Socioeconomic Impacts of Alternative Peanut Production and Marketing Systems in Senegal

Approach

The goal of UCN 36S was to improve existing procedures used to collect farm level data at ENEA with emphasis on peanut production in order to better analyze changes in the relationship between peanut production and household structure, evaluate the extent to which farm output can be increased by making better use of technologies, evaluate the impact of alternative peanut management practices and farm policies on input use, productivity and farm profitability, and to assess the impact of alternative policies on domestic markets and exports of peanuts in Senegal. Students active on project research that contributed significantly to the goals were Ibrahima Hathie, Abdourahmane Thiam, and Ibrahima Gaye, ENEA staff at the University of Connecticut.

Achievements

While conducting this research, it was determined that the pricing policies, fiscal practices, and market structure measures followed by the Government of Senegal were not serving the peanut sector or the country well In fact Senegal and West African countries have lost ground in the world markets. Additionally, it was found that the keys to future success will be farm level efficiency, environmental quality, high quality seed, and inputs to enhance productivity. Training on FoxPro Data Management was completed and the local staff was able to code the data directly. The data collection process has been expanded to capture and utilize new information of the farmer’s acquisition and use of relevant knowledge. One doctoral student is completing and using the data set to compare productivity differentials across peanut producers. The development of Meta Analysis Models to study developing countries’ farmer productivity was successfully initiated, and the preliminary estimates have been completed. To complement the ongoing work, profiles of typical farmers representing the different agro-ecological zones have been initiated and are progressing smoothly. An important outcome of the work was the training of students and staff to analyze and interpret data collected by students at ENEA (Ecole National d’Economie Appliquée) on various farm situations in Senegal, and apply them to evaluate the extent to which farm output can be increased by making better use of technologies, and to evaluate the impact of alternative peanut management practices and farm policies on input use, productivity, and farm profitability.

Focus

Socioeconomic forces