Total Livestock Units Research Articles

Participation in farmer organizations and adoption of farming technologies among rice farmers in Ghana

PurposeThe authors examine the factors influencing membership in farmer organizations (FO) and their effects on the decision to adopt farm technologies by rice farmers in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a farm survey of 900 households from Northern Ghana and a recursive bivariate probit (RBP) model that accounts for selection bias and endogeneity.FindingsThe results indicate that the household head’s decision to adopt machinery and row planting increases by 38.4 and 25.3%, respectively, upon joining a farmer organization. Membership in farmer organization is positively influenced by off-farm income, asset value, farmer organization location and farmer location in Upper West region but negatively by males, age and total livestock units owned. Machinery adoption is positively influenced by membership in farmer organizations and respondent being male but negatively influenced by the years of schooling, farm size, farm distance and location of a farmer in Ghana's Upper East and West regions. Similarly, row planting adoption is positively influenced by membership in farmers' organization but adversely by farm size, farm distance and a farmer's location in Upper East region of Ghana.Research limitations/implicationsIt can be concluded that membership in farmers' organizations significantly impacts farm household head’s decision to adopt machinery and row planting in rice production, which potentially enhance crop productivity.Practical implicationsThese results show the importance of agricultural stakeholders in encouraging the formation and strengthening of farmer organizations to support the adoption of modern farming technologies.Originality/valueDeveloping literature has demonstrated that farmer organizations promote the adoption of agricultural innovations. However, most of these studies have concentrated on conventional agricultural innovations and have used methods that fail to account for potential selection bias. This paper fills this important gap.

English

Household dietary diversity (HDD) is an important nutrition outcome measuring the economic ability of a household to access a variety of foods during a determined period. This paper examines the determinants of HDD among wheat dominated rural households of Sinana District, Oromia Regional State. Multi stage sampling procedure was used to select 384 sample households. Data were collected using structured survey questionnaire, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. Zero-truncated Poisson regression model was used to measure the determinants of HDD. The results show that almost all the respondents consumed food made from cereal and only 20.05, 10.16 and 7.29% of the household consumed egg, meat and fruits in previous seven days, respectively. On average household consumed 5.73 food groups. Further, the finding indicates that about 13.54, 50.52 and 35.94% of the participants were consumed low, medium and high dietary diversity level, respectively. Marital status, education level, participating in irrigation farming, membership of farmers cooperatives, farm size and Total Livestock Unit (TLU) positively affected HDD while distance to nearest market and remittances negatively influenced HDD. Therefore, stakeholders in the agricultural sector should promote and encourage crop diversification strategies, expand access to irrigation, introduce agricultural technologies to boost income of rural households and thus diversify their diet.  Key words: Dietary diversity, determinants, rural households, Poisson regression.

Socio-economic determinants of smallholder mixed crop-livestock farmers’ choice of climate change adaptation in the drylands of Northern Ethiopia

