An Economic Assessment of Banana Genetic Improvement and ...

CHAPTER 2
Elements of the Conceptual Framework
and Sample Survey Design
Melinda Smale, Svetlana Edmeades, Stanley Wood,
and Robert Kalyebara
This chapter presents specific questions posed in this research, elements of the conceptual
framework, and a synopsis of the sample design. Two levels of observation and
analysis are used. At the farm level, the underlying framework is the model of the agricultural
household. The economic surplus approach is applied at the industry level. Details
of the models are given in each chapter of Part III. The sample villages and households are
stratified by elevation and exposure of the surrounding locality to introduction of banana
planting material.
Research Questions
Diagnostic research investigates causal relationships and describes the nature of a situation.
The opportunity to conduct extensive diagnostic research that is farm based during the scientific
process of crop improvement is less common than perhaps it should be. Three general
questions were posed. First, what is the status of existing banana cultivars and management
practices, as well as constraints to production and marketing, on farms in the Lake Victoria
region of Uganda and Tanzania? Second, given these and other regulatory constraints, what
are the prospects that banana growers will adopt cultivars with transgenic resistance to pests
and diseases? Third, what is the potential impact of emerging banana technologies, including
transgenic cultivars, on the banana industry, assuming that farmers adopt them? To answer
these questions, analysis was conducted at the farm and industry levels, with a combination of
tools.
Levels of Observation and Analysis
Each level of observation and analysis contributes information, and each has limitations. Detailed
farm-level analysis from a statistically representative sample is used to identify the determinants
of technology use, predict demand for planting material, and test hypotheses about
production efficiency and labor use. The characterization of the banana growers and banana
cultivars furnishes a baseline.
Findings from farmer surveys can be generalized only to the extent that the samples are
representative of the full geographical domain over which there are potential economic payoffs
from technology use. Analyses of farmer adoption also fail to provide information about the
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