Pub Date : 2022-06-01DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2022.2078847
Olubunmi Bamiwuye, O. Akintunde, L. Jimoh, Francis Oluwadamilare Ajayi
ABSTRACT The Covid-19 pandemic has generated shocks that have affected the global economy. The study examined perceived changes in food security as well as finances and revenue of rural and urban households during Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Data were sourced from the National Longitudinal Phone Survey executed between April and June 2020 by the National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the World Bank. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-Square test. Findings revealed 83 percent of urban households and 78 percent in rural were food insecure. About 83 percent of rural households and 79 percent of Urban perceived Covid-19 pandemic as a threat to household finances. Household finances dropped for 29.3 percent of urban and 31.5 percent of rural households while 30.5 percent of urban and 20.0 percent of rural households who operate family business had no revenue at all. The study concluded that the pandemic has worsened the food security situation of both rural and urban households and has also adversely affected rural and urban household finances. Given a new surge in the epidemic, the government should take cognizance of the disparities in the context in which the pandemic affects the rural and urban households in Nigeria.
{"title":"Perceived changes in food security, finances and revenue of rural and urban households during COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria","authors":"Olubunmi Bamiwuye, O. Akintunde, L. Jimoh, Francis Oluwadamilare Ajayi","doi":"10.1080/03031853.2022.2078847","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2022.2078847","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The Covid-19 pandemic has generated shocks that have affected the global economy. The study examined perceived changes in food security as well as finances and revenue of rural and urban households during Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Data were sourced from the National Longitudinal Phone Survey executed between April and June 2020 by the National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the World Bank. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-Square test. Findings revealed 83 percent of urban households and 78 percent in rural were food insecure. About 83 percent of rural households and 79 percent of Urban perceived Covid-19 pandemic as a threat to household finances. Household finances dropped for 29.3 percent of urban and 31.5 percent of rural households while 30.5 percent of urban and 20.0 percent of rural households who operate family business had no revenue at all. The study concluded that the pandemic has worsened the food security situation of both rural and urban households and has also adversely affected rural and urban household finances. Given a new surge in the epidemic, the government should take cognizance of the disparities in the context in which the pandemic affects the rural and urban households in Nigeria.","PeriodicalId":55541,"journal":{"name":"Agrekon","volume":"61 1","pages":"282 - 291"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42281094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-06DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2022.2066551
Regret Sunge, N. Ngepah
ABSTRACT The study draws inference on the impact of agricultural trade openness, total factor productivity (TFP) growth, and domestic agriculture support on food security in Africa. To retain estimates efficiency and consistency in the presence of complex error terms, we employed the Panel-Corrected-Standard-Error (PCSE) estimator on panel data spanning 2005–2016 for 13 African countries. Results suggest that agricultural trade liberalisation and TFP have significant and favourable effects. Moreover, we find that reducing agricultural support beyond distortion-free levels enhances food security. Further to trade openness, we call for export growth-oriented domestic support anchored on agricultural human-capital development, innovation, and research and development.
{"title":"Agricultural trade liberalisation, agricultural total factor productivity growth and food security in Africa","authors":"Regret Sunge, N. Ngepah","doi":"10.1080/03031853.2022.2066551","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2022.2066551","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The study draws inference on the impact of agricultural trade openness, total factor productivity (TFP) growth, and domestic agriculture support on food security in Africa. To retain estimates efficiency and consistency in the presence of complex error terms, we employed the Panel-Corrected-Standard-Error (PCSE) estimator on panel data spanning 2005–2016 for 13 African countries. Results suggest that agricultural trade liberalisation and TFP have significant and favourable effects. Moreover, we find that reducing agricultural support beyond distortion-free levels enhances food security. Further to trade openness, we call for export growth-oriented domestic support anchored on agricultural human-capital development, innovation, and research and development.","PeriodicalId":55541,"journal":{"name":"Agrekon","volume":"61 1","pages":"292 - 313"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47219167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-04DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2022.2063144
Nixon S. Chekenya, Laurine Chikoko
ABSTRACT We examine whether there is a relationship between xenophobic attacks and the stock market value of supermarket groups in South Africa. We perform an event study analysis on significant incidents of violent attacks targeted at shops owned by foreigners in South Africa for the period 2006–2017. Using an event study approach with an augmented market model, we uncover evidence that the stock market perceives these events as bad news instead of good news for supermarkets having operations in South Africa and other parts of Africa, as they realise a decline in abnormal returns of about 2.57 percent. We interpret our findings as economic costs of xenophobic attacks emanating from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Our analysis attempts to shed light on the peace-building challenges and the potentially grim implications of xenophobia on economic activity in South Africa.
