Year Published
- 2008 (0)
- 2009 (5) Apply 2009 filter
- 2010 (0)
- 2011 (0)
- 2012 (3) Apply 2012 filter
- (-) Remove 2013 filter 2013
- 2014 (0)
- 2015 (0)
- (-) Remove 2016 filter 2016
- 2017 (1) Apply 2017 filter
- 2018 (0)
- 2019 (0)
- 2020 (0)
- 2021 (0)
Research Topics
Populations
- Countries/Governments (0)
- Rural Populations (0)
- Smallholder Farmers (0)
- Women (0)
Types of Research
- (-) Remove Data Analysis filter Data Analysis
- (-) Remove Literature Review filter Literature Review
- Portfolio Review (0)
- Research Brief (0)
Geography
- East Africa Region and Selected Countries (7) Apply East Africa Region and Selected Countries filter
- Global (0)
- South Asia Region and Selected Countries (0)
- (-) Remove Southern Africa Region and Selected Countries filter Southern Africa Region and Selected Countries
- Sub-Saharan Africa (2) Apply Sub-Saharan Africa filter
- (-) Remove West Africa Region and Selected Countries filter West Africa Region and Selected Countries
Dataset
- ASTI (0)
- (-) Remove FAOSTAT filter FAOSTAT
- Farmer First (0)
- (-) Remove LSMS & LSMS-ISA filter LSMS & LSMS-ISA
- (-) Remove Other Datasets filter Other Datasets
Current search
- (-) Remove West Africa Region and Selected Countries filter West Africa Region and Selected Countries
- (-) Remove Poverty filter Poverty
- (-) Remove Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Livelihoods filter Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Livelihoods
- (-) Remove 2013 filter 2013
- (-) Remove Development Finance & Policy filter Development Finance & Policy
- (-) Remove FAOSTAT filter FAOSTAT
- (-) Remove Monitoring & Evaluation filter Monitoring & Evaluation
- (-) Remove Literature Review filter Literature Review
- (-) Remove 2016 filter 2016
- (-) Remove LSMS & LSMS-ISA filter LSMS & LSMS-ISA
- (-) Remove Southern Africa Region and Selected Countries filter Southern Africa Region and Selected Countries
- (-) Remove Other Datasets filter Other Datasets
- (-) Remove Data Analysis filter Data Analysis
Relative to chronic hunger, seasonal hunger in rural and urban areas of Africa is poorly understood. No estimates are compiled, and limited evidence exists on prevalence, causes, and impacts. This paper contributes to the body of evidence by examining the extent and potential drivers of seasonal hunger using panel data from the Malawi Integrated Household Panel Survey (IHPS). Farmers are commonly thought to use various strategies to smooth consumption, including planting “off-season” crops, investing in post-harvest storage technologies, or generally diversifying farm portfolios including livestock products and/or wild crops. Similarly, when markets are available, farmers may diversify through off-farm income sources in order to purchase food in lean seasons. We investigate whether seasonal hunger – distinct from chronic hunger – exists in Malawi, drawing on two waves of panel data from the LSMS-ISA series. We examine the extent of seasonal hunger, factors associated with variation in seasonal hunger, and how recurring and longer-term seasonal hunger might be associated with various household welfare measures. We find that both urban and rural households report experiencing seasonal hunger in the pre-harvest months, with descriptive evidence suggesting male gender, age, and education of household head, livestock ownership, and storage of crops are associated with lower levels of seasonal hunger. In addition, we find that Malawian households with seasonal hunger harvest crops earlier than average – a short-term coping mechanism that can reduce the crop’s yield and nutritional value, possibly perpetuating hunger.
This research brief provides an overview of the banana and plantain value chains in West Africa. Because of the greater production and consumption of plantains than bananas in the region, the brief focuses on plantains and concentrates on the major plantain-producing countries of Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria. The brief is divided into the following sections: Key Statistics (trends in banana and plantain production, consumption, and trade since 1990), Production, Post-Harvest Practices and Challenges, Marketing Systems, and Importance (including household consumption and nutrition). West Africa is one of the major plantain-producing regions of the world, accounting for approximately 32% of worldwide production. Plantains are an important staple crop in the region with a high nutritional content, variety of preparation methods, and a production cycle that is less labor-intensive than many other crops. In addition to plantains, bananas are also grown in West Africa, but they account for only 2.3% of worldwide production. Bananas are more likely than plantains to be grown for export rather than local consumption. Major constraints to banana and plantain production include pests and disease, short shelf life, and damage during transportation.