Showing papers in "African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics in 2022"
TL;DR: In this paper , the opportunity cost of producing Brachiaria in favour of Napier grass is estimated using household survey data obtained from dairy farmers in Kenya's drier agroecological zones.
Abstract: Current global trends in population growth, urbanisation and a growing middle-class economy have resulted in increased demand for livestock and products, and more so dairy products. This necessitates the need for livestock producers to respond to the growing demand. However, farmers’ efforts are aggravated by the effects of climate change. The need arises for a sustainable source of fodder to alleviate the situation, while at the same time offering farmers other opportunities to participate in fodder markets through the adoption of climate-smart Brachiaria grass. In this article, the opportunity cost of producing Brachiaria in favour of Napier grass is estimated using household survey data obtained from dairy farmers in Kenya’s drier agroecological zones. The study utilised full-information endogenous switching regression to compute the opportunity cost by comparing the gross margins generated from Napier and Brachiaria grass. The findings reveal that dairy farmers face a higher opportunity cost of their fodder land by producing Napier in favour of Brachiaria, given by the transitional heterogeneity of USD 79.74. Furthermore, the adoption of Brachiaria is determined by the age and experience of farmers in fodder production, by herd size, breed type, perception of milk productivity, group membership, and access to extension services. The results highlight the need for widespread adoption through extension and technical support to farmers. This would also enable farmers to participate in fodder markets and support their livelihood.
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TL;DR: In this article , the authors used cross-sectional data to evaluate the implications of climate-smart maize varieties on small-scale farmers' household income in Embu County in Kenya.
Abstract: Variability in climate and debility in soil fertility affect agrarian production, especially in subSaharan Africa, and thus threaten food security. This has prompted the seed sector to introduce various varieties of climate-smart maize in Kenya and release them in the market. In contrast, there is little experiential insight into how the adoption of these varieties by small-scale farmers affects their household income. This paper used cross-sectional data to evaluate the implications of climatesmart maize varieties on small-scale farmers’ household income in Embu County in Kenya. The endogenous switching regression model was used to estimate the influence of climate-smart maize adoption on household income. Based on survey data obtained from 550 maize farmers in Embu County, the results show that age, education, land under climate-smart maize varieties, and distance to the market positively influenced the income level of the adopters. The findings further reveal that the decision to adopt the climate-smart maize varieties had a significant positive effect of about 60% on farmers’ household income. It therefore can be concluded from the results that the adopters would gain more from technology adoption. These results recommend policies that stimulate the adoption of current climate-smart varieties, with an emphasis on adoption by youths, to create more jobs and increase household income to reduce poverty among smallholder farmers in Kenya
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TL;DR: In this article , the authors argue that a mix of modelling approaches is preferable in order to capture the complexities of these changes and demonstrate this using the maize and wheat markets in Kenya as examples.
Abstract: Kenya has become a driving force of trade integration at the regional and continental level, albeit that this process is still incomplete. Kenya was the first nation, along with Ghana, to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement in May 2018, as it was already engaged with its main trading partners. Trade policy can generate mixed effects across the economy and within the agricultural sector, reflecting differences between markets and commodities. In this paper we argue that a mix of modelling approaches is preferable in order to capture the complexities of these changes. A dynamic-recursive computable general equilibrium model provides broad sectoral and macro-economic effects, which are then incorporated into a partial equilibrium framework for a detailed analysis at the sector level. We demonstrate this using the maize and wheat markets in Kenya as examples. Combining the output of each modelling approach allows the analysis to explicitly include certain characteristics of single markets, particularly regional trade relationships and differences in pricing structure that would be missed by using a single approach in isolation. It shows that further intra-African trade liberalisation will affect wheat markets more than maize in Kenya but, given the low initial tariff levels, the ultimate effects will remain fairly small.
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TL;DR: In this paper , the authors assess the influence of resilience on household food security in developing countries and propose interventions that build adaptive, absorptive, and overall resilience capacity of farming households to enhance food security.
