Smallholder Production Research Articles

Aspergillus species and aflatoxin contamination in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) in West Gojjam, Ethiopia

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is an important spice and source of income for smallholder producers in Ethiopia. Since the larger proportion is for the market, it takes a significant share of the national income from export commodity. However, often the product was rejected by some of the European Union markets due to the maximum aflatoxin level accumulations beyond their acceptable limits. So, the present study was carried out to highlight the importance of Aspergillus species invasion in pepper, and levels of aflatoxin contamination at maturity in the field (pod form), farmers' storage and local market (powder form)in West Gojjam, Ethiopia. A total of 135 pepper samples were collected from three districts of West Gojjam(Burie, Jabitehnan, and Fnoteselam), Ethiopia for fungal and aflatoxin analysis.The producers used a pre-validated structured questionnaire to obtain information on pepper production practices. Aspergillus species isolates were recovered using potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium and counting was through dilution method (cfu g-1). The pepper pods were ground to a fine powder for aflatoxin analysis using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay(ELISA). The prevalence of infected samples revealed that, pre-harvest samples(51%) were less infected by Aspergillus species, compared to local markets (65 %) and storage (79 %).Aspergillus flavus species were recovered in pre-harvest samples, whilst A.niger were found in local market samples. Aflatoxin contamination at pre-harvest, storage, and local market were 10, 47, and 42 % with levels which ranged from non-detected to 10.6, 0.3 -17.1 and 3.1 -19.2 ppb, respectively.The mean aflatoxin concentration detected from storage samples (10.6 ppb)and local market (12.6 ppb)were found to be above the tolerable limits set byEU (5 ppb) in pepper products.From the findings in this study, proper drying, physical separation of molded pods and use of clean storage structures should be implemented along the production chain in order to reduce aflatoxin contamination in pepper in Ethiopia.

Breeding dairy goats for disease resistance is profitable in smallholder production systems

Abstract We tested hypothesis that inclusion of the disease resistance indicator traits in a dairy goats’ breeding goal would result to increased profitability of smallholder farmers. Deterministic simulation was used to compare responses for breeding schemes without (Scheme I) and with (Schemes II, III and IV) disease resistance in the breeding goal. Faecal egg count (FEC) and somatic cell score (SCS) were used as the indicator traits for helminthosis and mastitis in goats, respectively. We also investigated the effect of risk aversion among the smallholder farmers on response to selection. The breeding structure consisted of a two-tier closed nucleus system, with recording and genetic evaluations being undertaken in the nucleus. Breeding schemes differed on the number of traits in the selection criteria and number of records used to estimate breeding values. In Scheme I, traits in the breeding goal included milk yield (MY), live weight (LW), average daily gain (ADG), doe mature weight (DMW), number of kids weaned (NKW) and survival rate (SR). Scheme II was similar to Scheme I, but included records of FEC and SCS measured immediately after weaning and during early lactation, respectively. Scheme III was similar to II, but with additional information on SCS recorded at mid-lactation, while Scheme IV was similar to III with more SCS information recorded in late-lactation. Our findings indicate that schemes that included disease resistance indicator traits in the selection criteria (Schemes II, III and IV) were 28, 24 and 19%, respectively superior in profitability to Scheme I. Profitability for Scheme II was 3.5 and 7.6% higher than for Schemes III and IV, respectively. The response to selection was maximized when the nucleus consisted of 4–5% of the does’ effective population size and 20% of them were phenotyped for SCS. High risk aversion tended to result in low profits. This suggests that use of economic values obtained using low risk aversion models could overestimate the economic worth of a breeding program especially in smallholder production systems where farmers are risk averse.

Crop nutrient management using Nutrient Expert improves yield, increases farmers\u2019 income and reduces greenhouse gas emissions

Reduction of excess nutrient application and balanced fertilizer use are the key mitigation options in agriculture. We evaluated Nutrient Expert (NE) tool-based site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) in rice and wheat crops by establishing 1594 side-by-side comparison trials with farmers’ fertilization practices (FFP) across the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India. We found that NE-based fertilizer management can lower global warming potential (GWP) by about 2.5% in rice, and between 12 and 20% in wheat over FFP. More than 80% of the participating farmers increased their crop yield and farm income by applying the NE-based fertilizer recommendation. We also observed that increased crop yield and reduced fertilizer consumption and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by using NE was significantly influenced by the crop type, agro-ecology, soil properties and farmers’ current level of fertilization. Adoption of NE-based fertilizer recommendation practice in all rice and wheat acreage in India would translate into 13.92 million tonnes (Mt) more rice and wheat production with 1.44 Mt less N fertilizer use, and a reduction in GHG of 5.34 Mt CO2e per year over farmers’ current practice. Our study establishes the utility of NE to help implement SSNM in smallholder production systems for increasing crop yields and farmers’ income while reducing GHG emissions.

