{"title":"Determinants of agricultural commercialization in smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe: The case of Zhombe North Rural District","authors":"Madududu Pamela, Madzokere Faustino, Jambo Newettie, Ruzhani Freddy","doi":"10.5897/jdae2022.1336","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/jdae2022.1336","url":null,"abstract":"Agricultural commercialization raises farm incomes and improves living standards in African farming populations. Despite its importance, it remains low in Africa. Limited studies in agricultural commercialization have explored different tools for analysis given the agricultural commercialization indicators with zeros and fractions. This paper addresses methodological issue and adds literature on factors affecting agricultural commercialization. Agricultural commercialization is explored in Zhombe North Rural District using 2017/2018 cross-sectional data collected from 165 households. The zero-inflated beta regression model was used to find the drivers of agricultural commercialization. Crop output market participation share served as a proxy for agricultural commercialization. Land size, fertilizer use, use of credit, and certified seed proportion had significant positive effects on agricultural commercialization. In contrast, household head age, food cropping land size, and off-farm employment significantly influenced agricultural commercialization. The results for the model are similar to the results in previous studies using the Tobit model. The study recommends policies that promote the availability and usage of inputs to improve agricultural commercialization in the study area.","PeriodicalId":90891,"journal":{"name":"Journal of development and agricultural economics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44854596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impacts of cassava whitefly pests on the productivity of East and Central African smallholder farmers","authors":"Mwebaze Paul, Macfadyen Sarina, Deevan Paul, Bua Anton, Kalyebi Andrew, Tairo Fred, Kachigamba Donald, Omongo Christopher, Colvin John","doi":"10.5897/jdae2022.1330","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/jdae2022.1330","url":null,"abstract":"A key constraint to smallholder cassava production systems in Africa is the cassava whitefly pest species. These pests are a group of several cryptic species within Bemisia tabaci that cause direct damage to cassava and vector viruses that cause disease. We employ a farm-level stochastic production frontier (SPF) model to determine the impacts of the cassava whitefly pests on the productivity and technical efficiency (TE) of smallholder cassava farmers in Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda. Primary data were collected from a sample of cassava farmers using a structured survey questionnaire. A total of 1200 farmers were selected from Malawi (400), Tanzania (350) and Uganda (450), and interviewed using a multi-stage sampling technique. Cassava output was significantly correlated with land area, the quantity of cuttings used to propagate the crop, and total labor used. We found that whitefly infestations as well as several socio-economic factors significantly affected the technical inefficiency of cassava farmers. Whitefly and disease infestations contributed to higher levels of technical inefficiency of cassava farmers. The mean TE score was significantly lower (50%) for cassava farms with whitefly infestation compared to those without any infestation (80%). These findings underscore the need for policies to ensure that cassava farmers have better access to improved inputs, especially clean planting materials, and the knowledge to integrate this technology into their farming system effectively.","PeriodicalId":90891,"journal":{"name":"Journal of development and agricultural economics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44910991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Analysis of institutional credit accessibility among small-holder poultry farmers in Rivers State, Nigeria","authors":"Anne Elum Zelda, Obiajunwa Ugochi","doi":"10.5897/jdae2022.1329","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/jdae2022.1329","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":90891,"journal":{"name":"Journal of development and agricultural economics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44084698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Analysis of constraints to poverty reduction among smallholder farmers in Northern Region, Ghana","authors":"Abdul-Malik Abdul-Mumin","doi":"10.5897/jdae2021.1314","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/jdae2021.1314","url":null,"abstract":"The northern part of Ghana is bedeviled with high incidence of poverty with threatening food insecurity. Agriculture is the main stay of the people in northern Ghana. In spite of the introduction of variety of poverty reduction strategies, the region remains the hardest hit in terms of the numbers of poor people. This study sought to evaluate the constraints to poverty reduction among farmers in the northern region. The study made use of data from a survey of 420 farmers from five randomly selected districts in the region. Multi-stage sampling process was employed. In-depth interviews were used on the key informants. Descriptive statistics and Kendal’s coefficient of concordance were employed to analyse the data. The study reveals that poverty reduction in the northern part of the country is plagued with several constraints. Prominent of these constraints include erratic climatic conditions, inadequate financial credit, poor road network, market volatility of agricultural produce, bush fires, pest and disease outbreak, poor economic opportunities, violent conflicts, corruption and mismanagement of poverty reduction packages. It is recommended that central government, decentralized agencies and poverty alleviation oriented NGOs give priority attention to agriculture in the region.","PeriodicalId":90891,"journal":{"name":"Journal of development and agricultural economics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45238943","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An evaluation of the effects of revolving funds on dairy inputs use in Chepalungu Sub-County, Kenya","authors":"Chepkirui Norah, O. George, K. Lawrence","doi":"10.5897/jdae2021.1315","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/jdae2021.1315","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":90891,"journal":{"name":"Journal of development and agricultural economics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48473936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The role of informal commodity traders association in the marketing of farm products in selected rural markets in Ghana","authors":"Abekah Keelson Solomon, Nanekum Isaac","doi":"10.5897/jdae2021.1277","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/jdae2021.1277","url":null,"abstract":"This article is aimed at examining how the activities of women trader’s association in rural market of Ghana affect the marketing of agriculture products of smallholder farmers. Hundred market women trades’ association operators from ten rural markets were interviewed. A case study analysis technique was used for data analysis. The results showed that women trader’s associations are a useful phenomenon in the marketing of agriculture