2,612 research outputs found
Aucunes oeuvres de Gilbert Cousin, de Nozereth : tresutiles à chacun : Nouvellement imprimees
No full text> De l'office du Serviteur >oeconomie d'Aristote > louange de Concorde Deux oraisons sur la nativité et mort de Christ > Censeur des moeurs Contre la Rhétorique et Eloquence Extrait d'une tragédie de l'homme affligé Epitaphes de dame Jane CousineImpressum aus Kolophon: "Et ont estè acheuees d'imprimer en l'An de Grace Mille cinq centz & soixante un, au Moys de Iuillet, chez Iaque Quadier de Lyon en France."Mit Druckmaterial von Jacob Parcus, wohl in Basel gedrucktLaut F. Hieronymus (HLS, Nr. 5) ist Quadier ein Pseudonym für Kündig/Parcus, unter dem er während seiner Basler Zeit einige Drucke in Lyon herstellte; auch Th. Bietenholz, Contemporaries of Erasmus, S. 351, identifiziert Quadier mit Parcus, lässt aber den Druckort offen; vgl. auch J. Bolte, Andrea Guarnas Bellum grammaticale und seine Nachahmungen, Berlin, 190
Climate change in Malawi: Household level impacts and adaptations
No full textUsing three waves of national representative household level panel data from Malawi, we estimate a structural model to study how households make production decisions in response to climate change. In doing so, we examine two forms of adaptation: 1) adopting improved maize varieties and 2) adjusting input and output quantities. Our results indicate that climate change induces both forms of adaptation, though only the second appears relevant in determining climate change impacts. Accounting for these expected adjustments in input and output mix, we estimate that net household income increases 0.86% for a 1% increase in the historical variability of total growing season precipitation, while income decreases by 2.09% for every 1% increase in the historical variability of monthly precipitation within the growing season. The impacts associated with higher rainfall variability are more favorable for households with greater levels of asset ownership. Specifically, we observe that the extent to which households diversify income sources in response to intra-seasonal rainfall variability depends on asset ownership, suggesting that assets enhance a household\u27s capacity for adaptation to climate change
The Adoption and Impacts of Improved Storage Technology Among Smallholder Farm Households in Uganda
No full textThis dissertation comprises of three essays that address the adoption and impacts of grain hermetic (airtight) storage bags to reduce on-farm grain storage losses in Uganda. To understand adoption of the technology and its impacts, I conducted two levels of randomized field experiments in 2015: First, village-level cluster-randomized controlled trial; and second, household-level individual randomized controlled trial. Prior to these randomized controlled trials (RCTs), I conducted a baseline survey to understand current agricultural production and post-production practices in 2014 among smallholders, using a multi-level stratified sampling strategy. In 2016, I conducted a follow-up post-intervention survey to estimate the impacts from these randomized experiments. Broadly, each essay stands as an independent study addressing different research questions, and sometimes, different methodologies to address these questions. In essay 1, I focus on the role of information through large-scale extension efforts in the awareness and adoption of an improved storage technology—hermetic (airtight) storage bags—at the early stage in the diffusion process. Using a cluster-randomized controlled experiment implemented among 1,200 smallholders in 48 villages, I test whether the following all affect the likelihood of awareness and adoption among smallholders: 1) living in a village randomly assigned to receive extension activities, 2) participation in such extension activities conditional on being in a village randomly assigned extension activities, and 3) non-participation in an extension activity by eligible households. Overall, I find that on average, households in clusters that received extension activities are significantly more likely to be aware and adopt the technology. The likelihood of adoption further increases significantly if households participate in an extension activity. However, with regards to adoption of the technology among non-participating but eligible households, I find little evidence of informal diffusion. This finding suggests that more efforts on social learning may be needed to sustain adoption and continued diffusion of the technology beyond the extension activities. I conclude it might be cost effective to use alternative mode of information, such as combining extension activities with social learning, to increase both adoption and sustained diffusion of the technology. In essay 2, I used household-level RCT to estimate if access to an improved storage technology affects smallholder households’ use of modern inputs such as higher-yielding maize varieties and inorganic fertilizer. I further examined if access to hermetic storage bags 1) improves food security for smallholders through increased duration of storage for grains and reduction of on-farm