@article{UllahArshadKaecheleetal.2020, author = {Ullah, Ayat and Arshad, Muhammad and K{\"a}chele, Harald and Khan, Ayesha and Mahmood, Nasir and M{\"u}lle, Klaus}, title = {Information asymmetry, input markets, adoption of innovations and agricultural land use in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan}, series = {Land Use Policy}, volume = {90}, journal = {Land Use Policy}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {0264-8377}, doi = {10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104261}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7240}, year = {2020}, abstract = {This paper presents empirical evidence on the effects of information asymmetry in input markets on the adoption of innovations and agricultural land use in rainfed districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Farmers' input market integration may contribute to innovation and adoption among farmers, which may in turn positively influence the sustainable use of agricultural land. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted a study of farmers and input providers to assess the potential constraints on quality inputs, prices, and extension information. We used a multistage random sampling technique to collect data from 395 respondents. We then compared differences among adopters and non-adopters using the Mann-Whitney U test and Mood's median test. Our results indicate that there is a significant difference between the adopters and non-adopters when considering their perceptions of asymmetric market information. Non-adopters are suspicious of exaggerated prices, the non-availability of price lists, adulteration of agricultural inputs, unbalanced input weight and the supply of low-quality alternate commodities (e.g., fertilizers and pesticides) in place of the recommended commodities in the markets. Our results call for the reformulation and implementation of appropriate policies to ensure transparent and equal information sharing among farmers engaged in input markets and for the provision of timely and quality inputs assured by regulatory checks and price checks. Free availability of information on innovations and appropriate oversight over markets appear not only to motivate farmers to adopt agricultural technologies but also to influence more sustainable land use practices.}, language = {en} } @article{KhaliliArshadFarajzadehetal.2020, author = {Khalili, Niloofar and Arshad, Muhammad and Farajzadeh, Zakariya and K{\"a}chele, Harald and M{\"u}ller, Klaus}, title = {Effect of drought on smallholder education expenditures in rural Iran: Implications for policy}, series = {Journal of Environmental Management}, journal = {Journal of Environmental Management}, number = {260}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {1095-8630}, doi = {10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110136}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7250}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Drought is a major global environmental challenge. It affects the livelihoods of many people, mainly in developing countries. Iran is one of the most affected and vulnerable countries in the Middle East to drought. In this paper, we present a microlevel analysis by employing the Tobit multiplicative heteroscedasticity regression to examine the effects of drought on small farm household education expenditures in rural Iran. We collected primary data from a sample of 300 smallholders in Marvdasht County in Fars Province of Iran. The results revealed a negative relationship between the farm income and education expenditures. This means that the farm households in rural Iran that were affected by the drought increased their expenditures on education for their children. The analysis of income elasticity indicated that a one percent decrease in farm income led to a 0.86\% increase in education expenditures, which indicated that the education expenditures were necessary. Furthermore, we observed that in drought-affected families, girls were more likely to be pulled out of university education than were boys; however, for school education, there were no significant differences between the boys and girls. Our findings revealed the need to provide improved facilities and further finances for education expenditures, especially for female university students, and to formulate environmental management policies that include the provision of education facilities by the government of Iran in drought-affected villages. Our findings also shed light on the presence of positive externalities and the important role of education in helping rural households better cope with the negative repercussions of drought on their livelihoods.}, language = {en} } @article{SamPadmajaKaecheleetal.2020, author = {Sam, Anu Susan and Padmaja, Subash Surendran and K{\"a}chele, Harald and Kumar, Ranjit and M{\"u}ller, Klaus}, title = {Climate change, drought and rural communities: Understanding people's perceptions and adaptations in rural eastern India}, series = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, volume = {44}, journal = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {2212-4209}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101436}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7269}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Household's adaptation to drought risk consists of two steps. First step is acquiring knowledge on drought from previous drought experiences. Second step is formulation of local adaptation measures that can reduce drought risk. Lack of knowledge regarding households' perception about droughts and local adaptation measures are identified as barriers in formulating effective adaptation strategies and polices. Therefore, this paper aims to gather information on households' perceptions about drought impacts and local adaption and coping measures. We also analysed the potential determinants that affect the household's preferences for future adaptation and coping strategies. Data for the study was collected from 157 drought prone rural households of Odisha state in India. We employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the data. The major impacts of drought reported by rural people were the yield reduction/loss and issues of various diseases during drought. Although more than half of rural households reported adverse effects of drought, it was not their predominate concern. The most common coping measure adopted by the rural people during drought was reduction in the consumption of rice/cereals. The results indicate that rural people prefer to follow reduction in the food consumption strategy in future also. Family size, gender and education of household head and distance to nearby town influenced the preference of adaptation and coping strategies. This research can stand as one mainstay in providing insights to researches and policy makers in formulating strategies and policies for vulnerability reduction in rural India.