The poverty impacts of improved cowpea varieties in Nigeria: A counterfactual analysis.

Julius Manda,Tahirou Abdoulaye,David Chikoye,Victor Manyong,Adane H Tufa,Arega D Alene,Tesfamicheal Wossen

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.05.027

Julius Manda, Tahirou Abdoulaye + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.05.027

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Abstract

Adoption of improved agricultural technologies has long been recognized as critical for reducing poverty through increased productivity, incomes, and asset accumulation. Using a nationally representative survey data from a sample of over 1500 households in Nigeria, this paper evaluates the impacts of adoption of improved cowpea varieties on income and asset poverty reduction using an endogenous switching regression model. The results showed that adoption of improved cowpea varieties increased per capita household income and asset ownership by 17 and 24 percentage points, respectively. The results based on the observed and counterfactual income and asset distributions further showed that adoption reduced both income poverty and asset poverty by 5 percentage points. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy options for increasing adoption and impacts of improved cowpea varieties in Nigeria.

Highlights

Agricultural productivity growth has long been recognized as one of the most important and effective pathways through which agricultural research and technologies can increase rural incomes and reduce poverty (Gollin, Hansen, & Wingender, 2018)
The results show that the causal effect of adopting improved cowpea varieties (ICV) was about US$0.22 per capita/day, which is equivalent to a 17 percentage-point increase in household income
Applying a procedure similar to the one used by Alwang and Siegel (2003), Zeng et al (2015), Wossen, Alene et al (2019), Wossen et al (2017) and Manda, Alene, Mukuma, and Chikoye (2017), the percentage point reduction in the income poverty and asset poverty headcount indices estimated in Figs. 1 and 2 can be used to estimate the number of people who have been lifted out of poverty due to adoption of ICV in Nigeria

Summary

Introduction

Agricultural productivity growth has long been recognized as one of the most important and effective pathways through which agricultural research and technologies can increase rural incomes and reduce poverty (Gollin, Hansen, & Wingender, 2018). A plethora of empirical evidence suggests that agricultural productivity growth is extremely important for the development prospects of largely rural and agriculture-dependent countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Originating in agriculture is at least twice as effective in reducing poverty compared to the same magnitude of growth in other sectors of the economy (World Bank, 2007). Impact of improved maize varieties on food security in Eastern Zambia: A doubly robust analysis. Impacts of subsidized hybrid seed on indicators of economic well-being among smallholder maize growers in Zambia.

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