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Adoption and Impacts of Integrated Pest Management in Bangladesh: Evidence from Smallholder Bitter Gourd Growers
Rahman, Md. Sadique; Norton, George W. (MDPI, 2019-04-17)
Determinants of integrated pest management (IPM) adoption, productivity and efficiency of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) growers in Bangladesh were jointly measured using propensity score matching (PSM), sample selection stochastic frontier production function (SFPF) and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) techniques. The significant value (P < 0.05) of the selectivity variable (ρ_(w,v)) coefficient justifies the use of the sample selection SFPF. The decision to adopt IPM was positively influenced by the training and other farmers’ decisions to adopt. Mean technical efficiency (MTE) was found to be significantly higher for adopters (0.59) compared to non-adopters (0.40). The MTE analysis suggests that arranging more training sessions and making farmers more familiar with the IPM practices would improve the technical efficiency of the growers. Adoption of IPM practices significantly reduced the number pesticide applications, which imply environmental benefits from their adoption.
Adoption and Impacts of Potato Variety Cooperation 88 (C88) in Yunnan, China: A Multi-dimensional Assessment
Myrick, Stephanie; Qin, Junhong; Pradel, Willy; Li, Canhui; Suarez, Victor; Cheng, Zhen; Hareau, Guy; Larochelle, Catherine; Alwang, Jeffrey R. (2018-05-29)
Adoption of Energy Efficient Technology
Mills, Bradford F. (2016-06-03)
Presentation to NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates Seminar Series
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.
Artificial sinks to treat legacy nutrients in agricultural landscapes
Bock, Emily; Stephenson, Stephen Kurt; Easton, Zachary M. (2019-06-05)
Legacy nutrients introduce a critical time lag between changes in nutrient application or implementation of best management practices (BMPs) and observable reductions in loads delivered to downstream waters. Nitrogen and phosphorus leached through soils into groundwater may take decades to eventually be discharged to surface waters and, consequently, often prevent the attainment of water quality improvement goals. For example, the National Resource Council has cautioned that in the Chesapeake Bay watershed legacy nutrients, particularly nitrogen (N), could delay achievement of nutrient load reductions needed to meet Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements.. Groundwater discharge transporting legacy N has been identified specifically as a significant nutrient source to the Bay. Unfortunately, most existing BMPs cannot remediate these nutrient reservoirs and the Chesapeake Bay Program has not active policy to address legacy nutrients; better management options are needed...
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)
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.
Assessing the Adoption of Improved Bean Varieties in Rwanda and the Role of Varietal Attributes in Adoption Decisions
Larochelle, Catherine; Asare-Marfo, Dorene; Birol, Ekin; Alwang, Jeffrey R. (2016-09-15)
Beans are grown by nearly all rural households in Rwanda, provide a large share of calorie intakes, and are a vital source of proteins and micronutrients. Because of the importance of this crop, significant research efforts have been devoted to select, breed, and disseminate bean varieties with superior production, consumption, and market attributes, while addressing challenges related to climate changes and food insecurity. As a result, nearly 100 bean varieties have been released in Rwanda over the last four decades. This study aims at documenting this effort; it assesses adoption of improved bush and climbing bean varieties, identifies determinants of and barriers to adoption, and analyzes farmers' preferred variety attributes. Based on recent household data, 86 and 50 percent of households have adopted improved climbing and bush bean varieties, respectively. Adoption is positively associated with membership in farmers associations and size of landholding devoted to bean cultivation. Agro-climatic factors are strong predictors of adoption in general and of specific popular improved varieties. Varietal attributes most associated with high adoption rates are high yield, early maturity, storability, and taste. Findings from this study can serve to inform future breeding and dissemination efforts of improved bean varieties in Rwanda.
Assessing the Impact of the CIP Genebank
Brenal-Galeano, Vivian; Shirey, Emma; Alwang, Jeffrey R.; Anglin, Noelle L.; Ellis, David; Hareau, Guy; Pradel, Willy; Norton, George W. (2018-10-03)
Preserving plant diversity is a critical objective of a genebank. Genebanks provide breeding programs with new and crucial traits that can be incorporated into crops. Future Food security relies on these traits, that can improve resilience to a changing environment and new pests.