Purpose This paper aims to understand the perception of smallholder farmers on climate change, identify major livestock related climate change adaptation (CCA) strategies and their determinants in selected neighboring districts of Tigray and Amhara regions of Ethiopia. Design/methodology/approach A total of 416 household heads were involved in a questionnaire survey using a multistage sampling approach. To understand the socio-economic factors that influence farmers’ perception on climate change (CC) and/or variability, a binary logit model was used. Multinomial logit model was used to identify the determinants of smallholder farmers’ choices of adaptation strategies. Findings Milk reduction, weight loss, feed shortage and frequent animal disease outbreak were indicated as major impacts of CC on livestock production. About 86.2% of the farmers’ exercise CCA measures where livestock health care and management (25%), followed by livelihood diversification (21.5%) and shifting and diversification of livestock species (20.9%) were the top three adaptation measures implemented. Education, knowledge on CCA strategies, access to veterinary service and extension, market access, annual income, non-farm income, total livestock unit, sex of household head and household size were the major determinant factors to farmers’ choice of CCA. Research limitations/implications Concerned authorities working in CC related sectors should give due attention to improve smallholder farmers’ access to extension and veterinary services, market access and climate information to enhance their adaptive capacity to CC impacts. In addition, incorporating climate change awareness trainings into the existing extension packages is crucial to enhance the awareness of farmers on climate change and implement appropriate adaptation strategies. Moreover, it is very essential to provide appropriate herd management and marketing strategy based on the production system to avoid the significant price reduction during drought periods. Practical implications Concerned authorities working in CC related sectors should give due attention to improve smallholder farmers’ access to extension and veterinary services, market access and climate information to enhance their adaptive capacity to CC impacts. In addition, incorporating climate change awareness trainings into the existing extension packages is crucial to implement appropriate adaptation strategies. Moreover, it is very essential to provide appropriate herd management and marketing strategy based on the production system to avoid the significant price reduction during drought periods. Originality/value This research is focused on smallholder crop-livestock farmers, livestock-based CCASs and presents the determinant factors to their choice of adaptation.

The Work Assessment Method shows potential to improve performance and social sustainability on Australian dairy farms

Context Social aspects of livestock farming systems, including farm workforce and how work is organised, have received less research attention than the biophysical and technological aspects. This constrains understanding of social challenges to the sustainability of livestock systems, such as farm labour shortages, farmers’ overwork, the undesirability of farming careers, workforce and skills changes linked to new technologies, and the connections of all these to farm performance and profitability. Aims We introduce and test the applicability and utility in the Australian context of a method developed in France for assessing work organisation: The Work Assessment Method (WAM). The WAM goes beyond standard labour productivity metrics, such as total labour cost or livestock units per worker, to examine different types of work (routine, seasonal), who does the work (owner–managers, employees, contractors) and how these change seasonally. A measure of social sustainability (‘calculated time available’) is a key feature. Methods We conducted the first Australian trial of the WAM on two Victorian dairy farms. Through facilitated discussions between participating farmers and the research team, we evaluated the utility of the method, and identified requirements to adapt it for larger, pasture-based dairy systems. Key results The WAM was applied successfully on the pilot farms, despite differences in farm systems between France and Australia. The method characterised in detail the sources of overwork for each farm, enabling discussion of how the social sustainability and overall performance of the farms could be improved. The participating farmers reported that the method provided insights that were not available from current financial and physical analyses. Conclusions The WAM shows potential for supporting farmers, advisors and researchers in work aimed at improving farm social sustainability and profitability, but requires adaptation to suit Australian conditions. A larger exploratory study applying the WAM on additional dairy farms, and on mixed farms, is suggested. Implications This study provides a strong foundation for further research to develop the WAM as a useful research and advisory tool for Australian livestock production systems.

Effect of agricultural diversification on dietary diversity in rural households with children under 5years of age in Zambia.

Micronutrient deficiencies in low‐income countries are associated with the monotonous consumption of nutrient‐deficient crops, contributing to childhood stunting with far‐reaching socioeconomic consequences. To promote nutrition sensitive agriculture, policy makers in such countries have embarked on policy initiatives that encourage agricultural diversification in smallholder farming systems. This paper investigates the link between agricultural diversification and two key indicators of food and nutrition security among children under 5 years in rural Zambia. Data from the 2015 Rural Agricultural Livelihoods Survey and regression models are used to explain household dietary diversity and months of inadequate household food provisioning among 7934 households. Factors associated with the key outcome variables include land cultivated, household size, total livestock units, household head education, households receiving extension information, and use of productivity‐enhancing inputs such as fertilizers. Although the results demonstrate that agricultural diversification is positively associated with the household dietary diversity score, the relationship is not statistically significant. Further, the study findings illustrate that agricultural diversity is negatively associated with months of inadequate household food provisioning but that this relationship is also not statistically significant. The implication for policy is that other interventions such as productivity enhancement and behavioral change communication need to be scaled up.

