This paper applies a Bayesian approach to incorporate non-data information in estimating the opportunity cost for farmers in rural Cameroon to engage in biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration efforts. Findings from our field survey reveal that only a small percentage of farmers are willing to participate in environmental protection programmes without compensation. A multidimensional preferences analysis indicates that this behavior may be attributed to a disconnection between environmental values and socioeconomic values. Bayesian analysis of the Tobit model, examining Willingness to Accept (WTA) compensation for agroforestry participation, highlights that factors such as aging, higher educational attainment, and higher socioeconomic status are highly likely to promote pro-environmental behaviors. The estimated opportunity cost of supplying environmental services is 10,775 CFA francs with a standard deviation of 333.6 CFA francs per farmer. These results differ qualitatively from the existing literature, underscoring the relative significance of considering expert knowledge in the interpretation of environmental policies.

The dry spells are severe obstacles to rainfed agriculture in Sahelian countries. The farmers believe supplemental irrigation is an excellent way to adapt rainfed agriculture to dry spells. In this study, we analyzed the contribution of supplemental irrigation to food security and compared the profitability of different types of ponds constructed by farmers in northern Burkina Faso. Human cereal requirement was used as indicators to analyze the contribution of supplemental irrigation to food security. The criteria for analyzing the profitability of the selected ponds were gross margin (GM), net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period (PBP). The results show that the additional yield of corn obtained with supplemental irrigation makes it possible to meet the monthly cereal needs of at least 17 people and generates an additional GM of FCFA 178,483 (US$ 309.26) compared to no irrigation. The estimate of the NPV, from IRR and PBP showed that the profitability of supplemental irrigation in 15 agricultural seasons varies between type of ponds constructed. Given the up-front cost and the farmers’ lack of resources, the ponds require a subsidy or a credit policy to facilitate the adoption of supplemental irrigation in Sahelian countries.

The chapter assesses key biophysical and economic factors of climate change impact chain in the agriculture sector of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), mainly within the decade following the launching of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) and Maputo Accord. This is done through a review of literature and analysis of data mainly from international databases. We find that land resources for agricultural production are substantial, but land degradation and land productivity are serious problems, particularly in the context of climate change. Although the region has experienced unprecedented growth, financing agricultural development is still an issue. Developing quality infrastructure and stimulating agricultural trade may provide a win-win strategy to build resilience to climate change and strengthen economic development. The economics of adaptation to climate change in the agricultural sector of ECOWAS has mainly focused on the magnitude of costs and returns on country-wide and technology-specific measures. There is a need, however, to integrate biophysical and economic factors of climate change impact chain in sound analytical frameworks to provide "multi-metric" considerations of non-monetary and nonmarket measures, risks, inequities, and behavioral biases in addressing climate change.

Based on a literature review, this study proposes a conceptual framework for transforming traditional agribusinesses in Africa into inclusive and green ones through inclusive business model innovation (IBMI) and green business model innovation (GBMI). The main contribution is the development of an integrated framework for IBMI and GBMI in response to the need for both types of innovation in order to address the socio-economic and environmental challenges that smallholder farmers face in Africa. The inclusive green agricultural business model innovation (IGABMI) framework proposed is more consistent with the inclusive green economy concept, which is viewed as the pathway to achieving sustainable development. It differs from the sustainable business model innovation (SBMI) framework by being more operational with respect to the social dimension (inclusiveness). Green agricultural value chain (GAVC) is used as an example of inclusive green agricultural business model (IGABM). Moreover, a framework for assessing and monitoring achievement towards IGABM is proposed. Overall, this study provides guidelines for developing IGABMs in Africa and other developing regions.

