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on Development |
| By: | Senne Vandevelde; Bjorn Van Campenhout; Wilberforce Walukano |
| Abstract: | Pervasive use of poor quality seed remains an important reason for low yields throughout the develop- ing world. We explore cost-eective ways to increase the quality of the local stock of seed tubers among a sample of Ugandan potato farmers. We do this by providing agricultural extension information on (i) how to select the best seed tubers and (ii) how to properly handle and store seed tubers until the next planting season. The information is conveyed in the form of engaging videos, shown to individual farmers on mobile devices. The relative eectiveness of the information interventions is tested using an individ- ually randomized controlled trial with a 2x2 factorial design. However, such interventions are prone to spillovers, and there are indications that control farmers might have learned about seed selection, storage and handling through their proximity to, or contacts with, farmers in the treatment group. Therefore, we explicitly model spillovers ex post using a randomization-based framework and use both farmers' GPS locations as well as survey data on actual interactions between treatment and control farmers to dene the social networks through which information travels. After accounting for spillovers, we nd evidence that especially the video containing information on seed selection translated into a higher awareness and adoption of recommended practices, a higher probability of using improved inputs as well as higher consumption. |
| Keywords: | Video, extension, potato, Uganda, spillovers, seed quality |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:40718&r=dev |
| By: | Paul Anand (Open University, UK); Jere R. Behrman (University of Pennsylvania, USA); Hai-Anh H. Dang (The World Bank, USA); Sam Jones (UNU-WIDER) |
| Abstract: | Inequalities in the opportunity to obtain a good education in low-income countries are widely understood to be related to household resources and schooling quality. Yet, to date, most researchers have investigated the contributions of these two factors separately. This paper considers them jointly, paying special attention to their covariation, which indicates whether schools exacerbate or compensate for existing household-based inequalities. The paper develops a new variance decomposition framework and applies it to data on more than one million children in three low-income East African countries. The empirical results show that although household factors account for a significant share of total test score variation, variation in school quality and positive sorting between households and schools are, together, no less important. The analysis also finds evidence of substantial geographical heterogeneity in schooling quality. The paper concludes that promoting equity in education in East Africa requires policies that go beyond raising average school quality and should attend to the distribution of school quality as well as assortative matching between households and schools. |
| Keywords: | inequality of opportunity, education achievement, decomposition, household, school, sorting, Africa. |
| JEL: | D6 H0 I2 O1 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2018-480&r=dev |
| By: | Costa, L.V.; Helfand, S.; Souza, A.P. |
| Abstract: | Public policies frequently are implemented simultaneously rather than in isolation. We seek to estimate the impacts and possible synergies of a rural development project (Pro-Gavi o) and the Brazilian conditional cash transfer program (Bolsa Fam lia). In partnership with the State Government of Bahia, Pro-Gavi o was an IFAD supported rural development project in 13 contiguous municipalities between 1997 and 2005. Census tract level data were extracted for the analysis from the 1995-96 and 2006 Agricultural Censuses. The evaluation uses Propensity Score Matching to construct a control group of untreated census tracts, and a difference-in-differences estimation to identify impacts. The outcomes analyzed include land productivity, agricultural income and child labor. Although Pro-Gavi o involved significant investments in the region, the results suggest little if any program impact, or synergies between the two programs. Alternative explanations for the null results are discussed. Acknowledgement : We thank the IFAD/Uniandes project on conditional cash transfers and rural development in Latin America for financial support of this research, CNPq and Capes for financial support of Costa s dissertation research, Fernanda de Alc ntara Viana who was responsible for the field work in Bahia, and IBGE for access to the Agricultural Census microdata. The views expressed are solely those of the authors. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277263&r=dev |
| By: | Hou, J.; Huo, X. |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of using computer to obtain information on the farm household s production and consumption, based on a field survey of farm households in northern China. The most important methods applied are instrumental variable (IV) method and propensity score matching (PSM). Estimators of IV, PSM and NNM(nearest neighborhood matching approaches are considered together to check the robustness of empirical results. This article carful impact evaluation results suggest that computer usages improves the size of arable land rented-in, but reduces family labor input intensity and the probability of selling agricultural outputs at farm-gate market. They also stimulated transportation, garment, housing and insurance expenditure per capita. First, we directly estimate computer usage impacts on a broader range of production and consumption indicators by including land-relative investments, variable investments, labor input and households expenditure and provide rigorous impact evaluations on the impact of access to computer. Second, we use IV method PSM method to correct self-selection bias, going beyond the single equation approach in other studies. This enables us to identify the causal relationship between computer usage and farmer s production and consumption decisions. Acknowledgement : We are grateftul to the financial support of the China agricultural research system. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276943&r=dev |
| By: | Headey, Derek D.; Palloni, Giordano |
