Agricultural Schemes Research Articles

Economic analysis of domestic and international food prices during WTO regime: Effects on Indian crop planning, production, poverty, inflation, and trade

AbstractPrices can distress small and marginal farmers adversely by affecting their farm returns and affordability in agriculture. Price, a competitive weapon, helps to exploit opportunities and decides the profit of all business in the market. This study is a domestic and foreign market‐based research study. The study period is from 1990–91 to 2017–18. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR), instability index, Terms of Trade (TOT), price elasticity, and regression analysis were employed to estimate the results of the study. The study found that the area and production of cereals, pulses, and oilseeds have been increasing except sorghum, groundnut, and sunflower since 1990–91 to 2017–18. TOT was favored for Indian wheat, sorghum, gram, groundnut, soybean, and sunflower with other nations. Export quantity of rice, groundnut, and sunflower; export price of rice and sunflower; import quantity of arhar; and import price of sorghum were found to be stable. The rice, wheat, gram, groundnut, soybean, and sunflower export price elasticities were marginally greater than their imports. In case of agricultural commodities, area would be increased by increasing minimum support price (MSP) of arhar and moong; domestic price of sunflower; export price of groundnut and sunflower; and import price of sunflower and soybean. But the same was increased by decreasing the MSP of soybean; sorghum export price; and domestic price and import price of groundnut. Production was increased by increasing MSP of rice, wheat, maize, arhar, and moong; export and import quantity of gram; export price of wheat and soybean; and import price of sunflower and soybean. But the same was increased by decreasing the MSP of sunflower and export price of sorghum. Total agricultural exports were increased by increasing the rice, wheat, maize, moong, and soybean production; export quantity of gram and sunflower; export price of rice, sorghum, gram, groundnut, sunflower, and soybean; and trade balance of sunflower. The same was increased by lessening the sorghum and sunflower production; export quantity of arhar and groundnut; and trade balance of arhar and groundnut. Total agricultural imports increased by increasing the rice, wheat, maize, arhar, moong, and soybean production; import quantity of gram, sunflower, and soybean; import price of gram and moong; and trade balance of rice, gram, groundnut, sunflower, and soybean. The same was reduced by reducing the sunflower production. Poverty would be reduced by increasing the rice, wheat, maize, gram, and soybean production; export price of rice, sorghum, gram, sunflower, and soybean; and trade balance of sunflower and soybean. The same was reduced by decreasing the sunflower production and trade balance of maize, sorghum, and arhar. Inflation would be increased by increasing the production of gram; export price of rice, wheat, moong, and groundnut; import price of arhar; and trade balance of gram and also by reducing the maize production and MSP of rice, gram, and groundnut. Consumer price general index would be increased by increasing the domestic prices of wheat, maize, sorghum, moong, groundnut, and soybean; and MSP of wheat, maize, sorghum, arhar, moong, groundnut, and sunflower. The same was increased by diminishing the international prices except maize; import price of sorghum and sunflower; and producer price index of sorghum and soybean. Consumer price food index would be improved by raising the domestic price of groundnut and by diminishing the international prices; MSP and import price of soybean; and producer price index of groundnut. The study findings have important inferences to be considered in designing agricultural price policies and schemes to protect domestic producers, to boost exports and foreign earnings of agricultural commodities in India. The study guides producers, exporters, and importers for price signals of agricultural commodities in the market.

Telling ruins: the afterlives of an early post-independence development intervention in Lake Victoria, Tanzania

ABSTRACTIn the early 1960s, three pilot agricultural and settlement schemes were set up along the shores of Lake Victoria in the north-western region of Tanzania with the involvement of Israeli development agency Agridev. One of these sites was Mbarika, where the experimental project ran for three years and had mixed results before being discontinued by the young Tanzanian government. This article explores the story of that scheme and its long-term legacies some 50 years on. Unpacking the representational and material ruinations that outlived the project's official timeline, we examine the memories and rumours that continue to haunt the site to this day and their entanglement with successive development experiences and shifting political ideologies. Through interviews, ethnographic observations and archival research, we shed light on the complex, deeply ambiguous legacies and ‘afterlives’ of a development intervention set between expectations of modernity and a sense of exclusion.

Impact of Agricultural Irrigation on Anemia in Western Kenya.

