R. (Romina) Cavatassi: Small scale agriculture, marginal conditions and market access: impacts on natural resources and farmers' welfare

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6 Oct 2010 11:00 - 6 Oct 2010 12:30
Unit: Wageningen University
Location: Aula, building 362, Gen. Foulkesweg 1, Wageningen
Organisation: Wageningen University
Promotor: prof.dr. E.C. van Ierland (Environmental Economics and Natural Resources)
Co Promotor: dr HP Weikard , dr P.C. Winters

 An analysis of ways in which small-scale farmers deal with difficult production conditions and access the market by making production and variety choices. Impacts evaluation on agrobiodiversity, use of pesticides and farmers’ well being is presented through case studies conducted in Ecuador and Ethiopia.

Numerous are the obstacles and difficulties smallholder farmers from developing countries have to face to achieve food security or improve their wellbeing. Challenges and opportunities may vary dramatically from having to cope with harsh climatic and production conditions to having the option of entering the market, yet farming systems and production decisions are crucial elements to reduce poverty and improve wellbeing. This is particularly true in a time in which growing population, climate change and energy requirements pose increasing pressure on land and natural resources. In either context, the use and exploitation of natural resources is thus a key aspect to consider particularly with regard to the variety choices that can affect genetic diversity and to the use of pesticides that might be induced to achieve standards required by the market.

This thesis attempts to address these elements by analysing how small-scale farmers deal with achieving food security and improving their wellbeing by crop production choices, farming technologies and strategies adopted to access the market in marginal but market-oriented conditions as opposed to harsh production conditions.

After analyzing in detail the role of agriculture, of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) and of agricultural markets and seed systems, the thesis is divided in two parts. The first part deals with analyzing how small-scale farmers from the Ecuadorian Sierra benefit from dynamic changes in the agricultural economy and what is the impact of their production choices on the use of pesticides and of potato varieties adopted. The second part examines how smallholder farmers from the Hararghe region of Ethiopia deal with frequent production difficulties and with production shocks determined by drought through variety adoption choices and what are the impacts of these choices on production efficiency and genetic diversity. The importance of social capital, evident throughout the work presented, is specifically analyzed for the case of Ethiopia.

By using different approaches, methodologies and data, among which rigorous impact assessment plays a key role, findings show the unequivocal importance of market access, seed sources, production technologies and social capital. The analysis undertaken demonstrates that programs and policies to be effective need to be implemented throughout the entire value chain: from input use to produce commercialization, whereas social capital might facilitate dramatically the successfulness of variety adoption, seed access and program implementation. Lastly, this work demonstrates that rigorous impact evaluation can help identify aspects of programs and policies crucial to suggest the way forward on achieving sustainable economic development.
Title: 'Small scale agriculture, marginal conditions and market access: impacts on natural resources and farmers' welfare'
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