Impact of cluster farming on wheat commercialisation in Ethiopia

This study was conducted with the objective of investigating the impact of adopting cluster farming on wheat productivity and the welfare of smallholder households in the North Shewa zone of the Amhara region in Ethiopia. The study used primary data collected from 394 households sampled using a multistage sampling technique. The data was collected using structured questionnaires and key informant interviews. In order to investigate the impact of adopting cluster farming on households′ wheat productivity measured by their production per hectare and welfare indicated by their food consumption expenditure, the study has used an endogenous switching regression (ESR) model. The result of the analysis indicates that factors such as the household head′s age, education level, perception of cluster farming, household size, farming experience, farm size allocated to wheat production, participation in farmers′ unions, access to irrigation and information about cluster farming, soil quality, training, and proximity to resources have a significant influence on farm households′ decision to adopt cluster farming. The results confirm that the adoption of cluster farming significantly increases wheat yields and directly enhances household per capita food consumption expenditure compared to nonadopters. Furthermore, the findings suggest that nonadopters could have achieved higher wheat productivity and improved food consumption levels had they adopted the practice. Based on these results, the study recommends that the government and relevant stakeholders collaborate with rural farming households to promote cluster farming in the study area, thereby improving smallholder farmers′ wheat productivity and overall welfare.

Low agricultural commercialisation due to low productivity and a lack of access to and use of improved seeds are common features of smallholders in the Ethiopian highlands. Seed-producer cooperatives (SPCs) were established and strengthened in these highlands to facilitate smallholders’ access to improved seed. Using survey data collected from 425 randomly selected smallholders, a full-information maximum likelihood endogenous switching regression (ESR) model and a propensity score-matching (PSM) technique were employed to estimate the impact of membership of seed producer cooperatives on the output and input commercialisation of members and non-members. The results show that farm size, availability of extension services, household size, farm income, participation in other farmers’ organisations, access to training, and education of the household head are key factors associated with cooperative membership. The results from the ESR and PSM models are consistent and show that being a member had a positive and statistically significant impact on tef and wheat farmers’ output and input commercialisation. Non-members’ status in output and input commercialisation would have been improved if they had been members of seed-producer cooperatives. The results indicate that joining seed-producer cooperatives has proven to be a beneficial approach for farmers, as it minimises transaction costs and facilitates farmers’ access to input and output markets for tef and wheat crops. The results show that, if farmers were not part of SPCs, the commercialisation of their tef and wheat output would have decreased by 43 and 31 percentage points, respectively. Furthermore, if non-members had joined the seed cooperatives, their tef and wheat output commercialisation levels would have increased by 19.5 and 13.3 percentage points, respectively. The findings imply that governments and development partners should deliver training for SPC members on quality seed production and management in their farm operations and assist SPCs in setting up seed storage facilities and acquiring winnowing machines.

Contract farming was introduced in Nigeria to address the challenges faced by smallholder farming households in realising farming objectives. Therefore, this study examined the effectiveness of the Anchor-borrower Outgrowers’ Programme in fulfilling one of its roles of increasing the net farm income of poultry farming households in Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used for data collection from the respondents. The endogenous switching regression model was used to estimate the impact of contract farming on the net farm income of farming households in Southwestern Nigeria. The findings from the first stage of the Endogenous Switching Regression Model revealed that age, major distribution outlet, off-farm income, transaction cost, flock size, and association membership determined farmers’ participation in the poultry anchor-borrower outgrowers’ scheme. The second stage further revealed the socioeconomic characteristics affecting the net income of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, including sales price, flock size, proximity to the urban center (Lagos), education qualification, off-farm income, and transaction cost. The result from the estimated average treatment effect (ATE) revealed that participation in anchor-borrower poultry contract farming had a positive influence on the net farm income of beneficiaries. Thus, evaluating and providing solutions to factors highlighted in this study that hinder participation in contract farming is important to ensuring more farmers enjoy the opportunities provided by contract farming. In this same vein, contract farming programmes in Nigeria should consider providing fixed inputs such as land and buildings through lease agreements, as this influences participation in the programme. In addition, older farmers should be encouraged to key into anchor-borrower poultry contract farming and refrain from viewing them as scam schemes akin to past programmes they engaged in over their extensive years of agricultural experience.

