57 research outputs found
Factors Influencing Coffee Farmers’ Decisions to Join Cooperatives
No full textThe role of cooperatives in buffering the effects of imperfect markets on smallholder agriculture especially in developing countries has been widely atoned. However, and in spite of eminent advantages, not all smallholder farmers join cooperatives. We use empirical data from coffee farmers in Northwestern Cameroon to identify key factors driving coffee farmers’ decisions to join or not to join a cooperative. Using a standardized questionnaire, data was collected from 140 randomly selected farmers (members and non-members) in contact with North West Cooperative Association Limited (NWCA). Data collection took place in January 2018, with 2017 as the reference period. We use the data to characterize the coffee sector in the region, and to identify key drivers for cooperative membership. 41.4% and 58.6% were NWCA members and nonmembers respectively. The area of land under coffee cultivation, dominant income source, household size, experience in coffee farming, and timely payment of farmers’ dues by the cooperative were the key factors influencing coffee farmers’ decision to join the cooperative or not (P=0.05). Identifying such drivers from farmers’ perspectives and informing policy decisions can increase competitive advantage of smallholder farmers and reduce the effects of market imperfection, as embedded in cooperative concept. This should render the concept once more attractive and portray it as a rational option to many smallholder farmers
Applying Participatory Rural Appraisal to Unlock Gender Group Differences in Some Communities in Rural Cameroon
No full textAims: The relevance of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in promoting community participation, enhancing sustainable development in rural communities, and its capacity to succeed where other approaches fail is well recognized in the rural development literature. Some PRA tools have been widely applied empirically for gender analysis than others. This paper analyzes gender differences through the less-applied access and control profiling.
Study Design: Cross sectional, empirical survey.
Place and Duration of Study: North West region of Cameroon, 7-30 October, 2014.
Methodology: Two rural divisions were purposively selected. One division had difficult road access, while the other was fairly accessible. Four rural villages (two from each division) were randomly selected. Access and control profiling was applied separately with different gender groups. In each village, a group of 30-35 self selected men, women and youths were guided by the research team to implement the tool separately. Access and control over resources was scored on a likert scale from 0 to 4, in ascending order of importance. This was complemented by focused group discussions and key informant interviews.
Results: Huge differences were observed in access and control over resources between gender groups within and across communities. Men were generally found to have the strongest access and control over resources under difficult accessibility and higher rurality ( =2.9), while women dominated under higher accessibility and lower rurality conditions ( =3.6). The youth generally lagged behind men and women in both communities ( Participatory rural appraisal =2.0). Results suggest a relationship between accessibility, rurality and gender based access and control over different resources.
Conclusion: The need to consistently do gender differentiated PRAs prior to community intervention, as prerequisite to achieving gender balanced sustainable development of rural areas in developing countries is emphasized. This is best done on case by case basis in order to capture case-specific dynamics
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Applying Participatory Rural Appraisal to Unlock Gender Group Differences in Some Communities in Rural Cameroon
No full textAims: The relevance of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in promoting community participation, enhancing sustainable development in rural communities, and its capacity to succeed where other approaches fail is well recognized in the rural development literature. Some PRA tools have been widely applied empirically for gender analysis than others. This paper analyzes gender differences through the less-applied access and control profiling.
Study Design: Cross sectional, empirical survey.
Place and Duration of Study: North West region of Cameroon, 7-30 October, 2014.
Methodology: Two rural divisions were purposively selected. One division had difficult road access, while the other was fairly accessible. Four rural villages (two from each division) were randomly selected. Access and control profiling was applied separately with different gender groups. In each village, a group of 30-35 self selected men, women and youths were guided by the research team to implement the tool separately. Access and control over resources was scored on a likert scale from 0 to 4, in ascending order of importance. This was complemented by focused group discussions and key informant interviews.
Results: Huge differences were observed in access and control over resources between gender groups within and across communities. Men were generally found to have the strongest access and control over resources under difficult accessibility and higher rurality (  =2.9), while women dominated under higher accessibility and lower rurality conditions (  =3.6). The youth generally lagged behind men and women in both communities ( Participatory rural appraisal =2.0). Results suggest a relationship between accessibility, rurality and gender based access and control over different resources.
