Farm Household Characteristics Research Articles

AD|ARC (Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection): Characteristics of farm households participating in agri-environment schemes in Wales, UK.

Objectives Describe the sociodemographic and farm business characteristics of farming households in Wales that have agri-environment contracts (voluntarily opting-in) without primary farm subsidies (voluntarily opting-out). Investigate the sociodemographic and farm business characteristics of farming households in Wales by the number and type of farming subsidies received. ApproachWe utilised the AD|ARC dataset comprising of Census 2011 variables, linked to agricultural and business variables for all farming households in Wales. We analysed variables relating to the individual (e.g. age, gender), household (e.g. household size, structure), farm business (e.g. farm type, diversification activities) and rural payments data (subsidy type, amount paid). We conducted comparative analyses between three groups of farming households: households engaged in agri-environmental schemes but not primary subsidies, households engaged with both subsidy types, and households claiming primary subsidies only. ResultsWe will present a detailed description of the sociodemographic and business characteristics of farming households by the number and type of subsidies claimed and engagement with agri-environmental schemes. Using business, personal, and household characteristics, we will discuss different farming household typologies in relation to participation in agri-environmental schemes, and outline the relationship between farming households and positive environmental action. Full findings will be presented at the conference but are currently subject to information governance restrictions. With an increasing interest in climate change and supporting the natural environment, our findings provide insight into the characteristics of farming households and their relationship to engagement with agri-environmental schemes. Our results will inform policy-makers seeking to support farming and the rural environment.

미시자료를 이용한 개별 경종 농가와 생산지의 품목 특화 이득 분석

This study empirically investigates the impacts of crop specialization on farm performance in Korea. A census data set of about 230,000 crop-producing farms is used, and the crop diversities within farms (α-diversity), among farms (β-diversity), and of the regions (γ-diversity) were measured for the analysis. The regional diversity (γ) is partitioned into the average diversity within farms (α) and among farms (β). Our estimation results of the interval regression model show that both individual and regional specializations contribute to farm performance. That is, individual farm revenue decreases both in the α and γ diversities but increases in the β diversity when controlled by the farm input usages, farm household characteristics, and regional socio-economic-climate conditions. It is also found that farms choosing crop selections similar to those of their regions tend to achieve higher performance. We confirm the existence of the gains from specializations by estimating a propensity score model with a continuous treatment as well. We insist that our findings are quite consistent with the observed trends, specializing in a small number of crops despite the potential gains from diversification.

Analysis of the Evolvement of Livelihood Patterns of Farm Households Relocated for Poverty Alleviation Programs in Ethnic Minority Areas of China

Exploring the evolution of livelihood patterns of farm households relocated for poverty alleviation in three prefectures of Guizhou Province, China, can provide a theoretical basis and practical value for achieving sustainable livelihoods of relocated farm households in ethnic minority areas. This study took three ethnic minority autonomous prefectures in Guizhou as the research area. The types and evolution pathways of farm households’ livelihood patterns were divided using 355 tracking and monitoring data from the four phases of relocated farm households’ livelihoods. The evolution characteristics of farm households’ livelihood patterns and changes in their evolution pathways from “before relocation” to 2021 were analyzed. An indicator system of influencing factors was established based on the sustainable livelihood framework. The influencing factors of the evolution path selection and transformation of livelihood patterns were identified using the binary and multiple logistic regression models. The main results are as follows: (1) Implementing the poverty alleviation relocation project shifted the livelihood activities of farm households from agricultural production to non-agricultural industries. The transformation trend of livelihood patterns shifted from agro-dominated, agricultural, agricultural-diversified and balanced types to highly diversified, deeply diversified and subsidy-dependent types. (2) The transformation mode of the evolution pathways of farm households’ livelihood patterns mainly included the stable transformation modes of “active→retention→active” and “active→retention→retention” and the fluctuating transformation modes of “active→retention→fallback”, “active→fallback→active” and “retention→fallback→active”. (3) Natural capital promoted farm households to choose fallback pathways, while material and human capital showed an inhibitory impact. In contrary to human capital, social capital promoted farm households to choose retention pathways. Financial and human capital promoted farm households to choose active pathways. (4) Per capita income, the household head age and relocation years positively affected the evolution pathways of the livelihood pattern from the fallback type to the retention type. The number of means of transport, per capita education level, transportation and communication cost, and the presence of civil servants in the household positively affected the evolution pathways of the livelihood pattern from the fallback type to the active type. Policy suggestions are as follows: Expanding local and nearby employment channels, strengthening vocational skills training for farm households, expanding financial access for farm households, improving policy support for ethnic characteristic industries, implementing bottom-line guarantee policies and exploring ethnic interactive activities for resettlement farm households.