Building Multilateral Greenhouse Gas Reduction Policies Based on Shared Successes: Adoption of Energy Efficient Residential Technologies in the United States and the European Union
Mills, Bradford F. (2016-05-03)
Presentation to President and Provost on outcome of Institute for Society, Culture and Environment Research Support Program Funding
La cadena de valor de la mora y sus impactos en la Región Andina del Ecuador
Alwang, Jeffrey R.; Barrera, V. H.; Andrango, G.; Dominguez, J. M.; Escudero, Luis O.; Martinez, A.; Jacome, R.; Arévalo, J. (Arcoiris Producciones Graficas, 2017-07-31)
En las provincias productoras de mora en Ecuador, el cultivo y su comercialización es una estrategia de supervivencia importante para un gran número de pequeños agricultores. Sin embargo, el desconocimiento de la cadena de producción- consumo de la mora podría afectar la competitividad de ciertos productores y, consecuentemente, sus ingresos. Enfoques de la cadena de valor de la mora sugieren que el bienestar de los productores y consumidores se puede aumentar, centrándose en acciones específicas a lo largo de esta cadena. Usando datos primarios recogidos a través de una encuesta cara-a-cara a una muestra de productores de mora de las provincias de Carchi, Bolívar, Cotopaxi, Chimborazo y Tungurahua, en el periodo de agosto 2015 a marzo 2016, este estudio aplicó un enfoque de cadena de valor para examinar cómo los productores de mora en el Ecuador pueden mejorar sus prácticas de producción y comercialización para obtener precios más favorables. Específicamente, se realizó la caracterización de los hogares que producen mora, se definió las estrategias de medios de vida que diferencian a los grupos de hogares que producen mora, se determinaron los actores relevantes en la comercialización de la mora, y se establecieron las mejoras en la cadena de valor y sus impactos en el precio recibido. Los resultados muestran que las actividades de mejoramiento de la cadena de valor de la mora están asociadas con mejores precios al productor, y que actividades específicas (ejemplo: búsqueda de información de fuentes confiables) pueden conducir a mejoras sustanciales del bienestar de los productores. Las prácticas en la finca para mejorar la aceptación y la preparación para el mercado de mora puede conducir a la obtención de retornos interesantes, y acciones para incrementar la sofisticación, muchas de las cuales no implican riesgo o inversión sustancial, también son asociadas con mejoras en los precios. Este estudio muestra que los obstáculos para la participación en las mejoras de la cadena de valor son superables. En particular, la escala de producción no es un factor limitante: los productores de pequeña escala tienen la posibilidad de adoptar prácticas mejoradas que les permitiría recibir precios más altos. Los esfuerzos de mejorar la cadena de valor de la mora podrían tener amplio impacto no solo en los productores sino también en los consumidores que se verían beneficiados por obtener mora de mejor calidad, y cantidades y precios más constantes.
