Poor Farm Households Research Articles

Ecological shock and time poverty: Evidence from northern Ghana

Despite the importance of time poverty in economic decision-making and impact on welfare outcomes, empirical studies linking ecological shocks and time poverty is limited. This paper documents the relationship between an ecological shock and time poverty in northern Ghana using data from the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS). We employ the standard instrumental variable (IV) method and conduct several robustness checks to ensure a robust estimate of ecological shock on time poverty. The results show that ecological shocks increases time poverty by 15 percentage points. The decomposition analysis of time poverty indicates that ecological shock is postively associated with time poverty based on paid work with no significant effect on time poverty based on unpaid work. Our results further show that the effect of ecological shocks on time poverty is a rural phenomenon. In addition, we note that the effect of ecological shock on time poverty is more prominent among the youth, large farm holders, and high-income earning household heads. The main implication of the findings is that development interventions that enhance access and adoption of gender-sensitive labour-saving technologies must be scaled up to reduce farm committed time, increase crop productivity and reduce the potential intergenerational transfer of time poverty. Provision of social protection measures such as the support through the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty to poor farm households would reduce the burden of ecological shocks on their wellbeing.

Analysis of Poverty Profile of Rural Farm Households in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The poverty profile of rural farm households belonging to association(s) in Akwa Ibom State, in the southern region of Nigeria, was analyzed. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 180 rural farm households within the research area. Descriptive statistics and the FGT methodology were utilized to evaluate the objectives of the study. The findings indicated that 60.56% of the rural farm households were classified as poor. Among the identified poor farmers, approximately 27.78% and 32.78% were categorized as core poor and moderate poor, respectively. Only 39.44% of the rural farm households were considered non-poor. The incidence of poverty among the core poor farm households was found to be 51.00%, while it was 62.00% for the moderate poor rural farm households. Similarly, the poverty depth indices revealed that the core poverty group accounted for 28.00%, whereas the moderate poverty group accounted for 22.00%. Furthermore, the research identified several activities adopted by farm households to alleviate poverty, including providing loans to members at reduced rates, mobilizing savings, engaging in group work, disseminating information on new agricultural products and prices, and organizing training on modern farming techniques, among others. Based on these findings, it is evident that poverty continues to be a significant issue among rural farm households in the southern region of Nigeria. Therefore, a re-evaluation of the various strategies aimed at reducing poverty is imperative in this region.

Agricultural extension service, technology adoption, and production risk nexus: Evidence from Bangladesh

Rice production is inherently risky and volatile, and farmers in Bangladesh face a wide range of risks, including weather, pest and disease attacks, interruptions to input supply, and market-associated risks. Moreover, poor farm households often perceive risks in adopting new technology, even though it could improve productivity and food security. Such households are thus caught in a “risk-induced trap” that precludes them from realizing the benefits of technological innovation. Extension service is one way to help farmers improve risk management skills and escape risk-induced traps, but there is limited empirical analysis of its impact in Bangladesh. The objective of the study is to measure the nexus between agricultural extension services, technology adoption, and production risks as well as women empowerment in agriculture index. IFPRI utilized stratified random sampling to determine the 5603 households in 2018 (which is nationally called the BIHS-2018 dataset) from rural and pre-urban areas of Bangladesh. Out of these 5603 households, 2663 households were specifically selected for the study related to rice farming to achieve the main objective of the study. Focusing on rice farming, a moment-based Poisson regression model is estimated with 2SLS and identifies risks associated with key technologies and potential productivity and risk-reducing effects. The results revealed that wealthier households are more likely to adopt technology for minimizing production risk and women's empowerment which can positively affect productivity by mitigating risk. The result revealed a positive and significant difference in WEAI between the AES participant and non-participant group. We find that engagement in agricultural extension services was associated with technology adoption and production risk reduction. The agricultural extension services increased, technology adoption by 4.2 % and decreased production risk by 2.4 %. Based on the findings, it is concluded that more comprehensive extension services can enhance rice production and ameliorate farmers' risk in rice production to some extent.

