Numerous previous attempts at technology development and transfer have not always sufficiently co... more Numerous previous attempts at technology development and transfer have not always sufficiently contributed to sustainable food security and rural poverty alleviation in SSA. It has become increasingly obvious that new approaches are needed to mobilize science and technology for innovative applications in Africa, a continent where 70% of farming is in the hands of resource-poor smallholder farmers. Such farmers, who on average own half an hectare of land, are inhibited to accessing agricultural innovations that could overcome challenges such as drought, soil fertility and elite crop cultivars. Thus delivery of appropriate technologies is critical in ensuring that farmers have the best planting materials and management practices for optimal productivity. Fortunately, sustained investment by the governments and the private sector in research and development, including biotechnology, has continued to generate technologies that address some of the monumental limitations to productivity. ...
This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs—relative to price and non-price factors—on ... more This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs—relative to price and non-price factors—on smallholder marketed surplus and input use in Kenya. A selectivity model was used that accounts not only for the effects of fixed and variable transactions costs but also for the role of assets, technology, and support services in promoting input use and generating a marketable surplus. Output
... beans. The area is one of the high-potential maize zonesmoist transitional and highlandwhic... more ... beans. The area is one of the high-potential maize zonesmoist transitional and highlandwhich together produce about 80% of the total maize on 30% of the maize area in Kenya, with the yields of over 2.5 t/ha (Hassan, 1998). ...
This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs-relative to price and non-price factors-on ... more This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs-relative to price and non-price factors-on smallholder marketed surplus and input use in Kenya. A selectivity model was used that accounts for the effects of transactions costs, assets, technology, and support services in promoting input use and generating a marketable surplus. Output supply and input demand responses to changes in transactions costs and price and non-price factors were estimated and decomposed into market entry and intensity. The results showed that while transactions costs indeed have significant negative effects on market participation, institutional innovations-such as group marketing-are also emerging to mitigate the costs of accessing markets. Output price has no effect on output market entry and only provides incentives for increased supply by sellers. On the other hand, both price and non-price factors have significant influence on adoption and intensity of input use. Overall, the findings suggest that policy options are available other than price policies to promote input use and marketed surplus. The paper concludes with implications for policy to induce greater input-output market participation among smallholders in Africa.
Striga hermonthica (del) Benth is threatening rural livelihoods in western Kenya where maize is t... more Striga hermonthica (del) Benth is threatening rural livelihoods in western Kenya where maize is the major food and cash crop. Vulnerability analysis was conducted on a sample of 802 households in eight districts of Nyanza and Western provinces. Farmers perceived Striga as the major cause of poverty and food insecurity. Both household income and child nutrition indicators showed alarming conditions for the majority of households. The coping strategies and informal safety nets were not capable of addressing the vulnerability issue successfully. A logistic regression model of determinants of poverty was estimated to examine the determinants and correlates of poverty. Results revealed certain characteristics of households that were more likely to be poor: poor access to land and farm assets; high dependency ratio; headed by older farmer with low education attainment; no off-farm work, no cash crops; depend on credit; Striga has been on the farm for long, high perceived yield loss to Striga given high dependency on maize for livelihoods; adopt no integrated Striga control options; and live in Bondo and Vihiga districts. The paper concludes with implications for policy to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the Striga-affected areas of western Kenya.
Recent developments in agricultural science and technology have the potential to transform the ag... more Recent developments in agricultural science and technology have the potential to transform the agricultural sector in the developing world. These technological advances constitute key drivers of economic growth and hold great promise for poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Agricultural research and development in Africa is undergoing a major paradigm shift. Until recently, public-sector institutions in Africa worked in isolation to create and disseminate agricultural technologies to smallholder farmers. However, they need access to improved proprietary technologies developed for the most part by the private sector in developed countries. These technologies are currently concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations and are protected by intellectual property rights.
ABSTRACT Resistant sorghum cultivars could become a major component of integrated striga control ... more ABSTRACT Resistant sorghum cultivars could become a major component of integrated striga control packages if effec- The parasitic angiosperms Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. and tive host-plant resistance were incorporated into adapted, S. asiatica (L.) Kuntze severely constrain cereal production in sub- Saharan Africa. A resistance mechanism to these root parasites in productive cultivars. The best-described mechanism of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is low exudation of striga resistance in sorghum to the weed is low production of seed germination stimulants. The trait is controlled by a single reces- root exudates required by the striga seed to germinate. sive gene in the sorghum S. asiatica interaction, but information The major germination stimulant in sorghum is sorgo- is lacking for S. hermonthica. Objectives of this investigation were lactone (Hauck et al., 1992), whereas sorgoleone and to study the inheritance of stimulation of S. hermonthica seed germi- strigol seem to be of minor importance (Ejeta et al., nation in three F2 and two F3:5 recombinant inbred populations of 1992). Other putative mechanisms of resistance to striga sorghum, and to determine the effects of striga populations from Mali, include mechanical barriers, inhibition of germ tube Niger, and Kenya on the effectiveness of the low-stimulant character. exoenzymes by root exudates, phytoalexine synthesis, An agar-gel assay was employed for this purpose. In this laboratory post-attachment hypersensitive reactions, antibiosis (e.g.,
Numerous previous attempts at technology development and transfer have not always sufficiently co... more Numerous previous attempts at technology development and transfer have not always sufficiently contributed to sustainable food security and rural poverty alleviation in SSA. It has become increasingly obvious that new approaches are needed to mobilize science and technology for innovative applications in Africa, a continent where 70% of farming is in the hands of resource-poor smallholder farmers. Such farmers, who on average own half an hectare of land, are inhibited to accessing agricultural innovations that could overcome challenges such as drought, soil fertility and elite crop cultivars. Thus delivery of appropriate technologies is critical in ensuring that farmers have the best planting materials and management practices for optimal productivity. Fortunately, sustained investment by the governments and the private sector in research and development, including biotechnology, has continued to generate technologies that address some of the monumental limitations to productivity. ...