{"title":"Intolerance, xenophobia and cross-border supermarket groups’ operations in South Africa","authors":"Nixon S. Chekenya, Laurine Chikoko","doi":"10.1080/03031853.2022.2063144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2022.2063144","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT We examine whether there is a relationship between xenophobic attacks and the stock market value of supermarket groups in South Africa. We perform an event study analysis on significant incidents of violent attacks targeted at shops owned by foreigners in South Africa for the period 2006–2017. Using an event study approach with an augmented market model, we uncover evidence that the stock market perceives these events as bad news instead of good news for supermarkets having operations in South Africa and other parts of Africa, as they realise a decline in abnormal returns of about 2.57 percent. We interpret our findings as economic costs of xenophobic attacks emanating from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Our analysis attempts to shed light on the peace-building challenges and the potentially grim implications of xenophobia on economic activity in South Africa.","PeriodicalId":55541,"journal":{"name":"Agrekon","volume":"61 1","pages":"360 - 378"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47098549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-04-03DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2022.2065322
C. Tsvakirai, N. Zulu
ABSTRACT Meat analogues are becoming widely accepted in high-income countries as substitutes for meat. As consumer acceptance of faux meat is beginning to follow a similar trend in South Africa, this study investigated the aspects of the product’s positioning that could be used to further grow the product’s market. Using data collected from 130 middle-income consumers in Mbombela, the study determined consumer perceptions of meat analogues. These were measured using composite indices extracted using principal component analysis, and these indices were regressed against the consumers’ purchase probability of meat alternatives. The study’s results showed that meat alternatives were perceived as a pricey symbol of class and status. This was found to have a two-sided effect on consumer behaviour. On one hand, the products' position encouraged purchase among the survey respondents and encouraged them to recommend the products to their peers and on the other, it discouraged consumption with their families. As this finding shows that meat analogues remain niche products in the study area, the study offers recommendations on ways to improve product performance in the niche market. It also suggests changes in the products’ marketing that could assist in launching them into the mainstream food market of South Africa.
{"title":"Investigating the motivations driving meat analogue purchase among middle-income consumers in Mbombela, South Africa","authors":"C. Tsvakirai, N. Zulu","doi":"10.1080/03031853.2022.2065322","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2022.2065322","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Meat analogues are becoming widely accepted in high-income countries as substitutes for meat. As consumer acceptance of faux meat is beginning to follow a similar trend in South Africa, this study investigated the aspects of the product’s positioning that could be used to further grow the product’s market. Using data collected from 130 middle-income consumers in Mbombela, the study determined consumer perceptions of meat analogues. These were measured using composite indices extracted using principal component analysis, and these indices were regressed against the consumers’ purchase probability of meat alternatives. The study’s results showed that meat alternatives were perceived as a pricey symbol of class and status. This was found to have a two-sided effect on consumer behaviour. On one hand, the products' position encouraged purchase among the survey respondents and encouraged them to recommend the products to their peers and on the other, it discouraged consumption with their families. As this finding shows that meat analogues remain niche products in the study area, the study offers recommendations on ways to improve product performance in the niche market. It also suggests changes in the products’ marketing that could assist in launching them into the mainstream food market of South Africa.","PeriodicalId":55541,"journal":{"name":"Agrekon","volume":"61 1","pages":"138 - 150"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48850495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-04-03DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2022.2063143
B. Conradie, Craig Galloway, Andrea Renner
ABSTRACT This study presents a novel way to measure the contribution of private extension to farm productivity for club data. Club data refers to any convenience sample obtained from a study group, consulting firm, cooperative or producer organisation. The study develops a stochastic frontier production function model with the inefficiency effects of pasture-based dairy farming in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The analysis for 2012–2018 involves 49 adopter farms, and controls for inter-calf period, nutrient use efficiency and the amount of extension contact. Results are robust to functional form specification and there is no evidence of frontier-shifting technical progress for the Cobb Douglas or translog model, but there is a clear productivity benefit to engaging with the private extension service provider working locally (adoption). Productivity rises at 0.91–1.06% p.a. over time and by 1.54–1.62% p.a. with each extra year of the extension. Large farms close to the private extension provider’s base of operations benefit most from being in the group. This case study is important because it documents productivity growth in the period since 2010 and puts the effect of extension on productivity growth back on the local research agenda.
