Arega D. Alene

Adoption and Impacts of Sustainable Agricultural Practices on Maize Yields and Incomes: Evidence from Rural Zambia

This paper uses a multinomial endogenous treatment effects model and data from a sample of over 800 households and 3,000 plots to assess the determinants and impacts of adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) on maize yields and household incomes in rural Zambia. Results show that adoption decisions are driven by household and plot level characteristics and that the adoption of a combination of SAPs raises both maize yields and incomes of smallholder farmers. Adoption of improved maize alone has greater impacts on maize yields, but given the high cost of inorganic fertiliser that limits the profitability of adoption of improved maize, greater household incomes are associated rather with a package involving SAPs such as maize–legume rotation and residue retention.

Awareness and adoption of improved cassava varieties and processing technologies in Nigeria

Development of high yielding and disease resistant cassava varieties, coupled with the promotion of efficient processing technologies, was the principal intervention aimed at changing the cassava subsector in Nigeria. National research and extension programs in Nigeria and IITA have been spearheading efforts to disseminate these varieties alongside improving farmer’s access to processing machineries. Several Research-for-Development (R4D) projects were implemented to this effect between early 1980 to date. This paper investigated the effects of improved cassava varieties and processing technologies on adopting households. It also attempts to test and establish the link between adoption of improved cassava varieties and access to processing technologies. The data used in this paper come from a sample household survey of 952 households conducted in four regions of Nigeria. The results showed that in all the study sites farmers grow mixture of improved and local cassava varieties. They process cassava at home using small processing machines and also using services of commercial processors. The most common processed cassava products were found to be garri and fufu. Adopters of improved cassava varieties have higher cassava yield of 16 tons/ha compared to 11 ton/ha for non-adopters. There was also significant yield variation between villages that participated (15 tons/ha) in research for development (R4D) training and those which did not (13 tons/ha). The bivariate probit model estimates showed a strong relationship between adoption of improved cassava varieties and farmers’ access to grating machines. Moreover, farmers that were members of either community organizations or cooperative organizations had a higher tendency of using improved varieties than others, suggesting that the introduction of new cassava varieties would be enhanced by farmers’ access to processing facilities and services. Moreover, training of farmers and processors through R4D programs has led to increased use of improved technologies.

Impacts of extension access and cooperative membership on technology adoption and household welfare

This paper examines the impacts of access to extension services and cooperative membership on technology adoption, asset ownership and poverty using household-level data from rural Nigeria. Using different matching techniques and endogenous switching regression approach, we find that both extension access and cooperative membership have a positive and statistically significant effect on technology adoption and household welfare. Moreover, we find that both extension access and cooperative membership have heterogeneous impacts. In particular, we find evidence of a positive selection as the average treatment effects of extension access and cooperative membership are higher for farmers with the highest propensity to access extension and cooperative services. The impact of extension services on poverty reduction and of cooperatives on technology adoption is significantly stronger for smallholders with access to formal credit than for those without access. This implies that expanding rural financial markets can maximize the potential positive impacts of extension and cooperative services on farmers’ productivity and welfare.

Measuring the impacts of adaptation strategies to drought stress: the case of drought tolerant maize varieties

This study measured the impacts of drought tolerant maize varieties (DTMVs) on productivity, welfare, and risk exposure using household and plot-level data from rural Nigeria. The study employed an endogenous switching regression approach to control for both observed and unobserved sources of heterogeneity between adopters and non-adopters. Our results showed that adoption of DTMVs increased maize yields by 13.3% and reduced the level of variance by 53% and downside risk exposure by 81% among adopters. This suggests that adoption had a “win-win” outcome by increasing maize yields and reducing exposure to drought risk. The gains in productivity and risk reduction due to adoption led to a reduction of 12.9% in the incidence of poverty and of 83.8% in the probability of food scarcity among adopters. The paper concluded that adoption of DTMVs was not just a simple coping strategy against drought but also a productivity enhancing and welfare improving strategy. The results point to the need for policies and programs aimed at enhancing adoption as an adaptation strategy to drought stress in Nigeria and beyond.

Productivity and Welfare Effects of Nigeria's e-Voucher-Based Input Subsidy Program

Highlights • The productivity and welfare effects of an e-voucher subsidy program are evaluated.• Instrumental variable regression employed to control for endogeneity.• The program is effective in improving productivity and welfare outcomes.• No heterogeneity effects based on gender and farm land size.• The program has a modest benefit–cost ratio.

