the level of chemical fertiliser use, it had negative effects on the proportion of household members that engage in smallholder farming activities and market participation levels. The findings imply that social grants are spilling over to unintended household viii members, creating a dependency syndrome among recipient households. Since social grants are important in addressing extreme poverty, the study recommends that their provision should continue, but policy-makers should be particularly cognisant of their possible unintended and adverse consequences on smallholder farming. The study recommends that policy-makers should synchronise the objectives of social grants and smallholder farming so that the disincentive effects are reduced. The study presents policy options to address both the social grants side as well as the smallholder farming side, arguing that dealing with the social grants alone is not enough to ensure the viability and success of smallholder farming. Policy options include increasing smallholders’ assets in order to grow their risk-bearing capacity, addressing imperfections in the rural credit markets, improving the expected profitability of smallholder farming as well as introducing focussed training to motivate rural households to invest part of their social grants in smallholder farming activities.
Climate change perception, crop diversification and land use change among small-scale farmers in the Midlands region of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa : behavioural and microeconomic analyses.
Hitayezu, Patrick.; Zegeye, Edilegnaw Wale.; Ortmann, Gerald Friedel.
The future of small-scale agriculture in South Africa is facing the challenges of high population growth, land degradation, and agro-biodiversity loss. In the Midlands region of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the challenges are exacerbated by climate change (CC). Agricultural land use change (ALUC) is among farm-level options to exploit the synergy between local adaptation and global mitigation of CC, whilst restoring degraded lands and agro-biodiversity reservoirs. The literature contends that the pathways to climate-resilient sustainable land use start with the farming sector’s vulnerability to CC, and translate into behavioural change through farmers’ perceptions about the climate risk. Two major steps characterize behavioural response to changing distributions of weather patterns. Behavioural responses to CC begin with reducing the vulnerability to climatic variability (e.g. by using tactical adjustments such as crop diversification), followed by forward-looking integration of adaptation and mitigation into farm planning (e.g. through ALUC). The purpose of this study was to provide a systematic and detailed understanding of climate-driven ALUC in the setting of small-scale farming in South Africa. Taking the Midlands region of KZN as an illustrative case, this study aimed (i) to explore some meso-level aspects of climate-related agricultural vulnerability; (ii) to investigate the perceptions of small-scale farmers about CC and their socio-psychological, institutional and cultural determinants; (iii) to analyse the farmland use systems and assess the microeconomic determinants of seasonal crop diversification; and (iv) to assess the attitudes of small-scale farmers towards land use and the constraints governing ALUC decision-making. To assess the meso-level vulnerability of farming sector to CC in the Midlands region of KZN, an indicator approach was adopted. Various aspects of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of the farming sector were explored using a systematic review of available empirical evidence. The review suggested that the farming sector is exposed to a warming and wetting climate. The reviewed evidence also suggested that the farming sector is highly sensitive to CC due to high population densities, high rates of small-scale farming, low irrigation rates and susceptibility to land degradation. Nevertheless, diversified crop portfolios remain a major aspect of resilience among small-scale farmers. The reviewed evidence further indicated that farmers’ adaptive capacity is confounded by inadequate access to infrastructure, rural exodus, skills shortages, poor health status, and low level of social capital. The remaining objectives were empirically investigated based on primary data from a household survey of 152 small-scale farmers in the uMshwati local municipality. With regard to the second objective, a principle component analysis (PCA) of eight variables of perceived seasonal climatic abnormality yielded two dominant perceptual shapes. CCP1 score captured the extent to which an individual farmer perceives the winter season as cooling and the summer season as warming and drying. CCP2 score captured the extent to which an individual farmer perceives the winter season as warming and wetting, and summer season as drying. The results of a Double-Hurdle (DH) model showed that the probability of perceiving abnormal trends in the local seasonal climate increases with holistic affect, egalitarian worldviews, age, female-headedness and hilly and wetter agro-ecological regions, and decreases with education. The model results also showed that the CCP1 score increases with holistic affect and other factors related to personal experience such as age and distance to the river, signifying experience-based learning. The results further showed that CCP2 score increases with cognitive ability (knowledge) and related socio-demographic factors such as education, extension and trust, indicating analytic processing of climate information. With regard to the third objective, a two-stage cluster analysis of land use data unveiled a diversified farmland use matrix characterised by a maize-beans inter-cropping system coexisting with of mixed crop-livestock, sugarcane and timber mono-cropping systems. After accounting for potential endogeneity biases, the results of a logit transformation model showed positive effects of labour and landholding on the intensity of multiple-cropping among poorer and richer households, suggesting that responding to technological constraints is an important driver of seasonal crop diversification. Furthermore, the results showed that the intensity of multiple-cropping among richer households decreases with education due to faster shadow wage rise at higher farm assets position. Among poorer households, the intensity of crop diversification decreases with off-farm occupation and increases with distance to water sources, suggesting that mitigating income and production risks are key motivations for crop diversification. Regarding the fourth objective, the results of a Mixed-multinomial Logit model that accounts for potential endogeneity biases showed that the decisions about ALUC from seasonal crops towards forestry or sugarcane cultivation are rationally derived and driven by clear but heterogeneous preferences and trade-offs between crop productivity, food security, and labour requirements. These motivations override income generation and ecological sustainability incentives, the common policy foci in South Africa. The model results also indicated that the utility of planting sugarcane increases with size of landholding, suggesting economies of size. The preference for forest plantation decreases with household size, a Chayanov-like afforestation pattern. Furthermore, the results indicated that the preference for ALUC increases with the proportion of ALUC in the community/ward (suggesting peer group influence) and hilly and wetter agro-ecological conditions (due to higher land conversion cost and acute soil erosion). The empirical findings of this study pointed to the need for designing a region-specific CC communication strategy that involves affected farmers and locally trusted agricultural extensions agents, and aligns the information content to local beliefs, values and norms. The findings also inferred that reduced agro-biodiversity loss and enhanced resilience in the face of the increasing climatic variability through crop diversification could be major co-benefits of the ongoing land reform, and explicit strategies should focus on regions with widespread poverty and dryland farming. For supporting ALUC towards farmland afforestation, the findings advocated the promotion of timber-based agroforestry systems as an effective strategy to align public goals with private incentives. The findings further advocated incentive-based afforestation schemes (such as payment for ecosystem services) designed on a per-capita or equivalent-consumption basis and targeting farms located in regions with steeper slopes and higher climate variability.
