Environment, Technology, and the Social Articulation of Risk in West African Agriculture

Internal and external migration can have a profound impact on rural asset accumulation in most Third World countries. In many African, Asian, and Latin American countries the bulk of the labor force still lives in the countryside. In these countries the large difference between expected rural and urban or foreign incomes, coupled with the risk-reducing functions of migration, causes workers to migrate, either to urban centers or abroad. The remittances—defined as the money or goods sent home by migrant workers—can have a large effect on the accumulation of assets in these rural areas. For example, an inflow of external remittances to rural households at the upper end of the income distribution could increase land accumulation by the rich. In general terms the effect of remittances on asset accumulation in a rural Third World economy depends on answers to three questions: (a) Who migrates? (b) How much net income do migrants remit? and (c) What are the marginal effects of these remittances on household consumption and investment? Because of data limitations, in this article I propose to examine only the first and the third questions; other researchers have addressed the second issue. In the past surprisingly little attention has been focused on the question of the marginal effects of remittances on household consumption and investment in the rural Third World. This inattention has been due to three considerable methodological problems. The first is fungibility; because remittances are like any other form of cash income, it is difficult to associate this income source with any particular changes in household expenditure behavior. The second problem relates to the multiple-round effects of remittances on the local economy. For example, an inflow of remittances into a rural area may lead to a surge in expenditures in housing, which may, in turn, create new income and employment opportunities for the poor and unskilled. Unfortunately, however, few studies have

Shenggen FanInternational Food Policy Research Institute and Institute of AgriculturalEconomics of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesLinxiu ZhangCenter for Chinese Agricultural Policy of the Chinese Academy of SciencesXiaobo ZhangInternational Food Policy Research InstituteI. IntroductionChina is one of the few countries in the developing world that has madeprogress in reducing its total number of poor over the past 25 years.

This paper reviews various studies which have provided a description and possible explanation to patterns of innovation adoption in the agricultural sector. The survey points out that the tendency of many studies to consider innovation adoption in dichotomous terms (adoption/nonadoption) may not be appropriate in many cases where the actual decisions are defined over a more continuous range. More attention needs to be given to the socio-cultural and institutional environment in area studies so that their interrelation with economic factors affecting adoption can be inferred. The presence of several interrelated innovations is another aspect that needs to be considered more carefully in future research, since a number of simultaneous decisions may be involved. Furthermore, the possibility of regular sequential patterns in adopting components of a new technological package should be specifically addressed in future studies. Finally, the impact of differential adoption rates on land holding distribution merits attention in future research.

Aggregate estimates of food expenditure are consistent with such a possibility, implying income/expenditure elasticities close to one. However, the high degree of aggregation at which such estimates are made means that the considerable increase in price per nutrient as income increases is ignored, and the nutrient elasticities are therefore overstated. Estimates for a rural south Indian sample indicate that this bias is considerable and that the true nutrient elasticities with respect to income may be close to zero.

Private income transfers are becoming increasingly recognized as a key aspect of the U.S. economy. The majority of private income transfers occur inter vivos (i.e., between living persons), but very little is known about this type of transfer behavior. This paper tests alternative hypotheses concerning motivation for inter vivos transfers. Two motives are considered: altruism and exchange. Evidence presented here casts doubt on the altruistic model of transfer behavior. Observed patterns for inter vivos transfers are more consistent with exchange-related motives. This finding has important implications for the effects of public transfer programs on the distribution of economic well-being.

In this article we show that associational relationships and social norms of villages in rural Tanzania are both capital and social. After outlining the various concepts of social capital we tell how and why we created data on social capital using a large-scale household survey in rural Tanzania that was designed to query households about their social connections and attitudes. By using the Social Capital and Poverty Survey (SCPS) and data from a different survey, which also had information on incomes, we show that a village’s social capital has an effect on the incomes of the households in that village, an effect that is empirically large, definitely social, and plausibly causal. Finally, we use the two data sets to examine a number of proximate channels through which social capital appears to operate.