FACTORES QUE INFLUYEN EN LA TOMA DE DECISIONES PARA EL DESARROLLO DE LA GANADERÍA DE DOBLE PROPÓSITO EN TRÓPICO SECO

<p class="Default"><strong>Background</strong>. The farmer and his family member are the main actors in the decision-making process for production unit operation (PU), due to the extensive knowledge they have about the production strategies and dynamics. <strong>Objective</strong>. Analyze the main factors that intervene in the making and construction of decisions for PU operation in dry tropic conditions. <strong>Methodology</strong>. The information was obtained through a structured survey to farmers of 61 PU of dual-purpose livestock (DP). The PUs were stratified based on the number of Total Livestock Units (TLU): Stratum 1 = UP of ≥ 5 and ≤ 43 TLU (E1), Stratum 2 = PU of ≥ 44 and ≤ 87 TLU (E2) and Stratum 3 = UP with more than 88 TLU (E3). The work consists of three sections: i. an analysis of the activity current situation (structural and socioeconomic), using descriptive statistics and budgets by activity; ii. an analysis of the PU structural changes from 2008-2013-2018 and, iii. an analysis using the Likert Scale of the farmers opinions and objectives on the activity. <strong>Results</strong>. PUs are characterized by the small families presence, with 58-year-old farmers (65% have primary and secondary education). The main income (81.44%) comes from livestock sale and although higher income is observed in large PUs, the unit margin per ha<sup>-1</sup> and cow<sup>-1</sup> is higher in small PUs. The participation of the family is fundamental in the decision-making process and the main objective of the farmer is the well-being of the family group, care of the environment in which they develop and maintaining the PU structure. Smaller PUs are dynamic and enthusiastic about structural changes. <strong>Implications</strong>. The work set the guidelines of the PU and identified the factors that intervene in the decision-making process, the viability, dynamics and permanence of livestock in the dry tropics. <strong>Conclusion</strong>. The family is essential to help for the farmer in the decision-making process. mainly in the health and nutrition of the herd, as well as in the sale and commercialization of products and, the maintenance of the structure of the PU and care of the environment in which they develop is the main objective. Keywords: cattle; dual purpose; dry tropics; family; decision making.</p>

An Overview of Current Approaches and Challenges to the Control of Endemic Infectious Cattle Diseases in Albania.

Agriculture is an important production sector in Albania that makes a significant contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and employment. The livestock sector contributes more than half of the agricultural GDP. The Albanian cattle population represents 50% of the total livestock units and accounts for 85% of the national milk production, the rest being supplied by small ruminants. Cattle productivity, health and welfare are hindered by infectious diseases, some of which are also transmissible to humans (zoonosis). The aim of this manuscript is to provide an overview of the control of selected regulated and non-EU regulated cattle diseases in Albania and to highlight specific challenges for the Albanian cattle industry. The most important infectious cattle diseases in Albania for which national control and eradication strategies are in place are bovine brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis, and anthrax, which are all zoonotic. Additionally, lumpy skin disease recently emerged in the Balkan region and is currently subject to controls. Most of the available funds and European Union support are allocated to the control of EU regulated zoonotic diseases. For control of non-EU regulated cattle diseases, no funds are available resulting in the lack of national control programmes (CPs). Based on research, clinical investigations and laboratory results, several non-EU regulated cattle infectious diseases appear endemic in Albanian dairy farms. While no national CPs exist for any of them, regional initiatives are available on a voluntary basis to control infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and bovine viral diarrhea. In the voluntary CPs, there is no monitored requirement to prove disease freedom of purchased animals and to re-evaluate the herd's free status after the introduction of animals into a herd. Data on animal movements that are routinely collected could potentially be used to control the risk of purchase, but quality needs to be further improved to increase its usefulness in disease CPs. This overview aims to collate existing information on the CPs implemented in Albania and to evaluate these to highlight gaps and threats in disease control, as well as opportunities and strengths through a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, with the goal of providing a framework for the future implementation of animal disease control measures in Albania.