| Abstract: | Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) investments are widely seen as essential for improving health in early childhood. However, the experimental literature on WASH interventions identifies inconsistent impacts on child health outcomes, with relatively robust impacts on diarrhea and other symptoms of infection, but weak and varying impacts on child nutrition. In contrast, observational research exploiting cross-sectional variation in water and sanitation access is much more sanguine, finding strong associations with diarrhea prevalence, mortality and stunting. In practice, both literatures suffer from significant methodological limitations. Experimental WASH evaluations are often subject to poor compliance, rural bias, and short duration of exposure, while cross-sectional observational evidence may be highly vulnerable to omitted variables bias. To overcome some of the limitations of both literatures, we construct a panel of 442 subnational regions in 59 countries with multiple Demographic Health Surveys. This large subnational panel is used to implement difference-in-difference regressions that allow us to examine whether longer term changes in water and sanitation at the subnational level predict improvements in child morbidity, mortality and nutrition. We find results that are partially consistent with both literatures. Improved water access is statistically insignificantly associated with most outcomes, although water piped into the dwelling predicts reductions in child stunting. Improvements in sanitation predict large reductions in diarrhea prevalence and child mortality, but are not associated with changes in stunting or wasting. We estimate that sanitation improvements can account for just under 10% of the decline in child mortality from 1990-2015. |
| Keywords: | public health; hygiene; children; mortality; water; child nutrition; improved water,sanitation and hygiene (WASH) |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1753&r=dev |
| By: | Kubitza, C.; Gehrke, E. |
| Abstract: | Although new production technologies are often regarded as one of the key drivers of the reduction in live birth per women, empirical evidence is scarce. This paper addresses this gap, exploring the expansion of oil palm in Indonesia. We argue that this type of technological change is rather unique, as it induces gender-specific labor savings that affect not only large-scale farms but also smallholder farmers. We use Becker s quantity-quality model to identify different causal mechanism through which the expansion of oil palm could affect fertility rates. Our identification strategy relies on an instrumental variables approach with regency-fixed effects, in which the expansion of area under oil palm at regency level is instrumented by regency-level attainable yield of oil palm interacted with the national oil palm expansion. We find consistently negative effects of the oil palm expansion on fertility. The results suggest that the negative effect is mainly explained by increasing female wages and increasing consumption expenditure. This suggests that the fertility reduction was driven by income effects of the oil palm boom at the household level, as well increased female opportunity costs of child rearing. Acknowledgement : This study was financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in the framework of the collaborative German - Indonesian research project CRC990. We thank Matin Qaim and Krisztina Kis-Katos for their comments. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276966&r=dev |
| By: | Ayalew, H. |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of land tenure security on household welfare among poor house- holds in rural Ethiopia. Using the 2005 land title certification program as a quasi- experiment, we exploit the variation in the differential timing of certification between treated and control groups. Estimated results from binary and continuous treatment effect models point out that land tenure security significantly improves the welfare of poor households in rural Ethiopia. This effect varies depending on the length of house- hold's treatment duration. Households who have longer treatment duration receive a higher average welfare gain from the program. We also decompose the welfare effects of the program into different channels. Hired labor is the main mediator through which land title certification affects household welfare. Acknowledgement : I gratefully acknowledge Henrik Hansen, Finn Tarp, Elisabeth Sadoulet, Alain de Janvry, John Rand, Edward Samuel Jones, Yonas Alem, Benedikte Bjerge, Alexandra Orsola-Vidal, Kuranda Morgan, Daley Kutzman, for their invaluable comments on earlier versions; participants of the work in progress seminar at the University of California Berkeley, University of California Santa Cruz, University of Gothenburg, University of Copenhagen, Development Economics Research Group (DERG) at the University of Copenhagen, World Bank 2016 Land and Poverty Conference, the Nordic Conference in Development Economics in Copenhagen, Center for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) conference at Oxford University for helpful suggestions and comments. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277532&r=dev |
| By: | Khamthara, P.; Zeng, D.; Stringer, R.; Yi, D. |
| Abstract: | Promoting horticultural crop adoption is a widespread development strategy in developing countries to augment agricultural households income. Other than the income effects demonstrated in previous research, horticultural farming's indirect welfare effects such as child education are less well understood. Educational investment is vital for rural development and long-term agricultural productivity. This study analyzes how horticultural farming affects agricultural household education investment, using cross-sectional data of Indonesian Family Life Survey covering seven provinces in Eastern Indonesia (IFLS East). The multiple outcome variables include education spending, number of hours spent in school, and grade repetition. The possible endogeneity of horticultural farming is carefully addressed through instrumental variables estimation. The overall result indicates a positive impact of horticultural farming on child education spending for primary school children in both genders. We also found negative effects of staple crop farming on education spending and number of hours spent in school. This research contributes to existing empirical research in horticultural development, demonstrating horticultural crop adoption would not only increase household income but also household education investment. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277192&r=dev |
| By: | Mwololo, H.; Nzuma, J.; Ritho, C. |
