Social Networks and Access to Soybean Value Chains in Rural
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Social Networks and Access to Soybean Value Chains in Rural Mozambique A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School At the University of Missouri In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy By MARY FRIDAH KARWIRWA MUBICHI Dr. David J. O’Brien, Dissertation Supervisor December 2017 © Copyright Mary Fridah K. Mubichi All rights reserved The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the Dissertation entitled SOCIAL NETWORKS AND ACCESS TO SOYBEAN VALUE CHAINS IN RURAL MOZAMBIQUE Presented by Mary Fridah Karwirwa Mubichi A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy And hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Dr. David J. O’Brien Dr. Jere Gilles Dr. Mary Grisby Dr. Stephen Jeanetta Dr. Jill L. Findeis Dedication This work is dedicated to the children of Africa who hold the future. Acknowledgements I am grateful for the support and encouragement I have received from my family, friends and faculty at the University of Missouri. I am most grateful to my late mother Florence and sister Miriam whose love for education and service encouraged me to pursue this PhD and to the many women and men of Mozambique who welcomed us into their communities and graciously participated in the various interviews. I am grateful to my dissertation chair, Dr. David O’Brien who has supported me and encouraged me throughout this process. I am indebted to Dr. Jill Findeis who opened my eyes to Mozambique and Africa’s socio-economic development research. I am appreciative for the funding and training that facilitated my dissertation research as well as various international and domestic trips. Dr. Findeis has not only been a teacher but a mentor and friend who as pushed me to become a stronger, better and ethical researcher. I am also grateful to my other committee members; Dr. Stephen Jeanetta who funded and supported my training as a community development practitioner, Dr. Mary Grisby who has always encouraged me to be a Sociologist attentive to Sustainable Development and gender issues, and Dr. Jere Gilles who never minced his words and often pushed me beyond my comfort zone. Thank you all for your patience, faith and support. I would like to acknowledge and thank my colleagues at the Institute of Agricultural Research of Mozambique (IIAM) who made this research possible. I am indebted to Maria de Luz who played a vital role in the development of the ii various survey instruments and data collection. I am also grateful to Dr. Magalhaes who provided insights into Mozambique’s agricultural technology development, and Paolo the valiant driver who always went out of his way to make sure my field visits were successful. I am also grateful to David and the enumerators who worked tirelessly to ensure we had access to reliable data. I have been privileged to work and learn from an amazing interdisciplinary team in SIL. Thank you, Drs. Kerry Clark and Kristin Bilyeu for giving me my first crash course in soybeans and encouraging interdisciplinary research. Thank you, Dr. Ragsdale, for your passion and invaluable contribution towards the development of the WEAI+ and understanding the gender dynamics in agricultural technology development. Thank you, Dr. Goldsmith and Courtney Tamimie for your leadership and promotion of interdisciplinary and international collaborative research efforts that reduce global poverty and hunger. I am grateful to the various staff and faculty members within the Division of Applied Social Sciences (DASS) and CAFNR International Programs who made my travel, research and leadership development efforts seamless. Thank you Marijo, Amy, Laura, Ashley, Carol, Cecilia, Christy, Linda, Judy and Dr. Schneeberger, among others. To my dear sister (Ravena), father (Mubichi), academic siblings, and friends (Nina, Mattie, Julie, Luis, Pam, Nkirote, Eleni, Lee-Ann, Cara, Liz, Greg, and many others), THANK YOU for never letting me give up and always holding me accountable to my vision. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... ii List of Tables ................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ..................................................................................................... xii Abstract .............................................................................................................. xv Chapter 1: Introduction and background ............................................................ 1 Research motivation .......................................................................................... 3 Specific research objectives: .............................................................................. 6 Significance of study ........................................................................................ 7 Soybean Innovation lab .................................................................................. 7 Role of soybeans in poverty alleviation and food security in southeast Africa.. 8 Challenges of soybean ................................................................................ 10 Mozambique country background ...................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Literature review ............................................................................ 21 Diffusion of innovations ...................................................................................... 22 Gender and technology adoption ....................................................................... 27 Social Networks ................................................................................................. 30 Social networks and agriculture development in rural Mozambique ................ 33 Chapter 3: Theory and research method ........................................................... 37 Theoretical framework: Social Networks and Diffusion of Innovations theory 37 Study Hypotheses ............................................................................................ 42 Hypothesis I ................................................................................................... 43 Hypothesis II .................................................................................................. 44 Hypothesis III ................................................................................................. 45 iv Research Design & Method ............................................................................... 46 Sampling and data collection ........................................................................... 47 Instruments ........................................................................................................ 50 Mozambique Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index-plus (WEAI+) ...... 50 Mozambique Soybean Uptake & Network Survey wave I ............................... 52 Network Pilot Survey ........................................................................................ 53 Research journal & focus groups discussion notes ......................................... 54 Data analysis ................................................................................................... 57 Study variables ................................................................................................ 59 Soybean uptake ............................................................................................... 59 Sociodemographic data .................................................................................... 59 Location ............................................................................................................ 64 Productive capital ............................................................................................. 65 Network characteristics and measures ............................................................ 70 Chapter 4: Macro-data ...................................................................................... 75 Socio-demographic characteristics .................................................................... 75 Productive capital ............................................................................................. 85 Soybean Uptake ............................................................................................. 92 Chapter 5: Micro-data ........................................................................................ 94 Socio demographic data .................................................................................. 94 Network characteristics .................................................................................. 100 Source of agricultural Information .................................................................. 104 Soybean uptake ............................................................................................... 107 Soybean information networks ....................................................................... 108 Network density (tie strength) ........................................................................ 111 v Access to agricultural extension ..................................................................... 115 Chapter 6: Results ......................................................................................... 120 Macro-Level Results .....................................................................................