Improved pigeonpea and chickpea impact on rural households in Tanzania and Ethiopia

1. Asfaw S,Shiferaw B and Simtowe F
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT),PO Box 39603,Nairobi,Kenya
Introduction
To harness the untapped potential for the poor, the International
Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in
collaboration with national partners developed and released
severalhigh-yieldingandstress-tolerantvarietiesofpigeonpeaand
chickpeawithdesirableagronomicandmarkettraits. Assessingthe
impact of these varieties can assist with setting priorities,providing
feedbacktoresearchprogramsandguidingpolicymakersandthose
involved in technology transfer to have a better understanding of
the way new technologies are assimilated and diffused into farming
communities.
Capturing Impact of Improved Pigeonpea
and Chickpea on Rural Households in
Tanzania and Ethiopia
Farm-level effect of improved varieties
Objective
To provide rigorous empirical evidence on the role of adoption of
improvedchickpeaandpigeonpeatechnologyonhouseholdwelfare
outcomesusinghouseholdsurveydatafromarandomcross-section
sample of 1313 small-scale producers (700 in Ethiopia and 613 in
Tanzania).
· The mean value of crop income per capita of adopters is
significantly higher than non-adopters.
· Improved pigeonpea adoption increases crop income per capita
by about 109% whereas improved chickpea adoption increases
crop income per capita by about 37%.
· For non-adopters, the mean crop income per capita would have
been increased by 44% had they adopted improved pigeonpea
and by 19% had they adopted improved chickpea varieties.
· Results also confirm that adoption of improved pigeonpea and
chickpea technologies has a positive impact on consumption
expenditure per capita.
· The mean consumption expenditure per capita of improved
pigeonpea and chickpea adopters is 74% and 25% higher than
those who had not adopted improved varieties respectively.
· If non-adopters had adopted improved pigeonpea, their
consumption expenditure per capita would have increased by
70%, whereas for chickpea it is about 18%.
· These results imply that adoption of improved agricultural
technologies increased household welfare measured in terms of
crop income and consumption expenditure.
Causal impact of improved technology adoption on household welfare
Sep/2010