| Abstract: | Farm diversification is a common coping strategy among smallholder farmers, especially in the developing countries. As a result, understanding the determinants of farm diversity is paramount. Access to extension has been found to be an important determinant of farm diversity through the technology adoption pathway. Despite farmers access to several extension services, no evidence exists on the effect of different extension services on farm diversity. This study evaluates the effect of extension services on farm diversity in Kenya. It uses a truncated Poisson model on a sample of 743 households who were selected using a multi stage sampling technique. The findings show that there are significant differences between the least and the most diversified farms. Furthermore, access to government, private and NGO extension services, alongside farmer demographic characteristics, increases farm diversity. This study therefore recommends for hiring, training and facilitating extension officers. In addition, the different extension services should be used as compliments and targeted to where their impact is highest. Acknowledgement : This research was financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) based on the decision of the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany (grant number 2813FSNu01). |
| Keywords: | Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277357&r=dev |
| By: | Bahta, Y.; Owusu-Sekyeer, E. |
| Abstract: | The paper evaluates the impact of homestead food garden programme and land redistribution policies on the income of vegetable farmers in South Africa, using data collected from 500 vegetable-producing households. Endogenous switching regression and propensity score matching approaches were employed in our analysis. Our findings demonstrate that the participation in a homestead food garden programme can significantly enhance the welfare of participants by increasing their gross margins by 5.21%. We further show that the land redistribution policy by the South African government appears to have a significant impact on vegetable production and gross margins of vegetable farmers. We found that vegetable farmers who own more than 1 hectare of farmland through the land redistribution policy perform better in terms of gross margins, relative to those who own less than 1 hectare by 9.28% gross margin. The policy implication of our findings is that the distribution of farmland under the agriculture and land reform policy should be accompanied with food policy interventions, such as the homestead food garden programme, and also that the willingness of people to participate in farming should be paramount to the land redistribution policy. Acknowledgement : We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the southern African systems analysis centre, the national research foundation and the department pf science and technology in South Africa as well as the international institute of applied system analysis in Austria. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277732&r=dev |
| By: | Gabriella Conti; Rita Ginja, Renata Narita |
| Abstract: | Do households value access to free health insurance when making labor supply decisions? We answer this question using the introduction of universal health insurance in Mexico, the Seguro Popular (SP), in 2002. The SP targeted individuals not covered by Social Security and broke the link between access to health care and job contract. We start by using the rollout of SP across municipalities in a differences-indifferences approach, and find an increase in informality of 4% among low-educated families with children. We then develop and estimate a household search model that incorporates the pre-reform valuation of formal sector amenities relative to the alternatives (informal sector and non-employment) and the value of SP. The estimated value of the health insurance coverage provided by SP is below the government’s cost of the program, and the corresponding utility gain is, at most, 0.56 per each peso spent. |
| Keywords: | Search; Household behavior; Health insurance; Informality; Unemployment |
| JEL: | J64 D10 I13 |
| Date: | 2018–11–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2018wpecon18&r=dev |
| By: | Adela, F.A.; Aurbacher, J. |
| Abstract: | The lack of consensus on the role of the agricultural sector in poverty reduction and pitfalls in impact study methodologies resulted in mixed findings on impact of irrigation. This study explores factors that determine farmer s decision to irrigate and whether access to irrigation water enhances livelihood of the farmers. Cross-sectional data from a survey of 240 smallholder farmers in Wondo Genet, Ethiopia was used for the analysis. Foster-Greer-Thorbecke indices indicated high poverty level among farmers without access to irrigation. Further analysis was undertaken using an endogenous switching regression (ESR) model. The correlation coefficient results proved the existence self-selection and endogeneity. Accordingly, variables like scheme governance, level of water scarcity, and access to network found to be some of variables that significantly affected the farmers decision to irrigate. Model estimates further indicated that access to irrigation resulted in better life conditions when compared to counterfactual situation. Farm income of the households has increased by 107% and 171% for irrigation users and non-users, respectively. Similarly, per adult equivalent consumption expenditure has shown increase by 26% and 57% for irrigation users and non-users. Key Words: Agriculture, Irrigation, smallholder, Wondo Genet, Ethiopia, Endogenous Switching Regression, poverty, Farm income, Consumption Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277521&r=dev |
| By: | Bonjean, I. |
| Abstract: | In conditions of poor soil fertility and increasing importance of global value chain, agricultural extension projects have been one of the main channel to increase farmer's production and income. In this literature, prices received by farmers for agricultural goods are usually assumed to be homogeneous. We dispute this over-simplification: prices and production levels in developing countries are often jointly determined. The analysis relies on a successful extension program in the Peruvian highlands, where the main income source is the dairy sector characterized by a highly segmented market. We propose a simple theoretical model to explore how the discontinuity in price induces non-linear return to investment and diverging incentives. The econometric analysis confirms the model's propositions: producers that were not included in the formal market at baseline, but close to it, have more intensively innovated. This investment leads to a higher price increase than other producers. The effects are shown to resist to falsification tests, mechanisms are discussed and positive externalities are found within communities. Hence we show that innovation in the context of a segmented market leads to heterogeneous impacts and non-trivial income effects. Contrarily to the expected disequalizing effects of innovation adoption, it induces scope for unexpected social mobility. Acknowledgement : We thank Jean-Philippe Platteau, Catherine Guirkinger, Jean-Marie Baland, Franc{c}ois Bourguignon, Michael Grimm, Jo Swinnen, James Fenske and Douglas Gollin for very helpful comments and suggestions |