The objective of this paper is to understand the effects of China’s migration on source communities and to discuss their policy implications. We draw from New Economics of Labor Migration (NELM) theory to understand how migration and migrant remittances can relax or tighten market constraints in China’s rural economy. Using simultaneous-equation econometric techniques and household survey data from China, we estimate net, sectorspecific effects of migration on rural household income, focusing on farm production and self-employment. Our econometric findings indicate that the loss of labor to migration has a negative effect on household cropping income in source areas. However, we provide evidence that remittances sent home by migrants positively compensate for this lost-labor effect, contributing to household incomes directly and indirectly by stimulating crop and possibly self-employment production. This finding offers evidence in support of the NELM hypothesis that remittances loosen constraints on production in the imperfect-market environments characterizing rural areas in less developed countries. Taking into account both the multiple effects of migration and the change in household size, participating in migration increases household per-capita income between 14 and 30 percent. Migration and Incomes in Source Communities: A New Economics of Migration Perspective from China China is experiencing the largest peacetime flow of labor out of agriculture ever witnessed in world history (Solinger, 1999; Rozelle et al., 1999). Despite the rapid expansion of labor migration, China’s work force is still disproportionately employed in agriculture compared to other countries at similar levels of per-capita GDP (Taylor and Martin, 2001). Hence, as China’s economy continues to expand, the flow of labor to urban areas will continue and even accelerate (Johnson, 1999). The massive flow of labor away from farms has intensified research interest in China’s migration in recent years. However, as in the broader literature on migration in less developed countries, most recent studies on China’s migration have focused on determining the size and composition of the labor flow, macroeconomic implications of increased migration, and the effects of migration on urban areas (Zhao, 1999; Yang, 1999; 1997). Less emphasis has been placed on researching the effects of migration on the rural communities that migrants leave, even though evidence shows that the rural household in the village of origin is typically the central concern of all those involved in migration– both those who leave and those who stay behind (exceptions include Wang and Zuo, 1999; Bai, 2001). Moreover, the recent increase in migration has left policy makers particularly concerned regarding the way source communities will be affected (MOA, 1999). They are concerned that as labor flows away from farms, food production and crop income will decline, potentially threatening China’s food security. Furthermore, policy makers are concerned about the increasing gap between urban and rural household incomes. If migration exacerbates this gap, some fear that as it grows rural residents eventually will flood cities ill-equipped to absorb them. Others fear that discontent over a rising urban-rural income gap could even spill over into political unrest (Yang, 1999). Because China’s markets and other modern economic institutions are still relatively undeveloped, migration may play a pivotal role in creating or overcoming constraints caused by the lack of well-functioning markets and/or institutions (Knight and Song, 1999; Benjamin and Brandt, 2000). The “new economics of labor migration” (NELM) literature analyzes migration as a household decision rather than as an individual decision (Stark, 1991). The NELM hypothesizes that rural households facing imperfect market environments decide

Discussions of rural development policy are for the most part focused on the tenurial, institutional, technical, infrastructural, and economic aspects of agricultural development. In contrast, nonfarm activities in agricultural regions receive little attention, and a number of models of agrarian economies with nonfarm activities have even predicted a decline of such activities with agricultural development.' In this paper we show that nonfarm activities in agricultural regions expand quite rapidly in response to agricultural development and merit special attention in the design of rural-and also of urban-development strategies. The poorest groups of the world's rural population include those who depend on nonfarm activities as a source of employment and income. Nonfarm activities also supply a range of goods and services to agriculture and the rural population, contributing to the growth of agricultural output and the improvement in living conditions in rural areas. Finally, the concentration and growth of nonfarm activities in rural towns localizes employment opportunities for people who leave agriculture and acts to stimulate a degree of decentralization of urban growth.

Household Livelihood Differentiation and Vulnerability to Climate Hazards in Rural China

