Enhancing resilience through seed system plurality and diversity: challenges and barriers to seed sourcing during (and in spite of) a global pandemic.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have rippled across the United States' (US) agri-food system, illuminating considerable issues. US seed systems, which form the foundation of food production, were particularly marked by panic-buying and heightened safety precautions in seed fulfillment facilities which precipitated a commercial seed sector overwhelmed and unprepared to meet consumer demand for seed, especially for non-commercial growers. In response, prominent scholars have emphasized the need to support both formal (commercial) and informal (farmer- and gardener-managed) seed systems to holistically aid growers across various contexts.

Estimating the recreational use value of Tis-Abay Waterfall in the upstream of the Blue Nile River, North-West Ethiopia.

Tis-Abay Waterfall is a famous tourist destination in northern Ethiopia, attracting both domestic and international visitors. Although the site's recreation and tourism potential are enormous, the value of the waterfall remains underestimated; an application of economic valuation methods can provide information to better utilize the resource. This study estimates the recreational value of Tis-Abay Waterfall and analyzes the consumer characteristics associated with recreational demand.

Methods of crop yield measurement on multi-cropped plots: Examples from Tanzania.

Precise agricultural statistics are necessary to track productivity and design sound agricultural policies. Yet, in settings where multi-cropping is prevalent, even crop yield-perhaps the most common productivity metric-can be challenging to measure. In a survey of the literature on crop yield in low-income settings, we find that scholars specify how they estimate the area denominator used to measure yield in under 10% of cases.

Mobile money and branchless banking regulations affecting cash-in, cash-out networks in low- and middle-income countries.

We examined recent trends in mobile money and branchless banking regulations related to cash-in, cash-out (CICO) networks (physical access points allowing users to exchange physical cash and electronic money) in low- and middle-income countries, and reviewed evidence on the impacts of CICO regulations on markets and financial inclusion.  Regulation and literature searches began in August 2017 and concluded in June 2018. For the regulatory search we compiled an original database of regulations targeting CICO networks in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Relating Seasonal Hunger and Prevention and Coping Strategies: A Panel Analysis of Malawian Farm Households.

Relative to chronic hunger, seasonal hunger in rural and urban areas of Africa is poorly understood. This paper examines the extent and potential correlates of seasonal hunger in Malawi using panel data from 2011-2013. We find that both urban and rural households report seasonal hunger in the pre-harvest months.

Variability in Cross-Domain Risk Perception among Smallholder Farmers in Mali by Gender and Other Demographic and Attitudinal Characteristics.

Previous research has shown that men and women, on average, have different risk attitudes and may therefore see different value propositions in response to new opportunities. We use data from smallholder farm households in Mali to test whether risk perceptions differ by gender and across domains. We model this potential association across six risks (work injury, extreme weather, community relationships, debt, lack of buyers, and conflict) while controlling for demographic and attitudinal characteristics.

Husband and Wife Perspectives on Farm Household Decision-making Authority and Evidence on Intra-household Accord in Rural Tanzania.

We use OLS and logistic regression to investigate variation in husband and wife perspectives on the division of authority over agriculture-related decisions within households in rural Tanzania. Using original data from husbands and wives (interviewed separately) in 1,851 Tanzanian households, the analysis examines differences in the wife's authority over 13 household and farming decisions. The study finds that the level of decision-making authority allocated to wives by their husbands, and the authority allocated by wives to themselves, both vary significantly across households.

Now what do people know about global climate change? Survey studies of educated laypeople.

In 1992, a mental-models-based survey in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, revealed that educated laypeople often conflated global climate change and stratospheric ozone depletion, and appeared relatively unaware of the role of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions in global warming. This study compares those survey results with 2009 data from a sample of similarly well-educated laypeople responding to the same survey instrument. Not surprisingly, following a decade of explosive attention to climate change in politics and in the mainstream media, survey respondents in 2009 showed higher awareness and comprehension of some climate change causes.

U.S. consumer demand for restaurant calorie information: targeting demographic and behavioral segments in labeling initiatives.

Purpose: To identify different segments of U.S. consumers based on food choices, exercise patterns, and desire for restaurant calorie labeling.

Segmentation of overweight Americans and opportunities for social marketing.

Background: The food industry uses market segmentation to target products toward specific groups of consumers with similar attitudinal, demographic, or lifestyle characteristics. Our aims were to identify distinguishable segments within the US overweight population to be targeted with messages and media aimed at moving Americans toward more healthy weights.

Methods: Cluster analysis was used to identify segments of consumers based on both food and lifestyle behaviors related to unhealthy weights.

Sex and cultural differences in the acceptance of functional foods: a comparison of American, Canadian, and French college students.

Objective: Functional foods (FF)--foods containing nutritional supplements in addition to natural nutrients--have an increasing presence in the marketplace. Expanding on previous research, the authors investigated college students' acceptance of FF.

Participants: In September--March 2004, 811 undergraduates in Canada, the United States, and France participated in the study.

Knowledge of current dietary guidelines and food choice by college students: better eaters have higher knowledge of dietary guidance.

College students enrolled in university dining plans are exposed daily to a food environment characterized by foods high in energy, fats, and added sugars, and low in nutrient density. Their decisions about what to eat are currently made in an environment where no nutrition labeling is required. To fill the gap in current literature regarding whether or not increased nutrition knowledge of dietary guidance actually translates into positive behavior, this cross-sectional study investigated self-reported eating patterns of 200 college students.