This paper analyses the effects of agricultural modernisation on the food security of rural households in Burkina Faso. It uses data from the Permanent Agricultural Survey (EPA 2021). An agricultural modernisation index was constructed as a variable of interest, and the consolidated approach for reporting indicators of food security (CARI) was used to measure the prevalence of different types of food insecurity within the population. The value of this paper lies in its holistic approach, which allows for a distinct examination of the effects of agricultural modernisation on food security. By using the CARI approach, this research aligns with a dynamic of renewed approaches to food security, a multidimensional concept. The results show that agricultural modernisation improves the food security of rural households. These results suggest a need for the development of policies aimed at securing land tenure by simplifying the procedures for obtaining land titles, structuring certified seed sectors through subsidies and the establishment of local distribution networks to ensure constant availability, and promoting shared mechanisation models to enable smallholdings to reach the necessary capitalisation threshold.
This study used panel data from the 2016 and 2019 waves of the Malawi Integrated Household Survey, part of the Living Standards Measurement Study of the World Bank and National Statistical Office, to examine the impact of credit access on smallholder farmers’maize productivity and household food security. Despite the recognised importance of credit in agricultural development, many Malawian smallholders lack sufficient access, constraining investments in essential inputs. Previous research has examined the effect of credit on productivity or food security separately, leaving a gap in understanding their joint dynamics. Addressing this gap, this study employed a panel conditional mixed process (CMP) approach to jointly estimate the effect of credit on maize yields and food security, showing that access to credit increases maize productivity by 18% and improves food security by 1.5 points, while controlling for endogeneity and selection bias. Given the significant influence of soil quality and market accessibility revealed in the results, policies should prioritise linking credit provision with soil fertility interventions and rural infrastructure development to maximise the effect on productivity and food security
This paper analyses the effects of access to arable land on women’s empowerment in Burkina Faso. It uses data from the harmonised survey on household living conditions (EHCVM 2021–2022). A women’s empowerment in agriculture index was constructed as the dependent variable, and a doublecensored regression method was employed for the analysis. Adopting the capabilities approach, this paper distinctly examines the role of access to arable land in the process of women’s empowerment. The results show that women’s access to arable land contributes to significantly increasing their empowerment and reducing gender inequalities in household decision-making. These findings call for targeted policy action, including inheritance law reform, to eliminate discriminatory practices against women, simplify land registration procedures to make them accessible to rural women, and provide support for women’s cooperatives through the creation of local processing units. These aspects will enable women to fully capture the added value of their production.
This paper assesses the effects of social protection interventions in mitigating the COVID-19 shocks on household food insecurity in Nigeria. It employs the World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study for Nigeria, focusing on the dataset collected before the COVID-19 shock and during a postCOVID-19 phone survey. A difference-in-difference approach was used to explore the heterogeneous effects of social protection on all the individual measures of food insecurity across the gender of the recipient, household location and wealth status. The results show that food insecurity was greater in all households after the pandemic shock. Social protection measures were effective in mitigating the effects of the pandemic, and these effects were greater for cash assistance. The mitigating effect was greater among female-headed households, poor households, those in rural areas and those involved in farming. The findings of this study highlight the need for a well-organised social protection programme. In particular, policies aimed at promoting cash assistance among female-headed households, poor individuals, those in rural areas and those involved in farming can have important implications for improving the food security of households in Nigeria.
Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a central strategy for strengthening agricultural resilience under climate change. However, limited evidence exists on whether adopting multiple CSA practices is associated with improved multidimensional poverty among smallholder farmers. This study examined the association between CSA adoption intensity and multidimensional poverty among smallholder maize-farming households in Kenya. CSA intensity was measured as the number of CSA practices adopted by each household and categorised into high- and low-intensity adoption groups. An endogenous switching regression model was employed to account for potential selection associated with households’ adoption decisions, while propensity score matching was used as a robustness check based on observable characteristics. The findings reveal that CSA adoption remains relatively low, with over half of the sampled households not adopting any of the selected CSA practices and less than one percent adopting three practices simultaneously. After accounting for observed household characteristics and potential selection, households with higher CSA intensity exhibited lower scores on the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) than households with lower intensity. Education, farmer group membership and household experience were also consistently associated with lower MPI levels, while substantial spatial heterogeneity was observed across counties. The findings suggest that promoting the integrated adoption of complementary CSA practices, alongside investments in extension services, farmer organisations and improved access to finance, could help reduce household MPI levels. By linking climate adaptation with multidimensional poverty, this study provides evidence to inform the design of more targeted and inclusive CSA policies in Kenya and similar smallholder farming systems
This study examines determinants of food loss and waste behaviour among farming households in western Nigeria. Stratified and systematic random sampling was used to select 300 cases of primary data collected in two periods of late and early rain, respectively. Data were analysed using the food loss and waste (FLW) index and simultaneous equation model. The FLW index was 0.48, with food loss at 0.18 and food waste at 0.3. The simultaneous regression results revealed the drivers of food loss/waste to be household size, education, dependency ratio and non-expenses on food. A 10% increase in food expenses enhances FLW by 0.89% for the food poor and by 0.49% in the moderately food non-poor. Transition households experiencing food security had a strong correlation with low FLW. As income generation declines over time, food-secure households experience an increase in food insecurity and FLW. Thus, we recommend a policy on FLW reduction and a more varied occupational structure that can add value to labour time for reasonable income support.
