IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/canjag/v71y2023i1p69-87.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Micro insights on the pathways to agricultural transformation: Comparative evidence from Southeast Asia and Sub‐Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Mulubrhan Amare
  • Priyanka Parvathi
  • Trung Thanh Nguyen

Abstract

Most studies of agricultural transformation document the impact of agricultural income growth on macroeconomic indicators of development. Much less is known about the micro‐scale changes within the farming sector that signal a transformation precipitated by agricultural income growth. This study provides a comparative analysis of the patterns of micro‐level changes that occur among small‐holder farmers in Uganda and Malawi in Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), and Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia (SEA). Our analysis provides several important insights on agricultural transformation in these two regions. First, agricultural income in all examined countries is vulnerable to changes in precipitation and temperature, an effect that is nonlinear and asymmetric. SSA countries are more vulnerable to these weather changes. Second, exogenous increases in agricultural income in previous years improve non‐farm income and trigger a change in labor allocation within the rural sector in SEA. However, this is the opposite in SSA where the increase in agricultural income reduces non‐farm income, indicating a substitution effect between farm and non‐farm sectors. These findings reveal clear agricultural transformation driven by agricultural income in SEA but no similar evidence in SSA. La plupart des études sur la transformation agricole documentent l'impact de la croissance des revenus agricoles sur les indicateurs macroéconomiques de développement. On en sait beaucoup moins sur les changements à petite échelle au sein du secteur agricole qui signalent une transformation précipitée par la croissance des revenus agricoles. Cette étude fournit une analyse comparative des modéles de micro‐changements qui se produisent chez les petits exploitants agricoles en Ouganda et au Malawi en Afrique subsaharienne (ASS), et en Thaїlande et au Vietnam en Asie du Sud‐Est (SEA). Notre analyse fournit plusieurs informations importantes sur la transformation agricole dans ces deux régions. Premiérement, le revenu agricole dans tous les pays examinés est vulnérable aux variations des précipitations et de la température, un effet non linéaire et asymétrique. Les pays d'ASS sont plus vulnérables à ces changements climatiques. Deuxiémement, les augmentations exogénes du revenu agricole au cours des années précédentes améliorent le revenu non agricole et déclenchent un changement dans la répartition de la main‐d'œuvre au sein du secteur rural en SEA. Cependant, c'est l'inverse en ASS où027;augmentation des revenus agricoles réduit les revenus non agricoles, indiquant un effet de substitution entre les secteurs agricole et non agricole. Ces résultats révélent une transformation agricole claire induite par le revenu agricole en SEA, mais aucune preuve similaire en ASS.

Suggested Citation

  • Mulubrhan Amare & Priyanka Parvathi & Trung Thanh Nguyen, 2023. "Micro insights on the pathways to agricultural transformation: Comparative evidence from Southeast Asia and Sub‐Saharan Africa," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 71(1), pages 69-87, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:canjag:v:71:y:2023:i:1:p:69-87
    DOI: 10.1111/cjag.12326
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/cjag.12326
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/cjag.12326?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tasso Adamopoulos & Diego Restuccia, 2014. "The Size Distribution of Farms and International Productivity Differences," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(6), pages 1667-1697, June.
    2. Tim Hartwig & Trung Thanh Nguyen, 2022. "Local infrastructure, resilience capacity and poverty in rural Southeast Asia," TVSEP Working Papers wp-029, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institute of Development and Agricultural Economics, Project TVSEP.
    3. Derek Byerlee & Alain de Janvry & Elisabeth Sadoulet, 2009. "Agriculture for Development: Toward a New Paradigm," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 15-31, September.
    4. Kazianga, Harounan & Udry, Christopher, 2006. "Consumption smoothing? Livestock, insurance and drought in rural Burkina Faso," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 413-446, April.
    5. McArthur, John W. & McCord, Gordon C., 2017. "Fertilizing growth: Agricultural inputs and their effects in economic development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 133-152.
    6. Rocha, Rudi & Soares, Rodrigo R., 2015. "Water scarcity and birth outcomes in the Brazilian semiarid," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 72-91.
    7. Frank Ellis & H Ade Freeman, 2004. "Rural Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction Strategies in Four African Countries," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(4), pages 1-30.