Abstract: There is an emerging body of studies assessing the influence of resilience on household food security in developing countries. Yet no study has systematically analysed this theme in Zimbabwe, an area that we address. Data was collected from 331 randomly selected farm households in four districts of Zimbabwe. Factor analysis was used to compute resilience capacities. Poisson regression was used for model estimations. Assets, market diversity and social capital increased dietary diversity by 7.5%, 3.6% and 2.9% respectively. Interventions that enhance asset accumulation, for example incomegenerating activities, should be promoted. Promoting farmer groups and collective actions are important to strengthen social capital. Adaptive and absorptive capacity increases dietary diversity by 5.9% and 5.4% respectively. Household resilience is positively associated with dietary diversity. The public and private sectors and civil society need to promote interventions that build adaptive, absorptive, and overall resilience capacity of farming households to enhance food security.
TL;DR: In this article , three experiments were conducted from 2014 to 2018 to examine the economics of yellow passion fruit production under different soil fertility management, and the response of the two genotypes to a single and combined application of organic and inorganic fertilisers was evaluated under field conditions.
Abstract: Three experiments were conducted from 2014 to 2018 to examine the economics of yellow passion fruit production under different soil fertility management. In 2014, two yellow passion fruit genotypes, that is Conventional and KPF 4, were grown in the field and pot simultaneously under varying rates of poultry manure (PM), including 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 t/ha. In 2016, the response of the two genotypes to a single and combined application of organic and inorganic fertilisers was evaluated under field conditions, namely no fertiliser application, 10, 20 t/ha PM, 400 kg/ha NPK 15:15:15, 5 t/ha PM + 200 kg/ha NPK, and 10 t/ha PM + 200 kg/ha NPK. The profitability indicators were gross revenue, net revenue, returns per naira invested and the profitability index. In 2014, total variable cost increased significantly (P < 0.05) with an increase in PM rates in both the field and pot studies. The highest net returns and returns per naira invested were obtained with the application of 20 t/ha PM. The combined application of 10 t/ha PM + 200 kg/ha NPK recorded the highest gross return, net return and return per naira invested in the 2016 production cycle. Growing the vines without fertiliser application gave significantly least net returns without profit in both production cycles and methods. Consequently, applying 20 t/ha PM was adjudged the most profitable for yellow passion fruit production in the study area, and hence is recommended particularly when organic farming is intended. However, if growers must use inorganic fertiliser, a combined application of 10 t/ha PM + 200 kg/ha NPK will be most profitable.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors estimate the impact of the programme using high-quality household survey data from 2013/2014 and 2016/2017 using the double-difference model, which shows that households that borrow increase their stock of livestock and also find that VUP borrowing leads to more purchases of farm inputs, greater consumption, lower poverty, and greater secondary school enrolment, but not to more hours worked.
Abstract: One of the three components of Rwanda’s flagship anti-poverty programme, Vision 2020 Umurenge (VUP), is the provision of credit to relatively poor households, nearly all of them farmers. In this paper we estimate the impact of the programme using high-quality household survey data from 2013/2014 and 2016/2017. Using the panel data, the double-difference model shows that households that borrow increase their stock of livestock. This is confirmed by the cross-section inverse probability-weighted regression adjustment models, which also find that VUP borrowing leads to more purchases of farm inputs, greater consumption (especially of home-produced food), lower poverty, and greater secondary school enrolment, but not to more hours worked. While VUP loans account for only 2% of the value of microcredit in Rwanda, they do help fill a need for production credit at a scale large enough to be able to help households appreciably increase their agricultural and other assets, and ultimately their income.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors used economic modelling to estimate the value of insect pollination under different land-use types in Kenya and found that increasing the number of pollinator habitats closer to the farms will increase food production.