Does organizational support affect the governance performance of the farm irrigation system? Evidence from the Yellow River basin in China

AbstractThe engagement of farmers in the governance of farm irrigation systems is crucial for meeting irrigation demands and enhancing farm productivity. Theoretically, grassroots organizations' concerns and support for farmers will encourage them to participate in the activities of the organization, thus improving the management performance of the irrigation system. This paper examines the influence of organizational aid on the governance of agricultural irrigation systems using field survey data in the Yellow River basin, China. The seemingly unrelated regression model is used to explore the group disparities under distinct organizational circumstances and farm household characteristics. The study demonstrates that the software and hardware support provided by organizations can promote improved management performance of irrigation systems. In addition, considering the heterogeneity of organizational environments, such support is more conducive to enhancing the governance of systems in organizations with more cooperative atmospheres and higher degrees of fairness. From the perspective of the heterogeneity of system users, providing organizational support to growers with a low degree of nonagricultural transformation and labour shortage is more conducive to improving governance performance. Consequently, establishing an excellent organizational atmosphere and targeting organizational support to farmers is a viable means to optimize the governance of irrigation systems.

Risk Management Effects of Insurance Purchase and Organization Participation: Which Is More Effective?

Insurance purchase and organization participation in risk management is of great practical significance for stabilizing agricultural production and household income. The aims of this study were to analyze farm households’ choices of insurance purchase and organization participation, and their effects on crop revenue and its higher-order moments using the multinomial switching endogenous regression (MESR) model. The results showed that the adoption of insurance and organization was significantly affected by household head characteristics, farm household characteristics, and cropland attributes. Insurance purchase, organization participation, and their joint adoption contributed to the increase in crop revenue and decrease in crop revenue variance, and the benefits were larger when adopting two risk management tools in combination. When skewness was taken into account in risk management analysis, insurance purchase, organization participation, and their joint adoption resulted in a reduction in the probability of crop failure, of which, participating in organizations was the most effective. Efforts should be put forth to improve the functioning and effectiveness of agricultural insurance and organization to promote the adoption of risk management tools.

Adaptation constraints and prospects for future research priorities in lowland rice-based farming systems: learning experiences from Northwest Cambodia

Sustainable agricultural development not only addresses global food insecurity but may also alleviate poverty by enriching the lives of millions of smallholder farmers. Improving the sustainability and profitability of agriculture where smallholders are dominant creates profound impacts because small landholding farmers produce approximately 70–80% of the global food. The need for a thorough understanding of the factors affecting farmers’ adoption of agricultural technologies and practices has been identified from extant literature as an important research gap. Responding to the research gap and need, this study examined the challenges that prevent farm households from adopting improved farming practices and/or technologies in Banteay Meanchey and Battambang provinces in Northwest Cambodia. A total of 524 rice producing farm household representatives were randomly selected from a household database maintained by the local government authorities. A mixed methods approach was used in the study including semi-structured interviews followed by in-depth interviews, field observations, and literature review. Farmers were found to be confronted with a range of challenges and concerns, including soil degradation, weeds, diseases, insect pests, high production costs, flooding, droughts, changing rainfall pattern, and unreliable rainfall distribution. The research findings demonstrate that improved crop production practices (e.g., adopting mechanised direct seeding methods of crop establishment, maintaining and improving soil health through crop residue retention, growing cover crops, etc.) and better resource use efficiency (e.g., reducing seeding rates to less than 100 kg/ha, being more strategic in the use of integrated nutrient, weed, and pest management strategies, etc.) can be a starting point for sustainable intensification of rice production. This transition towards intensifying paddy production sustainably may become even more effective through a clear understanding of local contexts, farm household characteristics, available resources, and the farm management practices and constraints. We observed that farmers and their associations have yet to be fully recognised as partners and actors in Cambodia. Instead, they tend to be viewed as beneficiaries and recipients of improved practices and technologies. We, therefore, propose that farmers and their associations be acknowledged and included in a process of co-creation of knowledge-practices. Such partnerships will enable the inclusion of factors (e.g., production costs, production risks, complexity and practicability of implementations, product market and prices, etc.) shown to influence farmers’ adoption of innovative farming practices and technologies. The original contribution of this article is a real-world account of the constraints and limitations experienced by smallholder rice farmers in Cambodia, which are connected to future research and development priorities in the region.