Pathways and policy options for food and nutrition gaps in arid agricultural farming systems in the Tigray Region, north Ethiopia

Food and nutrition security is a major global challenge especially indeveloping countries.Agriculture is main means of livelihoods and hunger is drastically increasing from time to time especially due to effects of climate change, conflict and other manmade and natural calamities in these countries. Similarly, the Tigray Region is one of the Ethiopia's most food and nutrition insecure regions with agriculture serving as the main source of income and employment. This study was therefore conducted to fill the gap in understanding the socioeconomic situation, bio-physical environment, institutional setting and policy landscape by analysing the existing circumstances in Tigray Region. This research employed quantitative data sets collected from 300 randomely selected Productive Saftey Net Program (PSNP) beneficiarieries and Non-PSNP households using probability proportional to size. The Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) used as a proxy measure to nutrition security as our data is 24 h recall and food gap months as proxy to food security. Besides, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method is used to construct household asset index. The results of the study revealed that there are clear and significant differences of the PSNP and Non-PSNP households, and gender in land holding (p<0.01%), asset ownership(p<0.01%), food gap months(p<0.01%), dietary diversity(p<0.01%), exposure to hazards and risks, copping strategies, yield, access to agricultural extension services, access to improved varieties (varietal diversification). The male headed households, and Non-PSNP households are better off than the female headed and PSNP households' counterparts. Thus, provision of practical training, conducting farmer's participatory research, field days, promoting and creating access to farmers' preferred high yielding improved varieties and management practices available in the research and extension consortium, support in research and development that develops and disseminate appropriate technologies to help farmers to lower their food gap months is highly important. In addition, sustainable intensification, off-farm employment alternatives, and engaging in agribusiness activities that create resilient livelihood options to those resource poor farm households, strengthening the formal and informal seed system would help to reduce food gap months, improve HDDS, build resilience of the food and nutrition insecure households. Therefore, customized extension services and packages are important for addressing the food and nutrition security gaps by setting goal, outcome and output indicators for future interventions in the research and development arena in filling food gap months, dietary diversity and household asset building through collaboration among relevant stakeholders in the food system.

The Influence of Social Capital and Farmers’ Specific Factors on the Poverty of Rural Farm Households in Akwa Ibom, State, Nigeria

This study analyzed the effect of social capital and other relevant factors on poverty of farm households and identified constraints militating against effective social capital formation among poor rural farm households belonging to associations in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was utilized to choose 180 rural farm households within the research location. The FGT methodology was used to generate indices of poverty. Descriptive statistics, Tobit model and factor analytical procedures were employed to analyze the objectives of the study. The estimated model showed high degree of fitness, thus justifying the estimation method used. The results revealed that, the following social capitals: farm size acquired from the association, income derived from membership of association, number of visits of extension agents, interest amount paid on loan acquired from association, fertilizer, seeds, pesticides and farm land acquired from the association have a significant negative relationship with the poverty of rural farm households in the study area. By implication, increase in the stock of these social capitals by poor farm households would significantly enhance the reduction of poverty depth among them. Moreover, other factors which affected farm household poverty status were sex of household heads, age, household size, years of formal education, farm income and ownership of assets. The results also found 8 categories of constraints militating against effective social capital formation among poor rural farm households. The constraints categories are: leadership, management style and low income; financial constraint and unconcerned attitude of members towards group activities; executive characters; ineffective coordination and unfair distribution of benefits to members; lack of seriousness of members; poverty; illiteracy and incompetence as well as defaults and partiality. From the result, it is concluded that social capital accumulations reduce the probability of being poor. Based on the high percentage of poverty prevalence in the State, it is concluded that poverty is endemic in the rural areas of Akwa Ibom State and specifically among farm households. This study lends support to recent emphasis on investing in social capital as a major means of poverty reduction in the rural areas.

Effects of health poverty alleviation project from the perspective of vulnerability to poverty: evidence from five Chinese prefectures

ABSTRACT Background The Health Poverty Alleviation Project (HPAP) has received widespread attention as a primary means of preventing poverty caused by illness. However, further evidence is required to confirm the effects of HPAP. Objective This study examines the effectiveness and mechanisms of action of HPAP using data from a special survey conducted in five Chinese prefectures in 2018–2019. Method This study uses a three-step feasible generalised least-squares method to measure the farm households’ vulnerability to poverty. Hierarchical linear regression and propensity score matching were employed to assess the poverty-reduction effects of HPAP. A mediating effects model was used to test how these policies alleviated poverty. Results The mean vulnerability to poverty among farm households was 0.367, with 11.89% experiencing both poverty and vulnerability, particularly in areas of deep poverty. This study has found that HPAP significantly reduces poverty and is more effective in reducing the vulnerability of non-poor farm households than poor farm households. Additionally, the results suggest that improving human capital stock and reducing medical expenditure are the two pathways through which HPAP can alleviate farm households’ vulnerability to poverty. Conclusions This study suggests that the vulnerability to poverty perspective should be incorporated into poverty alleviation policy formulation. HPAP enhances differentiation and precision. Thus, a long-term mechanism of HPAP should be developed.

