Process Of Agricultural Transformation Research Articles

The Good Life: Agriculture Transformation and the Pursuance of Goals in Two Rural Villages of Northeastern Thailand

Agricultural transformation of the developing world encompasses a broad set of subjects, usually revolving around the change in the mode of production and related aspects of production. However, the extent to which the transformation shapes subjective wellbeing is largely under explored. This paper examines how the constructed life goals of local people are shaped by the process of agricultural transformation and how they strive to attain wellbeing. We are especially interested in the ways rural dynamics are changing as a result. The empirical data is based on a two-village study using qualitative methods. The good life of rural people is classified into five types of life goals, including good health, decent quality of education and future employment opportunity for youth, good family relationships, having enough for living and eating, and self-sufficiency. Good health encompasses both the strength of the physical body and spiritual. The agricultural transformation has emerged new challenges to health, particularly the chemical use in agriculture that deteriorated the quality of the environment. The decent quality of education and future employment are attributed to education qualification and jobs with monthly salary. The high competition and the lack of social and political networks have lowered the expectation of rural people from getting government jobs. The transformation resulted in sprit types of family due to migration, while rural people remain highly valued good family relationships, in which modern technology such as cell phone play a part in maintaining distance interaction and good relations. Having enough for eating and living reflects the high priority that rural people giving on foods and housing. This is associated with the growing indebtedness that is threatening the loss of lands and property that are used for debt collateral. Finally, the self-sufficiency that was initiated by King Bhumipol is seen and adopted as a promising means to achieve a good life, however, self-sufficiency is variously defined.

Nurseries of the revolution: international seed trials and the transformation of staple food crops

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of nurseries in the Green Revolution. Nurseries were sets of seeds assembled to test particular traits and sent to breeders around the world to trial. Focusing on wheat nurseries of the 1960s and 70s, I highlight the materials that were central to their distribution, as well as the breeders who planted them. Through this analysis, I trouble the common narrative of the Green Revolution as emerging from centers of international agricultural science, showing the networks of expertise, seed transfer, field trials, and data collection that underpinned this process of agricultural transformation.

Linking Crop Specialization to Agricultural Commercialization: Empirical Evidence from the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone of Ghana

Specialization and intensification have been the main focuses of agricultural development and modernization for decades, among those who claim that doing so will increase agricultural output. Specialization and commercialization in agriculture are linked to greater efficiency than subsistence farming, as these can boost the production and competitiveness of smallholder farmers. However, in recent years, some have questioned this model's resilience and long-term viability. Specialization, as well as increasing output and commercialization, are part of the agricultural transformation processes. Research needs to be done to answer why farmers switch to high-value crop production to increase profits and deal with the resultant issues. The question of whether crop specialization would lead to greater commercialization within the Ghanaian context requires an answer. This study explores the link between crop specialization and agricultural commercialization by utilizing secondary data from the Ghana Feed the Future baseline survey involving a total sample of 2,952 farm households. As a novelty, the study addresses the seeming simultaneity between crop specialization and agricultural commercialization that has been overlooked in the literature. The bivariate probit regression result indicates that estimating separate univariate probit models is inappropriate. Therefore, failure to jointly model crop specialization and commercialization could yield biased estimates. This study applies the recursive bivariate probit model to establish a causal relationship between crop specialization and agricultural commercialization. The findings have revealed that crop specialization stimulates commercialization. The synergy between crop specialization and agricultural commercialization has implications for enhancing food security and increasing farmers' incomes. To improve commercialization and crop specialization, the Government of Ghana should intensify land registration and modify the land tenure systems to make lands easily accessible to farmers.

Agricultural Modernization and Rural Development: Reference to Traditional Agriculture Transformation in Nepal