Determinants of child nutritional status in the eastern province of Zambia: the role of improved maize varieties

Using household survey data from a sample of 810 households, this paper analyses the determinants of children’s nutritional status and evaluates the impacts of improved maize varieties on child malnutrition in eastern Zambia. The paper uses an endogenous switching regression technique, combined with propensity score matching, to assess the determinants of child malnutrition and impacts of improved maize varieties on nutritional status. The study finds that child nutrition worsens with the age of the child and improves with education of household head and female household members, number of adult females in the household, and access to better sanitation. The study also finds a robust and significant impact of improved maize varieties on child malnutrition. The empirical results indicate that adoption of improved maize varieties reduces the probability of stunting by an average of about 26 %.

Adoption and impacts of sustainable intensification practices in Ghana

ABSTRACT Sustainable agricultural intensification requires the use of multiple agricultural technologies in an integrated manner to enhance productivity while conserving the natural resource base. This study analyses the adoption and impacts of sustainable intensification practices (SIPs) using a dataset from Ghana. A multivariate probit (MVP) model was estimated to assess the adoption of multiple SIPs. Moreover, we used a multivalued semi-parametric treatment effect (MVTE) model to estimate the effects of adopting multiple SIPs on maize productivity. The MVP model results show, among others, that access to market, capital, and information/knowledge would enhance the adoption of SIPs. The MVTE model results show that a higher number of SIPs is associated with higher productivity which is more visible when commercial inputs are used in combination with cultural practices. These results have the following policy implications. First, they imply that good rural infrastructure and agricultural services such as rural road network, village-level input delivery system, input credit, and multiple information/knowledge sharing approach (instead of the conventional singular formal information/knowledge sharing approach) can enhance adoption. Second, the results suggest that promoting an integrated use of technologies, instead of a single technology, would have a positive impact on farm productivity and farm household income.

Impact of agricultural technology adoption on asset ownership: the case of improved cassava varieties in Nigeria

Using household survey data from a sample of about 850 households selected from six States in south-west Nigeria, this paper analyses the effects of the adoption of improved cassava varieties (ICVs) on asset ownership among smallholder farmers. The results of the linear regression with endogenous treatment effects showed that adoption of ICVs is positively related to asset ownership. The results further showed that ICVs had greater impact on asset ownership among female-headed households. The impact analysis using propensity score matching (PSM) showed a significant and positive effect of adoption of ICVs on asset ownership and a negative effect on asset poverty. The empirical results suggest that improved agricultural technologies can play a key role in strengthening asset ownership of smallholder farmers for increased agricultural productivity and income generation.

Assessing the extent and determinants of adoption of improved cassava varieties in south-western Nigeria

This paper investigates the determinants of adoption of improved cassava varieties in southwestern Nigeria. The data come from a farm household survey of 841 households selected using a three-stage stratified random sampling procedure. The data collection was conducted in 2011 by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria. Empirical estimates of a Double-Hurdle model revealed that adoption increases with the age of the household head and is influenced by the gender of the household head, hired labour, cultivated land, and access to credit. The results further showed that the intensity of adoption is influenced by hired labour and farm size; access to information about the improved cassava varieties is determined by the age, gender, and level of education of the household head, and by off-farm income.

Assessing Farm-level Limitations and Potentials for Organic Agriculture by Agro-ecological Zones and Development Domains in Northern Nigeria of West Africa

Abstract Farm-level use of organic fertilizer could be influenced by development domains that comprise human population density and markets access. Analysis of 320 farm households from 16 geo-referenced villages provided the basis for assessing farm-level limitations and potentials for organic agriculture by agro-ecological zones and development domains in northern Nigeria of West Africa. The analysis was based on four identified development domains. The development domains were clusters of population and market access which are: low population density, low market access (LPLM); low population density, high market access (LPHM); high population density, low market access (HPLM); and high population density, high market access (HPHM). It was found that cereal-legume based cropping systems accounted for 74 percent of the total share of organic fertilizer used on the farm. The actual and potential use of organic fertilizer revealed that the current levels of organic fertilizer use as share of the minimum requirements for take-off for organic agriculture in Nigeria was low (37 percent) despite its potentials. Based cost effectiveness of livestock ownership, the development domains of HPLM and HPHM in the northern Guinea savanna revealed best potential for take-off of organic agriculture in Nigeria.