Impact of social capital on agricultural productivity: Evidence from the moderating role of youth empowerment in North Central Nigeria

Concept of corporate social capital has gained significant attention of academicians and practitioners from different backgrounds recently. As any other form of capital (i. e. physical or human capital), social capital refers to a specific asset that yields a stream of benefits over the time. Social capital is an essential asset in contemporary business world where timely information, proactive adjustment to the market changes and flexibility are the main competitiveness factors. Social capital enables efficient cooperation, facilitates exchange of knowledge and information, lowers the costs of contracts and has many other positive impacts. But it can also become an obstacle for goal achievement or cause losses because of the improper investment or over investment. As any other asset social capital also needs considerable investments to be created and maintained. If these investments are channeled into the improper form of social capital it will not produce expected benefits but, contrarily, will cause significant costs. Hence, the need for the means for the evaluation of corporate social capital impact that could be applied by academicians as well as practitioners occurs. Recent studies on the corporate social capital impact are concentrated on the particular impact of different types of social capital or particular conditions that determine the nature of the impact. Most scholars concentrate solely on positive or negative side of impact of social capital trying completely to reveal the broad and various nature of impact of social capital or concentrate on the particular aspects of some part of this impact. There is no attempt in scientific literature to integrate the theoretical and methodological findings on evaluation of the impact of corporate social capital in order to develop the instrument for the evaluation of aggregate impact of social capital. Besides, the big variety of the criteria reflecting both positive and negative impact of corporate social capital is applied in scientific literature. Some of it reflects indirect impact of social capital or are overlapping. So, it causes confusion when developing the instrument for the evaluation of corporate social capital impact and shows the need to analyze and systemize it with the aim to compose the thorough but small-scale list of corporate social capital impact on the operation of enterprise evaluation criteria. This article aims to meet the demand for the instrument for the evaluation of the aggregate impact of corporate social capital presenting the model based on the cost-benefit analysis method. Cost-benefit analysis method was chosen developing the model of evaluation of corporate social capital impact on operation of enterprise because of several reasons. First, it allows evaluating and comparing not only quantitative but also hardly measurable more intangible impact. Comparing total positive and negative impact it enables to evaluate the aggregate impact. Second, the quantitative as well as qualitative analysis methods can be applied in the boundaries of cost-benefit analysis that is essential when evaluating social capital impact as one type of analysis methods cannot entirely reveal the impact of this factor. Besides, cost-benefit analysis is not very complicated and can be easily applied by the practicing even without special economic background. These reasons allow seeing cost-benefit analysis as the efficient tool for the evaluation of corporate social capital impact on operation of enterprise.

Role of Social Capital in Agricultural Producers’ Cooperatives for Commercialization: In the Case of Ethiopia

BackgroundAs Korea rapidly transforms into a super-aged society, research indicates that digital literacy among older adults enhances their life satisfaction. Digital literacy refers to the ability to efficiently use digital technologies, encompassing access, competency, and utilization. It reflects the capacity to navigate and benefit from digital environments effectively. Furthermore, social capital positively influences the quality of life, and digital literacy facilitates social capital formation. However, since most studies have only focused on the direct relationship between digital literacy and life satisfaction, research on the mediating role of social capital remains limited.ObjectiveTo analyze the effect of digital literacy on the life satisfaction of older adults in South Korea and to verify whether social capital acts as a mediating factor in this process.MethodsThis descriptive cross-sectional study used data from the 2023 Report on the Digital Divide—an annual survey conducted by the Korean Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology. The study targeted individuals aged 65 years or older. Descriptive statistics, the Pearson correlation analyses, and the 3-step multiple regression analysis proposed by Baron and Kenny were performed. The bootstrap method was employed, and all analyses were conducted using R, version 4.4.1.ResultsThe study included 869 participants. Digital literacy had a significant positive effect on their life satisfaction (β=0.103; P=.008). Social capital was also positively associated with life satisfaction (β=0.337; P<.001). Mediation analysis showed that digital literacy influenced life satisfaction both directly (β=0.103; P=.006) and indirectly through social capital (β=0.037; P=.03). Bootstrapping confirmed the significance of the indirect effect (β=0.037, 95% CI 0.005‐0.070; P=.03). The total effect of digital literacy on life satisfaction was also significant (β=0.140, 95% CI 0.058‐0.230; P=.002).ConclusionsThis study analyzed the association between digital literacy, social capital, and life satisfaction among older adults in Korea. We identified that social capital mediates the association between digital literacy and life satisfaction among older adults. These findings indicate that tailored digital literacy programs and support policies that promote social capital formation could help bridge the digital divide and foster social inclusion. These measures would enable older adults to access essential services, reduce social isolation, and enhance health and well-being, ultimately improving the overall quality of life.

