Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/21
Outputs
Target Audience:1. Decision-makers at government agencies and research institutions at home and abroad who are responsible for allocating funds for agricultural research. 2. Agricultural economics graduate students. 3. People interested in the benefits of agricultural research and in food security issues. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two master's students (Ben Garber andAmanda McGowan), supported on separate grants leveraged by the project, were supervised this past year along with 3 undergraduate student research assistants on a USDA-AFRI workforce development grant. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through presentations to professional audiences and publications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Impacts of the project -- Data collection and economic analyses were completed to assess the impacts of agricultural research and extension in Virginia and internationally. Impact assessments of agricultural research help document the benefits of programs and technologies that improve productivity and protect human safety and environmental quality. Poverty and hunger rates have declined in the world over the past four decades, in part due to productivity growth resulting from agricultural research and extension, but additional progress is needed. Insects and diseases continue to evolve and cause crop losses. Integrated pest management helps reduce those losses, improving productivity. As agricultural productivity increases, incomes grow, the non-farm sectors grow, and demand for food rises in developing countries. Part of that demand is met by exports of U.S. agricultural products, which benefits U.S. producers. Goal 1 -An analysis was completed of the economic benefits of the Virginia Quality Assured(VQA) feeder cattle program. It found that VQA certification does not significantly raise prices received for cattle but results in higher profits for producers due to their faster turnover and lower feed costs for the cattle. An analysis of the profitability of various tillage systems in continuous corn and the interaction between tillage systems and nitrogen fertilization found strip tillage to be best suited for continuous corn production. New production from public and exclusive varieties released by the small grains breeding program at Virginia Tech generated discounted benefits in excess of $41 million from 2000 to 2018. Fitted values of yield from field trials were combined with acreage estimates to generate weighted average yields based on the adoption of new varieties. Benefits were estimated as the value of additional production from the release and adoption of improved varieties by the program. Public varieties were responsible for the majority of program benefits, and roughly two-thirds of benefits from public varieties accrue outside of Virginia. Exclusive varieties released by the program generated smaller benefits but made use of marketing support from private entities. The program was found to have a significant impact in Virginia and out-of-state, with many of these benefits due to collaboration between public and private partners. Goal 2 - The adoption of conservation agriculture practicesand barriers to adoption were evaluated for Ecuador. The research involved graduate students and undergraduates, whose training improved the capacity for future agricultural research investments. An analysis of factors that influence agricultural technology adoption by small-holder farmers in Ecuador found that markets, food value chains, risk preferences, and risk perceptions play significant roles in farmer decision-making. Low adoption of improved wheat varieties in Morocco is of concern to policymakers. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of potential benefits to adoption and compared current productivity with products that could be expected under more robust adoption and found significant opportunities were being lost. We then evaluated institutional and other constraints to adoption and found several factors contributing to these lost opportunities.Institutional factors such as overly stringent variety testing procedures, imbalance of power among actors in the seed sector, and ill-conceived variety licensing contracts limit access to seeds of new varieties. Findings signal the need for increased private engagement in seed multiplication, revised testing protocols, and alternative royalty mechanisms to facilitate the diffusion of highly productive new varieties.
Publications
- Type:
Books
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
George W. Norton, Jeffrey Alwang and William A. Masters. Economics of Agricultural Development. 4th Edition. New York: Routledge Press, 2021.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Villacis-Aveiga, Alexis, Ford Ramsey, Jeffrey Alwang and Jorge Delgado. 2020. Estimating economically optimal levels of nitrogen fertilizer in no-tillage continuous corn. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 52, pp. 613623.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Barrera, Victor H., Jorge Delgado and Jeffrey Alwang. 2021 "Conservation Agriculture Can Help the South American Andean Region Achieve Food Security Agronomy Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20879
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Yigezu, Y.A., Bishaw, Z., Niane, A.A. et al. Institutional and farm-level challenges limiting the diffusion of new varieties from public and CGIAR centers: The case of wheat in Morocco. Food Sec. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-021-01191-7
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Myrick, Stephanie, Willy Pradel, Canhui Li, Victor Suarez, Guy Hareau, Catherine Larochelle, George W. Norton, and Jeffrey Alwang. 2021. The curious case of C-88: Impacts of a potato variety on farmers in Yunnan, China. CABI Agriculture and Bioscience, 2(3), online.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Larochelle, Catherine and Jeffrey Alwang. 2021 Impacts of improved bean variety adoption on dietary diversity and food security in Rwanda. The European Journal of Development Research, https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-021-00376-2.
