Agricultural Productivity, Climate Change and Smallholder Farmer’S Entrepreneurship: a Case Study of the Central and Western Regions of Liberia
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Agricultural Productivity, Climate Change and Smallholder Farmer’s Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of the Central and Western Regions of Liberia By Alfred K. Tarway-Twalla1 University of Liberia Monrovia, Liberia ICBE-RF Research Report No. 49/13 Investment Climate and Business Environment Research Fund (ICBE-RF) www.trustafrica.org/icbe Dakar, May 2013 1 Contact : [email protected] This research was supported by a grant from the Investment Climate and Business Environment (ICBE) Research Fund, a collaborative initiative of TrustAfrica and IDRC. It’s a working paper circulated for discussion and comments. The findings and recommendations are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICBE-RF Secretariat, TrustAfrica or IDRC Abbreviations/Acronyms ADP Agriculture Development Project AEDE Agency for Economic Development and Empowerment ASRP Agriculture Sector Rehabilitation Project AfDB African Development Bank CAADP Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program CARI Central Agriculture Research Institute C&WRsL Central &Western Regions of Liberia CRL Central Region lof Liberia CBL Central Bank of Liberia CPA Comprehensive Peace Accord C&WRsL Central and Western Regions of Liberia EAs Enumeration Areas EU European Union FAO Food and Agricultural Organization FGDs Focus group discussions GDP Gross domestic product GOL Government of Liberia HHs Households IFAD International Organization for Agricultural Development IPPM Integrated pest and plant management KII Key informant interview LASIP Liberia Agriculture Investment Programme LBDI Liberia Bank for Development and Investment LDHS Liberia Demographic and Health Surveys LISGIS Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo- Information Services LMA Liberia Marketing Association MCI Ministry of Commerce & Industry MDGs Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) MGD Ministry of Gender and Development MIA Ministry of Internal Affairs MOA Ministry of Agriculture MOL Ministry of Labor MPEA Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs NAPA National Adaptation Programme of Action NGOs Non-government organizations PPS Probability Proportional to Size PRS Poverty reduction strategy PSD Private sector development ShFs Smallholder Farmers SMAM Singulate mean age at marriage SPA Simple Correlation Analysis SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences UL University of Liberia UN United Nations UNDCF United Nations Capital Development Fund UNDP United nations Development Programme WAAPP West Africa Agriculture Productivity Programme WB World Bank WATSAN Water and sanitation WFP World Food Programme WRL Western Region of Liberia ii Table of Contents Abbreviations/Acronyms .............................................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... iii List of tables .................................................................................................................................................. v List of figures ............................................................................................................................................... vi Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 1. Background and Methodology .............................................................................................................. 9 1.1 Introduction and Context .............................................................................................................. 9 1.2 Justification of the Study............................................................................................................. 14 1.3 Review of Literature ................................................................................................................... 14 1.4 Problem Statement ...................................................................................................................... 16 1.5 Project theoretical and conceptual framework ............................................................................ 17 1.6 Objective ..................................................................................................................................... 18 1.7 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 19 1.8 Research Limitations .................................................................................................................. 23 1.9 Validation of Survey Data........................................................................................................... 26 1.10 Organization of Report................................................................................................................ 27 2. Social Demographic Situation ............................................................................................................ 27 2.1 Age-Sex Analysis of Smallholder farmers .................................................................................. 28 2.2 Social and Demographic Status of Smallholder Farmers ........................................................... 28 2.3 Economic Dependency level of Smallholder Farmers ................................................................ 29 2.4 Educational Characteristics of Smallholder Farmers .................................................................. 30 2.5 Some Gender Issues .................................................................................................................... 30 2.6 Women’s Access to Land Ownership ......................................................................................... 30 2.7 Women’s Participation in Decision Making ............................................................................... 31 2.8 Youth Participation in Agricultural Activities ............................................................................ 32 3. Level of Technology, Entrepreneurship, Financial and Climatic Impacts .......................................... 33 iii 3.1 Crops Production Level .............................................................................................................. 33 3.2 Tools for Planting Food Crops .................................................................................................... 35 3.3 Tools for Harvesting Food Crops ................................................................................................ 36 3.4 Smallholder Farmers’ Food Crop Production Level ................................................................... 37 3.5 Access to Improved Drying Facilities ......................................................................................... 39 3.6 Method of De-Husking Rice ....................................................................................................... 40 3.7 Access to Improved Storage Facilities ........................................................................................ 40 3.8 Methods of Threshing Rice ......................................................................................................... 41 3.9 Access to Improved Transport Facilities .................................................................................... 42 3.10 Access to Agricultural Loan ....................................................................................................... 45 3.11 Sources of Agricultural Loans .................................................................................................... 46 3.12 Fertilizer Used Among Smallholder Farmers in 2011 ................................................................ 47 3.13 Some Climate Change Issues ...................................................................................................... 49 3.14 Access to Draught Resistant Varieties of Crops ......................................................................... 49 3.15 Relation of Rainfall and Sunshine with Smallholder Farmers’ Productivity .............................. 51 3.16 Average Area of Farmland Covered by Rainfall and Sunshine .................................................. 51 3.17 Relation of Insects and Rodents with Smallholder Farmers’ Productivity ................................. 52 3.18 Average Area of Farmland Covered by Insects and Rodents ..................................................... 53 3.19 Relation of Birds and Armyworms with Smallholder Farmers’ Productivity ............................ 54 3.20 Average Area of Farmland Covered by Birds and Armyworms ................................................. 55 3.21 Entrepreneurship of Smallholder Farmers .................................................................................. 56 3.22 Sale of Seed and Clean Rice ....................................................................................................... 57 3.23 Rice Sale During and After Harvest ........................................................................................... 58 3.24 Level of Cassava and Vegetable Sale ......................................................................................... 59 4. Findings and Recommendation ........................................................................................................... 61 4.1 Results and Conclusion ..............................................................................................................