Characterizing the diversity of smallholder farming systems and their constraints and opportunities for innovation: A case study from the Central Region, India

Typologies may be used as tools for dealing with farming system heterogeneity. Small holder farming system into a few farm types particularly achieved by classifying farms into groups that have common characteristics, i.e. farm types, which can support the implementation of a more tailored approach to agricultural development. This article explored patterns of farming system diversity through the classification of 60 smallholder farm households in Nagpur districts of two blocks (Tahsils) Katol (High productive) and Narkhed (Low productive) of India’s Central Region. Based on 2017 survey data, the typology was constructed using the multivariate statistical techniques of principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Results proposed three farm types, stratified on the basis of household, labor, land use, livestock and income variables, explaining the structural and functional differences between farming systems. Types 1 was characterized by relatively high levels of resource endowment and oriented towards other-farm enterprises and crop sales with bullock pair, Types 2 were characterized by relatively low levels of resource endowment and oriented towards other-farm enterprises, dairy (livestock) and crop sales and Types 3 was characterized by crop + Horticulture + Dairy and Bullock pair, respectively. The most salient differences among farm types concerned rearing of bullock pair (income from bullock pair), degree of legume integration, household size and hired labor, degree of diversification into off/non-farm activities and severity of resource constraints (Type 2 was most constrained with a small farm area and herd comprised mainly of livestock particularly cow and under Type 3 crop + Horticulture + Dairy and Bullock pair). It was found that livelihood strategies reflected the distinctive characteristics of farm households; with economic benefit from the farming. This study clearly demonstrates that using the established typology as a practical framework allows identification of type-specific farm household opportunities and constraints for the targeting of agricultural interventions and innovations, which will be further analyzed in the research-for-development project. Conclude that a more flexible approach to typology construction, for example through the incorporation of farmer perspectives, might provide further context and insight into the causes, consequences and negotiation of farm diversity. The three type of farming system studied with some scientific incorporation of intervention and found 34 percent increase over benchmark in field crop + dairy farming system.

Population density, urbanisation and agricultural mechanisation in modern Ghana

AbstractFarmers' technological choices take place within farming systems that are shaped by population pressure, connectivity to urban markets and agro‐ecological conditions. The relationship between these drivers and agricultural technology use is ambiguous. On the one hand, population growth can increase the supply of labour, driving down wage rates and reducing the incentives for mechanisation. On the other hand, rural–urban movements of people can reduce rural labour supply while simultaneously driving up the demand for food and hence the demand for mechanisation. Past theories of agricultural mechanisation have explained the low adoption of agricultural machinery in land‐abundant cereal production systems of SSA in terms of these drivers. However, recent empirical observations find extensive adoption of mechanised ploughing technology by small, medium and large‐scale farmers in Ghana. Examining the Ghanaian experience can thus shed new light on theories of mechanisation. A large household survey dataset covering eight districts is combined with geo‐spatial data on population, urban proximity and agro‐ecological factors to consider whether the existing theories are able to explain farm‐level adoption decisions in this context. The analysis finds that a farmer's decision to use agricultural machinery is associated with lower population density and proximity to urban centres. In northern Ghana, these drivers of technological change are as important as farm household characteristics in understanding cross‐sectional patterns of machinery adoption.

How farmland circulation affects household financial vulnerability in China: The chain mediation effect of labor transfer and financial literacy

