Background : Invasive aquatic weeds like water hyacinth are of a great concern in Ethiopia, posing particular problems on aquatic biodiversity and fisheries in major water bodies and agricultural land in the surrounding water bodies. The study was aimed to analysis of the effect of water hyacinth on the livelihood of smallholder rice farmers around the Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Methodology : Two districts and four Kebeles adjacent to Lake Tana and well known in rice production were purposively selected for the study. Individual interviews and key informants’ checklists were used as data collection methods to achieve the desired objectives. Results : The result showed that 48% of the rice cultivated land was infested by water hyacinth and 32.08% of rice farm area was not harvested totally due to Water hyacinth infestation in the study year. It showed a statistical significance mean difference on yield of rice between affected and non-affected plots, it could reduce by 1944 kg/ha. Moreover, households perceived that water hyacinth makes land preparation and crop production difficult, dehydrates farmland, reduces fish production, and contaminates water, destruction of animal feeds, causes disease on humans and animals. Smallholder rice-producing sampled households perceived that the rice production has been decreasing due to the spread of water hyacinth. Farmers by themselves implemented different adaptation strategies to resist the water hyacinth problem. The major adaptation strategies implemented by smallholder farmers are participating in water hyacinth removing campaigns or weeding, constructing a fence around their farm to defend the coming water hyacinth weed before invading their rice farms, and switching off from farm activity to other income-earning activities. The study results revealed that 73% and 91.5% of the sampled households received rice production extension services and information regarding water hyacinth, respectively. Recommendation : To solve the problems of water hyacinth effects participatory approach to control water hyacinth, support farmers to produce crop in off season using irrigation, promote agricultural technologies and assist them to search other income earning activities.
Research background: Maize is the most important cereal crop produced by most households in Ghana for income and household food security.Despite its economic importance, not much study has been carried out on maize profit efficiency in Ghana, hence this study. Purpose of the article:This study estimated profit efficiency of maize farmers in the Sagnarigu municipal of Ghana to understand producers' profit efficiency level and its determinants as well as the challenges faced by maize producers.Methods: Data was sourced from small-scale maize producers while stochastic frontier analysis was applied to estimate a Cobb-Douglas profit function that simultaneously identified the sources of inefficiency.Kendall's coefficient of concordance was used to analyse the constraints facing maize producers.Findings & Value added: The findings indicated that maize farmers produced at 71% profit efficiency.This is one of very few studies on profit efficiency of Ghanaian maize farmers.The result means that 29% of the achievable maximum profit was forfeited as a result of production inefficiency.Educational attainment and access to agricultural extension service decreased the level of profit inefficiency while age, herd ownership and membership of farmer organization increased profit inefficiency level of farmers.The most critical challenges reported by farmers were financial constraints, high cost of ploughing and difficulty in acquiring chemical fertilizer.The study recommends that access to agricultural extension service should be improved to cover more farmers while efforts should be made to expand educational access in rural areas to enhance the profit efficiency of farmers.
Research background: Despite a growing interest in the role of time and risk preferences in explaining technology adoption, empirical studies that investigate this behavior are scant. Numerous studies have attempted to identify the determinants of adoption of new technologies. However, those studies failed to capture the duration of time farmers will take to adopt a given technology using a proper model such as duration model. Purpose of the article : This study developed a technology adoption theoretical model that incorporates time and risk preferences in addition to household level characteristics. Using this model, we tested whether impatience and risk aversion delays or expedites stall-feeding adoption or not. Methods: Using cross sectional data of 518 sample farmers from Ethiopia, both semi-parametric (Cox PH) and parametric (Weibull PH and Weibull AFT) models have been applied to estimate the conditional probability of SF adoption. This enables us to convey information not only on why a farmer adopted, but also on the timing of the adoption decision. Findings : As expected, our results indeed show that, the time of stall-feeding adoption increases with discount rate. Individuals who are patient and risk loving adopt stall-feeding sooner than individuals who are impatient and risk averse. Likewise, farmers who are more less-averse adopt SF technology latter compared to farmers who are risk neutral. The estimated results also revealed that economic incentives (i.e. prices) was found to be the most important determinants of the time farmers wait before adopting new technologies. While higher output price significantly accelerates SF adoption, higher input price decelerates the adoption period. The expected milk yield (first moment) had a positive significant effect on the adoption decision, indicating that higher expected mean, on average decreases farmers’ time to adopt. Findings in this study suggest that, land and labor endowment shorten the time to adopt SF. However, market distance delay the adoption of SF. Moreover, access to information, education of household head, breed cow ownership, and location of the farmer, accelerated the likelihood of early SF adoption. To the best knowledge of the authors, this is one of the first adoption studies to have incorporated time and risk preference in its parametric and semi-parametric adoption analysis.
