Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2018 in the subject Agrarian Studies, Haramaya University, language: English, abstract: White haricot bean is the major source of cash in domestic and international markets and serves as the cheapest source of protein diet for rural households. The double hurdle model and parametric stochastic frontier model of Cobb Douglass type production and cost functions were used to analyze the determinants of adoption and estimate production and cost efficiency scores, respectively. The adoption study revealed that the two decision tiers are independent and the same or different factors affected the two tiers. The decision to adopt is positively and significantly influenced by the frequency of extension contacts, landholding size, agricultural income, perception of the household heads (about price, contribution to soil fertility and nutritional importance), training, and crop diversification; and negatively by distance to market and form of possession of haricot bean plot (tenure). The intensity of adoption is positively affected by non-farm income, contact with NGOs, and negatively with the number of dependents and form of possession of haricot beans plot (tenure). Technical efficiency is significantly and positively influenced by sex (male=1), membership in farmers cooperatives, education of the family, experience in haricot beans farming, use of certified seeds, income from the farm sector and crop diversification; and negatively affected by age of the households. Allocative efficiency differential is significantly and positively influenced by farming experience and household size; and negatively influenced by sex, distance to market and fragmentation of land. Economic efficiency is significantly and positively affected by the education of the family and household size, and negatively by distance to market and fragmentation of land. Provision of improved extension services, enhancing the perceptions on the important attributes of the crop, training, and better access to market are proposed for the first-hand adoption of white haricot beans while works on the creation of alternative sources of income (non-farm activities) contribute more to the intensity of adoption. Supply of certified seeds, education of the households and family members, and access to resources (credit and other inputs, in particular for female-headed households) are proposed to improve the technical efficiency, allocative and economic efficiencies.

This volume deals with land degradation, which is occurring in almost all terrestrial biomes and agro-ecologies, in both low and high income countries and is stretching to about 30% of the total global land area. About three billion people reside in these degraded lands. However, the impact of land degradation is especially severe on livelihoods of the poor who heavily depend on natural resources. The annual global cost of land degradation due to land use and cover change (LUCC) and lower cropland and rangeland productivity is estimated to be about 300 billion USD. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounts for the largest share (22%) of the total global cost of land degradation. Only about 38% of the cost of land degradation due to LUCC - which accounts for 78% of the US$300 billion loss – is borne by land users and the remaining share (62%) is borne by consumers of ecosystem services off the farm. The results in this volume indicate that reversing land degradation trends makes both economic sense, and has multiple social and environmental benefits. On average, one US dollar investment into restoration of degraded land returns five US dollars. The findings of the country case studies call for increased investments into the rehabilitation and restoration of degraded lands, including through such institutional and policy measures as strengthening community participation for sustainable land management, enhancing government effectiveness and rule of law, improving access to markets and rural services, and securing land tenure. The assessment in this volume has been conducted at a time when there is an elevated interest in private land investments and when global efforts to achieve sustainable development objectives have intensified. In this regard, the results of this volume can contribute significantly to the ongoing policy debate and efforts to design strategies for achieving sustainable development goals and related efforts to address land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

First published in 1989, this book deals with the impact of cereal production upon the Third World, specifically ‘Modern Varieties’ (MVs). Using evidence from plant breeding, economics and nutrition science, the authors seek to pinpoint what has been achieved, what has gone wrong and what needs to be done in future. Although the technical innovations of MVs mean more employment, cheaper food and less risk for small farmers, the reduction in crop diversity increases the risk of danger from pests and though MVs enlarge cereal stocks, many are too poor to afford them. The book concludes that technical breakthroughs alone won’t solve deep-rooted social problems and that only new policies and research priorities will increase the choices, assets and power of the rural poor.

Pulses have a long history in sub-Saharan Africa due to their multiple benefits. Pulses, and legumes in general, can play an important role in agriculture because of their ability to biologically fix atmospheric nitrogen and to enhance the biological turnover of phosphorus; thus they could become the cornerstone of sustainable agriculture in Africa. In this sense, there is a body of literature that points to diversification of existing production systems – particularly legumes species, which provide critical environmental services, including soil erosion control and soil nutrient recapitalization. This publication is a review of some of the promising strategies to support the cultivation and utilization of pulses on smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa. The review is part of the legacy of the International Year of Pulses (IYP), which sought to recognize the contribution that pulses make to human well-being and the environment.