Farmers’ Access to Certified Wheat Seed and its Effect on Poverty Reduction in Pakistan

Abstract

In Pakistan, the majority of farmers do not have access to certified seed. The main objective of the current study was to identify and analyze the factors that influence the extent of farmers’ access to certified seed and assess its impact on household income, food security, and poverty levels in Pakistan. For the study, a comprehensive data set was collected through a field survey in major wheat-producing areas of Pakistan in 2012. In total, 367 wheat (Triticum aestivum) growers were interviewed. The data were analyzed by employing econometric models including a propensity score-matching approach, which was used to correct for potential sample selection bias that may arise because of systematic differences between the farmers with access, and those without access to certified wheat seed. Levels of education, ownership of agricultural equipment and related assets, wealth and income levels of farmers were positively associated with the adoption of certified seed. Access to bank credit, distance to and from seed stores and markets also influenced farmers’ decisions to adopt certified seed. The empirical results indicated that farmers who had access to certified wheat seed were able to achieve higher crop yields, higher income, and lower poverty as compared to farmers having no access to certified wheat seed. As wheat is a food-security crop, the household food security levels were quite high. The policy implications of the current study are that farmers’ access to certified wheat seed needs to be increased to increase wheat yield and household income, and to decrease the poverty levels; increasing the wheat yield is of paramount importance to feed the population of Pakistan, which is growing at 1.8% per annum.