Irrigation plays a crucial role in enhancing food production, increasing land productivity, and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Solar pumps and water harvesting ponds have emerged as promising technologies for sustainable agriculture for smallholders in SSA and beyond. The socio-economic impacts of these systems are less studied in the existing literature. This study examined the agricultural productivity of solar pump and water harvesting irrigation technologies and their impacts on income and food security among smallholder farmers in the Central Rift Valley, Lake Hawassa, and Upper Awash sub-basin areas in Ethiopia. Data were collected from 161 farming households that were selected randomly from woredas where solar pump and water harvesting pond irrigation systems had been implemented. The sample size was determined using the power calculation method. Bio-physical observation and measurements were also conducted at field levels. The benefit–cost ratio (BCR) and net water value (NWV) from the use of solar pump and water harvesting pond irrigations were analyzed to assess the viability of these systems. The household food consumption score (HFCS) and household dietary diversity score (HDDS) were calculated to measure food security, while the revenue from crop production was used to measure crop income. An endogenous switching regression model was applied to address the endogeneity nature of the adoption of the irrigation technologies. The counterfactual analysis, specifically the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT), was used to evaluate the impacts of the irrigation technologies on income and food security. Results indicate that the ATT of crop income, HFCS, and HDDS are positive and statistically significant, illustrating the role of these irrigation systems in enhancing smallholder farmers’ welfare. Moreover, smallholder farmers’ solar pump irrigation systems were found to be economically viable for few crops, with a BCR greater than 1.0 and an NWV ranging from 0.21 to 1.53 USD/m³. It was also found that bundling agricultural technologies with solar pump irrigation systems leads to enhanced agricultural outputs and welfare. The sustainable adoption and scale-up of these irrigation systems demand addressing technical and financial constraints, as well as input and output market challenges.

Agricultural cooperatives have been found to effectively alleviate poverty in developing countries because of their specific socioeconomic functions that allow poor households to overcome marketing and production constraints. However, cooperative evaluations are inevitably influenced by other poverty alleviation measures and rarely consider the characteristics of specific ethnic groups. Using cross-sectional surveys in Southwest China and employing propensity score matching (PSM) and endogenous switching regression (ESR) models, this paper analyzed the participation of poor households in New-type Agricultural Cooperatives (NACs) in ethnic areas and assessed the income impacts of NAC membership by eliminating unobserved biases and group heterogeneity. This study detected heterogeneous policy perceptions and behavioral differences between the member and nonmember groups, and the PSM and ESR model results indicated that, overall, participation in the NACs had a positive effect on household income. The ESR model was found to be more plausible as it was able to reveal the significant income gaps under a counterfactual inference framework. Local policymakers need to focus on the policy perception and behavioral and earning capability differences between groups and increase the balanced policy implementation.

Many empirical studies have documented the role of farm management practices such as irrigation in reducing poverty and improving household well-being. Few studies, however, have looked at the impact of irrigation farming on poverty vulnerability and the welfare of rural farming household. This study examined the factors that influence farmers’ participation in irrigation farming, as well as how it affects farmers' food consumption expenditure per capita (proxy for welfare), poverty gap index, poverty severity and poverty vulnerability. The study's data was collected from farming households in the northern and coastal parts of the Eastern province of South Africa. The endogenous switching regression (ESR) model was employed in the study to account for selection bias that could be caused by both observed and unobserved household factors. The empirical result shows that gender, household size, educational attainment, crop diversification, and market outlet among others influenced farmers' decision to practice irrigation farming. Farmers engaging in irrigation farming boosted their food consumption per capita by 44%, while non-participants would have increased their consumption expenditure per capita by 23% if they had participated. Moreover, participating farmers reduced their poverty gap index by 20% and poverty severity by 22%, whereas non-participating farmers could have reduced their poverty gap index and poverty severity by 5% and 17%, respectively had they engaged in irrigation farming. Participation in irrigation farming also reduced poverty vulnerability by 25%, while non-participants may have reduced poverty vulnerability by 3%. The findings suggest that enhancing farmers' access to irrigation is crucial to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to eradicate poverty in all its manifestations everywhere.