Appropriate responses to climate change in the agriculture sector are dependent on knowledge of the status and trends of the factors of the climate change impact chain in the sector. The objective of the study was to broadly assess key human, environmental, and biophysical factors in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), mainly within the decade following the launching of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP). This was done through a review of literature and analysis of data mainly from World Bank and FAO sources. The status of and changes in these factors were generally unsatisfactory. Population growth rate was high. Average daily maximum temperatures were projected to rise by up to 3.5 degrees C by 2050. Up to 35% of the lands were estimated to be severely to very severely degraded. Total Internal Renewable Water resources per capita were below international requirements in many countries of ECOWAS. Total Renewable Water resources per capita were more abundant but decreased over years. The substantial arable land and renewable water resources and carbon stored in soil (23.5 Gt) and forest biomass (6.3 Gt) are attributes of ECOWAS. Agricultural production was higher in the Gulf of Guinea Zone compared to the Sudano-Sahelian Zone but yields of rice, maize and yam were higher in the Sudano-Sahelian Zone. Food security status was unsatisfactory across ECOWAS although the production of rice, maize, cassava, yam, groundnut, cocoa, and palm oil (in most cases), and livestock, fisheries and aquaculture increased. The increase between 2003 and 2013 for aquaculture was dramatic (847%). Overall increases in the production of rice, maize, sorghum, cassava, yam and groundnut and cattle, sheep and goats were mainly due to increased crop area harvested (42%) and livestock numbers (44%). Policies should be revisited, institutions strengthened and financial investments made for ECOWAS to realize its potential to significantly contribute to food security and carbon storage.

This paper investigates the impact of climate change on agriculture in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). To that end, a bio-economic model is built and calibrated on 2004 base year dataset and the potential impact is evaluated on land use and crop production under two representative concentration pathways coupled with three socio-economic scenarios. The findings suggest that land use change may depend on crop types and prevailing future conditions. As of crop production, the results show that paddy rice, oilseeds, sugarcane, cocoa, coffee, and sesame production could experience a decline under both moderate and harsh climate conditions in most cases. Also, doubling crop yields by 2050 could overall mitigate the negative impact of moderate climate change. The magnitude and the direction of the impacts may vary in space and time.

Organic farming and genetically modified (GM) crops technologies are currently being promoted as alternatives to conventional farming that is seen as unsustainable. However, institutional constraints can impede the adoption of even the most sustainable technology. This paper analysed the effect of institutional factors on farmers’ adoption of conventional, organic and GM cotton in Burkina Faso. Building on the expected utility model and institutional theory, a multinomial logistic regression was performed using farmers’ survey data from the 2014–2015 production season. The results showed that subsidies on fertiliser and credit for cereals production, the power of farmers’ association and that of the cotton company favoured the adoption of conventional and GM cotton at the expense of organic cotton. In order to succeed, organic cotton projects need to include components that help farmers to access organic fertilisers for cereals production. They also need to involve the cotton companies that are the most powerful stakeholders of the cotton sector. Extension services are necessary for both organic and GM cotton adoption. Other important factors to consider include farmers’ education, the potentials of the technologies, the good agro-ecological conditions, the continued involvement of women, the availability of virgin lands and the closeness of farmers to their farms.

The importance of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in sustainable agricultural development cannot be overemphasized hence the study examined the impact of gender and cooperative membership on farmer's use of ICTs in Abuja, Nigeria. Emphasis was laid on common ICTs like radio, television, GSM phone video, agricultural books, camera and computer. A multi-stage technique was adopted for sampling while questionnaires were used for data collection. A total of 212 farmers made up of 53 male cooperative farmers, 53 female cooperative farmers, 53 male non-cooperative and 53 female non-cooperative farmers were interviewed. Data were analyzed using a three-way mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed that, irrespective of cooperative membership, there was no significant difference (p > .05) in gender use of GSM phones, television, video, camera and computer but they significantly differed (p < .05) in the use of radio and agricultural books. The male farmers significantly used radio more than the female farmers while the reverse was the case for agricultural books. On the other hand, irrespective of gender, there was no significant difference (p > .05) in cooperative and non-cooperative farmer's use of each of the ICTs. Again, there was significant interaction of gender and cooperative membership on farmer's use of each of the ICTs implying that farmers (male or female) who belonged to cooperative societies significantly used some of the ICTs more than the non-cooperative farmers. Generally, of all the ICTs, GSM phones were the most utilized while computer was the least. The paper concluded that gender and cooperative membership, individually and jointly, impact on farmer's use of ICTs in agriculture.

