Impact of treadle pump irrigation technology on smallholder poverty and food security in Malawi: a case study of Blantyre and Mchinji districts

The Malawi Government has intensified the use of treadle pump irrigation technology in an attempt to increase agricultural production and also to enrich the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers. As a result, the treadle pump is gaining in popularity among smallholder farmers throughout the country. This study was conducted in the districts of Blantyre in the Southern Region and Mchinji in the Central Region of Malawi. A total of 50 treadle pump and 50 non-treadle pump farmers were interviewed in each district to assess the impact of treadle pump irrigation technology with regard to food security and poverty. Gross margin analysis showed that adopters of the technology had higher net farm incomes per hectare (NFIs/ha) than non-adopters per year. In Blantyre, NFI/ha value for adopters was MK122,855 (US$1007) compared with MK15,987 (US$131) for non-adopters under irrigation conditions. Similar results were found in Mchinji with MK51,858 (US$425) and MK16,090 (US$132) for adopters and non-adopters, respectively. Likewise, under rain-fed conditions, adopters had higher NFIs/ha than non-adopters: in Blantyre, the respective NFIs were MK19,497 (US$152) and MK3344 (US$27), whereas in Mchinji the respective values were MK16,896 (US$138) and MK10,084 (US$83). Furthermore, the well-being measurements and analyses of poverty revealed a higher poverty level among non-adopters compared with adopters. The former also had a greater relative risk of falling into deeper poverty than the latter. Transition matrices depicting movement in and out of poverty showed that from 2004 to 2005, some poor adopters moved out of poverty while some non-adopters dropped from being non-poor to poor. No adopter moved from non-poor to poor. From the results, it is concluded that the Government of Malawi should be urged to increase the availability of this kind of technology to the market at a reduced cost by offering tax incentives to local manufacturers and by using an input voucher system to subsidize qualified poor smallholder farmers.     

An in-depth examination of maize yield response to fertilizer in Central Malawi reveals low profits and too many weeds

We examine the productivity of fertilizer used on maize in Central Malawi using field-level panel data from over 1,200 observations on more than 500 fields over 4 harvest years. There are several novel aspects of this analysis compared to other on-farm fertilizer efficiency studies, including (a) precise and accurate yield measurement using crop cuts, (b) estimating the impact of timely weeding, (c) the use of data on multiple soil characteristics from a panel of soil samples, and (d) the ability to control for field-level fixed effects by tracking the same land over time. We find critical ecological and management threshold effects on fertilizer effectiveness at 0.94% soil carbon content, 57–58% sandiness, and weeding within 4 weeks of planting. Overall, we estimate lower yield response to fertilizer than reported in earlier studies: 2.6 maize kg/N kg under ideal circumstances, and statistically nil under many other conditions. We discuss the implications of our findings for farmers, policymakers, and researchers.     

Climate adaptation imperatives: untapped global maize yield opportunities

Climate change represents an unavoidable and growing challenge to food security, imposing new adaptation imperatives on all farmers. Maize is arguably the world's most productive grain crop, as measured by grain yield. However, maize yields vary dramatically due to many factors, including soils, climate, pests, disease, agronomic practices, and seed quality. The difference between observed yields and those achievable by optimized crop production methods is called the yield gap. In this work we quantified the current yield gap for 44 countries through the use of a large private-sector data set recently made available to the crop modelling community. The yield gap was quantified for three groups of countries, categorized by level of intensification. Observed yield gaps for high, medium, and low levels of intensification are 23%, 46%, and 68%, respectively. If all maize production countries were able to shrink their yield gap to 16.5% (as in the USA) an additional 335?million metric tons (MMT) of maize grain would be produced. This represents a 45% increase over the 741?MMT produced by these countries in 2010. These data demonstrate that a major untapped maize yield opportunity exists, especially in those countries where intensification has not kept pace with the rest of the world.     

Regional suitability for agricultural intensification: a spatial analysis of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania

Global food production will need to increase by 70–110% to meet the growing demand by 2050. Production per capita remains at 1960 levels in Africa while the agriculture sector accounts for 65% of full-time employment and 61% of rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Globally there is new focus on increasing agricultural investments in Africa. There is a need, however, for understanding regional factors that influence the outcome of agricultural intensification beyond the landscape scale and below the global scale. This paper provides a framework for considering socioeconomic and environmental factors in evaluating suitability for agricultural intensification at the regional scale. The method employs a spatially explicit multi-criteria evaluation based on freely available data that can be applied in any geography. The focus is on the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania which has an area greater than 28 million hectares. These results indicate that the area considered most suitable for agricultural investment is different when considering multiple criteria compared to considering only potential yield. This approach is important for government planners, funding partners, and development agencies who seek sustainable agricultural intensification in Africa and elsewhere.     