Research background: There is limited understanding of reasons, promoting discontinuance especially from dairying activities farming in mixed farming systems where exit happens earlier than the complete exit from agriculture, Purpose of the article: This study explores the households and farm associated economic factors that influence the farmer's intention to 'discontinue' from the smallholder dairy sector, in the changing context of increasing demand; poor participation of youth in agriculture; urbanisation and increasing role of non-farm sector in the Indian economy.Methods: A total of 384 dairy households representing three different crop livestock systems were selected on a proportionate basis from the existing datasets of dairy households for the research.Descriptive and binominal logit regression was used for analysis of the data. Findings, value added & novelty:The major findings are that more than half of households have an intention to discontinue or downsize their dairying operations and almost all are demotivating next generation to take up dairying.Moreover, in households with no crop activity, using high inputs and having low level of attitude towards dairying and in areas with poor markets are likely to discontinue.In the long run inadequate income from dairying, value system and developments in non-farm sector are driving discontinuance.
Research background: Biofortified maize are products of modern biotechnology and genetic engineering, which produce crops with special traits of interest resistance to pests and diseases, tolerance to the herbicide, high yield, salt tolerance, submergence, nitrogen efficiency, etc. It is not just about technological advances and the development of a new product, ascertaining the factors that could stimulate demand, and creating awareness about the benefits of biofortified crops are crucial for this new enhanced variety of maize to make an impact. Purpose of the article: The research was conducted to determine the factors influencing farmers’ willingness-to-pay for biofortified maize in Gwagwalada Area Council, of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria, to identify the stimulating factors and challenges confronting farmers' willingness-to-pay for biofortified maize. Methods: The multistage sampling technique was adopted for the study and used to select a total of 100 maize farmers for this study. Primary data were collected from the respondents using a well-structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Two-limit Tobit Model, which was used to identify the factors influencing farmers' willingness-to pay for biofortified maize. Findings,
Research background: With the ever-increasing population suffering from hunger and malnutrition, frequent consumption of roots and tubers (R&Ts) is likely to improve household health and nutritional status.R&Ts contribute to improved nutrition, provide medicinal benefits and are a cheaper source of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals hence much affordable for urban poor households.Despite their highlighted benefits, R&Ts consumption levels among urban consumers have reduced significantly and the reasons for the decline remain unknown.Assessing households' consumption frequency for R&Ts is essential in enhancing their utilisation. Purpose of the article:This study evaluated factors influencing consumption frequency for selected R&Ts among urban households of Nakuru county, Kenya.Methods: A stratified multistage sampling technique was employed to select a random sample of 385 urban respondents, and data were collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire.The collected primary data were analysed using a negative binomial regression (NBR) model. Findings, Value added & Novelty:The mean consumption frequency for R&Ts was seventeen times a month.Household size, monthly income, household health, farming of R&Ts, nutritional knowledge, and availability of different types of R&Ts influenced their consumption frequency among urban households.In this regard, R&Ts value addition strategies such as peeling, washing, drying, packaging and labelling could increase their acceptance as convenient foods among urban dwellers.Food policies that improve R&Ts supply chain efficiency could increase their production and consumption, consequently broadening the food base at household and national levels.
