Adoption of complementary climate-smart agricultural technologies: lessons from Lushoto in Tanzania

Submitted by Jane Nyawira Maina on
EfD Authors:

Background: Agriculture is important for economic growth and development in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania. However, agricultural production and productivity remain relatively low, with significant yield gaps attributed to factors such as limited access to and low adoption of appropriate agricultural technologies, and climate-related risks resulting from climate variability and change.

Agriculture

Small-scale fishing communities in the Colombian Caribbean: New insights for development and sustainability

Submitted by Petra Hansson on

•  Small-scale fisheries play an essential role in food security for both fishing and non-fishing households.

•  Small-scale fisheries play a double role in fishing households: household consumption and income generation.

•  Livelihood diversification, including fishing for a variety of species and income-earning activities by household members in addition to the head of household, is key for diversifying risk and allowing households to meet their consumption needs year-round.

Fisheries

Impact of climate change adaptation on food security: evidence from semi-arid lands, Kenya

Submitted by Jane Nyawira Maina on
EfD Authors:

The management of rangelands, including climate change adaptation strategies, is primarily responsible for stimulating livestock productivity, which consequently improves food security. This paper investigates the impact of climate change adaptations on food security among pastoralists in semi-arid parts of Kenya, who have not received due attention to date. Using an endogenous switching regression model, the current study revealed that pastoralists’ food security increased significantly when they employed measures to adapt to climate change.

Agriculture, Climate Change

Drought responses and adaptation strategies to climate change by pastoralists in the semi-arid area, Laikipia County, Kenya

Submitted by Jane Nyawira Maina on
EfD Authors:

This study was undertaken in Laikipia County, Kenya, to identify factors influencing the choices of strategies by pastoralists to adapt to climate change. The study particularly evaluates the role of perceived climate extremes (frequency of dry spells and droughts), early warning information, and access to private ranch grazing, in determining response decisions to climate change. Besides, we test if households jointly adopt climate change adaptation strategies. The primary data collected from 440 sample households was analyzed using the multivariate probit (MVP) model.

Agriculture, Climate Change

Methods for assessing seasonal and annual trends in wasting in Indian surveys (NFHS-3, 4, RSOC & CNNS)

Submitted by Ishita Datta on

Wasting in children under-five is a form of acute malnutrition, a predictor of under-five child mortality and of increased risk of future episodes of stunting and/or wasting. In India, national estimates of wasting are high compared to international standards with one in five children found to be wasted. National surveys are complex logistical operations and most often not planned or implemented in a manner to control for seasonality. Collection of survey data across differing months across states introduces seasonal bias.

Health

Selling at the farmgate? Role of liquidity constraints and implications for agricultural productivity

Submitted by Jane Nyawira Maina on
EfD Authors:

Market trends in many developing countries indicate that selling agricultural produce to itinerant traders at the farmgate has been rising, despite criticism that the practice preys on and exploits farmers. Using a cross-sectional data set of 525 households, we investigate the factors influencing participation in farmgate trading and its effects on agricultural productivity in western Kenya. We specifically consider the role of liquidity–related variables within a context of the perennial export crops, a contribution that has received less attention in literature.

Agriculture

Does the inverse farm size productivity hypothesis hold for perennial monocrop systems in developing countries? Evidence from Kenya

Submitted by Jane Nyawira Maina on
EfD Authors:

The inverse farm size and productivity relationship (IR) is a recurring theme in the literature. However, most previous studies were undertaken within a setting of mixed cropping systems. In this article, we investigate the effect of farm size on productivity within the context of a perennial monocropping system, acute competition for farmland, frequent subdivision of farms and declining yields. We apply household survey data of smallholder tea farms in western Kenya and consider both technical efficiency (TE) and the yield per hectare as indicators of productivity.

Agriculture