products in the rural markets as they contribute significantly to the 4Ps of marketing. However, since most of the associations are informal and unregistered by law, governance is usually problematic, making market control difficult sometimes. The paper therefore recommended that local government authorities should ensure that members are registered, while associations establish a former structure that can make them more recognized and effective.","PeriodicalId":90891,"journal":{"name":"Journal of development and agricultural economics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41788728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Competitive strategies for purchasing of cocoa by licensed buying companies in Ghana: The determinants and performance implications","authors":"Bakang John-Eudes, Annor Frimpong Alexander, Etuah Seth, Kwame Tham-Agyekum Enoch, Nii Sowah Isaac, Amponsah Doodo Emmanuel, Amponsah Mark, Kyeraa Boateng Evelyn, Iddrisu Mariama","doi":"10.5897/jdae2021.1303","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/jdae2021.1303","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":90891,"journal":{"name":"Journal of development and agricultural economics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43036831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Household dietary diversity in rural households of Oromia Regional state, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study","authors":"Derso Dereje, Tolossa Degefa, Seyoum Abrham","doi":"10.5897/jdae2020.1187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/jdae2020.1187","url":null,"abstract":"Household dietary diversity (HDD) is an important nutrition outcome measuring the economic ability of a household to access a variety of foods during a determined period. This paper examines the determinants of HDD among wheat dominated rural households of Sinana District, Oromia Regional State. Multi stage sampling procedure was used to select 384 sample households. Data were collected using structured survey questionnaire, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. Zerotruncated Poisson regression model was used to measure the determinants of HDD. The results show that almost all the respondents consumed food made from cereal and only 20.05, 10.16 and 7.29% of the household consumed egg, meat and fruits in previous seven days, respectively. On average household consumed 5.73 food groups. Further, the finding indicates that about 13.54, 50.52 and 35.94% of the participants were consumed low, medium and high dietary diversity level, respectively. Marital status, education level, participating in irrigation farming, membership of farmers cooperatives, farm size and Total Livestock Unit (TLU) positively affected HDD while distance to nearest market and remittances negatively influenced HDD. Therefore, stakeholders in the agricultural sector should promote and encourage crop diversification strategies, expand access to irrigation, introduce agricultural technologies to boost income of rural households and thus diversify their diet.","PeriodicalId":90891,"journal":{"name":"Journal of development and agricultural economics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44423355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C. Belford, H. Delin, E. Ceesay, Ahmed Yosri Nasi, J. R. Happy, L. Sanyang
{"title":"An impact assessment of agriculture technological transfer from China to West Africa: A computable general equilibrium (CGE) dynamic approach","authors":"C. Belford, H. Delin, E. Ceesay, Ahmed Yosri Nasi, J. R. Happy, L. Sanyang","doi":"10.5897/JDAE2021.1268","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/JDAE2021.1268","url":null,"abstract":"China’s presence and influence in West Africa is on the rise, given China’s colossal investment in the sub-region’s economy. It is against this background that impact assessment was conducted by measuring the deviation between the baseline equilibrium against the policy scenarios of low and high agriculture technology transfer. The results of the study exemplify that for an effective impact on agriculture technology transfer to occur that will yield an increased rate of return, growth in capital stock, increase welfare, growth in sectoral output, increase in private household demand for sectoral output and value-added activities, West Africa must implement high agriculture technology transfer policy. The results for GDP and CPI indicates that some countries will be impacted positively by either adopting high or low agriculture technology from China. Given the overall results of the study, the sub-region must opt for high agriculture technology to ensure both economic and sectoral growth. \u0000 \u0000 Key words: Agriculture technology transfer, computable general equilibrium, China, West Africa.","PeriodicalId":90891,"journal":{"name":"Journal of development and agricultural economics","volume":"13 1","pages":"279-294"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48397576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
G. O. Onogwu, Igbodor Francis Onwe, Osayi Prisca Chinwe
{"title":"Effects of regional trade policy on tariff revenue: Evidence from latent gains/Losses by Nigeria","authors":"G. O. Onogwu, Igbodor Francis Onwe, Osayi Prisca Chinwe","doi":"10.5897/JDAE2021.1302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5897/JDAE2021.1302","url":null,"abstract":"The study identified all Nigeria’s products of trade, with a view to ascertaining and computing volumes of net trade and corresponding latent gains and or losses sustained in pursuit of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) trade policy objectives. Data were soured from United Nations Commodity Trade (UNComtrade), via Trade Analysis and Information System Window. The inherent most-favored-nations tariffs were identified and applied in computation of the latent revenue gains and losses sustained in pursuit of the sub-regional duty free trade. The net trade (Exports-Imports) and latent revenue gains or losses per product for the years under review were evaluated to ascertain the level to which the country contributes through each traded product in sustaining the regional trade liberalization policy as gauged or inferred. A country being net importer or net exporter of any product is an indication of latent gains or losses in tariff revenue, respectively. The study concludes that Nigeria sustains ECOWAS trade liberalization policy by losing accruable/latent revenues in products where she is net exporter (supplier) to the sub-regional members who import at zero tariff charges, and gains inherent revenues in products where she is a net importer; hence, the losses outweigh gains. All members are advised to pursue and improve the sub-regional trade policy by engaging in production of goods that have extended value chain, culminating to net product exporter status in products where she has a comparative advantage. In this way, members will on the long run maintain an increasing threshold of net export to push the sub-regional policy agenda of growth and development. \u0000 \u0000 Key words: Trade policy, tariff, net trade, revenue gains/losses.","PeriodicalId":90891,"journal":{"name":"Journal of development and agricultural economics","volume":"13 1","pages":"271-278"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41626334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}