Financial vulnerability is an important issue in livelihood resilience research domain. In the context of the Farmland Property Rights Reform in rural China and the promotion of farmland circulation, this study aims to explore whether and how household financial vulnerability is affected by farmland circulation and whether its impact shows heterogeneous characteristics depending on differences in farm household characteristics and regional characteristics. To answer these questions, a theoretical and empirical study was conducted based on the latest available Chinese household survey data (N = 9,822) from 2015 to 2019, using a chain mediating effects model and group regressions. The findings showed that farmland circulation could significantly reduce household financial vulnerability (Coef.=−0.167, p<0.01) while labor transfer and financial literacy played a mediating role. That is to say, farmland circulation could indirectly reduce household financial vulnerability by affecting labor transfer and financial literacy. The heterogeneity analysis showed that farmland circulation had a stronger mitigating effect on the financial vulnerability of older “first-generation farmer” households (with heads born before the 1980's) and households in the eastern regions with higher levels of economic development, suggesting that despite the “better late than never” advantage of farmland circulation, it can lead to greater regional inequality. These findings not only advance our understanding of how farmland circulation is associated with financial vulnerability but also provide some implications for the government's continuous optimization of the Farmland Property Rights Reform to ensure the financial security of farming households.

Socioeconomic factors influencing farmers’ willingness to replant trees: evidence from smallholder rubber farming in Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT Planting trees is a source of income for many smallholders worldwide and is critical for providing a range of ecosystem services. The effectiveness of the policies and incentives to encourage tree farming by smallholder farmers depends on the socioeconomic context of the farm households. The study investigates smallholder farmers’ willingness to replant rubber after reaching its economic lifespan while also examining the impact of farm households’ socioeconomic factors on willingness to replant. Using the utility maximization theory and logit model, the paper analyses household-level data collected from 404 smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka. The empirical findings show that about 71% of farmers are willing to replant rubber. Socioeconomic characteristics of farm households are significantly associated with the willingness to replant rubber. Considering the increase in the probability of willingness, factors such as education level of household head, share-cropping, family labour, income generation from rubber farming, non-farm income, other agricultural income, farmers group participation, and institutional support, positively affect farmers’ willingness to replant rubber. The findings suggest that considering these factors in the formulation of appropriate incentives and strategies for rubber farm diversification would foster a beneficial environment for smallholder rubber farming.

Determinants of Loan Acquisition and Utilization among Smallholder Rice Producers in Lagos State, Nigeria

Agriculture is a major contributor to economic development in most developing nations, with smallholder farmers playing a critical role, but their productivity and growth are impeded by a lack of access to agricultural loans. The affordability of loans is critical for sustainable agricultural development. Therefore, this paper investigates farmers’ loan acquisition and utilization, as well as their choice of loan sources using a two-part model and multinomial logit model. A total of 281 smallholder rice farmers were surveyed in Lagos State, Nigeria. The empirical findings show that marital status, farm size, and interest rate were all positive and significant influences on farmers’ loan sources of choice. In addition, annual farm revenue and the interest rate have a significant positive impact on loan access, whereas education, farming experience, farm size, off-farm income, and farm income have a major impact on loan use. The study also reveals that the preferred loan source differs according to the characteristics of farm households. The study concluded that access to loans increases farmers’ income in the region. It was recommended that the socio-economic characteristics of rice farmers should be considered when formulating and implementing policies to improve smallholder farmers’ access to agricultural loans.

Farmers’ Subsistence in Indonesian Rice Farming

Along with the importance of the rice industry in the agricultural sector and rural development in Indonesia, it arguably requires the understanding of whether rice farmers have been experiencing changes in their agricultural practices. Within the existing literature, it is commonly found that most farmers in developing countries are characterized as subsistence farmers. This paper aims to explore what factors affecting the degree of farmers’ subsistence in the Indonesian rice industry. To this end, this study employed regression analysis using data from the national agricultural survey in 2014. The empirical results find that both the characteristics of farm households and rice on-farm characteristics have statistically significant effects on the farmers’ decision whether to commercialize or become subsistence. In addition, the farm gate price is also found to have a statistically significant effect, but the effect is found to be relatively small. In general, this study suggests that subsistence farming in the Indonesian rice industry is still significant though many literatures have emphasized the existence of structural change in the agricultural system in Indonesia.