Conclusion: The need to consistently do gender differentiated PRAs prior to community intervention, as prerequisite to achieving gender balanced sustainable development of rural areas in developing countries is emphasized. This is best done on case by case basis in order to capture case-specific dynamics
Agent Behavior under Risky and Uncertain Conditions. An Empirical Verification of Irving Fisher’s Notion of Time Preference
No full textIrving Fisher's theory on time preference in the 1930s arguably influenced the analysis of agents' current behavior with respect to future outcomes. By suggesting linear discount rates implying rational and self-interested motives of agents, Fisher substantiated neoclassical economic thinking. However, Fisher's notion of time preference, the choice between present and future enjoyment that actually integrates a psychological discounting component has not received similar attention in the scholarly literature. This paper aims at closing this gap. It empirically examines agent behavior under uncertain conditions culminating from natural shocks, and differentiates the psychic from the physical component. To empirically test Fisher's notion of time preference, we analyze disaster households from the 1986 Lake Nyos natural shock in rural Cameroon. We look at differences in incomes for impatient households, who illegally moved back to the disaster area and more patient and stationary households in official resettlement camps. Results show that, contrary to Fisher's contention, wealth is positively correlated with impatience. Households in the disaster zone display higher incomes than stationary ones. This finding assumes that differences in incomes existed before the movement. The results lead us to conclude that Irving Fisher's theory is only partially relevant in explaining agent behavior under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Partiality is attributed by the finding that impatience was rather positively correlated with income, with the exception of social capital. The results lead us to conclude that Irving Fisher's theory is only partially relevant in explaining agent behavior under conditions of risk and uncertainty.Risks, uncertainty, agent behavior, Fisher, time preference, Cameroon, Risk and Uncertainty,
Targeting of and outreach to the poor by rural development nonprofit organizations in Cameroon
No full textThe importance of nonprofit organizations such as rural development organizations, farmers associations and common initiative groups as drivers of change in rural areas has been generally recognized in the economics of nonprofit organizations. While the economic theories attempt to explain the formation and functioning of nonprofit organizations, the targeting and outreach performance of these organizations has received little attention and at best is empirically divergent. Using the example of a nonprofit rural development organization in North West Cameroon, this paper analyzes the relative poverty of beneficiaries and non beneficiaries of its small scale fish farming program as a proxy for targeting efficiency. Poverty is measured through multiple indicators as well as household incomes. The results show that the nonprofit organization did a commendable job in serving poor communities, although its self targeting approach led to a disproportionately higher share of beneficiaries from the moderately poor and better-off terciles than from the poorest. Beneficiaries also had higher asset values and incomes than nonbeneficiaries, although the contribution of the fish farming activity to these was insignificant. This means that these households were already better-off prior to the program and not necessarily as a consequence of service delivery. The paper concludes with the need for relative poverty assessments prior to service delivery for improved targeting and outreach performance, while considering the additional costs involved
Targeting of and outreach to the poor by rural development nonprofit organizations in Cameroon
No full textThe importance of nonprofit organizations such as rural development organizations, farmers associations and common initiative groups as drivers of change in rural areas has been generally recognized in the economics of nonprofit organizations. While the economic theories attempt to explain the formation and functioning of nonprofit organizations, the targeting and outreach performance of these organizations has received little attention and at best is empirically divergent. Using the example of a nonprofit rural development organization in North West Cameroon, this paper analyzes the relative poverty of beneficiaries and non beneficiaries of its small scale fish farming program as a proxy for targeting efficiency. Poverty is measured through multiple indicators as well as household incomes. The results show that the nonprofit organization did a commendable job in serving poor communities, although its self targeting approach led to a disproportionately higher share of beneficiaries from the moderately poor and better-off terciles than from the poorest. Beneficiaries also had higher asset values and incomes than nonbeneficiaries, although the contribution of the fish farming activity to these was insignificant. This means that these households were already better-off prior to the program and not necessarily as a consequence of service delivery. The paper concludes with the need for relative poverty assessments prior to service delivery for improved targeting and outreach performance, while considering the additional costs involved
Targeting of and outreach to the poor by rural development nonprofit organizations in Cameroon
