Agrarian Economy Research Articles

Impact of Globalization on Indian Farmers

The agricultural sector is known to be the backbone of the Indian economy with an employment of 60% of the population in various agricultural, horticultural and allied activities. It contributes 18% to the GDP. India is the country which is known as agrarian economy. India entered in the process of globalization by 1991, when there was a severe economic crisis in the country. Indian Agriculture is directly linked with the global market and the focus of the agriculture changed from basic consumption to commercialization. After adoption of globalization in 1991 Indian agriculture growth rate increase but the economy condition of the farmers is not satisfactory because input cost is high and output cost is low

Determinants of Farm Household Socio-Economic Vulnerability Induced by Climate Change in Maharashtra: Regression Tree Approach

Climate change is a serious threat to the agrarian economy of Maharashtra due to persistent droughts, floods, irregular rainfall, etc. The present study was conducted during 2020–21 in three districts of Maharashtra (Parbhani, Sindhudurg and Ahmednagar) based on the extent of socio-economic vulnerability. The regression tree approach predicted the likelihood of socio-economic vulnerability in 180 randomly selected farm households. Findings indicated that improvement in visits of veterinary doctors, animals registered for feed camp, less consumption expenditure on food, and insuring farm animals resulted in a low vulnerability category. On the contrary, low access to electricity, low rainfall, and a higher number of unemployed members in a household resulted in a high level of socio-economic vulnerability. The study suggested focused policy efforts to improve the current socio-economic status of farm households by understanding the importance of closely associated variables affecting the degree of vulnerability to cope with climate change.

Distribution and Identification of Invasive Whiteflies on Coconut Palms in Eastern India and Its Natural Enemies: A Biosecurity Perspective

Regular movements of planting materials between countries pave the way for the entry of exotic pests. Despite rigorous quarantine regulations, various insect pests have hitherto entered India and raised biosecurity concerns. The occurrence of rugose spiraling whitefly, Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin and bondar’s nesting whitefly, Paraleyrodes bondari Peracchi on coconut crop has drawn the attention of the scientific and farming community due to their unique damaging behavior and rapid progression. Understanding their invasion, a study was undertaken to explore their incidence pattern in West Bengal (India). The survey revealed the occurrence of these species in different regions and habitats. The species was confirmed by standard morphological characters and molecular techniques by amplifying the cytochrome oxidase gene (COI) of mDNA. The representative sequence of A. rugioperculatus and P. bondari has been deposited to the NCBI with accession numbers OP024192 and OP024193, respectively. At present, two species co-exist on coconut leaflets with a rare exception of Gause’s principle. The incidence and severity of these pests were found greater on coconut palms. The damage inflicted by siphoning of plant sap by A. rugioperculatus was more severe than P. bondari. A shift in the weather pattern and continuous dry spells favor their proliferation and spread. The extensive field survey identified potential natural enemies of these whiteflies in the Eastern region of the country. Coconut plays a significant role in the agrarian economy and this comprehensive work would be much useful as a diagnostic guide for farmers, researchers, extension workers and organizations.

Устойчивое развитие АПК Волгоградской области в условиях цифровой трансформации

The sustainable development of the agricultural sector of regional economy is directly connected with the level of its innovative and digital development, which, in turn, mediates the readiness of the regional agro-industrial complex for digital transformation and transition to a fundamentally different technological mode of agricultural production. This paper presents the results of theoretical, scientific, and practical analysis of sustainable growth conditions of the regional agro-industrial complex by means of development of digital technologies and the level of innovative development. The research is based on the author’s concept of the interdependence of digital technologies’ use with the achievement of positive dynamics of the main indices of agricultural production in the region. The paper presents for discussion of the scientific community an original mathematical model of sustainable growth dependence of the agricultural sector of the regional economy on digital development index (DDI). The purpose of this study is a theoretical, scientific, and practical understanding of the use of the scientific and technical potential of agrarian economy of the region for the introduction of digital and innovative technologies in agricultural production in the context of overcoming the economic crisis that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and the return of the agro-industrial complex of the region to sustainable growth under Western sanctions. The result of this analysis, according to the authors, should be conclusions about the admissibility of scientific generalizations in the field of economic feasibility and the lack of alternatives to the use of digital technologies as a driver of sustainable development of the regional agro-industrial complex under the sanction’s pressure and overcoming the consequences of the COVID crisis. The results of the work can be used in the concept of sustainable development of the agrarian economy of the region, depending on development level of existing and promising digital ecosystems built on the domestic element base and Russian software use through the Digital Development Index (DDI), defined as a set of the given indices of digital and innovative infrastructure of the industry.