|
Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:1. Decision-makers at government agencies and research institutions at home and abroad who are responsible for allocating funds for agricultural research. 2. Agricultural economics graduate students. 3. People interested in the benefits of agricultural research and in food security issues. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One Ph.D. student (Alexis Villacis-Aveiga) and three masters students (Ben Garber, Amanda McGowan, and Ryan O'Reilly), supported on separate grants leveraged by the project, were supervised this past year along with one undergraduate research intern (Jesse Sanderson) and 13 undergraduate student research assistants on a USDA-AFRI workforce development grant. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Six journal articles were produced this year for professional audiences, and presentations were made at professional meetings and seminars in the United States and in Ecuador. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Journal article manuscripts will be revised on the impacts of agricultural research and extension in Virginia, on adoption and impacts of IPM technologies in Nepal, and on factors affecting adoption of IPM on vegetables in Kenya. Final revisions to our popular undergraduate textbook on the economics of agricultural development will be completed and the book published. We will advise at least three graduate students. Presentations will be made at U.S. and international professional meetings. We will continue to assess the aggregate impacts of agricultural research in Virginia and continue work on two case studies of the impacts of specific agricultural technologies in Virginia.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Impacts of the project -- Data collection and economic analyses were completed to assess the impacts of agricultural research and extension in Virginia and internationally. Impact assessments of agricultural research help document the benefits of programs and technologies that improve productivity and protect human safety and environmental quality. Poverty and hunger rates have declined in the world over the past four decades, in part due to productivity growth resulting from agricultural research and extension, but additional progress is needed. Insects and diseases continue to evolve and cause crop losses. Integrated pest management helps reduce those losses, improving productivity. As agricultural productivity increases, incomes grow, the non-farm sectors grow, and demand for food rises in developing countries. Part of that demand is met by exports of U.S. agricultural products, which benefits U.S. producers. Goal 1 - An analysis of agricultural productivity in Virginia found that the average annual growth rate in productivity was 2.1 percent from 1949 to 90, was negative (-0.9 percent annual average) from 1991 to 2007, and subsequently recovered and again grew (1.4 percent annual average) since 2008. The deceleration of growth in agricultural productivity in Virginia is consistent with the experience in neighboring states and U.S. agriculture as a whole. A similar increase and then decrease was observed over time for agricultural research and extension expenditures. Virginia's expenditures on extension services started at a higher level than research expenditures, but its annual rate of growth has been lower. Similar to research, the growth of extension expenditures has declined over time. Agricultural productivity in 2016 would have been 3.2 percent higher if research expenditures had grown at the prior (higher) rates, compared to the actual productivity index. The decrease in productivity growth from 1991-2007 would not have been completely mitigated by this increased spending because of declining research and extension expenditure growth in other states, but Virginia's efforts alone would have substantially offset the trend during that period. A statistical analysis of the economic returns to public expenditures on agricultural research and extension in Virginia found that extra expenditure of one million dollars on research could raise real agricultural outputs by 2.56 million dollars over the duration of the benefits stream, while the same expenditure on the extension could increase the value of output by 4.44 million dollars. An analysis was completed of the economic benefits of the Virginia Quality Assured (VQA) feeder cattle program. It found that VQA certification does not significantly raise prices received for cattle but results in higher profits for producers due to their faster turnover and lower feed costs for the cattle. An analysis of the profitability of various tillage systems in continuous corn and the interaction between tillage systems and nitrogen fertilization found strip tillage to be best suited for continuous corn production. Goal 2 - The adoption of IPM practices and barriers to adoption were evaluated for IPM practices in Kenya and conservation agriculture practices in Ecuador. The research involved graduate students and undergraduates, whose training improved the capacity for future agricultural research investments. The analysis in Kenya found that loss aversion was correlated with a higher likelihood of IPM adoption while risk aversion was associated with higher pesticide application rates and expenditures. Data were from a survey that was administered to 450 Kenyan vegetable growers to identify their pest management practices, and from a behavioral experiment that was run to elicit their risk preferences. The influence of IPM adoption on pesticide use differed by IPM technique. An analysis of factors that influence agricultural technology adoption by small-holder farmers in Ecuador found that markets, food value chains, risk preferences, and risk perceptions play significant roles in farmer decision making.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Bernal-Galeano, V., G. Norton, D. Ellis, N. Anglin, G. Hareau, M. Smale, N. Jamora, J. Alwang, and W. Pradel, 2020. Andean Potato Diversity Conserved in the International Potato Center Genebank Helps Develop Agriculture in Uganda: The Example of the Variety Victoria, Food Security: (published on-line, May 22), https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-020-01037-8.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Norton, G.W., 2020. Lessons from a Career in Agricultural Development and Research Evaluation, Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy, 42 (2): 151-167. doi:10.1002/aepp.13052.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Norton, G.W. and J. Alwang, 2020. Changes in Agricultural Extension and Implications for Farmer Adoption of New Practices, Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy, 42 (1): 8-20.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Villacis-Aveiga, A., F. Ramsey, J. Alwang and J. Delgado. Estimating Economically Optimal Levels of Nitrogen Fertilizer in No-Tillage Continuous Corn. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, (in press).