Sustainable agricultural intensification: the role of cardamom agroforestry in the East Usambaras,Tanzania

The East Usambaras in Tanzania are a tropical biodiversity hotspot where current agricultural management practices pose threats to forest conservation and development objectives. Promoting sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) would improve long-term productivity and reduce pressure on forest reserves. The study objective was to identify household-level characteristics that influence adoption of improved management practices, specifically soil replenishment practices, in order to identify opportunities and constraints to scaling up SAI to landscape level. First, three common farming systems and a fourth agroforestry (AF) model were developed to estimate the relative profitability of incorporating fallow, manure, and non-timber forest product activities. Next, household surveys were conducted and a logistic regression analysis was used to measure the influence of socioeconomic characteristics, physical and financial assets, tenure security, and plot-specific attributes on adoption of soil replenishment practices that were specified in the model. Findings showed that the AF model was financially competitive but raises opportunity costs to labour when compared to common systems. Marital status, household size, remittances, credit access, and tenure security significantly influenced adoption of fallow and applying organic inputs. Significant plot-specific attributes included perceived fertility and distance from the homestead. Policies to scale up SAI should consider these factors and emphasize improving markets for AF species and extension services.     

Production Risks and Food Security under Alternative Technology Choices in Malawi: Application of a Multinomial Endogenous Switching Regression

Employing nationally representative data, we investigate the impact of Sustainable Intensification Practices (SIPs) on farm households’ food security, downside risk and the cost of risk in Malawi. The analysis relies on a flexible moment‐based specification of a stochastic production function in a multinomial endogenous switching regression framework to correct for the selection bias stemming both from observed and unobserved heterogeneity. A quantile moment approach is used to estimate the cost of risk. After controlling for the effects of unobserved heterogeneity and several observable variables on maize production and downside risk functions, estimation results show that the adoption of SIPs increases food security and reduces downside risk exposure and the cost of risk. We estimate greater food security and larger reduction in downside risk from simultaneous adoption of both crop diversification (maize–legume intercropping and rotations) and minimum tillage, suggesting that there are complementary benefits from these practices. We find most of the cost of risk comes from exposure to downside risk. Our findings imply that in dealing with production risks development agents should encourage the adoption of agronomic and resource‐management practices along with other risk mitigation and food security improving strategies.     

Improving recommendations resulting from on-farm research: agroforestry,risk, profitability and vulnerability in southern Malawi

Leguminous agroforestry (AF) species have been investigated and promoted in Malawi as a means to improve soil quality and maize (Zea mays) yields. Our objective was to determine whether AF systems' recommendations that solely consider impacts on average maize yields differ from those that include an analysis of production risk, profitability among different wealth groups and socioeconomic vulnerability. Employing participatory quantitative and qualitative on-farm research techniques, we investigated three AF-based maize/legume relay-cropping practices in southern Malawi. The perennial legumes included Sesbania sesban, Tephrosia vogelii and Cajanus cajan (pigeonpea). We found that AF species recommendations did diverge from those based solely on maximizing maize yields when incorporating risk, profitability and socioeconomic vulnerability as additional variables. For instance, the highest yielding system (the S. sesban/maize relay crop) was never recommended for the most vulnerable farmers based on the vulnerability analysis, and the cropping systems were often more profitable for the least vulnerable farmers than they were for the most vulnerable farmers. Cropping system recommendations based solely on obtaining the highest average maize yields would also have generally overlooked the economic and nutritional importance of pigeonpea, and the difficulty for the most vulnerable farmers to profit from fertilizers, potentially placing these farmers at greater risk.     