In this paper, we empirically examine whether the assumptions and predictions of the Hotelling model are consistent with patterns observed in data. We consider nonlinear functional forms for the extraction cost and resource demand to develop an empirical Hotelling model with technological progress and stock dependent extraction costs. Using panel data on fourteen nonrenewable natural resources to estimate this empirical Hotelling model, we get qualitatively different results as compared to the related literature. We find evidence of stock-dependent extraction costs for most resources. There is no evidence against the linearity of the optimal extraction rate in the resource stock for almost all resources studied. Furthermore, the Hotelling model may sustain a zero long-run growth rate in resource prices. These results depend on whether firms use different extractive technologies or whether the structural break observed on resource prices is taken into account.

This paper investigates the role of intra-regional trade on food availability within the context of global climatic change in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). To that end, the study uses a module of trade cost minimization built within a bio-economic optimization model of cropland allocation. The results show that the climate-induced trade pattern in ECOWAS depends on the prevailing socio-economic conditions during the century. No specific pattern of trade flows is predicted but several countries may become dependent on food imports outside of ECOWAS. An adjustment of the common external tariffs (CET) may reduce food import costs. Also, doubling crop yields by 2050 could significantly reduce outside dependence. Finally, actions are urgently needed to be taken to foster agricultural production in ECOWAS.

Over the years, the Concessionary Forestry Business Model in Africa has largely driven the production of tangible forest products such as timber. There are concerns, however, that this approach does not include local communities as important stakeholders of the decision-making process. Little regards are also given to environmental sustainability, which would ensure inter-generational equity. This paper develops options for addressing these issues, thereby greening the Concessionary Forestry Business Model in Africa. Firstly, socioeconomic, environmental and technological challenges facing concessionary forestry businesses are discussed by reference to country case studies. The paper then continues to provide the core elements of a greener Concessionary Forestry Business Model, with more emphasis on business infrastructure, value propositions, customer interfaces, and profit models. The paper concludes by examining the necessary policy tools that will promote the integration of eco-innovations into Africa's forestry sector.

There are many controversies about the relative performances of conventional farming (CF), organic farming (OF) and genetically modified crops farming (GMCF) technologies. This paper aimed to identify the overall best technology by reviewing the performances of CF, OF and GMCF from a green economics perspective. Existing literature could not allow for identification of the overall best technology because of two methodological limitations in the assessments of the performances of CF, OF and GMCF. First, most assessments did not consider all the three technologies together when assessing their performances. Second, they investigated economic, environmental and social performance indicators separately. The paper suggests a more comprehensive approach through the lenses of an integrated framework of green economic performance leading to a composite indicator, and comparisons of all three technologies. Additional guidelines are provided on statistical techniques for robust comparisons of these agricultural technologies in order to better inform policy development.

There are many controversies about the relative performances of conventional farming (CF), organic farming (OF) and genetically modified crops farming (GMCF) technologies. This paper aimed to identify the overall best technology by reviewing the performances of CF, OF and GMCF from a green economics perspective. Existing literature could not allow for identification of the overall best technology because of two methodological limitations in the assessments of the performances of CF, OF and GMCF. First, most assessments did not consider all the three technologies together when assessing their performances. Second, they investigated economic, environmental and social performance indicators separately. The paper suggests a more comprehensive approach through the lenses of an integrated framework of green economic performance leading to a composite indicator, and comparisons of all three technologies. Additional guidelines are provided on statistical techniques for robust comparisons of these agricultural technologies in order to better inform policy development.