Who are the Poor Farm households' in Nigeria and is this Population Changing Over Time?

ABSTRACT: Reducing poverty in developing economies is a major challenge faced by the development stakeholders. Although poverty is a worldwide phenomenon, it has been observed that Nigeria is one of the countries that is worst hit by the poverty with biting effects more on the rural dwellers where the bulk of the population lives. Using the nationally representative household survey panel data by the World Bank/National Bureau of Statistics, from the 2012 to 2016 period to provide answers to what are the household demographic, farm, and geospatial characteristics that drive the likelihood of farm households entering, exiting, and re-entering poverty using the costs of basic needs approach as a marker of poverty. Four poverty levels were used in analyzing the household survey data. The two waves of poverty mobility in Nigeria approximately revealed 51.2 percent of poor farm households' in wave 1, and 42 percent in wave 2 were at risk of spending their entire lives in poverty. The probability of existing and entering two-year poverty mobility which started at 25 percent rose to 45 percent for four-year poverty mobility indicating that over time more farm households, have experienced changes in the status of their consumption expenditure relative to the poverty line. Close to households who begin poor, those who moved out of poverty in any of the other years had better endowments in terms of land and livestock ownership, urban residence, and involvement in non-farm income portfolios. It is concluded that older heads, higher educational attainment, engagement in crop/livestock production, and non-farm livelihood activities, strongly reduce the likelihood of farm households' poverty entry. Therefore, policy strategies aimed at dealing with poverty mobility should be heterogeneous across the poor farm households. Also, as the chronically poor lack physical assets and earning endowments, policy efforts should focus on education or other forms of skills acquisition programs in order to raise their livelihood portfolios and boost their earning capacity.

Impact of PYXERA Global Yieldwise Project on Improved Tomato PostHarvest Loss Management Practices of Farmers’ Output, Income and Poverty Status in North-West Zone, Nigeria

The study was conducted to determine the impact of PYXERA Global Yieldwise project improved tomato postharvest loss management practices on farmers output, income and poverty status in North-West Zone, Nigeria. A multi-stage random selection method was used to choose the study locations, and 540 farmers were administered with structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the descriptive, double difference estimates and FGT poverty index. The results showed that the difference in value between the two output differences [?211,255.8 – ?128,366.86] was N82, 888,94. The poverty incidence of poor farm households in the study area was 95% for the non-adopters, and 61% for the adopters. In addition, the poverty depth among the farm households in the study area was 85% for non–adopters and 36% for adopters. The severity of the poverty index was 79% for non–adopters and 26% for adopters of improved tomato post-harvest loss reduction management practices. This implies that poverty incidence is higher among non-adopting poor than their adopting poor households. The study concluded that the adoption of the improved tomato post-harvest management practices had a positive impact on tomato postharvest loss reduction, income, and poverty status as revealed in the results of this study, although the extent of tomato post-harvest loss was still high. It was therefore recommended that the tomato post-harvest loss reduction campaign should be sustained to further decrease the losses suffered by tomato farmers especially as the end line for achieving the SDG on food loss and food waste draws closer. All stakeholders in the tomato value chain should address other challenges limiting the adoption of improved tomato production and post-harvest loss reduction such as low extension visits, poor market linkages, and distance to market.

How does participation in Ghana’s fertilizer subsidy program (GFSP) affect the adoption of sustainable intensification practices (SIPs) and gross farm inputs?

ABSTRACT Technology adoption is key to overcoming climate-related risks to smallholder farmers and declining soil fertility in sub-Sahara Africa. This study estimates the effect of participation in Ghana’s Fertilizer Subsidy Program (GFSP) on the adoption intensity of Sustainable Intensification Practices (SIPs) and gross farm inputs, using a nationally representative dataset of 4365 maize-growing households for two survey periods (2012/2013) and (2016/2017). The study finds that participation in the GFSP increases the adoption intensity in both SIPs and gross farm inputs. The study also finds that mutual aid schemes, farmer cooperatives, agricultural loans, household wealth, and connection of a farm household dwelling to the national electricity grid positively and significantly increase adoption intensity of SIPs and gross farm inputs. Improving access to the GFSP among poor farm households, provision of rural electrification, strengthening and resourcing enabling factors (such as mutual aid schemes and farmer cooperatives) at the local level can facilitate Ghana’s drive towards a sustainable agricultural production.

