scholarly journals Impact of Gliricidia Fertilizer Tree Technology on Smallholder Farmers Economic Livelihood in Malawi: Case of Kasungu District

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 162
Author(s):  
Wisdom Richard Mgomezulu ◽  
Abdi-Khalil Edriss ◽  
Kennedy Machila
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Unobserved Heterogeneity ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Average Treatment Effect ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Agricultural Technologies ◽  
Conduct Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Agricultural Innovations ◽  
The Impact

Agriculture plays a huge role in farmer’s livelihoods in Africa. With the adverse effect of climate change on agricultural productivity, developing agricultural technologies that are adaptive to climate change is one of the perquisites for agricultural development. Gliricidia intercropping is one of the climate smart agricultural innovations; that is being promoted by most researchers. Gliricidia intercropping has many benefits. Despite evidence of such benefits, there exists some missing literature on the impact of Gliricidia intercropping on farmer’s economic livelihoods. The study used cross sectional data collected by ICRAF in Kasungu district which sampled 406 households and employed a Propensity Score Matching method to analyze the effect of Gliricidia intercropping on smallholder farmer’s incomes. Results showed that among the observable factors used to match participants and non-participants, hired labour, age, education level, soil type, perception of soil fertility and access to extension services significantly affected participation in Gliricidia intercropping. The Average Treatment Effect on the Treated showed that Gliricidia intercropping improves the economic livelihoods of farmers by increasing household monthly income by MWK 38,565.83 ($54) at 1 percent significant level. The study went further to conduct sensitivity analysis using the Rosenbaum bounds, and found that unobserved heterogeneity has to increase the odds ratio of participating in Gliricidia intercropping by 10-60 percent before it can negate the estimated ATT. The study then recommends promoting the adoption of Gliricidia intercropping by capitalizing on the factors that influence participation or adoption of Gliricidia intercropping in order to improve smallholder farmers’ incomes and hence their livelihoods.

scholarly journals Impact of high yielding wheat varieties adoption on farm income of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-59
Author(s):  
Regasa D. Wake ◽  
Degye G. Habteyesus
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Average Treatment Effect ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Wheat Varieties ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Government ◽  
Livestock Productivity ◽  
On Farm ◽  
The Impact

The objective of this study was to assess impact of adoption of high yielding wheat varieties on farm income in Mao-Komo district of Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia. The study used cross-sectional data collected from sample of 174 farm households selected through two-stage stratified random sampling techniques. Descriptive statistics and econometric models were used to analyze the data. Propensity score matching (PSM) applied to analyze the impact of adoption on farm income. The result of the PSM estimation showed that adoption of high yielding wheat varieties has significant impact on farm income of treated households as compared to the control groups. The treated households had earned farm income of about 21452 Ethiopian Birr per year while the untreated smallholders earned farm income of only 11141 Ethiopian Birr. The average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) of farm income of adopters is greater than non-adopters that has brought about 9 % increases in farm income of smallholders. The findings suggest that the government and stakeholders should need to focus on improving farm land and livestock productivity, strengthening the provision of education, and frequency of extension visits, encouraging participation in non-farm activities, creating reliable information and awareness towards farmers’ perceptions, and improving infrastructures in the area. Finally, further support of high yielding wheat varieties adoption should be given due attention for its impact on farm income generation of smallholders. 

scholarly journals Impact of agricultural commercialization on household food security among smallholder farmers in Zhombe North Rural District, Zimbabwe

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Madududu ◽  
Willy-Marcel Ndayitwayeko ◽  
Emmanuel Mwakiwa ◽  
Jacqueline Mutambara
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Average Treatment Effect ◽  
Rural District ◽  
Household Food Security ◽  
Market Participation ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Output Market ◽  
The Impact

Agricultural commercialization is one of the proposed strategies to alleviate the problem of food insecurity in Africa. This paper contributes to the debate on the impact of agricultural commercialization on household food security by assessing the impact of agricultural commercialization on household food security. Cross-sectional data for the 2017/18 farming season was collected from 165 smallholder farmer households in Zhombe North Rural District in Zimbabwe. A propensity score matching model was used for data analysis. Crop output market participation share (COMPS) and crop input market participation share (CIMPS) were jointly used as a proxy of agricultural commercialization of a household. Findings indicated that agricultural commercialization had a positive significant average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) of 5.25 modified food consumption scores on households’ food security. The paper recommends the promotion of agricultural commercialization as a strategy to improve household food security.

Farmers level of Awareness and Adaptation Practices about Climate Change and Climate Smart Technologies

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-21
Author(s):  
Dangi Pooja Arun ◽  
Joginder Singh Malik ◽  
Neelam Kumari
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Agricultural Technologies ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Agricultural Innovations ◽  
Smart Technologies ◽  
Adaptation Practices ◽  
The Impact

The impact of climate change on agriculture is varying over space and time. The consequences highly uncertain are heterogeneous in nature. Agricultural sector must focus on adopting climate smart technologies to successfully achieve food security and climate change challenges.Climate Smart Technologies in agriculture is clearly a crucial response for an effective and equitable adaptation and mitigation strategy. To shift the focus towards climate smart agricultural technologies in India, innovation will be the key. The present study focused on level of awareness and adaptation strategies of farmers about climate change and Climate smart technologies. Farmers’ knowledge and perceptions about climate change, and adoption of climate smart technologies, will help development practitioners, researchers and policy makers to develop more promising technologies according to the needs and interests of farmers. The paper advocates various agricultural innovations including technological innovations, managerial innovations and traditional agriculture as a climate-smart approach for sustainable food production.

scholarly journals Local Institutions in Climate Change Adaptation by Smallholder Farmers: A farm level study in Homabay County, Kenya.