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Delgado, J., V.H. Barrera Mosquera, J.R. Alwang, A. Villacis-Aveiga, Y. E. Cartagena Ayala, D. Neer, C. Monar, and L.O. Escudero Lopez. 2020. Potential Use of Cover Crops for Soil and Water Conservation, Nutrient Management, and Climate Change Adaptation Across the Tropics. Advances in Agronomy, (in press).
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Carrion-Yaguana, V. and J. Alwang. 2020. Promoting behavioral change using text messages: A case study of blackberry farmers in Ecuador, Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, (in press).
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
OReilly, Ryan, Kenyan Vegetable Farmers IPM adoption: Barriers and Impacts, M.S. thesis, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, July, 2020.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Villacis-Aveiga, Alexis, Empirical Studies in Production Economics and International Agricultural Development Issues, Ph.D. thesis, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, July, 2020.
|
Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:1. Decision makers at government agencies and research institutions at home and abroad who are responsible for allocating funds for agricultural research. 2. Agricultural economics graduate students. 3. People interested in the benefits of agricultural research and in food security issues. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Four Ph.D. students (Zhen Cheng, Zhang Zeya, Kate Vaiknoris and Alexis Villegas) and two masters students (Lauren Knaresboro and Ryan O'Reilly), were involved with the project, and were supervised this past year along with 1 undergraduate intern (Will Jones) and a researcher from Syria (Majd Sayed-Issa) for 12 months. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Eight journal articles were produced this year for professional audiences, and presentations were made at professional meetings and seminars in the United States and in Ecuador, Morocco, Tanzania, and Cambodia. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Journal article manuscripts will be revised on the impacts of agricultural research and extension in Virginia, on the impacts of the world potato genebank at the International Potato center in Peru, on lessons from a career in agricultural development and impact assessment. Journal articles will be prepared on the economic impacts of IPM to manage Tuta absoluta in Nepal, and on factors affecting adoption of IPM on vegetables in Kenya. A revision to our popular undergraduate textbook on the economics of agricultural development will continue to be made. We will advise at least six graduate students, seven undergraduate interns (six of whom will conduct research in Ecuador), and a post doc. Presentations will be made at U.S. and international professional meetings. We will continue to assess aggregate impacts of agricultural research in Virginia and work on at least two case studies of impacts of specific agricultural technologies in Virginia.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Impacts of project -- Data collection and economic analyses were completed to assess the impacts of agricultural research and extension in Virginia and internationally. Impact assessments of agricultural research help document the benefits of programs and technologies that improve productivity and protect human safety and environmental quality. Poverty and hunger rates have been reduced in the world over the past four decades, in part due to productivity growth resulting from agricultural research and extension. But, additional progress is needed. Insects and diseases continue to evolve and cause crop losses. Integrated pest management helps reduce those losses, improving productivity. As agricultural productivity increases, incomes grow, the non-farm sectors grow and demand for food rises in developing countries. Part of that demand is met by exports of U.S. agricultural products, which helps U.S. producers. Goal 1 - An analysis was completed to assess the aggregate economic impacts of agricultural research and extension in Virginia and data were collected for impact analyses of wheat breeding and the Virginia quality assurance program for beef cattle. A journal article was drafted for the aggregate analysis that documents Virginia's agricultural productivity growth of 1.3% on average per year from 1949 to 2016. The rate of return on investments in agricultural research and extension were 38% for research and 31% for extension. Interdisciplinary research was conducted on integrated pest management in five countries in Asia and Africa. Based on a survey of 400 farmers, more than 75% of tomato growers in Nepal have adopted multiple integrated pest management practices for managing the invasive pest, Tuta absoluta, and only 5% have adopted none. The larger the farm, the more IPM training experienced, and the more severe the pest attack, the more likely IPM adoption. The more IPM practice adopted, the fewer the pesticide applications, which has positive implications for human health and the environment. Goal 2 - The adoption of IPM practices and barriers to adoption were evaluated for several agricultural technologies, including IPM practices in Kenya, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal, and conservation agriculture in Ecuador. The research involved several graduate students and a post doc, whose training improved the capacity for future agricultural research investments. Economic benefits of improved crop rotations and management practices have been measured using data from ARS in Fort Collins, CO.