The current agricultural system in China highly depends on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Consequently, agricultural production activities cause various environmental issues. Carrying out safe production provides vital support for sustainable development of agriculture, which may improve this situation. The past decades have witnessed the fast development of rural cooperatives organization in China. Given the fact that rural cooperative organization plays a crucial role in agricultural production, however, there is little empirical evidence on the relationship between cooperative membership and safe production of smallholders in China. This study aims to investigate whether the participation in farmer cooperatives contributes to safe production in agriculture in China. Using survey data covering 623 rice-producing farm households in Sichuan province in China, this study employs the endogenous switching regression model to examine the effects of the participation in farmer cooperatives on safe production in rice agriculture. The results show that cooperative membership has significantly positive effects on safe production in rice agriculture. In particular, the average treatment effects demonstrate that without the participation in cooperatives, the members' adoption of the green control techniques would reduce by 74.491%, the application of artificial weeding would reduce by 38.768%, and organic fertilizer input would reduce by 23.448%. Furthermore, the marginal treatment effect is employed to evaluate the heterogeneous effects of the participation in farmer cooperatives on safe production in rice agriculture. Heterogeneous effect analyses suggest that farmers who are more likely to participate in farmer cooperatives are easier to adopt green control technology, while farmers who are less likely to participate in farmer cooperatives are easier to adopt artificial weeding and increase organic fertilizer input. To improve safe production in rice agriculture, the Chinese government is expected to encourage rice farmers to participate in rural cooperative organizations, and to stimulate rice farmers to take collective action to address environment issues arising from agricultural production.

Purpose- Women play a significant and growing role in business development and their entrepreneurship has attracted so much attention throughout the world. Since women entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behavior are influenced by several factors, the present study aims to explore the impact of social capital and its components on entrepreneurial behavior of rural women who were members of cooperatives across Mazandaran province, Iran. Design/methodology/approach- The statistical population was composed of 1396 members of 11 rural women cooperatives out of which 320 individuals were taken as the research sample using proportionately allocated stratified technique based on Krejcie and Morgan’s table. Data were collected with a self-designed questionnaire composed of two sections for social capital in five aspects and entrepreneurial behavior in six aspects. The validity of the research instrument was checked by a panel of experts and its reliability was estimated by Cronbach’s alpha to be 0.921 for social capital section and 0.905 for entrepreneurial behavior section. Data were analyzed in descriptive and inferential sections using SPSS and LISREL software packages. Findings- The social participation aspect of social capital and the resource supply aspect of entrepreneurial behavior were ranked the first. The qualitative assessment of social capital and entrepreneurial behavior showed that they were at a satisfactory level among the members of rural women cooperatives. According to the path coefficient calculated in the structural equations (0.9), social capital plays a significant role in entrepreneurial behavior among the members of rural women cooperatives. Also, the results of structural equations revealed that intra-group social participation was the most important aspect of social capital in terms of the influence on the entrepreneurial behavior of rural women. Research limitations/implications- The dispersion of rural women cooperatives across the province and difficult access to their members to fill the questionnaire were the main constraints of the study. Practical implications- Entrepreneurial behavior can be strengthened and developed by improving social capital through communication of cooperatives with other agencies and institutions involved in rural affairs such as other successful cooperatives, regular meetings to clarify the activities of cooperatives, and the enhancement of women’s awareness of opportunity recognition and decision-making through holding training workshops and courses of practical entrepreneurship. Originality/value - The results can be used by relevant organizations to develop and accomplish pre-determined goals for rural women cooperatives through strengthening the issue of entrepreneurship.

