Browsing by Author "Vaiknoras, Kate"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    Assessing the Adoption of High Iron Bean Varieties and Their Impact on Iron Intakes and Other Livelihood Outcomes in Rwanda: Listing Exercise Report
    Asare-Marfo, Dorene; Herrington, Caitlin; Birachi, Eliud; Birol, Ekin; Tedla Diressie, Michael; Dusenge, Leonidas; Funes, Jose; Katungi, Enid; Labarta, Ricardo; Larochelle, Catherine; Katsvairo, Lister; Lividini, Keith; Lubowa, Abdelrahman; Moursi, Mourad; Mulambu, Joseph; Murekezi, Abdoul; Musoni, Augustine; Nkundimana, Jean d’Amour; Oparinde, Adewale; Vaiknoras, Kate; Zeller, Manfred (Harvest Plus, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2016-10-01)
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    Assessing the Adoption of High Iron Bean Varieties and Their Impact on Iron Intakes and Other Livelihood Outcomes in Rwanda: Main Survey Report
    Asare-Marfo, Dorene; Herrington, Caitlin; Birachi, Eliud; Birol, Ekin; Cook, Kristy; Tedla Diressie, Michael; Dusenge, Leonidas; Funes, Jose; Katsvairo, Lister; Katungi, Enid; Labarta, Ricardo; Larochelle, Catherine; Lividini, Keith; Moursi, Mourad; Mulambu, Joseph; Murekezi, Abdoul; Musoni, Augustine; Nkundimana, Jean d’Amour; Vaiknoras, Kate; Zeller, Manfred (2016-12-30)
    An impact assessment (IA) study was conducted in Season B 20152 to establish the reach of high-iron bean (HIB) varieties to Rwandan bean farmers since these varieties were released in 2010, and to understand the adoption and diffusion patterns that have occurred so far. The IA was carried out in two parts. The first part was a listing survey, which was conducted at the beginning of Season B 2015, during the planting period. A total of 19,575 households were enlisted in 120 randomly selected villages throughout the country, and 93 percent of those households were bean-producing households. The listing exercise revealed that 28 percent of bean farmers had grown at least one HIB variety in at least one season, since 2010—the equivalent of approximately half a million households. In Season B 2015, 20 percent of bean farmers were reported to be growing an HIB—the equivalent of approximately 350,000 households. Detailed results of the listing exercise are available in a separate report.
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    Farmer Preferences for Attributes of Conservation Agriculture in Eastern Uganda
    Vaiknoras, Kate (Virginia Tech, 2014-07-14)
    Conservation agriculture has many potential benefits for small farmers. This study seeks to estimate the value that farmers in eastern Uganda place on some these benefits. Data from a choice experiment study are analyzed with a mixed logit model to determine farmers' willingness to pay for increases in maize yield, reductions in erosion, and reductions in land preparation labor requirements. It finds that farmers have a statistically significant willingness to pay for increases in yield and reductions in erosion, but not for reductions in planting labor. In addition, farmers in Kapchorwa district value erosion control and labor reductions more and price increases less than in Tororo district, while women care more about price increases than men do.
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    How the adoption of drought-tolerant rice varieties impacts households in a non-drought year: Evidence from Nepal
    Vaiknoras, Kate; Larochelle, Catherine; Alwang, Jeffrey R. (IFAD, 2021-01-08)
    Stress-tolerant rice varieties (STRVs) are bred to be high yielding and tolerant to climate shocks such as drought. In Nepal, several drought-tolerant STRVs have been released and widely adopted. This paper estimates the impacts of the adoption of STRVs on first- and higher-order household outcomes in a non-drought year. It controls for selection bias using correlated random effects models to eliminate unobserved plot and household-level heterogeneity. STRVs have a higher yield, a lower yield variance and a shorter growing duration than traditional landrace varieties. In addition, households apply more early-season chemical fertilizer and land preparation labour to plots planted to STRVs compared to landraces. This indicates that the first-order impacts of the adoption of STRVs induce behavioural changes that help to modernize agricultural practices. Finally, this study conducts a randomized experiment in which half of the sampled households provided additional detail on their agricultural inputs. Collecting these more detailed data does not affect estimates of first-order treatment effects. However, it allows for a more nuanced exploration of higher-order treatment effects. Results indicate that the adoption of STRVs can improve household resiliency and incomes through their first- and higher-order impacts even in non-drought years. Policymakers can consider these results when evaluating the returns on investment in the development and dissemination of STRVs.
