Adoption of improved varieties of millet in the groundnut basin of Senegal: Determinants and impact on yield and welfare

Abstract

This article examines the determinants of the adoption of improved varieties of millet in the groundnut Basin of Senegal and its impact on yield and welfare. To identify the determinants, we used the sequential logit model. As for the impact assessment, it is the propensity score matching method that is used. The results indicate that the sex of the producer, the knowledge of the varieties of millet, the payment of wages by the producer and to a lesser extent the number of women intervening in the plot are the main variables that influence the adoption of improved seeds of millet. Furthermore, we did not find a significant impact of adopting improved millet seeds on yield. On the other hand, we detected a positive and significant impact of the adoption of improved varieties on the well-being of the producer’s household. It appears that continuing to use improved seeds would increase consumption expenditure in adult / day equivalent of the producer's household by 119.2 CFA francs and would reduce the poverty rate by 13%. This last result constitutes further evidence for the promotion of new millet technologies in the Groundnut Basin in Senegal.

Keywords: Adoption, Improved varieties, Determinant, Impact, Yield, Welfare