Innovations for plant production in the risky environment of semiarid Niger: a multilevel modeling assessment

The paper deals with the problem of economically sustainable technological innovation for agriculture in the risky environment of Niger’s Sahelian zone smallholders. For these farmers, low-input mineral fertiliser technologies have been developed in the nineties in order to increase the productivity...

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Main Author: Abele, S.
Format: Conference Paper
Language:Inglés
Published: 2004
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103347
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author Abele, S.
author_browse Abele, S.
author_facet Abele, S.
author_sort Abele, S.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The paper deals with the problem of economically sustainable technological innovation for agriculture in the risky environment of Niger’s Sahelian zone smallholders. For these farmers, low-input mineral fertiliser technologies have been developed in the nineties in order to increase the productivity of their millet farming systems. As economic assessment cannot be restricted to plot or farm assessment alone but has to take into account also markets and marketing patterns, a sequence of models has been applied: On plot level, production functions of intercropping systems were estimated, in order to determine yields and their variability of the major crops. These data were fed in a Markowitz-Portfolio-model type by means of nonlinear programming to test the innovations, first at stable prices, then at declining prices that were obtained from an interregional trade model. The latter was shocked by the excess obtained from the yield gains of the innovations. This shock was depicting the sales from farmers even at declining prices, when they have to cover their costs of production, especially the fertiliser they used when applying the proposed innovations. The results show that due to risk aversion and high price volatility of output markets, farmers adopt mineral fertiliser innovations to a lesser degree than expected. Instead of that, they switch to other low-input techniques, like field management, that require less financial inputs.
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spelling CGSpace1033472023-02-15T06:36:29Z Innovations for plant production in the risky environment of semiarid Niger: a multilevel modeling assessment Abele, S. agricultural development niger small scale farming risk management The paper deals with the problem of economically sustainable technological innovation for agriculture in the risky environment of Niger’s Sahelian zone smallholders. For these farmers, low-input mineral fertiliser technologies have been developed in the nineties in order to increase the productivity of their millet farming systems. As economic assessment cannot be restricted to plot or farm assessment alone but has to take into account also markets and marketing patterns, a sequence of models has been applied: On plot level, production functions of intercropping systems were estimated, in order to determine yields and their variability of the major crops. These data were fed in a Markowitz-Portfolio-model type by means of nonlinear programming to test the innovations, first at stable prices, then at declining prices that were obtained from an interregional trade model. The latter was shocked by the excess obtained from the yield gains of the innovations. This shock was depicting the sales from farmers even at declining prices, when they have to cover their costs of production, especially the fertiliser they used when applying the proposed innovations. The results show that due to risk aversion and high price volatility of output markets, farmers adopt mineral fertiliser innovations to a lesser degree than expected. Instead of that, they switch to other low-input techniques, like field management, that require less financial inputs. 2004 2019-08-21T14:13:00Z 2019-08-21T14:13:00Z Conference Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103347 en Limited Access Abele, S. (2004). Innovations for plant production in the risky environment of semiarid Niger: a multilevel modeling assessment. Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development, (Deutscher Tropentag 2004), October 5-7, 2004, Berlin. Koethen: IITA, (p.1- 8).
spellingShingle agricultural development
niger
small scale farming
risk management
Abele, S.
Innovations for plant production in the risky environment of semiarid Niger: a multilevel modeling assessment
title Innovations for plant production in the risky environment of semiarid Niger: a multilevel modeling assessment
title_full Innovations for plant production in the risky environment of semiarid Niger: a multilevel modeling assessment
title_fullStr Innovations for plant production in the risky environment of semiarid Niger: a multilevel modeling assessment
title_full_unstemmed Innovations for plant production in the risky environment of semiarid Niger: a multilevel modeling assessment
title_short Innovations for plant production in the risky environment of semiarid Niger: a multilevel modeling assessment
title_sort innovations for plant production in the risky environment of semiarid niger a multilevel modeling assessment
topic agricultural development
niger
small scale farming
risk management
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103347
work_keys_str_mv AT abeles innovationsforplantproductionintheriskyenvironmentofsemiaridnigeramultilevelmodelingassessment