Browsing by Author "Kostandini, Gentian"

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  • Agricultural, Off-Farm, Migration, and Social Protection Strategies to Increase Rural Household Resilience to Rainfall Shocks in Sub-Saharan Africa
    Mills, Bradford F.; Kostandini, Gentian; Murray, Anthony G.; Gao, Jianfeng; Koo, Jawoo; Guo, Zhe; Rusike, Joseph; Omamo, Steven (2016-04-07)
    Presented at the Spring Seminar Series at the Global Forum on Urban and Regional Resilience, Blacksburg, VA, 2016-04-07. Presented at the AGRA side session of the12th CAADP Partnership Platform, Accra, Ghana, 2016-04-12.
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    Do Improved Groundnut Seeds Make African Farmers More Food Secure? Evidence From Uganda
    Murray, Anthony G.; Mills, Bradford F.; Kostandini, Gentian (2016)
    Groundnuts are an important crop for Ugandan smallholders because they are high in protein, resupply nutrients to the soil, and are a storable source of wealth once dried. Adoption of virus-resistant seeds that increase yield and reduce yield variance may improve household food security, but the complex relationship is an empirical question. This article considers the effect of improved groundnut seed on smallholder food security in eastern Uganda. Results indicate that adopters have significantly higher household food security after controlling for observed and unobserved household heterogeneity. The food consumption score index increases more than 15 points with improved seed adoption.
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    Drought and Rainfall Variability: Costs and Resiliency Pathways for Rural African Households
    Mills, Bradford F.; Gao, Jianfeng; Kostandini, Gentian; Rusike, J.; Murray, Anthony G. (2016-04-12)
    This Research Note presents monetary estimates of the costs that drought, and rainfall variability more generally, impose on rural households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The Note characterizes rainfall environments faced by rural households in SSA. Crop production variability and the costs that drought and rainfall shortfalls generate for maize, wheat, and sorghum are then simulated using historical data from Ethiopia and Zambia. The analysis also explores the effectiveness of alternative resiliency strategies in reducing household costs from variable rainfall. The Research finds that off-farm employment and public transfers are effective strategies in terms of stabilizing household income and reducing the costs of rainfall induced income variability. But these strategies do not fully protect households. Going forward there is urgent need for robust integrated policies at continental, national, and local levels to assist smallholder farmers in adapting to climatic variability and change.
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    Generation and Gender Differences in Groundnut Productivity in the Senegalese Groundnut Basin
    Mills, Bradford F.; Toure, Katim; Diatta, Pierre; Mbaye, Tamsir; Stone, Austin; Kostandini, Gentian (Feed the Future Peanut Innovation Lab, 2021-09-15)
    Groundnuts are an important crop in the livelihoods of low-income rural households in central and western Senegal north of The Gambia, so much so that the region is known as “The Groundnut Basin.” Despite the region’s strong historic emphasis on groundnut, production has been stagnant in recent years due to a risky environment arising from inconsistent rainfall and degraded soils. For young adults (ages 16 to 29) and females, groundnuts are the major source of their own income within the household. Thus, there is concern that the increasingly unfavorable production environment will deter young adults and females from investing in groundnut production, thereby decreasing their income-generating opportunities and threatening the viability of the sector for next generation farmers. This research note examines generational and gender differences in the production of groundnut by smallholder farmers in the Senegal Groundnut Basin. First, we look at how fields that are managed to meet household needs differ in terms of land allocation and distribution of harvest from fields managed by individual household members for their own needs.1 These different management objectives can lead to complex and sometimes conflicting incentives for young or female groundnut farmers. Second, we examine differences in soil fertility management strategies across generations and between genders, and how different strategies may contribute to long-term differences in field productivity. Third, we identify gaps in agricultural input use by generation and gender and, fourth, we examine revenues and profits from groundnut fields managed by individuals. Fifth, we document productivity increases associated with agricultural inputs, as well as remaining productivity gaps for young-adult and female groundnut producers after accounting for input differences and household-specific determinants of productivity. The note concludes by distilling implications for enhancing longterm groundnut productivity of young adults and female farmers in the Groundnut Basin. An accompanying policy brief describes the survey and study data and examines the aspirations, resources, and constraints of young adults involved in groundnut production.
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    Groundnut Production Constraints and Opportunities for Young Adults in the Senegalese Groundnut Basin
    Toure, Katim; Diatta, Pierre; Stone, Austin; Mbaye, Tamsire; Kostandini, Gentian; Mills, Bradford F. (Feed the Future Peanut Innovation Lab, 2021-09-15)
    Young adults are the future of the Senegalese economy. But young adults in the rural areas face challenges like climate change, land degradation, and land tenure insecurity that will strongly shape the role that agriculture plays in their future livelihood strategies. This research note examines how young adults, 16 to 29 years of age, in rural areas of the Senegalese Groundnut Basin are positioning themselves to meet these challenges. First, we examine how the prevalence of out-migration of young adults influences rural household composition. Second, we look at the diversity of young adult occupations and participation in agricultural production. Particular emphasis is placed on participation in groundnut cultivation, since it is the primary source of income for most rural young adults in the Groundnut Basin and a cornerstone of the regional economy. Third, we examine how education and use of TV, radio, and social media may impact outreach and training efforts. Fourth, we examine experience, training, and aspirations in groundnut production. Fifth, we report young adult perceptions of current constraints in groundnut production, as well as constraints to future investment. We then provide additional details on young adult perceptions of, and adaptations to, the challenges of land tenure insecurity and climate change. The research note concludes by distilling implications for policies and technologies to support young adults as next generation farmers in the Groundnut Basin. A separate research note provides a field-level analysis of groundnut soilfertility management strategies, revenues, and expenditure of youth adults.