storage losses, and 2) reduces the use of storage chemicals to preserve grains. After two seasons, results show that households exposed to the technology were 10 percentage points more likely to plant higher-yielding hybrid maize varieties that are known to be more susceptible to insect pests in storage than traditional lower-yielding varieties. Treated smallholders also stored maize for a longer period, reported a substantial drop in storage losses, and were less likely to use storage chemicals than untreated cohorts. These results indicate that policies to promote softer kernel higher-yielding hybrid maize varieties in sub-Saharan Africa should consider an improvement in post-harvest storage as a complementary intervention to increase adoption of these varieties. In essay3, I estimate the effects of a one-time subsidy in the form of free hermetic bags on commercial market participation for the bags among smallholders. I further estimate spillover effects of this one-time subsidy on market participation outcomes for exposed households within treatment villages, but who did not receive the subsidy intervention themselves. The empirical results show that on average, subsidized households are 5.2 percentage points more likely to buy an additional bag at commercial prices relative to the households with no subsidy who are equally aware of the technology. This suggests that under certain circumstances, such as when there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of a new agricultural technology, and the private sector market for the technology is weak or nascent, a one-time use of subsidy as a means to build awareness and reduce risk could help generate demand for the new technology. In this context, a subsidy can allow farmers to experiment with the technology and learn from the experience before investing in it. Lastly, I find a positive and significant 3.4 percentage points spillover effects in commercial participation of the technology among households who lived within the intervention villages but did not receive the subsidy treatment
Market participation and profitability of cotton production in Malawi
No full textCotton is traditionally a cash crop for smallholder farmers in Malawi, supporting more than 100,000 families. According to the government of Malawi, the cotton sector is a key element in poverty reduction and growth strategy. In the market liberalized economy, the functioning of the market plays a major role in the allocation of resources for increased productivity. This paper investigates the impacts of cotton subsidy and marketing reforms on farm productivity, a key element for poverty alleviation, in rural Malawi. The main objective of this study is to explore whether changes in market participation coupled with government policies have had significant impacts on cotton yields and profitability at the farm level. It will be useful for our empirical approach to briefly discuss some of the main determinants of farm yields in relation to rural households’ behavior, their decisions and economic outcomes. We evaluate the contribution of the cotton subsidy through Cotton up -scaling program to yields and profit using gross margin analysis. We also evaluate whether household market participation influences participation in the program. The study uses panel data collected in 2010 and 2011 from 215 households in 8 Districts of Malawi which are Neno, Karonga, Chikwawa, Nsanje, Balaka, Mangochi, Salima and Nkhotakot
Understanding Smallholder Farmers\u27 Post-Harvest Choices in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Malawi
No full textThis dissertation has three essays that are focused on understanding smallholder farmers’ choices in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly, Malawi. The first essay uses a clustered randomized control trial (RCT) to evaluate the impact of storage and commitment constraints on farmers’ legume storage behavior. The second essay is motivated by the incomplete quality information problem within informal markets that undermines consumers’ demand for quality and lead to lemons market. In this essay, we use a clustered RCT along with the Becker DeGroote Marshack auctions amongst 1,098 farm households to evaluate whether providing food safety (aflatoxins) information increases consumers’ demand for grain quality and whether that demand for quality varies depending on food availability. The third essay uses stochastic dynamic programming to explore the role of market risk and expenditure shocks on smallholder farmers’ storage and marketing behavior
Understanding the Effects of Technology Adoption Decisions Made by Smallholder Farmers with Incomplete Information
