Gender, rainfall endowment, and farmers’ heterogeneity in wheat trait preferences in Ethiopia

Hom Nath Gartaula Moti Jaleta (2024, [Artículo])

Wheat is a vital cereal crop for smallholders in Ethiopia. Despite over fifty years of research on wheat varietal development, consideration of gendered trait preferences in developing target product profiles for wheat breeding is limited. To address this gap, our study used sex-disaggregated survey data and historical rainfall trends from the major wheat-growing regions in Ethiopia. The findings indicated heterogeneity in trait preferences based on gender and rainfall endowment. Men respondents tended to prefer wheat traits with high straw yield and disease-resistance potential, while women showed a greater appreciation for wheat traits related to good taste and cooking quality. Farmers in high rainfall areas seemed to prioritize high straw yield and disease resistance traits, while those in low rainfall areas valued good adaptation traits more highly. Most of the correlation coefficients among the preferred traits were positive, indicating that farmers seek wheat varieties with traits that serve multiple purposes. Understanding men's and women's preferences and incorporating them in breeding and seed systems could contribute to the development of more targeted and effective wheat varieties that meet the diverse needs of men and women farmers in Ethiopia.

Trait Preferences Multivariate Probit Model CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA WHEAT AGRONOMIC CHARACTERS GENDER RAINFALL PROBIT ANALYSIS

Willingness to pay (WTP) for heat-tolerant maize hybrids in the Mid-Western Terai region of Nepal

Atul Kulkarni Keshab Babu Koirala Pervez Zaidi (2023, [Artículo])

Heat-Tolerant Maize Hybrid Preference Heterogeneity CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA HEAT TOLERANCE MAIZE HYBRIDS WILLINGNESS TO PAY CONTINGENT VALUATION

Cascading socio-environmental sustainability risks of agricultural export miracle in Peru

Azam Lashkari Masoud Irannezhad Urs Schulthess (2022, [Artículo])

Andean Trade Preference Act Alternative Development CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA DEVELOPMENT GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY WATER SCARCITY

Risk aversion, impatience, and adoption of conservation agriculture practices among smallholders in Zambia

Hambulo Ngoma João Vasco Silva Frédéric Baudron Isaiah Nyagumbo Christian Thierfelder (2024, [Artículo])

Sustainable agricultural practices such as conservation agriculture have been promoted in southern Africa for nearly three decades, but their adoption remains low. It is of policy interest to unpack behavioural drivers of adoption to understand why adoption remains lower than anticipated. This paper assesses the effects of risk aversion and impatience on the extent and intensity of the adoption of conservation agriculture using panel data collected from 646 households in 2021 and 2022 in Zambia. We find that 12% and 18% of the smallholders were impatient and risk averse, respectively. There are two main empirical findings based on panel data Probit and Tobit models. First, on the extensive margin, being impatient is correlated with a decreased likelihood of adopting combined minimum-tillage (MT) and rotation by 2.9 percentage points and being risk averse is associated with a decreased propensity of adopting combined minimum tillage (MT) and mulching by 3.2 percentage points. Being risk averse is correlated with a decreased chance of adopting basins by 2.8 percentage points. Second, on the intensive margin, impatience and risk aversion are significantly correlated with reduced adoption intensity of basins, ripping, minimum tillage (MT), and combined MT and rotation by 0.02–0.22 ha. These findings imply a need to embed risk management (e.g., through crop yield insurance) in the scaling of sustainable agricultural practices to incentivise adoption. This can help to nudge initial adoption and to protect farmers from yield penalties that are common in experimentation stages.

Risk and Time Preferences CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION RISK SUSTAINABLE INTENSIFICATION SMALLHOLDERS