Exploring farmer perceptions of agricultural innovations for maize-legume intensification in the mid-hills region of Nepal

Maize-legume intercropping is a fundamental component of mixed farming systems in the mid-hills of Nepal. However, its productivity is constrained by several biophysical and social factors, and limited adoption of proven agricultural innovations. In this study, we assessed the productivity impact of a selection of relevant agricultural innovations and changes in the associated perceptions of farmers through a series of two-year participatory on-farm trials. The evaluated innovations resulted in higher yields as compared to farmers' current practices. The active involvement of farmers enlarged our understanding of underlying decision-making factors to adopt or non-adopt agricultural innovations. Additionally, the in-depth farmer engagement in our onfarm trials positively influenced farmer perceptions of the innovations and their interest to adopt the agricultural innovations. Yet, farmers final decisions to adopt some of the evaluated innovations were limited by a host of factors including labour scarcity, the availability of inputs, and by cultural preferences despite the increased yields. This was particularly true for low and medium resource-endowed farmers. This study shows the importance of active farmer participation and context-specific design of research and development projects aiming for local impact.     

Sustainable agricultural intensification practices and cost efficiency in smallholder maize farms: Evidence from Ethiopia

Sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) practices have been promoted in developing countries to improve farm productivity and environmental services. However, it is still unclear whether use of a combination of SAI practices has a significant influence on the cost efficiency of smallholder farms. This study investigates whether the cost efficiency of smallholder maize producers in Ethiopia depends on use of input-augmenting and agronomic SAI practices. Stochastic cost frontier models that account for heterogeneity across farms are used for estimation. We find that the use of individual SAI practices increases cost while the combined use of the practices reduces it. The marginal effect on cost reduction is substantial when SAI practices are set at their sample maximum levels. Overall, the results demonstrate the benefit of using a combination of SAI practices in minimizing production cost while addressing the adverse effects of soil degradation and climate variability. To enhance food security, smallholder farm incomes and the sustainability of production in developing countries, policy programs should focus on promoting packages of input-augmenting and agronomic SAI practices.     

Evaluating irrigation investments in Malawi: economy‐wide impacts under uncertainty and labor constraints

Irrigation expansion is critical to increase crop yields and mitigate effects from climate change in Sub‐Saharan Africa, but the low profitability has led to little irrigation investments in the region so far. Using an integrated modeling framework, we simultaneously evaluate the returns to irrigation arising from both economic and biophysical impact channels to understand what determines the profitability of irrigation in Malawi. Our results confirm that the returns to irrigation cannot cover the costs in Malawi. While labor‐intensive irrigation expansion leads to unfavorable structural change in the short‐run, the profitability hinges on low irrigated yields that fall far from expectations due to insufficient input use and crop management techniques. On the other hand, we find that the nonmonetary benefits of irrigation regarding higher food security, lower poverty, and reduced vulnerability to climate change make investments in irrigation worthwhile to improve the livelihoods of smallholders.     

Farmer perceptions of legumes and their functions in smallholder farming systems in east Africa

Legumes play an important role in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) farming systems through the provision of food, feed, fuel, income and a range of biophysical benefits, such as soil fertility enhancement and erosion control. However, their full potential is not being realized. The purpose of this study was to assess farmers’ perceptions and knowledge towards legumes and the rationale of farmers for current legume production practices using a survey of 268 farmers in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya. Most of the farmers had some knowledge of legumes and their characteristics. However, they had little knowledge of some key functions, including soil erosion control and soil fertility improvement. Most farmers relied on radio and other farmers for legume-related information. Farmers with relatively large livestock holdings ranked provision of livestock feed as an important legume function. We conclude that farmers put more value on short-term benefits of legumes including food and income than long-term benefits such as natural resource management and thus grain legumes are more readily identified by farmers than forage species. Also, we conclude that farmers require more than just information about legumes to increase uptake, they also require improved market access to procure inputs and sell products to realize other benefits that are associated with growing legumes.     

Land use consolidation in Rwanda: The experiences of small-scale farmers in Musanze District,Northern Province

The modernization and intensification of agricultural production in Africa has long been a policy goal, for increased productivity and food security. In 2008, the Rwandan government implemented various land and agricultural reforms to transform Rwandan agriculture from subsistence farming to market-oriented production. Central to this agricultural transformation was the Crop Intensification Programme, intended to increase the agricultural productivity of high-potential food crops and encourage land use consolidation, i.e., the joint cultivation of large areas, which was expected to deliver important economies of scale. This programme has been criticized, for example, for authoritarian implementation, negative effects on food security from sole-cropping a few selected crops, and increasing rural socioeconomic differentiation.This paper analyses the effects of the land use consolidation programme at the household level, as experienced by small-scale farmers in Musanze District in the Northern Province of Rwanda. The paper draws on 45 individual and 22 collective qualitative semi-structured interviews with small-scale farmers and local key informants in five sectors, conducted in 2013 and 2014.The findings show that there is satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and resistance to the programme, especially regarding the selected crops to be cultivated. The programme, including supporting mechanisms, seems to work well for the relatively better-off farmers, who have bigger and scattered land areas, whereas it does not work well for poor farmers with very small plots, which is common in rural Rwanda.     