Genetic improvement of cattle and buffaloes in smallholder production systems in India

Cattle and buffaloes have been supporting livelihoods of a large number of poor farmers in India. Eighty-five percent of 63 million dairy households are smallholder having less than three animals. The country has 191 million cattle and 105 million buffaloes and 37 distinct cattle and 13 buffalo breeds. During 2017–18, the country produced 115 million semen doses and carried out 100 million inseminations, but efforts towards genetic improvement were negligible prior to the launching of National Dairy Plan (NDP) by National Dairy Development Board in 2012. Under NDP, 13 progeny testing (PT) and 10 two-tier nucleus schemes (referred to as Pedigree Selection (PS)) have been initiated. This paper describes the experiences of implementing these programs. During the period between 2012 and 2018, the PT programs together have completed test mating of about 2,000 bulls and built the infrastructure to test annually more than 400 bulls and evaluate them for various traits with 70–100 daughter records per bull. Breeding values are estimated every six months. The PT and PS programs together have supplied 1,720 young bulls, replacing about 40% of the AI bulls in the country. The key learning of implementing PT and PS includes: implementing a classical PT program is not feasible under Indian conditions; producing young males using progeny tested semen and selecting them based on their breeding value is feasible; introduction of genomic selection is very relevant; unravelling environmental effects from genetics under the smallholder production system is the key challenge; developing an appropriate information system is the key to success; evolving right institutional arrangement is very important, and genetic improvement has to be treated as a public good and programs need to be publicly funded at least for the initial 15 years.

Measuring production performance of Moringa oleifera

ABSTRACT Moringa (Moringa oleifera L) is an underutilized vegetable mostly grown by smallholder farmers whose technical efficiency for this emerging crop is not well known. It is necessary that empirical evidence be developed on technical efficiency to optimize its production and promotion. The study estimated technical efficiency, and sources of technical inefficiency, among smallholder producers of moringa. A total of 360 growers were randomly selected from Osun and Oyo States. A stochastic production frontier model was employed, while correcting for heteroscedasticity in stochastic and inefficiency error terms. There was increasing return-to-scale and farmer average technical efficiency of about 82%. Fertilizer, seed, and labor were production-increasing variables; farm size decreased output of M. oleifera. Sources of farmer technical inefficiency were age, education level, and farmer experience. Formal skills development training could help improve technical and managerial capacities of farmers.

South African government palliative funds for agriculture amid Covid-19: Challenges of implementation and suggestions for improvements

The novel Corona virus pandemic has been extremely overwhelming at all levels causing massive economic setbacks for many countries including South Africa. The country witnessed an unprecedented scaling-down of its national economic activities, which called for an emergency response from the government. Several Covid-19 relief schemes were instituted by the government to ensure that farms of all sizes would survive. A support fund of R1.2 billion was allocated to the agriculture and food sector through the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD). The fund was primarily meant to assist financially distressed small-scale farmers to ensure continued production and food security for the country. This study collated the conditions for financial Covid-19 stimulus support required from smallholders and analysed several factors that prevented some members of this vulnerable group from benefitting from the relief funds. These factors include complexities associated with satisfactorily categorizing smallholder producers, productivity, marketing and policy challenges, glitches in formalising smallholder producer operations, the farm-business record keeping pitfall, and the exclusion of subsistent producers. The paper suggests some possible corrective measures that could allow for more inclusive support to these categories of farmers; some of which includes a simple but robust financial traceability system for the farmers, and a need to continue to push for the completion of national registration process of smallholder producers.

Determinants of Onion Marketed Among Smallholder Producers in Gemechis District, West Hararghe Zone, Oromia National Regional State of Ethiopia

Onion plays a crucial role in enhancing food security and generates income for the smallholder farmers of Ethiopia. This paper was attempted to analyze the determinants of onion supplied to the market in Gemechis District, Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Data for the study were collected from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data were collected by household survey using a pre-tested structured questionnaire and key informant interview using checklists. The data were collected from 176 farmers. The collected data was analyzed using both descriptive statistics and econometric model. The descriptive statistics was used to analyze the socio-economic characteristics of smallholder farmers and econometric model was used to determine the factors affecting onion supplied to the market. The results of two-stage least square regression model showed that quantity of onion supplied to the market was significantly and positively influenced by the endogenous quantity of onion produced. In addition, distance from nearest market, non/off farming income, land allocated and lagged price significantly affect the onion marketed. The study findings suggest the need to improve rural road infrastructure, intensification of land to compensate through cash crop production and efficient utilization of the existing limited farm land and encourage investment on off/non-farm incomes as well as onion production.

