Table 1 Description and summary statistics of variables (N = 2441)
From: Road accessibility and agricultural extension services in Malawi
Variable | Description | Mean (Std. Dev.) |
|---|---|---|
Demographic characteristics | ||
Age | Head of household (HH) age | 41.06 (15.81) |
Female | 1 if a HH is female; 0 if otherwise | 0.26 (0.44) |
Married | 1 if a HH is married; 0 if otherwise | 0.79 (0.41) |
Muslim | 1 if a HH is Muslim; 0 if otherwise | 0.19 (0.39) |
Household size | Household size | 5.13 (2.41) |
Human capital | ||
Years of schooling | HH’s years of schooling | 5.77 (3.80) |
Farming experience | HH’s years of farming experience | 13.70 (15.62) |
HDDSa | Household dietary diversity score | 4.78 (2.09) |
Resource and communication tools | ||
Household economic resource | The summation of annual household income and the total value of the family’s assets | 55,615.84 (125,377.60) |
Log of household economic resources | 9.20 (2.98) | |
Cropland size | Cropland size | 2.46 (2.03) |
Log of cropland size | 1.12 (0.48) | |
Loan access | 1 if a HH has received a loan; 0 if otherwise | 0.16 (0.37) |
Non-farm employment | 1 if a HH is involved in non-farm employment; 0 if otherwise | 0.27 (0.44) |
Communication tools | 1 if a HH has communication tools (i.e., telephone/mobile phone/internet); 0 if otherwise | 0.58 (0.49) |
Farm characteristics | ||
Lead farmer | 1 if a HH serves as a lead farmer; 0 if otherwise | 0.16 (0.37) |
Livestock | 1 if a HH rears livestock; 0 if otherwise | 0.70 (0.46) |
Tree | 1 if a HH produces a tree crop; 0 if otherwise | 0.34 (0.47) |
Maize | 1 if a HH produces a maize crop; 0 if otherwise | 0.93 (0.26) |
Cereal | 1 if a HH produces a cereal crop; 0 if otherwise | 0.11 (0.32) |
Tuber | 1 if a HH produces a tuber crop; 0 if otherwise | 0.09 (0.29) |
Bean | 1 if a HH produces a bean crop; 0 if otherwise | 0.56 (0.50) |
Groundnut | 1 if a HH produces a groundnut crop; 0 if otherwise | 0.30 (0.46) |
Vegetable | 1 if a HH produces a vegetable crop; 0 if otherwise | 0.12 (0.32) |
Tobacco | 1 if a HH produces a tobacco crop; 0 if otherwise | 0.10 (0.30) |
Risk attitude and farmer organization | ||
Risk-averse | 1 if a HH is risk-averse; 0 if otherwise | 0.70 (0.46) |
Farmer organization | A number of farmer organizations the HH are a member of | 0.91 (1.14) |
Mobility and access to fertilizer | ||
Difficulty in accessing fertilizer | HH’s difficulty in accessing fertilizer (1—not serious to 4—very serious) | 3.50 (0.98) |
Market | 1 if there is a market in the village; 0 if otherwise | 0.07 (0.25) |
Distance to paved roads | Distance from farmer’s residence to paved roads | 12.41 (12.19) |
Log of distance to paved roads | 2.17 (0.98) | |
Extension resources within the village | ||
Number of extension agents | The number of extension agents assigned in the village | 1.20 (0.76) |
Number of agricultural projects | The number of agricultural projects in the village in the past five years | 3.10 (1.64) |
Number of demonstration plots and farm trials | The number of demonstration plots and farm trials in the village in the past five years | 2.00 (2.11) |
Regional characteristics | ||
Feed the future zone of influence | 1 if the area is Feed the Future Zone of Influence; 0 if otherwise | 0.67 (0.47) |
South Region | 1 if the area is south region; 0 if otherwise | 0.53 (0.50) |
Central Region | 1 if the area is central region; 0 if otherwise | 0.41 (0.49) |