Environmentally detrimental input (water turbidity) and conventional production inputs were considered within the framework of stochastic frontier analysis to estimate technical and environmental efficiencies of fishermen in sand dredging and non-dredging areas. Environmental efficiency was low among fishermen in the sand dredging areas. Educational status and experience in fishing and sand dredging were the factors influencing environmental efficiency in the sand dredging areas. Average quantity of fish caught per labour- hour was higher among fishermen in the non-dredging areas. Fishermen in the fishing community around the dredging areas travelled long distance in order to reduce the negative effect of sand dredging on their fishing activity. The study affirmed large household size among fishermen. The need to regulate the activities of sand dredgers by restricting license for sand dredging to non-fishing communities as well as intensifying family planning campaign in fishing communities to reduce the negative effect of high household size on fishing is imperative for the sustainability of artisanal fishing.

The objectives of the research are to provide country specific data/information and sources on climate, climate change, soil, hydrology; agricultural land and production; agricultural trade and food security; challenges, opportunities, policies and institutional arrangements. The mapping found that data on climate collected in meteorological stations across the country for over 30 years are available but there are gaps. Observed average annual temperature has been increasing since 1960 at an average of about 0.18 ⁰C per decade. Average daily maximum temperature is projected to increase by 1-2.5% in 2050 compared to a 2000 baseline. Observed annual rainfall has been variable with extreme events in recent years. There is variability in soil properties but in general, the soils are low activity clay soils of inherent poor fertility status. Land suitable for cultivation on a sustainable basis is 53,620 km2, 74.2 % of the total land area. Land degradation is perceived to be serious, but quantitative estimates are limited; data on soil nutrient mining and soil erosion are available. A wide range of annual and tree crops are cultivated in Sierra Leone, with rice being the major staple. The production of rice, cassava, sweet potato, cocoa, coffee and oil palm has been on the increase since 2001 but on-farm yields of annual and perennial crops are low and well below their potentials. There is locally available data, at selected district and farm level, on volume and value of domestic trade and market channels for major crops. Import value of rice increased and export value of cocoa and coffee increased between 2001 and 2011. Fisheries landings are projected to decline by 14-53% by 2050 compared to a 2000 baseline level, depending on GHG emission scenario. The study recommends that capacities of institutions responsible for the collection, processing and dissemination of agricultural statistics should be strengthened.

Biosand filter basically applies a system of sand, gravels and biologically active microorganisms to remove unwanted substances from drinking water. Field trials of the biosand filter for domestic water treatment in rural communities have shown remarkable health gains from its application. As such, there are calls to scale up its application in developing countries. This study investigated factors that may influence the acceptability of the biosand filter at the household level in rural communities in Ghana. The study further applied lifecycle environmental and cost assessments to analyse the eco-efficiency potential of the biosand filter and examined prospects of leveraging this potential for green business development. The key demographic and socio-economic indicators of biosand filter acceptability related to gender, age, education and wealth. Females showed greater interest in the biosand filter, while discrete increase in age, relative advancement in education and economic status of respondents may each increase the prospects of purchasing biosand filter. Compared to local sachet water production, which was considered as a quasialternative to the biosand filter, it was established that the latter has superior eco-efficiency, provided quite comparable profitability and potentially viable for eco-business development. The information yielded by this study is useful for scaling up considerations of the biosand filter technology in Ghana and other West African countries.

We take a capital asset pricing approach to the determination of the price of a nonrenewable natural resource in the case where the resource is durable, in the sense that once extracted it becomes a productive asset held above ground. The portfolio choice is then made up of the following assets: a stock of nonrenewable resource held in the ground that yields no dividend, a stock of resources held above ground that yields a dividend in the form of a flow of productive services, and a stock of composite good that can be held either in the form of productive capital or of a bond whose return is given. There is a stochastic element to the rate of change of productivity in both the production of the composite good and in the extraction of the resource. It is shown that the resulting prediction for the price path of the resource differs considerably from the one that follows from the elementary Hotelling model and that no unambiguous prediction can be drawn analytically about the pattern of behavior of that price path.