Person:
Abate, T.

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Abate
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Abate, T.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 24
  • Addressing gendered varietal and trait preferences in West African maize
    (Elsevier, 2020) Amare Tegbaru; Menkir, A.; Baco, M.N.; Idrisou, L.; Sissoko, D.; Eyitayo, A.O.; Abate, T.; Abdoulaye, T.
    Publication
  • Managing vulnerability to drought and enhancing livelihood resilience in sub-Saharan Africa: Technological, institutional and policy options
    (Elsevier, 2014) Shiferaw, B.; Tesfaye, K.; Kassie, M.; Abate, T.; Prasanna, B.M.; Menkir, A.
    Agriculture and the economies of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are highly sensitive to climatic variability. Drought, in particular, represents one of the most important natural factors contributing to malnutrition and famine in many parts of the region. The overall impact of drought on a given country/region and its ability to recover from the resulting social, economic and environmental impacts depends on several factors. The economic, social and environmental impacts of drought are huge in SSA and the national costs and losses incurred threaten to undermine the wider economic and development gains made in the last few decades in the region. There is an urgent need to reduce the vulnerability of countries to climate variability and to the threats posed by climate change. This paper attempts to highlight the challenges of drought in SSA and reviews the current drought risk management strategies, especially the promising technological and policy options for managing drought risks to protect livelihoods and reduce vulnerability. The review suggests the possibilities of several ex ante and ex post drought management strategies in SSA although their effectiveness depends on agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions. Existing technological, policy and institutional risk management measures need to be strengthened and integrated to manage drought ex ante and to minimize the ex post negative effects for vulnerable households and regions. A proactive approach that combines promising technological, institutional and policy solutions to manage the risks within vulnerable communities implemented by institutions operating at different levels (community, sub-national, and national) is considered to be the way forward for managing drought and climate variability.
    Publication
  • Developing maize varieties that adapt to climate change :the role of CIMMYT and partners in Africa
    (CIMMYT, 2016) Regasa, M.W.; Mugo, S.N.; Beyene, Y.; Makumbi, D.; Owino, F.; Abate, T.; Olsen, M.; Machida, L.; Suresh, L.M.; Prasanna, B.M.; Jumbo, M.B
    Publication
  • Modeling preference and willingness to pay for Drought Tolerance (DT) in maize in rural Zimbabwe
    (Elsevier, 2017) Kassie, G.; Awudu Abdulai; Greene, W.; Shiferaw, B.; Abate, T.; Tarekegne, A.T.; Sutcliffe, C.
    Maize plays a leading role in the food security of millions in southern Africa, yet it is highly vulnerable to the moisture stress brought about by the erratic rainfall patterns that characterize weather systems in the area. Developing and making drought tolerant maize varieties available to farmers in the region has thus long been a key goal on the regional development agenda. Farm-level adoption of these varieties, however, depends on local perceptions of the value they add, along with willingness to pay (WTP) for it. Focusing on Zimbabwe, this research aimed at estimating the implicit prices farmers are willing to pay for drought tolerance in maize compared to other preferred traits. Using a choice experiment framework, we generated 12,600 observations from a random sample of 1,400 households in communal areas within 14 districts of Zimbabwe. Taste parameters and heterogeneities were estimated using the generalized multinomial logit model (G-MNL). The results reveal drought tolerance, grain yield, covered cob tip, cob size, and semi-flint texture to be the most preferred traits by farm households in Zimbabwe. The WTP estimates show that farmers are willing to pay a premium for drought tolerance equal to 2.56, 7, 3.2, and 5 times higher than for an additional ton of yield per acre, bigger cob size, larger grain size, and covered cob tip, respectively. We suggest designing and implementing innovative ways of promoting DT maize along with awareness-raising activities to enhance contextual understandings of drought and drought risk to speed adoption of new DT maize varieties by risk-prone farming communities. Given the high level of rural literacy and the high rate of adoption of improved maize, trait-based promotion and marketing of varieties constitutes the right strategy.
    Publication
  • Characteristics of maize cultivars in Africa: How modern are they and how many do smallholder farmers grow?
