Catherine Ragasa

Gender Differences in Access to Extension Services and Agricultural Productivity

Abstract Purpose: This article contributes new empirical evidence and nuanced analysis on the gender difference in access to extension services and how this translates to observed differences in technology adoption and agricultural productivity. Approach: It looks at the case of Ethiopia, where substantial investments in the extension system have been made, but the coverage and effect of these investments on female and male producers are not well-understood. This article employs a cross-sectional instrumental-variable regression method using a regionally representative data set of more than 7500 households in four major regions in Ethiopia during the 2010 main season. Findings: Female heads of households and plot-managers are less likely to get extension services through various channels and less likely to access quality services than their male counterparts after controlling for other factors. Receiving advice from extension agents is positively related to adoption of improved seed and fertiliser for both female and male, as hypothesised. However, beyond their influence through fertiliser and improved seed use, visits by or advice from agents are not significant or negatively significant in all productivity models estimated for females and males, which is in contrast to past studies. In some crop-productivity models estimated, it is the perceived quality of agents’ visits and access to radio that appear to be positively significant factors in explaining productivity levels for both females and males. Practical implications: Results highlight the need for stratified productivity models by gender and crop in future research. In terms of policy implication, results highlight the need to focus on quality of service and alternative channels of information, such as radio, to improve productivity. Originality/value: This article utilises a large-sample data set; uses the instrumental-variable regression method to address selection bias and endogeneity issues in productivity models; and stratifies the analyses to account for differentiated production functions by gender and crop.

Moving in the Right Direction? Maize Productivity and Fertilizer Use and Use Intensity in Ghana

Using cross-sectional data on 630 maize farmers and 645 maize plots in Ghana, this paper provides empirical evidence on the responsiveness of maize yield to fertilizer use and use intensity and the economics of fertilizer use with or without subsidy. Similar to previous studies in Ghana and Africa south of the Sahara, the results show that there is a statistically significant maize yield response (that is, 1 kilogram of nitrogen leads to a yield increase of 22 kilograms per hectare).

The Impact of Agricultural Extension Services in the Context of a Heavily Subsidized Input System: The Case of Malawi

This paper examines the interplay between Malawi’s input subsidy and access to extension services, and the impact of both on farm productivity and food security using Malawi’s Integrated Household Panel Survey. A correlated random effects (CRE) device is used, and consistency and robustness of results are checked using various other estimation models. The receipt of fertilizer and seed subsidies is shown to have an inconsistent impact on farm productivity and food security; at the same time, access to agricultural advice is consistently insignificant in explaining these. Further analysis, however, shows a statistically significant and strong association with farm productivity and food security when access to extension services is unpacked to include indicators of usefulness and farmers’ satisfaction. Households that reported receipt of “very useful” agricultural advice had greater productivity and greater food security compared to those that reported receipt of advice that they considered not useful and those that did not receive any advice at all. This result implies the need to ensure the provision of relevant and useful agricultural advice to increase the likelihood of achieving agricultural development outcomes.

Factors Affecting Performance of Agricultural Extension: Evidence from Democratic Republic of Congo.

Abstract Purpose: As part of the institutional reforms and agricultural restructuring in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this paper provides an assessment of the performance of the agricultural extension system as well as factors explaining it. Method: This paper involves key informants’ interviews and surveys of 107 extension organizations and 162 extension agents in randomly selected 156 villages, analyzed using qualitative and logistic regression methods. Findings and Practical Implications: Results show that despite having one of the highest extension agent-to-farmer ratio and a pluralistic extension system, DRC fails to deliver knowledge and technologies to rural areas due to lack of coordination, no unified and clear policy and mandate, lack of funding, aging and low competencies of agents, and lack of mobility and interactions of agents with key actors. This paper complements findings by other studies that number of agents is not a sufficient indication of performance, but an effective system needs to focus on the enabling environment for agents to be motivated to work as mandated. In this paper, enabling conditions that are found to be statistically significant are external funding, enforcement of performance targets, systems of rewards and sanctions, mobility to foster linkages, and skills development. Originality: This paper contributes by: (1) analyzing a cross-section of various organizations and agents to identify factors that explain variations in performance in a statistical and systematic approach; (2) providing insights on how to prioritize investments and options for a fragile state like DRC, with weak infrastructure and institutional capacity and with a long history of neglect for their national extension system; and (3) illustrating how a rich and well-cited conceptual framework can be implemented empirically to provide policy options for a country like DRC.

