Secondary towns, agricultural prices, and intensification: Evidence from Ethiopia

Urbanization is happening fast in the developing world and especially so in sub-Saharan Africa where growth rates of cities are among the highest in the world. While cities and, in particular, secondary towns, where most of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa resides, affect agricultural prac...

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Main Authors: Vandercasteelen, Joachim, Tamru, Seneshaw, Minten, Bart, Swinnen, Johan
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148259
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author Vandercasteelen, Joachim
Tamru, Seneshaw
Minten, Bart
Swinnen, Johan
author_browse Minten, Bart
Swinnen, Johan
Tamru, Seneshaw
Vandercasteelen, Joachim
author_facet Vandercasteelen, Joachim
Tamru, Seneshaw
Minten, Bart
Swinnen, Johan
author_sort Vandercasteelen, Joachim
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Urbanization is happening fast in the developing world and especially so in sub-Saharan Africa where growth rates of cities are among the highest in the world. While cities and, in particular, secondary towns, where most of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa resides, affect agricultural practices in their rural hinterlands, this relationship is not well understood. To fill this gap, we develop a conceptual model to analyze how farmers’ proximity to cities of different sizes affects agricultural prices and intensification of farming. We then test these predictions using large-scale survey data from producers of teff, a major staple crop in Ethiopia, relying on unique data on transport costs and road networks and implementing an array of econometric models. We find that agricultural price behavior and intensification is determined by proximity to a city and the type of city. While proximity to cities has a strong positive effect on agricultural output prices and on uptake of modern inputs and yields on farms, the effects on prices and intensification measures are lower for farmers in the rural hinterlands of secondary towns compared to primate cities.
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spelling CGSpace1482592025-11-06T06:10:06Z Secondary towns, agricultural prices, and intensification: Evidence from Ethiopia Vandercasteelen, Joachim Tamru, Seneshaw Minten, Bart Swinnen, Johan intensive farming urban population inputs eragrostis tef urbanization agricultural prices intensification developing countries towns yields Urbanization is happening fast in the developing world and especially so in sub-Saharan Africa where growth rates of cities are among the highest in the world. While cities and, in particular, secondary towns, where most of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa resides, affect agricultural practices in their rural hinterlands, this relationship is not well understood. To fill this gap, we develop a conceptual model to analyze how farmers’ proximity to cities of different sizes affects agricultural prices and intensification of farming. We then test these predictions using large-scale survey data from producers of teff, a major staple crop in Ethiopia, relying on unique data on transport costs and road networks and implementing an array of econometric models. We find that agricultural price behavior and intensification is determined by proximity to a city and the type of city. While proximity to cities has a strong positive effect on agricultural output prices and on uptake of modern inputs and yields on farms, the effects on prices and intensification measures are lower for farmers in the rural hinterlands of secondary towns compared to primate cities. 2017 2024-06-21T09:24:12Z 2024-06-21T09:24:12Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148259 en https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.03.006 application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Ethiopian Development Research Institute Vandercasteelen, Joachim; Tamru, Seneshaw; Minten, Bart; Swinnen, Johan. 2017. Secondary towns, agricultural prices, and intensification: Evidence from Ethiopia. ESSP Working Paper 102. Washington, DC and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148259
spellingShingle intensive farming
urban population
inputs
eragrostis tef
urbanization
agricultural prices
intensification
developing countries
towns
yields
Vandercasteelen, Joachim
Tamru, Seneshaw
Minten, Bart
Swinnen, Johan
Secondary towns, agricultural prices, and intensification: Evidence from Ethiopia
title Secondary towns, agricultural prices, and intensification: Evidence from Ethiopia
title_full Secondary towns, agricultural prices, and intensification: Evidence from Ethiopia
title_fullStr Secondary towns, agricultural prices, and intensification: Evidence from Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Secondary towns, agricultural prices, and intensification: Evidence from Ethiopia
title_short Secondary towns, agricultural prices, and intensification: Evidence from Ethiopia
title_sort secondary towns agricultural prices and intensification evidence from ethiopia
topic intensive farming
urban population
inputs
eragrostis tef
urbanization
agricultural prices
intensification
developing countries
towns
yields
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148259
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