{"title":"Private extension delivers productivity growth in pasture-based dairy farming in the Eastern Cape, 2012–2018","authors":"B. Conradie, Craig Galloway, Andrea Renner","doi":"10.1080/03031853.2022.2063143","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2022.2063143","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT\u0000 This study presents a novel way to measure the contribution of private extension to farm productivity for club data. Club data refers to any convenience sample obtained from a study group, consulting firm, cooperative or producer organisation. The study develops a stochastic frontier production function model with the inefficiency effects of pasture-based dairy farming in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The analysis for 2012–2018 involves 49 adopter farms, and controls for inter-calf period, nutrient use efficiency and the amount of extension contact. Results are robust to functional form specification and there is no evidence of frontier-shifting technical progress for the Cobb Douglas or translog model, but there is a clear productivity benefit to engaging with the private extension service provider working locally (adoption). Productivity rises at 0.91–1.06% p.a. over time and by 1.54–1.62% p.a. with each extra year of the extension. Large farms close to the private extension provider’s base of operations benefit most from being in the group. This case study is important because it documents productivity growth in the period since 2010 and puts the effect of extension on productivity growth back on the local research agenda.","PeriodicalId":55541,"journal":{"name":"Agrekon","volume":"61 1","pages":"109 - 120"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44971891","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-31DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2022.2052124
H. J. Sartorius von Bach, K. M. Kalundu
ABSTRACT Most countries within Southern Africa are reliant on cereal imports from South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) region, cereal insecure countries are often import-dependent. Changing income levels, pandemics, climatic conditions and the trade environment all create a wedge and put pressure on food self-sufficiency. This paper uses a robust dynamic approach of a five-country panel to investigate the key determinants of cereal self-sufficiency in the SACU region. Long-term and short-term effects of selected variables are tested using a dynamic panel data model. The key long-term drivers for cereal self-sufficiency are identified and the short-term results reveal that land surface and rainfall are statistically most significant at a level of ten percent. The Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality test suggests that SACU member states could propose further macroeconomic harmonisation and good governance to stabilise national income to cushion against the possible increased cost of cereal production especially in Lesotho, Eswatini and Namibia. The adoption of climate smart technology to safeguard against rainfall variability and reduce the carbon footprint is important to foster an increase in agricultural productivity. A lack of effective harmonised policies may lead to an acceleration in cereal production insecurity and increased poverty.
{"title":"Are SACU countries self-sufficient in cereals? A dynamic panel analysis","authors":"H. J. Sartorius von Bach, K. M. Kalundu","doi":"10.1080/03031853.2022.2052124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2022.2052124","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Most countries within Southern Africa are reliant on cereal imports from South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) region, cereal insecure countries are often import-dependent. Changing income levels, pandemics, climatic conditions and the trade environment all create a wedge and put pressure on food self-sufficiency. This paper uses a robust dynamic approach of a five-country panel to investigate the key determinants of cereal self-sufficiency in the SACU region. Long-term and short-term effects of selected variables are tested using a dynamic panel data model. The key long-term drivers for cereal self-sufficiency are identified and the short-term results reveal that land surface and rainfall are statistically most significant at a level of ten percent. The Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality test suggests that SACU member states could propose further macroeconomic harmonisation and good governance to stabilise national income to cushion against the possible increased cost of cereal production especially in Lesotho, Eswatini and Namibia. The adoption of climate smart technology to safeguard against rainfall variability and reduce the carbon footprint is important to foster an increase in agricultural productivity. A lack of effective harmonised policies may lead to an acceleration in cereal production insecurity and increased poverty.","PeriodicalId":55541,"journal":{"name":"Agrekon","volume":"61 1","pages":"151 - 166"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59306018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-18DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2022.2044359
Bedilu Demissie Zeleke, A. K. Geleto, S. Asefa, H. H. Komicha
ABSTRACT This article evaluates the adoption and impact of improved wheat varieties on rural farm household welfare measured by consumption expenditure per adult equivalent and productivity per hectare in rural Ethiopia. The study utilises cross-sectional farm household-level data collected in 2017/2018 from a randomly selected sample of 323 farmers in Arsi Highland of Ethiopia. We estimate the adoption and causal impact of improved varieties by utilising endogenous switching regression complemented with a binary propensity score matching methodology. This helps us estimate the productivity and welfare effect of technological adoption by controlling for the role of selection bias problem stemming from both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. Our analysis reveals a consistent result across models indicating that adoption enhances wheat productivity per hectare by 0.63 tons/ha and household welfare by 31%. Even farm households that did not adopt would benefit significantly had they adopted. Education, wheat price, farm machineries, crop rotation, row planting, social capital (such as informal network, core trust, and institutional trust), training on varieties selection, and information on seed availability are found to be the main drivers behind the adoption of improved wheat varieties.