The adoption of hybrid chicken production as a source of income and food security among smallholder farmers has recently taken significant global attention. However, the effect of adoption of hybrid chicken across different genders on household food expenditure and food security remains unknown. This study employed propensity score matching (PSM) and endogenous switching regression (ESR) models to analyze the effect of adoption of hybrid chicken on smallholder households' consumption expenditure and food security in Machakos County. The PSM and ESR models were estimated on a sample of 582 households selected using multistage stratified random sampling method. The descriptive results indicated that adopters of hybrid chicken spent on average KES 1296 compared to the non-adopters who spent KES 1400 on food consumption per month. Furthermore, the adopters of hybrid chicken were more food secure compared to the non-adopters. About 74% of female were also likely to experience chronic food insecurity compared to their male counterparts. The econometric results indicated that farm location, access to credit, access to market, access to feeds, group membership and cost of feeds significantly influenced the adoption of the hybrid chicken production for both male and female decision makers. The average treatment effect results showed that non-adopters spent higher costs on food consumption. Moreover, half of the adopters of hybrid chicken were food secure compared to the non-adopters. The treatment effects of adopting hybrid chicken on household food consumption and food security were positive suggesting that adopters benefited more compared to the non-adopters. To boost food security, this study recommends the National and County governments to develop a facilitating policy environment which supports chicken production systems that are socially, environmentally and economically sustainable while enhancing appropriate technical and extension support to enable cost effective chicken production, marketing, and disease control.

Technical approaches to food production are important to the food security of growing populations in developing countries. However, strategic investments in research and farm‐level adoption require greater coherence in agricultural, societal, and local policies. The Agricultural Innovation System (AIS) and formation of the Cassava Innovation Platform (CIP) in Uganda were designed to stimulate interactions between researchers and farmers, leading to the development of improved cassava varieties through participatory plant breeding (PPB) and participatory variety selection (PVS). Moreover, the establishment of a community‐based commercialized seed system called Cassava Seed Entrepreneurship (CSE) has made an important contribution to the rapid multiplication and dissemination of clean planting materials in Uganda. The impact of CIP participation on rural household welfare was measured by household consumption expenditure per capita. The Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) model was applied to data from a formal household survey conducted in the eastern, northern, and mid‐western regions of Uganda. The education, farm size, livestock size, access to credit, cost of cassava planting materials, access to extension service, access to training, and social group membership are significantly associated with CIP participation. CIP participation resulted in a 47.4% increase in household consumption expenditure. This important evidence highlights the need to promote agricultural innovation platform for improving rural livelihoods. Moreover, CIP participation has impact heterogeneity within the participant group that is conditional on household characteristics such as the gender of the household head, pointing to the need to tailor specific interventions and target specific groups within farm households.

This study investigates the access to and impact of agricultural extension services on crop yield among smallholder farmers in Farta Woreda, Ethiopia. The research addresses a critical gap in understanding the factors influencing farmers’ access to extension services and evaluates the overall benefits of these services on crop production. Using a multi-stage stratified simple random sampling technique, data were collected from 356 rural households and analyzed using descriptive statistics and an endogenous switching regression (ESR) model. Results from the selection equation of the ESR model revealed that off-farm income, credit access, livestock ownership, mobile phone ownership, and membership in farmer associations as key determinants of access to agricultural extension services. The findings also revealed significant differences between extension service receivers and non-receivers, with the former achieving 12.27% higher yields. The study highlights that households receiving extension services produced an average of 0.6 quintal (ATT) more crop yield per hectare than they would have without the services, while non-receivers could have achieved approximately 28% (ATU) higher yields had they participated in extension programs. These results emphasize the transformative role of extension services in enhancing farm productivity and call for policy interventions to strengthen farmer associations, integrate financial literacy training, and promote inclusive extension service delivery. By addressing these issues, policymakers can improve agricultural productivity and livelihoods for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia and similar contexts.