Abstract: Insect pollination improves the yield of most crop species and contributes to one-third of global crop production. The importance of this ecosystem service in improving agricultural production has largely been overlooked, however, in favour of practices that improve soil conditions such as fertiliser use and supplementary irrigation. Using economic modelling, this study estimates the value of insect pollination under different land-use types in Kenya. Our model assumes that a combination of land-use type and the foraging distance of insect pollinators influences the intensity of pollination and the value of agricultural output. To demonstrate the hypothesised relationships, areas under different land-use types, e.g. forest, grassland and cropland, and their distances from households were used as proxies for insect pollination. Concentric buffer zones representing foraging distances of pollinators from the land-use types were drawn at 250 m, 500 m, 1 000 m, 2 000 m and 3 000 m from the farms, and areas under each land use in the buffer zones were estimated for the years 2004, 2007 and 2010. Using the random-effects model and an output distance-function stochastic frontier model, the land-use areas, other factors of production and climate variables were regressed on the value of agricultural output in each buffer zone to determine their contribution to agricultural output resulting from insect pollination. The results indicate higher crop productivity on farms bordering forests and grasslands. This implies that insect pollinators are important for crop production, and increasing the number of pollinator habitats closer to the farms will increase food production in the tropics.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors analyzed the long and short run effect of economic policy uncertainty on agricultural growth in Nigeria using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and the associated bounds test.
Abstract: This study analysed the long- and short-run effect of economic policy uncertainty on agricultural growth in Nigeria. Annual data was collected from secondary sources and analysed using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and the associated bounds test. The highest volatility was exhibited by monetary policy uncertainty (MPU) (2.522), followed by consumer price index (CPI) (1.968). The fiscal policy uncertainty had the lowest volatility (0.179). The result of the bounds test showed that economic policy uncertainty shares a long-run relationship with agricultural growth. The effect of economic policy uncertainty on agricultural growth in the long run is negative, with the coefficient of MPU, FPU and TPU being -0.004, -0.218 and -0.507 respectively. In the short run, the effects of all the economic policy uncertainty variables on agricultural growth and welfare are negative and significant, both in contemporary (current) and in lags. A stable economic policy encourages agricultural growth.
TL;DR: In this article , the marginal cost of providing a cubic meter of water must consist of two components: volumetric charges, at € 0.048/m3 , and connection water charges, of €0.055/km.
Abstract: The present study aims to estimate the marginal cost of potable water supply and analyse the implications for more efficient, equitable and income-adequate tap water tariffs in Tunisia. Furthermore, this article aims to develop a new pricing model for potable water. Pricing by the Tunisian water utility focuses on setting water prices to cover average costs, often using designs that increase clogging rates. This results in a large volume of potable water being wasted. To facilitate the efficient estimation of pricing models, we attempt to introduce generalised translog (GT) cost specifications for multiple products including Box-Cox transformations. It turns out that the marginal social cost of providing a cubic meter of water must consist of two components: volumetric charges, at €0.048/m3 , and connection water charges, of €0.055/km.
TL;DR: In this article , a three-wave household panel dataset from the Feed the Future Innovation Lab on Nutrition surveys in the north and southwest of Uganda was used to test the hypothesis that the negative effect of women's agriculture time-use constraints on child stunting is mitigated for households that use labour or timesaving agricultural technologies (LSATs).
Abstract: Women’s time allocation is a dimension of women’s empowerment in agriculture, and is recognised as a pathway through which agriculture can affect child nutritional status in developing countries. Longer hours of farm work can potentially increase women’s time constraints, reducing the time allocated to child-caring responsibilities and raising the risk of poor child nutritional status. Using a three-wave household panel dataset from the Feed the Future Innovation Lab on Nutrition surveys in the north and southwest of Uganda, we tested the hypothesis that the negative effect of women’s agriculture time-use constraints on child stunting is mitigated for households that use labour or timesaving agricultural technologies (LSATs). The results show a positive and significant association between the number of hours per day that women spend on agricultural work and the risk of stunting in children aged zero to 23 months who live in households that do not use animal traction for ploughing. However, this association is statistically insignificant, and even turns negative for households that adopted the labour-saving technology. Our findings indicate that LSATs have the potential to lessen a household’s agricultural workload, giving mothers more child-caring time, and hence improving child nutritional status. Therefore, agriculture could have better nutritional outcomes if policies and programmes were designed to have interventions that reduce the workload in farming activities and thus reduce pressure on women’s time.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors explored five indicators with a combination of primary and secondary databases, and interpreted their results in the context of the regional literature, concluding that cowpea is better characterised as a women's enterprise.