INTERRELATION SYSTEM OF TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESSES OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC STRUCTURES AND PROBLEMS OF SUSTAINABLE FOOD SECURITY

The relevance of the problem under study is connected with the identification of the relationship between the transformation processes of agrarian structures and issues of sustainable food security; with the definition of contradictions and uncertainties of the harmonious interaction of different forms of management formed in the process of transformation; revealing their functional differences; typology and scenario forecasts of development. The dualistic nature of the results of the transformation of the main forms of management in the system of the national economy is substantiated.
 Purpose. Identification of key aspects of the specifics of the results of transformational processes of economic structures in the agrarian economy of the Russian Federation and substantiation of the importance of a harmonious relationship with each other in accordance with the tasks of food security in the face of modern challenges.
 Materials and methods. The methodology of an integrated approach was used based on the systematic approach of Western and Russian researchers, as well as on the methodology of small economic structures Chayanova A.V., Kondratieva N.D. Methods of comparative economic analysis using the data of official statistics of the Russian Federation and FAO, as well as methods of visualizing the results of the study are involved. The case method was used to study the specifics of various economic structures, and the scenario modeling method was used to determine the trends for further development.
 Results. Based on a comparative analysis of the results of the market transformation of economic structures and the economic effects of their activities, it was revealed that: firstly, the dynamics and rates of food inflation in the system of the Russian economy are lower than the global ones; secondly, large economic structures prevail in the structure of production and rates of output of food products; thirdly, the predominance of market power on the part of large economic structures leads to the deformation of market relations and the need to find a solution to the problem of creating equal opportunities for large and small economic structures.
 Conclusion. The importance of creating a model of harmonious relations between different forms of management is substantiated. Scenario forecasts of possible trends in the further development of small and large economic structures have been made.

Impediments and Plausible Suggestions to Farmers in Cyclone Affected Region of Odisha: Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance Approach

Taking into account the farmer's perception of impediments, this study examined the impediments encountered in cyclone ravaged regions as well as their plausible suggestions. Odisha is one of the top 10 ranked climatic vulnerable state of India. 480 km of coastal boundary is exposed to Bay of Bengal and 06 coastal districts are highly vulnerable towards climatic events. As Odisha has an agrarian economy, farmers are severely affected by cyclones. So, the state was purposively selected for the study. Total of 160 respondent farmers were chosen randomly from 8 villages of 2 districts. 20 specific impediments (constraints) were further categorized into 4 broad dimensions of impediments viz., social, economic, environmental, and miscellaneous impediments. Impediments were ranked using Garrett's ranking method, while Kendall's coefficient of concordance approach was executed to rank 4 broad dimensions of impediments. Among 20 impediments, "rain and storms lead to flooding after cyclone" with Garrett's mean value 64.53 was perceived as the most important one. Kendall's coefficient of concordance was significant at 1% significance level (p=.000, <0.01) with the commendable agreement value of 0.588, as it ranges from 0 to 1. Where, Zero denotes nonexistent of agreement among judges, and one denotes perfect agreement with the ?2 value of 282.192 with 3 degrees of freedom. Kendall's coefficient of concordance values for 4 broad impediments were environmental impediment (3.53) was ranked first as constraint followed by economic impediment (2.85), social impediment (2.40) and miscellaneous impediment (1.22). The following suggestions were extracted from the grassroots level investigations viz., attending timely training and awareness programs regarding cyclones, constructions of pucca houses to protect from heavy wind and rain, cultivation of early verities of paddy crops and vegetables, constructing permanent drainage systems, reforestation and afforestation of salt-tolerant mangrove trees, chlorination of drinking water after the cyclone and use of battery operated gadgets to save life post cyclones.

Hydroponic Capital: Socionatural Innovation and the Intensification of Glasshouse Agrifood Production

This article develops the concept of hydroponic capital in order to explain the emergence of socionatural innovations aiming to enhance food security and production efficiencies in glasshouse agrifood production clusters. It does so through an archaeology of the knowledge regimes involved in technology innovations and examines the regionalized and transnational networks of crop scientists, growers, and extension workers involved. How hydroponics resulted in an intensification of the circulation time for capital and a reduction in the scale and costs of labor inputs is explained. In doing so, advances in economic geographic understanding of innovation through an engagement with agrarian political economy and political ecological debates to explain how hydroponic capital developed through the combination of different innovatory knowledges seeking to grapple with plant pathologies and cropping systems across regionalized networks of actors are discussed. Hydroponics was a way for growers to overcome biophysical barriers to production and labor rationalization problems. The article combines an understanding of the dynamics of labor and capital in agrarian systems, since they struggle with crop biophysicality, with the granular processes of knowledge deployment by which innovation takes place to overcome these biophysical barriers in agrifood supply chains. Unlike much existing innovation research focusing on the combination of different knowledge bases, why different forms of innovation knowledge were combined to overcome biophysical barriers in agrifood innovation is explained.

