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THREE ESSAYS ON THE ECONOMICS OF SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA: LABOUR ALLOCATION, ADOPTION OF CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE AND CO-OPERATIVE PARTICIPATION

Date

2023-07-25

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

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Type

Thesis

Degree Level

Doctoral

Abstract

Smallholder farmers dominate agricultural production in many developing countries and produce a significant portion of the food that is consumed within those countries. Given their important contribution, there is strong consensus that improving productivity among smallholder farmers is one of the most effective ways of ensuring food security and alleviating poverty in developing countries. However, the means by which agricultural performance could be enhanced is not straight forward because smallholder farmers operate under complex environments and face multifaceted challenges, including declining soil fertility, the use of poor farming techniques, limited use of fertilizers, low technology adoption, gender disparities, and market failures. This study contributes to improving our understanding of smallholder farmers by examining three of these challenges: labour allocation, technology adoption, and market selection. The specific goals of this study are to: (1) assess the influence of social norms on farm labour allocation and productivity; and (2) examine the factors influencing CA adoption, paying attention to the role of social norms; and (3) examine the impact of agricultural co-operatives on smallholder farmers. To achieve the first objective, the study develops a theoretical framework that incorporates the role of social norms in labour allocation. The study then empirically examines how social norms influence labour allocation and productivity through the estimation of a time allocation model and a production function model in which male and female labour are differentiated. To achieve the second objective, the study estimates a probit model to examine how social norms affect CA adoption. To attain the third objective, the study develops a theoretical model showing how a co-operative affects smallholder farmers in a modern agri-food supply chain. With respect to labour allocation, the results show that women and men do different farm tasks, with men showing a preference in doing activities that use mechanical farm implements, such as controlling ox-drawn ploughs, while women assume manual tasks such as weeding or fertilizer application. Overall, women work more than men, particularly when they are under a female-headed household. These results suggest that social norms are at play. Regarding the adoption of CA, the results show that farmers differentially adopt the three CA components. While most farmers adopted minimum disturbance, only a few adopted mulching. The results also show that farmers who consider social advice and require peer support to try new technologies are less likely to practice mulching. This suggest that mulching does not align with the local norms and values. The results of the theoretical modeling of agricultural co-ops show that they can play an important role in serving smallholder farmers who would otherwise be excluded from the market. The existence of a co-op forces IOFs to pay higher prices than they otherwise would. One of the findings of the thesis is that social norms are important in determining the future of smallholder agriculture in Africa. Altering social norms could result in a more efficient allocation of resources and improved adoption of technologies. However, given that social norms are difficult to change, it is important to develop interventions that align with the existing norms. One way of achieving this is to involve farmers when developing interventions to ensure that local norms and values are incorporated. For instance, to improve men’s participation, it is likely important to develop and promote technologies that rely on mechanized farm implements given that such technologies are attractive to men.

Description

Keywords

Smallholder farmers, Labour allocation, Productivity, Social norms, Gender, Conservation agriculture, Adoption, Co-operatives, Agricultural markets

Citation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy

Program

Applied Economics

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DOI

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