    8. Wang, Xiaobing & Yamauchi, Futoshi & Otsuka, Keijiro & Huang, Jikun, 2016. "Wage Growth, Landholding, and Mechanization in Chinese Agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 30-45.
    9. Thomas Reardon & C. Peter Timmer & Christopher B. Barrett & Julio Berdegué, 2003. "The Rise of Supermarkets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1140-1146.
    10. Janvry, Alain de & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2001. "Income Strategies Among Rural Households in Mexico: The Role of Off-farm Activities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 467-480, March.
    11. Marc F. Bellemare & Casey J. Wichman, 2020. "Elasticities and the Inverse Hyperbolic Sine Transformation," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 82(1), pages 50-61, February.
    12. Barrett, Christopher B. & Santos, Paulo, 2014. "The impact of changing rainfall variability on resource-dependent wealth dynamics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 48-54.
    13. Jikun Huang & Jiping Ding, 2016. "Institutional innovation and policy support to facilitate small-scale farming transformation in China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(S1), pages 227-237, November.
    14. Sheahan, Megan & Barrett, Christopher B., 2017. "Ten striking facts about agricultural input use in Sub-Saharan Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 12-25.
    15. Dercon, Stefan, 1998. "Wealth, risk and activity choice: cattle in Western Tanzania," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 1-42, February.
    16. Tewodaj Mogues, 2011. "Shocks and Asset Dynamics in Ethiopia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(1), pages 91-120.
    17. Gary D. Hansen & Edward C. Prescott, 2002. "Malthus to Solow," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(4), pages 1205-1217, September.
    18. Amare, Mulubrhan & Jensen, Nathaniel D. & Shiferaw, Bekele & Cissé, Jennifer Denno, 2018. "Rainfall shocks and agricultural productivity: Implication for rural household consumption," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 79-89.
    19. Xinshen Diao & Kenneth Harttgen & Margaret McMillan, 2017. "The Changing Structure of Africa’s Economies," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 31(2), pages 412-433.
    20. Wolfram Schlenker & Michael J. Roberts, 2006. "Nonlinear Effects of Weather on Corn Yields," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 28(3), pages 391-398.
    21. Paula Bustos & Bruno Caprettini & Jacopo Ponticelli, 2016. "Agricultural Productivity and Structural Transformation: Evidence from Brazil," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(6), pages 1320-1365, June.
    22. Lele, Uma & Mellor, John W, 1981. "Technological Change, Distributive Bias and Labor Transfer in a Two-Sector Economy," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 33(3), pages 426-441, November.
    23. Mulubrhan Amare & Bekele Shiferaw & Hiroyuki Takeshima & George Mavrotas, 2021. "Variability in agricultural productivity and rural household consumption inequality: Evidence from Nigeria and Uganda," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(1), pages 19-36, January.
    24. Marenya, Paswel P. & Barrett, Christopher B., 2007. "Household-level determinants of adoption of improved natural resources management practices among smallholder farmers in western Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 515-536, August.
    25. Trung Thanh Nguyen & Viet Tuan Tran & Thanh-Tung Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2021. "Farming efficiency, cropland rental market and income effect: evidence from panel data for rural Central Vietnam," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 48(1), pages 207-248.
    26. Michael Carter & Christopher Barrett, 2006. "The economics of poverty traps and persistent poverty: An asset-based approach," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 178-199.
    27. Jordan Chamberlin & Jacob Ricker-Gilbert, 2016. "Participation in Rural Land Rental Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa: Who Benefits and by How Much? Evidence from Malawi and Zambia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 98(5), pages 1507-1528.
    28. Daniel L. Millimet & Ian K. McDonough, 2017. "Dynamic Panel Data Models With Irregular Spacing: With an Application to Early Childhood Development," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 725-743, June.
    29. Binswanger, Hans, 1986. "Agricultural Mechanization: A Comparative Historical Perspective," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 1(1), pages 27-56, January.
    30. McCullough, Ellen B., 2017. "Labor productivity and employment gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 133-152.
    31. Barrett, C. B. & Reardon, T. & Webb, P., 2001. "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    32. Diao, Xinshen & Harttgen, Kenneth & McMillan, Margaret S., 2017. "The changing structure of Africa’s economies," IFPRI discussion papers 1598, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    33. Prabhu L. Pingali, 1997. "From Subsistence to Commercial Production Systems: The Transformation of Asian Agriculture," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 79(2), pages 628-634.
