333 research outputs found
Not just a call away: Issues faced during phone surveys of women in India and Nepal
No full textNon-PRIFPRI1; G Cross-cutting gender themeSA
Just a call away? Learnings from phone surveys in India and Nepal
No full textMost in-person survey activities have become unviable due to COVID-19; however, it is all the more important to continue primary data collection to guide effective policymaking for the communities impacted by the pandemic. The transition to phone-based surveys has almost eliminated the need for physical contact, but it also presents a set of unique challenges that shall form the basis for further learning and developments to improve upon the available mode of phone surveys.Non-PRIFPRI5; CSISA; G Cross-cutting gender themeSA
Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on rural women and men in Kenya
No full textThe first wave of COVID-19 cases occurred between June and August 2020. A second wave occurred between October and December 2020 and by the end of December 2020, the number of COVID-19 cases was 92 459. The third rise in cases occurred between January and March of 2021 and partial lockdowns were reimposed in the most affected counties of the country, including mobility restrictions and curfews. This brief releases data on the gender impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural households/livelihoods and the agricultural sector in Kenya.Non-PRIFPRI5; Feed the Future Initiative; GCAN; CRP2; G Cross-cutting gender themeAFR; EPTD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Optimizing agricultural insurance to meet the demands of farmers: Evidence from India
No full textResearchers and policymakers have long understood the benefits of crop insurance, but have been consistently disappointed by the poor performance of these programs. Rarely have programs seen sizeable take-up rates without support through large government subsidies, and in many countries demand has been meager even at prices well below fair-market rates. Experiences from India have largely followed this trend, despite a number of large policy initiatives. Limited demand stems from low perceived value, arguably because the existing insurance products are unsuited to farmers’ needs. The present study fills an important gap by demonstrating that incorporating product characteristics better suited to farmers’ preferences can lead to higher take-up. To do so, we conducted a discrete choice experiment with agricultural households in four states in India. While farmers seem to like several of the features of policies offered under existing programs, our results suggest they would generally be willing to pay more as premium than the current highlysubsidized rates, in return for more assured and timely payouts.Non-PRIFPRI5; DCA; CSISA; CRP2EPTD; PIM41 pagesCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
What is the true value of fertilizer? An assessment of farmers willingness-to-pay for fertilizers across the hill and Terai regions of Nepal
No full textAgriculture in Nepal has historically suffered from low levels of productivity. Inadequate usage of fertilizer, poor fertilizer quality, and insufficient supply to satisfy demand have been identified among the major reasons behind this low productivity (Joshi, 2010). Other factors such as land fragmentation, lack of irrigation, lack of good quality seeds, inadequate public investment and more recently climate change (e.g., Niroula & Thapa; Joshi et al., 2012; Ghimire et al., 2015; Malla, 2008) also remain as challenges for Nepalese agriculture. Both the Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP, 1994-2014) and the Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS, 2015-2034) have recognized the deficiencies in the fertilizer supply chain and have prioritized the widespread distribution and utilization of fertilizers as essential elements in their development strategies (Bista et al., 2016). With continuation of the fertilizer distribution issues, a voucher system has been proposed in the ADS (2015-2035) but is yet to be implemented. As with any type of transfer policy, proper identification of intended beneficiaries and calibration of voucher payments is critical for its successful rollout. It is therefore imperative that all concerned stakeholders including government agencies garner a more complete understanding of the true demand of chemical fertilizers to optimize policy design. Through this study, we determine the implicit value farmers place on fertilizers as well as other perennial costs associated with obtaining fertilizers, such as travel costs and certainty premia.Non-PRIFPRI1; CSISA; CRP2; CRP3.2; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; 5 Strengthening Institutions and GovernanceEPTD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM); CGIAR Research Program on Maize (MAIZE
Is there a market for multi-peril crop insurance in developing countries moving beyond subsidies? Evidence from India