This study has aimed to analyze the process of agricultural modernization and rural development in Nepal that focused on the issue, the contribution of agricultural growth and rural development in the case of agriculture modernization. It is qualitative in nature based on secondary literatures such as theory of agriculture modernization and some relevant literatures of Nepalese economy were reviewed to analyze the level of agriculture modernization of Nepal; agriculture has significantly contributed in its national economy as one of the dominant sectors; the sector found not being transformed even the numbers of policy measures implementing for its modernization. Still the most of the Nepalese people depends upon traditional agriculture sector as their major source of income, struggling in a adverse situation in this sector both in economic growth and farm productivity. In the context of agriculture modernization, the country has brought various policy measures and programs before and after establishing democracy in 1990.Various policies and programs aimed, Nepal would go through the process of agricultural transformation even though, and the result found to be remained the same. It is happening because of the policy gap in the process of formulation and implementation; still most of the Nepali farmers are engaged in the traditional agriculture that is subsistence. There is also found the situation of high ratio of unemployment, underemployment, seasonal unemployment and disguised unemployment in the country. Thus, the country Nepal has probably found to be failing in the process of agriculture modernization and the ratio of economic growth contribution in the gross national economy has gradually been decreasing instead of being radical increase from a decade 2011 to 2021.

Agricultural Transformation in Indonesia: Evaluation of Policy Implementation and Challenges Faced

This article aims to evaluate the implementation of agricultural policies and identify the challenges faced in the agricultural transformation process in Indonesia. The background of the study revolves around the importance of agricultural development in achieving sustainable economic growth, food security, and poverty reduction in the country. The study's objective is to assess the effectiveness of policy implementation and understand the key challenges hindering the agricultural transformation process. To achieve the research objective, a qualitative approach was employed. Qualitative interviews were conducted with key stakeholders, including government officials, farmers, and agricultural experts, to understand their perspectives on policy implementation and identify challenges faced at the ground level. The findings of the study reveal both positive outcomes and challenges in the implementation of agricultural policies in Indonesia. The policy implementation has led to increased investment in agricultural infrastructure, technology adoption, and productivity improvement in certain regions. However, challenges such as limited access to credit and markets, inadequate extension services, and climate change impacts have hindered the desired transformation. The study underscores the need for improved coordination between government agencies, increased investment in rural infrastructure, targeted support for smallholder farmers, and climate change adaptation strategies to overcome these challenges.

Agricultural Transformation in Asia: Experiences and Emerging Challenges

Agriculture plays a key role in economic development, alleviating poverty and malnutrition, especially in the early stages of agricultural development. Several studies have demonstrated that neglecting agriculture, especially at the early stages of industrialization, can disrupt the process of economic transformation. This paper reviews the process of agricultural transformation in Asia through the framework proposed by Timmer (1988). It finds that agricultural transformation in Asia has followed a uniform pattern with unique characteristics in each stage. Moreover, the public sector has been instrumental in facilitating and guiding agricultural transformation. Emerging challenges in the agri-food sector in Asia have prompted some countries to promote a more inclusive and integrated approach to rural and agri-food system development. The next phase of agricultural transformation—pioneered in Japan, Republic of Korea (South Korea), and China—seems relevant to most countries in Asia and elsewhere. In all three countries, the role of the state in facilitating the next phase of agricultural transformation is highly instrumental in terms of policy, strategy, incentives, and resources. However, there is insufficient evidence to assess the efficacy of the transformative initiatives dubbed as the “6th industrialization in agriculture.”

Cassava technology toolkit catalogue: TAAT clearinghouse technical report series 006

Cassava technology toolkit catalogue: TAAT clearinghouse technical report series 006

Orange fleshed sweet potato technology toolkit catalog. TAAT Clearinghouse technical report series 005

Orange fleshed sweet potato technology toolkit catalog. TAAT Clearinghouse technical report series 005

Urban proximity, access to value chains, and dairy productivity in Ethiopia

AbstractThis article analyzes how urban proximity introduces spatial heterogeneity in farm productivity within the high‐value dairy sector in one of the poorest countries in Africa, Ethiopia. We look at how urban proximity—measured as travel time—affects the decisions and productivity of milk farmers located in rural production zones serving fresh milk to the capital Addis Ababa. Using an instrumental variable approach, we find that with each additional hour of travel time, farmers’ milk productivity per cow is reduced, on average, by almost 1 L per day or by 26%. When trying to disentangle the underlying mechanisms (and controlling for transaction costs), we find that farmers’ inclusion in “modern” value chains and their access to commercial milk buyers and milk processing companies drive the urban proximity effect. As only a limited number of farmers have access to such value chains in developing countries, measures to make dairy value chains more inclusive to remote—often poorer—farmers can, therefore, have important benefits for them, for the performance of the dairy sector in Ethiopia, and for the process of agricultural transformation as a whole.