A review: The development of double row spacing to improve land productivity and income of rubber smallholders

Low prices of rubber has been a serious problem to rubber smallholders in Indonesia. Rubber-based intercropping systems offers a practical solution to this issue and increasing overall productivity of intercrops, for example upland rice and maize. This study reviewed the suitable spatial arrangements in rubber planting to long term impact based intercropping systems. A field experiment was established in a smallholder rubber plantation in Tanah Laut Regency, South Kalimantan with area of 50 ha. Two planting patterns of rubber PB 260 clone were tested: (1) single row planting pattern (SR) by 6 m x 3 m, and (2) double row planting pattern (DR) by 18 m x 2 m x 2.5 m. The experiment showed that girth of rubber trees in the SR system at the first tapping year was slightly larger than in DR system, even though statistically it was not significant. The latex yield per tree of SR and DR systems were similar, however, latex yield per hectare of SR system was higher than DR system due to a higher tree population in SR system. The DR system was technically suitable for long term intercropping, because when rubber tree can reached 8 to 9 years old and light penetration was more than 80% at distance from the rubber row. The total area required for rubber, upland rice and maize grown in monoculture to produce an equivalent of a one hectare of rubber-upland rice-maize intercrop is 1.87. This means the intercropping has an advantage compared to monoculture.

Food Crop Diversity, Women's Income-Earning Activities, and Distance to Markets in Relation to Maternal Dietary Quality in Tanzania

BackgroundWomen's dietary diversity and quality are limited in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Nutrition-sensitive interventions that promote food crop diversity and women's access to income could improve diets and address the double burden of malnutrition in LMICs. ObjectivesWe examined the associations among food crop diversity and women's income-earning activities with women's diet quality, as well as effect modification by access to markets, in the context of small-holder food production in rural Tanzania. MethodsData from a cross-sectional study of 880 women from Rufiji, Tanzania, were analyzed. Women's dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. The prime diet quality score (PDQS; 21 food groups; range, 0–42), a unique diet-quality metric for women that captures the healthy and unhealthy aspects of diet, was computed. Generalized estimating equation linear models were used to evaluate the associations of food crop diversity and women's income-earning activities with PDQS, while controlling for socio-economic factors. ResultsMaternal overweight (24.3%) and obesity (13.1%) were high. The median PDQS was 19 (IQR, 17–21). Households produced 2.0 food crops (SD ± 1.0) yearly. Food crop diversity was positively associated with PDQS (P < 0.001), but the association was strengthened by proximity to markets (P for interaction = 0.02). For women living close (<1.1 km) to markets, producing 1 additional food crop was associated with a 0.67 (95% CI, 0.22–1.12) increase in PDQS, versus a 0.40 (95% CI, 0.24–0.57) increase for women living farther away. The PDQS increased with women's salaried employment (estimate, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.26–1.67). ConclusionsHousehold food production may interact with access to markets for sales and purchases, while nonfarm income also improves women's diet quality in rural Tanzania. Programs to improve women's diet quality should consider improving market access and women's access to income (source of empowerment), in addition to diversifying production.

Artificial Insemination: Coverage and Constraints in Central High Land of Ethiopia

A cross-sectional and retrospective investigation was conducted from November, 2017 to April, 2018 with objective of assessing service coverage and constraints that were affecting Artificial Insemination (AI), success rate in Welmera District, special Zone of Oromiya Regional State. Semi-structured questionnaires were pretested and administered to 395 respondents that were composed of a group small-holder dairy farmers (n=384), animal health and production professionals (AHPPs) (n=8) and artificial inseminations technicians (AITs) (n=3). Additionally retrospective data from 2011 to 2017 was considered to evaluate the previous situation of AI services in study site. The survey result showed that from 384 interviewed farmers; majority of them 71.1%, (273) didn’t use AI, 18.8% (72) used both AI and natural breeding, while 10.2% (39) used solely AI services to breed their cows. The distribution of AI services between small-holders located in urban, per-urban and rural localities in the study area was 78.95%, 46.25% and 12.88% respectively, with statistically significant difference (p<0.05). Many farmers (273) solely depended on natural breeding than using artificial insemination due to lack of awareness (27.7%), unfitness of their dairy cows for AI breeding (26.4%), long distance from AI center (24.4%), insufficient capital (13.3%) and shortage of feed (8.1%) to keep dairy cows. The major constraints among AI users were shortage of inputs 7.1%, unavailability of AI technicians 13.4% and conception failure 50.9%. In Wolemera district many farmers 73.3% used to take their cows to AI station for services while 26.7% call-up to technicians to have them at their farm gate for AI services. Generally from this study it was concluded that AI service coverage was inadequate with unequal distributions between small-holders in urban, peri- urban and rural localities. Therefore, AI service in the district requires serious attention so that appropriate solutions be given to alleviate the prevailing constraints.

