Understanding gender dimensions of climate-smart agriculture adoption in disaster-prone smallholder farming communities in Malawi and Zambia

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 530-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sizwile Khoza ◽  
Dewald Van Niekerk ◽  
Livhuwani David Nemakonde
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Household Heads ◽  
Smart Agriculture

Purpose Through the application of traditional and contemporary feminist theories in gender mainstreaming, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to emergent debate on gender dimensions in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) adoption by smallholder farmers in disaster-prone regions. This is important to ensure that CSA strategies are tailored to farmer-specific gender equality goals. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory-sequential mixed methods research design which is qualitatively biased was applied. Key informant interviews and farmer focus group discussions in two study sites formed initial qualitative phase whose findings were explored in a quantitative cross-sectional household survey. Findings Findings shared in this paper indicate the predominant application of traditional gender mainstreaming approaches in CSA focusing on parochial gender dichotomy. Qualitative findings highlight perceptions that western gender approaches are not fully applicable to local contexts and realities, with gender mainstreaming in CSA seemingly to fulfil donor requirements, and ignorant of the heterogeneous nature of social groups. Quantitative findings establish that married men are majority adopters and non-adopters of CSA, while dis-adopters are predominantly de jure female household heads. The latter are more likely to adopt CSA than married women whose main role in CSA is implementers of spouse’s decisions. Access to education, intra-household power relations, productive asset and land ownership are socio-cultural dynamics shaping farmer profiles. Originality/value By incorporating African feminisms and intersectionality in CSA, value of this study lies in recommending gender policy reforms incorporating local gender contexts within the African socio-cultural milieu. This paper accentuates potential benefits of innovative blend of both contemporary and classic gender mainstreaming approaches in CSA research, practice and technology development in disaster-prone regions.

scholarly journals Schematizing vulnerability perceptions and understanding of drought-prone Gamo lowland communities: an evidence from Southwest Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Toma Tora ◽  
Degefa Tolossa Degaga ◽  
Abera Uncha Utallo
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range

Purpose The conceptual root of vulnerability dates back to the 1970s in the social science spheres. Vulnerability is a multi-dimensional and determinant precondition for disaster occurrence. The Gamo lowlands are exposed to a wide range of vulnerabilities. Therefore, this study aims to schematize community perceptions and understanding of vulnerability in drought-affected rural Gamo lowlands. Design/methodology/approach A community-based cross-sectional survey design and the mixed-methods research approach were executed. A four-staged multistage sampling was used to identify the respondent households. Into the four study sites, sample households were allocated proportionally by the lottery method. The survey data were gathered from 285 lowland households. The structured survey questionnaire, key informant interview, focus group discussion, and field observations, and transect walks were the tools used to collect the primary data. Data were analyzed deploying both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The Likert scale is used to analyze households’ vulnerability perceptions in which the item analysis approach was used for detailed analysis of the Likert-type items. Findings Locally, people perceive and understand vulnerability as exposure to drought hazard, rainfall inconsistency, the prevalence of human and animal diseases, livelihood insecurity, food shortfalls, poor income, lack of access to market, landholding and livestock ownership which are schematized by vulnerability perception pathways that delineate its extent. The findings also showed that the Gamo lowland inhabitants are unequally vulnerable as 96.5% of the studied households stated the differential idiosyncrasy of vulnerability. Old-aged, small-sized and female-headed households with no supportive force were found to be more vulnerable. Practical implications For better resilience, enhancing communities’ perceptions and understanding of vulnerability via continuous awareness creation by all the concerned stakeholders is recommended as the majority was lowly educated. It also yields input for policy debates and decision-making in the drought-prone lowland setup for building a resilient community. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is an original work pursued by using a household survey with empirical data sourced from drought-prone rural lowland communities.