Livelihood Security and its Determinants Among Farmers During COVID-19 Pandemic in Telangana, India

With COVID-19 outbreak globally several studies on livelihoods and food systems are conducted in consistent manner. India being an agrarian economy, the impact of pandemic on agricultural sector and farmers needs a great focus. The present exploratory study on Livelihood Security (LS) was carried out in Telangana, India among Suryapet and Rangareddy districts purposively with 160 respondents selected through multistage random sampling during 2021. Livelihood Security Index was used with 7 sub-indicators and it depicted that only one sub-indicator i.e., economic security contributing less than 50% to LS and majority of the respondents have moderate level of livelihood security (42.5%) with overall mean value of 0.628. The determinants of LS were identifi ed through Multivariate regression analysis model and found 14 predictors were fi tted in model responsible for 62.8% variance in the dependent variable (LS). The regression model revealed that Family size, educational years, Livestock holding, Social Participation, annual family income, mass media exposure, and Risk orientation were most aided predictor variables in the improvement of livelihood security during COVID-19 with educational years having greater β-value. R2 standardized linear graph was plotted against the LS and the signifi cant predictor value demonstrating the distribution of respondents over graph according to their livelihood security with R2 linear value 0.606. Thus, during COVID-19 more livelihood options for diversifi cation of income can aid in increase of LS. The present study concluded by suggesting policy implications to ensure livelihood security among farming communities during pandemic.

Impact outlook of Asian Monsoon for Disaster Resilience

The Asian summer monsoon impacts the human lives and agrarian economies throughout Asia. These impacts are driven by monsoon anomalies which are manifested interms of the seasonal precipitation, surface temperatures, and the occurrences of floods,droughts, and tropical cyclones. A strong monsoon results in various positive outcomes like increased agricultural produce, economic growth,reduced commodityprices and national inflationary levels as well as increased ground water and restored reservoirs.While predicting the Asian summer monsoon has been prioritized by decision-makers across sectors in Asia, impact forecasting must gain greater significance as itis particularly important to tackle disaster risks. The paradigm shifts from ‘what monsoon will be to what monsoon will do’provides valuable insightsto better prepare Asian countries for managingimpending extreme events. The paper brings out how impact outlook for Asian monsoon can be effectively utilized.It shows howseasonal forecasts overlaid with risk and hazards maps andindicators on exposure and vulnerability can enhance understanding ofpotential risk scenariosfor various sectors, including agriculture, energy, health, water, and disaster management. Noting the limitations of accuracy and information available from seasonal forecasts, the information provided from impact outlook should be understood as preliminary assessments. The paper makes a case for seamless integration of seasonal, sub-seasonal, medium, and short terms forecasts withthe data on potential impact for close monitoring and taking targeted policy actions.

Neocolonial agenda: Agrarian transformations in Ethiopia and Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT The aim of the article is to show how neocolonial development has led to increasing ‘de-agrarianisation’ despite agricultural expansion, and this is at the expense of peasant production and pastoralism. Based on the authors’ own ethnographic research and literature studies, the article presents two cases of agricultural expansion: the Mahaweli Development Programme in Sri Lanka, aimed at redeveloping small-scale agriculture, and the reorganisation of pastoralist areas into large-scale cash cropping areas in Ethiopia. The authors find that recent agricultural ‘developers’ have failed to acknowledge the role and value of the traditional agrarian economy, as well as the pressure put on small-scale farmers and pastoralists through increasing capitalism in agriculture, land grabbing, and expropriation for agri-business. In conclusion, despite the historical and cultural differences between Sri Lanka and Ethiopia, both countries exemplify how the expropriation of state land under colonialism and after has facilitated the development of capitalist agriculture, involving irrigation, new settlements and migration, cash cropping, land alienation, and external public and private control. In Sri Lanka, increasing capitalism and technical reforms have led to social inequity and de-agrarianisation among small-scale farmers. In Ethiopia, agricultural development has been a political and economic process of alienation and exploitation for pastoralists.