{"title":"Adoption and impact of improved wheat varieties on productivity and welfare among smallholder farmers in the Arsi Highland of Ethiopia","authors":"Bedilu Demissie Zeleke, A. K. Geleto, S. Asefa, H. H. Komicha","doi":"10.1080/03031853.2022.2044359","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2022.2044359","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article evaluates the adoption and impact of improved wheat varieties on rural farm household welfare measured by consumption expenditure per adult equivalent and productivity per hectare in rural Ethiopia. The study utilises cross-sectional farm household-level data collected in 2017/2018 from a randomly selected sample of 323 farmers in Arsi Highland of Ethiopia. We estimate the adoption and causal impact of improved varieties by utilising endogenous switching regression complemented with a binary propensity score matching methodology. This helps us estimate the productivity and welfare effect of technological adoption by controlling for the role of selection bias problem stemming from both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. Our analysis reveals a consistent result across models indicating that adoption enhances wheat productivity per hectare by 0.63 tons/ha and household welfare by 31%. Even farm households that did not adopt would benefit significantly had they adopted. Education, wheat price, farm machineries, crop rotation, row planting, social capital (such as informal network, core trust, and institutional trust), training on varieties selection, and information on seed availability are found to be the main drivers behind the adoption of improved wheat varieties.","PeriodicalId":55541,"journal":{"name":"Agrekon","volume":"61 1","pages":"207 - 228"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47438071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-14DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2022.2047079
Carina Troost, J. Kirsten
ABSTRACT South African sheep farmers receive different prices for animals of different age, carcass form and fat level. Older animals trade at a substantive discount to the younger animals due to the perceived tenderness and juiciness of the younger animal. There is however a question whether the size of the discount is warranted given that certain cuts from older animals are preferred by consumers for specific purposes. This paper applies an experimental auction combined with sensory tests to establish the consumers’ willingness to pay for sheep meat products from carcasses with different age categories. In this way the paper endeavours to test whether the price differentiation in the mind of the consumer (through its perceived intrinsic value) corresponds with the price differentiation at the abattoir level. Consumers’ sensory assessment results and average bid prices via the experimental auction indicated a difference in preference towards the three age classes for the stew meat, loin, and leg cuts respectively. The results validate previous results with trained panels and confirm the specific consumer preferences for specific cuts of different age categories. It was also found that the difference in the bids for different age categories was far smaller than the difference in abattoir prices for the different age categories.