Expanding agricultural irrigation efforts to enhance food security and socioeconomic development in sub-Saharan Africa may affect malaria transmission and socioeconomic variables that increase the risk of anemia in local communities. We compared the prevalence of anemia, Plasmodium falciparum infection, and indicators of socioeconomic status related to nutrition in communities in Homa Bay County, Kenya, where an agricultural irrigation scheme has been implemented, to that in nearby communities where there is no agricultural irrigation. Cross-sectional surveys conducted showed that anemia prevalence defined by WHO criteria (hemoglobin < 11 g/dL) was less in communities in the irrigated areas than in the non-irrigated areas during the wet season (38.9% and 51.5%, χ2 = 4.29, P = 0.001) and the dry season (25.2% and 34.1%, χ2 = 7.33, P = 0.007). In contrast, Plasmodium falciparum infection prevalence was greater during the wet season in irrigated areas than in non-irrigated areas (15.3% versus 7.8%, χ2 = 8.7, P = 0.003). There was, however, no difference during the dry season (infection prevalence, < 1.8%). Indicators of nutritional status pertinent to anemia pathogenesis such as weekly consumption of non-heme- and heme-containing foods and household income were greater in communities located within the irrigation scheme versus those outside the irrigation scheme (P < 0.0001). These data indicate that current agricultural irrigation schemes in malaria-endemic communities in this area have reduced the risk of anemia. Future studies should include diagnostic tests of iron deficiency, parasitic worm infections, and genetic hemoglobin disorders to inform public health interventions aimed at reducing community anemia burden.

Challenges to conserve world agricultural heritages in a market economy: Experiences in Nishi-Awa, Japan

The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems – established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2002 – is a certification expected to conserve traditional agro-ecosystems and associated biodiversity, natural resources, outstanding landscapes, and cultural heritages that are at risk of extinction in the current market system. Employing the Nishi-Awa Steep Slope Land Agriculture System in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, designated as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System in 2018, as the case study, this research explores the potential and contradictions of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System to incorporate alternative values such as traditional knowledge, biodiversity, landscape, healthy diets, and cultural heritages into the dominant hierarchy of values that favor market competitiveness. Based on original field surveys, literature review, and qualitative analyses, the study demonstrates that while the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System certification is expected to bring considerable economic opportunity through an increase in international tourists and price appreciation of the local agri-food products certified by a local agri-food labeling system (established by the public and private actors in the designated area), this system does not explicitly guarantee the values claimed in Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System certification. Therefore, the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System scheme to conserve the claimed values in designated areas is faced with a contradictory situation in a market economy.

Agricultural Bank Credit Intervention And The Application of Big Push Theory to Beneficiaries:Evidence From Nigeria

Up till now there is shortage of empirical evidence on volume of loan received that generates big push for the farmers and the bank to curtail abuse of fund and its determinants. The purpose of this study is to examine the agricultural bank credit intervention and the application of big push theory among beneficiaries in Nigeria so as to make advocacy for a bailout intervention. A total of 295 beneficiaries were randomly selected. A questionnaire was developed, and data collection was undertaken by means of a multistage sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, regression model and t-test analysis were used to analyze the data. The mean age of beneficiaries was 46 years old. The respondents had an average household size of 6 persons with 79.3% of the beneficiaries being literate with one form of formal education or the other. About 65.4% of the beneficiaries did not subscribe to membership of farmers groups. The beneficiaries had 13 years’ experience in arable crop farming. The average farm size was 1.57 ha. This tells us that the beneficiaries were small scale farmers. The result reveals that the region of big push was between $244.34-$977.37 The variables that had positive and substantial relationship with big push in the model were age of respondent, years spent in farming, education, farm size, cooperative membership, household size, collateral requirement and marital status. The outcome of the t-test indicated that there was much impact after benefiting from agricultural bank credit loan scheme in the area. The foremost constraints were collateral requirement and high interest rate. Loan acquisition procedure by agricultural bank credit should be made easier as well as the threshold of farmers financial management ability should be considered during disbursement of loan to farmers for effective utilization.