Impact of Small Scale Irrigation on Farm Technical Efficiency and Household Income in Amhara Regional State: A Stochastic Approach

Agriculture is the main stay of Ethiopian population with a significant contribution to GDP. More recently the quest for more enhanced production and productivity has become an urgent issue of importance in the agriculture sector. The use of yield improving technological innovations is paramount importance towards this goal. As the potential to increase production and productivity by bringing more resources in to use is limited, the efficiency in which the farmers use available resources has received the utmost attention. This being the case, in this study effort has been made to assess the impact of small scale irrigation on farm technical efficiency and household income. The study was conducted in Amhara regional state. The survey data was collected from four kebeles in Sekela woreda of west Gojjam administrative zone in the year 2014/15 from 119 households. The data collected considered two groups of farm households, irrigation users and non-user households. Stochastic production frontier function with inefficiency variables had been applied to estimate technical efficiency. The finding of income variables indicate that land, access to irrigation, credit, education, labor, total livestock unit, and ox have significant contribution to household income. Among the input variables land and ox have positive and significant contribution to farm production whereas labor has negative contribution to farm production. The coefficient of land and oxen is 0.9 and 0.28 for irrigation users and 1.56 and 0.46 for irrigation non users respectively indicating greater marginal contribution of input variables when irrigation technology is in place. The inefficiency variables, age square , access to irrigation and land are found to improve farm efficiency while age of the household, gender, and dependency ratio have negative contribution to farm technical efficiency. Distance of the farmer’s house from development center and extension participation is not statistically significant. The mean technical efficiency of the whole sample was found to be 71% indicating that there is a possibility of improving the farm output on average by 29% if the technical efficiency of less efficient households could perform better to obtain the maximum attainable level of output. Keywords: Technical efficiency, Stochastic production frontier, Sekela woreda, Irrigation user and non-user. DOI: 10.7176/DCS/11-5-01 Publication date: May 31 st 2021

The implications of herd entrustment practice for the sustainable use of cattle genetic resources in the (agro)-pastoral systems of West Africa: A case study from Benin

West African (agro)-pastoralists have been increasingly using extra-household labour for the management of their cattle herds. This paper seeks to identify the factors influencing cattle owners’ decision to entrust their animals and to analyse the effects of the entrustment practice on the management and sustainable use of the animal genetic diversity within herds. Two hundred and eleven cattle farmers, including absentee-owners (n = 90) who entrusted their animals to professional herders, and owner-managers (n = 121) who look themselves after their cattle, were randomly selected and surveyed in Boukombe district in northwest Benin, the origin of the West African shorthorn Somba cattle breed. Households' socio-economic data and information on herds’ characteristics and management practices were collected using semi-structured questionnaires. The binary logistic regression technique was used to predict the adoption of entrustment by a given farmer in function of his herd’s and household's socio-economic characteristics. Effective population sizes and inbreeding rates for the communal non-entrusted and entrusted Somba populations were estimated and compared. The results revealed that the mode of acquisition of the initial stock, the total livestock units owned and the farmer’s ethnicity were the most important determinants of entrustment. The Somba indigenous cattle breed was threatened in entrusted herds by indiscriminate cross-breeding with Zebus. However, the non-entrusted population appeared to be more exposed to high inbreeding risks. While entrustment represents a good alternative for the efficient use of family labour, adequate strategies are needed to support this practice and encourage herd managers to adopt improved husbandry practices and sound breeding strategies.