}, language = {en} } @article{HossainArshadQianetal.2020, author = {Hossain, Md. Shakhawat and Arshad, Muhammad and Qian, Lu and K{\"a}chele, Harald and Khan, Imran and Islam, Md Din Il and Mahboob, M. Golam}, title = {Climate change impacts on farmland value in Bangladesh}, series = {Ecological Indicators}, journal = {Ecological Indicators}, number = {112}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {1872-7034}, doi = {10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106181}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7278}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Many studies have examined the effects of climate change on farmland value in developed countries, but our understanding of the impact of climate change on farmland value is still very limited, especially in developing countries. In this study, we aimed to assess the effects of climate change on farmland value in Bangladesh using the Ricardian model. Household-level data collected from seven selected agroecological zones in Bangladesh were used to estimate the relationships among farmland value and long-term climate, farm household, and policy variables. The results showed that the current land values of farmers are sensitive to climate. A new variable called "flooding" was added to the Ricardian model, and the results indicated that floods are responsible for reductions in farmland value, especially in lowland areas. Among the socio-economic variables, the availability of extension services and access to irrigation facilities were positively correlated with farmland value. The estimated marginal impact results suggested that increases in temperature were associated with losses in small farmland value, whereas the precipitation levels in both seasons positively influenced farmland value. Selected global climate models predicted that climate change would have a negative impact on land value depending on the climate model and source of farm income. The empirical findings obtained from this study are expected to contribute to the formulation of sustainable adaptation strategies to maintain farm productivity and farmland value in Bangladesh in the context of climate change.}, language = {en} } @article{MahmoodArshadKaecheleetal.2020, author = {Mahmood, Nasir and Arshad, Muhammad and K{\"a}chele, Harald and Ullah, Ayat and M{\"u}ller, Klaus}, title = {Economic efficiency of rainfed wheat farmers under changing climate: evidence from Pakistan}, series = {Environmental Science and Pollution Research}, journal = {Environmental Science and Pollution Research}, number = {27}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, issn = {1614-7499}, doi = {10.1007/s11356-020-09673-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7287}, pages = {34453 -- 34467}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Rainfed wheat farming directly depends upon climatic indicators and is mostly at the mercy of climatic extremes. This study analyzed the relationship between the economic efficiency of rainfed wheat farmers and indicators of climate variability in Pakistan employing a two-stage methodological framework. We used farm household level crop input-output and management data and secondary data on climate. In the first stage, a stochastic production frontier (SPF) approach was used to calculate economic efficiency. Then, in the second stage, the calculated economic efficiency scores were regressed against the temperature threshold, temperature anomaly, and total rainfall, in addition to socioeconomic, institutional, and farm variables, using OLS and quantile regression models. The results showed that temperature anomaly and the number of days when temperatures exceed 30 °C have negative and significant impacts on the economic efficiency of rainfed wheat farmers. Total rainfall showed positive and significant impacts across both OLS and quantile regression models. Further, we modeled a novel and very important variable in the context of rainfed wheat production in Pakistan, that is, farmers' participation in trainings in climate-resilient crop farming. This variable showed a positive and highly significant impact on economic efficiency of wheat farmers across all regression models. Our findings call for important policy implications, including developing up-to-date climate resilient adaptation strategies that are particularly focused on rainfed wheat farming. Establishing strong linkages between extension departments and rainfed wheat farmers could help sustain and improve the efficiency of rainfed wheat farmers and hence food and livelihood security.}, language = {en} } @article{KhaliliArshadFarajzadehetal.2021, author = {Khalili, Niloofar and Arshad, Muhammad and Farajzadeh, Zakaria and K{\"a}chele, Harald and M{\"u}ller, Klaus}, title = {Does drought affect smallholder health expenditures? Evidence from Fars Province, Iran}, series = {Environment, Development and Sustainability}, journal = {Environment, Development and Sustainability}, number = {23}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, issn = {1573-2975}, doi = {10.1007/s10668-020-00608-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7294}, pages = {765 -- 788}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Drought is one of the most frequently occurring natural disasters and results in long-term social, economic and environmental impacts that affect large areas and populations. Over the past decade, Iran has experienced a very severe drought that has affected millions of people. In this paper, we employ a standard consumption regression model to perform a microlevel analysis of the effects of drought on small-farm household health expenditures in rural Iran. We surveyed a sample of 300 small-farm households in the Marvdasht County in Fars Province, Iran. The results showed that drought significantly negatively affects smallholder health spending. Farm households that are affected by severe drought decrease their health expenditures more than less-affected households. Further, for drought-affected farmers, health expenditures are a necessity, as the income elasticity of health expenditures is as low as 0.15. Our findings indicate the importance of designing and implementing a health policy that includes the provision of healthcare services in drought-affected villages by the government, which plays an important role in coping with the health effects of drought.