The study analyzes the impact of social and human capital on the corporate value of Pakistani enterprises listed on the stock exchange. The research specifically focused on Pakistan firms operating in the manufacturing sector. It assesses the moderating effect of QOFDP between social capital (SC) and human capital (HC) on corporate value. A quantitative analysis approach is applied to the primary data collected through a close-ended survey questionnaire from 600 supply chain employees of Pakistan manufacturing industry. Results were used to construct a quantitative inquiry approach for the primary data. The association and impact of Social capital (SC) on the corporate value of manufacturing enterprises were found to be statistically significant, and it was also shown that Quality of financial decision and policy making (QOFDP) acted as a moderator between HC and corporate value. The moderating of QOFDP was exclusive to SC and HC, although all factors indicating SC (i.e., internal, and external network of social capital) and human capital (HC) affected company value positively and considerably. In light of the above findings, it has been advised that Pakistani manufacturing companies participate in rational financial decision-making to increase business sustainability and corporate value. However, this study is limited to the manufacturing industry in Pakistan and cannot be applied to other industries or nations.

The development of new e-commerce platforms has become a crucial driver of economic growth in developing countries, driven by the global wave of digitalization and informatization. However, research on e-commerce development in underdeveloped rural areas of China remains scarce, with even less focus on farmers’ e-commerce behaviors. Based on rural China’s unique characteristics, this study conducts a field survey of 346 rural households in Inner Mongolia. Using the Triple-Hurdle and mediation effect models through the lens of social capital, this study examines how social capital and digital literacy influence farmers’ short-term decisions and long-term investments in e-commerce participation across three dimensions: “willingness”, “choice”, and “degree of participation”. The aim is to identify how to leverage social capital as well as digital social literacy to enhance farmers’ e-commerce participation and promote the sustainable development of rural e-commerce. The results show the following: (1) Among the surveyed farmers, 198 households expressed a willingness to engage in e-commerce, 118 households participated, and only 1 household reached a participation level above 50%. This underscores the insufficient e-commerce engagement and ongoing challenges in rural Inner Mongolia. (2) Social capital, as a critical factor, positively affects farmers’ willingness to participate, choice to participate, and degree of participation in e-commerce at the 1% significance level, with regression coefficients of 1.386, 1.202, and 0.119, respectively. Its impact is strongest in the early stages of fostering willingness, followed by its effect on participation choice. However, its influence on the degree of participation diminishes due to the involvement of other complex factors. (3) Social capital enhances farmers’ digital social literacy at the 1% significance level, and digital social literacy plays a mediating role in the process by which social capital influences farmers’ e-commerce behavior. (4) Heterogeneity analysis shows that during actual participation, the impact of social capital on e-commerce behaviors is more pronounced among farmers with smaller household sizes and higher income levels. Based on these findings, this study recommends building social capital across different farmer groups, establishing online information-sharing platforms, and offering tailored technical and digital literacy training for diverse farmer demographics.

In Nigeria, agricultural production and food security are seriously threatened by climate change, and climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is essential for mitigating any potential effects. This study examines the variables that affect the likelihood and degree of adoption of various CSA practices, such as organic compost, minimal tillage, crop rotation, green manure and agroforestry crop, using secondary data obtained from a nationwide survey. For the simultaneous multiple adoptions, we used a multivariate probit model, and we evaluated the adoption level using ordered probit models. The various CSA practices are interconnected, and it has been discovered that several variables, such as access to credit, membership of cooperatives and marital status have an impact on the likelihood and the degree of CSA adoption. In North Central Nigeria, Nassarawa and Benue state exhibit quite different rates of adoption and intensity of climate-smart agriculture (CSA). For CSA to be adopted widely, it is essential to involve a variety of local stakeholders, including farmers, agricultural institutions, agricultural service providers, and interested government departments. Therefore, the study recommends changes to the agricultural policy to appropriately solve the majority of the problems with CSA adoption.

The digital development in rural areas has become an important driving force for promoting green production in agriculture. But the lack of digital skills among farmers remains a problem. The main reason why farmers cannot master digital skills well is their lack of digital literacy, which leads to market information asymmetry and the inability to truly distinguish the difference between green production and traditional production. Based on this, this article uses field research methods to collect data from 1,116 farmers in China, calculates agricultural green production efficiency using the SBM model, and empirically tests the relationship between farmers’ digital literacy and green production efficiency in agriculture. The results showed that digital literacy has a significant promoting effect on agricultural green production efficiency. Secondly, it was found that digital literacy can effectively enhance farmers’ cognition of green agricultural products and green production technology adoption. Among them, the effect of cognition of green agricultural products is reflected in farmers’ self-cognition and market cognition. The green production technology adoption is reflected in the breadth and depth of technology adoption. Third, we discuss the effect of different dimensions of digital literacy on agricultural green production efficiency. The effect of the digital literacy on the production efficiency of the five typical green technologies used by farmers is further discussed. Although there are certain differences, overall, they all have a significant promoting effect. It is necessary to comprehensively improve farmers’ digital literacy, bridge the digital divide and promote the green transformation of agricultural production.