Impact of Agricultural Cooperatives on Income of Households: The Case of Ejere District, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia

Agricultural cooperative is widely considered as a vital foundation that can help smallholder farmers to overcome the constraints that hinder them from taking advantages of their business. The major concern of this study is, to evaluate the impact of agricultural cooperative on total annual income of participant households in Ejere district of West Shewa Zone, Ethiopia. To meet the objectives of study a total of 430 sample households were randomly interviewed. Descriptive statistics, logistic regression and propensity score matching were used to analyze data. The logistic regression output showed that access to extension services, marital status, clarity of cooperative objectives, perception and access to credit service were positively and significantly influenced the participation of household head in agricultural cooperative at (P<0.01) whereas access to market information and total livestock unit positively and significantly influenced the participation of household head in agricultural cooperatives at (P<0.05). Propensity score matching estimation result significant difference between agricultural cooperative participant and non-participant in terms of total annual income. That is, the total annual income of agricultural cooperative participants is 14,990.076Birr higher than that of non-participants. Thus, policy makers should focus on providing extension services, raising market information as well as increasing access to credit services of cooperatives in the study area. Keywords: Annual income, Cooperatives, Impact, logistic, outcome JEL: M2 L3 R2 DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-9-03 Publication date: May 31 st 2021

The impact of climate smart agriculture on household welfare in smallholder integrated crop\u2013livestock farming systems: evidence from Zimbabwe

BackgroundAgriculture contributes significantly to the welfare of smallholder farmers, but it has become highly susceptible to climate change, due to its reliance on the increasingly erratic rainfall patterns. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) offers important opportunities for enhancing food security and incomes through increased agriculture productivity. Technology evaluation through impact studies provides information on the effect of CSA on farmer welfare, thereby highlighting its potential in optimizing agriculture productivity. This paper analyses the impact of CSA adoption on food security and income of households, using cross-sectional survey data collected from 386 households across four districts in Zimbabwe. The analysis was done using the endogenous switching regression model which controls for selection bias and unobserved heterogeneity, a commonly used method in adoption impact analysis.ResultsThe study found several agricultural and socio-economic factors which affect adoption and food security. The econometric results show that the status of soil fertility in fields, distance to input and output markets, ownership of communication assets, and Total Livestock Units (TLU) have a significant impact on the decision of farmers to adopt CSA. The Average Treatment Effects on the Treated (ATT) and Average Treatment Effects on the Untreated (ATU) were found to be positive and significant for adopters and non-adopters, indicating that CSA adoption has had a significantly positive impact on the welfare of the farmers. An analysis of the outcomes revealed that the characteristics of farmers and farms, as well as market factors, significantly affect the welfare of households. The household income, with reference to the adoption of CSA, was significantly affected by factors such as the education of household head, labour size, TLU, and asset index. Food security was influenced by factors such as the education of household head, TLU, access to sanitation, and arable land size.ConclusionsThe study concludes by giving policy recommendations centred on the access to inputs, sanitation, and encouraging investing in assets and TLU. The findings indicate that the adoption of CSA has a positive impact on the welfare of farmers. To exploit the full potential of these technologies, the study suggests that access to timely weather forecasts must be ensured, that sanitation must be promoted, and that incentives must be provided for agricultural input agro-dealers to decentralize to rural areas.

Determinants of Small Holder Rural Farm Households’ Participation in Small Scale Irrigation in Western Ethiopia, in Case of Assosa District in Assosa Zone (Heckman Two-Stage Model)

Increasing technology adoption including irrigation among smallholder farmers has a big potential to uplift living standards of poor through increasing production and consumption pattern. The objective of this study was analyzing determinant of smallholder farmer participation in small scale irrigation and its intensification in western Ethiopia, in case of Assosa district in Assosa Zone. The study used data from 329 respondents from six selected kebeles of Assosa woreda in Assosa zone, through structured questioner. The descriptive statistics and Heckman two stage econometric methods were employed to analyze data collected from sampled household. The significance of coefficient of inverse Mill’s ratio (l) indicates the presence of selection bias and the effectiveness of applying Heckman two stage model. In the first stage of probit regression results of study show that the adoption decision of small scale irrigation use were driven by factors such as sex of the head, education, farm size, attend training at farmer training center, distance to irrigation, credit use, total livestock unit, ethnicity, active labor and development agent advice significantly determine participation in small scale irrigation. In the second stage, the intensification of small scale irrigation use was influenced by family size, credit use, ethnicity of farm household head and lambda. The policies which expand the accessibility of credit service, dissemination of productive agricultural technology information, and creating opportunity of education for farm household has potential to increase the chance of small scale irrigation adoption decision and strengthen the level of adoption among smallholder farmers. Keywords: Assosa, Hechman two stages, Small scale irrigation adoption DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-3-02 Publication date: February 28 th 2021