La cadena de valor del cacao y el bienestar de los productores en la provincia de Manabí-Ecuador
Alwang, Jeffrey R.; Barrera, Victor H.; Casanova, T.; Dominguez, Juan M.; Escudero, Luis O.; Loor, G.; Pena, G.; Parraga, J.; Arevalo, Juan; Quiroz, Jaime; Tarqui, O.; Zambrano, F.; Rodriguez, G.; Garcia, G.; Racine, M. (ARCOIRIS Producción Gráfica, 2018-12-20)
En la provincia de Manabí, el cultivo de cacao y su comercialización es una estrategia de supervivencia importante para un gran número de pequeños agricultores. Sin embargo, el desconocimiento de la cadena de producción-consumo del cacao podría afectar la competitividad de ciertos productores y, consecuentemente, sus ingresos. Enfoques de la cadena de valor del cacao sugieren que el bienestar de los productores y consumidores se puede aumentar, centrándose en acciones específicas a lo largo de esta cadena. Usando datos primarios recogidos a través de encuestas cara-a-cara a una muestra de productores y acopiadores de cacao, así como también a empresas exportadoras y que procesan cacao proveniente de esta provincia, en el periodo de mayo a noviembre 2018, este estudio aplicó un enfoque de cadena de valor para examinar cómo los productores de cacao en Manabí pueden mejorar sus prácticas de producción y comercialización para obtener precios más favorables. Específicamente, se realizó la caracterización de los hogares que producen cacao, se definió las estrategias de medios de vida que diferencian a los grupos de hogares que producen cacao, se determinaron los actores relevantes en la comercialización del cacao, y se establecieron las mejoras en la cadena de valor y sus impactos en el precio recibido. Los resultados muestran que las actividades de mejoramiento de la cadena de valor del cacao están asociadas con mejores precios al productor, y que actividades específicas (ejemplo: asociarse y entregar el producto a empresas confiables) pueden conducir a mejoras sustanciales del bienestar de los productores. Las prácticas en la finca para mejorar la aceptación y la preparación para el mercado del cacao pueden conducir a la obtención de retornos interesantes, y acciones para incrementar las mejoras, muchas de las cuales no implican riesgo o inversión sustancial, también son asociadas con mejoras en los precios. Este estudio muestra que los obstáculos para la participación en las mejoras de la cadena de valor son superables. En particular, la escala de producción no es un factor limitante: los productores de pequeña escala tienen la posibilidad de adoptar prácticas mejoradas que les permitiría recibir precios más altos. Los esfuerzos por mejorar la cadena de valor del cacao podrían tener amplio impacto no sólo en los productores sino también en los procesadores que se verían beneficiados por recibir cacao de mejor calidad, así como también cantidades y precios más constantes.
Changes in the Healthy Beverage Index in Response to an Intervention Targeting a Reduction in Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption as Compared to an Intervention Targeting Improvements in Physical Activity: Results from the Talking Health Trial
Hedrick, Valisa E.; Davy, Brenda M.; Myers, Emily A.; You, Wen; Zoellner, Jamie M. (MDPI, 2015-12-04)
The recently developed Healthy Beverage Index (HBI) was designed to evaluate overall beverage intake quality (including total fluid consumption and beverage calories), yet no known intervention studies have assessed longitudinal changes to the HBI. The objective of this investigation was to assess changes in HBI scores in response to a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) reduction trial as compared to a physical activity comparison group. Participants were enrolled into a six-month, community-based, controlled behavioral trial and randomized into either a SSB reduction group (SIPsmartER) or a physical activity group (MoveMore). Correlations and multilevel mixed-effects linear regression with intention-to-treat analyses are presented. Total HBI score significantly increased for SIPsmartER (n = 149) (mean increase = 7.5 points (5.4, 9.7), p ≤ 0.001) and MoveMore (n = 143) (mean increase = 3.4 points (1.6, 5.2), p ≤ 0.001) participants, with a significant between group effect (p ≤ 0.05), over the six-month intervention. Other significant changes in HBI components for SIPsmartER included increased SSB and total beverage calorie scores, and decreased low-fat milk and diet soda scores. Changes in total HBI scores were significantly correlated with changes in total Healthy Eating Index-2010 scores (r = 0.15, p ≤ 0.01). Our findings suggest that individual HBI component scores, beyond the SSB component, are influenced by intervention strategies that primarily focus on SSB reduction.