Rural credit is very important to the increase of farmers’ income and the development of rural economy, and it has attracted wide attention from scholars. Many scholars have paid attention to the impact of social capital on farmers’ credit availability, but the research conclusions have not yet been unified. In addition, human capital is also one of the important factors that scholars pay attention to. However, the research mainly focuses on farmer education and pays less attention to their health. Based on the China Household Income Project (CHIP2013) database, we evaluated the impact of human capital (education and health of farmers) and social capital on the credit availability of farmers. To ensure the robustness of our results, we used both the ordered probit model and the propensity score matching (PSM) model to carry out the estimations. Therefore, the study not only improves the research framework of the impact of human capital on farmers’ credit availability, but also uses a more accurate method to estimate the net impact of social capital on farmers’ credit availability. The results showed that, firstly, in terms of human capital, farmers’ educational and health levels have a significant positive impact on their formal credit availability, but no significant impact on their informal credit availability. In particular, farmers with a high school education or above are more likely to obtain a formal loan. Secondly, in terms of social capital, interpersonal relationship capital and political relationship capital are beneficial for farmers obtaining loans from formal and informal channels. Organizational relationship capital only has a more significant positive impact on the informal credit availability of farmers. These results imply that formal financial institutions not only pay attention to farmers’ human capital but also their social capital to reduce the risk of lending. However, informal lenders, that is, relatives or friends, pay more attention to the social capital of farmers.

The culture of a place and the cultural practices contribute directly or indirectly to the food security situation of a given society. This study assessed the influence of food culture and practices on household food security among Tiv, Igala and Eggon ethnic groups in North Central Nigeria in 2011. A sample of 120 Tiv, 108 Igala and 112 Eggon households was interviewed using a structured questionnaire and focus group discussion. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a logistic regression procedure. Findings revealed that all households consumed carbohydrate based foods, men (93%) dominated agricultural decision making and undertake land preparation and ridging while women carried out weeding and food processing. All households practiced subsistence farming, 94.7% practiced mixed cropping, 93% acquired farmland through inheritance and 67 % sourced farm labour from the family. Males controlled household income (95%) and had preference in household food sharing (78%). Food culture and practices that significantly influenced household food security were control over household income (-1.056; p ≤ 0.05) and preference over household food sharing (0.834; p ≤ 0.05). The study concluded that culture was a dominant factor in number of meals consumed per day, household food choices, agricultural decision making, cropping system, division of labour, land acquisition, control over household income, preference in household food sharing and hence food security. It is recommended that both male and female farmers should be encouraged to diversify their income sources and make more money accessible for food purchases. Also, both gender should be provided access to productive resources for increased agricultural production and productivity for food security. Furthermore, farmers should be encouraged to produce and consume food of increased quality and diversity for improved nutrition and food security and household food should be fairly distributed in order to take care of the nutritional needs of all family members.

This study aims to investigate the influence of social capital on poverty reduction among members of financial cooperatives in the urban and rural areas of the Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia. Adopted explanatory and used mixed research methods using the cross-sectional study from 348 stratified and randomly selected financial cooperative members. Primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, and personal interviews. Furthermore, the data was analysed using logistic regression and multiple linear regression models. Three types of social capital dimensions: cognitive, relational, and structural social capital is operationalized and measured in terms of members' understanding of shared mission and goal, cooperation, and trust. The regression result shows that structural social capital and relational social capital are associated with improved poverty reduction, whereas a lack of cognitive social capital is associated with a decline in the reduction in household poverty of financial cooperative members. Surprisingly, the finding indicated that dimensions of social capital are more effective in affecting monetary poverty than other variables in the Amhara region. The study underscores the importance of social capital in influencing poverty reduction among members of the study area. Recognizing the impact of different dimensions of social capital, policymakers can design targeted interventions to combat poverty effectively. Strengthening social capital within financial cooperatives and promoting collaboration with financial institutions are essential steps towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of alleviating poverty in the region.