Rubber agroforestry system in Indonesia: Past, present, and future practices

Indonesia is the second largest rubber producing country after Thailand. The area of rubber in 2018 was about 3.7 million hectares with the total production of 3.6 million tons. Among those areas, 88.13% were owned by smallholders, and the rest belongs to private estate (5.16%) and government estate (6.7%). Productivity is still become the problem at smallholders’ level. Some efforts have been conducted in order to improve the productivity of smallholders. The concept of agroforestry has become increasingly relevant in recent days as they introduced new commercial opportunities to smallholders. Agroforestry, with its multiple environmental and economic benefits, can help the agriculture and forestry sectors find innovative solutions to present-day problems: including low profitability, environmental impacts, and negative public perception This paper presents the implementation of rubber agroforestry system at the smallholders’ level since the past, current situation and future scenario for agroforestry in order to support the sustainability of rubber smallholders.

Assessment on Cattle Breeding Practice and Production System Associated with Their Environmental Implication in Ethiopia

This paper reviewed Cattle breeding practice and production system associated with their environmental implication in Ethiopia, like breeding practice; feed; production and environmental implications on cattle production. The issue of cattle and the production systems that support them is of the utmost significance if Ethiopia is to improve its social and economic stability. Crop-cattle interaction farming systems have been viewed as the poverty saving net for resource-poor rural farmers in the country where the farmers are generally poor and unable to afford conventional fertilizers for soil fertility maintenance. The potentials for increased cattle production and the productivity is proportionally lowered by various cattle management problems, prevalence of major endemic diseases, poor feeding and high stocking rate on grazing lands, lack of support services such as extension services, veterinary services, insufficient data to plan improved services and inadequate information on how to improve animal breeding, marketing, and processing. Empowering small holder producers so that they can provide high quality sustainable cattle production with an identified market destination and they will have access to basic production in put, credit, market related information. Creating strong relationship among various actors. The ministry of agriculture should established necessarily quarantine at appropriate location and introduce necessary products.

A Blueprint for Digital Climate-Informed Advisory Services: Building the Resilience of 300 Million Small-Scale Producers by 2030

This paper discusses the role of digital climate-informed advisory services in building the resilience of small-holder producers by 2030. It puts forth key principles for good practice, an estimation of the needed investment for scaling services and preliminary ideas for targeting these investments for reaching the most vulnerable and marginalized.

Furrow design for improving crop establishment of two-wheel tractor operated strip tillage planters in loam and clay loam soils

Conservation agriculture (CA) based production systems may help in achieving more sustainable intensification of cropping systems that use less labour and energy and have higher profit margins, in addition to soil conservation and environmental impact mitigation advantages. But these objectives can only be achieved when the right mechanization options, including appropriate crop establishment equipment, are in place to assist in timely field operations. An urgent need exists, therefore, to fine tune and re-adjust the existing two-wheel tractor (2WT) operated seed drills, with specific reference to the design of blade and furrow openers, while at the same time considering performance in different soil types and environments. To this end, experiments were conducted during 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 at two BARI Regional Agricultural Research Stations in Jamalpur and Barisal, Bangladesh, on a loam and clay loam soil, respectively, to evaluate five types of furrow opener for strip tillage. Shoe and modified shoe-type furrow openers were tested and compared with three inverted-T furrow openers with rake angles of 75°, 65° and 55°. The newly designed inverted-T furrow openers were narrower than the shoe-type openers; they also had a longer, hollow shanks and provided better options for adjustment to achieve the desired seeding depth and line spacing. Compared to shoe-type openers, better seeding depth, uniformity and higher degree of seed coverage were recorded with use of the inverted-T furrow opener with a 65° rake angle. This resulted in better seed coverage in the furrow, a higher emergence rate index, and the highest emergence percentage of maize and mung bean. Our research findings can be generalized to smallholder production systems on loam and clay loam soils where farmers utilize 2WT operated seed drills for crop establishment in both traditional and conservation agriculture-based planting systems. Keywords: two-wheel tractor, strip tillage planter, inverted-T furrow opener, rake angle, conservation agriculture, emergence percentage DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20211403.5906 Citation: Hoque M A, Hossain M M, Ziauddin A T M, Krupnik T J, Gathala M K. Furrow design for improving crop establishment of two-wheel tractor operated strip tillage planters in loam and clay loam soils. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2021; 14(3): 130–139.