Abstract: Cowpea, which is produced primarily in West Africa, is valued locally for its agronomic benefits in dryland farming, nutritional content, and contribution to the livelihoods of farming families. Many feel that more investment in cowpea research and development is needed for the crop to achieve its economic potential. Cowpea has long been labelled a ‘women’s crop’. We tested whether this is the case in Mali by exploring five indicators with a combination of primary and secondary databases, and interpreting our results in the context of the regional literature. We conclude that, in Mali, cowpea is better characterised as a ‘women’s enterprise’. Men are more likely than women to plant cowpea as either a primary or secondary crop and tend to plant larger areas, with cowpea intercropped. In drier agro-ecologies, women are more likely to grow cowpea than other crops. Although subsample sizes are very small, women cowpea growers appear to earn more on average from selling the harvest from their individual plots than do men. Women represent 99% of traders of processed cowpea products in the open-air markets we surveyed. In the production segment of the value chain, investments to facilitate women’s access to improved cowpea seed and local markets would support their commercial orientation. Investments in women’s trade in processed cowpea products, including the provision of credit, storage, and training in organisational capacity, would enhance their incomes and their livelihoods.
TL;DR: In this paper , a Delphi study was conducted to determine stakeholders' perceived benefits and perceived risks regarding the use of BSFL meal in aquaculture; identify the important considerations when legalising BSFL in Kenya; and determine the driving factors to promote the adoption of black soldier fly larvae in fish production.
Abstract: The use of novel feed ingredients from aquaculture is growing globally. However, their contributions to scalable and sustainable aquafeed solutions are unclear. New ingredients for feeds are desired in the framework of sustainability and a circular economy; thus, initiatives for implementing such novel ingredients are of interest to agricultural practitioners. As research continues on the potential contribution of insect-based feeds in aquaculture in Kenya, understanding stakeholders’ perspectives about the use of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) meal is critically important. Given that no such studies have been conducted in Kenya, the overarching goal was to quantify stakeholder perspectives on the use of BSFL meal in aquaculture. Specifically, the objectives of the study were to 1) determine stakeholders’ perceived benefits and perceived risks regarding the use of BSFL meal in aquaculture; 2) identify the important considerations when legalising BSFL meal in Kenya; and 3) determine the driving factors to promote the adoption of BSFL in fish production. Purposive sampling was used to select forty (40) experts for a Delphi study, 24 of whom responded. The Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to assess the experts’ consensus. The results study results suggest that there is agreement among stakeholders regarding the need to use BSFL as alternative protein ingredient in aquaculture. There was a significantly higher perception of benefits of BSFL in aquafeed than of risks, signifying a high degree of acceptance. Sanitary policy and inspection, feed safety, environmental influences and fish quality were given as the top-ranked important considerations when legalising BSFL in aquaculture. Creating and enhancing fish farmers’ awareness of the benefits of BSFL in fish production (100%) was ranked as the most important driving factor, followed by identifying pioneer farmers of safe BSFL production and their introduction as the leading farmers. Consequently, the study recommends the need for academia, government and industries to collaborate closely to develop technology on the use of BSFL in aquaculture. If further recommends that the fish farmers and insect farmers should be engaged in the process, as this might increase the acceptance of BSFL in aquaculture upon its legalisation.
TL;DR: In this paper , the adoption rates of ITTPF among farmers in Togo were evaluated using inverse propensity score weighting and parametric estimation of adoption regression models, and the results indicated that the sample adoption rate does not consistently estimate the true population adoption rate.