Evaluating farmers' and consumers' acceptance of new cooking banana hybrids in Uganda : micro-economic analysis and policy implications.
(2014) Akankwasa, Kenneth.; Ortmann, Gerald Friedel.; Wale, Edilegnaw Zegeye.
Banana is an important world food crop supporting the food security and livelihoods of millions of smallholders in tropical countries of Africa, including Uganda. Despite the crop‟s importance in Uganda, its productivity has been declining over time due to pests (banana weevils and nematodes), diseases (black Sigatoka, banana bacterial wilt), soil fertility decline, and socio-economic constraints (high costs of managing the crop, competition for labour with other enterprises, marketing difficulties and low genetic diversity, among others). The decline in banana yields has resulted in food shortages, thus putting consumers heavily dependent on banana at risk of food insecurity, particularly in most rural areas of Uganda where the crop is regarded a staple food. In response to this trend, the National Banana Research Programme (NBRP) in Uganda initiated a breeding programme in 1994 using a participatory plant breeding approach. The programme has so far developed four new banana 'matooke' hybrid varieties (M2, M9, M14, and M17). These varieties have been under evaluation in different agro-ecological regions of Uganda since 2008 with Mbwazirume (a traditional variety) as a local check. Despite the research and extension efforts to popularise these hybrids in Uganda, to date, no attempt had been made to document consumer acceptance and the likelihood of farmer adoption of these hybrid bananas. Little is known about the socioeconomic factors that influence farmers‟ early-stage adoption of the banana hybrids, farmers‟ preferences of the varieties, consumers‟ willingness to purchase the bananas of the hybrids when found on the market, and the likelihood of these hybrid varieties contributing to solving rural household food insecurity and low incomes. Given this context, the objectives of this study were to: (i) analyse farmers‟ preferences regarding varietal attributes and assess how these preferences, along with farm and farmer specific characteristics, determine the variations in the levels of early stage adoption of hybrid banana varieties in Uganda with the application of factor analysis and a Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression model; (ii) analyse the effects of farmer characteristics, variety attributes and agro-ecological conditions on banana variety choice in Uganda, with the application of a multinomial logit model; and (iii) determine the consumption characteristics and sensory attributes that are most important in predicting the likelihood of consumers‟ iv purchase of hybrid banana varieties using binary logit models. The research focused on four regions of Uganda (namely, Mid-Western, Central, Western and Eastern) representing six major agro-ecological zones, including the Lake Albert crescent area, Lake Victoria crescent, Western highlands, Southern highlands, South-east and Eastern agro-ecologies where the National Banana Research Programme of the National Agricultural Research Organisation is evaluating the new hybrid banana varieties. The data were collected from 454 farmers that included participating (149) and non-participating (305) respondents, and 908 consumers that participated in farmer field days to evaluate various hybrid banana varieties from across the four regions of Uganda. The results show that, compared to Mbwazirume, four of the hybrids (M2,M9,M14 and M17) are preferred in terms of production characteristics (resistance to Sigatoka, weevils, nematodes, tolerance to poor soils, good bunch size, and sucker production) but are regarded as inferior in terms of consumption characteristics (taste, colour when cooked, and flavour). Field observations suggest that farmers‟ preferences for production attributes dominate in their variety choice decisions. The hybrid M9 is regarded as having a relatively good performance with respect to most of the production and consumption characteristics. The results suggest that land constraint, taste and regional location (central region compared with eastern region) were negatively associated with hybrid variety choice while perceptions that hybrid bananas could reduce food insecurity and enhance tolerance to pests and diseases were positively associated with probabilities of hybrid variety choice. Probabilities of choosing hybrids for food security increase in favour of M2 (by 0.06) and M9 (by 0.28), and decrease for M2 (by 0.23), M9 (by 0.07) and M14 (by 0.09) due to unfavourable taste relative to Mbwazirume. Among the consumers, the study suggests that hybrids M2 and M9 were not significantly (P>0.05) different in terms of taste, flavour, texture and colour, while differences were observed between M14 and M17 when introduced on the market. Hybrid M14 is regarded as better than M17 in terms of taste, flavour and texture. The results show that the Eastern region would pay significantly higher prices for the hybrid varieties compared to other regions of Uganda. This result could be attributed to the limited availability of cooking banana varieties in this region. The results suggest that age, education, good taste, flavour and texture were the most important factors that are likely to positively influence the purchase of most of the hybrid banana varieties.

Browse

Recent Submissions