scholarly journals Impact of Weather Index Insurance on Groundnut Farmers’ Technical Efficient in Senegal: A Propensity Score Matching Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Baoubadi Atozou ◽  
Kotchikpa Gabriel Lawin ◽  
Diombare Niang

Irregular and low rainfall levels and drought have become important sources of low agricultural yields and agricultural incomes in sub-Saharan Africa. Weather index insurance is a financial product for climate risk management aimed at securing farmers' incomes. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of a weather index insurance project piloted with groundnut farmers in Senegal in 2015-2016 agricultural season on farmer’s technical efficiency (TE). A Stochastic Production Frontier model was used to estimate the TE scores. A matched group of beneficiaries and control farmers was determined using propensity score matching techniques to mitigate biases stemming from observed variables. The results showed that average TE is consistently higher for control farmers than the beneficiary group. Age, gender and education were found to be significantly related to technical efficiency, while membership in farmers’ association, credit, improved seeds and extension contact were not significantly related to technical efficiency. From a policy perspective, we suggest that weather index insurance programs targeting smallholder farmers in developing countries, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, be accompanied with education services, provision of new technologies such as high yield seeds and other best farm management practices and credit to help farmers better adapt to weather shocks and secure their production and income. 

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-641
Author(s):  
Yingmei Tang ◽  
Yue Yang ◽  
Jihong Ge ◽  
Jian Chen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of weather index insurance on agricultural technology adoption in rural China. Design/methodology/approach A field experiment was conducted with 344 rural households/farmers in Heilongjiang and Jiangsu Provinces, China. DID model was used to evaluate farmers’ technology adoption with and without index insurance. Findings The results show that weather index insurance has a significant effect on the technology adoption of rural households; there is a regional difference in this effect between Heilongjiang and Jiangsu. Weather index insurance promotes technology adoption of rural households in Heilongjiang, while has limited impact on those in Jiangsu. Weather, planting scale and risk preference are also important factors influencing the technology adoption of rural households. Research limitations/implications This research is subject to some limitations. First, the experimental parameters are designed according to the actual situation to simulate reality, but the willingness in the experiment does not mean it will be put into action in reality. Second, due to the diversity of China’s climate, geography and economic environment, rural households are heterogeneous in rural China. Whether the conclusion can be generalized beyond the study area is naturally questionable. A study with more diverse samples is needed to gain a fuller understanding of index insurance’s effects on farmers in China. Originality/value This research provides a rigorous empirical analysis on the impact of weather index insurance on farmers’ agricultural technology adoption through a carefully designed field experiment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elham Torkian

Abstract This study investigates technical efficiency of health production function in Sub-Saharan Africa. For this purpose, a stochastic production frontier model is estimated using fixed-effects panel data method over the period of 2000-2007. More specifically the impact of economic, social, and environmental factors in determining life expectancy at birth, as the dependent variable, is measured and evaluated. Overall, the results justify the important role of policymakers, who their proactive approaches should be given to activities that go beyond the health system to influence the main determinants of health i.e. socioeconomic and environmental factors in preventing infectious diseases, improving life expectancy and aid populations to access available resources.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4436
Author(s):  
Shunji Oniki ◽  
Melaku Berhe ◽  
Koichi Takenaka

A rapid increase in population in sub-Saharan Africa has caused a decrease in farm size, an increase in the number of landless farmers, and soil erosion in communal forests due to increasing utilization. Ethiopia has addressed this problem by introducing an epoch-making privatization policy for the allocation of communal land to landless farmers. This policy promotes the economic utilization of the communal land while protecting natural resources. Hitherto, few studies have evaluated the impact of the policy. We evaluate the effect of the communal land distribution policy for tree-planting using technical efficiency of farm production by estimating a stochastic production function model in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. We compare the technical efficiencies of farm production between both participating and nonparticipating farms in the program using a quasi-experimental method. The results reveal the improvement of technical efficiency through communal land distribution. Therefore, program activities could increase farm incomes while maintaining land conservation. Thus, the allocation of communal land promotes sustainable land utilization in the mountainous areas of sub-Saharan Africa.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (10-3) ◽  
pp. 238-246
Author(s):  
Olga Dzhenchakova

The article considers the impact of the colonial past of some countries in sub-Saharan Africa and its effect on their development during the post-colonial period. The negative consequences of the geopolitical legacy of colonialism are shown on the example of three countries: Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Angola, expressed in the emergence of conflicts in these countries based on ethno-cultural, religious and socio-economic contradictions. At the same time, the focus is made on the economic factor and the consequences of the consumer policy of the former metropolises pursuing their mercantile interests were mixed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
pp. e25243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Cambiano ◽  
Cheryl C Johnson ◽  
Karin Hatzold ◽  
Fern Terris‐Prestholt ◽  
Hendy Maheswaran ◽  
...  

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