1. Determinants of Economic Gains from Crop
Production in Africa: The Case of Smallholder Group
Farmers in the Democratic Republic of Congo
E. Birachi , D.Ochieng , G.Owuor , R.Buruchara , J. Ochieng , S. Mapatano ,
1 2 2 1 2 3
1. International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT);
2. Department of Agricultural Economics, Egerton University, Platform DIOBASS, DRC
Introduction be reinvested in agriculture to increase productivity and
-
ence of off-farm income on economic gain could only be
Measures to alleviate poverty among smallholder farmers in Africa substituted if future interventions incorporate more income
have focused on individual farmers all through the 21st century. How- generating activities along with the technology package to
ever, these have not yielded much success, forcing research and de- enable the resource poor farmers afford improved technol-
velopment organizations to focus their efforts on technological innova- ogies whose adoption seemed low.
tions and other interventions through farmer groups.
In line with the regression results, more credit needs to
The potential gain in productivity through group interventions is a major be availed to the farmers to increase economic gains.
factor underlying the need for developing countries to promote groups. This could be done through innovative ways to enable
Group actions are analyzed within the concept of collective action. the resource poor farmers access credit, for example
credit in kind (input provision) given the risk averse na-
Based on the new institutional economics approach, collective efforts ture of smallholder farmers. Financial institutions should
solve societal problems, and focus on the conditions under which however issue more credit in kind to reduce loss of the
groups of people with common interests choose to act to achieve funds; the credit could be in form of material inputs nec-
essary to increase agricultural productivity. The lending
of the gaps generated by this situation for example in input and out-
put marketing. South Kivu Province, DRC periods given the nature of agricultural production in
Congo that is characterized by risks of crop failure, erratic
whether there is need to upscale the efforts or not. The rainfall and pest invasion.
Agricultural set up need to link with other institutions depends on the success
of the existing group efforts and without impact assess- Membership to farmers’ organizations was also ob-
in the DRC group efforts. This study contributes to research on agri-
cultural technology interventions aimed at improving pro-
It should be encouraged among smallholders in order
to boost productivity and incomes as observed in the
Annual decline in productivity in DR Congo has been estimated at ductivity and economic gains among smallholder farmers mean differences in these variables between group and
0.98% while low annual increment in agricultural production at 2% in the DRC. non-group farmers.
compared to the demographic rise of 3.3% (Vandamme, 2008 and
Mastaki, 2006). Efforts to improve and sustain the sector’s productiv-
ity therefore would be crucial to the nation’s economic development
and the welfare of the people. Conclusions
Most farmers have limited access to improved crop varieties of ma- • To achieve improved economic welfare, group efforts
jor crops like maize, cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas and common should be promoted
beans. The decline in productivity has also been partly attributed to • The issue of credit access and provision needs a clos-
reduction in soil fertility and high levels of soil erosion such that an es- er consideration
timate of 80 kg/ha of nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium are lost an-
• Dissemination of technologies need to reach the high-
nually (Kasereka, 2003).There is a shortage of animal manure due to
est possible number of farmers and radio appears to
reduction in livestock holdings (Lunze, 2000), that could be used as or-
offer a better option
ganic fertilizer. Family manpower has reduced following the emigration
of active men and women to urban centers in search of alternative op-
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The research issue Discussions 1 Cirimwami, K.J.P., and Mashika B.K.A. (1999). La
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grams, there is need to allocate more radio air time to des sols au Sud-Kivu smontagneux. Cahiers du
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Model Beta T strategy revolves around vigorous promotional activities d`étranglement de la commercialisation dans
(Constant) 0.347 0.287 via radio and should be carried out by interested NGOs,
0.015 0.152 l`adoption des innovations agricoles chez les pro-
development partners and research institutions and oth- ducteurs vivriers du Sud-Kivu (Est de la RD.Congo),
0.086 0.804
er stakeholders to encourage the formation of farmers’ PhD dissertation originale, Université des sciences
0.807 1.87** radio listening groups across the territories to allow for agronomiques de Gembloux, Unité d’Economie et
programs
Développement Rural.
that improve productivity and economic welfare of small-
0.006 0.055 holder farmers.
0.02 0.198 Walungu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
0.561 5.593***
Thesis, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
0.022
0.10
0.219
1.36*
Discussions 2 Notes: The study was based on project interventions
R2 0.545 under: CSO-DIOBASS Project in South Kivu. Acknowl-
2 0.449 of the smallholder farmers as observed in off-farm in- edgments and to Plateform DIOBASS with funding
5.637***
come realized. Smallholder farmers spent more time in
off-farm activities like running small business enterprises
2.367
to supplement their income. These off-farm activities can
For more information: e.birachi@cgiar.org