Is the threat against the Tree of life a threat to the wallet? : A study investigating the coconut lethal yellowing disease’s effect on the farmers’ income

Abstract: Coconuts are one of the most economically important plants in Mozambique, where millions of people depend on income from coconuts. The coconut lethal yellowing disease (CLYD) is a highly destructive disease that ever since the early 90’s causes coconut palms in Mozambique to stop producing fruit and leave the coconut farmers with only empty stems. This thesis examines the disease's effect on the farmers’ income, both from coconuts and other complementary sources, since the vendible harvest should decrease with the incidence of the disease. The method used is multivariate linear regression, where several income variables are used as dependent variables. Two models are created, one only interpreted for the sample of 488 observations and one aiming at generalizing the results. By this study, it cannot be confirmed that the incidence of CLYD has a significant effect on coconut farmers’ income. The results from the sample analysis do however show that the income is affected by the degree of the disease, which is an incentive for continued research in the field.