Solomon Asfaw

Poverty Reduction Effects of Agricultural Technology Adoption: A Micro-evidence from Rural Tanzania

Abstract This article evaluates the impact of adoption of improved pigeonpea technologies on consumption expenditure and poverty status using cross-sectional data of 613 households from rural Tanzania. Using multiple econometric techniques, we found that adopting improved pigeonpea significantly increases consumption expenditure and reduces poverty. This confirms the potential role of technology adoption in improving household welfare as higher incomes translate into lower poverty. This study supports broader investment in agriculture research to address vital development challenges. Reaching the poor with better technologies however requires policy support for improving extension efforts, access to seeds and market outlets that stimulate adoption.

Cash Transfer Programme, Productive Activities and Labour Supply: Evidence from a Randomised Experiment in Kenya

Abstract This paper reports the analysis of the impact of Kenya’s Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programme on the household decisions on productive activities using data from a randomised experimental design. Results show that the programme had a positive and significant impact on food consumption coming from home production, accumulation of productive assets, especially on the ownership of small livestock, and on formation of nonfarm enterprise, especially for females. The programme has provided more flexibility to families in terms of labour allocation decisions, particularly for those who are geographically isolated. The programme was also found to reduce child labour, an important objective of the programme. However, we find very little impact of the programme on direct indicators of crop production.

What determines farmers’ adaptive capacity? Empirical evidence from Malawi

This paper assesses farmers’ incentives and conditioning factors that hinder or promote adaptation strategies and evaluates their impact on crop productivity by using data from nationally representative sample households in Malawi. We employed multivariate probit (MVP) and multinomial treatment effect (MTE) techniques to model adoption decisions and their yield impact. Exposure to delayed onset of rainfall and greater climate variability was positively associated with the choice of risk-reducing agricultural practices such as tree planting, legume intercropping, and soil and water conservation (SWC) but reduced the use of inputs (such as inorganic fertilizer) whose risk reduction benefits are uncertain. Concerning household adaptive capacity, wealthier households were more likely to adopt both modern and sustainable land management (SLM) inputs and were more likely to adopt SLM inputs on plots that were under greater security of tenure. In terms of system-level adaptive capacity, rural institutions, social capital and supply-side constraints were key in governing selection decisions for all practices considered, but particularly for tree planting and both organic and inorganic fertilizer applications. A combination of practices gave rise to higher yields suggesting that this might be a course of action that would sustain growth of yield in Malawi in the future.

Market participation, on-farm crop diversity and household welfare: micro-evidence from Kenya

This paper examines determinants of output and input market participation. It employs propensity score matching techniques to evaluate the impact of market participation on pigeonpea diversity and household welfare, using cross-sectional data of 333 households from Kenya. Results show that input and output market participation decisions are quite distinct. Output market participation is influenced by household demographics, farm size and radio ownership, while input market participation is determined by farm size, bicycle ownership and access to a salaried income. The findings reveal a positive and significant impact of output market participation on pigeonpea diversity, while input market participation had a negative and significant impact on diversity. The results indicate that output market participants have significantly higher food security status than non-participants, in line with the general findings of the literature. However, no significant impact is found between indicators of household welfare and input market participation.

Poverty reduction impact of food aid in rural Ethiopia

This paper evaluates the impact of food aid (food-for-work and free food distribution) on rural poverty in Ethiopia. Using household panel survey data, we estimate causal impacts using difference-in-difference matching methods and endogenous switching regression. We find that while participation in both types of food aid programmes reduces the incidence of poverty, their impact is not equal. Participation in food-for-work did not contribute to reducing the poverty gap and distribution among the poor, while free food distribution is effective in reducing all poverty measures. Results also show a heterogeneous impact of food aid on poverty across gender.