}, language = {en} } @incollection{NautiyalSmithaKaechele2020, author = {Nautiyal, Sunil and Smitha, K. C. and K{\"a}chele, Harald}, title = {Medicinal Plant Biodiversity in India: Harnessing Opportunities for Promoting Livelihood and Food Security}, series = {Socio-economic and Eco-biological Dimensions in Resource use and Conservation - Strategies for Sustainability}, booktitle = {Socio-economic and Eco-biological Dimensions in Resource use and Conservation - Strategies for Sustainability}, editor = {Roy, Niranjan and Roychoudhury, Shubhadeep and Nautiyal, Sunil and Agarwal, Sunil K. and Baksi, Sangeeta}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, isbn = {978-3-030-32462-9}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-32463-6_7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7306}, publisher = {Hochschule f{\"u}r nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde}, pages = {135 -- 169}, year = {2020}, abstract = {India's rich biodiversity is distributed across its ecological regions. Traditional medicinal plants are recognised for their value and they constitute source of livelihood and food security for large Indian population. Cultivation of medicinal plants is also a source of income; thereby improve the standard of living for local communities and reduce poverty. Yet, today Indian medicinal habitat and ecosystem are going through tremendous pressure for meeting the requirement of various pharmaceutical and aroma-chemicals related industries. The objective of this paper is to synthesis the existing information on current status; explore the potential opportunities and constraints in medicinal plant cultivation in India. Based on the documentation of two cases i.e., Bhotiya tribe of Central Himalayan Region and Soliga tribe of Biligiri Ranga-swamy Temple Tiger Reserve (BRTTR), an attempt has been made to suggest a framework for harnessing medicinal plant cultivation for promoting food security in India. Finally, SWOT analysis of medicinal plants and food security in India has been presented.}, language = {en} } @article{ArshadAbbasKaecheleetal.2022, author = {Arshad, Muhammad and Abbas, Faisal and K{\"a}chele, Harald and Mehmood, Yasir and Mahmood, Nasir and Mueller, Klaus}, title = {Analyzing the Impact of Government Social Spending, Population Growth and Foreign Remittances on Human Development in Pakistan: Implications for Policy}, series = {The European Journal of Development Research}, journal = {The European Journal of Development Research}, number = {34}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, issn = {0957-8811}, doi = {10.1057/s41287-021-00435-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7314}, pages = {1607 -- 1626}, year = {2022}, abstract = {To achieve sustainable future for all, United Nations' (UNs') Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs-2030) reinforced the formulation of social, economic and human development policies. Pakistan is a country with high population growth rate, among top ten recipients of foreign remittances but facing an acute problem of stagnant human development outcomes over the years. Of note, Pakistan's economic growth is considered as growth without human face (see Easterly in The political economy of growth without development: A case study of Pakistan, 2001). It is, therefore, important from public policy point of view to understand the short-and long-run dynamics of the relationships between important social, demographic and economic factors. Accordingly, this paper investigates the short-and long-run relationships between population growth, government social spending, foreign remittances inflow and aggregate level of human development in Pakistan using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach of cointegration and error correction models. The cointegration test results showed that there is cointegration among the variables to proceed with the estimations of long-run relationships. Our empirical results confirm the existence of short-and long-run relationships between population growth, remittances inflow and human development in Pakistan. Population growth inversely while remittances inflow positively influenced Pakistan's human development status both in the short-and long-run. The empirical findings of our study call for designing and implementing robust development policies—that result in effective and sustainable human development—mainly towards viewing population from a more humanitarian and equitable perspective in Pakistan.}, language = {en} } @article{UllahSamSathyanetal.2021, author = {Ullah, Ayat and Sam, Anu Susan and Sathyan, Archana Raghava and Mahmood, Nasir and Zeb, Alam and K{\"a}chele, Harald}, title = {Role of local communities in forest landscape restoration: Key lessons from the Billion Trees Afforestation Project, Pakistan}, series = {Science of The Total Environment}, journal = {Science of The Total Environment}, number = {772}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {1879-1026}, doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145613}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7326}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The Billion Trees Afforestation Project (BTAP) was launched in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan to conserve existing forests and to increase the area under forest cover. It also aimed to restore environmental conditions, promote rural livelihoods and reduce poverty. To improve the effectiveness of afforestation projects, it is essential to know the role of various factors and their impacts on community participation in landscape restoration. However, these factors and their impacts remain unexplored for the BTAP. This study identifies the factors that influenced rural household participation in the BTAP in Pakistan. The data were collected from participants and nonparticipants in the BTAP as well as from various officials. We employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the data. The results of the focus group discussions and the