Climate change poses significant threats to agriculture and livelihoods, particularly in developing regions. This study investigates the impacts of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) services on farmers’ resilience in the Gubalafto district of Ethiopia. The study employed a quasi-experimental research design; data were collected from 355 randomly surveyed households. Principal component analysis and multinomial endogenous switching regression were employed to analyse the data. The findings revealed that 44% of the households had a low resilience capacity index (RCI), whereas 37% and 19% had medium and high RCIs, respectively. About 21.13%, 23%, 15% and 10% of households were classified as single, partial, multiple and full adopters, respectively. Adopters of partial, multiple and full practices experienced increases in resilience capacity of 7.4%, 12% and 17%, respectively. Households that adopted more diverse combinations of CSA practices were more resilient than non-adopters. Thus, enhancing adoption levels and capability aspects should be the primary goal of any intervention.
In Ethiopia, wheat cluster farming has gained popularity in recent years due to its potential to transform the agricultural sector and improve the livelihoods of wheat producers. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of cluster farming on the wheat output and input commercialisation level. The study was conducted in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, using household-level survey data collected from 383 wheat-producing farm households selected through multistage sampling during the 2022/2023 production year. Descriptive statistics and the endogenous switching regression (ESR) model, supported by propensity score matching (PSM), were employed for data analysis. The results of the model show that the education status of the farm household head, access to formal credit services, frequency of extension contacts, distance from rural all-weather roads, wheat farm size, land fragmentation (index), livestock size (TLU), cluster farming awareness and distance of the farm to the nearby wheat cluster farms significantly influence farm household participation in wheat cluster farming. In addition, producing wheat in a cluster farming approach has a positive effect on wheat output and input commercialisation levels, and the PSM result ensures that the results are robust. The estimated average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) for wheat output and input commercialisation was 5.0% and 3.1%, respectively, while the average treatment effect on the untreated (ATU) was 1.9% and 0.4%, and the transitional heterogeneity (TH) 3.1% and 2.6%, respectively. All effects were positive and statistically significant, confirming the positive effect of the cluster farming approach on both wheat output and input commercialisation. Therefore, government and non-government policies and interventions should focus on enhancing smallholder farmers’ participation in wheat cluster farming to improve their livelihoods through increased wheat output and input commercialisation.
In this paper, we establish a link between crop productivity, crop market participation and agricultural technology use among smallholder farmers. We utilise the latest four waves of the Uganda National Panel Survey-2013/2014, 2015/2016, 2018/2019, and 2019/2020. First, we test for the complementarity of agricultural technology use among smallholder farmers, but we find no evidence for the combined effect of organic and inorganic fertilisers, as well as pesticides and organic fertilisers, on crop yields, which depicts a lack of complementarity. However, we find a strong individual effect of organic fertilisers on cassava, beans and coffee yields. Second, we use a two-step factor analysis to construct four technology sub-indexes for improved seeds, pesticides, organic and inorganic fertilisers in the first step, and the overall agricultural technology index in the second step. The results reaffirm the positive effect of agricultural technology use on cassava and coffee yields. Third, when we measure crop productivity as farm productivity, we find that a unit increase in inorganic fertilisers increases farm productivity by 69%. However, we do not see this strong effect of inorganic fertilisers on our partial measure of crop productivity-crop yields. Lastly, we show that crop yields are the most critical for market participation.