Abstract: The adoption of improved agricultural technologies is known to significantly improve incomes, create more wealth, alleviate poverty and contribute to rural development in many developing countries. The Government of Togo, through the National Programme for Agricultural Investment and Food Security (PNIASAN) and the Agricultural Sector Support Project (PASA), and with financial support from the World Bank and help from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), provides assistance to smallholder farmers in improved technology adoption in traditional poultry farming (ITTPF) for wealth creation, food security and poverty alleviation. However, for any technology or emerging agricultural practices, awareness and exposure are necessary conditions for their adoption. And because these two factors are not distributed randomly in the population of potential adopters, not taking them into account will lead to estimates of population adoption rates that are not informative of the true demand for the technology, and to inconsistent estimates of the parameters of the adoption model. In this study, we evaluate the adoption rates of ITTPF among farmers in Togo. Data was collected from 400 farmers in 2014, prior to the introduction of ITTPF, and again five years later. This data was then analysed using inverse propensity score weighting and parametric estimation of adoption regression models. The results of the estimates indicate that the average treatment effect (𝐴𝑇𝐸), which represents the mean potential adoption rate of the population, is 57%, the average treatment effect on the treated (𝐴𝑇𝐸𝑇), which represents the mean potential adoption rate in the exposed subpopulation, is 60%, the population mean joint exposure and adoption rate (𝐽𝐸𝐴) is 13%, and the population selection bias (𝑃𝑆𝐵) is 3%. The sample adoption rate (𝐽𝐸𝐴) implies a population adoption gap of -47% due to a lack of exposure and adoption by a sufficient size of the population. The 𝑃𝑆𝐵 is insignificant and indicates that all the sampled farmers had an almost equal opportunity of adopting ITTPF. The study reveals that the sample adoption rate does not consistently estimate the true population adoption rate. Hence, controlling for non-exposure and selection biases is a perquisite to acquiring consistent estimates of ITTPF adoption rates. The findings indicate a relatively high supply-demand gap for ITTPF that justifies investment in its further dissemination and adoption in Togo for optimal positive impact on potential outcomes and the welfare of farmers.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors analyse the efficacité des producteurs de riz dans l'allocation des ressources which they disposent for the production en recueillant des données transversales auprès de 255 producteur dans le Centre-Ouest de la Côte d'Ivoire.
Abstract: Cette étude analyse l’efficacité des producteurs de riz dans l’allocation des ressources dont ils disposent pour la production en recueillant des données transversales auprès de 255 producteurs dans le Centre-Ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire. Une fonction de type Cobb-Douglass est utilisée pour examiner les déterminants de la production et les élasticités issues des résultats de l’estimation par les moindres carrées ordinaires (MCO) sont ensuite utilisées dans l'approche de la valeur marginale du produit et du coût marginal du facteur pour déterminer si les agriculteurs répartissent efficacement leurs ressources ou non. Les résultats indiquent que la semence a un effet positif sur la production mais est sous-utilisée tandis que la main d’œuvre a un effet positif sur la production mais est surutilisée par les producteurs. Le matériel agricole quant à lui, a un effet négatif non significatif sur la production et est surutilisé par les producteurs. L’étude recommande un programme de formation au niveau des producteurs en vue d’améliorer leur capacité de gestion des ressources de production et la mise en place de programme de production de semence de qualité afin d’accroitre les rendements.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors look at the prioritisation of agricultural value chains for the allocation of R&D resources that maximise development outcomes (poverty, growth, jobs and diets) in Senegal.
Abstract: We look at the prioritisation of agricultural value chains (VCs) for the allocation of R&D resources that maximise development outcomes (poverty, growth, jobs and diets) in Senegal. This study used (a) the rural investment and policy analysis (RIAPA) computable general equilibrium (CGE) model; (b) the perpetual inventory model (PIM), and (c) information on the elasticities of VC total factor productivity (TFP) with respect to R&D knowledge stocks (KS) to discuss the value chain priority allocations of R&D resources. The results indicate that no value chain is the most effective at improving all outcomes. The most effective value chains to be efficiently supported through R&D investments are traditional export crops, groundnuts, rice, poultry, sorghum/millet and cattle. Other promising value chains with potential effects at scale include vegetables, oilseeds and fruits. Future modelling needs to focus on deepening the standardisation and integration of R&D investments in this framework and bring together other factors and complementary agri-food system (AFS) investment dimensions that are relevant to sustainable and inclusive agricultural growth.