The value of donkeys to livelihood provision in northern Ghana.

Increased demand for the supply of donkey hides for use in the Traditional Chinese Medicine e'jiao, is leading to a re-appraisal of donkeys' contributions to livelihoods across the world. This research aimed to understand the utilitarian value donkeys provide to poor small holder farmers, especially women, in their efforts to make a living in two rural communities in northern Ghana. Uniquely, children and donkey butchers were interviewed for the first time about their donkeys. A qualitative thematic analysis was undertaken of data disaggregated by sex, age and donkey-ownership. The majority of protocols were repeated during a second visit, ensuring comparative data between one wet, and one dry season. Donkeys are more important in people's lives than had previously been recognised and are highly valued by their owners for their help in reducing drudgery and the multi-functional services they offer. Hiring out donkeys to generate income is a secondary role for people who own donkeys, especially women. However, for financial and cultural reasons the way donkeys are kept results in the loss of a certain percentage of the animals to the donkey meat market, as well as the global hides trade. Increasing demand for donkey meat, coupled with increasing demand for donkeys for farming, is leading to donkey price inflation and theft of donkeys. This is putting pressure on the donkey population of neighbouring Burkina Faso and pricing resource-poor non-donkey owners out of the market. E'jiao has put the spotlight on the value of dead donkeys for the first time, especially to governments and middlemen. This study shows that the value of live donkeys to poor farming households is substantial. It attempts to understand and document this value thoroughly, should the majority of donkeys in West Africa be rounded up and slaughtered for the value of their meat and skin instead.

Intergenerational Income and Religiosity: A Longitudinal Study of Agricultural Household in Indonesia

This study aimed to analyze the influence of religiosity and socio-economic determinant factors to income relationship between inter-generationsof farmers and their children. Data related to farmers (parents) were collected from (Indonesia Family Live Survey) IFLS-93, while data related to farmers' children was obtained by tracing in IFLS-2014. The 21-year interval is supposed to be sufficient time to grasp developments between generations. The results revealed that farmer children's households have better economic potential than that of their parents. Comparing to the poor farming households, the percentage of the poor generation is higher than non-poor farmer households. The income of parents (farmers) and the education of farmers' children are factors that play an important role in increasing the income of farmers' children, having strong (robust) and significant positive effect. Another variable that has positive significant effect is agricultural land ownership, while age, household burden, working in agriculture, and religiosity-religion have negative significant effects. Implementation of religiosity activities should be encouraging productivity and prosperity of life in accordance with the guidelines and rules in Islam.

Determinants of Preferences of the Respondents for the Payment for Environmental Services among the Rural Farming Households in Oyo State Nigeria

This study attempted to uncover the factors that influence preferences of the poor farming households for the attributes of Payment for environmental services (PES) in the Oyo State farm settlement Nigeria. Educational attainment, age of the respondents, previous knowledge of PES, land tenure, provision of micro credit, number of dependents, marital status and main occupation of the respondents. Dependent variable is preference for PES attributes.A multi-stage sampling technique was employed for this study.This study used exclusively Primary data.Which were collected through the use of a well-structured questionnaires and interview schedule for the literate and non-literate farmers respectivelyTotal sample of 395 out of 547respondents (i.e.72%) were drawn cumulatively. The regression results showed that previous knowledge of PES and provision of microcredit are significant at 5% each, while land ownership right is significant at 10% in the educational poverty group. In the consumption poverty group, previous knowledge of PES is significant at 5%, while land ownership right is positively significant at 1%, respectively. Housing/living standard poverty group; previous knowledge of PES and land ownership rights are significant at 5% each. From the findings of this study, it implies that if micro credit facilities are provided to these poor farming households, they will be willing to conserve the environmental resources (i.e. agricultural land). It therefore suggests that a well thought institutional arrangement with PES in view could be put up to enhance natural resource conservation and by extension reduction of poverty.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on African indigenous vegetables value chain in Kenya

BackgroundAfrican indigenous vegetables are important for food security and nutrition, and income of the poor farm households. In the era of COVID-19, they are critical for boosting people’s immunity. Unfortunately, both production of and trade in these vegetables is likely to be severely affected by the pandemic.MethodsThis study examined potential effects of COVID-19 pandemic on production and trade of African indigenous vegetables using a cross-sectional survey of 244 farmers and 246 traders from different regions in Kenya.ResultsCOVID-19 has a negative impact on production and trading of AIVs in Kenya. Findings indicate that 75% of the farmers are experiencing declining production due to reduced access to input, farm labour and output market. Secondly, about 98% of the traders have recorded a drop in sales volumes due to containment measures implemented by the government and personal safety precautions. In particular, farmers’ production and traders’ sales volumes declined by 39 and 65%, respectively, during the first phase of the pandemic.ConclusionThe findings indicate that the sub-sector requires targeted interventions which may include input support, careful reopening and control of the open-air markets, reduced taxation and facilitated access to urban markets.