The thesis discusses a contemporary theme on the indirect gain of members of the agricultural production cooperative society. It seeks to answer by which different ways these organizations add economic value to the cooperative member and shows how the members realize the various categories of economic and non-economic benefits. An analysis of cooperation was conducted under the theoretical framework of the New Institutional Economics -NIE, emphasizing the mapping of economic and noneconomic perceptions of the existing cooperative relations with agricultural production cooperative society and yet from the perspective of the theory of income, analysis of the economic and social benefits of the cooperative member rural producer as individual into the cooperative agricultural production. To the case study, it were used as a source of information interviews with technical experts and applied questionnaires to cooperative members, viewing to obtain qualitative data of agricultural and agroindustrial production cooperative societies, of various corporate social purposes, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Forms of indirect transfers from cooperative societies were detected, which are perceived by the cooperative members as pecuniary and non-pecuniary gain. The non-pecuniary gain is related to status, comfort, knowledge, security among others, described as privileges within those organizations. These gains are not geared to increasing wealth, but contribute to increase the wellbeing of all cooperative members. Therefore, in the end, one can conclude that the cooperative members realize the indirect gains in the most variable ways, mainly by improving economic and social well-being.

Nepal government has prioritized cooperative development for easy access to agricultural inputs, the adoption of improved technology, and the development of a sustainable market. A study was conducted to compare and contrast the perceptions towards the safe production behavior between cooperative members and non-cooperative members in Anbukhaireni Rural Municipality, Nepal Milijuli Krishi Utpadak Sahakari and Akala Krishi Sahakari were purposefully selected for the study. Ninety-one (91) cooperative members were randomly selected and ninety (90) non-cooperative members were selected through convienence sampling. A convergent parallel method was adopted, a face-to-face method of interview schedule followed by the mWater surveyor application was used for data collection. The five likert scale technique was used to indicate the extent of the perception of farmers’ towards various statements. The perception of the respondents was analyzed using chi-square test, and the Mann-Whitney U test. Probit regression was used to determine socio-economic factors affecting farmers participation in cooperatives. The cooperative members had the nearest market distance (z=-6.99, p&lt;0.01) and were more involved in commercial farming (z=4.40, p&lt;0.01). The probability of farmers’ participation was 12 % and 4.3 % higher for the farmers with gender as head of the household (z=2.52, p&lt;0.05) and farmers who have received training related to cooperatives (z=2.09, p&lt;0.05). In the perception study, the cooperative members agreed with the statements of input supply situation, saving/credit facility provided, technology adoption, and adoption on post-harvest operations as compared to non-cooperative members. The cooperative and non-cooperative members showed differences in the marketing behaviours with the point of sale (2=326.98, p&lt;0.01), mode of transportation (2 = 250.65, p&lt;0.01), and the price determination (2 =288.042, p&lt;0.01).Therefore, training on the importance of agricultural cooperatives especially targeted to females, farmers with large farm sizes, and farmers whose farms are a bit farther from the market was suggested for safe agricultural production. Moreover, widespread development of the agricultural market (if not collection centers) should be made for sustainable agricultural production.

Improving agricultural green total factor productivity is important for achieving high-quality economic development and the SDGs. Digital inclusive finance, which combines the advantages of digital technology and inclusive finance, represents a new scheme that can ease credit constraints and information ambiguity in agricultural production. First, this study focused on agro-ecological functions; we incorporated total agricultural carbon sequestration and emissions extraction into the evaluation system and used the mixed-direction-distance function to calculate agricultural green total factor productivity. Then, based on panel data from 31 provinces in China collected from 2011 to 2021, we used the two-way fixed effect model, the interactive fixed effect, and the plausibly exogenous variable method to test the impact of digital financial inclusion on agricultural green total factor productivity, and its mechanism of action. The panel-corrected standard error and fixed effect Driscoll–Kraay methods were used to account for the unobserved heterogeneity and cross-section dependence in the panel data. The results showed that digital financial inclusion can significantly improve agricultural green total factor productivity. This conclusion remained valid following robustness tests using the spatial econometric model and the method of changing explanatory variables. Digital financial inclusion can improve agricultural green total factor productivity by facilitating the transfer of agricultural land. Sound digital infrastructure and strict green credit policies enhance the role of digital inclusive finance in promoting the green development of agriculture. These conclusions could help the financial sector to formulate flexible, accurate, reasonable, and appropriate financial policies and products that would support agriculture, and enhance the role of digital inclusive finance in promoting sustainable agricultural development.