Abstract
The value chain comprises several factors and activities useful for strengthening production and distribution by connecting producers with suppliers, intermediaries, and marketplaces and collaboratively creating added value for products or goods. However, the values of agricultural products mostly depend on various factors and actors, which should be linked together for fostering added values. Thus, there may be strong ground for facilitating a smooth transition of the agricultural value chain (AVC) within the prospects of emerging countries. It could be a key means of promoting a profound connection between smallholder farmers and modern agriculture facilities. It could be especially crucial for the highly perishable and high-value product such as fruits. The main aims of the study are to evaluate the factors influencing smallholder apple farmers’ participation in the agricultural value chain and determine whether participation in AVC improves farmers’ production performance. The empirical setup of the study was chosen based on survey data of apple growers in Shandong, China. The propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) models were employed to craft the study’s outcomes. The main conclusions are as follows. (1) Fruit farmers’ gender, total household expenditure, housing value, planting scale, planting years, degree of specialization, days of family labour input, and total days of employment have significant effects on their participation in AVC activities. (2) Fruit farmers’ usage of improved fertilizers and organization participation supports a higher yield and net income per acre. (3) Participating in two kinds of AVC can significantly improve the yield per acre and net income per acre compared with only using one type of AVC (improved fertilizer). Policy makers should improve the existing policy by eliminating institutional barriers and enhancing human factors for farmers to participate in high-value chain activities. Governments should extend technical support, and enhance training facilities, and comprehensively promote the AVC among smallholder farmers. Finally, farmers’ organizations (e.g., cooperatives and credit organizations) should come forward to help facilitate the effectiveness of AVC.
Highlights
The basic principle of the propensity score matching (PSM) model is as follows: (i) according to the counterfactual causal inference analysis framework, the polytomy variables are converted into propensity score values, and (ii) the treatment group and the control group are matched according to such propensity score values so that the main characteristics of the control group and the treatment group remain similar [84,85]
According to the literature on multi-value treatment, e.g., Lechner [89] and Kissoly et al [90], this paper evaluates the participation of fruit farmers in one or more value chain activities that significantly affect their production performance
The average treatment effect is evaluated with four matching algorithms, and the results show that there is certain robustness [97,98]
Summary
Agriculture fosters all developmental aspects, including the efficiency of production, ecology, and sustainable growth [4]. It eventually constitutes a prime concern for maintaining viable distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons. The global agricultural transition will require substantial efforts to satisfy the ever-increasing food requirements for the expanding population [11,12]. In these circumstances, the smallholders are going to be sufferers as their livelihood depends on agriculture. It is evident that smallholders’ production efficiency must be raised to satisfy the growing demands of nutritious foods, fibre, and other agricultural materials and upholds sustainable transition in a broader sense [1,23,24]
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