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Norton, George W. and Jeffrey Alwang, Changes in Agricultural Extension and Implications for Farmer Adoption of New Practices, Applied Economics Perspectives and Policy, (2020): in press.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Corinna Clements, Jeffrey Alwang & Ramadahni Achdiawan. 2018. Value chain approaches in a stagnant industry: The case of furniture production in Jepara, Indonesia, Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 55 (3): 341-365.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Yigezu A. Yigezu, Jeffrey Alwang, M. Wakilur Rahman, M. Bazlur R. Mollah, Tamer El-Shater, Aden Aw-Hassan and Ashutosh Sarker. 2018. Is DNA fingerprinting the gold standard for estimation of adoption and impacts of improved lentil varieties? Food Policy, 83 (February): 48-59.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Delgado, J.A., V. H. Barrera Mosquera, L. O. Escudero L�pez, Y. E. Cartagena Ayala, J. R. Alwang, R. C. Stehouwer, J. C. Ar�valo Tenelema, Robert DAdamo, J. M. Dom�nguez Andrade, F. Valverde and S. P. Alvarado Ochoa, Conservation Agriculture Increases Profits in an Andean Region of South America, Agrosystems, Geosciences, and Enviornment, May 2019): 1-8. doi:10.2134/age2018.10.0050
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
George W. Norton, Jeffrey Alwang, Menale Kassie, and Rangaswamy Muniappan, Economic Impacts of Integrated Pest Management Practices in Developing Countries, Chapter 8 in David W. Onstad and Philip R. Crain (Eds.) The Economics of Integrated Pest Management of Insects, Boston, MA: CABI International, 2019, 140-154.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Cheng, Zhen, Essays on Agricultural and Rural Development, Ph.D. thesis, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, August 2019.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Knaresboro, Lauren, Adoption Determinants and Impacts of Tuta absoluta Integrated Pest Management for Nepali Tomato Farmers, M.S. thesis, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, August 2019.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Rahman, Md. Sadique and George W. Norton, Adoption and Impacts of Integrated Pest Management in Bangladesh: Evidence from Smallholder Bitter Gourd Growers, Horticulturae, (2019):32: 1-11.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Alwang, Jeffrey, George Norton, and Catherine Larochelle, Obstacles to Widespread Diffusion of IPM in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Field, Journal of Integrated Pest Management, (2019): 10 (1): 1-8. doi: 10.1093/jipm/pmz008.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Venkatramanan, S., S. Wu, B. Shi, M. Marathe, S. Eubank, L.P. Sah, A.P. Giri, L.A. Colavito, K.S. Nitin, V. Sridhar, R. Asokan, R. Munippan, G. Norton, and A. Adiga, Modeling Commodity Flow in the Context of Invasive Species Spresasd: Study of Tuta Absoluta in Nepal, Crop Protection (2019): doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2019.02.012.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Rahman, Md. Sadique and George W. Norton, Farm-level impacts of eggplant integrated pest management: a stochastic frontier production function approach, International Journal of Vegetable Science, (2019) 25 (6): 590-600. DOI: 10.1080/19315260.2019.1566188
|
Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:1. Decision makers at government agencies and research institutions at home and abroad who are responsible for allocating funds for agricultural research. 2. Agricultural economics graduate students. 3. People interested in the benefits of agricultural research and in food security issues. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Five Ph.D. students (Farhanaz Sharmin, Zhen Cheng, Zhang Zeya, Kate Vaiknoras, and Alexis Villegas) and four masters students (Santa Rosario, Lauren Knaresboro, Sonyi Paik, and Ryan O'Reilly), supported on separate grants that were leveraged by the project, were supervised this past year along with 1 undergraduate intern (Will Jones) and a researcher from Syria (Majd Sayed-Issa) for 12 months. In addition, we co-advised a student working on a Ph.D. in Nepal (Arjun Khanal). