WHICH AGRICULTURAL INNOVATIONS MATTER MOST TO NIGER’S FARMERS? COUNT-BASED AND BEST-WORST SCALING APPROACHES

Abstract

The negative impact of quadruple insecurities (food, health, security and climate change) on smallholder farmers and their livelihoods have been considered as global challenge and threat for sustainable development and climate change management in most developing nations. Although farmers have developed and keep developing coping strategies by innovating to accommodate the negative impact of this quadruple insecurity, little is relatively known how agricultural innovations and its impact on farmers’ welfare in changing climate are poorly understood. Based on previous studies and Survey amongst farmers, twenty four agricultural innovations have identified and included in this research. The experimental design popularly called complete block design was used to collect data from 436 farmers randomly selected. For each question, farmers were asked to choose his eight best and his eight worst agricultural innovations in changing climate. This repeated process is consistent with random utility, which is deeply rooted in microeconomic theory. Count-based method and multinomial logit were used to fit the data. Results indicate that rainfed rice production, saving and credit scheme for rural women, Maradi red goat breeding, processing peanuts into oil and cake, planting trees for land recovering, using of annual and perennial crops for cattle fattening, manufacturing handicrafts with local perennial crops, honey harvesting via improved beehives, cheese making are the most important agricultural innovations that farmers would prefer to implement in changing climate. Income and Animal-based agricultural innovations are more welfare enhancing. The findings of this research may be used to promote and achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals by planning changes and thereby improving the food security and local farmer’s welfare in the study area and beyond.