Determinants of Small Holder Rural Farm Households’ Participation in Small Scale Irrigation in Western Ethiopia, in Case of Assosa District in Assosa Zone (Heckman Two-Stage Model)

Increasing technology adoption including irrigation among smallholder farmers has a big potential to uplift living standards of poor through increasing production and consumption pattern. The objective of this study was analyzing determinant of smallholder farmer participation in small scale irrigation and its intensification in western Ethiopia, in case of Assosa district in Assosa Zone. The study used data from 329 respondents from six selected kebeles of Assosa woreda in Assosa zone, through structured questioner. The descriptive statistics and Heckman two stage econometric methods were employed to analyze data collected from sampled household. The significance of coefficient of inverse Mill’s ratio (l) indicates the presence of selection bias and the effectiveness of applying Heckman two stage model. In the first stage of probit regression results of study show that the adoption decision of small scale irrigation use were driven by factors such as sex of the head, education, farm size, attend training at farmer training center, distance to irrigation, credit use, total livestock unit, ethnicity, active labor and development agent advice significantly determine participation in small scale irrigation. In the second stage, the intensification of small scale irrigation use was influenced by family size, credit use, ethnicity of farm household head and lambda. The policies which expand the accessibility of credit service, dissemination of productive agricultural technology information, and creating opportunity of education for farm household has potential to increase the chance of small scale irrigation adoption decision and strengthen the level of adoption among smallholder farmers. Keywords: Assosa, Hechman two stages, Small scale irrigation adoption DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/73-01 Publication date: February 28 th 2021

English

Credit is an important instrument used to improve the welfare of the poor. It could enable the rural households in overcoming liquidity problems, enhancing productive capacity and adopting new technologies. In Ethiopia, the government is promoting microcredit services, but the participation of rural households for credit service is limited. Inappropriate use of loan money also exacerbated the challenges in achieving the desired goal, and consequently, it influenced the loan repayment performance of the household. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of identifying socioeconomic factors prompting farm households` participation in Omo Microfinance services and factors determining the utilization of loan money for proposed activities. To conduct this study, 120 rural households were selected randomly from 6 kebeles of Damot Gale District. The participation decision of the households in the credit market and factors determining the level of credit utilization for proposed activity are analyzed using double hurdle model. The study result shows that distance to formal lending institutions, education status, total livestock unit and frequency of contact with extension agents have significantly influenced access to credit. The second hurdle of the model reveals that amount of loan received, peer-monitoring system, expenditure in social festive and frequency of contact with extension agents affected the performance of loan utilization. Therefore, minimizing the barriers of access to credit and considering factors affecting loan money utilization for proposed activity is vital to achieve the desired goal.   Key words: Credit, credit market participation, loan utilization, Omo microfinance, Damot Gale.