Effects of village savings and loan association on agricultural value productivity in Northern Region of Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Dawuni ◽  
Franklin Nantui Mabe ◽  
Osman Damba Tahidu
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Inclusive Development ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Savings And Loan

PurposeAgriculture in Ghana is dominated by smallholder farmers in rural areas. Majority of these farmers are resource-poor and faced with serious challenges in accessing formal financial services towards farming needs attributed to the stringent requirements. To bridge this gap, village savings and loan associations (VSLA) have been promoted in rural areas as an alternative to meeting the credit needs of smallholder farmers. Credit plays a vital role in input acquisition among farmers for improved agricultural value productivity. This study assesses the contribution of VSLA to agricultural value productivity in the Northern Region of Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology is a primary cross-sectional data collected with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire. This study, therefore, applied a propensity score matching (PSM) to assess the effects of VSLA on agricultural value productivity.FindingsResults from the PSM revealed that extension contact, contract farming, television set ownership, participating in “Planting for Food and Jobs” and nature of roads, including receiving VSLA information from members' increases participation decision of farmers in VSLA. Conversely, age of a farmer, household size, distance to output market and farmers in the Sagnarigu Municipality have negatively influenced VSLA participation. The propensity score matching estimates showed that members of VSLA obtained 38.2% higher agricultural value productivity than non-members.Originality/valueVillage savings and loans associations can be promoted among smallholder farmers as an effective alternative to formal financial service for inclusive development.

scholarly journals Adoption and the Role of Fertilizer Trees and Shrubs as a Climate Smart Agriculture Practice: The Case of Salima District in Malawi

Environments ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Frank Musa ◽  
Judith Kamoto ◽  
Charles Jumbe ◽  
Leo Zulu
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Tobit Model ◽  
Degraded Soil ◽  
Smart Agriculture ◽  
Trees And Shrubs ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Fertilizer trees and shrubs can improve degraded soil and avert the impacts of climate change on smallholder farmers in Malawi. This paper analyses the roles of fertilizer trees and shrubs and factors that determine adoption, as well as the intensity of use of fertilizer on trees and shrubs in maize-based farming systems using the Tobit model. A household survey involving 250 smallholder farmers was conducted in Salima district, Malawi. The analysis shows that adopters of fertilizer trees and shrubs considered fertility improvement, shade, source of food and erosion control as main roles of fertilizer trees and shrubs. The Tobit model shows that households with relatively more land are more likely to adopt fertilizer trees and shrubs than those with small land sizes. Adoption is higher among farmers who had been exposed to fertilizer trees and shrubs for longer periods than others had. Land tenure, education and availability of labor also influence the adoption of fertilizer trees and shrubs. Results further show that household and farm characteristics and availability of extension services explain the current adoption rates of tree-fertilizer technologies. Our findings can guide effective targeting of farmers to ensure higher adoption and sustainability of fertilizer-tree and shrub technology for climate-smart agriculture among the smallholder farmers.

Inequality of opportunity among Indonesian school children

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-144
Author(s):  
Indra Indra ◽  
Suahasil Nazara ◽  
Djoni Hartono ◽  
Sudarno Sumarto
Keyword(s):  
Basic Needs ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Clean Water ◽  
Inequality Of Opportunity ◽  
Dissimilarity Index ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Household Survey ◽  
Household Heads ◽  
Observation Period

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the inequality of opportunity among Indonesian school-age children from 2002 to 2012. It focuses on the possibilities of accessing basic needs, such as primary education, secondary education, electricity and clean water. Design/methodology/approach This paper used three interrelated indicators, namely, coverage access rate, dissimilarity index and human opportunity index. It also applied Shapley decomposition to measure the contributions of each determinant of inequality opportunities. These data were obtained from the National Household Survey conducted in 2002-2012. Findings This study revealed that the level of access to all basic needs, except clean water, was likely to increase with even distribution during the observation period. Moreover, the decomposition results showed that the education of household heads, household income and region (rural-urban) were the main contributors to the total inequality of opportunity. Originality/value This study on the inequality of opportunity is interesting, for it is tightly related to inequality of outcome, i.e. income, expenditure and wealth. It is arguable that the inequality of outcome, nowadays, is a reflection of the past inequality in basic opportunities. Thus, the exploration of potential inequality drivers begins to be increasingly important, as it can assist the policymakers in drawing effective policies to repress the increasing trend of future inequality.