No wheat crisis: trade liberalization and transportation innovation in Quebec during the 1830s and 1840s

Abstract In the first half of the nineteenth century, the wheat oriented agrarian economy of Lower Canada saw a rapid collapse in wheat production. These developments have been blamed on factors ranging from soil exhaustion to cultural conservatism and used to infer falling living standards in the colony. We provide evidence suggesting this collapse was largely the result of adjustment to the trade shock that followed the Colonial Trade Act of 1831 and a rapid reduction in freight costs between the Canadian colonies. Areas more exposed to external markets—as proxied by road access—shifted away from wheat production.

Income poverty and sectoral income differentials in Chilean agricultural (1935–1968)

The main aim of this study is to analyse sectoral income differentials and income poverty in Chilean agricultural between 1935 and 1968. The food share method of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is used as a methodological approach. The conclusions are as follows: (1) contrary to what the existing literature suggests, the Chilean agricultural sector was not entirely an agrarian subsistence economy; (2) the cost of agricultural labour began to increase in the mid-1930s, but less than in the industrial and manufacturing sectors in urban areas; (3) maintaining tenants above the poverty line in rural areas from 1935 to 1955 was as expensive as paying the average wage of blue-collar workers; and (4) if days worked per year and household size are considered, agricultural wages rose but remained below the poverty line for rural areas.

Undoing Maradona: Subalterns of Sport for Development

Even before Abongile was born, his father named him Maradona. Such prophetic naming holds within the lingering desire of an oppressed man to rid himself of his subalternity. While the charm of professional soccer stirs such emotions, the traction of sport among the poor is used as a ‘hook’ to attract them to development programmes. Branded as sports-for-development-and-peace, SDP projects are widespread across South African townships. Ethnography of an SDP project-in-the-making involving Abongile/Maradona is presented to examine how individual aspirations find expression in projects of collective development. The history of the agrarian labour economy of the Western Cape provides the scaffolding for the social relations and altruistic motivations over which this project unfolds. Despite explicit claims to attract at-risk youth, SDP practices entice those convinced of sport’s moralizing potential. SDP discourse represents the visions and ideologies of those wanting to develop the inferior (sub) others (alterns), while obscuring the predicaments of those being developed. As fate would have it, Abongile could not become as ‘good’ at soccer as Diego and SDP’s moral politics would not have him be as ‘bad’ as aspects of the real Maradona’s personal life. As a subaltern of SDP, Maradona is undone.

Land-use/cover Change in Raebareli District (Uttar Pradesh, India): A Remote Sensing and GIS-Based Study

Abstract: Raebareli district is majorly agrarian economy, holding large tracts of rural land as Agricultural and respective natural geomorphologies which mainly included barren land, fallow land, shrub land, plantations, and wetlands along with forest. The landcover alone of Agricultural land was more than three-fourth of total land of whole district. The increment in the settlement pattern growth seems to be so natural and calm in progression with gradual changes as per population increase. Explicit and forced development seems not to be driving factor for the district.

Price Dynamics and Integration in India’s Staple Food Commodities—Evidence from Wholesale and Retail Rice and Wheat Markets

Uncertain price movement in staple food commodities puts agrarian economies at risk if not monitored and managed consistently. Hence, an attempt has been made to analyze the price behavior and integration across major wholesale and retail markets for rice and wheat in India. Monthly data (July 2000 to June 2022) on prices viz. wholesale and retail were sourced from the Food and Agriculture Organization and analyzed using growth rate, instability index, seasonal price index, Bai-Perron’s test for structural breaks, Johansen’s test on cointegration, Granger causality test, and impulse response function. Findings indicated strong evidence of price dynamics in the selected markets in terms of spatial and temporal variation, clear-cut seasonality linking to production, and price divergence between wholesale and retail markets. Johansen’s test indicated a strong cointegration between wholesale and retail prices after accounting for structural breaks, exhibiting unidirectional-, bidirectional- and no causality. Impulse response analysis revealed that the selected wheat and rice markets are efficient in terms of ‘price discovery’ which takes place initially in the wholesale market, and is then transmitted to the retail market. The study advocates decision-making information to the producers, traders, and consumers who are interested in taking advantage of the price movement. It is concluded that strengthening the market intelligence and reducing the distortion in markets will improve the existing overall performance.