This study compares the benefits of using digestate and compost in Burkina Faso. A mathematical programming model was used to simulate the advantages under three scenarios. The baseline scenario reflected the typical situation of farmers, followed by the introduction of digestate and compost as soil amendments. The model applied these to improve poor soils and recover fallow land. As a result, the production of maize, cotton, rice, millet and sorghum increased, while groundnut cultivation and fallow land decreased. Gains were most notable with digestate. During poor cropping seasons, income rose by 238% with digestate and by 132% with compost. During good seasons, income increased by 164% and 98%, respectively. The use of digestate and compost helped reduce poverty and promote food security, although credit and labour constraints remain important considerations.
This study analyses the effects of the policy regulating soybean sales on producer performance in Benin from 1990 to 2023, focusing on production supply and net farm income. Through an econometric analysis of time-series data, the results reveal a positive and statistically significant effect of this policy on both the supply and income of producers. Unexpectedly, the study highlights a positive correlation between rising current production costs and increased supply and income, suggesting that investments in higher-quality inputs and technologies, even if costly, can drive producer performance. These complex dynamics underscore the need for regular policy adjustments to balance market stabilisation, producer protection, and the promotion of sustainable productive investments.
Although the African economy in general, and that of West Africa in particular, remains heavily dependent on the agricultural sector, the latter proves to be the least productive among the three main sectors of the economy, namely agriculture, industry and services. This study analyses the effect of participation in global value chains (GVCs) on agricultural productivity in West Africa. The data used is drawn from the World Development Indicators and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, covering the period from 1990 to 2018. The results, based on the Driscoll and Kraay (1998) estimation technique, indicate that participation in GVCs and technological innovations enhance agricultural transformation by significantly reducing its share in GDP formation. In the light of these findings, West African countries should invest in research and development to ensure specialisation in high value-added segments, thereby better influencing agricultural productivity.
Although the African economy in general, and that of West Africa in particular, remains heavily dependent on the agricultural sector, the latter proves to be the least productive among the three main sectors of the economy, namely agriculture, industry and services. This study analyses the effect of participation in global value chains (GVCs) on agricultural productivity in West Africa. The data used is drawn from the World Development Indicators and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, covering the period from 1990 to 2018. The results, based on the Driscoll and Kraay (1998) estimation technique, indicate that participation in GVCs and technological innovations enhance agricultural transformation by significantly reducing its share in GDP formation. In the light of these findings, West African countries should invest in research and development to ensure specialisation in high value-added segments, thereby better influencing agricultural productivity.
Land is an essential factor of production that determines the agricultural transformation of any country. However, women's access to land rights in developing countries is still limited. To analyse the effect of possession of land rights on women's empowerment among rural women in Kenya, crosssectional primary data was collected from 366 women participants selected using a multistage sampling procedure. Descriptive statistics show that women with land rights were more empowered, younger, more educated and owned more land than those without land rights. The results of the two-stage least squares model suggest that possession of land rights increases women's empowerment by about 0.25%. Other factors affecting women's empowerment include marital status, gap in level of education, ownership of oxen, being in a polygamous marriage, off-farm income, group membership and access to credit. These findings underscore the need to formulate policies that facilitate women's access to land rights in rural areas, thus improving their empowerment.
This study examined the effect of sustainable intensification (SI) technologies, specifically the use of improved maize seed varieties, of improved bean seed varieties (Nua45), crop rotation, maize-legume intercropping and doubled-up legume systems on farm income in Dedza district, Malawi. A Multistage sampling method was applied to sample 330 smallholder farmers. The propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to assess the causal effect of SI adoption on farm income. The results from the PSM analysis reveal that adoption of SI practices increased farm income by MWK 35 424.32 (US$ 48.45) per 0.57 hectares in 2020. Based on the findings, the study recommends increased investment in agricultural extension services through the recruitment and training of more extension officers in rural areas to enhance farmers' access to timely and practical knowledge of SI technologies. In addition, the development and scaling-up of affordable credit schemes, such as input loans and microfinance packages tailored to smallholders, are essential to facilitate the uptake of improved seed and other SI-related inputs. Lastly, strengthening market linkages through the promotion of farmer cooperatives and contract farming arrangements is key to ensure access to quality inputs at fair prices and to secure reliable markets for produce.
The hazards and impacts of climate change are exacerbating. They threaten crop productivity, farmers' resilience and the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Understanding climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and applying it is crucial. However, the adaptation measures of smallholder farmers remain contextual, particularly whether small-scale farmers adopting CSA boost crop productivity and income scarcity. This study examines the drivers of CSA adoption and its impacts on farm performance. We used nationally representative data from a sample of 1 862 farmers cultivating less than two hectares. Endogenous switching regression (ESR) was employed to address the selection and endogeneity issues of CSA adoption. Propensity score matching (PSM) was adopted for comparative purpose. The results of both models are consistent that CSA adoption augments productivity and income. Interestingly, if non-adopters had adopted, they would have gained remarkably. The results imply that plausible programmes, promotions, campaigns or policy support measures to scale up CSA adoption can make a significant contribution to food security and poverty reduction, build farmers' resilience, and mitigate the effects of GHG in the agricultural sector.