The social and economic diversity of the coffee-banana farming system and technology uptake in Central Uganda

Food systems of the future that will guarantee food and nutrition security of millions of poor farming households will have to be both economically and socially diverse. Diversity of farming systems acts as a catalyst for innovation, commercialisation as well as technology adoption. This study sought to find farm typologies and explore the social, enterprise and economic diversity of the various farm types based on a promoted Growing Bananas with Trees and Livestock (GBTL) technology system that was implemented by National Agricultural Research Organisation and Bioversity International in three districts of Central Uganda, Kiboga, Nakaseke and Ssembabule. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis (CA), typologies were created in which two distinct clusters of farming households were revealed. Further analysis of the clusters through Food Consumption Scores, food classes, and other descriptive statistics indicated that the two clusters were socially and economically diverse. Findings indicated that Cluster 1 is made up of smaller farms with high crop diversity. Families in Cluster 1 sell more of their produce and subsequently have lower food security compared to the land-abundant, off-farm earning and more food secure Cluster 2. We failed to reject the hypothesis that socially and economically diverse farmers adopt technologies more given that the level of GBTL adoption was about 25% and about 70% for Banana + Goats within both clusters.

Impact of Ethiopia's productive safety net program on manure use by rural households: Evidence from Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia

AbstractAlthough development intervention programs can have far‐reaching impacts beyond their stated objective, there have been few careful studies on associated but unintended outcomes of such programs. This study assesses the impact of membership in the public works component of Ethiopia's productive safety net program (PSNP) on whether households use manure and the amount of it they use. This is done using the double‐hurdle method based on survey data of 2015 on 11 agro‐climatically diverse districts of the Tigrai region in Northern Ethiopia. Results show that PSNP member households are not different from their nonmember counterparts in terms of manure use. This may indicate that PSNP is helping member households catch up with nonmember households in terms of manure use, even though they have smaller livestock ownership. This might indicate that PSNP member households are becoming more aware of the benefits of using manure, and hence are using available manure more efficiently. Therefore, this could be taken as one additional positive contribution of the PSNP in Ethiopia's endeavor to improve food security of poor rural farm households by increasing their productivity.

DETERMINANTS OF POVERTY AMONG FARMERS IN SOUTHERN PART OF BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

Purpose: The study analyzed the determinants of poverty among farmers in Southern Part of Borno State, Nigeria.Methodology: Using multistage sampling technique, 120 farming households were sampled from 20 villages spread across five Local Government Areas in Southern part of the State. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on households’ income, expenditure, value of free natural resources and information on the household livelihood-related factors. The data were analyzed using Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) model and Probit regression model.Findings: A poverty line of N8588.48 was estimated and was enough to provide household with basic requirements per month for existence (food and non-food). Based on the poverty line of N8588.48, the FGT measure showed that 64% of the farming households in the study area were poor; the average depth of the poor households from the poverty line was 48%, while 22% of the poor farming households were severely poor. The probit regression revealed that age of the household head (0.083) and number of dependents (0.063) were both positive and significant. On the other hand, education (-0.062), farming experience (-0.069), farm size (-0.097), annual income (-0.061) and access to formal credit (-0.030) were all negative and significant.Recommendations: The study therefore recommended that there is the need for policy makers and managers of poverty alleviation programmes to identify the poor at community levels so as to direct poverty alleviation programmes and projects towards them