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Eight journal articles were produced this year for professional audiences, and presentations were made at professional meetings and seminars in the United State, Peru, Jordan, and Ethiopia. Results of the study to evaluate the establishment of small businesses to multiply and disseminate beneficial insects to manage the millet head miner have been shared with farmer groups in Niger. Results of the study of payments for environmental services in the Dominican Republic has been shared with the government agency responsible for setting the payment rates and running the program. Results of the study on impacts of agricultural research and extension in Virginia was shared at a multistate project meeting held at the World Bank. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Journal article manuscripts will be prepared on the impacts of agricultural research and extension in Virginia, on the impacts of the world potato genebank at the International Potato center in Peru, on the economic impacts of IPM to manage Tuta absoluta in Nepal, and on factors affecting adoption of IPM on rice in Cambodia, on impacts of the C-88 rice variety in China, among others. A book chapter on impacts of IPM in developing countries will be revised and published. A revision to our popular undergraduate textbook on the economics of agricultural development will continue to be made. We will advise at least six graduate students, seven undergraduate interns (six of whom will conduct research in Ecuador), and a post doc. Presentations will be made at U.S. and international professional meetings. We will continue to assess aggregate impacts of agricultural research in Virginia and work on at least two case studies of impacts of specific agricultural technologies in Virginia.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal1 - Data collection activities and analyses were completed to assess the aggregate economic impacts of agricultural research and extension in Virginia. Impact assessments of agricultural research help document the benefits of programs and technologies that improve productivity and protect human safety and environmental quality. We found that Virginia's agricultural productivity grew at an average annual rate of 1.3% from 1949 to 2016. It grew at a rate of 2.4% from 1949 to 1990 and then decelerated. Agricultural research and extension expenditures in Virginia grew by 4.4% over the period 1925 to 2016 but grew more slowly at 1.7% per year from 1970 to 2016. The aggregate rate of return on investments in research and extension were 38% for research and 31% for extension. Interdisciplinary research was conducted on integrated pest management in six countries in Asia and Africa. A rate of return of 42% was estimated for IPM research and training on eggplant and a rate of return of 39% was estimated for IPM research and training on tomato in Bangladesh. An analysis of the economic and environmental benefits of the recently commercialized Bt eggplant as compared to non-Bt eggplant found that profits increased by more than $3,000 per hectare with Bt eggplant and damage due to fruit and shoot borer declined by 90% with a major redction in pesticide use. Poverty and hunger rates have been reduced in the world over the past four decades, but a major need remains for additional progress. Insects and diseases continue to evolve and cause crop losses. Integrated pest management helps reduce those losses, improving productivity. As agricultural productivity increases, incomes grow, the non-farm sectors grow and demand for food rises in developing countries. Part of that demand is met by exports of U.S. agricultural products, which helps U.S. producers. The IPM research resulted in one M.S. thesis completed during the year. Goal 2 - The adoption of IPM practices and barriers to adoption were evaluated for several agricultural technologies, including IPM practices in Kenya, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal, improved lentil varieties in Bangaldesh, raised-bed wheat production in Egypt, and conservation agriculture in Ecuador. The research involved several graduate students and a post doc, whose training improved the capacity for future agricultural research investments. Economic benefits of improved crop rotations and management practices are being measured using data from ARS in Fort Collins, CO.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Rahman, Md. Sadique, George W. Norton, and M. Harun-Ar. Rashid, Economic Impacts of Integrated Pest Management on Vegetable Production in Bangladesh, Crop Protection, 113 (2018): 6-14.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Guerci, Michael, George W. Norton, Malick N. Ba, Ibrahim Baoua, Jeffrey Alwang, Laouali Amadou, Oumou Moumouni, Laouali Karimoune, and Rangaswamy Muniappan, Economic Feasibility of an Augmentative Biological Control Industry in Niger, Crop Protection, 110 (2018): 34-40.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Zeng, Di, Jeffrey Alwang, George W. Norton, Moti Jaleta, Bekele Shiferaw, and Chilot Yirga, Land Ownership and Technology Adoption Revisited: Improved Maize Varieties in Ethiopia, Land Use Policy, 72 (March 2018): 270-279.