| Keywords: | Marketing |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277257&r=dev |
| By: | Gabrielle Wills (Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University); Heleen Hofmeyr (Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University) |
| Abstract: | Poverty is considered a risk factor that jeopardizes children’s academic performance. However, even in high-poverty contexts there are students who manage to achieve consistently good academic results. This paper uses a resilience framework to identify and describe the characteristics of students from South African rural and township primary schools who perform above demographic expectations in reading comprehension. We use a rich longitudinal dataset of over 2600 Grade 6 students that contains information on institutional and individual protective factors, including students’ socio-emotional skills (perseverance, aspirations, and attitudes toward school). The longitudinal dimension of the data provides a unique opportunity to not only identify consistently higher achievers, but also students whose literacy skills improved significantly more than their peers during a school year. After accounting for differences in socio-economic status and other home background factors such as English language exposure, we find that resilient students differ significantly from their lower-achieving peers along various dimensions. Students’ socio-emotional skills emerge as particularly strong correlates of academic resilience. Although individual-level protective factors appear to be the strongest determinants of academic resilience, classroom factors such time-on-task and the availability of texts also play an important role. These findings add to our understanding of factors associated with academic success in challenging contexts. |
| Keywords: | Student achievement; Exceptional performance; Literacy; South Africa |
| JEL: | J20 J24 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers311&r=dev |
| By: | Tiberti, M.; Zezza, A.; Azzarri, C. |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between livestock ownership and child nutrition in Uganda by using a panel household survey. The analysis focuses on linear growth, as growth in height/length reveals the cumulative nutritional status of a child up to his current age. Three linear growth measures are assessed: besides the standard height-for-age z-scores, we analyse the height-for-age differences, more appropriate for a dynamic evaluation of the growth trend across ages, and growth velocity, that is usually used in clinical studies, but less frequently available in large socio-economic datasets in low-income countries. The results presented do point to a positive effect of livestock ownership on child nutrition, with different effects according to child age and animal species. Large ruminants seem to affect relatively more nutrition of older children, while small ruminants attenuate child growth faltering as they are more associated to the initial height trajectory, while poultry has a positive effect on growth, which is usually considered as a more responsive measure of child nutrition. Finally, the role of livestock ownership in sustaining linear growth seems to be crucial when households living in remote areas have a limited access to purchased foods and livestock becomes the only source of certain nutrients. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277403&r=dev |
| By: | Pahlisch, Thi Hoa; Parvathi, Priyanka; Waibel, Hermann |
| Abstract: | Success in reducing monetary poverty in Southeast Asia has not fully translated into reduction in malnutrition. Using a two-year panel data from one province each in Thailand, Lao PDR and Vietnam, we study the correlation between monetary poverty and nutritional outcomes of children under five. Furthermore, we compare nutritional outcomes of children below five between rural and peri-urban areas. We apply ordinary least squares and district fixed-effects regressions and find that child nutrition remains a problem in rural areas across Southeast Asia despite achievements in poverty alleviation. Results reveal that although the households in the poorest quintile in both rural and peri-urban areas spend less on food; only the rural children are more likely to be stunted or underweight. It underscores the importance of investment in medical facilities near rural vicinities. |
| Keywords: | Poverty, Child malnutrition, Peri-urban, Rural, Fixed-effects, Southeast Asia |
| JEL: | O1 O18 I3 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tvs:wpaper:wp-012&r=dev |
| By: | Hoffmann, Vivian; Jones, Kelly M. |
| Abstract: | Evidence continues to mount that foodborne illness imposes a staggering health burden in developing countries. However, standard approaches used by developed country governments to ensure food safety are not appropriate in settings where regulatory enforcement capacity is weak and most firms are small and informal. Thus, interventions to improve food safety in developing countries must take into account the constraints and incentives faced by producers in these countries. In this paper, we test the impact of two such interventions: subsidies for technologies that improve food safety and price premiums for safer produce. We examine the case of on-farm control of aflatoxin, a carcinogenic toxin linked to child stunting that is produced by a fungus commonly found on maize and groundnut. We show that compared to Kenyan farmers who produce maize only for their family’s own consumption, Kenyan farmers who produce maize for sale are less likely to undertake post-harvest practices that increase the unobservable quality of aflatoxin safety. Employing randomized discount vouchers, we find that willingness to pay for a new post-harvest technology to prevent aflatoxin contamination is significantly lower among market producers than subsistence farmers. However, we find that take-up of the technology among market producers increases when they have the opportunity to sell aflatoxin-safe maize at a premium a few months after harvest. Using take-up rates from the experiment, we model the impacts of public subsidies and market incentives for aflatoxin control. We find that subsidization of aflatoxin control technologies is a cost-effective strategy for reducing liver cancer and possibly also for reducing stunting in children. The most cost-effective technologies considered are widely adopted by both subsistence and market producers, implying little additional impact of a price premium on food safety. |