professional evaluation of the BTAP revealed that participant farmers enjoyed all the benefits of the project at the individual and community levels. However, the project provided only partial benefits to nonparticipant farmers at both levels. The household-level results showed that age, income from forest resources, a friendly relationship with forest department staff, a risk-bearing attitude and membership or involvement in village development committee activities had positive and significant effects on farmer participation, while disputes over land and forest resources, household size and experience with/dependence on livestock farming had negative and significant impacts on farmer participation in the BTAP. Our results suggest that policymakers and project designers should pay more attention to the factors that hindered farmer participation in the BTAP. The participation of landless and disadvantaged groups in the 10-BTAP should be increased to ensure equal and widespread benefits for all users and to ensure a win-win situation of sustainable management of the forest, the environment and livelihood opportunities for all types of forest users.}, language = {en} } @article{UllahZebLiuetal.2021, author = {Ullah, Ayat and Zeb, Alam and Liu, Jinlong and Mahmood, Nasir and K{\"a}chele, Harald}, title = {Transhumant pastoralist knowledge of infectious diseases and adoption of alternative land use strategies in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan (HKH) region of Pakistan}, series = {Land Use Policy}, journal = {Land Use Policy}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {1873-5754}, doi = {10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105729}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7338}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Pastoralists' awareness of infectious disease outbreaks depends on their socioeconomic characteristics and considerably affects their land use strategies. This study aimed to identify the factors that affect transhumant communities' awareness of recently emerged Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in humans and foot and mouth disease (FMD) in animals. This study also investigated the key factors that govern the adoption of alternative land use strategies by nonmigrating transhumants to avoid seasonal migration in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan (HKH) region of Pakistan. To link the awareness of disease spread to the adoption of alternative land use strategies, a focus group discussion and a socioeconomic survey were conducted in the study area. A total of 300 households were randomly selected from a nonmigrating transhumant community. The results of the binary logit model showed that landholding size, good relationships with extension field staff, and extension contact were positively related, whereas household education was negatively related to pastoralists' awareness of infectious disease outbreaks. In the case of adopting alternative strategies to avoid future long-distance migration, our model showed that pastoralists' awareness of infectious disease outbreaks significantly and positively affected pastoralists' adoption of these strategies. The other variables that were positively associated with the pastoralists' adoption of these strategies included good relationships with extension field staff, household size and primary dependence on pastoral-based livelihood, whereas the education level of the head of the household, lack of financial resources and disputes over agricultural lands/forests were negatively associated with the pastoralists' adoption of these strategies. We conclude that to avoid infectious disease spread and promote adoption of alternative strategies, the government should pay attention to creating awareness among transhumant communities. Communicating the latest scientific research on infectious disease outbreaks and effective control measures that are translated in an understandable (pictographic) manner could be an effective policy intervention.}, language = {en} } @article{MadakiLehbergerBavorovaetal.2023, author = {Madaki, Mustapha Yakubu and Lehberger, Mira and Bavorova, Miroslava and Igbasan, Boluwatife Teniola and K{\"a}chele, Harald}, title = {Effectiveness of pesticide stakeholders' information on pesticide handling knowledge and behaviour of smallholder farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria}, series = {Environment, Development and Sustainability}, journal = {Environment, Development and Sustainability}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, doi = {10.1007/s10668-023-03332-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-8213}, pages = {20}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Although pesticides ensure the quality and quantity of agricultural produce, they have adverse effects on farmers, their families, and consumers. Therefore, in order to reduce the unpleasant effects of pesticide use, stakeholders would be well advised to extend guidance and precautions to end users. The objective of this study was to determine the pesticide handling behaviour and the effectiveness of pesticide information on pesticide handling knowledge and personal protective equipment (PPE) use among farmers in southwest Nigeria. One hundred and fifty-six farmers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire in December 2019 and January 2020. The results revealed that a one-third of the farmers dispose their pesticide residues on the field, only 3\% of the farmers dispose the hazardous pesticide waste at a collection point, and 65\% of them dispose the empty containers indiscriminately. The majority of farmers never use respirators (79\%), hats (60\%), and boots (57\%) when applying pesticides. Knowledge of pesticide application and waste management is low (58\% of respondents scored less than 10 on a knowledge scale of 0-14). The result of the regression model shows that information from pesticide labels and farmer-to-farmer exchanges significantly increase farmers' knowledge of pesticide handling and PPE use. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of current information provision to smallholder farmers on the correct use of pesticides is not sufficient. Therefore, we highlight the need for pesticide companies, distributors, and government agencies to intensify and further develop their efforts to empower smallholder farmers to improve their knowledge and use of pesticides.}, language = {en} }