Timothy J. Dalton

Are Environmental Professors Unbalanced? Evidence From the Field

Most outcomes assessment in higher education has focused on content knowledge or skills development; however, attitudinal change is also a legitimate focus of assessment. We use the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) to test whether courses designed to meet the same university environmental literacy requirement changed student environmental attitudes, and whether these changes resulted from instructor and/or course-content effects. We found student environmental attitudes did change significantly but in different directions depending upon who taught the course. The ability to measure such changes adds to the discussion in the environmental education community on the desired nature of attitudinal change and of the responsibilities of higher education instructors.

Impact of participatory natural resource management research in cassava-based cropping systems in Vietnam and Thailand

In Southeast Asia, many of the poorest farmers live in areas with limited potential for crop production. Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important crop on these soils, because it is easy to grow, requires few external inputs, and its roots and leaves can be used as human or animal feed. Cassava is also planted as an industrial crop for production of animal feed and starch where market conditions are developed. The wide variety of end uses makes it a popular crop and an effective vehicle for improving the livelihood of poor upland farmers.

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.

Rates of return to sorghum and millet research investments: A meta-analysis

Sorghum and millet grow in some of the most heterogeneous and austere agroecologies around the world. These crops are amongst the top five cereal sources of food and feed. Yet, few studies document the impact of sorghum and millet genetic enhancement. The Internal Rate of Return (ROR) is one of the most popular metrics used to measure the economic return on investment on agricultural research and development (R&D). This study conducted a meta-analysis of 59 sorghum and millet ROR estimates obtained from 25 sources published between 1958 and 2015. The average rate of return to sorghum and millet R&D investment is between 54–76 percent per year. All studies computed social rather than private RORs because the technologies were developed using public funds originating from host country National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) and international organizations such as the INTSORMIL CRSP, ICRISAT and others. Nearly three quarter of the studies focused only on sorghum (72 percent) and around one tenth of the studies (8 percent) on millet. Regression models analyzed the determinants of variation in the reported RORs. Results show that ex-ante type and self-evaluated type of analyses are positively and significantly associated with the ROR estimates. Compared to estimates conducted by a university, results from international institutions and other mixed organizations provided significantly smaller estimates. Estimates conducted at national level also are significantly lower than those conducted at sub-national levels. The ROR is higher for studies conducted in the United States and for those conducted more recently. The study also reconstructed modified internal rate of return (MIRR) for a sub-sample of the reported RORs following recent methods from the literature. These results show that the MIRR estimates are significantly smaller than the reported ROR estimates. Both results indicate that investment in sorghum and millet research generates high social rates of return.

Chapter 2 – Global Supply of Ancient Grains in the 21st Century: Keys to Unlocking Their Full Potential

Abstract Understanding of the supply and demand for ancient grains is hampered by limited availability of national data on quantities produced, consumed, and traded over time. This limitation is compounded by thin markets for the grains and the lack of price information that could be used to better understand the potential for future growth in consumer demand and substitution for other cereals. This chapter presents targeted information on the supply of selected ancient grains drawing upon international data sources. Supply of selected ancient grains, such as quinoa and sorghum has increased in the last decade, while supply of other grains, such as the millets or buckwheat, has stagnated or declined.