Gender of the family head and food insecurity in urban and rural Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ikechukwu Darlington Nwaka ◽  
Seyi Saint Akadiri ◽  
Kalu Ebi Uma
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Urban Food Security ◽  
Family Head ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Access Rights ◽  
Female Headed Households

PurposeAre the urban and rural male-headed households (MHHs) or female-headed households (FHHs) poorer and food (in)secured? Such question is of very important policy concern in the drive towards achieving the first two of the Sustainable Development Goals.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses 2010–2012 waves of General Household Survey cross-sectional panel data to investigate food (in)security and poverty dynamics amongst MHHs and FHHs in Nigeria, with particular attention to rural and urban dimensions.FindingsApplying the tobit and probit regressions while controlling for poverty and other household characteristics, we observed that female-headed families are more vulnerable to higher incidences of food insecurity than male-headed ones and with an overall significant urban food security advantage compared to rural areas. Comparing urban and rural results in terms of land access rights, urban food insecurity manifests more amongst urban FHHs non–Agri-land owners which however falls as food expenditure rises. However, the rise in per capita food consumption, agricultural characteristics and years of schooling reduces the likelihood of food insecurity for all households.Originality/valueThis study, therefore, offers relevant policy inputs towards addressing poverty and food insecurity in a typical developing country such as Nigeria.

scholarly journals Effect of input credit on smallholder farmers’ output and income

2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Iddrisu ◽  
Isaac Gershon Kodwo Ansah ◽  
Paul Kwame Nkegbe
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Policy ◽  
On Farm

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of input credit on smallholder farmers’ output and income using Masara N’Arziki support project in Northern Ghana. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional primary data set was used to estimate the effect of project participation on farm output, yield and income using propensity score matching (PSM) methods. Findings The findings are that project participation is skewed towards experienced farmers with big-sized households and farms. The effect of project on outcomes is somewhat unsatisfactory in the sense that participation only raises output and yield, but not income. Research limitations/implications The paper only examined the project effect on farm outcomes among smallholder farmers participating in the programme in just one operational area in the Northern region. Future research should consider all the operational areas for an informed generalisation of findings. Practical implications Greater benefits to farmers from programme participation would require project management to review the contractual arrangement so that the high cost of input credit is significantly reduced. Originality/value The paper applied the PSM to estimate the effect of project participation on farm output, yield and income among smallholder farmers which is non-existent in the literature on the study area, at least as far as we know. This paper can inform future policy on the direction and nature of support for smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana.

Unemployment in Ghana: a cross sectional analysis from demand and supply perspectives

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 402-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Baah-Boateng
Keyword(s):  
Household Survey ◽  
Baseline Survey ◽  
Labour Demand ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Demand And Supply ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Sectional Analysis ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Sectional Analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the causes of unemployment in Ghana from both labour demand and supply perspectives based on most recent cross sectional data set from one nationally representative household survey and a baseline survey for Millennium Development Support. Design/methodology/approach – A logit regression estimation technique is applied to two different household survey data sets of 2008 and 2013 to capture the effect of labour demand and supply on unemployment. Findings – Using education and age as capability variables to represent supply factors, unemployment is found to increase with education, and declines with age, confirming higher unemployment rate among the youth, than the old. The paper also observes strong influence of demand factors on unemployment based on relatively higher incidence of unemployment fulltime jobseekers relative to part-time jobseekers and seekers of formal or wage-employment and self-employment or SMEs compared with those seeking any job. Other factors such as the individual’s reservation wage, marital status, sex and poverty status as well as their rural-urban location are also found to cause unemployment in Ghana. Practical implications – Unemployment as a result of the inability of individuals to obtain a job of their choice in the midst of strong economic growth in Ghana suggests weak employment content of growth. In contrast, an increasing phenomenon of unemployment with education also reflects a problem of skill mismatch between skills churn out by education and training institutions and skills requirement by firms in the labour market. Originality/value – The originality of the paper and its contribution to existing literature largely emanate from the inclusion of demand factors in a cross sectional analysis of causes of unemployment.