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-199
Author(s):  
Danice Otieno Awinda; Raphael Kapiyo; Jackson John Kitetu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Local Level ◽  
External Support ◽  
Local Institutions ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Adaptation Practices

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of local institutions in climate change adaptation by smallholder farmers in Homabay County, Kenya. The study employed cross-sectional survey design in which data was collected from smallholder farmers in one survey round. Quantitative data was collected from 398 smallholder farmers, while 48 key informant interviews and 12 focus group discussions were used to collect qualitative data to buttress information from farmers. Data was analysed using frequencies, percentages, cross-tabulations and chi-square at 0.05 significance level. The study established that local institutions and social networks had a positive influence on climate change adaptation by smallholder farmers. Local institutions and social groups enable smallholder farmers to deploy specific climate change adaptation practices. Local institutions pursue adoption of effective adaptation strategies relevant to local needs of the smallholder farmers. They also provide information on climate change adaptation options and give some external support to enable farmers cope with climate change. The study recommended the need to promote institutional partnership to enhance climate change adaptation at local level. Partnerships among local institutions are associated with area specific adaptation practices and communal pooling. The study also recommended the need to enhance the capacity of local institutions as the impacts of climate change are likely to intensify with time. Support in the form of new information and technology aimed at improving effective coping mechanisms and financial support will be necessary.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Floods Disaster on Soil Erosion Risk Based on the RUSLE-GloSEM Approach in Western Iran

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morteza Akbari ◽  
Ehsan Neamatollahi ◽  
Hadi Memarian ◽  
Mohammad Alizadeh Noughani
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Erosion Risk ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Global Soil ◽  
Major Floods ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Floods cause great damage to ecosystems and are among the main agents of soil erosion. Given the importance of soils for the functioning of ecosystems and development and improvement of bio-economic conditions, the risk and rate of soil erosion was assessed using the RUSLE model in Iran’s Lorestan province before and after a period of major floods in late 2018 and early 2019. Furthermore, soil erosion was calculated for current and future conditions based on the Global Soil Erosion Modeling Database (GloSEM). The results showed that agricultural development and land use change are the main causes of land degradation in the southern and central parts of the study area. The impact of floods was also significant since our evaluations showed that soil erosion increased from 4.12 t ha-1 yr-1 before the floods to 10.93 t ha-1 yr-1 afterwards. Field surveying using 64 ground control points determined that erodibility varies from 0.17 to 0.49% in the study area. Orchards, farms, rangelands and forests with moderate or low vegetation cover were the most vulnerable land uses to soil erosion. The GloSEM modeling results revealed that climate change is the main cause of change in the rate of soil erosion. Combined land use change-climate change simulation showed that soil erosion will increase considerably in the future under SSP1-RCP2.6, SSP2-RCP4.5, and SSP5-RCP8.5 scenarios. In the study area, both natural factors, i.e. climate change and human factors such as agricultural development, population growth, and overgrazing are the main drivers of soil erosion.

DOES HARMFUL CLIMATE INCREASE OR DECREASE MIGRATION? EVIDENCE FROM RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN NIGERIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (04) ◽  
pp. 1950013
Author(s):  
CRISTINA CATTANEO ◽  
EMANUELE MASSETTI
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptation Strategy ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Marginal Effect ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Migrant Households ◽  
The Impact

This paper analyzes whether migration is an adaptation strategy that households employ to cope with climate in Nigeria. We estimate our model using the cross-sectional variation in climate and long-term migration decisions because we are interested in the average response to long-term climatic conditions. For households that operate farms, we find that the relationship between climate and migration is nonlinear. In particular, climates closer to ideal farming conditions are associated with a higher propensity to migrate, whereas in the least favorable climatic conditions, the propensity to migrate declines. The marginal effect of rainfall and temperature changes on migration varies by season. We estimate the impact of climate change on the number of migrant households in 2031–2060 and 2071–2100, ceteris paribus. With current population levels, climate change generates between 3.6 and 6.3 million additional migrants, most of them being internal. However, these estimates are not statistically significant.

scholarly journals South African National Climate Change Response Policy Sensitization: An Assessment of Smallholder Farmers in Amathole District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwabunmi Oluwaseun Popoola ◽  
Shehu Folaranmi Gbolahan Yusuf ◽  
Nomakhaya Monde
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
South African ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Climate Change Response ◽  
Change Response ◽  
Response Policy