Hāth se sīkhna: geographies of practical learning and India’s agricultural skills agenda

A significant challenge of skill development in the Global South is providing meaningful opportunities for practical learning. While previous studies have explored this as a pedagogical challenge, in this paper, I take a geographical perspective, arguing the barriers to practical learning extend beyond pedagogy and often relate to socio-economic conditions. I draw on a study of a new agricultural skill development scheme in the states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in north India. Trainees enrolled in the scheme expressed strong desires for opportunities to ‘learn by hand’ (hāth se sīkhna), which training rarely provided and which were often availed in informal settings. The extent to which trainees found useful practical learning opportunities varied based on gender, caste and locality. Drawing on theories of communities of practice, I argue that the desired practical learning was marred not only by the inability or unwillingness of trainers to provide practical classes, but also by regionally specific factors, such as administrative constraints, local agrarian structure and regional patriarchies. This suggests that coordinating effective forms of practical learning requires regional-level strategies that are attentive to social and economic context.

Transgressive Capabilities: Skill Development and Social Disruption in Rural India

Under what conditions might the acquisition of new skills challenge discriminatory social norms? We interrogate this question through reference to a study on the social impacts of an agricultural skill development scheme in rural India. We present detailed vignettes drawn from this study, which illustrate the social consequences of acquiring and utilizing skills that transgress local gender and caste norms. Engaging with themes from capabilities theory, we highlight how, although not all skills are transgressive, for some, acquiring “transgressive skills” not only enhanced life opportunities for themselves, but also did so for others within their communities. The form of their transgressions and their social consequences varied, however, based on their relative privilege and the operation of place-specific social norms and systems of oppression. We argue that transgressive skills might drive progressive social change, but distinguish between two types of transgression. Individual, brash, heroic transgressions against the status quo are more accessible to the relatively privileged, whereas marginalized people are more likely to engage in nested transgressions, which form part of long-term, collective struggles for empowerment. The latter, although often overlooked, might offer sustainable pathways to progressive change that reflect local aspirations.

Women Farmers' Awareness of Government Agricultural Schemes in the North Eastern Region of India

The Indian agricultural sector employs 4/5th of the female workforce in the country, with 48% of self-employed farmers being women. Existing literature portrays a wide information gap separating the woman farmer from basic knowledge with regards to increasing production, efficiency, and income of their farm activities. This paper makes an attempt to study the awareness of women farmers in North Eastern Region (NER) of India about active agricultural schemes in the country. The findings reveal lack of awareness of governmental agricultural schemes as a lacuna in the agricultural progress of women farmers in the NER.

Can rolling composite wildflower blocks increase biodiversity in agricultural landscapes better than wildflowers strips?

Abstract Biodiversity and abundance of wildlife has dramatically declined in agricultural landscapes. Sown, short‐lived wildflower (WF) strips along the margins of crop fields are a widespread and often subsidised in agri‐environmental schemes, intended to enhance biodiversity, provide refuges for wild plant and arthropod populations and to provide ecosystem services to crops. Meanwhile, WF elements are also criticised, since their functionality decreases with plant succession, the removal of aged WF strip poses an ecological trap for the attracted arthropod populations and only common and mobile species benefit. Further, insects in WF strips are impacted by pesticides from agricultural fields due to shared boundaries with crop fields and by edge effects. The performance of the measure could be improved by combining several WF strips of different successional stages, each harbouring a unique community of plants and arthropods, into persistent, composite WF block, where successional stages exist in parallel. Monitoring data on many taxa in the literature shows, that a third of species are temporarily present in an ageing WF stip, thus offering composite WF blocks should increase cumulative species richness by 28%–39% compared to annual richness in WF strips. Persistence of composite WF blocks would offer reliable refuge for animal and plant populations, also supporting their predators and herbivores. Further, WF blocks have less boundaries to crops compared to WF strips of the same area, and are less impacted by edge effects and pesticides. Policy implications. Here I suggest a change of conservation practice changing from successional WF strips to composite WF blocks. By regular removal and replacement of aged WF strips either within the block (rotational) or at its margins (rolling), the habitat heterogeneity in composite WF block could be perpetuated. Rolling composite WF blocks change locations over years, and the original location can be reconverted to arable land while a nearby WF block is still available to wildlife. A change in agricultural schemes would be necessary, since in some European countries clustered WF strips are explicitly not subsidised.