The student-customer orientation questionnaire (SCOQ)

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riina Koris ◽  
Petri Nokelainen
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Customer Orientation ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Educational Experience ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study Bayesian dependency modelling (BDM) to validate the model of educational experiences and the student-customer orientation questionnaire (SCOQ), and to identify the categories of educatonal experience in which students expect a higher educational institutions (HEI) to be student-customer oriented. Design/methodology/approach – This paper employs a cross-sectional quantitative survey study, mixed methods research, exploratory factor analysis and BDM. Findings – The validated model of educational experiences and the SCOQ; results indicate that students expect to be treated as customers in some, but not all categories of educational experience. Research limitations/implications – The authors contribute to existing literature on two fronts: the validated model of educational experiences and the categories of educational experience in which students expect to be treated as customers. Practical implications – The validated SCOQ presented in the paper may be used by other HEIs to assess the degree to which students expect a particular HEI to be customer oriented. Also, HEIs should assess students’ expectations concerning student-customer orientation before employing such an approach. Originality/value – The paper presents a validated model of educational experiences and a SCOQ. Additionally, the study does not investigate whether students expect a HEI as such to be student-customer oriented (as most studies have done so far); instead, the aim is to find out whether, in which categories of educational experience and to what extent students expect a HEI to be student-customer oriented. Thus, the study explores the phenomenon of student-customer orientation at a deeper level, i.e. separately at the level of educational experiences.

scholarly journals Adoption Intensity of Selected Organic-Based Soil Fertility Management Technologies in the Central Highlands of Kenya

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
George G. Mwaura ◽  
Milka N. Kiboi ◽  
Eric K. Bett ◽  
Jayne N. Mugwe ◽  
Anne Muriuki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Household Head ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Soil Fertility Management ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Central Highlands ◽  
Adoption Intensity

Soil fertility decline continues to be a major challenge limiting agricultural productivity globally. Despite the novelty of organic-based technologies in enhancing agricultural production in Kenya's central highlands, adoption is low. Therefore, we carried out a cross-sectional household survey of 300 randomly selected smallholder farmers to determine the specific organic-based practices by farmers; and the socioeconomic factors that influence the adoption intensity of selected organic-based technologies. We used descriptive statistics to summarize the data and the Tobit regression model to evaluate the socioeconomic determinants of adoption intensity of selected organic-based technologies. We identified nine organic-based technologies that had different adoption rates among the farmers. The majority of the farmers had adopted manure (97%) and manure combined with fertilizer (92%) in Murang'a and Tharaka-Nithi, respectively. Manure was applied to the largest land in Murang'a with 31% of the cultivated land. In comparison, manure combined with fertilizer had the highest adoption intensity in Tharaka-Nithi applied to about 25% of the cultivated land. Gender, age of the household head, level of education, household size, access to external labor, training, Tropical Livestock Unit, agriculture group membership, access to credit, land cultivated, and farming experience influenced the adoption intensity of organic-based technologies among smallholder farmers. Based on the smallholder farmers' adoption behavior, this study can be used to disaggregate the farming households better in order to tailor specific organic-based soil fertility technologies solutions that meet their unique needs. One group would be those households that face specific constraints, as reflected in their low adoption rates, women-headed households and older farmers, and thus require more targeted / intensive efforts to overcome these barriers. The other group would be those households that require less focus because, when confronted with the technologies, they are more likely to adopt them easily, for example, the male-headed households. Hence, the smallholder farmers' adoption behavior, can enable policymakers to form a base for designing appropriate policies that encourage the adoption of organic-based soil fertility technology by smallholder farmers.

scholarly journals Impact of food price increases on poverty in Indonesia: empirical evidence from cross-sectional data

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faharuddin Faharuddin ◽  
M. Yamin ◽  
Andy Mulyana ◽  
Y. Yunita
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Food Price ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Price Increases ◽  
Household Survey Data ◽  
The Impact

PurposeUsing cross-sectional household survey data, this paper aims to determine the impact of food price increases on poverty in Indonesia.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses the quadratic almost ideal demand system applied to the 2013 Indonesian household survey data. The impact of food price increase on household welfare is calculated using a welfare measure, compensating variation.FindingsThree food groups with the most outstanding price impact on poverty are rice, vegetables and fish were studied. The 20% increase in the price of each food group causes an increase in the headcount ratio by 1.360 points (rice), 0.737 points (vegetables) and 0.636 points (fish). Maintaining food price stability for these food groups is very important because the more price increases, the more impact on poverty. Food price policies in rural areas are also more critical than in urban areas because the impact of food price increases in rural areas is higher.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper does not consider the positive impact of rising food prices on food-producing households.Practical implicationsImplementing appropriate poverty alleviation policies through food policies for main food groups and social protection.Social implicationsPromoting rural development policies and agricultural growth.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical results regarding the impact of domestic food prices increase on poverty in Indonesia.

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