Review on Adoption of Irrigation and Its Impact on Household Livelihood in Ethiopia

Agriculture remains the mainstay of the Ethiopian economy. However, in the country, traditional rain fed smallholder farmers dominates the agricultural sector. Thus, Ethiopia has a huge potential of water resources. Nevertheless, there is a vast gap between the irrigated area (only about 10% of the total cultivated land) and irrigation potential in the country. In Ethiopia, still about 97% of food crops are produced by traditional rain-fed agriculture. Thus, the agricultural production activity is highly depends on seasonally rain-fed farming practice. Moreover, the adoption of irrigation and its impact on household livelihood which can be used as the major policy issue have not been well reviewed earlier. Therefore, the objective of this review is to identify the factors affecting the adoption of irrigation, and its impact on household livelihoods. The review indicated that age of household head, sex of household head, total livestock unit, land size, education level, family size, market distance from the farmer’s residence, access to a water source and off farm job participation are significant determinants of adoption of irrigation. Institutional factors like credit service, participation in community leadership, access to agricultural input and extension service are also significant determinant factors. Since the adoption of irrigation practice has significant impact in improving household livelihoods, actions should be taken by the farmer’s, extension agents, stakeholders and generally by the Ethiopian government to make a huge improvement on the irrigation farming in the country.

A learning network approach to resolve conservation challenges in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is a protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of the Serengeti‐Ngorongoro Biosphere reserve in northern Tanzania. It is famous for its large volcanic caldera, unique cultural heritage, early hominid fossils and significant wildlife populations. NCA has been managed as a multiple land‐use area since 1959, a designation intended to foster a harmonious coexistence between indigenous residents and wildlife (Goldstein, 2004).

DETERMINANTS OF PASTORALISTS CHOICE OF CAMEL PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN EASTERN ETHIOPIA

This study aspires to identify determinants of pastoralists’ choice of camel production and production systems in Korahay zone of Somali regional state, eastern Ethiopia. A cross sectional survey methods were applied to collect data from 158 sampled households in which 84 households were camel owners obtained through snowball sampling approach and remaining 74 households were non-camel owners obtained by using random sampling technique from three districts of Korahay zone in Somali regional state namely Kebridahar, Shelabo and Shekosh. The results of binary probit regression model revealed that socio-economic determinants including total livestock unit, farm income, non-farm income; herd size and distance from the nearest market were found to positively influence the likelihood of owning camels. Where, other determinants like age of the household head, household size and education level, dependent ratio, and distance from extension service were found to negatively influence the likelihood of owning camels. The overall regression model used indicated significant at 1% significance level (p=0.0013) which imply that all the supposed determinants jointly influenced the decision of pastoralists choice of camel production. In the study areas, majority of camel producer (77.8%) rear camels for income generation, milking production, social and cultural functions. The three main production systems in the study areas were transhumant (71.5%), sedentary system (19.6%), and pastoral nomadic (8.9%), which seems nomadism disappearing in the study areas. Feed shortage (30.4%), drought and water shortage (41.8%), disease prevalence (18.3%), and market problems (9.5%) are the major constraints of camel production in the study area. Majority of pastoralists in Korahay zone of Somali region (77.2%) use extensive camel management system, and they cover long distance of around 12 to 18 km every day for grazing and browsing activities. In general, policy makers and government bodies should take in to consideration these variables determining the choice of camel production, and the current more pressing problems for pastoral communities such as drought and water shortage, lack of veterinary services, market problems, lack of enough capital for investment, and low access to credit services. It is strongly believed that consideration of these problems can enhance the life and livelihood of pastoral communities.

Farming systems’ typologies analysis to inform agricultural greenhouse gas emissions potential from smallholder rain-fed farms in Kenya