No full textThis dissertation has two essays that are focused on understanding the effects of technology adoption decisions made by smallholder farmers who have incomplete information. The first essay employed a clustered randomized control trial (RCT) with factorial design in upper Eastern Kenya to estimate the impact of three different interventions at improving credence attributes of smallholder farmers’ maize. This essay also utilized a Becker DeGroot Marschak auction method to determine if farmers were willing to adopt a credence technology, and if yes, if their willingness to pay varied based on having previous experience with this agricultural technology. The second essay used the 2018/19 Ethiopia Socio-economic Survey to analyze the impacts of three sources of measurement error caused by farmers’ misperceptions on maize yields. Moreover, this essay explored how farmers’ incomplete information about adoption of one agricultural input led to misallocation of other complementary inputs
Storage, Adverse Selection, and Buffer Stock Releases in Benin\u27s Rural Maize Markets
No full textThis dissertation comprises three essays. I use data from 360 rural households in Benin to analyze households’ maize storage behavior and adverse selection for maize qualities sold in cereal markets. Then, I rely on data on maize prices and buffer stock releases to investigate the effect of the government’s intervention on maize prices. Although I address the issues aforementioned in three independent studies, they are related in an agricultural season. Essay one discusses how storage losses and liquidity constraints affect households’ decisions to store maize after harvest. I find that rural households that store maize for food consumption only are unable to store a larger share of their harvest mainly because of liquidity constraints. A 1% increase in savings increases the quantity stored by 0.01% in consumption-oriented households. Conversely, the lack of appropriate storage technologies to prevent pest damage deter households who plan to sell maize later in the season from storing maize. A 1% point increase in expected storage losses results in about 2.6 % decrease in the quantity of maize stored in these market-oriented households. The lack of appropriate storage technologies also affects maize quality that households sell later during the post-harvest season. Therefore, essay two explores how adverse selection could occur in maize markets when there is limited access to improved storage technologies and no quality control in food markets. I find that rural households are about 34 percentage points on average more likely to apply storage chemical to maize intended for sale than home-consumed grain, especially when they believe that insecticides are unsafe. In addition, households increase maize sales consistently in step with their expenditures on chemical insecticides and their perceptions of risks to food safety. These results help explain the low rate of market participation among rural households which in turn affect maize supply in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Essay 3 investigates how the government’s buffer stock releases during the lean period affect maize prices in rural markets. Evidence suggests that stock releases reduce maize prices in high consumption districts where buffer stock releases are substantial, whereas it has no statistically significant effect on maize prices in other districts. Nevertheless, in some cases, buffer stock releases are correlated with price increases in areas where stock releases are small and retail maize prices are low. I rely on the findings from these essays to recommend policy actions that could contribute to enhancing food and income security in sub-Saharan Africa. Essay three suggests that a countrywide policy of buffer stock releases is ineffective at reducing maize prices. If buffer stocks are to be maintained, governments should be targeting consumption districts where prices are generally high. An effective allocation could free scarce resources to promote alternative food policies that could contribute to improve maize supply during the lean period. Essay one highlights, for instance, the need to improve access to liquidity in consumption-oriented households to increase maize storage. In addition, essays one and two show that access to improved storage technologies and information about good storage practices will reduce post-harvest losses, raise the rate of market participation among rural households, and enhance food safety in maize markets
Two Essays on Post-Harvest Drying and Storage Practices for Maize in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textThis thesis consists of two essays that each discuss a major component of the post-harvest management of maize in sub-Saharan Africa: drying and storage. The first essay uses crosscountry data about on-farm storage decisions between 2013 and 2015 to assess the severity of storage loss in the absence of improved storage technologies. We find that while losses are low, farmers report on average that they lose more than expected and sell earlier than originally intended at harvest. Additionally, we look for evidence that farmers use adaptation strategies for the purpose of mitigating storage loss and find that storage chemicals are effective at both reducing loss and increasing storage duration. The second essay introduces a third-party moisture testing service to traders in western Kenya to elicit willingness to pay for external quality verification using two moisture detection devices, a low-cost hygrometer and a commercial grade moisture meter. We find that while traders value the moisture meter service more, the hygrometer service is more profitable for potential service providers. Further, when offered a chance to purchase the hygrometer device at/around market price ($2.50), only 15% of traders accepted the offer, suggesting that a service provider model is a viable way to make moisture testing more widely accessible and standard practice in the future