This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs—relative to price and non-price factors—on ... more This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs—relative to price and non-price factors—on smallholder marketed surplus and input use in Kenya. A selectivity model was used that accounts not only for the effects of fixed and variable transactions costs but also for the role of assets, technology, and support services in promoting input use and generating a marketable surplus. Output
... beans. The area is one of the high-potential maize zonesmoist transitional and highlandwhic... more ... beans. The area is one of the high-potential maize zonesmoist transitional and highlandwhich together produce about 80% of the total maize on 30% of the maize area in Kenya, with the yields of over 2.5 t/ha (Hassan, 1998). ...
This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs-relative to price and non-price factors-on ... more This paper assessed the effects of transactions costs-relative to price and non-price factors-on smallholder marketed surplus and input use in Kenya. A selectivity model was used that accounts for the effects of transactions costs, assets, technology, and support services in promoting input use and generating a marketable surplus. Output supply and input demand responses to changes in transactions costs and price and non-price factors were estimated and decomposed into market entry and intensity. The results showed that while transactions costs indeed have significant negative effects on market participation, institutional innovations-such as group marketing-are also emerging to mitigate the costs of accessing markets. Output price has no effect on output market entry and only provides incentives for increased supply by sellers. On the other hand, both price and non-price factors have significant influence on adoption and intensity of input use. Overall, the findings suggest that policy options are available other than price policies to promote input use and marketed surplus. The paper concludes with implications for policy to induce greater input-output market participation among smallholders in Africa.
Striga hermonthica (del) Benth is threatening rural livelihoods in western Kenya where maize is t... more Striga hermonthica (del) Benth is threatening rural livelihoods in western Kenya where maize is the major food and cash crop. Vulnerability analysis was conducted on a sample of 802 households in eight districts of Nyanza and Western provinces. Farmers perceived Striga as the major cause of poverty and food insecurity. Both household income and child nutrition indicators showed alarming conditions for the majority of households. The coping strategies and informal safety nets were not capable of addressing the vulnerability issue successfully. A logistic regression model of determinants of poverty was estimated to examine the determinants and correlates of poverty. Results revealed certain characteristics of households that were more likely to be poor: poor access to land and farm assets; high dependency ratio; headed by older farmer with low education attainment; no off-farm work, no cash crops; depend on credit; Striga has been on the farm for long, high perceived yield loss to Striga given high dependency on maize for livelihoods; adopt no integrated Striga control options; and live in Bondo and Vihiga districts. The paper concludes with implications for policy to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the Striga-affected areas of western Kenya.
Recent developments in agricultural science and technology have the potential to transform the ag... more Recent developments in agricultural science and technology have the potential to transform the agricultural sector in the developing world. These technological advances constitute key drivers of economic growth and hold great promise for poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Agricultural research and development in Africa is undergoing a major paradigm shift. Until recently, public-sector institutions in Africa worked in isolation to create and disseminate agricultural technologies to smallholder farmers. However, they need access to improved proprietary technologies developed for the most part by the private sector in developed countries. These technologies are currently concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations and are protected by intellectual property rights.
ABSTRACT Resistant sorghum cultivars could become a major component of integrated striga control ... more ABSTRACT Resistant sorghum cultivars could become a major component of integrated striga control packages if effec- The parasitic angiosperms Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. and tive host-plant resistance were incorporated into adapted, S. asiatica (L.) Kuntze severely constrain cereal production in sub- Saharan Africa. A resistance mechanism to these root parasites in productive cultivars. The best-described mechanism of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is low exudation of striga resistance in sorghum to the weed is low production of seed germination stimulants. The trait is controlled by a single reces- root exudates required by the striga seed to germinate. sive gene in the sorghum S. asiatica interaction, but information The major germination stimulant in sorghum is sorgo- is lacking for S. hermonthica. Objectives of this investigation were lactone (Hauck et al., 1992), whereas sorgoleone and to study the inheritance of stimulation of S. hermonthica seed germi- strigol seem to be of minor importance (Ejeta et al., nation in three F2 and two F3:5 recombinant inbred populations of 1992). Other putative mechanisms of resistance to striga sorghum, and to determine the effects of striga populations from Mali, include mechanical barriers, inhibition of germ tube Niger, and Kenya on the effectiveness of the low-stimulant character. exoenzymes by root exudates, phytoalexine synthesis, An agar-gel assay was employed for this purpose. In this laboratory post-attachment hypersensitive reactions, antibiosis (e.g.,
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Papers by Gospel Omanya