Preliminary Findings from First Survey Round by Emily McNulty

1. Preliminary
Findings from
First Survey
Round
Emily McNulty
November 2014
Project: Policies and
Institutions for Achieving
the Virtuous Food-
Energy-Water Nexus in
Sub-Saharan Africa

2. Contents
1. Description of first survey round
2. Micro-level overview of study area
• Food: Farm production, food security
• Water: Irrigation practices, irrigation scheme preferences,
willingness to contribute to irrigation schemes
• Energy: Fuel sources, improved cookstove use, WTP for
improved cookstoves
1. Upcoming research steps
2. Discussion
2

3. Description of first survey round
3

4. Map of selected villages in Dedza
4

5. Micro-level overview
of study area
5

6. Food: Crop production
• Average farm
size: 3 acres
(cultivated land)
• Positive skew
(paddy rice and
witches)
• 50th percentile is
2.5 acres
6
0 .1 .2 .3
Density
0 10 20 30 40
(sum) PTAREA

7. Food: Crop production
7
Crop Yields (in Kg) per Household
Crop Mean 50th Percentile
Maize 1071 720
Sorghum 94 30
Millet 133 128
Irish Potato 477 360
Sweet Potato 590 375
Cassava 865 720
Beans 419 78
Lentils 117 117
Paddy Rice 3030 1801
Sugarcane 135 135
Pigeon Peas 262 176
Cotton 421 150
Soy 274 176
Tobacco 156 80
Groundnuts 4206 164
Vegetables 162 80
Fruit 350 350
Cowpeas 350 137

8. Food: Dietary diversity scores
8
• 10 food groups, roughly
divided by nutrients
provided
• Quick assessment
(Kennedy, Ballard, & Dop,
2010)
• Household level
• 24 hour recall period
• Score is number of food
groups eaten

9. Food: DDS and legume consumption
9
• Average score = 5
• Protein levels may be a
concern
• Legume consumption
may increase with
improved cookstove
adoption (energy
security)
• Unsatisfactory
preliminary results for
legume consumption
 need to check
conversion factors
Consumption Rates of Food Groups Among
Households
Food group Frequency
Cereals 96%
White tubers, roots 57%
Vegetables 86%
Fruit 30%
Meat 18%
Eggs 13%
Fish, seafood 19%
Legumes, nuts, seeds 69%
Milk, dairy products 12%
Oils, fats 51%
Sugar, sweets 37%
Spices, condiments, beverages 30%

10. Food: Shortages
Food Shortages Experienced in Previous Year
Frequency Percentage of Households
Not at all 50%
A few days per year 18%
Several days per year 16%
Several days per month 7%
Several days per week 10%
• Is self reporting accurate enough?
• Pride
• Stunting
• The Nsima Factor 10

11. Water: Irrigation practices
• Of the 300 HHs, 118 use irrigation
• Improved irrigation may:
• increase yields (food security)
• allow for consecutive harvests in
one year
• free up labor for other activities
(time labor allocation)
11
Use of Irrigation Technologies
Technology Frequency
Bucket/watering can 69%
Treadle Pump 4%
Motorized Pump 2%
Canal/gravity fed 19%
Drip 0%
Bound basin flood 5%
Top Reasons for Not Using an Irrigation Technology
Not
enough
water
Too time
consuming
Too
expensive
Lack of
know-how
Bucket/Watering can X X
Treadle pump X X
Motorized pump X X
Canal/gravity fed X X
Drip irrigation X X X
Bound basin flooding X X

12. Water: Willingness to contribute to
hypothetical irrigation schemes
12
• Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT): two case studies in
Likangala and Domasi (Nkhoma & Mulwafu, 2004)
• Farmers become the main stakeholders, take ownership over
schemes: construct, maintain, manage
• Some difficulties in management transfer: what exactly are
farmers willing to contribute?

13. Water: Willingness to contribute to
hypothetical irrigation schemes
Preferred Technologies for
Hypothetical Irrigation Scheme
Technology Frequency
Motorized pump 102
Treadle pump 99
Canal/gravity fed 40
Drip irrigation 34
Bound basin/paddy 8
Bucket/watering can 1
13
Willingness to Contribute* to Hypothetical Irrigation Scheme
Construction/Set-up Maintenance Management
Temporal Monetary Temporal Monetary Temporal Monetary
Technology
Unpaid
labor
hours per
week
Total
(Kwacha)
Unpaid
labor
hours per
year
Annual
(Kwacha)
Unpaid
labor
hours per
year
Annual
(Kwacha)
Treadle pump 0 1000 60 1000 48 1000
Motorized pump 12 1000 76 1000 50 1000
Canal/gravity fed 7 1000 55 1000 36 600
Drip irrigation 6 1000 64 1000 36 700
Bound
basin/paddy 5 625 20 700 15 500
*50th percentile

14. Energy: Fuel sources
Main Fuel Sources
Frequency
Fuel Rainy Season Dry Season
Firewood 95% 88%
Charcoal 4% 1%
Crop Residues 2% 12%
14
• Rural area: mostly
firewood
•More charcoal used
during rainy season
• Extension agents are
promoting use of crop
residues

15. Energy: Cookstoves and health
15
Stove Related Health Issues*
Affliction** Frequency
Illness with a cough 44%
Cough with short, rapid breaths 20%
Cough affected ability to work 22%
*of those present in the same room as the
stove while the fire is active
**in the six months preceding the survey
Photos by RocketWorks and Stefan Meyer, 2014
• 7% of those present in the kitchen while fire was active had
at least one eye infection in the six months preceding the
survey (food security)

16. Energy: WTP for improved cookstoves
16
• Clay stove will be sold
for 1,200 kwacha
• Metal stove will be
sold for 2,000 kwacha

17. Upcoming research steps
• Sales of improved cookstoves
• More detailed analyses, regressions, socioeconomic
characteristics and their impacts on variables
• Choice experiment analyses
• Improved cookstove pricing, fuel reduction
• Fertilizer coupons or cash transfers conditional on
agroforestry adoption
• Second survey round (May to June 2015)
17

18. Discussion
Irrigation management transfer
• What challenges are there?
• Are there success stories yet? Elsewhere in SSA?
Improved cookstoves
• What does the future of ICS in Malawi look like? Is this a
political/donor fad?
• What will it take for ICS producers to thrive in the free
market/without subsidy?
18

19. 19
Sources
Kennedy, G., Ballard, T., & Dop, M. (2010). Guidelines for
measuring household and individual dietary diversity.
Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division, Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved
October 10, 2014, from
http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i1983e/i1983e00.pdf
Nkhoma, B. G., & Mulwafu, W. O. (2004). The experience of
irrigation management transfer in two irrigation schemes in
Malawi, 1960s–2002. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth,
Parts A/B/C, 29(15-18), 1327–1333.
doi:10.1016/j.pce.2004.09.007