Sustainability of EU Food Safety Certification: A survival analysis of firm decisions

This study aims to understand the implications of stricter food safety regulations and certification systems to the food industry and to find ways to manage risks and costs associated with these regulations and systems. This paper empirically examines the timing of initial decisions to adopt food safety systems and subsequent decisions to maintain the certification. Survival models are used to evaluate firm-level decisions among seafood processors in the Philippines. Whereas initial certification decisions were influenced mainly by easily obtainable a priori indicators such as output price, scale of production, and association membership, decisions to continue certification were influenced by a larger number of less visible factors including price differentials across markets and cost structures. Managerial hubris may have played a role in initial certification decisions, but decertification decisions were more informed by realized cost-benefit comparisons.

Improving Gender Responsiveness of Agricultural Extension

This chapter makes the case for improving the gender-responsiveness of agricultural extension systems through consideration of (1) whether the gender of the extension agent affects the effectiveness of extension services; (2) whether both men and women receive extension advice; and (3) how extension services are delivered. As part of this, the author looks at issues surrounding quality and emphasis of extension services. The author then reviews the evidence on gender differences in access to formal extension agent visits and to other sources of extension information, and the factors that lead to women having lower access to extension services. At this point, the chapter examines the experience of programs and projects that aim to increase women’s access to extension, with more detailed analysis of extension system reforms in India (ATMA model), Uganda (NAADS), Venezuela (privatization and decentralization), and Ethiopia (sectoral policies). Subsequently, the chapter reviews innovative literature on the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in extension. The concluding section examines lessons learned and key messages.

How Can African Governments Reach Poor Farmers with Fertiliser Subsidies? Exploring a Targeting Approach in Ghana

Abstract African governments have been pursuing reforms to improve the targeting of fertiliser subsidy programmes, but recent experience suggests that these reforms have not ensured that subsidies reach intended beneficiaries. Using a targeting approach based on proxy means tests with carefully selected indicators, this paper suggests that Ghana’s fertiliser subsidy programmes can be targeted to the country’s poor and smallholder farmers more efficiently and more cost-effectively. While a universal subsidy in 2012 is estimated to have reached 11 per cent of poor farmers, the proposed targeting approach would have reached 70 per cent of the poor farmers in northern Ghana and 50 per cent of poor farmers in southern Ghana. Targeting reduces the costs of leakages by about 72 per cent, thus justifying the costs of administering targeted programmes using the poverty proxies. Furthermore, we show that once the initial models are constructed, the targeting approach can be used for nearly 20 years without any significant losses in accuracy. We propose that policy-makers should consider implementing this targeting approach on a pilot scale involving a few communities and, if found successful in practice, in a larger-scale programme.

Challenges in Implementing a Small-Scale Farmers’ Capacity-Building Program: The Case of the Food Production, Processing, and Marketing Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo

In 2011, in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government launched the Food Production, Processing, and Marketing project — which aimed to raise incomes and improve food security in the target areas by improving agricultural productivity, market efficiency, and the capacity of producers to respond to market signals. In August-October 2013 and February-March 2014, halfway through the project’s implementation, a midline survey was conducted to assess progress with respect to intermediate outcomes. The present paper highlights the results of that assessment survey. We pay close attention to accurate attribution of observed changes to the project and employ a double-difference method that compares the changes in indicators before the project and at the time of the survey (project midline) between the beneficiaries and comparable control groups. Overall, the survey results suggest weak impact on most of the outcome indicators, and they highlight challenges in implementing small-scale farmers’ capacity building within the context of weak institutions and a fragile political context.