| Keywords: | KENYA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA ; food safety; cost effectiveness analysis; subsidies; aflatoxins; innovation adoption; postharvest losses; smallholders; agricultural policies; postharvest technology; health |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1746&r=dev |
| By: | Magrini, E.; Del Prete, D.; Ghins, L.; Pauw, K. |
| Abstract: | Since 2007 the Rwandan government has pursued a large-scale Crop Intensification Program entailing land consolidation and a regionalized approach to crop production support. As agricultural development is generally associated with improved food and nutrition security outcomes, the Rwandan development strategy has supported the increased crop specialization by smallholders with the assumption that as incomes improve, households could increasingly rely on markets for maintaining diverse and nutritious diets. Despite its scale, no detailed assessment of the causal relationship between land consolidation under CIP and food and nutrition security outcomes has been carried out. Using recent household survey data and a propensity score matching difference-in-difference method, we find that participation in land consolidation activities had an ambiguous effect. On the one hand it positively impacted on consumption of roots and tubers, while on the other, had negative effect on meat, fish and fruits consumption and potential availability of vitamin B12 in participants diets. The share of consolidated land, the emphasis on cultivating only certain priority crops, and market access are identified as important explanatory factors . This calls for a review of CIP implementation practices so that its capacity to achieve broad food and nutrition security objectives is further improved. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277127&r=dev |
| By: | Tabe-Ojong, M.P.J.; Mausch, K.; Woldeyohanes, T.; Heckelei, T. |
| Abstract: | Enhancing agricultural productivity through the adoption of proven technologies presents a credible pathway to economic development and poverty reduction. The adoption of improved chickpea varieties in Ethiopia has the potential to contribute not only to food security but also to economic development as well as poverty reduction among the poor. We analyze the impacts of improved chickpea adoption on smallholder production and commercialization employing a triple hurdle (TH) model on a panel data of three rounds (2008, 2010, 2014), drawn from 614 households in potential chickpea areas in Ethiopia. The correlated random effect model coupled with the control function approach for non-linear panel models was employed to address heterogeneity and endogeneity. The adoption of improved chickpea varieties shows a significant positive effect on the commercialization of chickpea. This study therefore affirms the importance of improved chickpea varieties for commercialization and additionally provides support for policies targeting poverty alleviation in rural areas through targeting more novel farm technologies, improving extension services and increasing access to land especially by the young. Acknowledgement : The first and second author would like to thank the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and GIZ/BEAF for the financial support provided for this study. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277287&r=dev |
| By: | Manda, J.; Gardebroek, C.; Kuntashula, E.; Alene, A.D. |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the impact of improved maize varieties on household food security in eastern Zambia using household survey data from a sample of over 800 rural households. Since treatment effect estimates are often prone to misspecification in either the treatment or outcome equation, we use the doubly robust inverse probability weighted regression adjustment method, complemented with propensity score matching on six different food security measures to obtain reliable impact estimates. Generally, we find a positive impact of improved maize adoption on food security across the two econometric approaches. Maize, being the most important food staple in Zambia has a great bearing on the food security status of farm households. It is therefore imperative that a conducive environment is created that promotes the adoption of maize yield improving technologies Acknowledgement : The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from USAID/Zambia. The household survey was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Zambia and the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI). We thank Bernadette Chimai of the University of Zambia who ably supervised the data collection process. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277004&r=dev |
| By: | Hoffmann, W.; Chanza, S. |
| Abstract: | Most Malawians directly depend on cereal production. Smallholder farmers in central Malawi are affected by declining soil fertility, especially because of Nitrogen depletion, due to crop harvest removals, soil erosion and leaching. The consequence is declining productivity and food insecurity. Legume intercropping is promoted in the tropics to replenish soil fertility. The importance of legumes include: the potential to improve soil fertility, improve nutrition to humans and income source for the smallholder farmers. This study evaluate the financial implications on smallholder farmers regarding the implementation of BNF (Biological Nitrogen Fixation) and inoculant technologies in current production systems. It focused on specific districts in Malawi: Ntcheu, Dedza, Mchinji, Salima and Kasungu. Gross margins increased for all the crops and all the districts after the adoption of the legume technologies. Intercropping system helps the farmers minimize risk against total crop failure and maximize cultivation per area. This lessens the challenges of small farms to some extent. The results indicate that farmers benefit financially from legume technologies. The gain from the inclusion of legume technology is, however, indicative of the low yield levels before the adoption. The legume technologies can contribute to productive and sustainable agricultural systems for the smallholder farmers in Malawi. Acknowledgement : We would like to acknowledge the Kellogs Foundation for financial support and the N2Africa project for information shared. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277337&r=dev |