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Rosario de Jesus, Santa F., Social-Economic Benefits of Payment for Environmental Services in Yaque del Norte Watershed, Dominican Republic, M.S. thesis, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Clements, Corinna, Jeffrey Alwang & Ramadahni Achdiawan. 2018. Value chain approaches in a stagnant industry: The case of furniture production in Jepara, Indonesia, Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, in press.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Yigezu A., Yigezu, Jeffrey Alwang, M. Wakilur Rahman, M. Bazlur R. Mollah, Tamer El-Shater, Aden Aw-Hassan and Ashutosh Sarker. 2018. Is DNA fingerprinting the gold standard for estimation of adoption and impacts of improved lentil varieties? Food Policy, in press.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Delgado, Jorge A., Victor Barrera, Luis Escudero, Yamil E. Cartagenta Ayala, Jeffrey Alwang, Richard C. Stehouwer, Juan C. Arvalo, Robert DAdamo, Juan Manuel Dominguez, Franklin Valverde & Soraya P. Alvarado. 2018. Potential use of zero tillage, crop residue, and nitrogen management to increase yields and economic returns of cropping systems of the Andes, Agronomy Journal, in press.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Alwang, J., Samy Sabry, Kamel Shideed, Atef Swelam & Habib Halila. 2018. Economic and food security benefits associated with raised-bed wheat production in Egypt. Food Security, in press. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-018-0794-3
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Farris, J. J. Alwang, C. Larochelle, and G.W. Norton, Poverty Analysis Using Small Area Estimation: An Application to Conservation Agriculture in Uganda, Agricultural Economics, 48 (6) (November 2017): 671-681.
|
Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience: Decision makers at government agencies and research institutions at home and abroad who are responsible for allocating funds for agricultural research. 2. Agricultural economics graduate students. 3. People interested in the benefits of agricultural research and in food security issues. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two Ph.D. students (Farhanaz Sharmin and Zhen Cheng) and four masters students (Muntasir Hasan, Sydni Jackson, Catherine O'Donnell, and Santa Rosario), supported on separate grants that were leveraged by the project, were supervised this past year along with 4 undergraduate interns (Meghan Mcloughlin, Matt Rowe, Amy Legare, and Will Jones) and a researcher from Syria (Majd Sayed-Issa) for 12 months. In addition, we co-advised student working on a Ph.D. in Bangladesh (Sadique Rahman), another in Nepal (Arjun Khanal), and an MS student in Niger (Oumou Moumouni). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Eight journal articles and a book chapter were produced this year for professional audiences, and presentations were made at professional meetings and seminars in the United States and in Peru, Jordan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Results of the study to evaluate the establishment of small businesses to multiply and disseminate beneficial insects and to manage the millet head miner have been shared with farmer group in Niger.A manuscript has been submitted to a refereed journal from that work. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Journal article manuscripts will be prepared on the impacts of agricultural research and extension in Virginia, on the impacts of the world potato genebank at the International Potato Center in Peru, on the economic impacts of IPM in Bangladesh, on factors affecting adoption of IPM on vegetables in Kenya and rice in Cambodia, on impacts of the C-88 rice variety in China, among others. A book chapter on impacts of IPM in developing countries will be prepared. A revision to our popular undergraduate textbook on the economics of agricultural development will be initiated. We will advise at least six graduate students, two undergraduate interns, and a post doc. Presentations will be made at U.S. and international professional meetings. We will continue to assess aggregate impacts of agricultural research in Virginia and initiate at least two case studies of impacts of specific agricultural technologies in Virginia.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1 - Data collection activities were initiated to assess the aggregate economic impacts of agricultural research and extension in Virginia. This research expands upon an impact assessment conducted several years ago. Impact assessments of agricultural research help document the benefits of programs and technologies that improve productivity and protect human safety and environmental quality. The economic viability of small businesses that produce and sell beneficial insects to manage the millet head miner was assessed for Niger, and businesses are projected to be a profitable means of distributing the beneficial insects. Millet head miner is a serious pest of millet, the most important food crop in Niger. The economic impacts of raised-bed wheat production research conducted by the International Center for Agricultural Research on Dryland Crops was