Browsing by Author "Mutabazi, Khamaldin"

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Analysis of households’ vulnerability to food insecurity and its influencing factors in East Hararghe, Ethiopia
(Springer, 2019) Sileshi, Million; Kadigi, Reuben; Mutabazi, Khamaldin; Sieber, Stefan
Previous studies on food insecurity in many developing countries, including Ethiopia, have mainly focused on current food insecurity, lacking the ex-ante analysis. An under- standing of household vulnerability to food insecurity is critically important to inform the formulation of policies and strategies to enhance food security and reduce vulner- ability to food insecurity among smallholder farmers. This paper analyses vulnerability to food insecurity of farming households using the vulnerability as expected poverty (VEP) approach. The paper is based on cross-section data collected from a sample of 408 households in East Hararghe, Ethiopia, selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure. The factors which influenced vulnerability to food insecurity were analyzed using the Feasible General Least Squares regression model. The results of analysis indicate that vulnerability to food insecurity increased with the age of household head (P < 0.1), and family size (P < 0.01). It decreased with access to improved seeds (P < 0.01), adoption of soil and water conservation (P < 0.01), size of cultivated land (P < 0.1), and access to credits (P < 0.1). Based on the intensity of their vulnerability, households were grouped as chronic food insecure (24.27%), transient food insecure (11.77%), highly vul- nerable-food secure (18.38%), and low vulnerable-food secure (45.59%). Overall, about 54% of households were categorized as vulnerable to food insecurity. These included households who were food insecure at the time of the survey (36.02%) and those who were categorized as transient food secure group (18.38%). These findings imply that food insecurity policies and interventions in developing countries should focus not only on households that are currently food insecure, but also on those categorized as transient food insecure or households that are more likely to be food insecure in the near future.
Commercialisation of African smallholder farming. The case of smallholder farmers in Central Tanzania
(Future Agricultures, 2013-08) Mutabazi, Khamaldin; Wiggins, Steve; Mdoe, Ntengua
African agriculture is predominantly carried out on small-scale family farms. The big question about such family farms is whether they can be successfully commercialised within their current structures, or whether they should give way to commercial medium and large-scale farm enterprises. In more detail, the following questions arise about the experience of commercialisation of small farms in Africa and their prospects
Commercialisation pathways and climate change: the case of smallholder farmers in semi-arid Tanzania
(Agricultural Policy Research in Africa, 2021-12) Mutabazi, Khamaldin; Boniface, Gideon
The semi-arid drylands of central Tanzania have been characterised by low and erratic rainfall coupled with high evapotranspiration. Up until now, farmers of these local dryland farming systems have been able to cope with these climate conditions. However, climate change has led to new weather patterns that overwhelm traditional dryland farming practices and re-shape farmers’ commercialisation pathways. This paper explored the pathways in which smallholder farmers in Singida region in Tanzania engage with markets and commercialise in the face of climate change. The paper is based on the study that was carried out during 2020, covering three case study villages in Singida region of semi-arid central Tanzania. The paper also examined how farm-level decisions on commercial crops and the commercialisation pathways they are part of, affect current and future resilience to climate change. Climate resilient commercialisation of smallholder dryland agriculture remains the centrepiece of inclusive sustainable development.This study was conducted using the qualitative Participatory Vulnerability Analysis (PVA) toolkit (Ulrichs et al., 2015). The qualitative tools used included village mapping, transect walks, climate trends and timelines, a seasonality calendar, individual life course histories, farm-sector structural changes and institutional mapping. These qualitative results were complemented by quantitative results from the APRA household survey that was conducted in the same region in 2018 (APRA, 2019). Farmer’s commercialisation of the crop sub-sector was measured as the ratio of sales and the value of production of all crops. The analysis also generated an index measuring vulnerability of agricultural enterprises varying in the level of riskiness and returns across different sources of production risks – seasonal droughts, dry spells, floods, and pests and diseases.
Comparative advantage of Tanzanian coffee sector under “Everything but Arms” export trading regime
(IISTE, 2022) Paul, Abel; Mgeni, Charles Peter; Mutabazi, Khamaldin; Kadigi, Reuben M.J.
This paper assesses the comparative advantage of the Tanzanian coffee sector in the European Union (EU) before and during the Everything but Arms (EBA) trading regime. Coffee’s comparative advantage at the EU level was compared to other commercial crops’ comparative advantage namely; sisal, tobacco, cashew nuts, tea and cotton. To get a clear effect of the regime, Balassa Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index has been employed to analyze exports values from 1995 to 2000 before EBA and from 2001 to 2019 during EBA as two separate periods. Findings from this study indicate that before EBA, coffee was a third product to be exported but during EBA it become a less specialized product. Therefore, EBA has promoted less the export of coffee to the EU market than expected that it will increase as the regime released transaction costs which were restricting the trade. To benefit from EBA preferential agreements, policymakers and sectorial stakeholders have to revisit EBA terms and conditions especially that of “Rule of Origin” which is reported as a major obstacle for most countries to utilize trade preferences agreements merely when they bump into low production within the country of origin.