Characterization of Organic, Inorganic and Integrated Farming Practices for Livelihood Assessment in Jammu Region – A Case Study of Sambha District

Aim: Organic farming is considered as a solution to environmental ills associated with modern agriculture. Survey covered crop, livestock, homestead, agro forestry systems with data pertaining to 120 farmers from 06 villages of Sambha district in Jammu division. Data refer to the input output details and other socio-economic characteristics of farm households in the crop year 2019-2020.
 Study Design: Descriptive statistics like sum, average, percentage and ratio were calculated to examine the socioeconomic characteristics of the sample farmers.
 Place and Duration of Study: Survey covered crop, livestock, homestead, agro forestry systems with data pertaining to 120 farmers from 06 villages of Sambha district in Jammu division.
 Methodology: Random sampling technique has been used for collecting data. A combination of descriptive statistics, mathematical and statistical techniques was used to analyse the data collected.
 Results: Out of 120 sample farmers, the highest percentage of farmers was in small farm category followed by marginal, landless, medium and large. Average farm size for landless, marginal, small, medium and large were 0.02 ha, 0.71 ha, 1.43 ha, 2.65 ha and 4.80 ha, respectively. All the five categories of farmers showed little variation in terms of the age of households of the farmer. Farmer’s age, literacy and farm size are factors having impact on decision making processes in farming. Own cultivated land for marginal, small, medium and large were 0.53 ha, 1.21 ha, 2.23 ha and 4.21 ha, respectively whereas using above formula total cultivated land for marginal, small, medium and large were 0.71ha, 1.43ha, 2.65ha, and 4.80 ha respectively. Among the six major farming systems, the highest number of farmers practiced Crop+Livestock+Poultry (C-L-P) system. C-L-P was followed by Crop+Livestock+Poultry+Agroforestry (C-L-P-A), Crop+Livestock+Kitchen gardening (C-L-K), Crop +Vegetables (C-V), Crops+Horticulture (C-H) and Vegetable+Horticulture (V-H) systems. Cereals were major crops of the region followed by pulses in high land areas and horticultural crops. Out of five cropping patterns, net returns was the highest in Rice-maize-vegetable cultivation (Rs.120344 ha-1) followed by Maize-Potato-Wheat (Rs.103380 ha-1), Pulse-Mustard-Wheat (Rs.101100ha-1), Rice-Pulses-Wheat (Rs. 98000 ha-1) and Rice-Wheat system (Rs.88950 ha-1). The overall food security index in case of integrated farming practicing households was 1.13. However, food security indices of food secure households and food insecure households were 1.37 and 0.87, respectively. From the index it can be seen that even though the farmers are practicing integrated farming
 Conclusion: The study reveals that crop–livestock–poultry–homestead farming system was the most popular in integrated farming systems. Integrated farming has the potential of increasing farmers’ income and employment creation over the mixed and traditional farming practices in the study areas. The extent of food security situation was much better among the integrated farm households when compared to others. Farm households practicing organic in integrated farming were more economically self-sustainable having different modules comprising of livestock, horticulture, poultry and crop. In UT of Jammu where land is scarce, effort should be taken to increase production through integration of various production components in agriculture for efficient utilization of resources. It would result in production of diversified products from minimum area and help in increasing the income of the farmers

Assessment of Farm Households’ Vulnerability to Desertification in Rural Dry Lands of Katsina State, Nigeria

The purpose of this study was to use a Vulnerability Index (VI) to assess farm households' vulnerability to desertification in Northern Katsina's dry land ecosystem. The specific objectives were to identify socio-economic characteristics of farm households; and determine the degree of their vulnerability to desertification. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select 633 respondents from 18 rural communities across six Local Government Areas (LGAs). Data from 21 indicators for the three components of vulnerability (exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity) were used to measure the degree of vulnerability and thus, classify households into less, moderate and highly vulnerable. The study found that households in Jibia LGA were less vulnerable, with a VI of 1.228, while Kaita, Mashi, and Mai'adua LGAs were moderately vulnerable with VI of 0.523, 0.756, and 0.685, respectively. Households in Zango and Baure LGAs were found to be highly vulnerable due to poor biophysical conditions, with indices of 1.629 and -1.405, respectively. Furthermore, while 49% of the total households sampled were moderately vulnerable to desertification, 30% were less vulnerable and 21% were found to be highly vulnerable. As a result, the study recommended that the need for vegetative cover regeneration, soil quality rehabilitation, increased irrigation use, and biomass stability that take into account the vagaries of climate be prioritized in order to support, rescue, and increase the resilience of vulnerable households.
 Keywords: Adaptation; Desertification; Dry lands; Farm Households; Vulnerability Index

Evaluation of the sustainability of existing rainwater harvesting ponds: A case study of Lay Gayint District, South Gondar zone, Ethiopia

