21112 research outputs found
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Financial services and logistics innovation within agri-food value chains: A conceptual framework
No full textFinance and logistics services for agricultural value chains based on technological innovations exist in several LMICs, but they are not often extended to small holders or SMEs working in the agricultural midstream. We consider the constraints to adoption of those services faced by smallholders or SMEs. Finance and logistics improvements hold promise for increased employment, but research is needed to understand where employment gains are most likely. All value chain innovations must carefully consider possible equity-efficiency tradeoffs to ensure change does not negatively affect poor and vulnerable populations.Non-PRIFPRI1; 5 Strengthening Institutions and GovernanceMTI
Barriers to enrollment in secondary school in Ethiopia: A formative qualitative investigation: Evidence from SPIR II
No full textSince its inception in 2005, the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) has been a cornerstone of the Ethiopian government’s strategy for poverty alleviation, disaster risk management, and rural development. The PSNP provides food or cash transfers targeted to poor households in the form of payments for seasonal labor on public works or as direct support to households. It has played an important role in improving the lives of poor Ethiopian households by reducing household food insecurity, increasing asset holdings, and improving agricultural productivity (Berhane et al. 2014; Hoddinott et al. 2012).Non-PRIFPRI1; SPIR; G Cross-cutting gender theme; DCAPHN
Assessment of production and profitability of stocking sizes and densities of Nile tilapia for small-scale pond farming
No full textGood aquaculture management practices (GAMPs) and its effects on the survival rate of fingerlings among fish farmers in Ghana
No full textStudy on improvement of raw water quality for production of O. niloticus fingerlings in hatcheries
No full textConflict and agricultural productivity: Evidence from Myanmar
No full textEvidence is scarce on how conflict affects technology adoption and consequent agricultural productivity in fragile states, an important topic given the high share of the extreme poor living in fragile environments globally. Our study contributes to filling this knowledge gap by using unique large-scale data on rice producers in Myanmar before and after a military coup in 2021, leading to a surge of conflicts in the country. We find that the increase in violent events significantly changed rice productivity. Specifically, increases in fatal violent events between 2020 and 2021 reduced rice Total Factor Productivity (TFP) – a measure of how efficiently agricultural inputs are used to produce rice – by about 4 percent on average in the short-run. Moreover, poorer farmers are more affected by conflict, as seen through an increased output elasticity to agricultural equipment owned, indicating reduced output resilience for less-capital owning, and therefore poorer, farmers. This seems partly due to reduced access to agricultural extension services, which would otherwise help farmers maintain productivity, even with limited capital ownership, through substitution with human capital and skills. Lower mechanization service fees partly mitigate these effects. Our results consistently hold for both short- and long-run production functions, across various specifications, and in Upper and Lower Myanmar. These findings suggest that containing and reducing violent events is critical in restoring rice productivity. Improved access to extension services, as well as to cheap mechanization service provision to mitigate lack of equipment ownership, could compensate for these losses and boost the productivity of farmers, especially for those with less production capital, in such fragile settings.Non-PRIFPRI1; MyanmarSSP; CRP2; MAPSA; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural EconomiesDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategies; PI
Assessing food security among young farmers in Africa: Evidence from Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda
No full textFood insecurity remains a serious challenge for many households in Africa and the situation is even more prevalent among young people. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on youth food security status in Africa. We assessed the level and determinants of food security among young farmers in Africa. We adopted a multi-stage sampling technique to select 400, 429, and 606 young farmers in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda, respectively. Individual food consumption was assessed following a 7 days recall method. The Food Consumption Score, which combines dietary diversity and consumption frequency was used to assess food security status while the determinants of food security were identified using a logistic regression model. Results suggest low dietary diversity across the three countries. Also, the majority of the respondents had an unacceptable food consumption score, suggesting that despite being food producers, young farmers are still food insecure. The odds of being food secure was positively determined by access to extension services, participation in the ENABLE TAAT business incubation programme, and access to market information but, negatively by access to credit, number of employees, Covid-19 pandemic, and location. Additionally, the food security status of young female farmers was positively influenced by age, suggesting that younger youths are less food secure compared to older ones. These results suggest that more efforts should be directed towards improving the food security of young African farmers and that policy- and programme-level interventions should support access to extension services, market information, and land. Additionally, more investments should be directed towards developing need-based agribusiness incubation programmes with an effort to scale existing programmes beyond the regular one-time period.PRIFPRI3; ISIDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategie
Changing asset endowments and smallholder participation in higher-value markets: Evidence from certified-coffee producers in Nicaragua
No full textChapter 3 (Donovan and Poole) analyzes the accumulation of livelihood assets among smallholders producing certified coffee in Nicaragua. The authors are particularly interested in the capacity of resource-poor smallholders who pursue diversified livelihood strategies and operate in adverse conditions to significantly increase their income and build their asset base through engagement with more demanding markets. There is growing consensus that asset accumulation plays a critical role in providing a pathway out of poverty (Carter and Barrett 2004). However, the authors’ case underscores that smallholder endowments with critical livelihood assets are overall limited and often imbalanced.PRIFPRI1; CRP2; C Improving markets and tradeMTID; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Gender dimensions on farmers’ preferences for direct-seeded rice with drum seeder in India
No full textThis study measures the willingness of male and female farmers to pay for climate-smart technology in rice. Rice is the most important crop in India in terms ofarea, production,and consumption. It is also the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions among all crops. Direct-seeded rice (DSR)with drum seeder, a climate-smart technology, requires less labor and water and is more climate friendly than transplanted rice; yet,its adoption is slow in India. Theauthors of this studycarried out a discrete choice experiment with 666 farmers from the Palghar and Thane districts of Maharashtra to measure their willingness to pay for drum seeders—a key piece of equipment for adopting DSR. Both male and female farmers were surveyed to capture the heterogeneity in their valuation of the key attributes of drumseeders. Although both male and female farmers prefer cheaper drum seeders, the marginal valuation of different attributes of the drum seeder varies by the farmers’ gender. The authors also used the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), to collect self-reported data on the role and say of women in agriculture. The respective gender roles in the family and on the farm seem to explain some of this difference. Men have a greater say over how the family spends the cash. Accordingly, men tend to have a higher willingness to pay for attributes that increase income (increase in yield) or reduce cash costs (reduction in the seedrate). Women contribute a large share of the labor for transplanting rice, much of whichis unpaid work on family farms. Not surprisingly, therefore, women seem to value labor saving significantly more than their male counterparts. Further, theWEAI data show that although men in the family have more say, women do have an influence on decisions regarding crop production and the adoption of new technologies,to an extent. Therefore, to enhance the adoption of drum seeders, the product designers and extension workers should also target womenNon-PRIFPRI1; CRP7; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; E Building Resilience; D Transforming Agriculture; F Strengthening institutions and governance; G Cross-cutting gender theme; Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture IndexSAOCGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS
Have Chinese firms become smaller? If so, why?
No full textNormally as an economy develops, firm sizes increase. However, as measured by the employment rate, the firm size in China declined from 2004 to 2008. In this paper, we develop a structural dynamic model with heterogeneous workers to study the relative contributions of three factors to declining firm size: rising real wages, implementation of minimum wages, and the introduction of a new national labor contract law. While rising wages make a sizeable contribution, we find that the new labor law plays a dominant role in solving the puzzle. In comparison, the impact of minimum wages is more muted.Non-PRIFPRI1; F Strengthening institutions and governance; DCA; Capacity StrengtheningDSG