Changing Face Of Agriculture Research Articles

The changing face of agriculture in Tanzania: Indicators of transformation

AbstractMotivationThe extent to which African farming systems are undergoing transformation continues to be strongly debated.PurposeWith a focus on Tanzania, this study assesses whether recent trends in farm behaviour, the structure of farming, and agricultural commercialization and productivity conform to stylized facts about agricultural transformation. In the process, we propose an updated typology of farms that reflects recent changes in the relative importance of different farm categories and sheds light on the heterogeneity found even among smallholder farms.Approach and methodsTo this end, we refer to farm‐household survey data over the period 2008–2014.FindingsWe find that medium‐scale farms and small, farm‐focused, commercialized farms are claiming an increasingly prominent role in Tanzanian agriculture. Farmers are more likely to participate in markets for land and labour, to engage in some forms of agricultural intensification and to exhibit a commercial orientation. Over the study period, the real value of agricultural output grew substantially, mostly reflecting a remarkable expansion of cropland rather than increased land productivity. Labour productivity also grew, driven by a reduction in labour intensity. At the same time, Tanzania is experiencing a dramatic movement of labour out of agriculture.Policy implicationsTogether, the evidence suggests that Tanzania is on the cusp of larger transformational processes in the decades to come. With this knowledge, policies can be thoughtfully shaped to support agricultural growth (particularly in land productivity) and meet farmers' diverse needs.

Abstracts of Second‐ and Third‐Place Undergraduate Papers

Do Health Consciousness and Health Behavior Affect Egg Consumption? Case of the Edmonton Consumer. Neall, Amanda, University of Alberta, second-place paper. The Changing Face of Agriculture: Characteristics and Perceptions of Arkansas Women in Agriculture. Albright, Carmen, University of Arkansas, third-place paper.

The Changing Face of Agriculture

Mr Whitby presents further information on the issues of inter‐industry mobility raised in his article in the July issue. He also explores the implications of these resource flows for financing training in agriculture.

The Changing Face of Agriculture

A committee under the chairmanship of Professor J. P. Hudson has been taking evidence on courses leading to qualifications in agriculture below OND. In this article, the first of two, Martin Whitby of the Agricultural Adjustment Unit at the University of Newcastle‐upon‐Tyne, looks at the effects upon training of changes in the agricultural labour force. The chief factor as far as the Agricultural Training Board is concerned, he suggests, is a decline in the number of workers and a consequent change in the ratio of hired workers to farmers. A second article, to be published next month, will be concerned with who actually pays for the training, especially in view of the fact that many young farm workers leave the agricultural industry soon after they have been trained.

The Changing Face of Agriculture in Eastern Europe

ASTERN Europe as a political-geographical unit first appeared on the map of Europe after World War II. It comprises eight countriesAlbania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Rumania, and Yugoslavia-with a total area of 492,000 square miles and roughly 120 million inhabitants. Although it occupies only a small part of the globe, it has great political and economic importance: both World Wars began in Eastern Europe. The eight Eastern European countries cannot be characterized as uniform, as is often supposed in the Western world. They have different historical backgrounds, which influence the course of current affairs; there are regional differences in the social and economic patterns and in the trends of economic growth in agriculture. The differentiation in the agriculture of Western and Eastern Europe is not a simple consequence of the divided political situation of the small European continent. It is the result of the long period of historical evolution. However, from certain points of view, largely technological, the differences are diminishing, not increasing.