Characterization of Non-Nutritive Sweetener Intake in Rural Southwest Virginian Adults Living in a Health-Disparate Region
Hedrick, Valisa E.; Passaro, Erin M.; Davy, Brenda M.; You, Wen; Zoellner, Jamie M. (MDPI, 2017-07-01)
Few data assessing non-nutritive sweetener (NNS) intake are available, especially within rural, health-disparate populations, where obesity and related co-morbidities are prevalent. The objective of this study is to characterize NNS intake for this population and examine the variance in demographics, cardio-metabolic outcomes, and dietary intake between NNS consumers and non-consumers. A cross-sectional sample (n = 301) of Virginian adults from a randomized controlled trial (data collected from 2012 to 2014) targeting sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake completed three 24-h dietary recalls, and demographics and cardio-metabolic measures were assessed. The frequency, types, and sources of NNS consumption were identified. Thirty-three percent of participants reported consuming NNS (n = 100). Sucralose was the largest contributor of mean daily NNS intake by weight (mg), followed by aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and saccharin. NNS in tabletop sweeteners, diet tea, and diet soda were the top contributors to absolute NNS intake. The most frequently consumed NNS sources were diet sodas, juice drinks, and tabletop sweeteners. Although mean body mass index (BMI) was greater for NNS consumers, they demonstrated significantly lower food, beverage, and SSB caloric intake and energy density, and higher overall dietary quality. It remains unclear whether NNS use plays a role in exacerbating weight gain. NNS consumers in this sample may have switched from drinking predominantly SSB to drinking some NNS beverages in an effort to cope with weight gain. Future studies should explore motivations for NNS use across a variety of weight and health categories.
Child labor and household land holding: Theory and empirical evidence from Zimbabwe
Alwang, Jeffrey R. (2018-12-18)
Seminar presented to the program in graduate studies in Economics, South China Agricultural University. Sixty attendees
Child Poverty in Zimbabwe: An Analysis Using the Poverty Income Consumption Expenditures (PICES) 2017
Alwang, Jeffrey R. (2020-01-29)
Child poverty report: Overview and main findings
Alwang, Jeffrey R. (2020-01-20)
Presentation to kick-off release of the Child Poverty Report in Zimbabwe at UNICEF headquarters in Harare. Press and more than 75 people attended 1 hour presentation.
Climbing bean as a solution to increase productivity in land-constrained environments: Evidence from Rwanda
Katungi, Enid; Larochelle, Catherine; Mugabo, Josephat; Buruchara, Robin (2018-12-09)
Climbing bean is a potential solution to increase the agricultural sector productivity and sustainability. Using nationally representative bean-producing household data collected in Rwanda, this study identifies factors that influence the decision to switch from cultivating bush to climbing bean and quantifies the impact of climbing bean adoption on yield. About 50% of bean-producing households grow climbing bean, a substantial increase over the past 15 years. Elevation, population pressure, and drought shocks are important drivers of climbing bean adoption. Adoption of climbing bean increases yield by 23% among adopters and has the potential to increase yield by 48% for non-adopters. Findings from this study provide important information for the development of agricultural policies and programs in Rwanda and elsewhere.
Cloud-Sourcing: Using an Online Labor Force to Detect Clouds and Cloud Shadows in Landsat Images
Yu, Ling; Ball, Sheryl B.; Blinn, Christine E.; Moeltner, Klaus; Peery, Seth; Thomas, Valerie A.; Wynne, Randolph H. (MDPI, 2015-02-26)
We recruit an online labor force through Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk platform to identify clouds and cloud shadows in Landsat satellite images. We find that a large group of workers can be mobilized quickly and relatively inexpensively. Our results indicate that workers’ accuracy is insensitive to wage, but deteriorates with the complexity of images and with time-on-task. In most instances, human interpretation of cloud impacted area using a majority rule was more accurate than an automated algorithm (Fmask) commonly used to identify clouds and cloud shadows. However, cirrus-impacted pixels were better identified by Fmask than by human interpreters. Crowd-sourced interpretation of cloud impacted pixels appears to be a promising means by which to augment or potentially validate fully automated algorithms.
Crop Improvement, Adoption and Impact of Improved Varieties in Food Crops in Sub-Saharan Africa
Walker, Thomas S.; Alwang, Jeffrey R. (CABI, 2015-10-26)
Following on from the CGIAR study by Evenson and Gollin (published by CABI in 2003), this volume provides up-to-date estimates of adoption outcomes and productivity impacts of crop variety improvement research in sub-Saharan Africa.

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