TL;DR: In this paper , a threshold autoregressive (TAR) model was estimated using monthly series of international and producer prices of coffee and cocoa in Togo from 1994 to 2018.
Abstract: This study assesses the mechanism of the transmission of international price shocks to producer prices of coffee and cocoa in Togo. A threshold autoregressive (TAR) model was estimated using monthly series of international and producer prices of coffee and cocoa in Togo from 1994 to 2018. The results show that there is asymmetric transmission of international price shocks to producer prices. Domestic prices respond less quickly to international price increase than decreases. The asymmetric price transmission is similar in term of the speed of adjustment for the two commodities. In order to deal with this phenomenon, further investigations need to be done to detect the reasons for the asymmetry in price transmission between domestic and international coffee and cocoa markets.
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors identify the internal and external factors determining Ethiopia's bilateral exports and total trade flows and provide recommendations for the effective implementation of supply side policies to enhance trade.
Abstract: This study seeks to identify the internal and external factors determining Ethiopia’s bilateral exports and total trade flows. It uses panel data covering 21 major trading partners of Ethiopia from 2000 to 2017 and estimates an augmented fixed effects gravity model. The results reveal that domestic and foreign revenues increase Ethiopia’s bilateral exports, whereas the country’s foreign direct investment and the population size of the trading partners decrease bilateral exports. The results further show that both the domestic and foreign income and similarity endowment of Ethiopia increase the country’s total trade. The study provides recommendations for the effective implementation of supply side policies to enhance trade.
TL;DR: In this paper , the effect of the sustained adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) on the technical and profit efficiency of maize farmers has been investigated using the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier model.
Abstract: This study aimed to bring forth empirical evidence of the effect of the sustained adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) on the technical and profit efficiency of farmers. Previous studies remain inconclusive about whether the adoption of SAPs has any bearing on the efficiency of maize farmers. The current study introduced the concept of sustained adoption and compared levels of efficiency between one-time SAP adopters and sustained adopters. Using a sample of 2 100 households, the study employed the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier model to analyse both the technical and profit efficiency of maize farmers, and a two-stage tobit model was used to control for endogeneity. The study found that the one-time adoption of SAPs has no effect on the technical efficiency of maize farmers, whilst sustained adoption significantly improves the technical and profit efficiency of maize farmers. The study recommends a shift towards promoting the sustained adoption of SAPs for sustainable benefits for farmers.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors used primary data from smallholder sugarcane farmers in Kenya to investigate how women empowerment affects household poverty and found that women empowerment positively contributes to women empowerment and to the reduction in household poverty.
Abstract: This study uses primary data from smallholder sugarcane farmers in Kenya to investigate how women’s empowerment affects household poverty. Instrumental-variable tobit (IV tobit) was used to determine the causality between women’s empowerment and household poverty. The results reveal that poverty levels in households with empowered women are low compared to households without such women. Besides, education level, credit access, market access, land size, and crop and income diversification contributed positively to women’s empowerment and to the reduction in household poverty. The domains that contribute significantly to women’s disempowerment in sugarcane farming are income, work balance and leadership. These results suggest that strengthening women’s control over income and their leadership position in society are vital domains that should be targeted by rural development interventions to improve the livelihoods of smallholder women sugarcane farmers. In addition, there is a need to intensify crop diversification and increase women’s access to markets.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors analyzed the level of integration in pastoral markets in Kenya using high-frequency data generated through a crowdsourcing endeavour, and the vector error-correction model framework was used to estimate the causal relationships between the short- and long-run market price.
Abstract: This article analyses the level of integration in pastoral markets in Kenya using high-frequency data generated through a crowdsourcing endeavour. The vector error-correction model framework was used to estimate the causal relationships between the short- and long-run market price. The results indicate that a higher proportion of price variation in larger markets in the region was due to market price shocks, while variation in the smaller markets originated from the larger markets. Weekly adjustments and the convergence of prices on a long-run equilibrium after experiencing shocks were also observed. Price transmission was also evident between markets operating along different trading routes. However, markets located close to production catchments exhibited lower price trends, despite being connected. These results suggest a strong influence of the recent infrastructural investments on price transmission between markets in the region. The findings imply that more investments would enhance the competitive trading environment and reduce unidirectional price transmission.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors used propensity score matching on data from a nationally representative fifth Integrated Household Survey (IHS5) to investigate the effect of agriculture extension services on the technical efficiency of maize farmers in Malawi.