No full textResearchers and policymakers have long understood the benefits of crop insurance but have been consistently disappointed by the poor performance of these programs. Rarely have programs seen sizeable take-up rates without support through large government subsidies, and in many countries, demand has been meager even at prices well below fair-market rates. Experiences from India have largely followed this trend, despite a number of large policy initiatives. Limited demand stems from low perceived value, arguably because the existing insurance products are unsuited to farmers’ needs. The present study fills an important gap in rural development by improving upon existing insurance policy design by incorporating product characteristics better suited to farmers’ preferences. To do so, we conducted a discrete choice experiment with agricultural households in four states in India. While farmers seem to like several of the features of policies offered under existing programs, our results suggest they would generally be willing to pay more than the highly subsidized rate they currently pay and are also clearly dissatisfied with delayed and uncertain indemnity payments and would be willing to pay a significant premium for more assured and timely payment delivery.Non-PRIFPRI1; DCA; CRP2; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; Capacity StrengtheningEPTD; SAR; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Crises and women’s access to agricultural information: Insights from India and Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textStrict lockdown measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had extensive impacts on agriculture, and especially on women farmers. These effects were worsened by a lack of reliable and timely access to agricultural extension. This note summarizes findings from panel phone surveys conducted in India and Nepal on the impacts of lockdown measures on women's ability to access agricultural extension services and their perceived impact on agricultural productivity. We find that women's already limited access to formal extension services was further reduced during the pandemic, leading to greater reliance on informal social networks. In both countries, approximately 50 percent of farmers reported negative consequences on productivity due to the unavailability of information during the lockdown. We propose strategies to enhance the inclusivity and resilience of extension systems in India and Nepal in future crises, including through the use of group- and community-based approaches.Non-PRIFPRI1; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; G Cross-cutting gender theme; CRP2; Reaching Smallholder WomenNatural Resources and Resilience (NRR); Transformation Strategies; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on rural women and men in northern Ghana
No full textWhile the lockdown in Ghana due to COVID-19 was not as stringent or long as in other countries (at least up to June 2021), it has severely affected rural household incomes, including remittances.
Almost three-quarters of households surveyed reported income loss due to the pandemic in Aug/Sep 2020.
Use of savings, borrowing and asset sales were common. Women often relied on men’s savings as a coping strategy; government transfers were insignificant.
Addressing COVID-19 in rural areas is hindered by a domestic water supply crisis. Approximately half of respondents reported being worried about water availability, changing their activities due to lack of water, not having enough drinking water, and not washing hands when necessary.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP7; GCAN; G Cross-cutting gender theme; Capacity Strengthening; Feed the Future InitiativeEPTDCGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS
Demand for crop insurance in developing countries: New evidence from India
No full textDetermining farmers’ real demand for crop insurance is difficult, especially in developing countries, where there is a lack of formal financial sector integration and a high reliance on informal risk mitigation options. We provide some new estimates of farmers’ willingness‐to‐pay for insurance in the context of a large‐scale subsidised programme in India. We conducted a discrete choice experiment with agricultural households across four states in India, enabling us to estimate preferences for specific insurance policy attributes such as coverage period, method of loss assessment, timing of indemnity payments and the cost of insurance. Our results suggest that farmers do value crop insurance under certain conditions and some are willing to pay a premium for such coverage in excess of the subsidised rates they are currently required to pay under this programme. In particular, farmers value the assurances that they will receive timely payouts when they incur losses, and may not have a strong preference for the method with which losses are assessed. On the other hand, farmers are quite sensitive to coverage periods. Our baseline assessment shows that when optimised to farmer requirements, there can be a sizeable demand for crop insurance by developing country farmers.PRIFPRI3; ISI; DCA; CRP2; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; Capacity Strengthening; CSISAEPTD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on rural women and men in Senegal
No full textTo understand the impact of COVID-19 on rural women, we designed a longitudinal panel study collecting five rounds of phone survey data with data drawn from a representative face-to-face survey in rural Senegal covering Fatick, Kaffrine, Kaolack, Kedougou, Kolda, Matam, Saint-Louis, Sedhiou, Tambacounda, and Ziguinchor regions. Due to low survey coverage of females in the first round, the second and third rounds surveyed both spouses and then randomly picked one male or female respondent per household to include in the study. For comparability we focus on findings from rounds 2-5. Figure 1 provides a detailed description of the study timeline and sample size covered in each round.Non-PRIFPRI1; GCAN; Feed the Future Initiative; CRP7; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food SupplyAFR; EPTDCGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS
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