Effects of Pest Damage and Grain Management Practices on Storage Behavior and Market Prices: Insights from Benin
No full textThis thesis investigates the effects of storage losses, especially insect damage, on storage behavior and market prices. Although we treat these research questions in two separated essays, they are both embedded in the farmers\u27 decision of grain storage. Farmers store grain either for consumption, sale or both. We address the research questions with cross -sectional data from a survey of 360 rural households in Benin. In the essay 1, we use an econometric model of storage to analyze how a household with access to storage technologies makes his or her storage decision in the presence of high insect damage and price variability. We find that storage technologies may have differential effects on a household\u27s storage decision. Chemical use, for instance, has a marginal statistically significant effect on storage, suggesting that on average farmers using chemicals store 193 kg more than other farmers who do not use chemicals. In contrast, the use of plastic (mostly woven polypropylene) bags reduces the stored quantity by 296 kg, because this technology also facilitates the harvest period sales. The results also suggest that market-driven farmers may rely on high post-harvest prices as a shield against expected losses from storage. But subsistence farmers remain vulnerable to storage losses, and financial constraints during the harvest period might even weaken their food security during the post-harvest period. In the essay 2, we compare hedonic price models and contingent valuation methods to estimate the price premium for grain damaged by insects (Larger Grain Borer). Following the hedonic model, we find that a price discount is applied to low grain quality, because farmers\u27 past market transactions reveal that 1% increase in grain damage results in a price discount of 0.32 %. Farmers are knowledgeable of this price premium for grain quality and their preferences obtained from the contingent valuation suggest a higher discount price, approximately 0.90 % for 1% increase in grain damage. The estimates of price discount are almost consistent for both sale and consumption transactions in either estimation approach. The difference being that in the hedonic model, consumption price discount is statistically significant for high levels of insect damage (50%) for maize purchases, while sale price discount is statically significant starting for lower level (30%). This result implies that farmers place less value on the quality of grain consumed when they run out of inventory. This thesis highlights that improved storage methods need to be developed and promoted because they are valuable to both income and food security in the post-harvest period. Without effective storage technologies, the vulnerability of groups such as households headed by women and subsistence farmers increase in the presence of insect damage. In addition, the use of uncertified chemicals and farmers\u27 low level of interest for grain quality in periods of food scarcity raise concerns about health risk
Short-Term Returns to Agricultural Households\u27 Migration Decisions: Evidence from a Tracking Panel Data Study in Malawi
No full textThis study explores the welfare implications of two agriculture household decisions in rural Malawi; for the entire households to migrate or for the households to send out one or more individuals to form or join another household. Like other livelihood strategies taken by rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa, these decision are frequently made as responses to ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. I find that on average households that migrated between 2009/10 and 2012/13 experienced a 9 - 16 percentage point reduction per adult equivalent consumption. These agriculture households appear to be pushed into migration, as households were more likely to migrate from areas that were characterized with higher levels of precipitation variability and saw a reduction in revenue from own-farm crop production. Alternatively, on average agriculture households that decided to split between 2009/10 and 2012/13 (send out one or more individuals) experienced a 28 - 34 percentage point growth in consumption per adult equivalent. This growth is primarily driven by the altering of the household’s structure through a reduction in household size. The analysis shows that the decision to split, may not be viable livelihood strategy for all households, as it partly depends on whether the initial household has children of the age of marriage
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