No full textThe importance of nonprofit organizations such as rural development organizations, farmers associations and common initiative groups as drivers of change in rural areas has been generally recognized in the economics of nonprofit organizations. While the economic theories attempt to explain the formation and functioning of nonprofit organizations, the targeting and outreach performance of these organizations has received little attention and at best is empirically divergent. Using the example of a nonprofit rural development organization in North West Cameroon, this paper analyzes the relative poverty of beneficiaries and non beneficiaries of its small scale fish farming program as a proxy for targeting efficiency. Poverty is measured through multiple indicators as well as household incomes. The results show that the nonprofit organization did a commendable job in serving poor communities, although its self targeting approach led to a disproportionately higher share of beneficiaries from the moderately poor and better-off terciles than from the poorest. Beneficiaries also had higher asset values and incomes than nonbeneficiaries, although the contribution of the fish farming activity to these was insignificant. This means that these households were already better-off prior to the program and not necessarily as a consequence of service delivery. The paper concludes with the need for relative poverty assessments prior to service delivery for improved targeting and outreach performance, while considering the additional costs involved
The impacts of natural disasters on smallholder agriculture in rural Cameroon
No full textProblem: That climate change and subsequent natural disasters resulting from it will affect the agricultural sector is not new to anyone familiar with the disaster literature. However, the exact magnitude of such impacts remains to be estimated. Methodology: Using empirical evidence based on a 25 year old natural disaster in rural Cameroon, we attempt to provide estimates on the immediate and long term impacts of a natural disaster on smallholder agriculture. A standardized questionnaire is applied on 301 smallholder farming households to assess the short and long term impacts of the 1986 Lake Nyos disaster on agriculture, mainly eliciting responses through a recall process. This is complemented by participatory discussions and observations. Results: The results reveal that the disaster had significantly high negative impacts on livestock and human capital (P=0.01 respectively). Sampled households were found not have currently recovered even up to the levels before the 1986 disaster, after a quarter of a century. Conclusions: The implications of such disasters on the agricultural sector and their possible effects in the short and long term include increasing efforts towards prevention, and the use of data as basis for disaster management
Agent Behavior under Risky and Uncertain Conditions. An Empirical Verification of Irving Fisher’s Notion of Time Preference
No full textIrving Fisher's theory on time preference in the 1930s arguably influenced the analysis of agents' current behavior with respect to future outcomes. By suggesting linear discount rates implying rational and self-interested motives of agents, Fisher substantiated neoclassical economic thinking. However, Fisher's notion of time preference, the choice between present and future enjoyment that actually integrates a psychological discounting component has not received similar attention in the scholarly literature. This paper aims at closing this gap. It empirically examines agent behavior under uncertain conditions culminating from natural shocks, and differentiates the psychic from the physical component.
To empirically test Fisher's notion of time preference, we analyze disaster households from the 1986 Lake Nyos natural shock in rural Cameroon. We look at differences in incomes for impatient households, who illegally moved back to the disaster area and more patient and stationary households in official resettlement camps.
Results show that, contrary to Fisher's contention, wealth is positively correlated with impatience. Households in the disaster zone display higher incomes than stationary ones. This finding assumes that differences in incomes existed before the movement.
The results lead us to conclude that Irving Fisher's theory is only partially relevant in explaining agent behavior under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Partiality is attributed by the finding that impatience was rather positively correlated with income, with the exception of social capital. The results lead us to conclude that Irving Fisher's theory is only partially relevant in explaining agent behavior under conditions of risk and uncertainty
Effects of Natural Shocks on Risk Behavior. Experimental Evidence from Cameroon
No full textIncreasing occurrence of devastating natural shocks has stimulated research interest in the economics of natural disasters. Much of this scholarly work concentrates on effects of shocks on poverty, risk and vulnerability, and very little on understanding the effects of natural shocks on risk behavior. Referring to a 25 year-old disaster, we use unique survey data and experiment results from two disaster affected communities in rural Cameroon to test two hypotheses: (1) Natural shocks affect long term risk behavior; and (2) self-relocation into risk-prone areas is an explicit demonstration of risk taking. The results reveal differentiated risk behavior in self-relocated and state-resettled households, with the former taking higher risks compared to resettled households. Experiments strongly support trends observed in the empirical study, but captured cognitive behavior better than the survey. Results support previous evidence on applying experiments in understanding cognitive risk behavior and confirm our hypotheses
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