Effect of an improved agricultural irrigation scheme with a hydraulic structure for crop cultivation in arid northern Afghanistan using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)

The current study focuses on water scarcity, water shortages, and inequal water allocation for downstream water users in the Balkhab River basin (BRB) in northern Afghanistan. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was utilized to determine the hydrological process in the watershed and assess the water resource capacity. The model was calibrated and validated to ensure proper model setup for the entire watershed. The analysis of the current water management and allocation scheme indicated inadequate water distributions for the downstream irrigation canals. The current water allocation approach was modified based on crop water requirements and the available agricultural lands. A new irrigation scheme was proposed and included in the SWAT model that does not decrease upstream water allocation. The annual streamflow in the Balkhab River can supply the extra allocated water downstream without influencing the upstream water. Notably, a dam was proposed in the middle stream to store water during the winter and early spring seasons, as well as floodwater. The model outcomes showed that the existing annual streamflow in the river can fully support the irrigation of currently available land and an extra 18,470.6 ha of agricultural lands in the BRB. The results of this study can contribute to scientific evidence-based policy and decision-making processes for sustainable agricultural water resource management and flood control in the study region.

Planning regional-scale water-energy-food nexus system management under uncertainty: An inexact fractional programming method

In this study, an inexact fractional programming method is employed for planning the regional-scale water-energy-food nexus (WEFN) system. The IFP cannot only deal with uncertainties expressed as interval parameters, but also handle conflicts among multiple decision stakeholders. The IFP approach is then applied to planning the WEFN system of Henan Province, China. An IFP-WEFN model has been established under consideration of various restrictions related to water and energy availability, as well as food demand. Solutions of the planting areas for different crops in different periods have been generated. The results suggested that there would be a significant increase for vegetable cultivation with an increasing rate of 24.4% and 30% respectively for the conservative and advantageous conditions, followed by the fruit cultivation. In comparison, the planting area of cotton would be decreased with a decreasing rate of 21.2%, and there would also be an explicit decrease for rice cultivation. These results can help generate a desired planting scheme in order to achieve a maximized unit benefit with respect to the water utilization. Comparison between the IFP-WEFN model and the ILP-WEFN model indicates that, even though a slightly lower benefit is obtained from IFP-WENF model, it can result in a higher unit benefit than the planting scheme from ILP-WEFN model. Consequently, the IFP-WEFN model can help decision-makers identify the sustainable agricultural water resources management schemes with a priority of water utilization efficiency.

Problems Continue in the Horticulture Sector: the Seasonal Workers Pilot Review 2019

In March 2019, the UK government launched a pilot scheme offering six-month visas to migrant workers in the horticulture sector. The first year of operation of this scheme has now been evaluated by the Home Office and the Department for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).1 It would have been easy to overlook the publication of this review, taking place as it did on 24 December 2021. However, it offers important insights into the problems experienced by workers in the sector and casts doubt on the wisdom of temporary visa schemes as a solution to labour shortages, given the additional vulnerabilities they create. This note offers a short history of seasonal agricultural work by way of background, before examining the Seasonal Workers Pilot (SWP) and the key findings of the government’s own evaluation. An early incarnation of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) was set up in 1945 to tackle post-war labour shortages.2 This encouraged young workers, often students, to spend short periods of time living on farms, picking fruit and vegetables during peak harvest times, which typically coincided with vacations. It was envisaged as a form of cultural exchange, with young people from the UK encouraged to spend time in other countries to assist with post-war reconstruction efforts.

On Enabling Mobile Crowd Sensing for Data Collection in Smart Agriculture: A Vision

Smart agriculture enables the efficiency and intelligence of production in physical farm management. Though promising, due to the limitation of the existing data collection methods, it still encounters few challenges required to be considered. Mobile crowd sensing (MCS) embeds three beneficial characteristics: 1) cost-effectiveness; 2) scalability; and 3) mobility and robustness. With the Internet of Things becoming a reality, smartphones are widely becoming available even in remote areas. Hence, both the MCS characteristics and the plug-and-play widely available infrastructure provide huge opportunities for MCS-enabled smart agriculture, opening up several new opportunities at the application level. In this article, we extensively evaluate agriculture mobile crowd sensing (AMCS) and provide insights for agricultural data collection schemes. In addition, we offer a comparative study with the existing agriculture data collection solutions and conclude that AMCS has significant benefits in terms of flexibility, collecting implicit data, and low-cost requirements. However, we note that AMCSs may still possess limitations regarding data integrity and quality to be considered a future work. To this end, we perform a detailed analysis of the challenges and opportunities that concerns MCS-enabled agriculture by putting forward seven potential applications of AMCS-enabled agriculture. Finally, we propose general research based on agricultural characteristics and discuss a special case based on the solar insecticidal lamp maintenance problem.