| By: | Chen, Y.; Chen, K.; Zhong, F. |
| Abstract: | Individual farmers have been entitled to lease farmland in China since 2003. During the same period, China has undergone a rapid urbanization, causing farmers to leave their lands. In 2004, the government introduced farm subsidies nationwide to encourage farming. This paper represents the very first attempt to examine the impact of farm subsidies on farmland cash rents in China. We construct a farmland rental model to account for imperfect competitions due to insecure property rights. This model is estimated using information from 5,041 households in China over the 2004-2013 period. Estimation results show that farm subsidies have a positive and statistically significant impact on farmland rents. The incidence of farm subsidies on farmland rents is estimated to be 0.45, which suggests that farmland tenants capture 55 percent of the subsidy, leaving 45 percent for landlords. This implies that farm subsidy policies exhibit substantial distributional effects. In addition, urbanization and market returns are also found to have a positive relationship with farmland rents, which is consistent with previous literature. Acknowledgement : Financial support of the NSFC (National Natural Science Foundation of China)-CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) Program is gratefully acknowledged. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277513&r=dev |
| By: | Bathla, S.; Kumar, A. |
| Abstract: | Growing inter- and intra-state income inequalities have been at the centre stage of policy discourse in India. A disaggregated analysis of income inequalities among agricultural households and the associated factors can be useful in deliberating the role of public policies toward inclusive growth and welfare. This paper estimates income inequality among agricultural households and identifies the factors that contribute to it by using a farm-level data from nationally representative survey conducted in 2003 and 2013. The results show that households income from crop and animal farming has doubled and that from wage and non-farm activities has increased by 1.3 times over the decade. The inequalities have not widened much but the Gini indices are drastically high in each state, irrespective of land size. The regression based inequality decomposition approach shows land, non-farm income and farm assets as major contributors to inequality with varying magnitude in each state. The contribution of these at all India is estimated at 25.8, 28.6 and 14.3 percent respectively. The findings suggest accelerating public investment and bringing equality in access to land, technology and credit for higher private investment and productivity. The real challenge in mitigating income gaps is to improve the viability of holdings that are increasingly getting fragmented. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277329&r=dev |
| By: | Njangang, Henri |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the understanding of the other neglected effects of financial development by investigating the relationship between financial development and the size of the informal economy using an unbalanced panel data of 41 Sub Saharan African countries over the period 1991-2015. Empirical evidence is based on Ordinary Least Squared, Fixed effects and system Generalized Method of moment. The results show that financial development measured by broad money and domestic credit to private sector have a negative and statistically significant effect on the informal economy. This clearly suggests that financial development reduces the size of the informal economy. |
| Keywords: | Financial development, the informal economy, panel data, SSA |
| JEL: | G20 O17 O55 |
| Date: | 2018–11–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:89851&r=dev |
| By: | Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| Abstract: | This study was conducted to understand the evolution of agricultural mechanization in Nepal, specifically its determinants on both the demand and supply sides, as well as impacts on agricultural production and associations with broader economic transformation processes, in order to draw lessons that can be conveyed to other less mechanized countries. Mechanization levels in Nepal, a largely agricultural country, were relatively low until a few decades ago. However, significant mechanization growth, including the adoption of tractors, has occurred since the 1990s, against a backdrop of rising rural wages, particularly for plowing, combined with growing emigration and growth in key staple crop yields and overall broad agricultural production growth, as well as improved market access and participation. This growth in mechanization has taken place despite the general absence of direct government support or promotion. The growth of tractor use in the plains of the Terai zone has transformed agricultural production rather than inducing labor movement out of agriculture, raising overall returns to scale in intensification and enabling the cultivation of greater areas by medium smallholders than by resource-poor smallholders. Tractors have also facilitated the intensification of crop production per unit of land among very small farmers, enabling mechanization growth despite the continued decline in farm size, although these farmers may not have benefited as much as medium smallholders. Potential future research areas with policy relevance include mitigating accessibility constraints to tractor custom hiring services, identifying appropriate regulatory policies for mechanization, and providing complementary support to some smallholders who may not fully benefit from tractor adoption alone. |
| Keywords: | NEPAL; SOUTH ASIA; ASIA; tractors; combine harvesters; mechanization; evolution of agricultural mechanization |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1662&r=dev |
| By: | Kirui, O. |
