IMPACT OF IMPROVED GROUNDNUT AND PIGEON PEA VARIETIES ON HOUSEHOLD WELFARE IN MALAWI

摘要: This paper employs a combination of Difference in Difference (DID) and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) frameworks on data obtained from two rounds of random cross-section sample of 594 farmers in Malawi to estimate the direct causal impact of improved groundnut and pigeon pea varieties on a set of welfare variables in Malawi. Considering that the technology was not randomly placed and that participation was not random, there is selection bias within the two datasets. Our approach tries to control for selection bias in assessing the impact of the technologies on household welfare. The estimates indicate that the number of participants in groundnut and pigeon pea farming has increased by 19%. We, further, find that improved groundnut and pigeon pea technologies improved farm output over the period from 2008 to 2010 by 19%. Furthermore, the technologies also improved output sales by 18% and reduced the amount of seed saved by farmers to be replanted in the next season by 12%. There is also evidence that groundnuts and pigeon pea farming also reduces total expenditure per capita by a modest 3%. In the expenditure category, we observed that cereal and meat expenditure per capita increased by 14% and 8% respectively. Clothing expenditure per capita and community contributions increased by 3% and 7% respectively. Assets significantly increased by 26% over the two time periods indicating that household welfare increased. The control variables used in the econometric analysis showed considerable reduction in Absolute Standardized Bias (ASB) and households with equal propensity scores were matched accordingly.