Short-Term Daily Univariate Streamflow Forecasting Using Deep Learning Models

Hydrological forecasting is one of the key research areas in hydrology. Innovative forecasting tools will reform water resources management systems, flood early warning mechanisms, and agricultural and hydropower management schemes. Hence, in this study, we compared Stacked Long Short-Term Memory (S-LSTM), Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (Bi-LSTM), and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) with the classical Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) network for one-step daily streamflow forecasting. The analysis used daily time series data collected from Borkena (in Awash river basin) and Gummera (in Abay river basin) streamflow stations. All data sets passed through rigorous quality control processes, and null values were filled using linear interpolation. A partial autocorrelation was also applied to select the appropriate time lag for input series generation. Then, the data is split into training and testing datasets using a ratio of 80 : 20, respectively. Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), and coefficient of determination (R2) were used to evaluate the performance of the proposed models. Finally, the findings are summarized in model variability, lag time variability, and time series characteristic themes. As a result, time series characteristics (climatic variability) had a more significant impact on streamflow forecasting performance than input lagged time steps and deep learning model architecture variations. Thus, Borkena’s river catchment forecasting result is more accurate than Gummera’s catchment forecasting result, with RMSE, MAE, MAPE, and R2 values ranging between (0.81 to 1.53, 0.29 to 0.96, 0.16 to 1.72, 0.96 to 0.99) and (17.43 to 17.99, 7.76 to 10.54, 0.16 to 1.03, 0.89 to 0.90) for both catchments, respectively. Although the performance is dependent on lag time variations, MLP and GRU outperform S-LSTM and Bi-LSTM on a nearly equal basis.

Agricultural Programmes in Socio-Economic Development of Jammu and Kashmir with Special Reference to District Shopian

Agriculture is the science and art of cultivation of the soil, rearing of livestock and raising of crops. Agricultural sector is considered as the most essential tool for the common masses to get their livelihood. It is estimated that about two-third of population is still dependent on agriculture in India. Throughout the world near about 50 % persons are associated with agricultural activities and their production. Soils which are rich in mineral contents and adequate climatic conditions are the factors which are vital for agricultural activity. The contribution of agriculture at national level on Gross Domestic Product is dynamic in nature and has reduced from 30% in 1990-91 to about 14% in 2011-12, it then again increased and reached 17% in 2019-20 up to about 19.9% in 2020-21 but still it is considered as the backbone of Indian economy. Agriculture sector should be given priority in order to make adequate measures to reduce poverty and to provide food security to the common people. The growth of agriculture is vital for inclusive and sustainable development of the nation. The growth of agriculture in India, is facing the challenges of unemployment, rural poverty, underemployment and accessibility of natural resources. The aim of this paper is to highlight whether the Government Policies and Programmes related to agriculture has done well in improving the living standard of people. This paper will focus on whether the people of district Shopian got benefited from agricultural schemes implemented by the ministry of agriculture. Int. J. Soc. Sc. Manage. Vol. 9, Issue-1: 19-26.