Purpose of the Article: This study examines the technical efficiency of tomato farmers in Ghana. Methods: Using cross-sectional data for the 2019 cropping season and through a multi-stage sampling technique, 508 farmers from three agro-ecological zones were selected and used for the study. Using Metafrontier analysis and a translog functional form, we examined the mean levels and the determinants of Metatechnical efficiencies. Findings, Value Added and Novelty: The findings of group-specific metafrontier technical efficiencies (MFTEs) and ecological gap ratios (EGRs) showed that tomato farmers in Ghana produced below the group frontier due to limited and inefficient utilization of the available technologies. Farmers in Forest Savannah Transitional Zone (FSTZ) achieved higher mean technical efficiency than those in the Coastal Savannah Zone (CSZ) and the Guinea Savannah Zone (GSZ).respectively. Conventional inputs such as land, seeds, insecticides, and tractor services positively influenced tomato production in GSZ, FSTZ and CSZ while farmers who were: male; formally educated; belonged to an FBO; and had access to extension services, were technically efficient in GSZ and FSTZ. In CSZ, female farmers and farmers producing tomato as a secondary occupation were more technically efficient. The study recommends that the private sector, including financial institutions, value chains, and NGOs as well as the government through MoFA should invest in FBOs, and also assist tomato farmers to access extension services and education to help eliminate technical inefficiencies in tomato production. Government should also help ease farmers ‘access to production inputs such as tractor, fertilizer, pesticides, and seed so as to increase tomato production in Ghana.
Research background: The trend in aquafarming has been increasing over the years, thereby meeting the deficit in fish production caused by capture fisheries. Aquafarming is a source of income and food for most Kenyan populations. Despite the increased fish production, postharvest losses in fish production have remained a challenge over the years. These postharvest losses resulted from high transport costs, poor preservation methods, inadequate storage facilities, and poor handling and mismanagement. The postharvest losses result in quality and quantity losses in fish production, thereby affecting the income received by farmers. Purpose of the article: This paper analyses the effects of postharvest losses on household welfare among aquafarmers in Kenya. Methods: Primary data was collected in Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Kakamega and Siaya Counties in Kenya. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect the data on a sample size of about 300 farmers. This study used a two stage least square was used to analyse the effects of postharvest losses on household welfare. Access to preservation facilities and distance to the market were considered instrumental variables in the model. Findings & Value added: Results indicated that postharvest losses were negatively significant on household welfare. On the other hand, farmer’s age, ownership of land, and the size of land under crop were also significant on household welfare. Due to inaccessible markets, postharvest losses result in to decline in farmers' income, hence welfare loss. The study recommended investment in preservation facilities and road infrastructure to reduce the number of postharvest losses in fish in an attempt to improve the welfare of farmers.
Research background: Beans form a substantial part of the household diet in East and Central Africa and are consumed by most households. They are alternative low-cost proteins for less endowed people in a society and can contribute towards nutrition, food security, and employment. In Homa Bay County, beans are staple food grown by a vast majority of farmers. Choice of market outlet is the most significant decision for farm households to sell their produce to the different market outlets, which has a more substantial impact on household income. Purpose of the article: Factors influencing the choice of market outlets among smallholder bean farmers in Homa Bay County, Kenya Methods: Data collected were analyzed using a Multivariate Probit. Multi-stage sampling was used to collect data from 362 farmers, which constituted 181 participants and 181 non-participants of Public-private partnerships (PPPs); data was collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Findings & value added & novelty: The market outlet choices available in the study area for sales of beans included consumers, brokers, retailers, and wholesalers; however, retailers and wholesalers constituted more than half of the market outlets. Experience in bean farming, farm size, access to training, credit, and partnership participation positively and significantly influenced selling to these market outlets. Farmers who participated in PPP participated more in bean farming than non-participants; this might be attributed to the benefit acquired from partnerships, such as training farm inputs, among others. Thus, PPP could be an effective way of improving smallholder livelihood; policies that include mechanisms that create or secure markets for smallholder farmers will see to it that they get increased returns.