    (Springer Verlag, 2017) Abate, T.; Fisher, M.; Abdoulaye, T.; Kassie, G.; Lunduka, Rodney; Marenya, P.P.; Asnake, W.
    Maize is the most important cereal and most widely cultivated staple that plays a key role in the food security of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Although some countries have achieved significant gains in maize productivity, the SSA average yields are far below what could be obtained with improved cultivars under good crop management. Low cultivar turnover is one among many contributing factors to low maize yields in SSA. At present, there is a critical knowledge gap on the identity, number, and age of maize cultivars currently grown by smallholder farmers on the continent. This study revealed that nearly 500 maize cultivars were grown in 13 African countries surveyed in the 2013/2014 main crop season. Sixty-nine percent of the cultivars each occupied <1% of the total maize area; only two cultivars occupied >40% and four occupied >30% area. Approximately 32% of all the cultivars were hybrids, 23% were improved open-pollinated varieties (OPVs), and 46% were locals. Eastern Africa (EA) and southern Africa (SA) accounted for about 43 and 38%, respectively, of all the cultivars reported, whereas West Africa’s (WA) share was 19%. The average area planted to modern cultivars in the surveyed areas was estimated at 57%—with EA, SA, and WA estimates of 82, 55, and 36%, respectively; however, increased adoption was not necessarily always related to improved productivity, as the latter depends on many additional factors. Each household planted an average of 1.781 cultivars (range 1–8). The overall weighted average age of the cultivars was 15 years, with hybrids and OPVs being 13 and 18 years, respectively. Conclusions: Maize variety turnover in SSA is slower than what is practiced in the USA and other world regions such as Latin America and Asia. The substantial variations among regions and countries in all parameters measured suggest a tailored approach to mitigation interventions. Findings of this current study pave the way for replacing the old cultivars with more recent releases that are tolerant or resistant to multiple stresses and are more resilient.
    Publication
  • Determinants of agricultural technology adoption under partial population awareness: the case of pigeonpea in Malawi
    (SpringerOpen, 2016) Simtowe, F.P.; Asfaw, S.; Abate, T.
    There is exhaustive literature on technology adoption rates and the relationship between technology adoption and relevant socioeconomic and policy variables. Yet adoption estimates derived from the application of standard techniques such as the probit and tobit yield biased estimates. This paper applies the modern evaluation technique: the counterfactual outcome framework to data from about 400 households in Malawi to assess the patterns of diffusion and adoption of improved pigeonpea varieties and their determinants. We find the sample adoption rate of improved varieties to be 14 % while the potential adoption rate if the improved varieties were widely disseminated is estimated at 41 %. The adoption gap resulting from the incomplete exposure to the improved pigeonpea is 27 %. Moreover, adoption is also found to be high among female-headed households, older farmers and those with access to credit. The findings suggest that for increased adoption, there is need for increased involvement of extension workers is the dissemination of information about improved pigeonpea varieties, a robust pigeonpea seed system to increase seed availability to farmers as well as the need for improved access to credit.
    Publication
  • Maize variety options for Africa
    (CIMMYT, 2016) Abate, T.
    Publication
  • Maize variety options for Africa: Uganda
    (CIMMYT, 2015) Abate, T.
    Extension official measuring ear size of longe 10H with her arm, Nalweyo, Kibale district.
    Publication
  • Maize variety options for Africa: Zimbabwe
    (CIMMYT, 2015) Abate, T.; Magorokosho, C.; Tarekegne, A.T.; Setimela, P.
    Maize is the most important crop for Zimbabwe. Maize production in this country experiences the most frequent and severe fluctuations in southern Africa. Area, yield and production declined by 1.5%, 1.8%, and 3.3%, respectively, each year between 2000 and 2013. Between 2000 and 2011 Zimbabwe imported 354,000 tons of maize, worth US$ 128 million annually. Frequent drought is the main cause of yield loss in this country.
    Publication
  • Maize variety options for Africa: Zambia
    (CIMMYT, 2015) Abate, T.; Tarekegne, A.T.; Magorokosho, C.; Setimela, P.; Kabamba, M.
    Maize eclipses all cereals and other staples in Zambia. Drought is the major abiotic constraint to maize production here.
    Publication