estimated, and the information is being used to inform donors about the impacts of the agricultural research investments. Economic and risk-reducing impacts were also estimated for research on water harvesting technologies for Jordan's rangeland areas and for research on wheat-rust resistant varieties released in Ethiopia. Information is being used to inform donors about the impact of agricultural research investments. Economic impacts were estimated for the improved potato variety (C-88) in China. The variety was developed by Chinses researchers with assistance from the International Potato Center and has had a significant impact on potato production and hunger reduction in China. Information is being used to inform the Chinese government and other supporters of agricultural research of the impacts of such widely adopted technologies. Benefits were estimated that are associated with poverty reduction through diffusion of conservation agriculture in Uganda. Interdisciplinary research was conducted on integrated pest management in six countries in Asia and Africa. Poverty and hunger rates have been reduced in the world over the past four decades, but a major need remains for additional progress. Insects and diseases continue to evolve and cause crop losses. Integrated pest management helps reduce those losses, improving productivity. As agricultural productivity increases, incomes grow, the non-farm sectors grow and demand for food rises in developing countries. Part of that demand is met by exports of U.S. agricultural products, which helps U.S. producers. The IPM research resulted in two M.S. theses and one PhD thesis completed during the year. Goal 2 - The adoption of IPM practices and barriers to adoption were evaluated for many agricultural technologies: (i) improved potato varieties in Peru and China; (ii) IPM in Ecuador, Kenya, Bangladesh, and Cambodia; (iii) Conservation agriculture in Ecuador; (iv) improved management techniques in Egypt and Jordan; (v) improved lentil varieties in Bangladesh. The research involved several graduate and undergraduate students and a post doc, whose training improved the capacity for future agricultural research investments.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Zeng, Di, Jeffrey Alwang, George W. Norton, Bekele Shiferaw, Moti Jaleta, and Chilot Yirga, Agricultural Technology Adoption and Child Nutrition Enhancement: Improved Maize Varieties in Rural Ethiopia, Agricultural Economics, 48 (5) (September 2017): 573-586.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Jackson, Sydni (2017) Adoption and Impacts of Integrated Pest Management for Cambodian Rice Farmers, M.S. thesis, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Hasan, Muntasir (2017) Factors Affecting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Adoption and Pesticide Use in Kenyan Vegetable Farmers, M.S. thesis, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Rahman, Sadique (2017) Returns to Investment in IPM Research and Efficiency of Vegetable Growers in Selected Areas of Bangladesh, Ph.D. Dissertation, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
ODonnell, Catherine E. (2017) Peruvian Food Insecurity in the Face of Recurrent Natural Disasters: A Two-Step Adoption Analysis for Improved Potato Varieties, M.S. thesis, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
George W. Norton, Jeffrey Alwang, and Majdeddin Sayed Issa. 2016. Impacts of IPM on Vegetable Production in the Tropics , Chapter 14 in Rangaswamy Muniappan & E. A. Heinrichs, eds, Integrated Pest Management of Tropical Vegetable Crops, Dordrecht: Springer-Business.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Alwang, J., E. Gotor, G.Thiele, G.Hareau, M. Jaleta and J. Chamberlin. 2017. Pathways from research on improved staple crop germplasm to poverty reduction for smallholder farmers. Agricultural Systems, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2017.10.005 .
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Alwang, J., C. Larochelle and V. Barrera. 2017. Farm Decision Making and Gender: Results from a Randomized Experiment in Ecuador, World Development, 92:117-129.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Barrowclough, M.J. & Alwang, J. Environ Dev Sustain (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-017-0011-0
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
J. A. Delgado, V. Barrera, L. Escudero, Y. E. Cartagenta Ayala, J. Alwang, R. C. Stehouwer, J. C. Arvalo, R. DAdamo, J. M. Dominguez, F. Valverde and S. P. Alvarado. 2017. Potential use of zero tillage, crop residue, and nitrogen management to increase yields and economic returns of cropping systems of the Andes, Agronomy Journal, in press.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Larochelle, C., J. Alwang, E. Travis, V. Barrera, J. M. Dominguez. 2017. Did you really get the message? Using text reminders to stimulate adoption of agricultural technologies. Journal of Development Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2017.1393522
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