EFFECTS OF SMALLHOLDER DIVERSIFICATION ON RURAL HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN KENYA ABSTRACT Market-oriented economic reforms are now at least 20 years old in most of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Prior to these reforms, most economies were fettered with far-ranging limits on investment, private sector trade, and other initiatives, and on the free movement of agricultural products over space. Kenya is a prime example of these earlier policies, with limits on maize marketing, agricultural inputs marketing and dairy marketing restrictions that were lifted through the reforms. Over this same time, urban populations and rural population densities have increased dramatically, further broadening the scope for trade, and setting off the process of agricultural transformation. In addition, changes in the weather patterns have often affected smallholder agricultural production and consumption decisions. How have the rural farm households been affected by these dramatically different policy, economic and climatic environments, and how have these changes and patterns shaped the welfare of rural households? The effect of smallholder diversification in rural areas is conjectured to be correlated to the agricultural transformation process. In the absence of markets, households are likely to rely solely on own production and they tend to produce mainly for subsistence. As markets begin to function, diversification is likely to increase household income and wealth, but reduce the household’s ability to be food-secure, especially if diversification implies transferring resources from food crops to commercial crops in response to market opportunities. But as markets improve (or as land sizes increase), incomes are likely to be increased through specialization, not diversification, and households no longer have to rely on self-sufficiency to be food-secure. More-specialized households at this stage in the transformation process are likely to be more food-secure. Moreover, studies also show that climate change may affect a farm household choice of income activities that ultimately determine the household welfare. This is more so pertinent in the case of rural household food security. Despite receiving considerable attention in the developing countries, food security continues to be a major challenge. In SSA, for example, it is estimated that about one-quarter of the population, most of whom reside in rural areas where agriculture is the mainstay, are faced with chronic food insecurity. In addition, most rural househlds follow highly diversified agricultural an livelihood portfolios in response to potential risks such as uncertain weather. Yet fewer studies have investigated the effect of smallholder diversification on rural smallholder food security. The purpose of the study is to determine the welfare effects of crop, agricultural and livelihood diversification on farm households food security. It is hypothesized that households diversify income portfolios in order to mitigate the risks to food security. Therefore, the overall objective of this essay is to investigate the welfare effects of agricultural and livelihood diversification at the household level. The specific objectives for the study are to: (a) determine the welfare effects of crop, agricultural and livelihood diversification on rural household food security in the presence of rainfall stress and policy reforms of the 1990s, and (b) examine heterogeneity in household welfare effects of livelihood diversification between groups of households. Using a five-period panel data of 1,243 rural farm households from Kenya collected between 1997 and 2010, this study investigates welfare effects of agricultural and livelihood diversification among smallholder farmers in rural Kenya. Dynamic Panel Data method will be used to investigate the effects of smallholder diversification on rural household food security. The dynamic panel data model is appropriate since it allows for separation of the true state dependence, observed and unobserved heterogeneity. The model assumes no serial correlation of the error term but not independence. Because of potential endogeneity problem caused by, a) the inclusion of the lagged dependent variable and, b) the potential endogeneity of some right-hand side variables, a test for validity of the instrumental variables will be carried out using the Sargan test of overidentifying restrictions. In addition, a test of no serial correlation in the error terms (Arellano-Bond test) will be carried out to ensure correct specification of the model. Household food security (the dependent variable) will be proxied by the amount of maize calories available for consumption at the household per adult equivalent.

A salient theme in D. Gale Johnson’s work is the importance of agricultural development for general prosperity and for economic diversification (e.g., Johnson 2000). Johnson has also noted that most of the world’s poor are engaged in farming, so that a key focus of development policy is to raise the incomes of farmers. From a global perspective, increasing the productivity of agriculture, given the fixity of land, is necessary for both poverty reduction and the development of the nonagricultural sector. At the level of the world, agricultural productivity gains, poverty reduction, and the growth of the nonfarm sector are complements. However, the question remains whether these observations imply that every poor country should focus its public resources on agricultural development in order to raise the incomes of people now engaged in farming and whether such a policy is necessary for obtaining economic diversity. In this article, we use the experience of India over the past 30 years to address the issue of whether agricultural technical change actually leads to economic diversification and income growth within the rural sector in the context of an open-economy country in which there are cross-area trade and capital flows. We focus in particular on the rural sector because this is the sector in which linkages between agricultural and nonagricultural sectors are thought to be the strongest. We exploit the fact that India has maintained a policy of openness with respect to agricultural technology over this period, permitting and actively supporting agricultural development, and has moved to a reformed regime in which goods are traded and capital is more mobile in the 1990s. Evidence on the relationship between agricultural growth and nonfarm