Postpartum clinical diseases of dairy cows managed on smallholder production system in Gasabo district, Rwanda

Postpartum clinical diseases of dairy cows managed on smallholder production system in Gasabo district, Rwanda

Calculation of new enteric methane emission factors for small ruminants in western Kenya highlights the heterogeneity of smallholder production systems

Context African livestock play a critical role in food security and the wider economy, while accounting for &amp;gt;70% of African agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Accurate estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock are required for inventory purposes and to assess the efficacy of mitigation measures. While there is an increasing number of studies assessing methane (CH4) emissions of cattle, little attention has been paid to small ruminants (SR). Aims Enteric CH4 emissions were assessed from 1345 SR in three counties of western Kenya to develop more accurate emission factors (EF) for enteric CH4 from sheep and goats. Methods Using on-farm animal activity data, feed samples were also analysed to produce estimates of feed digestibility by season and region. The combined data were also used to estimate daily CH4 production by season, location and class of animal to produce new EF for annual enteric CH4 production of SR. Key results Mean dry-matter digestibility of the feed basket was in the range of 58–64%, depending on region and season (~10% greater than Tier I estimates). EF were similar for sheep (4.4 vs 5 kg CH4/year), but lower for goats (3.7 vs 5 kg CH4/year) than those given for SR in developing countries in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Tier I) estimates. Conclusions Published estimates of EF for SR range widely across Africa. In smallholder systems in western Kenya, SR appear to be managed differently from cattle, and EF appear to be driven by different management considerations. Implications The findings highlighted the heterogenous nature of SR enteric emissions in East Africa, but also suggested that emissions from SR are quantitatively less important than other estimates suggest compared with cattle.

Success rate, genetic improvement and economic analysis of artificial insemination delivery models for smallholder pig production systems

Context Smallholder pig production systems in the north-eastern region of India are characterised by inefficiency due to use of unselected local pigs, and multiple breeding constraints such as paucity of superior germplasm, high mating costs, and poor access to artificial insemination (AI). Effective AI is the most viable option for genetic improvement and enhancing pig productivity. Aim The study was designed to assess the success rate and economic efficacy of four AI delivery models (Models I–IV): (I) AI at farmer’s doorstep through direct linkage to tribal farmers; (II) AI at farmer’s doorstep through trained, educated youth; (III) oestrus synchronisation and fixed-time AI; and (IV) mobile van-based AI delivery system. The study also sought to ascertain the benefits of adopting a crossbreeding program through AI over the existing use of local pigs for smallholder systems. Methods Semen collected from nine Hampshire boars was routinely utilised for AI after processing as per standard protocols. For Models I–IV, respectively, 259, 154, 183 and 284 sows from 75 villages/clusters were inseminated. Reproductive and litter performance as well as insemination cost were evaluated for each model. Growth performance of crossbred pigs obtained through AI was compared with that of local pigs in the smallholder production system. Key results Farrowing rate and mean litter size at birth were 74.90% and 8.57 ± 0.52 for Model I, 68.83% and 8.08 ± 0.37 for Model II, 80.87% and 9.31 ± 0.41 for Model III, 75.00% and 8.54 ± 0.64 for Model IV, and 81.58% and 6.81 ± 0.29 for natural service. Farrowing rate, litter size at birth and at weaning, and litter weight at weaning were significantly (P &lt; 0.05) affected by AI delivery model in the order: Model III &gt; Model I = Model IV &gt; Model II. Litter weight at birth was significantly (P &lt; 0.05) affected by AI delivery model in the order: Model III &gt; Model I = Model II = Model IV. Lowest cost per insemination was found for Model IV (INR 319.00) followed by Model II (INR 449.00), Model III (INR 629) and Model I (INR 899). All models had lower cost than the natural service system (INR 2200). The growth performance of crossbred pigs obtained through AI was significantly (P &lt; 0.01) higher than of the local pigs reared in the same production system. Conclusion The present study justifies the accessibility, feasibility and potential benefit of AI delivery models in smallholder/backyard pig production systems in the north-eastern region of India. Use of these AI delivery models will overcome the breeding constraints and reward farmers with more rapid genetic improvement in productivity with lower production costs. Model III (oestrus synchronisation and fixed time AI) shows best productivity and Model IV (mobile van-based AI delivery system) has lowest cost. Implications These AI delivery models will be effective for sustainable and economic piggery development and improve the socioeconomic livelihood of pig farmers in South Asian countries.