Drivers of agricultural transformation in the coastal areas of the Vietnamese Mekong delta

Drivers of agricultural transformation vary from place to place. They need to be explored, especially under the new context of changing climate, environment and socio-economic development in coastal regions. This paper aims to discover the drivers of change through an analysis of the agricultural transformation process in the Vietnamese Mekong delta and then develop a framework for the next steps to meet sustainable development objectives. A mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative methods was applied to collect primary and secondary data. Major techniques used in data collection consist of Key Informant Interviews (KII), Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and household surveys with 203 farmers in three coastal provinces, including Ben Tre, Kien Giang and Soc Trang. The results showed that the agricultural sector has been transforming towards the diversification of crops and livelihoods. For example, there has been a shift from rice monoculture to integrated farming systems (i.e. rice-shrimp or grass-cattle) and a move from on-farm to more off-farm or non-farm incomes. This transformation was found to be driven by many factors that can be categorised into the ‘4Ps of change’, consisting of the Price, the Producer, the Place and the Policy. The 4Ps of change are not isolated but interrelated. Then, considering the 4Ps of change, a holistic framework for sustainable agricultural transformation (SAT) has been developed. What distinguishes this SAT framework from others is a combination of value chain theory and agribusiness concepts. Hence, it would create resource use efficiency, add more value to products, deliver healthy food and contribute to successful transformation in the future. Successful implementation would need the government’s readiness to provide a practical legal framework and efficient support to motivate all actors involved in the transformation process.

Viticultura en terrazas del Valle de Cembra en Italia: hacia la inclusión de la gestión sostenible del paisaje en las acciones de desarrollo orientadas a la calidad

Las terrazas representan la solución más extendida para el cultivo en pendientes escarpadas. El número elevado de servicios ecosistémicos positivos producidos por paisajes con terrazas cuando están bien mantenidos se ve amenazado por el abandono continuo de la tierra y la transformación agrícola que no tiene en cuenta el paisaje. En este artículo, hemos analizado el estado actual de la zona de terrazas de Val di Cembra (Trentino-Italia). Nuestro objetivo fue analizar las causas detrás de la alta tasa de mantenimiento activo de la viticultura en terrazas, examinar los principales riesgos relacionados con la introducción de la gestión intensiva de la tierra y proponer posibles soluciones para garantizar un desarrollo sostenible a largo plazo de la zona. Hemos identificado los principales factores que determinan la elevada tasa de mantenimiento activo del paisaje en terrazas: el desarrollo de la viticultura orientado a la calidad del vino, la realización de infraestructuras importantes para garantizar la movilidad y el riego, y el fuerte sentido de pertenencia todavía presente también entre las generaciones jóvenes. Además del riesgo de obsolescencia que afecta a las zonas de terrazas más marginales del Valle, otros riesgos están asociados con la posible difusión de la transformación del territorio indiferente al paisaje y a la adopción de sistemas de cultivo que no son tradicionales, que pueden afectar negativamente el valor del paisaje. Las perspectivas futuras deben ampliar el proceso orientado a la calidad en la producción de vino en todo el territorio. La inclusión del paisaje en la planificación del manejo de la tierra garantizará una sostenibilidad duradera de la viticultura, respondiendo a la creciente demanda de servicios medioambientales por parte de la comunidad y de los consumidores. Proyectos en curso en el Valle, en los que participan tanto actores privados como autoridades locales, están indicando la intención de la comunidad de avanzar en esta dirección.