In most of the water-scarce areas, rainwater harvesting (RWH) ponds are essential for meeting the stress of water for various purposes. Besides the performance and sustainability of those rainwater harvesting ponds were not evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate the sustainability of existing rainwater harvesting ponds in Lay Gayint District, Ethiopia. The specific objectives of this study were; (1) to assess the perception of farmers on the potential of RWH ponds, and (2) to identify factors influencing the sustainability of RWH ponds. The demographic characteristics of farm households; farmers' perception about RWH ponds; and the socio-economic conditions of households were collected using household surveys and focused group discussions. The collected data was analyzed through quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods. The results of this study revealed that almost all farmers did not have good perceptions of ponds and had not gained enough awareness of the advantages of ponds. The utilization of the ponds was surrounded by constraints like poor quality and short lifetime of the constructed ponds; low involvement of farmers within the construction of ponds; and wrong-site selection. The incidence of local disputes among the farmers was the most important impact that un-utilized ponds have exerted on the community. About 78 % of the ponds were found in a failed state and 75 % of the ponds have no fences. The construction of RWH ponds in rural districts was based on a quota system which resulted in low sustainability. About 72.2 % of the respondents have not participated in the construction of RWH ponds, on the other hand, 81.5 % didn't get any training about RWH. The majority of the respondents replied that they have no money for constructing and maintaining their ponds. Due to the different factors most of the RWH ponds didn't store and serve for the designed service period which failed to satisfy the water demand. The government shall give attention to the sustainability of ponds by facilitating the involvement of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in capacity building, technical and financial support.

A farming system typology for the adoption of new technology in Bangladesh

AbstractOver the last three decades, few studies have been conducted to tackle the complexity and heterogeneity of Bangladesh farming systems. We address these research gaps with a new survey. Accordingly, a survey was conducted in North‐Western Bangladesh to understand how socio‐economic traits influence technology adoption and to identify and characterize key farm types. The survey was based on farm household characteristics, farm structure, farming practices and livestock as well as the economic performance of the farm. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were used to establish the different farm typologies, and the data set based on 27 variables was carefully analysed. The findings confirmed that the key variables that significantly affect the adoption of new agricultural technologies relate to age, farming experience, level of education of the household head, income, access to markets, land ownership, the proportion of hired labour, savings, food self‐sufficiency and income from off‐farm activities. Four main farm types were identified in the study area based on resource endowment and livelihood orientation. These are (1) well‐resourced farmers entirely dependent on agriculture and less reliant on off‐farm activities; (2) moderately resourced households, which are headed by an older male with greater farming experience and which are engaged in both on‐farm and off‐farm activities; (3) resource‐constrained households with cattle as the main livestock and with income generated by the sale of livestock products; and (4) severely resource‐constrained households which are headed by young farmers/men and where income is generated by off‐farm activities. These four farm categories represent the heterogeneity of farms in North‐West Bangladesh, and it is hoped that the development of this farm household typology will help particularly the extension service, to set up appropriate extension advice that will benefit the farming community.

Agricultural cooperatives contributing to the alleviation of rural poverty. The case of Konjic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

In contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina, rural poverty is an unresolved issue, despite farming having been a poverty coping strategy for many rural dwellers, especially after the end of the Balkan war. Eradicating poverty is among the priorities of the national government that aims at EU candidacy and accession. Being the most dynamic among agricultural sectors, berry farming is a key agricultural activity at the national level and had been the subject of rural development interventions, including the establishment of agricultural cooperatives. This article provides evidence from the largest agricultural cooperative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to inform decision making and policy planning. The article aims at describing and analyzing the status and dynamics of poverty at the farm household level while highlighting their contributing factors, as well as at proposing possible development strategies based on the voice of local actors. Given the complexity and multifaceted features of the investigated issues, the methodological approach of this study relies on a mixed-methods research design, where the quantitative findings from the analysis of poverty status and dynamics and their contributing factors are complemented by qualitative findings from participatory activities. The results of the study pinpoint the successful contribution of the cooperative to the improvement of farmers' working conditions and market access and suggest that supporting collective action among berry farmers can be an effective rural development intervention to alleviate rural poverty and prevent poverty fallouts. To date, structural characteristics of farm holdings and households and climate and market-related conditions have significantly contributed to the farmers' poverty as well as to farmers’ exposure to poverty. Furthermore, bridging the gender gap is still a challenge in Bosnia and Herzegovina which should be addressed urgently to mitigate the problem of social exclusion and to promote bottom-up innovation.