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    The Impact of Biofortified Iron Bean Adoption on Productivity, and Bean Consumption, Purchases and Sales
    Larochelle, Catherine; Vaiknoras, Kate (Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, 2018-08-06)
    Ten iron-biofortified bean varieties were released in Rwanda between 2010 and 2012 to address iron deficiency in the country. This study evaluates the treatment effect of adoption of the most popular of these varieties, RWR2245, on household bean supply (bean yield and bean production), bean consumption (from own production and purchases), bean sales and being a net seller of beans. Because the adoption decision could be endogenous, we use an instrumental variable approach to quantify the impacts of adoption. RWR2245 provides a yield gain (measured as multiplication ratio, i.e. quantity harvested/quantity planted) of 49% over traditional bush bean varieties. This yield gain increases households’ consumption and sales of beans. Growing RWR2245 for at least one out of two annual growing seasons increases the number of months households consume beans from own production over a 12 month period by 0.66 months (20 days), reduces the number of months households purchase beans for consumption by 0.68 months (21 days), and increases the probability of selling beans by 14%-34%. These findings are promising for the continued adoption of iron-biofortified beans in Rwanda and elsewhere and provide evidence that biofortified crops are an effective investment for nutrition, food security, and poverty reduction.
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    The impact of iron-biofortified bean adoption on bean productivity, consumption, purchases and sales
    Vaiknoras, Kate; Larochelle, Catherine (Elsevier, 2021-03-01)
    Staple food crops tend to be low in micronutrients; therefore, individuals whose diets rely heavily on them can suffer from micronutrient deficiency. Biofortification addresses this issue through the breeding of staple crops that are micronutrient-dense and high yielding. One such crop is iron-biofortified beans. Ten iron-biofortified bean varieties were released between 2010 and 2012 in Rwanda, a country with high rates of bean production and consumption, to address iron deficiency. This study evaluates the effect of the most widely adopted of these varieties, RWR2245, on household yield, land cultivated under beans, bean consumption, purchases, and sales. Because the adoption decision could be endogenous, we use a control function approach to quantify the impacts of adoption. RWR2245 provides a yield gain of 20%-49% over traditional bush bean varieties. In our preferred model specification, we find that over a 12-month period, growing RWR2245 for at least one out of two annual growing seasons increases the length of time beans are consumed from own production by 0.64 months (19–20 days), reduces the length of time beans are purchased for consumption by 0.73 months (22–23 days), and increases the probability of selling beans by 12%. Adoption can thus improve household nutrition via two channels: primarily by increasing iron intake via substituting biofortified harvested beans for less nutrient-dense beans from the market, and additionally by increasing household income that can be spent on nutritious foods through the reduction in bean purchases and increased likelihood of selling beans. Moreover, the sale of iron-biofortified beans implies the availability of iron-dense food in markets, also benefiting households that purchase beans. These findings are promising for the continued adoption of iron-biofortified beans in Rwanda and elsewhere and provide evidence that biofortified crops are an effective investment for nutrition, food security, and poverty reduction.
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    Promoting rapid and sustained adoption of biofortified crops: What we learned from iron-biofortified bean delivery approaches in Rwanda
    Vaiknoras, Kate; Larochelle, Catherine; Birol, Ekin; Asare-Marfo, Dorene; Herrington, Caitlin (2018-11-18)
    Micronutrient deficiencies, also known as hidden hunger, affect two billion people worldwide, curtailing their ability to lead healthy, productive lives. Biofortified staple crops, bred to be rich in micronutrient content, are a cost-effective and scalable solution to alleviating micronutrient deficiency, particularly among rural households who consume what they produce. Delivery of biofortified planting material in Rwanda began in 2012, and it is important to learn from the efforts undertaken to date to inform the design of higher impact – lower cost delivery strategies for scaling up these crops. In this paper, we use a nationally representative household survey of bean producers and delivery data from seven consecutive seasons and apply duration analysis to estimate the impact of different delivery approaches on household time to adoption, disadoption and readoption of iron-biofortified beans in Rwanda. Proximity to formal delivery via sales of small packets of planting material quickens adoption and readoption, while delivery of larger quantities of planting material to small-scale producers within a village slows disadoption of iron-biofortified beans. Informal dissemination within social networks and access to extension are also major drivers of rapid adoption. In addition, households whose main decision maker for bean production is a woman, has some formal education, and more years of experience growing beans disadopt iron-biofortified beans more slowly than other households. These findings provide evidence that current efforts to promote iron-biofortified crops have been successful and are expected to inform future development of sustainable and cost-effective delivery models for biofortified crops in Rwanda and elsewhere.