{"title":"Producer prices, carcass classification and consumers’ willingness to pay for different sheep meat grades: an experimental auction approach","authors":"Carina Troost, J. Kirsten","doi":"10.1080/03031853.2022.2047079","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2022.2047079","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT South African sheep farmers receive different prices for animals of different age, carcass form and fat level. Older animals trade at a substantive discount to the younger animals due to the perceived tenderness and juiciness of the younger animal. There is however a question whether the size of the discount is warranted given that certain cuts from older animals are preferred by consumers for specific purposes. This paper applies an experimental auction combined with sensory tests to establish the consumers’ willingness to pay for sheep meat products from carcasses with different age categories. In this way the paper endeavours to test whether the price differentiation in the mind of the consumer (through its perceived intrinsic value) corresponds with the price differentiation at the abattoir level. Consumers’ sensory assessment results and average bid prices via the experimental auction indicated a difference in preference towards the three age classes for the stew meat, loin, and leg cuts respectively. The results validate previous results with trained panels and confirm the specific consumer preferences for specific cuts of different age categories. It was also found that the difference in the bids for different age categories was far smaller than the difference in abattoir prices for the different age categories.","PeriodicalId":55541,"journal":{"name":"Agrekon","volume":"61 1","pages":"121 - 137"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44314659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-03DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2022.2028642
Hezbon Akelo Awiti, E. Gido, G. Obare
ABSTRACT Farm households respond to market uncertainties and household demand for food commodities by diversifying their farm-level crop portfolio. However, it is unclear if farmers’ crop mix also responds to unpredictable climate variability. We use primary data from 267 randomly selected respondents and apply a multinomial logit model to test the hypothesis that crop portfolio choice is an ex-ante mechanism to manage climate risks in the absence of crop insurance. The results suggest that access to information on climate variability does influence the mix of maize, cassava, sweet potato, and sorghum, which smallholder farmers in Kisumu County, Kenya grow in various combinations. Access to credit services, farm size, gender of household head, farming experience, and distance to nearest market also influence the farm-level crop mixture. These findings imply that policies geared towards incentivizing a better crop choice portfolio at the smallholder farm level should address climate variability awareness. In addition, encouraging crop-variety mixes that are tolerant to climate risks would enhance resilience in food systems among these smallholder farmers.
{"title":"Crop mix portfolio response to climate risks: evidence from smallholder farmers in Kisumu County, Kenya","authors":"Hezbon Akelo Awiti, E. Gido, G. Obare","doi":"10.1080/03031853.2022.2028642","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2022.2028642","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT\u0000 Farm households respond to market uncertainties and household demand for food commodities by diversifying their farm-level crop portfolio. However, it is unclear if farmers’ crop mix also responds to unpredictable climate variability. We use primary data from 267 randomly selected respondents and apply a multinomial logit model to test the hypothesis that crop portfolio choice is an ex-ante mechanism to manage climate risks in the absence of crop insurance. The results suggest that access to information on climate variability does influence the mix of maize, cassava, sweet potato, and sorghum, which smallholder farmers in Kisumu County, Kenya grow in various combinations. Access to credit services, farm size, gender of household head, farming experience, and distance to nearest market also influence the farm-level crop mixture. These findings imply that policies geared towards incentivizing a better crop choice portfolio at the smallholder farm level should address climate variability awareness. In addition, encouraging crop-variety mixes that are tolerant to climate risks would enhance resilience in food systems among these smallholder farmers.","PeriodicalId":55541,"journal":{"name":"Agrekon","volume":"61 1","pages":"192 - 206"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41658545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-02DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2022.2032223
E. Mabaya, Jaron Porciello
ABSTRACT Digital agriculture solutions hold a promise to build agri-food food systems that are more efficient, environmentally sustainable, and inclusive, thereby contributing to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. In most African countries, the rapid adoption of mobile phones and other digital tools have accelerated the deployment of agricultural services for farmers and other value chain actors resulting in enhanced access to information, knowledge, financial services, markets, and farm tools. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to fast-track the deployment of contact-free digital solutions along the agri-food value chains. Despite the numerous opportunities presented by the digital agricultural revolution, its potential to transform agri-food systems in Africa remains uncertain. With a broad perspective on Africa, this paper explores the emerging evidence on digital agricultural services including key drivers, evidence on impact, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper concludes with some implications for policy makers and professionals in agricultural economics.
{"title":"Can digital solutions transform agri-food systems in Africa?","authors":"E. Mabaya, Jaron Porciello","doi":"10.1080/03031853.2022.2032223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/03031853.2022.2032223","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Digital agriculture solutions hold a promise to build agri-food food systems that are more efficient, environmentally sustainable, and inclusive, thereby contributing to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. In most African countries, the rapid adoption of mobile phones and other digital tools have accelerated the deployment of agricultural services for farmers and other value chain actors resulting in enhanced access to information, knowledge, financial services, markets, and farm tools. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to fast-track the deployment of contact-free digital solutions along the agri-food value chains. Despite the numerous opportunities presented by the digital agricultural revolution, its potential to transform agri-food systems in Africa remains uncertain. With a broad perspective on Africa, this paper explores the emerging evidence on digital agricultural services including key drivers, evidence on impact, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper concludes with some implications for policy makers and professionals in agricultural economics.","PeriodicalId":55541,"journal":{"name":"Agrekon","volume":"61 1","pages":"67 - 79"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2022-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45993310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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