Research background: Many studies have reported the relationship between farm size and productivity. Whilst some meta-regressions on efficiency have been published, none has addressed the issue of farm size efficiency relative to the dimensions of productive efficiency and its variants. Purpose of the article: We investigated the effect of farm size on productivity in Ghanaian agriculture within a meta-regression framework. Methods: Using data on 93 primary studies with 177 observations on efficiency in agriculture in Ghana, the Ordinary Least Squares estimator was applied in estimating the meta-regression model, a form of meta-analysis that specially formulated to assess empirical economics research. The farm size–efficiency effects were computed based on the Wald. Findings, value added & novelty: The results were mixed. Whilst no farm size-efficiency nexus was established for allocative and scale efficiencies, the inverse effect was confirmed in the case of the cost-economic, profit, technical and metafrontier technical efficiencies. Improved technology would be compatible with reduced farm size, reduction of the technology gap that would move farmers closer to the metafrontier. We contribute to the farm size-efficiency debate as we performed a quantitative review of the farm size-efficiency relationship. We addressed the farm size-efficiency relationship within the meta-regression framework and accounted for the full range of efficiency measures. Unlike other meta-regressions that used the standard error of the estimates, we obtained additional effect size, that for farm size-efficiency, our key result, from the specified model. We then dissociated the effect size into the range of efficiency measures reported in the primary studies. The paper covers data on farming in Ghana.
Research background: Participatory Forest Management program (PFMP) is initiated to manage forest resources and promote household participation to enhance their livelihood. In contrast, the long-term evaluation of many programs' timing remains low attention. Thus, it is vital to measure livelihood impacts on membership duration associated with the PFM program in Ethiopian farm households Purpose of the article: To evaluate the impact of membership duration in participatory forest management on livelihoods of program participating households in south-western Ethiopia. The results of the program's periodic assessment data were analysed on the long-term effect of the activities of forest management members. Methods: The study applied the generalized propensity score method. The research depends on cross-sectional survey data collected in mid-2018 from 267 farm households from Sheka and Kafa zones of south-western Ethiopia. The procedure matched families with similar covariates with different years of membership duration in the participatory forest management program. The technique was used members' annual per capita expenditure as an indicator outcome variable for measuring rural livelihood. Findings, value-added & novelty: Impacts studies of PFMP on heterogeneous effects across different groups of membership duration are scarce, and there is a research gap on how membership duration affects outcomes. Our study addresses this gap by measuring the long-term evaluation of program outcomes and their impacts on the participatory member households. Furthermore, the result revealed that the program's effects were initially low but positively affected when approaching an optimum year of membership dose. The program's optimal duration of the membership dose was 11-12 years, and 4263.75 birrs were the optimal level of yearly household per capita consumption spending. Recommendation: The results recommend more work on the participating household members by encouraging new forest-related income sources and integrating the socio-economic network more closely with the forest's ecosystem services. Although the relationship among participating members of households' longevity and income is substantial, the program has been focused on the medium and longer duration of the forest program participating.
Research Background: Access and consumption of adequate food are essential components of development goals. Agriculture is expected to play an important role in ensuring food security by increasing the availability of food at the household level. Ethiopia is attempting to enhance agricultural production and productivity to combat food insecurity. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of adopting improved wheat varieties on food security in Girar Jarso Woreda, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Methods: First multistage sampling techniques were used to select a target sample of 192 households, 90 adopters, and 102 non-adopters. Three kebeles were selected at random from Girar Jarso Woreda based on wheat crop cultivation. Primary and secondary sources were used to acquire both qualitative and quantitative data. The data was gathered through a household survey, key informant interviews with sample farmers, focus group discussions, and a review of reports. The researchers utilized a logit model to identify factors influencing wheat variety adoption, and the Household Food Balance Model (HFBM) was utilized to calculate net available food at the household level. A Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique is also employed to quantify the impact of improved wheat varieties on households' food security. Findings, Value-added & Novelty: The findings demonstrated that education level, involvement in training, demonstration, and field day events, distance to market, access to market information, and farmer cooperative membership all had a substantial impact on the adoption of improved wheat varieties. Hidase, Digelu, Dandeha, and Kubsa were improved wheat varieties planted by adopters in the study region during the 2017/2018 crop year. Adopting improved wheat varieties has the potential to increase food availability at the household level, which is a good indicator of food security.