    34. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Nguyen, Loc Duc & Lippe, Rattiya Suddeephong & Grote, Ulrike, 2017. "Determinants of Farmers’ Land Use Decision-Making: Comparative Evidence From Thailand and Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 199-213.
    35. David B. Lobell & Graeme L. Hammer & Greg McLean & Carlos Messina & Michael J. Roberts & Wolfram Schlenker, 2013. "The critical role of extreme heat for maize production in the United States," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(5), pages 497-501, May.
    36. Douglas Gollin & David Lagakos & Michael E. Waugh, 2014. "The Agricultural Productivity Gap," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 939-993.
    37. Douglas Gollin & Stephen Parente & Richard Rogerson, 2002. "The Role of Agriculture in Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 160-164, May.
    38. Flaherty, Mark & Vandergeest, Peter & Miller, Paul, 1999. "Rice Paddy or Shrimp Pond: Tough Decisions in Rural Thailand," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 2045-2060, December.
    39. Fernando M. Aragón & Francisco Oteiza & Juan Pablo Rud, 2021. "Climate Change and Agriculture: Subsistence Farmers' Response to Extreme Heat," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 1-35, February.
    40. Sharon Maccini & Dean Yang, 2009. "Under the Weather: Health, Schooling, and Economic Consequences of Early-Life Rainfall," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(3), pages 1006-1026, June.
    41. Kentaro Kawasaki & Shinsuke Uchida, 2016. "Quality Matters More Than Quantity: Asymmetric Temperature Effects on Crop Yield and Quality Grade," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 98(4), pages 1195-1209.
    42. John Hoddinott, 2006. "Shocks and their consequences across and within households in Rural Zimbabwe," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 301-321.
    43. Corey Lesk & Pedram Rowhani & Navin Ramankutty, 2016. "Influence of extreme weather disasters on global crop production," Nature, Nature, vol. 529(7584), pages 84-87, January.
    44. Liu, Yanyan & Barrett, Christopher B. & Pham, Trinh & Violette, William, 2020. "The intertemporal evolution of agriculture and labor over a rapid structural transformation: Lessons from Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    45. Truong Lam Do & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2019. "Livestock Production, Rural Poverty, and Perceived Shocks: Evidence from Panel Data for Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(1), pages 99-119, January.
    46. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Nguyen, Thanh-Tung & Grote, Ulrike, 2022. "Internet use, natural resource extraction and poverty reduction in rural Thailand," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    47. Christopher B. Barrett & Luc Christiaensen & Megan Sheahan & Abebe Shimeles, 2017. "On the Structural Transformation of Rural Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 26(suppl_1), pages 11-35.
    48. Truong Lam Do & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2019. "Nonfarm employment and household food security: evidence from panel data for rural Cambodia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(3), pages 703-718, June.
    49. Maulik Jagnani & Christopher B Barrett & Yanyan Liu & Liangzhi You, 2021. "Within-Season Producer Response to Warmer Temperatures: Defensive Investments by Kenyan Farmers [Sequential decision making in production models]," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(633), pages 392-419.
    50. Nasima Tanveer Chowdhury, 2016. "The Relative Efficiency of Hired and Family Labour in Bangladesh Agriculture," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(7), pages 1075-1091, October.
    51. Olivier Deschênes & Michael Greenstone, 2007. "The Economic Impacts of Climate Change: Evidence from Agricultural Output and Random Fluctuations in Weather," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(1), pages 354-385, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Amare, Mulubrhan & Balana, Bedru, 2023. "Climate change, income sources, crop mix, and input use decisions: Evidence from Nigeria," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    2. Sabine Liebenehm & Huong Jaretzky & Hermann Waibel, 2023. "Extreme weather and agricultural management decisions among smallholder farmers in rural Thailand and Vietnam," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 54(5), pages 593-622, September.
    3. Abebayehu Girma Geffersa, 2023. "Agricultural productivity, land use intensification and rural household welfare: evidence from Ethiopia," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 62(3-4), pages 309-327, October.