PurposeThe objective of this study is to estimate the impacts of access to irrigation on farm income, household income and income diversification.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs an endogenous switching regression (ESR) model to address the selection bias arising from both observed and unobserved factors and analyze cross-sectional data collected from Fujian, Henan and Sichuan provinces in China. The authors use the Simpson index to measure household income diversification. The propensity score matching (PSM) model and control function approach are also used for comparison purpose.FindingsAfter controlling for the selection bias, the authors find that access to irrigation has a positive and statistically significant impact on rural incomes and diversification. The treatment effects of access to irrigation are to increase farm income, household income and income diversification by around 14, 10 and 107%, respectively. The positive effects of access to irrigation are confirmed by the estimates of the PSM model and control function approach. Further analysis reveals that the irrigation effects on rural incomes and diversification are heterogeneous between small-scale and large-scale farmers and between male-headed and female-headed households.Practical implicationsThe authors’ findings suggest that the government should continue to improve irrigation infrastructure construction in rural China to promote smallholder farmers' water access and at the same time facilitate farmers' access to better agronomic and irrigation information. There exist gender and farm size related income and diversification effects of access to irrigation, and the irrigation access is associated with farm location. Thus, when developing regional irrigation programs consideration needs to be taken of whether the rural farming systems are dominated by male/female household heads and land fragmentation/consolidation issues.Originality/valueAlthough a large body of literature has investigated the effects of irrigation development in rural areas, little is known about the impact of access to irrigation on income diversification. The selection bias associated with unobserved heterogeneities is usually neglected in previous studies. This study provides the first attempt by examining the impacts of access to irrigation on rural incomes and diversification, using the ESR model to address both observed and unobserved selection bias.

Agricultural mechanization plays an essential role to increase production, productivity and commercialization of cereal crops. Despite the Ethiopian’s government has made substantial efforts to increase production, productivity and commercialization of cereal crops by the introduction of selective and adaptable agricultural machines to smallholder farmers has remained low. This study, therefore, investigated the impacts of agricultural machine renting on cereal crop productivity and commercialization. The study used cross-sectional data collected from 192 agricultural machine users and 208 non-users from West Gojjam zone, Ethiopia. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and econometric models. The econometric model includes Trans log production function, Endogenous switch regression and propensity score matching. The result of descriptive statistics showed that the total factor productivity index of the cereal crop was 2.89, and the mean commercialization index for the sample households was 0.506. The estimation of results of Trans log production function model showed an average level of Technical Efficiency of 80.6%. The result of first stage Endogenous switch regression model showed that age, education level, ownership of oxen, total cultivated land, extension visit, access to information, family size, the position a farmer, and distance to the nearest market significantly affected adoption of agricultural machine renting. The result of endogenous switching regression and propensity score matching models showed that agricultural machine renting had a positive and significant impact on the selected outcome variables, total factor productivity, technical efficiency and output commercialization index. Based on the findings, the study suggests that the government and stakeholders should focus on strengthening the provision of education, development of infrastructures, extension service, to promote agricultural machine renting service, and enhance cereal crops productivity and commercialization.

Agricultural mechanization plays an essential role to increase production, productivity and commercialization of cereal crops. Despite the Ethiopian's government has made substantial efforts to increase production, productivity and commercialization of cereal crops by the introduction of selective and adaptable agricultural machines to smallholder farmers has remained low. This study, therefore, investigated the impacts of agricultural machine renting on cereal crop productivity and commercialization. The study used cross-sectional data collected from 192 agricultural machine users and 208 non-users from West Gojjam zone, Ethiopia. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and econometric models. The econometric model includes Trans log production function, Endogenous switch regression and propensity score matching. The result of descriptive statistics showed that the total factor productivity index of the cereal crop was 2.89, and the mean commercialization index for the sample households was 0.506. The estimation of results of Trans log production function model showed an average level of Technical Efficiency of 80.6%. The result of first stage Endogenous switch regression model showed that age, education level, ownership of oxen, total cultivated land, extension visit, access to information, family size, the position a farmer, and distance to the nearest market significantly affected adoption of agricultural machine renting. The result of endogenous switching regression and propensity score matching models showed that agricultural machine renting had a positive and significant impact on the selected outcome variables, total factor productivity, technical efficiency and output commercialization index. Based on the findings, the study suggests that the government and stakeholders should focus on strengthening the provision of education, development of infrastructures, extension service, to promote agricultural machine renting service, and enhance cereal crops productivity and commercialization.