Research background: Vegetables are important sources of nutrition to many households. Understanding the household demand system of leafy African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) in Kenya could enhance designing strategies to increase their consumption levels. Purpose of the article: The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of demographic variables on budget shares for commonly consumed leafy vegetables and to generate vegetable demand elasticities. Methods: A stratified multi-stage sampling approach selected 168 and 282 respondents in rural and urban areas, respectively. The study used primary data, and a Linear Approximate Almost Ideal Demand System was estimated using the Seemingly Unrelated Regression method. Findings, value & novelty: Own-price elasticities indicated that leafy AIV crops are normal goods. Cross-price elasticities indicated leafy AIVs are more complementary to each other and can be substituted for the consumption of exotic vegetables. The price effect could substantially contribute to changes in demand than would income. Vegetable demand could still increase with a future increase in household income. Expenditure elasticities classified cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) and spider plant (Cleome gynandra L.) as necessary vegetables. Results can be used to develop strategies for increasing demand for leafy AIV crops, thus enhancing consumption of healthy diets.
Research background: Poor pest management decisions in crop production highly pronounced in most developing countries including Nigeria, result in huge crop losses, human health challenges and environmental degradation, detrimental to sustainable agriculture, food sufficiency and security. Identifying the factors influencing pest management decisions among maize farming households and providing effective solutions by relevant stakeholders can reduce crop losses and reduce the harmful effect to human health and the environment due to harmful pest management practices. Purpose of the article: The research was carried out to determine the factors influencing pest management decisions among maize farming households in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, in order to provide effective and appropriate solutions capable of enhancing pest management decisions and invariably reducing crop losses due to pests, as well as reduce the harmful effect to human health and the environment caused by harmful pest management and control practices. Methods: Multistage sampling technique was the sampling method used, where 324 maize farmers were correctly sampled as respondents for this study. Primary data were collected from the respondents using a well-structured questionnaire. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multinomial probit model. The multinomial probit model was used to identify factors that influence pest management decisions. Findings, value added & novelty: The study revealed the use of chemical pesticides as the most used pest management practice among maize farming households in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, while the use of integrated pest management practices was about the least used. Also, result from multinomial probit analysis of the study showed that gender, access to extension services, age and level of education were significant factors that influenced pest management decisions. The study, therefore, recommends the need for relevant non-governmental organisations and government ministries/agencies to engage in the provision of educational facilities and incentives to crop farmers, more robust agricultural extension programmes, input subsidies and farmer field schools, targeted at enhancing pest management decisions in crop production, which can be vital to sustainable and maximized agricultural production, human health and the environment.