| Abstract: | It is widely recognized that human capital and skill development are significant determinants that could positively affect farmers performance and their disposition to adopt innovations. General education as well as specific agricultural education and training is argued as vital to overcoming development challenges in rural areas. More than 70 per cent of the people in Africa live in rural areas and depend on smallholder agriculture for food and livelihood. Yet majority of them are poor, illiterate and are faced with precarious food and nutrition insecurity. This study seeks to not only assess the impact of post-secondary education on economic outcomes (consumption expenditure and poverty), but also asses the returns to and distributional effects of post-secondary education among rural farmers in four countries (Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania). While using novel nationally representative panel data and a variety of estimation techniques, results are rather robust and indicate that post-secondary education significantly increases consumption expenditure by 12.5% in Tanzania and 27.6% in Ethiopia. Results further show that post-secondary education significantly reduces poverty by 42.5% in Malawi and 47.5% in Nigeria. Our findings are of policy relevance to most SSA countries currently grappling with rising urbanization, high youth unemployment, and acute skills shortage. Acknowledgement : Financial assistance by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) throught the Program of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation (PARI) is highly appreciated. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277068&r=dev |
| By: | Nin-Pratt, Alejandro |
| Abstract: | Between 2001 and 2012, Latin America and the Caribbean’s (LAC) agriculture saw its best performance of the last 30 years. What were the implications of this growth for family agriculture (FA) in the region? This study contributes to answer this question by looking at the case of Paraguay, a country with one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors in the region during this period. At the center of the development challenges faced by this country is the debate on the role of family agriculture and smallholders in a future growth strategy. Between 1991 and 2008 the number of family workers in agriculture decreased significantly, while the total area of FA crops decreased to only 48 percent of its level in 1991. As some authors argued in the past, the 2000s represent a turning point for FA development in Paraguay, given that until 2002, the total area of farms of less than 20 hectares was still increasing, a trend that reversed after this year. Are these changes, part of a process of impoverishment of the rural population resulting from displacement of FA by the commercial sector as is normally assumed in previous studies? Evidence from this study shows that rural poverty decreased almost by half between 2003 and 2015; that the reduction of output of crops traditionally produced by FA was not the result of competition with the commercial sector, but mostly a consequence of the collapse of cotton production, a failure of a government program for FA; and that in regions with high proportion of FA, commercial crop production expanded by displacing inefficient extensive livestock farmers and not FA agriculture. We conclude that the situation of FA in Paraguay is much more diverse and complex than the simple claims of decomposition and disappearance as the result of the expansion of capitalist farmers. In this context, there are options for the government to promote the development of FA with the goal of increasing employment opportunities in rural areas while achieving a much-needed diversification of agricultural production and exports. |
| Keywords: | PARAGUAY; LATIN AMERICA; SOUTH AMERICA ; agriculture; efficiency; family farms; productivity; diversification |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1747&r=dev |
| By: | Nicolli, F.; Acosta, A.; Karfakis, P. |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new empirical evidence on climate change adaptation using a dataset that covers 19 countries from four continents. More specifically, we focus on the role of livestock as ex-ante risk management strategy and self-insurance coping-strategy against climatic shocks. There are at least two channels through which livestock can play this role. From the one hand, it can be viewed as a form of ex-ante precautionary savings, which can be liquidated ex-post to smooth consumption, if needed. From the other hand, livestock and livestock diversification can increase resilience, i.e. the household capacity of recovering from external shocks. Given these premise, our study merge together several longitudinal surveys (n=223,372) with Standardised Precipitation-Evapotranspiration index data, our proxy of climatic shocks, in order to study the interlinkage among livestock, household welfare and resilience. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first cross-country analysis in this field of literature. Our results show, among other things, that: firstly, livestock has a significant contribution to household welfare and resilience in most of the samples considered in the analysis; secondly, climatic crises tend to be regressive, and poorer households are generally more affected; thirdly, country specificity matters. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277482&r=dev |
| By: | Uchenna R. Efobi (Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria); Simplice A. Asongu (Yaoundé, Cameroon); Ibukun Beecroft (Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of foreign aid in the terrorism-FDI nexus while considering the extent of domestic corruption-control (CC). The empirical evidence is based on a sample of 78 developing countries. The following findings are established: the negative effect of terrorism on FDI is apparent only in countries with higher levels of CC; foreign aid dampens the negative effect of terrorism on FDI only in countries with high levels of CC. The result is mixed when foreign aid is subdivided into its bilateral and multilateral components. Our findings are in accordance with the stance that bilateral aid is effective in reducing the adverse effect of terrorism on FDI. Multilateral aid also decreases the adverse effect of other forms of terrorism that can neither be classified as domestic nor as transnational. Policy implications are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Conflict; Developing countries; Foreign investment; Foreign aid; Terrorism |
| JEL: | D74 F21 F35 |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:18/049&r=dev |
| By: | Takeshima, Hiroyuki |
| Abstract: | Using farm household data from northern Nigeria as well as various spatial agroclimatic data, this study shows that the adoption of key mechanical technologies in Nigerian agriculture (animal traction, tractors, or both) has been high in areas that are more agroclimatically similar to the locations of agricultural research and development (R&D) stations, and this effect is heterogeneous, being particularly strong among relatively larger farms. Furthermore, such effects are likely to have been driven by the rise in returns on scale in the underlying production function caused by the adoption of these mechanical technologies. Agricultural mechanization, represented here as the switch from manual labor to animal traction and tractors, has been not only raising the average return on scale but also potentially magnifying the effects of productivity-enhancing public-sector R&D on spatial variations in agricultural productivity in countries like Nigeria. |