In rural areas of developing countries income diversification is influenced by various factors. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify factors affecting income diversification among rural farming households in the Sodo Zuria District,Wolaita zone ,Ethiopia. The study drew a sample of 300 rural farm households through multistage sampling technique from six kebeles of the districts based on agro- ecological category. Data was collected using interview schedule and key informant interviews. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the collected data and the variables. The findings of the study indicate that rural household’s income diversification activities which account about 62% of the households combine agriculture with other activities. Finally, among 15 independent explanatory variables included in logistic regression computation, seven variables such as skill training, education of households, market distance, credit access, extension service, vulnerability to risk/drought, and livestock ownership were very strongly significant. Government and non-governmental organizations and any other concerned stakeholders should emphasis on encouraging agricultural and non- agricultural income diversifying activities. Keywords: Rural household, income diversification, non/off-farming, logistic regression, Wolaita, Ethiopia. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-3-03 Publication date: February 28 th 2021

The dominance of housing may reflect limitations in the menu of investment choices available to migrants in the country of origin. In many developing countries individuals face relatively few savings opportunities where productive assets (such as land farm assets) are associated with high risks and/or low rates of return. Housing investments offer unique advantages in that they are durable highly visible and associated with low risk and monitoring requirements. However there are some important drawbacks associated with housing investments. In particular where resale and rental markets for housing are not well developed migrants housing assets may be relatively illiquid and irreversible. In the next section I provide some background on general patterns of investment behavior among migrants. Here the evidence on housing investments is discussed for a rich set of migrant sending and receiving countries. In Section III I develop the conceptual framework for understanding migrants housing investment decisions. Section IV provides a description of the data sources. Section V outlines the empirical strategy. In Section VI I discuss the empirical findings. Section VII presents conclusions. (excerpt)

This study examines the determinants of labor force participation for men and women in Guinea for three sectors and for earnings. Employment includes self-employment private wage employment and public wage employment. Data were obtained from a survey of 1725 households in the capital city of Conakry in 1990. Labor force participation (LFP) was 40% for women aged 15-65 years and almost 100% for men aged 30-50 years. Men were engaged almost equally in all three sectors while women were mostly engaged in self-employment. Self-employed women tended to come from low-income households. All public sector employees were well-educated (about 10-12 years). Average levels of education among the self-employed were very low (2-3 years). In the private wage sector men averaged 5 years and women averaged 9 years of schooling. 47% of men and 59% of women in the public sector were in professional or managerial jobs. In the private sector over 50% of women were in professional managerial or clerical jobs compared to only 16% of men. Few women in the private sector were engaged in skilled trades or unskilled work. Most self-employed women and only 50% of men tended to work in retail trade. Migration during the past 5 years was positively associated with mens entry in self-employment and the private sector and negatively associated with their public sector employment. Determinants of womens self-employment included residence near commercial areas of the center city electricity in the house and work activity during the rainy season of April-September. Fulani and Malinke women were less likely to be self-employed. For women the benefits of education and experience declined after a certain level. Returns to schooling were high for both genders. Men earned more than women. There is a need to increase educational and employment opportunities for women.

In Ethiopia, rural households are under risk in the sustainability of sources of income and forced to involve in diversified livelihoods because of the uncertain nature of the agricultural sector. Therefore, the aim of the study is to measure the livelihood diversification strategies and its impacts on rural households’ welfare. The study used cross-sectional data, which is quantitative and qualitative in nature. Through the multistage sampling technique, the study selected 398 samples from the south Gondar zone. The data was analyzed through descriptive statistics, and Tobit and multiple linear regression models. The descriptive statistics analysis showed that income from crop and livestock productions are the most important contributors (97.74%) to livelihood diversification in the study area. The Simpsons Index of Diversity is (0.4) showing that there is a lower livelihood diversification in the study area. The Tobit model regression results showed that education, family size, irrigation, soil conservation, extension service, livestock, and infrastructure facility affect the intensity of livelihood diversification. Furthermore, the multiple regression result revealed that livelihood diversification has a positive impact on the welfare of rural households. The study concludes that to improve the livelihood and welfare of rural households, diversified livelihood strategies should be enhanced by facilitating farm activities through access to inputs, irrigation schemes, and infrastructure and off-farm activities.This article applied the Simpsons Index of Diversity (SID) to estimate the intensity of income diversification.•The method helps to measure the amount of diversified income and its effect on the welfare of rural dwellers.•The study helps to identify the common livelihood strategies and their relevance to improving rural living style.