Study cracks genetics code to financial barriers and income 

A recently-released study by leading monitoring and evaluation specialist Dr PETER BEINE advocates for genetic improvements in cassava as well as the adoption of certified seeds of improved cassava varieties (c-ICVs) in Uganda in order to achieve increased productivity, cash income and consumption expenditure, writes David Lumu.

In this three-year study, data came from 609 farm households in Uganda’s three major cassava-growing regions of eastern, northern, and mid-western.

Dubbed: Assessing the crop productivity and household welfare effects of adopting certified seeds of improved cassava varieties in Uganda, Dr Beine’s research shows that adopters of c-ICVs experienced a considerable increase in productivity and improvement in welfare outcomes.

The results, which were published on June 11, 2023 by the Agricultural Economics Research, Policy and Practice in Southern Africa, also provide evidence of the effectiveness of the country’s seed certification and genetic improvement efforts over recent years and justify increased investments in genetic improvement and seed certification.

So, the findings are timely as the country gets to grips with the Parish Development Model (PDM), which is aimed at increasing household incomes and improving the quality of life with a specific focus on the total transformation of the subsistence household into the money economy.

In fact, cassava is one of the priority commodities under PDM along with coffee, cotton and cocoa, among others.

BACKGROUND

In Uganda, low seed quality is a significant problem for cassava-producing smallholder farmers. Most cassava farmers in the country use recycled planting materials from their farms, neighbours and local markets. Planting materials accessed through these informal channels are often infected with diseases.

The quality of cassava planting materials in Uganda is affected by cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD), causing yield loss.

It is on this background that Beine sought to improve cassava seed quality to benefit smallholder farmers in Uganda. After all, cassava is the second-most important staple food crop in Uganda after plantains.

For years, research efforts to improve the quality of cassava planting materials were hampered by the crop’s unique biological characteristics such as bulkiness, perishability and low multiplication rate. Matters were not helped by the fact that no study had accounted for seed quality differences of adopted cassava varieties.

Therefore, Beine’s study addressed the two research questions using a nationally representative dataset. The first part dealt with identifying the factors influencing the decision to adopt seeds of c- ICVs (adoption incidence).

The second part dealt with identifying the factors influencing the decision on how much land to allocate to the varieties conditional on adoption (adoption intensity). The second research question was addressed using the endogenous switching regression (ESR) model.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The results showed that adopters of c-ICVs were more productive than adopters of uncertified improved cassava varieties (u-ICVs). From each acre of cassava land, adopters of c-ICVs harvested 11 bags of more stems and 317kg of more roots than adopters of u-ICVs had harvested, suggesting that seed certification contributed to productivity gains.

Similarly, adopters of c-ICVs were more productive than adopters of local varieties (LCVs). From each acre of cassava land, adopters of c-ICVs harvested ten bags more stems, and 637kg more roots than adopters of LCVs had harvested, suggesting that genetic improvement combined with seed certification contributed to productivity gains.

The welfare measures indicated that adopters of c-ICVs were better off than adopters of u-ICVs and LCVs.

OVERALL FINDINGS

The results showed that a relatively higher proportion of adopters of c-ICVs were members of agricultural innovation platforms (AIPs), belonged to other farmer groups, and reported receiving extension services than adopters of u-ICVs and LCVs.

For example, nearly 55% of adopters of c-ICVs were members of AIPs compared to about 30% of adopters of u-ICVs and 13% of adopters of LCVs. Further, a relatively higher proportion of adopters of c-ICVs had access to extension services than adopters of u-ICVs and LCVs.

Meanwhile, the results consistently show that AIP membership was positively associated with the adoption incidence of c-ICVs. The plausible explanation is that AIP membership facilitates knowledge acquisition through training and extension services, experience sharing among farmers, and expert guidance from the AIP actors, such as researchers and seed certification regulators.

The results also consistently showed that educational level was positively and significantly associated with the adoption incidence and intensity of c-ICVs.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Beine applied the two-part model to identify the factors associated with the adoption incidence and intensity of c-ICVs. He also applied the endogenous switching regression (ESR) model to assess the cassava productivity and household welfare impacts of adopting c-ICVs based on data collected from the 609 cassava-growing households in three regions of Uganda.

“We generated impact evidence of the adoption of c-ICVs. Further, unlike most previous adoption and impact studies, we circumscribed four significant limitations of previous impact evaluations,” he noted.

It is important to note that unlike previous impact studies that ignored seed certification, Beine distinguished the improved cassava varieties into certified and uncertified and assessed the impact of seed certification.

What’s more, unlike previous impact studies that considered only a single indicator of productivity and household welfare, he used multiple measures that include root and stem yield for productivity.

Then again, unlike most previous studies that used less rigorous impact estimation methods such as the propensity score matching (PSM), he applied the ESR model that is considered a rigorous impact estimation technique and, lastly, unlike most previous studies that used sub-national, district-level or regional level datasets, he used a nationally representative data set collected from three major cassava- growing regions.

The results showed that AIP membership, education, livestock size, and access to extension services were significant determinants of the adoption of c-ICVs. The results support continued efforts and development programmes in promoting AIP membership, access to extension services, education, and asset creation measured by livestock ownership.

The results also showed that adopters of c-ICVs experienced a considerable increase in productivity (stem and root yields) and improvement in welfare outcomes (cassava cash income and consumption expenditure). The findings indicated the effectiveness of the seed certification and genetic improvement efforts over recent years and justified sustained investments in these two areas.

While the results provide significant evidence in favour of intensifying the genetic improvement and seed certification efforts, they also suggested that adopting c-ICVs alone was insufficient to close the yield gap between on-farm and on- research stations.

The observed yield of c-ICVs in the present study was 18.6 t/ha compared to 8-15 t/ha in the farmers’ fields and 25 t/ha in research stations. Thus, further efforts are warranted to improve the adoption of complementary agronomic practices to close the remaining yield gap.