Sustainable efficiencies in small scale cassava farmers in Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study derived sustainable technical, economic and allocative efficiencies from a set of efficiencies generated from the maximum likelihood estimation of stochastic production and profit functions fitted with data collected from small scale cassava farmers. The study was conducted in Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A three-stage sampling method was employed to select choose respondents’ to which structured questionnaire was administered to obtain the necessary information for the study. The result revealed an average sustainable technical efficiency of 81.60%, 30.40% for profit efficiency and 38.40% for allocative efficiency. Results further showed that farming experience, membership in social organization, years of formal education, farm capital and farm size were the positive determinants of sustainable technical efficiency while household size, number of female cultivating cassava, poor farming households and the use of organic manure were negative. In the same Vein, farming experience, education farm size, gender and the use of tillage technology were identified as positive determinants of sustainable economic or profit efficiency while household size and quantity of fertilizer use had negative impacts. Similarly, cassava farmers’ farm size, age, educational level, farming experience, gender and the use of tillage technology impacted positively on sustainable allocative efficiency while household size and the quantity of fertilizer have negative relationships. In order to achieve sustainability of small scale cassava farms, it is recommended that social capital formation should be intensified among cassava farmers. Also, adult education and family planning programmes for farmers should be fine-tuned in the state for effective delivery among others.&#x0D; Keywords: Cassava, Technical efficiency, economic efficiency, allocative efficiency, sustainability.

Effects of Land Degradation on Poverty among Farmers in Southern Parts of Borno State, Nigeria

The study analyzed the effects of land degradation on poverty among farmers in Southern Part of Borno State, Nigeria. Using multistage sampling technique, 120 farming households were sampled from 20 villages spread across five Local Government Areas in Southern part of the State. The households’ expenditure, value of free natural resources, causes of land degradation and information on the household livelihood-related factors dominated the bulk of the data. The data were analyzed using Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) model and Probit regression model. A poverty line of N8588.48 was estimated and was enough to provide households with basic requirements per month for existence (food and non-food). Based on this poverty line of N8588.48, the FGT measure showed that 64% of the farming households in the study area were poor; the average depth of the poor households from the poverty line was 48% of the poverty line, while 22% of the poor farming households were severely poor. The probit regression revealed that quantity of fire-wood collected (0.061), duration of grazing (0.010), burning of crop residues (0.023), soil erosion (0.091) and flooding (0.051) were all positive and significant. On the other hand, fallowing period (-0.032) and knowledge of conservation (-0.087) were both negative and significant. The study therefore recommended that policies should be geared up towards minimizing fuel wood consumption through establishing alternative energy sources such as technologies that utilizes ample solar and wind energies.

Does agricultural diversification build economic resilience to drought and flood? Evidence from poor households in Zambia

The adverse effects of weather extremes produce widespread damage and cause severe alterations in the normal functioning of household agricultural production in Zambia. Extreme weather events such as floods and drought are expected to increase in intensity and frequency due to climate change. Coupled with high poverty levels and limited institutional capacity, the country is highly vulnerable to the impact of extreme events. We quantify the effects of economic diversification on agricultural productivity of poor farm households with a skew-normal regression approach while accounting for drought and flood shocks. Our analysis finds that economic diversification is a strategy to increase agricultural productivity and mitigate the adverse impact of droughts and floods on agricultural households. The results also support the country's policies to encourage hybrid maize production and to provide crop seeds and fertiliser to poor farmers. This paper provides a framework to plan and inform interventions to enhance household economic resilience to weather shocks through agricultural diversification in Zambia and other countries.

The Impact of Household Wealth on Adoption and Compliance to GLOBAL GAP Production Standards: Evidence from Smallholder farmers in Kenya

Horticultural production for the export market has been credited for rural community growth and employment in Sub-Saharan Africa. To make the agri-enterprises competitive and profitable, smallholder farmers are now required to invest in food safety and production standards such as GLOBAL Good Agricultural Practices (GLOBAL GAP). Most often, the inability to afford capital has affected compliance with food safety production standards. However, farmers can use household assets to finance the agri enterprise ventures. The purpose of the study is to explore the impact of household wealth on the adoption of food safety certification standards. The study used cross-sectional data collected from 479 smallholder farmers in Kenya. The findings reveal that 49% of the households are categorized as wealthy and 51% as poorly endowed. The empirical findings on the willingness to adopt GLOBAL GAP certification reveal that membership to GLOBAL GAP affiliated farmers groups significantly influence on wealthier farmers to attain GLOBAL GAP certification status. Farmers groups facilitate joint investments that reduce the cost of investing in GLOBAL GAP assets such as grading shed, protective gear, shower rooms, disposal pits, incinerators, hessian coolers, packaging crates, soil testing kits and establishing food traceability systems. In comparison to poor endowed farming households, the well-endowed farmers have a relatively significantly better wealth index, an indication that they can easily raise capital investments to finance GAP certification. Finally, we observe that selling beans to GAP certified buyers significantly enables farmers to comply with the expected certified production standards.