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    The Spillover Effects of Seed Producer Groups on Non-Member Farmers in Mid-Hill Communities of Nepal
    Vaiknoras, Kate; Larochelle, Catherine; Alwang, Jeffrey R. (International Fund for Agricultural Development, 2020-06-01)
    Rice farmers in the mid-hills region of Nepal are vulnerable to drought, which can drastically reduce yields. Stress-tolerant rice varieties (STRVs) can mitigate this vulnerability, as can having a high seed replacement rate (SRR) and using best management practices (BMPs) in rice cultivation. In 2013, IFAD established and trained 12 seed producer groups (SPGs) across three districts in Nepal to improve local access to STRV seed. This paper presents propensity-score weighted regressions used to estimate the spillover effects of SPGs on the adoption of STRVs and BMPs and the SRR of non-member households in villages with an SPG, or that are next to a village that had an SPG, compared to randomly selected villages in the region. Non-member households in SPG villages are 18 percentage points more likely to have grown an STRV for at least one season, 15 percentage points more likely to have grown an STRV in 2018 and 23 percentage points more likely to have grown an STRV in 2017, compared to non-member households in randomly selected villages. Non-member households in adjacent villages are 19 percentage points more likely to have grown an STRV in 2017 compared to those in randomly selected villages. Non-members in SPG villages also have a higher SRR and are more likely to follow some BMPs compared to non-members in randomly selected villages. Results show that SPGs have the potential to improve the resilience of their local communities in the face of climate change.
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    Three Essays on Adoption and Impact of Agricultural Technologies
    Vaiknoras, Kate (Virginia Tech, 2019-11-14)
    This dissertation is composed of three essays examining adoption and impact of agricultural technologies. The first two papers estimate adoption and impact of iron-biofortified bean varieties in Rwanda. These varieties are bred to have high iron content and high yields to improve the health and livelihoods of rural households. The third essay estimates the spillover effects of seed producer groups (SPGs) in Nepal on nearby non-SPG member households. These SPGs were established to produce and sell stress tolerant rice varieties (STRVs) and other improved rice varieties and were trained on a number of improved management practices for rice cultivation. The first essay, titled "Promoting rapid and sustained adoption of biofortified crops: What we learned from iron-biofortified bean delivery approaches in Rwanda" uses duration modeling to estimate how a number of delivery approaches designed to distribute iron-biofortified bean varieties to farmers have increased the speed of adoption, reduced the speed of disadoption, and increased the speed of readoption of iron-biofortified bean varieties. We find that these delivery approaches have been very effective at promoting adoption and reducing disadoption. Policy makers can learn lessons from this research regarding distribution of biofortified crops in Rwanda and elsewhere. The second essay, titled "The impact of iron-biofortified bean adoption on bean productivity, consumption, purchases and sales" examines the impact of adoption of the most popular iron-biofortified bean variety, RWR2245, on adopting households. We use a control function approach with instrumental variables related to iron-biofortified bean delivery approaches to control for selection bias of adoption. We find that adoption increases yield, household bean consumption from own-production, and bean sales while reducing bean purchases. This implies that iron-biofortified bean adoption has a strong potential to improve nutrition and food security of adopting households, as beans make up a large portion of the average Rwandan diet. The third and final essay, titled "The spillover effects of seed producer groups on non-member households in local communities in Nepal" examines the spillover benefits of SPGs onto non-member farmers in villages with an SPG or are adjacent to a village with an SPG. We find that SPGs have increased adoption of STRVs, improved the seed replacement rate, and increased use of some best management practices among non-members within SPG villages, and have increased adoption of the STRVs in at least one past seasons among non-members in adjacent villages.