Comprehensive Trend Analysis of Past Century Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall and its Variability

The importance of rainfall for an agrarian economy like India is quite well known, especially during the Indian summer monsoon months viz. June through September. Analysis of rainfall characteristics over the past century can present an idea of the variability of rainfall. Variability of rainfall has been observed in intraseasonal as well as intra-annual time scales. This study is aimed at comprehensively analyzing the annual as well as seasonal rainfall trends over India and different homogenous rainfall regions of India over a period of 119 years (1901-2019). Results from the study infer that there has been an increasing trend in rainfall over low rainfall regions such as northeast India there is a decreasing trend over central and northeastern India. The annual rainfall and monsoon rainfall over India as a whole present an increasing trend but the number of extreme rainfall years have increased in recent times. A major concern of decreasing rainfall has been observed over central India where there is a decreasing rainfall trend with an increase in the number of break days over the past 30-40 years. Major findings of this study are that the number of excess/deficit monsoon seasons has rapidly increased post-1960 with more deficit rainfall years.

Transforming critical agrarian studies: Solidarity, scholar-activism and emancipatory agendas in and from the Global South*

ABSTRACT This paper examines the challenges and opportunities faced by critical agrarian scholars in and from the Global South. We argue that despite the historical and structural limitations, the critical juncture of convergence of crises and renewed interest in agrarian political economies offers an opportunity for fostering a diverse research agenda that opens space for critical perspectives about, from and by the Global South, which is mostly absent in mainstream scholarship dominated by the Global North. We also propose doing so by enhancing solidarity to transform injustices within academia and other spaces of knowledge production and dissemination. To develop the argument, first, we reflect on the multiplicity of crises in rural areas and the changing character of social struggles, as well as the interlinkages between environmental crises and the re-emergence of critical agrarian studies that are reshaping the agrarian question. Then, we discuss the implications and conditions of the political agenda carried out by a scholar-activist movement working on agrarian studies from the Global South. Drawing on our experience as the Collective of Agrarian Scholar-Activists from the South (CASAS), we conclude by proposing three ways forward for enhancing solidarity through networks of scholar-activists: knowledge accessibility, cooperative organization, and co-production of knowledge.

Pain and Hopelessness among Indian Farmers: An Analysis of Deepa Bhatia’s Nero’s Guests

Nero’s Guests (2009) is a documentary film directed by Deepa Bhatia on farmers’ suicide in India. It documents the suicide of farmers harvesting cotton crops. Sainath P, journey across villages in India, to investigate the motive behind farmers’ suicide. Sainath mentions the shortcomings of the Green Revolution — the use of HYV seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides results in higher costs of crop production and so the profit declines and debts escalate. This hopeless situation of the farmers prevail all over the country and force them to end their lives. The pain of farmers is incomprehensible due to debts, lack of water, rapid urbanization, and insurmountable pressure to run the family and farming despite losses. This paper focuses on David Klonsky and Alexis May’s Three- Step Theory (2015). The theory identifies four important factors such as pain, hopelessness, connection, and capability for suicide. This study aims to bring out the overlooked state of the farmers and the agrarian economy of India in the light of pain and hopelessness in David Klonsky and Alexis May's Three Step- Theory (2015).

Can Public Health Expenditure Influence National Productivity in an Agrarian Economy? Evidence from Nigeria

Despite the nation’s wealth in natural and human resources, productivity measure in Nigeria has not been satisfactory. Several factors have been alluded to be responsible for this. This paper investigated the impact of public health expenditure (with gross capital formation and secondary school enrolment as control variables) on national productivity (real GDP divided by working population as proxy) in Nigeria between 2000 and 2020. The theoretical foundation was based on Solow Neo-classical and Romer Endogenous growth models. The unit root test showed that variables were stationary at level. The descriptive result shows significant fluctuations in government domestic expenditure on health with an average of 18% of total health expenditure. Regression results showed a significant and positive relationship between healthcare service expenditures and productivity in Nigeria. The study recommended that Nigerian health policies should focus on developing the domestic health sector by increasing yearly budgetary allocation to the sector.

Carrying the “Nation’s Thousand-Jin Burden”: Yiyun, the Relay Transportation System during the Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937–1945

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Nationalist government established a system of relay transportation, called yiyun, to move military provisions and consumption goods across Free China. The Nationalists’ dependence on locally sourced porters, pack animals, and boats was a product of their unique challenge: waging protracted war within an agrarian economy. While yiyun had its own bureaucratic apparatus at the national level, its day-to-day operations throughout the provinces fell onto local actors, such as the baojia. Through these local agents of control and extraction, the Nationalist state channeled the exigencies of war into the remotest communities and the individual household. The yiyun system demonstrates the wartime Nationalists’ remarkable capacity for organizing resources in a time of crisis. However, its exploitative tendencies also reveal their willingness to trade civilian livelihoods for better odds of survival. Any recognition of the Nationalists’ success in maintaining China’s sovereignty must also accept its foundation in imposed civilian sacrifice.