| Keywords: | NIGERIA; WEST AFRICA ; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; agricultural mechanization; agroclimatic zones; agricultural productivity; innovation adoption; animal power; tractors; farm size; agroclimatic similarity; returns on scale; inverse probability weighting |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1692&r=dev |
| By: | Singha, C. |
| Abstract: | The study assess the key determinants of the decision to adopt soil conservation in Teesta River Watershed, in Darjeeling District in the Eastern Himalayas. In this watershed, there have been soil conservation both by the individual farmers on their own farm and by the government at the sub-watershed level. We collected data through a primary survey conducted during 2013. This study explicitly accounts for possible neighbourhood effects in influencing adoption. This is captured both by identifying adoption practices among farmers who are immediately upstream, and using spatial econometrics that incorporate the spatial distance between neighboring farms. We use Bayesian formulation of a standard probit model in conjunction with Markov Chain Monte Carlo to estimate the model. The findings suggest positive evidence of neighbourhood impact on farmers in adoption decisions. We also examine if adoption decisions differ between farmers residing in treated and untreated sub-watershed and conclude that they do not. Acknowledgement : I thank the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) for supporting the study financially. This study is part of my PhD dissertation at Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics. I extend my warm gratitude to J V Meenakshi and M N Murty for their supervision, suggestions and encouragements throughout the study. Thanks are also due to K L Krishna, Sanjeev Sharma, Raushan Kumar, Aditi Singhal, Divya Gupta, Bipasha Choudhury, Koushik Singha, Tamash Ranjan Majumdar and Sameer Lama |
| Keywords: | Farm Management |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277549&r=dev |
| By: | Shiferaw, K.; Gebremedhin, B.; Tegegne, A.; Hoekstra, D. |
| Abstract: | This paper uses two triple-hurdle models to analyse the determinants of Ethiopian rural households decisions in (1) milk production, butter marketing and volume of butter sales; and (2) milk production, purchased input use and intensity of purchased input use. Results are based on data collected from 5000 households and 497 rural communities in the highlands of Ethiopia. Availability of feed stands out as an important factor influencing household decision to engage in milk production, indicating the dire need to develop feed resources to promote dairy production in rural Ethiopia. Milk production in rural Ethiopia seems to have an interesting and complex gender dimension. While female-headed households are less likely to be engaged in milk production, perhaps because of resource limitations, they are more likely to manage their dairy farms intensively. Marketing costs matter in dairy production and marketing in rural Ethiopia, suggesting for the need to develop market infrastructures for both dairy outputs and inputs. Our results further show that participation in butter markets as sellers or the amount of butter sales do not respond to price signals, suggesting the need to understand the behavioural aspect of dairy marketing decision in rural Ethiopia. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277104&r=dev |
| By: | Ambler, Kate; Jones, Kelly M.; O'Sullivan, Michael |
| Abstract: | Programs that seek to increase women’s participation in marketing activities related to the principal household economic activity must involve men if they are to be successful. In this paper we analyze take-up of a project that sought to increase women’s involvement in sugarcane marketing and sales by encouraging the registration of a sugarcane block contract in the wife’s name. We find that men who are more educated and live in households with higher wealth and expenditures are more likely to agree to the registration. Households with more cane blocks and in which the wife is already more involved in cane activities are also more likely to participate. Overall, take-up is high at 70%, and remains high even in those groups that are less likely to take-up. Additionally, we find that blocks transferred to women are not of lower quality or value than those kept by men, though they are smaller and closer to the home. These results suggest that simple encouragement can be an effective tool to nudge men to include their wives in household commercial activities. |
| Keywords: | UGANDA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; women's participation; women; sugarcane; cash crops; gender; contract farming |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1762&r=dev |
| By: | Njue, E.; Kirimi, L.; Mathenge, M. |
| Abstract: | In spite of agriculture being an important source of income growth and a potential source of investment opportunities in Kenya, farmers face numerous production risks including climate change and variability. While literature suggests that crop insurance has the potential to unlock key services that enhance farm productivity, crop insurance uptake evidence is limited, hence, this study sought to inform on ways of making crop insurance work for the smallholder producers. Data was collected from 400 maize-producing households in areas where weather index-based insurance had been promoted. Results show that uptake of crop insurance is very low and declining and, the insurance concept is also not well understood by farmers. In addition, basis risk hinders uptake of crop insurance since farmers exhibited high levels of dissatisfaction with claim payments. Furthermore, awareness and training on crop insurance, density of automated weather stations and ownership of savings account are integral factors in enhancing its uptake. Our findings therefore highlight the need to educate farmers on the principles of crop insurance and different products that exist. Similarly, designing of crop insurance products and selection of target crop enterprises should involve all stakeholders to enhance uptake. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277023&r=dev |