Research background: Adoption of improved rice varieties remain paramount in fighting food and nutrition insecurity across sub-Sahara Africa (SSA).A lot has been done in the space of the adoption of agricultural innovations and food and nutrition insecurity.However, studies on the drivers of improved rice variety adoption and its effect on rice output, considering time and location-specific factors, are limited.Purpose of the article: This study estimated and examined the drivers and effect of improved rice variety adoption on rice output in the northern region of Ghana.Methods: A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 404 rice farm households in the northern region of Ghana.Propensity Score Matching (PSM) approach was used to analyse the data. Findings, Value added & Novelty:This study provides literature on drivers of improved rice variety adoption and its effect on rice output, by jointly considering time and location-specific factors.The empirical results revealed that adoption of improved rice varieties has significant positive effect on rice output of farm households.This could translate into reducing food and nutrition insecurity and the importation of rice into Ghana.Similarly, improved rice varieties adoption is positively and significantly affected by family labour, membership in FBO, farmers' perception of rainfall, awareness of government rice policy, telephone ownership, and closeness to input markets.However, the adoption of improved rice varieties bears a significant negative relationship with the age of a farmer and mechanization.To enhance rice productivity and food security outcomes, the study recommends that the development of enhanced rice varieties responsive to current climatic situation.Dissemination and promotion of the varieties should be given priority among stakeholders in the rice value chain.Farmers should be encouraged to join or form farmer-based organisations (FBOs) and support their farm work with family labour to minimize rice production costs due to external payments.Access to market by farmers should be enhanced by improving rural road networks, especially in the rural areas where rice production takes place.Government policy towards rice production should be well designed and communicated to rice farmers since awareness of government rice policy stimulates improved rice varieties adoption among rice farmers.
Research background:The challenge of resource limitations requires that farmers make judicious use of resources to maximize output and profit levels.This can be achieved through assessment of resource-use efficiency of farmers by estimating the level of technical efficiency and the determining factors.Purpose of the article: This paper compared the results of alternate DEA methodologies and applied different estimators to measure the influence of exogenous factors on technical efficiency of groundnut farmers in northern Ghana.Methods: The study used the traditional and double bootstrap DEA approaches to estimate technical efficiency while in the second stage, OLS, Tobit and double bootstrap techniques were used to estimate the influence of exogenous factors on efficiency.Findings & Value added: The double bootstrap DEA approach produced a mean technical efficiency of 51 per cent compared to 70 per cent for the traditional DEA approach.Concerning the determinants of technical efficiency, the DEA with Tobit (DEA+Tobit), DEA with OLS (DEA+OLS), and Simar and Wilson's double bootstrap DEA (SW-DEA) procedures produced very similar results.The findings shed light on two-stage DEA estimation as well as the modelling of the influence of exogenous factors on the DEA scores.
Research background: The food system is central to a wide range of outcomes such as food security, nutrition and economic development. In this wise, the food systems must meet the needs of a growing and increasingly urbanized population. However, food system in developing countries is undergoing a rapid transformation towards high value products and food safety. Yet, the consumer demand drive towards the transformation has received much less attention. Hence, improvement in the agricultural and food systems must be viewed in the context of household food consumption patterns. Purpose of the article: This paper examined household food demand and food choice preferences among urban households in southwest, Nigeria. Understanding Nigeria’s Agrofood structure through urban eating pattern will proffer knowledge required for better policy design and implementation. Methods: The paper applies a quadratic almost ideal demand system (QUAIDS) model to a cross-sectional household survey data from two urban areas, and estimate price and expenditure elasticities as indicators of household sensitivity to market shocks. Findings & Value added: Analysis of frequency distribution on urban household’s preferences shows that convenience, availability, safety were important attributes influencing decisions to purchase foods. Demand estimations show positive expenditure elasticities for food groups with values close to unity. The animal-source foods and cereals were more expenditure-elastic in high urban areas (HUA) and low urban areas (LUA), respectively. All own-price elasticities are negative and LUA are more price-sensitive to most food groups compared to HUA. The price and expenditure results suggest that transformation of agro food products will come in place if convenience and food safety attributes are incorporated in food value chain.