Between Replacement and Intensification: Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Different Land Use Types of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture under Rapid Urban Growth in Nakuru, Kenya

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) contributes to urban food security and provides important livelihood opportunities. Due to rapid urbanization, though, UPA is subject to increasing land use pressure. Existing studies indicate gradual replacement of UPA in favor of other land uses. This study controverts this unidirectional narrative to show that UPA simultaneously persists and intensifies. Using remote sensing and qualitative data in the case of the rapidly growing, medium-sized Kenyan city Nakuru, we analyze spatiotemporal dynamics of four agricultural land use types (large-scale open-field production, smallholder production, intensive small-scale open-field production, and large-scale greenhouse production) to better understand different sociospatial trajectories. The findings show the coexistence of complex patterns of replacement, fragmentation, and intensification. We thus examine the extent to which detected dynamics can be explained by the socioeconomic characteristics of the four UPA land use types. Whereas large-scale production is increasingly fragmented and replaced by both small-scale agricultural production as well as residentially or industrially built-up areas, more intensive land use types focusing on high-value cash crops proliferate and intensify production in the research area. The study clarifies the dynamics of ongoing UPA transformations and is relevant for urban planning policies in rapidly changing urban and peri-urban environments.

Analysis of Resource Use Efficiency and Elasticity of Production among Smallholder Broiler Producers in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria

Resource use efficiency is the extent at which a firm or production unit makes proficient decisions by utilizing limited resources to maximize profit. Elasticity of production is a measure of a firm's success in producing maximum output from a set of input. This research analyzed resource use efficiency and elasticity of production among smallholder broiler producers in Ikwuano LGA of Abia State, Nigeria. Specific analytical techniques employed was the production function analysis involving the four functional forms of linear, double log (Cobb Douglas), semi-log and exponential. This was used to obtain the parameters for the measurement of resource use efficiency among the broiler producers. The results of the analysis shows that resource use efficiency (r) was 1.064, 0.018, –0.046 and 0.049 for quantity of broiler produced (stock size), labour expenses, cost of medicines/drugs and feed expenditure respectively. Stock size and feed expenses had the highest efficiency index of 1.064 and 0.049. The least efficiency index was recorded for medicines/drugs with a negative value of –0.046 which implied that the resource use efficiency for medicines/drugs was grossly inefficient. The resource use efficiency for stock size/quantity of day-old-chicks shows that the resource was completely over used. The resource use efficiency with which poultry feeds were utilized shows that the quantity of feeds was over utilized. The elasticity of production of the smallholder broiler producers was 1.016 (ΣEp&amp;gt;1). This shows that, if all resources were to increase by 100%, output would increase by 101.6%. This implies that fixed resources (land, depreciated equipment) were abundant relative to variable resources (feed, day-old-chicks, medication and labour); yet, these fixed resources were not efficiently utilized due to lack of sufficient quantity of variable resources. There is a paramount need to increase variable resources in order to maximize profit.

Does Minimum Tillage Improve Smallholder Farmers’ Welfare? Evidence from Southern Tanzania

Conservation agriculture continues to be promoted in developing nations as a sustainable and suitable agricultural practice to enhance smallholder productivity. A look at the literature indicates that this practice is successful in non-African countries. Thus, this research sought to test whether minimum tillage (MT), a subset of conservation agriculture, could lead to a significant impact on smallholder households’ welfare in Southern Tanzania. Using cross-sectional data from 608 randomly selected smallholder households, we applied propensity score matching to determine the effects of adopting minimum tillage on smallholder households’ per capita net crop income and labor demand. Our results indicated that minimum tillage adoption has positive impacts on smallholder households’ per capita net crop income. Further, it reduces the total household labor demands, allowing households to engage in other income-generating activities. However, the adoption rate of minimum tillage is in the early majority stage (21.38%). Thus, we propose the government to support household credit access and extension-specific information to improve the probability of adopting minimum tillage.