Позитиви і негативи аграрного устрою України

The purpose of the article is to highlight the results of the analysis of organizational and economic transformations in the process of carrying out the agrarian reform and to draw the attention of scientists, government officials, and society to the urgency of solving the problem of improving the agrarian system of Ukraine. Research methods. During the research, the following methods were used: abstract-logical (to determine the essence of the agrarian system, the generalization of the organizational and economic transformations processes during the agrarian reform, the formation of conclusions); economic and statistical (to analyze the results of improving the agrarian structure) comparative analysis (to determine the positives and negatives of organizational and economic transformations in agriculture of the world countries and in Ukraine). Research results. During the process of agricultural transformation analyzing in 2000-2018, it was revealed that by 2010, instead of the state collective agrarian system in Ukraine, a private-lease agrarian system has been formed, the characteristic features of which are private ownership of land, property, and results of activities, lease land relations and the multiformity of organizational and legal forms of market management. As a result, the production and export of agricultural products increased significantly. However, in the future, a latifundist structure began to form in the agriculture of Ukraine due to the concentration of farmland for the use of vertically integrated agricultural holding groups, in general, it has a positive effect on the development of agricultural production. However, such a system carries the threat of landlessness of peasants and the spread of semi-feudal forms of agricultural land lease. It does not contribute to the rural communities' development and improves the living standards of rural residents, for most of whom agricultural and related activities are the main source of their own income and revenues to local budgets. Scientific novelty. The essence and definition of the concept "agrarian system" are substantiated. For the first time, it was concluded that as a result of agrarian organizational and economic transformations in Ukraine a private-lease agrarian system was formed, its positive aspects and threats were systematized. Scientific provisions and recommendations for the continuation of agrarian reform for the formation of an agrarian system aimed at the integrated (balanced) development of agriculture, rural communities, and territories have been further developed. Practical significance. The results of the study can be used by scientists, government officials, and practitioners to solve the problem of national importance - improving the agricultural system of Ukraine. Tabl.: 4. Figs.: 1. Refs.: 16.

Regional evidence of smallholder-based growth in Zambia’s livestock sector

Growth in the smallholder-based livestock sector, characterized by increasing number of animals, commercialization and processing of animal products have historically provided a decisive contribution to raising the incomes of farm households, and to the broader process of agricultural transformation. In this paper, we use a mixed methods approach to examine the processes of extensive and intensive supply-side growth in the livestock sector in Zambia, specifically in Mazabuka and Mkushi regions. The quantitative data is a three-year panel of 277 smallholders collected between 2002 and 2013. This is complimented with qualitative data from interviews conducted with farmers, key informants and focus groups in 2012 and 2016. We ask: To what extent can we capture evidence of smallholder-based supply-side growth in the livestock sector in our Zambia data? Are growth processes corresponding with extensive (increasing numbers of animals) or intensive (investments for improving productivity) trajectories? What characterizes smallholders taking part in the growth process? Our results show evidence of growth in the livestock sector. While it is overall based on extensification, there are initial stages of intensification in the south. The smallholders driving the process are mainly emergent farmers with land holdings between 2 and 20 hectares. The process seems to be male-dominated, with male farm managers benefitting to a higher degree than their female counterparts, irrespective of the region. Based on our findings, we provide policy recommendations relevant specifically for Zambia’s agricultural development and generally for the role of the livestock sector in the agricultural growth process in the Global South generally.

Mudanças socioambientais provocadas pela modernização da agricultura no norte do Rio Grande do Sul: 1950-1970

Esta pesquisa busca compreender as transformações socioambientais, introduzidas pela modernização da agricultura no norte do Rio Grande do Sul, onde atualmente se encontram os municípios de Carazinho e Não-Me-Toque. Esse recorte regional está articulado com o processo global de transformações da agricultura e precisa ser compreendido nesse contexto. O recorte temporal começa um pouco antes da modernização da agricultura na região, que ocorreu por volta de 1960 e se estendeu até os anos 1970. A pesquisa emprega os referenciais conceituais e metodológicos da História Ambiental. Conclui, preliminarmente, que as principais mudanças socioambientais foram o desmatamento para abertura de novas áreas agrícolas e a contaminação do meio ambiente pelo uso de agroquímicos.

Farmer adoptability for livelihood transformations in the Mekong Delta: a case in Ben Tre province

Sustainable livelihood development is an ongoing challenge worldwide, and has regained importance due to threats of water shortages and climate change. To cope with changing climatic, demographic and market conditions in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta (VMD) an agricultural transformation process has been suggested in the recent Mekong Delta Plan. This agricultural transformation process requires the implementation of alternative livelihood models. The majority of current agricultural livelihood models in the VMD have been introduced by the government in a top-down manner. In this study, we applied a bottom-up approach to understand the motivations and abilities of local farmers to adopt alternative livelihood models. It is based on the MOTA methodological framework, which is further tested with the use of multivariate analyses. The study was conducted in Ben Tre coastal province. Results showed that farmers’ motivations and abilities to apply alternative models vary substantially among different groups, driven by their perceptions on triggers and opportunities. Acknowledging this diversity is essential to the development of agricultural transformation plans. Furthermore, based on the analysis, a projection of the precise support that communities need to supplement their knowledge, skills and financial capacities, as well as interventions to reduce the risks of new livelihood models, is given.