Most sub-Saharan Africa smallholder farming systems are highly heterogeneous. Direct quantification of greenhouse gas emissions from these farming systems is hampered by diversity at farm-level. Each farm contributes differently to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and consequently GHG inventories. Typologies can be used as a mechanism of addressing farming systems’ heterogeneity by grouping them into specific farm types. With the GHG quantification simplification initiatives in mind, we developed smallholder farm typologies based on soil fertility inputs. We assessed nitrogen application rate, soil fertility management technologies and the socio-economic factors diversity among the farm typologies in the central highlands of Kenya. We used data from a cross-sectional household survey with a sample size of 300 smallholder farmers. We characterized the farm types using principal component analysis (PCA). To develop farm typologies, we subjected the PCA-derived typologies related factors to cluster analysis (CA). The results showed six farm types: Type 1, comprising cash crop and hybrid cattle farmers; Type 2, comprising food crop farmers; Type 3, composed of coffee-maize farmers; Type 4, comprising millet-livestock farmers; Type 5, comprising highly diversified farmers, and Type 6, comprising tobacco farmers. Land size owned, total tropical livestock unit, the proportion of land and nitrogen applied to different cropping systems were significant in the construction of farm typologies. Univariate analysis showed the household head's level of education, hired labour, group membership, access to extension services, and proportion of income from cropping activities as critical factors influencing farm typologies in the study area. This study demonstrates the importance of smallholder farm typologies in identifying greenhouse gas emissions hotspots, designing quantification experiment and policy framing. We concluded that policies and intervention measures targeting climate-smart agriculture at smallholder farms should consider not only farm-level soil fertility management technologies but also socio-economic characteristics that influence their adoption.

The Role of Rural Livelihood Diversification Strategies for Household Food Security in Southern Ethiopia: Empirical Evidence from Kecha Bira District of Kembata Tembaro Zone

Agriculture in developing countries is unable to meet food needs of rural people. Thus, rural households engage in to different livelihood diversification activities to ensure their food needs and secure their future livelihoods. The study investigated the role of livelihood diversification strategies for rural household food security in Kembata Tembaro Zone, Southern Ethiopia with empirical evidence from Kecha Birra district with data collected from a sample of 355 households selected by multistage sampling technique. The descriptive statistics were used to identify the livelihood strategies in the study area. The finding of the study indicated that majority of the rural households (41.6%) engaged into on-farm activity. However, 22.54%, 21.41% and 14.37% practice on-farm plus off- farm; on-farm plus non-farm; and on-farm plus off-farm plus non-farm livelihood diversification activities respectively. Household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) was used to measure food security status of households. The study result showed that 51.27% households were food insecure and the rest 48.73% were food secured. Logistic regression model was used to assess the role of livelihood diversification strategies to rural household food security. The results of the model indicated livelihood diversification strategies, Income obtained from diversification activities, Education status of the households, Total farm land size of households, Total livestock unit owned and Training and extension service are positively and significantly related to rural household food security status and improves food security status of rural households. It confirmed that livelihood diversification strategies have a positive effect and would be the best solution to reduce poverty and improve food security at household level in rural areas. Therefore, due attention should be given to strengthen livelihood diversification strategies so as to improve rural household food security.

Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for Index-Based Livestock Insurance in the North West of South Africa

Rural livelihoods in most developing countries are threatened by climate-related risks such as drought, flood, heat waves, storms, and so on. Although farmers have adopted several adaptation strategies, they have proven less effective than hoped. Hence, index-based livestock insurance, an innovation that significantly assists farmers to acclimatise to climate-related risks, has been proposed; and its adaptability has attracted a notable increase in other African countries. However, the success of its adoption is dependent on the inclination of the farmers to pay for the service. Accordingly, this study investigates their willingness to pay for index-based livestock insurance and its determinants, and the factors influencing the total livestock units to be insured in the North West province of South Africa. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 277 cattle farmers, drawn randomly from the study area. The contingent valuation method was applied to determine the farmers’ willingness to pay; and only 10.8% were willing to pay. Simultaneously, the Heckit sample selection model was used to analyse the data to identify the factors responsible for farmers’ willingness to pay and total livestock units to insure. The findings revealed that farmer’s experience, age, education, marital status, awareness of insurance and household dependents were statistically significant, and influenced the maximum price R600 ($42, max willingness to pay, WTP) of those who accepted index-based livestock insurance. However, by implication, the study concluded that to adopt index-based livestock insurance in the study area among the livestock farmers, there should be policies to cater for the aforementioned factors.