IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/aaae16/246962.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Impacts of improved sorghum varieties on farm families in Mali: A Multivalued Treatment Effects approach

Author

Listed:
  • Assima, Amidou
  • Smale, Melinda
  • Kergna, Alpha

Abstract

Uptake of improved sorghum seed in Mali remains relatively limited, despite the economic importance of the crop. We first explore the adoption by Malian farm families of improved sorghum seed, differentiating between improved varieties and recently released sorghum hybrids, which are based largely on local Guinea materials developed through participatory, on-farm testing. We then examine impacts on farm families with a multivalued treatment effects model. Analysis is based on primary data collected from 628 farm families in the Sudanian Savanna. Reflecting the social organization of production in this region, we test the role of plot manager characteristics (including relationship to household head) as determinants of use. Given that farm family enterprises both consume and sell their sorghum harvests, we consider effects on consumption outcomes as well as yield. We find that plot manager characteristics, in addition to household wealth and labor supply, influence the use of improved varieties. The impact of hybrid use on yields is large and significant, positively affecting household dietary diversity and contributing to a greater share of the harvest sold. However, use of hybrids, as well as improved varieties, is associated with a shift toward 2 consumption of other cereals. Findings support on-farm experimental evidence concerning yield advantages, and suggest that encouraging the use of well-adapted sorghum hybrids may contribute to crop commercialization by smallholders.

Suggested Citation

  • Assima, Amidou & Smale, Melinda & Kergna, Alpha, 2016. "Impacts of improved sorghum varieties on farm families in Mali: A Multivalued Treatment Effects approach," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 246962, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaae16:246962
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.246962
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/246962/files/299.%20Farm%20family%20impact%20of%20improved%20sorghum%20in%20Mali.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.246962?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Foster, Andrew D & Rosenzweig, Mark R, 1995. "Learning by Doing and Learning from Others: Human Capital and Technical Change in Agriculture," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(6), pages 1176-1209, December.
    2. Matlon, Peter J., 1990. "Improving Productivity in Sorghum and Pearl Millet in Semi-Arid Africa," Food Research Institute Studies, Stanford University, Food Research Institute, vol. 22(1), pages 1-44.
    3. Feder, Gershon & Just, Richard E & Zilberman, David, 1985. "Adoption of Agricultural Innovations in Developing Countries: A Survey," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(2), pages 255-298, January.
    4. Haggblade, Steven & Diallo, Boubacar & Smale, Melinda & Diakité, Lamissa & Témé, Bino, 2015. "Revue Du Systeme Semencier Au Mali," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Papers 259035, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    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. Kergna, Alpha & Smale, Melinda & Assima, Amidou & Diallo, Abdoulaye & Weltzien, Eva & Rattunde, Fred, 2017. "The potential economic impact of Guinea-race sorghum hybrids in Mali: A comparison of research and development paradigms," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 12(1), March.

    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. Smale, Melinda & Assima, Amidou & Kergna, Alpha & Thériault, Veronique & Weltzien, Eva, 2016. "Farm Family Effects Of Improved Sorghum Varieties In Mali: A Multivalued Treatment Approach," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Papers 259076, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    2. Smale, Melinda & Assima, Amidou & Kergna, Alpha & Thériault, Véronique & Weltzien, Eva, 2018. "Farm family effects of adopting improved and hybrid sorghum seed in the Sudan Savanna of West Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 162-171.
    3. Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew & Gerber, Nicolas & Matz, Julia Anna, 2018. "Gendered Social Networks, Agricultural Innovations, and Farm Productivity in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 321-335.
    4. Christopher B. Barrett & Christine M. Moser & Oloro V. McHugh & Joeli Barison, 2004. "Better Technology, Better Plots, or Better Farmers? Identifying Changes in Productivity and Risk among Malagasy Rice Farmers," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(4), pages 869-888.
    5. Guizar-Mateos, Isai & Miranda, Mario J. & Gonzalez-Vega, Claudio, 2013. "The Role of Credit and Deposits in the Dynamics of Technology Decisions and Poverty Traps," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149860, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Terrance Hurley & Jawoo Koo & Kindie Tesfaye, 2018. "Weather risk: how does it change the yield benefits of nitrogen fertilizer and improved maize varieties in sub‐Saharan Africa?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(6), pages 711-723, November.
    7. Khushbu Mishra & Abdoul G. Sam & Gracious M. Diiro & Mario J. Miranda, 2020. "Gender and the dynamics of technology adoption: Empirical evidence from a household‐level panel data," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(6), pages 857-870, November.
    8. Läpple, Doris & Renwick, Alan & Thorne, Fiona, 2015. "Measuring and understanding the drivers of agricultural innovation: Evidence from Ireland," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1-8.
    9. Sommarat Chantarat & Christopher Barrett, 2012. "Social network capital, economic mobility and poverty traps," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 10(3), pages 299-342, September.
    10. Patrick S. Ward & Valerien O. Pede, 2015. "Capturing social network effects in technology adoption: the spatial diffusion of hybrid rice in Bangladesh," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 59(2), pages 225-241, April.
    11. Wollni, Meike & Andersson, Camilla, 2014. "Spatial patterns of organic agriculture adoption: Evidence from Honduras," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 120-128.
    12. Christopher B. Busch & Colin Vance, 2011. "The Diffusion of Cattle Ranching and Deforestation: Prospects for a Hollow Frontier in Mexico’s Yucatán," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 87(4), pages 682-698.
    13. Timothy G. Conley & Christopher R. Udry, 2010. "Learning about a New Technology: Pineapple in Ghana," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(1), pages 35-69, March.
    14. Mequaninte, Teferi & Birner, Regina & Mueller, Ulrike, 2015. "Adoption of Land Management Practices in Ethiopia: Which Network Types," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212631, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Tristan Le Cotty & Elodie Maître d’Hôtel & Raphael Soubeyran & Julie Subervie, 2018. "Linking Risk Aversion, Time Preference and Fertiliser Use in Burkina Faso," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(11), pages 1991-2006, November.
    16. Jim Engle-Warnick & Javier Escobal & Sonia Laszlo, 2007. "Ambiguity Aversion as a Predictor of Technology Choice: Experimental Evidence from Peru," CIRANO Working Papers 2007s-01, CIRANO.
    17. Kondylis, Florence & Mueller, Valerie, 2012. "Seeing is Believing? Evidence from a Demonstration Plot Experiment in Mozambique:," MSSP working papers 1, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    18. Micheels, Eric T. & Nolan, James F., 2016. "Examining the effects of absorptive capacity and social capital on the adoption of agricultural innovations: A Canadian Prairie case study," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 127-138.
    19. Keil, A. & Mitra, A. & Srivastava, A. & McDonald, A., 2018. "Dynamics of zero-tillage wheat adoption in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains: socially inclusive use through custom-hiring services?," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277026, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Jagnani, Maulik & Barrett, Christopher B. & Liu, Yanyan & You, Liangzhi, 2018. "In the Weeds: Effects of Temperature on Agricultural Input Decisions in Moderate Climates," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274241, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    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:ags:aaae16:246962. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaaeaea.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.