  • Integrated Agricultural, Migration, and Social Protection Strategies to Reduce Vulnerability to Climate Change in East Africa
    Mills, Bradford F.; Kostandini, Gentian (2016-01-01)
    AGRA Development Forum
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    Market Strategies for a Tobacco Bio-Pharming Application: The Case of Gaucher’s Disease Treatment
    Kostandini, Gentian; Mills, Bradford F. (Virginia Tech, 2005-07)
    Small firms developing biotechnology applications often focus on establishing intellectual property rights, which can then be sold to more established firms with existing market chains. This paper explores the expected ‘Buyout’ price and economic surplus changes for an emerging bio-pharming application with transgenic tobacco. The results suggest a ‘Buyout’ price of about $1.75 billion. Yet despite this potentially large payout to the innovating firm, consumers also see significant surplus gains.
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    Potential Impacts of Pharmaceutical Uses of Transgenic Tobacco: The Case of Human Serum Albumin and Gaucher's Disease Treatment
    Kostandini, Gentian (Virginia Tech, 2004-07-15)
    This thesis examines the size and distribution of benefits from the use of transgenic tobacco as a production vehicle for pharmaceutical proteins. Ex-ante welfare benefits are estimated for the introduction of two biotech innovations. In both cases economic surplus model with imperfect competition is employed to assess the size and distribution of benefits from these alternative uses of tobacco. An introductory chapter presents an overview of the topic followed by chapters 2 and 3 which contain the two case studies. The first paper (chapter 2) examines the case of Human Serum Albumin production from transgenic tobacco. The second paper (chapter 3) examines the case of Glucocerebrosidase Enzyme from transgenic tobacco. Results demonstrate that new products from bio-pharming applications stand to generate significant social benefits. The introduction of Human Serum Albumin generates average annual gains of $46 million and the introduction of Glucocerebrosidase Enzyme generates average annual gains of $500 to $600 million.
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    Sustaining the CAADP Momentum: Strategies and Policies to Support Household Resilience to Drought
    Mills, Bradford F.; Gao, Jianfeng; Kostandini, Gentian; Ruisike, J.; Murray, Anthony G. (2016-04-12)
    Agriculture is the most important sector in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and will be the hardest hit by climate change. Country agricultural sectors will be impacted by climate change in different ways. But, in most cases, climate change will bring substantial welfare loses, especially to smallholder farmers for whom agriculture is a main source of livelihood. However even without future climate change, current welfare losses from smallholder exposure to drought and rainfall variability are large. Thus, there is an urgent need for the AU and National Governments, through the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) aligned national strategies and Climate Change Adaption Framework, to roll out tangible local, national, and continental policies that ameliorate adverse effects that current climate variability and future climate change have on vulnerable smallholders. This policy brief identifies strategies and policy interventions that can anticipate and mitigate the impacts that drought, low rainfall and other adverse climatic events have on rural households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Adaptation strategies include growing drought-resident varieties of crops and use of water retention techniques such as drip irrigation, small dams and community water supply boreholes, as well as diversification of income to off-farm sources. The brief calls on regional organizations, national governments, and development partners to define robust integrated policies and actions that support and augment existing household agricultural and non-agricultural adaptation efforts.
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    Three Essays on Measuring the Ex-ante Economic Impacts of Agriculture Technology Innovations
    Kostandini, Gentian (Virginia Tech, 2008-06-06)
    This dissertation is comprised of three essays that generate methods to measure the ex-ante economic impacts of agriculture technology innovations. The first essay entitled 'Valuing Intellectual Property Rights in an Imperfectly Competitive Market: A Biopharming Application' presents a method for valuing the intellectual property rights (IPRs) for an innovation that lowers product production costs below those associated with the patented process of a monopolist. The application to Glucocerebrosidase enzyme from transgenic tobacco suggests an intellectual property rights (IPRs) value of about $1.75 billion. Despite the innovator's market power, significant surplus gains also accrue to consumers. Further, U.S. antitrust laws that prohibit IPRs acquisition by the current monopolist increase consumer welfare by almost 50 percent. The second essay entitled 'Ex-Ante Analysis of the Benefits of Transgenic Drought Tolerance Research on Cereal Crops in Low-Income Countries' develops a framework to examine the ex-ante benefits of transgenic research on drought in eight low-income countries, including the benefits to producers and consumers from farm income stabilization and the potential magnitude of private sector profits from IPRs. The framework employs country-specific agroecological-drought risk zones and considers both yield increases and yield variance reductions when estimating producer and consumer benefits from research. Benefits from yield variance reductions are shown to be an important component of aggregate drought research benefits, representing 40 percent of total benefits across the eight countries. Further, estimated annual private sector benefits of $US 178 million suggest that significant incentives exist for private sector participation in transgenic drought tolerance research. The third essay entitled 'Ex-Ante Evaluation of Alternative Strategies to Increase the Stability of Cropping Systems in Eastern and Central Africa' examines the ex-ante economic impact of transgenic drought resistance maize breeding and of conventional maize, millet and sorghum drought resistance breeding in Kenya, Uganda, and the Amhara region in Ethiopia. An expected utility framework is combined with a partial equilibrium model and a spatial drought risk zonation scheme to estimate benefits from mean yield increases and yield variance reductions at the market level as well as at the household level for maize, millet and sorghum producers in the administrative regions of each country. Results suggest that annual ex-ante benefits of $87 million, $6.8 million and $4.8 million can be generated from public sector conventional breeding research on maize, sorghum and millet, respectively. Private sector transgenic drought tolerance research may also generate substantial benefits of $97 million for maize producers and consumers, particularly through the reduction of yield variance arising from drought, and an additional $21 million as profits from intellectual property rights protection.