Determinants for adoption of physical soil and water conservation measures by smallholder farmers in Ethiopia
(ScienceDirect, 2019) Sileshi, Million; Kadigi, Reuben; Mutabazi, Khamaldin; Sieber, Stefan
Adoption rates of soil and water conservation measures remain below the expected levels in Ethiopia despite the considerable investments in reducing land degradation and improving soil fertility. This constitutes one of the key research agendas in the country. This paper underscores the need for inves- tigating the factors hindering or facilitating the adoption of soil and water conservation measures. The study results presented in this paper are based on cross-section data collected from 408 households in eastern Ethiopia, including field observations of 790 plots selected using a multi-stage sampling pro- cedure. A multivariate probit model was employed to analyse the determinants of adoption of three soil and water conservation measures (stone bund, soil bund, and bench terracing) at the plot level. The study findings reveal that household, socioeconomic, and institution characteristics were the key factors that influenced the adoption of soil bund, stone bund, and bench terracing conservation measures. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation among the three soil and water conservation measures, indicating that the adoption of these measures is interrelated. In particular, the results show that there was a positive correlation between stone bunds and soil bunds. However, the correlations between bench terracing and stone bunds as well as bench terracing and soil bunds were negative (implying substitutability). These results imply that the Government and other relevant organizations that are responsible for reducing land degradation in order to increase agricultural production should support the establishment and strengthening of local institutions to facilitate the adoption of soil and water con- servation measures.
Employment patterns in clusters of foreign agricultural investments farms in rural areas
(Scientific Research Publishing, 2022) Maro, Festo; Broegaard, Rikke; Lazaro, Evelyne; Mutabazi, Khamaldin; Ravnborg, Helle Munk
Employment outcomes from foreign land-based agricultural investments (FAI) are contested despite existence of paucity in literature on why individuals seek such employment. This paper assesses individuals’ motives for seeking or not seeking employment in FAI farms using multiple correspondence and cluster analysis to understand employment seeking patterns and their association with age, gender and household poverty. Analysis based on stratified proportionate random cross-sectional data collected in Karatu, Iringa and Njombe districts from populations near foreign farms. Three FAI farm employment seeking patterns were established namely individuals motivated by lack of employ- ment alternatives, individuals preferring FAI farm employment and individ- uals who were curious to learn new knowledge, ideas and skills. FAI employ- ment seeking pattern was independent of age or gender but it was signifi- cantly associated with household poverty ( p = 0.05). Individuals seeking FAI employment due to lack of employment opportunities frequently belong to poorest households while individuals belonging to less-poor household pre- ferred employment for curiosity to learn. Therefore, FAI doesn’t move indi- vidual out of poverty or make individual poor but is frequently attractive to individuals from poorest households with limited employment opportunities while those from less-poor household is a preferred employment for addi- tional source of immediate income.
Impact of soil and water conservation practices on household vulnerability to food insecurity in eastern Ethiopia: endogenous switching regression and propensity score matching approach
(Springer, 2019) Sileshi, Million; Kadigi, Reuben; Mutabazi, Khamaldin; Sieber, Stefan
Governmental and developmental partners invest substantial resources to reduce land and water degradation in order to upgrade agricultural productivity, thus reducing food insecurity and related vulnerability in Sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding the impact of soil and water conservation on food insecurity outcomes would be a significant step toward improving environmental conditions, while ensuring sustainable and increased agricultural production. Therefore, this article analyzes the impact of adopting soil and water conservation on food insecurity and related vulnerability outcomes of farming households using a sample of 408 households selected using a multi-stage stratified sampling procedure from three districts in eastern Ethiopia. Vulnerability as expected poverty (three-step Feasible General Least Squares) is employed to analyze the vulnerability of sample households in the context of food insecurity. In addition, endogenous switching regressions with propensity score matching methods are combined to obtain consistent impact estimates. The study findings reveal that education and sex of household head, use of irrigation and fertilizer, source of information, and cultivated land are the main factors influencing the adoption of soil and water conservation practices. Moreover, the adoption of soil and water conservation not only positively impacts the per capita food consumption expenditure and net crop value, but it also significantly reduces the probability of farmers being food insecure, vulnerable to food insecurity, as well as being transient and chronically food insecure. Therefore, policymakers and development organizations should consider soil and water conservation as a main strategy to reduce land degradation and improve the livelihoods of the rural farm households.
Working or not working in commercial farms and uptake of agricultural technologies in Rural Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture., 2022-07-31) Maro, Festo; Mutabazi, Khamaldin
Abstract Commercial farms investment plays important role in agricultural technology spillovers but less is known on specific channels influencing neighboring farmer’s uptake of agricultural technologies. This study analyzed the effect of farmer’s working in commercial farms on agricultural technologies uptake intensity. Multiphased study design was used to randomly and proportionately to collect a sample of 1,203 farmers from three independent samples in Karatu, Iringa and Njombe. Nearest neighbor matching estimator was used to estimate the effect of working in commercial farms after testing for a balanced matching and control samples. In Karatu the intensity of agricultural technology uptake of farmer worked in commercial farm was 0.28 larger but not statistically significant. But if the farmer had not worked uptake intensity is reduced to 0.27 which was statistically significant at 5% p-value. In Iringa the intensity of agricultural technology uptake to farmer working in commercial farm on average is 0.45(P< 0.05) significantly large. In Njombe, on average agricultural uptake intensity is 0.20 not statistically significant compared to uptake intensity of 0.23 which is statistically significant at 5% p-value had he/she not worked in commercial farms. It implies in areas where commercial farm producing different crops to neighboring farmers uptake of technologies is more on soil conservation than growing new crop or seed varieties. But in areas without landscarcity and investor’s crop being similar to crops produced by small-holder farmer, it was found farmers grow new crops or new seed varieties, use soil conservation practices, tractor and ox-plough. It was concluded that commercial farms should be promoted while considering crops produced by neighboring smallholder farms and land availability to farmers, if uptake of agricultural technologies to neighboring farmers is the policy expectation. Keywords: employment, commercial farms, uptake of agricultural technology, matching estimation