    4. Manh Hung Do, 2023. "Saving up and diversifying income for a rainy day: Implications for households' resilience strategies and poverty," TVSEP Working Papers wp-033, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institute of Development and Agricultural Economics, Project TVSEP.
    5. Thi Long Vy Le & Truong Lam Do & Huu Nhuan Nguyen & Trung Thanh Nguyen, 2023. "Farmland accumulation and rural household income: evidence from the Red River Delta region of Vietnam," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 69(11), pages 458-469.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Amare, Mulubrhan & Balana, Bedru, 2023. "Climate change, income sources, crop mix, and input use decisions: Evidence from Nigeria," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    2. Do, Manh Hung & Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Grote, Ulrike, 2023. "Land consolidation, rice production, and agricultural transformation: Evidence from household panel data for Vietnam," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 157-173.
    3. Manh Hung Do & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2022. "Is land consolidation policy a solution for rice production and agricultural transformation in Vietnam?," TVSEP Working Papers wp-028, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institute of Development and Agricultural Economics, Project TVSEP.
    4. Dorinet, Elizavetta & Jouvet, Pierre-André & Wolfersberger, Julien, 2021. "Is the agricultural sector cursed too? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    5. Dorinet, Elizavetta & Jouvet, Pierre-André & Wolfersberger, Julien, 2021. "Is the agricultural sector cursed too? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    6. Liu, Yanyan & Barrett, Christopher B. & Pham, Trinh & Violette, William, 2020. "The intertemporal evolution of agriculture and labor over a rapid structural transformation: Lessons from Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    7. Musa Hasen Ahmed & Wondimagegn Mesfin Tesfaye & Franziska Gassmann, 2023. "Early growing season weather variation, expectation formation and agricultural land allocation decisions in Ethiopia," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(1), pages 255-272, February.
    8. Ngoc-Ninh Ho & Truong Lam Do & Dinh-Thao Tran & Trung Thanh Nguyen, 2022. "Indigenous pig production and welfare of ultra-poor ethnic minority households in the Northern mountains of Vietnam," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 156-179, January.
    9. de Janvry, Alain & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2020. "Using agriculture for development: Supply- and demand-side approaches," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    10. Giller, Ken E. & Andersson, Jens & Delaune, Thomas & Silva, João Vasco & Descheemaeker, Katrien & van de Ven, Gerrie & Schut, Antonius G.T. & van Wijk, Mark & Hammond, Jim & Hochman, Zvi & Taulya, God, 2022. "IFAD Research Series 83: The future of farming: who will produce our food?," IFAD Research Series 322005, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    11. Chen, Chaoran, 2020. "Technology adoption, capital deepening, and international productivity differences," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    12. Asfaw, Solomon & Pallante, Giacomo & Palma, Alessandro, 2020. "Distributional impacts of soil erosion on agricultural productivity and welfare in Malawi," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    13. Antonelli, Chiara & Coromaldi, Manuela & Pallante, Giacomo, 2022. "Crop and income diversification for rural adaptation: Insights from Ugandan panel data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    14. Joshua D. Merfeld, 2023. "Labor elasticities, market failures, and misallocation: Evidence from Indian agriculture," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 54(5), pages 623-637, September.
    15. Villacis, Alexis H. & Mayorga, Joaquin & Mishra, Ashok K., 2022. "Experience-based food insecurity and agricultural productivity in Nigeria," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    16. Truong Lam Do & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2022. "Livestock production and income inequality in rural Vietnam," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 409-438, February.
    17. Barnett, Barry J. & Barrett, Christopher B. & Skees, Jerry R., 2008. "Poverty Traps and Index-Based Risk Transfer Products," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 1766-1785, October.
    18. Thanh‐Tung Nguyen & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2023. "Internet use and agricultural productivity in rural Vietnam," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 1309-1326, August.
    19. Renata Baborska & Emilio Hernandez & Emiliano Magrini & Cristian Morales-Opazo, 2020. "The impact of financial inclusion on rural food security experience: A perspective from low-and middle-income countries," Review of Development Finance Journal, Chartered Institute of Development Finance, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18.
    20. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Nguyen, Thanh-Tung & Grote, Ulrike, 2022. "Internet use, natural resource extraction and poverty reduction in rural Thailand," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:canjag:v:71:y:2023:i:1:p:69-87. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/caefmea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.