Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-2015

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Agricultural Economics

Major Professor

Dayton M. Lambert

Committee Members

James Larson, Neal Eash

Abstract

This thesis examines on understanding how maize yields and net returns associated with three farming systems; conventional method, basin planting and jab planting differ, and the extent to which conservation agricultural practices are preferred by risk averse farmers linked to agro-ecological factors, farmer resource endowments, and risk preferences of smallholder farmers in Mozambique. Conservation agriculture practices (CAP) is promoted in sub-Saharan Africa to improve water and soil conservation, improve household income and enhance family and national food security. CAP are based on three principles: minimizing soil disturbance by direct sowing of seeds into the soil, protecting soil with cover crops or crop residues, and intercropping and/or crop rotation The basins and jab planter practices are components of more general soil management CAP.

Univariate and multivariate analysis of variance and risk analysis were used for ranking the farming technologies using on-farm trial data collected from 4 years (2008 – 2011) of 632 farmers of the Central region of Mozambique by CIMMYT. A sensitivity analysis using a power utility function which allowed for certainty equivalent (CE) to vary depending on wealth endowments of producers was employed.

Results suggest that residue cover and seeding maize using CAP basins or jab planter technology generate higher[per hectare] net returns and yields than conventional tillage practices across different elevations. The CAP technologies were risk preferred over the conventional farming method in different altitudes by the mean-variance criteria, and CE criteria across a range of risk aversion levels and at different levels of wealth. The results also suggest as risk premium associated with a technology increases, the tradeoff between wealth and risk increases.

This thesis considers risk for analysis on partial budget. Further research on understanding the decisions in farming systems selections is necessary to consider those factors which are not captured by risk analysis such as household demographic differences, income sources, agricultural inputs and output markets, and availability of labor. All these factors can cause one farming system to be selected over another.

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