Geospatial information for African agriculture: A key investment for agricultural policies

Geospatial information and its derived products, designed to contribute to public agricultural policy making, are not widely used in Africa. The infrastructure, training and skills are lacking, and research and development activities are dispersed and inadequate. More importantly, needs are not formalised and technological resources, driven by the industrialised countries, are ill-adapted to the characteristics of agricultural systems in Africa. Moreover, companies, institutions and projects require a stable environment to ensure operational services, relevant products and useful information. These co-constructed services emerge within long-term partnerships between researchers, consultancies and end users. Research thus offers new opportunities for using satellite imagery to document and explain agricultural transformation processes. Finally, lasting interdisciplinary skills networks are needed to facilitate methodological and thematic exchanges.

Effects of tractor ownership on returns-to-scale in agriculture: Evidence from maize in Ghana

Agricultural transformation process around the world has often accompanied the rise in returns-to-scale (RTS). While tractor ownership is often associated with greater RTS in agriculture, whether the tractor ownership actually causes such increase in RTS has not been formally tested in the literature. We bridge this knowledge gap, using a unique survey data of tractor owning farm households in Ghana. We find that owning tractors significantly increases the RTS in maize production on the households’ largest mono-cropped plot, and weakens inverse-relationship between land productivity and farm size. This is partly achieved through the rise in the “RTS in tillage production” (the amount of tillage conducted), rather than the RTS in maize production given a fixed amount of tillage produced. These sets of evidence are obtained by addressing jointly the multiple sources of endogeneity of tractor ownership, tractor values, tillage production, and other inputs used.

Gewerkschaftliche Machtressourcen in landwirtschaftlichen Transformationsprozessen

This paper focuses on labor, trade unions and their bargaining power in agricultural transformation processes. I analyze the effects of the transformation of the sugarcane sector in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, which led to increased unemployment, new forms of control over workers, a fragmentation of workers and to internal conflicts within unions. The power resources of manual and mechanized workers and of rural and transport worker unions were affected differently by those processes. Overall, the bargaining power and struggles of all workers and unions were weakened.

Changes in Cropping Pattern in Odisha Agriculture in Neo-Liberal Period

Role of agriculture remains vital in enabling the State to attain and maintain food self-sufficiency, especially, in a poverty-stricken State like Odisha. Despite the changes in the macroeconomic policy framework in the neo-liberal period, the agricultural sector in Odisha neither experienced any significant growth subsequent to the initiation of economic reforms in 1991 nor it derived the expected shift in cropping pattern. Sustainable growth of agriculture depends significantly on the process of agricultural transformation, which in turn is well connected with shifts in cropping patterns. The paper discusses the cropping pattern changes that have taken place in area allocation as well as in terms of production and productivity of major crop groups at the State level and across physiographic zones of the State. It is observed that there are variations in the share of area, production and productivity of major crop groups over the time at the State level and as well as across the physiographic zones. Sluggish shift in the cropping pattern towards non-foodgrain crops in the State is because of slow expansion of irrigation, low level of fertiliser consumption, slow technology adoption and low level of infrastructure. The slowdown in the process of cropping pattern change means that most government efforts to diversify agriculture have failed to take off.

Conditional crisis? Ecological challenges and conditions of growth during the agricultural revolution in southern Sweden, c. 1700–1900†

Was there an agro‐ecological crisis in Europe which preceded and contributed to pushing forward the agricultural revolution? This article presents a new theoretical and empirical approach to this controversial perspective on agricultural transformation and relates to an ongoing debate on conditions of growth in pre‐industrial societies. The results demonstrate that there were indeed indicators of a crisis, which grew stronger during the eighteenth century and culminated in the early nineteenth century. The crisis was, however, not general, but was rather restricted to areas that stand out due to poor natural conditions for agriculture. In other words, the crisis was conditional. Furthermore, the findings show that the crisis could push forward changes that were important for enabling agricultural transformation and growth. However, both the emergence and reversal of the crisis were connected to new opportunities opened up by market development. Enough differences were found between different types of regions to suggest that there were many development paths within the agricultural transformation process, and that they were not necessarily linear.