Impact assessment of pigeonpea (Tur) variety released by Dr. PDKV, Akola

In the varietal front the Pulses Research Station, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola has made significant progress by releasing 3 excellent pigeonpea, Variety for Maharashtra. In Pigeon pea variety PKV Tara was released in 2013. In pigeonpea, PKV Tara variety is resistant to wilt disease and moderately resistant to sterility mozc (SMD). Seeds are generally medium bold in size with red seed colour specially. It is suitable for cultivation in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra under normal condition. It is high yielding variety. It gives 18-20 q/ha yield and crop duration is of average 176 days. PKV Tara variety is mostly adopted in states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh. The main objective of this study, to study the growth rates of area, production and productivity of selected pigeonpea crop, to examine the varietal status of University released selected pigeonpea and to assess the economic impact of University released selected pigeonpea. The data on area, production and productivity of pigeonpea for Maharashtra and India was collected from the annual report, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare, Government of India for the year 1990-91 to 2019-20. The information on expenditure on research, extension, salary, contingency etc. was availed from the office record of Pulses Research Unit, Dr.PDKV, Akola. Data on seed sale of PKV Tara were collected from Pulses Research Unit, Dr.PDKV, Akola and Mahabheej, Akola. The data on costs and returns of pigeonpea PKV Tara and other varieties data of pigeonpea crop for the year 2019-20 were compiled from the pigeonpea quick estimate reports of Agricultural Price Cost and Scheme, Department of Agril. Economics and Statistics, Dr.PDKV, Akola. In addition to this primary data has been collected from the survey of sample cultivator through personal interview with help of pretested and structured schedule for the year 2019-20. Partial budget approach was used for estimating the impact of research outcome on income generation. Partial budgeting is a method of organizing experimental data and information about the cost and benefits from some change in the technologies being used on the farm. The aim is to estimate the change that will occur in farm profit or loss from some change in the farm plan (Boehlje and Eidman, 1984). The growth rates of area and production of pigeonpea for Maharashtra state was observed to be negatively significant at 1and 5 per cent level of significance, respectively for the entire period of 19 years. The total economic worthiness of University released pigeonpea production technology over other competing varieties of pigeonpea in the region were Rs. 9654.09/-, per hectare. It meanse the Net Economic Impact to the farming community in Maharashtra state were Rs.12. crores for pigeonpea, respectively in the year 2019-20. The area under University released tur varieties for the year 2019-20 were 33080.40 hectare. The gross economic impact of University released pigeonpea varieties was Rs. 841.68 crores for six year. It is, therefore, the that government should provide substantial funds to the University for further Research and Extension of their varieties for benefit of the farming community.

Options for reforming agricultural subsidies from health, climate, and economic perspectives

Agricultural subsidies are an important factor for influencing food production and therefore part of a food system that is seen as neither healthy nor sustainable. Here we analyse options for reforming agricultural subsidies in line with health and climate-change objectives on one side, and economic objectives on the other. Using an integrated modelling framework including economic, environmental, and health assessments, we find that on a global scale several reform options could lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improvements in population health without reductions in economic welfare. Those include a repurposing of up to half of agricultural subsidies to support the production of foods with beneficial health and environmental characteristics, including fruits, vegetables, and other horticultural products, and combining such repurposing with a more equal distribution of subsidy payments globally. The findings suggest that reforming agricultural subsidy schemes based on health and climate-change objectives can be economically feasible and contribute to transitions towards healthy and sustainable food systems.

An analysis of the demand and uptake of agricultural insurance in developing countries

Climate change, natural risks, and market price fluctuations impact agricultural production and farm income. The risks can be smoothened by using concepts from insurance, but numerous challenges constrain the demand and uptake of agricultural insurance products. We review the products in developing countries for insights into formulating an agricultural insurance scheme for Sri Lanka and we find a range of products that have potential. The government and policymakers can use our findings to develop and implement an agricultural insurance scheme in Sri Lanka that serves as a risk management tool.

Financing of Agricultural Pensions on the European Continent

Supporting agriculture in Europe is important for many reasons: on the one hand, to secure food supplies, and on the other, to ensure the sustainability of rural lifestyles. But in recent decades, rural populations have also been affected by population ageing. Different agricultural pension schemes have been set up in European countries, taking into account the specificities of the agricultural sector. Pension funds have tended to be more important where the role of small farms was significant and the pension system was of the fully Bismarckian type. In general, they were not introduced where a ‘kolkhoz system’ existed in East-Central Europe before 1990. In our study we looked at the different forms that have been implemented. We have reviewed the changes that have taken place in recent decades and found that in some countries, states have supplemented contributions to pension payments by up to 75–85%. Our methodology involves document analysis and comparative assessment. We argue that it is worthwhile to encourage farmers to continue production on smaller farms by providing special sectoral support, career funding and pensions in order to meet social and environmental objectives.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding good agricultural practices among rice farmers under the large agricultural plot scheme (LAPS) in Khlongudomchonlajorn, Chachoengsao Province, Thailand

Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding good agricultural practices among rice farmers under the large agricultural plot scheme (LAPS) in Khlongudomchonlajorn, Chachoengsao Province, Thailand