Can Credit Program Improve Agricultural Productivity? Evidence from Indonesia

Agricultural credit is a vital policy in improving farm performance since agricultural households face financial constraints in their business. This study aims to: (1) examine the impact of credit s on agricultural productivity while investigating the difference in impact generated by loans originating from governmental program loans and nonprogram loans and; (2) identify the characteristics of farm households that influence the use of credit in their business. This study employed cross-sectional micro-data at the household level drawn from the 2013 Indonesian Agricultural Census, in which 86,922 rice farm households were randomly selected as the research sample. The model was examined by using Two-Stage Least Square to avoid the selectivity bias. Results show that credit originated from government programs has a small impact on agricultural productivity, although the significant correlation appears. Furthermore, the use of credit, both government programs, and non-programs are determined by socio-economic aspects, agricultural subsidy, perceptions on risks, and perception on-farm profitability. Based on the results, the provision of credit to agricultural activities has to be supported by the provision of supporting incentives, such as agricultural counseling and irrigation facilities, in order to boost agricultural productivity effectively.

Analyze Structure, Conduct, and Performance (SCP) of Maize Markets In Case of Alefa District Northwestern Ethiopia

This study examined the major market channels, and evaluate the market margins for key maize marketing channels in Alefa District, Central Gondar Zone of Amhara Regional State. Both primary and secondary data sources for the study were collected. Primary data were collected through personal interviews from a total of 198 producers and 34 traders. Descriptive statistics was employed to describe the socio-economic characteristics of farm households, and to analyze market related data collected from maize traders. The results show that wholesalers and rural assemblers are the most important buyers of maize from producers, accounting for 44 and 36.35% respectively. Market concentration ratio of 74.07% indicates that the maize market in the study area is characterized as oligopolistic. The result of the study also showed that, maize average production and yield were 18.03 quintals per household and 34.37 quintals per hectare, respectively. The major constraints for maize production and marketing of households in the study area include high price of fertilizers, timely availability of improved seeds, large number of unlicensed traders in the markets, climate change (occurrence of drought, pest/diseases), availability of credit access and non-transparent taxation system. The opportunities comprises presence of potential farmers’ cooperatives to supply fertilizer and improved maize seeds, other farm inputs, and reliable and timely market information sourced from government department; maize productive potential of the area; improved trends of quality of maize; and creating demand for other crops. Finally the study recommends the need to strengthen and promote cooperatives to further exploit their economies of scale through diversifying their intermediary services both in the input and output markets of maize, market information and extension systems. Keywords: Concentration ratio, Cooperatives, Maize, Oligopolistic. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-34-03 Publication date: December 31 st 2020

Analyze Structure, Conduct, and Performance (SCP) of Maize Markets in Case of Alefa District Northwestern Ethiopia

This study examined the major market channels, and evaluate the market margins for key maize marketing channels in Alefa District, Central Gondar Zone of Amhara Regional State. Both primary and secondary data sources for the study were collected. Primary data were collected through personal interviews from a total of 198 producers and 34 traders. Descriptive statistics was employed to describe the socio-economic characteristics of farm households, and to analyze market related data collected from maize traders. The results show that wholesalers and rural assemblers are the most important buyers of maize from producers, accounting for 44 and 36.35% respectively. Market concentration ratio of 74.07% indicates that the maize market in the study area is characterized as oligopolistic. The result of the study also showed that, maize average production and yield were 18.03 quintals per household and 34.37 quintals per hectare, respectively. The major constraints for maize production and marketing of households in the study area include high price of fertilizers, timely availability of improved seeds, large number of unlicensed traders in the markets, climate change (occurrence of drought, pest/diseases), availability of credit access and non-transparent taxation system. The opportunities comprises presence of potential farmers’ cooperatives to supply fertilizer and improved maize seeds, other farm inputs, and reliable and timely market information sourced from government department; maize productive potential of the area; improved trends of quality of maize; and creating demand for other crops. Finally the study recommends the need to strengthen and promote cooperatives to further exploit their economies of scale through diversifying their intermediary services both in the input and output markets of maize, market information and extension systems. Keywords: Concentration ratio, Cooperatives, Maize, Oligopolistic. DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/70-01 Publication date: August 31 st 2020