The South African National Climate Change Response Policy (NCCRP) was instituted in October 2011. Amongst the policy’s priorities is building capacity and resilience in the country’s agricultural sector, with the public agricultural extension system being a principal component for climate change sensitization, education, and capacity building. This study, therefore, investigated the level of the policy awareness amongst smallholder farmers in the study area and the sensitization and response implementation. A multistage sampling procedure was used in the selection of the study population, with a cross-sectional household survey conducted using semi-structured questionnaires. Findings revealed that there was an extremely low awareness of the policy, and a dearth of sensitization campaigns and capacity-building training by extension officers in the study area. The practical and policy implications outlined could aid an increase in the resilience of farmers, with support from extension advisers and other relevant stakeholders.

scholarly journals Sensitivity of Maize Yield in Smallholder Systems to Climate Scenarios in Semi-Arid Regions of West Africa: Accounting for Variability in Farm Management Practices

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bright Freduah ◽  
Dilys MacCarthy ◽  
Myriam Adam ◽  
Mouhamed Ly ◽  
Alex Ruane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Maize Yield ◽  
Climate Scenarios ◽  
Relative Standard ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Smallholder Systems

Climate change is estimated to exacerbate existing challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Sub-Sahara Africa. However, limited studies quantify the extent of variation in climate change impact under these systems at the local scale. The Decision Support System for Agro-technological Transfer (DSSAT) was used to quantify variation in climate change impacts on maize yield under current agricultural practices in semi-arid regions of Senegal (Nioro du Rip) and Ghana (Navrongo and Tamale). Multi-benchmark climate models (Mid-Century, 2040–2069 for two Representative Concentration Pathways, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), and multiple soil and management information from agronomic surveys were used as input for DSSAT. The average impact of climate scenarios on grain yield among farms ranged between −9% and −39% across sites. Substantial variation in climate response exists across farms in the same farming zone with relative standard deviations from 8% to 117% at Nioro du Rip, 13% to 64% in Navrongo and 9% to 37% in Tamale across climate models. Variations in fertilizer application, planting dates and soil types explained the variation in the impact among farms. This study provides insight into the complexities of the impact of climate scenarios on maize yield and the need for better representation of heterogeneous farming systems for optimized outcomes in adaptation and resilience planning in smallholder systems.

scholarly journals The Impact of Agricultural Technologies on Poverty and Vulnerability of Smallholders in Ethiopia: A Panel Data Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
pp. 517-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wubneshe Dessalegn Biru ◽  
Manfred Zeller ◽  
Tim K. Loos
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Unobserved Heterogeneity ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Probit Model ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Switching Regression ◽  
Agricultural Technologies ◽  
Adoption Decision ◽  
Vulnerable Households ◽  
The Impact

AbstractMany studies evaluating the impact of adoption on welfare focused on adoption of a single technology giving little attention on the complementarity/substitutability among agricultural technologies. Yet, smallholders commonly adopt several complementary technologies at a time and their adoption decision is best characterized by multivariate models. This paper, therefore, examines the impact of multiple complementary technologies adoption on consumption, poverty and vulnerability of smallholders in Ethiopia. The study used a balanced panel data obtained from a survey of 390 farm households collected in 2012, 2014 and 2016. A two stage multinomial endogenous switching regression model combined with the Mundlak approach and balanced panel data is employed to account for unobserved heterogeneity for the adoption decision and differences in household and farm characteristics. An ordered probit model is used to analyze the impact on poverty and vulnerability. We find that the adoption of improved technologies increases consumption expenditure significantly and the greatest impact is attained when farmers combine multiple complementary technologies. Similarly, the likelihood of households to remain poor or vulnerable decreased with the adoption of different complementary technologies. We therefore conclude that the adoption of multiple complementary technologies has substantial dynamic benefits that improve the welfare of smallholders in the study area, and given the observed low level of adoption rates, we suggest that much more intervention is warranted, with a special focus on poorer and vulnerable households, to ensure smallholders get support to improve their input use.

Labor income risk and households’ risky asset holdings

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Becker ◽  
Thomas Dimpfl
Keyword(s):  
Unobserved Heterogeneity ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Labor Income ◽  
Income Risk ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Financial Situation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labor Income Risk ◽  
Cross Sectional Dimension ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Financial theory suggests that with increasing labor income risk, the reluctance of households to hold stocks increases. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the determinants of a household’s decision on whether to invest in risky financial assets. Design/methodology/approach Income risk is measured as the observed variation of household income over a five-year period. The authors use both the time and the cross-sectional dimension of the German socio-economic panel to control for unobserved heterogeneity. Findings The authors find that indeed higher variation, i.e. higher income risk, reduces the propensity to invest in risky assets. However, when controlling for household heterogeneity, as well as subjective measures of a household’s financial situation (income satisfaction, worries about financial situation), the impact of observed labor income variation vanishes. It is therefore concluded that in particular the perception of investment risk and of the riskiness of the environment determines the investment decision to a great extent. Originality/value The paper contributes to a better understanding of a household’s investment decision-making process. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first to fully exploit the panel structure of the data to control for unobserved heterogeneity which leads to novel conclusions with respect to the effect of labor income.

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