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Debility due to malaria remains a major constraint to economic growth in many Agrarian economies. In the case of Ethiopia, nearly 70% of the population reside in malaria prone areas with focal and multifocal malaria epidemics, presenting a major challenge to subsistence farmers who rely on family labor supply for agricultural production. Various studies have analysed the economic burden of malaria in developing countries, proposing various interventions to reduce its prevalence. These studies have, however, paid little attention to the role of gender in shaping the impact of malaria infections on agricultural labor supply and productivity. There is evidence of existence of complex and diverse gender norms that shape decision making and gender roles in households in many African countries and may influence the risks of malaria infections within households, and access to services for malaria prevention and control. In this study, we examine the direct and indirect effects of malaria risk on agricultural productivity among smallholder farmers. We deviate from previous research in two main aspects: we examine productivity effects of the disease by sex and age of the infected member of the household and estimate the malaria equations using the fractional response model to overcome the limitations of linear and non-linear econometric estimators for bounded data. We find that malaria significantly reduces crop yields and labor productivity. For instance, a 50% increase in malaria prevalence in a household can reduce the per capita land productivity by US$13.4/year, which is about 7.8% reduction in annual per capita income. The estimated loss in labor productivity is about US$1.38/person-day given a 50% rise in malaria prevalence in a household. The results further reveal differential productivity effects of the disease with respect to gender of the household member infected; the effect is greatest when women and children below 14 years in the household fall sick compared to men. The results highlight the need to strengthen women and children's access to malaria control and prevention services to enhance human health and agricultural productivity. Furthermore, rural development projects may achieve greater health benefits by integrating malaria control interventions with the existing agricultural interventions. JEL Classifications: M1, M2, O1 and O2 Keywords: Malaria risk, Agriculture productivity, Gender, Ethiopia Contact author's email address: diirog@yahoo.co.uk, INTRODUCTION Malaria remains a major health and economic burden in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), accounting for 10% of the overall disease burden, and 40% of the public health expenditure in the [...]

African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) and its vectors, mainly tsetse, are a major constraint to livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Control efforts have been ongoing for decades, but finding a sustainable solution remains a major concern. This paper assessed the complementarity and substitutability of existing AAT management methods to inform policies toward an integrated approach. A multivariate probit (MVP) analytical technique was used to model interrelationships in the control methods from 308 randomly selected livestock keepers. The results show that the current AAT control methods are complementary and not substitutes. Furthermore, the number of years of formal education, household size, household income and land size had mixed effects on the households' decisions to adopt multiple AAT control methods. The key institutional factors that influenced the adoption behaviour were access to credit, group membership, access to veterinary services and drugs, and agricultural training. The results instil confidence in integrated AAT management if livestock farmers' socio-economic and institutional constraints are addressed sufficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors identify constraints and critical factors that influence compliance with EurepGap standards among French bean smallholder exporters in Kirinyaga District, Kenya. A probit model was used to determine the factors influencing the EurepGap compliance decision while descriptive statistics were used to identify the major constraints to compliance. Results indicate that the high initial cost of compliance is a major constraint on compliance. This arises from the need to purchase recommended agro-chemicals and fertilizers, and the hiring of additional labor. The key factors that are likely to enhance compliance with the standards include socioeconomic and farm characteristics such as area under French beans, household size, total number of farm enterprises and access to extension services. However, compliance is also negatively influenced by access to off-farm income. The authors make several policy recommendations that could be implemented to enhance and upscale compliance with EurepGap standards in the study area. [EconLit citations: D230; Q130; Q180]. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]