This study applied the zero-inefficiency stochastic frontier (ZISF) to analyse the technical efficiency of 333 improved rice-farming households for the 2012/2013 farming season in Ghana. The ZISF accommodates fully efficient rice farms alongside technically inefficient farms under a common production technology. The results revealed that 39% of rice farms were fully technically efficient, with zero inefficiency within a common production frontier. The mean technical efficiency estimate amongst the inefficient farms was 67.8%, implying that these rice farms could increase their output by 32% without changing the levels of inputs used, if they improved their efficiency and operated on the production frontier. There were increasing returns to scale (1.65), with farm size, seed, labour and fertiliser having a positive effect on rice output. Similarly, controlling rice field water levels through levelling and bunding, and weeding the rice field at least two times during the production season, increased technical efficiency. The study recommends cultivation of improved rice varieties, fertiliser application, expanding acreage and easing labour constraints to increase rice output, together with weeding and managing plot water levels to improve efficiency in rice production. Specifically, Ghana's 'Planting for Food and Jobs' programme should expand access to improved rice varieties, fertiliser use, agricultural mechanisation services and other labour-saving technologies to enhance rice output. In addition, the agricultural extension service should be wellresourced to disseminate best practices in rice cultivation to farmers.
Food import-dependent countries are inherently vulnerable to international price fluctuations. While the effects of food price shocks on living standards have been documented extensively, strategies to mitigate them remain underexplored. This study examines the effects of rising food prices on rural household living standards, with a particular focus on the moderating role of non-farm diversification. The analysis shows that food price shocks adversely affect rural households, and that non-farm diversification alleviates this impact, but only for female-headed households. The results remain robust even after controlling for endogeneity. Supporting rural households, particularly those headed by women, to diversify into non-farm activities could be an effective policy intervention to mitigate the adverse effects of rising food prices on household living standards.
Rural areas across the developing countries in every region of the world lag behind their urban counterparts in many important sectors and, most importantly, in improved water supply services. Financing is a key hindrance to bridging this gap. An alternative financing mechanism is the demand-driven approach or the service delivery approach, which stresses the importance of incorporating user demand, mostly measured as willingness to pay (WTP) for improvements in water supply services. We employed the discrete choice experiment (DCE) methodology to investigate rural households' preferences for various water supply improvement options and their economic value, using a sample of 585 households from the Upper Ewaso Ng'iro North Catchment. Data was analysed using the multinomial logit, conditional logit, the random parameters mixed logit and the willingness to pay space (WTP-space) random parameters mixed logit models without interactions. The results show that households prefer good-quality water, a private tap, water with high pressure and a good quantity that is available daily without interruptions. Households in the study area are heterogeneous with respect to water preferences. We recommend that upcoming rural water improvements offer rural multi-use water systems, balancing the need for quality water delivered through a private tap, with high pressure and quantity, and that is available daily at the least cost. Policy interventions should thus focus on enhancing water quality, while offering flexible service packages that accommodate different household preferences.
This study examines the extent to which, in the Sahelian environment-where the scarcity of forage is intensifying-climate change perceptions influence the adoption of cottonseed cake among livestock producers in the Hauts-Bassins region of Burkina Faso. Based on the subjective expected utility (SEU) framework, and a logit model estimated with survey data from 366 households, the analysis highlights the role of both perceptual and structural factors in shaping adoption decisions. The results show that herders who perceive climate change as a driver of pasture degradation have a 7.5 percentage point higher probability of adopting cottonseed cake compared to those who do not share this perception. Beyond perceptions, household resources and enabling conditions also matter. Access to credit, income and membership of producer associations significantly raise the likelihood of adoption, while pastoral status and greater distance from supply points reduce it. Education and regular contact with extension agents further strengthen adoption capacity, although with varying levels of significance. Overall, the findings suggest that adaptation decisions are not driven solely by technical or financial constraints. They are equally influenced by how producers interpret environmental changes in their production context. Policy interventions aiming to promote resilient livestock systems should therefore combine improved access to inputs and services with strategies that account for producers' perceptions of climate change.