Abstract: Recognising potential selection bias due to non-randomness of the data, this study used propensity score matching on data from a nationally representative fifth Integrated Household Survey (IHS5) to investigate the effect of agriculture extension services on the technical efficiency of maize farmers in Malawi. Technical efficiency levels were estimated using the stochastic frontier model. The results show that most farmers are technically efficient, with an average technical efficiency of 63%. This indicates that there is still a possibility to increase maize output by 37% using the same level of inputs. The results of the propensity score matching reveal that having access to agricultural extension services significantly increases maize farmers’ technical efficiency, by about 4%. This evidence presents an opportunity not only for farmers, but also for the relevant policymakers, to realise the potential of using agricultural extension services to enhance the production capacity of maize farmers.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors examined the effect of the targeted fertiliser subsidy implemented in Togo from 2017 to 2019 and found that participation in the targeted fertilizer subsidy program significantly improved beneficiaries' poverty status through increased income, leading to a decline in poverty incidence, gap and severity.
Abstract: The reintroduction of innovative forms of input subsidies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) following the food crisis of 2008 raises concerns about their effectiveness in the fight against poverty. In this context, this paper examines the effect of the targeted fertiliser subsidy implemented in Togo from 2017 to 2019. For this purpose, the propensity score matching and instrumental variables regression approaches were used to control for potential selection and endogeneity bias. Nationwide crosssectional survey data covering 2 319 smallholder farmers in Togo suggests that participation in the targeted fertiliser subsidy programme significantly improved beneficiaries’ poverty status through increased income, leading to a decline in poverty incidence, gap and severity. However, the magnitude of the effect is very small compared to that in some other West African countries. Therefore, to enhance the effect of targeted subsidy policy on income and poverty status, there is a need to improve the rate and composition of the subsidy.
TL;DR: In this paper , the double-bound contingent valuation approach was used on primary data from urban individuals to investigate the extent to which consumers value organic food in Dakar, Senegal, and the results indicated that consumers do indeed significantly value organic vegetables, with a premium averaging 53% and varying across food items.
Abstract: Although organic farming is increasingly perceived as a viable alternative to conventional agriculture in the face of deteriorating environmental ecosystems, little is known about consumers’ preferences for organic products in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper bridges this gap in research and investigates the extent to which consumers value organic food in Dakar, Senegal. The double-bound contingent valuation approach was used on primary data from urban individuals. The results indicate that consumers do indeed significantly value organic vegetables, with a premium averaging 53% and varying across food items. The results also indicate that the current market structure of organic farming tends to undervalue organic products, as the actual price is 25.7% below the average consumers’ reservation price. Consumers who attach a higher value to organic products are found to be young, female, well-educated, wealthy, and fairly concerned about the health and environmental impacts associated with food production. All of these results contribute to laying the foundations to promote sustainable farming practices that make use of local solutions to address global environmental challenges.
TL;DR: In this article , the authors examined the relationship between syndicated loans and cocoa production in Ghana, using annual time-series data spanning from 1993 to 2020, as well as the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL).
Abstract: The syndication of loansis an innovative financing model that has emerged in the financial landscape to help lenders spread risk and share opportunities. This study examines the relationship between syndicated loans and cocoa production in Ghana, using annual time-series data spanning from 1993 to 2020, as well as the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL). The study found a positive and significant short-run and long-run relationship between syndicated loans and cocoa production. Specifically, a 1% increase in the amount of syndicated loans increases cocoa production by 0.25% in the long run. The Ghana Cocoa Board should ensure efficient utilisation of syndicated loans by investing in productivity-enhancing programmes to boost cocoa production.