Leveling the field for biofuels: comparing the economic and environmental impacts of biofuel and other export crops in Malawi

Biofuels often raise the specter of food insecurity, water resource depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions from land clearing. These concerns underpin the “sustainability criteria” governing access to European biofuel markets. However, it is unclear if producing biofuels in low‐income countries does exacerbate poverty and food insecurity, and moreover, whether the sustainability criteria should apply to all agricultural exports entering European markets. We develop an integrated modeling framework to simultaneously assess the economic and environmental impacts of producing biofuels in Malawi. We incorporate the effects of land use change on crop water use, and the opportunity costs of using scarce resources for biofuels instead of other crops. We find that biofuel production reduces poverty and food insecurity by raising household incomes. Irrigated outgrower schemes, rather than estate farms, lead to better economic outcomes, fewer emissions, and similar water requirements. Nevertheless, to gain access to European markets, Malawi would need to reduce emissions from ethanol plants. We find that biofuels’ economic and emissions outcomes are generally preferable to tobacco or soybeans. We conclude that the sustainability criteria encourage more sustainable biofuel production in countries like Malawi, but are perhaps overly biased against biofuels since other export crops raise similar concerns about food security and environmental impacts.     

Understanding the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies among smallholder farmers: Evidence from land reform beneficiaries in South Africa

Climatic change has a negative impact on people’s livelihoods, agriculture, freshwater supply and other natural resources that are important for human survival. Therefore, understanding how rural smallholder farmers perceive climate change, climate variability, and factors that influence their choices would facilitate a better understanding of how these farmers adapt to the negative impacts of climate change. A Zero-inflated double hurdle model was employed to estimate the factors influencing farmers’ adoption of adaptation strategies and intensity of adoption at the household level in South Africa. Different socioeconomic factors such as gender, age, and experience in crop farming, institutional factors like access to extension services, and access to climate change information significantly influenced the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies among beneficiaries of land reform in South Africa. Concerning intensity of adoption, age, educational level, farming experience, on-farm training, off-farm income, access to information through ICT and locational variables are the significant determinants of intensity of adaptation strategies. Thus, education attainment, non-farm employment, farming experience are significant incentives to enhance smallholder farmers' adaptive capacity through the adoption of many adaptation approaches. This study therefore concluded that farm-level policy efforts that aim to improve rural development should focus on farmers’ education, on-farm demonstration and non-farm employment opportunities that seek to engage the farmers, particularly during the off-cropping season. The income from non-farm employment can be plough-back into farm operations such as the adoption of soil and water conservation, use of improved planting varieties, insurance, among others to mitigate climate variability and subsequently increase productivity. Policies and investment strategies of the government should be geared towards supporting education, providing on-farm demonstration trainings, and disseminating information about climate change adaptation strategies, particularly for smallholder farmers in the country. Thus, the government, stakeholders, and donor agencies must provide capacity-building innovations around the agricultural extension system and education on climate change using information and communication technologies.     

Targeting,bias, and expected impact of complex innovations on developing‐country agriculture: evidence from Malawi

Agronomic analyses of new technologies are often conducted under carefully controlled research station programs or trials managed by self‐selected farmers. Oftentimes, the technologies are then scaled up with minimal evaluation under real‐world conditions. Yet, the interim step between agronomic trials and large‐scale promotion is crucial to generate evidence on the social and economic impact of technologies that is both internally valid and generalizable. The article focuses on a participatory action research program in Malawi designed to test and identify scalable technology options to intensify the smallholder sector and contribute to poverty reduction and food and nutrition security. We examine the socioeconomic characteristics of farmers testing technologies and find evidence of systematic targeting of better‐endowed farmers. After controlling for observable differences using matching and a doubly robust estimator, we find evidence of early positive effects on maize yield and harvest value, although placebo tests suggest possible selection on unobservables. We note that attention should be given to program design and household characterization to better define and improve targeting criteria, technology selection, and external validity.     