Research background: A combination of technology and efficiency gains will drive future intensification programs aimed at fostering food and nutrition security in the developing world. Specifically, the adoption of improved varieties and use of quality seed alongside good agronomic practices will be critical. Purpose of the article: Given the space-time availability of technology, this study investigates how production efficiency (technical efficiency, technology gap, and meta technical efficiency) has changed over time and assesses the possibility of heterogeneous technology adoption in Ghana. Methods: The study constructs a rich nationally representative dataset of dry beans and groundnut farmers that constitutes 15 production seasons in Ghana. Using a sample of 10,518 farmers from 10,051 households, a Meta Stochastic Frontier (MSF) approach is used to access changes and determinants efficiency and technology adoption. Findings & Value added: We find that farms are operating under heterogeneous technologies along ecological lines and that the technology gap has been reducing over time. Improvements in meta technical efficiency could be driven by the gains in the technology gap ratio. Technical efficiency levels across the two legumes averaged about 61% and did not significantly improve between 1987 to 2017. The key determinants for the observed trends were farmer education, mechanization, access to agricultural extension services, and land ownership. Holding ecological technologies constant, legume farmers generally performed poorly because of technical inefficiency, implying that a general improvement in farmer managerial skills could substantially improve farm output. The study recommends policies/programs be formulated on a case-by-case basis; to ensure specificity and wider impacts, if production is to improve.
Feeding everyone in sub-Saharan African countries remains a challenge because of the high population growth rate, climate change effects and declining soil fertility, particularly affecting maize and legumes availability. In Kenya, maize and legumes are important staple crops and a recipe in most household dinner tables. However, smallholder farmers are still faced with low maize and legumes security. Understanding the factors that influence a given household to produce above or below the household annual requirements, is crucial and largely ignored in the literature. Therefore, this study was carried out to understand the factors influencing maize availability equivalent among smallholder maize-legume farmers in selected counties in Kenya. Panel data were collected from 613 randomly sampled households from five counties. A maize availability equivalent was then calculated and grouped into three categories, which included those households that produced maize equivalent below the average (deficient), along average (sufficient) and those above average (surplus). An ordered logistic regression model was then fitted to estimate the effect of social capital, socioeconomic and institutional factors on maize availability equivalent. The econometric results showed that only the network density as a measure of social capital positively and significantly influenced maize availability equivalent in the household. Other factors like gender, education, age, income of the household head and average plot distance to nearest market were significant too. Policy recommendations must address gendered production, development of farmer education, participation on social institutions, creation of greater and stronger network density, as well as informing the correct age that will improve the maize equivalent in the households.
Research background: Cocoa remains the Nigeria’s highest foreign exchange earner among all agricultural commodities, Contributed 12.5-14% of the national GDP. Currently, Nigeria is the fourth largest cocoa producing country in the world, produced approximately 328,652 tons annually. Occupational risk is a major factor reducing productivity of farm workers as it impairs physical capacity and increase vulnerability to ill health, diseases and injuries. Risk of agrochemical exposure has been attributed to work demand and unhealthy work environment. Purpose of the article: This study aimed to estimate life quality for agrochemical exposure risks of cocoa farm workers in Ondo state Nigeria. The study specifically estimates the amount an individual willingness to pay by respondents for occupational risk reduction. Methods: Multistage sampling technique that guaranteed cocoa farmers who could provide desired information on the basis of the objectives of the study was adopted for the study. Random selection of 180 cocoa farm workers from the study area. Descriptive statistics (frequency, mean and percentage) and Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) approach that dovetailed into choice modelling and conditional logistic regression were the analytical tools used. Findings & Value added: the result revealed that 74% of the cocoa farm workers are on active age and mainly male with the mean age of 46 years. Most of the workers are illiterate that cannot read instructions on the agrochemical container. Average workers are willing to pay 830 Nigerian naira for personal protective equipment, 92 Nigerian naira for 15% wage discount as financial benefit of workplace injuries and 1024 Nigerian naira for training of workers in pesticide usage. The study concluded that better health conditions and appropriate use of personal protective equipment minimize the occupational risk. It was therefore recommended that educational programmes that will enhance farmer’s knowledge, skills and attitude to use safe methods (appropriate use of protective equipment) in pesticide usage should be adequately planned. Appropriate use of personal protective equipment to reduce exposure to agrochemicals and the risks involved in the misuse and abuse of agrochemicals should be adopted.