Adopting Good Postharvest Handling Practices (GPHH) is critical to enhancing Nigeria’s cocoa value chain’s quality, sustainability, and profitability. This study investigates the determinants and economic impacts of GPHH adoption among Licensed Buying Agents (LBAs) in Southwest Nigeria, focusing on Ondo and Osun states. Using a multistage sampling procedure, 120 LBAs were surveyed, and an Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) model was employed to analyze the data. The findings reveal that only 43.3% of LBAs adopt GPHH, with adoption driven by factors such as education, training participation, credit access, and access to modern technology information. Conversely, high operational costs and government charges were significant barriers to adoption. The study demonstrates that LBAs who adopt GPHH experience a substantial increase in income, with an Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) of ₦5,618,535.72 (13.2%), highlighting the economic benefits of improved practices. Furthermore, adopters achieve higher efficiency and reduced postharvest losses, enhancing their market competitiveness. The results also reveal gender disparities in adoption rates and the importance of capacity-building interventions, such as training programs and financial support mechanisms, to address barriers. This research underscores the need for targeted policy interventions to promote GPHH adoption, improve postharvest quality management, and enhance the livelihoods of LBAs. By addressing the persistent challenges in the cocoa sector, this study provides actionable insights for stakeholders to foster sustainability and economic growth within Nigeria’s cocoa industry.

China has made great achievements in agricultural development since the “open and reform policy”. However, due to the long time high intensity development mode of farmland, its soil fertility has been seriously deteriorated during the past few decades, which lead to the decline of agricultural products quality, loss of biodiversity and deterioration of environment. Conservation agriculture (CA),which is claimed to generate a number of agronomic, economic and environmental benefits, has been increasingly promoted world widely. Farmers’ adoption behaviors of CA technologies and their influencing factors have been widely explored in both developed and developing countries, but the effect on farmers’ income has been still in fierce debated, of which, the endogeneity caused by farmers’ adoption behavior in developing countries has attracted the most attention. Based on a face to face field survey with 454 rice growers in Jianghan Plain, China, this study aims at shedding some light on the potential impact of CA adoption on farmer’s agricultural income by applying propensity score matching method (PSM) and endogenous switching regression model (ESR). The empirical results showed that: (1) Households in Jianghan Plain showed high participation rate in CA technologies adoption, which consisted of straw returning field and crawfish-rice system in this paper. 91.90% of the interviewed farmers have adopted the at least one of the two above technologies. (2) The average treatment effect (ATT) of the ESR for those who have adopted CA was -1.638, and the average treatment effect of non-adopters (ATU) was -1.244. These indicated that the income effects have a negative feedback to farmers’ decision on CA adoption (43.09%). Further, farmers with deeper cognition of CA, less level of agricultural subsidy were more likely to adopt conservation agricultural technologies. (3) After capturing the endogeneity caused by unobservable factors in ESR results, the average treatment effect (ATT) was -8.681 and the average treatment effect (ATU) of non-adopters was -0.314, which indicated that adopting CA technologies reduced farmers’ agricultural income by 78.68%. Additionally, cognition level of CA supporting policies significantly improved the adoption rate of CA, while traditional agricultural subsidies imposed significantly negative effect on the adoption of CA. Therefore, to help farmers benefit from the CA technologies adoption, policy makers in Jianghan Plain should design more targeted CA supporting policies such as ecological compensation mechanism and CA technology promotion training program. Particularly, due to the CA technologies were adopted involuntarily in Jianghan Plain and the determinants of the CA technologies vary considerably among the regions, the above results can only provide policy implication for regions with similar situations.

Randomized trials, observational studies, and the illusive search for the source of truth