The viability of cotton-based organic farming systems in India

Cotton farmers in many developing countries are facing decreasing marginal returns due to stagnating yields and high input costs. Conversion to organic management could offer an alternative. In a two year comparative study in central India covering 170 cotton fields, organic farms achieved cotton yields that were on par with those in conventional farms, whereby nutrient inputs and input costs per crop unit were reduced by half. Due to 10–20% lower total production costs and a 20% organic price premium, average gross margins from organic cotton fields were 30–40% higher than in the conventional system. Although the crops grown in rotation with cotton were sold without premium, organic farms achieved 10–20% higher incomes from agriculture. In addition to these economic benefits, the organic farming system does not burden soil and groundwater with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. However, in this study only minor differences were detected in soil fertility parameters of organic and conventional fields. Altogether, the results suggest that conversion to organic farming can improve livelihoods of smallholders while protecting natural resources. Income loss due to reduced yields in initial years of transition, however, constitutes a major hurdle, especially for poorer farmers. It is thus important to support farmers in overcoming the obstacles of the conversion period.     

Effectiveness of agricultural water management technologies on rainfed cereals crop yield and runoff in semi-arid catchment: a meta-analysis

Multiple agricultural water management (AWM) technologies are being promoted worldwide in rainfed agro-ecological production systems, such as the Limpopo River Basin, to close the yield gap, enhance food security and reduce poverty, but evidences on yield gains and environmental impacts are varied. This paper conducts a review of the performance of AWM technologies against conventional farmer practices to produce adequate evidence on cereal yield and field runoff changes. With the interrogation of literature from 1980 to 2013 using seven AWM groupings, enough evidence was found that AWM technologies can deliver substantial benefits of increased crop yield and water productivity with reduced environmental impacts. Using random effects model, the standardized mean difference (SMD) of yield between AWM and control was 0.27, while SMD of water productivity was 0.46, indicating the effectiveness of the technologies (SMD?>?0). Subgroup analyses showed greatest yield responses on silty-clay-loam, clay-loam and sandy soils compared to clay and loam-sandy soils, and higher yield increase under low rainfall regime (200–500 mm) than under high rainfall regime (500–800 mm). Large yield change variations for different AWM technologies present a huge opportunity for meeting the existing yield gaps and enhancing coping capacity in dry years and under climate change.     

Supermarket Expansion in Turkey: Shifting Relations of Food Provisioning

This paper examines the shifting relations of food provisioning in Turkey as small producers are increasingly integrated into commercialized agri‐food supply chains led by supermarkets. Turkey's entry into a customs union with the European Union and a World Bank–imposed policy measure adopted during the 2001 economic crisis have greatly facilitated the process of market intensification in Turkish agriculture. There are two sides to this process: one concerns the historical centrality of small‐scale production directed towards local–regional consumers; the other relates to the dominant role played by supermarkets in changing the conditions of subsistence. The restructuring of wholesale markets and the privatization of formerly state‐led agricultural co‐operatives and producers' unions have been crucial for the expansion of supermarkets into agri‐food relationships. The competitive growth of Islamically oriented small and medium‐sized capital groups alongside large retailers is further deepening the commodification process in food relationships.     

The impact of population growth and climate change on food security in Africa: looking ahead to 2050

Providing nutritious and environmentally sustainable food to all people at all times is one of the greatest challenges currently facing society. This problem is particularly acute in Africa where an estimated one in four people still lack adequate food to sustain an active and healthy life. In this study, we consider the potential impact of future population growth and climate change on food security in Africa, looking ahead to 2050. A modelling framework termed FEEDME (Food Estimation and Export for Diet and Malnutrition Evaluation) was used which was characterized to model the impacts of future climate changes (utilizing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emissions Scenarios projections) and projected population growth on food availability and subsequent undernourishment prevalence in 44 African countries. Our results indicate that projected rapid population growth will be the leading cause of food insecurity and widespread undernourishment across Africa. Very little to no difference in undernourishment projections were found when we examined future scenarios with and without the effects of climate change, suggesting population growth is the dominant driver of change. Various adaptation options are discussed, such as closing the yield gap via sustainable intensification and increasing imports through trade and aid agreements. These strategies are likely to be critical in preventing catastrophic future food insecurity.